This game will be the first game between the Fellowship and my Goblin army. This game is not going to be an even points battle because of the way the scenario is set up. The Fellowship will have the equipment they had during the traditional fight in Moria. Before we see what the scenario is, let's look at the forces in this battle.
Fellowship of the Ring: 785 points
Aragorn/Strider with bow - 180 points
Gandalf the Grey - 170 points
Gandalf the Grey - 170 points
Boromir of Gondor - 105 points
Legolas, Prince of Mirkwood - 90 points
Gimli, Son of Gloin - 90 points
Frodo Baggins with Sting and mithril mail - 100 points
Samwise Gamgee - 30 points
Meriadoc Brandybuck - 10 points
Peregrin Took - 10 points
Legolas, Prince of Mirkwood - 90 points
Gimli, Son of Gloin - 90 points
Frodo Baggins with Sting and mithril mail - 100 points
Samwise Gamgee - 30 points
Meriadoc Brandybuck - 10 points
Peregrin Took - 10 points
9 units, 2 bows + 1 thrown weapon, 9 heroes
The Denizens of Moria: 235 points
Cave Troll with troll chain - 85 points
10 Goblin Warriors with shields - 50 points
10 Goblin Warriors with spears - 50 points
10 Goblin Warrior with Orc bows- 50 points
10 Goblin Warriors with spears - 50 points
10 Goblin Warrior with Orc bows- 50 points
31 units, 10 Orc bows + 1 thrown weapon, 0 heroes
The scenario we will be playing the "Wrong Turn" scenario on a board that is 48" x 48". The Fellowship is set up within 4" of the center of the southern board edge. No evil models are placed on the board, but there are four zones that the board is divided into. Zone 1 is the northern board edge. Zones 2 and 3 are the East and West board edges, respectively. Zone 4 is the southern board edge. After the Fellowship has set up, the Goblin player rolls a dice: on the roll of a 1-4, up to 10 units are placed in Zone 1. On a 5, up to 10 units may be placed in either Zone 2 or Zone 3. On the roll of a 6, up to 10 units may be placed in Zone 4. These units may move, shoot, and charge as normal when they arrive.
At the beginning of each Goblin Move phase, roll a dice as laid out above, but on a 1-3, up to 10 units may be placed in Zone 1. On a 4, up to 10 units are placed in Zone 2. On a 5, up to 10 units are placed in Zone 3, and on a 6, up to 10 units are placed in Zone 4. Starting on Turn 4, units who have been slain in combat may be brought back to represent the tide of Goblins in Moria. During Turn 3, however, only 1 unit will be placed.
At the beginning of each Goblin Move phase, roll a dice as laid out above, but on a 1-3, up to 10 units may be placed in Zone 1. On a 4, up to 10 units are placed in Zone 2. On a 5, up to 10 units are placed in Zone 3, and on a 6, up to 10 units are placed in Zone 4. Starting on Turn 4, units who have been slain in combat may be brought back to represent the tide of Goblins in Moria. During Turn 3, however, only 1 unit will be placed.
Turn 1: Ambushed! (Priority - Goblins)
Turn 2: A New Tide (P - tied, Fellowship)
Gandalf casts Terrifying Aura and now instills fear in the Goblins. 10 more Goblins arrive to the right of my army and I'm hoping Boromir, Gimli, and later Aragorn can sneak past the Goblins. |
Turn 3: The Ground Shakes (P - Goblins)
Turn 4: Clearing The Camp (P - Goblins)
Turn 5: The Trap Closes (P - Goblins)
Turn 6: The Waves Hit (P - Fellowship)
Turn 7: Flee! (P - tied, Fellowship)
With this won priority, the Fellowship wins: the three heroes out front cross the line, indicated by the terrain pieces... |
Conclusion:
Assessment by Gaius:
Well, that was close. The three archers on the left should probably have charged into Gandalf and Merry instead of pursuing the heroes with their bows, but I wasn't getting any use out of the archers and I wanted a shot at that (pun DEFINITELY intended). Besides that, it would have been better to have gotten some units approaching from the left board edge, but that just didn't happen. I had a chance to kill Sam and I didn't get it and I had several chances to kill Merry (which also didn't happen). If these had opened up as opportunities, the additional Goblins could probably have killed either Legolas or Gandalf, ending the game with a Goblin victory. My hat off to Sam and Merry for staying alive and saving their team.
Assessment by Tiberius:
I really enjoyed that game. I didn't get the typical game play that I get with Gimli, Boromir, and Aragorn (after Turn 2 at any rate), but it was still fun. Gandalf and Legolas are great anchors for keeping a team alive if you can limit the number of attackers they have and so I was pleased that they aided in keeping the hobbits alive. By far the best moment was seeing the 6 on the dice when the Troll arrived, though closely followed by seeing Sam roll a 6 to beat the four Goblins he fought (then rolling a 6 to wound one of them). Great game overall and I'm psyched about the next game against the Goblins.
Stellar unit for the Fellowship: Legolas, Prince of Mirkwood
I don't give Legolas the credit he deserves very much, but Legolas truly is a stellar hero. For under 100 points (unless he has an Elven cloak), he is a superb archer and a skilled fighter. When he is not trapped by enemies, he can be very deadly and wounds everyone with Defense 6 or less on a 5+, ensuring that in a close fight one of his foes is going to fall. Today, he dealt the blows needed to win the fight against the Troll and deal 3 wounds, as well as killing 5 Goblins, two at range. An honorable mention goes to Sam who nearly killed his weight in points of units and succeeded in winning three fights on the roll of a 6, including one against 4 opponents (the worst fight of the day). We pay you the homage you're due, Samwise Gamgee.
Stellar unit for the Goblins: Goblin Warrior with Spear
Spearmen in these games don't get awards very often because they tend to support their friends and often aren't as tough as their comrades (mostly because we don't want to pay the points to make them as tough). Their usefulness against the Fellowship cannot go unstated though (or against any great hero). Since the spear unit cannot be killed in the melee battle, he is able to contribute to the fight without risking his neck against a stellar hero. This is particularly useful when fighting a hero like Boromir, who benefits from being outnumbered by his foes: two attack dice without needing to roll for a courage test is very, very nice. In this case, a Goblin with spear not only scored the only kill of the game for the Goblins, but also survived for two more rounds against Merry and Gandalf. Pretty good, guy, pretty good.
Spearmen in these games don't get awards very often because they tend to support their friends and often aren't as tough as their comrades (mostly because we don't want to pay the points to make them as tough). Their usefulness against the Fellowship cannot go unstated though (or against any great hero). Since the spear unit cannot be killed in the melee battle, he is able to contribute to the fight without risking his neck against a stellar hero. This is particularly useful when fighting a hero like Boromir, who benefits from being outnumbered by his foes: two attack dice without needing to roll for a courage test is very, very nice. In this case, a Goblin with spear not only scored the only kill of the game for the Goblins, but also survived for two more rounds against Merry and Gandalf. Pretty good, guy, pretty good.
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