'Sport' from AlanD: The Blues!

I have a sneaking suspicion that these won't be the only gladiators to appear in this Bonus Round! This is my new Ludus for playing Jugula, and I have gone with the blue theme to give them some team identity.

In The Blues lineup, for your amusement, we have a secutor and a dimachaerus, the former wearing his characteristic simple helmet to avoid it getting snagged in the net of his classic opponent, the retiarius. The dimachaerus wields two swords, but I don't fancy his chances in that helmet if any peripheral vision is required.

Next on the bill is a Moorish retiarius with net and trident, and a Gallic veles, armed with Javelins and relying on speed and agility.

And as the climax to the day's entertainment, a murmillo and a thrax, identified by his curved sword.

I had a lot of fun painting the shields on these two. The murmillo has an image of the two-headed god Janus on his shield. Since Janus is associated with transitions, beginnings, endings and doorways he evokes the possibilities of life and death, freedom and slavery that define a gladiator's experience. The thrax's shield depicts the goddesses Fortuna and Victoria, both close to a gladiator's heart. Fortuna on the left holds a rudder, one of her visual attributes, and both she and Victoria are presenting crowns of victory.

The figures are all from Foundry's great range of gladiators, except from the murmillo, who is from Warlord Games. We hope you are amused.