Army Lists
Good:
Elladan & Elrohir (elf cloaks, bows), 10 Rangers of Arnor, 3 Vault Warden Teams, 8 Dwarf Warriors (shields), 6 Iron guard.
So, the game started with the Rangers of Arnor deploying on the castle walls and towers with Elladan and Elrohir along with 4 dwarves for defending against the ladder, with the vault warden teams guarding the gate and the iron guard and the other 4 dwarf warriors behind.
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Evil:
Dragon Knight, Easterling Captain, 4 Easterlings (swords), 6 Easterlings (spears), 8 Easterlings (bows), Beserker , 4 Uruk-Hai Crossbowmen, Isenguard Troll, 7 Uruk-Hai Warriors, Lurtz
Evil deployed with Easterling archers on the right flank, crossbowmen and the ladder team on the left led by Lurtz, and the easterlings and troll led by a captain and Dragon Knight down the centre.
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Turn 1:
Evil got priority, and moved the Easterling archers into cover behind a wall, the Uruk-Hai around another wall and the easterlings and troll forging down the middle.
Good didn’t have any movement, but Elladan ordered the rangers to target the approaching troll, to little effect.
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Turn 2:
The easterlings and troll continued down the centre under fire from above, while their brethren behind them fired a volley at the rangers, but the battlements offered enough protection to prevent any casualties.
As the troll got nearer, the two elves dashed down to the gateway to meet it head-on, leaving the defence of the walls to the rangers and dwarves.
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Turn 3:
The easterlings and Crossbowmen got their aim settled, and dropped three rangers as they leaned out of the crenellations to fire on the troll below. The rangers focused on wounding the lumbering beast before it got close, but again, to little avail.
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Turn 4:
Reluctant to lean over the defences to hit the troll again, the rangers instead switched fire to the crossbowmen, but the dense foliage proved difficult to kill any. Again, return fire was blocked by the stone walls, frustrating the Easterling archers. Just as Elladan and Elrohir got to the gate, the troll smashed through the gateway, crushing the foremost vault warden shield bearer, the other two teams staggering back from the beast.
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Turn 5:
The rangers tried targeting the uruk-hai crossbowmen behind the undergrowth again, but they were wary after taking a hit, and the easterlings used that to pick off two more rangers as they turned to fire at the Uruks. Having finally trudged through the woodland, the Uruks carrying the ladder set it up to assault the walls. Meanwhile in the gateway, just as the troll was about to crush the vulnerable spearman whose shield bearer died in the initial attack, the two elf lords leapt into the fray and in a flurry of co-ordinated attacks, showing just how long they have fought together, they bring the troll down in a single turn! (With a little help from the vault wardens, of course).
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Turn 6:
Reacting quickly to the ladder being raised, the four dwarves manning the walls stand ready at the top of the ladder while the rangers staggered away from the battlements in a hail of bolts and arrows, just in time to face Lurtz trying to breach the defences. Being an Uruk hand-picked by Saruman himself, Lurtz manages to slay one of the dwarves before they can react, but the other two succeed in pushing him back down the ladder. Back in the gateway, the Easterlings surge over the dead troll, crashing into the dwarf lines in a clash of steel. They break on the dwarves like water on rock, neither doing any damage, Elladan busy fending off the Dragon Knight, while Elrohir was the only person to kill anyone. Realising the ladder will take too long to breach the walls, the uruk-hai stood at the bottom head around the left side of the castle, for reasons unclear to the defenders.
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Turn 7:
The slain dwarf now being replaced by a ranger, Lurtz tries another attack and kills the ranger, though, yet again, is forced back down. Back at the foot of the castle, the Easterlings start to back away from the gauntlet of heavy armour and the two elf lords, the dragon knight remaining locked in a duel with Elladan. A handful of the Easterlings waiting at the back of the group get impatient and follow the Uruk-Hai’s lead, but instead heading around the right side of the fort. Clearly a device made by Saruman, much like the ones used at Helm’s Deep, the Uruks plant and detonate a bomb in the wall, not as powerful, but making a hole big enough through which to enter the castle.
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Turn 8:
At the gateway, the Easterlings launch another wave to try and push the dwarves back enough to bring their full numbers to bear, but are immediately put to the sword by Elrohir and the iron guard. Over on the left flank, the uruk-hai start to storm through the hole in the wall, but are confronted by three hardy dwarves, axes at the ready, while the Easterlings on the right flank then planted a second set of explosives. Up on the battlements a second ranger steps over his brother-in-arms’ corpse to fight his killer, shoving him off the ladder and wounding him in the process.
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Turn 9:
The crossbowmen and Easterling archers finished off the last of the rangers shooting at them, leaving a lone ranger and three dwarves manning the walls. Back at the gates, the Easterlings manage to force a gap through the lines, but this is revealed to be a trap, and they now found themselves being outnumbered two-to-one, a lone dwarf heroically holding off the reinforcements. The trio of flanking Easterlings detonated their set of explosives, which distracted the dwarves defending against the other hole in the walls enough to be forced back by the Uruk-Hai.
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Turn 10:
Lurtz tried a third time to storm the castle, and disarmed the ranger who wounded him on his previous attempt. As he raised his hand to make the killing blow, the ranger grabbed him and leapt off the walls, taking Lurtz with him- both of them falling to their deaths. In the swirling melee around the gateway, the flanking Easterlings attacked the dwarves from behind- now the Easterlings started to fight back harder as the tide of battle shifted.
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Turn 11:
Despite the inclusion of the flanking reinforcements, the Easterlings at the gate took a real pounding, losing four men and killing none in return. One of the three dwarves defending the breach was killed, the other two now facing off against a berserker and four Uruks. To give them a fighting chance, the three dwarves from the wall killed the last Uruk assaulting the walls and made their way to the aid of their fellows.
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Turn 12:
Too late to help their kin, the three dwarves watch in horror as the two last defenders of the breach are mercilessly cut down. Back in the melee, the Easterlings are forced back further, the Dragon Knight now being attacked by both the twins, an iron guard and two vault wardens while the lone dwarf yet again charges in front, cutting off reinforcements as the iron guard finish off the last Easterling flanker.
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Turn 13:
Two of the three dwarves, enraged at the death of their brothers, charged the Uruk-Hai, but were clumsy in their haste and were pushed back. At the gate, the dragon knight is finally brought down, as are most of his retinue. After several minutes of not seeing an enemy face, the Easterling archers and Uruk crossbowmen make their way towards the castle.
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Turn 14:
With most of the Easterlings dead, Elladan, Elrohir and the remnants of the vault wardens went to help the dwarves against the uruk-hai, leaving the lone dwarf to, yet again, hold up the Easterlings. They charged in, inflicting terrible loses on the evil forces, completely wiping them out in a turn of combat, while a lone uruk climbed the ladder to the walls and the crossbowmen and archers made their way forwards. Five on one for the third time in the battle proved too much for the stoic dwarf, who was trapped and impaled several times. The surviving dwarf warriors and iron guard charged up to the tower to confront the three crossbowmen who’d climbed up there during the fighting- The crossbowmen were waiting, however, and killed one before he’d even emerged from the trapdoor.
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Turn 15:
The elves and their new bodyguards (the two vault warden spearmen) stuck close to either side of the shattered gateway, out of sight of the approaching archers and ready to attack once they enter. Up in the tower, the Uruk crossbowmen brutally murdered the remaining dwarves, leaving only a wounded and exhausted Elladan & Elrohir and two vault wardens.
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Turn 16:
The crossbowmen in the tower fled the area out onto the walls, and with half the Easterling archers climbing the ladder and the other half climbing the gate, Elrohir dashed up to the top of the tower while Elladan and a vault warden stood at the foot of it, with the last spearmen staying back to buy them time, holding off four archers at once.
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Turn 17:
Nearing dusk, Elladan and his spearman ran up to the top of the tower as the spearman’s armour finally gave in to the relentless stabs from the Easterling warriors, and now the trio were trapped- unable to go out onto the walls by the crossbowmen and easterlings, and not willing to go back to ground level for fear of being shot down, while the surrounding forces of evil couldn’t get up the tower because the vault warden was standing on the trapdoor.
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Turn 18:
Three of the Easterlings on the battlements backed off to the other tower to try and shoot them next turn, as from below they were all but impossible to hit. Elladan and Elrohir darted in close to the crenellations to avoid fire next turn, with the vault warden still stood on the door and the three crossbowmen and an Easterling barring the doors.
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Turn 19:
Just as night fell, the evil forces grew impatient of the stalemate and backed away from the doors, hoping to either lure out the trio or back away far enough to get some shots at them. As soon as they did so, Elladan and Elrohir dashed out of the door, down the ladder and before the evil forces could get a shot off, were in the undergrowth where, ironically, the crossbowmen had sheltered from their arrows- now the elves were using it as shelter from the Uruk’s bolts. Due to the elven cloaks on their backs, the pair seemed to have disappeared in the gloom, and the lone dwarf sat on the trap door for the next turn, forcing a draw because they hadn’t completely overrun the castle.
