Gondor trims the hedge

 

(Above shows most deployment. At bottom is my command with the knights.)

After few weeks of anticipation, it was back to MESBG. My Minas Tirith was complete (30 infantry, 10 rangers and 8 cavalry + heroes) and ready to fight. My good friend Nick had decided to take Fangorn! 

I was slightly trepidatious ... I mean having a garden is a wonderful thing but when not monitored it can so easily get out of hand. I thought those big ents would smash my little shieldwall apart. 

I thought long and hard and selected the following - 

Ingold + 10 shieldwall, banner and 2 rangers, 

Captain of MT plus 8 shieldwall + 2 rangers + 2 knights, 

Anborn + 3 rangers 

FINALLY a Herald of the Dead + 8 warriors of the dead. 

I was up against 4 ents with Treebeard, Quickbeam and two others. 

Early on the ghosts would face off against Treebeard, 1 woody pal and 2 hobbits. My Dead of Dunharrow were (I thought) my main chance to kill ents. 

Another Ent stood proudly atop a hill, minding a objective and throwing large rocks from the top. 

My rear command, these would plug holes, shoot ents and send my knights around the back to steal the rear objective. 

And it was on! Treebeard smashed into the Dead quickly killing 3-4. My Herald was staying alive but weren't winning fights against the ents high FV. 

On my right, Quickbeam held off a shieldwall led by Ingold. Even with the banner I struggled to gain an edge in duel rolls. 

Then the hobbits descened. I peeled off 4 from Ingold's command to slay them. I killed Merry then Pippin scurried back to safety. 

Ranga Ent turned out to be an abysmal shot and my knights rode for their lives around the back of the table. They were not out of danger yet. This ent was the target of all my fire (I had 8 bows including Anborn.) His ability to add might to a arrow shot would be key soon. 

Unsure of what else to do, I swarmed the ents in the centre, trying to keep in shieldwall. Treebeard responded by swinging my warriors around like a club. However, there were few deaths sustained on the Minas Tirith side. Things were starting to swing against the walking shrubbery. 

I saved might almost exclusively to score wounds on the ents. This began to work. With their fate falling, wounds were starting to mount. The ents might was also being drained. When Minas Tirith finally did win the duel rolls, we were rolling 8 or even 10 dice at a time to wound. The sixes were eventually rolled (and then the 4's too.) Throw enough dice, and luck will eventually follow. 

Then ranga ent fell to shooting. Quickbeam followed soon after succumbing to the sheer amount of hits. My Captain of MT, Ingold and the Herald of the Dead were beginning to score wounds. And despite the size, ents only have 3 (plus a little fate to aid longevity.) 

Before we knew it, Treebeard stood alone. It really didn't matter at this stage. Fangorn was broken and Minas Tirith stood on every objective marker. It was a matter of time before the sheer amount of blows falling would fell this mighty ash/oak/pine/elm ... whatever he his. 

Whenever Treebeard drove us back ... we swarmed back in. The blade of the Herald was a constant threat if unsaved. Enraged, Treebeard surged toward the pesky rangers who had started all the wounds by killing ranga ent. However, this was short lived. Surrounded, the dice rolled were just too many. 

The hedge was trimmed ... the bushes were pruned. 

Certainly not what I had expected, but it was essentially what I had planned for. 

The cavalry were great - as they couldn't be ignored. Minas Tirith defence is high as was the Dead of Dunharrow. The ghosts' wounding against courage - not defence - and the Warden's sword was a twin threat. The bows - while weak - eventually landed wounds. The number of shots over time felled an ent. Anborn's lethal aim was also effective and threatening for the ent player. The ents were fearsome with high FV and Defence BUT they just didn't have enough wounds or sufficient killing ability to get through the larger force. Also, with good courage in both Minas Tirith and Dead of Dunharrow, the ents's terror did not play a significant factor in the game. 

In conclusion, all ents died for the loss of 5 ghosts and 1 Gondorian soldier. 

Was it fun ... hell yes! I especially liked riding for my life as the knights dodged falling boulders racing for the rear objective. Very tense and a funny situation to imagine in the battle.