Warpcon Podium Review

Last weekend the IHL headed South to Cork for the 1st two day event of the 2020 calendar. This was an 800 points Good vs Evil event with a highly competitive field. So let's take a look at who emerged on top of that field to take home the accolades.

3rd place
David Murphy

GOOD LIST
Armies Used: Riders of Theoden

WARBAND 1:
Theoden - Armoured Horse, Shield, Heavy Armour (Leader)
3 Royal Guard - Horse
WARBAND 2:
Gamling - Horse, Banner
3 Royal Guard - Horse
WARBAND 3:
Eomer - Armoured Horse, Shield
5 Riders of Rohan
WARBAND 4:
Deorwine - Horse
5 Riders of Rohan
WARBAND 5:
Elfhelm
Dernhelm

+++++++

EVIL LIST
Armies Used: Angmar

WARBAND 1:
Witch King - Horse, Morgul Crown, 3 Might, 15 Will, 3 Fate (Leader)
2 Dead Marsh Spectres
4 Orcs - Shield
4 Orcs - Spear
2 Orcs - 2 Handed Weapon
Orc - Banner, Spear
WARBAND 2:
Barrow Wight
4 Orcs - Shield
4 Orcs - Spear
1 Orcs - 2 Handed Weapon
WARBAND 3:
Barrow Wight
4 Orcs - Shield
4 Orcs - Spear
1 Orcs - 2 Handed Weapon
WARBAND 4:
Orc Captain - Shield
4 Orcs - Shield
4 Orcs - Spear
1 Orcs - 2 Handed Weapon
WARBAND 5:
Gulavhar
1 Angmar Warg Rider - Shield

I'm sure I've said it here before but I will repeat it again, Riders of Theoden is one of the most powerful armies in the game at the moment (as you will also see further down in this article). In fact I may as copy and paste what I said about them after the Gaelcon tournament at the end of last year.

"In this edition of the game Rohan has been propelled to a top tier army due to a number of buffs they received including the +1 strength on the charge army bonus, the Riders of Theoden special rule buffing their fight value, Gamling's banner of infinite might and the legendary legion bonuses. This list combines all of these factors to form a powerful army capable of handling most things. Although it lacks a super star hero, like most of the other lists in this review, it uses multiple smaller heroes that maximises the benefits of the Royal Standard, allowing the player to use multiple might points per turn with little risk of running out. This means that they can call heroic moves every turn (gaining the benefits of the cavalry charge) and call several heroic combats in each fight phase (cutting through large numbers of enemy models)."

Angmar can be a tricky army to use well, due mainly to the reliance on basic orcs to provide the bulk of the force. However, the strength of Angmar is not in it's warriors but in it's heroes and when used well can prove to be a winning army (as shown at last year's Ardacon Masters event). Here we have a similar army to that winning list from Ardacon with the twin threats of the Witchking and Gulavhar. Gulavhar is a combat beast at S8, F7, up to 5 attacks on the charge and the ability to regain wounds. His main weaknesses (low defence and lack of Heroic Strike) are mitigated by the rest of the heroes here with the Witchking and Barrow Wights able to shut down enemy heroes that could pose a threat to him with their magical prowess.

2nd place
Stephen Devlin

GOOD LIST
Armies Used: Riders of Theoden

WARBAND 1:
Theoden - Armoured Horse, Shield, Heavy Armour - Leader
4 Royal Guard - Horse, Throwing Spear
5 Royal Guard - Horse
WARBAND 2:
Eomer - Armoured Horse, Shield, Throwing Spear
4 Royal Guard - Horse, Throwing Spear
4 Royal Guard - Horse
WARBAND 3:
Dernhelm
2 Royal Guard - Horse, Throwing Spear
Royal Guard - Horse, Axe
WARBAND 4:
Gamling - Horse, Banner
2 Royal Guard - Horse, Throwing Spear
Royal Guard - Horse

+++++++

EVIL LIST
Armies Used: Serpent Horde

WARBAND 1:
Suladan - Armoured Horse (Leader)
12 Serpent Riders
3 Abrakhan Merchant Guard
3 Watchers of Karna - Twin Blades
WARBAND 2:
Betrayer - Felbeast
15 Haradrim Warrior - Bow, Spear
WARBAND 3:
Harad Chieftain - Horse, Bow
6 Harad Warrior - Bow, Spear
2 Abrakhan Merchant Guard
2 Watchers of Karna - Twin Blades
Harad Warrior - War Horn

Another Riders of Theoden army on the Good side here. See above for the summary of the army. The difference with this list is dropping a couple of heroes to get in more Royal Guard and throwing weapons, reducing the free might effect of Gamling but increasing the model count which could help in objective based missions.

For Evil we have the Serpent Horde led by Suladan and the Betrayer. The biggest strength of this army is it's shooting. A huge number of bows, all with poisoned arrows that can be buffed by the Betrayer makes a very dangerous shooting threat that forces the enemy to come to you as quickly as possible before too many models get shot to death. This means that the battle will be fought on your terms against a weakened enemy. Even once the distance had been closed then there are significant combat threats in the form of a Fell Beast, Suladan, a large number of lance armed cavalry and some elite infantry who can finish what the archers started.

1st place
David Coleman

GOOD LIST
Armies Used: Riders of Theoden

WARBAND 1:
Theoden - Armoured Horse, Shield (Leader)
8 Riders of Rohan
2 Riders of Rohan with Throwing Spears
5 Royal Guard - Horses, Throwing Spears
WARBAND 2:
Eomer - Shield, Armoured Horse
WARBAND 3:Gamling - Banner, Horse
WARBAND 4:
Deorwine - Horse
WARBAND 5:
Elfhelm - Horse
Dernhelm

+++++++

EVIL LIST
Armies Used: Barad Dur

WARBAND 1:
Sauron (Leader)
11 Black Numenoreans
10 Orcs - Spear and shield
1 Orc - Shield, Spear, Banner
1 Orc Tracker - Warg
WARBAND 2:
Orc Captain - Warg, Shield
1 Orc Tracker - Warg
6 Orc Trackers
WARBAND 3:
Shelob

Riders of Theoden...

Again...

See above.

At least the Evil half of these lists showed some variation. Here we have Barad Dur, an army that Dave has shown can be really powerful when used well. Most of the success of this army comes down to Sauron. He is naturally a huge focal point of the army who is able to take on the bulk of the opposing army while the rest of the army provides support and captures objectives and so on.

Also congratulations to Paul Higgins for winning best painted and Donal Carroll for winning best sports.

Warpcon Army Lists

This weekend sees the 1st two day tournament in the IHL's 2020 season at Warpcon in Cork. This is an 800 Good vs Evil event held over 6 games.

Looking at the army breakdown we can see that pure armies and Legendary Legions are still popular choices, continuing the trend from earlier this year. Within these categories a few army lists stand out as being particularly popular, most notably the Riders of Theoden Legendary Legion for Good and Barad Dur and Angmar for Evil.

And onto the lists:

David Coleman

GOOD LIST
Armies Used: Riders of Theoden

WARBAND 1:
Theoden - Armoured Horse, Shield, Crutches (Leader)
8 Riders of Rohan
2 Riders of Rohan with Throwing Spears
5 Royal Guard - Horses, Throwing Spears
WARBAND 2:
Eomer - Shield, Armoured Horse
WARBAND 3:Gamling - Banner, Horse
WARBAND 4:
Deorwine - Horse
WARBAND 5:
Elfhelm - Horse
Dernhelm

+++++++

EVIL LIST
Armies Used: Barad’ur

WARBAND 1:
Sauron - One Massive Crutch (Leader)
11 Black Numenoreans
10 Orcs - Spear and shield
1 Orc - Shield, Spear, Banner
1 Orc Tracker - Warg
WARBAND 2:
Orc Captain - Warg, Shield
1 Orc Tracker - Warg
6 Orc Trackers
WARBAND 3:
Shelob

David has stuck to very similar armies to the ones that saw him win at Gaelcon last year, so for a more in depth analysis take a look at the podium review for that tournament. Both Riders of Theoden and Barad Dur are strong and powerful armies, the Rohirim because of the quantity of Might they can burn through and Barad Dur due to the huge threat that Sauron presents.

Sean Magee

GOOD LIST
Armies Used:Halls of Thranduil and Survivors of Laketown

WARBAND 1:
Thranduil - Horse, Crown, Armour, Extra Sword (Leader)
4 Mirkwood Elves - Shield
5 Palace Guard - Spear
1 Palace Guard - Shield, Banner
2 Mirkwood Cavalry - Shield
WARBAND 2:
Legolas - Horse
5 Mirkwood Elves - Shield
6 Mirkwood Elves - Glaive, Bow
1 Wood Elf Sentinel
WARBAND 3:
Gandalf the Grey - Horse
2 Laketown Militia

+++++++

EVIL LIST
Armies Used: Goblin Town

WARBAND 1:
Goblin King - (Leader)
20 Goblins
Gollum
WARBAND 2:
Grinah
14 Goblins
WARBAND 3:
Goblin Scribe
10 Goblins
WARBAND 4:
Goblin Captain
14 Goblins
WARBAND 5:
Goblin Captain
14 Goblins
WARBAND 6:
Goblin Captain
13 Goblins
WARBAND 7:
Mercenary Captain
10 Mercenaries

Boy that's a lot of Goblins, over 100 of them with the possibility of the Scribe bringing even more. It's going to take a lot of killing power to cut through all that lot. The Good army is a more manageable size, but with heroes such as Thranduil and Legolas and the magic of Gandalf and backed up by a decent amount of Elves will still pose threats.

Matt Hamill

GOOD LIST
Armies Used: Rivendell and Great Eagles

WARBAND 1:
Elrond - Heavy Armour, Horse (Leader)
4 High Elf Warriors - Bow, Spear
6 High Elf Warriors
4 High Elf Warriors - Spear, Shield
High Elf Warrior - Spear, Shield, Banner
WARBAND 2:
Cirdan
High Elf Warrior
2 High Elf Warrior - Shield
3 High Elf Warrior - Spear, Shield
WARBAND 3:
Gwahir
Great Eagle

+++++++

EVIL LIST
Armies Used: Mordor

WARBAND 1:
Witch King - Felbeast, Crown, 3 Might , 18 Will, 3 Fate (Leader)
14 Morannon Orcs - Shields
3 Morannon Orcs - Spear, Shield
Morannon Orc - Shield, Banner
WARBAND 2:
Shadowlord - Horse
Morannon Orc - Shield
3 Orc Trackers
WARBAND 3:
Khamul - Felbeast
WARBAND 4:
Shelob

Both these lists utilise flying monsters and magic to make up for a lack of numbers. In the Good army, Elrond is an excellent Leader, able to handle most things that will be thrown at him, and Cirdan is great for supporting spells while Gwaihir and a Great Eagle provide high mobility and hitting power. On the Evil side, the barrage of spells that 3 Ringwraiths can conjure will pose many problems for enemy heroes and 2 Fell Beasts and Shelob are a scary prospect to face.

Michael Bradford

GOOD LIST
Armies Used: Minas Tirith, White Council and Rohan

WARBAND 1:
King Elessar - Armoured Horse (Leader)
WARBAND 2:
Gandalf the White - Shadowfax
WARBAND 3:
Glorfindel - Armour of Gondolin, Asfaloth
Galadriel, Lady of Light
WARBAND 4:
Aldor

+++++++

EVIL LIST
Armies Used: Azog’s Legion, Dark powers of Dol Guldur

WARBAND 1:
Azog - Heavy Armour, White Warg (Leader)
WARBAND 2:
Bolg - Fell Warg
WARBAND 3:
Necromancer
1 Abyssal Knight
WARBAND 4:
1 Abyssal Knight

The next pair of lists are both All-Hero, admittedly not a style I am familiar with playing. Both combine top quality combat heroes with strong magic users that should combine to form a formidable force.

Paul Higgins

GOOD LIST
Armies Used: Lothlorien and Rivendell

WARBAND 1:
Wood Elf Captain - Bow (Leader)
2 Wood Elves
4 Wood Elves - Bows
2 Wood Elves - Throwing Daggers
4 Wood Elves - Spears
WARBAND 2:
Galadrim Stormcaller
2 Galadrim - Bows
2 Galadrim - Spear, Shield
1 Galadrim - Shield
WARBAND 3:
Erestor
4 High Elves - Spear, Shield
4 High Elves - Bow
4 High Elves
WARBAND 4:
Elladan and Elrohir - Elven Cloaks
3 High Elves
4 High Elves - Bows
4 High Elves - Spear, Shield

+++++++

EVIL LIST
Armies Used: Moria

WARBAND 1:
Durburz - (Leader)
5 Goblins - Bow
5 Goblins - Shield
5 Goblins - Spear
WARBAND 2:
Goblin Shaman
Goblin Drum
2 Cave Trolls - Hammers
2 Goblins - Spears
WARBAND 3:
Goblin Captain - Shield
4 Goblins - Bow
4 Goblins - Shield
4 Goblins - Spear
WARBAND 4:
Goblin Captain - Shield
4 Goblins - Bow
4 Goblins - Shield
4 Goblins - Spear
WARBAND 5:
Goblin Shaman
3 Goblins - Spears
WARBAND 6:
Goblin Captain
3 Goblins - Shield
WARBAND 7:
Goblin Captain - Bow
3 Goblins - Bows

From a pair of very low model count armies to a pair of high model count armies. The Good side of this pair contains a lot of Elves, that amount of F5 is going to be tough to handle. Meanwhile, the Evil half has even more Goblins, with a drum to buff the horde and a pair of Trolls to provide some punch.

David Murphy

GOOD LIST
Armies Used: Riders of Theoden

WARBAND 1:
Theoden - Armoured Horse, Shield, Heavy Armour (Leader)
3 Royal Guard - Horse
WARBAND 2:
Gamling - Horse, Banner
3 Royal Guard - Horse
WARBAND 3:
Eomer - Armoured Horse, Shield
5 Riders of Rohan
WARBAND 4:
Deorwine - Horse
5 Riders of Rohan
WARBAND 5:
Elfhelm
Dernhelm

+++++++

EVIL LIST
Armies Used: Angmar

WARBAND 1:
Witch King - Horse, Morgul Crown, 3 Might, 15 Will, 3 Fate (Leader)
2 Dead Marsh Spectres
4 Orcs - Shield
4 Orcs - Spear
2 Orcs - 2 Handed Weapon
Orc - Banner, Spear
WARBAND 2:
Barrow Wight
4 Orcs - Shield
4 Orcs - Spear
1 Orcs - 2 Handed Weapon
WARBAND 3:
Barrow Wight
4 Orcs - Shield
4 Orcs - Spear
1 Orcs - 2 Handed Weapon
WARBAND 4:
Orc Captain - Shield
4 Orcs - Shield
4 Orcs - Spear
1 Orcs - 2 Handed Weapon
WARBAND 5:
Gulavhar
1 Angmar Warg Rider - Shield

Next we have our 2nd Riders of Theoden army at this event. As stated above, Riders of Theoden is a powerful army currently, due to quantity of might available from the 6 mounted heroes and the Royal Standard of Rohan. This time the list paired up with a formidable Angmar army led by the Witchking, Barrow Wights and Gulavhar which will really pack a punch and scare any enemy hero.

Stephen Devlin

GOOD LIST
Armies Used: Riders of Theoden

WARBAND 1:
Theoden - Armoured Horse, Shield, Heavy Armour - Leader
4 Royal Guard - Horse, Throwing Spear
5 Royal Guard - Horse
WARBAND 2:
Eomer - Armoured Horse, Shield, Throwing Spear
4 Royal Guard - Horse, Throwing Spear
4 Royal Guard - Horse
WARBAND 3:
Dernhelm
2 Royal Guard - Horse, Throwing Spear
Royal Guard - Horse, Axe
WARBAND 4:
Gamling - Horse, Banner
2 Royal Guard - Horse, Throwing Spear
Royal Guard - Horse

+++++++

EVIL LIST
Armies Used: Serpent Horde

WARBAND 1:
Suladan - Armoured Horse (Leader)
12 Serpent Riders
3 Abrakhan Merchant Guard
3 Watchers of Karna - Twin Blades
WARBAND 2:
Betrayer - Felbeast
15 Haradrim Warrior - Bow, Spear
WARBAND 3:
Harad Chieftain - Horse, Bow
6 Harad Warrior - Bow, Spear
2 Abrakhan Merchant Guard
2 Watchers of Karna - Twin Blades
Harad Warrior - War Horn

Yet another Riders of Theoden army, there's not really much more I can say without repeating myself. For Evil we have a Serpent Horde army that is capable of crippling the foe with ranged poison arrow fire before combat is even met. Whatever survived that hail of arrows then has to contend with Serpent Riders, Watchers of Karna and Merchant Guard as well as a Fellbeast.

Donal Carroll

GOOD LIST
Armies Used: Kingdom of Moria

WARBAND 1:
Balin - Leader
4 Dwarf Warrior - Shield
4 Dwarf Warrior - 2 Handed Axe, Dagger
4 Dwarf Ranger - Longbow
1 Vault Warden Team
3 Khazad Guard
1 Iron Guard
WARBAND 2:
Floi Stonehand
2 Dwarf Warrior - Shield
2 Dwarf Warrior - 2 Handed Axe, Dagger
2 Dwarf Ranger - Longbow
1 Vault Warden Team
2 Khazad Guard
2 Iron Guard
WARBAND 3:
King’s Champion
2 Dwarf Warrior - Shield
2 Dwarf Warrior - 2 Handed Axe, Dagger
2 Dwarf Ranger - Longbow
3 Khazad Guard
1 Iron Guard
WARBAND 4:
Dwarf Ballista

+++++++

EVIL LIST
Armies Used: Corsairs of Umbar and Serpent Horde

WARBAND 1:
Dalamyr - Leader
6 Corsairs - Shield
6 Corsairs - Spear
6 Corsairs - Arbalester
WARBAND 2:
Delgamar
5 Corsairs - Shield
5 Corsairs - Spear
5 Corsairs - Arbalester
WARBAND 3:
Corsair Bo’sun - Spear, Shield
4 Corsairs - Shield
4 Corsairs - Spear
4 Corsairs - Arbalester
WARBAND 4:
Raza
1 Haradrim Warrior - Spear, Banner
6 Haradrim Raider - Warspear
1 Haradrim Raider - Bow, Poisoned Arrow

Finally, some good ole Dwarven steel. The Kingdom of Moria brings a solid block of heavily armoured Dwarves led by Balin that will be hard to cut down. For Evil, the Corsairs and Harad alliance bring an impressive 15 crossbows sizeable force of Corsairs with Haradrim cavalry to give some good mobility.

David Chambers

GOOD LIST
Armies Used: Minas Tirith and Fiefdoms

WARBAND 1:
Boromir, Captain of the White Tower - Fleg, Shield, Horse (Leader)
3 Fountain Court Guard - Shields
6 Osgiliath Veterans - Shield
Osgiliath Veteran - Shield, spear
WARBAND 2:
Madril
2  Fountain Court Guard - Shields
9 Rangers - Spear
WARBAND 3:
Hurin the Tall, Warden of the Keys - Horse
4 Knights of Minas Tirith - Shield
WARBAND 4:
Captain of Dol Amroth - Armoured Horse, Lance
5 Knights of Dol Amroth - Armoured Horse, Lance

+++++++

EVIL LIST
Armies Used: Angmar

WARBAND 1:

Witch King of Angmar - Horse, Crown, Morgul Blade, 3 Might, 17 Will, 3 Fate (Leader)
4 Orcs - Shield
3 Orcs - Spear
2 Orcs - 2 Handed
Orc - Banner, Spear
2 Warg Riders
Dead Marsh Spectre
Cave Troll - Hammer
WARBAND 2:
The Tainted - Horse
5 Orcs - Shield
5 Orcs - Spear
2 Orcs - 2 Handed
Dead Marsh Spectre
WARBAND 3:
Barrow Wight
3 Orcs - Shield
3 Orcs - Spear
Dead Marsh Spectre
WARBAND 4:
Barrow Wight
3 Orcs - Shield
3 Orcs - Spear

In the penultimate pair of player lists we have a Gondorian alliance and an Angmar army. Boromir, Hurin and a large amount of Knights will pack a hefty punch, especially when buffed by Boromir's banner. For Angmar, 2 Wraiths and 2 Barrow Wights offer a scary magical threat to completely shut down key enemy models.

Martin Metcalfe

GOOD LIST
Armies Used: Return of the King

WARBAND 1:
Aragorn / Strider - Elven Cloak, Anduril (Leader)
2 Warriors of the Dead - Shield
Warrior of the Dead - Spear, Shield
WARBAND 2:
King of the Dead
3 Warriors of the Dead - Shield
Warriors of the Dead - Shield, Banner
Warriors of the Dead - Spear, Shield
WARBAND 3:
Herald of the Dead - Shield
2 Warriors of the Dead - Shield
Warrior of the Dead - Spear, Shield
WARBAND 4:
Legolas Greenleaf - Armour
Warriors of the Dead - Shield
Warrior of the Dead - Spear, Shield
WARBAND 5:
Gimli, Son of Gloin
Warriors of the Dead - Shield
Warrior of the Dead - Spear, Shield

+++++++

EVIL LIST

Armies Used: Barad Dur

WARBAND 1:
Sauron (Leader)
6 Orc Warrior - Shield
2 Orc Warrior - Spears
2 Orc Warrior - 2 Handed Weapons
Orc Warrior - Banner, Shield
WARBAND 2:
Ringwraith - 2 Might, 12 Will, 2 Fate
2 Black Numenoeans
2 Orc Warrior - Bow
2 Orc Warrior  - Spear
2 Orc Warrior - 2 Handed Weapons
WARBAND 3:
Ringwraith - 2 Might, 12 Will, 2 Fate
2 Black Numenoeans
2 Orc Warrior - Bow
2 Orc Warrior  - Spear
2 Orc Warrior - 2 Handed Weapons

And finally we have the Return of the King and Barad Dur. I've said it before, Army of the Dead backed up by the 3 Hunters is potentially a very powerful infantry army thanks to high defence, Terror, Blades of the Dead with the heroes offering plenty of Might, the chance to insta-kill enemy heroes and Legolas' sniping ability. On the other side, Barad Dur boast Sauron (who is more than a match for anyone) and double Wraiths to stall anyone who could threaten the big man.

Best of luck to all the players this weekend and we'll see who is the champion in a few days time.

IHL Interviews: Ivan Sheehan

(Rob) Today I'd to start a new series of posts where I interview prominent members of the Irish Hobbit League, and where better to start than with the current champion, Ivan Sheehan.

Firstly, would you like to introduce yourself. How did you get into wargaming in general and more specifically how did you start playing ME:SBG?

(Ivan) Yes of course. I'm Ivan Sheehan from Cork (best place). I think like most I got into wargaming in 40k when I was a small fella. From there I got big into competitive 40k and the things that work there seem to have translated well into Sbg which is fortunate. As for starting SBG my 1st encounter was with the battle games in middle earth magazines although that progressed into the main line books up until return of the king. I fell off the wagon then but it had not been my "serious" game at the time.

Once the new edition launched we picked it up in cork, 4 of us and we haven't looked back since. We were both surprised and delighted to find a scene existed that we could join as we had no clue it was a thing.

Over the course of 2019 you became known for taking armies that wouldn't perhaps at first glance be considered top tier (The Rangers and Uruk Hai Scouts) and using them to regularly win at the top tables. Can you briefly talk us through your army building methods? How do come up with the initial ideas and how are they developed into tournament winning armies?

Well to be honest it all starts with what I think I'll have fun playin, you definitely play better when you love the army than with flavour of the month builds. The Rangers, I really did fall in love with the playstyle very early on, though the journey to mastery was quite difficult. I think I played upwards of 30 games before my 1st event with that army, some armies really need your focus and attention but the rewards will come.

I always start with a theme (not like you Rob.) be it shooting or maneuver or just shenanigans, find the army that suits what I want to achieve and then try to make it as good as it can be over weeks of testing with plenty of revisions. I'm lucky in this sense to have a gaming partner in David Coleman who is not only good but can turn his hand to various things we need to test against. You can blame him for most of my armies. But yes it's mainly just the amount of play testing I dedicate to my armies that I attribute my success to. Knowing what it can do at vital moments in the games and more importantly what it can't do is so important.

On top of winning the League last year, you've also recently become a TO in the tail end of last year. What motivated you to organize your own tournament and how do you think your first taste of being TO went?

What motivated me? I suppose it was just as cork was new in the scene I needed to prove it existed lol. It was only a small event but it gave me a taste and it was an enjoyable experience.

You will also be hosting the 1st major tournament of the IHL year at the end of the month. Here's your chance for a free plug to try to drum up some support.

Ah yes warpcon! I'm looking forward to it as I'll get to be a full time TO and implement new Tournament point and good vs evil methods so I want to see how that works out.

It's on on the 25th and 26th of January in UCC so come along even if its just to look at our great game and meet the folks. We'd love to see more interest.

Looking ahead to 2020, what sort of things should we be expecting from you as you attempt to defend your title?

What should you expect? Well hopefully a strong title defense! In a more serious note I think my main armies this year will be Angmar and Halls of Thranduil so you will see that. The old Rangers are always hard to resist though and I'd like to take the Fellowship to an event and do well. As far as I'm concerned they are Lord of The Rings!

And finally, what advice would you give to a new player just starting out with ME:SBG?

My main advice to new players would be REACH OUT!. There're Sbg players all over the Island of Ireland (even Donegal) (and all around the world) and we always want more. So get out there find a group and start playing. We're a lovely bunch really so get stuck in and ask questions, we'd be delighted to answer as many as we can. 

If you want a good skirmish game with balanced rules and a love of Lord of The Rings then Sbg is for you.

Thank you for taking the time to answer my questions and best of luck with Warpcon and the IHL title defence in 2020.

Thank you for the interview Rob and maybe I'll be talking to you again next year!. Best of luck with your blog it really has been a blast to see it grow.

Ivan Sheehan
2019 League Champion.

Thanks once again to Ivan and join us again soon for another IHL Interview.

Battle on the Plains of Lisburn Report

Last weekend I attended the Battle on the Plains of Lisburn tournament run by Michael Bradford. This was an 800 point event with the restriction that all armies had to have a minimum of 15 models. I've already posted up all 12 army lists and the 3 armies that made the podium positions, so here's my own personal event report.

Before the Tournament

As I said in a previous post I am going to focus my attention on Gondor for the time being so I looked through my Gondor collection to get some inspiration.

I recently got a box of Dol Amroth knights as a Christmas present and I wanted to try them out so that's where I started with list writing. After initially trying to work out a list with Boromir and Imrahil to maximize the effectiveness of these knights but struggling to make the points work I remembered about a list mentioned on the Green Dragon Podcast that I really liked the idea of (and had tried a practice game with a few months ago). This list was a 600 point Shadow in the East themed army and so I decided to use this as a basis and could add the knights to it to bring it up to 800 points. I also wanted to use my female Ranger with horse model that I painted last year as she means a lot to me and this would be the first event I could use her in since she was finished. After a bit of playing around with the points I eventually came up with this army list:

Warband 1
Faramir, bow (Leader)
4 Rangers, spear
4 Warriors, spear, shield
1 Warrior, spear, shield, banner
2 Warriors, shield
Warband 2
Cirion
5 Warriors, spear, shield
5 Warriors, shield
Warband 3
Damrod
3 Rangers, spears
Warband 4
Ranger of the North, horse
Warband 5
Capt Dol Amroth, horse, lance
5 Knights of Dol Amroth, horse, lance
4 Men at Arms
Warband 6
Murin and Drar

What I really like about this list is the sheer number of heroes I can get into it, there's 7 heroes with a combined total of 16 might points. Despite the number of heroes, it still gets decent numbers with the final list totalling 40 models. The list also has a reasonable ranged threat if required with 10 regular bows (3 with might behind them) and a dwarf bow that gets 2 shots, so should be able to hold it's own in a shooting fight. The cavalry should be able to help increase my killing power thanks to the knock downs and lances, as well as giving me some mobility for objective based missions. Finally, having several small warbands could potentially provide an advantage during deployment as I will be able to see my opponent's deployment before having to commit my bigger warbands.

As a consequence of the high hero and model count the list does lack the sort of big hero that would be common at this points level, but does have 3 heroes able to Heroic Strike so it should be able to at least threaten those heroes. Even so Contest of Champions or A Clash by Moonlight are scenarios that worry me as Faramir on foot will likely struggle to get enough kills to challenge here and I lack some of the killing power to take down other heroes. It's also lacking any magical support and most of my heroes only have 1 will point, so enemy magic may be a problem.

Overall, I wasn't too confident going in to the tournament, especially after seeing the other players army lists. Recently, I haven't had much chance to practice recently and some of the models I'd never used before the event (the last 2 Dol Amroth knights were still on the sprue 9 hours before the start time). Therefore,y main hope was just to enjoy playing in a tournament again and maybe pick up a win somewhere along the way.

Game Day

All the army lists for my opponent's are available here:

https://edgeofthewildsbg.blogspot.com/2020/01/battle-on-plains-of-lisburn-army-lists.html?m=1

Game 1 saw my paired up against Jim Latimer and his wonderfully converted Harondor army in Capture and Control. 

Jim set up the bulk of his army near the central objective, with a small force of Axemen on his left flank and his archers and camelry on his right behind a river. I mirrored his deployment with the heavy infantry in the centre, Damrod with his Rangers and Murin and Drar opposite his Axemen and my cavalry facing his archers. Nervous of an early charge by El Aurance (Imrahil) Faramir took cover in a patch of woodland near the centre.

Turn 1 saw a multitude of charges, the infantry lines clashed in the centre and traded kills, my knights charged (and killed most of) Jim's archers, El Aurance took out 3 of my Warriors of Minas Tirith and Murin with Ranger support took out most of the Axemen and Heroic Combated into Petros the Portly (Forlong) killing his horse.

Over the next few turns Jim's cavalry clashed with mine, holding each other in place while my infantry gained the upper hand in the centre following the death of El Aurance's horse, thanks mainly to Faramir and Murin leading a flanking attack on my right flank which broke the enemy. Meanwhile I was able move to capture all 5 objectives. Unfortunately, in one of the last acts of the game Petros was able to use Heroic Strength to slay Faramir after achieving an impressive S8.

Final score:
11-1 Victory

That flying start propelled me to the top tables for Game 2 where I was facing Micheal Bunting and his Elven red alliance in Contest of Champions. Possibly one of the worst matchups I could have got, Contest of Champions against a big Elven hero and warriors that match or better Faramir's fight value. I wasn't too optimistic going into this game.

This scenario had a slight variation from the standard version in that it would use Maelstrom deployment which left the 2 armies on opposite sides of the board. I advanced cautiously exchanging some ineffectual bow fire (although the Dol Amroth captain lost a wound and fate to it) and moving Faramir, Murin and Drar towards my left flank while the bulk of my infantry and my cavalry advanced towards the elves who had dug in alongside a ruined house. The plan was to hold the elves in place with my high defence infantry and use my heroes on the left to chip away at the flank, hopefully getting Faramir a few kills in the process.

Eventually the armies clashed with Elrond and Gil Galad charging in 1st. Elrond unhorsed all my knights with Wrath of Bruinen then Heroic Combated off one of the now prone knights into the wounded Captain. Fortunately, he survived the charge and preceded to hold Elrond in place for the next 4 turns, effectively keeping in the contest until he eventually went down near the end. The rest of my infantry line slowly crumbled due to higher fight of the elves and Galadriel causing my supporting models to run away with Instill Fear. When Faramir finally had an opportunity to get engaged against some isolated elves he failed on his Strike/Combat combo with Murin after only rolling a 1 for the strike against a King's Guard and losing the roll off after both sides rolled 6s in the dual. His next attempt also failed after Murin was counter charged and Faramir failed on the wound roll. The final Leader kill tally was Elrond 4, Faramir 0, which confirmed my earlier concerns.

Final score:
0-7 Defeat

For the final game of the tournament I was opposing Stephen Devlin and a beautifully painted Serpent Horde army in To The Death.

Stephen's army had a lot of bows.

Bows with poisoned arrows.

Bows with poisoned arrows that have been buffed by the Betrayer.

This was going to hurt.

After both armies had deployed we both had infantry holding the centre with the cavalry on opposite sides. The first few turns involved me moving up to field as quickly as possible while Stephen tried to shoot me to death. Luckily, after killing 3 warriors in turn 1, Stephen's dice turned on him and only minimal causalities were inflicted. My return fire from Damrod, Drar and the Rangers proved effective, leaving both sides with similar loses when combat was joined.

My knights charged into a flank first hoping to inflict some kills but were stymied by Watchers of Karna and Abrakan Merchant Guard before the Serpent Riders were able to counter them. In the centre Faramir, Cirion and Murin targeted the end of his infantry line, aiming to get some Heroic Combats off and collapse his flank. Unfortunately, Suladan called a Heroic Combat off one of my knights and I lost the roll off. Faramir was subsequently charged by Suladan, and killed in one fight. In revenge Murin, with double pike support charged into Suladan, Struck up higher than him and inflicted 4 wounds off 4 dice to slay the Serpent Lord. The rest of the fighting was fairly even but I was able to protect my banner long enough for us to run out time before either force was broken.

Final score:
5-3 Victory

Overall results
2W 1L
+5 VP difference
4th Place

Post Tournament Reflection

Overall, I certainly exceeded my expectations of how well I thought I would do. Coming into the event with a primarily themed army and minimal game time I expected to struggle, so to get 2 wins and narrowly miss out on the podium was fantastic.

The army overall worked well, especially the solid infantry foundation and the trio of combat heroes of Faramir, Cirion and Murin. The large number of heroes and hence the huge store of might was certainly an advantage, allowing me to draw out the opponent's might and still know I'd have reserves. The cavalry element has potential, I think, but as a predominantly infantry player I'd need to get some more practice using cavalry in order to get the best out of them. The main weakness of the army was in the Leader. Faramir was too fragile as the Leader at D5 and 2 wounds and that saw me concede the Leader VPs in 2 of the 3 games, so looking ahead I'd need to find a way to protect those points.

Finally, and most importantly, I had a great time back in the tournament scene after a long break. Thank you to all of my opponents and a special thanks to Michael Bradford for organising the event.

Battle on the Plains of Lisburn Podium Review

Saturday saw 12 generals take to the battlefield to contest the Plains of Lisburn and see who would emerge victorious. As is fast becoming the custom, let's take a look at the three armies that took the top spots.

3rd place
Patrick McCormick
Return of the King

Warband 1:
Aragorn with cloak (Leader)
6 Warriors with shield
3 Warriors with Spear and shield
Rider of dead
Warband 2:
King of the dead
4 Warriors with shield
3 Warriors with Spear
Rider of Dead
Warband 3:
Herald with shield
3 Warriors with shield
1 warrior no upgrade
Warband 4:
Legolas with armour and cloak

The Return of the King Legion is a powerful army at this points level and returns to the IHL podium following another 3rd place finish at Gaelcon last year. Aragorn is one of the top heroes in the game and therefore makes an excellent Leader for the army. Legolas brings a shooting threat to an army with no other ranged weaponry, allowing you to snipe out key targets before the lines clash. Meanwhile the King of the Dead is a danger to any multi-wound model, especially when buffed by the Herald. Looking at the warriors options, Warriors of the Dead are incredibly solid troops choices, with the option to get D8, Terror and wounding against Courage and Riders of the Dead provide a bit of extra mobility and the potential for knock downs in key combats. Overall, the army synergizes well together to make a very strong force.

2nd place
Michael Bradford
Last Alliance

Warband 1
Elendil on horse with shield (Leader)
10  warriors of Numenor with spear and shield
Warband 2
Gil Galad on horse with shield
1 Kings Guard with banner and spear
15 Kings guard (9 with shield, 6 with bow and spear)
Warband 3
Cirdan
2 elf warriors with spear and shield

Both the top 2 armies finished the day with 3 wins out of 3. They were also both included a large Elven contingent.

Just being pipped to the post was a Last Alliance army led by the High King's Elendil and Gil Galad. Both these heroes are powerhouses in their own right, combined they are frighteningly powerful. They both have +1 to wound, Elendil has S5 and free heroic combats while Gil Galad has F9, Blood and Glory and Lord of the West. Between them these two could take on most armies. However, here they have the support of a block of infantry comprised of a F6 front rank that outmatches most heroes and a S4 rear rank to increase the killing potential. Cirdan offers versatile magical support for a budget price, allowing the 6 elven archers the chance to win a shooting battle due to Blinding Light, ensuring passed courage tests, making the troops cause Terror or even improving the already impressive killing power with Blade Wrath.

Of all the armies at this event, this was the one I most wanted to avoid.

1st place
Micheal Bunting
Elven Alliance

Warband 1:
Elrond Master of Rivendell with Heavy Armour and Horse (Leader)
4 Warriors Shield
2 Warriors Shield and Spear
6 Warriors with spear and bow
Warband 2:
Gil Galad high king of the elves with shield and horse
4 Warriors Shield
6 Kings Guard with Shield and Spear
1 Warriors with spear and Bow
1 Warrior with spear and bow and banner
Warband 3:
Galadriel Lady of Light

And in 1st place, taking home the prize was this elven impossible alliance of Elrond, Gil Galad and Galadriel. Much the same as the previous one this army is built around two big heroes, this time Elrond and Gil Galad with support from Rivendell warriors, King's Guard and Galadriel Lady of Light. Elrond has the powerful spell Wrath of Bruinen at his disposal, causing knockdowns around him as well as 3 attacks at F6 making him a solid combat model. Gil Galad and the warriors I already looked at above and have all the same advantages here.

The Lady of Light is the left field choice in this army. She makes the army a red alliance, although because she's the only model from a different faction some of the disadvantages are mitigated. The advantages that she brings are that she carries around a Blinding Light effect, negating enemy shooting and she causes a -1 courage debuff to nearby enemies, making it harder to charge the Terror causing heroes. She also has access to several spells, Fortify Spirit and Banishment can be situational but Instill Fear works well the courage effect noted above. Add the fact that she's another 3 attack hero at F6 and she certainly earns her place in this list.

So there's the top 3 armies.

A special note should also be made to congratulate Stephen Devlin for winning a hotly contested painting contest with his beautiful Harad army and to Jim Latimer for winning the Best Themed contest with a fully converted Harondor Fiefdoms army.

Battle on the Plains of Lisburn Army Lists

Following the success of last week's post for the Wicklow Skirmish the TO of another local tournament has asked if I could do something similar. This event is an 800 point, 15 model minimum, tournament with 3 games over the course of the day. There's also prizes for the best themed and best painted armies available, so hopefully we'll see some well painted and themed lists.

Looking at the overall picture we see that there's definitely a strong leaning towards Good at this event, with 75% of the armies being from the Good side. We also have some very creative themed lists, it's these sort of lists that interest me most. It's interesting to see that despite all the armies being themed there is both an Impossible and a Convenient Alliance represented within the 12 lists.

Onto the lists:

Rob Conroy-Maigheoc

Theme: Shadow in the East

Firstly we actually have my list, a Shadow in the East themed Gondor army. I don't want to get into an army analysis here, I'll leave that for a subsequent post, but here is the list.

Warband 1
Faramir, bow (Leader)
4 Rangers, spear
4 Warriors, spear, shield
1 Warrior, spear, shield, banner
2 Warriors, shield
Warband 2
Cirion
5 Warriors, spear, shield
5 Warriors, shield
Warband 3
Damrod
3 Rangers, spears
Warband 4
Ranger of the North, horse
Warband 5
Capt Dol Amroth, horse, lance
5 Knights of Dol Amroth, horse, lance
4 Men at Arms
Warband 6
Murin and Drar

Micheal Bradford

Theme: Last Alliance

Next we have a Last Alliance army led by the 2 High King's, Elendil and Gil Galad. These 2 are both top class heroes in their own right, so allied together, with the support of the utility support magic of Cirdan and warriors that can match or better most heroes in a fight should make for a very powerful army.

Warband 1
Elendil on horse with shield (Leader)
10  warriors of Numenor with spear and shield
Warband 2
Gil Galad on horse with shield
1 Kings Guard with banner and spear
15 Kings guard (9 with shield, 6 with bow and spear)
Warband 3
Cirdan
2 elf warriors with spear and shield

Jim Latimer
Theme: The Fiefdom of Harondor

The next list is primarily a Fiefdoms list, although fully converted to match a Harondor (or Southern Gondor) theme. The overlapping buffs from the various heroes can make even the regular warriors into fearsome combatants.

N.B. Jim has come up with his own theme including names and model design - he has put a lot of effort into it. These will be clarified to opponents on the day so that it is clear who is who. In brackets in the list is the actual MESBG profile being used and therefore the rules that apply to such models. Any queries, please just ask Michael Bradford.

Warband 1:
El Aurance (aka Prince Imrahil) with armoured horse and lance (Leader)
2 Unicorn Knights (aka Knights of Dol Amroth) with armoured horse and lance
1 Unicorn Knights (aka Knight of Dol Amroth) with armoured horse and lance and banner
6 Men at Arms (aka Men at Arms of Dol Amroth)
Warband 2:
Petros the Portly (aka Forlong the Fat) with horse
4 Axemen of Harmindon (aka Axemen of Lossarnach)
Warband 3:
Fergal Fearnaught (aka Angbor the Fearless)
6 Clansmen of Velsinir (aka Clansmen of Lamedon)
Warband 4:
Oophir the Desert Wolf (aka Duinhir)
1 Harnen River Ranger (aka Blackroot Vale Archers) with war horn
2 Harnen River Rangers (aka Blackroot Vale Archers) with spear
4 Harnen River Rangers (aka Blackroot Vale Archers)
Warband 5:
Priscilla Queen of the Desert (aka Eowyn of Rohan) with armour and shield and camel (aka horse) and throwing spears
3 Camel Riders of Rohan (aka Riders of Rohan) with throwing spears on camels (aka horses)

Stephen Devlin
Theme: Harad

This Harad army takes full advantage of the damage potential of poisoned arrows by fitting in plenty of archers and combining them with the Betrayer to increase the potency of the poisons. Sulandan, a Fell Beast and 12 Raiders provide a fast moving strike force while the elite infantry options stiffen the battle line to deal with anything that comes through the hail of arrow fire.

Warband 1:
Suladan on armoured horse (Leader)
6 Haradrim warrior with bow with poisoned arrows and spear
12 serpent rider
Warband 2:
The Betrayer on fell beast
9 Haradrim warrior with bow with poisoned arrows and spear
3 watcher of Karna with twin blades
3 Abrakhan Merchant Guard
Warband 3:
Haradrim Chieftain with bow with poisoned arrows and horse
6 Haradrim warrior with bow with poisoned arrows and spear
1 Haradrim warrior with war horn
2 watcher of Karna with twin blades
2 Abrakhan Merchant Guard

Patrick McCormick
Theme: Return of the King

Army of the Dead is currently a powerful force combining high defence, Terror and Blades of the Dead with the King able to threaten even the biggest of heroes with a one hit kill. Aragorn provides a top class leader and Legolas brings some shooting to an otherwise purely melee based army.

Warband 1:
Aragorn with cloak (Leader)
6 Warriors with shield
3 Warriors with Spear and shield
Rider of dead
Warband 2:
King of the dead
4 Warriors with shield
3 Warriors with Spear
Rider of Dead
Warband 3:
Herald with shield
3 Warriors with shield
1 warrior no upgrade 

Warband 4:
Legolas with armour and cloak

Mike Wilson
Theme: Thranduil's Halls

The first of 2 Thranduil's Halls armies, this one boasts impressive shooting power from Legolas, Tauriel and 20 Mirkwood Rangers. Thranduil and a warband of Palace Guard, meanwhile, provide a solid combat block to anchor a battle line on.

Warband 1:
Thranduil king of the woodland realm with additional elven blade and heavy armour (Leader)
1 palace guard with banner and spear and shield
6 palace guard with spear
6 palace guard with shield
Warband 2:
Legolas Prince of mirkwood
10 Mirkwood Rangers
Warband 3:
Tauriel with elf bow
10 Mirkwood Rangers

John Foster
Theme: The Power of Isengard

This next army is showing off the power of Isengard led by the white wizard himself, Saruman, who gives the army excellent magic support. The bulk of the troops are formed from the dependable Uruk Hai, with a powerful front line of Berserkers while a large quantity of crossbows provide ranged fire power.

Warband 1:
Saruman (Leader)
10 Uruk Hai berserkers
3 warg riders with throwing spears and shields
1 Uruk Hai with banner
Warband 2:
Lurtz with free shield
7 Uruk Hai with shield
5 Uruk Hai with pikes
Warband 3:
Vrasku
12 Uruk Hai with crossbows

Chris Gill
Theme: Return of the King

The 2nd Return of the King list, this one exchanges a Herald and 2 Riders to include Gimli. This gives another powerful hero and 3 additional Might points at the expense of mobility and bonuses to the King of the Dead.

Warband 1:
Aragon (leader) with free Anduril
5 warriors of the dead with shield
5 warriors of the dead with spear and shield
Warband 2:
King of the Dead
5 warriors of the dead with shield
4 warriors of the dead with spear and shield
1 warrior of the dead with banner and spear and shield
Warband 3:
Legolas with armour
Warband 4:
Gimli

David Chambers
Theme: The Guard of Osgiliath

A Gondorian army after my own heart. Boromir is a great leader able to both do the business in combat and provide buffs to the troops around him while Hurin and the knights of both Minas Tirith and Dol Amroth offer a hard hitting cavalry force to support the infantry.

Warband 1:
Boromir Captain of the White Tower, banner of minas tirith, shield, horse (Leader)
3 Fountain court guard, shield
6 Osgiliath Vets, shield
1 Osgiliath Vet, shield, spear
Warband 2:
Madril
2 Fountain court guard, shield
9 Rangers, spear
Warband 3:
Hurin, horse
4 Knights of Minas Tirith, shield
Warband 4:
Captain of Dol Amroth, armoured horse, lance
5 Knights of Dol Amroth, armoured horse, lance

Gerard Bunting
Theme: Drums in the Deep

One model really stands out in this next list. The Balrog is one of the biggest, baddest monsters in the game and used well there's very little that can stand up to him, especially when backed up by a horde of Goblins.

Warband 1
Balrog (Leader)
14 Moria Goblins(7 Shields, 7 Shield and Spear)
Warband 2
Durburz
14 Moria Goblins(7 Shield, 7 shield and spear)
Bat Swarm
Warband 3
Groblog
11 Moria Goblins (5 Shield, 6 Shield and Spear)
Cave Troll with Hammer

Michael Bunting
Theme: Army of Erigion during the Second age when all the elves had to band together particularly in the battles for the Erin Golyn.

The penultimate list sees a red alliance of elves led by some of the most powerful elven heroes of the age. On the smaller side of all the armies those heroes should make up for the lower numbers and even the warriors are a match for many enemy heroes.

Warband 1:
Elrond Master of Rivendell with Heavy Armour and Horse (Leader)
4 Warriors Shield
2 Warriors Shield and Spear
6 Warriors with spear and bow
Warband 2:
Gil Galad high king of the elves with shield and horse
4 Warriors Shield
6 Kings Guard with Shield and Spear
1 Warriors with spear and Bow
1 Warrior with spear and bow and banner
Warband 3:
Galadriel Lady of Light

Connor Whitla
Theme: Thranduil's Halls

And last, but not least, we have the 2nd Thranduil's Halls army, led by Thranduil on elk. This army differs quite a bit from the 1st due to the inclusion of numerous armoured Mirkwood Elves and Mirkwood Cavalry instead of Palace Guard and extra Rangers.

Warband 1:
Thranduil on Elk with Circlet, Heavy Armour and extra sword (Leader)
4 Mirkwood Cav with shield
3 Mirkwood Elves with Glaive
2 Mirkwood Elves with Bow
2 Mirkwood Elves with shield
Warband 2:
Mirkwood Captain
4 Mirkwood Elves with Glaive
4 Mirkwood Elves with Bow
Warband 3:
Ranger Captain
6 Mirkwood Rangers
Warband 4:
Tauriel with Bow
4 Mirkwood Rangers