[Battle Report] Wednesday Night Fight! - Lothlórien & Survivors of Lake-Town VS The Riders of Theoden (750 Points)

Back again and hopefully sticking to a play schedule now that the holidays have partially passed, it's MESBG time! For this game I'm playing against Nick and his Riders of Theoden Legendary Legion. Nick and I have been pals for quite some time but haven't played each other in MESBG yet (well, except for a learning game a long time ago that's best left undetailed) and he's also packing a fairly competitive army. Going against Rohan, and in particular this Legion, has been on my To Do List for awhile since I need to know if my lines can handle so many Cavalry Heroes. Let's see how it went.

Lothlórien and Survivors of Lake-Town - Convenient Allies

Galadriel (Leader)

• 8x Guard of the Galadhrim Court
• 6x Wood Elf Warriors w/ Elf Bow, Wood Elf Spear
• 4x Wood Elf Warrior w/ Wood Elf Spear

Bard the Bowman w/ Horse

• 6x Lake-Town Militia w/ Axe
• 12x Lake-Town Militia w/ Axe, Bow
  

Lake-Town Militia Captain

• 9x Lake-Town Militia w/ Axe

Lake-Town Militia Captain

• 9x Lake-Town Militia w/ Axe

Once again I'm taking my same-ish list although I have moved all of the Bows into Bard's Warband. This is just to help with Deployment and isn't really a big army change, essentially my Captains are now freed up as more of a flanking force and don't have to worry about tag-along Bows and I can instead set the front line with all my Bows.

The Riders of Theoden - Legendary Legion

Theoden, King of Rohan w/ Armored Horse, Heavy Armor, Shield

• 5x Rider of Rohan w/ Throwing Spears
• 5x Rohan Royal Guard w/ Horses, Throwing Spears
  

Eomer, Marshal of the Riddermark w/ Armored Horse, Shield, Throwing Spears

• 5x Rider of Rohan w/ Throwing Spears
  

Deorwine w/ Horse

Dernhelm w/ Horse

Gamling w/ Horse and the Royal Standard of Rohan

Scenario

For our Pool we rolled: Breakthrough, To The Death! and Clash By Moonlight. Winning the roll for first ban I thought Clash By Moonlight would be the option Nick wants as it cuts down on some of my shooting opportunities but does make them more damaging. Breakthrough is what I chose to ban after some consideration, mostly because I'd have to cede a lot of ground to the Cavalry in exchange for some shooting and then may struggle to get back to the Objectives before ending the game. Nick removed To The Death! and we ended up playing Clash By Moonlight which I think ended up being a good Scenario for both armies.

Terrain & Deployment

Nick won the roll for sides and took the one with a little less clutter. We played the pool in the center as Shallow Water, normal Forests, normal Fence, and said that for the big openings in the ruins that Cavalry could fit through them, which I thought seemed fair. Theoden and his big Warband went down first, mostly in the center but slightly to my right. I took a look at a few options but decided to deploy in the center with Bard, which I'll touch on in just a moment. Eomer and his smaller Warband went on the center-left, meaning I know where pretty much everything will be. Galadriel went down in the center as well and both my Captains went far to the right as the remaining Rohan Heroes interspersed among the lines.

 

I want to talk a bit more about Deployment than normal here as several crucial things have already happened in the game. For one Nick took the side without the more defensible Forest, probably because he wanted a clearer lane to move his army (I did not ask, I'm assuming). Unfortunately that gives me the Forest which can severely blunt Cavalry Charges and there are no Objectives for me to worry about getting onto. When actually Deploying I considered dropping the bulk of my army into that very Forest but decided not to, my fear was that I can't put all of my army into it and should I bunch up that much it's really going to hurt when the Heroes slam home and start taking my movement options away.

 

The last point is a subtle misplay by Nick and not using his Warbands to the fullest. I actually don't mind having lots of "empty" Warbands in this list since even in Maelstrom the Heroes are either fast or can use Might to get out of bad situations. These lone Heroes can provide quite a Deployment advantage since dropping them will give you lots of information on where your opponent is going, invaluable for a Cavalry army that loves nothing more than to divide and conquer.

 

Turn 1 Priority - Me

After no Heroic Actions from Nick I considered a Heroic March with one of my Captains, having deployed specifically so I'd have that option. I decided against it after some measuring, having plenty of time to get my lines set before Rohan crashed upon them. Instead I start sending my Captains and Co. to the center, mostly skirting the Forest, and also push my main line to join up with them. Since I can't get any Shooting done on Turn 1 anyways I might as well set myself up.

On my left some of the Militia creep up, I often like to try and bait a few Charges from Cavalry only to then counter-Charge and snag a couple easy kills, if it doesn't work I just pull back next turn. Turning to Rohan most everything galloped forward the full distance and staying near the Shallow Water, which is to their advantage as I'm mostly unmounted. With that we move onto the next turn.

Turn 2 Priority - Opponent

Once again neither of us opts for Heroic Actions, Nick considered a March but didn't pull the trigger. I think the Heroic March had merit since it prevents me from backing up 3" and getting two rounds of shooting in. In fairness I didn't measure that out so it might not have been needed, I was just eye-balling the table.

Instead all the Cavalry pushed forward but were careful to stay outside of 6" anywhere, denying me cheeky Charges. In some places models could have moved up a bit further to get some shooting done but opted not to.

I mostly stayed in formation, pulling back my bait models on the left flank and setting the right flank. My worry is that if Nick goes hard on my right flank I'll be without Elves and Bard, however only a few models can get in and it would be a risky maneuver overall. With Nick staying a bit further away than necessary I did still have the option to back up 3" and shoot but decided against it. I wanted to see how much of a punch I can take from this so knowledge is of more value than winning. I do cast Blinding Light with Galadriel just for fun.

 

My shooting is mostly good as I net four kills and a Royal Guard's Horse (three Riders and one Royal Guard). I did have to expend a Might to Hit with Bard on his first shot, normally I don't do that but the name of the game is killing Horses and his up to three shots is too valuable to ignore.

Turn 3 Priority - Me

It's go time and Theoden calls a Heroic Move, otherwise I can back off as previously discussed. Winning Priority effectively "gained" me a Might, neat! Here I make a mistake in not calling a Heroic Move with Galadriel, not because I want to move back but so I can cast Blinding Light again and fend off some of the Throwing Spear damage. Since it's important for me to blunt these Charges and preserve my ranks that was probably worth doing.

Hooves beat out a steady rhythm as the Rohanian Charges mostly hit home. One Royal Guard, along with the on-foot one, and most of the Riders of Rohan don't make it in and Gamling decides to support. One of the Throwing Spears hit home so I scrape by there, just poor dice from Nick. This allows me to get a lot of models into the Fights,  I have four on one's in almost every instance. Moving Bard to deal with the Riders on my left would have been nice but I need his Banner effect, or so I think. Galadriel casts Immobilize on a Rider that I only have two models fighting, I wanted to drain some Heroes of Will but there are too many so I opted for something safer.

Looking at the table Bard does have some shots since there are roaming Cavalry right in front of him. This leads to me pulling a Fate off Dernhelm in exchange for a Might on Bard, a poor trade. I'd hoped to get his Horse but it didn't go my way, perhaps too greedy on my part.

Theoden calls Death with everyone but Eomer calling a Heroic Strike thanks to my Court Guard and their Fight 6. In our Fights I kill a Rider of Rohan but win all the combats against non-Heroes, just couldn't get anything done. Eomer wins and kills two Militia, Theoden does the same, and Deorwine kills a massive three, oof! I already see what I've done wrong but now I need to salvage things as best I can.

Turn 4 Priority - Opponent

With Priority lost I call a Heroic Move with Galadriel and one of my Captains, Theoden calls in return. Unfortunately the roll off goes against me so the Cavalry will Charge again although my move with the Captain and Galadriel will allow me to Charge the Riders on the flanks. Most everything just slams into me again that is able to and I have Elves in Fights in several places, not ideal. I skate by on the Throwing Spears again, I guess it makes up for all the Heroes rolling 6's in their Duels!

My moves are fairly simple: if there's an unengaged Cavalry model it gets Charged and otherwise I try to reinforce my Elves where I can. Galadriel throws four dice at an Immobilize for Deorwine, Might'ing to a 6, but he Resists on a single dice natural 6, ugh. Now not only is he still running amuck but he has Will left AND I didn't even steal any Might for my efforts. Bard Charges Theoden but only has a single Might left so I'm going to need to put him down this turn, fortunately that's very doable.

Combat is all over the place as Bard and every Hero except Gamling (who isn't in a Fight) call Heroic Strike. Bard and Theoden tie but I win the roll off and kill him, a huge swing in my favor. Eomer kills two Court Guard but uses a Might to do so, Dernhelm kills two Militia and a Wood Elf, and I'm able to kill two Riders and a Royal Guard. While I still suffered a bunch of casualties I'm feeling good about the game now, keeping Galadriel safe should lead to a win if I can manage it.

Turn 5 Priority - Me

Nice to win Priority and force some Might from Rohan, while they do have a lot I need to drain them to stop Heroic Strikes. Galadriel and Deorwine call off but I lose again, enabling yet another Cavalary Charge and costing me a Militia from Throwing Spears. I run back my Immobilize attempt, with three dice, but the exact same thing happens as Deorwine is simply immune to my petty magics. Bard also Charges Deorwine, I'm out of Might but Bard is rapidly becoming less useful so I'd prefer to burn his Fate over lose more models.

To start Combat all the Rohan Heroes call Heroic Strike although Gamling has yet to get involved and he's the only Might left on the table for Rohan. Bard loses his Combat but only eats a Fate thankfully, against the other Heroes I continue to bleed models. For my part I'm only able to put down another Rider but this does Break Nick's army.

Turn 6 Priority - Me

Being out of Might only Gamling can call a Heroic Move but he will only get Dernhelm and Deorwine in it. None of the Heroes can make it to Gamling as I was able to put Militia between him and the front line in Turn 5 (sorry I forgot to take a picture!) so no Might can be regained except by Eomer but at the cost of him doing almost anything else this turn. With all that, no Heroics are called.

Charges fire off everywhere to prevent any Throwing Spears/Extra Attacks and I'm advantaged in every Fight thanks to my remaining Court Guard. This finally takes the wind out of Rohan and I put everyone but Gamling, Eomer, and two Riders to the sword. This means Nick is Quartered and the game ends.

Final Score

10-1 for Lothlórien & Survivors of Lake-Town!

 

 

Post Game Thoughts

While this game had some sloppy play it was my first time against this army and Nick's first time playing it (although not his first game with Rohan) so I think that's to be expected. First let's have a look at the Rohan army, I will say I am mostly fine with it. I would swap out five Riders of Rohan for five more Royal Guard, that seems to be only +5pts which Nick had available. The Fight 4 on them seems necessary for winning as many combats as you can, quickly, and they still bring Throwing Spears to the party.

Heroes are likely more contentious but let me see about a quick breakdown here. Theoden you have to take and being your Leader you want him with all his gear, done. Eomer is a full Hero which the army can struggle with but he's not Fight 6, his rule is however decent. Deorwine seems very nice with his continual free Heroic Combats, a bit awkward along with Death! but it's fine, also he's Defense 7 which is clutch. Dernhelm seems.....good? The additional Might/Will from Merry is nice and she does have 3 Attacks but Defense 5 is scary. Finally I love Gamling as he enables an otherwise impossible playstyle of never-ending Heroic March while using Throwing Spears, very nice into some matchups.

The main issue seems to be how many non-Heroes you want to run vs. how many Heroes. Nick and I talked that over, just spitballing, and I like his balance. Having a ton of Heroes is too all in and makes their Horses very vulnerable (yes, even with Horse Lord). Taking Warriors allows you In The Ways to your Heroes on the approach, gives you bodies for Objectives, and Riders can cheat up to Strength 5 on the Charge which is crazy good against Monsters and the like. I'd really only swap out the Riders for Royal Guard just to get +Fight, Defense, and Bodyguard.

Alright, moving to the game itself. My major mistake was feeding the Heroes way too many models while they still had Might, costing me most of my casualties. Instead I need to feed as few models as possible into the Heroes while still keeping an Elf involved to guard against pivoting to Heroic Combat instead. With that change of tactics the Heroes either have to call Heroic Strike to win OR risk tying Fight Values and losing which would ruin any Heroic Combat they'd called. If the Heroic Combat is called and I lose then the Hero slams into my Elf, who Shields and prays, but otherwise I've only lost two models for a significant resource. Once the Might is drained then they're easy pickings.

Misplaying Galadriel is something else that sticks out in my mind. I think a Channeled Blinding Light is worth it in this matchup because of the repeat action on the Throwing Spears, that just slipped my mind early on. From there I should focus on sapping the minor Heroes of Will and using Immobilize to bring them down or neuter them. I did pivot to that once I realized it, Nick just crushed the Resist rolls. Also I shouldn't throw more than three dice at the Spell, it just feels like too many.

As mentioned during play, I declined taking another turn of shooting which would probably have locked the game up. Heroic March is great there as even if the Rohan army lines up 6.1" away from me I can walk back 4.5" and be 10.6" away, although that assumes the Rohan Player doesn't Heroic Move, a niche tactic. Moving forward I think I'd focus on Heroes without Armored Horses as well as normal Warriors, although Warriors feels good. Stranding a Hero is great but either outcome is fine against a Warrior whereas a Wound does me no real good. Also limiting the numbers in an already elite army is usually a good idea.

Looking at things from Nick's side of the table I think he struggled to position himself in such a way that he could get as near as he could to Charging with everything. That is difficult but also seems like a necessary learning point for the army, staying out of combat against an army with a reasonable amount of Bows is unlikely to go well so taking even a Turn to address your line can be costly. I'm sure with time and more games played that will become a lot easier.

The only other issue I can recall/see is keeping Gamling out of combat for so long while also not using his Might. He also could have been closer to the front, ideally in base contact with someone to start handing out Might as soon as possible, against an army with less models (so nearly all of them) those extra, continual Heroic Combats or Strikes can easily win a game.

That's all I have for this game, it was an enjoyable one and I learned a lot. I sat down this week and wrote out some thoughts about how I should play my particular army into every Scenario, how to ban, how to deploy, etc. and that paid off a bit in this game as it was more in my mind than normal. Steady improvement on the road to LVO, that's what it's all about.