[Battle Report] Not One, Not Two, But Two-Ish Battle Reports! [Part 1] (Lothlórien and Survivors of Lake-Town vs. Minas Tirith and Rohan - 650 Points)
Well the time has come for me to dip my toes in some of my favored waters: writing Battle Reports! Before I get into the nitty-gritty, a few things. For one every game is very different regarding how to effectively do Battle Reports for it, at least I think so. MESBG has the challenge of a potentially high number of Turns where also very little "happens", this makes it difficult to take accurate notes. There's also less movement once the lines clash so things can look like they aren't really changing, which is boring as a reader if not handled well.
For these games I did my standard method of taking photos at the beginning of Movement and then at the end of Turns while also taking bare-bones notes on my phone. I don't think that worked out perfectly so in the future I'm going to bring my laptop for notes and also try to take smaller, more frequent photos to add some spice to the view of the action. Once I'm comfortable with what I'm getting then I'll move to doing a video per week (whenever possible).
Lastly, I write these Reports completely honestly and with the intention of improving my play. That means I point out what I see as mistakes made by myself, and my opponent. The intention is never to tear anyone down, only to improve and provide entertainment. With all that said, let's get into some games.
Lothlórien and Survivors of Lake-Town - Convenient Allies
- 2x Guard of the Galadhrim Court
- 6x Wood Elf Warriors w/ Elf Bow, Wood Elf Spear
- 10x Wood Elf Warrior w/ Wood Elf Spear
Bard the Bowman w/ Horse (Proxied as Elrond)
- 6x Lake-Town Militia w/ Axe, Bow
- 12x Lake-Town Militia w/ Axe
Hilda-Bianca (Proxied as Gandalf)
- 4x Lake-Town Militia w/ Axe, Bow
- 8x Lake-Town Militia w/ Axe
Minas Tirith and Rohan - Historical Allies
Theoden, King of Rohan (Leader)
- 3x Rohan Royal Guard w/ Horse, Throwing Spears
- 4x Rider of Rohan w/ Throwing Spears
- 8x Rider of Rohan
Aragorn, King Elessar
- 3x Rangers of Gondor w/ Spear
- 6x Warrior of Minas Tirith w/ Spear, Shield
Terrain
Scenario
For Scenarios we rolled up Assassination, Fog of War and Storm the Camp. I won the roll for first Veto and decided to kick out Storm the Camp, my opponent has a lot of Cavalry and Shooting which makes getting to the far side of the table a dicey proposition in my eyes, the Minas Tirith also make a solid defense force. I'm always fine with Fog of War as it's one of the more balanced Scenarios and for Assassination I have the downside of 24" Deployment but the upside of my Heroes being more supporty while his are more fighty, putting them at risk.
Assassination was the ban from my opponent which I agree with, he can aggressively deploy on the mid-line but there are multiple choke-points on the table which can really turn the Fights in my favor because of the larger Cavalry bases.
I was forced to choose Aragorn as my kill target, which is fine since he's actually pretty easy to bring down for my list. I chose Bard as my Hero to keep alive, a counter-intuitive choice but again in this army Bard is not a front-liner and Hilda might go down to persistent Shooting/Flanking. Lastly I chose the rocky outcrop to my right as my Terrain Piece to attack. For this game we said that the Trees would count as well but you have to be within 1" of them, looking back I don't think that's a good idea and you should probably only be able to choose Area Terrain.
Deployment
I lost the Deployment Roll but with both sides being pretty even I was okay with that. I'm still figuring out how I want to setup my army as it has a TON of models and several important aura effects, plus Bows that need to see things. Aragorn and Co. went down first on the right-flank, that pushed me to deploying on the left. If the Rohan portion goes on the left then I might be able to take care of them before Aragorn can get in range of me and if they go on the right then I can kite for a bit and try to unhorse more models.
Turn 1 - Priority: Me
Aragorn calls a Heroic March with his free Might as expected but nothing else happens, I decline to call a Heroic Channel because I'm not sure if the Cavalry are going right for me, in which case it's a waste, or if they want to skirmish a bit first.
For Movement I'm cautious due to uncertainty so I max move most of the army to claim some ground. On the right I break off a few Militia and Elves to take the building, either to intercept Minas Tirith or get around them and go for a rear and/or my called Terrain Feature. Galadriel casts Blinding Light but I'll have models out, it just protects my Elves/Heroes for now.
On the Minas Tirith side the Warriors and Aragorn move forward at their 9" pace, Aragorn isn't keen to leave them behind. The Rangers move up to the rock formation, seemingly intent on using it for Line of Sight and maybe some In The Ways, I'd hoped they'd go elsewhere. The Rohan contingent is cagey and stays WAY back, possibly fearing Bards Great Bow (he only moved 5".)
Shooting is brief but eventful as I slam three shots from Bard into Aragorn. The first went through two In The Ways, then hit Aragorn and took a point of Fate! His next shot did the same but claimed the Horse instead as Horse Lord wasn't used. I think I'd have opted for the chance only because the Horse really does add a lot to his hitting power, and might keep him away from Galadriel, but I wouldn't call it a mistake either because of the Scenario.
Turn 2 - Priority: Opponent
Seeing the Riders of Rohan staying way back it looks like we'll be shooting for a bit so I decided to call a Heroic Channel with Galadriel and get Blinding Light up permanently. That'll save me having to risk casting it Turn after Turn and also free her up to do other things like drag in any unmounted Warriors. Aragorn uses Heroic March again to move up quickly.
While the Warriors of Minas Tirith keep running at me the Rangers make Climb Tests to get on the rocks, all succeeding. All the Riders of Rohan move forward into Bow range while Theoden and the Royal Guard blaze down the extreme left flank. They can either duck behind the rocks in my Deployment Zone and go for my rear, or just crash in a few Turns from now but either way it doesn't seem like I'm going to be Charged soon. This plays into what I want as it gives me time to shoot at Horses.
During my movement I reorder my lines, pushing to the right so I can hopefully overwhelm the Minas Tirith while also setting a strong front in case the Cavalry do come in. No matter what it'll be two Turns until any of the mounted models can reach me which is a lot of valuable Shooting. Galadriel casts Blinding Light, keeping my Heroes and Elves in it, I don't mind if some of the Militia get shot at since it's still 5+/5+ to kill them, low odds. Bard stays still to maximize his Great Bow, I don't need him near the front yet so why not take the accurate shots?
Shooting goes well for me as the Rohanian arrows fly wide, same for the Rangers as their only targets are within Blinding Light range. I'm able to unseat a Royal Guard and Rider of Rohan, killing another Rider with a spent Might from Bard. In hindsight that might have been a tad aggressive but I thought it worth it to reduce the Cavalry numbers asap.
Turn 3 - Priority: Me
Knowing that I'd have at least one more Turn before any combats break out I just want to keep to my game plan of trying to remove Horses and, if I can, take Will of Aragorn as he closes in. Neither of us have Heroic Actions so I just set my line as I want and ready to meet the Minas Tirith and continue to bubble away from Rohan.
Aragorn and Co. moved up and readied to fight next Turn while the Rangers crept a bit more around the rocks to improve their Line of Sight and selection of targets. All the Riders of Rohan stayed back just to Shoot while the unmounted models hide behind a tree for In The Way. Theoden and the two mounted Royal Guard sweep down the left flank further, going for a play to my rear. Unfortunately all of this is playing into my hands, Aragorn is committing which means I can try to remove him and get Scenario points, then push up to my Terrain Feature. The longer we exchange missile attacks the more Horses I'll kill, making the Rohan part of the army relatively worthless. Lastly, Theoden is now at least two Turns out from combat which gives me plenty of time to reorganize my line and meet him head on.
Shooting goes well for me again as I remove two Rangers with my Elves, another Horse, and the on-foot Rider of Rohan. I'd have preferred to go for more Horses but my Lines of Sight for the Elves were a bit off, although it's not bad to remove models from the Terrain Feature I need to control. In return I lost a Militia to the mass fire from the Riders of Rohan, at this rate it's going to be hard to ever link the two parts of the army together as I'm flooding the center.
Turn 4 - Priority: Opponent
I expect the lines to clash this Turn but don't see any advantageous that Minas Tirith can get, so I decline any Heroic Moves. Theoden continues moving down and around with his two guards while the remaining Rohan just repositions a bit for Line of Sight or In The Way. As expected the Minas Tirith all Charge but Aragorn isn't in range, I made sure of that last Turn.
For my Movement Galadriel heads to the right and tries to Immobilize Aragorn, however I fail to cast it. Bard stays still since his Banner effect is already in range of the fights to come. Bringing my numbers to bear I throw a few more models into the left side of the Minas Tirith blob, hoping to be able to get a kill or two. My line continues to move to the right, I leave a token few models behind just to blunt Theoden should he make it around anytime soon.
This time my shots are off and I net no kills, losing one of my Militia with Bow in return. Going into the Fights things go my way and I get two kills thanks to a Trap and a lucky roll.
Turn 5 - Priority: Me
Focusing on the right-flank I re-engage the Warriors of Minas Tirith, bringing my numbers to bear where I can and also moving towards the far-side of the table, keeping away from Theoden. My hope is I can surrender my side of the table in exchange for his and come out ahead on scoring for Broken/Aragorn. Bard moves up to ready for action and Galadriel throws a three die Command at Aragorn and using a Might to get a 6, hoping to draw out some Will OR delay his arrival and bring down more Warriors. Instead, Aragorn uses two Will to Resist and rolls boxcars, getting both points of Will back! With that done I resolve to feed him a few models while I get into position, having neglected to put a Galadhrim Court Guard closer in a previous Turn.
Very little movement happens across the table as the lone Ranger is in a good position as are most of the Riders of Rohan, for using Bows at least. Theoden pulls back as the two Royal Guard advance, however they are still a ways off from doing anything to my lines. The on-foot Rohan just shuffle forward, keeping an In The Way if they can.
For Shooting I'm able to snipe a mounted Rider with Bard and unseat another, in return I take no losses. At this point I'm really not worried about the Rohan anymore, they've lost enough models that I can simply swarm them and have the higher Fight or simply play the long game with Bows after handling Minas Tirith.
Fights are inconclusive as I win most but net no kills, Aragorn calls a Heroic Combat and slays a Militia, then a Shielding Wood Elf. I expected those losses but I need to close the noose on Aragorn and now he's committed.
Turn 6 - Priority: Opponent
My plan is now to go all in on Aragorn which is not without risk. He still has full Might to win Fights with via Heroic Strike and upping his dice rolls as needed. If I land an immobilize there's no risk, at least for that Turn, but if I wait around for too long he might kill a seriously annoying amount of models via Heroic Combat. As expected, Aragorn Charges in on a Wood Elf and the remaining Warriors re-engage, each with a Spear support. The Ranger of Gondor moves up a bit and the Rohan models finally decide to get aggressive, moving up with the footmen and going 5" forward with the Cavalry. Finally, the Royal Guard are able to Charge some Militia and do so but are out of range to get buffed by Theoden.
I pull the trigger on Aragorn, moving Galadriel and throwing another three dice at Immobilize, using a Might to get a 6. Aragorn again uses two Will, he spends a Might to Resist successfully. This means he's now low on resources to resist but I'm in danger of Bard taking a loss and losing Scenario points. I decide to risk it anyways and send Bard into Aragorn along with some Militia and a Court Guard. I directly Charged Aragorn with the Court Guard hoping that if I lose that would bait out a Strike or two and spare Bard. I also charge the footed Royal Guard, Trap the footed Rider who Charged me, plus throw a ton of bodies at the mounted Royal Guard along with supporting Elves for Fight Value.
Shooting does nothing for either of us as my Lines of Sight are breaking down and many of my Bows are Engaged or Supporting. Combat starts with Aragorn where both he and Bard declare a Heroic Strike, Aragorn gets up to Fight 10 whereas I'm on Fight 8. Fortunately I win the Fight as Aragorn's dice are terrible, even with a re-roll, all said I deal two Wounds to him and strip all his Fate.
The other Fights go my way as I kill the Trapped Royal Guard and one of the mounted Royal Guard. I lose the other two Fights but take no further damage.
Turn 7 - Priority: Opponent
It's a do or die Turn for my opponent as Aragorn is at serious risk and getting to him for a rescue attempt will take several Turns at best. Theoden hides behind the rocks in my Deployment Zone as a Rider of Rohan drops down to the tree on my extreme left flank, I assume that's the called Terrain Feature. Everything that can Charge does so with most Riders of Rohan getting involved at last.
For my Movement I push a few models toward the rocks to deal with the Ranger of Gondor, or at least contest it. My "reserves" Charge the Riders of Rohan in kind, hoping to bring weight of dice and higher Fight to pick up wins and move the game towards a resolution. Galadriel uses her last point of Will for a two dice Immobilize, getting a 3 high against Aragorn's 1. This leaves my opponent in an impossible situation as he can either burn the remaining Might and Resist, leaving nothing to Heroic Strike or win a Duel, or eat it and try to hold off losing more Duels. He opts for the latter, retaining the Might.
What few usable Bows remain all fly off the mark and we go into the Fights, starting away from Aragorn. My dice get hot and I win nearly ever Fight, killing the last Royal Guard, a Horse and enough Riders to Break the combined army. We then get to Aragorn where I win again and finish him off with Bard. I also win the Fights against Minas Tirith but get no kills, with all the combats sorted we roll and the game ends.
I score 3 Points for keeping Bard alive and unharmed while my opponent scores zero for Aragorn being dead. I score a further 3 Points for killing Aragorn whereas my opponent scores zero for not wounding Hilda. Finally I score zero Points for my Terrain Feature as we each have one model on it whereas my opponent gets 3 Points for holding the tree on the far left, and I get 3 Points for Breaking the enemy and not being Broken in turn.
Final Score
9 to 3 for Lothlórien and Survivors of Lake-Town!
Post-Game Thoughts
While this game ended in a lop-sided score, as well as table state, there were a number of important turnings points and decisions made. Going back to our Army Lists I think I had a big advantage in this game as I'm equipped with the Bows to unseat some Cavalry, hobble Aragorn and eventually kill him, and prevent the opposing Shooting from doing much of anything. The only advantage I lacked was speed which I'd say wasn't a big part of how the game unfolded.
I'd have liked to see the enemy army deploy closer together, or link up faster, because as is I was able to divide the two parts and focus on one at a time. This meant that Rohan lacked a Banner when they did get into combat and that combined with my numbers and Fight Value made it extremely likely to win Fights. This allowed me to overwhelm Minas Tirith as I'd hoped/planned on and ultimately win the game.
For my side I took a big risk going into Aragorn as quickly as I did, if he won that Fight then I could have lost a lot of Victory Points via Bard. Simply surrounding Aragorn and denying him from killing more than two models while I whittle his Will down would have been safer, in the mean time Bard could probably go kill a Warrior of Minas Tirith or two. I also could have pushed up the table a little faster, I stayed put as much as possible to increase my Bow hits. My hope was that I'd see a Break coming OR that game wouldn't end right away, instead my dice got hot and I got an unexpected Break and the game ended immediately. Continuing to move would have given me a tighter battle line and possibly secured my Terrain Feature earlier.
Looking to my opponent I think there was some unfamiliarity with how to play his army, as I believe it was his first time with Rohan. Normally he plays an infantry army with the Minas Tirith elements so most everything moves at the same rate and is cohesive. Staying back for so long was the biggest reason the game played out the way it did, all of the Cavalry were completely neutered by staying away and Blinding Light. To make matters worse I had a ton of Bows and soft targets in the form of the Horses, over the course of the game I lost 2-3 models from Bows but was able to kill several more as well as some Horses.
Instead, the Cavalry probably needed to get home as quickly as possible and see what happens. The longer that was delayed the more of them I was able to at least put on the ground, significantly weakening them and making my numbers advantage even more impactful. I don't know how the game would have played out if this happened but I'd still have more Attacks overall and higher or matched Fight Values almost everywhere but it at least makes a go out of it. If that had happened my aim would be to Strike the Horses and start getting Traps anywhere I can but Cavalry Charges are nothing to ignore, especially if I lose the following Priority roll.
Everything being considered I think this was just a really uphill game for my opponent. Shooting was tilted in my favor, I'm advantaged in most every Fight and have soft targets in the Horses. My Heroes don't have to get involved to provide value while Aragorn and Theoden largely do, or at least be pretty close by. Terrain was also very helpful for me, as I mentioned there were several really good choke-points where the Cavalry would either have to come in piecemeal or delay to occupy several positions (giving me more Bow shots.) When all the supposed strengths of an army are negated it's very hard to win outside of a major mistake or winning key rolls.
Next up I take the same list against The Army of Gothmog Legendary Legion, resulting in a very different game. Take a look here if you're interested.
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