ARMY POPULARITY AND SUCCESS IN DBM 3.3 and 3.4

John Graham-Leigh

Three years have gone by since the last analysis, during which over 400 competition games have been played in the UK (plus a few in France). 400 games (800+ army uses) do not make enough for a meaningful analysis, so I’ve added those to the 1,100 games played between 2016 and 2019. So this review covers 1,525 competition games played from the start of 2016 to the end of 2022 – 3,050 army uses. Most of the games were played with DBM 3.3; most of those since the beginning of 2021 were played with DBM 3.4.

14% of the armies used were from Book 1, 38% from Book 2, 22% from Book 3 and 26% from Book 4 – this relative popularity of the different periods has been fairly constant throughout DBM’s history, but there has been a further swing towards Book 2 armies at the expense of all the other periods, especially Book 1.

Armies from 209 different lists were used; 72 armies were used in only one competition each (normally 4 games) and have not been included in this survey.

Table 1: Most Popular Armies

20 armies were used in at least 40 competition games. Alexandrian armies have greatly increased in popularity, filling first and third places, while long-standing favourites Patrician Romans have fallen from 7^th to 14^th – they‘ve been used only once since 2019. The West Franks/Normans, who have dropped to 18^th, haven’t been used at all. Later Sargonid Assyrian, New Kingdom Egyptian, Later Carthaginians and Early Imperial Roman are among the most used armies of 2020-22, and the Assyrians are the most successful of the popular armies.

Table 2: Roman Armies

The Romans are again popular, but rather less successful recently. The Patricians, relying on manoeuvre rather than slogging, are the least successful. Camillan Romans made one appearance, finishing third in a six-player competition.

Table 3: Pike Armies

Pike armies have become extremely popular, especially Alexander’s, and have improved in effectiveness. Pyrrhic was the most successful, but with only eight games; Alexandrian Imperial looks to be the best bet for long-term performance, while Graeco-Bactrian’s phalanx may be too small for consistent success.

Table 4: Impetuous Armies – Knights

Irregular knight armies have been uncommon recently; only 42 appearances since 2019. The Romanian Franks make a welcome return, but the previously popular Normans have not been seen. Unsurprisingly, overall performance is unchanged.

Table 5: Impetuous Armies – Warband

Warband armies have become both more common and more successful. The Gauls have been displaced by the Franks (including Suevi and Alamanni) as the popular choice. My use of Estonians, only once so far, has not been copied by others.

 Table 6: Medieval European Armies

Knights (mostly regular) supported by bows, heavy infantry and sometimes light horse form the basis of these armies. The Hungarians, with plentiful light horse and formidable knights, are now the most popular, while Hundred Years War English have increased in popularity and success. Generally these armies offer an attractive combination of controllability and varied troop types, making them the commonest type.

Table 7: Cavalry Armies

The Sassanids make a triumphant return as the most-used army in 2020-22, and with a healthy success rate. Several other armies return, such as Early Byzantine, Early Russian and Georgian. Overall these armies remain just above average in performance, though less successful than in 2016-9.

Table 8: Spear and other HI Armies

These armies, relying on either Spears or Blades, tend to be draw-heavy. The hoplites are overwhelmingly the most popular but they, and most of the others, are slightly below average in performance. Two others have reappeared with a bang: Makkan which used to be regarded as a killer army, and Anglo-Danish which had two competition outings (same figures, different players) with great success.

Table 9: Light Horse Armies

Light horse armies supported by Chinese infantry are still the most successful, though Armenians and Kushans with cataphracts are also doing well. Genghis Khan has returned to the list; Attila’s lads are out of favour, and the Numidians continue their lack of success. The Skythians are still the commonest of these manoeuvrable armies, which remain of generally average performance.

Table 10: Light Infantry Armies

As usual, light infantry armies are uncommon but hard to beat. The Early Libyans have overtaken the Picts as the most popular; both these armies can benefit from substantial warband contingents.

Table 11: Elephant Armies

Not much change in this category. Classical Indians and Burmese still dominate, but overall performance remains slightly below average.

Table 12: Camel Armies

Still very much a minority type but can be very effective. The Arabs benefit from their numerous light horse and heavy infantry to support the camels.

Table 13: Bow Armies

Armies relying on massed archery have continued to do well, though the Samurai have not been seen since 2019. The Persians have done well in both 15mm and 25mm games, their combination of excellent archers and plentiful cavalry being particularly effective. The Tupi have become markedly more successful in the past few years.

Table 14: Balanced Armies

Many new entrants in this category, notably Ugaritic (a former favourite) , Neo-Hittite and Umayyad Arab. All these armies feature a core of heavy infantry with supporting light and mounted troops. Hannibal’s Carthaginians remain the favourites, but Sennacherib and Ashurbanipal are catching up and have been much more successful.

With around a dozen competitions each year there are still enough games to make comparisons viable. It should be borne in mind, though, that an army with only a few games played, such as Early Vandal, may represent a single player using such an army in a couple of competitions. If that player is particularly skilful, the army may appear to be a killer whereas it needs a lot of talent to use effectively. An army such as Later Sargonid Assyrian, with many games and a high success rate, has probably been used by several different players and its success is a good guide to the army’s general strength.

JGL 23.11.2022