"Charge~!!!" - Captain Auton, 3rd Cavalry

Adventure
09 Free Companies on a War Footing

Background
Going into this session, I'm 3-0 undefeated on this adventure. I've decided to use the same setup (http://www.boardgamegeek.com/thread/141535) I'd used previously that earned me a big 6-2 victory. The only difference is previously I'd thought Hill Giant costs 2 levels on the War Council where infact it only costs 1 level. This allow me to choose L2 Cleric, which is important for this map as there are so many Hills and Forests.

Players Set Up
Me:
Burgundy (Pennant)
L3 Commander, L1 Hill Giant, L2 Cleric

Opponent:
d'Armagnac party (Standard)
L1 Commander, L3 Wizard, L2 something else I can't remember

The Plan
1. Run my Goblinoids.
The Iron Dwarves vs Goblinoids side is not going to be pretty. I have to avoid confrontation as much as possible.

2. Stronghold.
Stronghold was placed near Goblinoid side to provide Bold. This was done in hope of reducing casualties lost to Flags/Panic Loss, as well as keeping the line.

3. Hill Giant's Rock Pile.
The Rock Pile was put in range of the starting Dwarves as well as center's heavy infantry. This was done to force my opponent to advance his troops. On top of that, the left flank was not a good place to put the Rock Pile since that area was mostly blocked by terrains.


The Early Game - Change of Plan
I tried but couldn't get hold of any advance or green banner command cards to move my Goblinoids. Instead, a break in the support line on my opponent's right flank attracted my attention. I rallied my forces on my left flank, determined to cause major wreckage.

The Mid-Game
I was lucky to secure the Hill Rumble card, which was very important in this map. Together with my cavalries and other forces, I wiped out the opponent's entire right flank (my left flank).

My opponent had problems countering my moves as he was only L1 commander. A very bad disadvantage, we agreed later, when I had L3.

On my right flank, my combination of Hill Giant, Stronghold, and supported Goblinoids held their grounds against the Iron Dwarves. By then it was already 4 - 0 against my opponent.



The End Game
The carnage on the left flank was brutal. A lone blue banner infantry unit was last seen running away from the massacre screaming.

"Oh My God! Oh My God! Somebody Help!!!"

It too, was brought down soon in the most savage manner.

At the point of dispair, my opponent finally conducted a mass assult on my Goblinoids. He took down one, but I struck back with a vengence and scored the final banner.

Final Score
6 - 1

Final Words
This was a really quick game of total ownage. We tried to disect what happened and came down to the following:

1. Levels in Commander. A L3 vs L1 round-up showed us the importance of the Commander. In fact, I had played in another game where I tried L0 just to test out the importance of the Commander. Let's just say the result ain't pretty.

2. Cleric. This map requires Cleric, period. Going into the game without one is going to be really bad, and I wish you have your collection of Dispels at hand.

3. Iron Dwarves. The Iron Dwarves are too strong not to utilize. The failure to bring them into play until too late in the game is probably the major factor.

4. Magic Pentacle. Opponent didn't use this fully. I had played in another game where my opponent (another person) put a Green Banner on it in round one and was never out of Lore to throw funny stuffs at me. L3 Wizard is not a force to be reckon with.

I guess the 6 - 1 result sets a new record for me. I don't think it will be matched anytime soon.
\(^_^)/

I don't think I agree.

If I don't take a Cleric at all, and you put 2 or 3 levels into your Cleric, 7 of the 15 Cleric cards are discarded from the Lore deck. That means there is only a 53% chance that "The Hills Rumble" will even be in the deck.

If "The Hills Rumble" does make it into the deck, some percentage of the time, it is near the bottom of the lore deck, and won't get drawn at all. This obviously depends on the speed with which the game ends, but in my half dozen games so far, I don't think it's at all unusual for a quarter of the lore deck to be unused. The total number of characters selected also inluences this, as more characters equals a bigger lore deck, so that more cards won't make it into play at all. It also depends on the Battlelore card being played as well-- there are a lot of variables at play, but the basic point is that just because it's in the deck doesn't mean it will get drawn by either player.

Finally, assuming that "The Hills Rumble" is close enough to the top that it will get drawn, there is an equal chance that each player will draw it. If I draw it, I will certainly not discard it early, allowing you a chance to get it if the deck is shuffled. I'll wait until the game is only a turn or two away from ending, and then either use it myself (for only an extra 3 lore), or else discard it then.

It's impossible to put an exact percentage on this because of not being able to determine if "The Hills Rumble" will make it into play assuming it is in the deck, but your chances of getting the card are certainly no higher than 25%, and are probably substantially lower than that-- I would guess somewhere around 15-20%.

Now, assuming I took a Rogue, if you hit your 15-20% and get the card, I may very well have a "Foiled" waiting for you, so that it has no effect.

So, while I agree that taking a 2nd or 3rd level Cleric and going for the massive damage if you get "The Hills Rumble" is a viable strategy, I don't think it's the no-brainer you're implying.

Maxixe- Wow, a second great little adventure with text-within-photos. Too much! I love this kind of stuff! Keep up the good work!

Thanks everyone for kind support!

Right, how can I be making such sweeping statements.