WOTR: Battle Report - Osgiliath Battlehost v Mordor

"The Time of Man is Over...  

           ...The age of the Orc has begun!"

Gothmog - Lieutenant of Mordor

After last weeks close battle, Craig again decided to field the same army Gothmog's Morannon Orc Battlehost.  I, guessing he would planned an army that I was convinced would crush his Morannon orcs and Gothmog.

WotR: Gothmog Lieutenant of Mordor

I was convinced that I needed to fight fire with fire and opted for the Gondor equivalent of the Gothmog's Morannon Orc Battlehost... The Osgiliath Battlehost.  Looking at Craig maximum formations of 6 companies I decided to favour maneuverability over size (after all it is rare that 6 companies will all be able to fight at once - often most are support) and decided that smaller formations of 4 would allow me to engage the enemy and have more points for more formations.


My son Thomas didn't want to come... Lord of the Rings is not for him!

We again played on our usual 6 x 4 battlefield (shield wall) with one ruin to the south of the board which had capacity for 6 companies.  We used the usual Realm of Battle battleboard and had the hills in each of the four corners to create a valley.

I am no longer worried by the sheer number of troops Mordor can muster for a 1600 point battle.


Here are our army list:

WotR: Gothmog Morannon Orcs

Mordor force Circa 1600 points 

(Craig)

Epic Hero:

Gothmog

Common:

6 x Comp of Morannon Orcs

- (with Banner)
 - (with Captain)

6 x Comp of Morannon Orcs

 - (with Banner)

 - (with Captain)

6 x Comp of Morannon Orcs

WotR: Mordor Battlehost

 - (with Banner)

 - (with Captain)

6 x Comp of Morannon Orcs

 - (with Banner)

 - (with Captain)

Rare:

1 x Troll Chieftain

2 x Mordor Trolls
1 x Mordor Catapult

To ensure that the army was legal (decree of variety) Craig dropped the Battlehost and went with the troops as is, which suprised me as I though he could have easily added some archers or a small band of orcs to help balance the decree.



Gondor Force Circa 1600 points 

WotR: The Osgiliath Garrison

The Garrison of Osgiliath Battlehost

(Me)


Epic Hero:

Boromir

Common:

4 x Comp of Warrior of Minas Tirith (WoMT)

- (with Banner)

4 x Comp of Warrior of Minas Tirith (WoMT)

 - (with Banner)

 - (with Captain)

4 x Comp of Warrior of Minas Tirith (WoMT)

WotR: Citadel Guard Long Bows

 - (with Banner)

 - (with Captain)
4 x Comp of Warrior of Minas Tirith (WoMT)

 - (with Banner)

 - (with Captain)

6 x Comp of Knights of Minas Tirith (KoMT)

3 x Comp of Citadel Guard
 - (with Banner)

 - (with Captain)
3 x Comp of Citadel Guard Longbows


Rare:

1 x Trebuchet

Legendary:

4 x Comp of Osgiliath Veterans

 - (with Banner included in cost)

 - (with Cirion)

Deployment

WotR: Gondor Battlehost Deployment

We decided to lay the field with minimum scenery - the ruin with capacity for 6 companies was the only piece of scenery.  Again Craig lined the entire side of the board with the Morannon orcs and they still look impressive, with the occasional Mordor troll between formations for good measure.


The building in the south was my target, I lined my force up and it was clear that the main bulk of my army was going to fight for it (I wanted to get the Osgiliath veterans in to the building and so placed them as close as I could to the building. The main part of my army was Minas Tirith warriors who lined the battle field opposite the Morannon orcs. My Minas Tirith Knights, along with the citadel guard and citadel long bows were placed near the building.

WotR: Gondor v Mordor

I had my tactics, get the building shoot his flanks with the Osgiliath Vets, draw him into the centre and plough my cavalry around the southern flank into the rear of the main Morannon force.
  

I placed my trebuchet on the northern hill.

Boromir joined the knights of Minas Tirith as Craig had placed his Troll Chieftain opposite them, Boromir would be crucial in ensuring that the cavalry made it around the building and in to the open space behind the orc horde.


Gothmog was center stage in the horde of Morannon orcs… I was not worried about Gothmog's ability as I planned to keep him tied up fighting my warriors of Minas Tirith and NOT Boromir.

Once our forces were deployed there was a long silence as we both stood and looked at the armies working out in our heads the strategy. Which army would win priority - Gothmog with his Morannon Orcs or the Osgiliath Garrison battle host (steadfast against orcs), time to roll...

Turn 1

Priority

WotR: Osgiliath Veterans ATD to the ruins

We both rolled the D6… and for once I won the first priority, I smiled as I needed to move my Osgiliath Veterans in to the ruin!

Move

Having won the initiative I did exactly as I had planned; the Osgiliath Veterans ATD to reach the ruins before any of Craig's orcs could get there and Boromir moved forward with the knights to the southern side of the ruins, while the Citadel Guard moved in behind the vets to support any later attacks.

WotR: Citadel Guard Longbows

All my Warriors of Minas Tirith moved forward in a straight line, slow and steady, I was going to reach the orcs all together and ensure that I could engage as many troops in to direct combat in the coming battle as possible.
With my troops moving forward I edged the Citadel Guard Longbows forward to allow them better range across the field.

WotR: Gothmog ATD to Meet Gondor

Craig tried to ATD his army, but some passed their leadership tests and some didn't, this meant that Craigs army was staggered, and it almost looked like he meant it to be like that!


Gothmog was lurking north of the ruins and had passed his ATD and was now in the centre of the battlefiled. 

Craigs Mordor Trolls edged forward towards the ruin.

At the end of the move phase my Osgiliath Veterans moved into the ruins. 


Shoot

WotR: Cirion and the Veterans of Osgilaith

I considered calling heroic shoot for Cirian to shoot his Osgiliath Veterans at the Morannon (having ATD to get into the ruins), but knowing the Morannon shields are just too good to waste a might point on, I didn’t and Cirian’s Osgiliath Veterans held.

My Trebuchet started work on Gothmog landing a hit and killed 3 Morannon.
My Citadel Guard shot at the Mordor Troll north of the ruins and scored 2 wound counters.

WotR: Mordor Trolls attack the ruins

Craig loosed his catapult at the Osgiliath Veterans to capitalise on them being in a building… despite the high defence he still managed to kill 8 of them, ouch!

Next he measured the Trolls and threw them at the Osgiliath Veterans, but they were not strong enough to get through the walls.



Charge

WotR: Gondor Charge Gothmog

I knew I had to get the charge in where I could and so charged Gothmog and his 6 company strong Morannon Orcs with the Warriors of Minas Tirith and successfully manage to make the distance, try to be clever I positioned the spearhead to avoid the wound troll from charging my flank.

Craig, seeing my cunning move then charged the second formation of Morannon onto the Warriors of Minas Tirith, but couldn’t get the flank and could only engage 1 company from the 6 in his formation.

Fight

WotR: Gothmog gets a bloody nose

The fighting was tough, Minas Tirith held there ground and amazingly managed to kill 10 Morannon orcs, while Gothmog’s formation killed 3 and the other formation killed 2 (total of 5) warrior of Minas Tirith. Gondor had won the first battle and so it was Gothmog and the Morannon who took panic tests, Gothmog passed, but the Morannon supporting his attack failed miserably and another 5 died in the confusion. Kills 15 to 5.

ROUND 2

LotR: Boromir advances

Priority
Eager to win priority again we rolled, but I won again and set my plan into motion.

Move
First I moved Boromir and the knights of Minas Tirith forward to the base of the ruins.

The Citadel Guard moved the rear and north of the building keeping their eye on the Mordor Troll lurking in the shade.

WotR: Gondor advance

Then I moved the centre column forward, then the far northern column (who rolled unstoppable charge) forward to engage ALL of Mordor in the centre of the field.

Craig moved all of his trolls forward.

Shoot
I started with my Osgiliath Veterans and shot at one of the approaching trolls, initially I only got 1 hit, so used a might point in the vain hope that I could roll a 6 and kill the Mordor Troll… he ended up with 1 wound counter.

WotR: The Battle Intensifies

Next the Citadel Guard Longbows shot at the same Mordor Troll and still didn’t kill it, they inflicted another 2 wound counters, taking it to 3… what do we have to do to kill a Troll!

I then fired my Gondorian trebuchet at a mass of orcs, but to my surprise I only managed to kill 1 Morannon Orc.

WotR: The Knights of Minas Tirith

In return Craig fired his catapult at Boromir and his formation of Minas Tirith Knights, making the most of gaining the bonus for there being 6 companies, but failed to kill any due to them being resilience of 2.

The Mordor Troll Chieftain and a Mordor Troll both threw their weapons at the Osgiliath Veterans and killed 2, the other Troll seeing the approaching Citadel Guard threw and killed 2 of them.

Charge

WotR: The Ruins of Osgiliath

Boromir, wanting to lead by example charged the Mordor Troll in front of him, at the south of the ruins, but in doing so exposes his flank to the Mordor Toll Chieftain. 

In the charge phase I charged all my warriors in direct sight of the Morannon Orcs in to battle and manage another unstoppable charge.

WotR:Unstoppable charge

My Citadel Guard attempted to charge the Mordor Troll, they passed the courage test but then rolled a 1 and failed the charge, fortunately their banner bearer came into play and they re-rolled - rolling an unstoppable charge!

In retaliation Craig charged the Mordor Troll Chieftain in to Boromir’s flank - he had no other units able to charge.



Fight

WotR: Mordor Troll Chieftain Counter Attack

Boromir called Epic fight and Mighty Blow - those Mordor Trolls are gonna’ die I tell myself… but amazingly neither the Knights of Minas Tirith nor the Trolls manage to inflict a single wound… what are the odds!

Elsewhere the fighting is intense. The Mordor Troll stuck first and killed 4 Citadel Guards, who in turn kill the Mordor Troll.

Moving down the line, the battle was resolved as follows:

WotR: Mass battle between Gondor and Mordor

Warriors of Minas Tirith kill 4 of Gothmog’s motley crew and they in turn 5, some rubbish rolling meant that Gondor were disordered and failed the panic test.


Next in line Warriors of Minas Tirith kill 6 Morannon Orcs who only killed 2 of Gondor.





ROUND 3

Priority

WotR: Gondor Reserves Advance

We both rolled for priority, and again I won rolling a 6.

Move
Waisting no time I tried to rally the disordered Warriors of Minas Tirith, but failed and used the captains 2 might points to regain control.

Boromir moved back to the line of the ruins to protect his flank and waited near to the Mordor Trolls.



Shoot

WotR: The Mordor Troll to Die

My trebuchet was first to start the shooting  and shot at the back of the reserve Morannon Orcs, but it only managed to killed 4 of them, not quite what I was expecting.

Next I fired the Citadel Guard Longbows to try to assist Boromir as best I could and fired at and killed the Mordor Troll directly in font of Boromir and the Knights of Minas Tirith, while the Osgilith Veterans opened fire at the Mordor Troll Chieftain, but unfortunately failed to kill him.

WotR: Longbows target the Mordor Troll

Craig, seeing his flank waiver loosed his catapult at Boromir and this time killed a knight of Minas Tirith.


The Mordor Troll Chieftain also threw his weapon at Boromir, but being so worried by his impending doom he threw wide and missed the Knights of Gondor.




Charge

WotR: Boromir Charges Troll

Again this time I charged everything I could against Mordor.
Boromir charged the Mordor Troll Chieftain the Citadel Guard Charged the edge of Gothmog, then all my Warriors of Minas Tirith charged the Morannon Orcs in front of them, I even managed to roll an unstoppable charge on the unit to the far north.

Fight
I started with Boromir again, the Troll Chieftain struck first and killed a knight of Minas Tirith, but could not withstand the charge from the cavalry and died. Boromir rolled for an Earth shaking charge - the reserve Morannon in his sight, but only rolled a 5.
Again, completing the battle in order of where they are located we rolled for Gothmog.

WotR: Craig Surveys the Battle

Gothmog’s Morannon Orcs killed 1 Warrior of Minas Tirith but Gothmog sensing his doom used a might point to make it 2, as well as killing 3 Citadel Guard.

In return the Citadel Guard killed 4 of thee Morannon orcs and the Warriors of Minas Tirith killed 4 as well.

Next skirmish saw a draw with both the Warriors of Minas Tirith and the Morannon Orcs killing 3 warriors each.

WotR: Morannon Casualties

In the North of the Battlefield the Warriors of Minas Tirith kill 6 Morannon, and only loosing 3 win the battle.

ROUND 4

Priority
This time Craig won priority.

Move
With the southern flank clear, Craig wheeled his Morannon orcs round to face the Knight of Minas Tirith with Boromir. All other units were pretty much face to face and remained in place ready to fight.

WotR: Boromir Charges Morannon Orcs

My turn, Boromir ATD’d to try to out flank the rear Morannon, but fall slightly short and leave a line of sight for the Morannon to charge.

Shoot
Craig shot his catapult at Boromir again and again killed a Knight of Minas Tirith.

WotR: Osgiliath Veterans shoot

Seeing an opportunity to kill Gothmog and charge the flank of the Morannon in the centre and rear of Craig’s army I shot the Citadel Longbows at Gothmog killing 4, the Osgiliath veterans then fired in the side avaiding the shields and killed another 4, but this wasn’t enough to remove the last company of Gothmogs who blocked my plan.

Not wanting to risk killing my own, I fired at the rear Morannon to whittle them down for Boromir and killed 7.

Charge

WotR: Gondor Unstoppable Charge

Now, I always try to get the charge, especially with cavalry and so Boromir immediately called a Heroic charge, Craig seeing that this could be bad also called one and so we rolled off - Craig rolled 1 -evil first then rolled 1 for his charge, but used his last might point for the captain to make it a 2 which was just enough to make the charge… Grrrrr.

WotR: Morannon Charge Boromir

I then systematically called heroic charge all down the line - the captains using a might point to charge.

Gothmog - within 12 inches of a Captain of Minas Tirith called a free heroic charge, again rolled 1 for evil first, then rolled 1 for stalled charged, Craig considered using a might point, but with so few left he didn’t.

Fight
Craig having won the priority decided on the order to fight and changed so that the Warriors of Minas Tirith and Morannon would fight first.

WotR:Gondor and Mordor fighting intensifies

Warriors of Minas Tirith kill 8
Morannon Kill 6

Warriors of Minas Tirith kill 7
Morannon Kill 5

Warriors of Minas Tirith kill 4 and the Citadel Guard kill 4.
Gothmog Morannon Kill 2 Minas Tirith and 2 Citadel Guard - the Lieutenant of Mordor holds out until the last.

WotR: Boromir Calls Epic Strike

I Called Epic Strike for Boromir and had planned to duel the Morannon Orc captain seeing an opportunity to butcher them, but we were distracted for a short while and I forgot… say no more.

The end of the battle saw 4 knights killed and 3 Morannon.

ROUND 5

Priority
This time I won priority again.

WotR: Citadel Guard advance

Move
With Boromir stranded and now outnumbered I moved the Warriors of Minas Tirith at an angle to Gothmog to allow the Citadel Guard through who ATD’d to the rear of the Morannon Orc’s - could they save the day in time?

Craig’s only move was to spread out and ensure that he had maximum number of attacks on Boromir.

WotR: Gondor Reserves

I move my troops around so that the centre is opened up and the fresh reserve of Gondor troops can move forward and engage in battle.

Craig failed to move Gothmog to a bigger unit of Morannon to help keep him alive - I didn’t highlight the point!

Shoot
Worried about loosing Boromir, the Citadel Guard shoot and kill 2 of the Morannon Orcs and the Osgiliath veterans kill another 3 all in an effort to assist Boromir and whittle down his foe.

WotR: Gothmog holds

My trebuchet then fired and killed 4 Morannon orcs in the centre of the battlefield.


Craig shoots his catapult but fails to hit a single warrior of the reserve of Minas Tirith entering the battle.



Charge
Desperate to save Boromir I call a heroic charge for the Citadel Guard, which please Craig as Gothmog is within 12 inches and copied it for free - it pleased him even more when he said:

WotR: Citadel Guard Heroic Charge

“YOU DO KNOW YOU HAVE PRIORITY RIGHT?”… 


great a might point used to give Gothmog a free heroic charge - AAGGGHHH!!!!


But on a positive note, the Citadel Guard needed at least a 5 to reach the rear of the Morannon orcs and help save Boromir.

WotR: Citadel Guard Charge

When to my amazement I rolled a 6 (unstoppable charge) I shouted “YES” and slammed the Citadel Guard straight into the rear of Craig's Morannon Orcs (they would now be fighting with -5 per company for fighting in the rear); 

Boromir charged their front and sandwhiched them in battle.

I followed by charging my warriors of Minas Tirith into the remaining Morannon Orcs.

WotR: Boromir Saved

Fight
Cavalry strike first and so Boromir started the fight - his Knights killed 11 Morannon Orcs and then the Citadel Guard also killed 11 - the Morannon in return failed to kill any of the Knights of Minas Tirith - a plan that paid off, what a result!

Next on to the main battle lines:

WotR: Gothmog in the Way

Warriors of Minas Tirith kill 5 of Gothmog’s Morannon Orcs, who only manage to kill 1 Gothmog used his last might point to make it 2 before he was slain and removed from battle as less than ½ his last company (all hope is lost) and Gothmog is removed from the battle.

The centre of the field saw Warriors of Minas Tirith kill 6 Morannon orcs who only killed 4 Gondorians.

WotR: Gothmog Dies

In the north the Warriors of Minas Tirith kill 9 using their last might point as time had run out and this was the last round. The Morannon orcs killed 5 and also used their 2 might point s to make it 7.

Final Thoughts
I chose The Garrison of Osgiliath with smaller formations with one thing in mind - kill the orcs.  I think this worked well and the 4 companies against 6 meant I could field more formations, but only miss out on the odd support roll here and there, which is why I fielded the size I did.

WotR: Gondor Wins after 5 rounds

The Osgilaith Veterans were Ok, the bows didn’t do the damage I thought and at crucial times they were a let down - but that is just bow fire for you, the last time I took them they killed 2 Mordor Trolls in one hit.

The Citadel Guard were OK, worth the points? Not sure, but they looked good.

Citadel Longbows - again, they are not worth the points, but they did look good and the extra shooting distance also worked well.

LotR: Citadel Long Bows

The Knights of Minas Tirith were very good, their lances help with rolling to hit and their shields make them harder to hit and with a hero they could fly around the battlefield - a must for Gondor.

Craig doesn’t seem to like using his might, nor did he move Gothmog at a crucial point, which would have saved him and helped with the game especially if it had gone on longer - he could have moved him in to the formation that attacked Boromir and copied his epic/heroic actions and used his own, which could have seen Boromir dead and the knight removed - fortunately he didn’t. 

Man of the Match

LOTR: Man of the Match: Boromir

This can only be Boromir - he took on a Mordor Troll, Troll Chieftain and a formation of Morannon Orcs and cam
e out victorious (with a little help from his friends). His abilities are very good and had I remembered to do  the heroic duel I think I would have done some serious damage to the orcs before needing the Citadel Guard to assist.  Would I use him again… Most definitely!

Next Time
Craig wants to play Warhammer 40K next time, so I am in desperate need of an opponent (any volunteers!?) I might try 40K again, but I love Lord of the Rings and War of the Rings so much, I just don’t think I will. Hopefully I can find someone to battle as I might try to field my dwarf army (especially now I have 3 companies of Vault Wardens), but I guess that really depends on who I can play and what they want to field. With the release of the new LOTR SBG books I am kean to start playing that, I have the rule books and the old journey books and tonnes of LOTR SBG figures, still trying to find an opponent to learn the rules.

Fingers crossed for the next battle…

WOTR: Battle Report - Gondor v Gothmogs Morannon Orc

 "Long has my father, the Steward of Gondor, kept the forces of Mordor at bay."

- Boromir, The Fellowship

So two weeks ago we returned to East Grinstead War Gaming club nights after the Christmas break and I tried Warhammer 40K – Imperial Guard, it was interesting, however my heart is with LotR and WotR and it kind of bugged me that the year was 40,000 yet the accuracy of the weaponry was such that scatter dice were being used - surely my cannon has some advanced targeting to hit what I aim at…?

Still my son loves it so I am currently working on building an Imperial guard and Necron army -so far so good. And being honest I can kind of see the appeal.

However, after trying Warhammer 40K last week I desperately needed to play WotR, so it was back to Middle Earth this week; Craig and I agreed on 1500 points and this time no Dwarves!

I sorted the armies out before hand and turned up with two full 1500 point armies, Craig got to choose... I always play Mordor as my son loves Gondor and NEVER lets me play good, so when Craig asked to play Mordor I happily handed the figures over and began to unpack Gondor.

We played a 6 x 4 battlefield (shield wall) with two ruins, one to north and one to the south of the board - the northern had capacity for 4 companies, the southern 6.  We used the usual Realm of Battle battleboard and had the hills in each of the four corners to create a valley.

It was then that I saw the might of Mordor and it felt kind of strange facing my own army that I have laboured over building and painting and had developed and won many a battle with - in fact I thought, they are undefeated. As my usual/normal army, I could now see how it looked to face them in battle and I was a little worried.

I originally planned for Mordor to take 4 seige bows, with 8 companies of warg and a few archers for Mordor, but settled on the following armies:

LOTR: Mordor Deployment Trolls

Mordor force 1500 points 

(Craig)

Epic Hero:

Gothmog

Common:

6 x Comp of Morannon Orcs

- (with Banner)

6 x Comp of Morannon Orcs

 - (with Banner)

 - (with Captain)

6 x Comp of Morannon Orcs



WOTR: Mordor Deployment 
Morannon Orcs

  - (with Banner)

 - (with Captain)

6 x Comp of Morannon Orcs

 - (with Banner)

 - (with Captain)

Rare:

1 x Troll Chieftain

4 x Mordor Trolls



Gondor Force 1500 points 



(Me)



WOTR: Gondor Deployment: Warriors
and Knights



Epic Hero:

Boromir

Common:

6 x Comp of Warrior of Minas Tirith (WoMT)

- (with Banner)

6 x Comp of Warrior of Minas Tirith (WoMT)

 - (with Banner)

 - (with Captain)

3 x Minas Tirith Archers

6 x Comp of Knights of Minas Tirith (KoMT)

 - (with Banner)

 - (with Captain)

4 x Dol Amroth Knights

   - (with Knight Champion)



WOTR: Gondor Deployment: 
Trebuchet
and Knights of Dol Amroth

Rare:

2 x Avenger Bolt Throwers

1 x Trebuchet

Legendary:

4 x Comp of Osgiliath Veterans

 - (with Banner)

 - (with Cirion)

Deployment

Craig un-packed the Morannon orcs and lined his forces out with the main troll contingent near the building in the south. I placed the Osgiliath veterans as close as I could to the building. The Dol Amroth Knights were placed on the southern most flanks, with the main army of warriors in the middle.  The Minas Tirith Knights were flanking the north in front of the archers, I had my tactics, draw him into the centre and plough my cavalry around the flanks to attack the rear of the main Morannon force.  

WOTR: Gondor and Mordor face off -
Let battle commence

I placed my trebuchet and one bolt thrower on the southern hill, the other bolt thrower was at the far end in the north.

Boromir took centre stage in the middle of a formation of 6 companies of the WoMT ready to meet Gothmog and his horde of morannon… I started to think about Gothmogs ability and that any epic/heroic action I called Gothmog would call so maybe I should place Boromir in with the Knights and really push through his northern force… but where would the fun be in that!

And so it was set, two 1500 point armies - Gothmogs Morannon Orcs battle host (steadfast against humans) to grind it out, shield wall to shield wall against Gondor.

Turn 1

Priority

Craig won priority rolling a 6… and so it starts...

Move

Having won the initiative Craig moved everything forward, Gothmog ATD in the centre and the trolls charged round the southern side of the building ATD.  I had expected him to try to take the building (his usual tactic) but this time he swung his army either side of it.

My turn to move, I immediately moved my Osgiliath veterans to the building (less then half movement) and occupied it, everyone else stood firm - I needed priority to ensure my horse could get the charge without the use of might, maybe next turn and so they stood firm out of charge range of the trolls.

Shooting

Craig did not have any shooting this round as his trolls were not close enough and had ATD to get close.

My trebuchet started the shooting and launched its attack straight at the formation of 6 comps of Morannon… with the bonus for attacking such a large formation my volley struck home killing…

1 Morannon… ...wow.

Next the bolt throwers open fire, well one did as the other miss fired and attacked the troll chieftain leaving 1 wound counter - oh the joy of artillery!

The Archers loosed there volley at full range (strength 1) at the troll on their side but failed to hit any wounds either.

The Osgiliath veterans in the capacity 6 building shot at the side of Gothmogs advancing formation and killed 8, who were driven back 2 inches, this was enough to attract the attention of Mordor.

LOTR: Osgiliath Veterans enter the ruins and are charged
by two Mordor Trolls and Morannon Orcs

Charge

Craig seeing the thorn in his plans decided to attack the ruined covered Osgiliath veterans and charged two trolls and 6 companies of Morannon at them.

Fighting

Not expecting such an onslaught the veterans were never going to win, outnumbered and attacked on three sides by both orc and troll, the fighting was fierce, but cometh the moment cometh the man!

Despite loosing the fight and loosing 7 veterans, the Osgiliath’s killed both Mordor trolls rolling 6’s for the only roll on the hard to kill chart for both trolls and also killed 2 Morannon… Craig was stunned, however his loss was less than mine and enough for him to win the fight and the vets were forced from the building.

In a panic they failed their panic test and were left disordered… I feared the worst for them was to come as the Morannon entered the building.

Turn 2

Priority

Keen to get the charge with my cavalry I picked up one of my lucky dice (a black one!) We both roll for priority, and both rolled 6’s. We re-rolled and both rolled 6’s. We re-rolled again (come on lucky dice), however this time Craig rolled 6 and I rolled 2, Craig won priority what are the chances of 3 x 6’s in a row?!

Move

Craig cracked the whip and Gothmog ATD toward the warriors of Minas tirith, the northern Morannon ATD towards my cavalry and the troll chieftain ATD towards the Dol Amroth Knights.

To my surprise the Osgiliath vets failed their courage test and I had to use a might point to regain control and get them back into the fight. The rest of my army held… time to let loose my plan!

Craig held his Morannon in the building to my surprise as I expected him to come out and fight the vulnerable Osgiliath veterans.

Shooting

Craig’s troll was now in front of my Minas Tirith Knights and threw his weapon and managed to kill one…

My trebuchet attacked the Morannon in the building (next to the Osgiliaths) and killed 6, the siege bows fired, one at the troll chieftain but didn’t leave a wound counter, the other attacked Gothmog’s formation but only killed two (curse those shields).

My archers fired at the Morannon in front of the cavalry and killed 4.

Unfortunately the position of the vets meant that they could only shoot at the Morannon in the building and despite the shields and the walls I killed another 4…

Charge

WOTR: Dol Amroth Knights Heroic unstoppable charge 
towards the Mordor Troll Cheiftain

As soon as the shoot phase finished I declared heroic charge for Dol Amroth and for my Knights of Minas Tirith - 2 might points well spent in the hour of need - I simply had to get the charge.

Craig pondered and said, “shall I call heroic charge for my troll chieftain and Morannon to try to beat your cavalry…?” I looked at him willing him to say no… and he did, “I will see how it goes I might need the might later”

And so I rolled for the charge of Dol Amroth - 6 unstoppable charge straight into the Troll Chieftain. The Knights of Minas Tirith charged into the Morannon to the north.

Craig smiled and tried to charge his other troll in the south into the rear of Dol Amroth, but he stalled rolling a 1 - if only he had called the troll charge he may have been charging 3 trolls against me.

The north troll however managed to charge the side of my knights of Minas Tirith.

Then Gothmog charged his formation of 5 x companies of Morannon into the 2 formations of 6 warriors of Minas Tirith with Boromir.

Fighting

WOTR: Gondor starts to take casualties in the centre
but a lot less than the Morannon

Craig, having won priority chose which battle order to resolve - I declared an Epic Duel - Boromir against Gothmog, Gothmog used his special ability and copied mine. I thought about increasing my fight to 10, but I already had an advantage against Gothmogs fight and knew if I called it then he would copy, so went with my already better fight value.

LOTR: Gothmog survives the Epic Duel,
But the Morannon take heavy casualties

We rolled off to see who would go first, I won and rolled a 4 to Craigs 2, that gave me 3 rolls on the duel chart - this resulted in 6 dead Morannon and only two wound counters on Gothmog, he survived.  Next it was Craigs turn, but this resulted in 1 dead warrior of Minas tirith.

The battle ended with 15 dead Morannon and 5 dead Gondor - Mordor lost, but being steadfast again humans they again held their ground.

To the north his charging troll killed 2 x knights of Minas Tirith - the knights lowered their lances and attacked killing 18 of his Morannon and added 2 wound counters to the troll… the Morannon killed 2 more knights. The Morannon were again steadfast against humans, despite the loss and held their ground also.

LOTR: Mordor Troll Chieftain is slain by
the Knights of Dol Amroth

Next the Dol Amroth Knights, the troll chieftain managed to kill one, but with the unstoppable charge and their lances poised the heavy knights decimated the stranded troll - Craig was now concerned that he only had one troll to protect the flank.

Turn 3

Priority

Craig again won priority.

Move

Craig moved his last formation of Morannon forward to cover the rear of Gothmog at the centre of the field despite the gap on his flank by the southern ruin.

His last troll moved forward to the side of the Dol Amroth ready to strike.

WOTR: Gondor Knights having smashed the Morannon 
decide to withdraw out of charging distance

Seeing this I decide to ATD the Dol Amroth Knights so that they can move around the rear of the ruins, avoid the troll and move into position to attack the central Morannon, but the troll was just inside 6 inches and so it was ½ distance, still 10 inches gets me to the rear of the building - lets hope I win priority next round!

I decide that the Knight of Minas Tirith lacking any more might should withdraw out of the range of the Morannon so that they would not be able to charge me.

Shooting

The Troll angered at the Dol Amroth riding past threw his weapon at their rear but failed to kill a knight.

LOTR: Dol Amroth Knights ride around the ruins
to prepare to attack more orcs

My turn, the trebuchet again attacked the Morannon hiding in the building and killed another 7, Craig suddenly realised that he should have taken them out in the move phase as he could have charged the vets.

The Osgiliath Vets then loosed a volley at the troll behind the Dol Amroth and managed to kill him.

The archers to the north fired everything at the last troll and manage to kill him - Craig now huffed, his trolls were all dead and so far Gondor had minimal casualties.

My Bolt throwers then killed a few Morannon, in the build to help whittle them down.

Charge

WOTR: Gondor Knights still too close and
Morannon orcs prepare to charge

Craig charged his Morannon in the north 6 ¼ inches to face my cavalry, I argued that that was out of range, Craig that the odd was not that far and should be allowed… another member measured and said “Oooh, it’s so close I would say it was in”. Curse my measuring, I still had a couple of inches spare behind to move, but wanted to have a chance to charge myself, still well done Craig.

Gothmog again charged the 2 x formation of warriors of Minas Tirith who seem to be locked in combat with him.

Fighting

Craig turned to me with a smile “Are you calling any Epic duels?”

I paused… If I call one, he will call one, if I raise my fight he will raise his fight… if I call Mighty blow, he will call Mighty blow… and all for free…

LOTR: Gothmog and the last Troll are slain -
Mordor surrenders

Still, I thought - it is Boromir - be brave and so I called Mighty blow and Epic Duel - surprise, surprise! Gothmog copied and we rolled off to see who would go first, Craig won and I was now a little worried - we rolled for the duel and amazingly he rolled a 1 and I rolled a 6 (+5 for Boromir).

Needles to say, this resulted in 6 dead Morannon orcs and Gothmog was slain with the first blow given to him…

With the death of Gothmog, Craig shook his head and conceded the game “Without Gothmog and the trolls I don’t have anything left”. He still had 2 formations x 6 companies of Morannon, but was outnumbered and I still had heavy cavalry ready to charge his rear as well as archers and artillery to fell his numbers.

We shook hands and ticked another win on my tally.

Final Thoughts

I needed to get my cavalry into action quicker, but was hindered by not winning a single priority roll, the Dol Amroth knights didn’t really get to attack anything other than kill the troll chieftain, but I felt they were about to realise their potential. Also, my plan was to draw him into the centre and flank him with cavalry - so in essence it worked.

I felt Craig lost again by dividing his force, some of his force ATD, some didn’t and they ended up disjointed.  I would have advanced in one line protecting the flanks and attacking all together. Also Gothmog didn’t use his might, Craig was happy copying everything I did and forgot to call anything himself - which had he called Epic Strike and raised his fight to 10 it may have been a different battle. He also didn’t use any might with his captains to win the innovative for the charge nor call heroic actions - a fatal mistake against cavalry and I did keep asking if he wanted to call any.

Man of the Match

LOTR: Man of the Match: Boromir

For me it has to be Boromir - he managed to kill Gothmog and kill loads of Morannon in the duels; I would like to see him against another foe where I don’t have to worry about giving my opponent too much free power! But all in all he fared well; Gothmog could have done better.

We discussed the battle afterwards - it attracted a lot of attention at East Grinstead War Gaming club - hundreds of figures lined up and the battle decided in 3 rounds (2 hours).  Craig liked the Mordor army and I think the next battle he will field a similar army but drop a couple of trolls for 2 x siege bows and some archers or even the catapult.

Having played the vast majority of my battles as Mordor I have learnt to love them and how to play them, but now I have the chance to play one of my other armies, Gondor, Rohan, Dwarves, Misty Mountains, perhaps fallen Realms…? I might even try LOTR SBG...

Now I have to decide… to Mordor or not to Mordor, that is the question…?

East Grinstead War Gaming club 
Sussex