Rivendell vs Minas Tirith in Command the Battlefield. 300 points.

 

After our last 300 point skirmish, Andrew wanted another crack at it with his Elrond and Knights list. I liked the list, but spread out my troops in the warbands a little differently. I was glad I did, since we rolled up Command the Battlefield. A chance for Madril to show his quality (by manipulating my Maelstram roll!)

Madril rolls a 1 on Maelstram. He modifies it to a 2 and Andrew sticks baby in the corner. Elrond, on the other hand, rolls a 5 and shows up in spittin' distance! Oh, Hurin rolled a 1 also. I decided not to modify.

Rangers of Gondor are quaking in their boots a bit. Check out that really poor shield-wall discipline... (though it only makes a difference against Elrond). A handful of bow shots that are ineffective.

Behold, the elven cavalry!

On Turn two, Rivendell get Priority. Elrond gets off a solid Wrath of the Bruinen before the Knights charge in. One Ranger of Gondor dies and all of the Warriors are knocked prone. The other two Knights hang back, potentially getting some bow shots on Hurin's Warband.

Hurin and Company show up, ready to support. Hurin had to spend one might to adjust his Maelstram roll even after Madril's bump. Madril wraps into a Knight.

Elrond calls a Heroic Combat. This is his second point of Might- he spent the first to ensure the Wrath of Bruinen went off after spending 2 Will and rolling a 3 high.

He kills his target, then charges around and positively rides down Madril. Nothing I can do, and Madril dies with all of his Might. Across the rest of the fight, one Rivendell Knight goes down while 4 Warriors go down.

The start of turn 3. Minas Tirith wins the roll off and Andrew only has one Foresight point so can't do anything about it.

Minas Tirith swarms the Knights around Elrond- and Rangers tie up the Knights who hung back. One Ranger trapses off to capture a quadrant.

Hurin Strikes up- Elrond must respond spending his last point of Might. Hurin has one remaining.

Elrond wins the fight and decides to strike Hurin's horse... and fails to wound it on a 4.... with Lord of the West. And here's where Andrew's dice... fell into shadow.

Stand, Men of Gondor!

Only two Knights remain in addition to Elrond now. Minas Tirith is down only 6 bodies. This Knight is not looking long for this world... and predictably falls to the trap. Just out of frame is the last of Elrond's Knights, unhorsed by a Ranger's shot.

Elrond finds himself surrounded...

Elrond and one dismounted Knight face quite a force of Minas Tirith.

Elrond pulls back, and his dismounted Knight moves to hide behind the Temple ruin.

 

Elrond attempts to utilize some terrain and meet up with his dismounted knight.

If Elrond can put a hurt on Hurin, and have a little bit of luck this could still potentially shift their way.

But Andrew's dice continue to be just awful. Elrond loses his horse to Hurin... and then disaster strikes when the last remaining Knight dies in his duel. This brings Rivendell to quartered and the game ends.

Minas Tirith holds 3 quarters and broke Rivendell. It's an ugly one.

Closing Thoughts: Meh- Andrew's dice were awful which can be mitigated by a less elite army... but when you're 6 awesome models you're extremely susceptible to even small variance. I'm enjoying Minas Tirith so far!