"Well this is unheard of! An elf will go underground, when a dwarf dare not! I'd never hear the end of it."
Gimli Son of Gloin, The Return of the King, The Lord of The Rings
Friday Night Fight Night!
So Christmas and the New year have been and passed and now it is time to get back into the Friday Night Fight Night. This week Sam, Lawrence and I travelled to see Rick and have a doubles match 750 points per player.
Evil Army:
Lawrence and Rick played together, Rick took Mordor - a Fellbeast, Castallans and shade with a mix of troops. Lawrence took a Harad army made up of corsair reavers with axes..., black numenorians, task master, ring wraith, the Golden King, abrakan guard, watchers of khana and more to boot!
Forces of Good:
Sam took his Durins folk army with Gimli, vault wardens, khazad guard, Kings Champion and a mix of warriors to support. I joined him with Galadriel, Thranduil, Legolas, galadhrim warriors, wood elves and calas galadhrim guard.
The scenario was set, and the counters placed for the objective markers, all armies were deployed and so the battle begins!
 |
| Deployment of the forces on the battle field |
 |
| Task Master led a war band of Black Numenorians and Harad archers |
 |
| The Ring wraith on horse was deployed near the centre line... |
 |
| Whilst the ring wraith on Fell beast was deployed behind Castellans and Uruk Hai |
 |
| The Golden King with his Half Trolls and Abrakhan guard held the right |
 |
| Corsair Reevers with Watchers of Khana were in support... I'll say no more! |
 |
| Sam deployed his army in a line, snaking round to ensure that there were no week links |
 |
| My Galadhrim take the left flank |
 |
| The elves were ready to support the dwarves and take on the evil army |
 |
With priority, the elves quickly moved to take the cover on their side of the battle field,
they now have a clear shot at the advancing evil army |
 |
| The Elven and Dwarven lines meet, the dwarves advanced |
 |
| The evil army reach the object, bu the dwarves are hot on their heals! |
 |
| On the right flank, the dwarves engage the Harad army |
 |
| Khazad guard take on the Reavers with axes! |
 |
| But in a counter move, the evil army start to move around the Khazad's |
 |
| The half trolls take on Gimli |
 |
| Rick moves his fell beast up |
 |
| Whilst my elves, support the dwarven line |
 |
| The King Champion gets stuck in to the thick of battle |
 |
Meanwhile, my not so brave elves continue to shoot at the evil army,
but with the Shadow Lord there and the high defense of the Castellans
it it proving difficult to get any kills. |
 |
| The ring wraith rides to the elves |
 |
| And the bow fire of the elves changes to target the mounted wraith |
 |
| The fell beast dominates the battlefield |
 |
| Enter the shade! |
 |
| The first fight is won by the fell beast, who hurls a dwarf, bowling a line to the floor |
 |
After Sam had challenged Ricks fellbeast,
a Heroic combat into Dwalin and Rick replied 'Challenge accepted' |
 |
| The dice were rolled... |
 |
| And the Wraith is slain, goodbye fell beast and ring wraith! |
 |
| The evil army pause as the ring wraith is slain |
 |
| Close up of the dead wraith. |
 |
| Harad, start to get the upper hand against the Khazad guard |
 |
| However the dwarven shield wall held |
 |
| Gimli put a wound on the half troll |
 |
| Next round and the Khazad are swamped, but not surrounded |
 |
| The Golden king engaged again |
 |
| And the troll pushed back into Gimli |
 |
| The thick of it all |
 |
| My elves charged the flank of the main evil army |
 |
| But my bows continued to shoot at the numenorians |
 |
| My wood elves defending the ruins |
 |
| Thranduil also moved in towards the evil army to get into the fight |
 |
| But half my bows struggled to find a target |
 |
| The dwraves are pushed back, but survive |
 |
| Now its the Corsiar Reavers turn... |
 |
| ...and one dead dwarf |
 |
| The far flank fell as the wave of Harad smashed through the Khazad gaurd |
 |
| Meanwhile Gimli shouts "ONE!" as the half troll is killed |
 |
| Dwalin piled into the mass, bent on killing as much as he could |
 |
| The Kings Champion also re-engaged the evil army |
 |
| My Guard of the Galadhrim Court are proving invaluable with their fight 6 |
 |
| One dead Castellan later! |
 |
| Next the crossbow captain fought |
 |
| He won, but didn't kill the elves |
 |
The watchers of Khana again push the advantage,
but did not trap the Khazad guard |
 |
| The Harad King looked down on the failing dwarf line confident of a win |
 |
| But Gimli disagreed |
 |
| The dwarf shield wall started to feel the pressure |
 |
| And the archer reserves ran as fast a they could to support |
 |
| The battle divided into three combat areas |
 |
| Giml, of course won |
 |
| and had used a might point to heroic combat into the King |
 |
| Dwalin was on fire, and smashed everything in his path |
 |
| allowing a path to open to the shade |
 |
| Which he took |
 |
| and smashed it back |
 |
| Meanwhile the dwarves continued to prove hard to kill |
 |
| Especially when Sam kept rolling 6's! |
 |
| Lurtz was now open to the elves... |
 |
| who has just killed the pike support, and also were clear for the shade |
 |
| The Hasharin, seeing the tables turn decided to get into combat |
 |
The Harad King was dead,
the dwraves seem to have taken the initiative from the Harad army |
 |
| Khazad guard and elven support, slowly munched their way through the tough evil army |
 |
| Dwalin, still in the center continued to fight |
 |
It was clear the evil army was on the back foot
and tried to stay as close as the could to each other |
 |
| The Kings Champion also charged in |
 |
| 3 watchers vs 1 Khazad, and he was holding up |
 |
The Corsair Captain, rallied his troops
and again set about the killing the dwarven shield wall |
 |
| Surrounded evil army |
 |
My elven bows continued to shoot at the Numenorians
and despite not killing any, i managed to keep them out of the fight
and keep the advantage with the armies of good. |
 |
| Again the watchers charged teh lonely dwarf... and didn't trap him |
 |
| The dwarf support now looked like they would swing the balance fully into goods favour |
 |
| the Hasharin also felt the pressure from Gimli and a vault warden team |
 |
| The right flank |
 |
| Meanwhile in the center fighting was intense |
 |
| Dwalin, took on the Shade and Uruk Hai crossbow |
 |
| Whilst the Uruk Hai Captain and Lurtz took on the elves |
 |
| There was still everything to play for as the Castellans refused to die! |
 |
| The left flank, now moved into the elven archers |
 |
| Could the Galadhrim hold? |
 |
| A little shuffle and a Court Guard was there to support |
 |
| And the elves move up to support the combat |
 |
| Sam rolls for Dwalin... |
 |
| who again smashed the Shade back |
 |
| Lurtz won the fight against the elves |
 |
| and killed a Calas Galadhrim |
 |
| the shade was exposed, but was proving hard to kill |
 |
| Lurtz rallying his troops |
 |
| Dwalin completely stuck int he middle |
 |
| The Kings Champion trying to break the center rolled and waited to see what the Castellan got |
 |
| #BOSH! |
 |
| The Castellan is forced back |
 |
| But not killed |
 |
| Meanwhile Gimli tried to get his third kill |
 |
| The dwarf shield fall back as one went down |
 |
| Now for the khazad! |
 |
| it was only a matter of time against 6 attacks |
 |
| My left flank lose the fight against the ring wraith |
 |
| The evil army pulled the shade back into the center and waited for the next attack |
 |
| Thranduils move... NATURES WRATH! |
 |
| ...and the Castellan used 5 will to resist, and just managed the 6! |
 |
| The right flank, having been back and forth again looks like it could go either way |
 |
| the dwarves, used their strengths and formed another solid wall |
 |
The Harad army continued to push for an advantage
and to break the dwarven flank once and for all |
 |
| Move elves help surround the main fight, it is looking like a last stand |
 |
Dwalin and the Kings Champion, are proving their worth
and continue to take the fight into the ranks of teh evil army |
 |
| But the elves movde around the flank and secured the rear |
 |
| Galadriel used magic on the wraith and moved in to assist |
 |
| The evil army started to break through |
 |
| Legolas, continues to hide, I mean tactically position himself so he can target the wraith from a far |
 |
| Dwalin clearly feared no evil as he is completely trapped |
 |
| Can he survive... |
 |
| But, being Dwalin means one dead Castellan |
 |
and still the beast continued to push into the heart of the evil army
Dwalin, again charged the Shade, as my elves took of the pike support |
 |
| The evil army moved back to touch the objective, sensing the battle would soon be over |
 |
| But a hefty blow was given to the elves as two are killed |
 |
| One pike dead |
 |
| Lurtz is holding the evil flank |
 |
| The kings Champ is pushed back... |
 |
| ...and so is the mighty Dwalin |
 |
| on the left, the elves kill the wraiths horse |
 |
| on the right... |
 |
| the dwarves were again pushed back |
 |
| even the shield wardens are withdrawing |
 |
| Gimli won the fight again against the Hasharin |
 |
| But again #BASH, no wounds |
 |
| The Hasharin can fight again |
 |
| Finally the shade is killed and the odds stacked in favour of the army of good |
 |
| Now it was just a matter of a few fights |
 |
| and the dwarves could claim the right |
 |
| \reinforcements for the Dwarves arrived just in time to relieve the Harad pressure |
 |
| Dwalin and the Kings Champion continue to clear up |
 |
| The evil army is encircled |
 |
| as Dwalin killed yet another |
 |
| Thranduil, finally engaged in combat, even if ti was with a little help from his friends |
 |
Too little, too late, the Numnorians engaged my elf bows and support
but were heavily outnumbered |
 |
| so back to Thranduil and the trapped Castellan... |
 |
| ...erm |
 |
| never in doubt, Thranduil took the kill |
 |
| Te evil army started to crumble |
 |
| Even Lurtz was slain |
 |
| Dwalin, clears a space around him, even the elves wouldn't go near him! |
 |
| Final mop up? |
 |
| The left flank is easily held by the elves |
 |
| And the wraith looks in trouble |
 |
| But still the dwarves hold off the Harad invaders |
 |
| And with the turn in events it looks like the dwarves finally have the upper hand |
 |
| Harad are on their last legs |
 |
| Corsair vs vault warden.... |
 |
| ...cirsair with axe for the win! |
 |
| even Gimli is forced back |
 |
| but the odds are still in favour of the dwarves |
 |
Back in the center, the elven / dwarf combo
mopped up the last of the evil army on the objective |
 |
| Surrounded, out classed the Castellan's hold on for dear life |
 |
| Meanwhile, on my left flank my elves are easily able to manage and hold off the black numenorian's |
 |
| The evil army is left in disarray |
 |
| The last Black Numenorian is killed |
 |
| The Ring Wraith is also surrounded |
 |
| As one by one the Castellans fall |
 |
| Even if they are holding an objective! |
 |
| Gimli racks up another kill and easily out matches Legolas for kill count |
 |
Final Hobbit SBG score:
Dwarves n Elves 8 v 4 Mordor and Harad |
Final Thoughts
A win for the good army 8 v 4. The evil army divided to engage the elves on one side and the dwarves on the other and were slowly whittled down and conquered. The forces of good were able to utilise the high defence and axes of the dwarves, whilst gaining the upper hand with the high fight value for the elves in support.
It was close on the right flank between Harad and the Dwarves, but Sam managed to hold on long enough for the Harad army to break and see them start to flee. The elves were enough of a deterrent that the Numenorians held back in fear of the upgraded wood elf bow men.
The evil army needed the shadow Lord to counter the bow fire of the elves and to support the fight when the lines met, his early departure cost the evil army dearly.
This was an enjoyable game, can't wait for the next one!
Man of the match
 |
Man of the Match:
Dwalin |
Sam was on a mission in this game with Dwalin, he took on everything in his path, cutting through the evil line and smashing through the other side. Dwalin manag
ed to challenge (I still can't believe Rick took the bait) and kill a fell beast, killed the shade and numerous Castellans and troops; he was quite simply a force to be reckoned with and was unstoppable! This makes me want to paint up my Thorin's Company now, or buy the younger/armed ones!
Well deserved and well fought!
Gimli also took the fight to the evil force, and racked up more kills than Legolas (we were keeping a tally). Gimli was a not so close second, but he did manage to hold the right flank and stop the dwarves from being overwhelmed on that side.
We welcome anyone interested in playing The Hobbit SBG, Lotr SBG, WotR or any Warhammer/40K, X-Wing battle or table-top war game - why not let us know so that we can arrange some starter battles,
Or if you/your club want to challenge us. We have all the figures and scenery from the Mines of Moria to the siege of Helms Deep, snow fields to desert boards ready and waiting; fighting in the ruins of Osgiliath, Helms Deep and Far Harad, you cannot afford to miss it.
Why not join our watch list for updates and look out for more battle reports, campaigns and armies on parade... as well as our brilliant GBHL Hobbit Hobby Tournament.
Feel free to come along to
Midsussexwargaming or arrange a game.
