Warlord Games has posted their first in depth exploration of Epic Battles: Hail Caesar. Let’s dive in!
In a new article on their community site, Warlord Games has discussed a little bit of everything regarding their upcoming addition to the Epic Battles range of games. From game mechanics, to miniatures design considerations and release sets, there is plenty to unpack, so let’s get to it!
First of all, the game. Hail Caesar is a mass battle game written by Rick Priestly. Games Workshop fans of a certain age might remember Warhammer Ancient Battles (which has been coming up a bit more recently, thanks to The Old World using several of its rules) and Warmaster. The DNA of both of these games (also written, at least in part, by Rick Priestly) features very prominently in Hail Caesar, which recently moved into it’s second edition. It features indefinitely turn lengths, a focus on command and control, and abstracted combat (no individual model removal). Warlord Games has said that very little was changed to shrink the game down to “Epic Battles” scale, apart from shortening movement and projectile ranges.
Next, the setting. This particular release is focusing on the Second Punic War, featuring Carthage’s most famous general: Hannibal. But Hannibal is something of a red herring, as these minis will work just as well for the entire history of the Punic Wars.
Speaking of the minis, there are a bunch in this range, right from the start, and there has even been some intriguing innovations on some of them. Infantry battle lines in Epic Battles have always been shoulder to shoulder, but Warlord decided a little something extra was needed to portray the massed ranks of Roman soldiers, so they added a third row to each stand. This might not sound all that impressive, but it’s done using a clever trick that gives great results. Looking at the sprue above, the middle rank is identified by the broad, flat face in place of the soldiers bodies. this allows the middle rank to be sandwiched tightly and give the impression of a formidable block of soldiers.
As for the types of soldiers, well, you can expect everything I detailed in my previous article to be part of the starter set! The romans have heavy infantry in three flavors: Hastati, Principes and Triarii, as well as skirmishers and cavalry. The Carthaginians have Libyan heavy infantry, light and heavy cavalry, Gallic infantry, skirmishers in half a dozen flavors, and elephants! Quite the smorgasbord!
Are you hopping on the hype train for Epic Battles: Hail Caesar? Which faction are you most excited to play? Let us know in the comments!
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