Blood & Plunder - Native Reinforcements

I have also managed to get some more troops painted, because a miniature painters work is never done...

One box of Native Americans, which provides quite a decent mix of forces from the ones available to natives. The only thing missing is Warriors (with no ranged weapons), since these were released after the box.

First up, 12 Warrior Archers, or possibly Warriors upgraded to have Bows, depending on mood and which faction of natives one wants to use.

Then 4 Young Warriors, slightly less sun-tanned, and in general slightly less than the Warriors/Warrior Archers that will serve most natives as their bread and butter forces. Still, they're a nice option to have. (The sharp eyed will have noticed that another 4 Young Warrior models are pulling duty as Warrior Archers in the image above this one. Because I had more Young Warriors than needed, and not enough Warrior Archers... and they do have the correct equipment, which is the most important thing).

4 African Warriors, because some escaped slaves can be incredibly useful when it comes down to the finish line (they're the one Native unit with good melee saves, for a finishing blow and a chance to survive the retaliation).

And, to round it all up, 4 Warrior Musketeers, a.k.a. something that doesn't have that infernal Bow bonus to enemy shoot saves, but which might actually kill something.

But Fool, I hear you think, haven't we seen these already? Didn't you paint these natives last December?

No, that was my first box of natives. This is my second (yay, one new years promise taken care of). Which of course means that I now have a quite decent band painted and ready.

This allows me to field up to 3 units of Warrior Archers, with up to 6, 6, and 8 men in each, 2 units of Young Warriors (6 boys each), and a unit of 8 each for Warrior Musketeers and African Warriors. And of course, with a cacique in charge (or King Golden Cap himself).

All of that allows for an army list, with no upgrades but a Seasoned Commander, of over 250 points. Add Poisoned Arrows, and you have 270. Some fiddling with equipment, training levels, and characters, and it's a decent 300 point force. Not bad, from nothing but two starter sets. I just need to do something useful with the extra commander I have. Possibly give him a musket (somehow), since there are several historical native leaders who have that as an option. The only thing missing, is some of those melee-only Warrior models. Knowing myself, I will probably get them "soon" (they may or may not deserve a blog post by themselves... possibly if they do something unusually spectacular during a game).

Now, if only I could win with them as easily as I paint them... I won't say that I've never won with natives, but it's a rare thing and I probably need to get some more games in before I start to master them.

/Fool Out