The GW Tournament Circuit returned to Chicago for what would turn out to be a strong LOTR tournament with 14 contestants. It also had the most diverse and best painted armies yet, topping even the impressive portfolio of forces featured at the Las Vegas GT. As usual, we played 500 point armies. However, unlike Las Vegas where LOTR played seven games on its own schedule, we played five games on the same schedule as Fantasy and 40K. The games were played on standard WH Fantasy boards measured off at 4' x 4'.
Players and Armies:
Alexander Adams – Dwarves/Khazad-Dum
Eric Adams – Hobbits/Shire
Frank Brown – Isengard/White Hand
Timothy Cornstubble – Gondor/Ithilien
Joe Krone – Angmar
Joshua Leong – Grey Company
Iain Martin – Mordor
Greg Niswander – Wood Elves
Kevin Ramig – Dwarves/Erebor
Chris Rubright – Rohan
Brent Sinclair – Rohan/Riders of Eorl
Andrew Stuart – Easterlings
Jamie Welling – Gondor/Minas Tirith
Jeremy Williams – Mordor/Easterlings
Scenarios:
Reconnoitre
Meeting Engagement
Seize the Prize
Domination
To the Death
RESULTS:
FIRST OVERALL – JAMIE WELLING
SECOND OVERALL – FRANK BROWN
THIRD OVERALL – JOE KRONE
BEST GENERAL – JOSH LEONG
BEST PAINTED – GREG NISWANDER
SECOND PAINTED – TIM CORNSTUBBLE
THIRD BEST PAINTED – BRENT SINCLAIR
PLAYER’s CHOICE – JAMIE WELLING
FAVORITE OPPONENT – CHRIS RUBRIGHT
SPORTSMANSHIP – ANDREW STUART
CLUB/STORE COMPETITION RESULTS:
BEST OVERALL
GW - LIBERTYVILLE
Red Top Plaza
Josh Leong
GW - LIBERTYVILLE
Red Top Plaza
Josh Leong
Brent Sinclair
Andrew Stuart
BEST SPORTMEN
GW - CHICAGO BUNKER
Timothy Cornstubble
Greg Niswander
Jamie Welling
BEST PAINTED
WHITE COUNCIL
Joe Krone
BEST SPORTMEN
GW - CHICAGO BUNKER
Timothy Cornstubble
Greg Niswander
Jamie Welling
BEST PAINTED
WHITE COUNCIL
Joe Krone
Chris Rubright
FRANK'S REPORT
Round 1 – Reconnoitre vs. Timothy Cornstubble’s Gondorians
The tournament got started with one of my less favorite Legions scenarios. For my White Hand, I like to use a defensive style of play, choosing the right moment for a counter-attack that will deliver the crushing blow. That approach can be dangerous in Reconnoitre simply because the battles will take place close to my board edge so I don’t have much time to shoot or intercept any runners that get by my battle line.
Tim and I both set up with an infantry force on each wing and archers in the middle. There was a large hill near the middle of my side of the board that gave my crossbows a good view of the field of battle, so I quickly moved them there to cover the approaches. I made a questionable decision at this point – I decided that Tim’s squad on my left flank, containing Faramir and 8 Osgiliath veterans, was so much more dangerous than the one on my right led by Cirion that I moved both my captains to my left wing, leaving the wraith and the banner on my right.
 |
| My Wraith and Banner Must Hold Down the Right Flank |
As usual, I let Tim approach, using the time to kill as many archers as I could. With my S4 crossbows I soon won the shootout, and Tim moved Beregond and his few remaining archers in support of his right wing. My crossbows could then concentrate on Cirion’s force, inflicting one wound on him.
Once Tim’s infantry had moved past my field of fire in the center, I sent 2 of my figures towards his board edge while moving 2 more down the hill to shoot at Beregond. Beregond was a real concern – his excellent shooting could easily knock out my runners and I needed to eliminate that threat.
 |
| My Runners (top right) Take Off |
The battles were soon joined on each flank. With Vrasku and my captain on the left wing, I managed to win this fight fairly easily. Tim did have one figure break through my lines, but I was able to run him down quickly and dispose of the Gondorian.
 |
| Vrasku and His Band Await Faramir and the Veterans |
On the right, however, things were tougher. Cirion was making his presence known. My wraith had difficulty transfixing him and with the benefit of a heroic movement – that I couldn’t counter – Cirion led 2 warriors toward the board edge.
The next turn I managed to transfix Cirion and dispatch him. Tim was broken by this point, but his sacrifice of Cirion had let the other two get by. One of them failed courage but the other moved to the very edge of the board, less than an inch away, and would exit the following turn.
The next turn, I gained priority and since I could not reach the Gondorian near the boundary, I cast a black dart at him. The spell actually came off but I failed my wound roll. Fortunately for me, with my wraith present the runner failed courage as did a number of Tim’s figures.
Tim’s attacks had been beaten off but a new problem emerged. The game was about to end as Tim was only 1 casualty from 75% losses and my runners were still one turn away. Gaining priority, I charged all of Tim’s figures so they did not have to test, and shielded where possible. I managed to avoid inflicting any casualties. The next turn my runners exited giving me a major victory.
Round 2 – Meeting Engagement vs. Chris Rubright’s Rohirrim
This was the classic Rohan - Isengard matchup which is my army’s bread and butter. The trick to this scenario is to avoid letting Rohan catch you spread out in the open where their mobility can cut you apart. So I formed up in my typical phalanx with crossbows on each wing. They would try to thin Chris’ eored before contact and would guard against any moves on my flanks. I positioned my army with forests near both ends of the line so that in the worst case, I could retreat into the forest ground where Chris could not get charge bonuses as it was difficult terrain. The forest also provided good protection for crossbows.
 |
| Preparing for Both the Frontal Charge and Flanking Manuever |
I finally got the better of the outriders and prepared for Chris’ charge. He sent a few riders on a flanking maneuver around my left wing, using the forest for cover. I moved my crossbows to intercept. Meanwhile, Chris charged head-on into my phalanx. As expected, his frontal attack, “into the belly of the beast” as he described it, was stopped cold with heavy losses.
On my left flank, the riders managed to charge into my sacrificial crossbows. As expected, the Rohirrim won the bulk of the fights and killed some of the crossbows. But I was simply stalling for time here, and within a turn or two Vrasku moved over with some reinforcements from the main line where the battle was winding down. Vrasku managed to help stop the attack, and Chris was soon reduced below 25% giving me a major victory.
After the first two rounds, four players had separated from the pack – Josh Leong, Kevin Ramig, Greg Niswander and myself were all sitting on two victories. Over the next three rounds, we would wind up playing a round robin mini-tournament amongst ourselves due to the nature of the Swiss system pairings. This inevitably meant that one of us would drop out of the top four since someone in the middle of the pack after two rounds would make a run and rise up into the top group.
Round 3 – Seize the Prize vs. Greg Niswander’s Lothlorien
I had never played this scenario, even in play-testing, because it’s so squirrelly I never thought I would see it at a GT. But here it was, and so I had to deal with it. I reviewed the rules and the tactics became fairly clear – charge towards the artifact, establish a complete perimeter around it, and then, and only then, dig it up and get it off the board relay-style.
In many respects, this should have been a good scenario for me. Greg’s Wood Elves are quite dangerous at range, but because the scenario forced us both to charge in towards the center, shooting would be of less consequence. That’s good because Galadriel’s blinding light meant my crossbows would be greatly hampered. I drooled over the possibility of getting Greg’s armor-less woodies into hand–to-hand with my overgrown orcs, since I had three times the likelihood of wounding per attack once in combat. So I would charge in, spill a little elf blood, and then push Greg back and grab the goods.
In the first few turns I held to my plan. I got more troops to the center faster, and thus had a numerical advantage in the first rounds of combat. It didn’t matter however. Greg had each of his elves supported by a spear and his ability to roll 6s was unreal. I lost nearly every combat on the first turn we engaged, and it’s a good thing that Greg only had a few warriors around the center or he might have put me in a bad spot.
The next turn we both called heroic moves and I won the rolloff, allowing me to advance and regain the ground I had lost and then some. I managed to get warriors on every side of the artifact except the one directly facing Greg. I charged two crossbows into Galadriel, more to slow her down than anything. We also engaged along the line but the heroic movement had allowed me to gain some ground there as well.
In combat, the crossbows actually defeated Galadriel as she rolled poorly. I inflicted a wound which she easily saved. The other battles were mixed. While I won the battles nearest the artifact, my ability to establish a complete perimeter was dependent on winning two combats with elves that guarded what was now Greg’s only path to the artifact. Greg won both, rolling high again and winning on fight value, meaning that he still had a “line of communication” to the artifact.
 |
| Lines Engaged Over Artifact |
At the end of the turn, I made a fateful decision. I had the artifact surrounded on 5 out of 6 sides. However, Galadriel was a real threat to charge in and bust up my perimeter, and Greg’s sentinels were now coming into range with their magical powers. The combats were not turning out as I had hoped and so I hadn’t bloodied up Greg’s elves yet. So I decided to attempt to dig up the artifact, realizing that it might not be secure, but that I had about as much control over it as I was likely to get in the next couple turns. My attempt was, unfortunately, successfully. I won priority and Greg called a heroic move. I countered, but Greg won the rolloff. By careful sequencing of his moves, he was able to eliminate the various control zones covering the path to the artifact and then move in and pick it up. He could only move it 3-4 inches away, so I was not out of options yet.
We battled on the line as I tried to get through, but Greg’s elves hung on. The one hero I had who was capable of intercepting the artifact was Vrasku, who was on the right side of my line and had a good pursuit angle. However, Greg bombarded him with his sentinels’ eldamar madrigal song, which kept him tied up for a couple turns. By the time Vrasku could break free, the artifact was too far gone to recover, and Greg swarmed Vrasku with as many warriors as he could, killing him in one turn.
I was about to concede the game as a major victory when I looked the victory conditions again. I thought I had to kill all of Greg’s heroes (virtually impossible at this point), but saw that I only had to break his force. This would be difficult, but was still possible. So I focused on inflicting casualties before Greg got the artifact off the board.
To salvage a minor defeat I needed to get more than 10 kills in only 3 turns. However, the dice finally started heading where they should statistically, and the low-defense elves finally started dying in numbers. Going into the last turn before Greg got the artifact off the board I only needed 3 more kills. I started the turn well as my wraith, for the first and only time all year, cast and wounded with the black dart. I made another kill but despite the number of battles couldn’t seem to get the last one I needed. Finally, we rolled for the last battle on the board. I won it, and then got just what I needed to kill the elf and reduce Greg to half his force. Thus, I salvaged a minor defeat – just barely.
Observation: My lack of patience hurt me in this one. I should have simply counted on my superior combat results to eventually get me the artifact.
To salvage a minor defeat I needed to get more than 10 kills in only 3 turns. However, the dice finally started heading where they should statistically, and the low-defense elves finally started dying in numbers. Going into the last turn before Greg got the artifact off the board I only needed 3 more kills. I started the turn well as my wraith, for the first and only time all year, cast and wounded with the black dart. I made another kill but despite the number of battles couldn’t seem to get the last one I needed. Finally, we rolled for the last battle on the board. I won it, and then got just what I needed to kill the elf and reduce Greg to half his force. Thus, I salvaged a minor defeat – just barely.
Observation: My lack of patience hurt me in this one. I should have simply counted on my superior combat results to eventually get me the artifact.
Round 4 – Domination vs. Josh Leong’s Grey Company
Josh’s army list was a classic 500 point Grey Company. Led by the twin sons of Elrond, who bring a lot of bang for a buck and a half, Josh had plenty of points to spare for 6 Dunedain or Rangers of the North leading 24 Rangers of Arnor. With his army packing 30 bows hitting on 3+, facing Josh’s Grey Company was a lot like facing an ancient Persian army – get ready to fight in the shade.
I knew it was highly likely I would have to face these guys, but I did have one thing in my favor. After the results of the third round on Friday afternoon, it was possible to predict the matchups for the Saturday morning Domination scenario, and it was clear that Josh and I would be playing on board 1. We exchanged lists so that we knew what we would be facing. I looked over the terrain pieces, and went home to come up with a strategy.
Terrain is very important in Domination, as the proximity of the objectives and the amount of cover can make a crucial difference in the game. So I developed a strategy for terrain deployment that would give me a good chance. In Domination, the four principle objectives can be placed anywhere in the four board quadrants, so I made sure that one of the side objectives would be very close to my home objective. Since Josh’s archers would have a range advantage due to volley fire, I set my home objective as close to the center of the board as possible so my crossbows could cover most of the board and still have some protection. Most important, the layout required Josh to place the last major terrain piece, a large hill, between the left objective and his home objective, creating an instant arrow barrier.
My normal strategy in Domination is to place my crossbows towards the center of the board and split my heavy infantry into two groups, sending one towards each corner objective. In this game, Josh’s archery made that impractical. Instead, I would send the bulk of my infantry on a sweeping movement through the left objective, over the hill and into Josh’s camp. With the cover, the archers hopefully would not be able to hurt me that badly.
Josh’s army list was a classic 500 point Grey Company. Led by the twin sons of Elrond, who bring a lot of bang for a buck and a half, Josh had plenty of points to spare for 6 Dunedain or Rangers of the North leading 24 Rangers of Arnor. With his army packing 30 bows hitting on 3+, facing Josh’s Grey Company was a lot like facing an ancient Persian army – get ready to fight in the shade.
I knew it was highly likely I would have to face these guys, but I did have one thing in my favor. After the results of the third round on Friday afternoon, it was possible to predict the matchups for the Saturday morning Domination scenario, and it was clear that Josh and I would be playing on board 1. We exchanged lists so that we knew what we would be facing. I looked over the terrain pieces, and went home to come up with a strategy.
Terrain is very important in Domination, as the proximity of the objectives and the amount of cover can make a crucial difference in the game. So I developed a strategy for terrain deployment that would give me a good chance. In Domination, the four principle objectives can be placed anywhere in the four board quadrants, so I made sure that one of the side objectives would be very close to my home objective. Since Josh’s archers would have a range advantage due to volley fire, I set my home objective as close to the center of the board as possible so my crossbows could cover most of the board and still have some protection. Most important, the layout required Josh to place the last major terrain piece, a large hill, between the left objective and his home objective, creating an instant arrow barrier.
My normal strategy in Domination is to place my crossbows towards the center of the board and split my heavy infantry into two groups, sending one towards each corner objective. In this game, Josh’s archery made that impractical. Instead, I would send the bulk of my infantry on a sweeping movement through the left objective, over the hill and into Josh’s camp. With the cover, the archers hopefully would not be able to hurt me that badly.
 |
| My Game Plan |
As expected, Josh immediately began raining arrows down on my forces. While I suffered a few casualties, I was able to get my forces behind barriers or other cover fairly quickly, meaning that Josh would have to roll in the way for hits.
Once my crossbows and a few supporting infantry had set up in the center of the board, I had them lay down behind rocks so they could not be seen. As my sweeping forces entered the forest around the left objective, they also disappeared from view, leaving Josh nothing to shoot at.
As I had hoped, Josh moved a group of his rangers out to gain a view of my advancing infantry. I immediately stood up my crossbows and the next turn decimated his rangers with crossbow fire. This allowed my flankers to advance unmolested until they crossed the hill.
As I had hoped, Josh moved a group of his rangers out to gain a view of my advancing infantry. I immediately stood up my crossbows and the next turn decimated his rangers with crossbow fire. This allowed my flankers to advance unmolested until they crossed the hill.
 |
| My Crossbows Decimate Josh's Rangers |
With only a turn or two to shoot at my infantry with direct fire, Josh could only kill a few of them. I charged into his force which he had formed up just outside the forest. Josh had Elladan leading the force, but my wraith transfixed him while my captain pounded away at him with spear and pike support. With their low defense, the rangers suffered several casualties in the hand to hand.
 |
| The Hill's Cover Allows Me to Advance With Few Casualties |
Now that I had tied up most of Josh’s rangers, I moved several of my infantry towards the last objective. It was held by Elrohir, so I knew I could not outfight Josh for it. However, if I could kill Elladan, Elrohir would be forced to run towards the other flank while I could capture the objective.
The second round of combat on Josh’s base went a little too well. Josh entered the turn 3 casualties from break point. Because Josh had formed his battle line outside of the objective, I couldn’t get enough models in touch with it without splitting my force up dangerously, and if the game went on another couple of turns it could cost me a chance at winning. My crossbows killed one of the rangers holding the objective, a shot I shouldn’t have fired. I thought about shielding in the combat vs. Elladan, but if I didn’t kill him this turn he could turn the battle around quickly. I had to hope for a little luck on the sudden death roll. My captain inflicted 2 wounds which sent the twin to his death while my berserker, who couldn’t shield, wound up wounding one of Josh’s Dunedain. Josh didn’t use his fate point, so he reached his break point with more figures actually touching the base. Josh then rolled a “1” on the sudden death roll ending the game in a draw. If I had only one more movement I would have claimed a minor victory; if the game had lasted 2 more turns I would have had a major victory as my infantry advancing on the right objective would have secured it by then. I can’t complain too much, however – at Adepticon Josh’s Gondorians had outfought my Mordor Orcs, only for me to escape with a draw when I contested his home objective on the last turn.
The second round of combat on Josh’s base went a little too well. Josh entered the turn 3 casualties from break point. Because Josh had formed his battle line outside of the objective, I couldn’t get enough models in touch with it without splitting my force up dangerously, and if the game went on another couple of turns it could cost me a chance at winning. My crossbows killed one of the rangers holding the objective, a shot I shouldn’t have fired. I thought about shielding in the combat vs. Elladan, but if I didn’t kill him this turn he could turn the battle around quickly. I had to hope for a little luck on the sudden death roll. My captain inflicted 2 wounds which sent the twin to his death while my berserker, who couldn’t shield, wound up wounding one of Josh’s Dunedain. Josh didn’t use his fate point, so he reached his break point with more figures actually touching the base. Josh then rolled a “1” on the sudden death roll ending the game in a draw. If I had only one more movement I would have claimed a minor victory; if the game had lasted 2 more turns I would have had a major victory as my infantry advancing on the right objective would have secured it by then. I can’t complain too much, however – at Adepticon Josh’s Gondorians had outfought my Mordor Orcs, only for me to escape with a draw when I contested his home objective on the last turn.
 |
| Josh is Broken as Elladan and a Dunedain Are Killed |
My use of cover allowed me to minimize my casualties from Josh’s archery, while the low defense of his rangers meant they could not stand up to my Uruks in hand-to-hand. While the vagaries of chance deprived me of a win, the game proved that with good tactics the Grey Company can be overcome. However, this was also the only game Josh played in the tournament that he did not win on his way to the best general award, so clearly the Grey Company remains a powerful force when commanded by a strong player.
Round 5 – To the Death vs. Kevin Ramig’s Dwarven Horde
Whenever I face dwarves, it’s always in a scenario that requires me to kill most or all of them. And in this game, there were a lot of them – about 42. Kevin’s army had Balin and a horde of dwarven warriors including a lot of the deadly Iron Guard. With Kevin’s superior numbers, I would have to weaken his army through shooting before hand-to-hand if I were going to have a chance to win the game.
With the scenario conditions requiring terrain to be set up in the middle, I had a lot of cover to work with. Additionally, I was fortunate in that both of Kevin’s initial deployment rolls had him deploy his groups near his board edge. With my groups rolling a central deployment, I had time to get in position and fire.
Thus I deployed Vrasku and all my crossbows near behind a line of warriors on the top of the hill in the center of the board. Another group of infantry defended just behind a large area of rocky terrain that would slow down Kevin’s advance and channel his attack.
Kevin’s deployment mirrored mine with his archers behind a line of warriors with shield and in position to volley. I moved into direct fire range as soon as I could. By concentrating on his archers, I was able to knock out enough to eliminate his volley ability. Vrasku, using a point of might, scored two kills himself. Kevin then moved his dwarves into direct fire range and we continued the shootout which I was getting the better of by this point.
Meanwhile, Kevin’s warriors were advancing up the hill and through the terrain on my left flank. Still outnumbered on the ride side of my line, I began a fighting withdrawal back down the hill, using my 2-deep formation to win battles. As expected, Kevin kept pouring dwarves around my flanks, trying to overlap, while I managed to retreat just far enough to prevent it.
On the left, Kevin’s Iron Guard bombarded me with throwing axes, doing a little damage while he kept his troops moving forward. I gave ground as necessary, using my banner and formation to lock down key choke points in the rocks.
Finally as Balin’s pressure became intense, I called a heroic move and moved all my right wing survivors back to form a new line by interlocking with my left wing at about a 120 degree angle. With the two wings now locked into battle about where I wanted them, and my crossbows having gotten off as many shots as I could afford, I committed them to the battle with the intention of grinding away.
Whenever I face dwarves, it’s always in a scenario that requires me to kill most or all of them. And in this game, there were a lot of them – about 42. Kevin’s army had Balin and a horde of dwarven warriors including a lot of the deadly Iron Guard. With Kevin’s superior numbers, I would have to weaken his army through shooting before hand-to-hand if I were going to have a chance to win the game.
With the scenario conditions requiring terrain to be set up in the middle, I had a lot of cover to work with. Additionally, I was fortunate in that both of Kevin’s initial deployment rolls had him deploy his groups near his board edge. With my groups rolling a central deployment, I had time to get in position and fire.
Thus I deployed Vrasku and all my crossbows near behind a line of warriors on the top of the hill in the center of the board. Another group of infantry defended just behind a large area of rocky terrain that would slow down Kevin’s advance and channel his attack.
 |
| My Deployment |
Kevin’s deployment mirrored mine with his archers behind a line of warriors with shield and in position to volley. I moved into direct fire range as soon as I could. By concentrating on his archers, I was able to knock out enough to eliminate his volley ability. Vrasku, using a point of might, scored two kills himself. Kevin then moved his dwarves into direct fire range and we continued the shootout which I was getting the better of by this point.
Meanwhile, Kevin’s warriors were advancing up the hill and through the terrain on my left flank. Still outnumbered on the ride side of my line, I began a fighting withdrawal back down the hill, using my 2-deep formation to win battles. As expected, Kevin kept pouring dwarves around my flanks, trying to overlap, while I managed to retreat just far enough to prevent it.
On the left, Kevin’s Iron Guard bombarded me with throwing axes, doing a little damage while he kept his troops moving forward. I gave ground as necessary, using my banner and formation to lock down key choke points in the rocks.
 |
| Battle for My Left Flank Develops |
Finally as Balin’s pressure became intense, I called a heroic move and moved all my right wing survivors back to form a new line by interlocking with my left wing at about a 120 degree angle. With the two wings now locked into battle about where I wanted them, and my crossbows having gotten off as many shots as I could afford, I committed them to the battle with the intention of grinding away.
 |
| My Flanks Having Joined, My Uruks Slug it Out |
I had gained an early lead due to my crossbows and the choke points on the left cost Kevin a few more warriors. While casualties on both sides were high, Kevin was the first to reach break point. With Balin all the way over on his left flank, Kevin had several figures fail courage. The game ended due to time and I had secured a minor victory on points with a fairly comfortable margin.
This was, as always, a difficult battle against a tough dwarven army. I never harbored any hope of wiping out Kevin’s force, being so outnumbered, so a fighting retreat inflicting higher casualties was the best way to go. It was also the first victory against a dwarf force in a pitched battle scenario I scored all year in 3 matches.
My minor victory boosted me into a second place tie with Brent Sinclair with 64 points, while Josh, whose Grey Company had shot up Greg’s wood elves, clinched first place with 74. With decent scores in painting and sportsmanship, I finished second overall, my highest yet at a Grand Tournament.
This was, as always, a difficult battle against a tough dwarven army. I never harbored any hope of wiping out Kevin’s force, being so outnumbered, so a fighting retreat inflicting higher casualties was the best way to go. It was also the first victory against a dwarf force in a pitched battle scenario I scored all year in 3 matches.
My minor victory boosted me into a second place tie with Brent Sinclair with 64 points, while Josh, whose Grey Company had shot up Greg’s wood elves, clinched first place with 74. With decent scores in painting and sportsmanship, I finished second overall, my highest yet at a Grand Tournament.
No comments:
Post a Comment