Journey to the Emerald Isle - Army Lists

This weekend the Irish Hobbit League hosts one of its largest events of the year, the Journey to the Emerald Isle. This is a 700 point Good vs Evil event, run by Dave Murphy at Exploding Dice Games in Bangor. Taking a quick look at the army overview we can see that single faction armies and Legendary Legions dominate the the popularity charts compared with traditional alliances. 

Now with 16 players each bringing 2 armies we have a lot to get through. 

James McKernan.

Men of the West (Legendary Legion)

Warband One (Leader):

• Aragorn, King Elessar.

• 5 Warriors of Minas Tirith with spears and shields.

Warband Two:

• Legolas.

Warband Three:

• Gimli.

Warband Four:

• Captain of Minas Tirith.

• 1 Warrior of Minas Tirith with banner, spear, and shield.

• 5 Warriors of Minas Tirith with shields.

• 4 Warriors of Minas Tirith with shields and spears.

Warband Five:

• Beregond.

• 5 Warriors of Minas Tirith with bows.

Assault Upon Helms Deep (Legendary Legion)

Warband One (Leader):

• Uruk-Hai Commander with shield.

• 8 Uruk-Hai Warriors with pikes.

• 9 Uruk-Hai Warriors with shields.

Warband Two:

• Uruk-Hai Captain.

• 1 Uruk-Hai Warrior with pike and banner.

• 5 Uruk-Hai Warriors with pikes.

• 8 Uruk-Hai Warriors with shields.

Warband Three:

• Uruk-Hai Captain.

• 4 Uruk-Hai Berserkers.

Warband Four:

• Isengard Assault Ballista.

Up first we have a pair of Legendary Legions in the Men of the West and Assault on Helms Deep. While Men of the West isn't considered to be a strong legion it does boast some powerful heroes in the 3 Hunters and Assault on Helms Deep is always dangerous with its Ballista. 

Mike Bradfor

Army of Laketown & Thorin's Company (Green Alliance)

Warband One (Leader)

• Gandalf the Grey on horse.

• Bombur.

Warband Two

• Bard with armour and horse.

• Sigrid & Tilda.

• 6 Laketown Guards with bows.

• 7 Laketown Guards with spears.

Warband Three

• Master

• 2 Laketown Guards

• 4 Laketown with bows

• 9 Laketown with spears

Warband Four

• Alfrid - 20

• 3 Laketown Guards with bows

• 6 Laketown Guards with spears

Assault on Lothlorien (Legendary Legion)

Warband One (Leader)

• Druzhag

• 1 Giant Bat Swarm

• 7 Moria Goblin Prowlers

• 7 Moria Goblin Warriors with Orc bows and spears

Warband Two

• Muzgur

• 1 Orc Warrior with Banner

• 4 Wild Wargs

• 5 Orc Warriors with spears

Warband Three

• Ashrak

• 1 Giant Bat Swarm

• 4 Venomback Giant Spiders

• 5 Moria Goblin Prowlers

• 5 Moria Goblin Warriors with Orc bows and spears

Warband 4 -

• Moria Goblin Shaman

• 4 Moria Goblin Prowlers

• 3 Moria Goblin Warriors with Orc bows and spears

I'm always pleased when I see Thorin's Company on a army list and here they are supporting a Lake Town army to provide magical support and buffs to their allies. And the Assault on Lothlorien will be hoping that the darkness will help them shooting down their opponents. 

Gerard Bunting

Iron Hills and Halls of Thranduil (Green Alliance)

Warband One (Leader)

• Thranduil with heavy armour and extra Elven-made sword.

• 2 Mirkwood Cavalry with shields.

• 5 Mirkwood Elves with Elf bows.

• 5 Mirkwood Elves with shields.

• 4 Mirkwood Elves with Elven-made glaives.

• 1 Mirkwood Elf with Elven-made glaive and banner.

Warband Two:

• Dain Ironfoot on War Boar.

• 15 Iron Hills Dwarves with spears and shields.

Moria and Dark Denizens of Mirkwood (Orange Alliance)

Warband One (Leader)

• Balrog.

• 9 Moria Goblin Warriors with shields.

• 9 Moria Goblin Warriors with spears.

Warband Two

• Moria Goblin Captain.

• 6 Moria Goblin Warriors with shields.

• 6 Moria Goblin Warriors with spears.

Warband Three

• Spider Queen.

• 1 Giant Bat Swarm.

Here's a pair of alliances built around powerful heroes. Thranduil and Dain head a Battle of the Five Armies themed list for Good and the Evil armies are led the Spider Queen and one of the biggest heroes, the Balrog. 

Colleen Bunting

Fangorn (Single Faction)

Warband One (Leader)

• Treebeard with Merry & Pippin.

• 1 Ent.

Warband Two

• Beechbone.

Warband Three

• Quickbeam.

Barad-Dur (Single Faction)

Warband One (Leader)

• The Dark Lord Sauron.

• 10 Orc Warriors with shields.

• 9 Orc Warriors with spears and shields.

• 1 Orc Warrior with spear, shield and banner.

Warband Two

• Ringwraith with 2 Might, 7 Will and 2 Fate.

• 5 Orc Warriors with shields.

• 5 Orc Warriors with spears and shields.

• 1 Orc Tracker.

Speaking of big heroes, next we have the Ents of Fangorn and the Dark Lord himself. Both these lists are highly dependent on how well these big models perform. 

Michael Bunting

Minas Tirith, Lothorien and the White Council (Orange Alliance)

Warband One (Leader):

• King of Men.

• 10 Warriors of Minas Tirith with shields.

• 5 Rangers of Gondor.

Warband Two

• Haldir with Elf bow.

• 8 Galadhrim Warriors with spears and shields.

• 1 Guard of the Galadhrim Court Guard.

• 5 Wood Elf Warriors with Elf bows and Wood Elf spears.

Warband Three

• Celeborn with Elven-made hand and a half sword.

• Galadriel, Lady of Light.

Mordor and Angmar (Red Alliance)

Warband One (Leader)

• The Shadow Lord.

• 7 Orc Warriors with shields.

• 7 Orc Warriors with shields and spears.

Warband Two

• Orc Taskmaster.

• 5 Orc Warriors with shields.

• 3 Orc Warriors with shields and spears.

• 1 Orc Warrior with shield, spear and banner.

• 1 Orc Warrior with spear.

Warband Three

• Great Beast of Gorgoroth.

Warband Four

• Gulavhar.

Micheal is a player who is well known for bringing more unusual alliances and he's stayed true to form here. Bringing Minas Tirith into an elf list helps to increase the model count of this Good force and Gulavhar brings a big scary threat into the Mordor force. 

Alex Neaves

Dale Legendary Legion

Warband One (Leader) 

• King Brand 

• 6 Dale Knights 

• 7 Dale Warriors with spear and shield 

• 1 Dale Warrior with banner 

Warband Two

• Prince Bard 

• 6 Dale Knights 

• 7 Dale Warriors with spear and shield 

• 1 Dale Warrior with banner 

Warband Three 

• Dale captain with Esgaroth bow

• 12 Dale Warriors with Esgaroth bow 

Ugluk's Scouts (Legendary Legion)

Warband One 

• Ugluk 

• 6 Uruk-Hai Scouts with Uruk bow

• 1 Uruk-Hai Scout with banner

Warband Two 

• Mahur

• 5 Uruk-Hai Scouts with Uruk bow

• 6 Uruk-Hai Scouts with shields

• 1 Uruk-Hai Scout with banner

Warband 3

• Grishnak with shield

• 10 Orc Warriors with spear and shield

• 2 Orc Warriors with 2 handed weapons

Warband 4

• Snaga

• 10 Orc Warriors with spear and shield

Warband 5 

• Uruk-Hai Scout Captain with Uruk bow

•  5 Uruk-Hai Scouts with Uruk bow

Back to the more regular fair of Legendary Legions. Here we have the still relatively fresh Army of Dale led by their King and Prince and the Ugluk's Scouts Legion, which has been shown to be a winning army in the right hands. 

Max Small

Azog's Hunters (Single Faction List)

Warband One (Leader)

• Bolg on Fell Warg

• 9 Hunter Orcs

• 3 Hunter Orcs with two-handed weapons

• 1 Hunter Orc with banner

Warband Two

• Fimbul on Fell Warg

• 2 Fell Wargs

Warband Three

• Yazneg on Fell Warg with lance

• 9 Hunter Orcs

• 3 Hunter Orcs with two-handed weapons

Warband Four

• Narzug

• 12 Hunter Orcs with Orc bows.

Kingdom of Khazad-Dum (Single Faction List)

Warband One (Leader)

• Durin

• 11 Hearthguards

Warband Two

• King's Champion

• 5 Dwarf Warriors with shield

• 5 Iron Guards

Warband Three

• Dwarf Captain with shield

• 4 Dwarf Warriors with shield

• 4 Dwarf Warriors with Dwarf bow

Durin and 11 Hearthguards will really pack a hefty punch for this Khazad-Dum army. Meanwhile Hunter Orcs are also able to deal some damage thanks to their Many Blades and Bolg is one of the most fearsome around.

Connor Whitla

Halls of Thranduil

Warband One

• Thranduil on Elk with heavy armour, extra Elven-made sword, and the Circlet of Kings.

• 4 Mirkwood Cavalry.

Warband Two

• Mirkwood Elf Captain

• 2 Mirkwood Elves with shield.

• 4 Mirkwood Elves with Elven-made glaives.

• 4 Mirkwood Rangers.

Warband Three

• Tauriel with Elven bow

• 2 Mirkwood Elves with shield.

• 2 Mirkwood Elves with Elven-made glaives.

• 3 Mirkwood Elves with Elf bows and Elven-made glaives.

• 5 Mirkwood Rangers.

Azog's Legion

Warband One

• Azog on the White Warg with heavy armour and Stone Flail.

• 2 Gundabad Berserkers with two-handed picks

• 6 Gundabad Orcs with shield.

• 5 Gundabad Orcs with spear and shield.

• 1 Gundabad Orc with banner, spear, and shield

Warband Two

• Bolg on the Fell Warg

• 5 Gundabad Orcs with shield

• 6 Gundabad Orcs with spear and shield

Featuring both Azog and Bolg this Azog's Legion army is bringing the most powerful Orcs in Middle-Earth, able to tackle armies on their own. And as mentioned above, Thranduil is certainly no slouch himself, especially when backed up by an army of elves. 

Christopher Cornhill

Minas Tirith (Single Faction List)

Warband One (Leader)

• Denethor.

• 3 Citadel Guards with spears.

• 3 Citadel Guards with longbows.

Warband Two

• Boromir, Captain of the White Tower on horse with shield and Banner of Minas Tirith.

• 6 Knights of Minas Tirith with shields.

• 4 Warriors of Minas Tirith with shields.

• 4 Warriors of Minas Tirith with spears and shields.

• 1 Warrior of Minas Tirith with bow.

Warband Three

• Irolas.

• 4 Guards of the Fountain Court.

Warband Four

• Faramir on horse with heavy armour and lance.

• 1 Osgiliath Veteran with bow.

• 1 Osgiliath Veteran with shield.

• 1 Osgiliath Veteran with spear.

Isengard (Single Faction List)

Warband One (Leader)

• Saruman on horse.

• Grima Wormtongue.

• 8 Uruk-Hai Warriors with shields.

• 8 Uruk-Hai Warriors with pikes 

• 1 Uruk-Hai Warrior with banner.

Warband Two

• Uruk-Hai Shaman 

• 6 Uruk-Hai Berserkers

Warband 3 

• Uruk-Hai Captain with shield.

• 6 Uruk-Hai Warriors with crossbows

• 2 Uruk-Hai Warriors with shields

Minas Tirith is one of my favourite factions and here we have Boromir with the Banner providing a huge buff to the defenders of the white city. Uruk-Hai are a very dependable troop option due to solid statlines and should be a difficult army to breakdown. 

Connor Kerr 

Isengard and Mordor (Convenient Alliance)

Warband One (Leader)

• Saruman on horse

• Grima on horse

• 1 Crebain

• 2 Uruk-Hai Warriors with crossbows

• 1 Uruk-hai Warrior with pike

• 2 Uruk-hai Warriors with shields

• 3 Uruk-hai Berserkers

• 1 Orc Warrior with banner, spear, and shield

• 2 Orc Warriors with shields

• 4 Orc Warriors with spears and shields

• 1 Warg Rider with shield and throwing spears

Warband Two

• Gothmog on Warg with shield

• 7 Morannon Orcs with shields

• 8 Morannon Orcs with shields and spears

Kingdom of Moria/Balin's Expedition

Warband One (Leader)

• Balin

• 7 Khazad Guards

• 2 Vault Warden Teams

• 3 Dwarf Warriors with shields

• 3 Dwarf Warriors with Dwarf bows

• 1 Dwarf Ranger with Dwarf longbow and throwing axes

Warband Two

• Kings Champion

• 2 Khazad Guards

• 2 Vault Warden Teams

• 3 Dwarf Warriors with shields

• 1 Dwarf Ranger with Dwarf longbow and throwing axes

Warband Three

• Dwarf Shieldbearer

• 6 Iron Guards

Another army led by Saruman, one of the best spellcasters in the game, although this time allied with Gothmog and Mordor. And on the Good side is another Dwarf army, this time led by Balin with plenty of elite troops. 

Peter Fenton

Return of the King (Legendary Legion)

Warband One (Leader)

• Aragorn Strider with Anduril

• 1 Rider of the Dead

• 3 Warriors of the Dead with shield

• 4 Warriors of the Dead with shield and spear

Warband 2

• Legolas Greenleaf

• 1 Rider of the Dead

• 2 Warriors of the Dead with shield and spear

Warband 3

• The King of the Dead

• 1 Rider of the Dead

• 1 Warrior of the Dead with banner, shield and spear

• 2 Warriors of the Dead with shield

• 3 Warriors of the Dead with shield and spear

Moria (Single Faction List)

Warband One (Leader)

• Moria Goblin Captain with shield

• 1 Giant Bat Swarm

• 3 Moria Goblin Warriors with shields

• 3 Moria Goblin Warriors with spears

Warband Two

• Grôblog

• 1 Cave Troll with spear

• 4 Moria Goblin Warriors with shields

• 4 Moria Goblin Warriors with spears

Warband Three

• Moria Goblin Captain with shield

• 5 Moria Goblin Prowlers

• 2 Moria Goblin Warriors with shields

• 2 Moria Goblin Warriors with spears

Warband Four

• Cave Drake

• 1 Giant Bat Swarm

Warband Five

• Moria Goblin Shaman

• Cave Troll with hand and a half hammer

• 2 Moria Prowlers

• 2 Moria Goblin Warriors with shields

Return of the King frequently makes an appearance at tournaments due to its solid reliability stemming from a D8, Terror causing battle line and the leadership of Aragorn. At the opposite end of the spectrum are Moria Goblins, who make up for their lesser quality by bringing more bodies to the Battle.

Nicholas Forsythe

Defenders of Helms Deep (Legendary Legion)

Warband One (Leader)

• Theoden with heavy armour and shield

• Haleth

• 3 Rohan Royal Guard with throwing spears

• 3 Rohan Royal Guards

• 6 Warriors of Rohan with throwing spears and shields

• 2 Galadhrim Warriors with Elf bows and spears

Warband 2:

• Gamling with Rohan Royal Standard

• Aldor

• 8 Warriors of Rohan with throwing spears and shields

• 1 Warrior of Rohan with bow

• 1 Warrior of Rohan with shield                              

Warband 3:

• Legolas with armour and Elven cloak

• 10 Galadhrim Warriors with Elf bows and spears

Evil List: Dark Denizens of Mirkwood 

Warband 1

• Spider Queen

• 3 Giant Bat Swarms

• 2 Mirkwood Spiders

• 4 Giant Spiders

Warband 2

• 3 Mirkwood Spiders

• 2 Giant Spiders

Warband 3

• 2 Mirkwood Spiders

• 3 Giant Spiders

Warband 4

• 2 Mirkwood Spiders

• 3 Giant Spiders

Warband 5

• 3 Mirkwood Spiders

I hope no-one has a phobia of Spiders because this Evil list has a lot of them. And on the Good side we have a Defenders of Helms Deep list with plenty of Elf Bows to take advantage of the extra range provided by the Legion bonuses. 

Luke Hilder

Assault on Lothlorien (Legendary Legion)

Warband One (Leader)

• Muzgur.

• 3 Giant Bat Swarms

• 3 Wild Wargs

Warband Two

• Ashrak

• 3 Venomback Giant Spiders

• 2 Moria Goblin Prowlers.

• 3 Moria Goblin Warriors with spears.

• 4 Moria Goblin Warriors with Orc bows.

Warband Three

• Moria Goblin Shaman.

• 4 Moria Goblin Prowlers.

• 4 Moria Goblin Warriors with spears.

• 4 Moria Goblin Warriors with Orc bows.

Warband Four

• Moria Goblin Shaman.

• 4 Moria Goblin Prowlers.

• 4 Moria Goblin Warriors with spears.

• 4 Moria Goblin Warriors with Orc bows.

Warband Five

• Moria Goblin Shaman.

• 4 Moria Goblin Prowlers.

• 4 Moria Goblin Warriors with spears.

• 4 Moria Goblin Warriors with Orc bows.

Rivendell and The Fellowship (Historical Alliance)

Warband One (Leader)

• Elrond on horse with heavy armour.

• 13 Rivendell Knights with shields.

• 1 Rivendell Knight with shield and banner.

Warband Two

• Aragorn, Strider on horse with armour

Another Assault on Lothlorien army with plenty of Moria Goblin Archers hoping to take advantage of the cover of darkness. Meanwhile for Good we have a highly elite force of Rivendell Knights led by Elrond and Aragorn. 

Matt Hamill

Rivendell and the Fellowship (Historical Alliance)

Warband One (Leader)

• Elrond on horse with heavy armour.

• 11 Rivendell Knights with shields.

• 2 Rivendell Knights

• 1 High Elf Warrior with Elf bow

Warband Two

• Aragorn, Strider on horse with armour and Anduril

Mordor (Single Faction List)

Warband One (Leader)

• The Witch-King on Fellbeast with Morgul Crown, 3 Might, 18 Will and 3 Fate.

• 14 Morannon Orcs with shields.

• 1 Morannon Orc with banner and shield

Warband Two

• Khamul on Fellbeast on Fellbeast.

• 10 Morannon Orcs with shields

Warband Three

• Kardush.

• 5 Orc Trackers.

And another very similar Rivendell Knights army with strong hitting power, good shooting and excellent mobility. And for Evil there's a pair of Fell Beasts that will bring a huge double threat to the table. 

Paddy McCormick

Defenders of Helms Deep (Legendary Legion)

Warband One (Leader)

• Theoden with heavy armour and shield.

• 4 Rohan Royal Guards with throwing spears.

• 6 Warriors of Rohan with throwing spears and shields (and axes).

Warband Two

• Aragorn, Strider with armour.

• Haleth.

• 8 Warriors of Rohan with throwing spears and shields (and axes).

Warband Three

• Gamling with Rohan Royal Standard.

• Aldor.

• 10 Galadhrim Warriors with Elf bows and spears.

Pits of Dol Guldur (Legendary Legion)

Warband One (Leader)

• Azog on the White Warg.

• 5 Hunter Orcs.

• 4 Hunter Orcs with Orc bows.

• 1 Hunter Orc with Orc bow and war horn.

• 6 Gundabad Orcs with spears and shields.

• 1 Gundabad Orc with banner, spear and shield

• 1 Fell Warg

Warband Two

• Gundabad Orc Captain with shield.

• 2 Hunter Orcs.

• 2 Hunter Orcs with Orc bows.

• 4 Gundabad Orcs with spears and shields.

• 1 Fell Warg.

Warband Three

• Gundabad Orc Captain with shield.

• 2 Hunter Orcs.

• 2 Hunter Orcs with Orc bows.

• 3 Gundabad Orcs with spears and shields.

• 1 Fell Warg.

Onto the penultimate pair of lists and we have the Defenders of Helms Deep and the Pits of Dol Guldur. Both these armies a top class hero in the form of Aragorn and Azog respectively and utilising them effectively will be key to victory. 

Dave Murphy - TO/Bye Buster Lists

The Breaking of the Fellowship (Legendary Legion)

Warband One (Leader)

• Aragorn, Strider with Elven cloak.

• Legolas with Elven cloak. 

• Gimli, Son of Gloin with Elven cloak.

• Boromir of Gondor with shield and Elven cloak.

• Frodo Baggins with Mithril Coat, Sting and Elven cloak.

• Samwise Gamgee with Elven cloak.

• Merriadoc Brandybuck with Elven cloak.

• Peregrin Took with Elven cloak.

Warband One (Leader)

• Lurtz with shield.

• Uruk-Hai Drummer

• Uruk-Hai Scout with banner and shield.

• 4 Uruk-Hai Scouts with Uruk bows.

• 7 Uruk-Hai Scouts with shields.

Warband Two

• Ugluk.

• 3 Uruk-Hai Scouts with Uruk bows.

• 7 Uruk-Hai Scouts with shields.

Warband Three

• Mauhur.

• 3 Uruk-Hai Scouts with Uruk bows.

• 6 Uruk-Hai Scouts with shields.

Warband Four

• Uruk-Hai Scout Captain.

• 3 Uruk-Hai Scouts with Uruk bows.

• 6 Uruk-Hai Scouts with shields

And finally we have the bye-buster lists of the Breaking of the Fellowship and Lurtz’s Scouts. 

So there's all the armies battling for the top spot. Good to everyone. 

Building Battlehosts - Evil

 A couple of days ago the preorders for the new Battlehost boxes began at Games Workshop. These each offer a good way to start a new army or are an excellent entry point to the game. But what about when you want to move beyond the contents of each box. In my last article I looked at the forces of Good (check it out here if you missed it), with the help of some other members of the Irish SBG community, so it seems only fair to dive into the forces of Shadow this time. Same rules apply as before, build an army based upon a Battlehost box plus a maximum of £60 of additional purchases. And joining me this time are Micheal Bradford commanding the orcs of Mordor and Patrick McCormick the Legions of Isengard.

Mordor
Micheal Bradford

So, you've just seen the Witch-King/Orcs/Warg Riders Battlehost Box huh?


Chances are that it's appealing to you as the basis for a Mordor Army - and don't get me wrong, with a welcome range of potential alliances, synergies, and a large variety of characters & units, Mordor is one of the most diverse and fun armies to build. 


However, I want to spin you the idea of appreciating the duality that this Battlehost offers, in that the units included can also form the backbone of an Angmar army.


Celebrating the Witch-King of Angmar at the height of his Northern dominion, this faction provides a range of ghostly synergies that can combine to make it one of the most potent armies in the game.

Witch-King by Alan Lee 

If the thought of this evil spirit army intrigues you, here are some suggestions as to the next few purchases you could make to supplement this Battlehost box, along with a lower-points list idea tailored to meet the models you'll have to hand once purchased.


Hill Troll Chieftain Buhrdur - £22 - A key strength of an Angmar force is incapacitating the enemy. To capitalise on this, it's important to build in units that can deal damage. Enter Buhrdur. A mighty cave troll hero, his ability to kill will certainly come in handy against tough opposition units and enemy heroes. Furthermore, his banner effect upon dispatching such is a welcome effect to increase the potency of your force.


Dead Marsh Spectres - £10 - These guys aren't heroes, but as a warrior unit they offer fantastic versatility. Their strength lies in a special ability that allows them to compel an enemy model into taking a courage test. Should the target model fail the test, they can be moved anywhere (within certain parameters). Want to get rid of a pesky banner or spear support? These guys can do that. Want to move a model within charge range to allow for further combat shenanigans? Look no further. And the great thing is, this special ability costs no Will points, allowing you to mess around with the enemy formation on a whim, whilst your magic caster conserve Will for the high priority targets.


Barrow Wights - £10 - Speaking of magic casters, Angmar has access to some of the most frightening in the game. Barrow Wights have access to a spell called paralyse. An enemy unit that fails to resist this spell will find itself incapacitated - it will automatically lose fights (unless supported), meaning the orc chaff that will form the meat of your force can suddenly simply roll to wound, without having to try and win the fight. And imagine if you'd a beastly killer in position to jump the downed target? They'll be lucky to survive that round of combat. Paralyse is a very hard spell to recover from, but in addition the arguably low points cost of the Barrow Wights, their ability to strike against opponent's courage value instead of their defence, and their contribution as heroes towards the terror-causing army bonus, makes them a frequently seen staple unit and potent member of any Angmar army.


Mordor Orc Commanders - £26 - Trying to give you an idea of what further purchases you could make to the Battlehost box with a budget of under £70, it was a toss-up between these guys and another box of Mordor orcs (remember, these guys can easily double up as Angmar troops and heroes [for the most part]). Based on the (admittedly lower numbers) list I've cobbled together based on these specific purchases, I've opted for this set (although I'd definitely be advising another box of Mordor Orc warriors when you reach the next payday). Angmar is an odd faction, in that it can often be a force that prefers to react, and move second. Your heroes should be behind orc lines, therefore safe to cast magic, whilst your terror-causing ranks should limit how many opposition models charge you. Therefore, reacting to the enemy allows you to swarm isolated threats, whilst targeting specific high priority models with your big hitters. An Orc Captain can be a decent killer in your army, especially when mounted, but they also bring a resource that is lacking (although not necessarily missed due to the strength of reactive play) - Might. They can act as a Might-caddy for a timely Heroic Move or Heroic Combat, or even a Heroic March if you need to get up the board swiftly - allowing for your main heroes like the Witch-King to conserve their Might for important situations. Additionally, this set provides a banner bearer. Not only can banners provide VPs in certain scenarios, but they saliently provide that dice reroll in combat, which will be particularly useful when it comes to winning fights.

 


So with those sets overviewed, here is a sample 600 Point list based on what you have available:


Warband 1 - 

(Leader) Witch-King (3/15/3) on horse, with Morgul Crown

Dead Marsh Spectre

Orc with Banner

4 Orcs with Shield

4 Orcs with Spear

2 Warg Riders with Shield and Throwing Spear


Warband 2 - 

Buhrdur

Dead Marsh Spectre

2 Orcs with Shield

2 Orcs with Spear

3 Warg Riders with Shield


Warband 3 -

Barrow Wight

Orc with Shield

Orc with Spear

Orc with 2-Handed Weapon


Warband 4 -

Barrow Wight

Orc with Shield

Orc with Spear

Orc with 2-Handed Weapon


= 600 Points


At 30 models, this army is on the lower side of what you'd want to field numerically. At higher Points, you'll want to cram in a bunch more orcs, before adding more Will and maybe a Fell Beast to the Witch-King, and looking at playing around with heroes/monsters (e.g. an Orc Captain, Cave Troll, Wild Warg Chietain, Gulavhar, more wraiths etc.). That said, this army has the tools to incapacitate the opposition through a fair amount of casting power, whilst your Warg cavalry and Buhrdur can provide the punch as your orc chaff hold the lines. The Witch-King himself has the ability to fight when needed thanks to the Crown, but with the Crown's reroll for casting and 15 Will, he may be best placed to sit behind the lines and shut down enemy units.


Rob

Following on from Micheal's suggestions, I too am not going to stick to the Mordor army list. As before I am attempting to other very thematic options from the movies (or books) and that didn't jump out at me within the Mordor list with this box. By the time we see the armies of Mordor marching forth in the films the Witch-King has ditched his horse in exchange for a Fell Beast and the majority of the Orcs would be better represented with the Morannon Orc set by this point(so maybe the Battle of Osgiliath box would be a better starting point). Luckily, the models in this box are suitable for multiple armies in the game.

And what scene could be more iconic than the opening of The Fellowship of the Ring with the forces of the Last Alliance taking on the hordes of Sauron. We already have a rabble of orcs as well as some Warg Riders and the Witch-King (who, although wasn't featured in the film at this point is part of the list and would conceivably have been there in the lore). Obviously we are going to need to add the big boss himself, Sauron. This gives us a major focal point for the army who is pretty much able to tackle most targets, either with magic or in combat. One of his advantages is that he is able to led a Warband of 24, instead of the usual 18 for a Hero of Legend, which gives the feeling of that horde of orcs that assailed the Free Peoples. But for our horde we're going to need a few more, so I'll add another box of Mordor Orc warriors to the army, giving us a solid 48 to utilise (minus 6 that we will need for dismounts of the Warg Riders). All told this gives us a list looking something like this:

Barad-Dûr
800 points

Sauron
8 Orcs with shields
8 Orcs with spears
4 Orcs with bows
4 Orcs with 2 Handers

Witch-King on horse with Crown of Morgul, 3 Might, 3 Fate and 6 Extra Will
2 Warg Riders with shield
2 Warg Riders with bow
2 Warg Riders with shield and throwing spear
2 Orcs with spear



Isengard 

Patrick McCormick 

A new power is rising in Isengard, containing a plethora of warriors at your disposal to march across the lands and stain them with the blood of Rohan. The leader of the box set is none other than Saruman the White; one of the best wizards to use in the game. His ability to cast magic at will and rally the Uruk-hai warriors into battle makes for the perfect general to start you on your journey. Modelled on horse allows for Saruman to gain more board control by controlling his armies from the back lines and dictating were weaknesses can be found. Lurking not far behind the former head of the White Council is Grima Wormtongue. Unbefitting, Grima is a man of Rohan who betrayed his country in order to be rewarded with wealth and power from Saruman. Not selected in army lists for his ability in combat, Grima is often chosen for his ability to corrupt enemy heroes, making their capabilities to perform acts of heroism more difficult. Also included in the set is an unusual miniature; the Palantir. The lost seeing stone allows the user to see events happening across Arda, whether in the past or the future. The Palantir’s features are reflected in the game – allowing the forces of Isengard to win priority automatically. This special rule can be crucial in latter stages of a game; to take true advantage of certain scenarios or denying your opponent with the upper hand.

24 Uruk-hai Scouts and 20 Uruk-hai warriors are packed into this box set. The balance this set offers a new player is the capacity to build the army in many different directions. Adding a couple more heroes to the list is a must; but certain additions will allow the army to be built into Legendary Legions. The Isengard Battle force can be the starting point to introducing any of the 3 Legendary Legions; Assault on Helms Deep, Lurtz’s Scouts or Ugluk’s Scouts. From a gaming perspective, these build ups have been showcased on the top tables at many tournaments, which can be a good selling point for new players delving into the game (because who obviously doesn’t want to win all their games).

Moreover, the troops are easier to paint than other options being released. The dark skin of the Uruk-hai, the many shades of brown leather on the scouts and shadowy reflection on the armour offers excellent starting points for first time hobbyists. The Uruk-hai were my first army that I collected as I wanted something easy for me to paint based on how they were reflected in the movies.

 

I was asked after buying this battle force, what extras I would include to make the force better. I was given an extra £50 to make this work. Obviously, with so many warriors in the set, you will have to include heroes. The apparent choice would be to include Lurtz and Ugluk. Many will remember the former from the movies; almost beheading Aragorn during the Ambush at Amon Hen. This tough Uruk leader was instructed by Saruman to search for the halflings in order to retrieve a weapon which alter his dominance in Middle-Earth. Ugluk was also found in the next movie; proving that restaurants were offered in Isengard and “putting meat back on the menu”. These two heroes are necessary for the two scout legions mentioned above. They will be the army leaders in this case and will need some more back up. Mauhur and Vrasku, the next purchase for the new player. Mauhur offers something very special in both these legions; making the Uruk-hai scouts able to run 8”. This is pivotal in games, often allowing controlling players to have board control with objectives or by getting to the enemy much quicker. Finally, I would add the Scout Command pack. The banner and captain are musts in this legion as the scouts will need assistance in some cases to ensure they win the fights. The captain allows for more troops to be taken once warbands have been filled. The extra points of might come in handy too for Heroic Moves, which allow Lurtz and Ugluk to keep their Might store fresh when they come face to face with bigger heroes.

Rob

For my recommendations on each of the Battlehosts I've tried to pick fairly iconic scenes from the movies to base an army upon. However, with the Isengard one I struggled, primarily because Saruman the White never leads his Uruk-Hai into battle but also because the 2 halves of this box (Uruk-Hai Warriors and Uruk-Hai Scouts) are also separate entities that don't appear together on screen. Having seen the suggestions above taking a more Scout based approach with the various Scout Heroes I decided eventually that I wanted to focus primarily on the fighting Uruk-Hai. And once I'd decided on that there was really only 1 scene I could choose, the moment that Saruman unveils his vast legion of 10000 Uruk-Hai from a top Orthanc (I'd just have to built a scale tower for the scenic bases of Saruman and Grima).

Firstly, I knew I'd some extra heroes and only non-scout option here is the Fighting Uruk-Hai Command pack. This gives us access to a Captain, a Shaman and a Banner bearer, all pretty good additions to forces of the White Hand. At this point I had a couple of options on what else to get. Option one was another box of Uruk-Hai warriors to really bulk out the army and get a little closer to that 10000 or option two was to get some more elite units in the form of a pack each of Berserkers and Uruk-Hai Crossbows. In the end I opted for the elite options which is sufficient for this 650 point list:

Saruman 

Grima

1 Uruk-Hai Warrior with banner

6 Uruk-Hai Warriors with shield 

6 Uruk-Hai Warriors with Pike

2 Uruk-Hai Warriors with Crossbow

Uruk-Hai Captain with Shield

3 Berserkers

2 Uruk-Hai Warriors with shield 

2 Uruk-Hai Warriors with Pike

2 Uruk-Hai Warriors with Crossbow

Uruk-Hai Shaman 

2 Uruk-Hai Warriors with shield 

2 Uruk-Hai Warriors with Pike

So there's our suggestions, what would you consider adding to each of the Battlehosts?

Once again, thank you to Michael Bradford and Patrick McCormick for contributing to this article and offering their insights. 

Building Battlehosts - Good

The new Battlehost boxes available for preorders from today offer an excellent way to either start playing the game or, for existing players, starting a brand new faction. They each provide a really strong starting point especially with the new beginner rules avaliable on Warhammer Community. However, they will also require some additional support as you dive further into the factions. 

Over the next few days I'm going to offer up some options on further purchases to add to each of the Battlehosts and again I decided to ask some fellow members of the Irish SBG community to help me out. Each of them was given the same brief, take one Battlehost and you have an additional £50-60 to spend at Games Workshop to build an army. All prices are correct at time of publishing and yes, I am aware that these models could be got cheaper at other stores but I wanted to keep it consistent. 

Joining me this time are Micheal Bunting, who will be taking a look at the White City of Minas Tirith, and Dave Murphy, riding out with the Horselords of Rohan.

Minas Tirith 

Michael Bunting

So firstly I want to say thanks Rob for tagging me in on this one. It was really exciting to look more closely at the battle hosts and appreciate them for what they offer to newer players. 

The Minas Tirith battlehost captures the feel of the great defence of that city in the Return of the King. It's a great theme for your army with plenty of Warriors and Knights led by the white wizard, a very expensive and magically powerful Hero in game. 

For next steps I would recommend that players lean into the strengths of Minas Tirith as a faction. 

Firstly, Minas Tirith has relatively cheap warriors, this allows you to get a lot of bodies on the table which will help with many scenarios. Let's head to Games Workshop and pick up a box of warriors for £27.50 (current price). With the battlehost, this gives us 48 warriors and 6 knights. This is as much as you'll ever need and will give you some dismounts incase your knights get unhorsed. I'll give a quick shout to Guards of the Fountain court. A more elite troop option that will compliment the battlehost well. But they are pricey and you could quickly go over budget considering this next point. 

Now, we are going to need more heroes to lead these troops and this is another strength of this faction. Minas Tirith has so many hero options that it's easy to tailor for theme or competition. I'll recommend a few choices here.

1) Theme - Forgeworlds: Denethor and Irolas. (£24 current price)

Super Themey for the defence of the white city and 3 heroes will let you get almost all of your warriors on the table. 

2) Middle of the road - Forgeworlds: Wardens of Gondor (£32 current price).

Still themed for that defence but with stronger heroes. Irolas will hold the line while Hurin leads those knights on the charge. 

3) Competitive - Games Workshop's Boromir captain of the white tower (£24 current price)

Theme goes out the window here as Boromir never met Gandalf the white. In game though the captain of the white tower is a power house. Supported by Gandalf there are few things that can slow him down. At higher point games Boromir can bring a 6 inch banner to the board inspiring all of his warriors to fight harder. 

So for £60 you'll bulk out your battleforce with more warriors and some effective heroes to lead them. Here's an example of what a list might look like. 

Minas Tirith 

Gandalf the white on Shadowfax (leader)

4 Warriors with shield

4 Warriors with shield and spear

4 Warriors with bow

3 knights with shield

Hurin the tall on horse

4 Warriors with shield

4 Warriors with shield and spear

4 Warriors with bow

3 knights with shield

Ingold

4 Warriors with shield

4 Warriors with shield and spear

4 Warriors with bow

774 points 

That's 45 models (plus some spares for dismounts) and 3 great heroes to bolster your force with magic, offence and defence. You're covering all your bases with a solid shield wall, a sprinkling of shooting and some knights to punch back against your enemy. 

You can scale this force down by losing knights and horses. If you instead add a banner it will take you up to a neat 800 points. 

These choices will boost your battlehost and from there it's just a case of swapping for some elite units down the line or changing heroes as you like (there are loads to choose from).

Rob

For my suggestion for expanding on the Minas Tirith battlehost I wanted to really emphasise theme, as is my usual style. Looking at the contents of the box we have Gandalf the White and Pippin, Guard of the Citadel with a host of Warriors of Minas Tirith and a smattering of knights. Gandalf, Pippin and the Warriors would really fit well with a Siege of Minas theme, although the Knights are maybe slightly separated from that theme (although it's still very possible to create a really thematic list based around them, see my current Knights of Gondor project for my take on it). So we can start forming the list based around Gandalf the White leading a full Warband of 15 Warriors of Minas Tirith, making great use out of the models in the Battlehost and really evoking the defence of the White City. 

Now we need some extra heroes to build out this army. While I could have doubled down on the defenders of Minas Tirith, one of the most iconic scenes during the Siege of doesn't take place on the white walls but instead in Rath Dínen, the Hallows of Minas Tirith with the Madness of Denethor. To build an army around this theme obviously we'd need Denethor (who also comes with a useful third hero in Iorlas). As the Steward it only makes sense that he'd have the elite troops available to him, so we'll add a pack of Fountain Court Guards and a pack of Citadel Guard, giving us plenty of F4, Bodyguard troops and some S3 shooting as well (admittedly this does push me slightly over budget by a couple of pounds, but my blog, my rules). We shall burn, like the heathen kings of old. Bring wood and oil.

This provides us with a 600 point army list that looks like this:

Denethor 

Pippin, Guard of the Citadel 

4 Fountain Court Guards 

Irolas

3 Citadel Guard 

3 Citadel Guard with Longbow 

Gandalf the White on Shadowfax 

4 Minas Tirith Warriors with bow

8 Minas Tirith Warriors with shield and spear 

3 Minas Tirith Warriors with shield 

599 points 

Rohan

Dave Murphy 

So, despite being really bad at this game*, somehow, I got asked to write an article for this pish……sorry high-quality blog (cheers Rob). Well, I can only promise to try my best Roberto.

So anyway, I was asked to write out what advice I would give to a new player on how to expand on one of the new Battlehosts for Middle-Earth Games Workshop recently announced. In this case, the Rohan Battlehost, which contains Eomer (foot and mounted), 6 Riders of Rohan and 24 Warriors of Rohan. (Not exactly what I’d call a host but sure look it we’ll make do).

So, our goal is to expand on this force and turn it into a viable and legal points match list for a Middle-Earth event within a budget of £50-60/€70-75.

First off, some qualifiers. Middle-Earth events around the world, from what I’ve seen, have ranged from 350 points to 1,500 points. However, most of them tend to fall within the 500-800 points range. 

Within the IHL (Irish Hobbit League), the preferred points for 1-day events is 450 points, and for 2-day events 800-850 points. I’m going to give suggestions on what to buy to give us a legal 450+ points army that we could bring.

The 32 models in the Rohan Battlehost altogether give us just under 400 points worth. However, this would not be legal as Eomer can only lead up to 15 Warriors in his Warband. Additionally, we need to keep 6 of our Rohan Warriors to the side as dismounts. Putting the dismounts to the side we’re left with 350 points worth of models. Now what we need next is another Hero to lead our excess of Warriors. 

And where better to start than the man himself King Theoden. Theoden is a linchpin of Rohan armies – giving bonuses to both Rohan Heroes and Warriors, a rallying Hero leading to a faltering army, and he can lead another 18 Warriors in his warband to solve our excess Warriors issue. Theoden brings our army up to 450 points and gives us a legal list that we could bring to a 1-day IHL event (happy times like).

But wait, we still have £39/€50 of our budget to use up! Which means more toys! Since we’re building an army of the Horselords, and this box set is sorely lack in horses, lets add a box of Riders of Rohan (for £26/€34) to bring our total number of them up to 12. 

This will mean having to put another 6 of Warriors of Rohan off to the side as dismounts, but the strength of a Rohan army is its cavalry, so the overall power of our army is significantly improved. And we’re also bringing our list up to just under 500 points.

Finally, although this will go above our budget, we’re going to add Gamling and Hama to our army. Now just to be clear, it’s Gamling who we really want here (Hama is very far down the hierarchy of Rohan Heroes, but we have to buy him to get Gamling). 

The strength of a Rohan army as mentioned is their cavalry, but also in their cheap but effective Heroes. To keep the momentum of the charge going we need Might points, and Gamling provides us with an additional 3 to the 6 we already have from Theoden and Eomer plus the Royal Standard of Rohan can regenerate Might for Rohan Heroes who are out of Might points. Additionally, Gamling can lead an additional 12 Warriors for future expansions of your Rohan army.

So there we have it, with the additions of Theoden, Gamling and another box of Riders of Rohan, we have turned our Rohan Battlehost box set into a legal and viable 600 points list of Theoden, Eomer, Gamling, 12 Riders of Rohan and 12 Warriors of Rohan. Hope this is what you were hoping for Rob, and that its useful to any newer players out there, or players thinking of getting into the game.

Art by Tom Romain

Rob

Again, for my suggestions on the Rohan Battlehost I wanted to focus in on the theme and represent an iconic scene from the movies. Thematically, Rohan is famed for it's cavalry and all the iconic scenes featuring Eomer (the Hero included in this Battlehost) are cavalry based, so I'll start with a box of Riders of Rohan, the same as Dave. As Dave said, this brings us to 12 Riders, a solid Warband for Eomer to lead. We would require the use of half of the Infantry provided in the Battlehost to cover dismounts for this cavalry, but we also have the opportunity to include some of the remaining Warriors in the army as well. This may be slightly less thematic than the full cavalry charge but is a handy option to have.

At this point we are going to need some additional Heroes to expand our force any further. I could have gone for a Pelennor Charge of the Rohirrim theme but this would end up almost identical to Dave's suggestions above, so instead I decided to attempt to recreate the scene that first introduces the viewers to the Rohirrim in the Two Towers, where Eomer and his Eored accost the Three Hunters during their pursuit of the Uruk-Hai. Therefore I'd be adding the excellent Three Hunters pack to give us a list that looks like this:

Eomer on Horse with Shield

8 Riders of Rohan 

4 Riders of Rohan with Throwing Spear 

3 Warriors of Rohan with Shield and Throwing Spear 

Aragorn with Bow and Elven Cloak 

Legolas with Elven Cloak 

Gimli with Elven Cloak

698 points 

So there's loads of recommendations for building upon the new Good Battlehost boxes, join us again in a couple of days when we'll move towards the Shadow and take a look at the Evil Battlehosts, Mordor and Isengard. Special thanks to Micheal and Dave for their contributions to this article. 

*[Rob] The only player I know that can score more VPs than their opponent and still lose all their games, I'm still trying to figure out the maths on that one. 

Rings of Power SBG?

'For even the very wise cannot see all ends.'

Unless you've been living under a rock (or maybe in Gollum's cave) for the last few months you'll probably be aware of the fact that Amazon are releasing a new TV show set in Middle Earth, titled Rings of Power. Set in the 2nd Age, the show will presumably chart the story of the forging of the Rings of Power, the destruction of Numenor, the rise of Sauron and ultimately his downfall during the War of the Last Alliance. 

I ummed and ahhed for a long time about whether or not I wanted to feature anything about this new series on the blog. From the very first previews it has proved to be highly controversial and divisive among the Lord of the Rings fandom and I didn't want to find myself stuck in the middle of a storm.

 

So instead of entering the wider debate on the merits of the show, I wanted to look specifically on what impact it could have on Middle Earth SBG. From what we've been told, Games Workshop has not got a licence to produce anything from the series, so that means Rings of Power will have no impact on ME:SBG, right? Well that's not how I see it. Firstly, (assuming the show is a success) having Middle Earth on our TV screens is going to create a new wave of interest in Middle Earth and Tolkien as a whole, and some of that is quite probably going to lead to a growth in interest in the game. This is one reason why I think the new starter box and Battlehost boxes that GW announced recently are good and are coming at an ideal time to capitalise and grow the community. 

But secondly, and really to reason I wanted to write this article, is that just because Games Workshop aren't making models and armies based on Rings of Power doesn't mean that you can't create an army based upon the series. This is a creative hobby at its core and there's nothing compelling you to stick to the box art. The imagery shown so far has by and large been stunning and, in my opinion, would make for an excellent starting point for various SBG projects. 

I already know that since the first images of the orcs was revealed in June I've been questioning the colour scheme for the Mordor army I'm (very) slowly building.* How about a Dwarf army led by Durin IV, or the Numenrion cavalry shown in the trailers, or even Galadriel's Northern Army? As I've said numerous times now on the blog, inspiration doesn't just have to come from the imagery of Peter Jackson's trilogies and any of these (and probably many more as we see more of the show than what's been revealed so far) could make for great, unique thematic armies that would fit right into the Middle Earth setting. 

It's not even just limited to armies. The scenery that we've seen so far is incredible and ripe for terrain building to create some truly immersive boards. Who wouldn't want to play a game in the Halls of Khazad-Dum at its height, through the fields and villages of the Southlands, or upon the Isle of Numenor? Again there's countless ideas out there and all it takes is one spark of inspiration to create something immense. 

Whatever people think of the storyline and how well it fits with Tolkien lore, there promises to by plenty of inspiring scenes to get some creative juices flowing, and I look forward to seeing what, if anything, the community can do.

*It's purple and yellow, I probably should have been questioning it far before now.