Battle of Bangor results

Last weekend the Irish Hobbit League held their largest ever tournament at the 850 point Battle of Bangor. Having a total of 21 players I have decided to analyze the top 5 armies instead of the usual top 3.

5th Place
Gerard Bunting
Moria

Warband 1
Balrog
18 Moria Goblins with shield (9 also with spear)
Warband 2
Durburz
15 Moria Goblins with shield (4 also with spear and 4 also with spear + bow)
Warband 3
Groblog
8 Moria Goblins with shield
(4 with also spear)
Cave Troll with with hand and a half hammer and a Troll Chain
1 Bat Swarm
1 Warg Marauder

Recently the IHL held a community poll to find out what profiles people thought were the best and the Balrog finished in joint 1st place in the Evil Hero category. 4 attacks at F10 and S9 and free Heroic Combats mean that he can put out a serious amount of damage. Meanwhile, 10 wounds and D9 make him difficult to take down.

Here the Balrog is supported by a large amount of Goblins who can hold the enemy in place and capture objectives. Individually a Goblin is not a formidable threat, but with enough of them they can prove challenging to deal with, especially when there's also a Balrog rampaging around. The Bat Swarm is also really useful for tackling enemy heroes by reducing their fight value and making it harder for them to fight back.

4th place
Michael Bradford
Azog's Legion, Azog's Hunters and Dol Guldur

Warband 1
Azog on the White Warg with heavy armour + stone flail
1 War Bat.
Warband 2
Bolg on Fell Warg with Orc bow and Morgul arrows
Warband 3
The Necromancer
Abyssal Knight
Warband 4
Abyssal Knight

In 4th we have this (nearly) all hero evil list from the Hobbit. Azog and Bolg are two incredibly powerful heroes capable of chopping through a lot of enemy models. They are both mounted, which increases that hitting power more thanks to the bonus attack and knock downs on the charge as well as giving them the mobility to get them where they need to be. Master of Battle also helps to either preserve Might points by getting free Heroic actions or discouraging the opponent from calling heroics.

The rest of the list is comprised of the Necromancer and a pair of Abyssal Knights. The Necromancer is a good offensive magic user and brings Ancient Evil to reduce the enemies courage. He also improves the Nazgul's regeneration rolls to only requiring a 2+, which makes it harder to break this army, despite it's small numbers.

3rd Place
Dave Murphy
Barad Dur

Warband 1
Sauron
7 Black Numenoreans,
1 Black Numenorean with banner
7 Orc Warriors with spear + shield
Warband 2
Orc Captain on Warg with shield
5 Black Numenoreans
5 Orc Warriors with spear + shield
2 Orc Trackers (1 on Warg).
Warband 3
Orc Captain on Warg with shield
5 Black Numenoreans
5 Orc Warriors with spear + shield,
2 Orc Trackers (1 on Warg)

Barad Dur Is becoming a regular feature on the podium of IHL tournaments of late. The success of this army is largely down to the big man himself, Sauron, who boasts both impressive combat and magical power. The large range on his spells and the fact that the Army Bonus means that you have to wound him to break the Barad Dur army mean that he is not a foe that you can try to avoid while dealing with the rest of the army or capturing objectives. Quite simply, he demands attention.

The rest of the army is really there to support Sauron, stopping him being bogged down and capturing objectives. In these roles the Black Numenorians are useful thanks to their Terror special rule (buffed thanks to Ancient Evil) and orcs provide cheap spear support. Trackers on Wargs are also handy for movement based scenarios.

2nd Place
Ian Hutchinson
Thranduil's Halls and Survivors of Laketown

Warband One
Thranduil with heavy armour + extra Elven-made sword.
1 Mirkwood Elf with banner
8 Mirkwood Elves with shield
8 Palace Guards with spear + shield
Warband Two
Legolas with Elven cloak
4 Mirkwood Cavalry with shield
4 Mirkwood Elves with Elf bow
Warband Three
Gandalf the Grey on horse
5 Laketown Militia with bow + spear
7 Laketown Militia with shield
2 Laketown Militia with shield + spear

Elves have been proving to be a popular choice recently among the IHL tournament attendees. In general their high Fight value, decent Defence and good shooting allow them to be a solid flexible force. On top of that, this army uses Thranduil who is a really strong hero with F7, 3 attacks (plus extras when engaged by multiple models), the ability to auto-cast some powerful magical powers as well as buffing nearby troops, putting Palace Guard to F6 and increasing the killing power of the elven warriors.

Also in this army is a Laketown warband led by Gandalf. What this provides is some really good magic from the Grey Wizard and a boost to the numbers for an otherwise low model count army in the form of 14 Laketown Militia.

1st Place
Ivan Sheehan
Thranduil's Halls

Warband 1
Thranduil with bow, additional Elven-made sword, heavy armour, circlet of King + horse
6 Mirkwood Elves with shield
1 Mirkwood Elf with glaive + banner
1 Mirkwood Cavalry with shield.
7 Palace Guard, shield, spear
3 Mirkwood Sentinels
Warband 2
Tauriel with bow
6 Mirkwood Elves with shield
6 Mirkwood Elves with glaive + Elf bow
Warband 3
Legolas on horse
3 Mirkwood Cavalry with shield

Another Thranduil's Halls army also took 1st place, although this time without allies. All the same points apply as above regarding Thranduil and the Elven warriors. Legolas (who also featured in the 2nd place army, but I needed to save some discussion for here) is a very useful mid-range hero and is particularly handy for the new Assassination scenario due to his Deadly Shot rule which makes it much easier to at least score a wound on your target hero. The 3rd hero here is Tauriel, who has the potential to be combat beast thanks to Blade Mistress. These heroes in combination with a decent amount of armoured elves and a few cavalry for mobility make for a good, well rounded army.

So there's your top 5 armies from the Battle in Bangor.

Battle in Bangor Army Lists

The IHL returns this weekend with potentially it's biggest tournament to date at the Battle in Bangor held at Exploding Dice Tabletop Gaming in Bangor, Co. Down. This is an 850 point tournament and is the first to be held here using the new Matched Play scenarios (5 of which will be used in total) and the new FAQ restrictions, so we'll see if that shakes up the meta. Please note that the 20/02/20 FAQ update is not in effect for this tournament due to it being released after the army list submission deadline.

Firstly, the breakdown of army lists shows great variety with many wonderfully themey and varied choices. Good hold a slight advantage in representation over Evil in a continuation of the trend seen so far this year. The alliance status shows that only 1 army falls below a Historical Alliance, with 0 Convenient Alliances and 1 Impossible. Looking at the rest of the lists there's an even split of Pure armies and Historical Alliances and a decent amount of Legendary Legions (mostly Rohan based ones, which is not surprising considering the multitude of Legions available to them.

Because there are a total of 21 army list and several of these have become regulars on the IHL scene this season I'm only going to offer my short review on the armies that haven't been seen so regularly here.

Ivan Sheehan
Halls of Thranduil

Warband 1
Thranduil with bow, additional Elven-made sword, heavy armour, circlet of King + horse
6 Mirkwood Elves with shield
1 Mirkwood Elf with glaive + banner
1 Mirkwood Cavalry with shield.
7 Palace Guard, shield, spear
3 Mirkwood Sentinels
Warband 2
Tauriel with bow
6 Mirkwood Elves with shield
6 Mirkwood Elves with glaive + Elf bow
Warband 3
Legolas on horse
3 Mirkwood Cavalry with shield

Elves are generally a solid choice at the moment and here we have a Mirkwood army with good numbers and great heroes to lead them. Thranduil is a good leader to lead the line with Palace Guard backing up the armoured Mirkwood Elves offering a solid fighting force.

Matt Hamill
Rivendell and White Council

WARBAND 1
Elrond, Heavy armour and Horse
5 Rivendell Knights with shields
4 Elves swords
4 elves bow and spears
4 Elves spear and shield
1 Elf Banner, shield and spear
WARBAND 2
Cirdan
4 elves bow and spears
4 elves swords
2 elves shield and spears
2 Elves spears
Warband 3
Saruman The White on Horse

As I said above, Elves are good at the moment. Here we have Rivendell Elves with Elrond, Cirdan and Saruman giving a multitude of magical options.


Dave Chambers
Minas Tirith and Fiefdoms

Warband One
Prince Imrahil with armoured horse + lance
5 Knights of Dol Amroth with armoured horse + lance
Warband Two
Boromir, Captain of the White Tower with The Fleg of Minas Tirith, horse + shield 
2 Guards of the Fountain Court with shield 
6 Osgiliath Veterans with shield + spear 
1 Osgiliath Veteran with shield 
Warband Three 
Madril, Captain of Ithilien 
8 Rangers of Gondor with spear 
2 Guards of the Fountain Court with shield 
Warband Four
Hurin the Tall, Warden of the Keys on horse 
3 Knights of Minas Tirith with shield

The combination of Imrahil and Boromir with the banner makes the Dol Amroth Knights F6 which makes for a hugely threatening cavalry charge. You do not want to be standing in their way.

Dan Ahern

Angmar

WARBAND One

The Witch-King of Angmar with Crown of Morgul, 3 Might, 3 Fate, 20 Will, Morgul Blade and Fell Beast 

4 Angmar Orc Warriors with shield 

3 Angmar Orc Warriors with spear 

1 Angmar Orc Warrior with banner 

2 Angmar Orc Warriors with two-handed weapon 

2 Angmar Warg Riders with shield 

1 Cave Troll with hand-and-a-half hammer 

1 Dead March Spectre 

1 Wild Warg 

WARBAND Two

The Tainted on horse 

5 Angmar Orc Warriors with shield 

5 Angmar Orc Warriors with spear 

2 Angmar Orc Warriors with two-handed weapon

1 Dead March Spectre 

1 Wild Warg 

WARBAND Three

1 Barrow-Wight 

3 Angmar Orc Warriors with shield 

2 Angmar Orc Warriors with spear 

WARBAND Four

1 Barrow-Wight 

3 Angmar Orc Warriors with shield

3 Angmar Orc Warriors with spear 

1 Dead March Spectre

This Angmar army has a lot of magical potential to stop enemy heroes in their tracks with 2 Wraiths and 2 Barrow Wights. Then there's a large mass of terror causing orcs to back them up.

Dave Murphy

Barad-Dur

Warband One

Sauron

7 Black Numenoreans, 

1 Black Numenorean with banner 

7 Orc Warriors with spear + shield

Warband Two

Orc Captain on Warg with shield

5 Black Numenoreans

5 Orc Warriors with spear + shield

2 Orc Trackers (1 on Warg).

Warband Three

Orc Captain on Warg with shield

5 Black Numenoreans

5 Orc Warriors with spear + shield,

2 Orc Trackers (1 on Warg)

Mike Bradford

Azog's Legion, Azog's Hunters and Dol Guldur

Warband One:

Azog on the White Warg with heavy armour + stone flail

1 War Bat.

Bolg on Fell Warg with Orc bow and Morgul arrows

The Necromancer

Abysmal Knight (Rodney)

Abysmal Knight (Dave)

Azog and Bolg are two fearsome combatants and when combined with the Necromancer and a pair of Wraiths will be formidable. PS. Love the names of the Abysmal Knights.

Martin Metcalf

Return of the King

Warband 1

Aragorn - Strider.(leader). 

2 warriors of the dead, shield. 

1 warrior of the dead, spear and shield. 

Warband 2

King of the Dead. 

1 warrior of the dead, banner and shield. 

2 warriors of the dead

1 warrior of the dead, spear and shield. 

Warband 3

Herald of the Dead, shield.

2 warriors of the dead, shield. 

1 warrior of the dead, spear and shield. 

Warband 4

Legolas, armour. 

2 warriors of the dead, shield. 

1 rider of the dead. 

Warband 5

Gimli. 

2 warriors of the dead, spear and shield. 

2 riders of the dead. 

Stephen Devlin

The Serpent Horde & Mordor

Warband One

Suladan on armoured horse, 

8 Serpent Riders, 

2 Watchers of Karna with twin blades, 

2 Abrakhan Merchant Guards and 

2 Haradrim Warriors with bows with poisoned arrows and spears.

Warband Two

Betrayer on Fellbeast

15 Haradrim Warriors with bows with poisoned arrows and spears.

Warband Three

Raza, 

3 Watchers of Karna with twin blades, 

2 Abrakhan Merchant Guards, 

1 Haradrim Warrior with bows with poisoned arrows and spear

1 Haradrim Warrior with warhorn.

Warband Four

The Witch-King on horse with Morgul Crown, 2 Might, 10 Will & 2 Fate

Mike Wilson

Dark Denizens of Mirkwood

Warband 1

Spider Queen

Bat Swarm

5 Mirkwood Spiders

Warband 2

5 Mirkwood Spiders

Warband 3

5 Mirkwood Spiders

Warband 4

5 Mirkwood Spiders

Warband 5

5 Mirkwood Spiders

Warband 6

5 Mirkwood Spiders

Warband 7

5 Mirkwood Spiders

That's a lot of spiders. Hope no one has arachnophobia.

Colleen McConnell

Fangorn

Warband 1

Treebeard

1 Ent

Warband 2

Quickbeam

1 Ent

Warband 3

Beechbone

1 Ent

Great themed army and 6 ents could prove challenging to face given the right scenario.

Micheal Bunting

Rivendell and the White Council

Warband One

Elrond on horse with heavy armour, 

6 High Elf Warriors with shield, 

3 High Elf Warriors with spear + shield

5 High Elf Warriors with Elf bow + spears.

Warband Two

Gil Galad on horse with shield 

9 King's Guards with spear + shield, 

4 High Elf Warriors with Elf bow + shield 

1 High Elf Warrior with shield, spear + banner.

Warband Three

Galadriel, Lady of Light.

Gerard Bunting

Moria

Warband 1

Balrog 

18 Moria Goblins with shield (9 also with spear)

Warband 2

Durburz

15 Moria Goblins with shield (4 also with spear and 4 also with spear + bow)

Warband 3

Groblog

8 Moria Goblins with shield

(4 with also spear)

Cave Troll with with hand and a half hammer and a Troll Chain

1 Bat Swarm

1 Warg Marauder

Paddy McCormick

Riders of Éomer 

Warband 1

Eomer, Marshall of the Riddermark on Horse with shield and throwing spears

8x Riders of Rohan (7x with throwing spears & 1x with banner)

Warband 2:

Gandalf the White on Shadowfax

8x Riders of Rohan (All with throwing spears)

Warband 3:

Erkenbrand, Captain of Rohan on Horse

3x Westfold Redshields (All with throwing spears)

Warband 4:

Captain of Rohan on Horse with bow, heavy armour, shield and throwing spears

The first time one of the new Legendary Legions from War in Rohan has appeared in the IHL. The Look to the Sun special rule could certainly provide a devastating cavalry charge by helping the Rohirim to win their combats. 

Chris Gill

Last Alliance

Warband 1

Elrond with Heavy Armour 
5 High Elf Warriors with Elf bows (2 with spear as well)
Warband 2
Gil-galad with Shield 
6 Kings Guards with spear + shields
1 High Elf with Banner + shield
Warband 3
Cirdan 

1 High Elf Warrior with shield

Warband 4
Elendil with shield
5 Numenoreans with Spear and Shield

The Last Alliance contains some of the top heroes available in Elrond, Gil Galad and Elendil and they will be key to this army. Backing them up there's F6 warriors that are a match for many heroes and Cirdan whose magic support is great.

James Latimer

Harondor

Warband One
El Aurance (Prince Imrahil) on armoured horse with lance.
2 Unicorn Knights (Dol Amroth Knights) on armoured horses with lances.
1 Unicorn Knight (Dol Amroth Kinght) on armoured horse with lance and banner.
6 Men at Arms
Warband Two
Petros the Portly (Forlong) on horse.
4 Axemen of Harmindon (Lossarnach).
Warband Three 
Fergal Fearnaught (Angbor).
6 Clansmen of Velsinir (Lamedon).
Warband Four
Oophir, Desert Wolf (Duinhir).
1 Harnen River Ranger (Blackroot Vale Archer) with warhorn.
2 Harnen River Rangers (Blackroot Vale Archers) with spears.
4 Harnen River Rangers (Blackroot Vale Archers)
Warband Five
Eomaer, Marshall of the Desert (Eomer) on horse with throwing spear.
3 Camel Riders of Rohan (Riders of Rohan) with throwing spears

re. Again the overlapping buffs from the Fiefdoms heroes can potentially make any of these models a dangerous foe.

My favourite army from the Battle on the Plains of Lisburn tournament makes a return he

Sean Magee

Thranduil's Halls and Iron Hills

Thranduil with horse, Circlet, heavy armor and extra Elven made sword 

5 Palace Guards with spear 

1 Wood Elf Sentinel

2 Mirkwood Cavalry 

3 Mirkwood Elves with shield

Warband 2 

Legolas on horse

3 Mirkwood Elves with shield

5 Mirkwood Elves with glaive and bow

Warband 3

Dain with pig

6 Iron Hills Dwarves with spear

4 Iron Hills Dwarves with crossbow

1 Iron Hills Dwarf with banner

More Elves, this time allied with Dwarves to provide a rock solid defensive wall. Another Legolas, who is proving popular and will certainly be dangerous in Assassination. What's the plural of Legolas? Legolases? Legoli?

Kevin Rothwell

Army list – Mordor

Warband 1

Witch King of Angmar (3-19-3) on Fell Beast with Crown of Morgul

3 x Morgul Knights

Warband 2

Khamul the Easterling  on Fellbeast

3 x Morgul Knights

Warband 3

Dark Marshall on horse

3 x Morgul Knights

Warband 4

Shadow Lord  on Horse

2 x Morgul Knights

4 (yes four) named Wraiths including 2 Fellbeasts should give a lot of threat potential, both magical and combat oriented. Terror causing lance armed cavalry could also cause issues for the enemy provided the low numbers don't present a problem.

Dave Coleman

Riders of Theoden 

Warband 1

Theoden, Armoured Horse, Shield 

6 Royal Guard, 6 Throwing Spears

3 Riders of Rohan, 3 Throwing Spears 

Warband 2

Eomer, Armoured Horse, Shield

Warband 3

Elfhelm, Horse 

Dernhelm 

Warband 4

Deorwine, Horse

Warband 5

Gamling, Horse, Royal Standard

Warband 6

Captain of Rohan, Horse, Shield, Heavy Armour

Warband 7

Captain of Rohan, Horse, Shield, Heavy Armour

Gerard O'Brien

Dark Powers of Dol Guldur

Warband 1

The Necromancer.

Warband 2

The Witch-King.

Warband 3

The Lingering Shadow.

Warband 4

The Forsaken.

Warband 5

The Dark Headsman.

Warband 6

Abysmal Knight.

Warband 7

Abysmal Knight.

Warband 8 

Slayer of Men.

Warband 9

Slayer of Men.

This is an army that I actually know very little about so can't really judge what it's possible strengths could be, but it's a great themed army anyway.

Andrew Bailey
Riders of Theoden

Warband One
Theoden on armoured horse with shield and heavy armour.
6 Rohan Royal Guards on horses with throwing spears.
Warband Two
Eomer on armoured horse with shield.
6 Riders of Rohan with throwing spears.
1 Rider of Rohan with banner.
Warband Three
Deorwine on horse.
2 Rohan Royal Guards on horses with throwing spears.
Warband Four
Gamling on horse with Rohan Royal Standard.
Warband Five
Elfhelm on horse.
2 Riders of Rohan with throwing spears.

Warband Six
Dernhelm with throwing spear

Ian Hutchinson

Halls of Thranduil and Survivors of Laketown 

Warband One

Thranduil with heavy armour + extra Elven-made sword.

1 Mirkwood Elf with banner

8 Mirkwood Elves with shield

8 Palace Guards with spear + shield

Warband Two

Legolas with Elven cloak

4 Mirkwood Cavalry with shield

4 Mirkwood Elves with Elf bow

Warband Three

Gandalf the Grey on horse

5 Laketown Militia with bow + spear

7 Laketown Militia with shield

2 Laketown Militia with shield + spear

More Mirkwood Elves, again led by Thranduil. This time however we have Laketown allies, providing numbers, and Gandalf, who brings his excellent magic support.


So there we have all the lists. Just who will come out on top we'll find out over the weekend.