Original Air Date: March 26, 2011
We've already had a battle between Dwarves and Wood Elves in this blog and today, my friend Gaius is back for some punishment as he takes on my Dwarves with my Goblins. The combatants are listed below.
Army of Erebor: 252 points
Balin, son of Fundin - 95 points
8 Dwarf Warriors with shields - 72 points
5 Dwarf Warriors with Dwarf Bows - 45 points
5 Dwarf Warriors with two-handed weapons - 40 points
19 units, 6 bows + throwing axe, 1 hero
Host of Moria: 251 points
Durburz, Goblin King of Moria - 60 points
Cave Troll with troll chain and spear - 86 points
8 Moria Goblin Warriors with shields - 40 points
8 Moria Goblin Warriors with spears - 40 points
5 Moria Goblin Warriors with Orc bows - 25 points
23 units, 5 bows + troll chain, 1 hero
This scenario is a basic Contest of Champions game on a board that is 24" long by 24" wide. The map will allow the armies to fight immediately in a tunnel fighting context and is laid out as seen below:
Like our last tunnel fight, there are two bridges and a hallway to separate the two armies. Unlike last game, there are no objectives in this one. Random rocks and pillars have provided a slight advantage for archers, though the only points that will matter towards victory will be those killed by the heroes themselves. The rest of the kills will only be to make the life of the hero easier.
As opposed to the last Dwarf vs. Goblin game (domination game), this fight will be a "Contest of Champions" game, where the leaders of each army (Balin and Durburz) are trying to kill as many enemy units as possible. Neither force can be broken (as the Dwarves of Khazad-Dum and Goblins of Moria LOATHE each other), so the game will continue until one side is completely eliminated.
I could sense that Gaius was a little uneasy with the scenario being a "Contest of Champions," as Durburz is a tactical leader, not a killing machine. Still, his victory against the Dwarves before illustrated that Durburz will need to take on Defense 6 targets to be effective (wounding on a 5+) and that lots of Goblins can tie up Balin pretty well (and a Cave Troll might be able to clobber him). The game should be interesting.
After rolling a dice, the Dwarves will choose their placement first, while the Goblins will set up first and have priority during the first round.
Pre-game thoughts by Gaius: I don't want Balin killing a lot of Goblins because I need Durburz to kill more (at the end of the day, I need to win, but my hero is comparably weaker. As such, i want to give Balin a choice: 1) fight a cave troll, 2) rack up kills at the center bridge and take forever doing it, or 3) fight Durburz at the beginning and see who's left standing. I don't like those options, but they work right now. My army is set-up as follows:
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On my right (Dwarf Left), I've set up my Cave Troll with three Goblin archers. The archers will hopefully take out some of the Dwarves on the center bridge who can't get into the action. The Cave Troll will either face Balin at the beginning of the game OR he will cut through the Dwarves on his side and make it to Balin. Hopefully, this will be done quickly, so Balin doesn't get many kills.
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Tiberius' brother Glenstorm gave me a good tactical idea when I saw him use his Uruk Scout army: the "wag." This ancient military maneuver (very much still valid today) requires having some spare troops who are not immediately thrown into battle to be used as reinforcements where there is a break in the battle line. The four Goblins on the left are headed straight for the center bridge, while the five Goblins on the right are being held in reserve, hopefully to buffer the center, or to help with the force on my left, shown below...
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Ok, this is a really blurry picture. The Goblin King (bottom left) is leading a contingent of 7 Goblin warriors with shields or spears (first and second rank respectively) with two Goblin archers backing them up. In the last tunnel fight we had, these two archers killed a few Dwarves before the melee ensued, so I'm hoping they do the same here.
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Tiberius's pre-game thoughts: seeing as Gaius hasn't left me any good routes, I'm setting Balin up as I did before on the center bridge. But this time, I'm going to try to clear out the other goblins quickly and then head as far away from the troll as possible. Since we're playing without a broken force, I don't need to fight the troll until I'm ready (and I especially don't want the troll to come after Balin until he's racked up a good number of kills). Below are my formations:
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I know from the beginning that I don't want Balin up against the Cave Troll - it's far to risky in this game to lose my hero without any kills, so I place four Dwarves with shields against the Cave Troll, because their Defense 7 requires the Strength 6 Troll to wound them on a 5+ (which, besides sticking Balin there, is the best chance I have of keeping the Troll away from the rest of my army). These guys know that they go to death (likely), but hopefully they will hold the Troll on the bridge until Balin can come in from behind and clear a ton of Goblins.
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Balin, Lord of Moria, leads a small contingent of three two-handed weapons towards the center bridge. I picked the only spot he left "ill-defended," which happens to be in the middle. I'm going to need to get a lot of kills here. Supporting him are two archers, who will be covering the bridges and shooting at the enemy archers (and the Cave Troll if I get a good look). There are also two more Dwarves with two-handed axes on the far right, who I'm saving just in case I need to delay that Troll a bit longer...
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On my right, I have a strong unit of four Dwarves with shields and three Dwarf archers. These men will attempt to hold off the Goblin King (who wounds the Dwarves with shields on a 6 only) and try to break that flank if they can. Usually, this formation works best if there is a hero in it, but due to the presence of only one hero in this force, I need to work without one. Hopefully this side will keep the Goblin King from scoring too many points.
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Turn 1: (Priority - Goblins)
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Both armies move towards each other and the archers prepare to fire. Only one Goblin hit his target, but he failed to wound. All of the Dwarf archers hit, but only one killed his target (a Goblin archer).
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Score: Balin 0, Durburz 0
Turn 2: (P - Goblins again)
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The forces on the Left bridge have met in combat, but besides that, the rest of the armies made tactical moves to prepare for the upcoming battles next round.
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Balin killed a Goblin with this throwing axe, scoring the first point of the day for any hero. Besides that, nothing interesting happened in the archery phase.
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In the fight with the Cave troll, the Dwarves surprisingly win, but are unable to wound him (both rolled 1s).
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Score: Balin 1, Durburz 0
Turn 3: (P - Still Goblins)
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The armies have now met in most places, though some tactical adjustments prevented the Dwarves and Goblins from meeting in the corridor on the right side. The battles have formed up as you see here.
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The lines have been drawn, but just before battle, one of the Dwarf archers nailed the center Goblin with shield in the face, killing him instantly.
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Balin failed to kill a Goblin with his throwing axe, but called a heroic combat in the Fight phase. He wins the fight, but is forced to pay both of his remaining Might points to kill his foe. Apart from bringing up his kill ratio, he did this so as to get to easier targets behind the swordsman (who he wounds on a 3+). He wins this next fight and rolls 2 6s to wound the poor spearman he was fighting (if only I was confident enough to take on two opponents...darn). In the other fight on the bridge, the Goblin won, but failed to wound.
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The Cave troll wins his fight on the roll of a 5, but is only able to kill one of the Dwarves he is fighting. So far, the plan is working, but without Might points, I'm a bit concerned about what I'm going to do against that troll.
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Score: Balin 3, Durburz 0
Turn 4: (P - DWARVES!)
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The fights form up as you see. The Dwarves are now engaged on all sides and the Goblins are still coming on hard (though they've only killed one Dwarf so far). Things begin to get a bit...tricky.
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Three of the Dwarf archers on this side hit their targets, but none of them can wound them (grrr...). In the Fight phase, the Goblin king called a heroic combat, but must pay both of his remaining Might points to win the fight. He does manage to get the required roll of a 6 to wound and proceeds to help another Goblin in his fight. He wins that fight as well, but does not wound the Dwarf. In the other fights, the Goblins win, but only wound one of the Dwarves.
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On the left, the Cave troll wins the tie for the fight, but does not wound any of the Dwarves (rolled a 1, then a 2, then a 4...what's up with that?). That flank is holding well and the only remaining combats are at the bridge.
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Balin loses a fight to a spearman (rolled 3 2s to win the fight), but the two two-handed weapon Dwarves behind him finish off the Goblin they were fighting. Things are looking good in the center, so the Dwarves may be able to flank the Goblin King and his warband. If we can only get priority...
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Score: Balin 3, Durburz 1
Turn 5: (P - DWARVES! - again)
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The situation, as you can see, is pretty dire for the Dwarves in some areas. though the center is flowing pretty well for the Dwarves, both other fronts are crumbling. Thankfully, Balin is set to get a good many kills this game, but he will need to take on the troll soon...which is not going to end well.
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The archers on the right side did very well. They killed two spearmen (one of which was supporting the Goblin King). This is good, because it keeps him from being as efficient as he can be, and for a high-defense civ like the Dwarves, that's really good. Speaking of the Goblin King, he lost. :) The Dwarf didn't wound him, but he did lose, which is good for me. In other news, the two Dwarves with shields on this side both won their fights, one by shielding and the other by skill with an axe (but not enough skill to wound, apparently). The Dwarf archer lost his fight, but managed to not be wounded.
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In the Shoot phase, the Goblin archers finally score a hit, but roll a 5 to wound...but they needed a 6. The Troll won again, but still could only kill one Dwarf (and it wasn't the Dwarf he's been fighting since the beginning of the game).
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In the center, Balin pummels a spearman, bringing his kill-count up to 4. The Dwarf with two-handed axe fighting alone lost his fight, but wasn't wounded. The other two Dwarves lose their fight, but neither is wounded. With that, the game is now shaping up rather nicely for the Dwarves, on all sides except the left...of course, that could all change really soon.
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Score: Balin 4, Durburz 1
Turn 6: (P - Dwarves, yet again)
So, the Dwarves secure a more advantageous position, but I discovered something about this map that I didn't like. As I mentioned in the last tunnel fighting battle we had, there was a bridge that didn't allow people to fight on certain parts of it because of its slope. I discovered this round (as you will see better in a close-up picture), that the problem is partly in the Troll unit, because his front-heavy pose makes it impossible for him to look down a slope...so right now, he's got his back to his foes.
In my excitement to get through the round, I have again forgotten to take pictures (why do I always do that?), but thankfully, Gaius caught the mistake before we began the next round, so the pictures you see are spoilers, telling you how the end of the battle round fared. For this I also apologize.
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Two of the Dwarf archers have put their bows down and are fighting with their swords. The two who did not (and the one on the bridge) failed to wound their targets. The two Goblins who teamed up against one of the Dwarf archers succeeded in killing him, though the other archer merely lost his fight against the Goblin with shield. The Goblin King wins his fight, but fails to wound his opponent (as does the Goblin archer assisting him). One of the Dwarves with shield won his fight (failed to wound...again...), while the other lost his fight and died.
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In the center, Balin wins his fight and brings in kill #5 (Goblin King still at 1). The other two Dwarves fail to win their fight, but neither are wounded, as the Goblin chose to shield that turn.
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The Cave Troll (though we've established he isn't facing his opponents) won his fight, killed one of the Dwarves, but still could not kill the Dwarf he's been trying to kill for the last five rounds. Gaius was a bit upset, but I was kinda happy. :-)
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Score: Balin 5, Durburz 1
Turn 7: (P - Dwarves, Dwarves, Dwarves!)
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The Dwarves have now abandoned most of their archery in favor of fair fights. The Goblins are pressing their advantage, knowing that their leader cannot beat Balin at this point. If the Goblins can kill all of the Dwarves, the Dwarves will still win the game.
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The Goblin archers fail to wound the two-handed axeman approaching. That's really good for me because it means that my two-handed axemen should be pretty safe (read, "alive") against those archers.
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Balin kills his opponent with ease, doing what three rounds of Dwarf companions could not (and securing kill #6). The center is now clear and Balin turns to head to the rescue of his men, while his bodyguards pursue the enemy archers.
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The Cave Troll won his fight and finally killed the Dwarf he has been trying to kill all game. Now he doesn't know what to do with himself...
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In the mess of fights here, the Dwarf archer and two-handed weapon warrior on the left both won their fights and killed their opponents. The two-handed axe warrior and the shield warrior in the center lost their fights, but didn't die. The two archers on the right had mixed results, with one winning (but not wounding) and the other losing and dying. Were this game utilizing the broken forces rule, the Goblin force would be broken and the Dwarves would be one unit away.
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Score: Balin 6, Durburz 1
Turn 8: (P - Goblins, finally)
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The board no longer requires an overhead shot to see all of the action. With the Goblins finally gaining priority, the Cave Troll finally has a chance to kill people with his chain. He strides towards a Dwarf with two-handed weapon and brings the chain down hard on his head, killing him instantly. Ouch...
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The Goblin archers continued to fire at the Dwarves approaching them. One hit, but failed to wound (again...).
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Balin and the archer fired at the Troll, but neither hit...bummer.
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In the messy melee, the Dwarf archer on the left won, but failed to wound. The Dwarf with two-handed weapon used his hand weapon and tied the Goblin King, but lost the roll off and died (kill #2 for the Goblin King). The Dwarf with shield lost and was killed, while the archer to his right merely lost his fight. There are now 7 Dwarves and 11 Goblins...
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Score: Balin 6, Durburz 2.
Turn 9: (P - Dwarves)
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As the Dwarves now attempt to secure vital victories, I am taking on one of the most difficult tasks I will every do with them this game...fight the Cave Troll without Might points or superior numbers. I pulled my two remaining archers from the left flank away from the rest of their attackers, seeking to reduce the number of enemies they will need to fight.
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The Dwarves on the left had mixed results. One of them (they guy with the axe raised above his head) killed his man (classic!), while the other lost but was not wounded. Still, we take what we can get.
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Balin wounds the Troll with a throwing weapon (yes!) while the archer supporting Balin fails his courage test, shaking in terror of the Troll. In the Fight phase, Balin rolled a 5 to win the fight, but the Troll only rolled a 4. Balin would wound the troll on a 4+, but rolled a 3 and a 1, which means he failed to wound. :(
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In the fights on the right (down to only 2 fights now), the Dwarf on the left loses and dies, while the other Dwarf wins but fails to wound (but the Goblin King was in this fight, so that was good).
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Score: Balin 6, Durburz 2
Turn 10: (P - Goblins)
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At this point, the game is quite clearly favoring the Goblins, but the Dwarves have more points, so neither side is willing to quit on the other.
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You can see the Dwarf archer at the top right: he shot at the Goblin spearman backing up the Goblin King, but failed to wound him...so sad. As for Balin, he tied the Troll, but lost the roll-off. The Troll rolled 2 wounds, but Balin saved one with his Fate point (1 health lost, 1 health left).
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Since the Dwarf archer you see here is trapped, it shouldn't surprise you that he died...because, he did. The Goblin King made the killing blow, securing yet another point for him.
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Score: Balin 6, Durburz 3
Turn 11: (P - tie, Dwarves)
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My Dwarves engage (the five who are left), but this game is more or less over. This was increased by the fact that Balin rolled a 3 high to win the fight and the Troll rolled a 6. The Troll then followed up that roll with 3 6s to wound...ouch. The Dwarf archer lost, but didn't die and the two Dwarves with heavy axes killed their foe rather easily. At this point, the Goblin King could still win the game if he killed all four of the remaining Dwarves.
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Score: Balin 6, Durburz 3
Turn 12: (P - Dwarves)
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Gaius made it pretty clear that he wanted the game to end and he'd be okay with a draw. I arranged as many of my Dwarves as I could around the defensible terrain I had, which happened to be a wall. Walls prevent its defenders from backing away after they lose fights and prevent them from losing their control zones. What this means is my units will need to be killed for the Goblins to get past my men or will need to go a ways around them. The Goblin King won his fight, but didn't kill the Dwarf he was fighting, so he needed to back off. The other two-handed axemen defending the wall killed his man with a great sweeping blow. The archer was killed by the Goblins he was facing, which prevented the Goblin King from reaching the elusive 6 kills. We reached this as the final conclusion and ended it there.
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Final Score: Balin 6, Durburz 3
Conclusion:
Assessment by Tiberius: Wow, what a game. Balin needed to pay all of his Might points in one round again, which really crippled us from doing well. All told, I think the team did well, but we failed to capitalize on important rolls. Things would probably have been different if there was a break point and courage tests after that, but that's alright...the game was more interesting this way. I respect my Goblins and am happy that they are doing well.
Assessment by Gaius: The Goblins are amazing. The Troll and the Goblin King work well together, but they are effective against single-hero armies when they are split up, as the enemy can only focus on one of them. Balin could have waded through the Goblins a bit faster, which would have changed a lot, but thankfully, he didn't (as was my plan). All told, fun game, though I would have loved to not settle for a tie (but this game was finished late at night, so I was getting kind of tired anyway).
Stellar unit for Dwarves: shield warriors.
These guys held the line. On all sides, they kept the Troll and Durburz from doing anything useful. With a high defense of 7, they succeeded in avoiding critical blows again and again, buying valuable time for Balin to run through the center and rally his troops to a bittersweet victory. Of course, this game could hardly be seen as a victory because we lost...badly. Of course, we will have the greater song and tale...at least, until these forces meet again. Gaius is already telling me that he wants another fight against my Dwarves, so we'll see how that shapes up.
Stellar unit for Goblins: Cave Troll?
Usually, I limit my choices to an actual Goblin unit, but in this game, they really didn't do anything (except die in droves). I equipped the Troll with a troll chain so that there would be less of an opportunity for Balin to kill so many units, but I probably should have tried to get him against the Troll from the outset. I was hoping I would pummel through the Dwarves faster than I did, but I failed. It was a good idea, but it just didn't work out (especially since those Dwarves just wouldn't die!). All in all, the Cave Troll got 7 kills, which was more than any other unit this game (Balin included).
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