Fantastic Battles in Middle Earth - Two 500 pt Games

I got a couple of games of Fantastic Battles in against Bodvoc and one of his Sad gaming chums recently.  We used our Middle Earth army lists and played a couple of 500 point games to familiarise ourselves with the rules.

As host, Bodvoc had devised a couple of scenarios, both of which featured wandering hobbits.  In the first game the hosts of Rohan clashed with a band of orcs.  The two hobbits were hiding somewhere on the battlefield (indicated by the MDF tokens - each one had a 1 in 6 chance of hiding the hobbits, automatically if it were the last one searched).

My orcs suffered badly from the Mishaps, three units taking damage due to sickness before the battle commenced.  The Rohan host merely had one unit arrive late.

The battle was great fun.  From my point of view things didn't go well.  Loosing my general in his first fight was a blow that cost me dear; combined with the earlier Resolve loss due to disease, the Trolls didn't survive long in melee, and their Heavy weapons would have been useful cracking the tough armour of the horse-boys.

It was sheer luck that the Wargs found the hobbits, and, presumably, dragged them back to Isenguard.

With nearly all the Orc force wiped out but with them capturing the hobbits, we called it a draw.

After Mishaps

The host of Rohan.  Not a lot for 500 points

Initial moves.  The Wargs suffer some missile casualties. 

The two forces approach

Just before the clash in the centre

The orc general falls, but the rest of the horde holds - just

The big clash

The trolls are killed and the orcs continue to take casualties

While on the flank, the Wargs find the cowering hobbits

All that remains of the host of Rohan (nearly all of it) and all that remains of the orcs (none, apart from the wargs above)

The second game had a similar storyline.  Frodo and Sam (and presumably Gollum, though we had no mini for him) were unlucky enough to be 'sneaking' around the area where a Gondorian force clashed with a Mordor force.  As before, the tokens represented possible hiding places.

I controlled the Gondor force this time, and it was my first experience with them.  After having faced an all 5+ defence last time, it was good to turn the tables on Bodvoc and Ian.

I used the Rangers' Ambush tactics to try and reach a token at the start, but the Mordor force, being much faster, was able to reach more tokens sooner.  The trolls recovered from turning up late and eventually found the hapless hobbits hiding out in the large ruin on the flank.

I took far too long readjusting my line in response to some well placed flank moves by Ian's Wargs and Warg Riders, but eventually, weathering a hail of arrows, I managed to make contact with the orc units. 

In a repeat of the first game, Bodvoc managed to kill my general, frustrating.  However, the higher Gondorian defence paid off, and, though battered, the Gondor force broke the Mordor force.

The start of play, the trolls are late

The rangers explore the ruined tower on the hill, finding nothing of interest.  The Gondorian lines advance, while their archers investigate more ruins

Slow advance, apart from those fast Wargs in the woods

The trolls search the ruins, and find Frodo and Sam

The Gondorians are unsure where they priorities lie.  The orc battle line, or the Wargs and Warg Riders now menacing their rear

As the Orcs approach, the Gondor Archers take aim at the Warg Riders and wipe them out

 

Then smartly turn to face the main fight.  The Spearmen clash with the Orcs

The loss of the General causes his unit to break, but the other regiment wipes out their opponents.  The Orc army is broken

Once again the forces of Darkness captured the hobbits, but were themselves broken, so we called it another draw.

We all had fun, the scenarios were simple enough that we could easily focus on our objectives, but added a lot to our enjoyment.  The lists seemed about right.  Bodvoc designed the Rohan list, and they were as scary in melee as they should be, especially with the 'Master of Horse' tactic.  Defence 5+ is a tough nut to crack for most troops, which meant the Gondorians held out nicely against superior numbers.  Formed infantry does seem to move slowly though.