I was finally able to play a game of War of the Ring after several years of not being able to find an opponent. My opponent was new to the game, and I had not played for a few years, so I had to relearn the game again, but it quickly came back to me.
My opponent wanted to base our game off a scenario that he was trying to develop for another system. The story was that Rohan went out to attack Isengard, but while they were besieging the fortress, a Dunland force crossed the Fords of Isen and laid siege to Edoras. Luckily, Theoden left a garrison under Hama to hold the city. Beacons were lit and Theoden received the terrible news. He quickly lifted the siege and raced back to Edoras, with each horseman doubling up with another rider in order to get everyone there as fast as possible. Word soon arrived to Thryden that a large Rohan force was within striking distance of his siege lines, so he collected a rearguard and positioned his forces to block the relieving force.
The scenario pitted 1500 Rohan points versus 1000 Dunland. Rohan's objective was to get off as many formations as possible by the end of turn 8. Meanwhile, Dunland would be on the defense, and their goal was to prevent any Rohan formations from exiting the board. It was agreed that starting with the end of the third turn that I could call for a reinforcement on a successful roll of 6 (adding a +1 to the roll for each turn thereafter until I was successful). Afterwards, I would then roll to see what the reinforcement was.
Both sides setup, with the Dunland force being allowed to setup up to 12" in.
https://boardgamegeek.com/image/8758709/killerkatanasFirst turn, and Dunland wins the priority. Being that I was the Dunland side, I decided to take the battle to Rohan. I hoped by doing so that I would stall my opponent and force him to waste turns while he tried to contain me.
https://boardgamegeek.com/image/8758705/killerkatanashttps://boardgamegeek.com/image/8758704/killerkatanasHowever, my opponent was having none of this. He advanced as fast as he could, getting several successful "at the double" results. His cavalry and infantry ran up into bow range, but my shots did little damage. Following my fire, his cavalry and archers returned the favor, scoring some hits.
Next turn, I again got the initiative and advanced further. However, it was tough to maneuver through the woods and my lines had to deepen themselves in order to do so. My opponent advanced a little on all flanks, while his center units closed in on mine. The bows of both sides did some damage, with my forces taking the brunt of the damage that was inflicted.
My opponent got the priority for the third turn. In the center he placed a unit in the woods, and on the left, to my surprise, his cavalry withdrew towards his edge of the board! I tried to take advantage of this by placing a Wildman formation in the woods to flank his troops in the center, while Thryden joined the cavalry and led it closer to the withdrawing Rohan cavalry.
https://boardgamegeek.com/image/8758715/killerkatanashttps://boardgamegeek.com/image/8758708/killerkatanasOn the fourth turn I won the priority. I took the bait, and charged my cavalry after the withdrawing cavalry, using an "at the double" to close within a few inches of him. Meanwhile, I placed the unit of Wildmen out of the woods, ready to flank his center, while my troops maneuvered to get into position on his right. The Rohan cavalry turned about and came up to my cavalry, while his troops in the woods exited in front of my Wildmen. Shots were exchanged, which devastated my Wildmen and center forces, while he did take some loses amongst his forces too.
https://boardgamegeek.com/image/8758710/killerkatanasUnfortunately, my opponent called a heroic charge, so I responded in kind, but I lost the roll-off. His cavalry crashed into mine, while his foot guards fell upon what was left of my Wildmen. In the center his charges crashed into my bows, but my charges were successful on the right.
https://boardgamegeek.com/image/8758717/killerkatanashttps://boardgamegeek.com/image/8758716/killerkatanashttps://boardgamegeek.com/image/8758718/killerkatanashttps://boardgamegeek.com/image/8758713/killerkatanashttps://boardgamegeek.com/image/8758712/killerkatanasFor the cavalry battle I declared a Heroic Duel, and he did the same, but I was successful this time. Thryden killed two cavalries before he lopped the head off of the captain! In the melee, I called an Epic Strike with Thryden and my cavalry did terrible damage to my opponent, knocking them down to two bases. On the right, my forces were driven back. Meanwhile, a unit of Wildmen arrived to bolster my collapsing center.
https://boardgamegeek.com/image/8758714/killerkatanashttps://boardgamegeek.com/image/8758711/killerkatanasThe next turn was the turn of decision. I lost the priority, so I called a Heroic Move and moved my cavalry away so that I wasn't hit by both Theoden's Guard and what was left of the Rohan cavalry I had just defeated. Meanwhile, my bows took up position to fire on Theoden's formation should he advance at me. The Rohan cavalry maneuvered within hand-throwing range of my cavalry and did some damage, while his positioning caused my bow fire to be of little affect. My opponent then called an Epic Challenge against Thryden, but we both rolled terribly, and it led to a lot of Booo's on both sides. In the center, my newly arrived Wildmen charged into the pursuing Rohan troops and successfully stopped their advance. On the right, both sides just staired at each other.
https://boardgamegeek.com/image/8758706/killerkatanashttps://boardgamegeek.com/image/8758707/killerkatanasOn the sixth turn Rohan got the priority. Up to this point my forces, while heavily damaged, had successfully stalled my opponent. With only one turn left, he decided to go for a "Hail Hammerhand" play, and took Theoden's Guard Cavalry on a single column race to get through the space between the woods to the rear left of my position. This he did successfully. His cavalry was now in a position to move off map, but I was able to spin my bows around and position them to fire at him if he tried to do so. Meanwhile, all other forces broke off contact, while he continued to pummel my troops in the center with his hand-thrown weapons.
Before turn 7 began, we looked at the situation. While most of my forces were heavily damaged (I had lost around 60% of my forces), he had lost so much that even if he got Theoden's cavalry off the map, it would not do anything to help lift the siege. At this point, my opponent called the game, and we stated that it was a victory for Dunland.
I hope you enjoyed this report. It was so wonderful to be able to play this great game again. Sorry, but we forgot to take photos of the last turn.
Brian
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