Things have been a little hectic lately so it was nice to
catch up with Andy, my regular Lord of the Rings opponent and continue our
re-education in the game. We had been planning on running a Battle Companies
Campaign (as I stated in recent posts) however the fickle finger of fate has
intervened with those interested moving on to other more interesting games
(apparently there’s a new edition of some kind of Sci-Fi game out now!!).
So it’s just Andy and I at the moment so we decided on a 600
pts breakthrough scenario to let us flex our gaming muscles.
So to set the scene we have Gandalf, Eomer’s Rohirrim and
some local militia trying to break through an Uruk reserve to rush to the aid
of the beleaguered forces at Helms Deep.
Forces
Andy - 20 Uruks with Sword and Shield, 3 with Pikes, 3
Crossbows, 2 Berserkers, Lurtz, Shaman, Captain, Battle standard. Oh and an Isengard Troll
(arghhhhh)
Me - 8 Warriors with Sword & Shield, 6 with Throwing Spears,
6 with Bows, 3 Riders with Bows, 4 with Throwing Spears, 5 with Hand weapon and
Shields, Gandalf the Grey, Eomer on Horse, Gamling on foot.
(I took Gandalf the Grey as I don’t have the white model and
I quite like him in his grey incarnation!)
Here’s the battle field with forces deployed
The scenario has a two stage deployment - half evil, half
good, half evil, half good. So I had the opportunity to sucker Andy and choose
my avenue of attack. Unfortunately Andy really didn’t have to worry as he won
the roll off to pick table sides and chose the conveniently arranged defensive
side with rocks and trees creating choke points that would funnel my forces on
to his waiting Uruks. I weighted my left flank with archers, Eomer and 6 riders
while my warriors march up the middle and right, my only hope being to time my
assault on one of the choke points so I could maximise the amount of riders and
warriors in combat. My only concern was the Troll being Andy’s mobile reserve
however that would be Gandalf’s concern!
Opening Turns
I shuffle up on the left and open fire, taking down an Uruk
and prompting Andy to move his Troll to the left in support. Eomer & Co
float around the middle with the option of assaulting either the middle or left
choke point. With Andy’s Uruks filling the spaces between it limited the number
of cavalry that could get into contact. I really need that cavalry charge bonus
to win the fights and knock the Uruks down, defence 6 is a real pain when you
only have strength 3 troops so I need all the hit dice I can get. My warriors
move up as Andy plugs the gaps. The Uruk crossbows move into position to try and
kill off my cavalry but don’t hit anything, more training required!
 |
| Weighted left flank. Can Eomer and Co break through? |
 |
| Damn crossbows and their high strength! |
 |
| Uruks in position in the centre choke point! |
First blows are
struck!
 |
| Bloody Troll! |
Gandalf decides to neutralise the Troll and knocks him down
with Sorcerous Blast taking a wound of the heavily armoured behemoth. Andy
decides to redeploy a little and moves more Uruks from the left to the centre
as it’s clear that I’m going to avoid the Troll and try my cavalry on the
infantry.
So next turn, I get priority and we’re off. On the right I
pile in with my warriors and a rider, slaying an Uruk as I charge in with a
well thrown spear. I charge Eomer in with a rider to try and punch through the
smaller of the two forces controlling the choke points however I get control
zones wrong and Andy counters by throwing in more Uruks to beat Eomer down.
They win the fight but Eomer’s high defence keeps him safe.
Last Turn (we chatted
a lot so ran out of time)
All down to this priority roll, can I win it and move my
troops in to support Eomer, dance out of range of the Troll and pick my fights
on the right near the trees?
Nope!
Andy mobs Eomer and charges with his centre force as there’s
little risk now that I can break through. Even worse in the subsequent fight
Eomer will count as trapped and Andy has blocked my unengaged troops from
supporting him. Surely my erstwhile opponent will now have his revenge on the
B****rd of the Riddermark as there’s nothing I can do to rescue Eomer is there?
In steps Gandalf and, in a repeat of his actions in the Goblin Town
scene from The Hobbit movie, sorcerous blasts an unengaged Uruk straight into
the fight with Eomer, knocking everyone down and killing one Uruk. With all the
models knocked down there is no-one left to attack Eomer (who is also lying on
the floor dazed!).
 |
| Gandalf knocks everyone flying, and saves Eomers life! |
We call it there, both of us laughing and swearing for good
measure. I had started to move some of my warriors towards Andy’s board edge
however we got caught up in the personal vendetta the Uruks have with Eomer
from previous games and both forgot the objectives. Andy then insisted we roll
for priority to see who gets up first and thus can fight the lying down models
and guess what………..I won.
Eomer leaps from ground as Gandalf shouts “take up arms,
fight!”
So the rematch is set for next week, will Gandalf, Eomer and
co make it to Helms Deep in time to relieve the defenders or will the Uruk
rearguard catch them and exact their revenge on the Horselord?
Note: Apologies for the unpainted models, I’ve had a lot on
however these are now at the front of the painting queue.
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