With my first game out of the way and coming off of a big win, I was off to face Adam- the Titan in the Deep himself- in a game of Destroy the Supplies. Now, Adam (true to his moniker) was running the Watcher in the Water and, if you've read my previous batreps, you know my thoughts on the ugliness that is the unstoppable Watcher plus bat swarm hero-assassination maneuver, but at least I knew what was coming! Interestingly, Adam allied in Angmar to his list which added a whole new element!
Over the ensuing turns Ian's forces absolutely swarmed around the buildings and I had 3 distinct desperate lines... and he was mostly just creaming me. My dice were hilariously awful... more on that in a bit. Cirdan's aura of dismay really helped me form getting completely swamped, but I was definitely losing more models than Ian and rapidly!
By the mid game I was careening towards broken and Ian had suffered very few casualties. Elendil was on 1 kill for multiple turns- he lost 2 fights to Arvedui and 2 or 3 more fights just to warriors.
Finally, in the closing, desperate turns of the game I manage to get both Glorfindel AND Elendil into Arvedui. My brain is very scrambled and I am exhausted so I strike first with Glorfindel and... kill Arvedui. Which is dumb because Elendil needed to score the kill which he almost certainly would have- and it cost me 3 VPs. But... WAY SHE GOES BOYS.
In the end, this was a very close game. I will say my dice were absolute garbage for the most part, but picked up in the end. Elendil just barely managed to score FOUR KILLS. ELENDIL. FOUR KILLS. But, had Elendil popped off like he probably should have on paper, this would likely have not been the nail biter it wound up being... Elendil's four kills, however, was exactly enough to put me at double Arvedui's kills. So, in the end, this one wound up being a 5-2 Minor victory to me.
So, coming out of the first day, I was one major win, one minor win, and a draw. Two games left the next day, which means it's time for more FOOD BLOGGING!
The view from our AirBnB. It was definitely a bachelor(ette) party house, but it was pretty tame overall. The rooftop was spectacular!
We ate at a restaurant in the Gulch called the 404 kitchen, and it was absolutely one of the best meals I've ever had. The rocks were not edible.
I'm getting hungry again just looking at this.
Tomorrow we have two more games and then it's a few days in Nashville!
See y'all next time!
GAME TWO vs ADAM'S MORIA AND ANGMAR in DESTROY THE SUPPLIES
[Read my Day one report here!]
Adam's list was Durburz, a goblin captain or two, the watcher and a whole slew of goblins of all kinds. He also had the Tainted, a handful of Angmar Orcs, and 4 Dead Marsh Specters.
Unfortunately, this was obviously an intense game so I didn't snap too many pictures. But we were on a ruins-dense board and the supplies were difficult to get to in many places- sometimes being up on top of a ruin with little access to climb.
I sent a token force to my far left objective, which was just enough to deter the Goblin force coming in. By and large, my archers combined with my frontline troops were causing a decent amount of casualties to the horde, but the big bad had yet to appear...
When it finally did, I knew it had one target: Elendil. I also know there isn't a realistic counterplay, especially when he is unhorsed. So I hoped beyond hope that Cirdan's blinding light would save him...
It did not. Adam rolled the 6 on one of his shooting and conveniently had a perfect spot for a 25mm base to fit that also happened to have a goblin and bat in the surrounding circle! Man, this watcher maneuver is rough. Elendil died, naturally.
The game was drawing to a close and neither of us were really anywhere near the others' supply points. On the last combat of the game I spent Glorfindel's last point of might to call a Heroic combat that just managed to break Adam's forces.
In the end, we managed a draw. Adam got 2 VPs for killing Elendil, and I got 2 VPs for breaking him without being broken. We also both had a banner remaining for 1 VP. A 3-3 draw against the watcher? I'll take it. I really do love that model and the concept behind it, but the "Hang on let me use this 25mm base template to perfectly leave a hole for your hero" does feel... off. Just thematically, the mechanic takes me completely out of it. BUT it's valid, and it's out there, and this is the 3rd or 4th time I've had to face it so... way she goes, boys.
Right off the bat Elendil and Arvedui clashed... both struck to 10. Naturally, Arvedui won the roll off. No biggie, Elendil survived unscathed except for a dead horse.
Adam's list was Durburz, a goblin captain or two, the watcher and a whole slew of goblins of all kinds. He also had the Tainted, a handful of Angmar Orcs, and 4 Dead Marsh Specters.
Unfortunately, this was obviously an intense game so I didn't snap too many pictures. But we were on a ruins-dense board and the supplies were difficult to get to in many places- sometimes being up on top of a ruin with little access to climb.
Adam was very aggressive coming at me- I started with my line centered on my right supply but quickly shifted my bulk to the left in reaction to Adam. My four archers were on top of the central ruin with good sight lines- though Adam was meticulous in limiting shots from terrain. Very precise placement and a clear knowledge of the game!
The game was drawing to a close and neither of us were really anywhere near the others' supply points. On the last combat of the game I spent Glorfindel's last point of might to call a Heroic combat that just managed to break Adam's forces.
A quick note to self! Going to be a bit vulnerable here! Always declare secondary (and even tertiary) targets when doing batch shooting! I did not do so when I shot two archers at a warg rider with 2 "In the Way" rolls. I assumed it would not happen, but took the shot! First elf arrow got through both in the ways and killed the target. Adam initially argued my 2nd shot was thus invalid as I had not declared a secondary target (which we had mostly been doing through the game). I pushed back a little bit; as I do not believe there is a valid game state where that can occur- but the issue was definitely communication on my end. Eventually the TO ruled I would reasonably have moved on to a different target- the same targets I had been prioritizing before. But, it was a tiny bit contentious and ultimately it was my responsibility to communicate! I thank Adam and the TO for agreeing to let my shot not go to waste, and will endeavor to be more precise in batch shooting (which is recommended in the rulebook to speed play- time is a valuable resource in a tournament setting after all!)
Her interest in a gaming convention is about as low as you'd imagine, so she headed out while Andrew and I got back to rolling some dice!
GAME THREE vs IAN'S ARNOR in CONTEST OF CHAMPIONS
Now the weekend was getting into full swing! My lady flew in and popped by to say "hi" before we all spent the next few days hanging out in Nashville.
Ian's Arnor list was really cool! He had an insane amount of models- but I forget exactly how many now.61? My brain was fried going into this round. But he had Arvedui, Malbeth, and three captains with a whole slew of Arnorians and 3 hobbit archers. Our board was actually really odd for Contest of Champions; but I was quite confident that Elendil would absolutely annihilate Arvedui in this... so long as the dice cooperated.
So, coming out of the first day, I was one major win, one minor win, and a draw. Two games left the next day, which means it's time for more FOOD BLOGGING!
See y'all next time!
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