by Rafamir
Veldrin wrote:
Veldrin (Shadow) defeated Rafamir (FP)
This was one of those games with a shortage of Cs/Ws for the FP and just one turn 1 Muster for the Shadow. Once Veldrin's tempo got in gear, he swept Gondor's key settlements just ahead of Strider's arrival. My key what ifs were, should I have retreated my 5/3/3 stack in Minas Tirith to Druadan or Lossarnach after taking three hits in field battle? Should I have had the elites Charge instead of saving the card to beef up Dol Amroth with Cirdan's Ships? What about Boromir returning with House of the Stewards and adding Cirdan's Elves to that? Large Shadow armies in Dol Amroth, Pelargir, Osgiliath and Minas Tirith made such a gambit suicidal at best.
As it was, I fell back into Minas Tirith with a healthy 2/3/3 army and 3/2/0 in Dol Amroth, while Strider and Boromir waited for We Prove the Swifter or Gwaihir, or even Dead Men, to be drawn. Surely DEW and Lorien could hold out long enough?
Alas it was not to be. Veldrin left me no breathing room, wisely choosing his next targets and efficiently splitting his Army dice between multiple regions of the map, using Event dice to attack with Black Captain Commands and Ringwraiths Abroad, etc. Minas Tirith eventually fell, its leaders wondering what had become of the Steward's son and why help had not come from out of the forgotten north. The King did not return, and while Gandalf roused the Dwarves of Erebor to retake Dale, traitorous Saruman seized Helm's Deep. Easterlings had despoiled the Woodland Realm and the Orcs rampaged in Lorien. The Ents remained asleep. The Ringbearers needed more time. In the end, the Witch-king led a host of warg-riders to the gates of Edoras, where Strider died a heroic death at the head of too small a garrison to turn the tide.