Dear Reader,
Happy Wednesday! As we crest over the top of Hump Day, I hope you find this report exciting and energizing for your day. As I mentioned in my previous post, the tournament was tied at the end of Round 1 with 2 Major Victories, 2 Draws, and 2 Major Losses, meaning that the tournament was still anyone's game. As we headed into Round 2, things got more interesting, as surprises came out and strategies were forced to change. Of all of the pairings, this set had the most frustration, as each team faced something it was not well-prepared to play against. In Round 2, the pairings were:
-Rohan v. Grey Company on Domination
-Angmoria v. Ringwraiths on Arkenstone
-Isengard v. Easterlings on Ill Met by Moonlight
Each team faced something it preferred not to fight. On Table One, the Grey Company started in the cornered section of the Domination map, keeping me from volleying for the first few turns. Rohan had restricted deployment which made maneuvering horsemen difficult.
On Table Two, Tiberius's army of five models was up against one of the largest armies in the tournament, and since the only points available for both teams required breaking an enemy army or killing the army leader, this was a lot of weight for the nazgul. On the other hand, the primarily Courage 2 army of Angmoria was facing an entire army of terror-causing casters - perfect for sniping shamans that cause a low-courage army to stay in the field.
On Table Three, Zorro's uruk-hai were up against a solid phalanx of F4 D6 warriors who could sustain a beating at the hands of an uruk force, and the Duke of Milan was squaring up against S4 crossbows with a +1 to wound, coupled with the fastest moving team in the tournament. Frustration was present everywhere in this round, and from it only a strategist could emerge.
I usually like saving my battles for last, but in the name of going by table order, I'll begin with the fight with the Grey Company.
1. Table One: Captain Glot v. Glenstorm - Domination
Unfortunately there weren't too many pictures from this fight, as it was a very interesting one to play. Eomer declared that Astiul, one of my Dunedain, would die (yeah, everyone seems to be favoring that one today), and Aragorn declared that he would outkill Eomer.
Rohan had the drop on my force by a few models, and with the terrain-based restriction on volley firing, I knew that most of the kills would have to come through melee combat (which, when you're facing a primarily S4 force that wounds most of your models on 4s, is an interesting undertaking, :P ). Turns out I was right - the majority of wounds done with archery in the whole game were on the part of the Rohan Outriders, who effectively covered the middle objective with suppressing fire.
The Rohan cav accompanied Eomer to one of the objectives for an early lead, and then stunted my relief force from taking command of the objective. On the other end (and pictured above), Aragorn's detachment slammed into the men led by Erkenbrand and Grimbold, and effectively forced the two heroes toward the center and away from the corner objective. Eomer then led a charge into the "keep" section of the map (my starting position), and after courage tests removed a few of my defenders, Rohan stood in command of the keep.
Both army leaders were alive at the end, Rohan stood in total control of 3 objectives, in majority control of 1 objective, and was unbroken, resulting in a 13-3 Major Victory over the Grey Company. Additionally, Eomer succeeded in killing Astiul, and while Aragorn racked up 5 kills in two turns of melee combat, Eomer landed 7 kills in four rounds of combat, keeping Aragorn from fulfilling his oath.
2. Table Two: Tavros v. Tiberius - Arkenstone
Okay - of all the games in the tournament, I wish I could have watched this one, as there was a lot of noise coming from this table, :) Buhrdur declared that he would fight the Undying in combat and survive, and the Undying declared that he would survive the battle to fight another day. From the get-go, the Ringwraiths proved elusive, relying on 6" infantry playing magic-shooting "keep away" from the goblin horde, and the riders charging in at weak points in the line (as you can see above).
These kills were all due to magic - and yes, that included Buhrdur, the Wild Warg Chieftain, and a shaman (top-right goblin). Unfortunately for Tiberius, he was unable to break the army before he hit 25%, so the game ended as a 5-2 Major Victory for Angmoria due to two dead army leaders (which also meant that both army leaders failed their oaths) and one army being unbroken. That being said, it is worth noting that between five casters the Ringrwaiths managed to kill a total of 20 units, including the three aforementioned heroes - not bad for five models!
3. Table Three: Zorro v. Duke of Milan - Ill Met by Moonlight
This was an interesting match-up - it only went for five turns, so it is speculation as to who would have "won" the battle (though my money is on Isengard from personal experience). Because Ill Met by Moonlight shortens all archery to 12", there were very few casualties before the ranks charged into each other, and by the end of the game, very few models had been removed. Both army leaders declared that they would live to see another day, and since both army leaders survived, both oaths were fulfilled. The result, though, was that since neither army fielded a banner and neither army was broken, the game ended as a 0-0 Draw.
At the end of Round 2, Captain Glot was in the lead with two Major Victories (a first for him - go buddy!), followed closely by Tavros and Zorro (who sported a Major Vicrtory and a Draw). In order to take the lead from Captain Glot, either Tavros or Zorro needed to win a Major Victory and complete their oaths without allowing their opponents to complete their oaths, and they required Glot to get a Major Loss against his opponent. To see how it turned out - tune back in on Thursday, as we wrap up the THRO Tournament 2013! Until then, you'll find me,
Watching the stars,
Centaur
"Sybil Trelawney may have Seen, I do not know...but she wastes her time, in the main, on the self-flattering nonsense human beings call fortune-telling. I, however, am here to explain the wisdom of centaurs, which is impersonal and impartial." ~ Firenze, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Happy Wednesday! As we crest over the top of Hump Day, I hope you find this report exciting and energizing for your day. As I mentioned in my previous post, the tournament was tied at the end of Round 1 with 2 Major Victories, 2 Draws, and 2 Major Losses, meaning that the tournament was still anyone's game. As we headed into Round 2, things got more interesting, as surprises came out and strategies were forced to change. Of all of the pairings, this set had the most frustration, as each team faced something it was not well-prepared to play against. In Round 2, the pairings were:
-Rohan v. Grey Company on Domination
-Angmoria v. Ringwraiths on Arkenstone
-Isengard v. Easterlings on Ill Met by Moonlight
Each team faced something it preferred not to fight. On Table One, the Grey Company started in the cornered section of the Domination map, keeping me from volleying for the first few turns. Rohan had restricted deployment which made maneuvering horsemen difficult.
On Table Two, Tiberius's army of five models was up against one of the largest armies in the tournament, and since the only points available for both teams required breaking an enemy army or killing the army leader, this was a lot of weight for the nazgul. On the other hand, the primarily Courage 2 army of Angmoria was facing an entire army of terror-causing casters - perfect for sniping shamans that cause a low-courage army to stay in the field.
On Table Three, Zorro's uruk-hai were up against a solid phalanx of F4 D6 warriors who could sustain a beating at the hands of an uruk force, and the Duke of Milan was squaring up against S4 crossbows with a +1 to wound, coupled with the fastest moving team in the tournament. Frustration was present everywhere in this round, and from it only a strategist could emerge.
I usually like saving my battles for last, but in the name of going by table order, I'll begin with the fight with the Grey Company.
1. Table One: Captain Glot v. Glenstorm - Domination
Rohan had the drop on my force by a few models, and with the terrain-based restriction on volley firing, I knew that most of the kills would have to come through melee combat (which, when you're facing a primarily S4 force that wounds most of your models on 4s, is an interesting undertaking, :P ). Turns out I was right - the majority of wounds done with archery in the whole game were on the part of the Rohan Outriders, who effectively covered the middle objective with suppressing fire.
The Rohan cav accompanied Eomer to one of the objectives for an early lead, and then stunted my relief force from taking command of the objective. On the other end (and pictured above), Aragorn's detachment slammed into the men led by Erkenbrand and Grimbold, and effectively forced the two heroes toward the center and away from the corner objective. Eomer then led a charge into the "keep" section of the map (my starting position), and after courage tests removed a few of my defenders, Rohan stood in command of the keep.
Both army leaders were alive at the end, Rohan stood in total control of 3 objectives, in majority control of 1 objective, and was unbroken, resulting in a 13-3 Major Victory over the Grey Company. Additionally, Eomer succeeded in killing Astiul, and while Aragorn racked up 5 kills in two turns of melee combat, Eomer landed 7 kills in four rounds of combat, keeping Aragorn from fulfilling his oath.
2. Table Two: Tavros v. Tiberius - Arkenstone
3. Table Three: Zorro v. Duke of Milan - Ill Met by Moonlight
Summary
At the end of Round 2, Captain Glot was in the lead with two Major Victories (a first for him - go buddy!), followed closely by Tavros and Zorro (who sported a Major Vicrtory and a Draw). In order to take the lead from Captain Glot, either Tavros or Zorro needed to win a Major Victory and complete their oaths without allowing their opponents to complete their oaths, and they required Glot to get a Major Loss against his opponent. To see how it turned out - tune back in on Thursday, as we wrap up the THRO Tournament 2013! Until then, you'll find me,
Watching the stars,
Centaur
"Sybil Trelawney may have Seen, I do not know...but she wastes her time, in the main, on the self-flattering nonsense human beings call fortune-telling. I, however, am here to explain the wisdom of centaurs, which is impersonal and impartial." ~ Firenze, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Finally got around to reading this - busy week. One thing I'll comment on my game with Tavros: the Wild Warg Chieftain was "killed by magic" in that he was compelled towards my riders and killed by a mounted Khamul and Witch King combo. The Ringwraiths probably could have won the game, if I hadn't been reckless with my cavalry - when Goblin shamans help you pass courage tests, you can get trapped really, really easily...and that means one round of wiffed dice and you're done.
ReplyDeleteGood to know. I was wondering how so many ringwraiths died during that match-up, since most of the list was C2 or below when within charging range.
DeleteThe Witch King and the unnamed Ringwraith were killed by Goblins near the Shaman I couldn't kill. The Undying I believe was killed the same way (can't remember). Khamul was alive and well, killing Goblin archers and keeping his Will level static and the Dwimmerlaik was killed by one-to-three Goblins each round charging him, draining him of his Will points. I should note that despite not having Might and having a single attack (vs. 2-6 attacks), the Dwimmerlaik won most of his bouts and killed ~5 Goblins in addition to dealing wounds via Black Dart to Buhrdur and the Shaman we killed.
DeleteGlad to hear - The Dwimmerlaik and Khamul are my favorite ringwraiths for exactly those reasons: the Dwimmerlaik is competent in close combat (and with a 2H, you can do sizeable damage too, especially against D6), and if you play your cards right with Khamul, you will never run out of Will with that guy. It's pretty incredible, :)
Delete