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you have been warned!!
I know Steve has written a great review and I have no doubt that Dr Grant will post up a screen-scrollingly good report in due time also but I decided to throw my two cents into the mix!!
I traveled to the event from Wexford in south east Ireland, by ferry to Wales and then by train to Stockport. I arrived on the Friday evening at around 8 and after checking in at the hotel, I wandered down to the Gaming centre to see what was going on and to meet the others there. It was great to meet James and Jamie that night, but also kind of surreal!! After spending so much time watching their videos, they almost held celebrity status in my head!! Two more welcoming, helpful and really genuine guys you couldn't hope to meet though!
So I took a stroll around the tables and I loved the theme of the boards. It ran from Hobbiton/Bree through Moria, Rohan, Minis Tirith, Mordor and many other scenes from LOTR and ended back in the Shire as the book did. A really great idea and they all looked like they badly needed some gamers and dice!! The rest of that evening was spent chatting, gaming and drinking. A really enjoyable night and just a small taste of what was to come over the next two days.
So on to the important stuff!! Game day 1 and my very first taste of tournament play. I must add that although I had played LOTR SBG for many years, I had never played the new Hobbit rules. I was also very rusty as apart from a few games of battle companies earlier in the year I hadn't played for the bones of two years. I was quite apprehensive about the experience, worried that my rustiness and lack of knowledge of the new rules would have annoyed the more experienced players or made the games slow and tedious. I need not have worried at all!!
My army was a mordor force led by Shagrat Warleader, 7 Black Numenorians inc banner, 4 token Orc Trackers, Gorbag + 8 Mordor Uruk-Hai and Orc Shaman + 12 Morannons. Not a particularly competative list but I came to have fun more than winning!
My first opponent was Owen Wright and despite being a more seasoned player, he immediately put me at ease. He came with Gwaihir, 2 eagles, Bilbo on pony (lovely conversion!), Legolas on horse and Alfrid. The scenario was rescue and I was the defender. Owen took out Shagrat within the first 3/4 turns with the eagles long before I could get into help him. However instead of just scarpering with the eagles at this point, Owen decided to have a go at the remainder of my army. After I scored a couple of wounds he thought better of it and flew off. I did manage to take down an invisible Bilbo with fury inspired Morannons but the game ended in a 3-1 victory to Owen. It was a very enjoyable first game but I kinda penalised myself by not have more archery or faster units against Owens army. Owen was a gent and very helpful throughout.
So on to game two. Rescue with the roles reversed. I drew Jai Martin for this one with his Isengard force. At the risk of repeating myself(because I have nothing but good things to say about all my opponents!) Jai is a great guy and a fun opponent. Like myself, it was his first tournament so we were both a little iffy on all the rules. A thanks here to Mr O'Byrne for happily allowing us to interrupt his game to check rules with him. Sorry Damian! Onn to the game and in the time it took me to reach his force Jai had cleverly moved his general to the safety behind his ranks. The battle then became a war of attrition in which I tried to wittle him down to force through the ranks to his general. Unfortunately, Isengard were much too strong for that strategy and eventually Jai broke me. However if his incredibly inaccurate crossbowmen had been able to hit anything, he would have won alot sooner!! With 10 crossbows, he actually only killed one of my Uruks all game and as many of his own!! A 3-0 defeat but a very enjoyable game despite not sounding like it!
Lunch was had and it was very tasty too and then a Q&A with Shadow & Flame. Again two really approachable, helpful guys and we all know just how good their stuff is but seeing it in person is another level of wow!!
On to game 3. Blockade and I was the defender here, trying to get Shagrat off the table. For this game I came up against Tom Williams on the Moria Gates board. Tom brought a Gondor army inc Faramir, Damrod and MT captain with a good mixture of troops. The board is important here because with all the rocky terrain, there were a large number of choke points in which he could block my escape. With that in mind, I chose the path of least resistance and used my Uruks as a decoy to Faramirs contingent. I think Tom will back me up here when I say that I the dices gods completely deserted me in this one!! In fact, Tom being the nice guy he is, on a number of occasions apologised for how good his rolls were!!! Despite this Shagrat killed both the Capt and Damrod and almost broke through twice and got a run at the end line. Unfortunately it took too long and Tom took me down to 25% and scored 2 wounds on Shagrat so ended with a 4-0 win. Admittedly a bit more luck with my rolls and it colud have been quite different but Tom did very well to keep me pinned in. He was a very gratious opponent and despite the bad luck and my third defeat, I couldnt be anything but happy with just how much fun I was having!!
Game 4 Blockade as the attacker and Charles Sims and his mirkwood elf army was my opponent. I was surprised to be playing Charles as he is a regular player and I was on the bottom table. Also Charles was recieving alot of banter about being a very exact and unwavering player so I was a little unsure as to how this game would go. However again I needn't have worried. Charles was very helpful, reminding me to roll my fury etc. Also after literally decimating my Uruk warband on his left flank, I believe he could have marched Thranduil off for an easy victory but he didnt take that option. I wouldnt have begrudged him doing it but the decision certainly made for a much more interesting battle. In combat I killed quite a few rangers and some of his palace guard. The big turning point was when I called a heroic combat with shagrat which would have allowed me to fight Thranduil in the second combat. Charles countered with Tauriel and I won the roll off. I didn't want it!! I won, charged Thranduil. Tauriel won, charged Shagrat and after that I was unable to get back to Thranduil. So time ran out with me broken and Charles claimed a 3-0 victory.
The end of day one and the wooden spoon beckoned!! However i had played four very fun and interesting games, met alot of great guys and had a really great time. From here, we went for dinner with a large group and after a litlle issue with the orinigal pub, we had a lovely meal in a curry house. This was great because we got to meet some of the other attendees that we hadn't yet had a chance to meet. I'd like to say a big thanks to Mr Laketown himself, Jay Clare for buying a round for the table and for the lively and very entertaining conversation during dinner!! Then on to a pub crawl to finish out day 1!!
Day 2 and Seize the prize. This was the game I had written off before any dice were thrown in angeras I had no cavalry so when Nils Gustafsson walked up to introduce himself and I saw Amdur on horse, I thought well thats, that! However I forgot that he would have to dismount to claim the prize and the rest of his army was on foot. So with that in mind, we started with the obligitary heroic marches. He reached it, but failed to dig it up so I was able to bring my army to bear. Amdur did finally get the prize but I took him down to one wound and no fate and with both Shagrat and Gorbag charged into him I was confident of recovering it. However Nils had an Isengard troll and I hadnt yet realised how useful the brutal power attacks were. Having priorty he cleverly chose to do the troll fight first, won and hurled a morannon into both Shagrat and Gorbag, saving Amdur. As I was mightless at this point it, I couldnt counter his priorty and it freed Amdur to run out with the prize. Cue a 5-0 victory for the young Scandinavian!!
Game 6 and I drew Dave McShirra who was only able to make the sunday. I had hoped that this scenario was the one I actually had a chance of winning beforehand but when I saw Daves unbreakable three model army of Gwaihir, Radagast on horse and BEORN!! My heart sank and I was tempted to collect my wooden spoon at that point!! However as Dave only had three games to play he wasnt holding back and I got lucky, killing Gwaihir early on and surrounding Beorn. A lesson in just how difficult Beorn is to kill followed suit as when I lost the fight Dave whittled down my numbers with hurl. When I did win the fights, i rarely wounded and when I eventually did Radagast renewed. Unfortunately for Dave on one round where I was lucky enough to pass all my courage tests, won and rolled lots of wounds, finally killing him!! Dave sportingly decided to call it there as Radagast was dehorsed and it would have been a lot of running after him. So yeaaa a victory at last!!! 10-0. Dave was a very good sport and despite this being only his third ever game, he definitely has a good tactical mind for it and he knows the rules better than I do!! With a few more games under his belt, I believe he will be a very difficult opponent.
Final game of the weekend was the Take and hold custom scenario and I ended up playing Nils again. This game went to the wire and it couldnt have been closer!! Early on I parked my entire army on the objective and prepared to defend it. Nils flanked around my rear and we had war on two fronts. Neither of us rolled well for wounding, so both sides were being thinned out but i maintained my advantage in the centre. It went down to the last round and when James said finish it up we had Amdur v Shagrat in direct combat. Shagrat was down to one wound, no fate as was Amdur. Nils had just broken me in that last round and I held the objective. He planned to hurl with the troll at Shagrat but he failed to win the fight. It literally came down to the last fight. We rolled... Shagrat won!! It was that close! A 6 for Amdur and a wound would have won the game for Nils. it ended 6-4. By far my favourite game of the weekend.
Just a note about Nils. His father and himself came all the way from northern Sweden!! Talk about dedication!! I only came from over the road by comparison!! He was a very enthusiastic guy and an all round great opponent and I immensely enjoyed both of our games.
So if you are still reading at this point, well done!! Tournament over and I finished 37th with a best army nomination (a wonderful, unexpected surprise!) and lots of smiles!! I had an absolutely brilliant time, met some wonderful people and got some games under my belt!! Everyone was so friendly and the atmosphere was relaxed. I cant wait for the next one and I'm jealous hearing the guys planning for the Mansfield tournament. I would recommend anyone to get to a tournament if you can at all. I spent 11 hours getting over and the same going home and the few euros it all cost me but it was worth every single cent!! The only downside from the whole weekend for me was simply that I didnt get to talk to everyone there!! (n getting lost on my way back to the hotel on saturday night!!)
There was so much more I could have included here but my writing style wouldn't be as humourous as Steve or as readable as Dr Grant so I didnt want to bore you all senseless but if this report gets even one or two people to attend their first tournament I would be delighted!
C'mon guys. You're missing out on a great social event!
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2014 Backlog Reduction Oathtaker (3 points)
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Keep writing the reports mate, you've got a great style!