There was a 700 point LOTR tournament in one of the Bay Area GW stores which I was able to attend. I still need some practice with my forces to decide which I like best for the Las Vegas Trip. I decided to take my current front runner for Las Vegas. It's won more games than it's lost and the two losses I can remember have both been to Gary Lane in Meeting Engagement.
I had the opportunity to take my Legions of Isengard/Khandish Mercenary force out for three games today. Ill Met by Moonlight against a Fiefdom/Rohan force was a close run thing for a bit, but in the long run I had my opponent on the ropes and rapidly diminishing on the battlefield. Wounding Eomer twice and eating up all his Fate on turn one was just enough abuse to scare my opponent into not engaging with Eomer for the rest of the game. Despite immobilizing him three times and engaging him on my terms I couldn't manage to put that last wound on him. I could have played a lot better, but I didn't get enough sleep and game one is always a slow start for me.
Game two was Reconnoitre against a Khazad-Dum/Arnor alliance. Durin, a generic dwarf captain and Malbeth stood between me and the opposite table edge. This is one scenario that if I lose with this force it's because I'm brain dead. The cavalry smashed through my opponent's right flank while my infantry bled his center and left flank. I got 7 cavalry models off the table and then sent Saruman back into the fray to help finish off the generic dwarf captain. I purposefully started piling onto Durn and using my two handed weapons and not providing spear support to my lines in order to lose models. It worked and I was soon broken. I was broken and my force reduced to below 25% in the same turn. I love Courage 2 troops. I purposefully caused Saruman to run from the fight, though in Las Vegas I would definitely not do this. I don't need to be giving 180 Skull taker points to my opponent.
Game three saw Gary and I facing off in Meeting Engagement. His White Company has beaten my force in Meeting Engagement in every encounter so far. True to form Gary decided to defend and so I adopted the attacker role. The game was intense (as usual) with me initially out shooting his force of Rangers with my Mercenary archers. Eventually I have to get stuck in so I engaged across the line. I tried to break his left flank with my cavlary lead by Saruman, but it got stopped in its tracks and decimated. Every time I charge in with my cavalry against Gary's lines this happens. I charge anyone else and I cut a bloody swath through their lines and terminal bleeding starts, but against Gary's White Company my cavalry looks more like high speed watermelon collisions with a brick wall. Still the battle was close with me breaking a couple of turns before I finally broke Gary's force. Time ran out on the clock and we had to resort to a points tally to determine the winner. Unfortunately Gary managed to kill Saruman and that alone clinched a win for Gary. High point heroes dying when points determine a victor is a death sentence in LOTR.
I really need a lot more practice with Meeting Engagement so I can get the hang of killing high defense walls of steel and spears with a low defense force. I still seem to be missing something. Of course I'm improving and I could see my mistakes hours later after thinking about the battle, but dice also contributed. Eowyn was shot with arrows left and right and flung about like a rag doll twice and I still couldn't kill her. Beregrond refused to die as well. I never even had a chance at Faramir. Three great games with Gary and I both feeling the challenge of trying to best the other. He was by far my toughest game of the day.