Games Workshop wouldn't, so we did

 “I don’t want to be in a battle. But waiting on the edge of one I can’t escape is even worse.”

Its been a while since Games Workshop produced any meaningful new releases for MESBG and we're all getting fed up with waiting. However, towards the start of the year I was approached by a shady YouTuber asking if I wanted to take part in a collaboration with other content creators to address this lack of new stuff. Naturally, I jumped at the opportunity without having a clue what I was getting myself into. Then Benji of Benji's Hobbies told us what the challenge was thus:

"The aim is that we each create a profile for use in game for on our our favourite factions. You can tie in some lore, make up stat lines and special rules and obviously create the models as well - these can be either conversions or 3D prints, whatever you like!"

Naturally, Thorin's Company is my favourite faction, but it's already perfect and I couldn't possibly create anything that could improve on perfection.

Perfection 😍

So the hunt was on to find something new I could create and I quickly settled on a historical force that has never been touched upon within the game despite having a fairly prominent role within the Appendices and a key role in shaping Middle Earth politics at the time of the War of the Ring. 

This force is the Wain Riders.

The Wain Riders are described as a confederation of people's who appeared from the East of Middle Earth and fought a series of wars against the Kingdom of Gondor (and their Northmen allies) over a period of about 100 years. This series of wars represented one of the greatest threats to the Gondorian Kingdom and resulted in the death of 2 Kings and the near extinction of the line of Kings. 

Not a huge amount of description is given of the Wain Riders beyond the points that they were better armed than earlier Easterlings, "they journeyed in great wains, and their chieftains fought in chariots" and that they utilized" fortified camps of wagons". Not a lot to go on, but based on that I knew I needed a Wain (or Wagon) as that was their defining characteristic and gave them their name. Based on what little we have to go on they seem to be semi-nomadic people akin to the Steppe tribes of our world (they have been described by some commentators as the Huns of Middle Earth), so that is where I started looking for models to base these conversions off. Unfortunately, historically most of the Steppe tribes of our world made extensive use of cavalry and the model ranges reflect that. I wanted this to be an infantry force outside of the chieftains in their chariots and the Wains because cavalry typically completely replaced chariots and the only mention of horse cavalry comes in the final campaign when the Wain Riders were accompanied by Khandish allies and had "a force of cavalry far greater than any that had been expected," alongside the"War-Chariots of the Wain Riders". This suggests that the cavalry was provided by the Khandish allies and that the Wain Riders themselves used little cavalry. Luckily Fireforge Games sell a box of Steppe Warriors that perfectly fit with what I wanted. 

These, combined with bits from my bits box (primarily from Warlord Games Celts and Victrix Libyans) provided me with perfect Wain Rider warriors.

Now, as far as the actual Wain for these guys to ride I found an excellent War Wagon for sale from 1st Corps that fit the bill. The 4 oxen pulling the Wagon would suit well as the Wild White Kine that famously lived in the area (and from one of which the Horn of Gondor was cut) and it would easily accommodate several Riders upon it.

Now invariably real life got in the way, and so my plans for the chariot riding Chieftains (and fully finishing the paint job on these) didn't make it in time for this challenge but here's the current state of the Wainrider Horde.

And as far as profiles go did create a full army lists worth but  I'll just focus on the 2 for now. I wanted the Warriors to be a fairly basic option because I wanted the focus to be on the Chariots and Wains, although they have some flavour with their Chariot Runner special rule which allows them to keep up with and support their faster brethren.

The War Wain was a little more complex. I based the main rules for it off the Iron Hills chariot but included the option for up to 6 infantry models to ride it and attempt to leap off and into the fighting (at the risk of leaping to their demise.

I'll come back to this project and keep you all updated on its progress but until then what profiles would you like to add to the game if you had the opportunity? And don't forget to check out the other participants entries with their ideas over here:

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLVGrfW126UEj5vzmnc0WwmWqEBJDffVcI&si=_r2wkpGD27Wwzsra

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/17-jTlbkI-0NBofw-d3CC8OHF7h19Hoq2

February 2024 FAQ Reaction

 "The world changes, and all that once was strong now proves unsure." Theoden

There was an FAQ, there were questions, there were answers, there were changes.

So what are my thoughts on this new post-FAQ landscape we find ourselves in?

Meh.

I don't really care. The changes are relatively minor and don't impact any of the armies I use or have planned, so grand. The general lack of requirement to make changes shows that the balance is generally in a reasonably good place at the moment, which is great.

PS. Something about Jamie Wiggans, for some unknown reason. 

New Year, New Me?

"There never was much hope. Just a fool's hope."

New Year's is traditionally a time for new beginnings, new resolutions and new challenges. New Year, New Me and all that malarkey. But I'm sure you're not interested in hearing about me losing weight, giving up booze and going to the gym (none of which I have no intention of attempting).

No. This is a hobby blog and so (I assume) you're here to read about hobbying*. And so what crazy resolution/challenge will I be attempting to kick start 2024? After spending literally moments considering it, I had the perfect challenge to spectacularly fail at.

This year, my ill-thoughtout challenge will be to paint 100 models in 100 days. That means that between January 1st and April 10th I will attempt to complete 100 models. Now, considering that I painted a total of about 88 models in the entirety of 2023 and my current record for a whole calendar year is around 110, this may be impossible, but God loves a tryer.

And to start off, between midnight and 1am on New Year's I painted the first model of this challenge; Oindiana Jones, dwarven treasurer seeker.

Now wish me luck, and you can follow my progress/failure by checking out my Instagram.

*If you're not you're probably in the wrong place.

It's like in the Great Tales

'A story must be told or there'll be no story, yet it is the untold stories that are most moving.' JRR Tolkien

Bilbo Baggins by Raoul Vitale

One of the most common questions that I see asked about MESBG is 'how do you write an army list for [insert faction here]? Obviously, the answer here depends heavily on what faction is being asked about but there's probably as many answers here as there are wargamers. In general though there's a few archetypes for how I see people writing lists; ranging from power gamers and net listers right through the spectrum to the thematic gamers.

Personally, I fit very firmly within the thematic gamer camp and something that I've noticed more and more with how I create army lists is that I'm always trying to make my army lists not just be a believable army within the realms of Middle Earth but I also want it to tell a story. Take for example, the army I took to the Nirnaeth Arnoediad which was telling the story of the Knights of Gondor rescuing the retreat of Faramir across the Pelennor in the buildup to the Siege of Minas Tirith.

I find that this takes thematic list writing to another step up, where every decision I choose to make has to have a justification for it within the story I'm trying to tell and that these decisions then influence the building and painting of my army. This is most evident when it comes to hero choices, MESBG is a game defined by its heroes, although it also filters down through the hero choices Again using my Knights of Gondor as an example, I had a Captain of Minas Tirith leading a small warband and rather than leave him nameless and his story untold I checked through the books and found that Hirluin the Fair of Pinnath Gelin rode alongside Imrahil on the Pelennor, and so my Captain of Minas Tirith became Hirluin and from there the model came to life.

Hirluin the Fair from my Knights of Gondor army 

This story-driven army building approach doesn't have to be wedded to the letter of the books or the images of the film, however. As long as you can justify your choices within the context of the world Tolkien created you can really have some fun probing the edges of the map and exploring the untold tales of Middle Earth, creating your own stories as you go, 'Forging the Narrative' to coin the old Games Workshop term. It's as Tolkien himself said it's the untold tales that are the most moving.

I'm not saying that this is the right or best way to write army lists for this great game, but it is a very fun one and one I'll certainly be continuing to do as I embark on new adventures in the hobby and I encourage others to do so to.

Nírnaeth Arnoediad - Tournament Report

 And then a trumpet rang from the Citadel, and Denethor at last released the sortie. Drawn up within the shadow of the Gate and under the looming walls outside they had waited for his signal: all the mounted men that were left in the City. Now they sprang forward, formed, quickened to a gallop, and charged with a great shout. And from the walls an answering shout went up; for foremost on the field rode the swan-knights of Dol Amroth with their Prince and his blue banner at their head.

'Amroth for Gondor!' they cried. 'Amroth to Faramir!'

Like thunder they broke upon the enemy on either flank of the retreat; but one rider outran them all, swift as the wind in the grass: Shadowfax bore him, shining, unveiled once more, a light starting from his upraised hand.

The Nazgûl screeched and swept away, for their Captain was not yet come to challenge the white fire of his foe. The hosts of Morgul intent on their prey, taken at unawares in wild career, broke, scattering like sparks in a gale. The out-companies with a great cheer turned and smote their pursuers. Hunters became the hunted. The retreat became an onslaught. The field was strewn with stricken orcs and men, and a reek arose of torches cast away, sputtering out in swirling smoke. The cavalry rode on.

Last week I was fortunate enough to attend the largest tournament ever held on the island of Ireland, the 56 player Nírnaeth Arnoediad. This was an 800 point event that counted for both the IHL and the GBHL. Early on I decided I wanted to focus heavily on bringing a themed army and settled on an all cavalry Gondor army based upon the rescue of Faramir in the early stages of the Seige of Gondor, as described above. The list I eventually took was:

Warband 1

Prince Imrahil on Armoured Horse with Lance 

6 Knights of Dol Amroth on Armoured Horse with Lance 

Warband 2

Gandalf the White on Shadowfax 

1 Knight of Minas Tirith with Banner and Shield 

7 Knights of Minas Tirith with Shield 

2 Citadel Guard with Horse and Longbow 

Warband 3

Captain of Minas with Horse, Shield and Lance 

3 Knights of Minas Tirith

My army and display board (more photos are available on my Instagram)

Cavalry is not something I'm all that experienced in using (I think I'd painted a grand total of 7 horses in over a decade before starting this project) and knowing how competitive this event was likely to be I wasn't expecting to do that great in the games, I was just hoping to have a laugh, have some good games and enjoy myself with a very thematic army.

For anyone interested, all the lists that were used at this event can be found here.

Game 1

Contest of Champions

Connor Kerr 

Mordor Orc horde

Up 1st I got drawn up against the Scot, Connor Kerr and his Mordor Orc horde, led by Goroth, a very thematic match up. I was pretty happy when the scenario was called as Contest of Champions because I felt that Prince Imrahil, on his horse with a lance should be able to win a killing contest against a lowly Orc. Deploying Imrahil front and centre ready to run down as many Orcs as possible. Meanwhile Connor hid Goroth behind his biggest hero, Shagrat, not wanting his Leader to take a lance to the face immediately. The rest of the forces deployed along either flank of the Leaders in the centre. 

With all my cavalry, it was important for me to get that initial charge in, which fortunately I did with Imrahil and his Swan Knights. Although that initial charge didn't punch as big a hole as I'd have liked (thanks to some very good rolling by Connor's warriors) Imrahil did get off the mark with a couple of kills and Gandalf was able to limit the effectiveness of his heroes with some spells. After a couple of Heroic Combats Imrahil burst through the orc lines and charged into the Trackers lurking behind, killing 4 of them in one turn (despite one passing 3 Fury saves in a row). Meanwhile, Shadowfax was slain, leaving Gandalf to fight it out with Kardush (a fight the White Wizard didn't win, falling to the Shaman's spear) and Warriors were falling on both sides. Eventually, the Orc heroes were able to slow Imrahil's rampage, killing his horse, then surrounding him and scoring a wound just before the game ended. 

The final tally was; 

Imrahil - 9 kills

Goroth - 4 kills

So with both sides broken and Imrahil wounded I took the win on a score of 5-3 under the modified victory conditions that were in place at this event. 

Game 2

Breakthrough 

Connor Whitla 

Thorin's Company 

Game 2 saw me drawn up against another Connor, Connor Whitla and his Thorin's Company in Breakthrough. Knowing that I had the advantage in both numbers and mobility, I lined up my Knights ready for an early charge to pin the Dwarves back as far from my objective as possible. That 1st charge saw a Swan Knight ride down Ori (no messing about with slingshots here), although Imrahil's attempted early hit on Gloin failed. I tried to slow down the 3 most dangerous Dwarves (Thorin, Dwalin and Gloin) with Gandalf's magic but with 3 targets to watch it meant that there was always at least 1 able to deal big damage, even when I managed to knock over Dwalin and Gloin with a well placed Sourcerous Blast. Connor generally played the game fairly well, cutting down most of my Knights and even finding a legitimate reason to use Combat Synergy with Fili and Kili, but eventually my numbers and mobility paid off with me holding one of the centreline objectives and Connor's home objective while he was unable to hold any. So with us both broken it finished a 7-2 victory for the Knights. Its well known in the IHL that I am Thorin's Company's biggest fan and so having to kill them left a tinge of sadness but Connor was a great opponent to play against and gave a really fun game. 

Game 3

Capture and Control 

Christian Lewis 

Host of the Dragon Emperor 

So after 2 games and 2 wins against 2 Connors I was hoping to complete the Connor Trilogy and play Connor Glover in game 3, but the computer calculating the draw had other ideas, putting us a couple of tables apart (see how Connor did on the Wookies of Mirkwood YouTube channel here). Instead, I was drawn against Christian Lewis and his beautiful Host of the Dragon Emperor in Capture and Control. 

I'll be honest, when I read through all the army lists before the event, it was the Host of the Dragon Emperor ones that worried me the most. A F5 pike block seemed like it would be a very good hard counter to my Knights, being able to get more high Fight attacks into my big bases would make it hard for me to win fights and cause damage even when I was able to get off a good charge. And generally that's how the game went. 

The board we were playing on had a couple of choke points along the centreline, which I wanted to avoid as Christian's pikes would be excellent at holding them, so I deployed my line back hoping to draw him forward into more open ground. Fortunately he did move forwards and I charged in, hoping to inflict some damage to his phalanx. That 1st charge saw fairly even casualties on either side. However, on my follow-up charge on the next turn, my cavalry started to make some headway, inflicting about 10 kills for no losses at one point. But, unfortunately that luck didn't hold for long and heavy casualties were suffered by both sides, losses that the Easterlings could afford to sustain. The Dragon Emperor especially proved his worth, killing my Captain and rolling up my left flank before killing Gandalf in the centre. Meanwhile, Imrahil and his Swan Knights put up strong resistance on my right flank before eventually succumbing to weight of numbers and being cut down. The game finally ended with my entire force being wiped out for a 12-0 loss, which maybe doesn't fully reflect how tense the game was. 

Unfortunately, parental responsibilities meant that I couldn't stay around for day 2, but I was very happy with my experience. The Tournament was very well run and Michael Bradford is an absolute legend. The Knights performed admirably, achieving 2 wins from 3, much better than I initially predicted. They were a very fun list to play, hitting very hard and fast but also proving surprisingly fragile due to their low numbers. Its certainly an army I'd want to use again, although I'd definitely consider swapping Gandalf out and replacing him with Boromir with Banner as I found Gandalf was a difficult model to get the most out of, whereas the Fight Value buff offered by Boromir would have proved very useful as well as having another big hitter to complement Imrahil. 

And so it just leaves me to say thank you to the 2 Connor's and Christian for 3 great games and a big thanks to Micheal for organising a great event. 

Nírnaeth Arnoediad - Army Lists

Nirneath Arnoediad - Statistical Analysis

 

The biggest MESBG tournament ever held on the island of Ireland lands this coming weekend at the Nirneath Arnoediad tournament, hosted in Belfast. With 56 players planning on attending there's an awful lot of army lists to study and Tournament Organiser, Michael Bradford has very kindly provided me that big long list to bring to you here on my blog. 

However, we'll get on to that later in the week. Firstly, as a little starter to wet your appetites, he also sent over an array of stats about the multitude of lists, so let's dive in and take a little look at these.

Up 1st is the breakdown of Good vs Evil, which came out very balanced, which Good ever so slightly edging the contest by the slimmest of possible margins.

Looking at the Alliance breakdown next and we can see that Legendary Legions are the most popular, closely followed by Pure single faction armies. With only a small amount of Yellow alliances and no Red ones would suggest that the army bonuses and Legion rules are generally encouraging players towards thematic lists, even in competitive environments. 

Moving on to look more closely at the factions in action we can see that Minas Tirith and Mordor are the most popular factions. Both of these have plenty of options and a good selection of alliances, so it's not surprising to see them being popular. In 3rd place is the Dragon Emperor Legion, with 5 of them here, and this is very much flavour of the month in competitive play. What is very pleasing though is the wide variety of factions on show, 45 separate factions being represented in some form.

There will also be a wide range of army sizes in attendance. These range from as low as 5 to as high as 80 models. Most of the armies, however, fall around the 40 model mark, which tallies well with the general rule of thumb of 1 model per 20 points. 

The typical bow count is also fairly reflective of the overall model count with most lists bringing around 10-15 (around 1/3 of the average model count). There are however, a few lists with some serious shooting potential, up to a maximum of 26 bows. Meanwhile, at the other end of the scale are 11 lists without any bows at all.

Heroes are a key part of the game and here we can see that most people brought around 3 or 4 heroes in their armies. There are a few all hero lists that standout for having much higher hero counts. This is also shown in the amount of Might each army has, with most having between 8 and 12 (typical for 3 or 4 heroes) and with 1 reaching up as high as 24 Might!

Speaking of Heroes, we can also see that the most common Leader is the Dragon Emperor (curtesy of the Legion), followed by the Witch-King, Suladan, Theoden and Imrahil as the 5 most popular. 

And finally the most important statistic.

Only one slingshot.

That's all for today, but join me again later in the week to these glorious lists in full.