Here's another Middle Earth Strategy Battle Game replay from the War in Rohan book. I'm going through the book's scenarios in increasing order of size, which is perhaps a bit eccentric but minimizes the amount of painting I have to do between scenarios.
In this game we have Aragorn and Gimli in front of the Helm's Deep gateway, trying to hold off the Uruk-hai for enough time to allow Théoden to prepare for his ride out.
In game terms, that amounts to twelve turns. Evil can win by killing both Good heroes by then, or getting past them to break down the Gate and get ten models through it. If the Uruks are kept out but still manage to kill one hero, the game is a draw.
(Click on any image to see an enlargement.)
I didn't bother with my usual "Forces" section here because the orders of battle are entirely straightforward. Aragorn and Gimli deploy within 2" of the gate; Evil then deploys ten Uruk-hai swordsmen and ten Uruk-hai pikemen at least 3" away from the Good models.
Uruk-hai casualties come back at the bottom of the ramp at the end of the Evil move phase.
I've cheated quite a bit on my terrain. The causeway is supposed to be 6" wide. But I thought that would be too wide to look good with my Helm's Deep Gatehouse, which was made per the specs in the old The Two Towers journeybook. Why build a causeway so much wide than your gate? And based on the movie shots within the War in Rohan book, a four-man-wide causeway looks correct anyway.
With a 6" causeway, Aragorn and Gimli wouldn't be able to block it off on their own, as there would always be room to go around them. Would they stand a chance if the Uruk-hai can slide by every turn? That just doesn't seem right. So I'm not too apologetic for the modification. But keep it in mind that this isn't a "per spec" replay.
Good always begins narrative scenarios with priority. Aragorn and Gimli charge into the leading Uruks, Gimli throwing his axe as he does so, but it misses.
Evil plays it conservative by backing away the second row of pikemen so the first line will not be trapped. So each Good hero is facing four dice in Combat.
Aragorn starts things off terribly for Good, rolling a '3'-highest against the '6' of the Uruks. Four Wound rolls could, theoretically, kill him now. Even if the Uruks don't get him, he could well be vulnerable to another fluff at some point in the eleven remaining turns. So he swallows his pride and uses his free Might point along with two more from his store to force the win. His poor luck continues during his Wound rolls, and none are scored.
Gimli then shows his compatriot how it's done, getting his '6' for the win and then taking out one of the Uruk-hai swordsmen.
Evil Priority, 3-1.
Aragorn of course uses his free Might to call a Heroic Move. The Good heroes engage again to block up the front line, Gimli's throwing axe again missing. Evil makes sure that a replacement pikemen moves up to again get four dice against Gimli, while the remaining Uruks (mostly off camera) back away to allow retreat room.
Aragorn fluffs his Combat again, '4'-'6'. Having already spent his free Might point and having only one left in his store, he loses the Combat(!) and is happy that the Uruks score only one Wound.
Gimli again wins and again slays another Uruk.
Good Priority, 3-3.
In go the Good guys. Gimli's axe misses again.
Aragorn still can't catch a break and again is outrolled by Evil, '5'-'6'. But this turn he has his Free Might point and so he's able to force the win. He still fails to score any Wounds.
Using the same dice, Gimli's '5'-highest easily beats the miserable Evil roll of '1', 2', '1', '2', and the dwarf lands two Wounds.
So far Gimli's score is 4 to Aragorn's 0! Some "Mighty Hero" the heir of Elendil is proving to be...
Your host forgot to take a picture for this turn, but the relatively static nature of the scenario means you can probably still follow the action.
Good Priority, 5-4.
The Good heroes are doing a great job of keeping the Uruk-hai away from the gate and so keep pushing forward. Gimli's throwing axe again misses.
Perhaps embarrassed by last turn's scolding, Aragorn finally wins his Duel roll and, using his Free Might point, inflicts two Wounds on the Uruks directly engaged with him.
Gimli continues his lucky streak, his '6'-highest Duel roll easily beating a frankly pathetic Evil bosh roll of '1', '1', '1'. (Because of casualties, the Uruks couldn't get four dice against the dwarf this turn.) Inspired by the sad Evil Duel roll, Gimli himself then rolls '1', '1', '1' for his Wounds. I would have thought dwarves weren't susceptible to peer pressure.
Good Priority, 5-4.
With the Evil models beaten so far back and the front line pruned, Good decides that tactical retreat is in order to have a turn with fewer models able to engage the heroes. Gimli throws his axe and again misses.
The Uruk-hai run up the ramp but per Good's measurements only two can reach Aragorn and three for Gimli.
Aragorn wins his Combat but his Wound rolls underperform and he must uses his free Might point to get even a single Wound.
The Uruks get a hopeful '6'-highest against Gimli, but the son of Glóin matches them and wins the fight. He again fails to score any Wounds, though.
Evil Priority, 6-6.
Aragorn of course uses his free Might to call a Heroic Move. In go the heroes, and this time Gimli's axe finds its mark and takes out an Uruk-hai.
Evil decides to switch tactics. For the last several turns there have been a lot of Uruk-hai milling about at the bottom of the ramp with not much to do. So why have I been so wary of using two-deep pike supports? Yeah, using them traps the front-line guys. But they're dying anyway ... and they come back! It's worth it to get two extra dice in those Combats. So Evil starts going three deep where he can.
Both Good heroes get '6'-highest in their Duel rolls so the extra dice don't help Evil, at least for this turn. Between them, the man and the dwarf cause three casualties.
Evil Priority, 6-2.
Aragorn uses his free Might to call a Heroic Move. In go the heroes. Gimli's axe misses.
Gimli is now facing five dice (the guy at the back partially off-picture is a swordsman, not a pikeman) and Aragorn is against six.
The worsening odds do not intimidate Aragorn, who seems to be finding his stride (heh). He gets his '6'-highest and manages to take out another Uruk.
Gimli seems to be tiring, though. He loses '3' vs '6'. He could win by spending all three of his Might points. Is it worth it? We're a little over halfway through the game and it's quite possible he'll need that Might later. So, trusting to his tough armor, he concedes the Duel. His trust is not misplaced, as the five attackers, needing sixes, manage to score only a single Wound.
Good Priority, 3-1.
In go the heroes. Gimli's axe misses again.
Aragorn only gets a '5'-highest Duel roll, but Evil's five dice only get a '4'-highest and the ranger takes it. Focusing first on the trapped foremost Uruk-hai, he whiffs his first two doubled Strikes but manages to kill him on the third.
Gimli loses his Duel '5'-'6', but it seems safe enough at this point to spend one Might point. So he does, wins the Combat, and inflicts two Wounds.
Evil Priority, 5-1.
It's free Might point time again for another Heroic Move. Gimli's throwing axe fails to Wound. The Uruks are having trouble getting six dice against the Good heroes because although their pikeman are recycled, there are some traffic management issues at the bottom of the causeway and it's hard for the returnig pikemen to make their way to the front line.
Aragorn finally starts living up to his reputation by getting his '6'-highest and then slaying both of his enemies.
Then the luck changes and things finally break for Evil. Gimli get a triple '1' for his Duel roll against the '6'-highest of the Uruks. With only two Might points remaining, he can't match the Evil roll and has to take his lumps. The Uruk-hai roll an impressive '6', '5', '5', '5' for their Wound rolls. That might finish off Aragorn but they need sixes against Gimli and so the dwarf gets away with taking a single Wound.
That's Gimli's second Wound, so at least one of his Fate rolls has to come through if he's going to avoid death. He takes his first Fate roll: a '2'.
Now he's got a dilemma. By spending his last two Might points, he can turn that into a '4' and guarantee saving himself. Or he can take his second Fate roll; on a 4+, he can save himself and still keep the Might. But if he gets a '1', he's flat out dead.
With their being only three turns left in the game, he decides to play it safe and, painful as it is, he burns his last Might points to guarantee that he lives.
Good Priority, 5-5.
With Gimli being pushed back and Aragorn pushing forward, the geometry of the situation means the heroes must be careful to avoid letting the Uruk-hai slide by them to get to the gate. So it's time for another tactical retreat. Gimli chucks his axe and misses.
Only one Uruk-hai pikeman could reach Aragorn. Although a single warrior can theoretically win against Aragorn, it's very unlikely and so it seems better to gang up on the wounded Gimli. So Aragorn gets a breather this turn.
And the gambit pays off as Gimli loses his Combat '5' to '6' and no longer has the Might points to overcome the difference. He braces himself for some pain, but the Uruk-hai Wound rolls are a miserable '1', '2', '2', '3', '3' and the dwarf shrugs off their feeble blows.
Good Priority, 6-3.
Gimli engages (his axe missing as usual) and Aragorn moves to block access to the gate. The Uruk-hai cram as many models as possible against the heroes.
Aragorn loses his Combat '4'-'5' but boy is that free Might point handy and he uses it to win and slays both his direct opponents.
Gimli again loses '5'-'6' but the Evil Wound rolls, while better than last turn's (three '5's, a '4', and two '2's) still result in no sixes and the dwarf lives yet another turn.
Good Priority, 6-2.
Gimli's throwing axe comes through and takes out an Uruk. The heroes then pin the Evil front line into place.
The Uruk-hai clearly aren't going to make it through the gate -- they have to inflict a Wound on it before they can do so, and this is the last turn of the game due to the scenario time limit. Killing both heroes is unlikely, but Gimli is down to 1 Wound, 1 Fate and if they can kill him they'll at least get the draw. So they put the maximum troops against him. That still leaves four warriors against Aragorn, enough to have some slight possibility of killing him.
Aragorn gives the Good player a heart attack by losing '4'-'6'. Fortunately, he's still got his free Might and one in his store, so he's able (albeit only just) to overcome the difference and win his Combat, inflicting two Wounds.
Gimli again loses his Combat '5'-'6', and again Evil fails to get even a single six among his Wound rolls!
Good Victory!
What a nail biter! Evil didn't come especially close to winning, but certainly deserved the draw for killing Gimli. Seventeen Wound rolls in the last three turns failed to land even a single six. That's just distressingly bad.
Having now seen it in use, I think the restricted size of the causeway worked well to keep the scenario on track to what we saw in the movies. Even with this disadvantage, Evil nearly got the draw and it's not too hard to see Evil managing to win.
This is a great scenario for solitaire play because the Evil player, having no heroes, doesn't have a lot of options other than to just keep pressing ahead. For Good, deciding when to spend those Might points can be (and was) excruciating.
I can't give this scenario absolute top marks because it doesn't offer much variety. But it played better than it read, and it's worth looking into at least once or twice.