Recently the IHL returned from it's Christmas break and held it's first event of 2022 at the Council of Tallaght, hosted at Underworlds Gaming and organized by Dan Ahern. This was an 800 point, 2 day event and was contested by 14 participants. But only 3 could make it to the podium, and here they are.
3rd Place
Patrick McCormick
Iron Hills and Erebor Reclaimed
Warband 1 (Leader):
Dain Iron, Lord of the Iron Hills on War Boar
14x Iron Hill Warriors with Spear and Shield
1x Iron Hill Warrior with Spear, Shield and Banner
3x Iron Hill Warriors with Crossbows and Spears
Warband 2:
Thorin Oakenshield, King under the Mountain on War Goat with Orcist
3x Iron Hills Goat Riders
Warband 3:
Bifur the Dwarf, Champion of Erebor
8x Iron Hill Warriors with Spear and Shield
3x Iron Hill Warriors with Crossbows and Spears
In the Bronze medal position was this Iron Hills and Erebor Reclaimed alliance. This basis for this list is a rock solid Dwarven shieldwall comprising of D8 Iron Hills Dwarves and a pair of powerful mounted heroes in Dain and Thorin. Bifur then makes an excellent 3rd hero due to his ability to generate free Heroic Moves, which will help prevent the slow moving Dwarves from getting bogged down with enemies. Although this list could be run as pure Erebor Reclaimed the advantage of using the alliance is that it allows Dain to be a more durable Leader than Thorin, due to his 3 Fate and Fearless rule.
2nd Place
Ivan Sheehan
Ugluks Scouts LL
Warband 1
Ugluk. Leader
5 uruks, shield.
6 uruks, bow.
1 uruk, banner.
Warband 2
Mauhur.
5 uruks, shield.
6 uruks, bow.
1 uruk, banner.
Warband 3
Scout Captain, shield.
3 uruks, bow.
Warband 4
Grishnakh, shield.
10 orcs, shield, spear.
2 orcs, 2 handed weapon.
Warband 5
Snaga.
5 orcs, shield.
6 orcs, spear.
1 orc, 2 handed weapon.
Warband 6
Orc Captain, shield.
2 orcs, spear,shield.
1 orc, 2 handed weapon.
In 2nd is Ivan Sheehan's Ugluk's Scouts. This Legendary Legion combines large numbers with quality warriors. Uruk Hai are a very cost effective troops choice due to their stat line of F4 and S4 and here in Ugluk's Scouts they get additional bonuses to mobility and bonuses on wounding rolls. The one thing the Uruks do lack however, is spears, although the pair of banners and Orc spearmen help to mitigate that weakness, although the Orcs will need to get into combat themselves to activate the Legion bonuses on wound rolls.
1st place
Michael Bunting
Mordor and Angmar
Warband 1:
Shadowlord on Horse(Leader)
7 Black Numenoreans
8 Morannon Orcs shield and Spear
Banner
Warband 2:
Task Master
6 Black Numenoreans
6 Morannon Orcs shield and Spear
Warband 3:
Great Beast of Gorgoroth
Warband 4:
Gulavhar
And in 1st place was this alliance between Mordor and Angmar. This list is built around the twin threats of a Great Beast of Gorgoroth and Gulavhar. The Great Beasts ability to trample enemies mean that opponents either risk taking large casualties or are forced into moving out of the way of the Beast. Meanwhile, Gulavhar is one of the best killers in the game with his inclusion being well worth the penalties of making the army an Impossible Alliance. Backing up this pair of monsters is a shieldwall of Terror causing Black Numenoreans supported by S4 Morannon Orc spears and the Shadowlord, whose Pall of Darkness helps to protect the pair from taking damage from range.
Congratulations to all the winners and to Patrick McCormick for winning Best Painted Army and David Chambers for taking the Best Painted Single Model award.
And I'll leave you with a few of the photos from the event.
