• The forces of Sauron maintained the initiative for the next four play phase turns. Certainly this is not a good sign for the defenders of the west.

• The Free Peoples
  • My Precious Special Item Event Roll
    Gandalf took the roll for this as Denethor is currently being tortured at the hands of Mordor's hosts. Luckily for Gandalf fate gave him a roll of three, which is just enough to keep him from careening off toward the ring in a desperate plea to save Middle-earth!
  • By The Will of the Valar Special Event Roll
    The Free Peoples rolled a nine for this roll, giving them three army of the dead warriors. These warriors join Gandalf and Pippen in the war against Sauron.
  • Reinforcement Phase
    Gandalf decided to gain 100 points of warriors instead of placing a town or tower. Also, since Gondor holds one town still, another 50 points worth of warriors was taken. In total, 150 points of warriors were added to the army that formerly defended Cair Andros.
  
  
• The Forces of Mordor
  • My Precious Special Item Event Roll
    The Witch King passed his special item courage test by rolling a whopping twelve! He is certainly determined to destroy the world of men!
  • By The Will of the Valar Special Event Roll
    The Witch King rolled a seven for this roll, allowing one random army to move 50% faster for the next four Play Phase turns. The random army was chosen to be the Witch King's forces itself!
  • Reinforcement Phase
    The Forces of Sauron chose to use their reinforcement phase to procure another 100 points for the Easterling army. The 50 points gained from capturing one of Gondor's towns was also used to bolster the Easterling force.

What a roller coaster ride the first four Play Phase turns turned out to be. I went from feeling like the world of the Free Peoples was done for, to feeling like the Free Peoples might prevail, and then back to feeling like it was done for again... Unfortunately for me, I think that it may actually be done for!

After losing the White City my heart fell. I was very much hoping that the Valar would smile on the west and give me the Beyond All Hope outcome. Of course they didn't but I won't complain about the few extra Army of the Dead that have joined my ranks. Still, there may be a chance for Gondor if I play very carefully, which is something I have neglected to do up until now...

My plan for the next four Play Phase turns is to try to catch the forces of Mordor alone. If I can manage somehow to meet each army one by one then I may be able to reduce it enough to have a hope in holding out until I get lucky enough to actually roll in real reinforcements during the Will of the Valar phase.

Of course, by next turn I will likely not get any more reinforcements at all because I would imagine that the forces of Mordor will conquer my sole remaining town, and they have already razed Minas Tirith to the ground... So this will be the defining Play Phase... I am sorry Aragorn and Boromir, but I guess I did let the white city fall... In any case, I will not give up or lose heart. Indeed Rohan and Amroth may defend the west for many years if the defense of Gondor should fail...

Death to the world of men! I have to admit, after Gothmog was soundly routed on the fields of Pelennor I wasn't so sure that Sauron's forces would come out on top. Of course, that has all changed again!

I have to say that, aside from that bit of unhappiness on the Pelennor, my plans have pretty much gone exactly as they should have. Already the White City has fallen, and already a town has been captured for Mordor. The free peoples are on the run and all that remains to do is mop up the remaining armies.

My plan is the same as before: I will go after the free peoples with everything until every last one of them are dead or enslaved! Of course, I may try to be a bit more careful, but I think that a headlong charge is definitely in the cards! Down with the world of men, up with the age of the orc!