MESBG The Fellowship battles the Shadows of Angmar

After a long break, Nick and I were happy to be back and playing MESBG. Nick wanted to play Fellowship (at 600 points) so I decided to play Shadows of Angmar. I made the choice to avoid putting points into large heroes (like the Witch King) up against hero killing machines such as Legolas, Aragorn, Gandalf or Boromir. Also, I knew I wouldn't be able to win, or contest, the 'might race.' 

So, I chose 50 Orcs (13 with bows, 4 2HW, 2 banners and the rest Orcs with shields) 1 warg rider, 2 werewolves. It was led by 3 Orc Captains and 2 Barrow Wights. I took these to use their paralysis ability. The werewolves were there to eat hobbits. 

I set up the board to resemble an ancient ruined fortification somewhere in Rhudaur or Eregion. Nick rolled a scenario 'To the Death' ... i think. In any case, we had to kill each other's heroes. 

I felt the scenario was quite logical as the Fellowship could certainly have been confronted by the remnants of the long forgotten evil realm of the north. 

Off we went, I tried a pincer envelopment. I worked around each side and hung back the middle. My plan was to take the Fellowship in the crossfire ... and my first target would be the pointy eared rocket launcher from Mirkwood - his defence is just too low! 

Aragorn and Legolas worked up to a position behind ruined walls ready to start picking off the Orc horde. 

The above shows my centre force. They are working their way into position. The shorter 18 inch range of orc bows can be a little limiting. They began to pepper both Legolas and Aragorn with shots. Most of these fell uselessly - the elven cloaks made the Orcs only ever hit on 6s. However, in one turn, several arrows were on target. Legolas was forced to spend all his fate points. Elbereth had smiled upon her favoured kin, but her influence in this distant land was waning. 

Orcs took shots whenever they could. Sure, Orcs were being killed by the incredible aim of the heroes but ... there were plenty more where that came from. 

The Fellowship now joined up but Orcs were on both sides with more approaching from the centre. The Orc groups filled the air with black fletched arrows. The Fellowship was caught in the crossfire. 

Above, Orc losses can be seen in the centre (a lone Orc stands where once he had chums) but I had also moved my werewolves into position. These are quiet threatening creatures at only 25 points each. Their best feature is a 10 inch move (quite long in MESBG) and feral/ferocious charge - which allows them to charge without line of sight. The werewolves ensured the more combat able heroes in the Fellowship had to protect the hobbits. 

Move Orcs maneuvered to shoot the good guys. 

(Stunningly, it was my single warg rider who threw a spear that killed the Prince of Greenwood.)

Nick now used Gimli to shield the weakened and now wounded Legolas. Aragorn was slowly losing fate but the Orcs are just really bad shots. The Fellowship were moving toward a small wood. I now worried that they would slip inside and my chances to kill both Legolas and Aragorn wound be gone. 

The photographer then wandered away. In this break, I used a Barrow Wight to paralyse Legolas preventing him from getting to cover. I moved my Orcs around the rear of the Fellowships position. The second Barrow Wight and Werewolf also closed. The werewolf was almost in range of charging hobbits. However, Aragorn planted a shaft into one werewolf - it yelped and slinked behind cover. Then, Legolas fell with Orc shafts buried in his chest. Boromir charged from the wood toward the Orcs and Aragorn followed. Initially the Orcs fell back firing, but priority was eventually lost - especially with the might fountain Aragorn being present. The heroes caught their prey ... 

Boromir began to slay Orcs and the body count climbed. His horn, which enabled him to automatically win duel rolls when the Orcs failed courage tests (constantly) and massive might stores resulted in many heroic combats. Boromir was slaying 4 Orcs per turn. Aragorn was chipping in too. 

(In the above image, you can just see the hobbits in the top left. They have left the wood and were supporting Aragorn and Gimli. In the distance, a werewolf lurks.) 

More Orcs lapped around and fired arrows directly into combat. But ... Orcs are just really bad at hitting anyone ... friend or foes. My Barrow Wights steadily expended their will on paralyse spells that failed and failed again to effect the heroes. Their powerful will rolls shrugged off even the most potent dire songs of paralysis from the ancient wights. 

Whenever I could, I tried to limit Boromir's kills but I certainly wasn't able to prevent them. The Orc body count was climbing. Frodo was now attacking one of my banner bearers. Other hobbits, who can be barely seen in these images, are now fighting for their lives against werewolves. 

(The Orcs with grey stones on their bases indicate my Orc captains.)

The battle raged on and on. The Fellowship continued to win duel rolls but I could keep feeding in Orcs to the fray. Then the hobbits fell ... Sam, Merry ... Pippin. Aragorn fought on but his fate was spent. 

Gimli was surrounded by doggedly won duel roll after duel roll. I kept feeding the Orcs in ... surely I would win a duel roll or two eventually ... maybe ... at some stage ... 

And I eventually did ... Gimli was hacked down by simple Orc soldiers ... trapped and surrounded. Aragorn battled on ... but, at the last, he fell. I had surrounded them - Gimli and Aragor - turn after turn after turn - and finally they were cut down by jagged Orc blades. This ended the game. Boromir had been drawn away from the other two. An occasional priority win enabled me to engage the heroes in favourable ways limiting their kills. I tried several times to devour Frodo with a werewolf but I just could not roll a single 5 ... and I had about 6 chances to do this. The invisible little bugger got away. The ring was almost secured ... in a werewolf belly. 

In the final wash up ... a very enjoyable game with two forces of very different strengths and weaknesses. Sheer numbers probably won out. I had lost 24 Orcs only 2 short of my break point. I still had my banners and general and had killed 6 heroes. On points, it was about 13 to 2 (or 3) which is quite a victory for evil. Orc archers had dictated the game, then shear numbers and finally sheer numbers with enough mediocre Orc captains, barrow wights and werewolves to threaten and harm. 

So, it appears this tale will be ending a little differently. With Boromir alive, he may well have bundled up the hobbit and managed to slip away ... somehow. Without his protector (Strider), Frodo would have be driven south to bring the ring to Minas Tirith. 

But, I think we all know, somewhere on the road ... on a dark night ... a tall muscular man would have approached the smaller, soft skinned hobbit ... and forced him to reveal his ring. 

Altar of Freedom ACW Stones River

It was our second game of 'Altar of Freedom.' I decided I would dip into my Fire and Fury scenario book and pulled out Stones River. I looked specifically at the Union right wing, where the large Reb attack happened. After one game, I made the call to limit brigades to around 12 a side. For a week night gaming group - and even thought the rules are supposed to be 'fast play' - I really don't see how you could finish a game. 

Above shows the Union left wing stretching down to the far wing. The Rebs had 2 or 3 more brigades than the Union. The amount of cannon was about the same. The Union line was stretched along the edge of a wooded area giving them some cover. Mostly, the Rebs had to cross an open area of ground to get to grips. 

In turn one, the Rebs alone activated. One the far end of the line, this really gave the Rebs a chance to wrap around. This can be seen below best. 

Above, the Rebs pressed on. At first, I (Union) spent my points on activations over the clock or end of phase. The Union were down 4 command points as the Confederates had an extra divisional commander. I would soon change this and try to grab control of the clock. This didn't quite work as the clock is dependent upon the die rolled. This can be used to reduce the clock and, hopefully, catch out divisions that have not been activated.

Back to battle, not rules, the end of the Union line is exposed. This can be well seen below as one Confederate brigade had bypassed this Union unit. I don't know why Ian chose to do this. I was grateful he didn't turn my flank with an enfilade charge - which is deadly in the rules. 

The red and orange dots represent fatigues. 

As can be seen, fatigues are building on the Union brigades at the end of the line. Unfortunately for the Rebs, these build slowly. Musketry drives units back rather than building fatigues. Cannister fire and melee cause fatigues - but usually one at a time. 

The slow process may have been caused by deciding to give all brigades the same unit strength. It was only our second game and, to be honest, it had take me an hour to set up the battlefield and position the troops. As we play on a weekend, thats an hour I have to find between work, getting home and getting dinner ready ...etc. Printing labels as well .... nope. 

The Union were lightly wounded ... but were giving way sluggishly. The above image shows the dire position of the Union far right. It had folded back at right angles and a Confederate brigade was moving past its flank. This unit should have flank charged and rolled up the line. Its commander should be cashiered immediately! 

The Confederates charge across the open field toward the Union line. The fence marks the edge of the wood area. The Union troops before the camera are in the open. Here, at first, the Rebs went well ... then the Union cannon found their range. 

Dots show rising fatigues in the Union line as superior numbers of Rebs crash forward. These are coming in almost in attack columns not quite able to make their number advantage count. 

Losses mount in the Union lines but turns have wasted away. The Rebs have also lost many fatigues but this is not as clear as their little white fatigue dice are not as clear. 

Above, the union cannon were driven back from the line by some counter battery fire. This wasn't done well and I need to read the rules as some of the cannon - on both sides - would probably have been lost. 

Right at the bottom of the top image, a union cannon has turned to face the Reb attack. A burst of cannister completely dispersed a Confederate brigade. The Union were ahead!

While the initial push was severe, the Union re-organised their line on their far right. At the top of the above image, a whole Confederate division is sent on a long march to try and flank the Union line. This would not quite arrive in time. 

The Union stood firm against the outflanking Reb division. There was not quite enough time. This can be seen as the Rebs have not managed to shake out into a more threatening linear formation - again, attacking in a column. 

At the opposite end of the line the Union had completely driven back the Confederate attack. The two batteries were interrupting their advance and pushing them back again and again. 

We called the game with about a turn to go. There was a lot of pack up too. I really don't understand how the large 20-odd unit per side scenario 'Altar of Freedom' games would play out. You'd need a whole day. Thats okay but not for us. 

The rules work well. After the game, I found we did a couple of things wrong. Picking our targets - not firing at the closest threat - and the rules for recoiling cannons after fire were not done well. Its much easier to defend than attack in this game. But, the Confederates did go straight in and not try to use their advantage by working around the flanks first - that was an after thought. 

The command system is certainly a feature of this game. It works well and has both players scratching their heads. Tactics on points allocation change throughout the game to take advantage of situations that arise and as players try to push an attack or defence in a certain area. We need to introduce leader characteristsics and unit strengths to get a better game. But there is a lot of set up with labels to be done. I really enjoy the game but set up time - which includes the large amount of terrain an ACW game demands - is quite difficult for a week night. The game definitely needs two motivated players to get things up and working (and on Little Wars TV - they even have a dedicated GM as well. No wonder things look better online.) 

 

Altar of Freedom ACW

This will be short as I've been slack. I posted the images then didn't write the report. 

Okay, after several months, Ian and I finally played 'Altar of Freedom' by the guys from Little Wars TV. I used my - now quite old - ACW 15mm figures. These are based on inch square bases with three to a base. I now think four would look better. 

We played with around 9 brigades a side - which means 3 divisions each. All had a battery too. We did not attempt a historical scenario as we were just trialing the rules. 

And what of the rules ... pretty damn good. The main phase of each turn (the most crucial) comes first with the allocation of CinC and divisional commander points. This decides order of division activation, who controls the clock and a few points should be saved for the final phase of the turn - for a bonus move per division. This can take a little while to get your head around. 

In general, controlling the clock is good if you are losing or defending. Otherwise, spend your points are ensuring the divisions where you have an advantage go first. 

On the night, we lined up our forces and moved in. The Union held back their right and pressed an extra brigade into the centre. This gave them an edge. 

The Confederates were cautious on their right but pushed up on their left. Firing can be quite inconclusive - especially musketry - but may push a unit out of the line or stop an attack. This second one is especially the case with batteries who can interrupt enemy movement and drive back an attacking brigade. 

The Union were able to concentrate more brigades - slightly - in the centre leading to an advantage. 

By the end of the night, no units had broken or routed but the Rebs had more fatigues. We figures out the rules but still had a bit to learn. Cannons caused us a bit of debate on this night. (I don't think batteries should be manhandled into melee for example.)

 

MESBG Battle Report Arnor against Isengard

After a few weeks off, MESBG was back at 700 points - Isengard versus Arnor. I was playing the good guys and I'd long wanted to play Arnor. They had a good range of special rules and several interesting named characters that do not break the bank or cause opponents to question why they ever played wargames. 

In lore terms, this game made no fucking sense as Arnor was all dead long before Saruman went bad. I can only assume some form of Timewarp had occurred leading to this bizarre situation. Maybe two palantirs in one place resulted in a flux capacitor situation ... ???

My good friend, Nick, supplied the battle mat and scenery for this evening. He has some great looking Sarissa mdf buildings that he'd assembled. He put together a little market area within a medieval town. I particularly liked the slime covered roofs hinting at decay and sinister themes within this community. In MESBG terms, it may have been Tharbad. 

We played a scenario using 6 heirlooms laid in a hexagon pattern, 12 inches apart. Deployment was by maelstrom and the first to flip over the numbered tile had an advantage. Players rolled a dice to determine where their forces marched on. This provided some danger as a larger warband could monster a smaller one. Neither of us decided to do this. 

Isengard included Saurman on horse and a troll with around 5 berserkers. It was high points and lower model count. Nick had but two heroes although he did have about 6 crossbows. The Isengard rule that I find challenging is the 2/3 break point limit. This makes them a tough nut to crack fighting to the last. 

Arnor consisted of Arvedui, Malbeth, Agadoo and a captain. The Arnor pre-battle meeting can be seen above. In total there were 46 models including 10 rangers and 4 knights. Numbers were definitely on the side of good. 

With simply more warbands within the company, Arnor approached 4 of the heirloom markers. I decided to keep my knights at the rear to save for later purposes. My warriors ran forward to try to uncover the location of the heirloom. My 3 initial attempts to uncover it were not fruitful then Isengard found it on the left hand side of the table. 

This was quite fortunate as Arvedui's large command was in this area. Isengard could reach it first, by I could - and did - quickly charge to wrest it away. I also had many more warriors in this part of the table. Although the terrain offered limited spaces to deploy archers and lots of blocking terrain. For two armies with significant missile forces, shooting would play a limited effect in this game. 

Saruman searched in vain. 

The drone shot. On the left, a small Isengard force takes the objective. Their troll is nearby but would take two turns to become impactful. Crossbows held the centre and Saruman was on the right. Arnor forces were just beyond the left of the image with two groups of around 10-12 warriors at the bottom of the photo. They advanced cautiously looking for the best opportunity to commit. 

Arvedui ordered a charge. He had a banner and his own fighting skills to bolster his force. Here Arnor outnumbered the Orcs and, with a quick strike, could remove the objective from evil. I also began funneling warriors around to the left to support. 

The forces of Arnor slew several foes. Arvedui fought well slaying several. The troll loomed but as yet was impotent. The forces of good press back evil and threaten the model carrying the objective. 

My knight continued to wait for an opportunity. Would this prove to be an error?

Malbeth, his foresight throbbing, directed his troops toward a key choke point. From this stage, the central market square terrain would prove decisive. It limited bow shots and stopped the flow of Isengard troops forward - especially in coming turns. This would allow Arnor to move the objective to safety. 

Isengard repositions. Saruman swings around to the left while crossbows - and Rascu - hold the centre and try to shoot down Arnor warriors. The scatter terrain made this near impossible. 

Arnor continues to slowly bring warriors toward the front but delaying enough to force Isengard to commit. I was looking for a place to strike at the lower defence of the crossbowmen or lap around a side. 

The troll reaches combat. Agadoo sits off to the side looking for a chance to charge. 

And then it was a palantir battle with both Saruman and Arvedui looking deep into their crystal balls for the future. In this battle of the philosophers, Saruman won out. Then the might battles started with both sides throwing in heroic moves. Arnor won several duels, killing Isengard orcs, and isolating the objective carrier. Over several priorities, Arnor tied up Isengard's troops and this led to slow attrition. 

Arnors centre and right crept closer. With my left fully engaged it was time to throw in my remaining forces to stretch the smaller Isengard force and disallow them to concentrate their troops. 

The objective carrying orc fell and and Arnor warrior snatched it up, then ,protected by several warriors, began to fall back. Arvedui was left to hold back the tide, but he did still have 6-7 warriors to help - supported by a banner. He stood mightily thrusting back the forces of evil. A ray of  sun from the West fell upon this shining helm, bringing despair to the forces of Isengard. 

Saruman rode over to the main fight and hurled a sorcerous blast or two. One was willed away by Arvedui but another unhorsed Agadoo. Further transfix spells were thrown against the Arnor king. But he stood tall and regularly felled 1-2 orcs each turn. More than this, his 6 inch 'For the King' ability ensured warriors could charge the troll without courage tests - and they were also immune to Saruman's terrifying magics. 

Arnor warriors filled choke points while Arvedui held the line to prevent any evil forces pursuing the objective marker that was withdrawing in every turn. It soon was beyond the range of Isengard to strike at it. Rangers shots whizzed between market stalls trying to fell evil's banner with limited success. 

Malbeth's insight of the Eldar points were golden in this phase of the battle. It enabled around 3 key priority wins in the row. This allowed one off warrior attacks on the troll - tying it up - by also allowed Arnor warriors the chance to attack orcs advantageously. Isengard losses were mounting. 

Arvedui stands on a handy rock and brandishes his axe - hewing down the foe. 

Arnor holds back Isengard doing regular casualties. Evil's small model count was beginning to tell as was Arnor's high break point. We were in no danger of reaching 50% losses. In the foreground, Arnor warriors fought against berserkers supported by pike - a nasty combo. But, Malbeth - he who always knows exactly which card you drew from the deck - used his foresight powers to prevent the deaths of 4-5 warriors. This led to the continued repulsion of evil attacks, while steadily Isengard forces fell. 

Each of the Arnor heroes made important contributions to the victory. Agadoo fought alone against the troll and I wonder if, with his horse, he could have been even better. Oh well, Saruman left that nag a smoldering pile of dust not fit for the knackery. 

And now my forces from the right assailed the centre, striking into the lower defence of the crossbowmen. Saruman, growing desperate, strayed too close to the combat. 

The troll threw successive warriors at the Arnor banner. Low rolls provided protection from these attacks. The troll was under-performing. Meanwhile, Arvedui surged through the orcs before him and fought Saruman directly. In one turn, the king's axe struck multiple times forcing the wizard to spend all available fate. Agadoo engaged in several turns of combat against the troll - even having the audacity to wound it before he succumbed to its blows. 

By now, the small group of three Arnor warriors had escorted the objective far beyond the range of Isengard. Arvedui threatened Saruman and I still hard enough warriors to tie up the troll. The Isengard crossbow centre were all killed and the forces of my right were about to join the melee elsewhere. Arnor knights and rangers remained in reserve too. 

We called the game just after this image. Arnor was still 10 casualties away from breaking but Isengard had hit this point. Although it is difficult to press Isengard hard enough to reach  this point, at 66^ they are also close to routing too. I had lost Agadoo and expended most of my might, but Arnor was still strong with Arvedui still eager for more dueling. Saruman's fate was expended and he had lost a wound. 

In the final tally, it was a big win to Arnor. I had expected something much different as Isengard is a very powerful list. I suspect their strenght lies in orcs rather than trolls. Largely, it was terrain that played a part in victory, reducing the effectiveness of missiles and giving many choke points to prevent larger number attacks - but this did effect both sides. Having the objective appear at that place and time was unfortunate for the forces of Isengard. Arvedui's larger force was able to overwhelm and take it. Numbers again allowed Arnor to spirit this away and prevent breaking. The troll did not do its assigned tasks well - Malbeth's forsight points robbed his chances to be more impactful. Malbeth also did a good job in the centre with his magic aura. I made a couple of errors in missing another chance to strike down Saruman with Arvedui but that's my silly fault. 

Arnor is a very good army list ... that's my summation.