Highly impressed with Champions of Middle-earth. Love the customization of each side according to what NPCs are recruited. Choices, choices, choices…
Calling out to my opposition here in newly started Game 832. Clint said we can run our turns earlier than the due date if we are both ready. If favorable to the idea, we should be able to zip through some of the opening turns until we’ve fatten our allegiances. Let me know if you want to expediate the run of our next few turns.
Cheers,
Mo.
Here I am! I’m the DS player on this game, if you want we can chat on Discord, there I’m Apu as well, with the same profile picture! 
Hi Apu! I’m wondering if you feel like running these next few turns whenever we each have our orders ready, rather than waiting for the turn due dates? If you agree, I’ll send mine in soon (tomorrow) and email Clint and the gang to process Turn 2.
Cheers,
Mo.
Hi Apu, I just got my turn–thanks for being flexible with the turn around. For turn 3, I’ve finished my orders and checked them for the usual errors. Shall we run another one soon? I’ll send mine in today if you’re up for it. Nice to fatten these “nations” before the slaughter.
Cheers,
Mo.
This week I can send a turn every 2 days. On Saturday I’ll be able to send a turn every day for the next 9 days, so for me it’s ok!
Wow! Sounds fun. Ok, I can do quick turn arounds over the next 10 turns or so. Never played that fast before but it sounds exciting. Let’s do it. Thanks…
We process 1-3x a day for CME, morning and evening usually and w/ends we’ll see how it goes!
Glad you’re enjoying it though I think it’s a great module, played it around 8 x atm so it’s all been fun.
Each game has been different as well and it seems to depend on the style of your opposition.
Clint
My opposition has style!?! That’s bad news for me who has none
Hi Apu! My orders for turn 4 are in if you want them to run our game.
It’s about to get interesting! Cheers,
Mo.
I sent the orders yesterday midday. Joverseer first returned an error but at the same time reports that the orders had been sent. However I didn’t receive the confirmation mail so just now I’ve sent the orders again and looks like everything is ok now!
I agree that CME really looks interesting
Well played, Apu! It feels like you have me boxed in and up against the ropes. And this is after Glorfindel’s army defeated the Great Goblin at Goblin-gate (Major Town/Tower). For those of you reading this who want a little detail on a newly-started Champions of Middle-earth contest, here are some highlights:
Free people recruited Glorfindel, Aragorn, Galadriel, Eowyn and other NPCs in the first 5 turns. Turn 6 saw the first battle of the game at 2409. Glorfindel’s 1668 heavy infantry joined with Eomer’s 300 hi and 400 heavy cavalry (steel/steel) to defeat 1800 hi/1500ar under the Great Goblin. I’ll be honest, I was hoping and praying for a capture or kill of the enemy army commander at the end of this battle. But that fat goblin is pretty slick! Probably from all the sweat.
DS army symbol appeared at Moria. Gulp Is that the crack of a whip I hear? So far Dol Guldur, Isengard, and much of the map looks quiet. Too quiet.
Stay tuned!
It’s being interesting this scenario! Truth be told, I was fearing my fat greasy, sweaty Great Goblin being captured as well, but he plays at home
Saruman has already waken his orcs at Isengard. Eowyn was not invited there, it’s not polite to join a party not informing previously, there are not enough ales for her rohirrim…
I love this fast playing! Thank’s Nick!
I would like the fast pace a lot more if I thought I was winning. But I don’t think that’s the case in g832. More like racing to my DOOM! Oh well, both sides have some powerful characters. Let’s see what happens…
I don’t see why you think you are behind, from now I have Goblin Gate sieged and numbers there are not nice for me. You already have Eowyn at Isengard attacking me. Since I don’t see more those are the facts and the rest are conjectures…
By the way my turn is already delivered!
The Great Goblin is pinning down the FP armies out of Imladris. He’s succeeding in the job meant for him. Glorfindel tried to use is scariest voice when threatening Goblin-gate, but so far he has failed. The army at Moria is growing stronger and stronger. And now you’ve added another nice pop center at Isengard. Pretty fortifications too. So I feel a bit trapped and nervous about how this game opened. Credit to you! You’ve made all the right choices so far.
The game finally ends with victory to Sauron and his followers. Thank you @Movan for the game! It has been my first game in CME and I have to say that I enjoyed a lot but at the same time was more exhausting than I thought to play a turn per day 
specially while playing other games at the same time.
Congratulations to Apu on winning the game with smart play at a fast pace. The game ended with FP surrender on Turn 16. I had an army of hc st/st and some infantry totaling 1000 troops at 3119 with Glorfindel and Aragorn and 18 war machines. They had just defeated Gothmog and the Great Goblin the previous turn. Then Glorfindel failed to move his army evasively to Morannon. Despite a +120 command rank, he didn’t succeed at much this game. Since another DS commander leading 500 troops came out to 3119, Glorfindel’s army was stuck there another turn. And the same would probably happen the next turn and the next because Glorfindel’s “battle-crazed” army never once succeeded in capturing or killing a defeated enemy army commander.
Two FP characters had “persistant aid” encounters on the turn when I decided to quit. Frodo was offered to have the troops of the highest FP rank army commander raised to 100 training. Gwaihir had a higher base command rank at 76, but Glorfindel had the Ring of Barahir, etc. So who knows what “highest rank” means. The other persistent aid was for Galadriel at Morannon: say “Yes” to receive 10 war machines in an army. I said no.
I don’t think taking Morannon would have won me the game. Sometimes you have to realize that Lady Luck is not only not on your side, she’s spitting in your face. So here’s me fondling my sour grapes:
Yea, with hindsight, I should have issued Research Artifact on turn 1 or 2 at the latest. Artifacts #1-4. Two of the three spirit mastery artifacts in the game were pinpointed and retrieved before turn 5. At this point, Apu still had to make smart choices to capitalize on his luck, and to his credit, he did. I tried to see if fortune could be reversed by recruiting the best agent in the game, Legolas. His mission: steal Tinculin from Sauron. Frodo gave the already stealthy Legolas the One Ring, boosting him to 50 stealth. He was in the same hex (Isengard) with Sauron on turn 7 I think. No dice–“too well guarded.” I contemplated quitting at this point since I knew what was coming. Camp at my capital to prevent me from doing Nation Sells and Naming Characters.
I picked up “Conjure Mounts” via Radagast and “Conjure Food” from Treebeard. But the prospect of playing a game where Gandalf, Elrond, Galadriel, and Arwen play “chef on the run” didn’t seem all that fun.
Turn 14 I found out that the 3rd SM artifact (#67 I believe) was located in the swamps just east of the Misty Mountains. I sent a character to retrieve it but got no encounter message. So it looks like the DS had that one too.
Other gripes: Glorfindel failed to threaten Dol Guldur, an NPC Dark Servants town/fort two times. Here are the specs: 68 (118) command rank, 1000 troops. Failed. Next turn I came back with 18 war machines in that army. Failed again. Now, I’ll never see the 498 order as anything but a coin flip at best. Never mind what people tell you, there is ALWAYS real risk of failure in issuing this order.
I’m going to end these end-game comments with a prediction. Consider it a bit of prophecy regarding CME. One day soon there will be a CME Variant where both players insist that the three spirit mastery artifacts are removed from play. Powerful mages will have to aid their side by using combat spells, retrieving other artifacts, issuing personal challenges, and forgoing the one dimension of the game that carries no risk, once you have it: 215, 330 506, 500 agent.
Hey there!
Yes, I saw from the beginning that the key here is to get as soon as possible the Spirit Mastery artifacts so I was up to that as fast as I could.
When you tried to steal the Tinculin with Legolas is normal you failed, there was gollum there guarding Sauron and he was Agent 45 Stealth 60. He reported he spotted Legolas while performing his guarding mission, so the strange fact is that Legolas didn’t get captured 
Gollum was located in the Open Plains at 2119.
He was ordered to refuse all personal challenges.
He was ordered to guard a character. Sauron was guarded.
He spotted Legolas while performing his guarding.
About the last artifact I was just one turn ahead of you, Arwen went for it the turn I was answering the riddle and moving away.
Overall I agree with you, in a game face to face with just one nation when one of the sides get a course squad and denied the other the possibility to get one (by having all the SM artifacts) then the game is over. Just camping at your capital with the curses and an assassin like I did you had little chances. I also agree that in this case I would remove the Spirit Mastery from the game or just agree with my opponent not to use them to learn curses.
Heya Apu,
I’m curious about another thing: there were indications that the DS were in trouble economically the past three turns. How close were you to economic collapse? If I had put Moria, Morannon, and 3213 (village/tower) under siege on turn 17, would you have been able to make it through that turn?
I think you disbanded armies a couple of times in the game, no? Once early, on the road to Isengard from Mordor, and once when Durin’s Bane marched to Goblin-gate to find it hidden? I thought you would press on to capture Imladris, but instead the “large” army become “small” and you turned back to 2610.
I had a deficit of -42k in armies and it was unbearable. That’s why I decided to retire troops, they all were at least at 2 turns from battle and therefore reduce this costs and I couldn’t affort it. The army that was facing Isengard went back because I couldn’t keep recruiting at Mordor with that deficit and at the same time attack Edoras. In case you would recruit Denethor or Faramir then I would have had a problem. The Durin’s Bane army could have gone to your capital detroy it and end the game, but I couldn’t affort to pay that army neither for the turn I move him and the next one that I would have captured you capital. However if I would have known that you only had Imladris as a possible capital I would have gone that way and get the tax rises in order to just end the game. I thought you had a secondary capital and I decided it was better to know where it was and therefore be able to control you would not create new characters or sell. At that time I thought you also had economical problems but I see I was wrong
About if I could afford the economical problems in case the game would have go on I think so. This turn I was moving an army that would capture your capital (production of 3500 gold plus the taxes) and I don’t think you would capture Morannon because I had some characters that would move armies there to have a battle between armies before the Glorfindel’s army vs Morannon. This way you would not have the swords and spells advantages and therefore not enough strength. At the same time the curse squad was going to the hex next to Morannon. My targets were first Legolas, then Aragorn and Galadriel (with Gollum assassinating) and next Glorfindel.
I don’t know if it would have worked but I felt like I had it under control because I counted you had 12 characters (Quickbeam was going to get cursed).
I think I already told you everything in a nutsell 
Now tell me what was you strategy and how you decided your movements, it’s interesting!