Dynastic Bedouin

Book 3, List 53

A bit of an oddity this army, and in use is a real mix of figures morphing away - however, I have actually bought some Arab LH(O), Bw and Bd for this army.

It's unusual for an Islamic army in that it has a huge number of LH(O), 20 minimum under it's usual Hamdanid variant. After this it is a strange mix of Ax(S) Dailami, with supporting Ps(O), Bw(X)/(O), Bw(O), Bd(I), LH(F) and Cv(S), possibly with a few Cv(O) as well. Just to round things off there are Hd(O) and Bw(I) for filler and LH(I) camels for cheap skirmishing or running through terrain.

At first I thought this army would be best in it's Regular option - Hamdanids of Aleppo from 945AD - 957AD being the best of these. However, experience of fighting Ethan Zorick at the 2000 IWF and subsequent use myself I've come to the conclusion that the Irregular version of the Hamdanids of Aleppo from 964AD to 965AD with 0 - 15 Irr Cv(S)/LH(F) is in fact the better option. This is an army that in part relies on size to confound the enemy, and the greater number of troops available with this option allows for a 4th command - which I think is pretty mandatory - for extra PIPs to pressure the opponent.

It's large number of Dailami - up to18, with up to 1/3 being supporting Ps(O) - means that bad going is not a problem for this army, and in fact some is most definitely desirable. This is helped by the aggression of 1. The Reg Bw(X)/(O) add a bit of clout to worry Kn and the vast amount of Cv and LH can manoeuvre well.

All that said I think that the army is best suited to 400AP, as over that it just gets bloated and adds nothing new to make it more effective. I certainly wouldn't use it at over 450AP.

The basic usage of the army is to lead withe the large numbers of LH to create space and dictate the pace of battle whilst moving the heavier troops to where they are best used, the LH then being used to threaten flanks, etc. Terrain, and with Ag 1 it often defends, is used to break up the enemy to create flanks and give a base for the (relatively) light foot to operate from.

If you are interested here is an article I've written for Slingshot on using the Dynastic Bedouin at the 2001 IWF World Championships. It's called (inevitably) Sheikh Yer'dice.

DBM v3.0 has slightly blunted this army as the rules changes have made it more attractive to field armies that are larger than were previously common. This works against the Bedouin as one of their main strengths was using their LH to occupy space and threaten flanks, and both of these are less common now. However, the biggest change has to be the rehabilitation of heavy infantry and the increase in the prevalence of bowmen that the version change has heralded. Both these troop types can cause real problems for the Bedouin.

dynasticbedouiniwf2001list1.txt - my list 1 from the 2001 IWF World Championships.

dynasticbedouiniwf2001list2.txt - my list 2 from the above.

dynasticbedouin400apanticv.txt - a Regular 400AP army based on fighting Cv.

dynasticbedouin400apantikn.txt - a Regular 400AP army for fighting Kn, including some Bw(X)/(O).

bedouin400ap1.txt - an irregular version from Ethan Zorick. Pretty effective for him at the 2000 IWF - he beat my Ottomans :-(

bedouin400ap2.txt - variant on above.

bedouin400ap3.txt - and another variant.

dynastcbedouin500ap.txt - a 500AP variant, although the army does not work so well at this AP value.

dynasticbedouinforbritcon - 400AP army used at Britcon 2002, I think this is an excellent version.

dynasticbedouinnoabid.txt - a variant that does not use the 'Abid.