Hold The Ford... Wait, what? (The Hobby Trailer Tournament Game, Part 2)

 OK, after the first part, where Theoden was brutally slain with his men by a marauding fight 5 Uruk-hai captain with a two-handed axe, the Hordes of Isengard are ready for more blood (but this time, it's orc-flesh they're eating) 

Welcome to The Hobby Trailer Tournament Game, Part 2. 

This time we played a custom scenario called Hold the Ford. The game ends when one force is Broken. The Defender basically wins by keeping the Attacker's models from the ford in the center of the board, the Attacker wins by busting through to reach the ford.

Like it?

Turn 1

the Orcs became the Defender, with the Uruk-hai Leader and banner were alone, ready to be bombarded by 5 orc bows, while the rest of the Uruks and Orcs happened to be in charge range of each other.

This round was definitely going to hinge on who got priority that turn.

Aaaaaannnnnnndddddd...    the orcs got it!

The orcs proceeded to pummel the uruk-hai. (just kidding, neither side received any casualties, besides, who's ever heard of  orcs singlehandedly defeating Fight 4, Defence 6 Uruk-hai?)

Turn 2

Orc priority two-in-a-row!

the orcs with bows and two-handed weapons charged the  

                                                                                                                isolated 

Uruk-hai Leader and banner, and dealt 3 wounds to the Leader and 2 wounds to the banner, killing them instantly

(no wait, the Leader passed his Fate Roll. False Alarm.) Tie Die - Sigh.

Turn 3

the Uruks got priority and charged the orcs, slaying many, including the Orc Captain, and wounding Zagdush. Otherwise the turn was uneventful.

Turn 4

The Leader was surrounded by 8 Orcs, trapped, and slain. 

Zagdush was also killed by the Uruk-hai with two-handed axe. (the Mordor force is out of Heroes)

Turn 5

Without Heroes, the Orcs crumbled quickly, and the Uruk-hai Broke them, leading to a sound victory in the hands of the Uruks...

Victory!

Not!!

the Uruks didn't have a single model in the ford, thereby handing the victory to the Orcs!

Final score - Mordor victory 

Well, that was bloody, to say the least, but congratulations, Tie Die!👏

have fun playing the game!

                                            - The Rohan General😎

Case Study: Grimbold!

 Last Case Study we dived in to see the Uruk-hai captain, now we're exploring what I personally think is a big mistake by Games Workshop - Grimbold!😖

this is the GW helmet...

 

OK, so I recently converted a mounted Grimbold to go in my all-mounted Rohan, and I chose the sculpt that looks closest to what he looks like (you can also use a Royal Guard, but they don't have axes).

That's more like it!

In my custom rules, Grimbold can take a horse and throwing spears (like he does in the movies) and is included in the Riders Of Theoden (because HE WAS THERE!...  how did Games Workshop not see that?)

Where are the Riders from Grimslade?

He's pretty good with nothing on, but to take him in The Riders Of Theoden, he has to come mounted (and since he appears to be a member of the Royal Guard, he can take throwing spears for range.

And that is where the spear went!

Okay, I've covered  my conversion, let's move on to the Case Study, shall we?

While Grimbold doesn't need a horse, that 4+ hit on the mount instead of yourself is pretty good, and with HORSE LORD like all Heroes of Rohan there's a 50% chance that  the horse lives!

DEEAAATTTHHH!!!!

Also, unlike Erkenbrand, you can upgrade ANY NUMBER of Warriors of Rohan to Helmingas, it doesn't apply only to his warband, which means that your whole Rohan contingent could be Strength 4 Helmingas!

Grimbold can also take throwing spears, which are very valuable, since Rohan is one of the few armies that can take an everybody can shoot force.

Grimbold fully kitted out.

so there you have it, Grimbold really should take all of his options, so have fun gaming!

The Rohan General😏

Case Study: Uruk-hai Captain!

 Last post, I displayed my Theoden conversion and started a new series on hero upgrades called Case Studies.

Ah, the subject of my first conversion...

Yeeeaaahh, so we're doing an Uruk-hai Captain today (should be fun, just remember he's 60 points, and you can take more than one of him, WITH a very solid combat profile)

Do you run him like this?...

Uruk-hai Captains can take crossbows, but are probably only needed unless you want heavy-armored archers.

Uruk-hai Captain can take two-handed weapons, and if you're okay with D6, this is a great option to take (1+ to wound at strength 5 HURTS, A LOT).

or this?...

Uruk-hai Captains can also take shields, as I said in my last post, ALWAYS, ALWAYS TAKE IT.

Or maybe this?

It's always worth it.

Try running him in The Assault on Helm's Deep Legendary Legion (which is the only way you can get him)

The Uruk-hai Leader is a perfect leader for Isengard, with 3 Attacks, 3 Wounds, and can lead 18 troops into battle.

anyway, that sums up Case Studies for today, so have fun gaming, The Rohan General😀

Case Study : Theoden!

 In this post we interrupt the battle reports and start a new series on heroes. 

So I had nothing to do this afternoon and decided to take a shield from a Rider of Rohan (he didn't really need it, I might convert it into a mounted Grimbold) and give it to Theoden, the shield is fixed in place with normal plasticine clay (in fact, from the Dollar Tree) so that if I ever run low on points, I can take it off.

the shield (see the plasticine?)

That got me thinking, and thus the Case Study series, all about finding out which upgrades a hero/warrior should always take, and which upgrades you could take, but are probably just eating your points, was born! 

So Theoden can take heavy armor. I think you should always take this as well as the shield (plus, there's no model for Theoden without any additional upgrades (unless you proxy him, Ranger Faramir with bow sawn off and head swap is a good choice)). It takes you from being wounded on 6s and 5s* to 6/4s and 6s*! Much more reliable.

ALWAYS. TAKE. THE. SHIELD. (and armor)

*Against strength 3 and 4 models and archery (which is most of them).

Theoden can also take a horse and armored horse. With only 1 Fate to try and save the horse, always, always take the armored horse. You won't see the change with strength 3 models and archery, but it always gets better roll to wound with models that have a Strength value that is an even number (always, trust me, I fight Uruk-hai a lot).

I don't have the mounted Theoden, so imagine he's mounted, okay?

So that just about wraps this Case Study for today, so as always, have fun gaming!

 - the Rohan General

Tournament Mode! (The Hobby Trailer Tournament Game, Part 1)

 Welcome to The Hobby Trailer Tournament Game, Part 1. 

Today Blue Boy and I decided to play the long-awaited battle report I've talked about so much ((LOL) you should listen to this, it fits so well with what happened)

the game was Hold Ground, a detailed description of the scenario can be found here.

Turn 1 

The Rohirrim won Priority on the first turn and arrived as did the Uruk-hai phalanx (the Uruk-hai Leader and Banner Bearer were not so lucky), with Theoden rushing forward to protect the objective, ironically a Feral Uruk-hai (Blue Boy -  Strange objective for Rohan to fight over.)

and the royal Guard forming a thin red line around Theoden, while the rest of the riders formed a gun line for the shoot phase.  Although 1 uruk fell to the bows and spears of the Rohirrim, the tide turned against them, with the Uruks charging Theoden and his Guard (including THE BANNER!), and the ensuing combat saw 1 guard fall ( THE BANNER!)

Turn 2

mostly uneventful, --- EXCEPT FOR THE FACT THAT THEODEN SUFFERED A WOUND ON THE SECOND ROUND OF COMBAT! - gasp - The Rohan General

no casualties on the Isengard force, two casualties on the Royal Guard, the Leader hasn't arrived yet.

Turn 3

The Rohhirim, having safely protected the objective,proceeded to focus on breaking and killing the enemy leader and banner for the victory points, the Uruks were busy trying to cut down as many Rohhirim as they could ASAP apparently, with NUMERO UNO casualties on their side and FOUR CASUALTIES on the Rohhirim (Blue Boy - actually I was heading to the objective, those Riders just happened to be in the way) 

Turn 4 

In this turn the brave and courageous Theoden fell in the face of great danger, trapped and cut down by hooked Uruk scimitars, being dealt four wounds after forgetting that he had heroic strike...

Anyhow, the Rohhirim started to crumble after being broken the past turn by marauding... pikemen? 

and as the uruks closed in, two failed their courage tests and fled, leaving the remaining Rohhirim quartered and the game drew to a close.

VICTORY POINT COUNT: ROHAN - 2 FOR GETTING AN EQUAL NUMBER OF TROOPS WITHIN 3" OF THE OBJECTIVE AS THE OPPONENT - TOTAL - 2

ISENGARD - 2 FOR GETTING AN EQUAL NUMBER OF TROOPS WITHIN 3" OF THE OBJECTIVE AS THE OPPONENT, 3 FOR KILLING THE ENEMY LEADER, 1 FOR HAVING A BANNER ALIVE, 1 FOR BREAKING THEIR OPPONENT - TOTAL - 7

Victor - Isengard major victory 2 - 7

well, that was a bloodbath, I don't think Rohan scored more than 2 casualties during the game,

so Isengard will be moving on to fight Mordor next time, but anyway, have fun gaming!

                        - The Rohan General

My new gaming board!

 I've made a  new board for the battle reports we'll be playing, it has a river with a ford in the center.

It's perfect for the upcoming battle reports.

So until the next post, - the Rohan General.

Battle Reports with Tie Die, Blue Boy, and The Rohan General!

  So me and my good friends Tie Die and Blue Boy got together and decided to play a battle report (the first in the history of the blog - YAY!).

This is a two-part tournament that should be fun (and hopefully easy to understand)

The Rohan General's 270 point Rohan List (obviously)

Theoden, King of Rohan with heavy armor and shield - 85 points

5 Riders of Rohan - 70 points

4 Rohan Royal Guard with throwing spears and horses - 72 points

1 Rohan Royal Guard with Banner - 43 points

Total - 270 points

Tie Die's 270 point (almost) Mordor List 

Zagdush, Orc Captain - 65 points

5 Mordor Orcs with shield - 36 points

My converted Mordor Orc - 6 points

6 Mordor Orcs with spear - 36 points

Orc Captain with shield and Orc bow - 50 points

4 Mordor Orcs with Orc bow - 24 points

4 Mordor Orcs with two-handed weapon - 24 points

Total - 235 points

Blue Boy's 270 point Isengard List (Assault on Helms Deep LL)

Uruk-hai Leader with shield - 65 points

Uruk-hai Captain with two-handed weapon - 65 points

6 Uruk-hai with pikes - 70 points

3 Uruk-hai with shields - 60 points

1 Uruk-hai with banner - 34 points

Total - 254 points            

Those are our forces for the tournament, so stay tuned until the next post!

Mordor Orc Converting and Painting!

 In this post I will teach you how to paint a Mordor orc, as well as an idea for your own conversions (possibly the first, if you're a new player). I will add pictures at every step of the way, which I hope will help with your own paint job and conversions.☺ 

So you'll need a hobby knife, green stuff, at least one (1) detail brush, two (2) standard brushes,a pot of water, a Mordor orc with sword upraised (see picture), superglue/plastic cement, some form of black paint (only needed if you use a black undercoat), brown paint, grey paint, silver paint, and green paint.

A model conversion is a way to make your own models unique by cutting/replacing/repainting pieces of the existing models. 

It's very simple once you get used to it, and some players actively convert every model in their collection so that all of the models are different.

Okay, so first cut both of the arms off at the shoulders, then glue them back in the positions shown in the picture below.

Then, apply green stuff to any gaps (see picture).

Now, let's start painting! Apply an undercoat (I use black, but it works just as well with other colors).

The next step is to paint the tunic brown (I use Testor, but other paints work just fine).

After this, paint the belt, gauntlets, hair, and boots grey.

Then paint the skin green.

Now paint the sword and armor silver.

And we're done!

Now you have your own converted Mordor Orc! Have fun playing the game! - the Rohan General.

Playing the Middle-Earth Strategy Battle Game - basics

 This post is for people who don't know how to play the game and probably have never played a miniature wargame in their lives, so I'll start with the most basic parts of the game.

Part 1 = Phases

The game is divided into five (5) parts, the priority phase, the movement phase, the shooting phase, the combat phase, and the end phase.

In the priority phase, each side rolls a die (hereon referred to as a D6), and the player with the highest scoring roll wins priority for the turn, in case of a tie, the player who had priority forfeits priority this turn and the other player wins the roll-off. In Narrative scenarios, (more in a later post) unless otherwise stated, the Good player automatically wins priority in the first turn of the game, do not roll, in matched play scenarios, priority is rolled for just like in other turns, except that in case of a tie, re-roll the D6.

In the moving phase, models can move, the player with priority moves his/her models first, their movement value is clearly listed in the front of their characteristic profile (for example, warrior of Rohan - mv.    f    s    d    a    w    c                                                                                                                  6    3/4  3    4    1    1    3). A model cannot move closer than 1" to an enemy model unless you want it to fight that model in the combat phase

 In the shooting phase, models armed with bows can shoot their bows, the player with priority going first, here is a bow strength and range reference chart.

                                            name           strength        range

                                           bow         -        2          -      24"

                                           blowpipe          2          -      12"

                                           crossbow          4          -      24"

                                           slingshot           1          -      12"

there are way more bow types, but this will suffice for now.

if in any given turn a model moves more than 1/2 your move value armed with a bow, blowpipe, or slingshot, it can't shoot that turn. If a model armed with a crossbow moves at all, it can't shoot.

In the combat phase, models in base contact fight each other, each player rolls 1 D6 for every attack point in the fight, the highest roll wins the fight, in case of a tie, the model with the highest fight value characteristic wins, if the models have equal fight value, roll a D6, the player with priority wins on the roll of a 4, 5, or 6, the player without priority wins on a roll of a 1, 2, or 3. The models on the winning side then get to make 1 strike per attack point, by rolling a D6 for every attack (see the warrior of Rohan's  strength value? compare the strength value (s) to the defence value of the enemy model (d) if your roll beats the number shown on the wound chart, you have caused a wound, remove 1 wound point (w) from the model, if this number ever drops to zero (0), the model is removed as a casualty and is removed from the board (same when shooting).

In the end phase, you will do things that are not listed in the other four (4) phases, otherwise, move on to the priority phase and  repeat the turn sequence all over again.

wound chart

                        d    e    f    e    n    c    e

              1    2    3    4    5    6    7    8    9    10

s    1      4    5     5    6    6   6/4 6/5 6/6  -      -

t    2       4    4    5    5    6    6  6/4 6/5 6/6    -

r    3       3    4    4    5    5    6    6  6/4 6/5 6/6

e    4       3    3    4    4    5    5    6   6  6/4 6/5 

n    5       3    3    3    4    4    5    5    6    6 6/4

g    6       3    3    3    3    4    4    5    5    6    6

t    7        2    3    3    3    3    4    4    5    5    6

h    8       2    2    3    3    3    3    4    4    5    5

      9       2    2    2    3    3    3    3    4    4    5

     10      2    2    2    2    3    3    3    3    4    4    

have fun playing the game, The Rohan General

Intro to the Hobby Trailer blog

 Welcome to the Hobby Trailer, where I will write posts about the wonderful hobby of the Middle-Earth Strategy Battle Game, I will give paint tutorials, conversion ideas, record battle reports, and lots more, so let's get started, and see you next post!