Thanks, but I’m not sure.
Loosing in the Rhun area could have been avoided with the available resources - your relativly weak initial attack and the succesfull assassination of your first cav army, should have bought me time enough to stabilize things, but I made some bad decisions at crucial moments throwing away the chance you generously gave me. Anyways it was a fun and entertaining game - almost never a dull moment.
The weakness of the intial attack was due to the decision on which side to join being cruical to early… FP’s success in Rhun an rhovonian left me to decide I could join the Fp hit 3822 and basically end the game before turn 10. Or attack you before I was ready and Force you and Eo to deal with me…
I definitely made some rather humorous movement errors that prolonged 4217 fall.
As far as the assaination goes at that time of the game simply was good move on your part… But I was recruiting 500 HC in steel armor before I attacked you so the fall of Rhun was inevitable once you lost your capitol. Your recruit base advantage was gone then.
Some moves I siad nice like hiding 3713 right underneath my threat… Now you see it now you don’t…
Wether people think I was fortunate or not does not bother me. I siad I seen skill the play and I mean it.
One puzzling question; why did the Noldo/Sinda company concentrate the
last two turns on the Hound while NG was desperate for character support?
Most of it was due to my biting off more than I could chew. Dan dropped the bringe at Oz for me, then went to try and open the way into the Black Gate.
In truth, NG was not well off at all for the last 5-6 turns. I just kept being able to pull something out to stop/slow you guys a little.
For my first effort as a front-line military nation, this was certainly an eye-opener…
Wade
Most movements for the company were determined by the majority. Originally, Morannon was the target of choice. The move to 3624 was a safe haven for arty transfers and emmy activity at the request of a teammate. Morannon was talked about regularly, but to often help was needed elsewhere. As it stood, we had 5 nations w/9 characters or less and only 1 nation w/a full allotment of characters.
Allowing the company to stay in Gondor for character support was not really productive. Initially, the plan was to free up both capitals which was accomplished, but the company, while effective; could only be at one place at a time and SG, NG, Eo and Nm all needed character support. We simply could not keep up w/the swarm of agents.
I think the final straw was the northwest. The Wk having wyrms hurt, but not getting Rhuduar cap hurt worse. We not only had to deal w/agents, but relying on teammates that dropped after getting SS w/o notice. We simply needed each nation to just do their part and then talk a little and that would have really helped. The Dwarves dropped after 2 or 3 SS and we assumed the position and tried to downgrade w/a 40c. It failed, so Rhudaur lives, end of story and our morale.
For the DS, I thought the strategy in SG was excellent and very effective. I thought the DrgL and WK really put the screws to us right away w/the Sinda mages being taken out. The Easterlings move to the dark side really impacted us the most early on militarily and then the agents seemed to take over.There were ways to deal w/such things, but I think our SG player became very discouraged and simply dropped. Same thing w/the Sinda and Card players. Not sure about the Dwarves as his nation was solid.
Strategies aside, you guys played well together and took it to us. Great job!
Dan
Noldo/Sinda
We had all agreed to fight it out till T20 but with the pasting we were getting on all fronts we agreed it was just being silly to set an arbitary time limit on a game that was already lost. It did not help that we had an original Cardy who corresponded with the team about 6-8 times in total. A Dwarven player who when in a position to do some damage failed to submit orders and some early players that just made bad decisions and left their nations in tatters to be picked up by those that were trying to fight on. The original 3-0 neutral count was still the biggest factor IMHO. (See I told you we couldn’t win! 
)
You guys out-thought and out-fough us on all fronts. Congratulations.
Herman
I have to admit, though, and I think that I speak for both sides here when I say, I will miss Herman’s updates…
Wade
Player turnover really killed us. Two players did not communicate, SS’d, and didn’t post turns for a good portion of the game. It’s tough to keep your hopes in a game when your teamates leave, for whatever reason. The final core of players we had at the end would probably have done better to start the game.
But these excuses take too much away from the DS team. Well played and gentlemen to the last. Thanks.
Mike
Woodmen 32
Tsk tsk, Morannon was still a bad choice when 3120 was still in the hands
of the Hound. Were you guys going to try to 525? A better target location
would have been 3120 to take out the Hound comm’s and agent at 3120.
But well done guys for making a fight of it, I think one of the contributing
factors (besides the 13-10 split) was the experience of many of the DS
and being able to commit just enough recources to get the job done.
Thankyou for an entertaining game EO/NG/SE/WM. Well played.
Best wishes
Guy Roppa Hound32
Luckily Herman is in Bloodguard so I’m all set… 
Thanks to the Free Peoples for sticking in despite the odds and keeping it interesting. I hope to see many of you on my team in the future.
Best of Luck,
Mike for Harad
Not really. The Allegiance with the weakest “team” will lose. This nation doesn’t talk, that nation SS’s more than once, this other nation drops without telling you. Momentum is fragile, that stuff kills it. We’ve all been there. This DS had their typical issues, but kept together mostly throughout. That was the main difference. Yes AS, 3-0 neuts sucks too. It was a fun game though. I’d like to thank the DS myself, they supported me and my last remaining homeland pop more than many other groups would (extra pops, product, artifact transfers (DRoP for 1614, etc), agents, etc).
Cheers,
Brad the Rhudaur
Fellow players,
Enjoyed the game very much. Sorry to hear about the poor players. We had some pitfalls on our side but everyone managed through it. After all there is a small core of players and we are often in the same game if not the same team. See you all again on the field;)
Cheers,
Douglas
PS. Just want to thank the team. Enjoyed playing with all of you. Guy keep those critiques coming:D
We had a QA who played in one of the most selfish manners I’ve ever seen,
NEVER sent any gold to hard pressed allies, NEVER transfered a PC to those
which needed, DEMANDED an artifact because it was in his VC’s and rarely
scouted for anyone.
Douglas, you’re contribution to the DS victory was 0 and I hope one day
you willl play a frontline nation and will be relying on support nations as
selfish as you.
Have a nice day.
Easy there, Guy. I know you found some of the teamwork issues rather irritating, but that’s all done now… relax and enjoy the victory.
Guy
Sorry to hear you crying. I have played front line nations before. I provided help when needed. Maybe not in your sphere though. Anyway sorry to hear I ruined your game. I didn’t say anything negative about you though. Well I had fun and Tine it was nice to be on the same side. Brad it was nice also to be on the same side and Jason fun as always. Bob keep on keeping on. See you all again soon I’m sure.
No hard feelings as they are a waste of time,
Douglas
BS signing off,
First time as the BS and I loved the game despite much bickering among members…guess that happens and I’m not one to hold much of a grudge…
anyway I survived the early death of my Akhorahil to a fluke and managed to learn a few things about mages and planning…and ECONOMY…my goodness.
All in all I’d love to BS again, ta ta all,
Jason M. Roberts BS
Crying? ROFL… Reading WK and Rhu requests for aid and QA’s complete
lack of response made me feel ashamed to be on the same team.
Now, what part of that is crying? You didnt ruin my game in the slightest
Doug, I didnt ask for any gold or products from T4 but others did.
Many times…
No hard feelings but I hope I dont end up playing with you again on the same
team as ME is a TEAM game. Try GB’s Doug!
.
Hi there,
I suffered a lot at the beginning. Even I managed to crush Elven city and with WK coordinate to kill Sinda magicians, I was left in a precarious position, with very few populations and very expensive characters. I had to “disappear” for a time, however I never needed any gold or production to survive. Now I was coming back over, the Curse Squad and emissair squad acting in Mirkwood were mine 
My advise would be that when you destroy both Dragon MT at turn 2 in any other game, Northmen cavalry should be already in position to take 3822, if not, you are wasting a lot of troops for nothing, because Dol Guldur falls by turn 8 with WM and DW. Next time try for Mordor populations at the early beginning, it hurts more.
Great plan, BUT there really is very little NM cav that can depart for 3822 in turn 0: if it did it would reach 3822 on turn 3 and attack in turn 4.