MESBG Tournament - The Riddle of Fun

With a shrinking sense of enthusiasm, I played the Riddles in the Dark II tournament for MESBG. It was held locally and was a 500 (or 550) pt day with 4 intended games. I took Mordor ... almost Black Gate. The rules concerning army lists were a bit confusing with making up your own heroes - and lists too really as it turned out. Just think of a list, and a thinly veiled reason, and take it along. 

14 people played the day. Game 1 was against an all hero list ... the type of thing I just don't like in wargames. The game lasted an hour and much to everyone's surprise ... I won. I won't lie - the game just wasn't fun with my opponent making up a shit-stack of rules for his 4 figures to explain why he could dominate the game and I couldn't. Anyway, while he stomped the shit out of my army, I ran enough orcs at the objectives and well ... Sucked in hero-hammer dude, I won! 

These images are all game 1. Just try to spot the opposing army .. its fucking hard when you only deploy 4 figures and they're all heroes. Just fuck straight off is my message for such tools! 

The game just wasn't fun as my opponent used boundless stores of might to totally control all priorities and heroic moves. Even if I won a roll, I then lost initiative due to some rule that he created for his over powered hero army. My only action of any note was my general killing just one of his models in the final turn of the game. This game illustrated that MESBG could be just no fun at all. 

Game 2 was a Mordor grudge match. This was my favourite game ... and another lucky win. Why was this the best? Because I played against someone who took a fucking army and not heroes! My opponent was also very nice and knowledgeable - while I was rules careless and hung over. I got smashed with my army being 'quartered; which is MESBG speak for routed or broken in every other wargame ever written. This game showed the true limitations of trolls in MESBG. Not enough attack dice to win roll offs and too easy to simple tie up with one model. 

My aim for the day was to try and work out how to use trolls. What did I discover? Trolls are shit. 

The base size is too big and the wounds and attacks are too few. But, my opponents wined all day about trolls being super scary ... as they chopped my Mordor troll up. However, their baseless trepidation prevented a serious threat to 'Vark the Insertor' my leader. He saved this game by repeatedly throwing enemies at the opposing general until he died. Got me the win as my opponent didn't press the victory conditions. That's twice now a more knowledgeable opponent didn't press the objectives. They were just mesmerised with killing my troops. 

MESBG is a very odd wargame that involves getting a positive benefit from your army being routed at the right time. Who could invent such bullshit? Only Games Workshop. 

But fun does lie within this game. The clash of battle lines (as I experienced in Game 2) really scratehes a medieval itch. Game 2 was tactical and felt fun as it appeared I actually had a chance to win. 

And then Game 3 came along ... 

Why the fuck would you put a river across the centre that was incredibly difficult to cross and only had two narrow fords? Answer = you want the small elite, missile heavy armies to win. And guess what ... thats what happened in my game and ALL DAY! 

I used every might point I had to rush the ford and get across. 

But I was up against another hero heavy force. I got to the ford then lost a shit stack of priorities then lost even more movement phases to someone who was pissing might out of every orifice. 

The smaller army formed a ring around the ford and just hacked the shit out of my army as it limped across piecemeal ... And my opponent talked about how threatening my trolls were as he won every fight and killed my whole army (except Vark the Insertor) for only 2-3 models lost. 

The designer of this terrain board can take a lot of credit for victory. I think I would have lost anyway, but playing a game when I felt like a strap-on (for the 2nd time today) with no player agency did not enamor me to MESBG. 

But, somehow I walked away still enthused. My opponents were all nice guys - two of which just loved to create elite armies that robbed their opponents of the ability to take a turn - and were helpful throughout the games. I still like MESBG. Despite being quartered in every game (I lost about 25 models out of 29 in all games) I won two games. I spent the least of characters out of all players. 

What does the day tell me? MESBG is about heroes and Trolls are shit. 

I was very much hoping for different lessons ... but I'm not done yet with MESBG. 

 

An MESBG Trollskin Blanket

 

MESBG Minas Morgul vs Gondor

 

This week was a return to MESBG. Osgiliath Reclaimed vs Minas Morgul. The evil side was on a one game streak with Minas Morgul looking like a very powerful list. This was primarily due to the 'Blades of the Dead' rule. This smashes through defence values and laughs at the shieldwall rule. 

We played the Scenario 3 Hold Ground. Armies were 600 points - which is a level I quite like for a weekday evening game.  

The evil forces included the Witch King, a troll, only 4 Morannan Orcs then around 30 or so Mordor Orcs. I went for two Mordor Orc Captains to take advantage of the Blades special rule. Included in the force were 4 bows and 1 banner. The total was 44 models and 6 might. 

Osgiliath included both brothers (Boromir and Faramir), 5/6 knights of Minas Tirith, around 5 rangers and the rest 'tin-cans' with either sword or spear and board. Total models was in the low 30s. 

It was a malestrom set up with one evil warband off the table. Both armies began near to the corners and crabbed across toward the centre in the first few turns of the game. 

Minas Tirith knights were sent out wide of their right to flank Mordor. These worried me as I knew I'd need all my numbers in the main battleline to take apart the strong Minas Tirith shieldwall. 

Battle lines moved up - crabbing into the centre as stated. At top right of the above image, Boromir and 3-4 knights shelter behind a large ruined section of terrain. The bow Orcs waited them to come out as did the Troll who waited to see which way they would ride.  

The Witch King used his speed to ride across to the Mordor left and compell the flanking knights. This worked very well and I managed to surround and kill both with little loss of Orcs. 

The lines grew closer around the objective. Ranger arrows dropped an Orc or two. With only defence 5, the Orc front line feels a little exposed. Numbers are important. Perhaps I should have pressed my Morannon Orcs into the front with their defence 6? But, I was hoping their +1 FV against Men might be very helpful when the combat began. I tried to shelter them. 

The Troll and Witch watched for a flanking move from Boromir. They would eventually move into the centre fight. 

Above, the Witch King shifted across to deal with the flanking knights. He then tried to put as many Orcs between himself and rangers arrows as possible. 

Then, in a few turns, it was over to full melee. Boromir rode his knights into the centre. The Witch King transfixed one knight - leading to his death in combat - and lucky rolls saw the felling of Boromir's steed and the death of the other knights for little orcish loss. 

Boromir used several heroic combats to rack up kills. He can easily slay 3 or four Orcs in a single round. I responded by trying to mitigate such losses. Unfortunately, the WK was less than successful in trying to Transfix Boromir - and lost quite a few will and might in these attempts. 

The main lines closed. Minas Tirith had funneled 6 warriors over to support Boromir - who didn't seem to need much help (unless he strained an elbow snicking the heads off more Orcs) - which shortened their main battleline. The Troll was eager to cave in the end of this line. 

Boromir cleaned up the other flank. The 10 or so Orcs on the Mordor right were being cleaned up quickly. I tried to slow this. Without his horse, Boromir had a tough time in shifting back to where the action was in the centre. 

The above shot shows Boromir's distance from the centre objective. 

The main battle happened quite fast. It was extremely brutal melee with Orcs falling quickly - as their defence 5 really doesn't help (and D4 spear orcs are even worse) - but the Blades of the Dead special rule is devastating. Warriors of Minas Tirith were falling everywhere. Their army broke leading to a couple fleeing due to courage failures. 

In the above shot, two Orcs continue to fall back on the right of the image as the group of Men, led by Boromir, continue to clean up this flank. But their progress was slowed. 

The main battleline was decimated by the Mordor Orcs. There were enough to simply swamp the Men. The Troll did a little work - but I need to learn to make better use of this destructive weapon. I did attempt to compel a warrior out of the line into the troll but my spell dice (after initial significant success dealing with the cavalry) turned sour. This would have enabled the troll to slingshot itself into the line potentially causing carnage. I think I did manage to transfix Boromir once???

At games end it was a sorry tale for the forces of good. Neither brother was harmed but nor was the Witch King. Osgiliath Reclaimed was broken and the 2nd or 3rd roll of the dice ended the game on a 1. 

Evil was triumphant. It had not broken and only Minas Morgul models were within 6 inches of the central objective. The game ended in a score of 15-0 to Minas Morgul. 

What can I type in review? Wow! Blades of the Dead is a great special rule ... 

... that would be a succinct summary. But, you do need to choose sufficient Mordor Orcs for it to work and ensure you get them into combat in sufficient number. The low Orcish defence value means you do trade kill-for-kill but the higher number of bodies in Minas Morgul means this is an exchange thats in your favour. The Witch King is really growing in my estimation and I think (just a little) I'm finally understanding his uses. The troll is also a great favourite. A gigantic ball of violence to roll into the enemy. Placement for him is everything to jusify his 100 point costs. I do very much like this army. 

I also really like this game - MESBG - especially when playing (like we did tonight) with a more traditional battle ... with lots of troops, shieldwalls, archers, flanking cavalry and a sprinkle of magic + heroes. I very much enjoy when fantasy games actually value the role of ordinary troops in a game and, indeed, make their use central to the outcome of the battle. 

I guess my Grognard heart remains true to its historical roots despite the fact I play a GW game. 

Foam Gothic Terrain

 

Lets start the year with the near completion of another terrain project. This one started 4-5 years ago. I made terrain using the incised method of foam carving. I liked the look but it was less practical on the gaming table - specifically for games like Mordheim. It simply did not have sufficient access points to climb and risk averse players chose not to scale the surfaces. 

One reason is that the blue foam sheets I can purchase (in my home town) are all 30mm tall - not the smaller sheets available in other places (eg: USA.) This means its taller than a model - well about ... I'm looking at you GW - demanding a climb test. Also 30mm equates to around 1 1/2 inches meaning some slightly funny math on movement. 

Also, I made these because ... now I can do better. My foam crafting has improved and these look better. The different sizes make these more functional. I also made more bridges or walkways to aid player movement. 

And all this is pretty damn stupid because ... I don't play Mord, Warcry, IHMN or Frostgrave any more. My group doesn't have much interest in those directions. (I must say that Mord is my preferred fantasy skirmish game out of all of those listed.) 

So ... in other words ... I've made a lot of terrain that I won't use. 

It was a significant investment of time and I'm not going to use it. 

But I do really like the results.

As usual with my posts, I've gone off half cocked as I'm finishing off 10 small pieces of ruined wall scatter terrain to complete this project. Everything is a little bare atm. These look great with my Sigmarite Mausoleum terrain from GW and can certainly use those. 

I have a narrow hope that this would work really well with smaller games of MESBG - including Battle Companies (which appear to have been dropped in the latest 2024 edition of the Middle Earth game) - as ruined places such as Osgiliath, Fornost or something similar (maybe a raid on ruins around Minas Morgul itself?) There is also the opportunity to use in IHMN games with a more gothic horror twist. 

(I know there are games like Silver Bayonet but after 6-8 games of Frostgrave, I was sharply reminded about how much I dislike wargaming systems that use D20. Too swingy and luck based. Even D10 is sometimes too much eg: Fire and Fury.) 

All up ... another filled container in much wargames cupboard, going beside another 10-12 that I never open. But wargames is a funny old thing and sometimes you just never see the future potential of miniatures and terrain until it arrives. Overall, these mark a final trend - my increasing desire to toss out my previous terrain as I can now make better - but who can face such as massive commitment to do all that ... plus I don't have a good method for making hills as yet.

A New Year Sacrifice

I won't lie, countless orcs were harmed in the making of this battle report. 

It was MESBG (old edition) with 650 points. Mordor vs the White Council (well, 4 of them - Galadriel, Gandalf, Saruman and Elrond.) 

Mordor had the Witch King about 20 Morannons, about 20 more Orcs and 3 Warg riders. 

The scenario was capture and hold (?) ... the one with five objectives precisely spaced out around the table. We could have been fighting anywhere in Middle Earth but it was probably a little green for Gorgoroth. 

(Above, my big hope, a Morannon Captain, 11 Morannons and a banner.)

My Mordor list featured the Witch King - who I had only just painted around New Years. He was also holding a Morgul Blade but - I won't lie - he was secretly shitting himself as he knew the most powerful casters in ME were going to be using his empty hood as a target. I hoped the Morannon Orc higher defence and strength might help me out.

The WHOLE army ... yep ... 4! For 650 points!!! I was in for an utterly torrid time. 

The game kicked off with Mordor trying to encircle and get to all of the outlying objectives. The White Council kicked off with Elrond going crazy ape shit and punching a big hole in my main Morannon battle line. The Elvish lord threw out approximately a metric fuck-ton of water and my lads are scared of baths. 

The centre of the table was the place of action with Saruman, Galadriel and Elrond laying waste to Orcs. Their lower defence didn't matter a jot as I couldn't charge them due to terror (or only in a piecemeal manner) or just couldn't win a duel roll due to higher fight values. 

Time and again Orcs surged in only to be battered away with losses mounting steadily. 

My flanking forces did their job securing side and rear objectives. 

(The foreground has my right flanking force - 6 Morannons, Grishnakh, Orcs with 2HW, a warg rider, some bows and an Orc drummer. Their whole job was to flank and surround.)

Ah, the Valar themselves, far across the ocean, care little for the struggles of lesser creatures. 

Orc numbers were getting thinner ... Honestly, after 7 Morannons went down in 2 turns I was pretty shaken and didn't know what to do. I debated swarming them or just surrounding them to reduce movement (without attempting combat) or running away to stand on objectives? 

But then again, lots of initiative felt like it was going the way of the Council removing a lot of my choices. Against these guys, my big hopes - Morannon Captain and Grishnakh - just appeared underpowered and pretty foolish. I was hoping to use might to get a wound on at least one enemy before the end of the night. 

Now the Mordor flanking forces were in - including warg riders who tried to charge from behind but basically didn't pass any courage tests to do so - so I committed the Witch King too. In one turn I spent 4-5 might. I charged, used Heroic Strike and then used more to actually win the duel rolls. Then I threw a bag of pus dice. Not even the Morgul Blade helped. 

After that, all my might was gone (my will points had been used earlier - the WK had 5-6 left) and my fate was soon to be used. 

Looking back, I think I totally forgot my Mordor rule to re-roll ones. As I said above, just having my army dissected for 10 turns while not even winning a single duel roll and few initiatives (although I did manage to compel Elrond once or twice) had me totally flustered with no idea of how to respond. 

I tried to compete as best I could be repeatedly throwing in my hordes. My luck had to change at some stage. I was just fishing for a way of feeling like I was actually being a part of the battle rather than just being a target for heroes to hack down. 

Numbers are thinning above. The red dots show the objectives controlled by Mordor. The one at the top should be red too as you can see a warg rider parked on top of it. 

It looks like a heroic combat ... but it wasn't. The Witch King fought for three turns - I think - winning one, then spending all his fate points on the next and finally being hacked apart. He was about as tough as the old bedsheet he had wrapped about his insubstantial body. 

The only question remained ... why had Saruman decided to wear that ridiculously over-sized necklace? I think Elrond told him that it suited his eyes ... lying fucker. 

Now Gandalf was punching everyone on the centre objective ... Saruman still in huge necklace. Galadriel stood about like a terrifying pontifex ready to slap Orcs to death barehanded or perhaps dunk them in her mirror until they drowned. 

The only danger to Elrond was that his sword would go blunt from shearing through Morannon neck bones or he might slip in a slick of Orcish entrails. 

Finally, the supply of Orcs had run out. Right near the end both Gandalf and Galadriel had died ... not due to Orc inflicted wounds though. Both were just worn out slaying masses of Orcs and took themselves to the bench. Personally, I think they feigned injury and were just bored of killing. 

A small donny erupted as Saruman pushed for the objective at the back. Even this act showed his superiority as he could have walked the shorter distance to the centre but chose to go clear across the table - almost unscathed - to challenge the Mordor objective in their deployment zone. 

And he won that fight too ... 

Although good sense had prevailed and Saruman had taken off that stupid necklace. Perhaps Elrond's lie about accessories began Saruman's spiral toward evil?

Mordor did win on points but didn't feel like they were really "in" the game at any time. 

For the last couple of turns I was trying to figure out the benefits of being quartered - and how to hurry the process along. MESBG seems a strange game due to routing from the table seems like a good tactic at times. This ends the game and if you can finish ahead on points ... you win. This is very difficult for me to understand after decades of playing historical wargames where routing is bad. Here, there seems to be a time and a place for it. There may just be an art to getting your last guys killed then maximising your chances to fail courage tests. But, like lots of tactics in MESBG, I don't get it.