ME SBG - Moria Goblins are everywhere!

This Troll Should Be a Weeble-Wobble...

...then he'd wobble but not fall down!

So, went at it again in December - I forgot to finish this post - met up with Ryan K at Palladium Games, always a nice venue. This time pitting my Moria Goblin Horde against a pretty stacked competitive Rohan list. A largely mounted force is probably the toughest opponent for a mass of bad infantry, but some scenarios might make it work. Of course, other scenarios might make it worse. 

My Goblin horde at present doesn't have any fast-moving figures, altho I've since purchased some options, including wargs, spiders and a Dweller in the Dark, aka the mini-balrog.  Skillful use of terrain also sometimes help. Skillful use of goblin speed-bumps can also help, but ends with some attrition, of course. Not that we're concerned about casualties, mind you...

Ryan has a lovely Rohan army, with very interesting bases built up out of corrugated cardboard and perhaps some cork-like stuff. I should have taken a few pics of his army. Of course, this is an important part of the game, and playing against good visuals is always a plus.

We through some terrain down, discussed options that have opposing values - generally, mounted don't like / want Difficult Terrain or Obstacles, and infantry-heavy armies are fine with it. Plus my Goblins have the climbing bonus. With this figured out, we then chose scenario #4 "Destroy the Supplies" in the MRB, since neither of us had ever played it.

Each side needs to overrun and then roll to destroy a supply point of the enemy's, each has three evenly spaced out. Not having proper markers [which I'm now working on] we used some red/white "Battleshock" markers from another game.

The scenario posed an interesting challenge - on the one hand, the high speed of Rohan should enable them to overrun markers pretty easily. On the other hand, I have a lot more bodies and could theoretically space myself out, and lurk in Difficult Terrain, harassing Rohan with shots, magic, etc. 

Who will be the victor? Stay tuned and see, Dear Viewer!

After a few turns, the fight is thick and bloody in the center:

I commit the Cave Troll with some support from the wee folk.

Center-right, skillful use of terrain is keeping my goblins alive and in the fight. A few Rohirrim have been killed by bows.

Table right, my Goblins hold out on a hilltop that has one supply point on it. "Come and take it!" they screech...

Table left, the Rohirrim are balked at the terrain, and trading shots with Goblins who are in woods. In the distance is a Rohan supply marker - who will go get it?  Any volunteers??

A bold Rohirrim contests one marker against a goblin.

Eventually, using Might and stacked special abilities, the Rohirrim leadership get the breaks they need to surround the most dangerous Goblin opponents, like the Cave Troll.

King Durburz goes down [above] and then Big Ugly [below].

The drummers do what they can to slow down the unfolding disaster, but another goblin Captain does down.

My unpainted Cave Troll breaks out of cover to beat on some Royal Guard and mounted Rohirrim. Does kill a few. In the background, some goblins are sneaking along the edge of the building to destroy a supply point - I forgot and waited too long to do this... goblins are easily distracted.

"Rohan hero falls to lowly spearman...news at 11"!

I think it was Theodred...if so, he was doomed to die!

Shaman puts the "ZZAaap!" on a Royal Guard, immobilizing him.

A lowly goblin withstands a charge from mounted Rohirrim!

In the end, despite lots of heroics, the goblins were unable to handle the superior mobility and heroics of the Rohan force. They also lost a couple of supply points, and failed to make it to and destroy any Rohan ones. Again, very easy for Rohan to block these attempts unless they are surrounded or there is terrain for the goblins to sneak around in.

Overall, a tense game and a tough challenge for the goblins. They definitely need some mobility options, and I am really liking the wargs as cheap anti-mounted units. They are mobile, and sometimes that is all you need to achieve a tactical edge.

Good game, Ryan was helpful [had to loan me dice as I forgot mine] and altho we both forgot some rules here and there, together we managed to muddle through. 

Looking forward to a re-match!