Battle Companies: Plunder the Camp - Mordor vs Durin's Folk

Lieutenant Squalin and his company of dwarves are several days journey from the East Gate of Khazad-dum on their first patrol and darkness has fallen. Moving cautiously through the black wilderness, they are attracted by a faint glow and the sound of harsh voices. They have stumbled upon the Fist of the Eye, themselves on their inaugural mission and camped in a small ruin. Seeing an opportunity to strike a blow against the servants of evil, they ready their weapons and prepare to assault the camp.

An overview of the battlefield, south to north. 

A closer up shot of the camp. Not having actual tents, they are represented by 25mm bases.

The camp following Evil deployment with Lieutenant Gracbaush in the center.

Squalin's company deployed and moving in from the North.

Turn 1 - Good

With Priority, Squalin and his dwarves move south, advancing on the orcish camp.

Somehow, whether through a detected sound, or some dark intuition, the orcs become aware of the approaching danger and rush to defend their camp.

Bofin and Bifin draw back their bows and fire, but the arrows clatter off the ruined wall.

Turn 2 - Evil

Acting first, the orcs continue to man the wall. Drugac leaves the confines to move to the west flank.

Squalin leads the charge, skirting the west end of the wall to charge Guldursh. Duri attacks Ogzit at the east end of the line while Kilur and Filur attack the section of wall defended by Uthragh.

Squalin drives back Guldursh, but his axe stroke goes wide and the orc is unharmed. On the other side of the camp, Duri defeats Ogzit but he too is unable to harm his opponent. Kilur and Filur defeat Uthragh, but their axes clang ineffectually against the crumbling stones drawing sparks, but no orc blood. Auzath fires his bow at Bifin, but fails to hit his target. The dwarven archers are similarly successful with their own arrows.

Here is the state of the board at the end of the turn.

Turn 3 - Good

Taking back Priority, Squalin and his dwarves press their attack. Squalin continues to push Guldursh and Kilur rushes around the edge of the wall to attack Uthragh and Bolgash. With shouted battle cries, Bifin and Filur leap to the top of the ruined wall to attack Shuglogh and Auzbog. Duri leaps back into combat with Ogzit, hoping to finish off the orc.

Drugac completes his run around the flank, engaging Bofin, and Auzath pulls back slightly to see if he can find any targets. Gracbaush roars and joins Guldursh in battle against Squalin.

The dwarves fortunes take a sudden turn as Gracbaush strikes down Squalin, the dwarf felled by a heavy blow from the orc's pick. Both Filur and Bifin lose their duels, but their armor saves them from harm, and the orcs must pull back slightly. Drugac loses to Bofin, but he deftly dodges the blow from his opponent, snarling in anger. Ogzit has more success, and Duri goes down after a particularly vicious axe stroke.

Turn 4 - Good

At the beginning of the turn, here is the state of the battle.

With no second thoughts, the dwarves continue the fight. Filur and Bifin jump down from the wall and attack Auzbog and Ogzit. Kilur pulls back slightly to fill the gap between the end of the wall and a tumbled pile of rocks while Bofin re-engages Drugac.

Gracbaush stomps menacingly into combat with Kilur, pick held high, supported by Bolgash. Uthrag vaults over the ruined wall, but stumbles slightly and is unable to complete his move. Shuglogh levels his spear and charges, joining Auzbog against Filur. Guldursh and Auzath fall back slightly, looking for an opening.

Auzbog and Shuglogh defeat Filur, and the dwarf is pressed up against the wall with no where to go. A vicious slash from Auzbog's blade leaves him sliding slowly to the ground. Gracbaush defeats Kilur, but the dwarf's armor withstands the stroke. Drugac stumbles backward, barely avoiding a blow from Bofin.

Turn 5 - Good

Good retains priority this turn, but fully half of the dwarves have become casualties with no losses for the servants of evil. Bifin falls back slightly into the gap between the wall and a pile of stones, while Bofin and Kilur largely hold their positions. With blood on their minds, the orcs rush to re-engage. Ogzit attacks Bifin, supported by Shuglogh, Bofin is attacked by Drugac and Uthrag and finally Kilur is charged by Gracbaush supported by Bolgash.

The dwarves fortunes turn from bad to worse, as both Bifin and Kilur go down to savage blows from orcish blades. Bofin is defeated but manages to escape injury.

Turn 6 - Evil (tie)

Priority this turn was a tie, and the Fists gleefully waste no time in mobbing poor Bofin.

Unfortunately for him, though perhaps unsurprisingly, the dwarf is driven to the ground beneath a flurry of blows, leaving the orcs firmly in control of the area. Drugac is credited with taking Bofin down, his two-handed pick giving him the edge he needed.

Aftermath

Injuries:
Bofin receives the Wounds of a Hero result, netting the dwarves an additional two Influence points, and himself the title "the Superior". Bofin manages to lead the other dwarves away from the battlefield and to Full Recovery results, except for Squalin, who is somehow missed and receives the Lost in Battle result.

The Fist of the Eye are off to a strong start, much better than I had even hoped for. No influence is spent after this match, I had decided to hold onto mine for the time being to see how things would develop.

New Company, New Battle

Been a while, finally got another battle scheduled (for tomorrow in fact). Switching sides after the previous companies were *sniff* retired. After much hemming and hawwing, I finally settled on a Mordor company. The potential variety and the upgrade possibilities were what won me over. So, we shall see if they truly are the "Fist of the Eye", or perhaps just a fist in the Eye...

And now here are the contestants:

First we have the Command Team, Lieutenant Gracbaush at the fore, flanked by Sergeants Ogzit and Auzbog (Mordor Orcs with Shield, Two-handed axe and Shield respectively).

Next we have Uthrag, with Drugac and Shuglogh on the left and right (Mordor Orcs with Shield, Two-handed pick and Spear).

Lastly, there is Bolgash, Auzath and Guldursh (Mordor Orcs with Spear, and Orc Bows).

Facing them, is the Company of Durin's Folk.

Lieutenant Squalin, with Sergeants Bofin and Bifin (Dwarf Warriors with Shield and Dwarf Bows)

Duri, Filur and Kilur (Dwarf Warriors with Shield and Two-handed Axes)

Battle Companies: Seize Ground - Last Alliance vs Mirkwood Denizens

The Heralds and the Denizens clash again, this time attempting to gain control of another of Eregion's ruins. Here is an overall picture of the battlefield, looking south to north.

The Denizens deploy first, with Spiga and Mr. Blue appearing between a small wood and the northern swamp, and the remainder to the west and near the North-west objective.

The Heralds deploy to either side of a wood on the southern edge of the board edge.

Here is an overall shot of the battlefield.

Turn 1 - Evil

The Denizens move first this turn, and quickly seize two objectives and get in striking range of the center. Charlotte and two of the wargs move south towards the south-west objective.

Naethlang and the latest Numenorean addition move north into the ruined building with the fountain, while Dawfaron, Isilmacar and Limthol hold the south-west objective.

Cumeren skirts the shore of the murky pond to secure the south-east objective while Durandir, Alaglang and Anarmegil make their way toward the center.

Turn 2 - Good

Here is the overall battlefield at the beginning of turn two.

Dawfaron climbs onto an elevated ruin and readies his bow. Isilmacar, Naethlang and the others spread out slightly, awaiting the oncomming spider and wargs.

Cumeren moves slightly closer to the south-east objective and scans the battlefield for targets. Durandir, Alaglang and Anarmegil continue toward the center objective, using a large standing stone to cover part of their right flank.

Spiga along with Mr Orange and Mr Blonde charge forward, and Spiga shoots a web at Durandir, which he is forced to expend a Fate point to prevent.

Charlotte and company move slightly forward, skirting the edge of the ruin.

Following the movement phase, here is the battlefield.

Shooting from the Heralds is ineffective this turn, with shots either missing or doing no damage. Combat goes poorly for the men and elves, Durandir falls to Spiga's fangs, and Anarmegil is driven back by the wargs.

Turn 3 - Evil

Evil regains priority this turn. Charlotte along with Mr White and Mr Pink engage Isilmacar and Limthol. Charlotte misses her web shot as she charges Isilmacar.

Spiga and her two wargs attack Alaglang and Anarmegil, and Spiga successfully webs Alaglang.

To the west, Naethlang and Newbie charge Charlotte, while Dawfaron jumps down from the ruin and charges Mr White. Cumeren shoots at Mr. Blue, skulking behind his wall and hits, but the arrow fails to penetrate.

Spiga's fangs sink into Alaglang's arm, and he goes down. Anarmegil shields, and manages to fend off the two wargs.

In the other combat, Isilmacar's sword bites deeply into Mr Pink's hide, and the warg collapses. Limthol and Dawfaron defeat Mr White, but fail to cause any wounds. Charlotte is also defeated, but also escapes injury.

Turn 4 - Good

The battlefield at the beginning of turn four.

The Heralds get priority this turn, and Charlotte calls a Heroic Move, which Isilmacar contests but loses. Charlotte skitters up and over the ruined facade to attack Dawfaron from the side along with Mr white, webbing him in the process.

Isilmacar along with the rest of the un-engaged warriors charge the warg.

Anarmegil turns and runs to the west, attempting to reach Isilmacar's band.

Unfortunately, Spiga and the two wargs are easily able to catch up to him.

Cumeren shoots again at Mr. Blue, but the shot misses.

Anarmegil's flight is cut short, and he is felled by Spiga and the wargs.

Dawfaron feels Charlotte's venom course through his body and lies still. Mr. White, in a fit of snapping and snarling rage, fights off his assailants.

Turn 5 - Evil

Here is the battlefield at the beginning of the turn.

Priority flips back to the Denizens, and Naethlang calls a Heroic Move, contested by Mr. White. The elf pulls through, and the Heralds charge back into Mr. White. Unconcerned, Charlotte, Spiga and Mr. Orange each charge as well. Spiga shoots a web at Alaglang, but shot goes astray and hits Mr. Orange instead.

Cumeren moves slightly to try and shoot at Mr. Blue again, but finds he has no shot.

Despite the accidental webbing, combat goes in favor of the Denizens. Limthol and Newbie each go down, and Mr. White drives back Naethlang and Isilmacar.

Turn 6 - Evil

Status of the table at the beginning of the turn:

With the Denizens in control of priority and the Heralds out of Might, the end is near. Spiga and Mr. White attack Isilmacar, and Charlotte charges Naethlang.

Naethlang actually defeats Charlotte and scores a wound. Charlotte fails her Bloated Creature check, but successfully save with a Fate point. Isilmacar is not so lucky, and falls to Spiga and Mr. White.

With this, the casualty limit has been reached, and the game comes to a (merciful) end. In the cleanup, Durandir suffers an Old Battle Injury and Mr. Pink is injured, and must sit out the next game. All others make a Full Recovery.

The Mirkwood Denizens seem to have a lot in common with a wood chipper as evidenced by this actual footage from the match:

They are absolutely brutal. I just could not seem to win fights. And the ones I did win, I almost never actually caused damage even with relatively low defense. 

With my opponents gracious suggestion, we have decided to shelve the current companies and pick new ones. The idea is to do our normal swapping of sides, so I will be picking an evil company for the next round. Once again the hard part is actually picking a battle company...