Battle report 300 pts Rohan vs Rhûn.
Hi everyone, after the launch of the Middle-earth strategy game last week my friend and I were very eager to try out the new rules and after a week we finally got the change.

Before I start with the actual report I need to mention two things. Firstly, we decided not to use any special strikes since we are not fully experienced with that. Secondly, this game was meant to test the new rules and profiles so actions that bring out these changes were made over best tactical ones.

The forces
Forces of good
Theoden, King of Roan with heavy armour, shield and armoured horse
9 riders of rohan with throwing spear
4 riders of rohan

We didn’t have the new theoden model from the pelennor fields set yet, so we used an older version
of theoden with his new profile.


Forces of evil
Amdûr, lord of blades on armoured horse
9 easterling kataphrakts with black dragon upgrade
1 easterling warrior with bow and black dragon upgrade


We picked the ‘’To the death” scenario from the hobbit rule book meaning we each had to kill our opponents leader. We both picked a table edge and after deployment we were ready to go.


Turn 1: Evil has priority
Move phase
The first turn was very straightforward. The kataphrakts movings forward while staying in formation trying to use their new ‘gleaming horde’ special rule to its full extent. The riders decided to move only a little forward and prepared for a very one-sided round of shooting.

Shoot phase
The lone easterling archer missed but the army of rohan had a staggering number of 14 bows which they released upon on the kataphrakts. Luckily they had heavy armour and their new rule meant the riders of rohan needed a 6/4 to kill one. One rider however was lucky enough to roll this and one kataphrakt was killed.

Turn 2: Evil has priority
Move phase
The riders were still out of range so the kataphrakts moved closer, moving to the right of the board. The riders on the other hand could now charge and eager to try out the new charge bonuses did so where they could.


Shoot phase
Unfortunately for good, all the throwing spears missed on the charge and the other riders where so eager to join in on the fight that they forgot to fire their bows. On the evil side, the lone Easterling archer managed to hit, bit failed to wound a horse

Combat phase
There were many combats going on and both good and evil won their share. Neither army seemed to be fully warmed up, since no warriors were killed. A couple of riders came very close thanks to their charge bonuses, but the defence 7 of the kataphrakts proved to be too much, for now …


Turn 3: Evil priority
Move phase
Wanting to exploit the new charge bonuses of Rohan even further, Theoden called a heroic move. Realizing this threat Amdûr responded by calling a heroic move as well. A roll was needed and it landed on 4! Rohan could charge first. As many kataphrakts were charged as possible with even Theoden himself joining in. On the left side of the field, one rider was sent to deal with the lone archer.

The green dice were used as tokens to remember which model has charged.

Combat phase
The first fight was the one most right on the picture where one rider found himself trapped between a large tree and two kataphrakts. He lost the fight, but despite having four dice, the easterlings didn’t manage to kill him. Left of that, Amdûr found himself in a one to one combat with a rider of Rohan. Doing justice to his name, he easily won the fight and killed his opponent. Theoden on the other hand was not so lucky and could not kill his opponent. In the other fights one kataphrakt got killed and in a one on one fight a rider and a Easterling tied with 2’s, looking over his shoulder the Easterling saw Amdûr and inspired by his presence he re-rolled his dice, into a one, bringing eternal shame to his family.


Turn 4: Good priority
Move phase
Good finally managed to win priority so Amdûr called a heroic move again in a desperate attempt to witht hold good its charge bonuses. Not to be outdone, Theoden responded and won the dice roll once again, leading his rohirrim in the charge. Wanting to confine the danger of Amdûr (and secretly excited to test the new heroic challenge) Theoden charged Amdûr while the rest of the riders charged the kataphrakts but missed their throwing spears.


Combat phase
Seizing this opportunity Amdûr immediately called a heroic combat which Theoden willingly accepted. With a hefty 3 attacks and a higher fight the lord of blades proved no match for Theoden and he lost the fight. Amdûr showed his true evil nature and directed all of his blows on Theoden’s horse which died despite a fate roll turning the challenge in his favour (he didn’t called a heroic FAIR challenge). Around this duel things were looking pretty dark for the easterlings since the charging riders managed to kill a staggering 3 kataphrakts and breaking their force.


Turn 5: Evil priority
Move phase
Using his priority, Amdûr called a stand fast to rally the four remaining kataphrakts before charging relentlessly at a now unmounted theoden. The riders, unable to help their king decided to trap the remaining kataphrakts were possible since they only needed to kill 2 more to end the game.


Combat phase
Theoden knew that without his mount he would be no match for Amdûr, so he went for shielding in an attempt to stall the easterlings and allow his trusted riders to win the game. Unfortunately for him, the lord of blades was true to his name and rolled a 6, knocking Theoden to the ground. Despite a brutal 8 attacks, Theoden’s heavy armour and shield made the king suffer only one wound and allowed him to stall the game for another turn. In the meantime, the easterlings came dangerously close to a defeat while taking out just 1 rider at the cost of one of their one.

Turn 6: Evil priority
Move phase
Amdûr rallied the remaining kataphrakts again using his stand fast before charging Theoden yet again. The riders, in a desperate attempt to kill one more kataphrakt, went as far as one 3 to 1 combat and trapping another kataphrakt into a 4 to 1 fight.


Combat phase
Despite Theoden’s best attempts at shielding, Amdûr rolled a 6 one again and another set of 8 attacks proved too much for the king of Rohan. The lord of blades got back one might point and another 3 from winning the heroic challenge. Comfortably sitting with all of his three wounds and 4 might he was ready for a comeback. The death of their king had an immediate effect on the riders since they would no longer get their +1 fight value bonus and due to this their combat went horribly wrong. Not only did a kataphrakt managed to kill a rider, despite the riders winning the 4 to 1 fight and getting 8 hits, not a single 5 or 6 was rolled allowing the easterlings staying in the fight.

A true hero

Turn 7: Good priority
Move phase
With his mind set on making a comeback, Amdûr called a heroic move, passed a stand fast and allowed the easterlings a favourable round of combat.

Combat phase
Having plenty of might left and still being outnumbered and on the brink of defeat Amdûr also called a heroic combat. Due to his three attacks, he managed to kill his opponent allowing him to move again and charge another rider which he then also killed although at the cost of one additional might point. The riders were now in complete dismay and struggled to win fights and did not succeed in killing one more kataphrakt. Not only was their force now broken, at this point they were also just two models away from being reduced to a quarter of their starting size.

Turn 8: Evil priority
Move phase
Amdûr one again passed his stand fast and feeling confident from his previous successes heroically charged 3 riders while the remaining kataphrakts charged the other riders.

The deciding combat

Combat phase
Once again, Amdûr, lord of blades proved worthy of his name as he rolled a 6 and with his final might point killed 2 riders at the same time. Thus, reducing the Rohan army to below 25% of their starting size and ending the game.


Reflections
Evil
This was easily the tensest game I ever did. I was one model away from losing and it was only because the trapped kataphrakt in the 4 to 1 fight managed to survive that I was able to make a comeback. All in all I’m very pleased with the new gleaming horde special rule since it countered the army bonus of Rohan nicely. The updated profile of Amdûr really made a lot of impact. His banner effect saved a lot of kataphrakts and due to his combat skills alone he killed the enemy leader with ease and almost a third of the riders of rohan.

Good
I was amazed by the new Theoden profile. Not only does he have greatly improved stats. But the +1 fight he gives to the riders in combination with the Rohan army bonus of +1 strenght on the charge makes for a terrifying mounted force. However, Theoden is not the strongest fighting hero and he has to be put into combat carefully since the army tends to fall apart without his presence.

Nice report, Amdur seems to be a beast !

I agree with what you say at the end with Theoden you have to be careful with him as you dont want to lose his buffs.

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Soon Master Elf, you will enjoy the fabled hospitality of the Dwarves! Roaring fires, malt beer, red meat off the bone!

Nice report! Just one thing. You said...
The riders were still out of range so the kataphrakts moved closer, moving to the right of the board. The riders on the other hand could now charge and eager to try out the new charge bonuses did so where they could.

Cavalry charging cavalry does not gain any bonus,only infantry. Even a special scenario rule would not change this.

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By all that you hold dear on this good Earth,
I bid you stand, men of the West!

This is of course true. Cavalry charging other cacalry models does not gain the standard knock to the ground or extra attack bonusses.

However, the rohan army bonus states: "Friendly rohan cavalry models gain +1 strenght on a turn in which they charge" and the riders of rohan have a new rule which give them +1 fight on a turn in which they charge if Theoden is within range.
These two bonusses only count when a models charges and therefore I called them charge bonusses. Sorry if this was confusing

Ah. Makes sense.

_________________
By all that you hold dear on this good Earth,
I bid you stand, men of the West!