This is a scenario of Games Workshop's Middle Earth Strategy Battle Game from the War in Rohan supplement. Here Éomer, Gandalf, and Erkenbrand ride to the relief of Helm's Deep, besieged by the forces of Isengard. It's a classic cavalry army versus tough infantry battle.
Good wins by killing 75% of the Evil force. Evil wins by killing two of the three Good leaders.
To help recreate the scene from the movie, there are a couple of special rules. First, charging cavalry within 12" of Éomer get +1 Strength. Second, once per game Gandalf can call "Look to the Sun" to force a -1 Duel roll modifier on all Evil models engaged with Good cavalry that turn. Bad news for Evil!
(Click on any image to see an enlargement.)
The Good forces are four squads of Riders of Rohan (24 models), led by Gandalf on Shadowfax, Éomer, and Erkenbrand. It looks like Gandalf has already cast Blinding Light on himself, but that's an artifact of your reporter's camera skills. I was not able to tone down the white without the rear models disappearing into the gloom.
The Éomer model is the new(ish) ForgeWorld sculpt. (So's the Gandalf, for that matter.) I liked the old metal Éomer sculpt just fine, an opinion which I'm seemingly alone in holding, but I agree with the consensus that the new model is fantastic.
Facing them are 15 Uruk-hai with sword and shield and 15 Uruk-hai with pikes, led by three Captains. I have used Lurtz, a real Captain model, and Uglúk to represent the three Captains, so both you and I can better tell them apart.
The number of Evil models means Good needs to kill 25 of them to win.
The board is narrower than usual, being 2'x4'. The first picture show the view looking north, with the Rohirrim on the south edge and the Uruks to their north. The sides are supposed to be rocky crags but I don't have any. So I've co-opted my Helm's Deep walls for the west edge and kept the east edge open (except in this picture) to make room for the camera.
The Uruk-hai have set up to maximize pike support so as to get 3 dice into as many combats as possible. Those three-orc units are spaced widely enough that the Captains behind the lines can get to the front but cavalry bases cannot fit between them. This should give the Captains both protection from Charging and the flexibility to move to support where needed.
Good always has Priority on the first turn in narrative scenarios.
The Good forces move up at full speed. Gandalf misses a trick and fails to cast Channeled Terrifying Aura on himself. Your correspondent is obvious a little rusty when it comes to remembering about magic.
Evil inches forward, being careful to stay more than 20" away (i.e. two turns of cavalry moves) until he can see what happens next turn.
Victory Progress: Good 0/25, Evil 0/2
Evil Priority, 2-2.
Evil advances full speed. Turn 3 is going to be interesting now.
If Good does a full move, the Riders will be within Evil's Charge range, which would a Bad Thing if Evil gets to move first (either through winning Priority or Heroic Move roll-offs). So Good advances a half move and lets loose a hail of arrows. Many hit, but none manage to penetrate that tough Uruk-hai armor.
Gandalf tries a Sorcerous Blast with his free Will point, but it fails to go off.
Victory Progress: Good 0/25, Evil 0/2
Good Priority, 4-1.
If Evil does nothing, Gandalf will invoke the "Look to the Sun" rule and the whole Uruk-hai line will be affected. Wanting to protect at least some of the front line, Lurtz calls a Heroic Move. If Good counters, Uglúk, too, will call a Heroic Move. Since Heroic Moves alternate between the sides, at least one wing of the Evil army is likely to escape a Charge this turn.
Since Good has the same thought process -- the disadvantage of solitaire play -- he figures spending a Might point for a 50-50 shot at going first when half the Evil army gets away anyhow isn't worth it. So he passes and Lurtz retreats his wing out of Charge range. Note the two unfortunates in the foreground of the first picture which were out of Lurtz's 6" With Me! range, though.
But now Good has another decision: call "Look to the Sun" anyway, or wait? Good would rather use it on a turn where all the Riders engage. But Heroic Move shenanigans are a possibility every turn. Plus inflicting casualties early pays dividends over the succeeding turns, putting the enemy behind a vicious circle of fewer models able to inflict damage. And what if Gandalf suffers an untimely demise? So, yes, "Look to the Sun"!
On the way in Gandalf Sorcerous Blasts a Uruk-hai (the unengaged model in the center of the first picture).
Combat is disappointing for Good. Of the six fights, Good manages to win only three of them despite the -1 Duel penalty for Evil. Two Uruk-hai are ridden down but two Riders die as well.
Victory Progress: Good 2/25, Evil 0/2
Good Priority, 6-2.
Lurtz calls a Heroic Move, hoping to get out of Charge range again. Erkenbrand counters, and Uglúk calls a Heroic Move as well, pretty much guaranteeing that at least one wing of the Evil army will get the jump on the Rohirrim.
The tie-breaker goes to Good, so Erkenbrand Charges Lurtz's troops, engaging all of their front line.
Evil chooses Uglúk's Heroic Move to precede Lurtz, so he can prevent Charges on the western half of the board. No spells for Gandalf this turn, and now he's really regretting the lack of Terrifying Aura!
Combats start disappointingly for Good. Erkenbrand loses his Duel against four Uruk-hai '4'-'6'. Is it worth spending both of his remaining Might points to win? While his armor is pretty tough, it's possible that he might die if he doesn't. And casualties are the name of the game here for Good. So he spends the Might, wins his Duel, and barely manages to take out a single opponent.
Gandalf also loses his Duel roll, '3'-'5'. Since he's facing a Captain, not just warriors, he's not superior in Fight value, so he can't guarantee a win no matter how much Might he spends. And he's got plenty of Fate. So he gulps hard and saves his Might. Evil's three Strikes kill Shadowfax, but Gandalf lands on his feet with a '6' on the Thrown Rider test and he himself takes no Wounds.
At least Éomer comes through like a champ, winning his Duel easily, killing a Uruk-hai, and putting a Wound on the Captain.
In other Combats, four Riders go down but so do six Uruk-hai.
Victory Progress: Good 8/25, Evil 0/2
Evil Priority, 5-1.
Gandalf calls a Heroic Move. The Captain counters but Gandalf wins the roll-off. The Good models in the center get their Charge bonuses and attempt to tie up as many Evil models as possible, including the Captain whose Heroic Move is cancelled. A throwing spear gets a lucky hit and takes out an Uruk-hai. Éomer likewise hits the Captain with his spear, and it takes both the Captain's Fate and his last Might point to save himself. Maybe things are looking up for Good?
On the way in, Gandalf chucks a 3-die Immobilize on Uglúk, and scores a miserable '2' highest! Uglúk's only got a single Will point, but he likes those odds of successfully resisting the spell and does so even with a mediocre '3'.
Evil engages everywhere, negating Charge bonuses as much as possible.
Having Priority, Evil gets to choose the order of Combat resolution and starts with surrounded Erkenbrand, who loses again '4'-'6'. Though the Riders have peeled off Lurtz, who is trapping him, his warrior opponents manage to do three Wounds and Erkenbrand falls!
Lurtz himself also muffs his Duel '2'-'6', but the Riders can't land any Wounds despite eight Strikes.
Perhaps disheartened by Erkenbrand's fate, Éomer also fluffs his Duel, '4'-'6'. Unlike Erkenbrand, though, he has the Might to cover the difference. Thinking Good is due for some luck, he spends the two points to draw the Duel, only to lose the 50/50 roll-off to the Captain. His horse takes two Wounds, both saved by Éomer's Fate. How great is that Horse Lord rule, anyway?
Luck finally throws Good a bone and Gandalf beats Uglúk '6'-'5'. The orc hero spends Evil's last Might point to tie, but Good wins the roll-off and Glamdring manages to Wound Uglúk.
Elsewhere the honors are even as two Uruk-hai and two Riders are slain.
Victory Progress: Good 11/25, Evil 1/2
Good Priority, 4-2.
There's no Evil Might left, so Good can Charge away. Almost all of the Evil models are engaged. Gandalf finally casts Terrifying Aura -- better late than never -- and barely gets it with a '2'.
Now it's Lurtz's turn to bosh his Duel roll as he loses '1'-'3'. The Riders manage only two Wounds but Lurtz fails his Fate roll and he dies. (Remember he's a Captain, not actually Lurtz.)
Éomer beats the Captain but with eight Strikes can manage no higher than a '4' and hence no Wounds. Maybe he should look into that Heroic Strength ability.
Gandalf, aided by a Rider, manages to slay Uglùk.
Elsewhere the casualties are roughly equal, with 4 Uruks and 3 Riders lost.
Victory Progress: Good 17/25, Evil 1/2
Good Priority, 6-5.
Again, there's no Evil Might left, so Good is free to get Charges in, tying up all the Evil models.
Gandalf again tries to Immobilize the Captain, who successfully resists. This scenario has not been a great showcase for the power of magic. Throwing spears have been more effective than Sorcerous Blast, the spears scoring another casualty on the way into Combat this turn.
Éomer calls a Heroic Strike against the Might-less Captain, guaranteeing Fight superiority. He gets his '6' and the Captain is mown down.
That competence continues throughout the Combat phase, with plentiful Good '6's to make up for their lack in previous turns. At the end of the phase seven more Evil models have been killed (to just one Rider), giving Good the 25 kills they need to win.
Good victory!
That was closer than I thought it would be at first glance.
Good has a number of tools in his belt which make this look like a blowout. He's got a 9-6 Might advantage, magic, ranged weapons, cavalry Charge bonuses, and scenario special rules in favor of the Rohirrim.
But Evil isn't helpless. Heroic Moves take some of the teeth out of the "Look to the Sun" rule. Good really needs his heroes leading from the front where they are vulnerable, as Erkenbrand's fate shows. Warrior-for-warrior, Uruk-hai are better than Riders of Rohan ... and given the pike rules, rarely are the Uruk-hai fighting one-on-one.
The luck factor was all over the place. In the first Charge on Turn 3, the Uruks kept getting '6's which guaranteed a win against the Riders with their lower Fight value. That continued on more or less until the last two turns of the game, when all of the sudden the Good dice got all the pips.
On the other hand, Priority favored the Good player, which ended up soaking up Evil's Might for Heroic Moves and preventing their use for other things.
I suspect that Good has the edge here. But it wouldn't surprise me at all if Evil was frequently able to pull out the victory.
One minor change that I would like to see is a small amount of Uruk-hai firepower. Maybe 3-6 crossbows? Without that, the Rohirrim can just pretend they're Scythians and keep a safe distance while shooting down Uruk-hai. I didn't do that here because it's not in the spirit of the thing. But it's a scenario weakness when a gentleman's agreement is needed to avoid breaking tactics.
Given the troop density and the smaller board size there's not a lot of different strategies to try. But there is scope for tactics, it seems to recreate the movie scene reasonably well, and play balance isn't too wonky.
My rating: ★★★★☆