Company Assemble!

Once again this clouds gather over Middle-Earth and me and the boys set forth to carry out the will of our respective masters in a few games of battle companies. When I presented this game to them I promised them the wonder and action they'd come to expect from the movies with the chance to level up there heroes to the equal of this guy...

...Or even this guy if they were lucky.

But I neglected to mention that everyone was going to start out as this guy.

Looks like my sales pitch worked however and we picked our companies from what I had available and went to war, but not before someone made an off-hand joke about the Wombles and it ended up sticking as their company name.... so..... first up from Cirith Ungol, The Wombles of Wimbleton

Last Alliance of Pony Team 6

And from Moria, the Smurfs

On to the first game! We set up evenly spaced from each other, the objective was to be the last warband standing. Our early moves saw everyone move into favorable positions. The human/elf alliances took up defence around the house, using barrels and the hedges to prevent them being flanked. The goblins began clearing the wall, but held their position. The uruk and orc murder squad barreled forward looking to smash whichever player got too close first.

The goblins strike out at the elves, hoping to cause some damage before everything gets a bit crowded.

The orcs prepare to deal out some real carnage of their own and form up into ranks.

The goblins failed in their attempts to slay the elves and fled to the safety of their own lines before they could be dealt punishment. The orcs made their choice and assaulted the goblin mob, hoping to break a few heads before the elves got too close.

As the forces of the Last Alliance wade into the melee, the goblins withdraw behind the wall, hoping to use their numbers and the barricade to their advantage.

Meanwhile the orcs and the forces of order begin to take chunks out of each other. Eventually the orcs manage to separate the Numenoreans from their elven allies and attempt to use their numbers. The elves jump the wall and flank the goblins, breaking their resolve and setting the stunted fiends to flight.

That just left the men and elves to deal with the surviving orcs. With their uruk leader having fled earlier in the battle, the remaining orcs decided to follow suit. There would be another day to slay men and elves.

First game was a great introduction for everyone and the boys were quick to grasp the rules. Everyone is excited for the next game as the post battle sequence awarded a few bits of kit to the evil warbands and the Last Alliance gained a new member. No upgrades to speak of, but every warband is a man down next game due to injuries.

I've had the urge to play Battle Companies since the first book was released, but it took lockdown to happen so I had time to play. Still, not going to complain and I'm looking forward to next time.