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.

 

Beginners Events - Podium Reviews

 

This last weekend was a very busy one within the IHL. Not only were several members of the league competing against the best in the world at Ardacon but there was also not one but two one day beginner events. So there's lots to cover as we dive into the an overview of the winning lists from those two events. 

Up first was an 800 point event run by Mike Bradford at Exploding Dice Games in Bangor, Northern Ireland on Saturday. 

3rd Place 

Ben Hanna

Moria 

Durburz 

Goblin drum 

Bat Swarm 

3 X goblin prowlers 

Cave troll with two handed hammer

3 X goblin with shield 

5 X goblin with spears 

Groblog 

Cave troll with two handed hammer 

3 X goblin prowlers 

2 X goblin with shield 

4 X goblin with spears 

1 X warg marauder 

Moria goblin captain 

3 X goblin prowlers 

8 X goblin with bows 

Warg marauder 

Moria goblin captain 

3 X goblin prowlers 

3 X goblin with shields 

4 X goblin warriors with spears  

1 X goblin warrior with spear and shield

Moria goblin shaman 

Up first, in 3rd place was this Moria Goblin horde. If there's one thing that Goblins do well it's bringing lots of models to the board, and this list does just that. However, as well as lots of Goblins this list also features several other useful features; a pair of Trolls bring some heavy hitting power, a Bat Swarm helps combat enemy heroes and some Warg Marauders offer some extra mobility. 

2nd place 

Nicky Forsythe

Defenders of Helms Deep LL

Theoden w/shield

3 Royal guard w/ throwing spear

3 Royal guard

4 Warriors of Rohan w/ Throwing spear and shield 

Gamling w/ royal standard

Aldor

Haleth

6 Warriors of Rohan w/ Throwing spear and shield 

Gimli

4 Warriors of Rohan w/ Throwing spear + shield

1 Warrior of Rohan w/ shield 1 Warrior of Rohan w/bow

4 Galadhirim warriors w/ bow and spear

Legolas w/ armour and elven cloak

8 Galadhirim warriors w/bow and spear

In 2nd place were these valiant Defenders of Helms Deep. Nearly every model in this list carries a ranged weapon, be it a Bow, Elf bow or Throwing Spears. This makes for a very potent threat at range, especially combined with the increased range of the various bows that the Legion bonus provides. This means that this army should be able to outshoot most opponents. 

1st place 

Peter McFetridge

Goblin Town and Azog's Hunters Alliance

Goblin King (Leader)

Gollum

16 Goblins

Grinnah

12 Goblins

Goblin Town Captain

12 Goblins

Mercenary Captain

12 Goblin Mercenaries 

Azog on White Warg

Hunter Orc with banner

2 Hunter Orcs with bow

3 Fell Wargs

Coming out on top was this alliance of Goblin Town and Azogs Hunters. Goblin Town bring high numbers, which are very useful in many of the missions as well as Gollum, who is a threat to any hero thanks to the Ring. The Goblin King makes for a great Leader who is difficult to take down due to his Blubbery Mass and also means that Azog is free to do what Azog does best (killing stuff) without fear of surrendering Leader VPs if things go south. 

And secondly was a 500 point event held at Underworld Gaming in Dublin on Sunday, run by Dave Murphy. 

3rd Place 

Stephen Fay 

The Fiefdoms

Warband One:

Prince Imrahil of Dol Amroth on Armoured Horse with Lance (Leader) 

2 Axemen of Lossarnach

2 Knights of Dol Amroth on Armoured Horses with Lances

2 Knights of Dol Amroth

Warband Two:

Duinhir

5 Blackroot Vale Archers with Spears

Warband Three:

Forlong the Fat

1 Axeman of Lossarnach

2 Knights of Dol Amroth on Armoured Horses with Lances

2 Knights of Dol Amroth

In 3rd place were the Fiefdoms of Gondor commanded by Imrahil. One of the big bonuses for the Fiefdoms is the ability for their Heroes to stack overlapping buffs on their troops. Here, Imrahil and Forlong both buff the combat potential of the list with banner rerolls, Fight Value bonuses and bonuses to wound rolls. Meanwhile, Duinhir makes the Blackroot Vale Archers deadly at range with the possibility of rerolls on both to hit and to wound rolls.

2nd place 

Luke Revell

Kingdom of Khazad-Dum

Warband One:

Durin (Leader)

10 Hearthguards

1 Dwarf Warrior with banner and shield

Warband Two:

Dwarf Captain with two-handed axe

6 Dwarf Warriors with shields

6 Dwarf Warriors with Dwarf bows

Taking 2nd place here was Durin and the Kingdom of Khazad Dum. Durin is a very sturdy leader with his incredibly high Defence making him difficult to kill and he also packs a punch with his Master-forged Axe. He also unlocks the Hearthguard upgrade for the Khazad Guard, massively increasing their damage output by making them Burly and hence allowing them to make full use of their 2-handed axes without penalty. 

1st place 

Samuel Fay 

Army of Gothmog

Gothmog on Warg with shield

6 Morannon Orcs with shields

3 Morannon Orcs with spears and shields

3 Morannon Orcs with spears

1 Mordor Troll

Gothmog's Enforcer

6 Morannon Orcs with shields

3 Morannon Orcs with spears and shields

2 Morannon Orcs with shields

1 Mordor Orc Warrior

And winning this event was an Army of Gothmog list. Morannon Orcs are a very efficient choice of Warriors due to them hitting both S4 and D6 making them both hard hitting and durable, a very good combination. Here we have a solid number of those Morannon ably supported by a Mordor Troll who offers a potent threat to both Warriors and the types of Hero expected at this points level. Speaking of Heroes, Gothmog makes a very capable leader at this level with Master of Battle and his Enforcer making the most of his Might points. 

So there we are. Congratulations to all the winners and I hope everyone had a fun time and will be back to more events in the near future. And thanks to Michael and Dave for organising these 2 events. 

A Glance into Galadriel's Mirror - MESBG Preview Review

“Praise from the praise-worthy is beyond all rewards.” Faramir

So last Sunday we got to see the much anticipated Games Workshop ME:SBG Preview Event and it has been generating a lot of discussion across social media. And so I thought why shouldn't I throw my opinions into the mix?

Firstly, most of my predictions from my last article were wrong, although the usual Sunday Preview on Warhammer Community somewhat saved my blushes by announcing the preorders for Orophin and Rumil this weekend. What we did get announced instead was a new Battle of Osgiliath starter box (including 5 new plastic hero models and new terrain), 4 Battlehost boxes, a new Forgeworld Glorfindel and Guards of the Galadrim Court and a new plastic Elrond model.

Onto my thoughts and firstly, most of the new models look fantastic. In my opinion Glorfindel was definitely the pick of the bunch, he looks stunning (and I'm not normally an Elf fan*). Elrond and his banner bearer also looked good, as well as the new Faramir and his Ranger pals. I was already a big fan of Faramir, so he will definitely be on the to get list in short order.  However, the Galadrim Guard I found just a little bit uninspiring and question why they should have been on the list for new sculpts when other models are crying out for them. Gothmog I'm still undecided on, the foot model looks alright but the proportions on the warg just seemed a little off (too much shoulder and too short in the neck, but that might be a camera angle problem, so I'll reserve judgement on that for now).

One of the more exciting things in my opinion is the new, modular Osgiliath ruins that come in the new starter box. New terrain is always great and these ruins look great. I'm looking forward to seeing what people achieve with these both in Osgiliath themed boards and more generic ruins ranging from Fornost to Umbar. Terrain is such a crucial part in the game that including it in the starter box is a great step by GW to help new players jumping straight into playing.

One of the big points that's been made on social media is that this announcement is that it'll be great for encouraging new players into the game thanks to the new starter box and the Battlehost boxes making it easier to start an army. If it does help to grow the fanbase then that's fantastic; more players = more sales = more investment from Games Workshop. However, I have a couple of niggles with this as well. Number 1, none of the boxes allow you to field a Matched Play legal army straight out of the box, so you couldn't just buy a box and be ready to play any pick-up games. And number 2, one of the critisisms I've heard from people who might be interested in trying the game is that the models are so old and that is putting them off. Unfortunately, this release won't solve that issue, but here's hoping it will entice some new players into the game.

The only aspect of this Preview I saw as a big negative was the complete lack of anything really new. Everything was either resculpts of existing characters or repackaging of existing sprues. This has been the main criticism I've heard from existing fans, who probably already have extensive collections. Personally I already have a large Minas Tirith army and I really don't need anymore Warriors of Minas Tirith, Rangers or Knights and I have all the existing models for the Heroes getting new sculpts, so I probably don't need any of those releases. I would have preferred to see at least something new that will advance the game, be it a model with a new profile or a confirmation of the next supplement. Instead, the best we got was an updated rulebook including the FAQs and Erratas, which will be useful for all players by eliminating the need the flip back and forth between the rulebook and the FAQ (at least until the next round of FAQs is released a few months later). One can only hope that the sight of Gil-galad's sigal upon the elven banner is a hint of things to come.

So overall, in my opinion, although I don't think this Preview quite lived up to the hype it promised beforehand I'm generally fairly happy with the announcements and the general direction of the ME:SBG team.



*Faithless woodland sprites

Looking into Galadriel's Mirror - Predictions for the ME:SBG Preview

"What you will see, if you leave the Mirror free to work, I cannot tell. For it shows things that were, and things that are, and things that yet may be. But which is it that he sees, even the wisest cannot always tell."

Games Workshop announced last weekend that this Sunday they would be holding an online Middle Earth SBG Preview. This has naturally led to a lot of excitement within the community and plenty of speculation about what may be revealed. So I thought it might be fun to join in with my own guesses.

Firstly, I think we'll get a release date of next weekend for the new Orophin and Rumil models from Forgeworld. They were available to buy at the recent Warhammer World Doubles event and therefore cannot be too far away from general release.

Secondly, I think there'll be a big Two Towers theme to this Preview with a Made to Order announced for the 20th anniversary of the film in line with the Fellowship of the Ring one we had recently. This could include sets such as Warg Attack,  Heroes of Helm's Deep, Haldir's Elves (for about the 28th time on MTO*), Merry and Pippin vs Grisnakh, Faramir's Rangers, Uruk-Hai Battering Ram etc.

I think we'll also see the model for Beechbone finally, again in line with a Two Towers theme. This guy has been waiting well over 2 years now for a model (since War in Rohan and a Two Towers themed Preview would be perfect opportunity.

And lastly on the Two Towers theme I think we might see a Helm's Deep terrain piece. This could either be a rerelease of the old Helm's Deep or a new Forgeworld piece,  similar to the Weathertop and Amon Hen ones we've had.

And finally I think the last big announcement will be the next supplement for ME:SBG, which I think will be focusing on the War of the Last Alliance. Focusing on the 2nd Age would allow Games Workshop to capitalise on the hype generated by Amazon's Rings of Power while remaining within the realms of their existing licence and therefore represents on ideal opportunity for Games Workshop. This conflict has huge potential for a large supplement, on a par with Defence of the North and is an era that Games Workshop haven't really explored since the initial creation of the game. This prediction also lines up with the teaser images shown on the Warhammer TV Facebook page this week with both Rivendell (under the leadership of Gil-galad and Elrond) and Lorien (under the command of King Amdir) playing a part in the war against Sauron. I think we'll potentially see one or two models for this supplement such as  Forgeworld Gil-galad and King Amdir models.

Last Alliance on the Slopes of Mount Doom by Oleg Kuzmin

So there's my predictions for tomorrow. Do you think I'm on the money, or what do you think may be revealed?

*I exaggerate, but they do remain a very popular MTO choice. 

Knights of Gondor - Where is the Horse?

"Pippin looked at him: tall and proud and noble, as all the men that he had yet seen in that land; and with a glitter in his eye as he thought of the battle."

Pippin and Beregond by Denis Gordeev

A couple of months ago I introduced my next next army project, the Knights of Gondor. Unfortunately, certain family matters (hopefully now behind us) threw some obstacles in the way of properly getting stuck in, hence the unfortunate delay in any updates. But finally some progress has been made. Hoorah!

And I started painting my cavalry army, not by painting horses, but by painting infantry. Huh?

To date the vast majority of my painting has been focused on infantry. It seems odd to start an all cavalry army by painting more infantry but in the game I'd need them in the unfortunate event that my glorious knights get dismounted and I didn't like the idea of essentially 'finishing' an army only to have to continue painting because I left all the dismounts until the end.

On the Knights and Warriors of Minas Tirith the predominant feature of the models is the heavy armour they are wearing and so that is where I place most of my efforts with painting. In my experience focusing on one or key aspects of the model is a more time efficient way of painting, rather than lavishing the same level of detail on every tiny feature of a model (as Red in Shawshank Redemption reminds us 'I mean, seriously, how often do you really look at a mans shoes?')  

Now there's a lot of debate about the type of armour that Gondorians should wear. The clearest description of a Gondorian soldier's armour that I could find in the books was:

'they were surprised to see knights in bright mail and tall guards in silver and black standing there.' Return of the King

Detail from Siege of Gondor by Alan Lee

This states that they were clad in 'bright mail' with no mention of plate armour being found in the text with the sole except of Imrahil's 'bright-burnished vambrace.' This generally fit in with an early medieval level of development that is seen elsewhere in Middle Earth. Peter Jackson, however, opted instet to clad the soldiers of Minas Tirith in heavy plate armour comprising a breast plate, pauldrons and lames, very much in the style of the later 16th century. The advantage of this is that it provides a very clear distinction on screen between the Gondorians and the Rohirrim, who may otherwise have appeared too similar.

German armour from the 2nd half of the 16th century. Just change the helmet and put a tree on the front and it's a near perfect match for the men of Minas Tirith.

In the end, it was that ease of recognition that led me to opt for the Jackson-esque plate armour over the bright mail clad knights from the books because at the end of the day, these are for gaming and it's important  for both players to be able recognize them from several feet away. (Also the Gondorian plate armour looks pretty cool).

When it came to painting the armour I chose to go with the same simple NMM I had used on my Khazad Dum dwarves last year. This was done with a base coat of Administratum Grey, followed by an Agrax Earthshade wash. Then highlighted with Administratum Grey, Celestra Grey and White Scar on progressively smaller areas and always trying to pick out the surfaces that would catch the light. On these Warriors of Minas Tirith I typically went lightest with the highlights on the helmet and the tree on the breast plate to make those areas stand out more clearly.

After a base coat and wash, looking very flat

Getting there with highlights, looking a bit more metallic 

And with the final layers of highlights, finally there.

So there's the beginnings of my all cavalry Gondor army, with not a horse in sight (yet). Maybe we can rectify that in the next update.