Fog of War, Part 13: Lake-Town

FOG OF WAR

Part 13: Lake Town

For part 13 of this series we are dipping our toes in the lake... No... let's start again...

For part 13 of this series we are for the first time entering Armies of the Hobbit, this time with the Ardacon Team Germany Captain, HTL World Host and one of the best players in his country, Tim Jütersonke. After playing Tim’s army at 2018 Ardacon I was quite impressed by his style, as well as the strength of Gandalf, Bard, his children and a force of villagers, so here come the people that killed a mighty dragon… and I don't mean the White Walkers.

Tim: The first Lake Town model I took to a tournament was Alfrid. I did this filthy thing where you could give his bad advice to Dain or Gwaihir and make them really big threats having lots of might [in the oldest version of Alfrid’s rules he was insane and an auto-include in every Good army in the game – Mik]. But sooner than later I stumbled upon Jay Clare’s enormous successes playing pure Lake Town and as I have been a fan of Bard for a long time (I love how he looks more like Orlando Bloom in the film than Orlando Bloom himself), I started this beautiful army as well. It was a time when the standard troops were packed into finecast blisters of three, and basically that was it. There was a Bard model, but no Bain, no daughters, no Percy. My first Bain was a Mordor orc with Frodo's head – it looked awful, but it served its purpose. I always loved how the heroes and troops have lots of synergies with their special rules – something that felt really unique when Lake Town was released.

With the new edition, a few things have changed for Lake Town. Bard’s phenomenal special rule with the 12” Banner and Fight bonus was nerfed to an Army Bonus, and the omnipresent Gandalf (who blinded and blasted all game with whooping six points of might from Alfrid) is not an auto-include anymore. But on the other hand, Lake Town now has three Historical allies and lots of potential when it comes to shooting-horde lists fielding smaller heroes and buffed troops.

Mik: Historically, the holy grail of tournament lists up to 800 points has always been the trifecta of Big Hero + Anti-Hero (Wizard) + Horde of troops. For years (even before the last edition came in) players struggled to make armies that would include all three. As the metas shifted and time progressed, it became apparent that Wizard + Horde was the preferred way of competitive play for the Good side, since Wizards were able to not only stop big heroes and blast holes in enemy lines, but also to take out Winged Nazgul. When Lake Town first came out, that changed. It became the first army that was able to field a Wizard (Gandalf), a Gigantic Hero (Bard with 4-6 Might - essentially a cheaper Boromir) and a Horde of troops at virtually no expense, since both Bard and Gandalf were able to lead troops and their other Heroes were incredibly cheap. To no surprise, Lake Town became arguably one of the strongest armies in the game, but despite that, the low defence and the multi-hurling ability of Fell Beasts held it mostly in check, unless the Lake Town player was able to extract the full potential of Gandalf and Bard at dealing with those nasty creatures. 

Anyway, too much history. Lake Town have some of the coolest and most unique rules, including Bard protecting his kids who give him superhuman abilities and turn him into a raging monkey if one of them dies, variety of shooting or combat boosts from Percy and Hilda, as well as a strangely positive impact on the army that the scumbag Alfrid provides. 

ARMY LISTS:

List 1: Tim’s 500 points of Survivors of Lake-Town

Warband 1:

Bard with armour on horse

Sigrid & Tilda

Alfrid

8 Militia of Lake Town with shield

7 Militia of Lake Town with spear

Warband 2:

Percy

3 Militia of Lake Town with bow

8 Militia of Lake Town with bow and spear

Warband 3:

Captain of Lake Town with shield

6 Militia of Lake Town with shield

Total: 500 points, 38 models, 13-15 shots

If you plan on taking the Survivors of Lake Town army list, Bard is an auto-include. Not only does he bring Might, shooting and close combat power on the table, but also, he makes your Fight 2 militia to somewhat decent fighters with his 12” Banner, a better Fight Value and a bonus to their Courage.

Bard on his own is good, but he can be buffed with the help of his daughters. With Fight 6 and free Heroic Combats he is a real beast. Alfrid helps him to compensate for bad rolls with some extra points of Might. I usually take these three heroes in Bard’s warband so they won’t get lost in Maelstrom deployment games (Mik really taught me a lesson in our last game…).

With Bard, I like to aim at the bigger mounted heroes. Strength 4 means he wounds horses on 4+ and even those scary Nazgul on 6s – which is ok if you have 6 points of Might in your store.

Percy is like a better Captain and his Special Rule improves the shooting abilities of your troops. I usually put all of my bow men in his warband and place these troops in my second rank when playing lower points. Then I can have Defence 5 troops in the front and bow men with spears in the second.

The Captain helps a bit with the poor mobility Lake Town offers. He brings Heroic March to this list, something that might get handy when it comes to Seize the Prize or Heirlooms of Ages Past. You could swap him for Bain or Hilda and bring a few more troops, but then you would limit yourself to a stand-and-shoot army. 

The army bonus in combination with the six heroes makes this list kind of immune to Courage tests when Broken. Just pass Bard’s test and see how your other heroes will automatically pass their tests – even if they get charged, they will pass some kind of Stand Fast to warriors in 3”.

Of course, this army has a few down sides as well: If Bard is taken out by magic or another big hero, this list sucks. If Bard has to charge that specific bow man who shot one of the daughters, this list sucks. So keep the daughters out of sight, and learn how to use Bard the right way. He is a good fighter and his free Heroic Combats are pretty good for killing troops, but sometimes he has to face the bigger heroes to win you the game.

List 2: Tim's 750 points of Survivors of Lake-Town

This point size is a tricky one. Normally I would field Bard, Gandalf, the kids and whatever number of troops I could afford. But with the nerf to Sorcerous Blast and magic in general, I don’t know if Gandalf is worth it anymore. Yes, he brings you Blinding Light which is important for gaining the upper hand in shooting and yes, with Transfix and Compel he hinders enemy heroes from smashing through your troops. He can bring up to 15 warriors, which is pretty good, but is all this worth whooping 180 points? I can’t say for sure – but I think the mighty Grey-beard is still worth a try:

Warband 1:

Bard with armour on horse

Sigrid & Tilda

Alfrid

8 Militia of Lake Town with shield

7 Militia of Lake Town with spear

Warband 2:

Gandalf on horse

3 Militia of Lake Town with shield

3 Militia of Lake Town with spear

Warband 3:

Percy

12 Militia of Lake Town with bow

Warband 4:

Captain of Lake Town with shield

6 Militia of Lake Town with shield

3 Militia of Lake Town with spear

3 Militia of Lake Town with bow

Total: 750 points, 52 models, all the shots

If you look closely you will notice that this looks like the army list from above, adjusted to the higher points value. In fact, I added Gandalf and a few troops to stay somehow competitive. If you leave Gandalf out, you could go for Hilda and Bain and around 18 more militia – but again, this would be a very boring army with less tactical options than most lists. Gandalf brings you magic, protection against shooting and endless Might when refreshing Alfrid's will store.If you can afford to stand back and shoot with your army, you could use Strengthen Will on Alfrid to get even more might on your two big heroes. Also, if you can, leave Gandalf out of combat. If you have to bring him into combat, pair him with a Lake Town militia and attack one of the flanks. Bard’s banner will affect the militia, you have a good fight value and with Strength 5 and 3 attacks on the charge (2 from Gandalf plus one militia) you can easily bring normal troops and even captains down with ease.

If you don’t want to spend your points on Gandalf, have a thought about bringing Bilbo. He might not look strong on first glance, but he brings 3 points of might and the one ring. It might get tricky to benefit from it, but if you can bring him and Bard in combat with an enemy hero those two surely can bring him down.

ALLIES

Tim: When it comes to allies, I think you should focus on the historical ones. The Army Bonus Lake Town offers is really good and should not be abandoned too thoughtlessly. I like the idea of bringing Thorin and a few Iron Hills warriors or Goat Riders as you then have two big heroes with free Heroic Combats each turn. I have seen people ally Lake Town with Thranduil's Halls to get access to Fight 5 and even better bows – but you will lose the horde aspect of your army. Having Legolas and Bard in one army could work for a really funny shooting competition, though! 

Radagast might be an ally to consider, even if you would lose your army bonus. Just imagine the joy of your militia when they get to fight an all prone enemy army without any risk!

Mik: I decided to focus my part of the article on allies instead. I think there is a limited way of making a pure Lake Town army and I didn’t want to add examples that would look similar to Tim's. I think the horde aspect of the Lake Town army is its biggest benefit in the current state of the rules, but we can do better with little additions like Cirdan, Radagast or Legolas in order to make the army that tiny bit more versatile and powerful.

List 3a: Mik's 500 Points of Army of Lake Town and Halls of Thranduil

Warband 1:

1 Master of Lake Town

10 Lake-Town Guard with Spears

4 Lake Town Guard with Bows

Warband 2:

1 Alfrid the Councillor

4 Lake-Town Guard with Spears

4 Lake Town Guard with Bows

2 Lake Town Guard with Bows and Spears

Warband 3:

1 Braga, Captain of the Guard

6 Lake-Town Guard with Spears

Warband 4:

1 Legolas, Prince of Mirkwood on a Horse

5 Mirkwood Elves with Glaives and Shields

4 Mirkwood Elves with Bows and Glaives

1 Mirkwood Elf with a Banner and a Shield

Total 44 Models, 8 Might (+ Alfrid), 14 Bows (+ Legolas)

This army is inspired by the list used by James Braund at the 2019 GBHL Masters tournament, where he defeated me in the first game of the event. Master of Lake Town is a safe leader capable of getting a few kills in Contest of Champions and also capable of surviving in tricky spots thanks to his Heroic Defence. Legolas and the Mirkwood Elves give the army badly needed Fight Value 5, which combined with a banner can get us through a lot of fights without losing anything. 44 Models is a horde that you’ll rarely see at this points limit. Legolas is naturally very good at sniping annoying threats and also is a highly capable killer in combat, especially when mounted.

List 3b: As above, but with Radagast

Warband 1:

1 Master of Lake Town

8 Lake-Town Guard with Spears

5 Lake Town Guard with Bows

Warband 2:

1 Alfrid the Councillor

8 Lake-Town Guard with Spears

3 Lake Town Guard with Bows

1 Lake Town Guard with Bows and Spears

Warband 3:

1 Braga, Captain of the Guard

8 Lake-Town Guard with Spears

2 Lake Town Guard with Bows

2 Lake Town Guard with Bows and Spears

Warband 4:

1 Lake-Town Captain

Warband 5:

1 Radagast on Horse with Sebastian

Total 42 Models, 9 Might (+ Alfrid), 13 bows

This is an alternative to the above using Radagast instead of Legolas. The army lacks a banner and a strong hero, but Radagast’s infinite Nature’s Wrath is something that at 500 points level is very difficult to regularly defeat over time. Most Heroes will run out of Will quite quickly trying to resist the Wraths and eventually your opponent should be permanently on the ground and trapped in most combats. The fact that you outnumber everybody by 10-15 models also means you’ll find it easy to protect Radagast. 

The lone Captain is is in there due to having 40 points spare and little else to pick from. Heroic March and a couple of extra points of Might could be useful. 

List 4, 800 Points of Lake-Town / Radagast / Rivendell

Warband 1:

1 Master of Lake Town

8 Lake-Town Guard with Spears

5 Lake Town Guard with Bows

Warband 2:

1 Alfrid the Councillor

8 Lake-Town Guard with Spears

2 Lake Town Guard with Bows

2 Lake Town Guard with Bows and Spears

Warband 3:

1 Braga, Captain of the Guard

8 Lake-Town Guard with Spears

2 Lake Town Guard with Bows

2 Lake Town Guard with Bows and Spears

Warband 4:

1 Radagast on Horse with Sebastian

Warband 5:

1 Cirdan 

2 Rivendell Knights with Shields

6 High Elf Warriors with Shields and Spears

Warband 6:

1 Arwen on Asfaloth

1 High Elf with a Banner, Spear and Shield

3 High Elf Warriors with Shields and Spears

Total 55 Models, 15 bows, 10 Might (+Alfrid), 3 casters.

This list has the numbers to outnumber pretty much everybody other than Moria/GT/Shire. It has:

- Cirdan to win bow fights, cause Terror and pass Courage

- Radagast to keep opponents on the ground, with Arwen to double up on that if they refuse

- 11 FV5 spear supporters and a banner to improve the odds of winning fights when it matters

- 4 Mounted models to grab objectives, 2 of which can nuke Wraths in key spots

- Enough bows to force opponents to us and enough numbers to survive a 2h long game]

It’s far from perfect, it needs tweaking and fine-tuning in exact equipment (I’d give Axes to some Guards instead of Spears, but that’s something that will need to be figured out with playtests) and it needs some practice, but I’d be happy to take that to a tournament tomorrow. It’s also possible the Survivors of Lake-Town should be used instead of Army of Lake-Town, but Alfrid’s Fortitude vs Independent status in the two lists has swayed me towards the ALT.

SUMMARY:

As you can see, Lake-Town can either play as a stand-alone horde, or it can ally into some very powerful combinations, thanks to the fact that their heroes and troops are incredibly cheap. The sheer number of heroes they can bring to the table also means they will usually have someone to provide Stand Fast! after breaking. Whatever you do, always remember what the goal of your army is and keep your eyes on the objectives. Always try to figure out what your army might struggle with and see if you can fix it.

Good Luck!

BlackMist & Tim

Fog of War, Part 12: Mordor & Barad-Dur

FOG OF WAR

Part 12: Mordor & Barad-Dur

After a bit of a break due to some personal and work-related reasons, I am back with part 12. This time with my guests, we'll be covering the largest and most versatile faction in the game. Because of Mordor's popularity there have been many players who have achieved significant success with its armies, so instead of getting one expert, I decided to ask the Competitive Community Facebook Page to send me their favourite lists. Out of the submissions, I picked my favourite ones and so today I am joined by one of the best players of Poland: Adam Sokol; one of the best players of Germany: Pascal Wibbe; and one of the best players of England: CJ Millar. Additionally featuring a couple of other tournament-winning lists from the new edition... plus my own ramblings! Hope you enjoy it and learn a thing or two. 

Mordor's Main Strengths & Weaknesses

The Witch King of Angmar - The leader of the 9 used to be rarely used in competitive play, but in the new edition he brings 3 key things that make him one of the best Heroes in the game. Firstly, he is a Hero of Legend when taken in a Mordor list. At just 70 points basic, or 90 points in my favourite 3/10/1 configuration (I'll go into detail later on why these stats), he is one of only 5 model in the game under 100 points that can bring 18 troops with them, ensuring that Mordor always has the numbers it needs. Secondly he has access to Heroic Strike, so can be freely thrown into combat when needed. Thirdly at higher points he can use the Crown of Morgul, ensuring he almost never runs out of Will when casting spells. His main strength however is also his weakness - unless we have another Hero of Legend, the Witch King can be quite a vulnerable leader and whether we should mount him on a Fell Beast (which is what most Wraiths want to be doing) is debatable, since its offensive combat prowess is likely to bring doom to our Leader and often lose us the game. 

The Versatility - Between Morannons, Numenoreans, Orcs, Warg Riders, Morgul Knights, Trackers, Catapults and countless Heroes, we have a ton to choose from. This can be good and bad, because we can end up with a very good well-rounded list, but less experienced players may often run into a problem of lack of consistency and lack of a plan of how the army is supposed to play, synergize, and what it wants to achieve in the game. This reminds me of one of my favourite Zen quotes by the Zen Master Shunryu Suzuki, "In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities. In the expert's there are few". Despite the million choices one could make with this (or many other armies), only a few are actually highly competitive. That's not to say you should make competitive choices, as it's your hobby and you can do whatever you want, but there's a reason many great lists bear similarities to each other. 

The Dark Lord Himself - The Barad-Dur list features the most unique Army Bonus and the most unique play style in the game, relying more on the Army Leader than any other force and often winning or losing games depending how well the player uses Sauron. Naturally, this model is only accessible at high points, making it even harder for new players to learn to play him, as with higher points come more varied enemies and difficult situations throughout the game that we have to deal with, meaning that the entry level for the Barad-Dur forces is somewhat higher than most other armies.

ARMY LISTS

CJ's 500 Points of (Cirith Ungol-themed) Mordor:

Warband 1:

Shagrat with Heavy armour and a Shield

6 Mordor Uruks with Shields

5 Morannon Orcs with Shields and Spears

1 Morannon Orc with a Shield, Spear and a Banner

Warband 2:

Gorbag with a Shield

6 Morannon Orcs with Shields

6 Morannon Orcs with Shields and Spears

Warband 3:

Shelob

Total: 27 Models, 6 Might.

CJ: For those fluffy tournaments this can be a fun hard hitting force. Its main weakness is Courage, which might be a hindrance if someone is packing the army of the dead. 

I absolutely love using Shelob. She is a silent assassin who gets underestimated due to only having the one Attack. She gets Monstrous Charge which can add up to 3 Attacks to win in proximity of a Banner, and thanks to her impressive statline she can overpower most things. Fight Value 7 in an era with rarer Strikes than in the previous edition of the game is valuable, and with her Venom she re-rolls all failed wounds. When she has knocked your opponent down and is throwing 4 Strength 7 Strikes with re-rolls she can comfortably chew through two warriors a turn or, far better, flatten a lesser Hero. For the latter, I like using Barge when she wins a 1v1 fight with a normal soldier who’s just tried to pin her in place, then she can charge and cause more damage with the Cavalry bonuses. It also just feels very thematic to have the giant spider barge in order to ambush the Eomer who didn’t Heroic Strike this turn.

Don’t forget that she can also keep a Wraith on FB (worth twice her points!) in check due to having higher Strength and Monstrous Charge. Even if she gets charged she can still Hurl it. Even when she loses a fight she’s a surprisingly high Defence 7, has 6 Wounds, and despite Hunting Instinct she’s got Courage 4 and 6 Will so it’s odds on she’ll be killed before fleeing.

Her final trick in the new edition is Caught in a Web. Basically, if she gets charged by a multi-wound model and therefore only has one Attack if she wins, you might as well go for this. They get Paralysed if they take a Wound- it’s what you’d be doing anyway but with a scary bonus. This just adds to her role as a deterrent.  

Gorbag’s new rule is very thematic and helps him to chew through opposing troops, whereas Shagrat can bully enemy Heroes all day. He is the lowest tiered Hero with Heroic Challenge which allows him to shut down Heroes of Fortitude upwards. Spending the Might on these Challenges isn’t a big issue as with Blood and Glory he gets it back, and then on top of that he gets D3 Might for killing his prey. Fight 5 (with the option to Heroic Strike), Strength 5, 3s in the right places and knock down on the charge - he’s a low-mid range Hero butcher. Even if he loses the odd combat, he’s Defence 7, with 3 Wounds and 3 Fate. 

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Adam's 650 Points List which won the Polish Doubles Championships:

Warband 1:

Witch King 3/12/3

7 Morannon Orcs with Shields

6 Morannon Orcs with Shields and Spears

1 Orc Warrior with a Banner, Shield and Spear

1 Orc Tracker on a Warg

Warband 2:

The Tainted on a Horse

5 Morannon Orcs with Shields

4 Orc Warriors with Shields and Spears

1 Orc Warrior with a Spear

1 Orc Tracker on a Warg

Warband 3:

1 Khandish Chieftain on a Chariot

Warband 4:

1 Khandish Chieftain on a Chariot

Total: 30 Models, 9 Might

Adam: The Witch King is a strong, sustainable leader with access to Magic and useful Heroic Actions. The Tainted is the 2nd caster with a Special Rule that both quickly diminish opponent's forces after break, as well as block Heroic Moves for non-Heroes. The infantry is made up of a solid block of Morannon Orcs and a couple of Trackers as objective grabbers and key pieces in Reconnoitre. 

The most important aspect of this list are two Chariots driven by the Chieftains. Combined with The Tainted's Special Rule we get 2 models that almost guarantee to get their Trample when they want to, as the Heroic Moves only affect Heroes, so they are unlikely to ever be charged and locked down before trampling, unless there is a hero in the front rank - who risks getting Transfixed by the Wraiths. 

Overall it's a small list, but very interesting and unique in its play style. 

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Pascal's 700 Points of Mordor:

Warband 1:

Witch King 3/17/2 on Fell Beast with a Crown of Morgul

6 Black Numenoreans 

6 Morannon Orcs with Shields and Spears

4 Orc Trackers

Warband 2:

Mouth of Sauron on an Armoured Horse

2 Morgul Knights

5 Black Numenoreans

5 Morannon Orcs with Shields and Spears

Warband 3:

Gorbag with a Shield

3 Black Numenoreans

3 Morannon Orcs with Shields

5 Morannon Orcs with Shields and Spears

Total: 42 Models

Pascal: For my first tournament with the new edition I was looking for a new concept to make my Evil/Mordor army work. I've always been a fan of Ringwraiths/Fell Beasts and with the changes to the Witch King, the Leader of my army was a clear choice. With the access to several Heroic Actions, (especially Heroic Strike) he brings a lot of flexibility to the table and with 4 attacks on the charge he is able to kill most key targets in one combat. 

One of the Heroes on the Good side that was improved the most is Cirdan. He provides Aura of Dismay and is available to most Good armies as a Convenient (Yellow) ally so I thought an army that wants to be successful, must have a way to deal with Terror. Shamans are not that great anymore, and even though Kardush would be a better solution, I'd rather take a hero with more Might Points and use Black Numenorians as my front line. They are Courage 4, with the Mordor Army Bonus in play Courage 5 and cause Terror themselves. With Fight 4 they can keep up with most good armies (except Elves)  and a Defence 6 line of Black Numenorians/Morannon Orcs is though to crack. 

In the new edition of the game Transfix no longer reduces Fight Value on a non-Channelled level. This makes it really hard to deal with all those amazing heroes with all the 3's in the right places like Aragorn, Boromir, Glorfindel, etc. 

They are devestating in combat - but what if they don't reach combat? In an army that mostly causes Terror, Drain Courage is a great spell. It is easy to cast (on a 2+) and gives the opponent a tough trade off between a point of Will or Courage. With the nerfs to Sap Will this is a really useful way to drain Will points. That is the main job for The Mouth of Sauron, 4 will for 4 times Drain Courage and 2 Might with the ability to use Heroic March at relatively low points. Add to that Fight 5 on an Armoured Horse and you have a really solid all-rounder.

The Orc Trackers just add cheap bodies to my model count, which helps with Break Point and Army Bonus. 4 bows cheeky shooting into combat and trying to kill Heroes' horses is also a nice option to have.

In my opinion this is just a well rounded force that makes use of all the flexibility Mordor provides and features all the important key aspects and army should have: strong hero, monster, magic, numbers, might and "bows".

You don't really need allies for Mordor as they feature everything you'd wish for (except Spectres 😥). I might try to get in an Angmar warband consisting of a Barrow Wight and 3 spectres at 800 points in the future 😉 

Another great addition would be the Tainted, I might write an article about this very interesting hero in the future 🙂

That's all from me for now, I hope you enjoyed my thoughts and might have found an idea or two to feature in your next tournament army 🙂

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Mik's 500 Points List for GBHL Masters Tournament 2019

Warband 1:

Suladan, The Serpent Lord on an Armoured Horse

9 Haradrim Warriors with Spears

9 Haradrim Warriors with Spears & Bows

Warband 2:

Witch King 3/10/1

1 Orc with Spear

17 Black Numenoreans

Total: 38 Models

Mik: Although this list is 200 points smaller than Pascal's and so should feature above his in points order, I decided to put it here, as essentially it has been inspired by my conversation with him on this subject. The GBHL Masters Tournament (inviting the 16 best players of GBHL 2018 season) was played at only 500 points, which meant that there would not be very many Shamans and the only high-courage enemies I'd be likely to face would be Elves, so I liked the idea of having good long range firepower to force my opponents to play on my terms and then 17 Terror-causing models with the Witch King's Harbinger of Evil to ensure that once opponent is close, combat becomes difficult for them. The Witch King's Legend status was the primary reason for taking him, as it allowed me numbers far greater than what other heroes would have been able to provide and 1 Fate Point proved to be enough. The list did relatively well at 2-2 in the most fiercely competitive field ever assembled in GBHL, although I had hopes for more!

The 3/10/1 configuration of the Witch King is something a lot of players have asked me about. The natural tendency for a 1-Wound character would be to go with 2 or even 3 Fate, but to me this comes down to your experience and point-efficiency. That plus I'm just greedy. I tend to play my Wizards quite conservatively, so WK is rarely in harm's way, unless I require him to use Heroic Strike, at which point I'll weigh the odds of him dying vs the Strike being potentially game-winning. 1 Fate means that should Legolas decide to snipe him down, I guarantee to save him once (3 Might) and the likelihood of 2 wounds by the time he has used most of his Will is unlikely. Every Might point you have is important, so 3 Might and 1 Fate is better than 2 Might and 2 Fate. In this list making sure I have maximum number of models meant cutting everything down to minimum. He also wasn't my leader here, so I didn't need the extra protection. 

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Jay Clare's 800 Points Barad-Dur list that won the Scouring of Stirlingshire (Good vs Evil) 2018 Tournament

Warband 1:

The Dark Lord Sauron

11 Orc Warriors with Shield

11 Orc Warriors with Spear

1 Orc Drummer

1 Orc Warrior with a Banner

Warband 2:

Orc Captain with a Shield

5 Orc Warriors with Shields

5 Orc Warriors with Spears

Warband 3:

Orc Shaman

4 Warg Riders with Shields

1 Orc Tracker

Total: 42 Models, 6 Might. 

Mik: Mr Clare was happy for me to feature this list and discuss it. Ever since starting to play SBG in 2004, Sauron has been one of those things that I ALWAYS wanted to use in a competitive list, but NEVER did. Every edition of the game I tried figuring out lists with Sauron in them, but always ended up with results along the lines of 'if I take Sauron, the rest of my army will fold to literally everything'. Finally, the special rule allowing Sauron to bring a Warband of 24, plus his smaller cost, plus the incredibly powerful Army Bonus of Barad-Dur means that the Dark Lord is playable. He still requires us to play in a points limit of 800+ however. At 500, the army would still fold to everything, at 600 and 700 it would struggle, so 800 is in my opinion the bare minimum where Sauron begins to compete and 1000 points is where he shines, as we're able to bring a critical mass of models and have the best centre-piece of an army in the entire game. Seeing this list win a 100pt GBHL Tournament made me quite happy and it isn't a surprise, since the numbers are high and the leader is strong, but also the player is of a rather fine quality himself.

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But What About The Flying Circus?!

As many of my readers and long-time players know, the Flying Circus (army made up of purely Ringwraiths on Fell Beasts or sometimes also accompanied by Shelob) used to be an extremely powerful force in the hands of a select few (most notably Ed Ball) extremely good players. Sadly this is no longer the case, as the Monster rules have been changed in this edition not to allow double-hurls during Heroic Combats, Wraiths lost access to Heroic Strike and Magic has had significantly diminished effects, leading to less armies using Fell Beasts in general in my experience - in fact at the 1000 point Throne of Skulls I faced 0 Fell Beasts and saw only a handful, in a field of about 100 players!

The first GBHL tournament of the new edition was still won by the all-Fell Beast army however, consisting of:

Undying on Fell Beast

Khamul on Fell Beast

Ringwraith* (2/14/2) on Fell Beast

Total: 3 Models, 6 Might

*The reason for including a Ringwraith over The Witch King was due to Legend status of the WK, which would have prevented Undying from being the Army Leader.

Personally I am curious to see whether the Flying Circus can still be used to consistently win major competitions, or if it is now gone for good from the top tables. 

Allies, Legendary Legions and all that new stuff...

Mordor has mostly everything it needs, but it can still benefit from allies. Its Army Bonus is very strong, so personally I wouldn't sacrifice it unless I'd be getting something even stronger - perhaps a lone Shade. Because of that, I think Harad is the best ally for Mordor, as the two armies together get to keep their bonuses and Harad provides cheap long range firepower that Mordor lacks. Even if we split the two forces 50/50, we're able to get 25% of all models in the army to be armed with poisoned bows, which will often be good enough to force opponents to play on our terms - something that Mordor cannot often do, as it's generally inclined to charge into combat at the earliest convenience.

An interesting list that I saw used with good results before even the last edition (ie. around 2009/2010) was one featuring the Mordor War Catapult in a Harad army, ensuring one had a big siege weapon for very long range, then a mass of bows for mid-range and a mass of numbers plus a Troll for close combat. Just some food for thought. 

The new Legendary Legions provide a range of new possibilities, but as there hasn't been enough time to figure these out on competitive level, I decided to leave them out from this article for now and hopefully in a few months I'll update this section with more info. 

Good luck at the tables!

BlackMist

Fog of War, Part 11: The Shire

FOG OF WAR

Part 11: The Shire

We're back! It's been just over a week since The Scouring of Stirlingshire in Scotland and we now venture to the place where it all begun - The Shire. This time I am joined by the 2018 ETC Team Wales player, winner of 2 GBHL 100pt Tournaments and a hobbit extraordinaire, David Farmer.

David: The Shire as an army has certainly felt the changes of the new edition as much as any other. Every army has felt the changes to the rules for constructing a force but almost none as much as The Shire: a previously highly competitive force that relied on shooting dominance, alliances, and abusing piercing strike arguably more than any other army (4pts for a potentially strength 6 hobbit? Yikes). It is not just army construction changes that have hurt the hobbits however, there have been several nerfs across the board to many aspects of their play. All 3 Hobbit troop choices have increased by a point, the Hobbit Archers have had their range reduced, the previously ubiquitous Battlin' Brandybuck upgrade is now limited to only Merry's warband, and the fact that ponies no longer confer cavalry charge bonuses (a fact that I think is a bigger nerf than many realised to the shire specifically). 

Having said that I don't think these changes are unjustifiable or particularly unfair - a certain amount of power has been trimmed from some of the most egregious examples from the previous edition of the rules.

Steering away from negatives now we can ask: what got better? Well for a start the army bonus is nice - Woodland Creature doesn't seem like much but for an army with a base movement of 4" an area of woodland can be a complete roadblock that takes many turns to effectively navigate: this change allows the hobbits to potentially gain a movement advantage in a certain situation, which was entirely unheard of in the previous edition! 

Merry and Pippin are both now Heroes of Valour with a second point of Might apiece, allowing them to lead 15 hobbits each which is very nice in a horde - it allows you to get more models into your army and therefore more bows (crucial for hobbits). Several independent heroes from the previous edition have been upgraded to Minor Heroes, so expect to see ever present Fatty and Lobelia leading small warbands - not to mention Farmer Maggot who has not only had a stat improvement, he's jumped right up to a Hero of Fortitude (although 3 warband slots need to be taken up by his dogs). In my opinion the most interesting change is to Frodo who simply had his banner effect increased to 6", but this combined with his 40mm pony base allows him to cover large areas of the battlefield with rerolls - a very important effect given that the hobbit army comes with almost no spears available. In terms of troops, yes they have all increased by a point but in the case of Hobbit Sheriffs it is justified: they now come equipped with hand-and-a-half weapons which can add a small amount of much-needed killing power. 

The final big change to the base Shire list (and probably the one I change my mind on the most) is the addition of Gandalf the Grey and Dunedain as a Hero of Valour and Minor Heroes respectively. While this might seem like a straight buff the caveat for taking Gandalf is you become unable to field Merry, Pippin, Frodo or Sam in the army - a fact that denies you access to 3 of the army's most important utilities: Merry, Pippin and Frodo. While there are definitely situations where I would want to take Gandalf, I think the whole paradigm of the list shifts when fielding him and that will definitely take some getting used to.

Mik: The Shire. The doom and gloom. The army that has caused me more pain than any other and one that has given me my greatest defeat, which I remember to this day. Back in 2007, at my first UKGT I was playing on Table 1 in Round 7, facing a then-3-time-GT-Champion, the legendary Vesa Nenye. The tournament structure was 700 points Good vs Evil. Number of players was over 120. It was the largest SBG tournament held to date. With 2 rounds to go I was 2nd and with a chance of moving into 1st if I win this game. The scenario was “Pitched Battle” – 12” setup from the board edge with a single objective: Reduce your opponent to 25% of starting numbers before he/she does that to you. No other objectives (there were no VPs, no Oaths, nothing else, just a win or a loss, on a scale of Major/Minor in the event of the winner getting broken during the game). My Good Force was a pure Minas Tirith army led by Boromir and Faramir, with enough bows to wreck any Evil force at the time. I was confident in beating Vesa’s Moria led by 3 Spider Queens in this scenario. My Evil Force was an Easterling & Harad alliance led by Suladan and Khamul on Fell Beast – to this moment undefeated in the tournament. His Good Force… The Shire led by Gandalf. Not just any Shire… Gandalf, 12 Dunedain and as many Hobbits as points would allow – ie. About 60 of them. The only limitations on army building at the time was a maximum of 75 models, up to 33% of Warriors with bows and 700 points. There was also an alliance chart not dissimilar to the one in the newest edition. 

The dice gods pitched my mid-30 model Easterling/Haradrim Force to play against a Hobbit Horde with some 30 bow shots per turn. I was thrashed so badly, I considered quitting and never playing again (I was 17 years old, so it was quite a dramatic loss for me back then...)! I remember that a young teenager I would later meet named Tom Moore was sitting next to Vesa on table 2 and his face expression really made it clear that even he felt my pain. 3 years later he won the GT, a year after that, I did. The Shire taught me for the first time what it meant to hit the rock bottom (they quite literally threw rocks at me!) and I don’t remember EVER being defeated to such extent. I believe I killed approximately 3 hobbits and lost my entire army. I wish I could say I made a mistake by not taking The Shadow Lord… but The Shadow Lord didn’t get released for another year, and even with SL on every table, The Shire proceeded to win the next year's GT anyway! :D 

Anyway, it’s now been nearly 12 years since that happened and here, I am considering playing The Shire as one of my next armies – possibly even at the 1000 points Throne of Skulls in December if I manage to paint it on time. The army has experienced some drastic changes from the last edition. Dunedain are back as Heroes of the Shire, albeit Minor ones - they were an essential part of the Shire army between 2007 and 2011, up until The Hobbit edition of the rules removed them from that list. They’re something that I felt the army really needed to regain its former glory, as Frodo, Sam, Merry and Pippin never really felt like much of an elite fighting force - although they have been boosted in this edition. Gandalf being able to lead 15 Hobbits is also a welcome addition. Those changes have come at a cost however, as the Hobbits have risen in points by 33% for Militia and 25% for Archers and Sheriffs. This sounds fair to me. 

It's quite clear that there are two ways to build Hobbit armies now – the Frodo force and the Gandalf force. Sadly the new rules do not allow the Hobbit Boys to be present in an army with Gandalf, so by default we have to pick who we like more and what we want to achieve out of the Hobbit list. As you'll see, David and I have differing opinions on this, so I think it's worth considering both options before dismissing either - perhaps the larger numbers of the Frodo list are your preferred style, or perhaps you like a Wizard to lead your force instead. Both types naturally become better or worse in certain scenarios, but the main idea behind the army is the same - outnumber, outshoot and hopefully outfight. 

The Army Bonus is cool for small points, but as you'll see for anything larger than 500 I'd be keen to look for allies, and so I think it's not the sort of bonus we should really be bothered about losing. 

David’s Lists:

LIST 1: 500 Points of The Shire

Warband 1:
Merry on a Pony, with a Shield - LEADER
15 Battlin Brandybucks

Warband 2:
Pippin on a Pony, with a Shield
9 Hobbit Militia
6 Hobbit Shirriffs

Warband 3:
Frodo on a Pony
5 Hobbit Militia
7 Hobbit Archers

Warband 4:
Paladin
7 Hobbit Archers
5 Hobbit Shirriffs

Warband 5:
Fatty Bolger
6 Hobbit Archers

Total: 500 points, 6 might, 65 models, 20 bows

When using a pure Shire army in smaller points it's important to make sure you outnumber your opponent by a large margin. 65 models and 20 short bow shots is nothing to sniff at in any case, let alone at 500 points when most armies are fielding close to half that number. Using Frodo's pony to increase the size of his Banner bubble is crucial here to give the army its best chance in combat, ideally after a few rounds of bow shots and thrown stones to thin out the enemy ranks a little.

Against blinding light armies or superior shooting forces you have to play the objectives with your numbers as many armies will outrange your short bows! Essentially you want to force your opponent to come to you rather than be able to sit back and shoot at you comfortably. This army is very weak in certain scenarios (think contest of champions) but that's a trade-off that will come to any pure Shire army - strong advantages in some scenarios and crippling disadvantages in others.

LIST 2:

Warband 1: 750 Points of The Shire
Gandalf on Gandalf's Cart - LEADER
15 Hobbit Shirriffs

Warband 2:
Bandobras Took
15 Hobbit Shirriffs

Warband 3:
Dunedain with a Spear
3 Hobbit Archers
1 Hobbit Archer/War horn
2 Hobbit Shirriffs

Warband 4:
Dunedain with a Spear
6 Hobbit Archers

Warband 5:
Dunedain with a Spear
6 Hobbit Archers

Warband 6:
Dunedain with a Spear
6 Hobbit Archers

Warband 7:
Dunedain with a Spear
6 Hobbit Shirriffs

Warband 8:
Dunedain
6 Hobbit Shirriffs

Total: 750 points, 11 might, 74 models, 28 bows

This second, larger list makes use of the 'other side' of Shire armies: No Merry, Pippin or Frodo. Instead using Bandobras (since he makes your army lose its army bonus, but only if used with named Hobbit heroes), Gandalf the Grey, and the Dunedain that are given minor hero status in the army list. 

This army packs a large amount of Might due to the 6 Dunedain and has the Heroic Accuracies to back up its impressive 22 short bow and 6 bow shots - as well as Blinding Light in the form of Gandalf. I would expect this army to win almost any shooting war because of this, and I would prioritise ridding yourself of any pesky horses any scary opposing Heroes might be packing as accomplishing this will greatly reduce the number of hobbits per turn the Glorfindels and Boromirs of this world can kill. 

Taking Gandalf on cart increases the number of models he can guard with his Blinding Light, while still providing the mobility he needs to flexibly perform his duties as a caster. Either Gandalf or Bandobras can be the leader is this army, but I thought that since the requirement of keeping your general safe is a feature in many scenarios, Gandalf made the most sense as he will typically be surrounded by dozens of angry hobbits! 

Realistically I don't recommend taking pure shire at the larger point levels as pure numbers advantage begins to wane in power when you really push the points up and lacking any real punch in their Heroes holds the Shire back significantly - It certainly is an interesting concept, however.

Mik’s Lists:

LIST 3: 500 Points of The Shire

Warband 1:

Gandalf the Gray on a Horse

5 Hobbit Sheriffs

5 Hobbit Archers

5 Hobbit Militia

Warband 2:

1 Dunedain with a Spear

2 Hobbit Sheriffs

2 Hobbit Archers

2 Hobbit Militia

Warband 3:

1 Dunedain with a Spear

2 Hobbit Sheriffs

2 Hobbit Archers

2 Hobbit Militia

Warband 4:

1 Dunedain with a Spear

2 Hobbit Sheriffs

2 Hobbit Archers

2 Hobbit Militia

Warband 5:

1 Dunedain with a Spear

3 Hobbit Militia

1 Hobbit Sheriff

2 Hobbit Archers

Warband 6:

1 Dunedain with a Spear

1 Hobbit Militia

1 Hobbit Archer

Or in other words…

Gandalf on Horse 

5 Dunedain with Spears 

15 Militia

12 Sheriffs

14 Archers

All split into whatever warbands you like to split them into!

Total: 47 models, 8 Might, 19 Bows, 1 Wizard

The strengths of this army are obvious – shoot-em/surround-em/smash-em. 8 Might is a lot and although the army is very slow and quite weak in combat, the numbers and the One-and-a-half-handed weapons of the Sheriffs can be put into very good use. 19 Bows and Blinding Light ensure that we'll be winning every shooting war and we should be outnumbering most of our opponents (with the exception of Moria and the likes) by about 15-20 models - or 20-30 by the time the combat starts in scenarios that allow us to spend a lot of time shooting. Any scenarios that do not start the game within charging range on turn 1 will be difficult for opponents to win. Any scenarios that do, will require a good idea of how to bring together all the numbers into combat, as skilled opponents can exploit the low defence of this army with ease if our combat movement is messed up. 

A correctly played Wizard can go a long way, especially at low points, where it is difficult to shut the Wizard down. With Sorcerous Blast being nerfed in this edition however, Gandalf's role has diminished, but he is still capable of easily stopping enemy heroes from shredding our lines and can take out banners and other valuable targets with ease (especially when backed by all the Heroic Accuracies of the 19 bows). 

List 4 – 800 Points

Well… there’s no list here...

I haven’t figured it out yet and I don’t think I’m even close to it, so I won’t post a list, instead I’ll share my thinking and let you figure it out. The 500 points list above had 47 models, which is more than most 800 points lists have, so the question really is how many more do we want, or if we want any more at all and if we go with some funky allies instead. The options are many and the Army Bonus is not brilliant, so here’s some food for thought:

Option 1: Immovable Object

You could add 300 points worth of Dunedain (with Bandobras) and Hobbits. Counting at as 26 for a Dunedain and 24 for a mix of Militia/Sheriff/Archers, you’re looking at about 80 models in 800 points and around 35 bow shots with insane Might store. The only problem is that you’ll never be able to move all those models in a timely manner and will end up losing games due to running out of time or failing to get to the objective on time – sad! :D You might crush your friend at home in a 5h battle, but you'll struggle to do much at a tournament with 2h per game. 

Option 2: Big Heroes

You could bring Aragorn and Boromir, or perhaps Twins and Glorfindel. If you were to add these to the force, you’d end up with about 50 models, 15+ Might, 2 or 3 very strong killers, a very good hero-stopper and a large number of bows. Another option here could be playing with Eagles, though whether they are better than the above is questionable due to lack of Might. Either way you are creating a force that is a sort of a merger between an all-hero army and a horde. A hybrid that in theory can be extremely effective if played correctly. 

Option 3: Cavalry, Spears & Elites

You could also ally in the likes of Rohan, Elven or Gondorian cavalry, or perhaps bring a contingent of 20 Guards of the Fountain Court, making your army not only huge, but also quite durable. You still have Gandalf and a lot of Might. You could also go with something like Ghan-Buri-Ghan and 15 Woses (total 200 points for an extra amount of range weapons, some wounding bonuses and a lot of Spears).

I think there’s a lot to think about in a Hobbit force at larger points. 

David’s Thoughts on Allies:

(Mik's are above)

David: As I mentioned earlier the Shire used to be an army that relied almost entirely on allies to be competitive, and while that may still be true they did get access to one historic alliance: The Rangers. Depending on the points level I would consider adding some men to my army to add killing power in combat. In a 500-600 point list for example I think taking Halbarad with the Banner of Arwen evenstar to give your hobbit horde a 6" bubble of Fearless and Banner rerolls would be a smart choice, and I think once you get to 700+ points adding in Strider on a horse would be a great choice - not only do you get a big combat Hero in there, but you also get access to great utility from Mighty Hero Special Rule. Whether marching every turn to get your slow hobbits to where they need to be, or by calling free Heroic Combats to thin out enemy numbers, or by charging scary monster and calling Heroic Strike - the possibilities are endless when you have access to every Heroic Action! 

Of course, the hobbit army bonus isn't so fantastic that taking a convenient alliance would break the army, hobbits have been allying successfully with elves for a long time and there's no reason to think that choice is somehow less viable now. Allying with Lothlorien or Rivendell is potentially very powerful: giving your shooting a strength 3 edge from Elf bows and your combat a big edge with Fight 5 spear supports - it is an alliance that makes sense no matter which way you look at it and losing out on woodland creature on your hobbits would be worth the price for that flexibility in my opinion.

Summary

Although the generic Hobbits have gone up in points, the army has now returned to its original form where it no longer has a limit of models it can take based on the number of heroes that can lead Warbands. To my big surprise, the Scouring of Stirlingshire tournament at 800 points featured 0 Shire armies, but the upcoming WAR tournament in Reading at 500 points is set to feature 5 forces of The Shire. I’d be keen to see how they perform and whether the once-mighty-horde is able to take on the new metagame and be crowned kings, as they were a decade ago. 

Good Luck!
BlackMist & David

Fog of War, Part 10: Kingdom of Khazad-Dum / Moria

FOG OF WAR

Part 10: Kingdom of Khazad-Dum / Moria

Welcome back to Fog of War! This time I am joined by ETC Team England & 2017 Team World Champion (The Wanderers in the Wild), as well as the winner of a recent London Dark Sphere tournament, Callum Edens. Together we take a look at the finest sprinters in the land – The Dwarves!

Callum: When I was asked to do a faction review I expressed my intentions to do a write up for Durin’s Folk. I have easily found them the most challenging and tactical faction to play within SBG. You may understand their basics but to master their underlying potential can take years of practice. When I first started playing Dwarves they were always considered an underdog faction which would never be seen on top tables. I set out to dispel this myth and give the Sons of Durin the justice and respect they deserved. There is much to say about the stubbornness of the Dwarves…..

"Since they were to come in the days of the power of Melkor, Aulë made the dwarves strong to endure. Therefore they are stone-hard, stubborn, fast in friendship and in enmity, and they suffer toil and hunger and hurt of body more hardily than all other speaking peoples; and they live long, far beyond the span of Men, yet not forever." (Tolkien.,Silmarillion)

The Kingdom of Khazad-Dum as they are now called encompasses both the forces of Khazud-Dum and Moria. With the new edition, the list has been split and there are even more challenges to make a Dwarven list now than ever before. However, it is much more themed and in my opinion both much more enjoyable to play and more rewarding to win with! The strength of the Dwarves comes mainly from their high Defence, usually as high as 7. The jewel in the crown for any dwarven forces however is having some of the best elite troops in the game - Khazad Guard and Iron Guard! Having Strength 4 in any troop choice in the Forces of Good is rare and incredibly powerful. Bodyguard makes your Khazads auto-pass Courage Tests, which is invaluable when fighting Terror causing foes or standing by your Lord to the last man to try and swing a game in the dying turns. The Dwarf Heroes also give you a great combination of high Defense, Courage and Fight Value. Some of the weaknesses however include lack of cavalry, bow superiority and their universal 5-inch movement. Don’t let this fool you however, as the “Dwarves are very dangerous over short distance”.

Mik: In my 14-year playing career, Dwarves are the only army I never used at a major tournament, and thus never achieved any tournament success with. They are also the army that my old friend Louis would use all the time against me in the first 3 or 4 years of my SBG adventure and consistently destroy me every time we played. I used to loathe playing against the Dwarves because of their high Defence, as I could never find a way to kill them. I have often fielded a contingent of Khazad Guard led by Floi and back in the days of Legions of Middle-earth (2007-2011) I always feared Khazad Guards supported by Wood Elf Spearmen. Through writing this series I’ve had to ponder about armies I might not always be familiar with and it’s been a fun and rewarding experience :)

My favourite Dwarf units are Vault Wardens and King’s Champion. The latter is a very interesting character in that the 2 Heralds effectively cost around 45 points each (25 for banner and 20 for their hero-with-2-Fate profile), making the Champion himself *only* 50 points – a total bargain for Fight 5, Strength 5, Defence 7, 3 Attacks, with Heroic Strike and a Defence bonus when in contact with the Heralds. Naturally you won’t ever need more than 2 banners in a game, so getting a 2nd Champion will never provide as good a return on your investment as the first one.

Vault Warden Teams are peculiar in that a line of them is almost unbreakable, but if flanked or surrounded, they fall apart as if they were badly overpriced Orcs, so it’s worth having 1 or 2 in the middle of a line and protect flanks with other units. 

Between 2001 and 2011, Khazad Guard was the most powerful infantry unit in the game, especially in the era when all Grand Tournaments were played in Good vs Evil, making their Fight 4 / Strength 4 / Defence 7 absolutely unstoppable for the forces of Evil. Although they haven’t changed at all, everything else has changed, so they lost a lot of their strength in the recent 2 rule sets. I’m still keen to see if they can be feared the way they once were, especially now with their ability to be upgraded to have the Burly special rule. 

The biggest downside of pure Dwarf armies is the cost of individual units. They may be incredibly durable, but paying 11, 13 or 15 points per model is a lot when their Heroes are also on the expensive side and the army is unable to provide anything that moves more than 5” without adding allies.

Callum's Lists:

List 1: 600 Points of Khazad-Dum

Warband 1

Durin, King of Khazad-Dum

15 Khazad Guards with Hearthguard Upgrade. 

3 Iron Guards

Warband 2

Mardin

10 Dwarf Warriors with Shields

1 Dwarf Warrior with a Banner. 

Total: 31 Models. 6 might 

This list represents the might of a Dwarven Vanguard. You can now utilize the new Heroic Tier before taking too many costly Heroes to maximise your numbers and increase Break Point. Within the list you have mostly Defence 7, meaning that most of the enemy Heroes and Warriors will require 6s to wound you. Your Khazad Guards all now have Burly for an addition 2 points, which I feel is well worth it. Strength 4 and always going two handed with no penalty will now chew through most armour with ease. Not forgetting you will re-roll 1s to wound with your new Army Bonus!

The tricks of playing this list is to get stuck in as quick as possible, but always remember your objectives and plan 2 moves ahead. Utilize the 2-Attack troops, Throwing weapons and Might points to kill and call Heroic Combats to give you extra movement and take out strategic pieces in your opponent’s battle line or storm objectives. 

List 2  - 750 Points of Moria

Warband 1

Balin  King of Moria 

16 Khazad Guard 

1 Iron guard 

Warband 2 

Gimli 

8 Dwarf Warriors with Shields

4 Dwarf Warriors with Bows 

Warband 3 

Floi 

4 Dwarf Warriors with Bows

4 Dwarf Warriors with Shields

1 Dwarf Warrior with a Shield and a Banner

Warband 4 

Dwarf Ballista 

Total: 750 Points 43 models, 8 Bows & a Ballista

This list at a higher points level can give you a little more of everything. You have a reasonable amount of Strength 3 bows and a Ballista to try and force your opponent to engage you. Your vanguard remains strong with lots of Defense 7 and Strength 4 troops. You also have 3 very different types of Heroes. Balin and Gimli have always been my favourite Heroes for the Dwarves and although Balin has taken a bit of a pounding in the new rules, he is still one of the cheapest Heroes of Legend in the game. He also lets you play a tactical game with his special rule of re-rolling Priority which can easily win you a game in certain situations. Gimli remains a wrecking machine as he used to be before and a good all-round combat Hero. Floi is a dark horse and can shut down any nasty Hero with his Special Rule (My favorite is turning off the Undying and then inflicting a single wound to see him flee back into the darkness). The common trait with me is to try and take a Banner in any list with the Dwarves. Having a high Defense Banner is great. Additionally, it counts for VPs in many scenarios and can maximize the potential of you battle line winning combats and doing what they do best.

Mik's Lists:

List 3: 600 Points of Khazad-Dum

Warband 1:

King’s Champion with 2 Heralds

5 Iron Guard

5 Dwarf Warriors with Shields

Warband 2:

Dwarf Captain with a Shield 

5 Iron Guard

5 Dwarf Warriors with Shields

Warband 3:

Dwarf Captain with a Shield

10 Dwarf Rangers with Dwarven Longbows

Total: 35 Models, 6 Might, 10 Bows, 2 Banners

This list capitalises on the 2 Heralds with Banners, a very powerful Leader and 10 Banner-backed Iron Guards. The guards themselves are capable of cutting through pretty much every enemy in the game, but as there’s only 10 of them, the job of the Dwarves with Shields will be even more important. Shielding is the best ‘Special Strike’ in the game, in a sense that it allows us to tie up 2 or more enemies, beat them in combat, preventing them from killing our models, whilst allowing our more powerful units to cause damage unopposed. A common strategy with a Dwarf army such as this would be to charge the Iron Guards into 1v1 combats (or 1v2 due to Spear Support), back them up with a Banner, so that they roll 3 dice to win combat and ensure they kill their enemies. At the same time, the Shield wielding Dwarves will charge into 1v1s or 1v2s and use Shielding (hopefully still within Banner range to also roll 3 dice) to either win combats and survive or lose combats and still very likely survive due to their high Defence.

Dwarf Rangers have been chosen above Dwarf Warriors with Bows. It’s a borderline decision, as against some armies you will prefer 24” Strength 2 bows and against others you will prefer 18” Strength 3 bows. It’s a debate that’s existed since the dawn of time. I'm on the Rangers side also because of the Mountain Dweller Special Rule, but I wouldn't blame you for taking Warriors with Bows as Defence 6 is quite valuable.

List 4: 800

Warband 1:

Durin, King of Khazad-Dum

4 Vault Warden Teams

5 Iron Guard

2 Dwarf with a Shield

Warband 2:

King’s Champion with 2 Heralds

4 Vault Warden Teams

1 Iron Guard

1 Dwarf with a Shield

Warband 3:

Mardin

12 Dwarf Rangers with Dwarven Longbows

Total: 800 Points, 8 Might, 41 Models, 12 Bows, 2 Banners

If you’re not playing Durin at a high points level, then you’re probably not playing Dwarves of Khazad-Dum. 4 dice to win combat (5 with a Banner nearby), Fight 6 with Heroic Strike, wounding everything at ease thanks to his Axe and one of the highest Defence levels in the game (only Sauron and fortifications are harder to damage!) mean that even if everything goes against you, the chances of your Army Leader actually dying are very slim. He’s Fearless too, so he’s not running away.

King’s Champion joins Durin in high killing potential, Mardin is excellent against Monsters (He Wounds a Cave Troll on 3+!) and 8 Vault Warden teams ensure that the front line is very difficult to break. The key to winning with this army will be in ensuring that the Vault Wardens are not surrounded. As long as you can maintain a frontal fighting line and not get surrounded, you should be beating most enemies. The Iron Guards and Rangers must protect the flanks at all cost. 

Allies

Callum: With the Dwarves you are not spoilt for choice as by nature they are loners who endure winter and wars by themselves. With this in mind you have to make some difficult decisions. Personally the best allies for Dwarves would be a higher Fighting troop with spears to back up your vangaurd and make them unstoppable. The logical choice for me would mean allying Rivendell or Lothlorien. You would however lose Army Bonuses in both lists, but in all fairness this can be ok if you know your list can perform without these as Dwarves have no Historical Allies. Moria are impossible allies with everyone, so an even harder choice would have to be made. As is always the case go out and practice a few lists and forge your own decision on game winning combinations but always keep the theme and enjoyment at the heart of your force!  

Mik: Khazad-Dum’s Army Bonus is something worth keeping in my opinion. Most of the Dwarf armies will be full of Strength 4 troops, wounding majority of enemies on 5+, so re-rolling 1s to wound is going to be very powerful. Sadly there are 0 Historical Allies, so if we go into alliance, I think it doesn’t really matter if we pick Impossible or Convenient ones, as the allies will be there only to patch up some of the weaknesses of a Khazad-Dum army, rather than actually properly fight side-by-side with the Dwarves. The big weaknesses in my mind are:

- Movement – We should try to look into ways of getting cavalry – Rivendell, Minas Tirith, Rohan, Lothlorien?

-  Numbers & Spears – Arnor helps with this by providing numbers and extra bows with Hobbits, whilst also bringing Spear Support with the Warriors of Arnor.

Summary

In all, I think Khazad-Dum and Moria have potential in the new edition, but their success will depend largely on the correct configuration of elites and basic troops, as well as the right number of allies we look for – but that’s generally what the success of every army depends on. In the case of the Dwarves I would favour them in higher points games, as their individual troops and heroes are a large investment points-wise and their lack of spears requires the players to adapt some more unusual strategies – perhaps their biggest strength is the fact that your opponents won't be used to fighting such a durable force.

Good Luck!

BlackMist & Callum

Fog of War, Part 9: The Rangers

FOG OF WAR

Part 9: The Rangers

Few armies have changed between the Hobbit and the Middle-earth editions of the rules as much as The Rangers (or formerly The Grey Company). For this reason, I think it’s a good idea to look at them from scratch as an army sort-of-new and sort-of-old. This time I am joined by my first guest from over The Pond – the Captain of Team USA, winner of 2 Adepticon tournaments, this year’s Ardacon 5th place finisher and the TO behind the NOVA Open in DC, Devin Moreno. 

Devin: Having been rightfully separated from Arnor and turned into their own faction, the Rangers of the North have received a major boost in power in this new era of Middle-earth SBG. From a first glance, a player might actually feel they got worse: The Rangers of the North cost 5 points more, lost a point of courage, lost access to Heroic Strike, and their mounts are now 10 points instead of 6.  It’s not like anyone thought they were under-costed before; so why do I think they got better? It’s because the Army Bonus turns this army into the elite rangers they were always supposed to be! 

Two attacks, the option to deploy together, being able to Stand Fast! through major characters, and gaining Woodland Creature have turned this faction into an absolute powerhouse. Add in the Banner of Arwen Evenstar and spears, and now you get four dice to win the fight and three dice at strength 4 to kill the enemy. Combine this with proper use of Heroic Combats to chain-link fights (remember that models can’t move again after the second Heroic Combat they participate in but they can still help their friends move), and you can destroy a large portion of an opposing army in a single round of Combat. Use Aragorn to manage all your other necessary Heroics and now you can keep the Might on your Rangers for exactly what you need it for. And don’t forget that the new game of SBG is heavily focused around iconic characters to boost their armies, so take advantage of all the Might you have to assassinate them at a distance, ensuring you never need more than a 5 to wound. Easy way to remove a bonus from the enemy army. 

Mik: Rangers or Grey Company has always been a funny force for me. What first started with 40+ bowmen at 700 points some 10 years ago during the Legions of Middle-earth era, then turned into 25-35 bows in the Hobbit era and now drops to under 20 bows and far better fighting skills in the Middle-earth edition. I think it’s a change for good and just like Devin, I think there is a lot the new force has going for it, but it requires a distinctly different playstyle than the forces a lot of players may be used to. 

I have to admit, when I first looked at The Rangers, I thought the GW team have made a big mistake and made it unplayable, but the more I think about this army, the more I think that it isn't necessarily either better or worse than the old one, it's simply different and this is a good change. As mentioned above, the 2 Attacks in combination with spears and the Banner of Arwen Evenstar make them incredibly powerful as a fighting force. 2 Attacks + Spear + Banner at Fight Value 4 and Strength 4 is effectively stronger than an Uruk-Hai Phalanx, especially with all the Might and Woodland Creature. The numbers are the weak side of the army, but with a lot of shooting and a single correctly executed chain of Heroic Combats, they can be very deadly.

Devin’s Lists

List 1: 600 Points

Warband 1:

Arathorn

5 Dunedain with Spears

1 Ranger of the North with spear: 31pts

Warband 2:

Halbarad on horse with Banner of Arwen Evenstar: 120pts

5 Dunedain with spears: 130pts

1 Ranger of the North with spear: 31pts

Warband 3:

1 Ranger of the North on Horse with spear: 41pts

Warband 4:

1 Ranger of the North on Horse: 41pts

Total: 599 Points, 20 Might, 16 Models, 16 Bows

Due to the cost of the Rangers, I decided to drop Aragorn to ensure that I have the numbers I need to play the scenarios. Though I must admit that this can be also fixed by allying, but I’ll get into that in a bit. Having only 16 models at 600 points may seem daunting but remember that this army can dismantle a flank of an opponent very quickly. I kept Halbarad in because I feel the Banner is essential. Not only is losing fights potentially disastrous for you (which his Banner helps prevent), but being Fearless is critical to making the army work against all opponents. Arathorn was added for more access to Heroic Strike. I used Dunedain instead of the armoured Rangers to save the 50pts combined that the armour would cost. This makes them weak to strength 2 bows, but I felt the numbers were necessary.  I selected two mounted Rangers by themselves which allows me to out-deploy my opponent in most missions. Also despite losing the bonus Attacks while mounted, I still feel that having a few mounted Rangers is essential for missions like Reconnoitre, Capture and Control, Storm the Camp, etc. 

List 2: 800 Points

Warband 1:

Aragorn on Horse with Armour and Bow: 180pts

8 Rangers of the North with spear: 248pts

Warband 2:

Halbarad with Banner of Arwen Evenstar: 110pts

5 Rangers of the North with Spear: 155pts

1 Dunedain with spear: 26pts

Warband 3:

1 Ranger of the North on Horse with spear: 41pts

Warband 4:

1 Ranger of the North on Horse: 40pts

Total: 800 Points, 18 Models, 18 Bows, 22* Might.

This is another pure Rangers of the North list without using allies to boost some key weaknesses. I chose not to mount Halbarad and not to take Anduril in favour of adding more rangers. I also upgraded to Rangers of the North from Dunedain since Strength 2 bows and Strength 4 Warriors will be in abundance at this point level. This list relies heavily on Aragorn to shift the army and make sure that they hit the enemy only where I choose. With all the Heroic Actions in the game at your disposal, you can assassinate leaders at a distance, move faster in missions that require speed, constantly challenge Cavalry armies for the charge, and regularly re-position your small force to attack only portions of the enemy. This part about re-positioning is key because you will certainly be one of the smaller armies out there at 800 points. Attacking only portions of the opponent’s army with your entire army is going to be the best way to take down a large army with minimal losses. 

Mik’s Lists

List 3: 500 Points

Warband 1

Halbarad with Banner of Arwen Evenstar

12 Dunedain with Spears

Warband 2:

1 Dunedain with Spear

Warband 3:

1 Dunedain with Spear

Warband 4:

1 Dunedain with Spear

Total: 498 Points, 18 Might, 16 Models, 16 Bows

At 500 Points I am expecting to face armies between 2 and 3 warbands in size, so between 25 and 35 models on average. In fact, looking back at the previous 8 articles, that’s been roughly what the 500 points lists have had. Given that we have 16 bows and a very strong fighting line, I wouldn’t be too worried using this in competitive matches. By the time combat starts we will hopefully have shot down several enemies and we are very strong in combat against everything except Elves, as their high Fight Value causes a problem. Having 4 Warbands means we can drop 3 of them by the time our opponent deploys their entire army, so we’re always in a good position at the start of the game. 

List 4: 800 Points

Warband 1:

Aragorn with Armour, Anduril and a Bow

10 Dunedain with Spears

Warband 2:

King of the Dead

13 Warriors of the Dead

2 Riders of the Dead

Total: 800 Points, 27 Models, 14* Might, 11 Bows. 

I’m not convinced Anduril is necessary, but thematically it makes sense to have it. It’s not an army I would traditionally consider to be very competitive, but 27 models are not terrible at 800 points, especially when all of them either cause Terror or have Might and 2 or more Attacks. King of the Dead is a decent fighter in the Middle-earth edition of the rules and is now capable of posing serious threat to a lot of enemy heroes. Dunedain can either support the Dead, or fight by themselves in a formation 5x2 formation that has 3 Attacks at the front and 2 Might each to support it, in addition to Aragorn. A lot of the game will depend on how well you’re able to execute your Heroics and how you’re able to position yourself into most advantageous situations. Naturally, the weaknesses are obvious – you’ll always be outnumbered and hopefully you won’t have to face Blinding Light or Pall of Night, as they will really make your Archers unable to do the necessary damage at long range. It’s definitely a challenging list to play, but I think if played well, it could be strong. 

Allies

Devin: The Ranger of the North army bonus is way too crucial to ever risk giving it up. Without it, the Rangers are overpriced and only the Dunedain would be useful for a few casual one-drops for deployment. Therefore in my mind, only the Shire and the Dead of Dunharrow would be viable allies for this list as they are Historical Allies. 

The Shire is a great ally since they can easily boost the numbers of your army with minimal cost. Only 34pts gets you Fatty Bolger and 6 Hobbits which brings your break limit up by 3.5. Adding in larger groups of hobbits allows you to get more bow shots and gives the rangers some flank support so that they can deal with sections of an army for longer periods of time. The only problem here is that the Hobbits will anchor you with a 4” speed; so Aragorn will be essential to help speed them up. Alternatively you can have them do what hobbits do best and hide them the entire game if you only have a handful to raise your break limit. A final thought on the Shire is that it also gives access to Gandalf the Grey, whom might be an interesting replacement for one of your larger heroes. Blinding Light and other magical spells can prove quite useful; and if you drop Halbarad you can always just take a Hobbit Horn to boost the courage of your Rangers. 

The Dead of Dunharrow are a tricky ally since they will compete with your army for the precious points you need for the Rangers. Allying will require The King of the Dead to be chosen, whom is already expensive as is. Not to mention the Men of the Dead aren’t cheap either. Adding too many would almost feel like a Dunharrow list with Rangers allied in. However if you do have the points for larger games, then a small Warband of the King of the Dead and 7 Men of the Dead with shields will replace 7 Rangers of the North quite nicely, which will provide a protective wall for your rangers with Defense 8 and Terror with Harbinger of Evil. You can even replace the Mounted Rangers with some Riders of the Dead in that warband to keep the mobility you need. And with Aragorn in the list, you may hardly notice the drop in Might. 

Mik: I posted an 800 points list with allied Army of the Dead, but I’m not convinced whether this is an entirely feasible alliance even at that points level. Perhaps 1000 would be more appropriate, as we’d be able to get another 14 or 15 extra models to really make it look like an army. 

The Shire is definitely something worth looking into as well, but as The Shire already has access to Dunedain, I feel like we’d only be adding some Rangers of the North on horses or Halbarad for his banner. I think The Shire alliance would make the list into something entirely different than The Rangers set out to be in the first place, as we’d probably want to make it into a horde sort of army. In conclusion I think The Rangers are best left to wander on their own, like the dangerous folk they are. 

Summary

The new Rangers/Grey Company list leaves me with one thought on my mind: This is definitely not a ‘no-brainer, stand back and roll dice’ sort of army that some of the Grey Company lists have been in the past. The force has definitive strengths in the increased number of attacks, all the Might and all the bows, but at the same time it has very obvious weaknesses in the low numbers, Blinding Light/Pall of Night and certain scenarios where it will struggle against certain armies. It will require unconventional tactics, which once learned, will give you as a player even greater advantage in the game than if you were to be using a conventional force, because most of your opponents will not be used to playing against The Rangers. It's kind of like playing against All-Hero or The Flying Circus - the person using them is used to playing against all-comers, but most players don't spend their practice time playing against All-Hero and Flying Circus, so you have a natural advantage through their lack of practice. 

I would define The Rangers as a ‘high variance’ army – you will either do very well under the right circumstances, or you will do very very badly under wrong circumstances. Either way, the games will be very interesting and challenging for both sides, and I think that’s ultimately what all of us want!

Good Luck!

BlackMist & Devin