The respective army lists are posted here and here. Since I literally finished painting my last Warriors of Erebor at the last minute I didn't have an opportunity to work on more of the haradrim. Since I don't have any Serpent Guard (sad) they are represented by Easterling Warriors (while not completely at ease in their new role, they did stay at a Holiday Inn the night before).
Deployment:
Gwaihir arrives first, near the center of the board.
The Hasharin reinforces Morevion's right flank, his haradrimreadying their spears.
Olvar the Shieldbearer arrives at the head of his warband in the center near Gwaihir.
The Betrayer and his half-troll bodyguard occupy a set of ruins north-west of the mine.
Warin the captain leads his troops onto the field, arriving just East of the mine.
Following the Nazgul's lead, Suladan's troops take up positions in and around the ruin.
Priority rolls are now in order, and the battle begins in earnest.
Turn 1 - Evil
Content to allow the dwarves to make the first move, the evil army largely holds in place this turn though Morevion and the Hasharin shuffle their warbands to allow the Haradrim to form a solid spearwall backing up the corsairs. Thror urges his dwarves forward, though the shear numbers of the enemy ahead are slightly daunting. Gwaihir takes to wing and flies over to reinforce Warin, casting a baleful eye at the nearby Haradrim and Corsairs.
The first arrows of the battle are fired by the haradrim archers and the Watchers of Karna. One of the Grim Hammer dwarves is struck by an arrow and falls thrashing to the ground, poison coursing through his veins before lying still. An Iron Guard is also slain, the poison setting fire to his blood.
The dwarven archers are unable to reply this turn, as they struggle to get into position.
Turn 2 - Evil
Once again securing priority, the evil force holds their positions, awaiting the oncoming dwarves. The Grim Hammers of Thror's warband are now in striking distance and charge in, hoping to end the shower of poisoned arrows. Several axes fly through the air, but fail to find their marks. With most of the haradrim archers engaged or missing their shots, Suladan scores the only shooting casualty this round, dropping a Grim Hammer with a carefully aimed arrow.
In a disappointing turn of events, two Grim Hammers are killed as the Haradrim archers are able to turn the tables and strike them down.
Turn 3 - Evil
The dwarves groan as priority again escapes them this turn, and the Southrons smile in evil delight. Seeing an opportunity to swarm Gwaihir before he can fly away, two Corsairs and a haradrim spearman attempt to charge him, though courage deserts the corsairs, and the spearman is left to face the great bird by himself. Not far away, an axe cast by a charging Iron Guard embeds itself in the chest of a spearman, the man falling to the ground with a shriek.
A Khazad Guardsman is struck through the visor by an arrow and drops without a sound.
Finally in position, the dwarven archers fire their first arrows of the battle. A surprised corsair suddenly sprouted a feathered shaft, before his eyes rolled back and he pitched heavily to the earth.
Easily overcoming the lone haradrim, Gwaihir again Hurls the hapless man through the ranks of his comrades, this time killing not only the original spearman, but also three of his fellows. The Hasharin is again struck by a flying body, and this time is forced to expend three Fate points to avoid taking a wound.
An dwarf warrior and an Iron Guard are driven back by a corsair, but their armor protects them from harm. A second Iron Guard is more successful as a slash from an axe and a stab from a sword splashes Haradrim blood on the grass.
Another dwarf warrior is defeated but ducks the spear thrust aimed his way. A Khazad Guardsman is unable to finish of a haradrim, his great axe cutting nothing but empty air. A Warrior of Erebor buries his spear in the belly of a haradrim archer, while a pair of Serpent Riders are pulled from their saddles and slain by a Warrior of Erebor and a Grim Hammer.
Turn 4 - Evil
Gritting his teeth at yet another priority win by the evil army, Thror shouts "With Me!" to his warriors. Unfortunately, Suladan follows suit and is able to win the roll-off and charges his warriors into the dwarves.
Morevion throws a knife at Gwaihir, but his aim was off and instead he hit the corsair, though it did not inflict any damage. The Hasharin also threw a knife at the eagle and actually hit his target, but did not cause a wound.
At the base of the mine, an Iron Guard is felled by the cutlass of a corsair, but a second corsair falls in a heap with another Iron Guard's sword in his throat after being inspired by the nearby banner. A third corsair also falls victim to the hungry blades of an Iron Guard, while a dwarf warrior is defeated, but uninjured. Gwaihir is defeated by the corsair he faces, but is able to dodge the enemy's blow.
Turn 5 - Good
Here is the general state of the board at the beginning of turn 5:
Turn 6 - Evil
The general situation at the start of Turn 6:
In a frustrating (for me) turn of events, Evil seizes back priority for this turn. Unwilling to allow himself to be charged and trapped again, Gwaihir calls a Heroic Move, and manages to out-roll the Hasharin.
The Betrayer again calls forth dark energies in an attempt to cast Black Dart, but this time something disturbs his concentration and the spell fails harmlessly.
A corsair chops savagely at a dwarf warrior, his blade crunching through the tough armor with an awful sound. Another dwarf warrior has more success, defeating Morevion in a duel and forcing the bo'sun to expend a Fate point to avoid injury. The Hasharin dances past a hasty swing from an Iron Guard, and his dagger finds a chink in the dwarf's armor, killing him. Warin brains a spearman with a casual blow from his axe, while another spearman is defeated by a dwarf warrior but avoids injury. The dwarf archer at the base of the mine entrance falls with a haradrim spear embedded in his chest, while atop the mine a group of vengeful dwarf archers surround and club a corsair mercilessly.
One of the half-trolls releases a bellow and brings his club down on the head of a dwarf warrior with a sickening *splud*. Blades glistening in the sun, Watchers of Karna strike down a dwarf warrior. A Serpent Guard is chagrined (albeit briefly) as a dwarven axe cuts deeply through his armor.
A Khazad Guard smashes a Watcher of Karna to the ground, the black robes proving no impediment to the great axe. Olvar is again bested by the half-troll, but is again saved by the weight of his armor.
Turn 7 - Evil
A 4 is rolled and the battle continues.
Here is the general state of the board at turn 7:
The dwarven army is starting to show the strain, as both Thror and Warin require Will points to stiffen their resolve. Thror calls a Heroic Move, which Suladan contests but Thror wins the roll-off. A Watcher of Karna has had enough and flees the field. The Betrayer again attempts to Black Dart Thror, this time using three Will points but the spell again fails. A Dwarf Archer retreats from the battlefield, while one of his companions shoots a haradrim spearman that was attempting to support the Hasharin.
Turn 8 - Evil
Maintaining their grip on priority, the evil commanders sense victory within their grasp and Suladan throws his forces at the dwindling numbers of the dwarves. The Betrayer manages to successfully Black Dart Gwaihir, and the eagle shrieks as he suffers a wound.
Turn 9 - Evil
A 3 is rolled, the carnage continues for another turn!
Accepting the inevitable, the remaining dwarves grit their teeth as evil takes priority yet again.
The Betrayer attempts to Black Dart Gwaihir, but his spell fizzles, leaving him with only a single Will point remaining. With a slight flick of his wrist, the Hasharin slays a warrior with a thrown dagger, and then along with Morevion and some corsairs promptly surround the last Iron Guard.
With turn 9 coming to a close, an oppressive calm descends over the battlefield, and the remnants of the two armies back away from each other warily. Suladan, eager to finish off the dwarves glanced over to The Betrayer, but surprisingly the Nazgul shook his cowled head. Perhaps the ringwraith, with his single remaining point of Will, had noticed Gwaihir within charging range, flexing his talons in his direction. Or perhaps the the ringwraith had other, darker motives in letting the dwarves depart. In any event, Thror gathered the battered survivors and, swearing revenge, withdrew back into the North.
What a meatgrinder! Unfortunately we both had other appointments we needed to keep, and the battle showed no sign of stopping. We made one more roll to see if turn 9 would be the last, but we rolled a six and my opponent graciously declared a Draw. I think it is safe to say however, that my army was well on its way to being beaten. I had only 9 dwarves still fit to fight, while he still had 20 models, including all of his heroes, and both Half-Trolls. In the end, my tally of the victory points showed a draw, but as I added everything up after the battle, I'm not sure if it is entirely correct. I think next time I should add it up as the battle progresses, to keep things more accurate. Proving that what's good for the goose is good for the gander, this battle proved to be the opposite of our last one, in that I barely got priority once out of 9 turns. We rolled priority on turn 10 to see what it would be, and I would have finally won priority that round. I think this is one of the main reasons the draw was called, as The Betrayer was in charge range of Gwaihir, with no one able to prevent it. In any event, it was a fun battle, though I was somewhat disappointed in the performance of my Grim Hammers, though I think that was in large part due to my lack of priority and the effects of poisoned archery. Anyway, I hope you've enjoyed the report :)
Casualties:
x6 Grim Hammers x3 Serpent Riders
x4 Iron Guard x1 Serpent Guard
x3 Khazad Guard x3 Warriors of Harad /w Bows
x7 Dwarf Warriors /w Shields x12 Warriors of Harad /w Spears
x4 Dwarf Warriors /w Bows x9 Corsairs of Umbar /w Shields
x1 Dwarf Warrior /w Banner x4 Watchers of Karna
x5 Warriors of Erebor /w Spears
x1 Dwarf Captain
Victory Points from Casualties:
Good: 34 Evil: 35
Victory Points from Fate:
Good: 5 Evil: 4
Total Victory Points:
Good: 39 Evil: 39
This had to be the most laborious grind to an obvious stalemate I've ever played. No serious mistakes on either side. The armies had complementary strengths and weaknesses. This was four hours of two armies holding their own. I'm perfectly content with the idea that this was a draw.
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