Post by Aragorn,King of the West on Jan 28, 2008 12:06:18 GMT
DAY ONE
Game One – Full of vigour, and on table 32 I met up with my opponent for Contest of Champions. The night before, we had discussed possible ‘nightmare’ opponents, and for my Good force Spider Queens, WK on FB and Dragons were mine. I had gone for numbers, with a mix of elites and several mid-heroes, and so facing monsters of the kind listed above would be hazardous. Lo and behold, two Spider Queens were deployed, along with 20+ Morannon, two Bat Swarm and some Wild Wargs.
Deciding to defend the elevated ground with my archers, my infantry in doubled rank to match his, and Faramir as my champion with his Knights, the plan was to get into combat quickly against a weakened SQ and overwhelm him before he could overwhelm me. A good start was had as volleying led to their single orc archer being toppled, as well as a wound stolen off their champion Spider Queen. However, my massed Archery Battery then only toppled two Wild Wargs during the advance, seriously missing an opportunity. As the lines clashed, Cirion countered an Orc Captain in the centre of their lines, whilst the archers admirably defended the elevated barrier against serried ranks of Morannon. The alternate Spider Queen, remaining Wild Wargs and a bat swarm attempted to envelop these men, and were repulsed with a wound on the Spider Queen, three on the Bat Swarm and all the Wargs being killed in return for just two WoMT bowmen. Along the line, casualties were equal, with both captains burning might to ensure priority and to try and strike the killer move.
Unfortunately, the Spider Queen Champion decided to see my Clansmen as merely a warm-up to charging Angbor and killing him in two moves. Held back by a Bat Swarm initially, but inflicting three wounds on that also, a heroic move led the champions to clash. The Stewards son was, however, beaten, knocked to the ground and suffered a multitude of wounds to end the game exceptionally soon. Not to plan…..
Result – Major Loss – 1pt.
Game Two – Not a great beginning, but my hopes were pinned upon the Engineer Captain to get some early kills and put the challenge to their champion. Who turned out to be Elessar, mounted and King of the Dead leading Warriors and Riders of the Dead. The game began well, with my infantry holding the 18” line from the catapult. Early wound on Aragorn was saved with fate, but three Riders and three Warriors were dispelled by large rocks! However, Aragorn then got into combat and all attempts to Transfix him failed, all attempts to feed him an Orc a turn were met by Heroic moves (Burning my Might as I sought to counter, very helpful….) the Shaman was run down, and even when I won a combat, had the King of Gondor trapped against the hilly escarpment….nothing. Throwing the Mordor Troll loader into combat with the captain didn’t help either, and the Captain was ended, making it double the kills by Aragorn in relation to my Captain, making it a similar result as earlier. Elsewhere, the Uruks and Morannons were ineffective against the Dead, but three Trackers continually frustrated and dispelled their units, bringing them to Break point as the game ended.
Result – Major Loss – 2pts.
Game Three – Longer time meant I could be more tactical, and this was the scenario I was most confident in. The plan was to advance to near-ish their objectives the first hour, whittle him away with bowfire, provoke him to lose models through impatience and my bowfire, and then overwhelm the objectives at the last minute. Quite successful was to find….
The army I faced was Easterling based, with yet another Spider Queen. A Castellean led the main body of infantry to my right-hand objective, whilst Khamul led the Queen, a Swarm, and 6 Kata to the left-hand objective. A further swarm and ten archers in the centre meant I had to be careful the Swarm didn’t flap his way to steal my home-base. I countered the first force with Cirion leading a mass of WoMT, the archers in the centre, with Faramir’s Knights and Angbor’s elites playing a game of chicken against the mounted monsters on the left.
For the first hour, as planned, the archers took steady toll on two Kata, the majority of their archers, and through volleying took two wounds off the Spider Queen, leaving my opponent very shy of advancing him with Khamul. Once I had majority on either front, I advanced to clash! Khamul Black Darted one of my Knights, but was then swarmed by Faramir, a KoMT and Angbor. This combined assault dispelled the warrior-Wraith, yet the Queen and the Swarm began to take a toll on my infantry. The Kata were held and killed by the Swan Knights, yet a summoned broodling managed to defeat Faramir, and kill his horse! Plus, a Fate point was spent in saving an ill-fortuned fall! spiders….
Whilst this raged to my left, I felt it was time to challenge the Easterlings on my right as a man-on-man conflict! The Boldest of the Bold courage boost to Cirion was meant to be crucial on the Castellean, yet Cirion was in fact charged and killed by a Morgul Blade. A touch too bold!! However even with this Terror-inspiring unit, and a Captain also, my Warriors managed to erode away their numbers at a steady rate.
With just a few minutes left, Beregond and his Guards made a dash for the objective edge! Simultaneously, a Warrior pinned the Captain and the Castellean, as his comrades moved into combat on the objective or into contact. Simultaneously, the Queen, Swarm and Broodling were all pinned by high Courage Clansmen allowing a solitary mounted Knight, three Warriors and a Clansman to surge onto the left-hand base. Time was called before we could resolve combat. A Veteran bowman held my home-base, just as an Easterling bowman held his. On the left, due to my surge I had five models in contact or on the objective to his four! On the right, he had ten remaining and I had thrown in eleven! Minor Victory, from two hours down to the very last moments, full of suspense and heroic moments throughout! And one which took a long time to slow my pounding heart it was so close!
Result – Minor Victory – 33pts.
Game Four – I had mentioned when I took my Catapult, to please give me a highly concentrated Dol Amroth Pike Block. Thanks to UKRocky, that’s what I faced!! Rangers and Drar held his wooded home-base, whilst Murin led Knights and Rangers to the right-hand building objective. On the left, mounted Imrahil led a scatter of Fiefdom troops to the trees to the left. Mindful of the time and the previous tactics, the first 45 minutes called only for movement to ensure visibility for the artillery fire!
Much more successful, Imrahils horse was a casualty, the clustered Knights to the right saw many wounds, a few Men-at-Arms fell to the left, and UKRocky looked ever more confused at my lack of movement! The Trackers fell to his Rangers, before being avenged by large rocks falling from the sky! Realising the game could end on his break of 24 dead, and having killed 21 by artillery already, I realised the objectives must be take soon! As my Morannons advanced to the left, Imrahil proved his worth as he pinned and demolished Shagrat. Furthermore, the effect of his leadership meant the higher FVs of the Fiefdoms decimated my Morannon Orcs and the Shaman, putting the game into doubt as he became broken and the game could end…. On the Right, Murin was transfixed and wounded as I made a break for the building with only a single Ranger claiming it. Two Fiefdom troops contested my base, as did a mounted Swan Knight. The last of my Orcs were mopped up to the left, and at this moment a Major loss could have again been on the cards.
However, by trapping the mounted Swan Knight the Uruks ensure he was removed as a threat, By moving my Crew, Troll and Captain onto the hill I reclaimed the majority there, and I could move three orcs into contact with the building to the right. Just as a 1 was rolled, ending the game with 2 objectives each. A draw!
Result – Draw – 43pts.
DAY TWO
Game Five – Determined to do better, I drew my Gondorians against a Troll Chieftain, two Mordor Trolls, and a horde of Orcs led by a Captain. Equal numbers, massive strength, and this could be very close…. Deciding that nullifying the Orcs was crucial, Faramir led his Knights into charge against his Orcs. The Knights did some kills before falling victim also. Faramir lasted seven turns, always outnumbered and almost always trapped, Faramir won more than he lost. He killed nearly a dozen Orcs, distracted his captain the whole game and through Fate never lost a wound! Elsewhere, the archers through volleying managed to prevent his orc bows volleying, and also prevented the flank of the hill being overwhelmed by the trickle of Orcs by the end of the match. Against the three monsters, Cirion and several WoMT held the elevated barrier throughout. Losing a few, Cirion used his Might to defeat the Troll so that a Clansmen on the left side could let his claymore bite deep and fell the monster! Angbor use Will to charge the Chieftain and remaining Troll who had managed to ascend to the summit, winning fights when necessary and surviving other times.
On Turn ten, Priority was drawn and so the remaining monsters, my two Captains and my Warriors stumbled to the ground. A lost Heroic move meant they were trapped on the ground, as were three Swan Knights. Luckily, Cirion won his fight and Angbor’s Fate led to his survival, and none of the Swan Knights were beaten over the elevated barrier. At a count of 43 models to 21, I had secured a clear majority and thus a Minor Victory. Lesson learnt – if scary things are coming, be a lucky hero, be behind a barrier, and carry a claymore!
Result – Game Five - 74pts.
Game Six – This game I felt confident in, as a repeat performance at Domination could result in the hill being swept clean by Area Effect shots. My Morannons were to advance to the hill edge, under tree cover, and surge forth to the base, winning by outnumbering them. The opponent took Imrahil (again!), Angbor, Forlong and Denethor. Denethor was very cowardly in the beginning stages, requiring all the Will to be used and charging into one of his own Axemen. My opponent clustered his troops, causing Imrahil to lose his horse (again!!) and a few Men-at-Arms to be killed. However, from turn 4-10 the rolls to strike remained at 1 and 2, 1 and 2, 2 and 1, 1 and 2! Not helpful! However, the trackers killed a Transfixed mounted Knight, and then another Knight. The Swan Knights, despite Imrahils rule, were quickly dealt with and thus the game seemed to be tilting towards my favour.
At this point, even after trapping and transfixing Imrahil he survived and lashed out at the Mouth for the rest of the game. His Guards of the Fountain Court had ascended and descended the crest of the hill, proving stalwart defenders of the edge of the board even as I pushed forward. To prevent encirclement, his Clansmen fought against my Uruks on the left with the conflict being equally costly to both. In the closing stages, the combined wrath of Angbor and Forlong succeeded to wound a Morannon Orc….only for it to be saved by Fury! Six Rangers shot and hit an Orc Tracker, wounding him….only for him to be saved by Fury!! As turn 10 ended and the defence of the board was as stalwart as ever, I could only Heroic Combat Shagrat to ensure he ended the game on the hill, gaining a Minor Loss from a Major. Must respect those high Defence troops more, must not overestimate the Morannon, and must hit something with my Catapult!!
Result – Game Six – 75pts.
Game Seven – Tradition continued, and it was my Gondor force who took to the field against Saruman (without Grima), a core block of warriors, only six crossbows and six Warg Riders. I decided to maintain a strong infantry formation in the centre, archers in the woods and hills to the right, and use the cavalry on the left to draw the Riders and the Wizard away from the main contest. In this manner, I could whittle them with bowfire and overwhelm them with higher numbers, with Faramir’s boys dying for the greater good.
Again, bowfire was less effective, but in the course of the early game took four or five casualties off of the infantry and half of the crossbows, without taking a loss. Keeping this body of men secure and alive was crucial in winning the numbers game. Faramir and the Knights, with the assistance of a Swan Knight and Clansman, fought for much of the game against the magic of Saruman and overwhelming numbers. Whereas the Knights fell swiftly for little result, Faramir repeated his earlier performance in pinning down many of the higher value troops on the left, falling after many turns and many lucky dice rolls. Towards the centre, Angbor was often pitted against Sharku with shield, each side fighting to the brink of death and using all of the capabilities at their disposal to overcome. In the centre, Cirion led a very successful charge of Swan Knights and Warriors, dropping the infantry below break point. With Sarumans large ‘Stand Fast!’ and the higher Courage of the Uruks, this did not cause further losses. When the left flank folded, the sweeping centre could have been mauled by this new release of troops. However, Swan Knights and Warriors prevented a Phalanx breaking through the trees whilst Rangers fired past the tree line to unseat two Warg Riders.
As the final turn began, with moments left, all infantry on both sides clashed in the centre. The Sorcerous Blast of the White Wizard succeeded yet only propelled back one inch. The victim and the two behind miraculously survived! Time was called at this point, with myself at 70% surviving and my opponent 35%. All my heroes were drained of M/W/F, as were most of his including Saruman. Nine kills were required by myself to lower him to the game-winning quarter survival rate, and so with the advice of an abjudicator we called it a well-fought draw. My Gondor continued to fight well, whether their purpose was to hack at their infantry, shoot down their crossbows or just to die gloriously in the pursuit of infamy!
Result – Game Seven – 85pts.
Game Eight – This army was what my Evil force was designed against! Grey company, small in numbers yet dangerous at range. They could not cluster to volley at my Catapult from the threat of a retaliatory, Area Effect strike. Therefore, led by Aragorn and Halbarad with banner, they advanced in a loose chain. On the right, my Uruks provided line of sight to one group of Rangers from a forest. On the left, the Trackers did the same. In the centre, my Morannons provided a high defence to the majority of my units and heroes. I needed a win to achieve my objective for the weekend, to break 100pts from gaming.
The game began well for him, as a Ranger failed a climb test and died from the fall! Throughout the first hour of the match, my Catapult almost continually provided hits which killed many of the Rangers of the North, and almost toppling Halbarad. This was supported by the two remaining Trackers in the woods, who shot down three Rangers of Arnor before succumbing themselves. Meanwhile, although I lost a Morannon Orc and an Uruk, his much-vaunted shoot value and numbers were ineffective again and again and again due to Morannon shield and the Shamans Fury! With Aragorn, Halbarad and several others distracted by just two Trackers, I saw my opportunity to get greater kills as I surged from the forest and transfixed two Rangers of the North. Simultaneously, the Uruks charged in to avenge their comrade upon two Rangers of Arnor. Aragorn, perhaps recognising the danger, began to trek back to the centre…. One transfixed Ranger of the North survived with the other falling, and the same fate determined the lives of the two Rangers of Arnor on the left flank. Broken, yet with admirable courage rolls far in excess of his limited shooting, I was going to have to earn every one of the needed kills to succeed.
Worryingly, the Catapult began to miss repeatedly, and despite protection from two Orcs with shield the Captain was shot down, followed by the shield Orcs, followed by the remaining captain. My horde of warriors advanced on the remaining units, as the Mordor Troll loader shrugged off the missile fire to lend combat prowess to the proceedings. In the second to last turn, I transfixed another Ranger of the North and charged in with the Mouth and a Morannon, both supported. Calling a heroic combat he won the fight yet failed the necessary kill. Shagrat did better with his final Might, killing his opponent and moving to help the Mordor Troll. Despite the named Uruk Captain, and the hugely strong Troll….the Ranger of Arnor won and inflicted a wound on the Troll! Aragorn, predictably, slaughtered an Orc spearman.
As he gained priority, and I had no Might remaining, he assured me he was now going to flee without sustaining the last kill required for me to win. Furthermore, as ever he passed all Courage! However, my opponent misjudged the range, and so with a Transfix from the Mouth, and with the high martial prowess of Shagrat, thus the Troll Loader completed his kill-count for the weekend with three 6’s!
Result – Minor Victory, 116pts.
Final Result – 3 Minor Victories, 2 draws, a Minor Loss and 2 Major Losses.
MVP – Good – A close call, between the suicidal charges and usefulness of Faramir against Orcs, Uruks and Khamul…or the Clansman who swept away a Mordor Troll.
LVP – Good – Citadel Guards did very, very little for me all weekend. Maybe another day….
MVP – Evil – With the impressive kill count, the Troll loader meant a nearly-assured kill a turn, very influential against Grey Company and Imrahil’s horse! Also the Orc trackers who shot down several of the Grey Company, took down two Riders of the Dead, a mounted Swan Knight and survived a volley of Rangers, deserve special mention.
LVP – Evil – Until the last game I moaned about the worth of the Morannon Orcs, who I thought would be very effective but weren’t against high Defence Riders of the Dead, Guards of the Fountain Court, and so forth. On the other hand, turn after turn of expert archery thudded into their shields in the final game, so they redeemed themselves. The notoriety of LVP would have to go to the Uruks, fine models but their low defence cost them more than anything they brought to my games.
Great fun, plenty of challenges, enjoyable social aspect, balanced players in the most part and the results of all games reflected my tactics and the course of the battle. A few surprises, a few disappointments, bring on next year!
Game One – Full of vigour, and on table 32 I met up with my opponent for Contest of Champions. The night before, we had discussed possible ‘nightmare’ opponents, and for my Good force Spider Queens, WK on FB and Dragons were mine. I had gone for numbers, with a mix of elites and several mid-heroes, and so facing monsters of the kind listed above would be hazardous. Lo and behold, two Spider Queens were deployed, along with 20+ Morannon, two Bat Swarm and some Wild Wargs.
Deciding to defend the elevated ground with my archers, my infantry in doubled rank to match his, and Faramir as my champion with his Knights, the plan was to get into combat quickly against a weakened SQ and overwhelm him before he could overwhelm me. A good start was had as volleying led to their single orc archer being toppled, as well as a wound stolen off their champion Spider Queen. However, my massed Archery Battery then only toppled two Wild Wargs during the advance, seriously missing an opportunity. As the lines clashed, Cirion countered an Orc Captain in the centre of their lines, whilst the archers admirably defended the elevated barrier against serried ranks of Morannon. The alternate Spider Queen, remaining Wild Wargs and a bat swarm attempted to envelop these men, and were repulsed with a wound on the Spider Queen, three on the Bat Swarm and all the Wargs being killed in return for just two WoMT bowmen. Along the line, casualties were equal, with both captains burning might to ensure priority and to try and strike the killer move.
Unfortunately, the Spider Queen Champion decided to see my Clansmen as merely a warm-up to charging Angbor and killing him in two moves. Held back by a Bat Swarm initially, but inflicting three wounds on that also, a heroic move led the champions to clash. The Stewards son was, however, beaten, knocked to the ground and suffered a multitude of wounds to end the game exceptionally soon. Not to plan…..
Result – Major Loss – 1pt.
Game Two – Not a great beginning, but my hopes were pinned upon the Engineer Captain to get some early kills and put the challenge to their champion. Who turned out to be Elessar, mounted and King of the Dead leading Warriors and Riders of the Dead. The game began well, with my infantry holding the 18” line from the catapult. Early wound on Aragorn was saved with fate, but three Riders and three Warriors were dispelled by large rocks! However, Aragorn then got into combat and all attempts to Transfix him failed, all attempts to feed him an Orc a turn were met by Heroic moves (Burning my Might as I sought to counter, very helpful….) the Shaman was run down, and even when I won a combat, had the King of Gondor trapped against the hilly escarpment….nothing. Throwing the Mordor Troll loader into combat with the captain didn’t help either, and the Captain was ended, making it double the kills by Aragorn in relation to my Captain, making it a similar result as earlier. Elsewhere, the Uruks and Morannons were ineffective against the Dead, but three Trackers continually frustrated and dispelled their units, bringing them to Break point as the game ended.
Result – Major Loss – 2pts.
Game Three – Longer time meant I could be more tactical, and this was the scenario I was most confident in. The plan was to advance to near-ish their objectives the first hour, whittle him away with bowfire, provoke him to lose models through impatience and my bowfire, and then overwhelm the objectives at the last minute. Quite successful was to find….
The army I faced was Easterling based, with yet another Spider Queen. A Castellean led the main body of infantry to my right-hand objective, whilst Khamul led the Queen, a Swarm, and 6 Kata to the left-hand objective. A further swarm and ten archers in the centre meant I had to be careful the Swarm didn’t flap his way to steal my home-base. I countered the first force with Cirion leading a mass of WoMT, the archers in the centre, with Faramir’s Knights and Angbor’s elites playing a game of chicken against the mounted monsters on the left.
For the first hour, as planned, the archers took steady toll on two Kata, the majority of their archers, and through volleying took two wounds off the Spider Queen, leaving my opponent very shy of advancing him with Khamul. Once I had majority on either front, I advanced to clash! Khamul Black Darted one of my Knights, but was then swarmed by Faramir, a KoMT and Angbor. This combined assault dispelled the warrior-Wraith, yet the Queen and the Swarm began to take a toll on my infantry. The Kata were held and killed by the Swan Knights, yet a summoned broodling managed to defeat Faramir, and kill his horse! Plus, a Fate point was spent in saving an ill-fortuned fall! spiders….
Whilst this raged to my left, I felt it was time to challenge the Easterlings on my right as a man-on-man conflict! The Boldest of the Bold courage boost to Cirion was meant to be crucial on the Castellean, yet Cirion was in fact charged and killed by a Morgul Blade. A touch too bold!! However even with this Terror-inspiring unit, and a Captain also, my Warriors managed to erode away their numbers at a steady rate.
With just a few minutes left, Beregond and his Guards made a dash for the objective edge! Simultaneously, a Warrior pinned the Captain and the Castellean, as his comrades moved into combat on the objective or into contact. Simultaneously, the Queen, Swarm and Broodling were all pinned by high Courage Clansmen allowing a solitary mounted Knight, three Warriors and a Clansman to surge onto the left-hand base. Time was called before we could resolve combat. A Veteran bowman held my home-base, just as an Easterling bowman held his. On the left, due to my surge I had five models in contact or on the objective to his four! On the right, he had ten remaining and I had thrown in eleven! Minor Victory, from two hours down to the very last moments, full of suspense and heroic moments throughout! And one which took a long time to slow my pounding heart it was so close!
Result – Minor Victory – 33pts.
Game Four – I had mentioned when I took my Catapult, to please give me a highly concentrated Dol Amroth Pike Block. Thanks to UKRocky, that’s what I faced!! Rangers and Drar held his wooded home-base, whilst Murin led Knights and Rangers to the right-hand building objective. On the left, mounted Imrahil led a scatter of Fiefdom troops to the trees to the left. Mindful of the time and the previous tactics, the first 45 minutes called only for movement to ensure visibility for the artillery fire!
Much more successful, Imrahils horse was a casualty, the clustered Knights to the right saw many wounds, a few Men-at-Arms fell to the left, and UKRocky looked ever more confused at my lack of movement! The Trackers fell to his Rangers, before being avenged by large rocks falling from the sky! Realising the game could end on his break of 24 dead, and having killed 21 by artillery already, I realised the objectives must be take soon! As my Morannons advanced to the left, Imrahil proved his worth as he pinned and demolished Shagrat. Furthermore, the effect of his leadership meant the higher FVs of the Fiefdoms decimated my Morannon Orcs and the Shaman, putting the game into doubt as he became broken and the game could end…. On the Right, Murin was transfixed and wounded as I made a break for the building with only a single Ranger claiming it. Two Fiefdom troops contested my base, as did a mounted Swan Knight. The last of my Orcs were mopped up to the left, and at this moment a Major loss could have again been on the cards.
However, by trapping the mounted Swan Knight the Uruks ensure he was removed as a threat, By moving my Crew, Troll and Captain onto the hill I reclaimed the majority there, and I could move three orcs into contact with the building to the right. Just as a 1 was rolled, ending the game with 2 objectives each. A draw!
Result – Draw – 43pts.
DAY TWO
Game Five – Determined to do better, I drew my Gondorians against a Troll Chieftain, two Mordor Trolls, and a horde of Orcs led by a Captain. Equal numbers, massive strength, and this could be very close…. Deciding that nullifying the Orcs was crucial, Faramir led his Knights into charge against his Orcs. The Knights did some kills before falling victim also. Faramir lasted seven turns, always outnumbered and almost always trapped, Faramir won more than he lost. He killed nearly a dozen Orcs, distracted his captain the whole game and through Fate never lost a wound! Elsewhere, the archers through volleying managed to prevent his orc bows volleying, and also prevented the flank of the hill being overwhelmed by the trickle of Orcs by the end of the match. Against the three monsters, Cirion and several WoMT held the elevated barrier throughout. Losing a few, Cirion used his Might to defeat the Troll so that a Clansmen on the left side could let his claymore bite deep and fell the monster! Angbor use Will to charge the Chieftain and remaining Troll who had managed to ascend to the summit, winning fights when necessary and surviving other times.
On Turn ten, Priority was drawn and so the remaining monsters, my two Captains and my Warriors stumbled to the ground. A lost Heroic move meant they were trapped on the ground, as were three Swan Knights. Luckily, Cirion won his fight and Angbor’s Fate led to his survival, and none of the Swan Knights were beaten over the elevated barrier. At a count of 43 models to 21, I had secured a clear majority and thus a Minor Victory. Lesson learnt – if scary things are coming, be a lucky hero, be behind a barrier, and carry a claymore!
Result – Game Five - 74pts.
Game Six – This game I felt confident in, as a repeat performance at Domination could result in the hill being swept clean by Area Effect shots. My Morannons were to advance to the hill edge, under tree cover, and surge forth to the base, winning by outnumbering them. The opponent took Imrahil (again!), Angbor, Forlong and Denethor. Denethor was very cowardly in the beginning stages, requiring all the Will to be used and charging into one of his own Axemen. My opponent clustered his troops, causing Imrahil to lose his horse (again!!) and a few Men-at-Arms to be killed. However, from turn 4-10 the rolls to strike remained at 1 and 2, 1 and 2, 2 and 1, 1 and 2! Not helpful! However, the trackers killed a Transfixed mounted Knight, and then another Knight. The Swan Knights, despite Imrahils rule, were quickly dealt with and thus the game seemed to be tilting towards my favour.
At this point, even after trapping and transfixing Imrahil he survived and lashed out at the Mouth for the rest of the game. His Guards of the Fountain Court had ascended and descended the crest of the hill, proving stalwart defenders of the edge of the board even as I pushed forward. To prevent encirclement, his Clansmen fought against my Uruks on the left with the conflict being equally costly to both. In the closing stages, the combined wrath of Angbor and Forlong succeeded to wound a Morannon Orc….only for it to be saved by Fury! Six Rangers shot and hit an Orc Tracker, wounding him….only for him to be saved by Fury!! As turn 10 ended and the defence of the board was as stalwart as ever, I could only Heroic Combat Shagrat to ensure he ended the game on the hill, gaining a Minor Loss from a Major. Must respect those high Defence troops more, must not overestimate the Morannon, and must hit something with my Catapult!!
Result – Game Six – 75pts.
Game Seven – Tradition continued, and it was my Gondor force who took to the field against Saruman (without Grima), a core block of warriors, only six crossbows and six Warg Riders. I decided to maintain a strong infantry formation in the centre, archers in the woods and hills to the right, and use the cavalry on the left to draw the Riders and the Wizard away from the main contest. In this manner, I could whittle them with bowfire and overwhelm them with higher numbers, with Faramir’s boys dying for the greater good.
Again, bowfire was less effective, but in the course of the early game took four or five casualties off of the infantry and half of the crossbows, without taking a loss. Keeping this body of men secure and alive was crucial in winning the numbers game. Faramir and the Knights, with the assistance of a Swan Knight and Clansman, fought for much of the game against the magic of Saruman and overwhelming numbers. Whereas the Knights fell swiftly for little result, Faramir repeated his earlier performance in pinning down many of the higher value troops on the left, falling after many turns and many lucky dice rolls. Towards the centre, Angbor was often pitted against Sharku with shield, each side fighting to the brink of death and using all of the capabilities at their disposal to overcome. In the centre, Cirion led a very successful charge of Swan Knights and Warriors, dropping the infantry below break point. With Sarumans large ‘Stand Fast!’ and the higher Courage of the Uruks, this did not cause further losses. When the left flank folded, the sweeping centre could have been mauled by this new release of troops. However, Swan Knights and Warriors prevented a Phalanx breaking through the trees whilst Rangers fired past the tree line to unseat two Warg Riders.
As the final turn began, with moments left, all infantry on both sides clashed in the centre. The Sorcerous Blast of the White Wizard succeeded yet only propelled back one inch. The victim and the two behind miraculously survived! Time was called at this point, with myself at 70% surviving and my opponent 35%. All my heroes were drained of M/W/F, as were most of his including Saruman. Nine kills were required by myself to lower him to the game-winning quarter survival rate, and so with the advice of an abjudicator we called it a well-fought draw. My Gondor continued to fight well, whether their purpose was to hack at their infantry, shoot down their crossbows or just to die gloriously in the pursuit of infamy!
Result – Game Seven – 85pts.
Game Eight – This army was what my Evil force was designed against! Grey company, small in numbers yet dangerous at range. They could not cluster to volley at my Catapult from the threat of a retaliatory, Area Effect strike. Therefore, led by Aragorn and Halbarad with banner, they advanced in a loose chain. On the right, my Uruks provided line of sight to one group of Rangers from a forest. On the left, the Trackers did the same. In the centre, my Morannons provided a high defence to the majority of my units and heroes. I needed a win to achieve my objective for the weekend, to break 100pts from gaming.
The game began well for him, as a Ranger failed a climb test and died from the fall! Throughout the first hour of the match, my Catapult almost continually provided hits which killed many of the Rangers of the North, and almost toppling Halbarad. This was supported by the two remaining Trackers in the woods, who shot down three Rangers of Arnor before succumbing themselves. Meanwhile, although I lost a Morannon Orc and an Uruk, his much-vaunted shoot value and numbers were ineffective again and again and again due to Morannon shield and the Shamans Fury! With Aragorn, Halbarad and several others distracted by just two Trackers, I saw my opportunity to get greater kills as I surged from the forest and transfixed two Rangers of the North. Simultaneously, the Uruks charged in to avenge their comrade upon two Rangers of Arnor. Aragorn, perhaps recognising the danger, began to trek back to the centre…. One transfixed Ranger of the North survived with the other falling, and the same fate determined the lives of the two Rangers of Arnor on the left flank. Broken, yet with admirable courage rolls far in excess of his limited shooting, I was going to have to earn every one of the needed kills to succeed.
Worryingly, the Catapult began to miss repeatedly, and despite protection from two Orcs with shield the Captain was shot down, followed by the shield Orcs, followed by the remaining captain. My horde of warriors advanced on the remaining units, as the Mordor Troll loader shrugged off the missile fire to lend combat prowess to the proceedings. In the second to last turn, I transfixed another Ranger of the North and charged in with the Mouth and a Morannon, both supported. Calling a heroic combat he won the fight yet failed the necessary kill. Shagrat did better with his final Might, killing his opponent and moving to help the Mordor Troll. Despite the named Uruk Captain, and the hugely strong Troll….the Ranger of Arnor won and inflicted a wound on the Troll! Aragorn, predictably, slaughtered an Orc spearman.
As he gained priority, and I had no Might remaining, he assured me he was now going to flee without sustaining the last kill required for me to win. Furthermore, as ever he passed all Courage! However, my opponent misjudged the range, and so with a Transfix from the Mouth, and with the high martial prowess of Shagrat, thus the Troll Loader completed his kill-count for the weekend with three 6’s!
Result – Minor Victory, 116pts.
Final Result – 3 Minor Victories, 2 draws, a Minor Loss and 2 Major Losses.
MVP – Good – A close call, between the suicidal charges and usefulness of Faramir against Orcs, Uruks and Khamul…or the Clansman who swept away a Mordor Troll.
LVP – Good – Citadel Guards did very, very little for me all weekend. Maybe another day….
MVP – Evil – With the impressive kill count, the Troll loader meant a nearly-assured kill a turn, very influential against Grey Company and Imrahil’s horse! Also the Orc trackers who shot down several of the Grey Company, took down two Riders of the Dead, a mounted Swan Knight and survived a volley of Rangers, deserve special mention.
LVP – Evil – Until the last game I moaned about the worth of the Morannon Orcs, who I thought would be very effective but weren’t against high Defence Riders of the Dead, Guards of the Fountain Court, and so forth. On the other hand, turn after turn of expert archery thudded into their shields in the final game, so they redeemed themselves. The notoriety of LVP would have to go to the Uruks, fine models but their low defence cost them more than anything they brought to my games.
Great fun, plenty of challenges, enjoyable social aspect, balanced players in the most part and the results of all games reflected my tactics and the course of the battle. A few surprises, a few disappointments, bring on next year!