As Christmas is almost upon us, I thought I would post this pair of seasonal lists.

'The Nutcracker' is best known from Tchaikovsky and Ivanov's ballet, but this was based on a story by Alexandre Dumas, which was itself based on an 1816 story by Hoffman called 'The Nutcracker and the Mouse King'.

In the story a girl, Maria, receives a Christmas present from her godfather; a soldier-doll whose jaws act as a nutcracker. During a family party, the doll is damaged, and Maria puts it into a doll's bed to recuperate. That night she worries about the doll, and goes downstairs to see if he is all right. She finds herself shrinking, and is then attacked by the mice who infest the house, led by the fearsome Mouse King. She is rescued by the Nutcracker, who leads an army of toy soldiers into battle. Between them they kill the Mouse King and rout the other mice, at which point it is revealed that the Nutcracker is, in fact, an enchanted prince. He takes Maria to his castle where there is much dancing and merry-making, after which she wakes up to discover the whole thing was a dream.

The battle between the mice and the Nutcracker makes for an interesting set-piece HOTT game, with the battlefield consisting of the floor of a Victorian sitting room.

Here are the lists:

Stronghold: A mouse hole

Stronghold: A toy cupboard

The mice charge recklessly into battle, so seem best classed as Warband. The Mouse King is described as being much larger than his subjects, and is definitely much more powerful than any of them. Classing him as a Behemoth makes him as unstoppable as he seems to be in the story, whilst giving Nutcracker a good fight. He wields a huge club and wears a crown consisting of seven mouse heads.

Nutcracker's soldiers fight in three ranks, all of which are defeated by the mice. The first fight with swords only, so are classed as Blades. The next rank fight with rifles, so are Shooters. The third rank was the reserve, and advanced with fixed bayonets, so are classified as Spears. A cannon firing small sweets was equally ineffective against the mice. Nutcracker himself takes on the Mouse King in single combat, and seems good enough to be a Hero; it is Christmas, after all. Finally, Maria is included as a Sneaker, as it is she who throws her slipper at the Mouse King and distracts him long enough for Nutcracker to administer the fatal blow.

In terms of figures, the mice could be done with any commercial range of ratmen, but the less equipment the better (they do not appear to be clothed or armoured in any way, just mice carrying knives). The Mouse King should be a figure of the next largest scale, and outfitted in a more impressive manner. Nutcracker's army can be done with any suitable 18th or 19th Century soldiers, but the more like toy soldiers they are the better. In the book I have, they are similar to 1866 Austrians, but have red and blue uniforms. Nutcracker himself should be of the same size, but have a pronounced lower jaw. He is armed with a sword only. Maria can be depicted by any suitable figure of a little girl, and should be either the same size as, or fractionally larger than the rank and file soldiers.

In the original, the Mice are the attackers.

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