Nírnaeth Arnoediad 2022 - Podium Review

Recently the Irish Hobbit League held it's largest event ever at the Nírnaeth Arnoediad tournament in Underworld Gaming, Dublin. 23 players battled it out over 6 games (you can see all the lists here), but only 3 made it to the podium. Let's take a closer look at them.

3rd Place
Ellis Priestley
Corsairs of Umbar

Warband 1
DALAMYR (LEADER)
8X BLACK NÚMENOREAN
1X BLACK NÚMENOREAN WITH BANNER
9X CORSAIR OF UMBAR w/ Spear and sheild

Warband 2
DELGAMAR
3X BLACK NÚMENOREAN
1x CORSAIR OF UMBAR w/ Sheild
10x CORSAIR OF UMBAR w. Spear and sheild

Warband 3
CORSAIR BO’SUN with shield
5xCORSAIR REAVER
5xCORSAIR OF UMBAR w. Spear and sheild
1xCORSAIR OF UMBAR w. sheild

CORSAIR CAPTAIN with shield
12xCORSAIR ARBALESTER

59 models

In 3rd place was Ellis Priestley with a large Corsair army. At 59 models this was one of the largest armies at the event (with only one other bringing more models). This gives the army great board presence, being able to cover a large amount of ground just by flooding it with weight of bodies. The other point to note is that most of those large amount of troops have some form of ranged weapon, either crossbows or throwing weapons. This makes a Corsair army a very frightening prospect to face at range and also on the charge.

2nd Place
Ivan Sheehan
Ugluks Scouts

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
Uruk hai scout captain, shield
Drummer
6 uruks, bow

Warband 4
Grishnakh, shield
10 orcs, spear, shield
2 orcs, 2 handed weapon

Warband 5
Snaga
5 orcs, shield
3 orcs, spear
3 orcs, spear, shield
1 orc, 2 handed weapon

60 models

Following his 2nd place at the Scouring of Che-Shire last month, Ivan has once again finished 2nd with his Ugluk's Scouts. At 60 models this goes 1 better than the Corsairs of Ellis above and it's those numbers combined with the extra pace provided by the Marauders upgrade and Drummer that gives this army great board control. Although the Orcs in this army don't benefit from those speed bonuses they do play an important role in allowing the model count to be so high, providing Spears to support and unlocking the Animosity Legion special rule that greatly increases the killing power of the army. The final point I'd like to mention is that this army doesn't have any stand out heroes, instead relying on its warriors to get the job done. This means that there is not a clear target for enemy heroes or spell casters to target, reducing their effectiveness.

1st Place
Alexis Dufrasne
Angmar

Warband 1
Witch King with 3M, 15W, 3F, Crown of Morgul, Morgul Blade and Fell Beast
5 Angmar Orcs with Shield
3 Angmar Orcs with Spear
2 Spectres
1 Wild Warg

Warband 2
Gulavhar
4 Angmar Orcs with Shield
1 Angmar Orc with Banner, shield and spear
3 Angmar Orcs with Spear and shield
2 Spectres
1 Wild Warg

Warband 3
Barrow Wight
4 Angmar Orcs with Shield
3 Angmar Orcs with Spear
1 Wild Warg

Warband 4
Barrow Wight
4 Angmar Orcs with Shield
3 Angmar Orcs with Spear

41 models

And the winner was, taking the title back to Belgium, Alexis with this Angmar army. I'm sure I've spoken before about the competitive power of Angmar as it is a popular choice in the IHL. A large portion of this power comes from the magical proficiency within the army list, led here by the Witch King (who gets rerolls on casting thanks to the Morgul Crown) and very ably backed up by a pair of Barrow Wights (whose Paralyse spell is rightfully feared by enemy heroes). Having 3 powerful casters means that there are very few opponents that can withstand the magical onslaught for long. Then, once that magic has neutralized the enemy threats the pair of flying monsters, Gulavhar and a Fell Beast are ready to sweep in and slaughter their helpless foes.

Congratulations to Ellis, Ivan and Alexis for earning their places on the podium and to all the other winners on the day; Louis Vanhecke (whose stunning Riders of Theoden won Best Painted), Matthew Butler (who won both the Favourite Army and Best Model awards with his Azog's Signal Tower) and Tom Armitage (who won the Favourite Opponent Award) as well as all the winners of the various spot prizes throughout the weekend. And a special thank you to the TO, Michael Bradford, who by all accounts ran an incredible tournament. And so all that's left for me to do is to leave you with a tiny snippet of some of the photos taken during the event.