Golden Balrog 2019

The Golden Balrog 2019
February is the time of the year when the Golden Balrog (GB) in Arnhem is kept anually at The Dobbelsteen. It's one of the oldest still running MESBG tournaments in the Netherlands going back to at least 2007 (when my friend Ronny won it). 

I have been attending this tournament for 6 times now and even managed to win it twice.

Today was agoing to be a day of a lot of first times for me.

What wasn't a first time was that i got a ride to Arnhem of Stefan Bakker, for the third time we went to the GB together.

We arrived at around 10 in the morning and we began straight away.

The first match was versus Lucas, a local hero who is known for his competitive play. An old acquaintance who i have played with for some times in the past.

The GB is a 700 points tournament and Lucas fielded Mordor with black guards, warg riders, Shagrat, Gorbag and... a dragon.

I brought my Minas Mrgul force of morannon orcs with Gothmog and the Witch King (WiKi) on a fellbeast.

The scenario was A clash by moonlight i.e. breaking the enemy and kill the enemy leader.

Lucas' deployment

Mine

Lucas

A cat and mouse game began

I sapped the wil of the dragon (who had a free will/turn due to Wyrmtongue) and flanked with my wargriders

So far, so good...

The WiKi overseeing the battlefield

The dragon got black darted and stayed with us but after Gothmog delt with it it flew away in terror

Everything still going according to the grand plan...

The real fighting began and the WiKi got killed and almost my entire force too!

I must say i was staggered and flabbergasted. I don't (didn't?) believe in bad dice rolls but my opponent started about it and he was struggling to cope with the fact that after the dissapearance of the dragon i managed to fail EVERY single dice roll and Lucas did the opposite.

Well after 12 years of playing tournaments i never had it this way but there has to be a first time for everything.

Lucas played strong and didn't make any mistakes (neither did i but hey) so he won a mayor victory.

Still a wee bit groggy after round one round two commenced with the Fog of War scenario (obtaining one objective, kill a designated enemy hero, protect one of your own designated heroes and trying to guess wich ones your opponent marked).

My opponent was Stefan, my travelling mate, with his trusty Mirkwood force with Thranduil on his elk, Tauriel and Legolas and rangers plus palace guards.

I had played Stefan quite some times so i knew what to expect...

Stefan's set up on one side of the river

And mine on the other side

Stefan

Mordor marched to the bridge and the ford

I had to kill Tauriel and the WiKi failed to compell her out of the ruins

Sustaining some losses due to elven bow fire (they where trying to kill Gothmog) my Gothmog force reached the other bank of the river. 

The other force met palace guards and Thranduil riding his elk.

I surrounded Thranduil

Several times...

But i managed to fail at winning the fight and/or wounding him...

My force got killed not winning a fight

In the meantime the WiKi lost his fellbeast and got killed by Tauriel

An elf reached their objective, i tried to stop him and/or follow to the objective but didn't get priority rolls to do so

Yet another mayor loss on my behalf.

Stefan played a solid game and didn't make any mistakes. I wonder if i should have focussed on Thranduil after failing the first two times but that pointy eared silly willy could pose a big threat so i think i made the right decision.

I had surrounded him in games before and he always fell.. this was the first time he didn't.

Another first time was Sefan winning a game against me, well deserved!

And a fun game it was, we had some laughs. Cheers Stefan!

And yet another first time, not counting the two ETC's i attended, was losing two games in a row on a tournament.

Hey it had to happen one time, didn't it?

Still i was somewhat emotionally unbalanced

In the second round of the GB i saw this epic show-off on the neighbouring table: Durk vs Lucas, dragon vs dragon!

An impression of the Dobbelsteen's cellar where the GB is held

Our tournament organiser Mart Borgonjen

Two losses and the third and final round on it's way things didnt look positively competitively speaking.

That being said two more first times where on their way!

Mart's laptop broke down and the rankings where gone...

After a longer break than planned i found out that being lower ranked than 'normal' this was the chance of meeting and playing someone i did't encounter as an opponent ever before.

My first time to play Arjen!

The scenario for the final round was Capture and Control (5 objectives).

Arjen brought a Mumak of Harad and some serpent riders. The Mumak, because it was previously banned at the GB and he thought itwas fun to field it.

Another first time!

I have been playing MESBG eversince it's inception in december 2001 and never before faced the Mumak!

Arjens set-up

And Mordor's deployment

As serpent riders came closer the WiKi compelled the big beast back South to Harad

My lines backed up a bit as the Mumak came back. The WiKi few into the line of desert riders

And wreaked havoc

Killing the enemy leader

That didn't stop Arjen charging into my lines

To be surrounded and decimated

With the Mumak being compelled in all directions except the one Arjen planned to

After all serpent riders where killed the eye of Sauron was fixed on the Mumak

Woopsies

All dicerolls whent completely my way this game

Wich resulted in the killing of an entire army

Arjen was being a good sport about it all and we had some good laughs and good times.

This being a mayour victory for me my honour was saved... no more first times for me today!

Larry Joe Snellink won the GB 2019 this year with his trusty, beardy army... Iron Hills.

Good times where had, friend met and it was time to go home and sacrifice a goat to the dice gods, lol.

Looking forward to next year's Golden Balrog.

Opponents, participants, host (De Dobbelsteen) and ornanizer (Mart & Martijn) thank you very much!