We're starting off our journey through the Helm's Deep missions and we begin with one of the most iconic moments of the Lord of the Rings trilogy: the defense of the Deeping Wall after the bombs rip an opening in it. The board was . . . not finished, so you'll be seeing mostly-primed walls and the beginnings of a "Geonosis" board as our back-drop. Also, the stairs are missing - but they don't play a big part in the battle anyway. Let's get into it!
The Deeping Wall Is Breached
The game is played on a 2'x2' board and has a 6" section of water that we didn't get finished. Still, it goes out roughly to the sections of unfinished walls, so we kind of know where it goes. The Warriors of Rohan begin with Haldir and Legolas (for my Fellowship, Dwalin) on the top sections of the walls (all Prone) and so I decided to keep my throwing spears near the gap in the wall to hurl down projectiles at the models trudging through the water. Haldir also started near the gap to rain down deadly arrows from above, while my four bowmen started with a clear view of the interior of the walls (but not a view at those still coming onto the board. My shield guys and Dwalin started near the stairs in order to help keep the Uruks hemmed in - we'll see how much they do.
Gimli/Gloin started at the edge of the water area and Aragorn/Nori started Prone in the center of the board. With 12 Galadhrim coming on from the back 2" of the board, I knew my plan with them was simple: if there's no Heroic Move called on the first turn (which would push 10 Uruk-Hai Warriors and 2 Berserkers with a Captain up the field), we have Gloin join Nori near the center of the board and push the Galadhrim to aid them quickly - no point in risking an overwhelm on the first turn. I'd need to leave a firing lane for my Galadhrim bowmen (who would not be starting on the walls), but other than that, I think the plan is solid: keep my heroes together, have Galadhrim to distribute the enemy attacks, and try to survive for 10 turns.
Scoring in this scenario is interesting: there are 7 VPs up for grabs and each hero that is alive gives 1 VP to the Forces of Good (4 VPs total) and each dead hero gives 1 VP to the Forces of Evil (again, 4 VPs total). There's also 1 VP up for grabs if the Forces of Good lose 14 models (since I start with 28 models, this is basically "if we're broken" - though one model short of what we'd actually need to be broken) and 2 VPs if there are more Uruk-Hai outside the water and inside Helm's Deep than there are defenders (far more likely to happen if I'm broken than if I'm not). My thought is that I can win the game if I can just keep all four heroes alive - I can lose everyone else and I can still win if all the heroes survive. Feeling pretty good about Haldir surviving if he's on the wall, we'll see if my champs can do their thing and "just kill stuff".
Just for fun, I decided to keep track of kills for both Dwalin and Gloin this game, even though neither has a rule that makes them better for doing so - but it proved to be very informative for me (and will hopefully be interesting for you). Okay, let's get into it!
No Heroic Move was called, so Gloin dropped back, Nori stood up and moved 2.5" towards him, and my Galadhrim advanced. My guys on the wall all stood up, but otherwise stood still (so they'll get a -1 penalty to their shooting rolls, but they can all shoot). During the Evil turn, 6 new pikes arrived (figures).
In the Shoot Phase, one of my throwing spears killed a pikeman - it's a start! Dwalin didn't kill anyone with his bow because he didn't have any good targets to hit - gotta get that guy in melee soon . . . if only there was a special rule I could use . . .
Turn 2: Priority Good
With priority going to us, I charged both Nori and Gloin into the frey, with the Galadhrim and some of the Rohan chaps pushing up quickly to support. The Uruks responded, engaging my heroes and some of my warriors and bringing on 5 new Uruks (2 berserkers, 2 pikes, 1 shield). The shot above was taken after the Shoot Phase started - see Dwalin on the ground? That's because . . .
Dwalin did his shield slide thing in the Shoot Phase, killing one more Uruk-Hai (and getting him in position to kill stuff next turn in melee . . . which is by far and away the better place for him to be in, right?).
The rest of my archers killed a pike and a shield, while Haldir got a wound off a Captain (1/3M), who failed his Fate save (1/1F, 1/2H) - 5 total wounds dealt so far with archery! Solid start before we begin the Combat phase, guys!
In the Fight Phase, I decided not to call Heroic Combats and "just killed things." Nori killed a shield guy, Gloin used Piercing Strike to kill a Berserker (wounding on 3s and rerolling 1s is BRUTAL with this guy!). Some of my Warriors of Rohan lost to two pikemen but didn't die.
Kill count: Dwalin/Legolas 1, Gloin/Gimli 1.
Turn 3: Priority tied, goes to Evil
With priority going to Evil, I decided to let Evil go first and just respond (since I figured I needed the Might on-hand to win a botched fight). There were 6 new Uruks that arrived (2 berserkers, 2 pikes, 2 shields) and then I slammed into the enemy with my Galadhrim that were left unengaged. Nothing of interest happened in the Shoot Phase.
In the Fight Phase, Dwalin (1/3M) and two Captains (1/2M each) call Heroic Combats - Dwalin kills his guy (with help from a Warrior of Rohan).
The wounded captain loses his Combat and dies (well, yeah, that happens sometimes).
The other captain wins, kills two Warriors of Rohan, and moves on to engage a Galadhrim spearman.
In the rest of the Fight Phase, the Captain who combatted lost after boosting to get a roll-off (2/2M), but was unwounded. The other Captain lost and suffered a wound - but boosted a Fate roll to avoid taking the damage (1/2M, 1/1F). Dwalin won his fight handily, but as you can see on the blue dice failed to get higher than a 3+ when he needed a 4+. Gloin killed two Berserkers, Nori killed his guy, and my Elves were left intact.
Kill count: Dwalin/Legolas 2, Gloin/Gimli 3.
Turn 4: Priority Good
A Heroic Move was called by the Captain who still has Might (no more Might for evil) and with me not contesting the move, the Uruks engaged my guys hard and brought on 3 new berserkers (lowest possible number of models). I countered, bringing most of my Elf bowmen to aid in fights.
In the Shoot Phase, Haldir killed a berserker - got a natural 6 To Wound too!
The rest of my archers killed 2 pikes (one pictured above, the other was on the right - pretty sure one was killed by a throwing spear and one was killed by a bow), bringing our total archery wounds to 8 so far!
In the Fight Phase, Gloin called a Heroic Combat (1/3M) and killed his berserker, charging into two other guys near Dwalin (not taking anyone out of his fight, but making NEXT turn much better . . . hopefully).
In what I can only say was one of the worst bits of luck, Dwalin got a 4-high on his dueling roll, so I burned the rest of his Might to win and not be trapped (because that many dice looking for two 6s were going to kill him, 3/3M). He then proceeded to make me mad by AGAIN only getting a 3-high on his wounding dice, so he has (once again) killed no one this round. Gloin faired much better, killing both of his guys. As you can see, Nori killed a guy and my Elves killed a guy, but it was mostly just pushing people back for this round.
Kill count: Dwalin/Legolas 2, Gloin/Gimli 5.
Turn 5: Priority Evil
No group shot - you know me, occasionally I forget these - but Evil engaged my guys where they could and brought on 8 new Uruks (4 berserkers, 4 pikes - maximum reinforcement roll this time).
In response, my archery killed 2 pikes, bringing us to 10 wounds so far from archery!
The Fight Phase was rough for everyone, but I'm happy to say that Dwalin redeemed himself and killed all three of the guys he was fighting (two of which were Berserkers). Not to be outdone, Gloin killed two more guys (a Berserker and a shield guy), Nori killed a Berserker, and we lost 1 Elf.
Kill count: Dwalin/Legolas 5, Gloin/Gimli 7. Looks like Gloin isn't going to run-away with it after all . . .
Turn 6: Priority Good
I decided to be hyper-aggressive with Gloin and Dwalin (this has TOTALLY not bit me in the rear in the past) and they charged the Uruks coming through the gap. I did this for two reasons: first, it would clog up the Uruk-Hai reinforcements, forcing them to spend most of next turn just slogging through the water and giving my archers time to whittle down their numbers, but also because my Elves greatly outnumbered the Uruks elsewhere - and with Nori to help them out, I hoped to be able to crush most of what was left in the Deeping Wall and get ahead on the scoring for how-many-guys-are-inside. With no Might on Dwalin, this was a risk for sure, but I hoped it would pay off. When Evil got to go, there were 7 new Uruks (4 berserkers, 2 pikes, 1 shield) - all of which had to deploy in the back 2" of the board.
In the Shoot Phase, Haldir sniped two of the new pikes (2/3M) - excellent (12 wounds so far with archery - sticking with the average of 2 wounds/round)!
In the Fight Phase, my gambit paid off and both Dwalin and Gloin won their fights. And they DECIMATED the front lines, killing 3 Berserkers between them. Dwalin was a bit of a let-down again, but he didn't lose! Elsewhere, I lost 2 Elves but killed most of the Uruks (only 7 left inside the fortress at this point).
If you look very closely at the top of the map, you'll see that Centaur's Fantasy Fellowship decided to watch courtesy of one of my sons . . . yeah, that's how we roll here at TMAT. Also, kudos if you noticed another member of Centaur's Fellowship in a previous photo. :)
Kill count: Dwalin/Legolas 6, Gloin/Gimli 9.
Turn 7: Priority Good
With Priority once again in my hand, I pulled both Gloin and Dwalin back 2.5" through the water and let the Uruks come up a bit. I also got as many double-ups as I could, hoping to kill off the remaining Uruks sitting inside the fortress. When Evil got to go, 5 new Uruks showed up (3 pikes, 2 berserkers).
Haldir and the archers kill 2 more pikes (3/3M - pretty happy with my use of Might on Haldir today!), getting us up to 14 wounds with archery this game!
In the Fight Phase, Nori beat the unwounded Uruk-Hai Captain and using his shiny dagger that Galadriel gave him, his single Wound turned into 2 Wounds, killing the Captain! As you can see, we killed a few more Uruks and lost 1 Elf in return.
Kill count: Dwalin/Legolas 6, Gloin/Gimli 9.
Turn 8: Priority Good
No group shot again, but we surrounded who we could, brought our heroes together in a line, and braced for impact. 6 new Uruks arrived (1 berserker, 1 shield, 4 pikes).
Our archery didn't do as much this round, but did kill one more pike (who was set to fight Gloin).
Gloin won his fight and killed a Berserker, Nori won his fight but couldn't wound the Berseker he was fighting, and Dwalin lost his fight but didn't suffer any damage (thank goodness). Elsewhere, 6 Elves finished off the last remaining Uruk-Hai Captain and we killed a pikeman. Things are looking pretty good with only two rounds left!
Kill count: Dwalin/Legolas 6, Gloin/Gimli 10.
Turn 9: Priority tied, goes to Evil
I don't have written down how many new Uruks arrived, but I think it was five (there are five in the gap)? I responded and engaged as well as I could. Nothing of interest happened in the Shoot Phase.
In the Fight Phase, Nori killed a Berserker (2/2M), Gloin killed a Berserker, and Dwalin lost again (suffering no damage). My Elves lost a guy but also managed to kill a Berseker - once again, things are looking pretty good!
Kill count: Dwalin/Legolas 6, Gloin/Gimli 11. I take it back, Gloin is running away with this . . .
Turn 10: Priority Evil
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| Wait, what are those white spectres on the side . . . |
As we started the last turn, a BUNCH of Uruks surged towards scoring range. With my heroes on the ground mostly out of Might, my plan was simple: just keep our three heroes alive and we win the game. I don't really care if we lose 2 VPs for having more Uruks inside - just keep the heroes alive!
And our shooting came in clutch yet again, with 3 Uruk-Hai pikemen who would have supported in some very critical fights getting killed. Yeah guys - 18 wounds this game!
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| Oh look - Echo Base Troopers . . . yeah, we were basically done, so the board was "being shared" by my wonderful sons. :) #OnlyAtTMAT |
In the Fight Phase, oh Dwalin . . . botching his fight badly, needing two 6s on three dice to die and lo and behold, the Uruks get double-6s and he goes down . . . really, man? Gloin and Nori both killed their guys and the last Warrior of Rohan fell. While I'm a bit peeved with Dwalin, the game was over and we tallied up the scores.
Conclusion
Here's how the scoring worked out:
- 3 heroes lived (3VPs to Good), 1 hero died (1VP to Evil)
- 7 Uruk-Hai were inside the walls vs. 9 Elves/Dwarves (2VPs to Good)
- There were 10 dead Good models, so Good had 18 models alive (1VP to Good)
- End Result: 6-1 Victory for Good!
I was placed in an awkward situation: I want Dwalin to get his stats back, but he easily did the worst overall. Nori was fine and only needs to regain two Might points and one Fate point. Gloin needs to recover the same things as Nori and was easily the biggest contributor to the team's success, but he won't be in the next mission and frankly can probably do without the boost the most. Nori was okay, doing his thing and basically killing 1 model/turn, so I probably SHOULD have given Bravest Companion to Gloin, but I decided that the entire game I had placed Dwalin in a rough spot . . . so for both strategic reasons and for justifiable reasons, I gave Dwalin my Bravest Companion.
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| Photo Credit: Yarn |
During the recovery, I rolled a 1 for Dwalin's recovery roll (becomes a 2 thanks to the win - getting 1 Wound back) and because he was selected as Bravest Companion, he got to roll for his recovery and got a 4 (3 Might, 1 Wound), Gloin got a 2 (+1 Might), and Nori got a 5 (+2 Might). That puts us thusly for the next mission (Ride Out) where Gloin won't participate:
Well, that was a fun scenario, though perhaps the way I played it made it incredibly hard for Evil to win. Still, it's scenario play and I think both Centaur and I were okay with that. When Centaur played it later, Elrohir went down, but everyone else was fine - he won 5-2 (Elrohir died, Good was "broken"). Next time, we'll see if 8 Good Cavalry models can beat up 23 Uruk-Hai Infantry in a kill-all-the-other-guys mission. Hope to see you there - until then, happy hobbying!
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