Rules: Hobbit SBG
# of Players: 16
Points: 650
Scenarios: Hold Ground, Capture The Flag (custom), Lords of Battle (Doubles), King of the Hill, To the Death.
Time Limit per game: around 2 hours
Prizes: Various Hobbit/Lotr miniatures for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd.
Another long drive into Ontario for me, 5 hours since I got lost somewhere. No sleep the night before, up painting my army to legal standards, so I was a zombie come game day.
My army: Gondor Fiefdoms led by Gandalf, Beregond, Damrod, D-A Capt.
Results: 2W/3L, tied for 10th overall with two others; a slight improvement over my last tournament.
Game 1, Hold Ground, vs Angmar (Named Wraith)
The advantage with my army is that it was one of the largest there at the tournament with 38 models, meaning I swarmed objectives quickly. When placing our warbands through luck of the die roll. My warbands were placed north, south, and east, while all of angmar was placed north. Only his barrow wight didn't show up until turn 4 lucky me. If I'd known better and how dangerously annoying his named Wraith was, I would have charged him with my Dol-Amroth warband from the get go which was deployed 12" away from him, d'oh.
First round, I took a might off of 3 of my heroes to march the entire army to the center. Now time was against Angmar. The Angmar army lacked Might, but with Shades causing -1 to Fight, Spectres commanding movement of my models, and the Wraith reducing a point of courage, the combo became very annoying and deadly for my troops. Luckily most courage tests were past by my Knights of D-A. So even if I only killed one measly orc while he was thrashing me all game with 12-15 kills, he couldn't get to the center, so I've won.
Game 2, Capture The Flag, vs High + Woodland Elves (Legolas)
Objective is to take the flag located at the center of the table and return it to your deployment zone for 3VP, then the flag respawns at center again. Victory points for wounding and killing the leader, and for breaking the opposing force. Both armies deployed on opposite ends, 12" away from center.
I got first priority, I had cav, he didn't, I called for a Heroic March. My cav over shot the objective while my troops stood on top of it. Amazingly he shot down three of my DA knights in the first round, leaving only my captain left mounted! Damn elves, (and it won't be the last time I'd be saying that). Anyway cav can't take the objective without dismounting but the flag can be passed along, which I did so my capt. can score.
Brought down Gandalf and my rangers from a fort at the back because my Gondorians were being murdered by elves at the center. I should have brought Gandalf with the main at the beginning to cast Blinding Light, my bad. Great news was that the flag respawned back again at the center which my troops still held.
I was close to scoring my second flag, but time ran out. Gandalf suffered a wound and my force was near broken by 1. So I won 3VP to 1VP.
Game 3, Lords of Battle (doubles), Gondor&Isengard vs Arnor&High Elves
This must have been the largest battle during the entire day. 38 Gondor, 38 Isengard, 40+ Arnor, 25+/- Elves. So, epicness. My alliance had the shooting advantage so we held the shooting line. I wanted to flank out with my cav but my partner counselled patience, so we just waited for them to charge us.
Gandalf sorcerous blasted some knights, we shot, their shooting was more effective being elves and all. My rangers' shooting was horrendous. Long story short, when the enemy crashed our line, it was a matter of time before we got overran by Gil-Galad & Elrond + Malbeth and others. My Fiefdoms warband outnumbered the High Elves on the side, and again my side lost and the elves survived IMPOSSIBLE odds! DAMN ELVES!!!, (and it won't be the last time I'd be saying that). Gandalf died, other heroes died, my side got massacred.
Game 4, King of the Hill, vs... ... Mirkwood Elves (Thraduil..........)
Now I have to make it clear that even though I have been in this hobby since 2004, I am not a walking encyclopedia for every single special rule out there. So my models outnumbered his, swarmed the hill right away through heroic move, done right?
Well my cav and archers gave Legolas a run for his money so he was a non factor. That leaves Tauriel, Galadriel, and Thranduil... Now Gandalf being an old man that he is, couldn't climb up a hill and fell and tumbled down with Tauriel nearby. Needless to say that the she-elf had no qualms kicking an old man while he was down for 2 turns to eventually shut down his blinding lights. Thus the Elves gaining major victory points and opening up their shooting even more. Then the bomb was dropped as I was near victory having the hill overrun.
Thranduil, that smirking woodland sprite, casts an automatic nature's wrath which drops 2/3rd's of my troops. So what happens, elves invade the hill in droves, and breaks my army. Mirkwood wins by 2VP's in the end.
.........Damn Elves........
Game 5, To the Death, vs Isengard (my once ally)
So I had a banner, fortified my force within an Osgiliath ruin. Made him come to me. His Isengard troll got weaned down to a single wound and Damrod & rangers shooting at him for 2 turns. I was damning Damrod & his rangers before for being useless thoughout the entire day, I think he heard me as his crew wiped out several other Uruk-hai.
I deployed Gandalf's blast on the Uruk's ranks, twice, but for some reason Gandalf coud'nt get it up today, as if his staff was low on energy and only sent models flying 2"...
The epic battle was my KoDA versus the Isengard Troll, who would not die and devastated my horsemen, losone + a captain. I think I forgot to use my lances during a combat, but that's SBG, tons of illegal stuff went down unknowingly until hindsight.
His Mauhur wouldn't die, nothing else of his wouldn't die in the later rounds. I kept my banner and Gandalf un-wounded, but he won anyway through breaking my force and who knows what else, killing two of my heroes.
^The Host of the Tournament
^Yes that was an actual 700 point list used.
In Conclusion: I hate elves. They made up a good quarter of the forces present at the tournament, and only one force fielding a wraith, hmm. I need to get sleep before going to these events, because I was to drawn out the entire day. Still had loads of fun, was disappointed that my Gondorians don't dish out as much punishment as they take, they're like the new goblin horde. Anyways I'm more for theme and fun than competition, can't wait to do another one.
For more of my tourney summaries click here.
