I am always sceptical of second editions of rules because of the GW tactic of “upgrading” rules and codices as a marketing sales gimmick. As a result it took me a while to pick this one up.

The first thing you notice is that the publication is no longer an Osprey “blue book” but a very professional hard book that we have become accustomed to with other sets of rules like the McCullough suite of rules. As you would expect from a Dan Mersey set of rules it is full of scenarios, unit types, and sample retinue lists with a simple and fun game to play.

What then has changed? From the author himself:

“If you played the Blue Book first edition of Lion Rampant, rather than re-read the rules in tedious detail to spot the differences, here is a brief list of what has changed in Chapter 1’s battle rules:

• All Leaders now have the old Commanding skill for free but must pay for other skills;
• Battered Leaders ro11 only two dice during Challenges;
• Alternative rules are provided for proximity and failed activations;
• A unit that fails a wild Charge test may test for a Move action during the ordered activation phase;
• Clarification of several rules that created recurring queries:
  • Flexible (was Ferocious in the first edition) uses its normal Armour value;
  • Rules for pavises are more detailed;
  • Rules for evading are more detailed;
  • Wall of Spears (was Schiltron) is more detailed;
  • Slinger range updated and they are now an optional unit tvpe (Page 119);
  • Distances for your Leader’s influence (and skills) are measured directly from your Leader’s model, not from other models in his or her unit;
  • Leader bonuses only count if the Leader’s unit is not Battered (a sometimes-missed rule from the first edition);
  • Failed Rally activations scoring 0 or a negative number cause the unit to rout;
  • Retreats that are within a move of the table edge must now flee from the table, and units now flee from the closest enemy unit regardless of the source of the retreat;
  • Units unable to Retreat the full distance now lose a number of models equal to the unmoved distance in inches rather than rolling a die;
  • Added rules for storming defences;
  • Boasts are now an optional rule (Page 107);
  • Terrain types are better defined (Page 125);

The headline changes when mustering your Warband are:

• Basic unit profiles have not changed, but they have been renamed to cover a wider historical period;
• There are some new unit upgrades, but no first edition ones have been removed;
• There are no restrictions on the troop types used in your Warband, but your Warband must consist of between 4 and 10 units;
• Leaders now pay for skills;
• Viking Age Warbands may opt to use Shieldwall rules (Page 112) at no points costs.

I have also taken the opportunity to add more detail and plenty of optional rules but decided to keep them in a separate chapter.” (Taken directly from Page 200-201 of the book)

As you can see the rules have not changed significantly but it has a new range of scenarios and army lists that is worth the purchase on its own. The rules changes make sense and clarify rather than significantly change the way the game is played. This is a purchase that i thoroughly recommend but then I am a Dan Mersey groupie!