The Tournament
Seven Stones is the pinnacle of sporting play. Everyone's there to have fun games and bring cool armies. Damian and Tom will allow almost anything, as long as it is done with fun and theme in mind.
It's also a Doubles event and this was it's 10th tournament.
Our Army
We had several ideas, but the one we settled on, was the book version of the Battle of Azanulbizar. (Blog of more depth on the theme coming soon). It was a custom army, with the special rules below).
James
Thrain, King Under the Mountain (Leader)
Warriors of Erebor w/ Shield x6
Nain (Iron Hills Dwarf King)
Iron Hills Spearmen (Erebor Warriors) w/ Spear and Shield x11
Me
Young Thorin Oakenshield
Warriors of Erebor w/ Shield x5
Warriors of Erebor w/ Spear/Shield x7
Young Dain Ironfoot (Grim Hammer Captain)
Iron Hills Mattocks (Grim Hammers) x7
Dwarves: 40
Special Rules
- All models gain Hatred (Azog)
- All models in this force must charge, if able
- If Nain is slain, then Dain will become enraged. He must charge the model that slew Nain, if able, or move as close as possible to them. This overrides the 'Must charge rule'.
- Thorin begins the game with a normal shield. Once he has suffered an unsaved wound, his shield is shattered and he replaces it with the Oakenshield.
- Thrain has been pushed back and lost an eye in the initial fighting. He begins the game with two wounds.
- Iron Hills warbands must arrive in every game via Maelstrom rules, but the opponent shall always be the one to decide where they come on. They never roll in the first turn and may not might the result.
*Disclaimer- I got pretty unwell on the Sat evening and was feeling rough all weekend. But I dosed up and played on. So I may have forgotten something or missed it altogether in our games.
Game 1- Reconnoitre (Vs. Custom Army- War in the North PS3 Game Theme (Josh and Tom))
Gimmicks: Markers were placed on the board that gave us random 'prizes'. These would give us a bonus that we can use in the game and keep all weekend. Also Beleram the eagle would start chained up and have to be freed by Josh and Tom.
Opponents' Heroes- (Three custom heroes) Eradan (Man, Leader), Andrial (Elf), Farin (Dwarf), Beleram (Eagle), Halbarad and Rangers of the North
At face value, our forty dwarves facing twelve opponents in recon seemed great. Until we saw a river across the middle. And, being Seven Stones, it was always going to be deep water. The only crossing was the Buckleberry Ferry, requiring two jump tests.
Thrain and Thorin arrived and began moving up towards the river and the following turn Dain arrived behind Thorin and Nain alongside Thrain. Across from Thrain and Nain were the rangers, and across from Thorin and Dain, the custom heroes.
Thorin reached the Ferry and jumped across both, using a might to not fall in. And the dwarves began to swim…
…it was an utter disaster, as we took off piles of drowned dwarves each time they moved.
I charged a few dwarves into Beleram and tried to do damage as he was chained, but failed to land a single blow over multiple turns.
Thorin charged a ranger and called a Heroic Combat. Then spent his last might to win the fight as I wanted a good chance on harming Eradan, who was nearby. But Thorin then failed to cause any wounds. His friends beside him managed to slay one however.
The next turn, the iron hills hot water, and all of mine, but Dain and the one who went for a bonus marker, drowned.
Thrain did better and swam across elegantly, but then lost a fight on the other side and took a wound.
We were on the brink of breaking, the Eagle had been freed and we had only killed two of theirs…while 25 of our 40 dwarves had drowned, nevermind those shot or killed in combat. If I remember correctly, Dain was killed by the custom heroes as he pounced on Farin's back, while he swam.
(Left- our guys killed by opponents. Right- Those who drowned.)
When suddenly in that last turn, Eradan suddenly drowned out of nowhere with almost full stats (he had only spent a might), killing their leader for us, Thrain then killed two Rangers and his dwarves took down another two. This meant, quite undeservedly, we had just won 3-2 as their leader was dead by misadventure, ours wounded and we were both broken.
We only had nine guys left by the end of that turn.
Game 2- Clash of Champions (Vs. Reclamation of Osgiliath (Dan and Liam))
Opponents' Heroes- Boromir (Leader), Faramir and Madril
Opponents' Warriors- Minas Tirith Warriors, Osgiliath Veterans, Rangers of Gondor and Knights of Minas Tirith.
I deployed Thorin opposite Faramir and Thrain across from Madril and Boromir. We rushed at each other head on and a savage battle began.
Thorin won against Faramir and took away his fate as Thrain and Boromir started killing one another’s troops. Dain and Nain arrived near to Thrain and rushed to assist him.
Thorin then decided to try and build a kill count and started killing off Faramir’s men, feeding him one dwarf at a time as I was getting lucky with the roll offs. Thorin eventually fought Faramir again but couldn’t overcome him, but nor did he fall.
On the other side, Thrain and Nain linked up and tore Boromir’s unit apart and Thrain’s dwarves managed to take down Madril in the thick of it.
Boromir had gone too deep and Dain rushed with his mattocks and surrounded him. Luckily for Boromir, his might saved him a couple of times and I couldn’t get a shot on slaying his horse. It was around this time that the round was ended.
Thrain (8) and Thorin (6) had outkilled Boromir (10) and Faramir (3), but we had been broken and Boromir’s banner was still standing, giving us a 5-4 loss.
Game 3- Fog of War (Vs. Custom Angmar (Calum and Ashley))
Gimmicks: The Witch King had to summon the Barrow Wights from markers placed by both teams across the board.
Opponents' Heroes- The Witch King (Leader), Barrow Wights, Angmar Orc Captains and Angmar Orc Shaman.
Opponents' Warriors- Warriors of Carn Dum, Angmar Orc Warriors and Angmar Warg Riders
I deployed Thorin to the left and Thrain was put down to the right. I had the Witch King and a Captain before me. The four Barrow wight spawns went into the open areas across the middle of Shelob’s Lair.
We chose to defend Thorin, slay an orc captain, and capture the rear left square of the tunnels.
I was struggling at this point and so am very hazy on what was happening on James' side of the battle, but Thrain put up a very stoic defence, and his dwarves went through the orcs like a hot knife through butter.
They first raised a Barrow wight before me and then a second before james. I called a Heroic Move in the third turn. Thorin rushed forward and attacked the Witch King and banner bearer. He won the combat but fluffed the wounding. The next turn he was surrounded by several foes and the morgul blade found its mark.
Dain had arrived behind Thrain and Nain behind his foes. Dain rushed to reinforce Thrain and Nain started moving up towards the Witch King’s rear on my side as I was spread thin.
Three of my dwarves held a tunnel to my left and two were slain. The last was surrounded by an orc captain and several of his cronies. That dwarf managed to win his fight and land a wound upon the captain, before being ripped apart the following turn.
Thrain had managed to get an edge over his flank and so Dain rushed past with his dwarves to assist my flank. I believe that in the last turn he managed to personally slay the Orc Shaman.
He arrived and announced himself by cutting down a warg rider that was charging my rear. At this point, time was called.
As it turned out, the only VP scored was the surrounded dwarf, who struck our target captain. Giving us a 1-0 win.
Game 4- The Arena of Champions (Vs. All Our Opponents From Games 1-3)
Our Champions: Nain (Dwarf King) and Young Dain (Grim Hammer Captain)
Josh and Tom's Heroes- Elladan and Elrohir
Dan and Liam's Heroes- Faramir and Madril
Calum and Ashley's Heroes- Two Barrow Wights
A quick breakdown for anyone unfamiliar, in the arena of champions, you put in a hero of 100pts or less. For every 5pts under the 100, including wargear, they gain a might, will or fate point. You must have one of each before adding a second to any and so on.
We rushed towards the rangers, and the barrow wights paralysed Faramir. Nain jumped on him and gave him a good slapping about, I opted not to do so in my turn as twice would have felt cheap, so I charged Madril and believe I took a fate off him.
The Barrow Wights randomised who they would attack as Faramir woke up, and the dice said to target Faramir again, much to Dan and Liam’s disgust.
The twins then joined the fray and charged James and I, so we charged back in our turn and Dain was quickly killed. The following turn, Nain followed him.
Madril was the next to fall as Elrohir rushed in and cut him down. Elladan, meanwhile, took down the first Barrow Wight. Things were looking to be settling up for an elven victory. When, desperate for a chance for Faramir, son of Gondor, to show his quality, he ran in and slew one elf, then the other and finished by taking down the Barrow Wight!
Whether it was the +3 to wound, the all combats count as trapped, or our incompetence, I’m not sure if it reflects well on Faramir that he was the only one to get paralysed, and won anyway, or poorly on the rest of us.
Game 5- Take and Hold (Vs. Sibling Rivalry (Not their army name but that’s what I'll call it) (Phoebe and Lewis))
Gimmicks: Phoebe and her partner, Josh, were each paired with their siblings, and so would have a family member in each army, with the sibling in the other's team. E.g. If Phoebe had Haleth, Josh would have Hama. They would be able to use each other's might will and fate, once their own ran out on their character, presuming that their sibling is still alive in the other game. So they would end up in a rush to use their stats up before someone else did. This was tracked via a group chat between them.
Opponents' Heroes- Prince Haleth (Leader), Eowyn, Gloin, Nori and Ori
Opponents' Warriors- Riders of Rohan, Iron Hills Warriors and Goat Riders
Because we deploy in opposite corners to our allies, I had Phoebe to my left with Eowyn, Nori and Ori and Lewis to my right with Haleth and Gloin.
We started moving towards the centre (for anyone unfamiliar, this is essentially doubles ‘Hold Ground’). Dain arrived behind Thorin and Nain behind Thrain.
Haleth moved off to pin Thrain’s warband in place and Nori won the roll off to stop Thorin rushing through the chokepoint with impunity to the centre. Thorin went for a Heroic Combat and this caused two or three cavalry in front of me to fall, and reopened the gap to the centre. Winning the next priority, Thorin then let his dwarves charge either side of the pincer movement and got us within range of the centre. He personally faced Ori and took off a fate.
His dwarves did well and held the line, killing a decent number of the opponents in response to their own losses.
James had Thrain beat Haleth several times but Thrain kept fluffing the wounds, failing to dismount him and Eowyn each time. Haleth eventually pulled back to the centre as time was getting tight. Nain had called a couple of Marches and got his dwarves around the Thrain fight to get in range of the centre with 10+ dwarves.
Dain had similar run some of his dwarves around Thorin’s battle and attacked the opposing Iron Hills in the rear, including a near miss throwing axe almost taking their banner out! Dain ended up in a fight with Gloin and survived the initial barrage, taking a fate off his opponent in the penultimate turn.
Thorin had overreached and ended up in a world of danger, as he had Gloin, Nori, Ori, and a charging rider of Rohan surrounding him! He shielded for dear life, but a Heroic Strike with Gloin’s last might was making it bleak. He predictably lost the fight, but somehow came away with only a wound or two taken, and saved it with his fate!
By the end, we had claimed the centre (22/19) and they had their banner alive, giving us a 5-2 win!
Game 6- Lords of Battle (Rematch! Vs. Reclamation of Osgiliath (Dan and Liam))
Opponents' Heroes- Boromir (Leader), Faramir and Madril
Opponents' Warriors- Minas Tirith Warriors, Osgiliath Veterans, Rangers of Gondor and Knights of Minas Tirith.
We had rematched our opponents and old foes!
I lined Thorin’s warband up in the centre and Thrain was on the other side of the watchtower. The Gondorians deployed opposite me in one large block.
We got the initial priority and Thorin led a made charge against a mass of troops outnumbering his own a little under four to one. Thrain catching up not get behind. The Gondorians swallowed up Thorin’s warband and an absolute massacre went ahead. Thorin fought Faramir again but lost and luckily wasn’t wounded. But, of his twelve dwarves, nine were slain!
The next turn, Thrain’s unit joined and struck the rangers. Thorin charged at Boromir, who had got behind his line the previous turn. He was then swamped by enemies on all sides. Despite the numbers and losing the combat, he managed to weather the storm and not get killed.
Thrain’s unit had more luck and took down some of the rangers. Dain had arrived behind us and Nain behind the Gondorians.
Thorin ended up fighting a group of troops alongside Faramir and they kept crossing blades for the rest of the game. And I believe that he didn’t get taken down by the call of the round.
Thrain had more success initially as he managed to rush Boromir and hammered him. Getting a single wound upon the enemy general and watching as he failed all three fate, suddenly left on 2w 0f. Sadly, he couldn’t convert this as Boromir rallied and eventually slew Thrain. But lost to Dain, who had just arrived, however, took no more wounds.
Nain joined at the rear of their lines, but it was too little too late.
Dan and Liam had fallen one wound short of tripling our count, Thrain had been killed, we were broken and had lost two heroes. In return we had wounded Boromir, for a 16-1 defeat.
Game 7- Seven Stones Domination (Vs. Moria (Michael and Craig))
Gimmicks: They had themed their Moria around the Marvel films; the bats were capes, the objectives included the infinity gauntlet and other cool links.
Opponents' Heroes- Durburz, Groblog, Druzhag, Moria Goblin Captain and Moria Goblin Shaman
Opponents' Warriors- Moria Goblin Warriors, Moria Goblin Prowlers, Batswarms, Gundabad Blackshield Drummers, Giant Spiders and a Cave Troll
I deployed Thorin to the right of the central building, across from Durburz and Groblog. Thrain was on top of the building, looking down upon Druzhag, the Captain and Shaman.
Thrain began by withstanding an assault from the goblins on the walkway, with Thrain’s troops fighting the ones climbing up the stairs.
And later he had Druzhag’s spiders climbing up the side, that he also managed to repel.
Thorin launched an assault forward and held a chokepoint, leaving a couple of dwarves to hold a rear objective. He had some success as they cut down several goblins, losing only one or two of their own. I was careful not to rush out of the chokepoint and risk being overly exposed. So in the next turn, more goblins fell before their valour.
Thorin then saw an opportunity and charged Durburz. He fluffed the duel and got away without any wounds. Sadly, this became a bit of a pattern and Thorin burnt out alarmingly quickly, keeping his head above water but failing to win any fights.
Dain and Nain arrived at the rear, so Nain rushed up to hold the objectives at the rear, leaving a few on one and rushing to fight the massing goblins on another beneath Thrain. Dain used his might to call Heroic Marches and moved up towards Thorin as quickly as he could. He arrived just in time to save Thorin’s crumbling and outnumbered warband, getting alongside his cousin at the end of the game as a troll was breaking through with Groblog.
A batswarm had flown over Thorin’s unit and was fighting for my rear objective. It killed a couple of dwarves and came alarmingly close to taking it, when a couple of Dain’s mattocks arrived and the bats were one shotted.
Back over the other flank, Thrain’s unit had firmly held the stairs and kept their objective safe. But Nain was floundering under the sheer weight of the goblins’ numbers. A few dwarves contested the objective as Nain held up a large portion of them but they were too few. And worse still, a group of goblins had broken past and slain the protectors of the other rear one!
In the end, we had two objectives that we completely owned without contest, they had four themselves, they had also doubled our numbers on the final one, and they had also broken us, so we ended the weekend on a 17-6 defeat, but a classic game of dwarves v goblins is always a winner, and it was a great one to end the event on.
So we ended the weekend on three wins, three losses and a VPD of -22. But all of our games had been fun and against great opponents, so we couldn't ask for much more. I hope I can make next year's, but that will depend on life at home with an upcoming little one! 😊
Events that I will attend
13th June- What about second breakfast? (Independant Doubles)
27th June- Plant your trees and watch them grow (EAHC)
18th July- You shall NOT be the Fellowship of the Ring (EAHC)
