Batrep: Game of WotR in Australia

Battle report might be a bit generous, I really can't remember the details other than it was good times. Been ages since I got a game in, and Scott suffered from the same rules-amnesia as I - at first: After a few rounds we started to get back into the system

Wargaming!

[Droning on about rules here was removed due to boringness, hence the seemingly non-sequiteur paragrahp below]

I still claim that the best rules addition is the one found on Jamies rough WotR-blog: Giving elves a rule to just ignore shields when firing arrows. Elegant, beautiful and makes perfect sense from a balance point of view (especially against Morannon orcs) and does not add a bunch of number crunching.

Scott kindly invited me to his home and I happily left the quiet little east-coast suburb I rented a room in to spend some time with a fellow blogger and hobbyist. Since I took a bus up and left said bus at what was possibly the right place I waited a while in the warm and pleasant outdoors of Australia, in the WINTER! It is very strange that they have summer in the winter... I had no idea how he looked like but he recognized me and called my name - after all there aren't that many llamas standing around bus stops in Australia. You get the occasional koala or kangaroo, but not llamas.

But I digress. Scott showed me some of his magnificient collections, a wide range of different eras and types - and especially the 30K-stuff made an impact on my hobby mind. Beautifully painted and air-brushed resin and plastics, really nice models.

One of the best aspects of this visit, besides talking Norwegian with his young daughter, was the collection of M.E.R.P booklets by Iron Crown Enterprises (I.C.E, IIRC). Sooo much good stuff, inspiration for decades, filled with Angus McBride illustrations.

The game

The first two rounds we mainly charged each other. I lost a company of Vault Wardens due to archery and Mordor ballista - it is actually the first time playing against one of those. I have used one in test games against the other side...

Really nice table and general gaming/hobby area. If you removed a tree there were indicators on the battlemat where the tree was supposed to be put back, meaning it was really easy to move big formations around the table.

Our forces collided and we just went to town killing orcs and dwarves alike. Left, right and center.
 

As is often the case, no pictures were taken the last round since I have a tendency to get absorbed by the game.

The models were just great, nice movement trays and the right amount of careful/discreet theming that makes it easy to differentiate the two sides easily. I was - and am still - astonished by the sheer numbers of nicely painted War of the Ring/LotR/Hobbit models Scott has: It dwarfs my own collection which encourages me to up my game, both in numbers and in dealing with the soft backlog I have. 

Yours truly pondering on how to not lose...

Via digital communications I have received news that Scott and his gang of gamers have greatly increased the amount of hobby time dedicated to WotR! I feel I have an amount of responsibilty here, and I await my check from Gaymes Wokshop!

Lastly a big thanks and cheers to you Scott! Let's do it again some day!