So. I had a bright idea in late 2021. Get some Victrix Late Saxon/Anglo Dane Huscarls, and I'd have an Anglodane warband for SAGA. Excellent! Small, cheap, easy to paint with their lots of chainmail... Well, it didn't quite go according to plan. First I realised that I wanted some Levy with Bows as well. And some warriors would be useful...
But hey, I did get my Anglodanes out of it. Just, also an Anglosaxon warband. That, hilariously enough, doesn't use any of those huscarls I bought first. No, not even the warlord, unless I absolutely want to.
First up, those huscarls. They do look good, and cool with those daneaxes of them (and I'm an old SAGA player, I remember when those axes where the thing for Anglodanes, their reason for being and what only they got)
Of course, not all huscarls has to use big honking axes. Sometimes, shields are useful, too. (Shield decals from Little Big Men, via Victrix, for all the models).
And then, those Levy with Bows. So far, so good.
And after that, the Warriors... those are a lot of Warriors... (25, to be precise, including one with a banner, just in case).
... and I had bits over for some poorer Warriors, too. A.k.a. Melee Levy for the Anglosaxons (distinguished by having axes instead of swords, as well as mostly single colour shields).
So that gives me 5 points of non-HG Anglosaxons. But one point of Hearthguard isn't exactly useful for them. And I wasn't quite out of non-armored bodies...
So let's get some mercenaries. Gall-Gaedhil, to be precise, a mix between Vikings and Irish, with the temperament you'd expect from that (let's call it... explosive). It helps that they're currently very useful in SAGA.
And Anglosaxons can make use of 8-packs of Hearthguards. Especially if they're mounted, so I converted up some such (using Victrix Late Roman Cavalry as a base, with Late Saxon heads, arms, shields, and in a few places, I cut of the Roman torsos and added Saxons instead...)
Finally, then, the Warlord. It began as a transport solution, and ended up maximising variability. There's a flagbearer, if you want your warlord to have the banner. There's a priest or musician, if those feel like they'd fit (or they can be used as a Bard and a Priest). There are more or less fancy warlords both with and without daneaxe.
So you can have an Anglosaxon noblewoman leading the local Fyrd, with an advisor...
Or the Queen of Mercia, carrying royal standard and leading the Great Fyrd...
Or an anglodanish earl, showing his neighbours what's what...
Or possibly even king Cnut, or one of his heirs, marching forth to keep the North Sea Empire...
The options truly are endless there.
All in all, a very fun force, and not too difficult to paint once I actually got going (took me about 6 months once I painted the first huscarls... nevermind how long they laid in the Pile of Shame). I have a few expansions in mind for them (while the warriors can serve as levy, for an all-levy force, I could have some more. And perhaps some additional Archers to that. And Angry Monks would be both fun and dangerous with this lot...) but for now, the force is finished. It's also seen the table, and proven to be hard, but not unbeatable, and very fun to play.
/Fool Out.
