IHL Newsletter- April 2023

 "It's a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don't keep your feet, there's no knowing where you might be swept off to." Bilbo Baggins

Well, we've just over a quarter of the year behind us, and a busy few months it has been in the IHL. Kicking off the year was the Season Opener at the Battles on the Coast, where reigning champion Ivan Sheehan began the new year as he left off the last with the top prize. The league then swiftly moved on to the single-day Tallaght Skirmish, which saw Alex Neaves claim his 1st solo IHL tournament victory. Continuing with the 1st time tournament winners, Dan Ahern took home the silverware from the Desolation of Dublin in February, before Ivan Sheehan once again returned the top at You Shall Not Fast in April. All of this means that Ivan has taken an early lead in the League standings, closely followed by Michael Bradford, with David Murphy in 3rd place.

But it's not just events on the island of Ireland that have been of interest to the IHL community. In March 3 intrepid teams travelled to Spain to compete in the World Team Championship, finishing 13th, 18th and 28th and Dan Ahern finishing the weekend as the best individual player. Here's Ireland Team 2 Captain, Dave Murphy to say a view words about the experience.

So, yet again (somehow), I find myself writing for this absolutely not top notch blog*. I guess the readers want to read the thoughts of an opinionated fool like myself.
Anyway, lets cut the crap, Rob wants needs me to write some dribble about the Irish teams experience at the WTC 2023, which took place in Granada, Spain from the 17th - 19th March this year.
We had a grand aul time in fairness so we did.
The IHL sent 3 teams to the WTC (formerly the ETC) this year - Ireland One, Ireland Two, and Northern Ireland.
The teams consisted of a mixed bag of stellar, and not so stellar lads. And then me.

Ireland One was captained by good lad (I guess) Ivan Sheehan, who was accompanied by David Coleman (scum), Michael Bunting, and Mike Bradford.

Ireland Two was captained by myself. And with me were my old reliable comrades in arms from 2022, Gary Doyle, and Dan Ahern. Rounding out the team was new recruit, Connor Glover, a top lad, and a terrible player (more on that later).

Finally, we had Northern Ireland led by Dave Wade, and with him was Nicky Forsythe, Glenn Crangle, and Chris Caves Snr.

The players all flew to Malaga on the Friday, before making their way to Granada. We had hoped to have gone over earlier to make a proper holiday out of it, but ultimately we all just settled on a Friday to Monday trip. Hopefully next year we can get over for a longer trip.

In terms of lists, my team had brought Angmar, Assault Upon Helms Deep, Rivendell and Numenor, and Thranduils Halls and Laketown, with our dud list being Barad-Dur.

Going into Saturday, we knew which teams we would be playing in Rounds 1-3, due to the WTC's Pool system. Then it was Swiss ranked for the Sunday.
We ended up playing Scotland 3, Germany 2, Poland 2, England 2, Sweden, and Spain 3.

We had prepared pretty well for the event, although it would become apparent as the games progressed that our armies were generally too low on numbers.
This was particularly tough for Gary and Connor whose lists were small elite forces with big expensive Heroes.
Dan and I make quite a good pair at doing match ups in my view, but it was tough to get the best match ups with so many scenarios favouring numbers. Connor's inexperience also showed. He's a top lad, but by Day Two our strategy with Connor became simply to throw him under the metaphorical bus and hope he didn't get completely crushed 🤣 - in the end, he was dead last (sorry Connor, love ye lad 😆😁 )

We also learned that Assault Upon Helms Deep, Assault on Lothlorien, and Army of Laketown all need I nerf (Jay Clare, sort it out).

The hotel we stayed in was lovely, and we got a good a deal with them for food and rooms included in the ticket price. All in all, it was a great venue and we would absolutely go back there again.
The event itself ran a lot smoother this year, as there was a larger team of experienced refs on hand to deal with questions and issues, and do admin.
In addition, there was a lot of extra time per round, which made getting games finished much easier (this had been a major problem last year).
Hopefully the WTC 2024 will pretty much be a rinse and repeat of 2023. If it is, then the IHL looks forward to sending it's gallant warriors to Granada once again.

Right, I've rambled enough. Good bye viewers (until the next time, maybe).

And this coming weekend our very own Micheal Bradford will travel to Warhammer World for the GBHL Masters event, an invite only event comprising of the top players in last year's GBHL. Let's catch up with Micheal to see what he has to say about competing at this prestigious event.

After making the journey over to England and Scotland a few times towards the tail end of last year (2022), I was really pleased to earn a spot in the 2023 GBHL Masters Invitational Tournament.

The Tournament itself is taking place at Warhammer World, and it'll be my first time going there.

The 16 players in attendance present exceptionally stiff competition in vying for the ultimate Masters title, but at the very least I can say that it's an honour to simply contest the field.

Having seen the draw, I'm in for a Day 1 double dose of the Host of the Dragon Emperor, and an Evil cheesy soup list. Sure, what else could you want!

Nevertheless, it'll be a lovely opportunity to see friends and build relationships within the MESBG community. For me, that is a huge part of the hobby.

Last year saw me starting to travel across the water for events a little more, and this year I've really thrown myself into that. It's great that this hobby transcends international boundaries, and presents opportunities to meet many new people from everywhere and anywhere who share the same passion.

I do my best to be a good ambassador for both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, and my goal is to advertise the burgeoning and exciting scene on this island. By increasing my travelling for events, keeping in touch with people, and hosting my own GBHL 100 event (Nírnaeth Arnoediad 2023), I hope to effectively 'renew the ties between the Shire and Bree' (or in this case, this island and the rest of the world). I look forward to seeing an increase in the amount of players travelling in both directions as we expand our horizons.

Iron sharpens iron, and for those competitively-minded Irish Hobbit League participants, most events are pretty much a mini-Masters. We've a great pool of talented players, and some of them have already been making their mark in the GBHL. I expect that number to grow, and I hope that the relationships between our MESBG community here and the MESBG communities in other countries will grow stronger with it.

Ultimately, it's an honour to be bringing some NI/RoI representation to such a prestigious event, and going forward, I'm excitedly anticipating that our representation at this event will increase further.


So that's all the catching up done, now we can look ahead to what's on the horizon of the IHL calendar.



6th-7th May - Breakthrough of Bangor - Exploding Dice Games, Bangor - Paddy McCormick - 600 points - IHL 100 points and GBHL 90 points [Tickets Available]

3rd-4th June - Conquest of Hibernia - Underworld Gaming, Dublin - Dave Murphy - 777 points - IHL 100 points, GBHL 100 points and Ardacon Masters Qualifier [Tickets Available]

25th June - Middle Earth's Greatest Heroes - Underworld Gaming, Dublin - Luke O'Reilly - 1000 points all Heroes - IHL 50 points [Tickets Available]

15th-16th July - Nirneath Arnoediad - Belfast Harlequins Rugby Club, Belfast - Michael Bradford - 800 points - IHL 100 points, GBHL 100 points and Ardacon Masters Qualifier [SOLD OUT - Contact Micheal to be added to the reserve list]


As you can see there's a lot going on within the Irish Hobbit League so head over to the Facebook page to keep up to date with all the goings on.

Until next time.



*I knew I should have asked Dan to write this instead.

Never let your wife pick your colour scheme

"When we can take green from grass, blue from heaven, and red from blood, we have already an enchanter's power." JRR Tolkien 

My wife doesn't normally take a whole lot of interest in my miniatures hobby. She understands that I enjoy it and occasionally buys me some models for Christmas or Birthdays (she got me the plastic King of the Dead for Christmas last month) but other than that leaves me to my own devices with it. However, at the end of last year she happened to pick up a model I was working on and said something to the effect of, "Why do you never paint models in colours I like?"

Challenge accepted.

It just so happened that a couple of weeks later we happened to be near a Games Workshop so I dragged my wife inside, pointed her towards the paint stand and told her to pick her favourite. After several anxious minutes, she picked...

Great, turquoise.

Now I just needed the right model to paint with it. It just so happened that I was planning on returning to my Harad army (that had been interrupted by the birth of my son) as 1 of my projects for this year and I needed a model that could be used as a King. Digging through my pile of shame I found a spare Mumak Commander that could work with a little conversion (quite how I ended up with 2 of these and no Mumak I'm not sure).

I removed the head and replaced it with one from the plastic Eowyn, gave them a sword from the Easterling Kataphrakts, replaced the spear with a Haradrim bow and added a Warg Rider quiver. With a little bit of green stuff to fill the gaps, a little resculpting of the chest plate and a face covering to match the Harad Warriors I had a model fit to be a Queen.


So then onto painting. I knew that the turquoise had to be the main colour so that would be on most of the cloth. I started with a base coat of Sybarite Green that was then washed with Anthonion Camo Shade. I then highlighted with Sybarite Green, before mixing in some white to the base colour for brighter highlights. The rest of the painting was done to tie into the rest of the Haradrim I'm painting, so NMM weapons and armour, dark grey trousers, red gems and desert bases.

And (naturally), what started out as one model swiftly grew into a warband with a few more simple conversions of the plastic Haradrim to create a Karna Battle Company. 

Tallaght Skirmish Tournament Report

A lot has happened since I last attended an SBG event; history became legend, legend became myth, and for 18 months I missed out on all tournaments. However, that has now changed and on Sunday I attended the Tallaght Skirmish event, hosted by Dave Murphy. This was my first tournament (even my first game) since July 2021, 18 long months ago. 4 games, 500 points, 12 players, I was so ready for this (if you ignore the not quite finished paint jobs).

When deciding on what army list to bring I wanted to bring either an army I'd painted recently or one I was currently working on and could get to a painted state in a couple of weeks. Realistically that narrowed it down to Thorin's Company (with or without Laketown Allies), Khazad-Dum or an evil alliance of Harad and Mordor. After weighing up the options I eventually settled on the Evil army mainly to motivate me into painting some models that were waiting in the queue and also because I really wanted to give Razgûsh a chance (especially after seeing there'd be 7 Elf armies at the Battles on the Coast the weekend before). After tossing several ideas around I finally settled on this army list:

Suladan on armoured horse
2 Watchers of Karna with Twin Blades
7 Harad Warriors with bows
5 Harad Warriors with spears

Razgûsh
1 Bat Swarm
1 Giant Spider
2 Mordor Orcs with shields
2 Mordor Orcs with spears
2 Mordor Orcs with bows

Mordor Orc Captain
2 Mordor Orcs with shields
2 Mordor Orcs with spears
1 Mordor Orc with 2-Handed Weapon
1 Orc Tracker on Warg

31 models

The army arrayed, ready for war

This army would provide 2 good heroes in Suladan and Razgûsh, some mobility with the Spider, Bats and Tracker, decent shooting from the Haradrim, good numbers and most importantly a burning Hatred of Elves (there's bound to be at least some Elves, surely*). Knowing I was probably going to be fairly rusty having not played in so long, I was hoping to maybe get a couple of wins and finish around the middle of the standings come the final tally.

Game 1
Fog of War
Alex Neaves
Beornings

This game confirmed the saying 'Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth'. And it turns out that Beorn the Bear is quite good at punching. Facing Beorn and 15 Beornings in my 1st game for 18 months was a truly daunting prospect, especially when one of my objectives was Kill the Bear. My plan revolved around distracting Beorn with single sacrificial Warriors, forcing him to charge, then shooting into the combat hoping to kill my guy and prevent any Heroic Combats or Barges. Meanwhile, my heroes and infantry could focus on tackling the Beornings, hopefully reducing their numbers sufficiently so I could handle the Bear when it would inevitably arrive. This plan initially worked well and I was using my numerical advantage to kill a decent amount of Beornings, but then I failed to shoot my sacrifice and suddenly I had an angry Bear tearing my army apart. In the space of 2-3 turns things went from 'everything is going well' to 'where'd my army go' as Beorn killed Razgûsh and Suladan and broke my army in short order. Then to make matters worse, my Orc Captain (the Hero I'd nominated to protect and who I'd sent to capture my terrain feature) failed a break test as the reminder of my army crumbled across the battlefield. In the end I failed in all my objectives; kill Beorn (although I was the only person to even take a Fate point off him with a lucky Haradrim arrow), protect my Captain, hold my terrain piece or break the enemy (just one more kill would have secured that, the closest anyone get over the 4 games). Meanwhile, the Beornings achieved all their objectives, only missing out on the full 12 VPs because a plucky Haradrim Archer sitting on his target terrain piece refused to die or run away. A real baptism of fire fir my return to the tournament scene and the Beornings went on to win all 4 of their games and finish top of the tournament.

Result 0-10 defeat

Bear snacking on some unfortunate Orc as the rest of my army engages his Beornings and the Orc Captain in the background makes a run for the ruins in the far corner.

Killing the Beornings...

...until an angry Bear arrives. 

Game 2
Hold Ground
John Foster
Lurtz’s Scouts

After that big defeat, I headed down to the lower tables where I was paired against Lurtz’s Scouts in Hold Ground. Initially I was worried about the Scouts using their superior speed to occupy the centre and making it difficult for me to break through and onto the objective, a worry that was compounded by Razgush's refusal to show up until Turn 3. Luckily, they advanced slowly, trying to use their Uruk bows to whittle down my numbers in a shooting war that I edged ahead on thanks to longer ranged bows and poisoned arrows. Meanwhile, my Orc Captain and his warband advanced on my right flank, baiting in Mauhur and his followers to give Suladan and Razgush time to tackle Ugluk's warband (who were swarming around a huge boulder in the centre of the board). Ugluk and some Uruk-Hai did charge (and potentially trap) Suladan Heroic Combat from Razgush allowed him and the Bat Swarm to slingshot into Ugluk and Orcs to peel away the Uruk-hai fighting Suladan, leaving a trapped Ugluk alone fighting Razgush, Suladan and the Bats. Dead Ugluk. A similar fate befell Lurtz when he reached strike range a turn or 2 later. Across the rest of the battlefield the disorganised melee and staggered nature of the Uruk's advance (helped by the fight my Captain put up against Mauhur) meant I was able to use my numbers and spears to tip combats in my favor and chip away at his numbers, eventually breaking him and occupying the centre. Although he eventually broke me on the final turn, when we added up the numbers I had 13 models in the centre to his 5, both armies were broken, Lurtz lay dead and Suladan down a wound.

Result 8-2 win

Suladan cresting the hill 

Razgush finally arrives 

My Orc Tracker (called Snipey Magee) finally gets a kill in the IHL, it only took him 7 years.

Overview of the battlefield 

Game 3
Domination
Luke Revell
Angmar

This game was really a story of failed Courage tests. With the objectives spread evenly around the centre (3 along the centreline and 1 in each half) and a couple of large impassable boulders flanking the central objective I deployed my Captain on one flank to secure the objective on that side and both Razgush and Suladan in the centre opposite the full Angmar force. This meant that the armies clashed in a choke point around the central objective, although his Cave Troll did move to attack my Captain's Warband on the flank and his 3 Warg Riders swung around the opposite flank, threatening my rear. A Drain Courage on each of Suladan and Razgush, combined with Harbinger of Evil meant that they were both sent on a walk by the Spectres Fell Light and didn't join the central combat until late in the game (although Suladan was able to kill the Warg Riders to my rear, despite losing his horse to a Black Dart). Instead, it was the Watchers of Karna and the Giant Spider who earned their keep, the Spider killing his Captain and the Watcher's Steely Nerve allowing them to charge his Orcs when the rest of the army was failing Terror tests. Slowly I gained the upper hand in the scrum in the centre (thanks in part to my Captain, who dueled the Troll for 3 or 4 turns), allowing me to dispatch Warriors to hold the remaining objectives. By the time the game ended I held 4 objectives, Angmar just outnumbered me on the central objective, he was broken and neither Leader had been wounded.

Result 9-1 win

Armies deployed 

Wargs try to flank my position 

The lines engage (when I can pass Courage tests)

Suladan takes a little walk 

Game 4
Divide and Conquer
Riders of Theoden
Fionn Collender

After getting the 2 wins I'd hoped for I came into game 4 on a high with the rust well and truly polished away. Facing Riders of Theoden in Divide and Conquer did worry me because I knew they would be able to reunite their army far easier than I could. To mitigate this I placed Suladan and Razgush in the same corner with the Captain on his own in the opposite corner. Although I knew I'd probably lose the Captain's Warband, at least this way I'd keep as much of my army together as possible. A few long range shots from my Haradrim archers achieved nothing while the bulk of my force moved towards the centre and the Rohirrim linked up and moved to threaten my isolated Captain, burning Might on Heroic Marches to link up quicker. Eventually the majority of the Rohirrim turned to face the bulk of my army who had formed a line in the centre f the board. Unfortunately for them, they got too close trying to maximise throwing spears and the next turn I was able to win a Heroic Move roll-off and I was able to charge most of his cavalry with Suladan and Razgush each charging a Rider of Rohan, the Bat and the Spider charging Eomer and my Warriors charging as many models as I could reach. Knowing that I needed to maximise my advantage of denying his cavalry bonuses I called Heroic Combats with both Suladan and Razgush, both of which were successful, allowing them both to charge Gamling who was killed in short order. Across the rest of the line my superior numbers helped win combats and thin out the enemy rankswith only Theoden offering much resistance winning a Heroic Combat and killing a handful of warriors. The following turn, with Rohan now out of Might and me winning priority, I was able to trap Eomer with Razgush, the Spider and the Bat Swarm and trap Theoden with Suladan and as many warriors as I could while also moving to secure all the objectives and tying down any remaining Rohirrim who could charge. By the end of the Combat Phase the royal line of Rohan was slaughtered along with most of their followers.

Result 12-0 win

Moving forward through the ruins 

The Orc Captain's Warband preparing to recreate the Ride of the Rohirrim on the Pelennor 

2 turns after this photo only 3 Rohirrim survived (none of them heroes)

Finishing the day with 3 wins and 1 defeat was enough to take 2nd place overall. A result I am very happy with. Suladan and Razgûsh performed admirably and their combination with the Bat Swarm worked great (except when being mauled by an angry Bear). I think Razgûsh is an excellent addition to the Mordor army list even in the absence of Elves, both for his own combat ability and for unlocking the ability to bring the Beasts of Mirkwood.

I really enjoyed playing with a light infantry force, with the majority of my force being D4 or lower and lacking shields meaning I had to focus on disrupting enemy battle lines so I could stack fights in my favor with more dice and traps. In this the Watchers of Karna proved invaluable thanks to their 2 attacks and F4. This is certainly an army I'd want to use again, I just hope that the opportunity presents itself a bit quicker than another 18 months.


Congratulations must go to Alex Neaves, who's Beornings won the event with 4 wins, Matthew Butler for getting 3rd place and Best Painted with his Goblin Town and Evin Mooney for winning Best Newcomer and Favourite Opponent with Ugluk's Scouts.

Thanks to all my opponents for 4 great games, to Dave for organising the event and to Underworld Gaming for providing the venue. And I'll leave you with a few other photos of the day.

*There was not a single Elf in any of the 11 other armies. 

Battles on the Coast - Podium Review

 

As the dust settles from the Battles on the Coast tournament and Irish Hobbit League Season Opener, it's time to take a look at the winning lists.

3rd place
David Coleman
Lothlorien/Fellowship (Green Alliance)

Warband 1
Leader - Galadriel
8x Galadhrim Warriors w/shields
1x Galadhrim Warrior w/shield, spear and banner
5x Galadhrim Warriors w/bows, spears
3x Guard of the Galadhrim court
1x Sentinel

Warband 2
Celeborn w/ Armour, shield sword
1x Galadhrim knight w/shield
6x Galadhrim Warriors w/shields
3x Galadhrim Warriors w/bows and spears
4x Guard of the Galadhrim court
1x Wood elf w/bow

Warband 3
Boromir of Gondor on horse w/shield

36 models

In 3rd place was Dave Coleman with this Lothlorien and Fellowship Alliance. Due to the high points cost of Elves (and especially heroes) Elf armies are typically on the smaller scale, however, here Dave manages to retain reasonable numbers and this was the largest of all the numerous Elven armies at this event. This reduces the threat of being heavily outnumbered and overrun by much larger armies. Allying in Boromir from the Fellowship list provides a very economical combat hero with a huge 6 points of Might, which provides a huge benefit to the Elves.


2nd place
Michael Bradford
Assault on Lothlorien (Legendary Legion)

Warband 1:
(Leader) Druzhag
1 x Bat Swarm
2 x Giant Spider
6 x Goblin Prowler
6 x Goblin Warrior with Spear and Bow

Warband 2:
Ashrak
1 x Bat Swarm
4 x Giant Spider
5 x Goblin Prowler
5 x Goblin Warrior with Spear and Bow

Warband 3:
Muzgur
1 x Bat Swarm
1 x Orc Warrior with Banner
3 x Orc Warrior with Spear

Warband 4:
Goblin Shaman  
5 x Goblin Prowler
5 x Goblin Warrior with Spear and Bow
1 x Wild Warg

Warband 5:
Goblin Shaman
1 x Wild Warg

52 models

In 2nd place was Micheal Bradford with the Assault upon Lothlorien Legendary Legion. This has become known as a powerful army ever since its arrival in Defence of the North, with several options of build. In this case the army makes maximum use of the Cover of Darkness special rule, which reduces shooting ranges but makes ranged hits more deadly unless a model has the Cave Dweller rule. Here a large number of Goblin Archers are able to become a huge threat by having a longer range than any opposing archers and getting +1 on wound rolls. And this increased ranged firepower is further augmented at shorter ranges by the 16 Throwing Weapons of the Goblin Prowlers who also benefit from the +1 to wound. Overall a very frightening prospect to face.

1st place
Ivan Sheehan
Halls of Thranduil and Survivors of Laketown.

Warband 1
Leader - Thranduil, extra sword, circlet of kings, heavy armour, bow, horse.
2 mirkwood cavalry, shield.
6 mirkwood elves, shield.
5 palace guard, spear, shield.
2 sentinels.
1 elf, banner, glaive, bow.

Warband 2
Tauriel, bow.
5 elves, shield.
6 elves, glaive, bow.

Warband 3
Legolas, horse

Warband 4
Laketown survivors captain. Shield

31 models

And winning this tournament (picking up exactly where he left off last year) was Ivan Sheehan with this Thranduil's Halls and Survivors of Laketown Alliance. The 3 Elven heroes here provide plenty of utility, they are all very competent in combat, each have some ranged threat and Thranduil himself helps buff the rest of the army and brings a little bit of magical support from his Circlet of Kings. Armoured Elven Warriors are generally a great troops choice (hence their popularity across this tournament) and this is particularly enhanced in Thranduil's Halls thanks to the army bonus which improves their damage potential, an area that S3 Elves traditionally struggled with. The addition of a Laketown Militia Captain is an interesting one, but one that provides Heroic March and a cheap source of extra Might for calling Heroic actions, allowing the other heroes to save their Might for combat.


Congratulations to the 3 winners as well as to Patrick Mccormick who won Best Painted, Nicky Forsythe for winning Best Themed and Christopher Cornhill for winning Best Opponent. Also thanks to Connor Glover for TOing what I hear was a fantastic tournament and I'll leave you with a few photos from the weekend. 

Best Painted - Patrick Mccormick's Angmar 

Best Themed - Nicky Forsythe's Dunland 

Battles on the Coast - Army Lists

The 2023 IHL Season kicks off this weekend at the Battles on the Coast tournament in Exploding Dice Games, Bangor and organised by Connor Glover. This is an 800 point, 6 game event with a total of 25 players signed up (which would be an Irish record attendance).

Looking at the overall breakdown of the armies we can see that Good has a slight edge over Evil (14-11) and that single faction armies are by far the most popular.

Gareth Mansfield (Sunday only)
Barad-Dur

Warband 1
Leader Sauron
5x Black numenoreans
1x Mordor Troll w/ Hand and a half hammer
4x Morgul knights w/Lance
1x Morgul; Knight w/Banner and lance
8x Orc Warrior w/ spear and shield
1x Orc Warrior w/ Banner, spear and shield
4x Warg rider w/ Shield and throwing spear


25 models

Up 1st we have the Dark Lord himself (the 1st of a few appearances in his various guises). He's supported here by a Troll, some hard hitting Morgul Knights and a gang of Orcs with a couple of banners to ensure plenty of rerolls.
-------------------------


Bill Taylor
ROTK LL

Warband 1
Leader - Aragorn w/anduril
4x Dead with shield
4x Dead w/shield and spear

Warband 2
King of the dead
7x Dead w/shield
6x Dead w/shield and spear
1x Dead w/ shield and banner

Warband 3
Hearld of the dead w/shield
4x riders of the dead

29 models

Up next is the Return of the King Legion. A long time favourite since it came out in Gondor at War and proving to be tough and resilient with the D8 Warriors of the Dead.
------------------------------------

Nicky Forsythe
Dunland LL

Warband 1
Leader - Thrydan Wolfsbane on horse
7 Dunlending horsemen

Warband 2
Gorulf Ironskin
5 Dunlending warriors with shield
4 Huscarls
1 Dunlending warrior with Banner
1 Dunlending warrior with 2 handed axe

Warband 3
Frida Tallspear
4 Dunlending warriors with shield
2 Huscarls
1 Dunlending warrior with Banner
1 Crebain
1 Dunlending warrior with 2 handed axe

Warband 4
Oathmaker
6 Wildmen
6 Wildmen with double handed weapons

Warband 5
Chieftain w Axe and Shield
3 Dunlending warriors with bow
2 Dunlending warrior with shield
1 Huscarl
1 Crebain

51 models

Another popular Legendary Legion, this time from Dunland. A 51 model horde with high strength Warriors with access to bonuses to wound and 2 large banners that promises to hit hard in the right circumstances.
--------------------------------------

Stephen Surgenor
Halls of Thranduil

Warband 1
Leader - Thranduil on horse w/circlet, extra sword and Heavy armour
2x Mirkwood Cav w/shields
Mirkwood elf w/banner and glaive
Mirkwood elf w/glaive
4x Palace gurad w/ shield
4x Palace guard w/shield and spear

Warband 2
Legolas on Horse w/elven cloak
6x Mirkwood rangers

Warband 3
Tauriel w/bow
4x Mirkwood elf w/glaive
4x Mirkwood rangers
4x Palace guard w/shield

33 Models

The 1st of many Elf based armies at this event. This Thranduil's Halls army brings all the named heroes to provide some punch.
-----------------------------------------

David Coleman
Lothlorien/Fellowship

Warband 1
Leader - Galadriel
8x Galadhrim Warriors w/shields
1x Galadhrim Warrior w/shield, spear and banner
5x Galadhrim Warriors w/bows, spears
3x Guard of the Galadhrim court
1x Sentinel

Warband 2
Celeborn w/ Armour, shield sword
1x Galadhrim knight w/shield
6x Galadhrim Warriors w/shields
3x Galadhrim Warriors w/bows and spears
4x Guard of the Galadhrim court
1x Wood elf w/bow

Warband 3
Boromir of Gondor on horse w/shield

36 models

More Elves, this time of the Galadhrim variety. Guards of the Galadrim Court are excellent for providing F6 pike support, which troubles many heroes, while Galadriel provides magical support and Boromir of Gondor is a combat monster and brings 6 Might to the army.
-------------------------------------------

Ivan Sheehan
Halls of Thranduil and Survivors of Laketown.

Warband 1
Leader - Thranduil, extra sword, circlet of kings, heavy armour, bow, horse.
2 mirkwood cavalry, shield.
6 mirkwood elves, shield.
5 palace guard, spear, shield.
2 sentinels.
1 elf, banner, glaive, bow.

Warband 2
Tauriel, bow.
5 elves, shield.
6 elves, glaive, bow.

Warband 3
Legolas, horse

Warband 4
Laketown survivors captain. Shield

31 models

Another Elf based army, again bringing the 3 named heroes from Thranduil's Halls. Here though a Laketown Militia Captain brings a cheap source of Might and access to Heroic March.

-------------------

Peter Fenton
Return of the King LL

Warband 1
[Leader] Aragorn - Anduril, Elven Cloak
3 Riders of the Dead
4 Warriors of the Dead - Spear, Shield
3 Warriors of the Dead - Shield

Warband 2
The King of the Dead
5 Warriors of the Dead - Spear, Shield
4 Warriors of the Dead -  Shield

Warband 3
Legolas - Armour - 105
4 Warriors of the Dead - Spear, Shield
3 Warriors of the Dead - Shield

29 Models

Another Return of the King (I said it was popular). This time trading a Herald for Legolas to bring a little bit of ranged firepower to an otherwise all melee army.

------------------------

Patrick Mccormick
Angmar

Warband 1 (Leader):
The Witch-King of Angmar with Crown of Morgul on Horse (3M/16W/3F)                      
5x Angmar Orcs with Picks and Shields
5x Angmar Orcs with Picks and Spears 
2x Angmar Orcs with Two-Handed Picks and Picks                        
1x Angmar Warg Rider with Shield
1x Dead Marsh Spectre                                    

Warband 2:
The Tainted on Horse
4x Angmar Orcs with Picks and Shields
4x Angmar Orcs with Picks and Spears
1x Angmar Orc with Two-Handed Pick and Pick            
1x Angmar Warg Rider with Shield
1x Dead Marsh Spectre                                                                                                              
Warband 3:
Buhrdur, Troll Chieftain
4x Angmar Orcs with Picks and Shields
4x Angmar Orcs with Picks and Spears
1x Angmar Orc with Banner and Pick
1x Angmar Orc with Two-Handed Pick and Pick                                                                  

Warband 4:
Angmar Orc Captain with Pick and Shield
3x Angmar Orcs with Picks and Shields
3x Angmar Orcs with Picks and Spears                                                                                    
Warband 5
Barrow-Wight                                                                                                                            
Total Units: 46

Two Wraiths and a Barrow-Wight give this Angmar army a lot of offensive magic to shutdown enemy heroes. It also means that all those Orcs will be causing Terror, making to more difficult for the opponents to engage them, especially with 2 Harbinger of Evils around.

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Andrew Buckley
The Iron Hills

Warband 1
Dain ironfoot (leader) on foot
1 dwarf with banner, spear & shield
6 dwarf with sword & shield
6 dwarf with spear & shield
5 dwarf with crossbow

Warband 2
1 Dwarf captain on chariot with mattock
3 Dwarf crew with swords
1 dwarf with banner, spear & shield
3 dwarf with mattock
2 dwarf with spear & shield
4 goat riders with warspears

33 Models

Next up are the Dwarves of the Iron Hills led by Dain. Here an Iron Hills Chariot provides a big centre piece model and focus for the army.

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Nick
Rivendell

Warband 1
Elrond w/horse, hadhafang, heavy armour, Vilya
10 knights of rivendell w/ elf bow, elven made hand and a half sword, lance and shield.
1 knight of rivendell with banner, lance.

Warband 2
LEADER- Gil Galad w/horse, aiglos, heavy armour and shield.
10 high elf warrior (Kings guard) elven hand and a half sword, shield, spear, heavy armour.
5 high elf warrior w/bow, heavy armour.

28 Models

More Elves, this time of the Rivendell variety. A large contingent of Rivendell Knights provide excellent mobility and hitting power, while F6 Elf Warriors means that the small infantry force shouldn't be overwhelmed easily.

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Christopher Cornhill
Isengard

Warband 1
Leader - Saruman Mounted
Uruk- Hai w/shield x8
Uruk- Hai w/pike x8
Uruk- Hai w/banner
Isengard Troll w/shield & spear

Warband 2
Uruk-Hai Captain w/shield&two handed sword
Uruk-Hai w/crossbow x6
Uruk-Hai Berserker x4
Uruk-Hai Drummer
Uruk-Hai W/banner

Model Count - 32 Models

A classic Isengard Uruk-Hai based army is next on the list. Saruman is an excellent spell caster to get some board control against enemy heroes and Uruk-Hai Warriors are dependable troops here.

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Connor Whitla
Serpent Horde

(Leader) The Betrayer on Horse
4 Haradrim Warriors with Bow and Spear
3 Serpent Guard
2 Serpent Riders
1 Watcher of Karna with Bow

The Golden King of Abrakhan
3 Abrakhan Merchant Guard
2 Haradrim Warriors with Bow and Spear
3 Serpent Guard
1 Serpent Rider
2 Watchers of Karna with Twin Blades

War Mumak of Harad (Haradrim Commander) with Gnarled Hide
6 Haradrim Warriors with Bow

30 models

This Harad army is really focused upon the War Mumak and Connor will be hoping to get plenty of Tramples off with it.

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David Wade
The Last Alliance

Faction:Númenor
Warband 1
Elendil, High king of Gondor and Arnor (leader) Shield&horse
18 warriors of númenor; 6 bows, 6 shields, 6 Spear&shield, 1 banner

Warband 2: Rivendell
Gil-Galad, High king of the elves; Shield&horse
5 kings guard, Spear &shield
13 high elf warriors; 6 shields 1 spear , shield &banner, 6 elf bows

Models :38

Bringing both High Kings in a Last Alliance army is certainly a bold move. The use of these 2 powerhouses will be crucial to the success of this army.

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Ned Merrick
Minas Tirith and Fiefdoms

Warband 1
Boromir, Captain of the White Tower with Horse; The Banner of Minas Tirith; Shield;
4 Knight of Minas Tirith with Shield
11 Guard of the Fountain Court with Shield

Warband 2
Leader - Prince Imrahil of Dol Amroth with armoured horse; Lance
9 Men at Arms
5 Clansman of Lamedon

Warband 3
Duinhir
5 Blackroot Vale Archer
3 Blackroot Vale Archer with Spear

40 models

Boromir with Banner and Imrahil are a potent combination here, both for their own combat ability and the ability to buff the Fight Value of the Warriors around them. F6 pikes supporting a D7 front line is tasty.

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Luke Wilksonson
Arnor

Warband 1
Arvedui, Last King of Arnor (Leader)
14 x Warriors of Arnor
1 x Warrior of Arnor with Banner

Warband 2
Captain of Arnor with Bow
11 x Hobbit Archers With Bow
1 X Hobbit Archers with Warhorn and Bow

Warband 3
Captain of Arnor
12 x Warriors of Arnor

Warband 4
Captain of Arnor  with Bow  
2 x Rangers of Arnor with Spear and Bow Warband
5 x Rangers of Arnor with Bow

Warband 5
Malbeth the Seer
12 x  Warriors of Arnor

63 models

Sticking with the Kingdoms of Men, here we have a faction that doesn't get a lot of use, Arnor. 63 models makes this one of the biggest armies attending the event and a large number of them being F4, D6 will make this army difficult to breakdown, especially when combined with Malbeth's Foresight.

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Michael Bradford
Assault on Lothlorien

Warband 1:
(Leader) Druzhag
1 x Bat Swarm
2 x Giant Spider
6 x Goblin Prowler
6 x Goblin Warrior with Spear and Bow

Warband 2:
Ashrak
1 x Bat Swarm
4 x Giant Spider
5 x Goblin Prowler
5 x Goblin Warrior with Spear and Bow

Warband 3:
Muzgur
1 x Bat Swarm
1 x Orc Warrior with Banner
3 x Orc Warrior with Spear

Warband 4:
Goblin Shaman  
5 x Goblin Prowler
5 x Goblin Warrior with Spear and Bow
1 x Wild Warg

Warband 5:
Goblin Shaman
1 x Wild Warg

52 models

Assault on Lothlorien is the current new hotness assaulting the top tables and last season's League runner-up will be hoping to show why again here. This Legion has a lot of tricks up its sleeves to help it win games.

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Matthew Butler
Azogs Legion

Warband 1
(Leader): Azog with Signal Tower Heavy Armour and Stone Flail
*Signal tower contains 7 lieutenants
2 Gundabad Ogres  
Troll Brute  
10 Gundabad Orc Warriors with Shields
10 Gundabad Orc Warriors with Spears (90)

31 Models

There's really only one thing to say about this list, and that's Signal Tower.

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Calvin Phillips
Rivendell

Warband 1
Elrond Leader /w Heavy Armour and Horse
4 High Elves with Shield
4 High Elves with Spear and Shield
2 High Elves with Elf Bow
1 Rivendell knight with Shield

Warband 2
Glorfindel /w Armour of Gondolin and Asfaloth
4 High Elves with Shield
4 High Elves with Spear and Shield
1 High Elf with Banner and Shield
2 High Elves with Elf Bow
1 Rivendell knight with Shield

Warband 3
Erestor
2 High Elves with Shield
2 High Elves with Spear and Shield
2 High Elves with Elf Bow

32 Models

More Elves. Including 2 of the big Rivendell heroes opens up more options and makes it harder for an opponent to deal with them.

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Chris Baird
Minas Tirith

Warband 1:
Denethor (Leader)
11x Fountain Court w/ Shield

Warband 2:
Boromir w/ Banner of MT and Shield
5x Rangers w/ Spear
5x Warrior w/ Shield
3x Warrior w/ Spear and Shield

Warband 3:
Hurin w/ Horse
5x Knights w/ Shield

Warband 4:
Irolas
6x Warrior w/ Shield
6x Warrior w/ Spear and Shield

45 models

Next is this large Minas Tirith army led by Denethor. Having Denethor as Leader makes it easier to protect any Leader VPs in scenarios by keeping him hidden (especially when Hurin is alive) and means that the big hitters in Boromir and Hurin can play more aggressively without risking those VPs.

---------------------------------

David Murphy
Angmar

Warband One:
The Witch-King on Angmar on horse with Morgul Crown, 3 Might, 3 Fate & 15 Will (Leader).
2x Dead Marsh Spectres.
1x Angmar Orc Warrior with banner and spear.
5x Angmar Orc Warriors with shields.
5x Angmar Orc Warriors with spears.

Warband Two:
Barrow Wight.
4x Angmar Orc Warriors with shields.
4x Angmar Orc Warriors with spears.
1x Angmar Orc Warrior with two-handed weapon.

Warband Three:
Barrow Wight
4x Angmar Orc Warriors with shields.
4x Angmar Orc Warriors with spears.
1x Angmar Orc Warrior with two-handed weapon.

Warband Four:
Angmar Orc Captain with shield.
3x Angmar Orc Warriors with shields.
3x Angmar Orc Warriors with spears.
1x Angmar Orc Warrior with two-handed weapon.

Warband Five
Gulavhar, the Terror of Arnor.
2x Angmar Warg Riders with shields.

45 models

Gulavhar is rightly feared as a combat monster due to it's high Fight, Strength and Attacks, the ability to Fly and the chance to regain lost wounds. Combined with the magical support of the Witch-King and a pair of Barrow Wights to neutralise enemy threats, he'll be difficult to deal with.

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Chris Gill (Sunday only)
Rise of the Necromancer LL

Warband 1:
The Necromancer of Dol Guldur Leader (Legend)
The Witch-king of Angmar
The Abyssal Knight x2
The Lingering Shadow
The Forsaken
The Dark Headsman
Castellan of Dol Goldur w/morgul blades x2

9 models

Although this army only contains 9 models the ability for the Wraiths to resurrect themselves makes it surprising resilient.

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Gary Doyle
Barad-Dur

Warband 1
Sauron - Leader
11 Black Numenoreans
1 Black Numenorean w/banner
3 Mordor Ors w/spears

Warband 2
Ringwraith-2 Might 12 Will 2 Fate & Fell Beast
9 Black Numenoreans
3 Mordor Orcs with Spears

29 Models

Another Barad-Dur army, although this time with a Fellbeast instead of a Troll to back up Sauron. This list also goes heavier on the Black Numenoreans to provide a Terror causing wall, buffed by the negative Courage modifiers of Sauron and the Ring Wraith.

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Connor Kerr
SONS OF ROHAN OF GONDOR

Warband 1
Leader - Aragorn King elessar mounted
10 Warriors of Minas Tirith w/ Shields and spears

Warband 2
Eomer, Marshall of the riddermark w/shield
Haleth Son of Hama
10 Royal guard w/throwing spears
1 Royal guard

Warband 3
Gimli

Warband 4
Legolas w/armour

26 models

Here we have a Black Gate inspired Alliance with King Elessar and King Eomer each leading a contingent of their followers. A really good thematic list.

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Alex Neaves
Moria featuring Spider Queen

Warband 1
(Leader)durburz
2 Batswarm
7 goblins,shield
 6 goblin,bow,spear

Warband 2
Groblog
9 goblin spear
2 goblins bow spear

Warband 3
Goblin shaman
2 goblins,shield
2 goblins spear

Warband 4
Goblin captain,shield
6 goblins shield
5 goblins ,spear,bow

Warband 5
Watcher

Warband 6
Spider queen

Models:47

Our penultimate list is this alliance between Moria and the Dark Denizens of Mirkwood. With 2 threatening monsters, a pair of Batswarms and a horde of Goblins this list has the tools to be competitive.

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Michael Bunting
Rivendel and White Council

Warband 1:
Erestor ( Leader)
4 High Elf Warriors shield
4 High Elf Warriors shield and  spear
4 High Elf Warriors bow and spear

Warband 2:
Elladan And Elrohir with Heavy Armour and Bow
3 High Elf Warriors shield
4 High Elf Warriors shield and spear (One has a banner)
4 High Elf Warriors bow and spear

Warband 3:
High elf storm caller
2 high elf warrior shield
2 high elf warrior shield and spear
2 high elf warrior bow and spear

Warband 4:
Galadriel Lady of Light

34 models

And finally we have yet another Elf army. Galadriel Lady of Light used to be a staple of so many Good armies (before she was FAQed down a Heroic Tier) and here she is again, still as dangerous as ever.

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So, there's all the lists, all that remains now to see who comes out on top.