November 12-13th is the date of this year’s Anderida dbm meet. It takes place in Pevensey Bay, site of Roman and Norman invasions in times past. We stay in a hotel next to the Roman walls which encircle the extensive remains of William’s first castle. A great spot.

I suppose it could be called a tournament because there are prizes. But in fact, it’s a friendly get together, where you have four pleasant games of dbm ancients. This year the theme of the tournament is 1005 AD. Only armies of that year are allowed. Surprisingly there are nevertheless 53 to choose from, ranging from Normans to Mayans to Vietnamese.

This is a doubles event, so we play in teams of two, using large (500 point) armies.

The last two years have seen Graham and I choose killer armies only to end up thoroughly beaten. I think last year was our worst ever performance, except for one tournament several years ago where we really did finish bottom place, using Early Carthaginians.

So, army choice this year is now order of the day. Contenders are as follows:

Dailami - or the Buyids of Baghdad. It seems pleasantly perverse to take a Baghdad army, and I have always fancied this one. Lots of good quality cavalry and auxilia, with some exotics such as an eleohant and Indian swordsmen to add colour. Should be fun to paint too.

Christian Nubian - a slightly dubious army, but with lots of interestinh troops, including armoured camelsm, archers and warband. A scary proposition for any enemy, but also for its owners, as it is rather unpredictable.

Welsh - given the great successes of the rugby team this year, this should be an option. 100 elements of fast warband with solid viking support as an option. Lots of terrain to put downm so could be very interesting. Doubtful against enemy knights (ie William and his thugs) though.

Watch out for the decision. Any advice welcome.