Yesterday, while I was on family duty, Lawrence and Phil played Midgard (what else!) - but using Lawrences 6mm figures!
Phil took some pictures and has done a write up of the game, so, over to Phil!
The Forces
Fighting in the name of virtue, justice and all that namby pamby guff were the Elves & Dwarves of the Goodly Alliance, flowing locks/beards gently waving in time to an Enya soundtrack.
Here to outrage public decency and complete their collection of heads-on-sticks were Orc Warlord Karr'ga the Undefeated (make a note of that, we'll come back to it) and his black-blood horde.
Lawrence offered me choice of forces, and entirely against type, I elected to command the good guys.
I set up with Dorin Greybeard's Dwarves holding my left - one stand of crossbowmen flanking two units of very formidable axemen.
Heroes and characters are based with figures according to their level: Dorin's level 2, hence his base boasts 2 figures and he has 2 gems representing Mighty Deeds.
Moving along the line, my centre is held by Elven spearmen under the army commander, with a second line of archers, brigaded under the command of a level 1 hero.
The open ground on my right looked tailor-made for cavalry (and so it would prove... just not necessarily for my cavalry!) so there I placed the very potent Knights of the Castellan, with their noble commander Celador. The limits of my deployment zone didn't allow me to position my horse archers where I wanted them, on the knight's flank, so I positioned them ready to extend into that space on their first move.
Karr'ga the Undefeated's Orc Horde
Karr'ga stood atop his battle-chariot, in the midst of a truly monstrous second line composed of a war mammoth, his Black Orc bodyguard, and a stand of trolls.
His centre and right were screened by a front line of Orc spears, interspersed with archers.
On the left, facing the Elven cavalry wing was a war engine (level 1 artillerist for some reason wandering about, I'm sure he'll get back to his post in time for Turn 1) and two stands of wolfriders.
It's worth noting that I would have made pretty much the same deployment had I commanded the horde.
Looking across from the Elven side, the armoured fist of the Orc second line seemed unstoppable.
I had no plan to counter it, and figured I'd have to see how things lay after fighting the first wave.
Lawrence's plan on his left seemed obvious - bombard my cavalry with rocks so the horsemen were already beaten-up when the wolf riders attacked. All I could do was close quickly and minimise my time under bombardment.
Preliminary courtesies are observed.
Fate decreed that the Goodly Alliance should be the attackers.
Being inclined to offer single combat at any opportunity, I had Dorin sally forth, legendary greataxe held aloft, his herald proclaiming the Dwarven hero's ancestry and casting his gauntlet before the horde.
Karr'ga wasn't here to play silly-buggers, though. His mind was firmly on the Big Picture.
"I'LL EAT THE LIVER OF ANY ORC WHO ACCEPTS THAT CHALLENGE!"
Dorin rode back unopposed to the cheers of his bearded clansmen and the first reputation points of the game were won and lost.
The start...
The first turn saw a cautious advance, first from the attacking Alliance, then in turn from the defending horde.
Neither side wanted to risk fragmenting their line of battle.
But the turn wasnt entirely bloodless - the Orc catapult rained boulders on the Elven knights. Three hits! Not enough to cause stamina loss to the heavily armoured knights, but evidently too much for frail Elven resolve.
The quivering riders failed their morale test and made to withdraw! Noble Celador spent a Mighty Deed to steady the ranks... but his weak falsetto pleading had no effect. A second Mighty Deed was spent, and at last the flower of Elven aristocracy managed to summon some testicular fortitude.
The missile exchange was not one-sided.
Anticipating the catapult's effect, goblin wolfriders had closed to take advantage of the carnage.
Speculative long-range archery from the Elven second line stung them, however, forcing them to withdraw.
Cavalry melee
The subsequent Alliance move saw the clash of cavalry as Celador finally stirred his highborn donkey-wallopers into action.
(Rep for Hero charge, and for first charge of the game)
Uszgak's wolf riders countercharged with no such hesitation.
In the background, the Elven horse-archers fail to get a follow-up move which will take then into bow range of the catapult. Celador wastes both his Mighty Deeds attempting to order them forward, but his voice of command is like the bleating of a sickly lamb.
Now he must fight the ensuing melee without any Mighty Deeds!
(But wait, I hear you ask, doesn't he have the 'With Me!' trait that would guarantee them a second move without testing? Yes. Yes he does, and right here's where I should have used it.)
Infantry charging cavalry?
The second unit of goblin wolf riders, having been pushed back by archery, are no longer in a position to join the cavalry fight... but they are perfectly positioned to charge the Elven front line.
Rather than wait for that to happen, the Elves level their spears and seize the initiative.
The Orcish screen of lowly spearmen is unleashed! On the left, they hurl themselves against the hated dwarves... in the centre, they join the ongoing melee of wolf riders and Elven spear. On the right, Uszgak's wolf riders win their melee, pushing back the ill-fated Celador and the cream of Elven nobility.
Celador has 'Today We Fight to Win!' but lacks a Mighty Deed to use it!
The melees draw to their bloody conclusions - the orcs who braved the Dwarven axes pay dearly for their folly and break.
The Elven spear are pushed back by the orcish charge, but their withdrawal comes too late to save the wolf riders.
On the Orcish left, the catapult is hastily manhandled (orchandled?) to keep the approaching horse-archers in arc.
Both the mammoth and the trolls lumber into motion... heading left and right respectively.
Should I be happy they're not concentrating? Or worried for both flanks?
Dorin's victorious dwarves press their advantage and pursue the badly mauled orcs.
The unengaged second company of axemen shrug off the crossfire of orcish archers to charge the enemy centre.
The Elven C-in-C leads a general advance along the line, while the horse-archers finally close with the infuriating catapult.
Meanwhile, on the Alliance's right wing, a level 2 hero leading the upper strata of Elvish society arrayed in masterwork armour is still being savaged by half-a-dozen surly mongrels.
At long last, Uszgak's relentless ferocity is rewarded as the few remaining knights break and flee!
Celador swallows his pride and flees to join the horse-archers, who have made light work of butchering the war-machine's crew.
(An expensive rep loss for the alliance: a prestigious unit gone, plus a hero leaving the fight!)
The hapless orc artillerist is doomed by his level... a 1 rep loss for his death if he stays, a 1 rep loss if he flees the fight. At least if he fights, he pins the riders in place. (And avoids an awkward after-action interview with Karr'ga)
Dwarven crossbow incline left to twang ineffectually at the approaching trolls.
The green behemoths slam into the dwarven line, battering the unit and pushing it back.
At the other end of the orcish line, the war mammoth thunders towards the fragile line of Elves. Who are not in the least concerned.
They know their archer hero has perfectly positioned his elite unit with jumbo right in the killing zone. Full strength unit + bow-armed hero attached + marksmen ability + 'unleash hell' trait, which, when activated, gets the full SIX extra dice! Take THAT, you trunky-lookin' chump!
Well, dash my hat.
That round of archery ends the turn, and the turn end brings catastrophic news for the orcs... ending the round with an empty chalice heralds the end of the game!
And would it were merely empty... the horde is 2 points into the red!
The final tally is -2 rep vs +15! Its the highest margin of victory we've seen in any Midgard game.
It felt like a much closer game. The fights were tough and every move was contested.
In terms of rep, my Heroes were making charge after charge throughout the game, racking up a steady if not spectacular profit, while destruction of 'cheap' orc units ensured a steady if not disastrous loss for the forces of mayhem.
On the field, I think the Orcs had way too much in the way of points value that never got into the fight.
In contrast, all the Alliance units were engaged. Even the second line archers were shooting over the front line spearmen.
I made sure my second line was positioned close enough to act as support in the fights, granting saving throws vs. damage, whereas the Orc first and second lines were out of supporting distance for most of the battle.
The game mechanics worked smoothly with the smaller base sizes, and we didn't hit any bumps in the road at all.
I'd happily swap sides and play the scenario again, with one proviso: Karr'ga the Undefeated has to find a new nickname.
Many thanks to Phil for doing this post!
A most entertaining AAR
ReplyDeleteI agree! Phil has a way with words!
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