war of the ring  

Updated Nov. 12, 2014

Middle Earth Pre-Con

2014 WBC Report  

 2015 Status: pending 2015 GM commitment

Christopher Yaure, PA

2014 Champion

Event History
2006    Phil Rennert    21
2007    Kevin Wojtaszczyk    26
2008    Chris Trimmer    28
2009    Kevin Wojtaszczyk    23
2010    Chris Trimmer    24
2011    Ty Hansen    23
2012    Christopher Yaure    17
2013    Kevin Wojtaszczyk    25
2014    Christopher Yaure    20

 Laurels

Rank  Name              From  Last  Total
  1.  Kevin Wojtaszczyk  NY    14    165
  2.  Chris Trimmer      TX    12    115
  3.  Chris Yaure        PA    14     72
  4.  Ty Hansen          DC    12     60
  5.  Andy Latto         MA    13     40
  6.  Phil Rennert       MD    06     30
  7.  Jacob Hebner       CO    12     24
  8.  Jason Levine       NY    08     24
  9.  George Young       VT    07     24
 10.  Joe Yaure          PA    14     18
 11.  Alan Sudy          DC    11     18
 12.  Michael Sosa       FL    13     17
 13.  Nick Anner         NY    07     17
 14.  Scott Burns        uk    13     16
 15.  Lyman Moquin       DC    08     16
 16.  Ted Lange          GA    14     12
 17.  Jeff Pattison      MD    13     12
 18.  Lucas Rhodes       PA    11     12
 19.  Scott Marcotte     NY    10     12
 20.  David Pack         CO    06     12
 21.  Chris Greenfield   NY    14      9
 22.  Hans Kirketerp     dk    10      9
 23.  Mary Ellen Powers  VA    09      9
 24.  John Pack          CO    08      8
 25.  Todd Treadway      VA    11      6
 26.  David Pack         CO    10      6
 27.  Dick Jarvinen      OR    06      6
 28.  Graeme Tate        uk    13      4
 29.  Jim Doughan        PA    07      4
 30.  Kevin Lewis        DC    14      3

2014 Laurelists
Repeating Laurelists:

Joe Yaure, PA
2nd

Kevin Wojtaszczyk, NY
3rd

Chris Greenfield, NY
4th

Ted Lange, GA
5th

Kevin Lewis, DC
6th

Past Winners

Phil Rennert, MD
2006

Kevin Wojtaszczyk, NY
2007, 2009, 2013

Chris Trimmer, TX
2008, 2010

Ty Hansen, DC
2011

Christopher Yaure, PA
2012, 2014

Chris Greenfield falls to Chris Yaure's FP in the quarterfinals.

GM Wojtaszczyk oversees the Yaure family championship.

Middle Earth... a tale of corruption and family struggles!

Using the second edition rules again provided an excellent tournament with many nail biter endings. 14 people appeared for the Saturday afternoon Mulligan round with another dozen playing in the evening Round 1 heat. Out of those, 13 different winners got to advance to the Sunday morning Round 2 single elimination.

In the Mulligan round Joe Yaure's FP got a surprise early Ents card to take down James DuBose's Saruman on Turn 2. That weakened the Shadow middle and opened up an opportunity for a FPMV in capturing Moria and Dol Guldur. Jeff Pattison and Jim Fardette had an epic 19-turn game. It swung back and forth with Jeff's shadow capturing and then losing Helms Deep and the Witch King dying in Turn 13. Jeff's FP military defenses gave Frodo the time to slowly weave through Sauron's nazgul nets to dunk the ring. Christopher Yaure had a quick start out of the gates with a Turn 1 capture of Dan Hoffman's Helms Deep. The early Rohan push to war however gave Dan muster opportunities to assault Isengard with a Legolas + Gimli lead army to kill off Saruman and capture Isengard. Those two FP VPs had Dan push for a FPMV, sieging Moria, but continued failed attack dice thwarted his plans and Christopher managed to get 10 VPs secured. Chris Trimmer and Kevin Wojtaszczyk got to relive finals of old with an early random matchup in the mulligan. They both knocked off some rust during a close struggle. Kevin's first threat into Minas Tirth was defended by Chris separating companions to defend which forced a full DEW assault supported by the S&E elephants. Chris got the FSP into Mordor by the end of Turn 7 but only got one turn there which was not enough to race the whole track before Kevin locked up 10 VPs. Samantha Berk concentrated on corruption in her game vs Tom Vickery. That proved fatal for the FP as a fully corrupted Frodo donned the One Ring to rule the world! Meanwhile, in an alternate universe, Martin Sample's Frodo successfully navigated through Middle Earth to dunk the ring in Turn 9 vs Stan Myszak. The final mulligan game ran the full five hours and uncounted number of turns. Almost all event cards were drawn and most of the FP military was mustered and/or dead. In the end Lucas Rhodes shadow outlasted Todd Treadway's free peoples.

The first game done in Round 1 was Kevin Lewis's shadow corrupting Alexander Lange's racing FSP in 90 minutes and seven turns. Chris Greenfield's FP were a close second vs Martin Sample, as their game also ended in seven turns but with Frodo dunking the ring. On the other end of the spectrum, John Pack's shadow faced strong resistance from Jeff Pattison's free peoples. The DEW line was captured over the fifth and sixth turns and Dol Amroth and Minas Tirth over Turns 7 and 8. However the final point could not fall with much action around Helms Deep and the FSP had to run through Mordor for a successful dunk against low odds of success, barely surviving the run with ten corruption. Henry Rice had similar Mordor success vs Tom Vickery's shadow. Tom cycled through every character card and had three SP special tiles in the bag vs the FP's one, but the right draw occurred to squeak out a 11-corruption ring dunk for Henry's Frodo via a final die elven ring assisted move! That trend continued for Ted Lange's FP vs Chris Trimmer's SP. Ted's Frodo also barely survived with 11 corruption to dunk the ring! The last match of the round restored Sauron's military might as Daniel Hoffman managed to capture ten VPs over Lucas Rhodes via all four FP cities and three strongholds (Erebor, Helms Deep and Dol Amorth).

On Sunday morning we had 11 of 13 winners choose to continue their battle for Middle Earth. Chris Greenfield's shadow squared off vs Jeff Pattison's free peoples in a military slugfest. Jeff's FP armies were a killing machine to Chris's shadow forces. A Minas Tirth siege turned into a FP rout that resulted in the Witch King and two Nazguls dying on Turn 5. That was followed by the Ents killing Saruman on Turn 9. The shadow only managed five VP militarily, but lucky for Jeff corruption was in vogue this year. Frodo could not resist the temptations of the One Ring that salvaged the SP win. A similar story developed in Samantha Berk's shadow vs Kevin Lewis's free people's game. Samantha's military got stymied by A Power Too Great while troops were already sieging multiple Elven strongholds and no Army cards in her hand to discard the event. This gave Kevin's Frodo the time needed to dunk the ring for victory. Ted Lange's shadow forces would have none of those previous issues in his game vs Martin Sample. The black armies flooded across Middle Earth and secured 10 VPs just as the FSP entered Mordor. The corruption trend returned in Joe Yaure's shadow game vs Dan Hoffman's free peoples. Joe's shadow armies could only manage capturing Minas Tirth but his Nazgul were in hot pursuit of the FSP all game. In the end they pushed Frodo's soul to corruption. The last game of the round pitted Christopher Yaure's free people vs Henry Rice's shadow. Henry's military forces couldn't get much traction in this one vs a stout FP defense that enabled Frodo to save his soul and dunk the ring.

The quarterfinals round had three games with Kevin Wojtaszczyk's free people squared off against Kevin's Lewis's shadow. The FP sacrificed Gandalf the Grey in Turn 1 but then didn't see a Will of the West rolled till Turn 7! Hampered with just four action dice, the FSP had to move during 3 and 4 eye hunts, which resulted in a number of corruption tiles and subsequent card plays to push Frodo to 6 corruption by the time they were past Lorien. On the battlefield, Gondor was quickly at War by Turn 2 via a muster die and then Wisdom of Elrond event. With Gondor mustering, the shadow forces moved to put a stop to that. In a precursor of Gondor's future intentions, the 10-unit strong Sauron forces engaging Osgilith found the fortifications deserted when they arrived. The two regulars had scouted off to North Ithilien and then walked into the open Minas Morgul to grab 2VPs. At the time it was of no concern as the main shadow focus was on razing Minas Tirith after which those couple regulars could be dispatched with ease. The dice quickly upended those plans. It started with a zero result Dreadful Spells and a failed first assault minimized by Daylight. Meanwhile the FSP declared in Minas Tirith to begin their recovery and then separated out Strider and Merry to help defend the stronghold. A final die assault in Turn 7 then proved crushing for the shadow forces. They took four casualties to only one for the free peoples. To start the next turn Strider charged out of Minas Tirth, killing off the remaining few shadow forces along with the Witch King and Nazguls. This caused the shadow to shift gears, getting the S&E into the war at the DEW line and toward Peligar while the free people positioned a force of units in Osgilith and a couple left to hold Minas Tirith. Wormtongue kept Rohan out of the war as Isengard mustered for the kill. In Turn 9 the FP rolled 4C's and 1P that gave the shadow an opportunity to assault into DEW without fear of musters popping in. Minas Morgul was still held and a handful of regulars were all that were left inside Mordor. So Strider's army ran straight into Mordor to siege Barad Dur using an elven ring with the final FP die. The FP had troubles with hitting while the shadow slowly bled their units. On the desperate third round of battle, the FP reduced to two regulars+Strider+Merry vs two orcs who were still left defending. The Orcs managed just one hit, then the FP's dice changed, getting one six on the combat dice and then another six on the leader reroll to capture Barad Dur and barely squeak out a FPMV. Ironically, Christopher Yaure's free people's found themselves in a similar situation vs Chris Greenfield. Gondor managed to muster a large army and sat in Osgilith as the shadow forces cleared from Mordor to engage them. Instead of fighting and then retreating back toward Minas Tirith, the Gondor army retreated toward Minas Morgul and walked into it uncontested. The shadow did not have the action dice needed to muster any defense that allowed the free peoples armies to pass through Mordor to Barad Dur for the win. The last game of the round had an epic ending. Ted Lange's free people moved swiftly to Mordor vs Joe Yaure's shadow. The FSP acquired some moderate corruption and sacrificed many of the companions. In Mordor Joe's corruption strategy added more and pushed the FSP close to the brink while Ted's Frodo attempted to dunk the ring. In the end it was not meant to be as the last tile drawn was Shelob's Lair and the Mighty Shelob used the One Ring to rule the world and give Joe the SP corruption victory.

Based on the bracket of 11, the two-year's past champion Christopher Yaure got the second bye in the semifinals which left Kevin Wojtaszczyk shadow pitted against Joe Yaure's free people. Kevin managed to get Saruman in play with the last die of Turn 1 but Joe got Gandalf the Grey sacrificed in the hunt in Turn 2 and had a Will to get him straight back on the board and rolling five action dice. Kevin positioned his Sauron's forces for the kill with all of Isengard and S&E elephants mustered to the board. Meanwhile Joe kept his focus on moving the FSP and managed to get Aragorn crowned for a sixth action die to bolster Minas Tirith while Dain's Ironfoot Guard made Erebor foreboding. Breaking of the Fellowship proved unsuccessful but Worn with Sorrow and Toil managed a few FP event discards while Joe sacrificed companions to keep the FSP corruption at 2. The FSP declared in Mordor at the start of Turn 7 while the shadow armies were five attacks away from 10 VPs. Sensing the power of the One Ring being near distracted Sauron from his military goals with 2E, 2P, 2M, A and C rolled. Only two attack dice. The Mouth of Sauron squeezed a muster die into a third and an attack event a P into a fourth, but Joe had wisely hoarded all the elven rings to himself all game, leaving the shadow a die short for a SPMV. Turn 8 resulted in Frodo safely dunking the ring to save Middle Earth from Sauron and the first ever War of the Ring Family Final was set to begin!

Below is a detailed historical account of the 2014 Epic Final Family Battle of Middle Yaure Earth!

Christopher took the FP and his son took the SP with 0 Dwarven rings bid.

Turn 1

FP: 2P, A/M, M

SP: Allocate 1E, roll 3E, A/M, M, C

The FP got a bad start out of the gate. It got worse after Gandalf the Grey cycled cards with a FSP move event that was a successful hunt and draw of a 1 tile with Strider falling as the random casualty! The SP dice weren't too much better, but Saruman was able to appear for an 8th shadow die.

Turn 2

FP: W, 3C

SP: Allocate 1E, roll 1E, 2A, M/A, M, 2P

The FP got the dice they wanted this turn and moved safely the first two times. The third move was a successful hunt with an Eye(2) tile drawn. Gandalf the Grey was sacrificed and the FSP decided to take the Old Forest Road route in lieu of an additional hunt drawn being revealed through Moria. The shadow began combining the Mordor forces and moving toward the DEW and Minas Tirith.

Turn 3

FP: W, P, M, C

SP: Allocate 2E, roll 1E, 2M, P, A, C

Gandalf the White was mustered for a fifth FP action die and Foul Thing from the Deep resulted in a 3 tile that randomly took Pippen out of the FSP and rose Frodo to 2 corruption. The shadow military began positioning near DEW and Minis Tirith and Saruman began to muster in with The Voice.

Turn 4

FP: W, 4C

SP: Allocate 2E, roll 1E, 3A, M/A, P

Another all FSP type action dice roll for the FP but three eyes end up in defense. Albeit those eyes proved no use with the FSP safely moving twice and on the third move a successful hunt drew a 1 tile that was negated by the Horn of Gondor. FSP corruption dropped to 1 as Boromir went a different way to separate over to Minas Tirith with the last FP die. Worn with Sorrow and Toil was played and Dale was captured to get the SP their first VP. Also Mithril Coat & String was played.

Turn 5

FP: 3C, P, A/M

SP: Allocate 2E, roll 2E, 3M/A, A

The first FSP move resulted in a successful hunt and 2 hunt tile that killed off Gimli. In the second FSP move a 2R was drawn and taken to push the FSP to 3 corruption. The shadow mustered in the Witch King and began assaulting Woodland Realm. It was a long drawn out battle with 1 SP hit and 0 FP hits in each of the first two rounds! The continual reduction to continue still weakened the shadow forces and the third assault finally captured Woodland Realm to get the SP to 3VPs.

Turn 6

FP: W, 2C, M, P

SP: Allocate 2E, roll 1E, 3C, 2A/M, A

The first FSP was a successful hunt with 0R drawn that revealed the FSP in Dagolad. The subsequent Candle of Corpes play whiffed. The FSP then hid and moved another time with another successful hunt resulting in an Eye(1) that took Merry out of the FSP with a random casualty. The first elven ring was then used to hide the FSP. The shadow positioned S&E forces and played Corsairs of Umbar.

Turn 7

*FP Declared in Mordor with 3 corruption and Legolas the only companion as guide

FP: 2C, 2M, P

SP: Allocate 1E, rolled 3M/A, 1M, 2A, 1P, 1C

First die used in Mordor results in a 3 tile that kills off Legolas and pushes the FSP to 4 corruption but also moves them to STEP 1 on the track. Gollum assumes the role as guide. The second die used in Mordor resulted in a 1R which Gollum ignored the reveal and corruption moved to 5 but put the FSP to STEP 2 on the track. The shadow mustered in the Mouth of Sauron and began assaults into Erebor. The first assault with a deadly strife combat card whiffed while heavy damage is done to the SP army. A second assault with another deadly strife had more success and Erebor fell to give the shadow 5VPs.

Turn 8

FP: 2P, 2M, C

SP: Allocate 1E, rolled 4C, 2A, M, P, A/M

FP passed and the shadow played a Lidless Eye to move a C, A and M to Eyes. FSP attempted to move in Mordor but the 3 stop tile was drawn so that left the FSP on STEP 2 and Gollum used his guide ability to reveal for only two corruption, moving it to 7. Breaking of the Fellowship was played to increase the FSP corruption to 8 and the FP used their second elven ring to hide. A New Power Rising was played and Dol Amorth fell to get the shadow to 7VPs.

Turn 9

FP: W, C, M, 2 A/M

SP: Allocate 1E, rolled 2E, 3M/A, 2C, A, M

In the first die used in Mordor the -1 special tile was drawn to move the FSP corruption down to 7 and put the FSP on STEP 3. The shadow used an elven ring to draw a character card. Dale was recaptured by the Iron Hills regular to knock the SP down to 6 VP but then Peligar was taken to put them back to 7VP. The next die used in Mordor resulted in an Eye(4!) drawn. That pushed the FSP up to 11 corruption but also to STEP 4, one away from dunking the ring. Subsequently noticed, Mithril Coat and String still was sitting unused or discarded from WWST. Orc Patrol was played but the draw was an Eye for no effect. Pippen lead a Help Unlooked For assault on the army besieging Minas Tirith which forced them to break off their siege, retreating toward Rohan.

Turn 10

FP: 2W, C, 2A/M

SP: Allocate 1E, rolled E, 3C, 3P, M, A/M

Both players started fishing for character events and any extra die used to muster troops. Helms Deep was sieged and the retreated Minas Tirith force encamped outside of Edoras. The FSP hid as their action in Mordor and Shelob's Lair was added to the hunt pool. Athelas was played for zero effect, leaving the FSP still at 11 corruption.

Turn 11

FP: 3C, 2P

SP: Allocate 1E, rolled E, 4A, 2M/A, C, P

On the first FP action die Christopher could wait no longer and had to risk the last steps up Mount Doom. So Frodo, remembering his gift from Bilbo, threw off his cloak to reveal a glistening coat of Mithril and drew String as he courageously marched up the steps to the Crack of Doom. Joe shook up the hunt tiles as the fate of Middle Yaure Earth hung in the balance as one last SP corruption ending unfolded. The epic first ever Family Final came down to a climatic hunt tile draw to determine the victor! The result... 0 special tile! Frodo kept his determination over the lava and successfully dunked the ring to give Christopher his second War of the Ring championship!

I thank everyone who participated in another exciting tournament and a special thanks to those who brought along a copy of the game. With the 2-player format, we are always in need of copies and it is much appreciated. The second edition rules again proved to be a fair balance of results. Most games completed in 3-4 hours, with only a couple running longer and one adjudication needed. The final tally revealed the FP had won 13 (3 FPMV, 10 Ring Dunks) to the SP's 10 (4 SPMV, 6 Corruption). SP corruption strategy focus was evident in many of the matches. As for the Dwarven rings, 16 of the games had 0 bid, three had the FP receive one, three had the SP receive one and one had the FP receive two. Ironically, the side receiving the Dwarven rings went 6-1, so almost everyone who gave their opponent a Dwarven ring to pick the side they wanted failed to win. Congrats again to everyone on a great tournament and I hope to see everyone back for 2015's battle for Middle Earth! For those interested, make sure you check out BoardGameGeek early in 2015 to see if there will be an International War of the Ring Online tournament. Also for more War of the Ring news and strategy articles check out the Ares games website. (http://www.aresgames.eu/category/articles+war-of-the-ring-games/page/6 )

 GM    Kevin Wojtaszczyk (7th Year)  NA 
   kwojtasz@roadrunner.com   NA

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