tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20102390468576894052024-03-29T07:53:19.679-04:00Tell Me A Tale, Great Or Small..."...we put the thought of all that we love into all that we make." ~Wood Elf Leader, The Fellowship of the RingTiberiushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01032927898313675650noreply@blogger.comBlogger864125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2010239046857689405.post-90356432113460933572024-03-28T09:00:00.003-04:002024-03-28T12:45:45.673-04:00Fleshing Out the Faction: Sharkey's Rogues (and The Chief's Ruffians)Hey Reader!<div><br /></div><div>Welcome back to the blog! Having recently run Sharkey's Rogues at our <a href="https://tellmeatalegreatorsmall.blogspot.com/2024/01/announcing-tmat-spring-zephyr-tournament.html" target="_blank">2024 Spring Zephyr Tournament</a>, I've been thinking a lot about this faction and what it could use to make it...not more competitive, because I don't think there's anything you can add to make you better at the scenarios where you're starting heavily down-handed without going beyond the theme and written source material of the army, but I do think these few new additions would help to fill a few (read: three) of the gaps currently in the force.</div><div><br /></div><div>We don't do these very often, but let's be real: post <i>The Scouring of the Shire</i>, I don't think Sharkey's Rogues is going to get any more love than they've already gotten (and admittedly that book was just a beautiful labor of love for two factions I love running, so I'm not complaining about that book), but I do think that these few additional profiles will offer quite a bit of versatility that is much needed in this faction.</div><div><br /></div><div>We'll start by looking at the "why" behind these additions before looking at the "what," and then look at what changes these make to a few typical Sharkey's Rogues / The Chief's Ruffians lists at common points levels.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><u>I. Why Does Sharkey's Rogues Need Some Love?</u></div><div><br /></div><div>This faction is very small in terms of overall profiles (though admittedly up 100% from pre-Scouring, so no complaints here!): Ruffians with access to whips, bows, and knives/clubs (and possibly Hobbit Militia) for your warriors, and then a smattering of F4 and lower heroes, all D3-4, with 1-2 Attacks, and no access to Heroic Strike or Defence, both of which would be very, very helpful.</div><div><br /></div><div><span><a name='more'></a></span>But there are three primary gaps in their inventory that could be plugged without imbalancing the faction: <b>low Defense without good shooting</b>, <b>low Defense with low mobility</b> to close the distance with enemies (plus like no Heroic March, so...), and <b>low Strength </b>with <b>no access to two-handed weapons </b>beyond Sharkey, and we don't want Sharkey being our only means of being able to wound high-Defense models.</div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">And to be clear: we can't fix the D3-4 issue, nor should we.</div><div><br /></div><div>But we can give them a few thematic options that will allow them to at least mitigate the weakness of the D3 everywhere, and we intend to do that with two new profiles, both taken directly from the book.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><u>II. New Units and Profiles</u></div><div><br /></div><div>Our first new unit is a <b>minor hero</b>, mentioned when the Four Travelers return to the Shire and attempt to cross the Brandywine Bridge. <b>Hob Hayward </b>is a hobbit that works for Lotho Sackville-Baggins and the ruffians, guarding the bridge with a few other hobbits. He knows Merry, and seems to be one of those "Lawful Neutral" guys who will follow the rules regardless of whether it's right or wrong. This is probably motivated by fear of what will happen to him if he doesn't, but still, it means he's willing to tell Merry and the rest to leave and stands with Sharkey.</div><div><br /></div><div>So here's our take on Hob, and what he offers the faction:</div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------</div><div><br /></div><div><div><b>Hob Hayward (Hobbit, Infantry, Minor Hero): 20 Points</b></div><div><br /></div><div><u>Mv F S D A W C M / W / F</u></div><div><br /></div><div>4" 2/3+ 2 3 1 1 3 1 / 1 / 1</div><div><br /></div><div><u>Heroic Actions:</u> Heroic Accuracy</div><div><br /></div><div><u>Wargear:</u> Hand-and-a-Half Club</div><div><br /></div><div><u>Special Rule:</u> <b>Keeper of the Bridge:</b> Hob and his men guard the Brandywine Bridge for Sharkey. Hob may include Hobbit Archers or Hobbit Shirriffs in his warband.</div></div><div><br /></div><div><i>Hob Hayward may be taken as a hero choice for </i>Sharkey's Rogues<i>, and is also added to the list of available heroes in </i>The Chief's Ruffians<i> legendary legion. If Hob Hayward is taken in </i>The Chief's Ruffians<i> legendary legion, you may take Hobbit Archers and Hobbit Shirriffs in his warband in that legendary legion.</i></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------</div><div><br /></div><div>This gives you 1) another cheap hero, 2) access to Heroic Accuracy (not worth much, but here we are), 3) the ability to take up to 6 archers with a 3+ Shoot Value (though only an 18" range), and/or 4) the ability to take up to 6 F3 models with hand-and-a-half clubs (which he also has), so it can give you a bit of extra punch against even-numbered Defense models.</div><div><br /></div><div>Is this guy going to break the meta? Nowhere close, but it does at least give you a few more options. And hard to abuse, since he's only a Minor Hero, and can't lead many models.</div><div><br /></div><div>And then there's a new warrior option: the <b>paddywagon </b>(or Slave Cart, as we're calling it)! In the book the ruffians use a wagon to carry off hobbits to the Lockholes (their improvised prison), and the ruffians near it were confident beyond the norm.</div><div><br /></div><div>Not only does this give us an option for a faster model, it gives us access to something that few factions have in this game: transport capability.</div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------</div><div><br /></div><div><div><b>Slave Wagon (Ruffian, Cavalry, Warrior, 60mm base): 30 Points</b></div><div><br /></div><div><u>Mv F S D A W C</u></div><div><br /></div><div>8" 2/5+ 3 5 2 4 2</div><div><br /></div><div><u>Wargear:</u> Clubs and Whips</div><div><br /></div><div><u>Special Rule:</u> <b>Wagon</b>: The wagon may carry up to 4 man-sized models in it in addition to its crew; models spend half their movement to be placed in base contact with the wagon, and then may continue their move normally. While being transported in the Wagon, ranged attacks must succeed on an In the Way (4+) to target the occupants of the wagon. Models in the Wagon do not count as having moved if they perform shooting attacks in the Shoot Phase, and they do not contribute their attacks (nor can they be attacked) in close combat if the Slave Wagon is charged or charges into enemy models.</div></div><div><br /></div><div><u>Special Rule:</u> <b>Gloating Laughter</b>: The drivers of the slave wagon revel in the captives they take, instilling confidence in those around them. Allies within 6" of the Slave Wagon add +2 to their Courage Value when performing Courage tests.</div><div><br /></div><div><u>Special Rule:</u> <b>Take 'Em to the Lockholes</b>: When a man-sized infantry model loses a combat against the Slave Wagon, the riders of the slave wagon may attempt to put the model in chains. Both players roll a D6, and add their Strength to it. The drivers add +1 to their roll. If the Slave Wagon rolls equal to or higher than the target's roll, the target is chained: it counts as <i>paralyzed</i>, and is moved directly behind the wagon (as if chained to the chain behind the Slave Wagon). When the Slave Wagon moves it drags all chained models behind it, though its Move distance is reduced to 6" while dragging one or more models. Additional models after the first are added to the "end" of the "chain" in a line behind the wagon.</div><div><br /></div><div><i>The Slave Wagon may be taken as a warrior choice for </i>Sharkey's Rogues<i>, and is also added to the list of available warriors in </i>The Chief's Ruffians<i> legendary legion.</i></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------</div><div><br /></div><div>So what does this do for us? Several things. First, it's a <b>cavalry </b>model, which not only means you get a model with more than 6" of movement (only 8" so not that much more, but it is technically faster), but you can also use it to "counter" enemy cavalry to avoid taking as many casualties from enemy cavalry.</div><div><br /></div><div>Second, it's an <b>archer magnet</b>, as it carries up to 4 men in them (providing an In the Way against those shots), so a good thing to get rid of, and at only D5 wounding it with archery is not unreasonable. And while it costs as much as 5-6 ruffians (depending on whether or not you give them gear), by providing In the Ways (if not completely removing line of sight) to models behind it, it's more than making up for its cost in terms of lives it saves.</div><div><br /></div><div>Third, while its chances of winning a fight aren't great, with 2-3 Attacks against infantry you at least stand a decent chance of winning a fight and potentially imprisoning enemy models that get in your way. And by moving them automatically behind you, the rest of your men can shank the paralyzed enemies while the battle wagon rolls on.</div><div><br /></div><div>And at the same cost as a Khandish Chariot, but lacking the F4, Trample, and high Defense of that unit, the added utility from the Slave Wagon is a good trade for the same points cost.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><u>III. Army Lists and Enhancements</u></div><div><br /></div><div>So what can we do with these new options? A few things to round out your average list. We'll look at a 500pt list and a 700pt list, as these are pretty common points levels for casual and tournament play.</div><div><br /></div><div>At 500pts, our list would look something like this:</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Warband 1</b></div><div>-Sharkey and Worm (Army Leader): 60pts</div><div>-11 Ruffians with Whips: 60pts</div><div>-4 Ruffians with Bows: 24pts</div><div>-1 Slave Wagon: 30pts</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Warband 2</b></div><div>-Sid Briarthorn: 45pts</div><div>-8 Ruffians with Whips: 48pts</div><div>-6 Ruffians with Bows: 36pts</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Warband 3</b></div><div>-Rowan Thistlewood: 45pts</div><div>-6 Ruffians with Whips: 36pts</div><div>-4 Ruffians with Bows: 24pts</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Warband 4</b></div><div>-Harry Goatleaf: 40pts</div><div><div>-4 Ruffians with Whips: 24pts</div><div>-2 Ruffians with Bows: 12pts</div></div><div>-2 Ruffians: 10pts</div><div><br /></div><div>TOTAL: 500pts, 52 Models, 5 Might</div><div><br /></div><div>This is a decently well-rounded list at 500pts; it has some support/utility from Sharkey, Harry, Sid, and the Slave Wagon, some board control with Rowan, and over 50 models at 500pts (which is the baseline for a proper horde) while still having a battle transport and support options. Naturally we could drop one of the heroes, but it's actually not horrible as-is in terms of numbers and options.</div><div><br /></div><div>As we move on to the 700pt list, we're going to start adding some hobbit collaborators:</div><div><br /></div><div><div><b>Warband 1</b></div><div>-Sharkey and Worm (Army Leader): 60pts</div><div>-12 Ruffians with Whips: 72pts</div><div>-4 Ruffians with Bows: 24pts</div><div>-1 Slave Wagon: 30pts</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Warband 2</b></div><div>-Sid Briarthorn: 45pts</div><div>-9 Ruffians with Whips: 54pts</div><div>-6 Ruffians with Bows: 36pts</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Warband 3</b></div><div>-Rowan Thistlewood: 45pts</div><div>-6 Ruffians with Whips: 36pts</div><div>-6 Ruffians with Bows: 36pts</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Warband 4</b></div><div>-Harry Goatleaf: 40pts</div><div><div>-6 Ruffians with Whips: 36pts</div><div>-4 Ruffians with Bows: 24pts</div></div><div>-2 Ruffians: 10pts</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Warband 5</b></div><div>-Lotho Sackville-Baggins: 30pts</div><div>-10 Ruffians with Whips: 60pts</div><div>-2 Ruffians with Bows: 12pts</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Warband 6</b></div><div><div>-Hob Hayward: 20pts</div><div>-3 Hobbit Archers: 15pts</div><div>-3 Hobbit Shirriffs: 15pts</div></div><div><br /></div><div>TOTAL: 700pts, 81 Models, 7 Might</div></div><div><br /></div><div>Note that these are exactly full warbands: we can run this as either The Chief's Ruffians or Sharkey's Rogues; we haven't used any of the warrior-only warbands yet, so you can run these as either as desired. Personally if you're not running the legion I'd probably drop a number of the whips and pad your numbers (at all points levels, honestly), but I've kept it this way so that it's easy to port between legendary legion and standard list, as desired.</div><div><br /></div><div>This list gives you a VERY large army, access to some F3 warriors to accompany your heroes (or F4 if Lotho pays your shirriffs), Lotho for paying people off (either as a second option for passing Courage tests beyond the wagon, or causing enemies to fail a charge), a small handful of 3+ Shoot archers, and everything we had in the first list, so still very utility-heavy while still bringing the numbers to bear.</div><div><br /></div><div>And at more than 700pts you still have room for more wagons (to provide more In the Ways and transport to far-flung objectives), Ted Sandyman for padding your numbers even more, and once again, still haven't used any warrior-only warbands yet, so your numbers can EXPLODE as needed.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Conclusion</b></div><div><br /></div><div>Is this a game-breaking inclusion for one of the hardest factions to learn to master? No - it covers a few bases, but the low Fight Value + low Defense + low Strength combo is always going to be hard to overcome. But does this give more options to keep things interesting and give you a shot at traveling across the board, speedbumping cavalry, and shielding your men from archery? Yes. And that means you at least stand a chance in the Reconnoitre, Contest of Champions, etc. missions that might appear at a tournament.</div><div><br /></div><div>Let me know what you think below! Until then, you know where to find me,</div><div><br /></div><div>Watching the stars,</div><div><br /></div><div>Centaur </div><div><br /></div><div>"Trivial hurts, tiny human accidents," said Firenze, as his hooves thudded over the mossy floor. "These are no more significant than the scurrying of ants to the wide universe, and are unaffected by planetary movements." ~ Firenze, <i>Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix</i></div>Centaurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06864036616223908725noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2010239046857689405.post-67319805022475650462024-03-25T09:00:00.055-04:002024-03-28T14:33:47.461-04:00Armies of Middle-Earth SBG: Countering Angmar, Part 4 -- Avoiding (Avoidable) Mistakes on the Table<p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwwQsvibMH7QCQ47d9UzXrkgDe0T1dBxQQdjA_kFRVSW93wZJjAdltvcCWCsKWnNseYFZNxsPg4DwMXSPMcJQfhzk5pYaCigHYk65l6u2CmAAHNX05bP4IHaidXTSILQyBRyGsAC0XNSVfflpLv85HH6rq1lnHmJTsAqUlEuwAft5COK6HeySyi7btmDk/s3405/IMG_5139.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1713" data-original-width="3405" height="201" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwwQsvibMH7QCQ47d9UzXrkgDe0T1dBxQQdjA_kFRVSW93wZJjAdltvcCWCsKWnNseYFZNxsPg4DwMXSPMcJQfhzk5pYaCigHYk65l6u2CmAAHNX05bP4IHaidXTSILQyBRyGsAC0XNSVfflpLv85HH6rq1lnHmJTsAqUlEuwAft5COK6HeySyi7btmDk/w400-h201/IMG_5139.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><div style="text-align: center;"><i style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small;">What?!?! Back for more tricks?!?!</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small;">Photo Credit: Hint--I'm a creature of habit (it's me again)</i></div><p><i style="background-color: #f8e7d5; font-family: verdana; font-size: 13px;"><u>Editor's Note</u>: This article is part of a larger series on dealing with Angmar. Click the links for <b><u><a href="https://tellmeatalegreatorsmall.blogspot.com/2023/07/armies-of-middle-earth-sbg-countering.html" style="color: #0303c3; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Part 1</a></u></b>, <b><a href="https://tellmeatalegreatorsmall.blogspot.com/2023/07/armies-of-middle-earth-sbg-countering_0369171849.html" style="color: #0303c3; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Part 2</a></b>, <b><u><a href="https://tellmeatalegreatorsmall.blogspot.com/2023/07/armies-of-middle-earth-sbg-countering_01024450359.html" style="color: #0303c3; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Part 3</a></u></b>, and <b><u><a href="https://tellmeatalegreatorsmall.blogspot.com/2024/03/armies-of-middle-earth-sbg-countering.html" style="color: #0303c3; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Part 4</a></u></b>.</i></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>* * *</i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>The semester's over, so I'm back baby! (Raise your hand if you had </i><i>an article from <b>me</b> on your bingo card for today ;-P )</i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">As some of you may recall, over the Summer we explored strategies to counter Angmar (if you missed it, or need a refresher, you can check out the previous articles on <a href="https://tellmeatalegreatorsmall.blogspot.com/2023/07/armies-of-middle-earth-sbg-countering.html" target="_blank"><b>dealing with Terror</b></a>, <a href="https://tellmeatalegreatorsmall.blogspot.com/2023/07/armies-of-middle-earth-sbg-countering_0369171849.html" target="_blank"><b>maintaining control over our own pieces</b></a>, and <a href="https://tellmeatalegreatorsmall.blogspot.com/2023/07/armies-of-middle-earth-sbg-countering_01024450359.html" target="_blank"><b>weathering magic spells</b></a> by clicking the links). In terms of list-building, these are the primary <i>tactical </i>issues that we'll want to make sure we address, or at least think about. And as we discussed at length, most armies have at least some tools available to counter these tactics (or at least make things harder for the Angmar player).</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">What I want to talk about in this fourth and final discussion, however, is something that often gets lost in all the tactics: mental overload. I touched on this some in my <b><u><a href="https://tellmeatalegreatorsmall.blogspot.com/2020/10/armies-of-middle-earth-sbg-angmar-in.html" target="_blank">write-up of the Angmar faction proper</a></u></b>, but playing with <i>and</i> against Angmar lists (especially optimized Angmar lists of the magic-heavy variety) is a taxing thing for both sides. And in taxing situations, it's easy to forget things that should be obvious, scrap our game plan because we think we see "ghosts,"* and make mistakes. So here's the big-picture idea:</span></p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;"><b style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large; text-align: center;"><span>Whenever Angmar has a lot of nasty debuff pieces, you want to make their job <i>harder</i> (not easier) by planning ahead, avoiding simple mistakes that play into their hands, and pressing on.</span></b><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large; text-align: center;"> </span></p></blockquote><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Admittedly, that's easier said than done, especially against an experienced Angmar player. But here's a few "meta-tactics" (plus a few practical tactical tactics) that can help us accomplish that primary goal.</span></p><p><i style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">* Although when playing against Angmar, you may in fact be seeing actual ghosts...</span></i></p><div><br /></div><div><b style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #6aa84f;">Reminder 1: Playing Angmar <i>does </i>typically make risk-taking more dangerous, so plan accordingly.</span></b><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"> </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">We've all done them--those risky, "Hail Mary" plays that put all our chips on the table. A hero calls a heroic combat in a fight where the opponent has one more model than we'd prefer; we do a cavalry charge knowing that everything will come down to the 50-50 roll-off next turn; we march 15" into the line of fire, knowing that if we can just weather this turn of shooting, we'll catch them in the open next turn; we call 4-10 heroic combats in a singe fight phase, hoping to evaporate the enemy's battle line. We'd <i>like</i> to think that every game can be won with planning, precision, and patience. But we <i>know</i> there's games that come down to daring, guts, and dumb luck.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">The reality is that Angmar has lots of ways to muck up those risky plays, and then to capitalize on any mistakes we made (especially if you're moving first and Angmar moves second). And an Angmar <i>player</i> wants us to think that because of that fact, we <i>shouldn't</i> take risks like we normally would. Just play it safe--conservative. Now there's certainly something to be said for conservative play against Angmar (if nothing else, that style tends to commit fewer of the "stupid" mistakes that Angmar can <i>really</i> capitalize on, which we'll talk about at the end). But you can certainly take risks against Angmar--you just need to take Edna Mode's advice, and have a plan in place should the risky play fail.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNVo1gMBAGo5nqsdThGxRpF6l_y-JbEAQmx4ivJcCk6vIjEawELDdPCBM31QsMmLZluC5QeV1AHNrmOLxR9Nt6D9D0wCCi6J8qFMWkcFwEHQ2sOk-bbpV2cgCzGNrdDFX0vLjT-ZcqMZbCwqxX_17yzvZn1L8XvYMl2kJfHs98O4wu6bawkfWki5pHGTo/s736/Edna%204.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="489" data-original-width="736" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNVo1gMBAGo5nqsdThGxRpF6l_y-JbEAQmx4ivJcCk6vIjEawELDdPCBM31QsMmLZluC5QeV1AHNrmOLxR9Nt6D9D0wCCi6J8qFMWkcFwEHQ2sOk-bbpV2cgCzGNrdDFX0vLjT-ZcqMZbCwqxX_17yzvZn1L8XvYMl2kJfHs98O4wu6bawkfWki5pHGTo/s320/Edna%204.jpg" width="320" /></a></div></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Sage advice, that.</span></i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Photo credit: <a href="https://www.pinterest.ph/pin/edna-mode-luck-favors-the-prepared-so-true--459507968227414584/">pinterest.com</a> (not me this time... I'm not this creative)</span></i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">So how do we do this? Here's a couple of practical questions to ask ourselves at the start of the game (and periodically as the game progresses):</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i style="font-family: verdana;"><b><span style="color: red;">What's my target priority this round and next round (at least)?</span></b></i><span style="font-family: verdana;"> One of the best tips for combatting mental fatigue is taking the initiative (i.e., taking control of things you can control), and pressing your advantages. Think of it as being active/positive-minded ("<i>What am I going to make happen?"</i>) instead of passive/negative-minded (<i>"What nasty thing is going to happen to me next?"</i>). After all, we are a <i>participant</i> in the game (not just a passive observer), same as the Angmar player. So we should participate.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Threat assessment is an important part of any game, and games against Angmar are no exception. But Angmar armies often have more threats than we're used to dealing with at once, so we need to be constantly assessing and re-assessing what's the </span><i style="font-family: verdana;">most</i><span style="font-family: verdana;"> dangerous thing to us, as well as what weakness(es) we're going to exploit to buy us some breathing space. If it's Gulavhar, am I going to avoid him? Try to bait him over to a far flank? Pour every available shot into him, and try to scare him off? Or am I going to ignore him because he'll have trouble causing my </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Terror</b><span style="font-family: verdana;">-causing Black Numenoreans (or because my big hero can deal with him later, as long as I can eliminate his supporting Barrow-Wight in the first two turns)</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">?</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Now again--this kind of in-game calculus <i>feels</i> like it takes on added significance in a match-up with Angmar </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">(because the threats are more varied, and in some ways more subtle).</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> But the </span><i style="font-family: verdana;">calculus itself</i><span style="font-family: verdana;"> isn't any different from what you would typically do against any other opponent. And that's sort of comforting, if you think about it long enough. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span><a name='more'></a></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b style="font-family: verdana;"><i><span style="color: red;">What is Angmar likely to go after, that I need to protect/redeploy?</span></i></b><span style="font-family: verdana;"> An equally-important part of target priority is trying to guess what your opponent will be investing troops, heroes, and resources into accomplishing (and then trying to frustrate those plans). The default answer is "your biggest hero" (and all other things being equal, you'd be right assuming that's the answer). But </span><i style="font-family: verdana;">Fury</i><span style="font-family: verdana;"> shamans, banners, second-tier casters, and even support heroes (like Erkenbrand, Halbarad, Lindir, Bosuns, etc.) or elite troops that will tear through orcs (Watchers of Karna, Half-Trolls, Berserkers, cavalry, etc.) may also be primary targets. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">There are many tips that you can use to keep these models alive (at least for as long as possible), and perhaps the biggest is avoiding "stupid" mistakes when it comes to deployment and commitment (which we'll talk about next). But identifying what your opponent <i>wants </i>to kill (and focusing on keeping that model alive) can be far less mentally taxing than just assuming your opponent wants to kill <i>everything</i> and acting accordingly (often resulting in over-thinking too many things, and/or just defaulting to being too passive--both of which tend to lead to bad results against killed opponents, no matter what they're running). </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Another thing to remember: while some of these models should definitely be protected--kept in the back, bubble-wrapped, etc. (</span><i style="font-family: verdana;">Fury </i><span style="font-family: verdana;">shamans and banners come to mind), there are <i>some</i> scenarios where you actually want to become <i>more aggressive</i> with the models that you know Angmar is likely going to be targeting. One such scenario is the tried-and-true "bait" tactic: running a hero you really like, but can live without, to an extreme flank is a worthwhile play if you can tempt Angmar's Vampire </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">to chase him for 2-3 turns, far away from where the main battle is being fought </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">(or a fell beast--though the </span><i style="font-family: verdana;">Compel</i><span style="font-family: verdana;"> makes that more risky). Pushing your low-defense Watchers of Karna into combat a turn early may draw Angmar's Shade toward their flank--and away from the other flank, anchored by a couple of heroes (or vice versa). And if you have any models with throwing weapons (spears, daggers, axes--doesn't matter as long as they're S3), you can draw a significant amount of "aggro" by throwing them really anywhere into the opposing battle-line (both because the initial charge will draw attention, and because the <i>threat</i> of a second unopposed charge will loom large in the opponent's mind). If Durin is hanging around behind your battle-line, while a Dwarf Captain and a contingent of Dwarf Rangers are assaulting Angmar's left flank, <i>maybe</i> the Barrow-Wight keeps his Will in reserve to halt Durin when (if) he charges... but if the Captain and Rangers are making a bee-line for that Wight, cutting through his defensive shield of orcs in the process, that sort of "discipline" is going to be harder and harder to maintain as the game progresses (plus the fact that Barrow Wights don't have Might probably means at least one other hero is cheating over that direction, to call the inevitable Heroic counter-Move).</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #6aa84f; font-size: medium;">Reminder 2: Once you've established your plan(s), stick to it/them... especially with your heroes.</span></b><span style="font-family: verdana;"> I was originally going to title this tip "Play conservatively with your big heroes until Angmar's resources start to wane." And generally, for <i>big heroes </i>(i.e., your general, anyone that costs 150+, or anyone who does damage that you otherwise can't replicate), this is probably sound advice. A lot of this comes down to avoiding the "stupid" mistakes we'll talk about at the end (if you don't need a hero in the front rank, don't put him there to start and expose him to <i>Compel</i>; don't charge your heroes into a position where they can be flanked/trapped; if your hero is mounted, keep an eye on hurl angles at all times, etc.). A lot of it also depends on exactly how much magic Angmar has, and how much magic resistance your hero has (a 3/3/3 hero is different from a 3/1/1 hero... and even charging a 3/3/3 hero towards 1 barrow wight is a much different calculus than charging that same hero towards 3 barrow wights). </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">But "keeping my big hero in reserve, until Angmar's magic runs out" isn't always a winning strategy, either. For one thing, unless you have a way to gank Angmar's magical heroes (and most armies don't have a way to do that, other than running their big heroes into the enemy like a battering ram), you may <i>never</i> get to the point where you've eliminated the magical threat entirely. What's more, the Angmar player doesn't have much incentive to spend their magic on your hero, unless your hero is either (1) in an exposed position where they can be assassinated with minimal risk (something you should absolutely avoid at all costs, unless you're baiting), or (2) in a dangerous position where they'll wreak havoc on Angmar unless immediately dealt with. So if you want to start wearing down Angmar's magic, you need to make that second thing happen. And that second thing almost never happens if your big hero is just hanging around.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">So how do we strike that balance? Here's a few practical suggestions for you to mull over:</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b style="font-family: verdana;"><i><span style="color: red;">This is <u>much</u> easier to do if you have multiple heroes that can threaten Angmar.</span></i></b><span style="font-family: verdana;"> Again, basic list-building principles here: the <a href="https://tellmeatalegreatorsmall.blogspot.com/2023/07/armies-of-middle-earth-sbg-countering_0369171849.html" target="_blank"><b>more threats you build into your army</b></a>, the less likely Angmar is to tie them all down (because Angmar struggles with target over-saturation, like most armies do). And at bigger points levels, you <i>definitely</i> want a few heroes you can rely upon in a scrap (and if they provide other utility supports, like great Courage, added damage against <b>Spirit</b> heroes, the ability to snipe a flying Monster, or access to Heroic Resolve, even better!).</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">I'll have a host of practical examples in our upcoming Hero Taxonomy, but if you take a big hero like Boromir or Aragorn, consider a secondary hero like Faramir or Hurin (who have 3 Might, Fight 5, options for mounts, and Heroic Resolve (and in Faramir's case, Defense) to pair with Strike). Pair Bolg with a secondary threat like Fimbul or Yazneg (much cheaper, but adds some surprising punch in a scrap). Suladan and Raza. Durin and a King's Champion (or a couple of Shieldbearers). Thrydan and Lurtz. Run two Dwarf Kings, instead of just one. Or three Mahud Kings. Redundancy is your friend, because you can always press the assault with one hero while the other is safe (or tied down). Or you can press the assault with 2-3 heroes at once in the early rounds, forcing Angmar to spread out its magic (instead of concentrating all its magic on just one target).</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Magic is powerful, but remember: all else being equal, in a one-on-one between a caster and a target, <b><u><a href="https://tellmeatalegreatorsmall.blogspot.com/2023/07/armies-of-middle-earth-sbg-countering_01024450359.html" target="_blank">the rules for magic favor the target</a></u></b>. Forcing Angmar's magic heroes to go one-on-one with your combat heroes isn't just a way to drain them of resources--it also maximizes the odds that your combat hero can keep chugging away. Because as we all know from experience, resisting 1 spell per turn is <i>way</i> easier than resisting 3 spells a turn.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><i><span style="color: red;">Be confident committing your heroes--just don't commit them alone.</span></i></b> Again, this is a good principle for any match-up--we're just being <i>more</i> focused on it (if that's possible) against Angmar. We like charging our mounted heroes into combat--we just don't want them charging in unsupported. So block off their flanks to prevent traps. Put an unengaged model or two behind them to create control zones that opponents will need to charge (and to screen the hero off from flying monsters). Position your banner nearby so your hero has every advantage in combat (bracketing that banner in place with other models, if necessary, so it can't be moved by the Angmar player). If you expect a heavy magic barrage, plan ahead so you have a hero with Resolve in position to provide your charging heroes with cover. If you're going to send a hero into a particular spot, soften up that spot 1-2 turns in advance with concentrated bow fire. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Combat is inherently dangerous, but that's true against any army (unless you're Tom Bombadil or Goldberry). It's okay (even necessary) to throw your heroes into danger, as long as the danger is calculated.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span><b style="font-family: verdana;"><i><span style="color: red;">Be aggressive when you move first</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;"><b style="font-style: italic;"><span style="color: red;">.</span></b><span style="color: #2b00fe;"> </span></span><span style="color: black; font-weight: 400;">Ironically, Angmar is an army that likes to move second (and in many ways, it's their ability to </span><span style="color: black; font-weight: 400;"><i>react </i>that </span><span style="color: black; font-weight: 400;">unlocks some of their truly scary combos). Knowing that, it's easy to get discouraged if we win priority (and to become overly cautious in our initial move phase--sometimes to the point of paralysis). So this is where I remind us that </span><span style="color: black;"><i><a href="https://tellmeatalegreatorsmall.blogspot.com/2023/07/armies-of-middle-earth-sbg-countering_0369171849.html" target="_blank">Angmar's main battle-line is only average orcs</a></i></span><span style="color: black; font-weight: 400;">, and if we've put any thought at all into list-building, we should be able to kill a battle-line manned by average orcs. Which means we should be </span><span style="color: black; font-weight: 400;"><i>trying</i> to charge them as often as we can.</span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: black; font-weight: 400;"><br /></span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">So take winning priority for what it actually is: a gift, and a huge advantage. Yes, we need to be thinking ahead about things like Hurls and </span><i style="font-weight: 400;">Paralyze</i><span style="font-weight: 400;">. But by aggressively attacking a particular flank, we can also dictate (usually) </span><i style="font-weight: 400;">where</i><span style="font-weight: 400;"> that hurl is going to go (or, perhaps more importantly, where it can't go). Or </span><i style="font-weight: 400;">where</i><span style="font-weight: 400;"> the Barrow-Wight is most likely to cast. We lock the opponent's battle-line into position (we pin them here, so by maneuvering our cavalry there, we have a charge set-up for next turn). We eliminate potential compel/<i>A Fell Light</i> targets by locking them into combat. We get to decide how fights pair off (even more valuable now, with </span><a href="https://tellmeatalegreatorsmall.blogspot.com/2024/02/faq-time-reviewing-february-2024-faqs.html" target="_blank">the newest FAQ</a><span style="font-weight: 400;">). We get to shoot first. We get to react to the opponent calling future heroic actions (or </span><i style="font-weight: 400;">not</i><span style="font-weight: 400;"> calling them, which sometimes matters more). And we get to roll those 50-50 roll-offs (which isn't awesome, but it's still better than having your </span><i style="font-weight: 400;">opponent</i><span style="font-weight: 400;"> roll them, right?). </span></span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: black; font-weight: 400;"><br /></span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: black; font-weight: 400;">In other words, winning priority means we get to claim the initiative, and as a result we get to control more: and against Angmar, trust me--we want all the control we can get. </span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: black; font-weight: 400;"><br /></span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: black; font-weight: 400;">That said...</span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: red;"><b style="font-style: italic;">Be even </b><u style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">more</u><b style="font-style: italic;"> aggressive when you move second.</b></span> </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">So obviously this is dependent on having models you can move if Angmar goes first. And sometimes, that's not going to be the case, especially if we haven't made good list-building decisions and/or the game is nearing the end, and things haven't gone well for us in previous turns (three heroes are paralyzed/assassinated, Gulavhar's been running rampant, and we just don't have that many models left). </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">But especially in the early game, moving second can also be a blessing, because while it doesn't change many </span><i style="font-family: verdana;">known</i><span style="font-family: verdana;"> risks (it can change some--counter-charging cavalry models, trapping enemy heroes, or redeploying spear supports/banners, for instance), moving second <i>does</i> dramatically reduce the number of </span><i style="font-family: verdana;">unknown risks</i><span style="font-family: verdana;"> we need to worry about. All those nasty hurls? Well, we can't fix them (unless we can kill our model the monster is fighting--Corsair players know exactly what I'm talking about), but at least we know (1) where the hurl is likely to come from, and (2) it's direction, which means (3) we know exactly where </span><i style="font-family: verdana;">not</i><span style="font-family: verdana;"> to put anything important (and if the end-point is filled with un-tagged models like banners, cavalry, or spear supports, we know to redeploy them somewhere else, and rely on other tactics like shielding to hold the enemy at bay in fights that are likely to be knocked prone). </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">All of Angmar's magic is also out of the way (because Angmar has to cast spells during its own move phase), and that helps, too. We still need to be careful about where we send our heroes (and still want to send them in supported), but we don't have to worry about that lucky </span><i style="font-family: verdana;">Paralyze</i><span style="font-family: verdana;"> coming in over the top. Flying monsters are also committed (which is great), and since the only way they can threaten us that turn is through a Heroic Combat, we can also take the necessary precautions there, too (anti-fly formations, watching out for Hurl angles, etc.). </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Those fewer decisions give us (ironically) more agency--and if we can combo an aggressive turn of moving second, with a follow-up turn of aggressively moving first (remember--a lot of Angmar armies that go heavy-magic/take a Shade also tend to be low-Might, either because Barrow-Wights/Shades have none, or because wraiths are really expensive), we can </span><i style="font-family: verdana;">really</i><span style="font-family: verdana;"> dictate how the game will play out in the immediate future.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><i><span style="color: red;">If you get to the Fight Phase, and your hero can still fight, strongly consider calling a Heroic Combat.</span></i></b><span style="font-family: verdana;"> The reality of playing against magic armies is that when it comes to your combat heroes, it's never a given that they'll be able to fight in the following turn. So if you find yourself in a position where your hero is in a favorable fight, and somehow <b><i>isn't</i></b> transfixed/paralyzed (i.e., <i style="font-weight: bold;">is</i> able to fight normally), you want to at least <i>think</i> about maximizing his/her combat effect in that turn, because that may be the only turn where that hero has the option to fight</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">. </span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Notice: I said <i>think</i>. Of course, there's scenarios when calling a Heroic Combat isn't likely to accomplish anything. And yes, Heroic Moves are important. So is striking/calling Heroic Defense (especially if enemy heroes can get into your hero with their own Heroic Combat). But if your hero is safe and has an opportunity to do some damage, at least <i>think</i> about calling a Heroic Combat. </span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Scoring 1-2 more casualties a turn doesn't seem like much, but if you do that with 2-3 heroes in a single turn, you can sometimes push your kill count upwards of 10 models in a single turn--and that'll put a serious dent in most Angmar armies. And that's to say nothing of the psychological edge that comes with doing that: <i>Angmar brought an army to shut down my heroes, they couldn't do it, and now we're giving them the business.</i> Or, vice versa: <i>Crap, the magic's not working and now we're hemorrhaging orcs... next turn better be better, or this is gonna snowball quick.</i> </span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Most importantly, while "heroic combat" is a perfectly fine moniker for that heroic action, it's also under-inclusive: because remember, a "heroic combat" also allows your hero--and any other models in that hero's fight--to perform a full <i>move</i>, as well. And while you certainly can move that hero into <i>combat</i> (not a bad idea, especially if that hero is mounted), you can also use heroic combats to reposition models for the next turn, get to far-flung objectives (or at least get a head-start towards those objectives), and move the hero out of range of a spell/flier/monster at the start of the next round. All of which can be incredibly valuable to you, and make things far more unpredictable for your opponent. </span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Which leads me to the last tactical suggestion for this section on heroes:</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span><b style="font-family: verdana;"><i><span style="color: red;">Finally, even if you're not comfortable committing your big hero to the fray (and there's a host of reasons why you may not be), keep your big hero moving (plausibly) forward.</span></i></b><span style="font-family: verdana;"> I say "plausibly" because I don't want you to read this and think, "</span><i style="font-family: verdana;">gee--I need to move forward all the time, so let's throw Aragorn 10" into the no man's land!</i><span style="font-family: verdana;">" Obviously that'd be dumb at any time (and against Angmar, it's usually suicidal--though Aragorn has a better chance with Heroic Defense/Resolve and </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Mighty Hero</b><span style="font-family: verdana;"> of weathering it than other heroes would). But you <i>do</i> want to keep your big hero </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">moving towards </span><i style="font-family: verdana;">something</i><span style="font-family: verdana;"> (even if that "something" is to one flank) because it keeps your </span><i style="font-family: verdana;">opponent</i><span style="font-family: verdana;"> moving (and, more importantly, guessing about what your hero is up to). The more movement your opponent has to do to match yours, the more opportunities for mistakes, and the less bandwidth he has to focus on what he's trying to accomplish. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">So keep your mounted hero(es) 4-6 inches behind your main battle-line--out of range of </span><i style="font-family: verdana;">Paralyze</i><span style="font-family: verdana;"> (because you have 1-2 inches of troops between you and the enemy, and the enemy has 1-2 inches of troops between you and his/her barrow wight), but well in-range of a charge at the moment of your choosing. And move him around. A lot. It'll give you that sense of control and agency. It'll keep the orcs on edge. It'll sometime expose an opening that you can exploit. And those are all good things.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div></div><div><b style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #6aa84f;">Reminder 3: Avoid the "stupid" mistakes that make Angmar's job easier.</span></b></div><div><b style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #6aa84f;"><br /></span></b></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span>So everything I'm going to talk about here applies (usually) to every MESBG game you'll play. And there's a hundred other things we could cover here, too (don't fight over barriers if you don't have to; March if you're exposed to heavy bowfire; don't put your wizard in your front rank, especially if he's just D5). But I'm focusing on mistakes that Angmar in particular is likely to capitalize on, because (1) that's what we're talking about here, and (2) they're potentially game-breaking mistakes, especially if we start piling them up.</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div><b style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNQAKdTAHX_0EExNln_mWX0RxxRwmFvUb_tBg_IEB0JOjLQFxvmFjLmQFJg-Y2vFM6bQQkNBeV-OF_yQSMGpNhftUmqm9FflT-T7c6WrXXn5Zg5ky7gyVx5COoSB5U2qkUxyDsP81uvsNv4l5w4aREHsf-gZG5SZ_eDNEFKoVYVMasqdoZ10ct0yFV4iE/s300/Edna%203.gif" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="194" data-original-width="300" height="194" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNQAKdTAHX_0EExNln_mWX0RxxRwmFvUb_tBg_IEB0JOjLQFxvmFjLmQFJg-Y2vFM6bQQkNBeV-OF_yQSMGpNhftUmqm9FflT-T7c6WrXXn5Zg5ky7gyVx5COoSB5U2qkUxyDsP81uvsNv4l5w4aREHsf-gZG5SZ_eDNEFKoVYVMasqdoZ10ct0yFV4iE/s1600/Edna%203.gif" width="300" /></a></div></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Photo credit: <a href="https://ro.inspiredpencil.com/2021-gallery/edna-mode-fight-win-gif">ro.inspiredpencil.com</a></i></span></span></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #6aa84f;"><b style="color: black;"><span style="color: red;"><i>#1: If Angmar wants you to fight somewhere, and you don't <u>have</u> to fight there, just refuse to fight there.</i></span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: verdana; font-weight: 400;"> The most unpleasant play experience you can have against Angmar is against lists that feature the </span><span style="color: black; font-family: verdana; font-weight: 400;">Shade (a 6" "-1 to your duel rolls" bubble) and/or the Dwimmerlaik (a 6" "you may need to spend an extra Might/Will/Fate or lose its effects" bubble). But even a standard list with a couple of Barrow-Wights (a 6" "<i>ooh, I might knock you on your butt</i>" bubble) may create spaces on the board where you'll be at a disadvantage if you fight in a particular spot (and occasionally "spots," plural). </span></span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #6aa84f;"><span style="color: black; font-family: verdana; font-weight: 400;"><br /></span></span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #6aa84f;"><span style="color: black; font-family: verdana; font-weight: 400;">Now <i>sometimes</i> the scenarios dictate that you fight in a particular place (Contest, Hold Ground, and Seize the Prize come to mind). And if that's the case, you'll be limited in where you'll need to fight (or at least how long you can avoid fighting in that spot). But most scenarios aren't like that: there's either no set location where you need to fight (Lords of Battle, Assassination), or there's <i>multiple</i> spots where you need to fight (Domination, Capture and Control, Destroy the Supplies). Against an Angmar army built around one single model (like the Shade), that may mean sacrificing <i>some</i> VPs to claim others (the Shade's camped on the left objective, so I'll leave that one for now and focus on the other 3-4). Or, it may mean that we commit some of our more expendable models in <i>that</i> area, so our other more important pieces can press our advantage in other spots. Instead of trying to crush Angmar's whole force around the central objective, maybe we have Forlong and some knights/Axemen fight in the Shade's bubble, while </span></span></b><b style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #6aa84f;"><span style="color: black; font-family: verdana; font-weight: 400;">Angbor and some Clansmen fight on an extreme flank outside the bubble (to avoid that nasty -2 debuff to any roll that isn't a "6"), and</span></span></b><b style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #6aa84f;"><span style="color: black; font-family: verdana; font-weight: 400;"> Imrahil and our Knights take on two objectives that are a safe distance away, with a plan to flank the Shade's unit once that task is completed.</span></span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #6aa84f;"><span style="color: black; font-family: verdana; font-weight: 400;"><br /></span></span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #6aa84f;"><span style="color: black; font-family: verdana; font-weight: 400;">Again, this is something we'd probably plan do against any number of other scary models (the Balrog, Azog, Aragorn, Sauron, etc.). There's no reason for us to abandon that strategy against Angmar.</span></span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span><br /><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-weight: 400;"><b style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: red;"><i>#2: Keep your most important pieces bracketed by less-important troops at all times.</i></span></b><span style="font-family: verdana;"> Angmar has access to Spectres and <i>Compel</i> (on up to three wraiths, though most likely just one), which means that models who aren't in combat can be moved against their will. So if there's a model we <i>need</i> to be in a particular spot, we need to prepare for that possibility. And if the model we need doesn't have any Will or has suspect courage (or if we don't want to have to spend any Will/risk flubbing a courage test), that usually means that we need to bracket those important models with other models that have to be moved <i>first</i> before the opponent can move our important piece. </span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">So if you have an Orc banner, put 2-3 orcs around the banner so the opponent has to commit 2-3 spectres/compels instead of just the one. If you're heading towards a bottle-neck, maybe don't put your 60mm base troll in the front rank (where he might stuff up your advance). Maybe wait to rush your cavalry forwards until a turn in which you move second. In other words, standard "good positioning" tactics. Amazingly, they still work against Angmar most of the time. ;-)</span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><b style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: red;"><i>Be mindful of your surroundings (both good and bad).</i></span></b><span style="font-family: verdana;"> Two things to think through here, both offensively and defensively.</span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span><span style="font-family: verdana;">First, when on offense, <b><i>we generally want to engage Angmar in more open spaces if we can</i></b>. There's lots of reasons for this: </span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span><span style="font-family: verdana;">First and foremost, Angmar tends to keep their important supporting models (spectres, shades, barrow-wights, even wraiths) in the back. And the faster we can pressure/tag/eliminate those models, the </span></span></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">easier it is to deal with Angmar</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">). </span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">Open spaces also mean less cover/no cover for Gulavhar/Fell Beasts. And as the FAQs explain, flying monsters only get in-the-ways against shooting attacks from other Monsters or actual terrain--standard infantry and cavalry don't shield them (which, for a model like Gulavhar who's D5, is a <i>huge</i> deal). </span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">It means our lines can be spread out more, which generally makes it harder for Angmar to set up devastating Hurls: either a hurl goes down the line (which is disruptive, but usually only threatens basic infantry--and depending on your warriors' defense, may actually do <i>more</i> damage to <i>Angmar's</i> D5 orcs than to your own warriors), or it goes perpendicular to the line (which takes out maybe a couple of troops and a hero's horse, but doesn't do much else). </span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">Open spaces also make it easier for us to keep our heroes 4-6" back from the line (generally out of <i>Paralyze</i> range, unless the Angmar player decides to expose the Barrow-Wight to a potential counter-charge that turn, or the next turn). </span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">It opens up firing lanes for our ranged attacks (which, again, we should have lots of, in order to deal with <b>Terror</b>). </span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">And of course, that's before we get to any other features of our list that may make fighting on open ground advantageous (like, say, we're running a lot/all cavalry, and/or have a lot of mounted heroes in our force).</span></li></ul></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">That said, there are some situations where we may want to consider fighting more defensively among terrain. For example, if our army isn't super-reliant on heroes (i.e., we're playing Champions of Erebor with Gloin, Bifur, Nori, and Balin, or Minas Tirith with Faramir, Hurin, Cirion, and a Captain/Madril), </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">we might not be that worried about Angmar's magic attack. While we'd <i>prefer</i> to use our heroes to fight, our rank-and-file troops all have</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> good courage, Fight value, and defense to do damage to Angmar on their own (IH Dwarves, supported by a healthy contingent of crossbows, a ballista, and some goat riders; or Fountain Court, Citadel Guard, Rangers, and a Bolt Thrower/Trebuchet). Sure, Angmar <i>could</i> spend Will to try to <i>Paralyze</i> those heroes/warriors, or drain their courage, or try to move them with spectres. But as long as we're guarding against sneak attacks (coming up, I promise), we're actually not that worried if the enemy lobs 3-4 turns of <i>Paralyzes</i> over the course of the game. So we can afford to play more defensively (especially if the objectives reward us for camping in one spot, and/or don't require us to be in more than one spot; and especially if we can force Angmar to come to us--something both of these Hero-lite list builds can definitely do).</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">There are other reasons, too. Flying models can't Fly into difficult terrain (woods, rocks, marshes, even deep water--although just to be clear, I generally don't recommend fighting in deep water, and am not recommending you do so here ;-) ). Fell Beasts also have significantly reduced movement in most difficult terrain (although as cavalry <i>and</i> monsters, I don't think that applies to <i>shallow</i> water). They lose <b>Fly</b> (so only 3" of movement), and also lose their charge bonuses (no extra attack, no knock-down, and again, they can't fly over opposing models/ignore their control zones), both of which <i>significantly</i> reduce their threat in combat. Setting up with some woods to your rear also functions as an enormous "anti-fly formation" that doesn't require you to "sacrifice" models, both figuratively (by putting them somewhere where they'll be doing nothing other than "standing around") <i>and</i> literally (as a sacrifice to some hideous flying beast who'd prefer to tag your army leader, wizard, or banner). Plus, a monster can't hurl a forest (like it can hurl models in a standard anti-fly formation). And if you're playing on an asymetrical board (i.e., one side of the board has more cover than the other), setting up on the denser side and digging in defensively (especially if you have superior shooting--which isn't hard against an Angmar list) may leverage several of these advantages at once.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">If that's our situation, it <i>absolutely</i> may be worth taking cover in woods, turtling up in a choke-point, getting behind some barriers... or even just drawing up a defensive battle line back in our original deployment zone, and unleashing our ranged projectiles. Remember: Angmar's battle-line is just regular orcs. And a Shieldwall composed of regular orcs typically can't grind against an elite Shieldwall. They get wounded on 5s while wounding on 6s (sometimes worse). They have the lower fight value, so they lose drawn duels. And if our battle-line has <b>Terror</b>, they may even box out their own models (creating opportunities for us, if we move second, to create 2 v. 1 combats in our favor). In tough matches between skilled opponents and with favorable scenario objectives, these advantages--combined with the safety defensive positioning provides--can be the difference between winning and losing.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">So do as Sun Tzu says, and survey the ground before you fight.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span><br /><b style="color: black; font-weight: bold;"><span><b><span style="color: red;"><i>Guard against the "sneak attack" play.</i></span></b><span style="font-family: verdana; font-weight: 400;"> </span></span></b></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span><b style="color: black; font-weight: bold;"><span><span style="font-family: verdana; font-weight: 400;"><br /></span></span></b></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span><b style="color: black; font-weight: bold;"><span><span style="font-family: verdana; font-weight: 400;">We come to it at last.</span></span></b></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span><b style="color: black; font-weight: bold;"><span><span style="font-family: verdana; font-weight: 400;"><br /></span></span></b></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span><b style="color: black; font-weight: bold;"><span><span style="font-family: verdana; font-weight: 400;">If you've played against Angmar before, you know exactly what I'm talking about. It usually starts with us winning Priority, we advance towards Angmar (because we're being aggressive, which is good), some poor shmuck fails his Spectre test and gets pulled forward into charge range, and suddenly Gulavhar and the Witch-King are in combat (sometimes a Barrow-Wight is involved, too, if the model is a hero). We've already moved, so we can't do anything to reposition. </span></span></b></span></span><b style="font-family: verdana;"><span><span style="font-family: verdana; font-weight: 400;">Of course we're playing Good, so we can't shoot them (because they're in combat). One of them calls a Heroic Combat in the Fight Phase. And now we're rapidly measuring things to see which heroes/banners/wizards are in range; debating if any/all heroes should be calling Heroic Actions; if so, debating whether they should Strike or Defense; and all the while, we know that whatever we do, it'll be a waste (if we call something, the Witch-King and Gully will just fly somewhere else; if we don't call--or call with some but not others--whatever doesn't call is likely to be murdered... and depending on what army we're fielding, that may be a loss we can't recover from, especially against a skilled opponent).</span></span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b style="font-family: verdana;"><span><span style="font-family: verdana; font-weight: 400;"><br /></span></span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b style="font-family: verdana;"><span><span style="font-family: verdana; font-weight: 400;">Fortunately, there's a few general tactics that we can deploy to guard against these sorts of plays (or at least mitigate their damage). I've hinted at some of them already (and Tiberius has done a great job walking through the ins-and-outs of them elsewhere), so I'll just hit the highlights:</span></span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><span style="color: #ff00fe;">Might shenanigans.</span></b> A common feature of most sneak-attack tactics in this game is that they require (1) the spending of Might (2) on a </span><a href="https://tellmeatalegreatorsmall.blogspot.com/2024/02/back-to-basics-heroic-actions-in-mesbg.html" style="font-family: verdana;" target="_blank"><b>Heroic Combat</b></a><span style="font-family: verdana;">. Angmar's sneak attacks aren't any different, which means there's a whole host of tactics that we can use to try to muck up these sneak-attack plays before they materialize: </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">For starters, the hero has to have Might... and if you've ever tried list-building with an Angmar list, you may have noticed that a lot of competitive Angmar armies actually don't have much might (because Barrow Wights, the Shade, and even the Dwimmerlaik don't have any). There are some exceptions, of course--and they generally tend to be the models that cause the most havoc when they Heroic Combat (the Witch-King, Gulavhar, Buhrdur). But take a moment or two before a match starts to take stock of exactly how much Might Angmar has--and keep track of those stats as the game progresses. Because Angmar's might is generally a scarce resource, every Might spent on a Heroic Move, Channel, Strike, or Defense early in the game is a Might that <i>can't</i> be spent on a Heroic Combat later (and every Heroic Combat called now is one fewer Heroic Move, Channel, Strike or Defense later). Speaking of which...</span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">Because every model (yes, even Dernhelm) can only call one heroic action per phase, calling a Heroic Combat means that a model can't call Strike or Defense (and vice versa). So if we can put a model in a dangerous situation early (i.e., we get a Striking hero and multiple friends into Gulavhar, egging him to call Heroic Defense instead), we can dramatically reduce the chances that the opponent will ever call a combat in the first place. Which means we'll know exactly where Gulavhar will be not only this turn, but at the start of next turn.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">Remember also that Heroic Combats are generally pretty tough to pull off, because the model that calls it must </span><i style="font-family: verdana;">kill</i><span style="font-family: verdana;"> every model in the original combat for it to fire. And the odds of killing a model vary dramatically, based on a variety of factors. The attacker's strength is usually not a variable in Angmar armies (because generally the truly terrifying "sneak-attack" plays involve monsters that are either S6 or S8). But whether Angmar's model has </span><i style="font-family: verdana;">charged</i><span style="font-family: verdana;"> does generally matter (not for Buhrdur, but for a fell beast or Gulavhar, it's usually the difference between 2-4 dice to wound and 8-10 dice to wound). The </span><i style="font-family: verdana;">number</i><span style="font-family: verdana;"> of models in the fight also matters--because even if a monster </span><i style="font-family: verdana;">does</i><span style="font-family: verdana;"> charge, it still can't kill five models in a single-turn if it's a fell beast (or 6+ models if it's Gulavhar). And if that monster has charged a hero, don't forget about other tricks in your heroic action suite. Heroic Defense dramatically reduces the odds of a successful Heroic Combat going off (especially if you can get 1-2 other models/spears in the combat to roll more dice/soak up more wounds). And while not every hero has Heroic Defense, a lot of them that don't </span><i style="font-family: verdana;">do</i><span style="font-family: verdana;"> have Heroic Strength... which I grant you isn't the </span><i style="font-family: verdana;">same</i><span style="font-family: verdana;">, but against a Fell Beast in particular (S6 cap), </span><a href="https://tellmeatalegreatorsmall.blogspot.com/2019/03/the-two-choices-or-why-would-i-ever.html" style="font-family: verdana;" target="_blank"><b>it actually has a niche use</b></a><span style="font-family: verdana;"> because a S4 hero has a pretty good chance (3+) of avoiding the knock-down (and probably gutting the effect of Rend, too), both of which may mean the difference between dying and not.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">Finally, remember that even heroes who can't call Heroic Defense (or can't/won't call Heroic Strength) </span><i style="font-family: verdana;">can</i><span style="font-family: verdana;"> still muck with Angmar's Heroic Combats (maybe) by calling a heroic action they </span><i style="font-family: verdana;">all </i><span style="font-family: verdana;">have: another Heroic Combat. If you have the updated rulebook, have a second look at the section on Heroic Combats. For the rest of us, there was an FAQ a couple of years ago that clarified what happens if two heroes in the </span><i style="font-family: verdana;">same fight</i><span style="font-family: verdana;"> both call Heroic Combats (link </span><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-AtZkE9AGdJtpLycAFRhm-GbHRsLmiE1/view" style="font-family: verdana;" target="_blank"><b>here</b></a><span style="font-family: verdana;">, top of p. 3). The skinny is that you roll-off to see whose heroic combat resolves first (like you would do normally). If the Angmar player's heroic action resolves first, everything proceeds normally (and if your hero is slain, along with every other model in the combat, Angmar's heroic combat is successful). But if <i>your</i> heroic combat resolves first, Angmar's heroic combat <i>doesn't</i> occur. Which means that <i>even if your hero dies in <b>your</b> heroic combat</i>, Angmar's hero (and supporting models) don't get to move. And against a low-might army like Angmar, that loss can be huge.</span></li></ul><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><span style="color: #ff00fe;">Make use of your measuring tape.</span></b> Remember that pre-measuring in MESBG is perfectly legal, and largely expected (within reason, of course--pre-measuring just to slow-play things may result in disgruntled opponents). Heroic Combats with Buhrdur are just less unpredictable than Heroic Combats with a Wild Warg Chieftain (6" vs. 10"). WWC combats are less predictable than combats with a flying monster (10" and no <b>Fly </b>vs. 12" with <b>Fly</b>). And even 12" has its limits (literally, it's limited at 12"). Yes, spectres and <i>Compel</i> can muck with that sometimes. But once you know where that hero is, you can anticipate where his Heroic Combats will probably go (or at least where the potential sneak attack targets are). Especially once you factor in...</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><span style="color: #ff00fe;">Control Zones 101.</span></b> As any seasoned player knows, control zones are the #1 defense against getting "ganked" by any faction, at any time, in any in-game situation. If you need a refresher, I'd commend <b><u><a href="https://tellmeatalegreatorsmall.blogspot.com/2024/02/back-to-basics-control-zones.html" target="_blank">Tiberius's recent 101 on control zones</a></u></b> to you. But the most basic principle is that if you have an important model in combat, and you're concerned about Angmar using a Heroic Combat to get into that hero, you should deploy at least one expendable, unengaged model (the "screener") around your hero in such a way that Angmar (1) cannot charge that hero without entering the screener's control zone, <i>and</i> (2) cannot charge both the screener <i>and</i> your hero at the same time. The reason <b>both</b> must be true is because (1) control zones only work if a model <i>must</i> enter another model's control zone, and (2) if the model performing the Heroic Combat <i>can</i> get into <i>both</i> the screener and the primary target, it <i>can</i> do that, which <i>generally</i> negates the primary benefit of the screener--forcing the Heroic Combat into some other (less valuable) model.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">I say "generally" because there's some scenarios where the screener may still successfully shield the hero, even if both can be charged (they depend on what your hero is doing, who he's fighting/not fighting, who else is fighting in his original combat, and who has priority--in other words, it's highly situational). But if you want to avoid all that rules-lawyering, just do your best to set-up the screener and hero as described above, and you're golden. ;-) </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">It may not stop Angmar from still calling that Heroic Combat. It may not even mean that your hero is safe (screeners set-up in loose formations like these generally make nice Hurl targets for flying monsters, which means your hero may lose his/her mount, take chip damage, etc.). But it generally means that your hero won't need to fight the full fury of that monster this turn... and that means you get at least one more move phase/shoot phase/fight phase for that Hero to do things (and more opportunities for you to counter what Angmar is doing). And having "one more turn" against Angmar is always a good thing.</span><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><span style="color: #ff00fe;">Sometimes special formations add spice to life.</span></b> We can also build on basic control zone tactics through use of creative formations. Let me start off by saying that I have nothing against a good ol' fashioned shieldwall--two ranks, stacked up parallel to each other, taking on all comers. But even that formation can benefit occasionally from <a href="https://tellmeatalegreatorsmall.blogspot.com/2019/07/tactics-in-middle-earth-sbg-making.html" target="_blank"><b>some variation</b></a>. And since no model in our game confers any sort of <i>offensive</i> benefit from being stacked up in a line like that (and the vast majority of models don't receive any <i>defensive</i> benefit from being lined up that way, either), there's no reason why we <i>need</i> to line-up that way against Angmar, especially if an alternative formation offers some additional protection/advantage. So if your relationship with Angmar is getting stale, here's some ideas for spicing things up:</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://tellmeatalegreatorsmall.blogspot.com/2021/12/unexpected-military-formations-in-set.html" target="_blank"><b>Insetting heroes</b></a> is a great way to protect them from barrow wights (only 6" range), and even a <i>Compel</i>/<i>Fell Light</i> on a mounted hero becomes a lot less threatening if Angmar can't pull them into a "no man's land" where they can be easily surrounded and trapped. </span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">Against Monster heroes / mounted heroes with big bases, you can protect your infantry heroes by using a modified <b><a href="https://tellmeatalegreatorsmall.blogspot.com/2022/08/unexpected-military-formations-gear.html" target="_blank">Gear Tooth Formation</a></b>. You'll want to set the hero slightly behind your front rank, leaving a gap between your front rank warriors that's wider than 25mm but smaller than 40mm (or 60mm if you're worried about a Fell Beast or Gulavhar). That will prevent your hero from being charged (assuming he can't be pulled by magic/courage shenanigans, of course), while still leaving your hero free to maneuver/charge if you move second.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">While Buhrdur is undoubtedly nasty, sneak attacks from a fell beast or Gulavhar tend to be more disruptive. Fortunately, there's a ton of ways to set-up an <u style="font-weight: bold;"><a href="https://tellmeatalegreatorsmall.blogspot.com/2022/12/three-easy-anti-flyer-formations.html" target="_blank">anti-fly formation</a></u>, depending on the models you have available and your overall strategy for the match (the "Open Skirmish Triangle," in particular, doesn't <i>look</i> like it should be effective--but it's actually very hard for flying monsters to play around because of how much space it takes up, how it leverages control zones, and how it combines with other shooting threats in your army to essentially create a kill zone (especially if you're an evil shooting army like Harad or Umbar, and can shoot into your anti-fly formation).</span></li></ul></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span><b style="color: black; font-weight: bold;"><span><span style="font-family: verdana; font-weight: 400;"><br /></span></span></b></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span><b><span><span style="color: #ff00fe; font-family: verdana;">Telegraphing.</span><span style="font-family: verdana; font-weight: 400;"> Speaking of formations and spice, a potential Achilles heel for many "sneak attacks" is that they actually take time to set-up, which means that they're generally telegraphed in advance (if you know what to look for). </span></span></b></span></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span><span style="font-family: verdana;">For example: one of my preferred tactics when I'm playing Angmar is that I'll set-up a future sneak attack by using the Witch-King's superior movement (horse or fell-beast) to cast a couple of <i>Drain Courage</i> spells on a model I plan to pull forward with a spectre (usually heroes, but occasionally troops, too). </span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span><span style="font-family: verdana;">The theory is definitely a sound one: if you have the Crown of Morgul (as the Witch-King in Angmar will almost always have), you can safely cast <i>Drain Courage </i>with a single die, expect it to go off all the time (a 2+ to cast, rerolling all fails--so you fail 1-in-36 tries, or 2.77% of the time), and it'll do <i>something positive</i> every time. If the Hero resists it, that's one less Will (probably) later on to resist a <i>Paralyze </i>or <i>Transfix/Compel</i>, pass a Courage test, etc. If the Hero doesn't resist, that spell--combined with </span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Harbinger of Evil</b>--effectively reduces that hero's Courage by -2... and if it happens 2-3 times, even the most courageous of heroes may find themselves chickening out (C7 Elessar becomes C3 in Harbinger Range... a real problem against an army where standard front-rank orcs cause <b>Terror</b>). And that means that instead of having to spend Will on a <i>Compel</i>, I might be able to use a lowly spectre to get the pull, which would not only save my Witch-King's precious will, but also pull that hero even <i>further</i> out of position (because <b>A Fell Light is in Them</b> moves the model <i>full</i>, instead of just <i>half</i> like a <i>Compel</i> would). </span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span><span style="font-family: verdana;">But think about how much has to be set-up for this strategy to work (and all the "tells" along the way):</span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">I need to spend a couple of turns casting <i>Drain Courage</i> on the <i>same</i> model (pro-tip: if that happens to you, it's a good sign that something's afoot);</span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">I'll need a spectre or two in range (some armies have tons of spectres, but most Angmar armies will only have 2-4, so if a couple of them are shading one direction, that's a tell).</span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">Both of these casts have a 12" range, so keep an eye on what the Witch-King and/or spectres are doing <i>after</i> they do it. For that matter, keep an eye on what the <i>rest of the army</i> is doing while this is going on. Is the Witch-King casting behind an advancing army? Is the army advancing straight forward, or are they cheating towards the hero that's being targeted? (If so, odds are that's where the opponent is heading.) <i>Away</i> from the hero that's being targeted? (That magic barrage may be a long-range feint to get you to reinforce that side of the board, while Angmar's real play is on the other side of your battle line.)</span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">Finally, what are the rest of Angmar's combat heroes doing during this time (and where are they)? If there's a Barrow-Wight <i>and</i> Buhrdur/Gulavhar on that same side, that probably means the ultimate plan is to wear your hero down for a <i>Paralyze</i> flash-kill. But if no one else is within 9" of the Witch-King/spectres, the odds of that happening go down significantly (even a 12" flying model typically can't make up a 9" gap when they have to fly diagonally, over two battle lines, to get to a hero).</span></li></ul></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">That's just one example, but there's other telegraphing, too. I know </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Fly</b><span style="font-family: verdana;"> gives monsters like Gulavhar a lot of movement. But 12" only stretches so far if the armies are closing (especially if Gulvahar has his eye on something juicy behind your main battle line). So if Gulavhar is starting to cheat to your left, that </span><i style="font-family: verdana;">probably</i><span style="font-family: verdana;"> means he's eyeing something on your left side instead of your right. If you suspect this is the case, consider doing the old <u><b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LGu9He7AsYo&t=100s" target="_blank">"man-in-motion" trick</a></b></u> that (American) football offenses run to sniff out defensive plays: if you suspect Gully is after your banner, move your banner from your left side to your right, and see if Gully matches his movements. Worst-case scenario: your banner ends up out of Gully's initial attack range (not a bad thing). Best-case scenario, you can sniff-out what Gully's up to (even if he doesn't mirror your banner, and stays left, that tells you something: he's eyeing something else on your left side... and you can usually sniff out what thru process of elimination). Again, like we talked about above, <i>stagnant </i>battle lines tend to favor Angmar: we need to keep our heroes and important pieces </span><i style="font-family: verdana;">moving</i><span style="font-family: verdana;">!</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span><b style="color: black; font-weight: bold;"><span><span style="font-family: verdana; font-weight: 400;"><br /></span></span></b></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span><b><span><span style="color: #ff00fe; font-family: verdana;">Special note: Dealing with hurls.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: verdana; font-weight: 400;"> Finally, let me say a few things about anticipating/breaking up hurls:</span></span></b></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span><b style="color: black;"><span><span style="font-family: verdana; font-weight: 400;">First, because of how the Hurl rules work now (namely, models can only be hurled in one direction: directly away, along a line drawn thru the middle of both the monster's base and the hurled model's base), </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">it actually takes a lot of effort nowadays to set-up a devastating hurl</span><span style="font-family: verdana; font-weight: 400;">. Unfortunately for Angmar, it's much easier to set-up when you move first, especially after the lines have clashed (because <i>Compel</i> and spectres can't move models that are engaged in combat; and of course, tagged monsters can't move to set them up, either). So if you move first, you can't always dictate whether there will <i>be</i> a hurl, but you <i>can</i> usually dictate what that Hurl will <i>hit</i> if Angmar commits to it. An anti-fly formation set-up at an angle from your front line (i.e., you set-up one model about 2" to the left and 1-2" in <i>front</i> of your battle line, and another model 2" to the left and 1-2" <i>behind</i> your battle line) can often prevent a flying monster from getting a clean bowling alley down your battle line (maybe 1-2 models at the edge get clipped, but that's it--something you can usually live with). A refused flank can also do this (and is a solid tactic against Angmar generally, especially if your force is more elite and Angmar outnumbers you). And while Angmar <i>typically</i> has a flying monster, a lot of Angmar armies don't (just cave trolls/Buhrdur, with a Witch-King on horse instead of on fell-beast). In which case, those hurls get a <i>lot</i> more difficult to set-up.</span></span></b></span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span><b style="color: black;"><span><span style="font-family: verdana; font-weight: 400;">If you're moving second, can't get locked into combat, and are concerned about a hurl on the <i>following</i> turn, </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">consider spreading out your models in your battle line</span><span style="font-family: verdana; font-weight: 400;">. Instead of having them standing right next to each other (6 of them in a 6" space) give them a half-inch to an inch of space (so there's only 3-4 models in that 6" space). That way, the base hurl (difference in strength +1") hits fewer targets, which probably results in fewer disruptions. You of course want to be careful about this, because it does open your front-rank up to <i>more</i> 4 on 2 combats (i.e., two shields and two spears charge your one shield/spear file). But as Tiberius discussed recently, </span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://tellmeatalegreatorsmall.blogspot.com/2024/02/back-to-basics-control-zones.html" target="_blank">control zones</a></span><span style="font-family: verdana; font-weight: 400;"> help with that more than you might think at first glance, and if you have the higher fight value and S3/D6 or better (which, again, you should really have on your rank-and-file troops if you are building against Angmar), the difference between 4 dice and 2 (especially if you have a banner reroll) actually still gives you a better than 50% chance of winning the fight. As </span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://tellmeatalegreatorsmall.blogspot.com/2023/04/five-easy-math-stats-for-mesbg.html" target="_blank">Tiberius explains</a></span><span style="font-family: verdana; font-weight: 400;">, you actually need </span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>8+ dice</i></span><span style="font-family: verdana; font-weight: 400;"> in a fight to secure a 50% chance or better of winning a duel if you have the lower fight value against two dice backed by a banner. So as long as you aren't allowing your models to be <i>completely engulfed</i>, you can probably manage. </span></span></b></span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span><b style="color: black;"><span><span style="font-family: verdana;">Staggering your battle line can also accomplish something similar</span><span style="font-family: verdana; font-weight: 400;"> (your first shield/spear file is a half-inch to an inch forward, your second file is a half-inch to an inch back, and you alternate back and forth). In addition to doing weird things with control zones (it actually makes it difficult to charge the back rank because of how those control-zones overlap), it has a myriad of other uses. It makes it very difficult for cavalry models to pin down/charge more than one model at once (not that you <i>want</i> to be charging your cavalry models into two spears/two shields, but whatever). It's a great way to offer some cover to infantry heroes who are part of your main battle line (Dragon Knights on foot, Rutabi, Raza, and even pseudo-heroes like Half-Trolls) because it makes it impossible for more than one enemy warrior to charge them, and usually impossible for any mounted heroes to charge them (leaving them free to counter-charge or redeploy at will). And critical to our discussion here, it means that if the enemy decides to try a hurl, more of <i>Angmar's</i> models are going to be caught in the cross-hairs of the hurl than normal, because half of <i>their</i> models are pulled forwards into the "middle" of our battle line (including, potentially, some spearmen). And if you combine the two tricks (off-setting your spaced-out battle line), we can deprive a hurl of a lot of juice (to the point where the monster may actually just attack normally, instead of doing a hurl that is likely to result in minimal impact (and maybe not even a kill, depending on how hearty the warrior is who's going to be thrown). Which leads me to...</span></span></b></span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Not all hurls are bad</b>. Now hear me out: it's not fun to be subjected to a hurl. The hurled model gets repositioned (nothing you can do about that). It will often die. The models it passes through also get knocked prone (usually), and die (sometimes). And it can be a real bummer if the hurl goes through a hero (especially a mounted one, or one we were counting on killing things in combat). Having said that, as any experienced player knows, there are several situations where it may actually be <i>advantageous</i> in the long run (or even the short run) to bait your opponent into doing a Hurl. The most obvious is when you "accidentally" set-up models on a flank (usually an extreme flank) in such a way that it requires that flying vampire to fly 10-15" away from where the <i>real</i> action is. You generally need real bait for this (for some reason, mounted models really work). And a purely rational opponent will sniff this out, and avoid it. But even experienced players will be tempted (<i>I know Gully will be out of position, but doggonne it, I can knock over four cavalry models!</i>). So Gully flies over, he hurls through/kills those four cavalry models (maybe they die heroically, maybe they don't). And you get 2-4 turns of Gully being far away from everything else in your army (which is an acceptable trade for you). The other sneaky thing about hurls is that while you <i>can</i> kill the models you hurl/hurl through, there's no <i>guarantee</i> that you'll do that. I vividly remember my Witch-King trying to hurl a Rider of Rohan through three cavalry models and Theoden--I de-horsed them all, but didn't wound anyone. Remember: if you have especially high defense (D6+, although D7 is better), a Hurl needs a 6+ to wound any model you pass through, a 6+ for the "collateral damage" on your hurled model, and a 5+ (if you're D7 or above) on the actual S6 Hurl die, to deal wounds. Combined with spacing, staggered lines, and/or a refused flank/angled anti-fly formation (to reduce the number of Hurl dice in the pool), that degree of difficulty to wound <i>may</i> result in a situation where no damage is actually done. And if the monster that hurled called a Heroic Combat (like my Witch-King did that time that I vividly remember), you might even catch them with their proverbial pants down.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">Lastly, <b>look for opportunities to leverage the new changes to in-the-ways for flying monsters.</b> For a myriad of reasons, flying monsters pose the most significant Hurl threats. And Angmar can field up to <i>four</i> flying monsters (about as many as any list can field, save Mordor or the Misty Mountains/Radagast's Alliance), who's also the strongest, save for Smaug (S8 Gulavhar--even stronger than a Dragon). But if you have respectable-to-excellent shooting, the fact that standard rank-and-file infantry no longer provide in-the-ways for flying monsters means that the Angmar player will typically be more cautious in how they approach your lines. And that's especially true for Gulavhar (D5), who's <i>extremely</i> vulnerable to S3+ shooting (plus wounds he takes from shooting attacks early also de-power him in combat, because his attacks and courage are tied to his current wound count). Now ideally, you want Angmar out in the open where cover is limited (because that way you can shoot him). But more likely than not, there'll be <i>some</i> cover for Gully to hide behind... and you can leverage that fact, too. For starters, assuming the objectives and/or your shooting will force Angmar to charge you, it's probably safe to assume that Gully (if not the whole army) will be traveling towards you in a direction that's largely dictated by where the terrain is. So if there's terrain to your <i>left</i>, move <i>right</i>. If the VPs for the scenario will allow you to camp out 15+" from the nearest terrain piece, <i>do that</i>. And if you're concerned about a Hurl, either <i>don't set up your battle line near a terrain feature</i>, <b><i>or</i> </b><i>do</i> set it up near that feature, but in a spot where Gully won't be able to see you without exposing himself. Because Gully (for some reason) doesn't have <b>Fell Sight</b>, he can only see what he can charge. So if he can't <i>see</i> the end of your battle-line, he can't <i>charge</i> the end of your battle line (and thus can't hurl down it). And oh, by the way: you can do the same thing to protect your other important pieces/heroes. If you're concerned about Gully ganking something important, set that important thing up in a spot where he can't see it when he flies behind that tree, or that ruin, or that hill. Or, if you have multiple heroes (including some expendable low-Fight heroes who don't have Strike (but do have something like Defense), set them way off on a flank where they <i>can</i> be seen from behind cover (while your main heroes can't), and maybe Gully takes the bait. </span></li></ul><span style="font-family: verdana;">Ultimately, you can't always </span><i style="font-family: verdana;">dictate </i><span style="font-family: verdana;">what an enemy monster will do. But there's plenty of room for ingenuity and creativity to make Hurling as hard as possible (and to minimize how harmful a successful Hurl ultimately becomes).</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span><span><span><span style="color: red; font-family: verdana; font-weight: bold;"><i>Avoid unnecessarily burning your resources (especially your Might and Will).</i></span><span style="color: black; font-family: verdana; font-weight: 400;"> We talked about this in the magic discussion (where I think it's most relevant), so I'll just hit the high points. When it comes to magic defense, Angmar usually has more offensive resources (specifically, more Will on multiple casters) than you have defensive resources (Will to resist, </span><span style="color: black; font-family: verdana;"><b>Resistant to Magic</b>, Might for Heroic Resolve, etc.). So you're going to need to pick your spots. It sucks to lose your hero's horse. But if you've <i>tried</i> to keep your Army leader out of <i>Paralyze</i> range, and something unexpected happens (the enemy moves second/first in subsequent Move Phases, so they catch you in range), you don't <i>need</i> to resist the <i>Paralyze</i> if there's no way the enemy can get into your army leader (especially if you can bring 2-3 warriors and/or another hero to your leader, to help him wake up). Same thing with <i>Drain Courage </i>and <i>Transfix</i> spells (and sometimes <i>Compel</i>, though that's trickier because it's usually setting up something worse). If you don't <i>need</i> to resist that particular spell, at that particular moment, you're <i>usually</i> better off not doing so (especially if you've been using the tips and tricks we talked about to press your advantages, and have avoided making the mistakes that open you up to dangerous combos).</span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span><span><span><span style="color: black; font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span><span><span><span style="color: black; font-family: verdana;">The other thing to think about is your use of Might (especially if Gully is around). All things being equal, most armies prefer to move first. And there's definitely times when you'll want to do that against Angmar. But remember that <i>sometimes</i> it's better to let Angmar go first if they win priority, do whatever they're going to do, and then react (either to mitigate the negative impact of something like a Hurl, counter-charge cavalry or a monster without Might with a Hero who can strike, or to press an advantage--a Barrow-Wight got too close for a <i>Paralyze</i> cast, an Orc Captain can be surrounded and trapped, or Angmar stalled out on some of our <b>Terror</b> models). Instead, the turns when you want to be challenging Angmar with Heroic Moves are either a turn when we know everything's about to get real bad (ideally we try to minimize that with good play early on), or when there's a real opportunity if we move first to <i>get into the backfield</i> and tag casters, barrow-wights, flying monsters, or support pieces (banners/the Shade). Angmar armies tend to be lower on Might anyway, apart from the Witch-King, Gully, and Buhrdur (all of whom would rather use their Might for things other than heroic moves). So if Angmar wants to burn their limited stores to move first (in a turn when there's no serious threat to them doing so, and/or we're pretty confident we know what they'll do and can counter it)... let 'em. That's less Might for them to use later on, in turns when who moves first <i>actually</i> matters (and less Might to modify spells, call Heroic Combats / Strikes / Defenses, etc. along the way, all of which are wins for us).</span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span><br /><b style="color: black; font-weight: bold;"><span style="color: red;"><i>Keep the pressure up where you can, especially on Angmar's Spirit Heroes.</i></span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-weight: 400;"> </span><span style="color: black; font-weight: 400;">Finally, a quick reminder again of first principles: Angmar's just Orcs. Orcs are fine, not great. Hit them with anything hard, and they'll melt like wax. Keep the pressure on them, and they'll fall back. Gully and Fell Beasts can only be in one place at a time. Barrow-Wights don't want to fight your heroes fairly. The Shade has to be (almost) front-and-center to be effective, but doesn't under any circumstances want to be in an actual scrap. Bottom-line: take the fight to Angmar aggressively with your <i>troops</i> (by constantly presenting a threat to cut through their orc screen to get to something important), and you can dictate a lot of how the round will go. Good things generally happen in most scenarios if you're moving forwards and your opponent is giving ground, when you're applying the pressure and your opponent is reacting/playing defensively. So just do that. ;-)</span></span></span></div><div><b style="font-family: verdana;"><i><br /></i></b></div><div><b style="font-family: verdana;"><i><br /></i></b></div><div><b style="font-family: verdana;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU5ne19d2XZj1zWC2lIYHuBpi891nt80frfRrmsZ_i0kC-3OI0X4j9Y6EoMEabiXsf4SRm9Q9SVLGSVC02dlLwhmCM2Y6YuIpxsm7SnY1SP1fPDoPKnQ8hsozopjAawYRXtjbA-te5j9Yi4pqMNa3ZPIHnlvg-7Vsl2fhWhisxWi-uhXZBnyNu0pk7mig/s498/Mufasa.gif" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="278" data-original-width="498" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU5ne19d2XZj1zWC2lIYHuBpi891nt80frfRrmsZ_i0kC-3OI0X4j9Y6EoMEabiXsf4SRm9Q9SVLGSVC02dlLwhmCM2Y6YuIpxsm7SnY1SP1fPDoPKnQ8hsozopjAawYRXtjbA-te5j9Yi4pqMNa3ZPIHnlvg-7Vsl2fhWhisxWi-uhXZBnyNu0pk7mig/s320/Mufasa.gif" width="320" /></a></div></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">I know this isn't Edna, but this was too obvious to pass up...</span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Photo credit: <a href="https://tenor.com/view/remember-lion-king-mufasa-forget-dont-forget-gif-16698250">tenor.com</a></span></i></div><div><b style="font-family: verdana;"><i><br /></i></b></div><div><b style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #6aa84f;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Reminder 4: </span></span></b><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><span style="color: #6aa84f; font-size: medium;">Playing Angmar is no excuse for forgetting the objectives (or what your army does well).</span></b> </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">One of the earliest lessons I learned in MESBG (shortly before it was officially re-christened "MESBG") was that while killing models is tempting, the game is won or lost on objectives. And that's still true when you're playing Angmar: the VPs are still the VPs.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Now it's true that Angmar has a lot of tools to win VPs: I believe every scenario gives points for wounding the enemy general (and most--but not all--award more points for slaying the enemy general), which is something Angmar does exceptionally well. And a handful of scenarios award you VPs (or at least max VPs) for wounds dealt by a particular model (Contest is the most punishing, Fog of War/Assassination less so) or having a banner. Again, those are VP goals that Angmar can typically do well (both killing with their chosen hero/your banner, and locking up your champion/assassin). </span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">But the vast majority of VPs for most scenarios require you to do other things: kill more models, break the enemy without being broken, be in a particular spot (or six), have more models in a particular spot (or six), dig things up/destroy them, or hold/control various parts of the board (while navigating to them from 12" deployments, 24" deployments, corner deployments, or maelstrom deployments)</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Now Angmar can certainly do those things, too. But it will generally be trying to do those things with just standard orcs. And that fact exposes some weaknesses that you can take advantage of. Orcs move a respectable speed... but just a respectable speed (unless Angmar is burning Might to March--and as any Angmar player discovers in short order, Might is not typically a resource they have in abundance). They tend to fight in shield-wall formations (so they tend to take time to get into position, tend to telegraph that position on the approach, can be easy to flank if your army is more maneuverable/you get to move last/first in successive Move Phases, and don't do well in sustained grind sessions against other shield walls that can charge them (F4/D6/C4 or better)). Their Defense 5 is fine against standard (S2) bow fire, but weak against most everything else (elf bows, throwing weapons, standard strength infantry, Hurl damage, etc.). Their Fight 3 is fine, but not great. They don't have access to any large banners (only standard 3" banners). And while <b>Terror</b> covers some of these weaknesses against some opponents, it doesn't change the fact that once you get into a standard orc, it's pretty easy to retire him.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">One last thought: generally, it's a good idea to have at least one back-up strategy for scoring VPs against your opponent. But against Angmar, it's generally a good idea to have at least <i>two</i> back-up strategies--especially if your primary strategy is dependent on one particular hero being in a particular place at a particular time. If you need to reach a far-flung objective, send a few extra models in the vanguard (or better yet, two vanguards). Consider having two heroes anchor your battle-line instead of just one. Think about Marching to an objective earlier, to get an extra turn of elf-bow shooting in. Whatever you need to do, have a few plans in motion to accomplish those goals, so you can account for the unplanned.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">So yes--be mindful of the fact that your opponent is playing Angmar. Plan accordingly (and maybe back-up plan more than you'd usually). But don't let that scare you away from pursuing the VPs that you would normally pursue with the army that you've brought. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">While we're on that topic, a</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">nother basic thing that's easy to forget in the midst of a fatiguing game (when we're struggling to keep track of all the ways Angmar can beat you) is what <i>our</i> army does well. Yes, Angmar lists tend to have a lot of threats, and those threats certainly may counter (perhaps even hard-counter) some of the things our list does well. But presumably we built our army for a reason, too, right? It has strengths also. It has at least <i>some</i> models Angmar doesn't like (or, if we've <a href="https://tellmeatalegreatorsmall.blogspot.com/2023/07/armies-of-middle-earth-sbg-countering_0369171849.html" target="_blank">built our army with anti-Angmar strategies in mind</a>, maybe <i>a lot</i> of models Angmar doesn't like). It offers advantages in certain scenarios (or for specific VPs within a scenario) that Angmar will have trouble countering. And if we play to those strengths, we have a chance to wear down Angmar's advantages in the long run (which is sometimes all we can ask for).</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> So stay true to yourself, play to your army's strengths, and press the advantages that </span><i style="font-family: verdana;">you</i><span style="font-family: verdana;"> have (especially if they line-up with the objectives of the scenario).</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggOBd6axR6OAlF8mJA-9NdXqLlN6OHjftVuBlxs5yYhfl7eYDV_SHEFQQSCq-rFsdwLD0u-1G-FskRhMFXSCwooRQz-gXgZm8xVxagJZq7v68YtnxHoH0s1al-3V6lcqGcmeLFNNYIAPZIiHDpe5fdx-v_TFvGgNGwfReIEZvpjVdMfHr6hjOFw_kIt7k/s640/Edna%202.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="640" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggOBd6axR6OAlF8mJA-9NdXqLlN6OHjftVuBlxs5yYhfl7eYDV_SHEFQQSCq-rFsdwLD0u-1G-FskRhMFXSCwooRQz-gXgZm8xVxagJZq7v68YtnxHoH0s1al-3V6lcqGcmeLFNNYIAPZIiHDpe5fdx-v_TFvGgNGwfReIEZvpjVdMfHr6hjOFw_kIt7k/s320/Edna%202.jpg" width="320" /></a></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">There she is!</span></i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Photo credit: <a href="https://www.pinterest.com/pin/531706299733636076/">pinterest.com</a></span></i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><span style="color: #6aa84f; font-size: medium;">Reminder 5: </span></b></span><b style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #6aa84f;">When all else fails, breathe and press on.</span></b><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"> </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">As I hope this series has helped to illustrate, there's a <i>lot</i> of options available for blunting Angmar's assault. But that fact doesn't change what Angmar ultimately is: a faction that has access to unique profiles that, when taken together, can present a lot of practical problems for a lot of army lists. List-building also doesn't address a host of things that can (perhaps will) happen on the table-top. It doesn't adjust for the skill of your opponent. It doesn't account for dumb luck (or dumb rolling). And it doesn't account for the psychological wear-and-tear that you may experience in a game (especially if it's late in the day, on the second day of a tournament). Stuff just hits the fan sometimes.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">When that happens, and nothing seems to be working, it's really okay to hit "reset." To take a pause. Breathe. Re-evaluate your strategy. Engage in a tactical retreat. Whatever you need to get your head right. And then, press on again. Their resources still run out. </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">They're still only orcs.</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> The objectives are still the objectives. </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">And it's never over 'til it's over. Unlucky stuff happens. But luck is fickle. </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">Play it out, see what happens. </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">After all, in the end, it's still a game. If we lose, but we put up a real fight, there's no shame in that. Shake hands, and try again next time.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>*Gets off soapbox* </i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">So... that was a lot to take in. :-P If you made it this far, I'm flattered. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">I'm sure there's other tips and tricks that are helpful against Angmar (for you seasoned vets out there, please chime in in the comments!). And there's some supplemental content in the pipeline, with some more faction-specific tactics and ideas (hero taxonomies, best lists with tools for fighting Angmar, etc.). B</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">ut hopefully that's enough to get you started, and to get your creative juices flowing!</span></div>Rythbrythttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15752701636123291424noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2010239046857689405.post-5499570530359170972024-03-21T12:00:00.359-04:002024-03-21T12:00:00.133-04:00The Road to the TMAT Spring Zephyr Tournament - Tiberius's List<span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Good morning gamers,</span><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Well, I've broken my every-other-week Thursday cycle again - hopefully you don't mind. This weekend, we'll be having our Spring Zephyr tournament, where we'll have small armies, short games, and lots of chances for redemption. It'll be grand - but as is always the case, there were a lot of armies clamouring for my attention. Today we'll walk through the various lists I considered running - and what list I finally landed on. Let's start with . . .</span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><b><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Honorable Mention: The Kingdom of Khazad-Dum </span></b></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">There's nothing in this game I love more than using an army of Dwarves (except maybe one with a Balrog) and Khazad-Dum is a great choice at lower points levels. At 350 points, I was able to get a 19 model army with a Dwarf King, a King's Champion, and a mix of Dwarf Warriors and Rangers to fill out the ranks. Nothing fancy here:</span></div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Dwarf King</span></li><ul><li><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">5 Dwarf Warriors with Dwarf bows</span></li><li><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">4 Dwarf Rangers with throwing axes</span></li></ul><li><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">King's Champion</span></li><ul><li><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">INDEPENDENT: 2 Heralds</span></li><li><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">6 Dwarf Warriors with shields </span></li></ul></ul><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">It's the "nothing fancy" bit that made me not take this list - I'm sure it would have done well, but it's also very boring to play. With this being a teach-new-players-to-play event, I didn't want to show up with a grind list of Dwarves, so these guys get to stay in box. I was surprised that my dishonorable mention even fit in the points level . . .</span></div></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><b><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Dishonorable Mention: The Serpent Horde </span></b></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">So . . . it's a Mumak with Rappelling Lines and some guys in it . . . which would be very hard at this points level to stop with magic or archery. I have no doubt that winning certain scenarios would be hard - and that winning other scenarios would be easy:</span></div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Haradrim Commander with War Mumak of Harad with Rappelling Lines [ARMY LEADER]</span></li><ul><li><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">5 Haradrim Warriors</span></li><li><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">5 Haradrim Warriors with bows</span></li></ul></ul></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">But this is not a good gateway army - no new player is going to look at a Mumak and say, "Yeah, let's go fight that." So, he's staying in the box as well. This leads us to our first actual list </span>. . </div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><b><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Candidate #5: Rohan - Fellowship Convenient Alliance </span></b></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Centaur has done book-accurate Helm's Deep lists before, but this is a first for me. Eomer and Gimli retreat to the caves of the Deep in the book, so I made an all-shooting list with 16 models that reflects their stand at the caves (though Eomer was smart and grabbed a horse):</span></div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Eomer on horse with shield and throwing spears</span></li><ul><li><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">4 Warriors of Rohan with bows</span></li><li><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">6 Warriors of Rohan with shields and throwing spears</span></li><li><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">4 Rohan Royal Guards with throwing spears </span></li></ul><li><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">CONVENIENT ALLY - The Fellowship: Gimli, Son of Gloin<b> </b></span></li></ul><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">The list is very skirmishy, but doesn't really have the time to skirmish. The time constraints require an aggressive game play that is just too swingy with this list for my liking. Still, I liked it (and will have more thoughts on this list in a future post).</span></div></div><div><b><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></b></div><div><b><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Candidate #4: Lurtz's Scouts LL </span></b></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">A better skirmish list is one that can skip shooting and just engage - and a really fun way to do that is with Lurtz's Scouts. Lurtz is a good hero who gets outclassed as the points level increases, but at 350, you can get a big horde of Uruks to help him out:</span></div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Lurtz with shield</span></li><ul><li><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">4 Uruk-Hai Marauders </span></li><li><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">4 Uruk-Hai Marauders with shields </span></li><li><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">5 Uruk-Hai Marauders with Uruk-Hai bows </span></li></ul><li><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Mauhur </span></li><ul><li><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">3 Uruk-Hai Marauders </span></li><li><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">4 Uruk-Hai Marauders with shields </span></li><li><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">3 Uruk-Hai Marauders with Uruk-Hai bows </span></li></ul></ul></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">This list has an impressive 25 models and was a strong contender for my choice, but then my son expressed an interest in running it, so I backed off. This led me back to Helm's Deep and another Legendary Legion . . .</span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><b><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Candidate #3: The Defenders of Helm's Deep LL</span></b></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">At last year's 300-point Winter Whirlwind tournament, an attendee brought a Theoden/Haldir version of this list - and it did okay. This list has Legolas and has lots of Elf bow shots, 8 supporting models, and some cheap Rohan infantry to form the front-line:</span></div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Theoden, King of Rohan with heavy armor and shield</span></li><ul><li><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">6 Warriors of Rohan with shields</span></li><li><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">1 Warrior of Rohan with throwing spears and shield</span></li><li><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">4 Galadhrim Warriors with Elf bows and spears </span></li></ul><li><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Legolas Greenleaf with armor</span></li><ul><li><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">4 Warriors of Rohan with shields</span></li><li><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">1 Warrior of Rohan with throwing spears and shield</span></li><li><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">2 Galadhrim Warriors with Elf bows and spears </span></li></ul></ul></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">20 models is pretty good - and with a few of those as supporting models, you're in a pretty good place if you have a shieldwall match up! While I could get good shooting in on most of the scenarios, this army depends on the spearmen being with the melee units - and with a lot of objective scenarios and not a lot of time on the clock, I just didn't think I would be able to score VPs and still shoot. Maybe next time guys. To get lots of shooting while still getting to the objectives, the better list turned out to be . . .</span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><b><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Candidate #2: Rohan </span></b></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Apparently, I have had Rohan on my mind. :-) This list abandons the numerical focus of the other two lists and instead goes for the mostly all-cavalry focus that makes Rohan great. I could have upgraded the Riders of Rohan to mounted Royal Guards and run the Riders of Theoden Legion, but I wanted the extra body:</span></div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Theoden, King of Rohan on armored horse with heavy armor and shield [ARMY LEADER]</span></li><ul><li><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">5 Riders of Rohan </span></li></ul><li><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Gamling, Captain of Rohan on horse with the Royal Standard of Rohan</span></li><ul><li><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">4 Riders of Rohan</span></li><li><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">1 Warrior of Rohan with shield and throwing spears</span></li></ul></ul><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Up until the moment I submitted my list, I kept coming back to this one. I ran Rohan at the last event and frankly, I wasn't sure that the infinite Might in this list was going to be appreciated. The list itself doesn't look scary - but all the warriors shoot, we can move quickly if we want to, and our numbers are good (for being mostly cavalry). I looked into turning the Warrior of Rohan into throwing spears/Royal Guard upgrades, as well as turning Gamling into various heroes (Erkenbrand and Dernhelm, in particular - and running Theoden as the only hero with 15 Riders of Rohan/Rohan Royal Guards), but while this list was fun to play, it was facing off against a very strong contender . . .</span></div></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><b><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Candidate #1 and Tiberius's List: Minas Tirith </span></b></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">I don't know that there's ever been a points level where I have felt better about bringing Denethor than this one. I have a horde of guys (my maximum of 29 models) and plenty of F4 or D6 and spears everywhere. With objective missions being a thing, I feel pretty good at being able to contest my opponents in most games:</span></div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Denethor, Steward of Gondor [ARMY LEADER]</span></li><ul><li><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">4 Warriors of Minas Tirith with shields</span></li><li><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">2 Warriors of Minas Tirith with shields and spears</span></li><li><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">1 Warrior of Minas Tirith with shield, spear, and banner </span></li><li><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">1 Knight of Minas Tirith with shield </span></li><li><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">3 Rangers of Gondor</span></li><li><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">4 Citadel Guard </span></li></ul><li><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Madril, Captain of Ithilien</span></li><ul><li><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">6 Warriors of Minas Tirith with shields</span></li><li><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">6 Rangers of Gondor with spears</span></li></ul></ul><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">This is a proper spam list that has forsaken only one thing: a powerful hero. I have a lot of guys - and not a lot of answers to big heroes - but I can be where I want to be and hopefully that will be enough. In the end, I thought this list was better than the 16-model Men of the West list I briefly looked at, so there's that. :-) I also explored getting an extra Knight or two at Rythbyrt's and Centaur's suggestions, but I couldn't get the points to work out without having to purchase a bunch of models - so I left it with one mounted model. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">I think it'll be fine - the list can have a 13-file F4 shieldwall if it needs it (three F4 Rangers of Gondor will be in the front rank supported by the Warriors of Minas Tirith with spears/banner; ten Warriors of Minas Tirith with shields will be around them supported by F4 Citadel Guard/Rangers of Gondor with spears), so if we face another shieldwall list, I'm feeling confident that the FV we have will be fine - and we can probably wrap-and-trap to make up for being S3 all around.</span></div></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><b><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Conclusion</span></b></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">I'm excited for the event and I hope the players who come have a good time. I'll see if I can get an update out after the event with how things went - until next time, happy hobbying!</span></div>Tiberiushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01032927898313675650noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2010239046857689405.post-86082158004769954212024-03-18T09:00:00.056-04:002024-03-18T09:00:00.140-04:00Sharkey's Rogues: A "Game Master" Army<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPqn3WGXZSGUzV51uaIt7qZyigEj_IrW7OrPUloBObIemEeYA5WzBPr0LYioEvuLNbhj5Xbq9NpuetTlsFxvUtVnlLDObvcFvc3XyFeJqwrwTcyWXi-DDHx3g0WFI_UiAJTM3fy2NB6GQxY_fmIfw3CKWTgEOhGYr-A-zw-03dNA9UOzvWxk4LDOXCQVpd/s4080/IMG_20240312_131858478.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1836" data-original-width="4080" height="144" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPqn3WGXZSGUzV51uaIt7qZyigEj_IrW7OrPUloBObIemEeYA5WzBPr0LYioEvuLNbhj5Xbq9NpuetTlsFxvUtVnlLDObvcFvc3XyFeJqwrwTcyWXi-DDHx3g0WFI_UiAJTM3fy2NB6GQxY_fmIfw3CKWTgEOhGYr-A-zw-03dNA9UOzvWxk4LDOXCQVpd/s320/IMG_20240312_131858478.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p>Hey Reader!</p><p>In preparation for the upcoming TMAT <a href="https://tellmeatalegreatorsmall.blogspot.com/2024/01/announcing-tmat-spring-zephyr-tournament.html">Spring Zephyr Tournament</a>, I've been playing around with Sharkey's Rogues, 1) because I've owned the models for a while, 2) because I painted SO. MANY. of them, so I need to use them at some point, and 3) because a 350pt tournament is about the highest you can go before you're worried that you're being outclassed (450 is probably the highest I'd ever go, maybe 500), so when is this opportunity going to come up again? :P</p><p>But as I started practicing with them in earnest (and doing okay, actually), I realized why I enjoy playing them so much: it's a "Game Master" army, and as someone who has been a game master semi-professionally for roleplay games for over 10 years, it means I have the mindset to use them correctly. And that's what I wanted to chat about today.</p><span><a name='more'></a></span><p><br /></p><p><u>I. Sharkey's Rogues: The Worst Army in MESBG?</u></p><p>I don't think it's controversial to say that Sharkey's Rogues is considered one of the worst armies in Middle Earth SBG. As a quick rundown of why: </p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>It has a complete lack of Heroic Strike and caps out at F4, so even your "best" heroes (which are about 40-60pts are struggling to win fights against 10pt or less elite infantry. </li><li>It has no cavalry or fast-moving units, so getting to objectives has to be done the old fashion way: footslogging across the field without competent Heroic March captains to get you there faster. </li><li>You have "numbers," but at F2 with no spear support, you lack the tools that other F2 armies (like spear supporting for Moria and Goblin Town, good Shoot Values for Shire, etc.) have to take full advantage of your numbers.</li></ul><p></p><p>And of course if this isn't bad enough, you have poor Defense (so you die in droves), mediocre Strength (so you blunt against cheap line infantry), and a 5+ Shoot with S2 bows, so you're not even very good at mitigating melee threats before they arrive, nor are you very good at dealing damage once you're in melee even if you do win a fight.</p><p>So in short, in a wargame where Victory Points are often tied to removing models and not being removed from a specific location, Sharkey's Rogues is one of the worst factions there is. And with no swift models, even the scenarios that require you to get somewhere or off the board (instead of killing things) aren't your friend.</p><p>So basically whatever you may be good at, another army is better. So why play Sharkey's Rogues? Especially since so many of their models are metal, so you're paying premium prices (I am a 3D printing guy, so I bypassed this issue)? The reason is that it's <i>not </i>a competitive army that shows up and takes your lunch money: it's an army that shows up and surprisingly says, in most scenarios, "If you play this dumb, I have enough tools to challenge you." And if you can't manage all the threats, it will win the match. And it's that mindset that we examine next.</p><p><br /></p><p><u>II. What Is a "Game Master" Army?</u></p><p>From my school of thought, a game master in a roleplay game is not an adversary to the players: he's there to narrate what they see and what others in the world say, but he/she is fundamentally there as a fellow player around the table. We are helping each other have a good time, and that means engaging people for them to meet, interesting places for them to visit, and dangerous foes for them to slay.</p><p>And this army does this very well. It's not a super scary army with terrifying profiles: the most "dangerous" model it has is an old man with max 4 uses of <i>Immobilize </i>and the ability to two-hand with a staff. It's not that impressive. It has "a lot of shooting," but the shooting is garbage: it scares you, but it doesn't actually remove a lot of models. It has vast numbers, but they're paper thin, and not in the Goblin Town way (another F2 S3 D3 army) where they can support each other and replenish their numbers with the Scribe.</p><p>So it presents a challenge: if you don't play smart, they can wrap your lines, trap your guys, shoot you in the open, outnumber you on objectives - all kinds of things. But countering them is actually quite easy: whether you chew through enemies in melee, lean into shooting, rely on <i>Terror </i>to prevent being overwhelmed, or just run a few power heroes designed to cleave through lines, all of those strategies work against Sharkey's Rogues with minimal complications. The only question is, can you get enough of it done in the time limit?</p><p>And that's what makes this such an attractive army for me: my opponent feels challenged, not because they hit a wall they can't break, but because they are plowing through 50 walls of sand. So they get the joy of removing buckets and buckets of models, and watching the clock to see if they can remove just enough to get the job done. It puts the pressure on them, but not in a, "Wow, that profile is broken" or "Wow, I don't have a tool for dealing with these guys" sort of way. And that makes for a better game in my experience.</p><p>And that's the experience of the game master: challenge the players, but there's no need to drown them.</p><p><br /></p><p><u>III. Making It Work: Presenting Reasonable Challenges</u></p><p>But of course no one wants to win a game because you threw it: they want to win fair and square. So we need an army that actually presents a challenge to them.</p><p>For the Spring Zephyr Tournament we know the scenarios already, so that helps. Below is the list I'm taking, and then we'll take a look at the challenges it presents to my opponents with almost every tool I wanted from the list:</p><p><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguwIJFft8zQDjeGAqtCM9XgZWnNDE4x9KKw0DkG4DJZSn8c1Z9RnGFV1fnRij_5pRrcWBjPNaCBpwVKxfODoAyz_IOpmfacHW4Br8xwg1Jl8iHjryHDxYrjh4DrU0b_nlyjAFRLnYyp-jQXmZblebB6GMUTbaVwOWeSP_FAzbtjmDgnAlhiEo5swoAqDsp/s4080/IMG_20240312_131753132.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1836" data-original-width="4080" height="144" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguwIJFft8zQDjeGAqtCM9XgZWnNDE4x9KKw0DkG4DJZSn8c1Z9RnGFV1fnRij_5pRrcWBjPNaCBpwVKxfODoAyz_IOpmfacHW4Br8xwg1Jl8iHjryHDxYrjh4DrU0b_nlyjAFRLnYyp-jQXmZblebB6GMUTbaVwOWeSP_FAzbtjmDgnAlhiEo5swoAqDsp/s320/IMG_20240312_131753132.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My army, plus 6 objective markers that we plundered!</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p>The Chief's Ruffians: 350pts</p><p><b>Warband 1</b></p><p>-Sharkey (Army Leader) and Worm: 60pts</p><p>-8 Ruffians with Whips</p><p>-7 Ruffians with Bows</p><p><br /></p><p><b>Warband 2</b></p><p>-Sid Briarthorn</p><p>-8 Ruffians with Whips</p><p>-7 Ruffians with Bows</p><p><br /></p><p><b>Warband 3</b></p><p>-Ted Sandyman</p><p>-11 Hobbit Militia</p><p>TOTAL: 349pts, 45 models, 4 Might, 1 Spellcaster (with 4 Will)</p><p><br /></p><p>Now sure, I could have included an extra whip on one of the bow guys, but I decided not to because frankly I wanted it to be easy to explain to my opponents. And I would have liked to have Rowan Thistlewood in the army for his extra Might, his F3 with 2 Attacks, and his ability to set buildings and forests on fire (plus Lotho would have been good for dealing with <i>Terror</i> models), but this list will do fine. And with the knowledge that the following five scenarios will be used, here's how we challenge our opponents:</p><p><br /></p><p><b></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQuo8M48OT9ofFA_yKJyfCM7A80FZP9zcR0kY6spYBLJGc-sRYnEmRKo-SLot97Ne04zlFPYFfn4c6u-qaYlSqRIwQk3VKdayqIk8lu3LMluGGaGSGgPkojLy1xFeczEcdSFN3T54dqKezAGwFiS0pZk4MlnZcfZ0eEDmHPcY2ViBmkwLkZFdcN7HQFpSl/s4080/IMG_20240312_131846644.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1836" data-original-width="4080" height="144" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQuo8M48OT9ofFA_yKJyfCM7A80FZP9zcR0kY6spYBLJGc-sRYnEmRKo-SLot97Ne04zlFPYFfn4c6u-qaYlSqRIwQk3VKdayqIk8lu3LMluGGaGSGgPkojLy1xFeczEcdSFN3T54dqKezAGwFiS0pZk4MlnZcfZ0eEDmHPcY2ViBmkwLkZFdcN7HQFpSl/s320/IMG_20240312_131846644.jpg" width="320" /></a></b></div><b>Hold Ground</b>: So this one plays to our advantage to some extent, as we have 45 people who can get to the middle, and since it measures 6" out, it's a pretty good distance of area that counts, so getting lots of ruffians into range is not that hard. It also helps that breaking the army could trigger the end of the match early, so by removing 23+ models (which you would likely need to do to win the match), you might actually end the match with more ruffians in range than your opponent has, so how and when they choose to remove your men is actually really important.<p></p><p>But it's not impossible to win against this army: since it's a <b>maelstrom </b>scenario there's no promise that the army will deploy together, and with limited Might Points I'm not likely to spend any of it on deployment. So a shrewd opponent, assuming they get to deploy second or they have enough movement to intercept, will take out 1-2 warbands before I even reach the center, and possibly end the game with them having three swift riders in the middle while my remaining warband(s) is/are still slogging toward the center. That's the challenge. If we get to the center, it's going to be an uphill fight.</p><p><b></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivIft_W5T1TS_rH574lVNQJtYHS9LpMVSI7GeYVuUZ-sJw07XsXT2X_41n8cNOZUjizzOev72k5B-nvAY-KNodAi9lHpJoLQ1_ZGfeoa-56WyYJXLAhsrmq67Ou5qI-2JN6I4S3ZliGMTHX2EjrhrQG8GslPu466oyUnBmQKi0YMGh3jqk78xzTnde3rBl/s4080/IMG_20240312_131859720.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1836" data-original-width="4080" height="144" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivIft_W5T1TS_rH574lVNQJtYHS9LpMVSI7GeYVuUZ-sJw07XsXT2X_41n8cNOZUjizzOev72k5B-nvAY-KNodAi9lHpJoLQ1_ZGfeoa-56WyYJXLAhsrmq67Ou5qI-2JN6I4S3ZliGMTHX2EjrhrQG8GslPu466oyUnBmQKi0YMGh3jqk78xzTnde3rBl/s320/IMG_20240312_131859720.jpg" width="320" /></a></b></div><b>Capture and Control</b>: This one is interesting because it's a "Tag and Forget" scenario: you can tag an objective and leave it, so you don't need to leave men behind the hold the objective. This works both for and against the list: on the one hand it means I can keep most of my 45-man force bearing down against my opponent, but it also means that if you break through the lines I'm unlikely to have many troops holding an objective, so they can flip the ones I've taken.<p></p><p>But of course all of this comes at a cost: assuming most armies at 350pts will have 15-30 models, if they don't leave troops at the ones they tag, I've got plenty of bodies to peel off and exploit that. So it's a <b>resource management</b> game: how many bodies do you need to remove chaff while not losing the work you've already achieved? That's the challenge.</p><p><b>Destroy the Supplies</b>: This one is similar, but also different: there's a good chance at a scrum in the middle as we work our way toward each other's supplies, except that I can leave 4-5 men at each of my objectives while putting 30+ bodies into the center. This means we probably have the advantage numerically on the push, even if they don't leave anyone behind to guard the objectives.</p><p>So the challenge is: can you break through the forward advance with enough people to then break the defenders with one of your guys not being tagged for a turn? It will take skill. And that's the challenge.</p><p><b>Lords of Battle</b>: ...Yeah okay, so there's basically no challenge here; outkilling your opponent is basically impossible in this scenario unless you're fighting hobbits or Goblin Town and your opponent does not know what he/she is doing. In any other scenario, you're in deep trouble. But that's fine - we can throw one round. And who knows: maybe someone will run a four-man army and we'll be able to outdice them? But seriously: this one is basically a no-win for us. And that's okay - it's about time there was a challenge for me (beyond the ordinary challenges of running Sharkey's Rogues).</p><p><b></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLgkkxXj5A9m1bVjXQAAfI75IU5XioigRJJ3Gnm6xIWYJ5nrrI_uG8O-g2k9qRY1-0MdujV65GOalTuh7G-HtuA-1JYQNBRShQwpUVl3_0ZA76mS7jQgndkK0XA7LzEIyegsxx6rVgJ6av-v2_5ldapaCv4A0JxQURlEKJFUojfmkpE4maLn2nkGWmNdNr/s4080/IMG_20240312_131852400.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1836" data-original-width="4080" height="144" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLgkkxXj5A9m1bVjXQAAfI75IU5XioigRJJ3Gnm6xIWYJ5nrrI_uG8O-g2k9qRY1-0MdujV65GOalTuh7G-HtuA-1JYQNBRShQwpUVl3_0ZA76mS7jQgndkK0XA7LzEIyegsxx6rVgJ6av-v2_5ldapaCv4A0JxQURlEKJFUojfmkpE4maLn2nkGWmNdNr/s320/IMG_20240312_131852400.jpg" width="320" /></a></b></div><b>Divide and Conquer</b>: So this one is another three-objective mission, but this time 1) they're in the middle, so I don't have to keep any of my 45-man army back, and 2) deployment is split: half of the opponent's force (unless they're a 1-warband force) will be in one corner, and the other half will be in the far corner opposite. I'll have my hobbits in one corner and the ruffians near their banner (Sid) in the other, but that gives me about 33 models in one sector and 12 in another. So the challenge is how much of the force do they devote to take out a dozen hobbits, and will that leave enough men alive to hold back the swarm of 30+ ruffians with magic support? And if they get pushed off an objective, will they have the numbers to slip someone through to take it back? That's the challenge.<p></p><p><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b>Conclusion</b></p><p>Am I going to take top half at this tournament? Probably not: there's a lot of things that can happen to this army in 45 minutes, and if you don't roll well in melee you're going to lose a looooot of men without evening the odds. But the goal of the army isn't per se to win the tournament: it's to have a different kind of fun - to present a challenge to players without presenting a broken, wildly asymmetric, or even heavy-hitting list. It's to ask the question, "In 45 minutes, can you do everything you need to do to secure victory," and then placing that responsibility in their hands. And I think that will be fun for them to play.</p><p>But what do you think? Would that be fun for you? Should I be going or a tough-as-nails list? Let me know what you think below! I do regret not having Rowan in the army; had it been a 400pt tournament I would have taken him, but alas, we don't have him in this crew. Maybe next time. Until then, you know where to find me,</p><p>Watching the stars,</p><p>Centaur</p><p>"Firenze! What are you doing? You have a human on your back! Have you no shame? Are you a common mule?" ~ Bane, <i>Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone</i></p>Centaurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06864036616223908725noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2010239046857689405.post-3664005973567463422024-03-14T09:00:00.187-04:002024-03-14T09:00:00.145-04:00Literary Corner: What the Hobbit Films Did Better Than the Book<span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Good morning gamers,</span><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Over the past month and a half, Centaur and I have been having a literary debate about whether <i>The Hobbit</i> and <i>The Lord of the Rings</i> books or the films by Peter Jackson are better than each other. Rythbyrt has told me that there's a defense for saying that the Lord of the Rings trilogy of films might be better (at least in some ways) than <i>The Lord of the Rings</i> books. Centaur hotly disagrees. <a href="https://tellmeatalegreatorsmall.blogspot.com/2024/02/literary-corner-why-hobbit-is-better.html" target="_blank">Last time</a>, Centaur went first and argued for why <i>The Hobbit</i> book was better than the Jackson films . . . and today, I'm not exactly going to disagree with him, but rather, I'd like to focus on the things that the Jackson trilogy changed that actually improved on what was in the books (*gasp* *horror* *gasp*).</span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">I think I agree with both Centaur and Rythbyrt that <i>The Hobbit</i> book is better than the films - on the whole. It's quite defendable to think that <i>The Hobbit</i> book is better than the Jackson films - and it's also defendable to think that the animated Rankin Bass classic film of <i>The Hobbit</i> is better than the Jackson trilogy - but there are things that I don't like in the book (or that just confuse me) that I think a departure in the films made them better. As such, I've moderated the title of this post from the stronger statement I made about <i>The Lord of the Rings</i> trilogy and will instead focus only how how I think <i>The Hobbit</i> films improved on the book. Let's start off with . . .</span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><b>Reason #1: Distinct Dwarves</b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">One of the things that Peter Jackson said he feared about <i>The Hobbit</i> in his production diaries is that there are so many Dwarves - fifteen lead protagonists is a lot (before you get into guys like Bard, Thranduil, and of course, Legolas - let's not forget about Legolas). If you read the book, most of the Dwarves are learned about in pairs - Balin and Dwalin are the best scouts and have longer beards than the others, Kili and Fili are the youngest and have the best eyesight, Oin and Gloin are the best at making fires, and Dori and Nori order more breakfast than the rest (though everyone likes food).</span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">There are a few situations where a single Dwarf gains some renown away from the others - Dori is the strongest, Thorin is the most revered and probably the best in battle, and Bombur is, of course, the fattest (large enough for two - this comes up a LOT, much to his chagrin). The sad thing is that the other three Dwarves (Bifur, Bofur, and Ori) are basically just referenced in passing so that we don't forget that they're there. Ori is said to have had the best handwriting in <i>The Fellowship of the Ring</i>, but in <i>The Hobbit</i>, he's quite forgettable. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><span><a name='more'></a></span>And this leads to my first (gentle) critique of the book: <b><span style="color: #cc0000;">the book doesn't need all these Dwarves</span></b>. Yes, Tolkien wanted an unlucky number without Bilbo (13 Dwarves), but 6 is also a bit of an unlucky number (an incomplete number, at least, since it's one short of seven). If the company was trimmed down to just <b>Thorin</b>, <b>Balin </b>(who was the scout - and would show up in the next series), <b>Kili </b>(who was the agile one), <b>Gloin </b>(who was good at making fires - and whose son would show up in the next book), <b>Dori </b>(who was the strong man), and <b>Bombur </b>(who we have to have in the story), the Company would have been just fine - and any reasonable film maker who wasn't basing his story off of a beloved book would probably be tempted to do this. The only change that would be needed for <i>Fellowship</i> is that Dori would probably be the scribe, not Ori, and Oin wouldn't have gone to Moria with Balin (since he wouldn't have been in the story).</span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Of course, the main argument for having all these Dwarves in the first place is probably that they're going to take on a dragon - and six Dwarves can't possibly do that. Also, thirteen is a very unlucky number and so we need to pile in the Dwarves. What we get in the films, however, is a surprising amount of diversity among the Dwarves. While you might not be able to keep them all straight (and their screen time is certainly not equal - which is true to the book), there aren't any carbon copies in the film. Balin and Dwalin are distinct, Kili and Fili are distinct, and Oin and Gloin are distinct - and there are even references in the films to their specialties from the book, like when Gloin says, "Right, let's make a fire!" when they're on the doorstep of Goblin-town. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">I also really like what was done with Bofur - a guy who basically has no personality in the book and becomes one of the most beloved Dwarves in the films (#myFave). The scenes between Bofur and Bilbo before they go into Goblin-town and in the extended cut of the Battle of Five Armies before Bilbo sneaks off to Dale are gold - and they add so much to the story, despite not actually being in the book. You can disagree if you like with how the films departed from the story, but I think making each Dwarf his own guy - and each individually interesting and valuable - was an excellent choice.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Each of the Dwarves also has their own fighting style and weapon of choice, which leads us to my second point . . .</span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><b>Reason #2: Only Two Swords, a Staff, and a Dagger</b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">This may be the simplest of the critiques for any reader to accept - but <b><span style="color: #990000;">where are the weapons in this book</span></b>? We have thirteen Dwarves, a Hobbit, and a Wizard in our starting company and besides Gandalf, no one seems to have thought there would be any fighting involved on their way to steal a gem from a dragon. Gandalf has a staff - everyone else has improvised weapons at best, like short knives (which they do not use as weapons - ever). The first weapons they acquire are in a Troll cave (after they almost get eaten by the owners of that particular dwelling) and they later get some bows from Beorn - and that's it. Honestly, I don't know how they thought they'd make it . . .</span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">. . . and this isn't a problem in the films. From the very beginning, we see that they expect the wild to be . . . well, wild. They come ready for a fight - and while there are action scenes in the films that were not in the movies (just from the first movie, these include in the Troll-shaws, near the secret passage to Rivendell, and while/after they leave Goblin-town), it's clear to all that these guys have come ready for a fight with a dragon at the end of their journey and for any other encounter that occurs along the way. Since we know Gimli was a fighter (both in the books and in the films), it's good that the Dwarves that we have on screen aren't just stumbling into predicament after predicament like they are in the book.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Okay, time to revisit a critique of <i>The Lord of the Rings</i> film trilogy . . .</span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><b>Reason #3: </b></span><b style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;">Broader Scope (While Staying True to the Story)</b></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">One of the things I mentioned in passing in my article on <i>The Lord of the Rings</i> is that for the sake of time, a lot of the broader scope of what's going on during the War of the Ring had to be cut (specifically in the Council of Elrond). In <i>The Hobbit</i>, the story is very much focused on Bilbo's story - everything that happens occurs around Bilbo and other things that are happening (like Gandalf's fight against the Necromancer in Dol Guldur or what happened to the Dwarves while Bilbo and Gollum were playing a riddle game) have to be summarized for Bilbo later (or we get a brief summary from the narrator). All of this is fine - it makes the book very accessible and the streamlined nature of it makes the book easy to follow for readers of basically all ages.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">What the movies did, however, was tease out from the extended Tolkien compendium of knowledge (specifically the Tale of Years at the end of <i>The Return of the King</i>) all of the things that are happening and sought to provide the broader scope of Middle-Earth that was missing in the Lord of the Rings films. This means the story has to jump some, but that's to be expected. We want to hear what's going on in Middle-Earth from the members of the White Council (and in that discussion, see how Saruman's corruption begins to manifest). We want to see where Gandalf goes when he departs from the Company at Mirkwood. We want to see what the forces of Evil are doing so we can get spooky premonitions of what's coming. All of this makes for a better film - and while there's nothing wrong with the book, I think adding all of this was a good choice.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">There were other things that were added to the films too, which leads us to my final point . . .</span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><b>Reason #4: Synergy with the Lord of the Rings Trilogy</b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><i>The Hobbit</i> films are particularly enjoyable if you saw <i>The Lord of the Rings</i> trilogy in the ten years between the film projects - whether it's actors reprising their previous roles (Legolas, Frodo, Old Bilbo, Gandalf, Elrond, Galadriel, Saruman, and of course Gollum), oblique references to characters who were in the Lord of the Rings films but not in the Hobbit book (Aragorn and Gimli), and showing places we've already been to (Rivendell and the Shire), there's much to be enjoyed if you were already a big fan of the Lord of the Rings trilogy. It's not hard to see the ties between both film sets and (for the most part) they look like they live in the same universe.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">This isn't true of the book, though - and that's probably due to the intended age of the reader. Tolkien's writing style in the Hobbit is intended to be enjoyed by a younger audience - the narrator is playful and sometimes sarcastic, which is great for keeping younger children as well as adults engaged (as is the constant use of analogies to modern sympathies). This reads very differently from <i>The Lord of the Rings</i> trilogy, which has a higher tone and not as much playfulness in its narration (though admittedly, the description of Bilbo's gifts after the Unexpected Party is quite humorous). This doesn't make one or the other bad, but it does make <i>The Hobbit</i> feel a bit "other" when compared to <i>The Lord of the Rings</i> books when you read it. For some readers . . . this is a good thing.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Additionally, the names of places - and even characters - in <i>The Hobbit</i> don't seem to be the same as those in <i>The Lord of the Rings</i>. In <i>The Hobbit</i>, we get mostly "user-friendly" names of places, such as "Lake-town" or "Goblin-town" or "the Lonely Mountain", while in <i>The Lord of the Rings</i>, we get "Esgaroth", "Minas Tirith", and "Orodruin" (though admittedly, both books refer to Khazad-Dum as "Moria", not "Dwarf-town"). The assumption in <i>The Lord of the Rings</i> seems to be that by using these more exotic names, you'll just accept the odd-sounding tones as new words. The mix of user-friendly and exotic names in <i>The Hobbit</i> makes it feel a bit more distant from <i>The Lord of the Rings</i> books - at least to me.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">In the films, this is handled as best they could by using multiple names for each place - such as Imladris <i>and </i>Rivendell or Erebor <i>and </i>The<i> </i>Lonely Mountain. The films couldn't rename places like Goblin-town or Lake-town, but the only references to Goblin-town are from the Goblins themselves and Lake-town is only sometimes referred to by its name (Thorin addresses "the Master of the Town on the Lake", which makes it sound a bit more grand or a translation from another language). I feel like this is as good of an integration as anyone can do.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">You also see this with characters - the Great Goblin of Goblin-town has no name (this is true of the movies too), the Master of Lake-town has no name (this is also true of the movies), the Lord of the Eagles isn't named (we have to wait until <i>Fellowship </i>for his name), and the King of the Wood Elves has no name either (we learn this from <i>Fellowship </i>too). Perhaps these names were omitted for the same reason as the user-friendly place names - to avoid odd-sounding words - but if the intention was to keep kids from stumbling on odd-sounding words, I can tell you that the names of Tolkien's characters have had no impact on my kids (they use the names of the characters all the time).</span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">To be fair to the book, there are odd-names that are used of other characters who aren't part of the Company - such as Bolg (and an oblique reference to his dad, Azog), Beorn, Elrond, and Bard. These names are pretty easy to say, so maybe that's why they're allowed? If we're going to do it for these guys, though, it seems like some other characters - Thranduil especially - should have gotten a name-drop.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">But that's the thing about a movie trilogy: <b>everyone's going to get a name</b> (or when no name is given, at least their title). In fact, characters like Tauriel, Alfrid, Braga, and Lindir who are going to be used to move the plot will even be given names even though they don't show up in the book (though Lindir's name is dropped in <i>Fellowship</i>). It's one of those things that makes the entire world seem a bit more believable (and one of the things I like most about the first chapter of <i>The Return of the King</i>, where we learn the names of a bunch of Fiefdom lords of Gondor - most of whom aren't referenced at all after their arrival at Minas Tirith) - and in this case, I think it was an improvement to make sure major and minor characters were named in the films (though I do think that not making up names for the Master or the Goblin King was a good choice, so as not to step on any more toes than necessary). </span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><b>Conclusion</b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">I'm certain I have persuaded no one that <i>The Hobbit</i> movies were definitively better than <i>The Hobbit</i> book (especially myself), but hopefully you can find something to appreciate about <i>The Hobbit</i> movies from what's written here. I love the book - and I read the Andy Serkis narration on Audible in January for the first time and LOVED it - and hope that you find time to read it this year. You should also watch the films because they are, in their own way, good (perhaps not VERY good, but still good). If you enjoyed this series (or if you didn't), let us know in the comments. While I don't think there will be any other "literary corner" posts this year, I have an idea brewing for next year, so let us know if you liked this format. Until next time, happy hobbying!</span></div>Tiberiushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01032927898313675650noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2010239046857689405.post-82085807756233290602024-03-11T09:00:00.054-04:002024-03-11T19:39:12.369-04:00Nemesis: How to Fight Against Elendil <div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Good morning gamers,</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Last time, we looked at Gil-Galad and ways (with specific units/army building emphases) you can counter him with. Today, we're tackling the biggest hitter from Numenor: Elendil. While some of what we're going to talk about is copy-paste from Gil-Galad, there are a few rules that Elendil picks up (and a few that he drops) that makes his use (and his countering) different from Gil-Galad. Let's see what's so great about the greatest hero of men . . .</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><b><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">What Makes Elendil So Hated?</span></b></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Elendil has a<b> <span style="color: #990000;">beastly combat profile</span></b> - with F7, S5, and 3A with the option for a mount (if you're willing to do some conversion work, since Games Workshop never made a model for this guy), Elendil is about as punch as man-sized heroes come. While F7 isn't the F9 that we see on Gil-Galad, it's higher than any man-sized warrior is going to get and it's also higher than most heroes. Additionally, he carries <b><span style="color: #990000;">Narsil</span></b>, which is a Master-forged hand-and-a-half sword (so he can two-hand without suffering the To Wound penalty) that allows him to declare a free Heroic Combat each turn - if F7 wasn't enough to make you want to hit warriors with this guy, Narsil certainly incentivises it!</span></div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"></span></span><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.warhammer-community.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/NfP8Q0kjAEvzBY2R.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="514" data-original-width="800" height="206" src="https://www.warhammer-community.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/NfP8Q0kjAEvzBY2R.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo Credit: <a href="https://www.warhammer-community.com/2020/11/12/top-10-good-combat-heroes-in-middle-earth/" target="_blank">Warhammer Community</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br />On Defense, Elendil is no slouch, with <b><span style="color: #990000;">D8 </span></b>if you give him a shield (and aren't two-handing - otherwise he's D7) and has <b><span style="color: #990000;">3 Wounds/1 Fate</span></b>, which is "fine" and expected for someone who died in the story. Elendil is the quintessential "a good offense is a good defense" character (well, him and Gulavhar, I guess), which means that once he gets into combat, it's very hard to pluck a wound off of him - especially if he's backed by a banner (for a reroll on one of those 4 dice he gets on the charge).</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">If this wasn't enough, he has the <b><span style="color: #990000;">Unbending Resolve special rule</span></b>, which grants him two free dice when resisting magical powers - even if he runs out of Will. This makes targeting him with magic (especially spells that just barely go off on a low difficulty) very difficult to cast on him. With 3 Will in his store (that he can regain on a natural 6) and 3 Might that don't have to be used if he's just declaring Heroic Combats, it's not hard for him to shrug off the worst magic in the game (well, almost - more on this later).</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;"><a name='more'></a></span>He also is a <span style="color: #990000;"><b>Hero of Legend</b> </span>and has a <b><span style="color: #990000;">12" Stand Fast range</span></b>, which means he'll automatically pass his first Stand Fast attempt each game AND have an incredibly large radius on it. Starting with C6 and getting a boost to C7 with the army bonus (and having 3 Will in his store), it's not hard for him to pass any Courage test he wants to pass and to keep friendly units from panicking if he sticks around. Oh, and as a Hero of Legend, you can bring 18 infantry with him (since Numenor has no cavalry warriors), which means you could have a big wall of infantry to keep him safe . . . that sounds tough.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Finally, <b><span style="color: #990000;">his warriors gain Resistant to Magic near him</span></b> (1 free Will point to resist magical powers while within 6" of Elendil), so if your plan is to cast a Sorcerous Blast on the warriors near him, there's a non-zero chance that they'll resist it . . . that bites. If these warriors are distributed across your army, it'll mean that your heroes (if they're spearmen) and the warriors you bring with them (if they're providing the front line) will have some ability to resist magic - and if you don't cast the spell for free, it could drain your resources. Yikes.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">So what can men do against such reckless hate (and specifically target Elendil instead of his troops)? Well, the answer is simple - some of the strategies are going to be the same as we saw against Gil-Galad (which is good, since it's not uncommon to see these two together - usually with Gil-Galad as the leader so the controlling player can be a bit reckless with Elendil). Some are going to be perfectly new - let's see what our options are.</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><b><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">How Do You Fight Back Against Elendil?</span></b></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">To start with, Elendil loves killing infantry that are below <b><span style="color: #38761d;">D8 </span></b>- mostly because he wounds them on 4s or better and might reroll 1s with Feint (if they're F3 and below). Once the enemy warriors are D8, Elendil slows down in his killing spree, so getting to D8 is a good first-step to beating Elendil. This is hard to do - and it's not a guarantee that you still won't die (especially if he has the charge). Still, wounding on 5s doesn't always work, so push it if you can.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><b><span style="color: #38761d;">Relying on cavalry</span></b> that are D6+ is also a good tactic, since the presence of a single cavalry model in his fight will deny him his charging bonuses (+1 Attack and Knock Prone) and will force him to wound the cavalry model on 4s. Getting higher than D6 is basically impossible for any mounted model short of a hero - and even those heroes who qualify rarely get over D7. You can also blunt his attack with <b><span style="color: #38761d;">Heroic Defense</span></b>, though this is usually a gamble that he's not going to roll natural 6s.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">You can also lean into the <b><span style="color: #38761d;">shooting </span></b>game more, but since Elendil is rarely fielded without Cirdan or Galadriel, only certain lists or heroes can threaten him (read: his horse) from a distance. If either of these Blinding Light heroes are present, quantity covers a multitude of sins and having bad archers is often better than having good archers.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Finally, you always have the option of <b><span style="color: #38761d;">tearing through those D4-5 Warriors of Numenor</span></b> and trying to ignore Elendil. Sometimes the linch-pin in the enemy's plan has somewhat to do with Elendil and more to do with the 18 warriors he can bring (who are cheaper than all the Elven options available to Numenor - and F4/S4 is generally good enough to break through whatever the enemy has). If these guys have been used as the front-line of a shieldwall (valuing the F5-6 that an Elven alliance is bringing to the table more than the D6 that their warriors can have), you might not even have in-the-way shots. Yes, you might have to deal with Cirdan or Galadriel mitigating your archery, but any shots that do make it through that are S3+ against shield Numenoreans (and S2+ against bow Numenoreans) are going to have a swing on the game. Even if you try to do this in melee instead of shooting (where Cirdan is reduced to providing Terror - maybe - and Galadriel's effectiveness is basically shot), wounding D4-5 models isn't hard. For some factions, this looks a lot more appealing.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Okay, that's the quick primer on how to beat up Elendil - now let's look at models that can actually DO that . . .</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><b><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Tiberius's Top 5 Models To Counter Elendil</span></b></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><u><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></u></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Yep, if you haven't guessed it yet, I'm going to cheat and add two extra units who have quirky ways of reducing Elendil's effectiveness. Before we get to our "top 5," we're going to look at an honorable way (and a dishonorable way) to make Elendil have a worse day. We'll start with something we talked about with Gil-Galad . . .</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><u><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></u></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><u><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Honorable Mention: Buckets and buckets of shooting (or Legolas)</span></u></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><u><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></u></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Elendil gets worse if his horse is threatened - make note of this: you don't actually have to kill Elendil's horse (or even get shots on him) in order to force Elendil to slow down his engagement. Just by having the capability of taking out his horse is going to force him to advance more slowly. You could have the worst archers in the game (5+ shoot value, S2 bows) and all you'll need is a 5+, followed by a 1-3, followed by a 5+ to kill the horse - that's not unheard of (and certainly possible if you have 18 bows in your army). By making Elendil approach slowly (and staying behind cover, friendly models, or within Blinding Light radius of an infantry model), you can win some tempo against him and cause him to attack 1-2 turns less than he would otherwise. So as is generally good practice, take at least a few bows.</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">All of this gets leveled up if you happen to have Legolas in your army, who showed up earlier in our series. Legolas "cheats" by being able to hit Elendil's horse on a 2+ even if Legolas has moved, even if Elendil is within Blinding Light radius, and even if Elendil has 10 guys between him and Legolas. A 2+ - that's rerollable if he's taken as part of the Breaking of the Fellowship Legendary Legion. With a S3 bow, it's just a 2+ followed by a 5+ for Legolas to remove Elendil's access to cavalry bonuses, as well as 10" movement - yeah, that's going to undercut him a lot.</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">While it would seem like everything we've talked about would apply to a Demolition Team or two (especially in the Assault Upon Helm's Deep Legendary Legion), Elendil's free Herioc Combats mess with this quite a bit. While still mounted (which may not be a given against the Helm's Deep legion), he can change where he is quite quickly - and can even outpace the bomb! Yes, you might get lucky and fight Elendil when he's locked into the center of your battle line, but as a strategy for dealing with him . . . this might just fall through. As such, I think you could include this as a definite maybe, but I'm not sure your answer to Elendil should be "I have a bomb" as much as "I have 33% of my army wielding crossbows - and have 2-3 ballistae").</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Now time for some absolute Dwarf filth . . .</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><u><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></u></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><u><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Dishonorable Mention: Floi Stonehand</span></u></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Yes, it's Floi again - at some point, he's going to need an article in this series. :) Narsil is most of what makes Elendil expensive - and without it, he may be a beat-stick (even against Dwarves), but without it (which Floi can do if he can just SEE Elendil), he becomes an over-priced, very vulnerable hero. It's true, regaining Will on Floi usually involves killing a hero (something that's generally pretty hard to do in lists that feature Elendil) or running Impossible Alliance (something that's generally not hard to do, if you're okay with a few heroes begin slotted in to make your already solid list a little better), but for at least three turns, Floi can deprive Elendil of what makes him really good - and if he knows he can't spend Might to crush a bunch of Dwarves, what he chooses to do is incredibly hard.</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">If you have a wizard allied into your force (as an Impossible Ally if Balin is in your list - otherwise you're probably fielding a Dwarf King and they're probably Convenient Allies and the only way that Floi is getting Might back), removing Unbending Resolve is also an interesting choice, since a two-dice Immobilize is likely to keep Elendil from declaring Heroic Combats AND will prevent him from counter-calling Heroic Strikes. Depending on your plan, this could have some nasty repercussions . . .</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">All told, there are ways to play around Elendil without actually playing AGAINST Elendil's Strengths. If you want to give him a run for his money, you might want to consider some of our "actual list" pairings - we'll start with the pairing that almost made our dishonorable mention . . .</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><u><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Pick #5: Shades with Barrow-Wights</span></u></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">This has applicability far beyond Elendil, but it works surprisingly well against him (speaking from experience). If you can just get a 6 with your Orcs near a <b>Shade </b>while Chill Aura is up, you can guarantee that Elendil will have to spend valuable Might point winning fights - and while his Heroic Combats are free, his Might store is limited to what a "normal, good" hero has (only 3). Since each combat might eat away at his Might points, an Elendil player has no idea how much Might he's going to have at the end of a round - Heroic Combat or not - and that's assuming he doesn't get a 4-high and LOSE the fight to the Orcs. If he declares a Heroic Combat, he can always move somewhere else - but he'll leave his troops to get pummelled by what they should beat. From experience using Elendil, this one hurts.</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">All of this requires even more care if a <b>Barrow-Wight</b> or two is around - these guys get the Paralyze spell off on a 4+, which means those two free dice have a pretty good chance of getting the required 4+ (75%), but don't have a good chance of getting a 5+ (56%) or a natural 6 (30%). This means Elendil needs to spend actual Will points to resist Paralyze or end up not being able to punch back in fights (potentially for a while). Oh, and he'll lose his horse, which is bad.</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">It's possible that the Barrow-Wights whiff each turn - but each time they get a 4+, Elendil is faced with a dilemma of how many Will points to throw - and when near a Shade, Elendil already knows that he's going to be pressed for enough Might to win fights. As such, there's a section of the battlefield he'll have to avoid in order to be effective - and that's where all your important pieces go. Be sure to prevent your Shade from being Commanded/Compelled away from where they're trying to protect and you're golden. If you want to fight him fairly, you could check out . . .</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><u><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Pick #4: REALLY big, slow monsters (like The Dark Lord Sauron, Beorn in Bear form, or Gundabad Trolls with Crushing Clubs)</span></u></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Elendil's best day is going to be one where he goes smashing through 1-wound models who are F1-3 (where he can Feint while still having the higher Fight Value) and D2-5 (there aren't many D2 units, but they do exist). Against these models, Elendil will wound on 2s or 3s while rerolling 1s . . . chances are good those Heroic Combats are going off - even against cavalry warriors that he doesn't knock over.</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">But if there's one thing Elendil doesn't really want to run into, it's <b>a really big monster</b> - I'm not talking about Cave Trolls/Drakes, but those centerpiece models that somebody dumped a bunch of points into. While I could wax on about how dangerous the Balrog can be, I already talked about him in the last post (and most of those critiques still stand when talking about Elendil).</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">A very thematic foe for Elendil is <b>The Dark Lord Sauron</b>, who will be wounded on a 5+/3+ by Elendil (the only model who will be that hard to wound - unless the target hero is calling Heroic Defense) and is probably walking away from a fight he loses while wounding Elendil on 3s with Rend if he wins (unless Elendil cedes the higher Fight Value by declaring a Heroic Defense). Sauron is unique among monsters in that he can also threaten Elendil's horse with Chill Soul from a distance (using his free Will point only - if he gets a 5+, Elendil's free Will points to resist only have a 56% chance of saving the poor beast) or by Hurling into Elendil's fight as he gets closer. Furthermore, Sauron is very threatening to the kinds of support models that Elendil usually relies on to keep him safe or buffed (Blinding Light from Cirdan or Galadriel with Sap Will? Transfix/Chill Soul on a helper hero? Compel on a banner?).</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><b>Beorn </b>in his bear form - particularly in his Legion, when he picks up Monstrous Charge - is a nasty prospect for Elendil to fight too, not only because Beorn on the charge can dismount Elendil with Monstrous Charge (only in his Legion), but also because he's got the Crushing Strength Brutal Power Attack, which will wound Elendil on 3s and can just keep wounding him . . . if you automatically kill him after four successes, I think this might be worth burning some Might if Beorn wins. With a higher Fight Value by default and "only" being wounded on 5s, Beorn had better be trapped when Elendil wins or he's going to burn himself out trying to beat the guy (and woe betides him if he loses).</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">But the surprise entrant I'd like to present is a model I didn't think was particularly good as a counter to Elendil: <b>Gundabad Trolls with Crushing Clubs</b>. Like Mordor Trolls, I generally find Gundabad Trolls to be quite limited in the impact they can have in a game - and because Mordor Trolls are D7, they run the risk of being one-turn flash-killed by Elendil (who wounds them on 4s and only need to score 3 wounds). Gundabad Trolls have three game-changing advantages of Mordor Trolls, though: first, they're <b>Defense 8</b>, which is the "magic number" you need to be wounded on 6s (5s when he two-hands with Narsil). Since they're also S7, Elendil won't be able to knock them prone with his horse, so unless he can get a trap in on them (don't let him do that), he's unlikely to deal more than one wound a turn. Second, Gundabad Trolls have <b>4 Wounds</b> instead of three - this means that only INSANELY good luck will cause Elendil to one-turn flash-kill a Gundabad Troll, and a prolonged fight with one of these will mean that he doesn't have Might to challenge anyone else in your list.</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">But the most surprising thing for me is that he also has the Crushing Club, which I feel is inferior in most cases to the Scythe Gauntlets (which allow a Gundabad Troll to wound almost every model on 2s or 3s). The Crushing Club, however, is particularly good against heroes with only 1 Fate, since each wound is turned into D3 wounds BEFORE Fate is rolled, and as such, going up against one of these guys is . . . hard. You might scoff at this working - but I saw it work at one of our tournaments . . . and in one round Elendil went from hale and happy to a sticky smear on a club.</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Alternatively, you could lean into . . .</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><u><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Pick #3: Flying Monsters (especially Gulavhar)</span></u></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Flying monsters have an advantage over non-flying ones: they can change where they are faster (in most cases) than Elendil can. Since Hurl can be used against the S4 Warriors of Numenor to get Elendil off his horse, fighting on the flanks becomes dangerous if there's a monster nearby. If that monster has high Strength, the range of their Hurl can become massive . . .</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">This isn't that big of a deal from Fell Beasts (who only have S6) - or even from Great Eagles - but if the monster has high Strength (<b>Gulavhar </b>is S8 - and a select few monsters are higher than that) a tricky opponent can position their monster to munch on the troopers near Elendil just to make sure he doesn't have a horse. Once he loses this, he loses his ability to knock Infantry over, which is often the bread-and-butter of his strategy.</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Heroic Defense is key on Gulavhar here - with F7, Elendil will often have to Strike against him (or keep the Fight Values the same and risk a roll-off without an Elven-made weapon). Guavhar will wound Elendil on 4s (with or without the shield) while Elendil will only wound Gulavhar on natural 6s for 2-3 rounds . . . and Gulavhar can get away from Elendil fairly quickly with Fly if Elendil has been dehorsed.</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">There's a lot of skill involved in this stategy, but any monster who can Hurl into Elendil technically qualifies here (though flying monsters are going to do it better than non-flying monsters - and high strength flying monsters will be able to do it from farther away than lower-strength flying monsters). If you want to fight a bit more symmetrically, you should check out . . .</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><u><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Pick #2: Heroes who are D8+ and can reach F7+ OR have Heroic Defense, especially Isildur and Thrain</span></u></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Well, let's have some father-son rivalry, shall we? As was mentioned above with Gundabad Trolls, any hero who is D8 is going to pose a challenge for Elendil, and if you're playing as Good and have access to Dwarves (via Thorin, Thrain, or a Dwarf King), chances are good that you have access to some <b>D8 heroes</b>. Some of those (including Bifur, Dori, King's Champions, and Dwarf Kings) are incredibly affordable and can even bring 10-15 troops with them (which can vary from 9-12 points, if you bring their "basic" units). If you're trying to create an army that will slow Elendil down, bringing along some super-high Defense heroes (and maybe even some high Defense warriors) is a pretty good way to do that (though don't count on D8 from shieldwall - if Elendil has the charge, you'll be knocked Prone before he gets to the wounding roll, so you'll be D7 again . . .).</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Probably the best Dwarf hero to counter Elendil with is <b>Thrain</b>, who is not only a credible threat to Elendil if he manages to win the fight (3 Attacks at S4 with +1 To Wound will wound Elendil on 5s and his horse on 3s), but more importantly, he's got the double-option of Heroic Defense to force Elendil to get natural 6s OR he can call Heroic Strike to force Elendil to not declare a Combat (he'll still be wounded on 5s). Elendil will probably do everything he can to avoid Thrain, but Thrain has a better chance of surviving an encounter with Elendil than any of the mounted Dwarf heroes do (since none of them have Defense - they're all going to rely on being wounded on 5s if they lose and hopefully just-don't-lose with Strike).</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">A slightly different approach is to have a Numenorean civil war by bringing <b>Isildur </b>to the fight. If fielded without his dad, Isildur picks up the One Ring - and this gives him a distinct Fight Value advantage against Elendil. With Elendil's F7 not mattering anymore, his main focus is going to be avoiding being caught by his son - but if Isildur is lurking (on foot or mounted) behind his lines, Elendil might have to commit to attacking one part of the battle line before Isildur has had a chance to move - and if that happens, Isildur can dismount, put on the Ring, and slide through his ranks to the other side . . . or if his dad is hedged in, he can wait for his Dad to advance and catch him on the next turn. Since only Sauron can make Isildur NOT have the Ring, fighting Isildur is not going to be fun for Elendil. But as fun as not fighting Isildur is, all of this pales in comparison to having to square off against . . .</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><u><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Pick #1: Smaug (or Dragons with Fly/Breathe Fire if you're on a budget)</span></u></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">This is kind of like siege weapon insta-killing, but without the scattering - any breath of fire from <b>Smaug </b>or a <b>Dragon with Fly and Breath Fire</b> will insta-kill Elendil. Elendil can't attempt to out-fight this guy or hope the "shot" scatters onto a friend - nope, everyone's gonna be spread out because when this winged thing comes rolling through and things start to get hot, that's it. After one shot, Elendil's horse is probably gone - and after two shots, Elendil's toast.</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Cirdan and Galadriel can help some with this (these fireballs are shooting attacks, after all - and Galadriel might be able to restore the lost Fate point in time), but if Smaug gets a shot off, you're one Fate point away from death. Even without the fire breath from these guys (I personally think the Breathe Fire upgrade on a Dragon is a trap), Smaug can do a bunch of the other things we've talked about - he's D9 with 20 Wounds and never counts as being trapped, so Elendil can try beating against him for ages and STILL not kill him. He's a Strength 9 flying monster, so if you've brought Blinding Light, he can rely on Hurl to knock Elendil off his horse before he sails in for the kill. It should be obvious that he's a properly-big monster with F8 and 3-Might-and-Strike. The only box he doesn't tick is a Might-draining quagmire on par with Barrow-Wights and Shades . . . but honestly, a 20-wound monster is going to drain SOMEONE's Might, so maybe he does tick off all the boxes . . .</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><b><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Sample Lists</span></b></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Like we did last time, I think it would be helpful to consider what an Elendil list might look like. While Evan Iverson has had success with Elendil and Galadriel, I will be focusing on the more magic-resilient option of taking Elendil with Glorfindel (which appears to be a go-to for many players who are seeking to do a "Last Alliance" build). If you want Cirdan in the list, you can swap Glorfindel for Erestor and Cirdan (165pts) OR a High Elf Captain and Cirdan (180pts) with only minor modifications to the rest of the list. This list comes in at 700pts with 32 models - you could probably boost the numbers by a few if you ran Galadriel instead of Glorfindel (you'd lose both army bonuses . . . which I think would be fine):</span></span></div><ul style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Elendil, High King of Gondor and Arnor on horse with shield [ARMY LEADER]</span></li><ul><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">8 Warriors of Numenor with shields</span></li><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">2 Warriors of Numenor with shields and spears</span></li><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">6 Warriors of Numenor with bows and spears<br /></span></li></ul><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Glorfindel, Lord of the West on Asfaloth with the Armor of Gondolin</span></li><ul><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">6 High Elf Warriors with shields</span></li><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">2 High Elf Warriors with shields and spears</span></li><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">1 High Elf Warrior with shield, spear, and banner</span></li><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">5 High Elf Warriors with Elf bows and spears<br /></span></li></ul></ul><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">This list has no March and no cavalry besides the heroes - and sometimes, that won't matter. It also has no archery protection, so that could be problematic too - both of these can be solved with a High Elf Captain and Cirdan, but whatever. Our first list has only 35 models, but it hits very hard and has a nasty shenanigan for getting lots of models on far-off objectives - yep, it's Azog's Legion, featuring two Gundabad Captains, two Gundabad Trolls, and two warbands of Goblin Mercenaries:</span></span></div><ul style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Gundabad Orc Captain with shield [ARMY LEADER]</span></li><ul><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">4 Gundabad Orc Warriors with shields</span></li><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">4 Gundabad Orc Warriors with shields and spears</span></li><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">1 Gundabad Orc Warrior with shield, spear, and banner</span></li><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">1 Gundabad Troll with Crushing Club<br /></span></li></ul><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Gundabad Orc Captain with shield</span></li><ul><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">4 Gundabad Orc Warriors with shields</span></li><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">3 Gundabad Orc Warriors with shields and spears</span></li><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">2 Gundabad Orc Warriors with spears</span></li><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">1 Gundabad Troll with Crushing Club<br /></span></li></ul><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Goblin Mercenary Captain</span></li><ul><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">6 Goblin Mercenaries<br /></span></li></ul><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Goblin Mercenary Captain</span></li><ul><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">5 Goblin Mercenaries<br /></span></li></ul></ul><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">700 points, 35 models, no shooting, 22 D6+ models, no fast units but 8 Might for Heroic March, 8 Might</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Our second list is a thematic opponent - it's a Dagorlad list, featuring the Dark Lord Sauron, an Orc Captain on Warg, and 34 grunts (12 Orc Trackers, 11 Orcs with spears, and 11 Black Numenoreans). We're not going to win the Fight Value game against the Elves, but we can tie the Numenoreans and we get a pretty good archery volume paired with Chill Soul from Sauron. Can this list beat Elendil and the Last Alliance? It very much depends on how much work Sauron can do . . . and whether you can kill off the Numenoreans quickly:</span></span></div><ul style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">The Dark Lord Sauron [ARMY LEADER]</span></li><ul><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">6 Black Numenoreans</span></li><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">5 Orc Warriors with spears</span></li><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">1 Orc Warrior with spear and banner<br /></span></li><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">12 Orc Trackers<br /></span></li></ul><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Orc Captain on Warg</span></li><ul><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">5 Black Numenoreans</span></li><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">5 Orc Warriors with spears<br /></span></li></ul></ul><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">700 points, 36 models, 12 Orc bows hitting on a 4+, 12 D6+ models, 2 cavalry and 2 Might for Heroic March, 5 Might</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Neither of these armies are going to have an "easy" time of tackling Elendil, but this last one throws a nice curve-ball at him - it features his son and a nice mix of Elves to counter the Rivendell contingent that came along (both with the inclusion of F6 pikemen and Blinding Light):</span></span></div><ul style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Galadriel [ARMY LEADER]</span></li><ul><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">6 Galadhrim Warriors with shields</span></li><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">6 Galadhrim Warriors with Elf bows</span></li><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">6 Guards of the Galadhrim Court<br /></span></li></ul><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Convenient Alliance - Numenor: Isildur on horse with shield and the One Ring</span></li><ul><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">4 Warriors of Numenor with shields</span></li><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">2 Warriors of Numenor with shields and spears</span></li><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">1 Warrior of Numenor with shield, spear, and banner</span></li></ul><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Convenient Alliance - Numenor: Captain of Numenor on horse with lance and shield</span></li><ul><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">4 Warriors of Numenor with shields</span></li><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">4 Warriors of Numenor with spears and bows<br /></span></li></ul></ul><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">700 points, 36 models, 6 Elf bows hitting on a 3+ AND 4 bows hitting on a 4+, 8 D6+ models, 2 cavalry and 2 Might for Heroic March, 8 Might</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Not only is Isildur a threat to curb Elendil's fighting, but Galadriel has the ability to limit the Elven/Numenorean counter-archery and could mess with the positioning of Elendil's supporting troops with Command (especially his banner). She could also reach out with her free Will point only to test Elendil's rolling skills just to see if she can get an Immobilize off (and whether his dice stop it or not). The third hero in this team (a cheap Numenor captain instead of a more expensive Elven unit) gives this team a little more speed in games where it matters and more punch somewhere on the field . . . if this guy can avoid being gronked by one of the heroes.</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><b><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Conclusion</span></b></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Elendil will probably be the hardest nut to crack in this series - which is saying a lot, considering who we've already covered. When it comes down to it, Elendil is well equipped (at least on paper) to deal with magical threats, ranged threats, and melee threats - and he's certainly one of those heroes who will ruin your day if he's allowed to do what he wants to do. While I don't think any of these methods are guaranteed to beat a good Numenor player who's put in "the reps" with Elendil, hopefully this has been informative for how to deal with a big beater hero.</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Next time, we're headed back to Eregion to look at one of the most formidable combat mages in the game: Elrond. Whether fielded in an all-mounted Rohan list or a Last Alliance list, Elrond provides all the punch you can reasonably demand from a man-sized hero (and sometimes a little more) while also having a clutch set of magical powers. With the ability to help you strategically win a close priority roll (which includes both "actually winning" it or by "losing" it), fighting Elrond can be an absolute slog. Thankfully, there are a few ways you can deal with him - we'll jump into all the tricks of the trade next time. Until then, happy hobbying!</span></span></div>Tiberiushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01032927898313675650noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2010239046857689405.post-4637754512948773052024-03-04T09:00:03.174-05:002024-03-05T07:13:06.039-05:00Nemesis: How to Fight Against Gil-Galad <div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Good morning gamers,</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">We're back in our Nemesis series for the next few months and we're going to be focusing on the heroes who fought for or against the Last Alliance for most of the next few posts. Our journey begins with one of the nastiest Elven heroes in the game: Gil-Galad. Back when Heroic Strike wasn't a thing, having a F9 hero was pretty sweet, but even in an age where Strike exists, having a F9 hero is guaranteed to make your opponent cough up some Might (and being guaranteed to get to the all-desired F10 is a nice option). So what makes this guy so hard to deal with? And what tools can you use to fight against him? Let's dig in and find out!<br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><b><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">What Makes Gil-Galad So Hated?</span></b></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Like most combat heroes, we need to start by looking at Gil-Galad's <b><span style="color: #38761d;">offensive profile</span></b>. He's one of four heroes who is innately F9-10 (and by far the cheapest - his rivals are the Balrog and the Dark Lord Sauron) and with 3 Attacks, a reroll to his dueling and wounding rolls with the Lord of the West special rule, Aiglos (a spear that confers +1 To Wound without any penalties), and a mount (your stock-standard horse for 10pts), it's not hard to get a lot of damage out of this guy.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.warhammer-community.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/HsVBegy1qlSIbrnx.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="714" data-original-width="800" height="286" src="https://www.warhammer-community.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/HsVBegy1qlSIbrnx.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo Credit: <a href="https://www.warhammer-community.com/2020/11/12/top-10-good-combat-heroes-in-middle-earth/" target="_blank">Warhammer Community</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br />The pairing of <b><span style="color: #38761d;">Fight 9 and the Blood and Glory special rule</span></b> make him particularly dangerous against heroes, most of whom will have to declare a Heroic Strike (if they even have that option) to tie or beat his Fight Value and if he manages to kill the hero (not hard if he can knock the model prone while on the charge or if he's got some help in trapping the target), he gets a Might point back. Striking from F9 can be unnecessary, but if you're going to get the Might point back, it's probably worth doing anyway.<br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">If Gil-Galad was all that was potent or dangerous in his list, he'd probably be okay - but <b><span style="color: #38761d;">the Rivendell list</span> </b>is loaded with options to make Gil-Galad work at basically any points level. There are some Rivendell heroes that confer no penalties at all to your army building - <b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Elrond</span></b><b style="color: black;"> </b><span style="color: black;">and </span><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><b>Glorfindel</b> </span>are pricey heroes, but they make excellent wing-men for Gil-Galad (especially Elrond, since he might be able to help you win you priority on a close roll with his Foresight points or knock foes near Gil-Galad prone with Wrath of Bruinen). If you're looking for more budget-restricted killing power, a <b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">mounted High Elf Captain</span></b><b style="color: black;"> </b><span style="color: black;">or </span><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><b>Erestor</b> </span>are excellent choices for 85-100pts. Most players who face Rivendell fear <b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Cirdan </span></b>with Gil-Galad, since shooting Gil-Galad and charging all those Elves they brought gets harder. Oh, and any Terror you invested in is a lot harder to preserve unless you have Sap Will in your army.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;"><a name='more'></a></span>If you want to keep your army bonus, you also have some interesting <b><span style="color: #38761d;">alliance options</span></b> from <span style="color: black;">Numenor</span>. If you want to pair Gil-Galad with another great hero, you can add <b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Elendil </span></b>to your list (who could be your army leader if you want to be a bit more reckless with Gil-Galad - or you can swap it around the other way, whatever works for you). If you leave Elendil at home, you can get access to a Ringbearer for 50+ points less with <b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Isildur</span></b>. If you're really strapped for points, a 75pt <b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Captain of Numenor</span></b> on a horse with heavy armor, lance, and your choice of shield or bow is a nice hitting piece that can give your infantry some extra speed with Heroic March. Any of these are excellent options.<br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">If you're willing to forego your army bonus, you have a few options that can help Gil-Galad be better. If you are okay with a pure Rivendell list, you can take some of the heroes who were born AFTER Gil-Galad died - <b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Elladan </span></b>and <span style="color: #2b00fe;"><b>Elrohir</b> </span>are a bargain price for 6 Might and two good heroes, <b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Arwen </span></b>is an incredibly cheap Wrath of Bruinen caster, and <b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Lindir </span></b>can give Gil-Galad Resistant to Magic (and can make Elrond a long-term caster). I've left <b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Bilbo </span></b>off this list intentionally - he's a Ringbearer (and that has value), but since he can't lead any troops, you're going to spend the same points on him and another hero who can lead troops as you would on Isildur - who is higher up on the order ranking for carrying the Ring anyway and has a much better profile. Take Isildur instead.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Your convenient alliance options are interesting too - <b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Galadriel </span></b>can restore Gil-Galad's Fate point should he lose it with either the Mirror of Galadriel or the Blessing of the Valar magical power (and can bring lots of Elves from Lothlorien) or you could grab a big monster model like <b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Gwaihir </span></b>or <b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Treebeard </span></b>instead of any of those man-sized beater heroes. If you ally with anyone else (or any of these heroes if you also took Elladan, Elrohir, Arwen, Lindir, or Bilbo in your list), you're going to be Impossible Allies - and I think the boosts that Gil-Galad gives to your team are worth avoiding an Impossible Alliance.<br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">So far, we've only looked at heroes who can work well with Gil-Galad, but I think most players fear what he can do for his warriors, particularly <b>High Elf Warriors</b> in his warband. Only a few Elf heroes in the game can upgrade warriors in their warband to be better - and most of them aren't worth it. Celeborn and Galadriel can upgrade Galadhrim Warriors to Galadhrim Guard for 1pt and these guys gain +1 Courage . . . almost no one does it (and I've explored a way to make this more appealing <a href="https://tellmeatalegreatorsmall.blogspot.com/2023/08/if-tiberius-were-king-for-day-top-5.html" target="_blank">in a previous article</a>). Gildor Inglorion must upgrade Wood Elf Warriors in his warband to Noldorin Exiles for 1pt, which gives them 8" movement instead of 6" movement (which is good, if you don't mind Wood Elf Warriors). These seem pretty conditionally useful (if at all useful).</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">But for 1pt per model, Gil-Galad can upgrade High Elf Warriors to <b><span style="color: #38761d;">King's Guard</span></b>, which boosts them from F5 to F6. Against some foes, being F6 and being F5 makes no practical difference, but against F4-5 foes (of which there are a surprising number across most factions), being F6 can make all the difference - and if Rohan or Isengard are big in your local meta, all those heroes who are locked into being F5 or less are going to GROAN if you have a bunch of F6 spearmen to support your ranks. Whether Gil-Galad is leading 18 King's Guard with shields and spears or 12 King's Guard with shields and spears alongside 6 King's Guard with spear and Elf bows, this guy can mean business and back up any Rivendell (or Lothlorien) troops he wants with a nice wall of F6. Golly, that's rough.<br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">If we dig a little deeper in Gil-Galad's profile, we find some other nice benefits. When we look at the <b><span style="color: #38761d;">heroic actions</span></b> he has, we find not only the heroic actions we'd want in a big hero (Heroic Combat, Strike, and Defense), but also ones that provide boosts in very specific situations (Resolve, Strength, and Challenge). While we probably don't want Gil-Galad to have to call Heroic Moves, if he's still mounted, it can still be the most valuable way for him to spend his Might. Most players would probably point to the access to Strike/Defense as his best actions (since they let him flex between challenging something that isn't likely to hit him back hard OR challenge something that would hit him back hard but will only wound him on 6s now), but I think Combats and Strengths are the best calls for him (Combats because he can chew through troops really well, Strength because being S4 doesn't always do it for you - and can keep you from being knocked over in some situations).<br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Finally, Gil-Galad has a <b><span style="color: #38761d;">12" Stand Fast!</span> </b>that affects both friendly heroes and warriors - and because he's a Hero of Legend, should your army break, his first Stand Fast! is automatically passed. With Courage 7, he was probably going to pass it anyway (assuming there are no courage debuffs being applied<i style="color: black;"> en masse</i>), but as Rythbyrt is fond of saying, it's nice when you don't have to roll any dice to make sure something works.<br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">So . . . this guy hits hard, costs less than 200 points, gets Might back if he kills heroes . . . I mean, what can you do against this guy? Quite a bit, actually - let's take a look at what our options are . . .<br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><b><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">How Do You Fight Back Against Gil-Galad?</span></b></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">We've talked about most of Gil-Galad's stat line already, but there are two things that we haven't mentioned yet: 3 Will and 1 Fate. To say that <b><span style="color: #990000;">3 Will</span></b> makes you "bad" would be wrong - lots of heroes are capped out at 3 Will (and most heroes in general only have 1 Will, so 3 Will is pretty good), but against a sustained magical barrage, Gil-Galad is likely to get rooted in place. </span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">If you don't mind losing your army bonus, you could take Lindir to help out with this (Resistant to Magic won't solve most casting, but it at least gives you a fighting chance that you won't be locked out of charging or wounding things) - but if you want better anti-magic options (Fortify Spirit), you'll need to risk an Impossible Alliance. Would allying in Galadriel and Saruman/Radagast/Celeborn/<wbr></wbr>Gandalf/Glorfindel be better? Gandalf the White? I don't think so - you'd be dumping 400-500pts into 2-3 hero models and I don't think that's the game Rivendell wants to be playing (what with its warriors being so expensive).<br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Gil-Galad also only has <b><span style="color: #990000;">1 Fate</span></b>, which means Gil-Galad is only one fluke roll away from dying from any number of threats. Even against models that can't insta-kill things if they deal a single wound, only being 4 wounds away can be a huge risk if you're up against a S6+ monster with Rend - maybe you should look twice at that Heroic Defense option? Since Gil-Galad is likely to be your army leader (unless you brought Elrond with you or allied in Elendil/Galadriel/Gwaihir - all of which are pricey), having only 1 Fate point means you could be coughing up VPs to a stray arrow or crossbow bolt, which isn't great. Personally, if you have Elrond in your army as well, I'd opt for him to be the leader to give Gil-Galad some leeway.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Gil-Galad only has access to a <b><span style="color: #990000;">Defense 4 horse</span></b> and doesn't have the Horselord special rule (which is probably good, since Horselord with 1 Fate isn't that reliable anyway), so losing your horse to shooting or magical powers is pretty easy. Cirdan can give you some resilience against shooting with Blinding Light and Lindir can give you some resilience against magic (at the cost of your army bonus), but other than that, your go-to move is to put in-the-ways up between you and your opponent's archers. Hopefully, Legolas isn't on the other side of the board . . .</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Finally, while Gil-Galad has Aiglos for +1 To Wound - and that is very nice - <b><span style="color: #990000;">being Strength 4 isn't that great</span></b>. Yes, it's pretty normal, but it's also not great. You can boost this with Heroic Strength if you're up against odd-defense foes, but you probably only want to do this if you're fighting an odd-defense hero who can't get to F9 . . . if you happen to have the charge, this should result in a dead foe - but absent this, you could find yourself wounding on "just 5s", and potentially not even with a knock-down if your opponent's Strength stat is high enough (or if it's a monster model). Getting to D7 isn't that hard - and there are a surprising number of models who can reach S6+ with Heroic Strength and have at least D7 to take the bite out of most of your wounding dice. Fight 9 is great but Fight 9 is really only good if you get a 6-high (and sometimes a 5-high) . . .<br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Okay, let's take a look now at some models you can include in your lists to help you fight back against Gil-Galad . . .<br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><b><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Tiberius's Top 5 Models To Counter Gil-Galad</span></b></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><u><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></u></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">If you haven't read any of the previous articles in this series, you'll know I couldn't stop at just five, so as we've done before, let's look at an honorable and dishonorable mention, shall we?<br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><u><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></u></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><u><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Honorable Mention: Anyone with Heroic Defense (or S5+/D7+ models with Heroic Strength - especially Isildur)<br /></span></u></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><u><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></u></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Gil-Galad really wants to be running over infantry models - he wants to charge in with 4 Attacks and at least 1 reroll, he wants to knock the models prone, and then he wants to throw four pairs of dice at whoever he beats with +1 To Wound. If you want to keep him from playing this game, have some models with Heroic Defense here or there. Since Heroic Defense changes Gil-Galad's wounding difficulty from a 5+ or a 4+ to natural 6s, the benefits of Aiglos are completely lost (and he can't even Feint down from F9 to something that will still be higher because Aiglos is a spear, not a sword).</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Heroic Defense is great and all, but it doesn't do anything for you if you win the duel. As a result, I'd also like to highlight the heroes who are base S5+ and D7+ with access to Heroic Strength. These heroes (Young Dain, Champ Dwalin, King's Champions, Elendil, Isildur, Helm Hammerhand, Azog, Bolg, and Shagrat) could all call Heroic Strike if they wanted to - and a few of them could call Heroic Defense - but they can all call Heroic Strength to boost themselves to S6-8, which will not only shut down the knock-prone bonus from the horse, but will ensure that they will wound Gil-Galad on 4s if not 3s, depending on what they get for Heroic Strength (and whether Gil-Galad took a shield - he usually does). Isildur is particularly good at this maneuver, since he might have the higher Fight Value with the Ring on . . .<br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Besides Shagrat and King's Champions (and Isildur with the Ring on), all of the other heroes can be mounted as well, which would remove all the cavalry bonuses if their mounts have stuck around, making the Strength call purely an offensive thing - but you get the idea: you can blunt Gil-Galad's damage potential just by not being knocked over (or not being wounded on better than 6s). This is probably the most universal strategy for dampening Gil-Galad's effectiveness, but it does assume that you'll be banking on losing fights to him but sticking around - which may not work as long as you think. Still, it's an option, so it gets the honorable slot today. Now for some scum-of-the-earth options . . .<br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><u><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></u></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><u><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Dishonorable Mention: Anything that has an Insta-kill<br /></span></u></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Many players feel like siege engines shouldn't be in Matched Play - and I get why: insta-killing big, expensive heroes is often a cheap shot (see what I did there?). Naturally, then, if we're talking about countering a 1 Fate mega-hero like Gil-Galad, we have to talk about siege engines. If you have a high-Strength, long-range shooting weapon that can hit the guy (not hard if he's left his infantry escorts behind), you can knock him clean off his horse and will probably wound him on 3s or 4s, depending on the type of siege engine you're using. If he fails his Fate roll (he'll be sure to burn as much Might as is needed to make it work) or gets wounded when he's out of Fate, he's gone. Poof. No more Elf lord. What a shame . . . what a shame . . .</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Of course, there are other ways you can insta-kill a model - fire from Dragons/Smaug comes to mind (Cirdan can make that harder to do with Blinding Light), as does being wounded by the King of the Dead (kinda hard) or the Necromancer of Dol Guldur (probably less hard if he has channelled Shroud of Shadows on himself in his Legion - your Fate point is probably gone before he engages). The most dangerous of these threats is probably a Castellan spam (which could show up with the Necromancer in his Legion) if each of them has Morgul Blades - for 45pts each, it's not hard to get 4-6 of these guys in a list (and if any of them can beat Gil-Galad, he's just one or two lucky 6s away from dying). This sure makes Galadriel look like a good alliance option, huh?<br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Insta-killing is cheap, so I gave them the dishonorable slot today. As is usually the case, this might be the best way for anyone to deal with Gil-Galad, but it also FEELS wrong. So, the rest of the list takes more traditional approaches to dealing with this Elven monstrosity. We'll start with a particular favorite of mine . . .<br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><u><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Pick #5: The Balrog (especially in his Legion)<br /></span></u></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">There are very few heroes or monsters in the game that Gil-Galad fears - most of them are going to start well below his Fight Value and even if they declare a Heroic Strike, they'll have only a 50/50 chance (or slightly better) of TYING Gil-Galad's Fight Value. There are a few models ("the Fight 8 club") who are guaranteed to tie his initial Fight Value and are quite likely to get to F10 and only one other model who begins tied with him at F9 (the Dark Lord Sauron). But there is one model who will force Gil-Galad to declare a Heroic Strike if there's no Ringbearer to help him: the Balrog.</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">If the Balrog was only F10, he wouldn't make the list - Gil-Galad is one of three characters who can guarantee they'll reach F10 with a Heroic Strike and with an Elven-made weapon, he has the advantage on any roll-off that happens (may the odds be in his favor - because if the Balrog wins on a 1-2, Gil-Galad is in for it!). What sets the Balrog apart from most other monsters is that he's also D9, which means that Gil-Galad doesn't wound him well EVEN with Aiglos (5+/3+). A 22% chance is better than many heroes, but if you're only converting one-in-five rolls (which with 4 Attacks on the charge and a reroll from Lord of the West, you should be able to roll five dice each time you win), you're only expected to deal 1 wound a turn to the Balrog . . . and with only 3 Might for Strike, that's just not enough damage to last in a punching match with the Balrog! From experience using the Balrog against Gil-Galad, it just doesn't work . . .</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Gil-Galad can mitigate this some if he has the help of a Ringbearer (removing his need to declare a Strike each turn) or he can try to have a friend help him get a trap, but without either of these, he's really not equipped to actually KILL the Balrog before he runs out of steam. In most situations, he's better off trying to run all of the Balrog's buddies into the ground and avoid the evil demon as much as possible.<br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">The Balrog in his Legion becomes an even greater threat, since he can Set Ablaze Gil-Galad on a 2+ at the start of a Shoot Phase with the "...and Flame" Legion special rule. It's important to note that this is not a shooting attack, so Cirdan or Galadriel can't force the roll to a be a 6+ with Blinding Light. If the Balrog is ever within 3" of Gil-Galad (even if he's engaged), he can force Gil-Galad to take a S9 hit (wounding him on 4s if he has a shield and 3s if he doesn't), wounds his horse on a 3+, and will force Gil-Galad to suffer a S5 hit at the end of each round (wounds on 6s with a shield, 5s without a shield). In order to put it out, Gil-Galad will need to find a water feature (his heavy armor and shield will work against him if it's deep water) or lie prone and crawl 1" (which will keep him from wounding anything - and cause him to be trapped if he's engaged on the ground). Yeah, it's a problem.</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">This threat is also limited to one Legendary Legion in the game and a 350-point model (which SOUNDS like far more than Gil-Galad is worth, but is not too much higher than Gil-Galad with Isildur or Gil-Galad with Galadriel). As such, while I think this is a perfectly fine way to scare off Gil-Galad, I couldn't rank it higher than fifth. Now on to another big threat (mostly in one Legendary Legion, but potentially alliable into a lot of others) . . .<br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><u><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Pick #4: <u><u>Isengard Demolition Team</u></u><br /></span></u></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Since these guys aren't technically siege engines, I decided to give them their own billet - yes, it's the dreaded demolition team from Isengard! While these are optimized in the Assault Upon Helm's Deep Legendary Legion, they can be fielded with Lurtz in basically any Isengard allied contingent and gives you a hard-out against any big hero who happens to have a wingman nearby. Gil-Galad could get past these guys by riding alone . . . at which point, he's facing a horde of Uruks by himself. Maybe that'll work . . . but he'd better not whiff his roll. </span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">If Gil-Galad is supporting a flank, the bomb has the advantage of being able to race to where he is, attempt a detonation at the start of the Fight Phase before Gil-Galad can gallop away, and EVEN if it doesn't get the cataclysmic explosion result, it'll have a 50% chance of outright killing a completely healthy Gil-Galad. With the cataclysmic explosion, it has just over a 90% chance of outright killing Gil-Galad . . . and besides manage his positioning, he can't do anything about it.</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">This strategy works really well against a wide variety of heroes, but especially those with low Fate and an average number of wounds (2-3). Yes, the bomb can dud-out sometimes and leave a 2 Wound/1 Fate hero standing, but most of the time, you expect to see that hero you dread going up in a lovely (for you) plume of smoke. Even if you never detonate it, having the bomb on the table will force Gil-Galad to change the way he plays - he'll need to engage carefully, he'll need to rely on Heroic Combats to keep himself out of range of the bomb, and if there are Heroic Marches in play on the Isengard side of the table, he'll need to account for even greater movement opportunities for the bomb . . . it's a nightmare and can be far harder to predict than the Balrog (and more devastating, since there's no dueling going on). </span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Still, the availability of a demo team is very restrictive, so while the bomb beats the Balrog, it falls short of the more generic options we'll see later in our list. Perhaps the most pervasive answer to Gil-Galad can be found in . . .<br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><u><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Pick #3: <u><u><u>S3+ shooting (or LOTS of shooting), especially from heroes</u></u></u></span></u></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Gil-Galad is a great hero - but he really wants to be mounted. While D8 is great for keeping the arrows off of himself, a D4 horse is easy to kill (if the random-roll to see who gets hit rolls low and you actually hit the horse). If you can shoot at Gil-Galad and take out his horse - or even chip a lucky wound off of him to force out his Fate point - Gil-Galad has to play very differently than he'd like (and his damage output goes WAY down). If you're fielding at 12-18 bows, you have a good chance of wounding the horse in a single volley - and if you also have siege engines (that aren't an Iron Hills Ballista), be sure to shoot with your bows first so you can force out the Fate point BEFORE your insta-kill shots come crashing down.<br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">If you're playing as a Forces of Evil army, you have another trick up your sleeve: you can shoot into Gil-Galad's combat. If you've invested in enough archers (or for a select number of factions, throwing weapons), you can get the spearmen out of the way and just throw dice at Gil-Galad and his current foes. If you kill your own models, it's fine - they were dying anyway and Gil-Galad can't perform a Heroic Combat off of them - and if you hit him, you can take out his horse or slap a wound off of him. In any event, it's a good day for you!</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">This strategy relies on a lot of luck, deploying far enough back that you can shoot at least once, and can also involve collateral damage from your own archery if you're Evil. If we want something a bit less punishing, we should probably turn to . . .<br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><u><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Pick #2: Immobilize/Transfix casters with 4+ Will (especially Ringwraiths)</span></u></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Big heroes want to kill things - and most casters can keep them from doing that by casting Immobilize or Transfix on them. This spell is usually cast on a 3+ (but can be cast on a 2+, 4+, or 5+ by a handful of models) and can be reliably cast on 1-2 dice (usually 1-2 Will, but sometimes this will be 1 Will point if you get a reroll or a free die). With 3 Will in store, Gil-Galad will have to decide how many Will points he wants to burn to resist a successfully cast spell, based on what its final casting value is. If it's a 5- or 6-high, throwing 3 Will points is pretty likely to stop it (approx. 40-70%), but he'll be out of Will on the next attempt (either next round if you only have one caster or this round if you have two). By throwing 2 Will points, he's less likely to stop it (approx. 30-56%), but it's certainly still possible - but again, his next attempt is going to be rough. If the spell is barely cast on a 3- or 4-high, he might be able to get away with 1-2 Will points to resist it, but even so, he's going to be hard pressed to get 3 resists in before he's helpless to resist spells.</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">As such, having a caster with 4+ Will points (or a free Will point each turn) and either Immobilize or Transfix is a nasty prospect for Gil-Galad - especially if Lindir is at home. Once Gil-Galad is out of position, if the caster also has Compel (most do), you can force Gil-Galad into disadvantageous positions and make him vulnerable to your stronger pieces (units he normally wouldn't mind fighting, but if he's locked in a F9 and can't wound anything, he's going to feel a little nervous).</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Some of the best models in the game for this are Ringwraiths - the named ones have 12-18 Will points (the Witch-King CAN get to 20, but almost no one gives him that many) and usually cast Transfix on a 3+, so you should be able to spend 6-8 Will points on them to Transfix Gil-Galad if they plan to avoid combat and rely on their "special tricks" for the rest of their Will. If you can keep Gil-Galad out of combat for 3-4 turns, that's probably enough to turn the tide with whatever else you have in your army. Alternatively, you could field two budget Ringwraiths in your list (my 90-point preferred build is a Ringwraith on horse with 2M/9W/1F - you can get two of these for the cost of Gil-Galad) and pin him down for 3-5 turns and give him no opportunity to deal damage. It's nasty what happens when you start compounding casters in your list - and generic Ringwraiths are some of the cheapest models for this strategy!<br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">I would like to make a caveat about Gildor Inglorion here: Gildor technically falls under the criteria we laid out (4 Will and Immobilize on a 3+), but unless he spends 1 Will per cast (only supposed to succeed 2-3 times), he's likely to just burn out Gil-Galad's Will (and maybe a Might point) before he's out of juice. If you want to use Gildor as your anti-Gil-Galad tool, I'd recommend pairing him with another caster as a threat (like Arwen) OR find a way to get Will back on him (like Bombur or Gandalf). Speaking of Gandalf . . .<br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><u><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Pick #1: Damage casters (especially Sauron and Gandalf/Saruman)<br /></span></u></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">If there's one thing Gil-Galad hates more than magic that keeps him from killing things, it's magic that hurts him and keeps him from killing things. Chief among these threats is Sorcerous Blast, since it can either target him directly and knock him flying out of the way OR it can target a nearby friendly model and hurtle him into Gil-Galad (and Gil-Galad can't resist on behalf of the target). Whether it's cast by Gandalf (all versions have a 12" range and a casting difficulty of a 4+ or 5+) or Saruman (both versions have a 12" range and a casting difficulty of 4+), this spell requires Gil-Galad to watch his approach and closing with this caster is incredibly hard. Both of these guys also have access to Immobilize and Command, so if you want to soften of Gil-Galad before targeting him directly, you certainly have options.</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Other casters like Kardush or Barrow-Wights (who can't actually do damage with Paralyze, but golly do players treat it like it does) can be dangerous once Gil-Galad is very close (6" range), but if you don't get off a lot of these really quickly, you could find Gil-Galad running over these casters - believe you me, I have experience with this! While these guys are certainly an option for deterring Gil-Galad, I wouldn't trust them to finish Gil-Galad unless someone else is working him down.</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">You could also rely on Ringwraiths to deal damage to him with Black Dart, but Black Dart is INCREDIBLY finnicky. Since this is cast by most Ringwraiths on a 5+ (some on a 6+), your final result is probably high enough that Gil-Galad will have to throw 3W at it or 2W and be willing to boost with Might. While this will definitely drain his resources quickly, you're going to wound him on 4s if he has a shield and 3s if he doesn't - which means every other successful cast will fail to wound. If you're running anything short of 3-4 Ringwraiths (which is probably limited to the Black Riders Legendary Legion), you're probably not cracking through Gil-Galad in any meaningful way.<br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">But Sauron is the bee's knees when it comes to threatening Gil-Galad with magic. Whether he's in his "Dark Lord" form or his "Necromancer" form, Chill Soul is a nasty spell - resist it or suffer a wound! Since it's cast on a 4+ by the Dark Lord Sauron, you can reliably cast it with just your free Will point and 1 Will from your store - and with an 18" range, it's pretty hard for Gil-Galad to stay away from this. Should he choose to rush Sauron, he'll be faced with a high-offense foe that he can't knock over . . . and if you thought wounding a D9 Balrog on a 5+/3+ wasn't great, wounding a D10 Sauron on a 5+/4+ with a 2+ save on his last wound is going to be all but impossible without a trap.</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">What's more, Sauron can target Gil-Galad's mount with Chill Soul and unless Gil-Galad has Resistant to Magic/Fortify Spirit, he can't resist on behalf of his mount! Ringwraiths can Black Dart the mount in a similar way, but they'll fail to wound one-third of the time - Sauron skips this and always succeeds with the wound. BOOM! If Gil-Galad has to leg-it to Sauron, he has no chance of dealing with him . . . which is both thematically appropriate and incredibly frustrating if you're Gil-Galad. Sauron is also 400pts, but that's 400pts you're unlikely to crack through if Gil-Galad isn't able to reach him.<br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Okay, let's wrap this up and look at some lists!</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><b><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Sample Lists</span></b></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">As a backdrop reference list, we have the following 700-point/36-model force that features Gil-Galad with Galadriel:</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><ul><li style="color: black; list-style-type: disc; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Gil-Galad, High King of the Elves on horse with shield [ARMY LEADER]</span></li><ul><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">12 King's Guard with shields and spears</span></li><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">5 King's Guard with Elf bows and spears<br /></span></li></ul><li style="color: black; list-style-type: disc; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">CONVENIENT ALLY - Lothlorien: Galadriel</span></li><ul><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">11 Galadhrim Warriors with shields</span></li><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">6 Galadhrim Warriors with Elf bows</span></li></ul></ul></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Honestly, this is a pretty threatening list - it has good numbers, F6 spears with lots of shooting, good protection from archery (and the ability to restore Gil-Galad's Fate point) - it's really only lacking in speed (which you might be able to make up for if you keep your eye on the prize - or drop a few models to upgrade some of your infantry into cavalry). Let's use this list as our reference list as the one to beat . . .<br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Our first stop is a 700-point/42-model Mordor army, which sports a double-caster threat in the Shadow Lord and a generic Ringwraith, as well as a punchy hero in Shagrat. It's also got a mix of my beloved Mordor Uruk-Hai and Morannon Orcs - people who don't like the shooting coming off the Mordor Uruks are welcome to swap them point-for-point for Black Numenoreans if they like (but I like the universal S4 - and the shooting):<br /></span></span></div><ul style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><li style="color: black; list-style-type: disc; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">The Shadow Lord on horse [ARMY LEADER]</span></li><ul><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">7 Mordor Uruk-Hai with Orc bows</span></li><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">1 Morannon Orc with spear<br /></span></li><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">7 Morannon Orcs with shields and spears<br /></span></li></ul><li style="color: black; list-style-type: disc; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Ringwraith on horse with 2M/9W/1F<br /></span></li><ul><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">6 Mordor Uruk-Hai with Orc bows</span></li><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">4 Morannon Orcs with spears</span></li><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">2 Morannon Orcs with spears and shields<br /></span></li></ul><li style="color: black; list-style-type: disc; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Shagrat, Captain of Cirith Ungol with heavy armor and the Shield of Cirith Ungol</span></li><ul><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">6 Morannon Orcs with shields<br /></span></li><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">5 Morannon Orcs with shields and spears</span></li><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">1 Morannon Orc with shield, spear, and banner<br /></span></li></ul></ul><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">700 points, 42 models, 13 Orc bows hitting on a 4+, 29 D6+ models, 2 cavalry and 2 Might for Heroic March, 7 Might</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">A six-model advantage isn't much, but both armies have anti-archery bubbles to reduce the effectiveness of their opponent's shots, but this list has opted for the lower Fight Value in order to get the higher Strength (wounding on 5s) - and while our Mordor Uruks will be wounded on 5s as well, we're likely to chop through anyone we beat with our Morannons and Uruks.</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">We also have not one but two Ringwraiths, so we can hopefully stun-lock Gil-Galad in one turn and then keep him locked down on subsequent turns while we work down Galadriel. She'll probably be focused on containing Shagrat, who can Strike three times if he double-charges some Elves in order to clear out a good chunk of the warriors (who will wound him on 6s). The Elves on the other side of the table are going to have the higher Fight Value than our soldiers, so I didn't even try to dump points into Fight Value - I got numbers instead. This army might crumble if we get caught in a prolonged slog or if we fail to lock down Gil-Galad, but I like our chances overall.<br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Our second list is a Ringbearer list - and why not, let's throw in some Galadhrim Elves for a F6 shieldwall of our own (but ours will have S4 in the front line, thanks to our Numenor allies). If you'd like to have Isildur on the horse instead of the Captain, you can actually save yourself 5 points (which can turn into 1 extra Numenorean if you drop the spears on the Numenor bowmen):<br /></span></span></div><ul style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><li style="color: black; list-style-type: disc; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Galadriel [ARMY LEADER]</span></li><ul><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">3 Galadhrim Warriors with Elf bows</span></li><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">3 Galadhrim Warriors with Elf bows and spears</span></li><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">12 Guards of the Galadhrim Court<br /></span></li></ul><li style="color: black; list-style-type: disc; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">CONVENIENT ALLY - Numenor: Isildur with shield</span></li><ul><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">7 Warriors of Numenor with shields</span></li><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">2 Warriors of Numenor with bows<br /></span></li></ul><li style="color: black; list-style-type: disc; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">CONVENIENT ALLY - Numenor: Captain of Numenor on horse with heavy armor, lance, and bow<br /></span></li><ul><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">4 Warriors of Numenor with shields</span></li><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">4 Warriors of Numenor with bows and spears<br /></span></li></ul></ul><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">700 points, 38 models, 6 Elf bows hitting on a 3+ AND 7 bows hitting on a 4+, 2 D6+ model, 1 cavalry and 2 Might for Heroic March, 8 Might</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Our last list is (of course) a Balrog list - because this is my post and I like to do that. :) At 700 points, there are LOTS of ways you can run a Balrog list, but I've chosen a variant a list I did earlier in the year when I talked about Blackshield Captains - the list has dropped the Prowlers and picked up more Goblin bodies instead. This army is going to struggle to not be cut down with archery, so be careful on the approach and use the Balrog to shield your troops from the worst of it:<br /></span></span></div><ul style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><li style="color: black; list-style-type: disc; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">The Balrog [ARMY LEADER]</span></li><ul><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">9 Moria Goblin Warriors with shields</span></li><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">9 Moria Goblin Warriors with spears<br /></span></li></ul><li style="color: black; list-style-type: disc; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Moria Goblin Captain</span></li><ul><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">3 Moria Goblin Warriors with shields</span></li><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">3 Moria Goblin Warriors with spears<br /></span></li><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">4 Moria Goblin Warriors with Orc bows<br /></span></li><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">2 Moria Goblin Drummers with Moria Goblin Drum<br /></span></li></ul><li style="color: black; list-style-type: disc; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Moria Blackshield Captain</span></li><ul><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">4 Moria Goblin Warriors with shields</span></li><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">5 Moria Goblin Warriors with spears</span></li><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">2 Moria Goblin Warriors with Orc bows<br /></span></li></ul></ul><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">700 points, 44 models, 6 Orc bows hitting on a 5+, 2 D6+ models, no fast models but (effectively) 2 Might for Heroic March, 4 Might</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Of the three lists I've presented today, this last one is probably the weakest, but I also like it the most so . . . there's that.<br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><b><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Conclusion</span></b></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Gil-Galad is one tough nut to crack - but if you don't play his game, you can do just fine. In our next post, we're looking at Gil-Galad's foil on the human side of the Last Alliance: Elendil. If you planned to take down Gil-Galad with magic, you're going to be greatly underprepared to fight Elendil. If you think think you can just shoot him to death like you would Gil-Galad, you might be on to something - but taking this guy out is going to require a completely different approach (even if the macro-level strategies might be similar). Find out what your options are next time - and until then, happy hobbying!</span></span></div>Tiberiushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01032927898313675650noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2010239046857689405.post-35998297372647868052024-02-29T09:00:00.012-05:002024-02-29T13:57:38.295-05:00Literary Corner: Why The Hobbit Is Better than the FilmsHey Reader!<div><br /></div><div>So, as you might recall from our discussion about The Lord of the Rings <a href="https://tellmeatalegreatorsmall.blogspot.com/2024/02/literary-corner-why-lord-of-rings-films.html">movies</a> and <a href="https://tellmeatalegreatorsmall.blogspot.com/2024/02/literary-corner-why-lord-of-rings-books.html" target="_blank">books</a>, this year we're doing some literary study and comparing the books and movies tied to Tolkien's legendarium, and this week I'm kicking us off with a look at <i>The Hobbit</i>. In our last discussion on the Lord of the Rings trilogy I largely agreed with Tiberius's thoughts: the movies are pretty good adaptations and do a lot of things really well.</div><div><br /></div><div>Today's post is not going to be as understanding to the Hobbit movies, though admittedly I have toned back a lot of my rhetoric because 1) people do like the movies, and I don't want to rain too hard on their parade, and 2) because I really am trying to cut back on being salty about most things in life, so I have to practice somewhere, :P</div><div><br /></div><div>Like last time, this is not intended to be exhaustive: I've kept myself to five overarching reasons, but you can definitely add more in the comments if you wish. But as someone who had the equivalent of a Literature minor in college, has spent a lot of time specifically studying faerie literature and Tolkien's works, and even wrote a high school course on <i>The Hobbit </i>and its themes, it will surprise no one when I tell you that I have thoughts on this.</div><div><br /></div><div>I think the Lord of the Rings movies are decent adaptations of the books: it's not a 1:1 recreation, but it does try to remain faithful to the themes and (generally) character arcs in the original text. I do not think the Hobbit movies are faithful adaptations of the source material, as a lot of what they do in them takes away from the central themes of the story, and overly complicate what should be a deeply resonant story for all of us who have ever felt like we weren't quite "home" yet, and are still searching for that place in our hearts (if not our physical bodies). And as a literary person, I really don't like it when themes aren't properly adapted from the source material.</div><div><br /></div><div>So let's get started.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><u><span><a name='more'></a></span>I. Songs are GOOD</u></div><div><br /></div><div>The first movie, admittedly, does this very well - I still remember where I was the first time I watched the trailer for the first movie, because <i>Far Over the Misty Mountains Cold </i>is done SO WELL. It sent chills down my back, and I got so pumped for the movie. And on the whole, by the way, I don't mind the first movie: I think it's a decent adaptation, and I appreciated what they did to bring out the minor characters in Thorin's Company (which the book doesn't really do).</div><div><br /></div><div>But they cut so many songs over the course of the story, and that's a loss, because Tolkien isn't just adding songs because "he's writing it for kids" (as if kids are the only people to appreciate songs). Tolkien includes songs - just like he includes food - for each group of people we run into so that we know immediately what they are like, and whether or not they are protagonists or antagonists.</div><div><br /></div><div>The song of the elves in Rivendell tells us a lot about who they are, how care-free they are, and how this is a place that is safe for the Company to stay the night (important considering their last run-in with the trolls). The song of the goblins, both as they descend into Goblin Town, but also as they are cornered on the fir trees by the warg-goblin alliance, is dissonant and has discordant rhythm and rhyme, which also tells you what they are like.</div><div><br /></div><div>And the songs form an effective way to exposit a culture and people without having to do it through a narrative format, which is <i>ideal for a movie setting</i>: we don't want narrator voices over things if we can avoid it. And the songs fill that gap very well.</div><div><br /></div><div>So great work first movie in execution; on the whole it's great (though again, where's the Rivendell song?), but as you go through the rest of the series we lose this. Tolkien also uses food for each culture to tell us what they are like and whether they are protagonists or antagonists or not, but that's a story for a different time.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><u>II. Tight Beats Are GOOD</u></div><div><br /></div><div><i>The Hobbit </i>is actually a pretty tight story: you basically need all of it for it to work, with every scene being necessary, and every character having a purpose. Scenes are actually quite short by comparison to other books (not surprising considering its reading level), and the plot is tight.</div><div><br /></div><div>And I don't mind expanding on elements of the plot to give you greater context: I got very excited when I realized that they were going to show the Necromancer side of the plot that's going on behind the scenes during Thorin's quest, and I wouldn't remove that.</div><div><br /></div><div>But I think it's a fair critique to say that there's also a lot of bloat. Elven-dwarven love triangles with no grounding in the source material aside for a moment, the latter two movies in particular (which tend to be much further from the source material) add a lot of scenes - mostly just talking - that embellish or stray from the critical elements of the plot, and don't really add much to the story. The love affair between Kili and Tauriel is very rushed, and thus doesn't have the impact that it should have when Kili dies (as he does in the book). Azog killing a lieutenant who "failed him" is fine, except that 1) we already know he's a bad dude because he cuts off the head of one of Thorin's ancestors and throws it out to them, so we don't need this, and 2) it doesn't add anything to the story (putting aside for a moment the fact that the Hobbit should focus on Bolg, not Azog, but more on that below when we talk about bloodlines and the importance of them for the story). All it does is 1) require another character, 2) rehash with an overused trope that this guy is, in fact, an antagonist, and 3) fill time. Not that the Hobbit movies had to be a trilogy (two films probably would have worked), so filling time isn't all that necessary, but here we are.</div><div><br /></div><div>And to be clear, I don't mind embellishments; I like that Dwalin and Bofur gets more screen time in the movies than they do in the books, and I like how we get to see where Legolas fits into the scene, as he's not present in the book. But if you're going to add something, at least make sure it hits on the central themes of the story, doesn't take away from them, and lends more impact to the ending. And most of the add-ons don't do that.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><u>III. Epic Conclusions Are GOOD</u></div><div><br /></div><div><i>The Hobbit </i>doesn't get enough credit for how epic the conclusion is. The last really great dragon in the region (which is also far smaller than the great dragons of bygone ages, but for its time the largest in the region as far as we know) is slain, not by elves fighting with the graces of the Valar, but by a human man with a bow and (an admittedly very loyal and fateful) arrow, who though being in the lineage of the old kings of Dale works as a lowly riverman. This is like straight-ripped from the old stories that Samwise would talk about.</div><div><br /></div><div>A massive horde of orcs, the leader of which descends from one of the great enemies of the dwarves, is utterly defeated. In the process, an old alliance between the Halls of Thranduil and Dale is restored, as is the old alliance between Dale and Erebor (with a friendly alliance between Thranduil and Dain thrown in to boot), an alliance that would remain even to the end of the Third Age as Dain and his son Thorin III stand side by side with King Brand and his son, Bard II.</div><div><br /></div><div>A lowly hobbit gentleman brokers peace and security for an entire region of the world that is far removed from his home <i>through burglary</i>, and goes home with so much wealth he could buy his own country. But he doesn't spend basically any of it, because, you know - he's Bilbo Baggins, and a quiet home and a simple life is all he needs.</div><div><br /></div><div>An evil fortress housing the great threat of the Third Age is overthrown by an army of elves led by one of the great elven lords and the Lady of Light herself (effectively the Sacred Mother of Tolkien's legendarium), forcing him to flee to Mordor, which sets us up for the next trilogy.</div><div><br /></div><div>This book is <i>full </i>of epic conclusions. And we get them in the movies, but with a lot of bloat. The combat would be far better if it wasn't CGIed to death with less-than-optimal CGI (keep in mind that <i>Avatar</i> was made over 5 years earlier) and a lot of unnecessary beats added. An epic battle can lose some of its epic feel if it is stretched out with unnecessary beats that cause the energy of the scene to falter (I'm not saying we shouldn't have Legolas jumping on falling rocks, but I'm saying that Legolas jumping on falling rocks without sufficient payoff in the end is overextending the fight in ways that aren't helpful to the story).</div><div><br /></div><div>And some of them don't appear at all - where is the army of Lorien?!?!? It's not like Weta Workshop didn't make Lorien battle armor 10 years earlier, and since there are orcs there, it's not like you couldn't have the elves fighting orcs while the big heroes of the White Council are trashing wraiths and banishing the big maiar himself. But as cool as the Dol Goldur fight is, it's not nearly as epic as the hint we get about it in the books, as the fortress is left intact and the army isn't there.</div><div><br /></div><div>And we get basically none of the interaction between Dain and his new allies following the battle, we don't learn about the epic conclusion of Beorn that leads to more shapeshifting men - so many interesting conclusions that are not included because...we needed Thranduil to comfort an elf warrior who lost a dude she barely knew? Like, if you like the love triangle that's fine, but seriously: there's other stuff far more central to the plot that could have filled the time better. But more on that in our last point when we talk about Beorn.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><u>IV. Bloodlines Are GOOD</u></div><div><br /></div><div>Do you know what modern audiences don't pay nearly as much attention to, even though they should? Bloodlines. Tolkien cared a lot about bloodlines because legitimacy of rule and authority stems primarily from bloodlines in Middle-Earth, and that means that a specific person dying or living could be HUGE for the world around them.</div><div><br /></div><div>As an example, of Thorin's Company of 13 dwarves, three of them are directly related to Thror, King Under the Mountain: Thorin (who dies), Kili (who dies), and Fili (who dies). Which is HUGE because they represent three of the closest heirs to the throne of Thror, which is kinda what the whole mission is about restoring. And this is why Dain Ironfoot becomes the next ruler of Erebor: he is also related to Thror, admittedly with a bit more distance, but he's closer than the rest. So even though he's not one of the Company, he ends up on the throne. So suddenly, only three of the members dying has impact: of the 13 members of the Company, the three that you don't want dying are these three.</div><div><br /></div><div>And this isn't the only place where bloodlines come up: Thorin is imprisoned by Thranduil mostly because of his lineage. Bolg is a descendant of Azog, and desires to finish the extermination of the dwarves as a continuation of his bloodline's work. Elrond welcomes Thorin and his Company because of his past friendship with the dwarves of Khazad-Dum and his lament for their demise.</div><div><br /></div><div>Even Bilbo has a lineage! He is reminded by Gandalf that he has Tookish blood: the hobbits most prone to both acts of valor and adventure. And Bilbo's tenacity and resilience in the face of danger and evil is what establishes his nephew, Frodo, as part of his "lineage" even though they are not father-son.</div><div><br /></div><div>Even the <i>lack </i>of lineage is important! Smaug is built up as an antagonist because he <i>has</i> no lineage: he has no long feud with the men of Dale or the dwarves of Erebor, yet he eats their women and sneaks into their halls to slay them. Why? Because he is an evil, malevolent being (and the similarities between this and Grendel sneaking into the halls of Hrothgar should not be lost on you), and thus strikes us from the outset as "antagonist monster who we are 100% justified in slaying," which you need for a good epic adventure.</div><div><br /></div><div>So to say that the movies don't really focus on lineage all that much is a generous claim: they note Thorin's lineage (and relation to Kili and Fili), and we note the lineage of Legolas in the second and third movie, and of course we get the mention of Azog and Bolg's relation (though we complicate that with Bolg becoming second fiddle, so...maybe half credit here?), but the real impact of so many of the deaths and decisions being made by people isn't impacted nearly enough in the movies. This was very, very important for Tolkien (and arguably one of the three central themes of the book for him), and it's largely missing in the movies.</div><div><br /></div><div>And this is bad, because when driving themes of the story are largely ignored the movie tends to lose its focus. It becomes just a collage of action sequences, panoramic shots, and attempted banter. And I want more than that, because the book gives me more than that. And they made a short book into over 10 hours of screen time when you add in the extended cuts. So I think it's fair to say that they had enough time to develop these themes if they wanted to do that.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><u>V. Beorn Is GOOD</u></div><div><br /></div><div>Beorn is probably the biggest missed opportunity in the Hobbit films. Maybe a hot take - guess we'll see in the comments below. To understand what they are missing, we need to back up slightly and remember that 1) Tolkien is writing the history of Arda as a mythos for Britain: this is their equivalent of the Greek Myths, the Poetic Edda, <i>Beowulf</i>, and other mythic stories, and 2) that because of this, everything in the story is referencing something about Old Britain.</div><div><br /></div><div>Which has to make you wonder, what the heck is Tolkien doing with Beorn? He's a skinshifter who roams about, ripping the heads off of orcs and spitting them on spikes around his house. He's being fed by dogs, deer, bears - all kinds of animals - that bring him food from the land around him (there's no meat or slaughter going on here, save for orcs). His home is rustic to say the least, made with old timbers from older times.</div><div><br /></div><div>So what is he doing? It's simple actually: Beorn is a <b>druid</b>. The pre-Roman philosophers, diviners, and sometimes warriors of a people from long ago, known only through legend, and shrouded heavily in mystery because of that. All of his abilities are abilities ascribed to the druids (so is most of Gandalf's magic, by the way, which has led some scholars to think that Melian is supposed to be a druid too, but that's a side discussion for another day), and the wild, untamed, "unrefined" portrayal of him is exactly how a post-Roman Anglo-Saxon culture would view the druids of Old Britain.</div><div><br /></div><div>And in the books this comes out in spades: from when Beorn is first mentioned to the last time we hear about him, there's something mysterious, veiled, and guarded that we sense about him. And it adds palpable tension to the scene when Gandalf is talking with him and trying to introduce the Company to him, hoping that he won't go into a rage.</div><div><br /></div><div>But this "otherness" and mystery also means that Beorn can be a protagonist who gets to do things that the rest of us can't do, because he's not from our refined times with our sensibilities and proclivities. "The rules of war" don't apply, hospitality is not assumed, and the Golden Rule is not in force. But this doesn't mean that Beorn is evil, or even "bad" as presented: he's just not culturally part of us, so we shouldn't assume he'll play by the rules of our culture.</div><div><br /></div><div>And the Beorn of the movies is flat to say the least: he's mostly just reduced to a gruff woodsman who can turn into a massive bear to make the "monster fight" crowd happy, and I think that's a huge missed opportunity. Beorn instructs the Company on how to survive their next katabasis, using his knowledge of "The Old Ways," and they don't heed it. He follows them and is aware that they are talking amongst themselves about keeping the ponies he gives them instead of sending them back when they reach the woods, and is ready to strike them down if they don't abide by the promise Gandalf made on their behalf. He keeps his own company and counsel, acts in his own capacity, and even saves the day, ripping through the ranks of even the stoutest bodyguards of Bolg. And in the process, he is integrated into the culture, becomes part of a community, and even has descendants (see, bloodlines!).</div><div><br /></div><div>Beorn is a massive wasted opportunity: there's so much going on with this character, and we basically just glance the surface. And while in general the "minor characters get better treatment in books than in movies" is not true in this trilogy (again, we see far more of the dwarves in the trilogy than we do in the books, where basically only Thorin, Balin, Kili, Fili, and Bombur get anything close to a serious amount of time), it is very true for Beorn. For the few chapters he is in, he gets a lot of depth, but in the movies he's largely glossed over. Even his happy ending - which we do not expect when we meet him - is skipped over in the final movie.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Conclusion</b></div><div><br /></div><div>Do you like the movies? Great! I enjoyed the first one quite a bit, and the others a good bit, mostly because I really like Bard in the books, and I thought they did a pretty good job with Bard in the movies (shenanigans with the windlance bolt notwithstanding). But the movies don't hold a candle to the book, which has great pacing, great action, great depth, and great dialogue.</div><div><br /></div><div>But that's just, like, my OPINION, MAN! :P Let me know what you think below! Until then, you know where to find me,</div><div><br /></div><div>Watching the stars,</div><div><br /></div><div>Centaur</div><div><br /></div><div>"Centaurs are concerned with what has been foretold! It is not our business to run around like donkeys after stray humans in our forest!" ~ Bane, <i>Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone</i></div>Centaurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06864036616223908725noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2010239046857689405.post-66571114556666036602024-02-26T09:00:00.066-05:002024-02-26T09:00:00.130-05:00Back to Basics: Heroic Actions in MESBG<div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Good morning gamers,</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Today, we're talking about what heroic actions are available to heroes in MESBG. When I first got started playing SBG back in 2010, there were only three heroics: Heroic Move, Heroic Shoot, and Heroic Combat. These heroics are the only ones available to all heroes, but other heroics have crept up through the intervening years (and when the MESBG rules revamp happened in 2018, the other heroics became specialized and were listed under each profile . . . which was good, because Captains of Rohan being able to out-fight Cave Trolls for two rounds was just silly).</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">But what heroic actions are out there? And are there traps to any of them that should be avoided? We're going to deep-dive into all of this today as we explore one of the best aspects of the MESBG system. I'll be dropping links throughout the discussion to our previous Heroic Heroes series where I talked about how these heroic actions work and some of the best heroes that could use them back in 2020 - the articles are old, but the lists have held up pretty well over time - and other articles that we've done on heroic actions so you can learn more if you want to. Let's take a look!</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Common Heroic Actions: Move, Shoot, and Combat</span></b></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">As has just been stated, every hero in MESBG has access to Heroic Move, Heroic Shoot, and Heroic Combat. At least two of these are incredibly useful heroic actions (whether there's value to calling Heroic Shoot is very much a debatable question) but all three share one thing in common: <b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">they all change the cadence of the phase that they're called in</span></b>. Let's see how they work.</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><u><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Heroic Move</span></u></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">I mentioned very briefly in the <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://tellmeatalegreatorsmall.blogspot.com/2021/07/back-to-basics-priority-phase-and-move.html&source=gmail&ust=1704368955044000&usg=AOvVaw0a4-4lFEToHNFmMR7iB4LU" href="https://tellmeatalegreatorsmall.blogspot.com/2021/07/back-to-basics-priority-phase-and-move.html" id="m_8818209804427001585LPlnkOWALinkPreview" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank" title="https://tellmeatalegreatorsmall.blogspot.com/2021/07/back-to-basics-priority-phase-and-move.html">Move Phase post</a> of our how-to-play section of this series that a hero who declares a Heroic Move can either move before the normal priority-player's movement or can call "With Me!" to allow the declaring hero and all friendly models within 6" of the hero to move before the normal priority movement, though the declaring hero has to move first, the friendly models within range have to end their movement within 6" of the declaring hero's final movement, and anyone who can't end within 6" of the declaring hero's final position OR that doesn't want to move within 6" of the declaring hero can't move at all. <b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Heroic Moves are incredibly useful because they can allow you to move first</span></b>.</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Because Heroic Moves alter the cadence of the Move Phase, <b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">if both players have heroes who declare Heroic Moves, a roll is made to see which player gets to move first</span></b> - one player is assigned the values 1-3, while the other is assigned the values 4-6 and a single die is rolled (the Evil player is 1-3 and the Good player is 4-6, but in Matched Play, you'll need to decide which player is which if it's a Good-vs.-Good or Evil-vs.-Evil match). Each player then takes a turn resolving one of their Heroic Moves. <b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">You can cancel a Heroic Move declared by an enemy hero by charging them</span></b>.<br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">For most factions in the game, moving first is really good - cavalry models can get their charge bonuses by moving first, heroes get to pick their matchups instead of having their opponents decided for them, and models that are trying to escape from enemy models with an object that's worth victory points have the opportunity to get in a better position (and even out of reach of an enemy model). Yes, Heroic Moves are awesome.</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">They're also costly - you'll hear veteran players talk about "Heroic Move-Offs," which is the colloquial term for when both players declare Heroic Moves to see who goes first. In most cases,<b> <span style="color: #990000;">the side that loses the 50/50 roll is going to have their Heroic Move cancelled, which results in a wasted Might point</span></b><span style="color: #990000;"> </span>(hence <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://tellmeatalegreatorsmall.blogspot.com/2019/12/top-5-ways-to-waste-might-points-one.html&source=gmail&ust=1704368955044000&usg=AOvVaw3-NBeboP47vj-3BpS1Sfw8" href="https://tellmeatalegreatorsmall.blogspot.com/2019/12/top-5-ways-to-waste-might-points-one.html" id="m_8818209804427001585LPlnk959264" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank" title="https://tellmeatalegreatorsmall.blogspot.com/2019/12/top-5-ways-to-waste-might-points-one.html">my caution about counter-calling Heroic Moves with actual Might points</a> back in 2019). For most players, this is just seen as part of doing business, but as the game drags on, wasted Might is felt acutely and this can have a psychological impact on your game play. Blaming dice is all fine and good - and losing priority a ton of turns in a row and NOT winning any of the Heroic Move-Offs can be a real pain - but the choice to counter-call a Heroic Move is a choice that we make, and so before you counter-call a Heroic Move (or even declare the first one), one should always examine the board and see what the ACTUAL risk is of moving second. Sometimes it's fine to move second.<br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><u><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><span><a name='more'></a></span>Heroic Shoot</span></u></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Heroic Shoots allow the hero who declares them (and all friendly models with ranged weapons within 6" if the hero says, "Loose!") to perform a shooting attack before the priority player's normal shooting. On its face, this seems like a good way to get your archery in before the other guy's archery - maybe even pulling the teeth from his shooting action before you get mauled to pieces.<br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">This idea, though it intuitively makes sense, doesn't happen very often. Because most missile weapons wound on 6s (sometimes 5s - and very occasionally 4s), only a handful of the bows that hit their targets will actually wound their targets. Furthermore, because only a fraction of your total missile weapons will hit their targets (the most common To Hit values are 3s, 4s, or 5s - so somewhere between 1/3 and 2/3 of your shots will hit), you need to be rolling a ton of dice in order to cause any damage to the enemy. <b><span style="color: #990000;">Don't call this Heroic Action</span></b> - it's very unreliable and rarely gives you a good trade on your investment (read <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://tellmeatalegreatorsmall.blogspot.com/2021/01/5-more-ways-to-waste-might-points.html&source=gmail&ust=1704368955044000&usg=AOvVaw3iDUHw01Q15Ukm6Ww-6bWc" href="https://tellmeatalegreatorsmall.blogspot.com/2021/01/5-more-ways-to-waste-might-points.html" id="m_8818209804427001585LPlnkOWALinkPreview_1" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank" title="https://tellmeatalegreatorsmall.blogspot.com/2021/01/5-more-ways-to-waste-might-points.html">this post</a> for the reasons why - in it, I address high-volume archery lists, in case you're curious about those, and in the comments I provided the math for factions like the Fiefdoms who can get rerolls on a lot of their rolls if a Heroic Shoot has been declared . . . it's still not worth it unless you're desperate).<br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><u>Heroic Combat</u><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Back when there were only three Heroic Actions, Heroic Moves and Heroic Combats were the things you wanted to use your Might points on if you could help it. If you had high-Fight heroes like Gimli or Balin (like I did), you wanted to go smashing through grunts and Heroic Combats helped you do that. <b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">A hero who declares a Heroic Combat gets to resolve their fight before the normal priority player's choice of fight order</span></b> - if all the enemy models engaged with the hero are killed then the declaring hero and any friendly models engaged in the same fight (recall that spear-supporting models don't count as being engaged) get to perform a move, which can be used to charge other models. Unlike Heroic Moves, there is no requirement that the declaring hero has to move first or that friendly models have to end within 6" of the declaring hero.</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">This heroic action is the most common heroic action to be declared for free</span></b> by different special rules - sometimes these free heroic combats are limited to Legendary Legions (like the Pits of Dol Guldur, the Defenders of Erebor, the Wolves of Isengard, or Helm's Guard), sometimes they're tied to specific heroes being engaged in combat (both versions of Sam, Bard/Bain, Deorwine, and Dwarf Shieldbearers), and sometimes they're "just free" (Elendil and King Thorin). While some heroes are smashier than others (Sam is by far and away the weakest, Elendil or Azog is probably the strongest), if any of these heroes gets into the same fight as a big hero, you can use this free heroic action to slingshot a bigger hero somewhere else (and if that hero declared another heroic action, like Heroic Strike - more on that in the next section - an unsuspecting enemy hero/monster could be in for some pain).</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Because a good Heroic Combat can change the battlespace mid-phase, Heroic Combats are commonly viewed by all players as good heroic actions to call. <b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">They do require you to kill the thing that you're fighting WHEN you're resolving the Heroic Combat</span></b>, however. It's been clarified that if two heroes are fighting each other and they both declare a Heroic Combat, an interesting scenario can play out. If we have Elendil fighting against Mauhur, Mauhur is stuck at F5, so Elendil uses Narsil to declare a free Heroic Combat. Elendil chooses to two-hand without penalties with Narsil, which means he'll wound Mauhur on 3s if he wins . . . things are looking pretty bleak for Mauhur . . .</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">. . . so Mauhur declares a Heroic Combat as well. A roll-off is made after all the other heroics are declared for the round and Isengard wins the roll-off. Mauhur's Combat is resolved first, he loses the fight, and he's killed . . . the Combat failed. However, Elendil's Combat hasn't been resolved yet, so when Elendil is selected to resolve his Heroic Combat . . . he has no opponent to kill and so he can't go anywhere . . . cheeky dead Uruk! Yes, this is a weird case - and one that's been clarified in the designer commentaries, if you're curious about it. Heroic Combats are awesome, but you need to a) be able to kill the person you're fighting, and b) it can be denied you if the other hero declares a Combat and is able to resolve their Combat first.</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Another interesting way you can blunt a Heroic Combat is by not making way</span></b>. Backing away is not optional, but making way for a friendly model IS optional, so if you know that a big nasty hero is going to kill a friendly model - especially if that hero is mounted and is going to knock the front model prone anyway - you can choose to not make way, treat the front model as trapped, and retain your current formation. This denies extra movement and can keep your lines more intact, limiting the charging hero's options.</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">One final thing we need to say about Heroic Combats: while it's very common to use the movement you get from a Heroic Combat to kill more models, don't underestimate the value of using a Heroic Combat to move models up the board. I play with the Kingdom of Moria a lot - and one of the things that any Dwarf player knows is that Dwarf infantry are slow. Like, really slow. If you're playing a scenario where you need to get somewhere (any scenario from Pools 1/2/5 and some scenarios in Pool 6), getting somewhere is paramount, so using your additional movement to actually fulfill the scenario objectives can be more beneficial than killing more bodies.<br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Okay, these are the three heroic actions everyone has access to - let's take a look at the first three of the eight specialized heroic actions . . .<br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Specialized, Valuable Heroic Actions: <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://tellmeatalegreatorsmall.blogspot.com/2020/11/heroic-heroes-top-10-heroes-for-heroic_30.html&source=gmail&ust=1704368955044000&usg=AOvVaw2qQ3dC1gJOn10YHDGT_Lkb" href="https://tellmeatalegreatorsmall.blogspot.com/2020/11/heroic-heroes-top-10-heroes-for-heroic_30.html" id="m_8818209804427001585LPlnkOWALinkPreview_2" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank" title="https://tellmeatalegreatorsmall.blogspot.com/2020/11/heroic-heroes-top-10-heroes-for-heroic_30.html">March</a>, <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://tellmeatalegreatorsmall.blogspot.com/2020/12/heroic-heroes-top-10-heroes-for-heroic_14.html&source=gmail&ust=1704368955044000&usg=AOvVaw1iFPa32Bx20dFrw-TS-NEr" href="https://tellmeatalegreatorsmall.blogspot.com/2020/12/heroic-heroes-top-10-heroes-for-heroic_14.html" id="m_8818209804427001585LPlnkOWALinkPreview_4" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank" title="https://tellmeatalegreatorsmall.blogspot.com/2020/12/heroic-heroes-top-10-heroes-for-heroic_14.html">Defense</a>, <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://tellmeatalegreatorsmall.blogspot.com/2020/12/heroic-heroes-top-10-heroes-for-heroic_28.html&source=gmail&ust=1704368955044000&usg=AOvVaw0P8-rmLi0DdgX7v2O1-xqf" href="https://tellmeatalegreatorsmall.blogspot.com/2020/12/heroic-heroes-top-10-heroes-for-heroic_28.html" id="m_8818209804427001585LPlnkOWALinkPreview_6" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank" title="https://tellmeatalegreatorsmall.blogspot.com/2020/12/heroic-heroes-top-10-heroes-for-heroic_28.html">Strike<br /></a></span></b></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">If you were to pulse the various Facebook groups for MESBG players about what the three best specialized heroic actions are, they'd probably say Heroic March, Heroic Strike, and Heroic Defense in some order. Of all the specialized heroic actions, it's probably because these heroics do things that would appear to be universally useful - they're not dependent on what units your opponent brought or what terrain is between you and them and they provide meaningful benefits that can win you games. They can also be traps - let's see how they work, how they're often employed, and how they can actually hurt your game play.</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><u>Heroic March</u><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Our first stop is Heroic March - which, as a Dwarf player, I'm a HUGE fan of. Heroic March is, on its face, quite simple:<b> <span style="color: #2b00fe;">the declaring hero adds 3" of movement</span></b> (or 5" to the mount's movement if cavalry or if the hero/its mount has the Fly special ability) <b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">and cannot Charge during the Move Phase</span></b>. The hero can shout "At the Double!" to boost the movement of nearby friendly models in the same way, but they also cannot charge this turn, and like Heroic Moves, the Marching hero needs to move first and all friendly models need to end their movement within 6" of the hero or not move at all.</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">This can lead to some very interesting things - unlike Heroic Moves, <b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">a hero who declares a Heroic March doesn't have to be the first model to move</span></b> during their Move Phase, so if you have units nearby who want to charge, they can do so BEFORE the hero who declared the Heroic March moves (moving afterwards would prevent them from charging). Another odd situation to be mindful of is that if you have a hero who declares a Heroic Move near another hero who declares a Heroic March, then the "Move hero" won't get the extra movement, while the "March hero" will not only get the extra movement, but will have to end his move within 6" of the "Move hero." This can frustrate your plans if you're not careful.</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">The final thing that needs to be said about Heroic March is what happens when there are scenario objectives that require a model to get off the board edge. In scenarios like Reconnoitre, you might have a hero who is Marching friendly models towards the enemy board edge, hoping to get off the board before time expires (or they get caught/shot). If the hero declares a Heroic March and can use the extra movement to get off the table, the models nearby will need to end their movement off the table as well . . . or not move at all. Similarly, if the March hero falls short of getting off the table, then nearby models who benefit from the extra movement will need to stop just short of getting off the table as well. So . . . measure, measure, measure before you commit to the March.</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">It's quite rare for a named hero to have Heroic March (except in the Isengard and Rohan factions, where March is everywhere), but most of your generic, unnamed heroes have Heroic March. I've always thought this was great, since it makes sure the "normal guys" have a place among armies with lots of named heroes. I will confess that I wish one of the Champions of Erebor who are present in the Defenders of Erebor LL had March, because taking an Iron Hills Captain or a Captain of Dale just feels sad when there are six champs and four royal profiles to pick from. Of course, most of <i>those </i>profiles (and usually a fair few heroes from each faction) have access to . . .<br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><u><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Heroic Strike</span></u></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Besides Heroic Moves and Heroic Combats, this heroic action is probably the most popular heroic action in MESBG - and it's also the most straight-forward in what it does for you: <b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">the declaring hero adds D6 to their Fight Value, maxing out at Fight 10</span></b>. We've all been there - we've lost really important duels because our opponent's hero had a higher Fight Value than us. So what in the entirety of MESBG could be better than boosting your Fight Value for the low-low price of a Might point? Well, quite a lot, actually . . .</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">If you want the full synopsis, I'd recommend <a href="https://tellmeatalegreatorsmall.blogspot.com/p/new-players.html" target="_blank">Rythbyrt's five-part series on Heroic Strike</a> (which, despite being old, is still timely and accurate). If you want a shorter synopsis, you can check out <a href="https://tellmeatalegreatorsmall.blogspot.com/2019/12/top-5-ways-to-waste-might-points-one.html" target="_blank">my caution against counter-calling Heroic Strikes</a> in my also-old-but-timely article on wasting Might points. The really skinny answer is this: <b><span style="color: #990000;">boosting your Fight Value only matters if the duel is tied</span></b> . . . and there's a lot of variance that you can have if you and/or your opponent don't roll a lot of dice. If you both have heroes who have 2 Attacks and Heroic Strike at F5-6, the odds that you tie highest values is quite low, so whether you Strike or not actually matters LESS than whether you boost your final result (or just boost a Fate point).<br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Heroic Strike matters most when the dice pools are high - a F10/4 Attack Balrog with some Goblin friends is pretty intimidating for a reason, while a horde of angry F6 Dwarf heroes (most of whom can probably Strike) is going to scare a Balrog just as much. Using Heroic Strike with Dwarves is probably a good idea, but only 1-2 models probably NEEDS to Strike, because if the Balrog doesn't get a 6, it doesn't matter what you get - so long as it can get to a 6 (or higher than the Balrog's roll. If you pay 1 Might to boost your Fight Value and it doesn't match or beat your opponent's ending Fight Value, it's a wasted Might point. It's that simple.</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">That being said, a tiny hero (like Ugluk) can force a bigger hero (like Old Dain) to spend valuable Might points just by declaring a Heroic Strike. Does Dain want to risk having a lower Fight Value than Ugluk (who will wound him on 6s if Dain doesn't use Piercing Strike, but also won't die if he gets a 6-high)? Or does he declare a Heroic Strike and hope that he gets the higher Fight Value still? What if Ugluk only gets boosted from F5 to F6? There's a conundrum there that can be valuable, regardless of what your final Fight Value is (and what your highest dueling roll is).</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Still, lots of people like Strike, so far be it from me to say that Strike is bad (I've gotten plenty of good use out of it . . . and wasted a lot of Might points with it as well). Since not everyone has this heroic action, it's worth talking in the same breath about . . .<br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><u><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Heroic Defense</span></u></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">There are MANY heroes who have both Heroic Strike and Heroic Defense, but the strategies for both are pretty different. Heroic Strike boosts your Fight Value to give you the opportunity to automatically win (or tie when you would have lost) a duel. <b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">A hero who declares a Heroic Defense changes their opponent's wounding roll so that they can only be wounded on a natural 6</span></b>. It's been clarified in <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://tellmeatalegreatorsmall.blogspot.com/2023/08/faq-time-breaking-down-august-2023-faq.html&source=gmail&ust=1704368955044000&usg=AOvVaw2Wu0iGygGi10pHJ1rF0DdN" href="https://tellmeatalegreatorsmall.blogspot.com/2023/08/faq-time-breaking-down-august-2023-faq.html" id="m_8818209804427001585LPlnkOWALinkPreview" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank" title="https://tellmeatalegreatorsmall.blogspot.com/2023/08/faq-time-breaking-down-august-2023-faq.html">a recent FAQ</a> that if the declaring hero's Defense value is high enough that two rolls are needed (e.g. Durin will be wounded by a S4 model on a 6/4+), then both rolls need to be natural 6s . . . yeah, that's gonna be hard to do.</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">The strategy that's being employed here is simple: <b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">I'm not going to do anything to help me win the duel or do more damage if I win, but if I lose, I'm hoping to still be here</span></b> (perhaps just as healthy as I was before the duel), unless you get REALLY lucky. Sometimes players will get natural 6s - and the more dice that are being thrown, the more likely that's going to be. However, most of the time, your average Heroic Defense situation should lead to you taking no more than 1 wound - whether you're D3 or D7, you are probably not taking more than 1 wound. Yaye!</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">There are some heroes who have Heroic Defense <i>instead </i>of Heroic Strike, and this places them in an interesting position in their armies. On the one hand, they're highly encouraged to find the biggest, baddest thing the enemy has and "road block" it, but by doing so, they're giving the enemy hitter the opportunity to kill a hero model. Deciding how to use Heroic Defense models takes some finesse, especially if they have both Defense and Strike in their arsenal.</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Okay, these are the specialized heroic actions that most players deem to be "good" - let's look now at the ones that get some grief . . .<br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></b></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><b>Specialized, Situational Heroic Actions: <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://tellmeatalegreatorsmall.blogspot.com/2020/11/heroic-heroes-top-10-heroes-for-heroic_16.html&source=gmail&ust=1704368955044000&usg=AOvVaw37FPJLG28LCp6Xd5IGb2FH" href="https://tellmeatalegreatorsmall.blogspot.com/2020/11/heroic-heroes-top-10-heroes-for-heroic_16.html" id="m_8818209804427001585LPlnkOWALinkPreview" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank" title="https://tellmeatalegreatorsmall.blogspot.com/2020/11/heroic-heroes-top-10-heroes-for-heroic_16.html">Channelling</a>, <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://tellmeatalegreatorsmall.blogspot.com/2020/11/heroic-heroes-top-10-heroes-for-heroic_23.html&source=gmail&ust=1704368955044000&usg=AOvVaw3rZqW-5iWMaI0BiskBBCq9" href="https://tellmeatalegreatorsmall.blogspot.com/2020/11/heroic-heroes-top-10-heroes-for-heroic_23.html" id="m_8818209804427001585LPlnkOWALinkPreview_1" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank" title="https://tellmeatalegreatorsmall.blogspot.com/2020/11/heroic-heroes-top-10-heroes-for-heroic_23.html">Resolve</a>, <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://tellmeatalegreatorsmall.blogspot.com/2020/11/heroic-heroes-top-10-heroes-for-heroic.html&source=gmail&ust=1704368955044000&usg=AOvVaw0PnxiFX2L_HBdUKELE2Fwz" href="https://tellmeatalegreatorsmall.blogspot.com/2020/11/heroic-heroes-top-10-heroes-for-heroic.html" id="m_8818209804427001585LPlnkOWALinkPreview_1" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank" title="https://tellmeatalegreatorsmall.blogspot.com/2020/11/heroic-heroes-top-10-heroes-for-heroic.html">Accuracy</a>, <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://tellmeatalegreatorsmall.blogspot.com/2020/12/heroic-heroes-top-10-heroes-for-heroic.html&source=gmail&ust=1704368955044000&usg=AOvVaw33avtve3nWLOpuBimLxvBj" href="https://tellmeatalegreatorsmall.blogspot.com/2020/12/heroic-heroes-top-10-heroes-for-heroic.html" id="m_8818209804427001585LPlnkOWALinkPreview_3" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank" title="https://tellmeatalegreatorsmall.blogspot.com/2020/12/heroic-heroes-top-10-heroes-for-heroic.html">Challenge</a>, <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://tellmeatalegreatorsmall.blogspot.com/2020/12/heroic-heroes-top-10-heroes-for-heroic_21.html&source=gmail&ust=1704368955044000&usg=AOvVaw0WFk4N0E5HIFMosKYynw4G" href="https://tellmeatalegreatorsmall.blogspot.com/2020/12/heroic-heroes-top-10-heroes-for-heroic_21.html" id="m_8818209804427001585LPlnkOWALinkPreview_5" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank" title="https://tellmeatalegreatorsmall.blogspot.com/2020/12/heroic-heroes-top-10-heroes-for-heroic_21.html">Strength</a></b><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">This pile of heroic actions happens to be the red-headed cousin set of heroic actions - the ones that everyone critiques as not being worth it, except in a handful of situations. Last September, I presented <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://tellmeatalegreatorsmall.blogspot.com/2023/09/if-tiberius-were-king-for-day-top-5.html&source=gmail&ust=1704368955044000&usg=AOvVaw2ewWSPgknYdBDaV4-2UceG" href="https://tellmeatalegreatorsmall.blogspot.com/2023/09/if-tiberius-were-king-for-day-top-5.html" id="m_8818209804427001585LPlnkOWALinkPreview" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank" title="https://tellmeatalegreatorsmall.blogspot.com/2023/09/if-tiberius-were-king-for-day-top-5.html">my thoughts on changes I'd make to make these heroics a bit more appealing</a> (minor changes with major impacts). We'll start off with . . .<br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><u>Heroic Channelling</u><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Besides Heroic Strike, this might be the simplest heroic action in the game: instead of the declaring hero using the "normal version" of a spell they're going to cast, they get to use the "channelled version" of the spell, which is spelled out (see what I did there?) in the main rulebook. In general, the channelled versions of spells do the normal thing a bit better (e.g. extending a 6" auric radius to 12", reducing or gaining D3 stats instead of 1 stat, increasing the Strength of the damage hit issued), but occasionally the spell will be fundamentally changed (going from a one-turn effect to a game-long-as-long-as-you-don'<wbr></wbr>t-run-out-of-Will effect, reducing enemy Fight Value/Attacks instead of just keeping them from hitting someone, or dealing a hit to the target instead of just breaking their stuff). There's definitely a case to be made that not all magical powers should be channelled (and that makes this VERY situational).</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Another thing that makes Heroic Channelling situational is that you can effectively cancel a Heroic Channel just by charging the caster. In <a href="https://tellmeatalegreatorsmall.blogspot.com/2024/02/back-to-basics-magical-powers-in-mesbg.html" target="_blank">our last post</a>, we walked through how magic works in MESBG and since the caster (generally speaking) has to be unengaged in order to cast a magical power (or in some cases, possibly two magical powers), this heroic action can be wasted by losing a Heroic Move-Off or just not having priority when you need it.<br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Channelling also has innate risk when it comes to actually casting the spell - <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://tellmeatalegreatorsmall.blogspot.com/2021/01/5-more-ways-to-waste-might-points.html&source=gmail&ust=1704368955044000&usg=AOvVaw3iDUHw01Q15Ukm6Ww-6bWc" href="https://tellmeatalegreatorsmall.blogspot.com/2021/01/5-more-ways-to-waste-might-points.html" id="m_8818209804427001585LPlnkOWALinkPreview" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank" title="https://tellmeatalegreatorsmall.blogspot.com/2021/01/5-more-ways-to-waste-might-points.html">I've recommended against channelling</a> if you only have 1 Might left in your store (I'll make an exception for Cirdan casting Blinding Light). Since you will have to spend your last Might point to Channel, any failure to cast the spell results in the Might point being lost, as well as any Will points you spent in the attempt. When you channel, cast like you mean it - and it always helps to have at least one Might point to make sure the dang thing goes off when you channel.</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Still, there are some magical powers (VERY FEW) that are worth channelling and so it's great that we can do this. Furthermore, if you happen to run the Black Riders Legendary Legion, each of your Ringwraiths can cast a free channelled Transfix once during the game, which means you can get the benefits of a channelled spell without the use of Might or Will (it counts as being cast on a 6, so it can still be resisted, but it's hard . . . it's really hard). Channelling can be fun - and it can certainly shake up the way your opponent plays - but it's also a risk, so most players don't do it often. Speaking something most players don't do very often . . .<br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><u><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Heroic Resolve</span></u></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">This heroic action isn't simple, but doesn't require doing much:<b> <span style="color: #2b00fe;">the declaring hero isn't allowed to move and all friendly models within 6" of the declaring hero</span></b> (including the declaring hero) <b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">receive one free die when they have to perform a Resist test for the rest of the turn</span></b>. The declaring hero can still do things, just not move. If you're worried about enemy magic coming in, this is a way to get free dice.</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">But if your opponent didn't bring any magic . . . it's not doing anything for you. Additionally, if your opponent brought oppressive magic, it's entirely possible that ONE die isn't going to do anything for you ("roll well" only works for so long). Yes, if this stacks with special rules like Resistant to Magic (+1 free Resist die), Fortify Spirit (+2 free Resist dice), or just spending Will (+1 Resist die per Will point, returned to your Will store on a natural 6), you can stand a good chance of shutting down an enemy magical barrage, but your hero needs to be okay with not moving - and the magical threat needs to be enough to warrant that.<br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">For most players, this is a bridge too far . . . now for a bridge that's WAY to far for me . . .<br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><u>Heroic Accuracy</u><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">I am, perhaps, the world's biggest opponent of Heroic Accuracy as it currently exists in the game - at least in the content-creation world for MESBG. I've heard the tales of how players have shot up important heroes, killed a guy carrying an artefact or a prize, or killed that horse that was under that big hero (back when you were allowed to reroll "successes" on those rolls) JUST because they used Heroic Accuracy. Well . . . I'm too much of a math-head to be swayed by that - I don't like Heroic Accuracy. Here's what it does . . .</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Heroic Accuracy allows the hero who declares it (and all friendly models within 6" with missile weapons if the declaring hero shouts "Take Aim!") to <b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">reroll all failed in-the-way rolls in the Shoot phase</span></b>. As I've said in a previous post . . . this can easily be a wasted Might point because Heroic Accuracy doesn't increase your likelihood of hitting the target (a prerequisite for any in-the-way rolls you want to make) OR increase your likelihood of wounding the targets that you manage to hit (which is often the hardest roll to pass when shooting). If the models that are in-the-way have roughly the same Defense value as the targets you want to hit, it's often a better idea to just fire into the first rank, plow through warriors, and eventually reach your target (at the very least, you'll be scaring the target to behaving differently).</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">I'm willing to entertain the notion that "desperate times" might call for a Heroic Accuracy - but any shooting hero (most of the models that have Heroic Accuracy have a ranged weapon baked into their profiles) who spends a Might point on Heroic Accuracy isn't spending that Might point to boost a wounding roll - and frankly, if you just plow through the guys in between with your bows (or adjust your firing lanes ahead of time to avoid the in-the-ways - even if it costs you shots THIS turn), you can achieve a similar result to calling Heroic Accuracy . . . without calling Heroic Accuracy. I'm just saying, I don't think you need this one . . . but it's here if you want to give it a try.</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Now for my favorite heroic action . . . and probably the LEAST loved heroic of the bunch . . .<br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><u><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Heroic Challenge</span></u></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Heroic Challenge is the only heroic action to receive a change in text since the MESBG revamp in 2018. The idea of this heroic action is very thematic: <b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">a hero who declares this heroic action must be engaged with an enemy hero of the same Heroic Tier or higher</span></b>. The idea is that the declaring hero is attempting to start a one-on-one duel with the targeted hero, which I have to say, is incredibly awesome.</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><b><span style="color: #38761d;">If the challenge is accepted, then all other models who were involved in the combat</span> </b>(both engaged models and supporting models) <b><span style="color: #38761d;">cannot roll dueling dice, make Strikes, or lend their Fight Values</span></b>. It's important to note that the other models who were involved in the fight do not back away or make way - they actually remain where they are, but don't actually do anything. Because these other models cannot make Strikes, monsters models that are no longer participating in the fight cannot perform Brutal Power Attacks (which are not Strikes, but are made instead of making Strikes).</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">In addition, <b><span style="color: #38761d;">if the challenge is accepted, both heroes involved in the Heroic Challenge have to charge each other if possible</span> </b>until one of them has been slain and other models may not charge either hero until the Challenge has been resolved. While this prevents models from getting involved in the combat directly, it does not preclude shooting into the combat, casting magic on either of the participants, or forcing models involved in the Challenge to make way for other models (thereby preventing them from charging into each other on the next turn). Yes, there are some ways around the mono-e-mono rule, but for the most part, if the challenge is accepted, you're in for it until one of the two heroes is dead.</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Finally,<b> <span style="color: #38761d;">if the challenge is accepted and one of the two heroes is slain, their surviving hero will immediately gain D3 Might points</span></b>, which can take them above their starting Might level. This is the big reward for accepting a Challenge - you get at least 1 Might point back. Like the magical powers I mentioned last time, it would be nice if this was a D3+1 boost instead of just a D3 boost - I've declared several Heroic Challenges with heroes in the game (Lurtz in the Lurtz's Scouts Legendary Legion and Shagrat in generic Mordor mostly, but also Aragorn in the Breaking of the Fellowship Legion) and when my challenges have been accepted, it's been a real pain to go through all the work of killing the other guy . . . only to regain the Might point you spent declaring the Challenge in the first place. Shagrat and Lurtz make up for this somewhat (Lurtz gets his Might point back if the challenge is declined - more on that shortly - and Shagrat gets an extra Might point from the Blood and Glory special rule), but it would just be nice if the reward for the hard-fought fight didn't just put you back where you were when you started (and possibly lower than you were before, because you may have had to declare Strikes/Defenses against the hero you were locked in combat with).</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">All of the above rarely happens, because most players decline the Heroic Challenge instead of taking the risk that the enemy hero will gain D3 Might points. <b><span style="color: #990000;">If the Challenge is declined, then two penalties are applied: first, any Heroic Actions declared by the declining hero will only affect themselves</span></b> (so Heroic Moves won't allow other models to move with the Hero) <span style="color: #990000;"><b>until the Hero who issued the Heroic Challenge is slain</b>. </span>Second, <b style="color: #990000;">the declining Hero cannot use their Stand Fast! for the remainder of the game</b>. For most players, losing their Stand Fast! might hurt, but waiting for the hero to be killed off by someone else before they can have friendly models benefit from a Heroic Move/Shoot/Combat/March/<wbr></wbr>Resolve/Accuracy is just fine (especially since the value of Heroic Shoot/Resolve/Accuracy is conditionally useful at best). Furthermore, heroic actions like Heroic Strike/Defense/Channelling/<wbr></wbr>Strength (which we'll cover next) aren't affected at all, so if you're a combat hero, you might not care as much if you lose utility on those other heroic actions, since you probably want to lean into Heroic Strike/Defense anyway.<br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">I've already made my recommendations on how to <i>further </i>change this heroic action, but I will say that there are very few heroes who can use this heroic action effectively - though it is an interesting way to potentially save a hero who's been surrounded or to remove Stand Fasts! from an army with bad Courage. It's highly situational and for most heroes, it's not worth calling. Okay, on to the last heroic action . . .<br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><u><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Heroic Strength</span></u></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Heroic Strength often gets lumped into the pile of worst heroic actions in the game, since the only benefit that you get from it is increased Strength. <b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">A hero who declares a Heroic Strength adds D3 to their Strength stat for the rest of the duration of the Fight Phase, maxing out at Strength 10</span></b>. Most of the models that have access to Heroic Strength either have access to Heroic Strike as well or lack Heroic Strike and have a high Strength value as-is (mostly monsters, but there are also heroes who starts at S5 and can get +1 To Wound in the mix as well). Because an increase in Strength doesn't necessarily mean you'll be reducing your wounding difficulty, there are some players out there (I used to be one of them) who didn't think using your Might point to increase your Strength was as good of an idea as just saving your Might point to boost your wounding roll.</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">It was Rythbyrt who showed me that increasing your Strength stat can have some incredible uses - particularly if you've been charged by a cavalry model/model with Monstrous Charge or if you're up against a monster model with high Defense and Rend. For more on this, check out Rythbyrt's series on Heroic Strength near the bottom of our Tactics page (this series is old, but like many things we've mentioned during the past month, is still very timely). Heroic Strength doesn't always help you on the wounding roll, but if your opponent was counting on knocking you over in order to deal a killing blow, this can change the amount of damage you're taking considerably - and if they get a poor dueling roll, it can force out Might points to avoid losing the fight!</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">When looking at heroes who are good at declaring Heroic Strength, I'd highly recommend heroes who also have access to the Piercing Strike special strike, since this can give them an additional Strength pip when making Strikes (it does not keep them from being knocked over, though) and will ensure that your difficulty will be reduced by at least one level - if not two - when making your wounding roll. For more on this, check out my post on the best heroes for declaring Heroic Strength (which is old, but also hasn't changed much with recent releases).<br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Conclusion</span></b></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Heroic actions are one of the best parts of MESBG - most of them are dynamic and can lead to some very exciting play! Whether it's duking it out to see who gets to move first with Heroic Moves, seeing if that hero can kill a second group of guys with a Heroic Combat, or two heroes declaring Heroic Strike to try to reach the ultimate F10 (and seeing if they can get a good enough dueling roll to make that matter), heroic actions help us get what we want most: the feeling like our heroes are actually good and worth taking. In the end, that's part of what makes the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit narratives so appealing as books or films and it must be replicated in the game well. And I, at least, think it is.</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Hopefully you enjoyed the continuation of our "back to basics" series - next Monday, we'll be returning to our Nemesis series and we'll be looking at one of the most dangerous Elven heroes in the game: Gil-Galad. The High King of the Elves is a dangerous prospect to see on the other side of the board and if you don't know how to counter him, he can really mess you up. Even with the pointers we'll be looking at next week, an experienced player can <i>still </i>make your life hard, so come ready to learn about where to begin fighting this guy, and until then, happy hobbying!</span></div>Tiberiushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01032927898313675650noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2010239046857689405.post-4775031294368242592024-02-22T09:00:00.097-05:002024-02-22T09:00:00.147-05:00FAQ Time: Reviewing the February 2024 FAQs<div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Good morning gamers,</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">I know I said we would do Thursday posts every other week this year, but golly I couldn't wait two weeks to cover the FAQ drop, now could I? I'll admit it - I was a little afraid we weren't going to get a February FAQ, but surprise, surprise, the GW MESBG team does in fact love us and dropped us an FAQ . . . albeit the shortest FAQ we've gotten to date. Perhaps this means the game is in a good place - and it probably means they didn't read my mail again (or just wrote it off as the antics of a crazy man). Still, it's good to get some updated content for MESBG, so without further ado, let's get into the changes!</span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://preview.redd.it/qeh9ud4evcc41.jpg?auto=webp&s=18d52bc6d9e7e9b4718be47f86da222cf5845252" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="732" data-original-width="750" height="312" src="https://preview.redd.it/qeh9ud4evcc41.jpg?auto=webp&s=18d52bc6d9e7e9b4718be47f86da222cf5845252" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Photo Credit: <a href="https://preview.redd.it/qeh9ud4evcc41.jpg?auto=webp&s=18d52bc6d9e7e9b4718be47f86da222cf5845252" target="_blank">Reddit</a> <br /><i>Where is it? Did they fix all those things I asked about for Fantasy Fellowships and the Men of the West? No? Oh well . . .</i></span></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></b></div><div style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">What Didn't Have Changes</span></b></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">This time around, <b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">there were only changes to four of the GW supplements</span></b> - the main rulebook, the Armies of the Lord of the Rings, Defence of the North, and the Matched Play Guide. If you're interested in any of the other sourcebooks, you can look at our article for the <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://tellmeatalegreatorsmall.blogspot.com/2023/08/faq-time-breaking-down-august-2023-faq.html&source=gmail&ust=1708433654490000&usg=AOvVaw3pm_La2aDce-ykvbOTTduc" href="https://tellmeatalegreatorsmall.blogspot.com/2023/08/faq-time-breaking-down-august-2023-faq.html" id="m_2396356510723704339LPlnk" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank" title="https://tellmeatalegreatorsmall.blogspot.com/2023/08/faq-time-breaking-down-august-2023-faq.html">August 2023 FAQ</a> (or in the case of Quest of the Ringbearer and Fall of the Necromancer, before then).</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">While I don't have any insider knowledge, it would appear that the older supplements are being left alone unless there are game-altering changes that need to be made. In my humble opinion, <b><span style="color: #990000;">this is a real shame</span></b> - mostly since the errata requests I submitted were tied to clarifying things about certain scenarios from the older books (all tied to Fantasy Fellowships - which I think is a great way to keep the game entertaining and interesting for players who have been in the game for a long time . . . and it can make you buy hero models that you'd otherwise avoid picking up) and to Legendary Legions that have been chucked to the wayside by competitive players (though my hat off to the guy who won a GBHL90 event with the Men of the West - you are truly a legend).</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Right or wrong, the only non-rules-heavy supplement that got any changes was Defence of the North - which, honestly, was totally expected (or for you double-negative lovers out there, wasn't unexpected). Before we dig into the meat that we got in this release, let's take a quick look at rules that got clarified and worked as we expected (and by "we," I mean us here at TMAT - I know these have come up before and we ruled on them the way the FAQs said).</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><span><a name='more'></a></span>Rules that Worked Like We Thought</span></b></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">One of the highlights in the announcement article was about <b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">whether models can charge other models if they start in a hostile model's control zone</span></b>. We've all been there - we want to charge into a model that's nearby, but we're stuck facing a Heroic Defense hero that we can't chop through and because of the way Making Way works in MESBG, we ended up starting in his control zone. Best I can tell, the request for clarity on whether you can charge one model when you start in another hostile model's control zone is that there are bullet points that indicate what you can do when you start in a hostile control zone - and moving out of one model's control zone and charging another model are two different bullet points.</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">It's been clarified that if a model starts in an enemy control zone and moves away, it can then charge a different enemy model . . . which is good, because I've been doing that for ages. This can be summed up simply by saying that the bullet points are not mutually-exclusive options - you can do more than one as part of your move:</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><i>Q: If a model begins its move within an enemy model’s Control Zone and chooses to move away (as one of the options listed), can the model moving away still Charge a different enemy model? (p.26) </i><b><i>A: Yes.</i></b></span></span></div></blockquote><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Another clarification was made regarding the Unarmed keyword - we know from previous FAQs that a model isn't Unarmed if it just doesn't have a weapon specified in its profile (there's usually a clarification on the profile for whether it's unarmed or not - see Shades in the Angmar list or Tom/Goldberry in the Wanderers in the Wild as examples of this). We also know from the Shatter magical power, that a model will count as being Unarmed if it has its last melee weapon broken. It's been clarified that if a model has a ranged weapon but no melee weapon . . . it is, in fact, Unarmed:</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><i><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Q: If a model has its melee weapons shattered by the Shatter Magical Power but still has a ranged weapon, does it still count </span></i></span><i style="color: black; font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;">as unarmed? (p.103) </i><b style="color: black; font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;"><i>A: Yes, as it has no melee weapons.</i></b></div></blockquote><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Finally, in a previous FAQ, there was a big hullabaloo about magical powers that could target a mount and not be resisted unless the model was affected by a special rule that granted it resist dice or had Will of its own. I thought it was pretty clear back then that if the rule that provided resist dice (usually in the form of the Fortity Spirit magical power and the Resistant to Magic special rule) specifically said that the "model" was affected, then both mount and rider would be able to use that rule to protect themselves from magic. As an example, because the Dernhelm profile includes Merry (who has Resistant to Magic), the horse that's keeping Eowyn and Merry together (and a better overall profile than the two of them separately) could roll 1 free die to resist magical powers that target it (like Black Dart or Chill Soul), but couldn't use the Will points of either Eowyn or Merry.</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Apparently, there was an uncertainty about Fortify Spirit - probably because, as a magical power, it targets a "rider". But in fact, it affects the whole model, including the mount (and I assume also the passenger while mounted with the rider):</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><i>Q: If a Cavalry model has the Fortify Spirit Magical Power cast upon them, will the mount also gain the benefits if they are subsequently targeted separately by an enemy Magical Power? (p.101) </i><b><i>A: Yes.</i></b></span></span></div></blockquote><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">That's it for the simple rules changes - now let's look and see what's been actually changed from before . . .</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Rules That Got Changed</span></b></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Like I said at the beginning, there wasn't a lot that changed in this update. The easiest one for me is that if you choose to do a weapon swap on a model that has multiple weapons (like a Corsair Reaver, Feral Uruk-Hai, or a Mirkwood Ranger), you won't retain the original special strike option:</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><i>Q: If a model has two weapons (such as a Dragon Cult Acolyte or a Corsair Reaver) and wishes to swap them for a different type of weapon for 1 point, can they only swap one and therefore use either their original Special Strike and the one for the new weapon? (p.88) </i><b><i>A: No. If such a model pays a point to swap their weapons in this manner, they must swap both of them for the same type of weapon.</i></b></span></span></div></blockquote><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">When I first read this, I was like, "Okay, so they're really getting at the concern that you could both Feint <u><i>and </i></u>Piercing Strike at the same time." As written, however, it means that a Mirkwood Ranger that chooses to weapon-swap an Elven-made dagger for an axe will swap ALL of its Elven-made daggers for axes . . . and with it, not only lose the Feint/Stab special strikes, but will also lose the Elven-made keyword for all of its melee attacks. Perhaps this isn't want was intended with the change - or perhaps it was - but that's the way it works now. How often you NEED an Elven-made weapon on your F5 Mirkwood Elves is a decent question to ask . . .</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Anyway, this isn't what most of the FAQ drop was focused on - the bigger "change" was how fights are paired off (though it's really more of a clarification on the spirit of the law). For time in memorium, the priority player has always <b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">paired off fights</span></b> the way he wanted them to - and since you have to pair off fights into at least one-on-one fights, whoever had priority would determine how the match-ups worked out. Sometimes you could force certain match-ups - a model that charged into only one model HAD to fight just that one model because . . . there was no one else to fight. What has happened in recent years is that the emphasis on one-on-ones as an option has become the rule - pair off fights into one-on-ones where possible (not as the priority player wants).</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">This has led to all kinds of crazy anti-hero tricks because you know that a Heroic Combatting hero can only pull off one model when trying to save a friend. Apparently, the idea that you could lock Aragorn or Boromir into only charging one of six angry foes who have swarmed Frodo (instead of two of them) went against what the rule was originally intended to do (make sure you don't have a two-on-two engagement), so the rule that you have to break off into one-on-one fights where possible has been removed, giving the player with Priority the final say in how many people are fighting each combatant:</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><i><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">The Main Rulebook, Page 28 – Pairing Off Fights: Delete the third sentence of the second paragraph which reads: At the end of the Move phase, opponents are always paired off into one-on-one Fights where possible.</span></i></span></div></blockquote><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">This still might mean that Aragorn and Boromir only get into one guy (if the opponent has priority), but it might not (they can, in fact, fight two people). This clarification caused a huge rift in the GBHL (apparently - I stayed away from the FB groups for a reason when this dropped) and has clearly had a far greater impact on perceptions of the game than on how your weapon swaps work - on the whole, I'm glad we got this one.</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Okay, let's look at the clarifications for scenarios and deployments . . .</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Scenarios and Terrain</span></b></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">I don't know what crazy shenanigan was used to prompt this FAQ, but apparently someone was trying to be squirrelly (literally putting a model high up in a tree or something) and putting an important model in an unreachable, unchargeable area . . . this is, in fact, poor form and not allowed anymore:</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><i>Q: Can a model be deployed in or on a piece of terrain that would make it impossible for other models to reach them during the course of a game, such as on top of a pillar, sheer cliff or building with no way to climb? (p.142) </i><b><i>A: No.</i></b></span></span></div></blockquote><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Moving on (and away from the Main Rulebook and into the Matched Play Guide) - there were two FAQs related to models getting off a board edge in the scenarios where that's a thing (Seize the Prize, Retrieval, and Reconnoitre): first, it's been clarified that you can't use "other means" to get off a board edge besides moving. I don't know who tried to Hurl a model off the board edge or Command/Compelled an enemy model off a board edge (since you can't do that to a friend), used the Knock Back rule to send someone flying for the board edge (which you CAN do with friendly models if you're Evil - wish I'd thought of that . . . kinda . . . not really . . . clearly . . . okay, this is awkward) - you have to do it the old fashioned way and walk off when it's your turn to move:</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><i>Q: In Scenarios that allow models to exit the board, can a model exit the board via means other than their own movement, such as Backing Away, being Commanded/ Compelled, being Hurled/ flung back by a Siege Engine, or any other such instance? (p.15, 17 & 25) </i><b><i>A: No. A model can only leave the board in these Scenarios via their own movement.</i></b></span></span></div></blockquote><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">But you can't move through a hostile model's control zone to get off the board - which makes total sense, if you've read <a href="https://tellmeatalegreatorsmall.blogspot.com/2024/02/back-to-basics-control-zones.html" target="_blank">our post on control zones</a> (where we covered that entering a hostile model's control zone requires you to charge them or not enter it):</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><i>Q: In Scenarios that allow models to exit the board, can a model enter the Control Zone of an enemy model and then move within that enemy model’s Control Zone in order to exit the board? (p.15, 17 & 25) </i><b><i>A: No. Once a model enters the Control Zone of an enemy model then it must Charge that model; it cannot exit the board as part of that Charge as then it would no longer be Charging that enemy model.</i></b></span></span></div></blockquote><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Finally, in Fog of War (and I assume Assassination), players write down their secret objectives after both sides have deployed - this is great, since you might accidentally give away your intended terrain piece (or target hero) with your deployment if you picked it before . . . and now, you can have a better idea of the initial lay of the land before you commit to up to 6 of your possible Victory Points:</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><i>Q: In the Fog of War Scenario, do players secretly write their objectives down before or after deployment? (p.22) </i><b><i>A: After both sides have been deployed.</i></b></span></span></div></blockquote><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Alright, only a few more things to update on - and it has to do with Ents and Emperors . . .</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Ents and Emperors (well, an Emperor)</span></b></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Besides having large base sizes (though not the same base sizes), there isn't much in common between Ents and the Dragon Emperor of Rhun (well, you're a bit daunted if you see either of them on the other side of the table, but whatever). Apparently, the rules for Bludgeon lead to some very interesting questions - and as usual, the rules for the Dragon Emperor also lead to some very interesting rules questions. Put these two things together, and you get a totally understandable (but for me at least, totally unexpected) FAQ. </span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">It's been ruled that if an Ent targets the Dragon Emperor with the <b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Bludgeon </span></b>Brutal Power Attack, the Dragon Emperor will be automatically dismounted and will be whacked into his friends per the usual:</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><i>Q: If an Ent model targets the Dragon Emperor with the Bludgeon Brutal Power Attack whilst he is riding his Royal Palanquin, will the Dragon Emperor automatically be dismounted as per the rules for Bludgeon? (p.73) </i><b><i>A: Yes.</i></b></span></span></div></blockquote><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">While this might look like a red-letter day for Ent players everywhere (all, like, seven of them), because a dismounted Dragon Emperor results in 1-6 Black Dragons popping up (based on the number of wounds the Royal Palanquin has left), one should be careful about your positioning if you're going to use this tactic. Yes, dismounting the Dragon Emperor removes a lot of power from the list (like the 12" banner and the 6" +1 FV buff), so I'd certainly be tempted to just dismount him - but if the scenario rewards you for controlling objectives or getting models off the board, you might be in a better place by making strikes at the Emperor or knocking some wounds off the Palanquin instead (like if you outnumber the Dragon Emperor and a friend 3-to-2 with Treebeard on an objective and you don't want that to become 3-to-7). Though even as I write this, I'd probably Bludgeon if I was fighting more than just the Dragon Emperor . . .</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Anyway, Bludgeon got another FAQ: you can't target a model that's riding on a Monster with it, since the whole model counts as a Monster . . . which I think I knew before, but I'm not sure that I knew that. Here's the specific wording of the FAQ:</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><i>Q: Can an Ent model use the Bludgeon Brutal Power Attack to target a model riding a Monster (such as a Ringwraith on a Fell Beast)? (p.91) </i><b><i>A: No, as it is a Monster model.</i></b></span></span></div></blockquote><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">This got me wondering just how many Monsters there are that can be ridden . . . and the answer is two: Ringwraiths on Fell Beasts and Radagast with a Great Eagle. You'd think that war beasts would fall into this category, but since the models riding on the war beast don't count as being in the same fight (and are, in fact, totally different models), you can't target any of the riders with Bludgeon. So . . . yeah, Ringwraiths (and possibly Radagast) get off easy.</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">The final change - and probably the most expected change in this release - was that <b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">the points cost went up for the Dragon Emperor</span></b>, both in his Legion and in the normal Easterling army list:</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><i><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Defence of the North, Page 72 – The Dragon Emperor of Rhûn: Change the Dragon Emperor of Rhûn’s points value to 200, both on his profile and in the Host of the Dragon Emperor Legendary Legion on page 93.</span></i></span></div></blockquote><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Is a 30pt difference a big change? I don't know - I don't run the Dragon Emperor, nor have I had to fight him yet. Will this dramatically change Easterling lists? I don't think so - yes, a drop in 3-4 models could have a big impact, but it's likely to have less of an impact as the points level gets higher. Since you're already saving 36pts on Black Dragon upgrades on Easterling Warriors and Easterling Kataphrakts in the Legion, you're basically just making the increase in points back by running the Host of the Dragon Emperor Legion (and I would expect to see less of the Dragon Emperor in pure Easterling lists/Easterling alliances now that he costs more points). </span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">I'll leave it to Easterling players (of which, I am not a member) to weigh in on whether this was a fair change or not, but as for me, if I look back at the lists I wrote for the<a href="https://tellmeatalegreatorsmall.blogspot.com/2022/10/the-stuff-of-legends-host-of-dragon.html" target="_blank"> Host of the Dragon Emperor Legion back in October 2022</a>, you might need to swap Rutabi for a mounted Dragon Knight (which will give you free upgrades to Black Dragons for all the Easterling Warriors) - and that might be a big change. At 700pts, you'd go from 40 models to 36 models if you dropped four 8pt Easterling Warriors (at least 2 bows, but probably 4 bows - and at that point, you probably don't run any bows and just swap your bows for shields). The 350pt list that I presented in that article probably doesn't work anymore - unless you just drop the war drum (which, honestly, you probably can at that points level if you know you don't need to travel far).</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Conclusion</span></b></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">I'm happy we got another FAQ, though I am sad that we didn't see boosts to Legions that have been relegated to the "meme tier" by many competitive circles to make them more appealing. Honestly, I think MESBG is in a pretty good place overall, but just a few tweaks would go a long way to adding some variety to unloved list options (but <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://tellmeatalegreatorsmall.blogspot.com/2023/08/if-tiberius-were-king-for-day-top-5_01574140343.html&source=gmail&ust=1708433654490000&usg=AOvVaw3mW1tRMzpwZUN6HxTVv91K" href="https://tellmeatalegreatorsmall.blogspot.com/2023/08/if-tiberius-were-king-for-day-top-5_01574140343.html" id="m_2396356510723704339LPlnk" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank" title="https://tellmeatalegreatorsmall.blogspot.com/2023/08/if-tiberius-were-king-for-day-top-5_01574140343.html">I've written about this before</a> and don't need to go into it all again now). If you have thoughts on this round of FAQs, let us know in the comments below! Until next time, happy hobbying!</span></div>Tiberiushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01032927898313675650noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2010239046857689405.post-32559693756669605232024-02-19T09:00:00.049-05:002024-02-19T09:00:00.130-05:00Back to Basics: Magical Powers in MESBG<div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Good morning gamers,</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">I am a HUGE fan of the magical powers that are in MESBG and (generally speaking) how the system of casting and resisting spells (as well as channelling them) works. The rules for casting and resisting hasn't changed much since I got started and the only additions that were made (Heroic Channelling and restoring Will points on resist tests that get a natural 6) have been good - though perhaps not always implemented the way I would have done it. The purpose of today's article isn't to go in-depth into every spell - we've actually already done that in a previous series - but rather to explain how casting works, things to think about for different caster types, and how to pick the right targets for your spells. Furthermore, you should be aware that I'll be using the term "spell" and "magical power" interchangeably in this post (and have already done so in this paragraph). Let's dig in!</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">How It Works: Casting and Resisting Magical Power in MESBG</span></b></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">If you want a slimmed down version of this, you can check out my post from 2019 on the <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://tellmeatalegreatorsmall.blogspot.com/2019/12/top-5-ways-to-waste-might-points-one.html&source=gmail&ust=1704285341674000&usg=AOvVaw2xkF0plAKDp8DjS657kNTB" href="https://tellmeatalegreatorsmall.blogspot.com/2019/12/top-5-ways-to-waste-might-points-one.html" id="m_5756390914405610940LPlnk601190" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank" title="https://tellmeatalegreatorsmall.blogspot.com/2019/12/top-5-ways-to-waste-might-points-one.html">Top 5 Ways to Waste Might Points </a>- the third topic covers the basics of casting. That article was specifically focused on whether channelling certain spells (some heroes have the ability to declare a "Heroic Channelling" with a Might point in the Move phase - if they do, the spell/spells they cast that round have a "stronger effect" than normal), while this article will be focused on the nuts and bolts of casting spells, regardless of whether they're channelled.</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">In order to cast a spell, <span style="color: #2b00fe;"><b>a model with at least one magical power has to be unengaged</b> <b>in order to cast one of its magical powers</b></span> (though <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://tellmeatalegreatorsmall.blogspot.com/2022/08/the-stuff-of-legends-vanquishers-of.html&source=gmail&ust=1704285341674000&usg=AOvVaw0NjzXd-ilIgndaydfr0G3u" href="https://tellmeatalegreatorsmall.blogspot.com/2022/08/the-stuff-of-legends-vanquishers-of.html" id="m_5756390914405610940LPlnk474239" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank" title="https://tellmeatalegreatorsmall.blogspot.com/2022/08/the-stuff-of-legends-vanquishers-of.html">the Vanquishers of the Necromancer Legendary Legion</a> gives its members the ability to cast some of their spells while engaged). This means that if you can charge an enemy caster before they get to cast, you can prevent them (most of the time) from being able to cast a spell. Perfect!</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">As you probably noticed in the statements above, <b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">each model with at least one magical power can only cast one magical power each round</span> </b>(though Saruman in the Vanquishers Legion and the Necromancer of Dol Guldur in the <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://tellmeatalegreatorsmall.blogspot.com/2022/08/the-stuff-of-legends-rise-of-necromancer.html&source=gmail&ust=1704285341674000&usg=AOvVaw2bbCHB4nhUsNS9vnD_lbOP" href="https://tellmeatalegreatorsmall.blogspot.com/2022/08/the-stuff-of-legends-rise-of-necromancer.html" id="m_5756390914405610940LPlnk692374" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank" title="https://tellmeatalegreatorsmall.blogspot.com/2022/08/the-stuff-of-legends-rise-of-necromancer.html">Rise of the Necromancer Legendary Legion</a> have rules that allow them to do a little more). Since many casters have access to more than one spell, they have to be selective and intentional with which spell they're using this round. It's often a good idea to figure out BEFORE you play a game what spells you intend to use and in what situations you intend to use them. For casters like Moria Goblin Shamans, this may be decided pretty easily (I'm casting Fury with two dice and then I'm done), while casters like Ringwraiths and Wizards might require an entire chart to figure out what spell you're going to cast. Experience and practice helps with this a lot.</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><b><span><a name='more'></a></span><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Models are able to cast at any point in their move and don't have to reduce their speed to cast magical powers</span></b> (like most bowmen have to do if they want to move and shoot). This means models can move a little, cast, and move back to safety if they want - or they can cast before they move and charge/retreat, or even complete their move and cast from their final position. Be careful though: a model needs to be unengaged to cast, so if you intend to charge, you need to cast while you're at least 1mm away from your target (though it's best if you do it from outside the control zone of the model you intend to charge).</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">If you have a model that's eligible to cast a magical power and know which magical power you wish to cast, <b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">you need to choose your target</span></b>. The target might be either a friendly model (including the caster) or an enemy model, so you'll want to check the casting radius of the spell to make sure you pick a legitimate target. Most spells have a 6-12" range and in most cases, the casting radius for one spell on one character will be the same casting radius for the spell on other characters (e.g. most models with Immobilize or Transfix have a 12" radius for casting it).</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Once you've identified the caster, the spell being cast, and the target, you need to form your casting pool. To cast a spell, <b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">your caster must spend 1 Will point for each die they wish to roll</span></b>. Each spell has a casting difficulty (varying from a 2+ to a 6+) and your goal is to have your highest value die equal or beat the specified casting difficulty. While spells that are cast on a 2+ or a 3+ are easier to get off, they also tend to be "less powerful" than spells that are cast on a 4+ or a 5+. This doesn't make them bad - or even worse - than those other spells, but you should manage your expectations for what they do.</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">It's important to note that <b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">you have to form your casting pool BEFORE you roll any dice</span></b> - you can't "buy a die" and roll it, see if it worked, then buy another one and roll it, and so on and so forth until "it works" or "you give up." The caster needs to settle on how many dice to roll, pay the necessary Will points, and then roll them all. At the end of the article, I'll go through my general thoughts on determining how many Will points to throw at different spells - there are a few things to think about with this.</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Once the dice are cast, <b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">you can compare the highest value die to the casting difficulty and perform any modifications to the roll that your caster has access to</span></b>. For some casters, they may be able to reroll a die - and all casters who still have Might points in their stores can pay Might points to boost the highest roll. For some casters, special rules might allow you to regain Will points based on whether you had at least one natural 6 - there are currently only two profiles that do this, but this is the part where you'll want to do what those rules say. <b><span style="color: #990000;">If you don't meet the casting difficulty, the cast fails and all of the Will</span></b> (and possibly Might) <b><span style="color: #990000;">spent on the cast are lost</span></b>. </span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><b><span style="color: #38761d;">If you meet or beat the casting difficulty, the spell is successfully cast and if it targeted a friendly model, its effects are implemented immediately</span></b>. One of the great things about casting on a friendly model is that any Might you spend to boost the highest die roll are going to result in the spell working - there's no opposed roll to stop the spell. If you've played Warhammer Fantasy, you know that magical powers in that came could be resisted, even if they were augmenting friendly models - not so in MESBG. If you target a friendly model, the spell won't be resisted.</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">If the spell is successfully cast and it targeted an enemy model, the opposing player can attempt a resist roll by spending Will points on the target model</span> </b>(or one of the models being affected by an area spell)<b> <span style="color: #2b00fe;">or by using Will points provided by special rules</span></b>. If there are no Will points that can be spent, then the spell cannot be resisted. Like casting a spell, the target forms a Will pool for resisting, spending 1 Will point for each die they wish to roll. Once the pool is formed (and not before), the dice are rolled and the target can use Might to modify the roll (performing any rerolls before Might is used).</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><b><span style="color: #990000;">If the enemy model can tie or beat the highest roll of the caster, the spell is resisted</span></b> and no further effect occurs. Furthermore, if any dice that were added to the resist pool came from the Will store of the target and result in a natural 6, the Will point spent for that resist roll is returned to the target's store. If the targeted model has a mix of Will that comes from their Will store and special rules, dice of different colors should be used so that it's clear what dice can result in Will points going back and which dice were "free" from special rules.</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><b><span style="color: #38761d;">If the spell isn't resisted, it is successfully cast and its effects are resolved</span></b>. This may involve moving models, knocking models prone, dealing damage, or just placing a token near the model to show that some effect is present. It's best to talk through with your opponent what's going to happen before any models are moved or picked up - this is particularly true if there's a Sorcerous Blast, Tremor, or other kind of line-drawing kind of spell, since the actual positioning of models is important for how those spells play out.</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">With this understanding of how casting and resisting magical powers works, let's take a quick tangent to cover the different kinds of casters that you'll find in MESBG.</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Types of Casters</span></b></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">I made a four-part taxonomy back in 2019 for the kinds of casters that are in MESBG - and like so many other articles I'm mentioning in this article, those articles have held up surprisingly well. The first category is the smallest category: <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://tellmeatalegreatorsmall.blogspot.com/2019/07/usingfighting-spellcasters-combat-mages.html&source=gmail&ust=1704285341674000&usg=AOvVaw1N2yfpkFcqk-6Whscaljzc" href="https://tellmeatalegreatorsmall.blogspot.com/2019/07/usingfighting-spellcasters-combat-mages.html" id="m_5756390914405610940LPlnk458297" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank" title="https://tellmeatalegreatorsmall.blogspot.com/2019/07/usingfighting-spellcasters-combat-mages.html"><b>Combat Mages</b></a>. There are a few magical powers that are on models that have really good offensive profiles - these heroes are Celeborn, Elrond, Thranduil with the Cirlcet of Kings, Gildor Inglorion, and the Mouth of Sauron. The distinctives of this crew is that they have good combat profiles (2+ Attacks, more than half have access to mounts/Heroic Strike for added damage, and F5-7) and usually limited Will stores (Elrond can get a free Will point each turn if he's near Lindir and Thranduil can cast his two spells once per game each, but doesn't use Will points to do it). These are heroes who are bringing magical powers to augment their damage or make their nearby friends better - they're not dedicated casters.</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">By contrast, there are also <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://tellmeatalegreatorsmall.blogspot.com/2019/08/usingfighting-spellcasters-unlimited.html&source=gmail&ust=1704285341674000&usg=AOvVaw0Kk6npEctT0t9-7QQKuQgy" href="https://tellmeatalegreatorsmall.blogspot.com/2019/08/usingfighting-spellcasters-unlimited.html" id="m_5756390914405610940LPlnk504847" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank" title="https://tellmeatalegreatorsmall.blogspot.com/2019/08/usingfighting-spellcasters-unlimited.html"><b>Unlimited Mages</b></a>, who get a free Will point each turn or can regrow their Will points. These include wizards, Elves like Galadriel and Cirdan, Sauron (both forms), Dragons with Wyrmtongue/Smaug, and Kardush the Firecaller. These heroes CAN cast a spell each turn all game long if they want to (though Smaug may need to choose between casting and breathing fire eventually). While most of these heroes don't have great combat profiles (the Dragons and Sauron excepted), their utility is going to be the way they employ magic to mess with the enemy's troops. If a hero like Galadriel keeps a big hero or monster from doing anything with an Immobilize each round, she's probably doing enough to give her team the win.</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">The third category of casters are the <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://tellmeatalegreatorsmall.blogspot.com/2019/08/usingfighting-spellcasters-auxiliary.html&source=gmail&ust=1704285341674000&usg=AOvVaw0toGvfwZXmKtyTQFkstglu" href="https://tellmeatalegreatorsmall.blogspot.com/2019/08/usingfighting-spellcasters-auxiliary.html" id="m_5756390914405610940LPlnk429850" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank" title="https://tellmeatalegreatorsmall.blogspot.com/2019/08/usingfighting-spellcasters-auxiliary.html"><b>Auxiliary Mages</b></a>, who are a balance between the two previous categories: they have spells that help their teammates or penalize enemy models, but they do so with a limited Will store. Like the Combat Mages, their casting is on a timer, but unlike the Combat Mages, these heroes only have 1 Attack, so their not great in combat. That said, some of them can boost their offense a bit with mounts (like Arwen) or have spells that are nasty enough that they're forgiven their weaker combat profile (like Blackshield Shamans and Barrow-Wights). They're not as flashy as Unlimited Mages, but they're also a lot cheaper than most of those guys, so it all works out in the end.</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">The final category of casters are the <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://tellmeatalegreatorsmall.blogspot.com/2019/08/usingfight-spellcasters-multi-purpose.html&source=gmail&ust=1704285341674000&usg=AOvVaw0qL119kSDAEPzULcRGKoBe" href="https://tellmeatalegreatorsmall.blogspot.com/2019/08/usingfight-spellcasters-multi-purpose.html" id="m_5756390914405610940LPlnk779763" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank" title="https://tellmeatalegreatorsmall.blogspot.com/2019/08/usingfight-spellcasters-multi-purpose.html"><b>Multi-Purpose Will Casters</b></a>, who have a massive pile of Will points (usually), but also have to spend their Will points for more than just casting (or resisting) magical powers. These models include all Ringwraiths, the Necromancer of Dol Guldur, Tom Bombadil, and Goldberry. Since these models need to use their Will points to cast/resist magical powers (most of these models have more than one spell at their disposal), participate in combats, stay alive, and sometimes trigger unique special rules, these are casters who LOOK like they can cast for the entire game, but they usually have 4-6 Will points for actually casting spells. While you could certainly make some of them cast for longer than that, it's best to assume that you'll only be casting for half the game.</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">If you want to dig deeper into any of these, check out the articles linked in each paragraph. We'll be looking at the Multi-Purpose guys a little deeper a little later, but let's move on to the different kinds of magical powers that you'll find in MESBG.</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Magical Power Categories</span></b></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">If you want all the categories, I'd recommend you check out our <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://tellmeatalegreatorsmall.blogspot.com/p/new-players.html%23magic_in_mesbg&source=gmail&ust=1704285341674000&usg=AOvVaw2qKwNflHfc6JeZm0jfPSBz" href="https://tellmeatalegreatorsmall.blogspot.com/p/new-players.html#magic_in_mesbg" id="m_5756390914405610940LPlnk" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank" title="https://tellmeatalegreatorsmall.blogspot.com/p/new-players.html#magic_in_mesbg">"Mastering Magic" series</a> that we did back in 2020 - only a handful of models have been released that have changed that series (as of this writing) and my thoughts in those articles still rings true today. If we had to group magical powers together into categories, these are what they'd be:</span></div><ul style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><b>Moving magical powers</b> (Sorcerous Blast, Call Winds, Instill Fear)<br /></span></li><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><b>Rooting magical powers</b> (Immobilize/Transfix, Command/Compel)</span></li><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><b>Stat restoration magical powers</b> (Blessing of the Valar, Renew, Strengthen Will, Refreshing Song)</span></li><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><b>Stat reduction magical powers</b> (Curse, Drain Courage, Sap Will, Wither)</span></li><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><b>Area of effect magical powers</b> (Collapse Rocks, Nature's Wrath, Panic Steed, Tremor, Wrath of Bruinen)</span></li><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><b>Direct damage magical powers</b> (Banishment, Black Dart, Chill Soul, Flameburst, Paralyze - in a way, this could fall under Rooting if you don't have someone swooping in for the kill)</span></li><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><b>Auric augment magical powers</b> (Aura of Command, Aura of Dismay, Blinding Light, Fury)<br /></span></li><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><b>Targeted augment magical powers </b>(Terrifying Aura, Bladewrath, Enchanted Blades, Enrage Beast)</span></li><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><b>Anti-magical-power magical powers</b> (Fortify Spirit, Blessing of the Valar, Shroud of Shadows)</span></li><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><b>Item Destruction magical powers</b> (Your Staff is Broken, Shatter)</span></li></ul><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">That's all 36-38 magical powers grouped into 10 categories - here's what you need to know about them. I've organized the categories into push-pull contrasts - some magical powers move their targets, while others force them to stay where they are. Some magical powers restore previously lost resources/stats, while others drain heroic resources or reduce stats. Some magical powers do damage (or cause some ill effect) in an area, while others will only harm a single target. Some magical powers provide benefits to one friendly model, while others benefit the target and those around the target. </span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Finally, we have two odd piles of magical powers - those that help your models fight back against hostile magical powers and those that break things that your opponent brought to the fight. While all magical powers allow you to fight asymmetrically against your opponent, these last two categories are the most asymmetric of the bunch.</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">None of these categories are "good", "bad", or even "better" - they can all be incredibly useful to your army, depending on what you want it to do. If you want to do rooting instead of moving or directed damage instead of area damage, then a Ringwraith might be a good choice for you. If what you really want is directed damage, then someone like Kardush is probably worth investigating. If you prize stat restoration and auric buffs, give Radagast a try. If you read our previous series, you'll get a good feel for how the heroes that are in the game stack up against each other by type (though my post topics didn't follow this taxonomy to a tee).</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Okay, let's dig into some tips for casting and resisting magical powers . . .</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Top Tips for Casting and Resisting Magical Powers</span></b></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">If you read the posts in my <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://tellmeatalegreatorsmall.blogspot.com/p/new-players.html%23magic_in_mesbg&source=gmail&ust=1704285341674000&usg=AOvVaw2qKwNflHfc6JeZm0jfPSBz" href="https://tellmeatalegreatorsmall.blogspot.com/p/new-players.html#magic_in_mesbg" id="m_5756390914405610940LPlnk746439" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank" title="https://tellmeatalegreatorsmall.blogspot.com/p/new-players.html#magic_in_mesbg">Mastering Magic series</a> that I did back in 2020, you'll be familiar with my "70%/50%" rule, which basically goes like this: <b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">if you're casting a spell against an enemy model, you want to use enough dice to have at least a 70% chance of success. If you're casting a spell against a friendly model, you want to use enough dice to have at least a 50% chance of success</span></b>. While the posts within that series break it down by spell and by caster, some examples of this include:</span></div><ul style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">If Gandalf the Grey wants to cast Sorcerous Blast (5+ casting difficulty) against an enemy, he should use 3 Will points (probably one of those is the free Will point he gets from his Staff of Power), since this will give him a slightly better than 70% chance of getting the required roll.</span></li><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">If Galadriel wants to cast Blessing of the Valar on Celeborn (3+ casting difficulty), she should use 1 Will point (probably free from her Lady of Lothlorien special rule), since this will give her a 67% chance of getting the required roll.</span></li><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">If the Witch-King with the Crown of Morgul wants to cast Compel (4+ casting difficulty) against an enemy model, he should use 1 Will point (because with the reroll he gets from the Crown of Morgul, that Will point has a 75% chance of getting the required roll).</span></li></ul><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">The values of 70% and 50% are arbitrary, but since this is a dice game, you can't have a 100% chance of succeeding each time, so we need to make reasonable benchmarks that we want to hit depending on whether the spell might be resisted (targeting enemy models) or not (targeting friendly models).</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Models also have limited Will points and the importance of getting the spell to actually work (vs. failing) is a balance you always have to weigh, so I use a 70%/50% system. You're more than welcome to figure out a different tolerance level for yourself, but if you're looking for something to start with, I'll recommend this one.</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">After you know how many dice you need to meet your threshhold, you'll want to <b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">add one extra Will point if you declared a Heroic Channelling this round or if the spell MUST get off on a high number</span></b>. While Galadriel can cast Blinding Light on a 2+ (which would only require 1 die to be higher than our 50% threshhold for casting on a friendly model), the fact that we ALSO need to spend a Might point to channel it means that if we get a 1 on our single-die cast, we'll be out two Might points to have the spell channelled. By throwing a second Will point, we reduce the likelihood of having to spend a Might to boost the spell from 17% to 2.5% . . . that seems worth a single Will point to me.</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Alternatively, if you have a Barrow-Wight that is trying to Paralyze an enemy army leader before he racks up a bunch of kills in Contest of Champions, you "should" only need two dice to get the 4+ that you require for Paralyze to work, but if he's got 3+ Will in his store and you only get a 4-high, there's a very good chance that he'll be able to throw 2 Will points and stop it himself. By throwing 3 Will points, you have a 70% chance of getting a 5- or 6-high, which will probably force out 3-4 Will points, making your next cast more likely to be unresisted. While you might always get lucky and get off a 1-die cast on a natural 6, he might also get lucky and get a natural 6 on a 1-die resist - luck aside, the best way to make sure a spell actually has the impact you want in the moment you're casting it is to throw more dice at the problem. Since Will is a limited resource, I recommend adding one more Will point.</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Speaking of Will being a limited resource, here's a tip for using Multi-Purpose Will Casters: <b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">split your Will points up into buckets so you know how much Will you have to perform different actions</span></b>. If you don't make separate buckets for your Will, you're likely to fall prey to the assumption that you have a lot of Will. You don't - you just don't. If you have a Witch-King with 15 Will points (usually my max for him unless I literally can't put anything else in the list), you probably want your buckets to look like this:</span></div><ul style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">1 Will: staying alive</span></li><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">6 Will: participating in 6 rounds of combat</span></li><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">8 Will: casting spells in 6-8 rounds</span></li></ul><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">These bins tell us that if we only do single-die casts with the Witch-King, we can probably cast a few times before we engage and then each turn that we engage. We'll only be able to fight for 6 rounds, so we'll want to think about where we want to be - and where we want to head to if the game goes longer than that. In most situations (read, not in a Barad-Dur list), the Witch-King will have to be our army leader, so a dead Witch-King means VPs for our opponent in all but one scenario. If we burn 8 Will casting spells and 6 Will fighting, we'll be sitting on 1 Will point and a single charging model will kill us off. Yikes . . .</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Additionally, if you throw 2 Will points (with a reroll from the Crown of Morgul) at a Black Dart, you've shrunk your available turns of casting - and if you do that several more times, you may have to reallocate Will from the fighting bin to the casting bin to keep enemy heroes from getting to you (or to cripple them before you slam into them). If you're careless with your Will early, you will pay for it later.</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">The final tips I have cover when to channel magical powers and when not to channel magical powers. If you want the run-down of which ones to channel all the time, some of the time, or none of the time, I'll refer you to <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://tellmeatalegreatorsmall.blogspot.com/2019/02/revisiting-magic-magic-in-middle-earth.html&source=gmail&ust=1704285341674000&usg=AOvVaw080uNCIHqB91NvBYbc6Ios" href="https://tellmeatalegreatorsmall.blogspot.com/2019/02/revisiting-magic-magic-in-middle-earth.html" id="m_5756390914405610940LPlnk208199" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank" title="https://tellmeatalegreatorsmall.blogspot.com/2019/02/revisiting-magic-magic-in-middle-earth.html">a post I did back in 2019</a> (which is, amazingly, still relevant today). Here's the TL;DR summary of that article: <b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">the spells you should always channel are the ones that get game-altering benefits by doing so</span></b>, specifically <b>Blinding Light </b>(since it goes from an archery-mitigator for the current turn to an archery-mitigator until your Will store runs out), <b>Drain Courage</b> against C5+ targets, and <b>Wither </b>on S4+ targets. The latter two are debatable (and actually fall in my category of spells NOT to channel when <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://tellmeatalegreatorsmall.blogspot.com/2019/12/top-5-ways-to-waste-might-points-one.html&source=gmail&ust=1704285341674000&usg=AOvVaw2xkF0plAKDp8DjS657kNTB" href="https://tellmeatalegreatorsmall.blogspot.com/2019/12/top-5-ways-to-waste-might-points-one.html" id="m_5756390914405610940LPlnk420508" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank" title="https://tellmeatalegreatorsmall.blogspot.com/2019/12/top-5-ways-to-waste-might-points-one.html">I talked about wasting Might points</a> back in 2019 - another article that has aged pretty well, I feel), but the threat of going from C5 to C2 or S4 to S1 is enough of a risk that heroes with limited Will might choose to resist the spell JUST so they can act normally later in the game. Most of the models with Drain Courage also have Harbinger of Evil or Ancient Evil, so a reduction from C5 to C2 is really a reduction from C4 to C1 . . . our goal with the channel has far less to do with ACTUALLY reducing the Courage (or Strength) of our target, but rather forcing the use of Will points (and sometimes Might points) to resist THIS spell instead of a nastier spell later.</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">This brings us to our next rule: <b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">there are some spells that are situationally good to channel, but in general, channelling these is the exception, not the rule</span></b>. Channelling spells like Banishment or Bladewrath can be very powerful (if Banishment does 3 Wounds to a Ringwraith, almost ALL of them will be dead by default - and the Witch-King will need to pass all three Fate points to not die), but since channelling a spell costs you a Might point, you can't do this every turn. As such, you want to think about what the channelled benefits are of a spell - and whether you can live with just the normal effects of the spell (a single wound with Banishment can be just as good as 1-3 wounds if you're targeting a Ringwraith with limited Fate OR if they've burned all their Might points).</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Finally, <b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">there are some spells that you should never channel because the extra boosts they provide are just not that valuable</span></b>. Spells like Aura of Dismay and Enchanted Blades got grouped into this category in my article (though I've since made an exception for channelling Aura of Dismay with Radagast if you know your army is going to be really spread out, and channelling Enchanted Blades with Celeborn in very, VERY select situations). You also can't channel Paralyze or Refreshing Song at the moment, which is good because their channelled versions are a bit busted.</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Conclusion</span></b></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">And that's magic in MESBG. I really enjoy the magic system, though I do wish that both casting and resisting rolls got Will points back on natural 6s (I know that Stormcallers can get all their Will back if they get at least one natural 6 and that Brorgir gets 1 Will back if he gets at least one natural 6, but I want that on everyone). I also think that declaring a Heroic Channelling should give you +1 to your casting attempt (max of 6) so that channelling a spell makes it easier to cast (like you spent a Might point to boost your attempt) and harder to resist (though still not impossible), but whatever. It would also be nice if spells that go from a +1 to a +D3 when channelled (or something like it) become a +D3+1 so you knew you'd be getting a bigger benefit than if you just cast it normally. Now you know something I'd do if I were king for a day. :-)</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Still, the system requires you to make interesting choices, regardless of how much Will you start with (though it's definitely influenced by how much you have) and despite having played this game a ton, there's always more to learn about how to use different spells and how many dice to throw at them.</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Next time, we're digging into one last "back to basics" topic (for now): heroic actions. These are the things that make heroes awesome (and we've already covered some of them in brief in our posts on how to play the game), but we'll be synthesizing a LOT of TMAT content on the various common and specialized heroic actions in the game - and when to use them (and when NOT to use them). Hope to see you then, and until that time, happy hobbying!</span></div>Tiberiushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01032927898313675650noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2010239046857689405.post-44089731509003445002024-02-15T09:00:00.028-05:002024-02-15T09:00:00.129-05:00Literary Corner: Why the Lord of the Rings Books Are Better than the Films<p>Hey Reader!</p><p>So as Tiberius noted in his <a href="https://tellmeatalegreatorsmall.blogspot.com/2024/02/literary-corner-why-lord-of-rings-films.html">last Thursday post</a>, he's of the mind that the Lord of the Rings films are better than the books. And I want to say two things upfront: 1) he makes some very good points, especially in the realm of pacing: a movie paced like the books would not sell. And 2) this is a lot of pressure, because I feel like most people have OPINIONS on this subject and might be angry with me if I botch this up, :P</p><p>So I'm going to present a few arguments, but I don't feel like I need to give every reason why the books are better stories/portrayals of the story than the films. So if you have additional points to add, feel free to add those in the comments below! And if I'm off-base, you can add those too, :P</p><p><br /></p><p><u>I. Developing Minor Characters Is GOOD</u></p><p>Perhaps the biggest issue with taking a book that was written over decades and putting it to screen is that it will, invariably, have more depth than you can fit into a cinematic work, especially if you want it to be a masterpiece. Even if you were to adapt it to a TV show, it would be hard to encapsulate it effectively because of the visual medium.</p><p></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8J5mwe7KwK05fNG4Zy51g2-9exZj78V8HJqgERo-LtjhcR6FNPfbrlpmNB5btOxW_k9ltD1X12hZhGMLxX4kLW1RjGIt3G_9lj0WCn6pHh59xNX23HFkUQ1yanuxU6SPPgf1ZlKsGkSt3qpeYL2IMsqC-t0MSv6Cz4BrdzsnxKzDHoPsTH4rDx3-G8fTJ/s591/Maggot.PNG" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="454" data-original-width="591" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8J5mwe7KwK05fNG4Zy51g2-9exZj78V8HJqgERo-LtjhcR6FNPfbrlpmNB5btOxW_k9ltD1X12hZhGMLxX4kLW1RjGIt3G_9lj0WCn6pHh59xNX23HFkUQ1yanuxU6SPPgf1ZlKsGkSt3qpeYL2IMsqC-t0MSv6Cz4BrdzsnxKzDHoPsTH4rDx3-G8fTJ/w194-h150/Maggot.PNG" width="194" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An incorrect portrayal...</td></tr></tbody></table>While I love the movies, the movies often have to cut corners with characters, and that sometimes means cutting out people that you love, or wholesale changing them because there just isn't time to develop them properly. We see this in <i>The Fellowship of the Ring </i>with <b>Farmer Maggot</b>, who is reduced to less than 20 seconds of screen time, and in that time his character is completely changed. Instead of cowering before the Black Riders and telling them where to find the Bagginses like we see in the movie, this is what the encounter looks like in the books (and I paraphrase sections for brevity, which will be in red):<p></p><p>“This lane don’t lead anywhere, and wherever you may be going, your quickest way will be back to the road.” <span style="color: red;">The wraith asks where he can be found, and Maggot tells him,</span> “Be off! There are no Bagginses here. There are no Bagginses around here. You’re in the wrong part of the Shire,” <span style="color: red;">and when the wraith offers him gold if he’ll tell him when the Baggins passes by, Maggot replies by telling him,</span> “No you won’t” <span style="color: red;">(which is probably true)</span> “You’ll go back where you belong, double quick. I give you one minute before I call all my dogs.” </p><p><span></span></p><a name='more'></a>He then deftly darts out of the way as the wraith charges, and Maggot calls his dogs and readies to fight as they leave. This type of Giga-Chad encounter is something that won't make the film because it takes too long to show, but also because Tolkien is coming from a deeply sympathetic perspective on the simple common country man of England, and Hollywood isn’t interested in that. For Tolkien the “Salt of the Earth”-type people are among the best, and he paints them that way. And you lose that in Hollywood, because to them they’re country yokels. And I guess we can’t have those be the admirable characters in a story?<p></p><p>Okay, salty part over. Back to your regularly scheduled literary criticism, :P</p><p>And Maggot is not the only one to get this treatment. We have to skip over <b>Glorfindel</b> – both because they didn’t want another character, and because they wanted to give Arwen more of a part. And I don’t mind that – it’s fine. But it means you lose the cunning and might of Glorfindel, which most people forget about if they haven't read the books in a while. As laid out in <i>Many Meetings </i>(more on that chapter later): </p><p></p><blockquote>“When the Ringwraiths swept by, your friends ran up behind. Close to the Ford there is a small hollow beside the road masked by a few stunted trees. There they hastily kindled fire; for Glorfindel knew that a flood would come down, if the Riders tried to cross, and then he would have to deal with any that were left on his side of the river. The moment the flood appeared, he rushed out, followed by Aragorn and the others with flaming brands. Caught between fire and water, and seeing an Elf-Lord revealed in his wrath, they were dismayed, and their horses were stricken with madness. Three were carried away by the first assault of the flood; the others were now hurled into the water by their horses and overwhelmed.”</blockquote><p></p><p>And of course Glorfindel is not the only character that had to be cut from the movie; Fredegar Bolger, Beregond and Bergil, Quickbeam, Mablung and Damrod (and other rangers), Halbarad (and all the Rangers), Fredegar Bolger, Gloin, Erkenbrand, Elfhelm, Lugburz the Orc (that's right: there should be another named orc in the game, but we don't have one, because he wasn't in the movies!), Tom and Goldberry – lots of characters had to be cut. And others get severely curtailed, including Hama (no glorious death at the gates of the Hornburg for him), Gaffer Gamgee (he just sits in a pub and drinks: no heroism from him in a Laertes-style display of valor), and dare I say Gimli (the errant knight turned into a comedic character)? </p><p>And I don’t think that’s bad for the movie (I don't even mind the Gimli change: it makes him stand out more than he does in the books), but what the book “lacks” in pacing it makes up for with depth: the characters are very real, and they get that because they talk so much.</p><p>And as people who play MESBG, this is critical for us: can you imagine how few heroes we'd have if we were relying purely on the movies? The reason our game exists as it currently does (heck, the reason that the Fiefdoms army and the Rangers exist in the first place) is because the books have far greater depth in minor characters than the movies.</p><p><br /></p><p><u>II. The Action in the Books Is GOOD</u></p><p></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlynpYjiCoFTxh-FO7iVfkmypG1z_lT8yIhJC1uytCUCK4wnTK6oHh6It2zYnAtYAOfhOTJnLSg8nCzcoFxRqcY8LiQqzeBHUdJn2jrUA2yr0FsZMuBab3YU0BTS-tM9rWGA-031Pp13wkkYMS8i-YHnksluPv08JiLbNJpUpgwx7aSqyh58fJQQCwigJz/s625/Rohirrim.PNG" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="259" data-original-width="625" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlynpYjiCoFTxh-FO7iVfkmypG1z_lT8yIhJC1uytCUCK4wnTK6oHh6It2zYnAtYAOfhOTJnLSg8nCzcoFxRqcY8LiQqzeBHUdJn2jrUA2yr0FsZMuBab3YU0BTS-tM9rWGA-031Pp13wkkYMS8i-YHnksluPv08JiLbNJpUpgwx7aSqyh58fJQQCwigJz/s320/Rohirrim.PNG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An image you can hear!!!</td></tr></tbody></table>I don’t actually disagree with Tiberius about the action sequences in the movies – they are all very well done, and lend gravitas and an epic feel to the movies. And it's true: if you read the books, the battles are quite short, and thus can feel underwhelming by comparison to the gravitas they are given in the movies.<p></p><p>I will note in passing, though, that they are actually very well-written in the book <i>for a book</i>: it’s not a Hollywood-style blow-by-blow of action, and I think a lot of modern books struggle by trying to paint an image in your mind like you're watching a movie, and I think that can actually hurt the writing by making some descriptions overly long so as to lose the intensity and energy of the moment (see the general decline of action descriptions as you go through the <i>Hunger Games</i> trilogy, as Ms. Collins tries too hard to describe too many things that are on a more grand scale than a few teens fighting each other as one example; you could also look at the length of my last sentence as an example of something that is probably too long to be wieldy, but we need not dwell on that). </p><p>But what the books <i>do </i>communicate - and quite effectively - is the intensity and ferocity of what is happening, and maintain the pace of the action very well. We may not get blow-by-blow commentary, but we do get detailed casualty reports for named characters (useful for the game in determining who only gets 1 Fate Point), and we know enough details to picture it in our minds.</p><p>So as far as writing goes, it’s very good – it’s not a multi-million dollar Hollywood visual masterpiece, but that's because it’s a book. And it shouldn't do that. It's written like the action sequences of epic poems and sagas of older times, which is where we turn next.</p><p><br /></p><p><u>III. The Books Are Epic Poems, Not Airplane Page-Turners, Which Is GOOD</u></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiznuwLKe3bCJix6gq4oPdPDEl1sSo3NNFpRJZLPZ9JS1qSBxDMtjFmnsyO_YsivCC8pzKCJ0OfBFeDRuf9qIWL0ddBuvd05VvGEYLlcd0YUwNnTfv-HL_DL157EFhFqL6SKGnTWx72Jsek1_Br8NB0oVXLYOr_G5Cz2DRgj3161ObB9HcoI9L11uZnPwIt/s352/Beowulf.PNG" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="352" data-original-width="338" height="230" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiznuwLKe3bCJix6gq4oPdPDEl1sSo3NNFpRJZLPZ9JS1qSBxDMtjFmnsyO_YsivCC8pzKCJ0OfBFeDRuf9qIWL0ddBuvd05VvGEYLlcd0YUwNnTfv-HL_DL157EFhFqL6SKGnTWx72Jsek1_Br8NB0oVXLYOr_G5Cz2DRgj3161ObB9HcoI9L11uZnPwIt/w221-h230/Beowulf.PNG" width="221" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Beowulf and the Dragon: one<br />of the oldest Germanic tales</td></tr></tbody></table>This is an epic poem – Tolkien set out, at the bidding of his dead friends who served with him in World War I, to write a mythos for Britain. He’s channeling Snorri’s <i>Poetic Edda</i>, Homer’s Five-Part <i>Trojan Saga</i> (fun story: most people only know Part 3 and 5, <i>The Iliad </i>and <i>The Odyssey</i>, but it's actually five parts), Virgil’s <i>Aeneid</i>, <i>Beowulf</i>, and other similar works. <p></p><p>This is not (and I mean no disrespect to this modern author, though he has made one objectively horrible sci-fi movie which I watched recently on a lark) a Stephen King page-turner thriller, or the kind of book you read on a plane and then throw away when you’re done. The language is rich, deep, and it sounds like it’s written from another time (in the midst of battle who says things like, “Well struck for the Shire! Well struck, Frodo, Son of Drogo”? Nobody – nobody except those who live in a time where you can soliloquy upon a great feat of bravery without repercussion, as is true of the old epics). </p><p>It’s an “Age of Heroes” story, to borrow from Hesiod, and so we shouldn’t expect it to sound like (and again, I mean no disrespect with this, even though I'm going to mention her a second time) a Suzanne Collins book that you read once and don’t really need to read again, because it lacks the depth that warrants and encourages a second read. Or a twentieth read, in the case of some of you (and Eru bless you for coming back to it every year!). </p><p>The battles are intended to show that the heroes are moving from smaller dangers to larger dangers as their quest continues, and the books do that quite effectively. Their dangers also contain, in the proper order, the challenges that the heroes should face (the <i>katabasis</i>, or "underworld adventure," that changes them forever, the unbeatable foe of the Scylla/Charybdis variety, the climactic battle to save the hearth and home of a grateful ruler, and ultimately the triumph of the heroes that leads to times of peace).</p><p>So we shouldn’t expect this to play out like a Hollywood movie (which, whether the writers are on strike or not, aren’t that well-written unless they’re borrowing from a book with very few exceptions): we should expect an epic saga. And those include lots of talking, and they take lots of time to get there. But we should also expect grand fights that show the scope increasing as the story progresses, and it does do that, Scouring of the Shire included. But I'll forego that discussion for a future post if you want it, because 1) this post is already getting long, and 2) we have a mind to do the <i>Scouring of the Shire </i>campaign in the future, and it may be better to talk about <i>Scouring </i>and its importance when we do that.</p><p><br /></p><p><u>IV. Cleaner Archetypes Are GOOD</u></p><p>Controversially, I don't mind the changes they made to Aragorn, Gimli, or other major characters. It's fine - not better, but fine. I don't mind the lack of the Scouring of the Shire, because I can understand the anti-climactic feel it would have following the grand fight of the Pelennor Fields and Cormallen Field. I think Jackson made some very judicious decisions on what is necessary and unnecessary for the story, and the changes that had to be made to bring it to the silver screen.</p><p></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFgxNYZDFJVqalyztKOQhqWIySu1BksmzunF5Jnhfoazy4iW_UCJ24iSU640yvQxNfGbt717r-UecpVPk35YecFfSMjpoSlXgteNif8dL57u6aLqprbKG13BD3zJXGUuzC40MbkNoyBpsLU9Acx6L3FvaGUb_TTZxwe8rRnaz4hNc-0sIluiDVTDlUerFr/s437/Gimli.PNG" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="339" data-original-width="437" height="248" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFgxNYZDFJVqalyztKOQhqWIySu1BksmzunF5Jnhfoazy4iW_UCJ24iSU640yvQxNfGbt717r-UecpVPk35YecFfSMjpoSlXgteNif8dL57u6aLqprbKG13BD3zJXGUuzC40MbkNoyBpsLU9Acx6L3FvaGUb_TTZxwe8rRnaz4hNc-0sIluiDVTDlUerFr/s320/Gimli.PNG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Epic character, but not the same as the books</td></tr></tbody></table>That being said, having clean and clear archetypes to drive the hearts of each character is extremely useful, and these are compromised in the movies. <b>Gimli </b>is perhaps the best example of this: instead of an errant knight much akin to Sir Gawain of Arthurian Legends, Gimli is portrayed very differently in the movies, save for a short scene (in the extended edition) with Galadriel, and of course his chivalrous acts in battle (as the code of chivalry is about 90% combat-related, for those who don't know). <div><br /></div><div>But to say they changed his character, and thus had to fill it with other things that don't deepen the character, is a generous way of phrasing it.<p>But perhaps even more strange is the treatment of <b>Legolas</b>: Legolas is a showoff and far more cocky in the books than he is in the movies (shield sliding and mumak-slaying included), and even borders on being a punk at times. He's rustic, unrefined, and this helps to keep him distinct from Gimli in the books. In the movies, one of the most consistent critiques is how flat and placid Legolas is: he lacks depth of character, because they cut a lot of it.</p><p>Archetypes help build characters because they provide direction for their arcs, and the books do this <i>very </i>well.</p><p><br /></p><p><u>V. Poetry Is GOOD</u></p><p></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdjYfl1COQFWUP6qiBhyNbu-9K28hfAE_ZP8QezjThh6M1qa3FKeL1Zy8GlZG5QfDi8eUARo8aUMY7EJdNXXGghguBSn0mL7JwufV7-eO5Y9QS7gWTIX01iDSVcniK05EyzpQ5iDdFdrjiZqNy1pMUrztHTrhe5r9ns1H7iVdwfPKv6VMKMz2Lqsb7GTdJ/s554/Faramir%20and%20Eowyn.PNG" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="393" data-original-width="554" height="178" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdjYfl1COQFWUP6qiBhyNbu-9K28hfAE_ZP8QezjThh6M1qa3FKeL1Zy8GlZG5QfDi8eUARo8aUMY7EJdNXXGghguBSn0mL7JwufV7-eO5Y9QS7gWTIX01iDSVcniK05EyzpQ5iDdFdrjiZqNy1pMUrztHTrhe5r9ns1H7iVdwfPKv6VMKMz2Lqsb7GTdJ/w251-h178/Faramir%20and%20Eowyn.PNG" width="251" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Great, but REALLY RUSHED</td></tr></tbody></table>As someone who used poetry from <i>The Lord of the Rings </i>to woo his now-wife (and it WORKS, PEOPLE!), I think it's a fair criticism to say that the movie lacks the poetry of the books in so many places. We only see a glimpse of it in the movies (mostly one really good speech in each movie, plus the natural poetry that Viggo and the late Sir Christopher Lee bring to their lines), but there is so much more in the books, and it adds a beauty and elegance to the books that you don't see in the movies.<p></p><p>As one example, in <i>The Steward and the King</i>, we get the romance of Faramir and Eowyn, and the poetry here is just breathtaking. If you were a gal who read <i>The Lord of the Rings</i>, and a dude that you respected and could reasonably be attracted to you came up to you and said:</p><p></p><blockquote>"You are a lady high and valiant and have yourself won renown that shall not be forgotten; and you are a lady beautiful, I deem, beyond even the words of the Elven-tongue to tell. And I love you."</blockquote><p></p><p>...or if he said:</p><p></p><blockquote>"Then, Eowyn of Rohan, I say to you that you are beautiful. In the valleys of our hills there are flowers fair and bright, and maidens fairer still; but neither flower nor lady have I seen in Gondor till now so lovely.... It may be that only a few days are left ere darkness falls upon our world, and when it comes I hope to face it steadily; but it would ease my heart, if while the Sun yet shines, I could see you still."</blockquote><p></p><p>...Like, you'd totally give him a shot, right?!?!?! That's been my experience: that's the line I used on my now-wife, then-good-friend, and now, four years of marriage and two kids later, gotta say: Tolkien's a genius when it comes to writing poetry. And this kind of writing you just don't find in movies, unless they're taking from a book (as a general rule).</p><p>And even when we find Tolkien's beautiful poetry in the movies, we don't really understand it like we do in the books. The song that Aragorn sings upon his coronation is translated and given context for us in the books (also in <i>The Steward and the King </i>- can you tell that this is one of my favorite chapters in the whole series?):</p><p></p><blockquote>"And those were the words that Elendil spoke when he came up out of the Sea on the wings of the wind: 'Out of the Great Sea to Middle-earth I am come. In this place will I abide, and my heirs, unto the ending of the world.'"</blockquote><p></p><p>And this adds a second aspect of poetry that Tolkien does so well: it's not just romantic poetry that he writes. For many years I've kept a sticky note on my screen to guide me through tough times: "You and I, we must endure with patience the hours of waiting." This is also from <i>The Steward and the King</i>, and it's an eloquent articulation of a deep truth through poetry: the virtue of fortitude.</p><p>And there's more we could discuss, but suffice it to say for now, the poetry in this book is phenomenal, and we don't get that translated to screen nearly as much as it deserves.</p><p><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b>Conclusion</b></p><p>So to sum up, if you're looking for a faster paced epic adventure, the movies are great, and you'll enjoy them! And if you're looking for a deeper, richer experience, read the books. But either way, you're in for a treat.</p><p>And this is a huge part of why our game has been going for over 20 years: most games go through dramatic changes in that time, if not end completely, but there is no shortage of content for our game because of how rich the source material is, and how epic the visuals are in the movies. So I'm glad we have both: it is a story that is now deep in the public's consciousness, while always leaving more "scope for the imagination," as Montgomery would put it (my other favorite author).</p><p>So until next time, you know where to find me,</p><p>Watching the stars,</p><p>Centaur</p><p>"I watch the stars, for it is mine to watch." ~ Glenstorm</p></div>Centaurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06864036616223908725noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2010239046857689405.post-82002899916608855622024-02-12T09:00:00.196-05:002024-02-13T07:43:37.442-05:00Back to Basics: Banners<div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Good morning gamers,</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">When I first started playing MESBG (back when it was LOTR SBG), one of the biggest waste of points in my mind were banners. Depending on your faction, you'd pay 25-35 points for a flag that prevented you from taking additional war gear (like a shield or a spear), gave its carrier a -1 penalty to his dueling rolls, and "all it did" was give you a reroll in whatever fights you could fit within 3" of that guy. Sure, if someone was standing nearby, they could pick up the banner, but they'd drop all their additional war gear and become just another "guy holding a flag." No thanks, I'll take 2-3 more guys instead, please and thank you.</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">But the one guy in our group who wasn't fooled by the hefty price tag and restrictive nature of banners was Centaur - mostly because he was playing Uruk-Hai Scout/Feral Uruk-Hai Isengard lists (with little to no spears) and Rohan infantry spams (who couldn't get standard spears). Centaur told us again and again that banners were worth it - and like any fool, I chose not to listen to him.</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Fast-forward about a year and we got "the warband books," where banners were standardized to 25pts each no matter what faction was fielding them and suddenly, an Elf, Dwarf, or Uruk-Hai carrying a banner suddenly looks a bit more appealing (all three of which I was collecting at the time). Shortly thereafter, the Lord of the Rings Strategy Battle Game was rechristened the Hobbit Strategy Battle Game and now banner-bearers could carry extra gear . . . that's neat. Fast-forward about five more years and we enter the current era of the Middle-Earth Strategy Battle Game and now you can pile up your banner-bearer with more gear than any reasonable person can actually handle . . . it's a good time to be playing the game.</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">But what is a banner, really? What's it doing for me and why do all those competitive players say I should have one? Well today, we're continuing our "back to basics" series and talking about all things banners - both the actual banners, the different units that are treated as banners or make other units count as being within range of banners (yes, there's a distinction with a difference there), fancy banners, and things that work LIKE banners but actually aren't banners . . . we've got a lot to cover, so let's get into it!</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><span><a name='more'></a></span>Traditional Banners</span></b></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">As has been alluded to above, <b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">one model involved in a fight that has at last one friendly model within 3" of one or more banners may reroll one of its dueling dice</span></b>. The friendly model can be engaged with an enemy model or supporting in a fight (with a spear or pike) and the entire fight will count as being in range. This means that a die can be rerolled by a model that isn't within range of the banner just because his friend is close enough to the banner to trigger its rules. The exception to this is if you field an Impossible Alliance - <b><span style="color: #990000;">allied models in an Impossible Alliance can't benefit from the banners of another allied force</span></b> (this is because they - apparently - didn't exist at the same time, so there needs to be some penalty for bringing this level of cheese to the table). Simple, right?</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">The timing of the reroll is important though: <b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">any reroll you make from a banner must be made before either player spends Might points</span></b>. The fact that you'd reroll before using Might makes sense (why boost to a higher roll when you might get it naturally with a reroll?), but if you're tied with your opponent's roll and want to reroll before he boosts his roll to be higher, you have to reroll for the banner first. If you've got more than one die in the duel, reroll your lowest die regardless of whether you're winning or not - but if you only have one die in the fight, you'll need to decide if you're okay with your currently-winning roll or if you want to risk getting something higher with a banner reroll. I'd only do this if your "currently-winning roll" is a 2-high or a 3-high - chances are good you'll get as good or a better roll than a worse one AND it may make your opponent unable to boost his own roll high enough to win. If you're winning on a 4 or higher, settle for forcing out a Might point by your opponent instead (it's still good).</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Another constraint on banners is that <b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">a model carrying a banner must be standing</span></b> in order for the banner effects to trigger. If you can knocks Prone an infantry model carrying a banner, snipe out the horse from beneath a banner-carrying model and they get Knocked Flying on their thrown rider test, or if you have a magical power that can knock a banner model Prone, you can neutralize the effectiveness of a banner for a turn.</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">While a banner won't apply any penalties to nearby fights, <b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">a model carrying a banner suffers a -1 penalty to its dueling roll</span></b>. This is cumulative with penalties you receive from having certain weapon combos (so an Uruk-Hai Warrior with a banner, pike, and shield would suffer a -2 penalty to its dueling roll) AND is cumulative with any special rules that apply dueling penalties (so an Uruk-Hai Warrior with a banner who is within 6" of an Angmar Shade will suffer a -2 penalty to its dueling roll). While it's fine to have a banner in a fight with someone else, you generally don't want to have these guys fighting alone . . . ever.</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">If a warrior model (not a hero model) who is carrying a banner is killed, <b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">you can pass the banner off to a friendly Warrior model</span></b> (not a hero model) who is <b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">in base contact</span></b> with the just-killed banner guy, is <b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">not prone</span></b> (has to be standing), and is <b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">not engaged in a fight</span></b>. Any previous equipment the new banner model was holding is retained, so sometimes you can actually get a "better" banner configuration than you had before (for example, a Warrior of Arnor needs to swap its spear for a banner if you buy them one, but if he dies and is in base contact with a non-prone, unengaged Warrior of Arnor with a spear and shield, the new banner model has a banner, spear, and shield instead of just a banner and shield).</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Finally, there are three scenarios that can give you <b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">bonus victory points if you have at least one banner alive at the end of the game</span></b>. These scenarios can be incredibly one-sided, so having an actual banner can be really, really good for you. To The Death awards 7 VPs to an army that can quarter its opponent without being broken and the remaining VPs are tied to wounding/killing the enemy army leader (1-3 VPs) and having a banner alive (1-2 VPs, depending on whether only one player has a banner left). Heirlooms of Ages Past gives a ton of VPs to whoever is holding the heirloom, but assigns half of the VPs in the scenario to breaking the enemy (1-2 VPs), wounding/killing the enemy army leader (1-2 VPs), and having a banner (1-2 VPs). Finally, Destroy the Supplies (which I LOVE as a scenario) has half the VPs tied to destroying your opponent's supply markers (6 VPs), and the same 6 VP distribution as Heirlooms. In any of these scenarios, having some VPs tied to "just having a banner alive" can outweight being outplayed in the "actual objective" of the scenario.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Okay, these are the rules for banners - and like the rules for control zones, they seem pretty straight-forward. Well, if there were only one kind of banner, that would be true . . . but there are actually LOTS of kinds of banners in MESBG. Let's start by talking about . . .</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Special Banners</span></b></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">These banners are available through a select number of hero profiles and in general, they behave the exact same way as the "normal banners" listed above. How they differ is usually their auric range and the special rules they provide. No matter which one we're talking about, <b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">they all remove the -1 penalty to the dueling roll for the model "carrying it."</span></b></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Most of these are available to Forces of Good models and our first stop is <b>Gamling </b>and<b> the Royal Standard of Rohan</b>. Gamling's banner has a 3" range and besides the rules for a normal banner, at the start of each round, one friendly Rohan Hero within 3" of Gamling and has 0 Might points can regain 1 Might point that had been previously spent in the battle. This has been errata'd from the original printed text of EVERY Rohan Hero to one Rohan Hero . . . which was absurd back then (but I'm not sure that it quite rose to the level of "broken," since the 3" range forced these heroes to all be concentrated in one place - and while that could be painful, in some scenarios, you're going to have to split up before the end anyway). As a 50pt upgrade on a 55-65pt hero, Gamling's banner is usually worth taking if you're looking into a banner in a Rohan list.</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><b>Halbarad </b>has <b>the Banner of Arwen Evenstar</b>, which is a 40pt banner that has a 6" range AND gives all models within 6" of Halbarad the Fearless special rule. So . . . you fear no Terror and your army near Halbarad isn't running . . . perfect. Halbarad has a bow and a 3+ Shoot Value (as well as 3-Might-and-Strike), so if you're looking to run a pure Rangers list OR ally the Rangers with the Shire (who we'll talk about below, but don't have access to spears on their warriors and don't have any actual banners that can get them VPs in those three scenarios mentioned above), Halbarad is an excellent choice.</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">The final special banner available to the Forces of Good might be the most famous of all - it's <b>the Banner of Minas Tirith </b>with<b> Boromir, Captain of the White Tower</b>. This banner, like the Banner of the Evenstar, has a 6" range and also provides a +1 Fight Value boost to Boromir and all friendly Gondor Warrior models within 6" of Boromir - this is often used to boost Boromir to F7 and boost your Guards of the Fountain Court or Rangers of Gondor to F5, but it can also be used to boost Osgiliath Veterans, Citadel Guard, Men-at-Arms of Dol Amroth, Knights of Dol Amroth, Clansmen of Lamedon, or Axemen of Lossarnach to F5 as well (to say nothing of boosting Warriors/Knights of Minas Tirith or Blackroot Vale Archers to F4). The only "penalty" applied to Boromir while carrying this banner is that he can't take a lance, so he'll be "stuck" at S4 with no bonuses To Wound. The jury's out on which is better - you should know that most competitive players take the banner, but <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://tellmeatalegreatorsmall.blogspot.com/2021/01/jay-clares-top-10-slayer-heroes.html&source=gmail&ust=1703333123047000&usg=AOvVaw0uTiTDDL-Pf_lPLKPwJ_pc" href="https://tellmeatalegreatorsmall.blogspot.com/2021/01/jay-clares-top-10-slayer-heroes.html" id="m_-1423791940169783524LPlnkOWALinkPreview" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank" title="https://tellmeatalegreatorsmall.blogspot.com/2021/01/jay-clares-top-10-slayer-heroes.html">I like the lance</a> and so do a few other people. There is a big question about whether you should be running Boromir with the lance when you could be running Imrahil with a lance, but we'll get to him later.</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">On the Evil side of the house, we have a few odd-ball guys to cover. The most straight-forward is <b>Suladan the Serpent Lord and the Serpent Banner</b>, which is just a banner with a 6" radius. Since this is baked into his base cost, Suladan is commonly viewed as the best value banner guy you can ally into a War of the Ring era Evil force - and since he's a Hero of Legend, he can ally with any army and bring 18 warriors with him . . . sheesh.</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Often overshadowed by Suladan is the <b>Golden King of Abrakhan </b>and<b> the Golden Throne</b>, which has two 25mm infantry bases that are each used to extend a 3" banner radius. Functionally, this covers slightly more area than your standard 3" banner, but not as much space as a 6" banner. Since Suladan can be mounted on a horse (40mm base) with a 6" banner radius, most competitive players will take him over the Golden King . . . and given the nasty shenanigans the Golden King can do, I'm perfectly fine with that.</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">The newest special banner kid on the block is the <b>Dragon Emperor of Rhun</b>, whose <b>Royal Palanquin</b> has the Standards of the Emperor. These are a banner that has a 12" range, measured from the obnoxiously large base of the Emperor - and because they're strapped to the Palanquin and aren't being held by the Emperor, the Dragon Emperor suffers no penalties from them . . . of all the special banners, this one gets the most attention for a reason.</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Finally, there are four elements on <b>Azog's Signal Tower</b> that count as banners for the purposes of victory points, one of which also serves as a banner that has a battlefield-wide auric boost - which is pretty crazy, but since no model exists for it and the Signal Tower itself is 200 points, you don't see it much in competitive play . . . except by the dedicated.</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">These are all of the different models that have "actual banners" that can score you victory points in scenarios, but there are quite a few other ways you can get the rerolls from a banner without having the hardware of a banner. Let's look at the four different ways you can do that . . .</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Banner Rules - Three Categories (and an odd fourth guy)</span></b></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">The first category of models that give banner benefits without actually carrying banners are the four "models" who are "<b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">treated as a banner</span></b>." This terminology requires that the hero or object is not prone in order to provide the banner reroll (which in one case is moot), but there's no penalty to their dueling rolls and they otherwise follow all of the normal rules for banners (gotta be within 3" of them unless a different range is specified). These models are <b>Bill the Pony</b>, who is treated as a banner by Hobbits and Barliman Butterbur, <b>Amdur, Lord of Blades</b> by all friendly Easterling models (he's treated as a banner with the normal 3" range initially, but this gets extended to a 6" range if he kills the enemy army leader), <b>Sid Briarthorn</b> (for all other friendly Ruffian models - but not himself), and <b>the Campfire</b> for the Three Trolls if they keep their army bonus.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">The three heroes and the one object above are "treated" as a banner, so everything that applies to our discussion above has to be true - most notably, you can't be prone. Having one of these heroes (or the object) doesn't give you VPs, though. The same is true for our second category of heroes, those that make units "<b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">count as being in range of a banner</span></b>." This category of heroes also don't count for VPs, but they also don't have to be standing in order to provide their benefits. As with the last set, most of these heroes only allow certain kinds of units to get the banner bonus, and an FAQ has clarified that only units of the specified keyword types can perform the reroll (instead of one friendly model in the fight) AND one of the units of the specified keywords has to be the model within range of the hero in order for the fight to receive the banner reroll. This category of heroes requires more conscious checking, but otherwise works exactly like the last group of heroes.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">The first set of heroes we'll talk about are those that have a "count as a banner" rule innately - no spending of resources or army/Legion special rules. Characters who meet this bill with a 3" banner radius include <b>Erkenbrand, Captain of Rohan</b> (for all Riders of Rohan who have been upgraded to Westfold Redshields) and <b>Corsair Bo'suns</b> (for all friendly Corsair models). This is a pretty short list - even smaller than the list of models/objects that are treated as a banner.</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Characters who make other models within 6" count as being within range of a banner are far more plentiful and include <b>Frodo of the Nine Fingers</b> (for all friendly Hobbit models), <b>Aragorn, King Elessar</b> (for all friendly models - no keywords required), <b>Angbor the Fearless</b> (for Clansmen of Lamedon only - with or without their army bonus), <b>Buhrdur </b>(for all friendly Angmar Orc/Troll models on a turn when Buhrdur kills an enemy Hero/Monster model in combat - no chucking those stones to trigger this rule, Centaur!), <b>Khandish Kings</b> (for all friendly Khandish models), <b>Bard the Bowman</b> (for most of the models in the Survivors of Lake-town list, which has some cross-over into the Army of Lake-town list - and these models will get +1 Fight Value as well), <b>Thranduil </b>(for friendly Mirkwood Cavalry models), <b>Thorin Oakenshield, King Under the Mountain</b> (for Kili and Fili normally, but possibly more models as we'll see later), and <b>Beorn/Grimbeorn</b> when they are in their Bear forms (for friendly Beorning models only). This is quite the collection of models, no?</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">There are other heroes who can get a 6" banner radius for nearby models by spending resources - <b>Will Whitfoot</b> can spend a Will point (fitting that Will should have to spend Will, no?) to affect all friendly Hobbit models within 6" of him, <b>the Dark Marshal</b> can spend a Will point to affect all friendly Warrior models (not heroes) within 6" of him, and <b>the Master of Lake-town</b> can spend a Might point to affect any friendly Braga, Lake-town Guard Captains, or Lake-town Guard within 6" of him (and give them +1 Fight Value).</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Finally, there are two profiles in the game that have a 12" "counts as a banner" rule applied to them. <b>Prince Imrahil of Dol Amroth</b> has already been hinted at and he will count as a banner for all Captains, Knights, and Men-at-arms of Dol Amroth within 12" of him normally - and he'll extend this to all models from the Fiefdoms army list if you keep his army bonus. For a good chunk of points less than Boromir with his banner, he provides a larger area of banner coverage and has a very similar combat profile. And a lance. Oh, and he'll boost the Fight Value of those Dol Amroth models by 1 within 3" of him, which isn't as good as Boromir's banner, but once again, he's a lot cheaper . . . and it's also not uncommon to see Imrahil AND Boromir in a list because their Fight Value buffs will stack, even though their banner bonuses won't.</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Second, both Theoden and any version of Aragorn will count as a banner for <b>Haldir </b>if he's in the same army and within 12" of them . . . he'll also auto-pass any Courage test he has to take . . . which isn't that much of a boost, considering he starts at C6, but still. Okay, this covers the profile-specific banner buffs - and as you can see, there are a TON of them. But we're actually not done with this category of models yet, since there are also banner rules conferred by army bonuses and Legendary Legion rules . . .</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">The first Legion that applied a 6" "counts as a banner" rule to a hero was<b> </b>the <b>Return of the King Legendary Legion</b> - Aragorn is already a powerful model, but if he counts as a banner for Warriors of the Dead, Riders of the Dead, Heralds of the Dead, and the King of the Dead, even better! Since then, there have been only three Legendary Legions that have picked up a "counts as a banner" special rule on at least one hero: Elrond in the <b>Vanquishers of the Necromancer Legendary Legion</b> counts as a banner for all other friendly models (not himself - but he's already got a reroll for his dueling roll with Lord of the West), the four "big guys" in the <b>Defenders of Erebor Legendary Legion</b> (King Dain, Thorin III, King Brand, and Bard II) count as banners for all friendly models within 3", and all friendly models count as banners for all other friendly models in <b>the Breaking of the Fellowship Legendary Legion</b> . . . which sounds much better than it actually is, since there's a max of 8 models on the board. I think this is a great Legion, but the rule itself is a bit hard to trigger more than 2-3 times each round.</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">There are two army bonuses that give out banner rules as well. The first is the <b>Army of Thror</b>, which makes Thror count as a banner for all friendly Erebor Dwarf models within 6" (all of the models innately in the list, but won't apply to any allies you bring in). The other army bonus changes a bit based on your army composition - and it's the <b>Erebor Reclaimed</b> army bonus. If you run it as a Hobbit-era army, then all of your Erebor models (King Thorin and the Champions of Erebor) treat Thorin as a banner if they're within 6" of him. If you run it as a War of the Ring-era army with King Dain, then all of your Erebor models (which is now everyone in the list - warriors and heroes) treat Dain as a banner if they're within 6" of him. That's . . . kind of like Thror, only on a more punchy, less resilient chasis.</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Our third category of pseudo-banners are things that <b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">give rerolls to you combat, but are NOT cumulative with banner rerolls</span></b>. There are currently only two models that do this - and they are <b>Moria Goblin Drums</b> and <b>Moria Blackshield Drums</b>. For Moria, these things basically ARE your banners - and in the Depths of Moria Legendary Legion, they give you VPs like banners in scenarios where that's a thing. Sure, you can ally in real banners from basically every faction in the game as convenient allies, but if you want a far-reaching reroll (12" on Blackshield Drums, 18" on Goblin Drums - both of which are battlefield-wide in the Depths of Moria LL), these are excellent choices . . . for one faction and one Legion in the game.</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Our fourth and final category are the<b><span style="color: #2b00fe;"> things that give you a reroll to your dueling roll - but IS cumulative with banner rerolls</span></b>. There aren't many situations where you can have two rerolls to your dueling roll, and most of them are hard to trigger or heavily caveated. The first is available to <b>any Haradrim/Mahud model within 3" of a Mumak </b>of any kind - you can reroll a die AND reroll another die with a banner if you want to. Being this close to a Mumak is dangerous, but if you're trying to pull models out of his fight, it's incredibly useful. There are other models that have more conditional rerolls - <b>Farmer Cotton</b> and any friendly Hobbit models within 3" of him can reroll 1s on their dueling dice, <b>Hurin the Tall</b> can reroll a dueling die if he's within 3" of Denethor or Aragorn, King Elessar (who you may recall counts as a banner, so Hurin would be able to reroll two of his dueling dice), and all friendly Corsair Warrior models within 3" of <b>Delgamar </b>get to reroll a dueling die (and risk taking a S2 hit if they lose the duel - and this reroll is actually available to you on all dice being rolled for the duel, so depending on how many guys you've piled in, this can be HUGE).</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Finally, there are two Legendary Legions that give dueling die rerolls that can be made in addition to banner rerolls. The first is for all Easterling Hero models in the <b>Host of the Dragon Emperor Legendary Legion</b> - they get to reroll a dueling die, which stacks with the 12" banner radius of the Dragon Emperor (who is, of course, required in that Legion). The second Legion that gets very conditional rerolls is the<b> Cirith Ungol Legendary Legion</b>, where Shagrat and Gorbag can reroll a dueling die if the other one is out-killing them. This involves more record-keeping, but it's also really fun and thematic. There are other special rules that can give rerolls to models that are cumulative with banners (such as Lord of the West, which is present on four Elven heroes - and a similar rule is present on two other heroes), but most units have to rely on banners to get any kind of do-over for their rolls.</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><b>Test Time!</b></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">For those of you who want to over-achieve, I've written up a quick five question test to see if you can figure out if the model circled in red in each picture will benefit from a banner or not. You can check your answers after the sign-off if you want to!</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlGzZQ82_9y4jWJXwrNHxR2uD3vYUo7pc-y6g82fZFUIA77QFc0PwALt16YzVR7zeKKfNWa6uvZYYnksijXyIw-3ffDl3h01U1T83IFc_uvNQdikETQ4mQLAqPLvaGm3we0nv2sv9aVyPqdJUoDhhyphenhypheno40tdv15maHe9E_85pAqKyp6L_6j4ZOUos9znMk/s4160/banner_q1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3120" data-original-width="4160" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlGzZQ82_9y4jWJXwrNHxR2uD3vYUo7pc-y6g82fZFUIA77QFc0PwALt16YzVR7zeKKfNWa6uvZYYnksijXyIw-3ffDl3h01U1T83IFc_uvNQdikETQ4mQLAqPLvaGm3we0nv2sv9aVyPqdJUoDhhyphenhypheno40tdv15maHe9E_85pAqKyp6L_6j4ZOUos9znMk/w400-h300/banner_q1.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Q1: Can the Uruk-Hai Warrior circled in red reroll one of his dueling dice once they engage?</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifXfRRtsNBqpRh3Ya6xscbOMhBMiXl60XJC3YTltY2ImOwX8dYQ-itfLg4xuByYT1K3Ujq-hRbRP2fo9HJA3PIgNYvo9VplvpJ246CAGi3SqeCqQnI7nGW1byZtpseQI34MlQx40mpGslKFQKALDNi-66AvjbAE57v_X-0GukRjs60PlN9CDxBaIAtVFI/s4160/banners_q2.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3120" data-original-width="4160" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifXfRRtsNBqpRh3Ya6xscbOMhBMiXl60XJC3YTltY2ImOwX8dYQ-itfLg4xuByYT1K3Ujq-hRbRP2fo9HJA3PIgNYvo9VplvpJ246CAGi3SqeCqQnI7nGW1byZtpseQI34MlQx40mpGslKFQKALDNi-66AvjbAE57v_X-0GukRjs60PlN9CDxBaIAtVFI/s320/banners_q2.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Q2: If Aragorn has been taken from the Return of the King Legendary Legion (where Spirit models treat him as a 6" banner), can he reroll one of his dueling dice thanks to having a Warrior of the Dead with spear and shield in his fight?</td></tr></tbody></table></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGADP-e0AJKbNb3wzN1OQoA2SEqF5eqVGwyd_n3kKNDPB2KgxrHYxEH3MswqnqbCkZlibatBHrCg7P3QtzzfiIIwV5zXuEYBcM5BSBzGhMMMHvkW40feexvX9Le0tnE-g9z_EX7mCldzhZDd5_A3pR8KNXr7rzqgZtmuJaP0Dv1mmx9GeYUKhs3F7-tgM/s4160/banners_q3.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3120" data-original-width="4160" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGADP-e0AJKbNb3wzN1OQoA2SEqF5eqVGwyd_n3kKNDPB2KgxrHYxEH3MswqnqbCkZlibatBHrCg7P3QtzzfiIIwV5zXuEYBcM5BSBzGhMMMHvkW40feexvX9Le0tnE-g9z_EX7mCldzhZDd5_A3pR8KNXr7rzqgZtmuJaP0Dv1mmx9GeYUKhs3F7-tgM/s320/banners_q3.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Q3: Can Thorin Oakenshield reroll one of his dueling dice?</td></tr></tbody></table></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_IZ3XcEqF7__iKm__QFbngixCwJOKE2PL5Wh-gF7OTgfeEhzjfYwv7_MUWcW29tCK_Z680Falq3jy20EFse8RaUfR_3yoQqmXIcAwDC0rduT6OV5zRiXFlfwHJ6IecusrqvBopJp7a244BvqV4houON9nfPmv7B3V_qRYj9U-6qFMzO42A-JUOeJOFiE/s4160/banners_q4.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4160" data-original-width="3120" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_IZ3XcEqF7__iKm__QFbngixCwJOKE2PL5Wh-gF7OTgfeEhzjfYwv7_MUWcW29tCK_Z680Falq3jy20EFse8RaUfR_3yoQqmXIcAwDC0rduT6OV5zRiXFlfwHJ6IecusrqvBopJp7a244BvqV4houON9nfPmv7B3V_qRYj9U-6qFMzO42A-JUOeJOFiE/s320/banners_q4.png" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Q4: Can Eomer reroll one of his dueling dice?</td></tr></tbody></table></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZqzemdHtQQ3cw3_LeILzI4pCaHuL5poDNg9OxhJDiC9j-TkfUgqUSOhkbAVvd__HOD3rFjX9FR7LWYdautITqoEdx_0JVDGLRbcepQr0HPoNTR8ZNkgWtmFeGInB7gmhAT3hNYPYU6xUfTadDHJZHaypJhqzHRbILORBIBWMVNl1pdD02zcscL7U_yuI/s4160/banners_q5.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4160" data-original-width="3120" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZqzemdHtQQ3cw3_LeILzI4pCaHuL5poDNg9OxhJDiC9j-TkfUgqUSOhkbAVvd__HOD3rFjX9FR7LWYdautITqoEdx_0JVDGLRbcepQr0HPoNTR8ZNkgWtmFeGInB7gmhAT3hNYPYU6xUfTadDHJZHaypJhqzHRbILORBIBWMVNl1pdD02zcscL7U_yuI/s320/banners_q5.png" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Q5: Can this Moria Goblin reroll one of his dueling dice once he engages?</td></tr></tbody></table></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Conclusion</span></b></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">So . . . that's banners (and probably a lot to think about). Banners are incredibly useful because they can turn a was-going-to-be-lost fight into a won fight - or a tied fight that goes to a roll-off. Sometimes banners can be hard to keep where you need them, but some can have incredibly long reach and can completely change the way a game is going. If you have any thoughts on banners - and anything I left out? - let us know in the comments below! Next time, we're going back to the basics of magical powers and sorting through what the magical powers are and how to use them! Until then, happy hobbying!</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><i>If you made it this far, I assume you want to check the answers for your test - BLUF: most of them are "no." Here's why:</i></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><i>1) The Uruk-Hai Warrior is beyond 3" of the Uruk-Hai Warrior with pike and banner and since he has no supporting models within range, <b><span style="color: #990000;">his fight is not in range of the banner</span></b>. With the exception of the Uruk we viewed, the Uruk with shield guarding the other flank, and potentially the two shield-armed Uruks next to these flankers (depending on the order in which fights are resolved), everyone else in the formation will have a banner reroll . . . which is part of why I like this formation so much. :)</i></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><i>2) Because Aragorn - Strider doesn't have the Spirit keyword, <b><span style="color: #38761d;">his fight is in range of the banner,</span> <span style="color: #990000;">but <u>he</u> cannot reroll a dueling die</span></b> (only the Warrior of the Dead can).</i></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><i>3) This one may have caught a few people, but because Thorin Oakenshield is an Impossible Ally with any way you field a King's Champion (but especially with Durin), <b><span style="color: #990000;">his fight does not count as being in range of the banner</span></b>.</i></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><i>4) This one may come as a surprise to some, but <b><span style="color: #38761d;">Eomer's <u>fight</u> is in range of a banner</span></b> and so even though Eomer is nowhere close to 3" away from Gamling, <b><span style="color: #38761d;">he can reroll a dueling dice</span></b>. This is bizzare, huh?</i></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><i>5) The answer to this one is "it depends." The models you see on the board are compatible with the models you can take in the Depths of Moria Legendary Legion - and <b><span style="color: #38761d;">if this army is fielded in that Legion</span></b> (and it probably should be), because Moria Goblin Drums (and Moria Blackshield Drums) have battlefield-wide range in the Legion, <b><span style="color: #38761d;">the Moria Goblin's fight will be in range of the banner</span></b>. However, <b><span style="color: #990000;">if fielded as a normal Moria list</span></b>, <b><span style="color: #990000;">the answer is no</span></b>, as his fight will be beyond 18" of the Drum (and the drum can't be played and move in the same turn).</i></span></div>Tiberiushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01032927898313675650noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2010239046857689405.post-79394613833413671862024-02-05T09:00:00.064-05:002024-02-05T09:00:00.134-05:00Back to Basics: Control Zones <div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Good morning gamers,</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">We're back in our "back to basics" series of MESBG for the next few weeks, and this time, we're looking at one of the most intricate and essential rules of the game: control zones. For new players, the rules for control zones may appear to be straight-forward when you're reading the rules, but even veteran players can find themselves befuddled by what they are "required" to do by control zones once they reach the tabletop. In this article, I'm going try to not only summarize what control zones are and how they work, but also explore some of the more nuanced situations regarding control zones that you'll see on the tabletop. Let's dig in!</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">The Rules: Control Zones</span></b></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Let's start with the basics: all <b>unengaged, non-prone models</b> in MESBG have a "control zone," which is a <b>1" buffer zone</b> around them that they are "defending." Hostile models that wish to enter a model's control zone must be able to charge the model or they need to stop outside of its control zone. </span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><b>If multiple control zones are entered by a hostile model, the hostile model must charge the first model whose control zone was crossed</b>, though the hostile model may charge more than one model (so long as the first model whose control zone was crossed is one of those models) and doesn't need to travel the shortest possible distance in order to charge the model. You can also back away or make way into an enemy model's control zone without "charging" that model. Additionally, you can't deploy a model within a hostile model's control zone (which should only be an issue in scenarios where you can deploy on the centerline - though a variant of this rule can also come into play in maelstrom scenarios).</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><b><span><a name='more'></a></span>If a model engages or is engaged by another model, its control zone is lost</b> - but a model that is supporting another model (in base contact with a friendly model and carrying a spear or pike) will retain its control zone until it is engaged by or engages a hostile model. This can lead to some really interesting formations that attempt to screen off areas of the board while still retaining a "shieldwall" (line of battle, usually formed by two or three ranks of troops that can lend supporting attacks to the models in front).</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Additionally, <b>models that are Prone lose their control zones</b>, so models that voluntarily make themselves prone (to avoid being visible to enemy archery/magic or for more tricksy reasons) or are made prone by something your opponent does (e.g. losing to a cavalry model, certain magical powers, or being passed through by the Hurl magical power) won't restrict where your opponent can move. It should be noted that prone models can be jumped over by enemy models (following the rules for Jump tests - charges on the starting side on a 1, charges on the ending side on a 2-5, continues moving over on a 6) and can be spear-supported while prone (and the spear-supporter not only prevents enemy models from jumping over these guys, but also lends a control zone to keep the enemy from moving through).</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">After combat begins, you may find that a model begins its move within a hostile model's control zone (since you can back away or make way into an enemy control zone). If this happens, the model may either charge one or more hostile models who start within 1" of it or <b>move through the control zone without getting closer to the hostile model</b> (including backing out of the control zone and going around it). If your model is forced to get closer to the hostile model, you have to charge it - though again, you don't have to take the most direct route. It's best to communicate with your opponent your intent to move around/away from the hostile model before your model is picked up so that you can check to stay above board and avoid unnecessarily disputes.</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Simple enough, right? On paper, these rules seem simple enough, but in practice, control zones can be . . . complicated. Let's look at a few examples of what I mean.</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Practicum: Apply the Rules for Control Zones</span></b></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">In all of the examples we're about to see the golden rule you should follow in any game of MESBG is this:</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; text-align: center;"><i><span style="color: #990000; font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><b>Quickly talk through what you intend to do with your opponent.</b></span></i></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Let's assume that we have the following two forces - just some Elves and some Uruk-Hai:</span></div><ul style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Lothlorien & the Fellowship - 500pts, 24 models<br /></span></li><ul><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Legolas Greenleaf with armor [ARMY LEADER]<br /></span></li><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Haldir with Elf bow and heavy armor</span></li><ul><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">4 Galadhrim Warriors</span></li><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">2 Galadhrim Warriors with spears</span></li><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">1 Galadhrim Warrior with spear and banner<br /></span></li><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">6 Galadhrim Warriors with Elf bows<br /></span></li></ul><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Galadhrim Captain with Elf bow</span></li><ul><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">4 Galadhrim Warriors</span></li><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">2 Galadhrim Warriors with spears</span></li><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">2 Galadhrim Warriors with Elf bows</span></li></ul></ul><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">The Assault Upon Helm's Deep LL - 500pts, 36 models<br /></span></li><ul><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Uruk-Hai Uber-Captain with two-handed weapon [ARMY LEADER]</span></li><ul><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">7 Uruk-Hai Warriors with shields</span></li><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">7 Uruk-Hai Warriors with pikes</span></li><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">1 Uruk-Hai Warrior with pike and banner<br /></span></li><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">2 Uruk-Hai Warriors with crossbows </span></li></ul><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Uruk-Hai Captain with crossbow</span></li><ul><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">6 Uruk-Hai Warriors with shields</span></li><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">8 Uruk-Hai Warriors with pikes</span></li><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">3 Uruk-Hai Warriors with crossbows</span></li></ul></ul></ul><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Let's assume that we're playing a game of Command and Control - five objectives are up at the cardinal points on the map and both armies can deploy up to the center of the board. The Uruk-Hai won the roll and arrayed their first warband as you see here:</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifFy5KILGidkXm-AGbwS5CRC_46USWyQF38Lwc5S2ajUWiO5DsnJvGraQWG4v35HMzDz6YM4pR5-C4uQn51JpB0XeisC8MzKMbbVaRjGPb7klXVvII3OWlwXU6NLSOeZvlhQEcfyQFEjBiDshp541JOSQmfrcPq1blPY2HBU2tajYRTTP_wkWvk2t_MOA/s4160/IMG_20240204_065050800.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3120" data-original-width="4160" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifFy5KILGidkXm-AGbwS5CRC_46USWyQF38Lwc5S2ajUWiO5DsnJvGraQWG4v35HMzDz6YM4pR5-C4uQn51JpB0XeisC8MzKMbbVaRjGPb7klXVvII3OWlwXU6NLSOeZvlhQEcfyQFEjBiDshp541JOSQmfrcPq1blPY2HBU2tajYRTTP_wkWvk2t_MOA/s320/IMG_20240204_065050800.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />Because the Uruk-Hai deployed first right on the center line, the Elves couldn't deploy directly on the center line in front of them (because of the Uruk-Hai control zones). Instead, they deployed Legolas on the rear objective (he will claim it on the first turn and can then move off), while the rest of the Elves waited for the other warband to go down before committing to where they wanted to be on the battlefield.</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">The Uruk-Hai are running an "open phalanx," something<a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://tellmeatalegreatorsmall.blogspot.com/2021/07/unexpected-military-formations-epic.html&source=gmail&ust=1703162430927000&usg=AOvVaw3of2DAhfGWBjVLyIDBT4Zq" href="https://tellmeatalegreatorsmall.blogspot.com/2021/07/unexpected-military-formations-epic.html" id="m_-5728497503791892061LPlnk520284" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank" title="https://tellmeatalegreatorsmall.blogspot.com/2021/07/unexpected-military-formations-epic.html"> I've recommended for non-Easterling pike blocks for a while now</a>. Unlike a 3x10 (or so) pike block, this formation takes up a lot of space and has control zones everywhere (including two flankers on each of the phalanxes to further extend the reach of the control zones). For each pair of Uruks in the front line, whichever fight goes first will get two helping pikemen - this results in dead targets far more reliably than if you just had one pikeman supporting in each file AND can give you some really interesting control zones for the next round should you lose.</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYydzcjtLNoSWPeEbvWL308TJJ2VFIKeExIu2_-FolNp9Jq3wlFyPvcmpPRYUCJv6mdmVxh5LWf191732f6rexqjFlq34a2dgTGfudJOGpGkXJGB1H5-P4vUeLsEcli0Sw7KymdM7vGD9tM3i9QE2M83p2v_UWaEGIBaolaNDnFxNeMlR2-iDmMmrW988/s4160/IMG_20240204_070401206.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3120" data-original-width="4160" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYydzcjtLNoSWPeEbvWL308TJJ2VFIKeExIu2_-FolNp9Jq3wlFyPvcmpPRYUCJv6mdmVxh5LWf191732f6rexqjFlq34a2dgTGfudJOGpGkXJGB1H5-P4vUeLsEcli0Sw7KymdM7vGD9tM3i9QE2M83p2v_UWaEGIBaolaNDnFxNeMlR2-iDmMmrW988/s320/IMG_20240204_070401206.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />The Elves, by contrast, have spread out, maximizing their use of control zones to avoid being swarmed and leaving room for their archers to get shots while standing behind their melee buddies (and then later engaging any Uruks who try to double-up against the Elves). This looser formation can be useful in controlling where Heroic Combats can go, since the second-rank model can counter-charge if he moves second (evening out the fights that were originally made) and can limit where Heroic Combats are able to go if they move first (since there will still be an active control zone in the area).</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">There's one final thing we need to address - and that's certain ways that can and have abused the rules of control zones. I don't think the rules for control zones have changed that much from edition to edition, but in the early phases of the current edition (around 2018 or 2019), there was a big discussion about the relationship between a 1" control zone (25.4mm) and the base of an infantry model (25mm - or put another way, less than 1"). The argument was made that <b>Tom Bombadil and Goldberry</b> have rules that say that most models (an FAQ has excepted war beasts and chariots) cannot enter their control zones (1" wide) without their permission - and since an infantry model is on a base that is smaller than 1", an infantry model in base contact with Tom Bombadil couldn't be charged unless Tom allowed it.</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiilsWRUGF6DZSyOXaT5x_xUnsDumFw4k0TTengk5jQJnwt7p-Qr8ioXWfNA5-JGlk82dxdecmviI-qfeQ1iBHmsgwyptprPZNMvR-H6uh4NDOp4gUiJvZLwEAZaa6tDOxMUo3KurOa3MdRAG57SxFPU8N2BD7s2o1jbNjdK8OYG8F2Lvb7we5VHlXN5Rs/s4160/IMG_20240204_071133946.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3120" data-original-width="4160" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiilsWRUGF6DZSyOXaT5x_xUnsDumFw4k0TTengk5jQJnwt7p-Qr8ioXWfNA5-JGlk82dxdecmviI-qfeQ1iBHmsgwyptprPZNMvR-H6uh4NDOp4gUiJvZLwEAZaa6tDOxMUo3KurOa3MdRAG57SxFPU8N2BD7s2o1jbNjdK8OYG8F2Lvb7we5VHlXN5Rs/s320/IMG_20240204_071133946.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />Similarly, another argument was made that if you have a two-rank-deep shieldwall, <b>the control zones of the second rank</b> extend beyond the bases of the first rank, and as a result, while an enemy model might be able to charge the front rank model (since he'll enter that control zone first), a second enemy model couldn't gang up on the same friendly model because of the second-rank model's control zone. If this doesn't make sense, check out the image below.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu4_lHWyfQ7Y_6NgoM36B93vxs6nuAiQKxM7ddoGweBH9Gbj8DW82ZUt2g9TPGdDp0Jf3IPl6uLf_6LbtDbfyU2kEs57TJIavnY6tEjQu3PJXdK-Qjtf164ewoQSQnuOlyqzCLnjMEE9UG1vdNcNgNf2eFGuitVJyM-yA1Z38lMVwGpp07DHGzLkkDqeU/s4160/IMG_20240204_070847804.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3120" data-original-width="4160" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu4_lHWyfQ7Y_6NgoM36B93vxs6nuAiQKxM7ddoGweBH9Gbj8DW82ZUt2g9TPGdDp0Jf3IPl6uLf_6LbtDbfyU2kEs57TJIavnY6tEjQu3PJXdK-Qjtf164ewoQSQnuOlyqzCLnjMEE9UG1vdNcNgNf2eFGuitVJyM-yA1Z38lMVwGpp07DHGzLkkDqeU/s320/IMG_20240204_070847804.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />When these objections were first made, there was a strong outcry from tournament organizers everywhere that the spirit of the law was that a 25mm base and 1" were going to be treated as the same size - and that's what I think we all intuit naturally. Yes, there might be half of a millimeter more on your control zone than an infantry base, but once you've painted your base rim, they're the same size.</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">But the most egregious abuse of control zones happens to be rules-legit and a conundrum for both novice and veteran players alike: control zones and their interaction with <b>obstacles</b>, such as walls or hedges. We're told in the rules that control zones do extend beyond an obstacle and that you can't enter the control zone of another model without charging him. We're also told that if a model is in base contact with an obstacle, a hostile model can charge the other side of the obstacle and the two are "engaged" - though the control zone of the defending model doesn't disappear unless he's engaged from his side of the obstacle.</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO8vvkUG2UH8Kl303_fbDRBpKvgYwjFhThMVfyS-7Ni6nXc8IfOYsylcBDQCGi_OnGFwAY_CnjIBpVNwTM-ZvzbgpTUgeI4FqGzI40cnD8yw9PzWvsdci7o0Bpx3AZKHVm6T90lrCaMBWu25naRYeI7ix2hY9Px9uhf38_HDDwN2fB29CZTawIOlHpeHY/s4160/IMG_20240204_070855448.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3120" data-original-width="4160" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO8vvkUG2UH8Kl303_fbDRBpKvgYwjFhThMVfyS-7Ni6nXc8IfOYsylcBDQCGi_OnGFwAY_CnjIBpVNwTM-ZvzbgpTUgeI4FqGzI40cnD8yw9PzWvsdci7o0Bpx3AZKHVm6T90lrCaMBWu25naRYeI7ix2hY9Px9uhf38_HDDwN2fB29CZTawIOlHpeHY/s320/IMG_20240204_070855448.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />Where the abuse happens is if you stand very, very CLOSE to an obstacle but don't touch it. The enemy model can't engage you by touching the obstacle because . . . you're not defending it. But he also can't get within 1" of you, so he has to go around the obstacle . . . most veteran players don't do this, but it's a known issue with the rules (and has been an issue for a long time). If it happens to you . . . be nice about it, but also be willing to say, "Come on . . ." Also, the rule should be changed - <a href="https://tellmeatalegreatorsmall.blogspot.com/2023/08/if-tiberius-were-king-for-day-top-5_01042154248.html" target="_blank">here's one guy's thoughts on it</a>.</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Conclusion</span></b></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">If you know of other situations where control zones can be tricky, let us know in the comments below! Hopefully you found this to be helpful - and hopefully if shows how much skill one can have in a game of MESBG if you're willing to work with the rules (and hopefully you'll be prepped to handle the application of the control zone rules in ways that would abuse them as well). </span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">We'll be back next time with an overview of the most valuable pieces of war gear in the game - and a topic that has some overlap with this discussion of control zones: banners. I wasn't a believer in these things when we first got started, but I rarely leave home without a banner now. If you want to learn more about how these things work (and the myriad of ways you can get a banner rule), check back in next week. Until then, happy hobbying!</span></div>Tiberiushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01032927898313675650noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2010239046857689405.post-12275517053266051872024-02-01T09:00:00.074-05:002024-02-01T09:00:00.132-05:00Literary Corner: Why the Lord of the Rings Films Are Better Than the Books <div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Good morning gamers,</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Ah, breathe in that beautiful click-bait title and prepare yourself for a new four-part series that Centaur and I will be doing for the next two months on our bi-weekly Thursday posts! It all started when I said casually to Centaur while we were playing against each other at the 2023 TMAT GT, "You know, the Lord of the Rings movies are better than the books." After a few stunned looks of surprise from various people around the room - including Centaur - he said, "Um, no they're not." And I was like, "Yes . . . yes they are." And he was like, "Well . . . prove it."</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">And so here we are - with me coming to prove something that literally EVERYONE who loves Lord of the Rings is ready to crucify me for saying: <b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">the movies are better than the books</span></b>. Lest you think that the ridicule and critique that I'm about to get from you is the first I've ever received, think again - I have PLENTY of nerdy friends who hold the Lord of the Rings books to be better than the films . . . and ALL of them have said to me that I'm wrong. When I bring up the points below, however, things get awfully quiet . . .</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Now I know what a more moderated reader is going to say - "yes, the original movies were great - and YES they're far easier to ingest as a non-Tolkien acolyte than the books - but come on, the books are pretty good and are clearly better than the movies." If you are nodding along with this sentiment, I don't blame you - I reread the books every year and each time I do, I pull out something new and beautiful from them. I love the books - and have been enjoying Andy Serkis as their narrator this year.</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">But I'm sorry to say it, every time I read the books, I also feel like Tolkien was limited by the form of his work (epic prose) and the medium of the written word (as opposed to the multi-media medium of cinema). When I read through the trilogy, I find myself saying, "That was good." But when I re-watch the extended cuts of the films, I'm always blown away. So I'll be kicking off this series with one of the most anathema things that I will ever write:<b> <span style="color: #2b00fe;">when it comes down to it, the Lord of the Rings movies are better than the books</span></b>. I'll limit my reasons to four for succinctness - let's start with . . .</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><span><a name='more'></a></span>Reason #1: We Walked and We Sang, then We Sat and We Talked</span></b></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">I jokingly told my wife once (who likes the Hobbit book, kind of likes the Fellowship of the Ring book, is okay with the Rankin Bass animated Hobbit film, and doesn't like any of the other Tolkien works - written or cinema) that you could summarize all of the Lord of the Rings with the following sentence: "we walked and we sang, then we sat and we talked." I will readily admit that this is a DRASTIC over-simplification of the series, but it's also very true: from Chapter 1 of Book 1 through Chapter 9 of Book 6, we spend a lot of time talking and singing and not a lot of time doing anything else.</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">This is intended to be a gentle critique that shows off one of the greatest strengths of epic prose: <b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">the story is driven by characters sharing their values and perspectives through verbal communication</span></b>. As a result, when Frodo and his friends are journeying across the Shire and through the wilder lands of Arnor, they spend a great deal of time talking to their fellow Hobbits (like Farmer Maggot), random Elves (Gildor Inglorion and his kin), very odd characters (like Tom Bombadil and in a way, Old Man Willow), and mysterious sorts (like Strider).</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">But <b><span style="color: #990000;">these conversations take FOREVER</span></b> - and in the films, some of these discussions were chopped off entirely (more on this in a bit) because they didn't help to drive the story of Frodo and the Ring. For a little perspective, you can watch all of the Fellowship of the Ring extended film in the time it takes to listen to the first four chapters of the Fellowship of the Ring book (Frodo is almost to Buckland by that time). Yes, the discussions in the book are incredibly helpful for understanding the greater world of Middle-Earth, but as relates to Frodo and the Ring, one could argue that a discussion with Gildor Inglorion or singing about a Troll who broke his toe while kicking the rear of another Troll is . . . well, unnecessary.</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://arwen-undomiel.com/sc/fotr/CoE/CoE003.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="338" data-original-width="800" height="135" src="http://arwen-undomiel.com/sc/fotr/CoE/CoE003.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo Credit: <a href="http://www.arwen-undomiel.com/sc/fotr/CoE.php" target="_blank">Arwen-Undomiel.com</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br />Probably the most egregious case of "sitting and talking" occurs in Rivendell and specifically with the Council of Elrond. Depending on your audiobook narrator, the first two chapters of Book 2 (the second half of the Fellowship of the Ring) will take you 3-3.5 hours to listen to at a normal speed - and ALL of it involves characters sitting around and talking (or singing, that too). From a cosmic perspective, the things you learn in these chapters give you a greater context for what the geopolitical situation is in Middle-Earth during the War of the Ring, but does it matter to the greater story of Frodo and the Ring if we learn that Bombur is too fat to walk on his own? Does it matter if we hear a song that Bilbo writes about an Elf who lived a long time ago (Tolkien would say yes, but I don't)? Can we get by without this knowledge? I think we can - and in the films, the entirety of our time in Rivendell takes less than half an hour . . . and with the possible exception of the discussion of what's going on around Erebor, we aren't really missing anything.</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.tednasmith.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/TN-Durins_Crown_and_the_Mirrormere.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="619" height="320" src="https://www.tednasmith.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/TN-Durins_Crown_and_the_Mirrormere.jpg" width="248" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo Credit: <a href="https://www.tednasmith.com/tolkien/durins-crown-and-the-mirrormere/" target="_blank">TedNasmith.com</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br />But I'm going to take this point just a little bit farther - sometimes, <b><span style="color: #990000;">for the sake of singing a song or sitting/standing around and talking,</span></b> <b><span style="color: #990000;">at least one VERY unwise plan was hatched</span></b>. Picture this: the Fellowship has just exited Moria, with the Goblins hot on their heels and their wizard plummeting to the dark abyss of Khazad-Dum. Now if you were one of these guys, you'd probably react the way Aragorn does in the films ("we need to get out of here"). But what do we do in the book? Gimli tells Aragorn that he must - no matter what the cost - look into the "Mirrormere" just outside the East Gate of Moria, which was a pool of water that reflected the starlight. This also happens to be the same pool of water where Balin was shot in the eye by a Goblin archer and killed. . . and Gimli not only insists on going there when their enemy is looking for a way around the chasm of Khazad-Dum, but he insists on taking Frodo - the <i><u>Ringbearer</u></i> - with him. Um . . . guys? How exactly was this a good plan?</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">This isn't an isolated instance - if you go back to the first half of the Fellowship of the Ring, you will find that Frodo, Sam, and Pippin go from sneaking, to singing loudly, to hiding and telling each other to shush, to singing loudly, to hiding again as they journey across the Shire. </span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">But I digress - there's a lot of singing and a lot of talking in the books and I'm willing to admit that it has its place for building the world . . . but the movies cut out a lot of it and I think it's fine (and avoided some very troubling choices that couldn't be easily justified on film). This point, I think, you can chalk up to the limitations of epic prose, so let's turn to the medium of writing in general as we look to . . .</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Reason #2: Conveying Epic Action Sequences in Epic Prose</span></b></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">The medium of cinema is just more immersive than the written word</span></b> - it just is. Yes, with the right "theatre of the mind," any reader can paint a picture for themselves of what they're reading that can be truer to the source material and more real to them than whatever a Hollywood movie producer can come up with. But I have to say, there's something very different about the epic scenes that are portrayed in the Lord of the Rings films than in the books - particularly if we look at the Return of the King.</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Let me provide just a snapshot picture of what I'm talking about. In Book 5, Chapter 1 (Minas Tirith), we read the following:</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><i><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">There was a silence again for a while. Then, 'What is that?' cried Pippin suddenly, clutching at Gandalf's cloak. 'Look! Fire, red fire! Are there dragons in this land? Look, there is another!'</span></i></span></div></blockquote><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;"></span><span style="color: black;"><i><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></i></span></span></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><i><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">For answer Gandalf cried aloud to his horse. 'On, Shadowfax! We must hasten. Time is short. See! The beacons of Gondor are alight, calling for aid. War is kindled. See, there is the fire on Amon Din, and flame on Eilenach; and there they go speeding west: Nardol, Erelas, Min-Rimmon, Calenhad, and the Halifirien on the borders of Rohan.'</span></i></span></div></blockquote><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">In the book, the beacons of Gondor are lit before Gandalf and Pippin arrive, while in the films, Gandalf and Pippin light the beacons in defiance of the will of Denethor. While this certainly adds to the drama of the story, there's also an incredibly scene - perhaps a minute or two long - where we are flying over mountain tops, watching as the various beacons of Gondor are lit. All the while, the amazing score by Howard Shore has the deep, resonant sounds of percussion instruments contrasted with a fast-moving violin strain and the entire scene is just amazing. Even if I'm knee-deep in a painting project, I stop to watch this scene - it's just that good.</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz4M6d7vP3Mqs9hyw7YVNIaRJDnUq42yi2ytROEoDTaBH_h2gfZhr3PpXGkNA2u72dIo66_HKLg6Il9t59nQVzNgjtqgt0GN7xaxKa7EBvLFWJkuxmrshFr-gv1rKvYrYCzWyuCM0O-WDS-npGvz3pOz0oXWy0UPoaOO2pELAlMZ4Vvmprax54yRhs/s640/michael-thompson-img826-a-200dpi.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="336" data-original-width="640" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz4M6d7vP3Mqs9hyw7YVNIaRJDnUq42yi2ytROEoDTaBH_h2gfZhr3PpXGkNA2u72dIo66_HKLg6Il9t59nQVzNgjtqgt0GN7xaxKa7EBvLFWJkuxmrshFr-gv1rKvYrYCzWyuCM0O-WDS-npGvz3pOz0oXWy0UPoaOO2pELAlMZ4Vvmprax54yRhs/s320/michael-thompson-img826-a-200dpi.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo Credit: <a href="https://www.lifestyleofpeace.com/2023/04/the-beacons-of-revival-are-spreading.html" target="_blank">Lifestyleofpeace.com</a><br />Can you hear the music playing?</td></tr></tbody></table><br />I have a pretty good theatre of the mind, but in no universe could I have gotten what was captured on screen from the paragraphs above - and that's not to say that the paragraphs or the creative abilities of my mind are bad . . . it's just that cinema is different and, in some cases, can be better than print and imagination alone. But let's take another example - consider the following passage from Book 5, Chapter 5 (The Ride of the Rohirrim):</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><i><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">At that sound the bent shape of the king sprang suddenly erect. Tall and proud he seemed again; and rising in his stirrups he cried in a loud voice, more clear than any there had ever heard a mortal man achieve before:</span></i></span></div></blockquote><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;"></span><span style="color: black;"><i><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></i></span></span></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><i><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Arise, arise, Riders of Theoden!</span></i></span></div></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><i><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Fell deeds awake: fire and slaughter!</span></i></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><i><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">spear shall be shaken, shield be splintered,</span></i></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><i><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">a sword-day, a red day, ere the sun rises!</span></i></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><i><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Ride now, ride now! Ride to Gondor!</span></i></span></div></blockquote><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;"></span><span style="color: black;"><i><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></i></span></span></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><i><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">With that he seized a great horn from Guthlaf his banner-bearer, and he blew such a blast upon it that it burst asunder. And straightway all the horns in the host were lifted up in music, and the blowing of the horns of Rohan in that hour was like a storm upon the plain and a thunder in the mountains.</span></i></span></div></blockquote><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;"></span><span style="color: black;"><i><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></i></span></span></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><i><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Ride now, ride now! Ride to Gondor!</span></i></span></div></blockquote><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;"></span><span style="color: black;"><i><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></i></span></span></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><i><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Suddenly the king cried to Snowmane and the horse sprang away. Behind him his banner blew in the wind, white horse upon a field of green, but he outpaced it. After him thundered the knights of his house, but he was ever before them. Eomer rode there, the white horsetail on his helm floating in his speed, and the front of the first Eored roared like a breaker foaming to the shore, but Theoden could not be overtaken. Fey he seemed, or the battle-fury of his fathers ran like new tire in his veins, and he was borne up on Snowmane like a god of old, even as Orome the Great in the battle of the Valar when the world was young. His golden shield was uncovered, and lo! it shone like an image of the Sun, and the grass flamed into green about the white feet of his steed. For morning came, morning and a wind from the sea; and the darkness was removed, and the hosts of Mordor wailed, and terror took them, and they fled, and died, and the hoofs of wrath rode over them. And then all the host of Rohan burst into song, and they sang as they slew, for the joy of battle was on them, and the sound of their singing that was fair and terrible came even to the City.</span></i></span></div></blockquote><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Now that's a great passage - it's full of rich imagery and even mentions one of the Valar! It's passages like this that make me want to reread the books every year. But it's also not the same as what you get in the films. Theoden's speech is fuller with his call for death and the world's ending, given with a lot of passion, and we get the emotional response not just from his rousing delivery, but also from the reactions of the host of riders that follow him (including Eowyn and Merry) and (once again) an amazing score by Howard Shore to fuel the emotions we're feeling.</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://wp.inews.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Ride-of-the-Rohirrim-2-1.jpg?resize=600,360&strip=all&quality=90" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="600" height="192" src="https://wp.inews.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Ride-of-the-Rohirrim-2-1.jpg?resize=600,360&strip=all&quality=90" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo Credit: <a href="https://inews.co.uk/culture/film/ride-of-the-rohirrim-lord-of-the-rings-return-of-the-king-theoden-rohan-216827" target="_blank">Inews.co.uk</a></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br />And then there's the charge - the score is full of the Rohan theme that was developed in the Two Towers and it rises to a crescendo as the riders of Rohan roll over the hosts of Mordor - and while you can write about them slaying people and performing great feats, it's just not the same when you read it as when you see it (can I venture to say, "feel" it?). Okay, one last example - this time, from Book 6, Chapter 3 (Mount Doom):</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><i><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">'Now for it! Now for the last gasp!' said Sam as he struggled to his feet. He bent over Frodo, rousing him gently. Frodo groaned; but with a great effort of will he staggered up; and then he fell upon his knees again. He raised his eyes with difficulty to the dark slopes of Mount Doom towering above him, and then pitifully he began to crawl forward on his hands.</span></i></span></div></blockquote><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;"></span><span style="color: black;"><i><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></i></span></span></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><i><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Sam looked at him and wept in his heart, but no tears came to his dry and stinging eyes. 'I said I'd carry him, if it broke my back,' he muttered, 'and I will!'</span></i></span></div></blockquote><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;"></span><span style="color: black;"><i><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></i></span></span></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><i><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">'Come, Mr. Frodo!' he cried. 'I can't carry it for you, but I can carry you and it as well. So up you get! Come on, Mr. Frodo dear! Sam will give you a ride. Just tell him where to go, and he'll go.'</span></i></span></div></blockquote><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://static3.srcdn.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Sam-carries-Frodo-up-the-slopes-of-Mount-Doom.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="800" height="160" src="https://static3.srcdn.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Sam-carries-Frodo-up-the-slopes-of-Mount-Doom.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo Credit: <a href="https://thenexus.one/senhor-dos-aneis-10-vezes-que-sam-foi-o-verdadeiro-mvp-da-irmandade" target="_blank">TheNexus</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br />You gotta love Sam - I know I do. Previously in this chapter, Sam tries to help Frodo not carry as much and he gets snapped at by Ring-controlled Frodo for his troubles. And yet now he's willing to carry him since Frodo can't carry his own weight. But oh . . . oh, how much more moving this scene is in the films. You see Sam holding Frodo, clearly feeling like they've given up all their strength. Sam just wants Frodo to come back to the real-world out of the daze that he's in, so he starts innocently talking about the many nothings that they used to enjoy in the Shire. As Sam hears from Frodo how much he's being tormented by the Ring, his voice fills with anger and determination, and he delivers that great line that brings me to tears every time I hear it: "I can't carry it for you - but I can carry <i>you</i>! Come on!"</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">As Sam struggles to get under Frodo and rise to his feet, we get the rising tune of <i>Into the West</i>, a triumphant strain that really brings to the forefront what we always knew about Sam: that he's always got more reserves to dip into in order to do what's right. And every time I see that part of the film, I cry . . . and I'm not ashamed to say it. When I get to this part in the book . . . I don't. It's that simple.</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Perhaps what's been said so far is easy enough to accept, but now it's time for an absolutely indefensible claim . . .</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Reason #3: About Faramir . . . and Tom Bombadil . . .</span></b></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">The greatest critiques I've heard about the films from friends who I respect as hardcore Tolkien fans is the assassination of the character of Faramir and the complete omission of Tom Bombadil. I won't go into great detail on why the movie producers did what they did, since there are sections dedicated to these topics in the behind-the-scenes interviews that are included in the extended editions of the films. Suffice it to say that it all boils down to what they deemed was the most important story arc of the many story arcs in the Lord of the Rings: Frodo and the Ring.</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">As has already been alluded to in this article, a lot had to be cut in order to turn over 40 hours of audiobook narration into 12 hours of extended films (not to mention the even more constrained 9 hours of theatrical films). Tom Bombadil was an immensely important character in the Middle-Earth legendarium for Tolkien and a clever person could argue that his role in the story is huge - he keeps the forces of evil at bay on a very foundational level in his small pocket of the world. However, his interactions with Frodo are very short - and if you cut out the bit where Frodo needs to be saved from either a sleep-inducing tree or fog-shrouded dead guys, there's a good bit of singing and talking that can be chopped out by just not showing Tom Bombadil at all. So . . . leaving him out makes sense . . . I've just lost half of you reading this article, haven't I?</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">But both of these characters needed to be changed because of the way they interact with the Ring in the books. Tom asks to see the Ring and pops it on his finger and plays with it, suffering absolutely no ill effect. Tom does not value what the Ring promises, and so it has no power over him. Consider what Gandalf says about him:</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><div style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"><i><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">'No, I should not put it so,' said Gandalf. 'Say rather that <b>the Ring has </b></span><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><b>no power over him</b>. [Tom] is his own master. But he cannot alter the Ring itself, </span><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">nor break its power over others. And now he is withdrawn into a little land, </span><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">within bounds that he has set, though none can see them, waiting perhaps for a </span><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">change of days, and he will not step beyond them.'</span><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"> </span></span></i></div></blockquote><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">This kind of resistance to temptation is really great in a book character . . . but also diminishes the power of the Ring, which is central to every other part of the story. </span><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">The Ring in the book has no sway over Faramir either - he's too clean, even though he should desire the power to defend his people. He says the following when questioning Frodo and Sam:</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><div style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><i style="color: black;">'Alas for Boromir! It was too sore a trial!' he said. 'How you have increased my sorrow, you two strange wanderers from a far country, bearing the peril of Men! But you are less judges of Men than I of Halflings. We are truth-speakers, we men of Gondor. We boast seldom, and then perform, or die in the attempt. </i><b><i><span style="color: #990000;">Not if I found it on the highway would I take it I said</span></i></b><i style="color: black;">. Even if I were such a man as to desire this thing, and even though I knew not clearly what this thing was when I spoke, still I should take those words as a vow, and be held by them.</i></span></div></blockquote><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://faramirforever.faithweb.com/images/faramir_22.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="255" data-original-width="600" height="136" src="http://faramirforever.faithweb.com/images/faramir_22.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo Credit: <a href="http://faramirforever.faithweb.com/custom3.html" target="_blank">FaramirForever</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br />Golly, Faramir is such a great guy - and this is all fine and good for a character in a story, but it's just not very believable on film. Instead of starting from a position of not being able to be held by the Ring, he's brought to the point of never taking the Ring in the Two Towers film by seeing what the Ring has done to Frodo, to Smeagol, and even to his brother - and by hearing the rousing speech that Sam gives (which is way better than the speech he delivers in the book - again, because cinema has advantages over the written word alone). The statements Faramir makes above are reworked in the extended edition of the Return of the King, when he tells his father, Denethor, why he let the Hobbits go - and it makes him look like the strong person he is in the books (and more so because we saw him almost fall).</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Okay, this article has already been long, but let's look at one more way that the movies are better than the books . . .</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Reason #4: Aragorn The Warrior</span></b></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">I think I speak for almost everyone who loves the films that one of the things Peter Jackson and the rest of the production team got right was casting Viggo Mortenson as Aragorn - he embodies everything we want in a noble action hero. I love the Fellowship of the Ring film most of all (very little jumping between storylines happens in that film) and the great combat climax of the film is the fight against the Uruk-Hai at <b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Amon Hen</span></b>.</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Can you picture it? Aragorn has just rejected taking the Ring from Frodo, vowing that he would go with Frodo to the very fires of Mordor if Frodo so required. But, seeing the light of Sting glowing strongly, Aragorn leaps to his feet, draws his sword, and yells for Frodo to run. As he turns the corner, he sees an entire horde of Uruk-Hai, salutes them, and then begins a mad attempt to slay them all. What follows is a very exciting and moving drama, where we see Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli make their way to Boromir (but too late). It's really powerful . . .</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEgY4SvcP655GcsyzhNblU2Scn6mBKchXSOoC3ojanlx-XXgbslceqtJb-8QB_96_ybPXvARHJlc8dbslZX5OudEPLr3AZ9amtnxUDX_oPtx76uL-zggpYz06Ep35YXQdnqg6neZaPTx00fzFJxXR8C9-kRU5_1arx91kdWVhnJCqT7PCpVaFAB3tgga=s1280-d" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEgY4SvcP655GcsyzhNblU2Scn6mBKchXSOoC3ojanlx-XXgbslceqtJb-8QB_96_ybPXvARHJlc8dbslZX5OudEPLr3AZ9amtnxUDX_oPtx76uL-zggpYz06Ep35YXQdnqg6neZaPTx00fzFJxXR8C9-kRU5_1arx91kdWVhnJCqT7PCpVaFAB3tgga=s320-d" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Such a good scene - Photo Credit: <a href="https://tellmeatalegreatorsmall.blogspot.com/p/house-rules.html" target="_blank">US</a>!</td></tr></tbody></table><br />. . . <b><span style="color: #990000;">and it's not in the book</span></b>. Oh, sure, Boromir is killed by a bunch of Uruk-Hai at Amon Hen, but Aragorn's part in that tale is really different. In the final chapter of the Fellowship of the Ring (The Breaking of the Fellowship), Aragorn races to the Seat of Amon Hen to see if he can spy Frodo - and Sam follows him for a while, until he realizes that Frodo's going to just head back to the boats. At the end of Fellowship, Aragorn is at the King's Seat.</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">In the first chapter of <i>The Two Towers</i> (The Departure of Boromir), we pick back up Aragorn's story - he tracks Frodo to the King's Seat, and then goes to the top of the Seat to look around him, but can't see anything. Then he hears the horn of Boromir and races down to help him, shouting "<i>Elendil!</i>" all the way (like he does once in the film). When he arrives at Boromir's side, Boromir is all but dead . . . <b><span style="color: #990000;">Aragorn kills no one at Amon Hen in the books</span></b>.</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">"Surely," you say, "this isn't indicative of Aragorn elsewhere in the books! Tiberius, you're just nit-picking on one instance!" It's true - I am. We are told that "Boromir and Aragorn slew many" in Moria (The Bridge of Khazad-Dum), he slays at least one Warg chieftain before they enter Moria, and of course, he fights off the Nazgul at Weathertop with nothing but flaming brands (since he doesn't have a functional sword in the book). Yes, this would appear to be an isolated instance of Aragorn not doing great things - but it was better in the films.</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">But sometimes Aragorn comes across as a more inspirational character in the films than in the books. There's another scene in <i>The Two Towers</i> that I love watching in the film - the beleaguered defenders of Helm's Deep are preparing for one final defense of the Hornburg, and as Theoden begins to drift into despair, Aragorn urges him to remember who he is, what he's fighting for, and ride out for a glorious death on the field of battle. It's incredibly rousing to see the defenders sally, the White Rider and Eomer appear, and the Uruks rout and retreat. It's awesome . . .</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/lotr/images/b/b4/Theoden_leads_the_attack.png/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/1000?cb=20130117112536" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="335" data-original-width="800" height="134" src="https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/lotr/images/b/b4/Theoden_leads_the_attack.png/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/1000?cb=20130117112536" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo Credit: <a href="https://lotr.fandom.com/wiki/Th%C3%A9oden?file=Theoden_leads_the_attack.png" target="_blank">LOTR Fandom</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br />. . . and it didn't happen that way in the books. As a matter of fact, Aragorn doesn't have much of a discussion with Theoden in the book at all - he talks to the Uruk-Hai instead, in a display that . . . well, just wouldn't carry over to film very well:</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><i><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">At last Aragorn stood above the great gates, heedless of the darts of the enemy. As he looked forth he saw the eastern sky grow pale. Then he raised his empty hand, palm outward in token of parley.</span></i></span></div></blockquote><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;"></span><span style="color: black;"><i><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></i></span></span></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><i><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">The Orcs yelled and jeered. 'Come down! Come down!' they cried. 'If you wish to speak to us, come down! Bring out your king! We are the fighting Uruk-hai. We will fetch him from his hole, if he does not come. Bring out your skulking king!'</span></i></span></div></blockquote><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;"></span><span style="color: black;"><i><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></i></span></span></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><i><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">'The king stays or comes at his own will,' said Aragorn.</span></i></span></div></blockquote><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;"></span><span style="color: black;"><i><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></i></span></span></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><i><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">'Then what are you doing here?' they answered. 'Why do you look out? Do you wish to see the greatness of our army? We are the fighting Uruk-hai.'</span></i></span></div></blockquote><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;"></span><span style="color: black;"><i><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></i></span></span></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><i><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">'I looked out to see the dawn,' said Aragorn.</span></i></span></div></blockquote><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;"></span><span style="color: black;"><i><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></i></span></span></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><i><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">'What of the dawn?' they jeered. 'We are the Uruk-hai: we do not stop the fight for night or day, for fair weather or for storm. We come to kill, by sun or moon. What of the dawn?'</span></i></span></div></blockquote><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;"></span><span style="color: black;"><i><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></i></span></span></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><i><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">'None knows what the new day shall bring him,' said Aragorn. 'Get you gone, ere it turn to your evil.'</span></i></span></div></blockquote><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;"></span><span style="color: black;"><i><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></i></span></span></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><i><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">'Get down or we will shoot you from the wall,' they cried. 'This is no parley. You have nothing to say.'</span></i></span></div></blockquote><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;"></span><span style="color: black;"><i><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></i></span></span></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><i><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">'I have still this to say,' answered Aragorn. 'No enemy has yet taken the Hornburg. Depart, or not one of you will be spared. Not one will be left alive to take back tidings to the North. You do not know your peril.'</span></i></span></div></blockquote><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;"></span><span style="color: black;"><i><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></i></span></span></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><i><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">So great a power and royalty was revealed in Aragorn, as he stood there alone above the ruined gates before the host of his enemies, that many of the wild men paused, and looked back over their shoulders to the valley, and some looked up doubtfully at the sky. But the Orcs laughed with loud voices; and a hail of darts and arrows whistled over the wall, as Aragorn leaped down.</span></i></span></div></blockquote><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Personally, I like the quiet salute from Fellowship over the time-stalling bluff that Aragorn does here - but this is, again, part of epic prose (and within that genre, it makes sense). Aragorn and Theoden DO ride out and slay a bunch of people, but there's no rousing speech to lead them into battle (or to instill strength into Theoden again). Personally, I think what they chose to do in the films is better than what's in the books. But maybe that's just me.</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Conclusion - Why I Love the Books So Much</span></b></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">In case you got to the end of this article and thought, "Wow, Tiberius is really down on the books," fear not - Centaur will be sailing in with his article in two weeks to defend the honor of the books that I may have besmirched a little bit.</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">But do not let this commentary on the books lead you to think that I don't love them - there are certainly parts of the books that take my breath away (and the epigram of this blog comes from my favorite line in all of the books - and is NOT in the films). <b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">I love the books - especially because without them</span></b> (and the depth and richness of the world they presented), <b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">the movies wouldn't be as good as they are</span></b>. Everyone involved with making the Lord of the Rings book trilogy into a film trilogy knew that the world they were seeking to capture on film was a sacred world that needed to be handled well or not at all. I think they delivered well on it - and to do that, they needed something good as the foundation. And they had something good.</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Hopefully you're not ready to stone me - I think we can all be honest about the weaknesses in things we love without being overly critical. Like I said above, though, Centaur will be here to tout the glories of the books over the films next time, so have a good read-through of the books (well, your favorite parts of them at any rate) before then, and until that time, happy hobbying!</span></div>Tiberiushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01032927898313675650noreply@blogger.com22tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2010239046857689405.post-38989380829072337622024-01-29T09:00:00.115-05:002024-01-29T09:00:00.135-05:00In Defense Of: Citadel Guard<p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX88KlLguZx9YuvGLQC4bmB76BuE7kx278D7KMsbIterQOaT9zfNsSRl0BBF0wSuDiC38v7F2_dsv1bAio7y-lNoRptbi8DmxhXJI50SdzgXUtM_vkIP7QkteTwxwAcfmfbvwEGn9CKOJMJXjYLiTFTHWBj9yt5rINw3isnDhekXRWCQviS2g_-_h2jcqM/s4080/IMG_20240120_220056724.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1836" data-original-width="4080" height="144" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX88KlLguZx9YuvGLQC4bmB76BuE7kx278D7KMsbIterQOaT9zfNsSRl0BBF0wSuDiC38v7F2_dsv1bAio7y-lNoRptbi8DmxhXJI50SdzgXUtM_vkIP7QkteTwxwAcfmfbvwEGn9CKOJMJXjYLiTFTHWBj9yt5rINw3isnDhekXRWCQviS2g_-_h2jcqM/s320/IMG_20240120_220056724.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Beregond and the Citadel Guard stand alert!</td></tr></tbody></table><span style="background-color: white; font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;">Hey Reader!</span></p><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Today we're continuing the In Defense Of series, and Tiberius asked me to jump in and chat about the Citadel Guard, as Minas Tirith is not lacking in quality infantry, and these guys tend to draw the short straw compared to the Warrior of Minas Tirith (who is about the same cost), the Ranger of Gondor (if you want archery support from your infantry), and the Tower Guard (who are just all-around better in most respects).</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">And I think this is a shame, because these models look awesome, and are awesome, and fill an often-needed (and much bemoaned) role in the Minas Tirith faction. We will start by looking at why people tell you not to take this model, then we'll discuss why you should take it, and then close out by discussing how to make it work effectively in your army list.</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Why NOT To Take Citadel Guard</span></b></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Citadel Guard are something of a poster child for, "jack of all trades, master of none" units in Middle Earth SBG: everything they offer you can get elsewhere (kind of) in the list, but other units can do it better. Citadel Guard are <b>Fight 4</b>, but so are Tower Guard and (potentially) Osgiliath Veterans and Warriors of Minas Tirith (if you take the right heroes next to them), so they are not an auto-include for high Fight Value armored infantry. They have the <b><i>Bodyguard</i> special rule</b>, but with most Minas Tirith infantry starting at C3-4, and the army special rule bumping up the Courage value by 1, an army that is predominately C4-5 is basically getting the effects of <i>Bodyguard </i>without worrying about whether the army leader is alive or not. They have <b>heavy armor</b>, but most models in the Minas Tirith list have that, and their inability to take a shield makes them less resilient than most infantry in the list. </span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">And while they can take <b>spears or longbows</b>, Rangers of Gondor can take both a spear and a bow at the same time, and while their bows are not as powerful (S2 for the ranger, compared to S3 for the citadel guard), rangers sport a 3+ Shoot Value instead of a 4+ Shoot Value, so they are more likely to get a chance to roll said damage roll (which is arguably better for the law of averages).</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><a name='more'></a>So right out of the gate, Citadel Guard offer (basically) nothing unique: you are getting very <b>mid-range archery</b> (4+ Shoot), mid-range <b>resilience</b> (D5 with 1 wound, no ability to shield), mid-range <b>utility </b>(might offer a spear and F4 to provide good support to a fight, or you take the longbow and offer a decent frontline fighter with F4 to be backed up by a spearman of some kind), and mid-range <b>melee prowess</b> (F4 with 1 Attack at S3 is fine - not great, but fine).</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">But it actually gets worse than this: perhaps the single highest contributing factor to these guys not being taken is that they come as a <b>metal blister</b>: <a href="https://www.warhammer.com/en-US/shop/Citadel-Guard-2019">6 Citadel Guard</a> will run you $45 USD as of this writing, while you can get <a href="https://www.warhammer.com/en-US/shop/Warriors-Of-Minas-Tirith-2018">24 Warriors of Minas Tirith</a> or <a href="https://www.warhammer.com/en-US/shop/Rangers-Of-Middle-earth-2018">24 Rangers of Gondor</a> for $50 USD. And with both of these warrior choices come in the Osgiliath Starter Box, finding these plastic sprues on eBay or other third-party sites for cheaper than the GW price is far, far easier with a far better price point.</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">So if someone told me, "Centaur: I don't want to buy Citadel Guard because they're basically 4x as expensive as these other profiles that basically do the same thing, but better," I'd tell them, "that makes sense," and I'd let them be. And then, a few weeks later when they tell me that they're struggling to win with Minas Tirith, I'd bring back up the Citadel Guard. And what follows is the reason why.</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Why TO Take Citadel Guard</span></b></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Citadel Guard actually offer quite a bit to a Minas Tirith list - in fact, they allow for very unique playstyles for Minas Tirith that can both take your opponent by surprise and deal with some of the trickiest armies in the game. I'm going to subdivide this section into unit comparisons, just to show you how much more versatility and optimization you get from Citadel Guard compared to every other warrior choice at your command, starting with their most similar counterpart (and the one everyone loves): the Tower Guard.</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><b>Citadel Guards: Optimized Tower Guards</b></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">First, to get it out of the way, yes: Tower Guard are a good use of points, as they are 1-2pts more expensive than a Citadel Guard, but get better armor (base D6 instead of D5), a shield (so D7 with the <i>Shielding </i>ability), and a spear base in their profile, while the Citadel Guard is paying 1-2pts for a spear or a longbow. Beyond that they are exactly the same: a F4 S3 model with 1 Attack with Courage 4 (5 after the army special rule is added, should you keep that), 6" Move, and <i>Bodyguard</i>. And put in this light, you're getting a lot more value out of the Tower Guard.</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">But Tower Guard are also highly <b>limited in what they do for you</b>: they're always paying for a spear, but they are also very much rewarded for being frontline troops thanks to that D7, so you're wasting the points on the spear in a lot of cases. Citadel Guard, on the other hand, can always be <b>optimized</b>: you can keep them in the second rank with a spear for 9pts/model to contribute some much-needed F4 while spear supporting (and suddenly their D5 is perfectly serviceable), or you can bump them up to 10pts/model and have them whittle the enemy down (admittedly slightly - don't expect a lot of wounds out of them) before the enemy clashes with them, taking advantage of your <i>Bodyguard </i>to make sure you get the charges when you need them. So while you may not be D7 (which is awesome, by the way, and highly optimal), you can make your Citadel Guard a second-rank unit and use your D7 Warriors of Minas Tirith for cheap resilience in the front rank if that's what's important to you. And now, we're not missing anything from not being D7, while still contributing that useful Fight 4.</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Citadel Guards: Dangerous, Durable Rangers</span></b></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6vp-6_j9ZyTNaOIOubDCq3iuU9nughCs2I4vAKfFkHsxjd7Ev52OC-0XQy51arSWQcluKkzpExU1wZXP787zPMngTTsw4tZthyphenhyphenYnYM0dS2FSI0ZlgiRHG20GV5E9k1MZla7uRrY85KTyEZgQMRaP4r4iMryTBbuxoK8YWlZ1nsLNmb65qMS5fEiinaH1h/s4080/IMG_20240120_215628997.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1836" data-original-width="4080" height="144" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6vp-6_j9ZyTNaOIOubDCq3iuU9nughCs2I4vAKfFkHsxjd7Ev52OC-0XQy51arSWQcluKkzpExU1wZXP787zPMngTTsw4tZthyphenhyphenYnYM0dS2FSI0ZlgiRHG20GV5E9k1MZla7uRrY85KTyEZgQMRaP4r4iMryTBbuxoK8YWlZ1nsLNmb65qMS5fEiinaH1h/s320/IMG_20240120_215628997.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A S2 bow on a 3+ or a S3 bow on a 4+</td></tr></tbody></table><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Citadel Guard also offer a base <b>Fight 4</b>, which makes them excellent objective holders, especially when armed with longbows, as they can support the advance while camping on an objective. Now before you say, "But Rangers of Gondor do this better," the issue that Rangers of Gondor have are three-fold, all of which the Citadel Guard doesn't have. First, rangers are <b>Defense 4</b>, so they can be removed quite easily even with S2 archery, let alone by a ready assault force. Citadel Guard, on the other hand, are going to be wounded on 5s or worse by over 80% of models in the game, as a model needs to be S5+ to wound on better than a 5. This makes them far more survivable, and thus more likely to hold the objective. And at 9-10pts/model compared to the ranger's 8-9pts/model, the cost variance is marginal: your total numbers for your force will likely be within 1 of each other if you choose to take Citadel Guard.</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Second, Citadel Guard have <b>Bodyguard </b>and an innate <b>Courage 4 </b>(5 with the army special rule), which means if you start losing large amounts of your force, your Citadel Guard are far less likely to flee the battlefield than a Ranger of Gondor is, so for objective holding they are far better suited for this task. So whether you're looking at being removed by enemy action or removed by breaking from battle, the Citadel Guard covers your objectives better for only a roughly +1pt/model.</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">And finally, Citadel Guard sport <b>longbows</b>, meaning that they have a S3 shot at 24", compared to the Ranger of Gondor's bow with S2 at 24". This is actually quite significant: the ease of wounding between S2 and S3 cannot be ignored. While yes, D6 infantry (or D4 light infantry) are going to be wounded just as easily, the high number of odd-numbered Defense models that are actually fielded (Riders of Rohan, most Rohan infantry, Angmar/Mordor Orcs, most Warg Riders, basically all Dunlendings, a high percentage of Goblins across both Moria and Goblin Town, Mahud warriors of various kinds, etc.) will be wounded on 5s instead of 6s by a S3 longbow.</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">This is huge: your chances to wound are situationally twice as good, while your difficulty to hit is only increased by 16(ish)%, which your wounding chance makes up for. 6 Rangers of Gondor firing at a D5 model are going to get about 4 hits, and on average 0-1 wounds, while 6 Citadel Guard are going to get 3 hits, and on average 1 wound. So "they aren't as good at archery" is a bit of a misnomer: you're basically just as good at actually dealing damage as a Ranger of Gondor, you're just paying about 1pt/model more for added resiliency and utility. Which I think is worth it.</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">For the record I think Rangers of Gondor are very good, and everyone should use some of them. But I found, going to a recent tournament with them, that it's nice to <b>have a mix</b>, and you can send your S2 archery against even-numbered Defense models, and your S3 archery against odd-numbered Defense models. And a lot of people leave that S3 archery at home because "who needs Citadel Guard," right? And I think that plays a factor into why some Minas Tirith armies struggle.</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><b>Citadel Guards: Elite Warriors of Minas Tirith</b></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwF8XIZzKYbtJm1zkTZb6YDXiSg8tMzMvgxgBi5uu2MUnCMYcRQ_72hU2fjQLROY00RnklMwoGcKfdXEReTNcVrY7joOVzYe8G9MKtS9AjPxOJ7pL7tG6vBxv5iY1ZCkv5wuXY5RJKdPllz-fvOrgyDtH4L4BrMMvYBNfbzUepMw1SNNqgNgtiEBqC2hDs/s4080/IMG_20240120_215653455.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1836" data-original-width="4080" height="144" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwF8XIZzKYbtJm1zkTZb6YDXiSg8tMzMvgxgBi5uu2MUnCMYcRQ_72hU2fjQLROY00RnklMwoGcKfdXEReTNcVrY7joOVzYe8G9MKtS9AjPxOJ7pL7tG6vBxv5iY1ZCkv5wuXY5RJKdPllz-fvOrgyDtH4L4BrMMvYBNfbzUepMw1SNNqgNgtiEBqC2hDs/s320/IMG_20240120_215653455.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The F3 on Warriors of Minas Tirith causes issues<br />for Minas Tirith players. Citadel Guard can help</td></tr></tbody></table><br />So the lowly Warrior of Minas Tirith may be the baseline infantry for Minas Tirith for most players (mostly because of ease of access and a lower points cost), but I walked away from them years ago, converting all my warriors into Osgiliath Veterans instead. This was before the new edition, but even in the new edition (which gave them <i>Shieldwall</i>), I don't think I'm missing out on much. For 8-9pts you can take a Warrior of Minas Tirith with a shield (and/or a spear), which is <b>0-2pts less than a Citadel Guard</b>. A spear-wielding Warrior of Minas Tirith is the same cost as a Citadel Guard spearman, and offers D6 (possibly D7), while suffering -1 Courage and no <i>Bodyguard</i>. On its face, this looks to be okay, because with the army special rule, a Warrior of Minas Tirith is C4, which is probably good enough, right?</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Wrong - having just come back from a tournament a few months ago where I faced Mordor Black Numenoreans in force and The Balrog of Moria, plus practice games against the Witch-King, Mahud Half-Trolls, the Mumak War Leader, and other <i>Terror </i>models, I can tell you quite certainly that had I been running a C4 army I would have <b>failed far more Courage tests</b> than I did, and my lines would have been <i>wrecked </i>(in some cases more than they were, but that's another matter). The fact that you're playing roughly 50-50 odds against <i>Terror </i>models supported by <i>Harbinger of Evil </i>or a similar special rule is a clear sign that C4 (reducing to C3) is not a sure-fire answer to making charges, avoiding running in fear, etc. And if you play against an army actually designed to take advantage of this (Angmar with the Witch-King casting <i>Instill Fear</i>, Dead Marsh Spectres using <i>A Fell Light Is in Them</i>, all supported by cave trolls to push their way easily through any remaining D6-7 frontlines), the ship will sink very, very quickly. I've been on that ship, and it was frightening.</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Citadel Guard solve all of these problems, and for basically the same cost. The benefits of being a <i>Bodyguard </i>unit with C4 (C5 with the army special rule) aside for a moment, you get <b>Fight 4</b>, which makes you far less likely to run into issues because you're just less likely to lose fights in the first place. Auto-passing Courage tests also helps to avoid shenanigans, and the fact that they can contribute that F4 from the second rank makes their D5 (which is really the only drawback they have by comparison) a moot point if you can keep the front lines intact. And if that Citadel Guard doesn't fail an <i>Instill Fear </i>Courage test because of <i>Bodyguard</i>, he's effectively keeping your front rank guy in place too, as that guy will have nowhere to run thanks to the steadfast model behind him.</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">And even if you have to run Citadel Guard in the front rank (maybe because you are afraid you'll need to charge a line of Black Numenoreans or something like that), D5 is perfectly serviceable: it's a big ask, even for a spear-supported Numenorean, to get a 5+ on 2 dice. It can happen, and it does happen, but not as often as you'd think. And unlike the Warrior of Minas Tirith, you're sitting on an on-par Fight Value with the Black Numenorean. And before you say, "But Centaur: if I have Boromir with a banner nearby, my Warriors of Minas Tirith now tie the Fight Value of the Black Numenorean, so the Citadel Guard is not necessary..."</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><i>The Citadel Guard in the same scenario would be Fight 5, so winning ties against Black Numenoreans. Which is better. By a lot. For the <u>same cost</u> as that Warrior of Minas Tirith. While auto-passing any charge attempt they make instead of rolling the dice. So the "Boromir Argument" is dumb. Citadel Guard are still better.</i></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Citadel Guard offer exactly what you want at a price point that most models can't get: getting a F4 model in heavy armor with reliable charging/staying power is <i>insane</i> in this game at only 9pts/model. Most factions are paying 10pts/model or more to get that package. I don't think you should replace every Warrior of Minas Tirith with a Citadel Guard, though: they're <i>elite </i>Warriors of Minas Tirith for a reason. But interspersing them into your ranks, especially in that second rank to add the helpful F4 while holding their ground and helping to keep the rest of your units in formation is a very, very useful thing to do.</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><b>Citadel Guard: Better Knights of Minas Tirith</b></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Okay, I'm going to get some flak for this one, and fair enough: from an optimization standpoint the Knight of Minas Tirith, at 14pts with a shield, is one of the best units in the game, bar none. But little known fact that most people skip over: you can take Citadel Guard mounted on a horse! For 16pts (so +2pts) the Citadel Guard offers you F4 (or F5 around Boromir, if you want to steamroll a side of the board with crazy fast quality fighters) and <i>Bodyguard </i>(with a general +1 Courage if <i>Bodyguard </i>doesn't come up), while losing the option of the shield and the lance (more on that below). This is a slightly more <b>fragile cavalry model</b>, to be sure, but I don't see people leaving Riders of Rohan, Warg Riders, Mahud Raiders, or Warg Marauders at home because of their D5, and that's for a good reason: D5, especially with an In the Way roll to see if you wound the horse instead, is an okay Defense stat for a cavalry model. You're going to be fine against most archery, and if you are getting decent fights against the enemy you're probably surviving a fight where you charged even if you lose the duel.</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">But talk to anyone who has used Knights of Minas Tirith and they'll tell you that these D6 cavalry are <b>not as resilient as you think</b>; when charged they're not likely to win a fight due to their F3, and even though they have a shield they can't make use of the <i>Shielding </i>special rule because they are cavalry. So when countercharged they are actually quite fragile. The Citadel Guard is not any more resilient, but at least he is getting F4 to try to win his way out of a dangerous situation, if not take an enemy with him.</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">And this brings us to the question of the <b>lance</b>. Lances are great, and they are especially great on something like a S4-5 character (<b>**dwarves and Mahud sounds erupt in the chat**</b>). They are good on a S3 character like the Knight, in that it moves wounding a D6 model to a 5+ instead of a 6, and with the potential for 2 Attacks instead of 1 and doubling your wounding dice if you win the fight, they can be very deadly.</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">But this, again, assumes you win the duel, and that F3 is not helping you here (unlike, say, the F4 on Mahud Raiders and Iron Hills Goat Riders, let alone the lance on F5 Rivendell Knights). Furthermore, it clearly slots the Knight into a singular role: <b>shock cavalry charging infantry</b>. If they aren't charging, they are not offering anything in terms of offense. At F3 and S3 with 1 Attack, this is the literal baseline for acceptable stats for an attacking model - anything worse than that is considered atrocious. And while yes, it's relatively easy to get charges off, should you encounter, say, an all-mounted Rohan army (which is very, very common), not getting that +1 Attack or doubling your wounding dice makes your 1 Attack wounding on 4s or 5s ineffective for wounding enemies reliably.</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">The Citadel Guard, on the other hand, offers a completely different approach to cavalry, and really to a Minas Tirith army in general: <b>skirmish cavalry</b>. With a 24" S3 bow, the Citadel Guard does the same damage at range as he does in close combat: S3 with 1 Attack. So why would he need to engage the enemy head-on unless he thought he could win (like clearing out enemy orc archers or a similar lightly armored unit off an objective)? He's actually more likely to wound with archery than he is with melee (as the duel roll mechanic can make winning fights very chancy), so why would he run the risk of getting into a fight unless he felt it was in his best interest? Mounted Citadel Guards with longbows, especially supporting large blocks of Warriors of Minas Tirith, offer you a reliable, consistent way to whittle down the enemy while still being able to charge in and deal damage in melee (because it turns out, if you have 4 dice to wound, you've still got a good chance of it even if you're wounding on 6s).</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Should you replace all of your knights with Citadel Guard? No - I think this is a specific playstyle, and it would dramatically change up how your army is played. But I do think it solves some of the issues of Minas Tirith (which is grinding out enemy forces) by giving you harassing capability that might weaken that main body of the enemy in a far more reliable way before they start carving through yours.</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><b>Now about Those Osgiliath Veterans...</b></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">So I'm not going to do a heavy comparison between the Citadel Guard and the Osgiliath Veteran, mostly because Os Vets are just Warriors of Minas Tirith with +1pt for +1 Courage, and they lose <i>Shieldwall </i>to add <i>Loyal to the Captains</i>. So basically copy-paste most of that commentary here, except that their resilience is basically the same (D5 v. D6), their cost is now exactly the same (if not cheaper for the Citadel Guard), and drop the stuff about the Courage Value (as they are the same) but with the caveat that <i>Bodyguard </i>is still better than Courage 4 (5 with the army special rule), as it's an auto-pass instead of a chance roll. But to save you time, we'll just say the Citadel Guard in general offers more than these guys do for the same cost.</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Making It Work<br /></span></b></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">So with the knowledge that an army of pure Citadel Guard is probably not a good idea (though it would be fun!), how do you do them effectively? I think there's a few things to keep in mind, and then we'll show some lists that showcase this.</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><ul><li style="margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><b>Take the longbows:</b> There's a place for spear-supporting Citadel Guard in the second rank, but the biggest hole they fill in the Minas Tirith army list is <b>higher damage output archers</b>. Being able to gimp enemy armies that thought "D5 is enough to stop S2 archery" or "D7 will keep me safe from enemy bows" could be the difference between victory and defeat. And as illustrated above, the 4+ Shoot v. the 3+ Ranger shooting is made up for in the math for wounding rolls. So don't worry about that. Take a mix of Rangers and Citadel Guard, and use the one to clear room for the other to optimize your archery. If the front line has even-numbered Defense, start with the Rangers and then shoot with the Citadel Guard. If the front rank has odd-numbered Defense, start with the Citadel Guard and then follow up with the Rangers.</span></li><li style="margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><b>Hold Objectives:</b> Use your Citadel Guard as objective holders, as they have all the tools you'd want for taking and holding objectives. Don't forget that mounted Citadel Guard are great for taking and holding far-flung objectives, so you can take a few of those to maximize your chances of breaking through and securing Victory Points.</span></li><li style="margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><b>Better Dueling: </b>Being able to intersperse that higher Fight Value into your army will help you win more fights and last longer in a scrum with another block of enemy infantry, so if you're worried that you don't have enough Fight 4, you can add Tower Guards, or you can save some points and add Citadel Guards. Both are good options, but I think they're both options, and you should consider both.</span></li></ul><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">So here's two very different 800pt army lists that prominently use Citadel Guard, just to showcase what they can add to your force:</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><b>Option 1: Seventh Level Defenders</b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">This is a "stock standard" Minas Tirith list (well maybe; some may say I should be using Hurin instead of Ingold, but the points worked out better this way), but with some Citadel Guards added to supplement what the force is supposed to do: winnow down enemy lines with archery, and then close to melee to finish them off:</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><b>Warband 1</b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Boromir, Captain of Minas Tirith with Horse, Banner of Minas Tirith, and Shield</span></li><li><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">4 Knights of Minas Tirith with Shields</span></li><li><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">4 Warriors of Minas Tirith with Shields</span></li><li><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">4 Warriors of Minas Tirith with Shields and Spears</span></li><li><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">2 Citadel Guard (with spears)</span></li></ul></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><b>Warband 2</b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Ingold, Warden of Rammas Echor</span></li><li><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">6 Warriors of Minas Tirith with Shields</span></li><li><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">2 Warriors of Minas Tirith with Shields and Spears</span></li><li><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">4 Citadel Guard (with spears)</span></li></ul></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><b>Warband 3</b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Cirion, Lieutenant of Amon Barad</span></li><li><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">6 Citadel Guard with Longbows</span></li><li><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">2 Citadel Guard (with spears)</span></li><li><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">4 Rangers of Gondor with Spears</span></li></ul></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><b>Warband 4</b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Captain of Gondor with Shield</span></li><li><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">2 Warriors of Minas Tirith with Shields</span></li><li><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">2 Warriors of Minas Tirith with Shields and Spears</span></li><li><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">4 Rangers of Gondor with Spears</span></li></ul></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><b>TOTAL: 800pts, 48 models, 14 Might, 14 Bows (8 at S2, 6 at S3)</b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">So with this list we're optimizing our <i>Shieldwall </i>due to <b>Ingold</b>: if we want to, we can avoid backing up (which I generally don't recommend, but hear me out), which means we can guarantee <i>Shieldwall </i>on everyone as long as the spearmen on the ends are Warriors of Minas Tirith, which is really nice. So his warband is designed to be our "anvil": it will walk up to enemies and fight with a lot of Fight 4, as the Citadel Guard will back up the two closest men on either side of Ingold, while the ends are capped off with our Warriors of Minas Tirith (and don't worry: we'll have a spear for Ingold later). And at D7, most models in the game will be wounding on 6s, which you only have about a 51% chance of getting on 4 dice (which would be two dueling dice doubled for trapping the model), and far less than 50% on 2 dice (if there's no spear supporting). So the odds that you lose a guy are not as high as you'd think.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Deploying near him (and to help cap off his flank) I'd put <b>Boromir </b>with his banner, both because we want the "hammer" near the "anvil" to make sure we can polish off the enemy before they break through our lines, but also because we didn't have enough points to put a banner in Ingold's unit, and we want to give those oh so helpful rerolls (not to mention bumping everyone up to F4 and F5) to our "anvil" to keep it in the fight longer.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">The <b>captain </b>is designed to cover the other side of the flank, with the captain, 2 Warriors of Minas Tirith with shields, and one of the Warriors of Minas Tirith with a shield and spear providing the frontage, the Rangers backing them up, and then the extra spearman helping to fill the "spear gap" in Ingold's warband.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">The final warband is our "objective claimer" warband, with <b>Cirion </b>(who is a great hero for slaying enemy warriors and a good Might caddy, but not necessarily someone you need in the scrum where the heavy fighting is, and you don't feel bad using his Might to call Heroic Moves) with 6 Citadel Guard with longbows backed up by 6 spears (4 of which are Rangers, contributing their S2 archery to winnow out the D6 guys that might be protecting softer targets). These guys are designed to camp objectives and keep the enemy at bay, winnowing down their ranks before bringing F4 (on all of them) to bear against the enemy.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Is this "the best way to play Minas Tirith"? Probably not, but it has 1) a lot of answers to <i>Terror</i>, 2) a good bit of shooting (14 bows, split between S2 and S3), 3) decent speed thanks to the knights, Boromir, and access to <i>Heroic March </i>from the captain, 4) solid resilience, and 5) almost 50 models while still having heroes that are not slouches in close combat, which is great.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><b>Option 2: The Riders of Boromir</b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Does the following list hit with more power than the Riders of Theoden?!?!? No, but kind of: this Minas Tirith list focuses on an all-mounted force, showcasing powerful heroes and heavy-hitting warriors, complete with skirmish capability and solid objective holding:</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Warband 1</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Boromir, Captain of Minas Tirith with Horse, Banner of Minas Tirith, and Shield</span></li><li><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">14 Knights of Minas Tirith with Shields</span></li></ul></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Warband 2</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Hurin the Tall, Warden of the Keys with Horse</span></li><li><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">10 Knights of Minas Tirith with Shields</span></li><li><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">1 Knight of Minas Tirith with Shield and Banner</span></li></ul></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Warband 3</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Beregond, Guard of the Citadel with Horse</span></li><li><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">5 Citadel Guard with Longbows on Horses</span></li></ul></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">TOTAL: 800pts, 33 models, 10 Might, 6 Bows (all S3)</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">So for starters, if Rohan gets to 33 with all mounted armies they're pretty happy: this is a <i>big </i>group of riders, especially since it's <b>25 lances and a two-handed weapon with no penalty</b> in it, so it hits with the equivalent of S5 on the knights and even higher with Hurin. The army is pretty simple: Boromir leading a ton of knights in a F4 bubble giving them great Fight Value and banner rerolls, while Hurin leads a smaller batch of knights with a banner as well, so they can work independently to break enemy lines. All the while, Beregond and the Citadel Guards are providing cover fire, prepared to claim objectives at high speed while peppering the enemy (as all of them, including Beregond, have longbows and <i>Bodyguard</i>). And if the enemy tries to reinforce, they have the option of charging out at 10" if they think overwhelming the enemy in close combat would be better/easier than shooting them. And with F4 for all of that objective claiming group, they stand a good chance of winning fights when push comes to shove.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Is this a "Death" Rohan army? No. Would it hit pretty hard against an unprepared opponent? I think so. And unlike most all-mounted Minas Tirith armies, it can soften enemies if it wants to, thanks to the archery it adds from Citadel Guards, plus it has more reliable charging of <i>Terror </i>units thanks to them being in the list. Plus they become F5 near Boromir, so you can even run over F4 elite troops with them more reliably than you can with a pure cadre of knights</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><b>Conclusion</b><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Are these guys the best units in the game? No. Do they offer a flexibility that Minas Tirith units generally lack? Yes. And that's what makes them a useful consideration if you're finding that you're struggling with this faction. The most common complaint about Minas Tirith is that it has a wounding problem: all the non-heroes cap out at S3, and that means punching through D6+ armies (which is often the ideal army to face, as they're willing to rank up infantry and fight your shieldwall up close) is very, very hard. But Citadel Guard offer the ability to both win fights up close (which gives you more chances to wound) and to winnow down enemy forces at range, thanks to S3 (the same as in melee) longbows. And I think that merits your consideration.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Until next time, you know where to find me,</span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Watching the stars,</span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Centaur</span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">"I watch the stars, for it is mine to watch." ~ Glenstorm</span></div></div>Centaurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06864036616223908725noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2010239046857689405.post-39730829040151187482024-01-27T12:00:00.009-05:002024-01-27T12:00:00.126-05:00Announcing the TMAT Spring Zephyr Tournament!<p> <span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;"> </span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Good morning gamers,</span></p><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUAYxNnowfk0Dc-42wKdcsHtT88rr-c5mC4ikvzw01uaOUgMvQ0oFtn4H1RzHSFvlgECDIlfErQEqzZBmh53j_96NQhCcQEMh6Im8UV3XIiwq71X5IMuk-2JtxvztpB1DDknH_UuLnuJkZUC52rQakwhF-2tPxXhzlF2QhxEv3WRxvmy2cREFUdugz/s715/img_2_1680861944989.jpg"><img border="0" data-original-height="715" data-original-width="715" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUAYxNnowfk0Dc-42wKdcsHtT88rr-c5mC4ikvzw01uaOUgMvQ0oFtn4H1RzHSFvlgECDIlfErQEqzZBmh53j_96NQhCcQEMh6Im8UV3XIiwq71X5IMuk-2JtxvztpB1DDknH_UuLnuJkZUC52rQakwhF-2tPxXhzlF2QhxEv3WRxvmy2cREFUdugz/w320-h320/img_2_1680861944989.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />Spring is coming, and we're welcoming it with the TMAT Spring Zephyr tournament! The tournament will be held at <b>Patrick Henry College on March 23, 2024</b>. Like the Winter Whirlwind tournament from last year, we're going to do another play-a-bunch-of-quick-games event. Without further ado, here are (in my typical style) the Ten Commandments of the Tournament (Rules):</span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><b><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">1) Thou Shalt Understand The Canon</span></b></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">The ruleset from the updated Middle-Earth Strategy Battle Game Rules Manual (the Sauron one) will be our baseline. The Armies of the Lord of the Rings supplement will govern the rules for armies from the Lord of the Rings, while the Armies of the Hobbit supplement will govern the rules for armies from the Hobbit. Legendary Legions and profiles from any of the GW supplements may be used, provided that the army building requirements for the Legendary Legion are followed. Any GW errata for these books will take precedent over the printed text of these documents.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><b><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">2) Thou Shalt Honor Thy Alliance</span></b></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">This tournament follows the alliance "restrictions" provided in the Armies of the Lord of the Rings and Armies of the Hobbit supplements - players are allowed to have "pure" armies or Historical/Convenient/Impossible alliances. Legendary Legions from any of the Games Workshop supplements can be taken as well, but obviously cannot take allies nor be taken as allies.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><b><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><span><a name='more'></a></span>3) Thou Shalt Not Bring Too Many Points</span></b></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">All players will create one army list that is no more than <b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">350 points</span></b> and has at least four models in it. The list must be submitted to the Tournament Director at joshua.kamakawiwoole@gmail.com <b><span style="color: #cc0000;">by March 16, 2024</span></b>. Players will be notified of the other armies that have been submitted for the tournament after they have submitted their list.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Note on proxy/converted models: proxy models will be automatically accepted if the intended model is not available from the GW webstore. Other proxy models will be accepted if they 1) have the same equipment (weapons, armor, gear) as the model it's proxying, and 2) is clearly distinct from other models in the list. <b><i><span style="color: #cc0000;">Please note any models that are being proxied in the email to the Tournament Director</span></i></b>. Converted models should have the same gear as the model profile that they're substituting for and should also be distinct from any other models in the army.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><b><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">4) Thou Shalt Know The Scenario</span></b></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Each round, the Tournament Director will determine the scenario that will be used for all tables. The five scenarios that will be used for this event are:</span></div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Hold Ground</span></li><li><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Capture and Control</span></li><li><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Destroy the Supplies</span></li><li><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Lords of Battle</span></li><li><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Divide and Conquer </span></li></ul></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Tournament points will be awarded based on the number of Victory Points each side received:</span></div><div><ul><li><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><b>Major Victory</b> (6+ VPs and at least double your opponent's VPs): 10 TPs</span></li><li><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><b>Minor Victory</b> (more VPs than your opponent but not more than 6 VPs and/or double your opponent's VPs): 8 TPs</span></li><li><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><b>Draw</b>: 6 TPs</span></li><li><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><b>Minor Loss</b> (opposing player received a Minor Victory): 4 TPs</span></li><li><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><b>Major Loss</b> (opposing player received a Major Victory): 2 TPs</span></li></ul></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Besides the tournament scoring, during the lunch hour, each player may place one model from their army to be entered into a painting competition. The participating players will vote for whatever model they think is the best painted model present. At the end of the tournament, the votes will be tallied and the winner will receive a prize.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><b><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">5) Thou Shalt Break Ties Properly</span></b></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">The player with the highest Tournament Point score will win the event. In the event of a tie, the player who submitted his/her list first will win.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><b><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">6) Thou Shalt Face Different Opponents</span></b></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">This tournament will have fully randomized pairings for all five rounds.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><b><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">7) Thou Shalt Not Take All Day</span></b></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Each match will be <b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">45 minutes</span></b>. Time will be displayed visually for all games and will only be stopped in the event of a "red flag" being thrown. A red flag will be thrown when two players cannot agree on a rule (line of sight, special rules for a unit, etc.), in which case all fights will stop and the Tournament Director will mediate what the proper ruling is.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><b><span style="color: #cc0000;">Should the time limit drop below 1 minute remaining</span></b> without the victory conditions being met, the current round will be played and then the game will end. Any player found intentionally stalling the game to make time run out will be awarded 0 Victory Points for the round. Between Round 2 and Round 3 will be a lunch break.</span></div><div><b><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></b></div><div><b><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">8) Thou Shalt Fight In Middle-Earth</span></b></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Players who have built terrain for a thematic board (48" x 48") are encouraged to bring their boards to be used in the tournament. <b><span style="color: #cc0000;">Players intending to bring a board for the tournament should mention it in their army submission email</span></b>. Players should use their best judgment when building their maps to ensure that armies are able to maneuver the map within the time constraints. If more boards are supplied than are needed for the tournament, the Tournament Director will let the players know if their boards are required. <b>If a board is supplied by a player, it should also have six objective markers for the Destroy the Supplies scenario</b>.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><b><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">9) Thou Shalt Be Gentlemen</span></b></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Players must be courteous to their opponents and play these games in the spirit of good fun. Should a player conduct himself in a manner which destroys the fun atmosphere of the tournament, a red flag will be thrown and depending on the severity of the infraction, the player may be issued a warning against future infraction, forfeit the game, or be dismissed from the tournament.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><b><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">10) Thou Shalt Not Be Late</span></b></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Players who are bringing terrain to the tournament must arrive by 9:00am to set up the tables and register their armies. All other players must arrive by 9:30am in order to get preliminary check-in requirements, set up their armies at their tables, and fellowship with other players. All armies need to have a sheet of paper that provides their complete army list (with profiles), along with necessary unit-count information (total units in the army, how many units must be lost when the army is broken - and how many units the army must lose before it tests for Courage if the player is bringing certain Isengard armies - and how many units must be lost to be reduced to 25%). The tournament will follow this schedule:</span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">10:00am - 10:45am - ROUND 1</span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">11:00am - 11:45am - ROUND 2</span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">11:45am - 1:00pm - LUNCH</span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">1:00pm - 1:45pm - ROUND 3</span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">2:00pm - 2:45pm - ROUND 4</span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">3:00pm - 3:45pm - ROUND 5</span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">3:45pm - 4:30pm - Tear down </span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Looking forward to see the armies that participate!</span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Tiberius, Tournament Director</span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;"><u><b><i>Tournament Lists:</i></b></u></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><u><br /></u></span></div><div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Coming Soon </span></div></div>Tiberiushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01032927898313675650noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2010239046857689405.post-13698960686991536102024-01-22T09:00:00.207-05:002024-01-22T09:00:00.145-05:00In Defense Of: Uruk-Hai Scouts (and Uruk-Hai Scout Captains)<div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Good morning gamers,</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">When Centaur and I got started playing MESBG, the first armies Centaur collected were Isengard and Rohan (very thematic choices). While Eomer, Warriors of Rohan, and Rohan Royal Guards became the mainstays of Centaur's Rohan army (and still are today, actually), Isengard was always led by Ugluk and Vrasku and behind them were a host of Orc Warriors (cheap bodies with access to spears) and Uruk-Hai Scouts. While the Uruk-Hai Scouts play a central role in one of the most exciting combat sequences of the Lord of the Rings films, their use in MESBG is often relegated to the two Legendary Legions that rely on them for good Fight Value and Strength (Ugluk's Scouts and Lurtz's Scouts).</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">This is a shame, because Uruk-Hai Scouts are actually quite good in MESBG, but due to a variety of reasons, they just don't see as much play. Since both Centaur <span style="color: red;">(hi guys!)</span> and I love Uruk-Hai Scouts, I decided to do a tag-team with him in this article - but I'm going to limit my scope to the value that Uruk-Hai Scouts have in the generic Isengard faction (allied or pure), NOT these Legions <span style="color: red;">(though I have some thoughts on the Ugluk's Scouts legion regarding how these guys pair with orcs, which we'll talk about below)</span>. Anyone who's played with Ugluk's Scouts or Lurtz's Scouts knows how invaluable these guys are to the line-up (they're either all you have or one of two warrior choices you have), but their utility in the general Isengard faction is questionable. So today, while discussions about these two Legions will certainly arise, we're going to focus our efforts on addressing the utility of Scouts in Isengard generally.</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.warhammer-community.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/r0WwCkJaa2xf3UK5.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="477" data-original-width="800" height="191" src="https://www.warhammer-community.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/r0WwCkJaa2xf3UK5.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo Credit: <a href="https://www.warhammer-community.com/2020/09/17/quest-of-the-ringbearer-designer-interview/" target="_blank">Warhammer Community</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br />We're also going to broaden the discussion a bit to Uruk-Hai Scout Captains, who often vie unsuccessfully for slots with Uruk-Hai Captains (aka, the "guys from Helm's Deep") - these guys have a good place in Isengard lists too, despite the dominance of their more armored cousins. Let's see what's so "bad" about these Scout models before we talk about what's so good about them . . .</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><b><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Why NOT To Take Uruk-Hai Scouts</span></b></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #222222;">Our discussion of Uruk-Hai Scouts begins with a look at </span><b><span style="color: #990000;">Uruk-Hai Warriors</span></b><span style="color: #222222;">: when I got started collecting Isengard (about two months after Centaur because our good friend/fellow admin-on-hiatus Zorro bought a TON of Uruk-Hai Warriors used on eBay), I was like, "why would I invest in Uruk-Hai Scouts when I could pay +1 point/model to get +1 Defense with Uruk-Hai Warriors?" In most respects, Uruk-Hai Scouts and Uruk-Hai Warriors are the same, except that the Uruk-Hai Warriors pay +1 point to get heavy armor instead of standard armor and the equipment choices they can take. We'll get into war gear next, but the first reason most players avoid Uruk-Hai Scouts is because their armor gets increased.</span></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #222222;"><a name='more'></a></span><span style="color: #222222;">Both Uruk-Hai Warriors and Uruk-Hai Scouts can have </span><b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">shields</span></b><span style="color: #222222;">, which means Uruk-Hai Scouts can have a maximum Defense stat of 5, while Uruk-Hai Warriors can reach D6. When I got started with Uruk-Hai, I had 18 Uruk-Hai Warriors with shields - and I ran all 18 of them every time I fielded my Isengard army (because we had a LOT of people playing with Elves and Dwarves who were toting S3 bows). Being wounded on 6s is a big deal in this game - especially if your units are expensive (which a 10-point Uruk-Hai Warrior is - and a 9-point Uruk-Hai Scout kind of is). Everything that an Uruk-Hai Scout can do with a shield can also be done by an Uruk-Hai Warrior . . . but he'll do it for a few dollars more and possibly a little bit better.</span></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #222222;">Uruk-Hai Scouts and Uruk-Hai Warriors can also carry </span><b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">banners </span></b><span style="color: #222222;">- and here the difference in defense might be negligible. Centaur runs his Uruk-Hai Scouts with banners and shields (D5), while I run my Uruk-Hai Warriors with banners and pikes (D5) and my Uruk-Hai Scouts with banners and Uruk-Hai bows (D4). You certainly can run an Uruk-Hai Warrior with banner and shield (D6), but you can't benefit from the defense bonus of a shield and a pike, so if you want the D6 on the banner, he'll be standing there waving his flag around but NOT contributing an additional die to a nearby fight. If you don't mind that, then great - take the shield.</span></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #222222;">Besides shields and banners, the wargear options for Uruk-Hai Scouts and Uruk-Hai Warriors diverges, with Uruk-Hai Scouts having access to </span><b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Uruk-Hai bows</span></b><span style="color: #222222;"> (18" S3 bows - which used to be 18" S2 Orc bows in a previous edition) and Uruk-Hai Warriors having </span><b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">crossbows </span></b><span style="color: #222222;">(24" S4 bows that can't move and shoot in the same turn). While crossbow Uruks are 2 points/model more expensive than Uruk-Hai bow Scouts, their increased range often means that they can shoot a turn sooner than Uruk-Hai bows - or can shoot on the same turn with a better shoot value (since both Scouts and Warriors have a 4+ Shoot Value and the Scouts would need to move-and-shoot to fire on the same turn). S4 has the potential to wound even-Defense enemy targets on an easier difficulty, and since most armies max out at D6 for their warriors, this makes crossbows chop through most "tough units" more easily than Uruk-Hai bows. For many players, there really isn't a comparison.</span></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #222222;">When we look at the generic Uruk-Hai heroes, both profiles add the option for </span><b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">two-handed weapons</span><span style="color: #222222;"> </span></b><span style="color: #222222;">(your choice of type, though the Uruk-Hai Scout Captain has a two-handed axe modeled on it). Centaur always jumps for the two-handed axe on his Uruk-Hai Scout Captain and I usually jump for a two-handed axe on the Uruk-Hai Uber-Captain when I run the Assault Upon Helm's Deep Legendary Legion. Two-handed weapons on a S5 model are good - but with base D5 on an Uruk-Hai Scout Captain and base D6 on an Uruk-Hai Captain, I think most players who aren't Centaur would probably take the normal Captain over the Scout variant. Of course, with access to <b>shields</b> and <b>crossbows/Uruk-Hai bows</b>, paired with the general hesitance for players to USE two-handed weapons unless there's a dueling penalty bypass rule in play, there is a question about whether the two-handed weapon is even a good option on these guys (though Centaur and I clearly do - for more on this, check out </span><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://tellmeatalegreatorsmall.blogspot.com/2023/06/in-defense-of-two-handing.html&source=gmail&ust=1702162887472000&usg=AOvVaw10W8EJBDQ0WFwEppfIrcXu" href="https://tellmeatalegreatorsmall.blogspot.com/2023/06/in-defense-of-two-handing.html" id="m_-4596311839728143452LPlnk461198" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank" title="https://tellmeatalegreatorsmall.blogspot.com/2023/06/in-defense-of-two-handing.html">my In Defense Of article</a><span style="color: #222222;"> on this very topic).</span></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #222222;">Uruk-Hai Scouts don't have other war gear options, but Uruk-Hai Warriors add another choice: </span><b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">pikes</span></b><span style="color: #222222;">. It took me a LONG time to really appreciate how good pikes are (and </span><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://tellmeatalegreatorsmall.blogspot.com/2021/07/unexpected-military-formations-epic.html&source=gmail&ust=1702162887472000&usg=AOvVaw0ngSMPe4ndbpgd-0TLlHrG" href="https://tellmeatalegreatorsmall.blogspot.com/2021/07/unexpected-military-formations-epic.html" id="m_-4596311839728143452LPlnk901233" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank" title="https://tellmeatalegreatorsmall.blogspot.com/2021/07/unexpected-military-formations-epic.html">a good way to use them two-deep</a><span style="color: #222222;">) and at first blush, they wouldn't appear to be as good as Uruk-Hai Scouts with shields (higher cost, same Defense, can't defend by shielding, suffers a dueling penalty without a Defense boost if you use a pike and a shield together) - but depending on what you're pike-supporting (other Uruk-Hai or Dunlendings/Wild Men), Uruk-Hai Warriors with pikes allow you to get more dice with S4 into a fight (and F4 if your front guy isn't an Uruk-Hai). With careful positioning, this can be absolutely deadly.</span></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #222222;">Speaking of Dunlendings and Wild Men, there are other front-line units in Isengard that can provide benefits that Uruk-Hai Scouts just don't have - </span><b><span style="color: #990000;">Dunlending Warriors</span><span style="color: #222222;"> </span></b><span style="color: #222222;">have basically the same profile as an Uruk-Hai Scout (-1FV for -1pt/model) but begin with axes instead of swords (so they can be S5 - and their Fight Value can be F4 if they're backed by a pike). </span><b><span style="color: #990000;">Wild Men of Dunland</span></b><span style="color: #222222;"> are lacking in a bunch of departments (-1 Fight Value, -1 Strength, -2 Defense), but at 4 points less per model, you can get almost two Wild Men for the cost of each Uruk-Hai Scout - and the total cost of 2 Wild Men of Dunland and 2 Uruk-Hai Warriors with pikes is only a little more expensive than 3 Uruk-Hai Scouts with shields! Even </span><b><span style="color: #990000;">Orc Warriors</span></b><span style="color: #222222;"> (-1 Fight Value, -1 Strength, and -1 Courage for -3pts/model) aren't bad options if you're willing to Piercing Strike with their picks (mitigates the Strength difference when the Strength increase would actually help) while being pike-supported by an Uruk-Hai Warrior! If you're okay with Defense 5 in the front line, any of these options will be cheaper than an Uruk-Hai Scout and all you might be missing out on is the Feint from the Scout (assuming he has an Uruk-Hai Warrior with pike backing him up).</span></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #222222;">But the comparison to other units in the Isengard faction gets worse if you're willing to consider more expensive units than Uruk-Hai Scouts. </span><b><span style="color: #990000;">Uruk-Hai Berserkers</span></b><span style="color: #222222;"> were a staple of the international Isengard scene back when Berserkers were always D6, but even with the changes to their profile in the MESBG revamp, they're still good value - albeit a bit expensive per model (+1 Attack, +4 Courage, +1 Defense against shooting attacks, and a 6+ save against all wounds for +6 points/model compared to a Scout with shield). You can also get </span><b><span style="color: #990000;">Feral Uruk-Hai</span></b><span style="color: #222222;">, which most players in the international community view as having no place competitively - perhaps we need to cover these guys specifically in this series - since they're basically cheaper Berserkers with a slightly reduced profile (compared to an Uruk-Hai Scout with shield, they've got +1 Attack, -1 Defense, +2 Courage, and a 6+ save against all wounds for +4 points/model). Centaur loves these guys - and actually prefers them over Berserkers - and will be the first to say that they fill a role that the Scouts with shields just don't fill </span><span style="color: red;">(more on that below as well)</span><span style="color: #222222;">.</span></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Finally, while we're doing the comparison to other Isengard units, we need to compare Uruk-Hai Scouts to the fast units available to Isengard. If fielded in Mauhur's warband (or in any Uruk-led warband in either the Lurtz's Scouts Legendary Legion or the Ugluk's Scouts Legendary Legion if Mauhur is included in the list), Uruk-Hai Scouts can be upgraded to Uruk-Hai Maruaders for 1 point/model (this upgrade is free in both Legions) and gain +2" of movement - which makes Scouts with shields the same cost as Uruk-Hai Warriors with shields or Scouts with Uruk-Hai bows 1 point cheaper than Uruk-Hai Warriors with crossbows. While this gives them an edge over Uruk-Hai Warriors in a few situations, it doesn't make them as fast as the mounted or flying unit options that Isengard has.</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #222222;">Warg Riders are the OG when it comes to Isengard cavalry - and with S4 from the Warg, the only real edge an Uruk-Hai Marauder has over a </span><b><span style="color: #990000;">Warg Rider</span></b><span style="color: #222222;"> is F4 (the Warg Rider is also C2, but the +2" of movement and the charge bonuses that Warg Riders usually gain make up for this). </span><b><span style="color: #990000;">Dunlending Horsemen</span></b><span style="color: #222222;"> were introduced with War in Rohan and are basically Warg Riders with a free one-handed axe, S4 on the rider instead of the mount, and a niche special rule for wounding enemy mounts better. Both of these options are 12 points/model, which is only 2 points more than the Uruks themselves (though neither are F4). </span><b><span style="color: #990000;">Crebain </span></b><span style="color: #222222;">are the fastest units Isengard has (12" move from Fly) and are also some of the hardest units to shoot (hit on a 6 - though you don't want these guys providing in-the-ways where your opponent can shoot at the models behind them and then get an in-the-way hit on them on a 1-3). Most of their stats are worse (-2 Fight Value, -2 Strength, and -2 Defense), but with 2 Attacks/4 Wounds (and the increased speed/resilience against archery), if you're looking for models to claim/hold objectives, it's hard to not pick a 20-point Crebain model or three instead of a pack of Uruk-Hai Marauders.</span></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">That . . . was a lot more than I thought I was going to write about the woes of Uruk-Hai Scouts. The pity about it is that, depending on your perspective, about half of what you just read is wrong. :) Some of the critiques you just read are certainly true (taken in certain lights, they're all true - that's the thing about this series), but let's look back at what Uruk-Hai Scouts are supposed to do for your army in order to see what a hidden gem they are . . .</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><b><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Why TO take Uruk-Hai Scouts</span></b></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #222222;">My defense of Uruk-Hai Scouts begins with the following statement: </span><b><span style="color: #38761d;">Uruk-Hai Scouts give you an average profile for average cost - with above average Strength thrown in</span></b><span style="color: #222222;">. F4 has become the gold standard for a lot of lists - Dwarves are at least F4, many Man-based factions - both Good and Evil - have F4 troops they can field (or units they can boost to F4), and Uruk-Hai are F4 (of course). To put a finer point on it, there are only four factions from the Forces of Good (The Shire, The Dead of Dunharrow, The Wildmen of Druadan, and The Survivors of Lake-town) and four factions from the Forces of Evil (Angmar, Sharkey's Rogues, Azog's Hunters, and Goblin-town) that can't have non-monster warriors in their army who are all F4+ - and most of THOSE factions can have F4+ units historically or conveniently allied into them (all but Sharkey's Rogues). Uruk-Hai Scouts are F4 - which is exactly what you want in a core warrior unit (and it's something that you just won't get if you have an Orc or a Dunlending in the front rank).</span></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Uruk-Hai Scouts also have some gimme stats that are good for an average profile - 1 Attack/1 Wound is standard on units as lowly as Goblin Warriors and Hobbit Militia to hyper elite units like Guards of the Galadhrim Court and Khazad Guards. While Isengard has units that can have more than 1 Attack, they come with a hefty price tag (the Ferals slightly less so than the Berserkers - and a lot less so than the Crebain) and Uruk-Hai Scouts CAN have 2 Attacks if they defend by shielding (but more on that later).</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #222222;">Courage 3 isn't bad for a Forces of Evil army - and if you have your army bonus (which allows your Isengard units to not have to take courage tests for breaking until you've lost two-thirds of your army instead of one-half) and Saruman or Ugluk in your army (both of whom can keep your warriors and heroes in line), Courage 3 could be all that you need. If you're really concerned about passing Courage tests, </span><b><span style="color: #38761d;">Uruk-Hai Shamans</span></b><span style="color: #222222;"> aren't that expensive and if you were going to buy 9 Berserkers to solve the Courage problem, you can downgrade those all expensive D5 units to Uruk-Hai Scouts with shields and get an Uruk-Hai Shaman with the savings (well, the savings and 1 additional point).</span></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #222222;">Finally, Uruk-Hai Scouts have D4 base and can have </span><b><span style="color: #38761d;">Defense 5</span><span style="color: #222222;"> </span></b><span style="color: #222222;">if you give them a shield. The difference between D4 and D5 isn't always that pronounced and is very dependent on the units your opponent chose to field. While there is certainly a lot of S3 melee and ranged attacks out there, there is also a lot of S2 ranged attacks, S4 ranged attacks, and S4 melee attacks (with a very vocal S2 melee attack minority west of Bree). Against these foes, being D5 is just fine - and can actually mean you're more optimized to fight these threats than a D6 Uruk-Hai line would be.</span></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span><span style="color: red; font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">(Furthermore, D5 even against S3-4 isn't a bad Defense value. If you assume you're up against an enemy infantry backed by a spear, you've got two dice coming at you. Each dice has a 1/3 chance of wounding, so your chance of being wounded is decent but not great. It's not a foregone conclusion that you're gone. As someone who has played hobbits a lot, and thus gotten used to how often someone will fail to wound a D3 model, D5 is not that bad. Especially if it means you can get a few more bodies into your force due to points savings to cover losses from archery)</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #222222;">But the real kicker for the Uruk-Hai Scout statline is the </span><b><span style="color: #38761d;">Strength 4</span><span style="color: #222222;"> </span></b><span style="color: #222222;">- if your opponent decided that D6 was necessary to survive (or that he could get away with being S4 because there's so much S3 out there), then you've got his number! Uruk-Hai Scouts aren't that expensive, and since paying for Strength or Defense doesn't necessarily mean you get an advantage, they are one of the best units to lean into in order to fight against some of the most common melee stat lines in the game (F4/S4/D6 - rarely found in a single profile, but often possible if you've got a spearman providing one of the Fight/Strength stats and the front-line guy providing the other) and against some of the game's most oppressive archery forces (Rangers of Gondor, Goblin Warriors in the Assault on Lothlorien, Beornings, and anyone with a crossbow).</span></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #222222;">Uruk-Hai Scouts can also be </span><b><span style="color: #38761d;">supported cheaply by Orc Warriors with spears</span></b><span style="color: #222222;"> (optionally shields), which can make their F4/S4 file cheaper than elite shieldwall files OR as expensive as weaker shieldwall files. I don't know how many of my scrums against Centaur's Uruk-Hai Scouts backed by Orcs I've lost, but golly it's been a lot - and this is particularly true if the shieldwall lined up against them doesn't have F4 (like my Angmar Orc horde lacked in our 2023 TMAT GT). In that particular event, Centaur was using Ugluk's Scouts, which plays this game really well (Uruks backed by Orcs), but you don't have to be in that Legion to get the benefits of this - 15-16pts/file is going to be pretty hard to match if you've got an Uruk in there!</span></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: red; font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">(A note here on the legion, but it applies generally when using Uruk Marauders backed by any spears/pikes. Some people will say this doesn't work well because of the 8" Marauder movement and the 6" spear movement: in these scenarios, don't be afraid to charge ahead of your spears if you're the second player moving. Just move up your marauders, engage where prudent (namely: don't charge enemy heroes), and shield for the turn. Use your high Fight Value to push the enemy back, and move up the spears as far up as you can so that you can support on the next turn. Your line will hold up, assuming law of averages and my experience translating to your table, and then you're ready for a big push the next turn with a massive front line backed up by spears. Wrapping opponents and trapping opponents is very easy, short of board design getting in the way of you getting that many bodies into the fight)</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #222222;">The final note I'll make about Uruk-Hai Scouts with shields is how well they work as tools to </span><b><span style="color: #38761d;">stall out enemy heroes</span></b><span style="color: #222222;">. There are MANY hero units who are S4 and either don't get a +1 To Wound or don't get a +1 To Wound without getting the charge/suffering a dueling penalty - and when they're on the board, you want a unit that's D5 (and ideally is NOT D6) and can defend by shielding. Why? Because an Uruk-Hai Scout with shield who defends by shielding has a roughly 56% chance (0.5556 probability) of getting a 5-high or a 6-high on his dice - and if the hero only gets a 4-high (which he might if he's a 2-Attack hero who was counting on getting more dice from his mount), the hero is faced with the difficult choice of spending Might to boost his dueling roll (assuming he has the higher Fight Value and isn't boosting to get to a roll-off) OR failing to win the fight and not contributing any kills this round. 2-Attack heroes - and even 3-Attack heroes - can be really fickle (check out my Fantasy Fellowship journey from last year for examples of whiffing rolls regularly with 3-4 Attack heroes), and when they fail, you just need a decently good roll to make things costly. All of this from a 9-point unit? I'll take that.</span></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #222222;">But this becomes even more dangerous if </span><b><span style="color: #38761d;">Saruman </span></b><span style="color: #222222;">is in your army, since he's likely forcing heroes to spend resources just to do what they want to do (moving forward, making Strikes, calling heroics) - and if an Immobilized hero is fighting an Uruk-Hai Scout who chose not to defend by shielding (since he knows he can't be wounded) and THAT Uruk-Hai Scout gets a good dueling roll (or could there be multiple Scouts in the fight? Supporting Orc spearmen?) . . . what do you do? I mean, the chance that a "lowly warrior model" wounds you can be quite real if you're not D7+ . . . do you risk it or do you boost the roll knowing that you can't wound? Even now, I don't know which I'd choose as a matter of course . . .</span></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #222222;">All of these things, by the way, are mostly true of </span><b><span style="color: #38761d;">Uruk-Hai Scout Captains</span></b><span style="color: #222222;"> as well - these guys are at least D5, but pair with it a solid profile of F5/S5 on offense and 2 Attacks/Wounds (perfectly normal) and 2 Might/1 Will/1 Fate (also perfectly normal). With C4 and Heroic March, these guys are about as normal as they come - but their normalness means a pretty normal cost (and that makes them really good). If you give them the shield (which I think is only useful if you intend for them to blunt an enemy hero by shielding - I think in all other situations the Uruk-Hai bow or the two-handed weapon is the better choice), they can be D6 and very difficult for basic warriors to deal with.</span></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><span><span style="color: #222222;">Let's pivot now to talk about the other upgrades that Uruk-Hai Scouts can take. Before the new edition, I defaulted to taking Uruk-Hai Scouts with Orc bows (yes, they were Orc bows before - and were uniformly dismissed as an inferior option to crossbows by EVERYONE except me). Why? Because </span><b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">archers are swordsmen</span></b><span style="color: #222222;"> and my crossbows were never near the action once I got engaged </span></span><span style="color: red;">(this is a really good point, and one I've been making for a decade: if you're keeping uruk archers - or any archers - far away, you are wasting potential in close combat by not having that F4 S4 (or whatever your archer's fighting stats are) that could be contributing heavily in close combat)</span><span style="color: #222222;">. Sure, S4 shots can be really good. Sure, S4 doesn't really care what your Defense stat is. Sure, a crossbow gunline can shred opponents who are forced by the scenario to walk through certain corridors. </span></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #222222;">But S4 crossbows only have to shred a player once before they know to avoid that section of the board at all costs - and unless you're playing with little to no terrain, setting up a good crossbow firing arc is incredibly hard. The mobility of the now-S3 </span><b><span style="color: #38761d;">Uruk-Hai bows</span></b><span style="color: #222222;"> is exceptional - especially if you invested in an Uruk-Hai Drum, which can give your 6" move Uruk-Hai Scouts 9" of movement (which is 4.5" of movement while still being able to shoot) - and it will give your Uruk-Hai Marauders with Uruk-Hai bows 11" of movement (which means they can move at about the same speed as any Orcs or Dunlendings/Wild Men that are in your list). Since you can stack three additional inches of movement on these archers from a Heroic March (12-14" of movement), you can actually move 6-7" with these archers while still shooting if you really want it - and that makes up for the 6" less range your Uruk-Hai bows have, but you get better positioning and your bowmen can easily switch over to being melee units if you need them to be. The only price you pay is the slightly reduced To Hit roll of a 5+ instead of the 4+ of a crossbow (assuming the crossbow has a shot in the first place).</span></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #222222;">This is even MORE lethal if you kept your army bonus and these Scouts/Marauders have </span><b><span style="color: #38761d;">Woodland Creature</span></b><span style="color: #222222;">. Being able to move through wooded terrain to gain some distance on an opponent's pursuit force (or stop in wooded terrain and take shots from behind cover) can be very frustrating for your opponent - and is something you certainly can't do with crossbows. Both Scout Legions give Woodland Creature to the Uruks in the list as well, so this strategy applies even outside of the normal Isengard list (though neither pairs this with the wait-to-test-for-breaking rule, which is just sad for the Lurtz's Scouts Legion).</span></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #222222;">Speaking of Marauders, if you buy the upgrade for your Uruk-Hai Scouts (I would ONLY buy it for Uruk-Hai Scouts with Uruk-Hai bows - not the melee guys, unless you're getting it for free in a Legion), you have the advantage of getting </span><b><span style="color: #38761d;">fast units who are F4</span></b><span style="color: #222222;"> - and as we just mentioned, this can give you a larger range of movement than the cavalry options Isengard has if you take the Drum (and a longer range than the Crebain if you March while under the influence of a Drum). A fast hero like Thrydan (or even Mauhur or Lurtz if they're under the same influences as the Marauders) will have a much better chance of arriving alive if they've got F4 bodyguards instead of F3 horsemen (who usually can't shoot - Warg Riders can take throwing spears, but they're less reliable than the Uruk-Hai bows). Crebain may be harder to kill at a distance, but they won't kill things up close (F2/S2 just isn't good unless they've managed to trap something) - Uruk-Hai Scouts are always a danger, if they can just win a fight without having to shield.</span></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span><span style="color: red; font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">(On this point, it's also worth noting that in woodland terrain your cavalry don't have anywhere close to this kind of speed: they have their speed quartered, and if I'm not mistaken your Crebain can't fly if they end in woodland terrain, so they're hopping at half speed. The fact that you can go 14" through woodland terrain means running relics back, chasing enemy skirmishers, and redeploying to threaten a banner or other softer units is far, far more reliable than your other fast attack options)</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Finally, Uruk-Hai Scouts have the advantage of being slightly cheaper than other Uruk-Hai units, which means you can get <b>an extra body or two in your list</b> than you would if you ran Uruk-Hai Warriors. This is particularly useful if you built a list that you like but ended up with an odd number of units, since one additional body would increase your break point by one and might also affect your two-thirds point and quartering point as well. This can be game-altering and once again, gives you basically everything the other guys are giving you - just with a little less Defense. You can actually buff out the model count quite a bit if you also do the Orc spearman thing, but even if you have pikes backing up Scouts, you can get a little more in there - and that's got value.</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><b><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Making It Work</span></b></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">My go-to Isengard heroes are Saruman, Grima, Thrydan, an Uruk-Hai Drummer, and Mauhur - mostly so I can get Uruk-Hai Marauders with Uruk-Hai bows. Mauhur's warband is a pack of fast archers, while Thrydan and Saruman lead a mix of Uruk-Hai Scouts (or Warriors, if I have a few points left over) and Bersekers backed by pikes. At 800 points, I have the following list (which has 40 models, 17 of which are Uruk-Hai Scouts):</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><ul><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Saruman on horse [ARMY LEADER]</span></li><ul><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">INDEPENDENT: Grima Wormtongue</span></li><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">INDEPENDENT: Uruk-Hai Drummer<br /></span></li><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">4 Uruk-Hai Scouts with shields</span></li><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">7 Uruk-Hai Warriors with pikes</span></li><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">1 Uruk-Hai Warrior with pike and banner<br /></span></li><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">4 Uruk-Hai Berserkers<br /></span></li></ul><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Mauhur</span></li><ul><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">12 Uruk-Hai Marauders with Uruk-Hai bows<br /></span></li></ul><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Thrydan Wolfsbane on horse</span></li><ul><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">1 Uruk-Hai Scout with shield</span></li><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">1 Uruk-Hai Warrior with shield</span></li><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">4 Uruk-Hai Warriors with pikes<br /></span></li><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">1 Uruk-Hai Berserker<br /></span></li></ul></ul></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">800pts, 40 models, 12 Uruk-Hai bows hitting on a 4+, 1 D6+ model, 2 cavalry + 13 fast infantry + 1 Uruk-Hai-only War Drum and 2 Might for Heroic March, 8 Might points</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span><span style="color: red; font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">I've gone a different route: this list is all muscle, low defense, purely designed to maximize your offense in close combat, albeit with a few archers just to keep the enemy from hanging back. You can run this mostly as an Ugluk's Scouts list, though you have to drop Lurtz and add some orc captains, and you have to replace the Feral Uruk-Hai with other models. It brings maximum dice (including sufficient banner support) in melee combat with plenty of bodies to make sure you have insurance against archery casualties you may or may not sustain.</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><ul style="text-align: left;"><li style="margin-left: 15px;"><span style="color: red; font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Lurtz with Shield [ARMY LEADER]<br /></span></li><ul><li style="margin-left: 15px;"><span style="color: red; font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">5 Uruk Scouts with Shields</span></li><li style="margin-left: 15px;"><span style="color: red; font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">5 Orc Warriors with Shields and Spears</span></li><li style="margin-left: 15px;"><span style="color: red; font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">1 Orc Warrior with Shield, Spear, and Banner</span></li><li style="margin-left: 15px;"><span style="color: red; font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">4 Feral Uruk-Hai</span></li></ul><li style="margin-left: 15px;"><span style="color: red; font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Ugluk</span></li><ul><li style="margin-left: 15px;"><span style="color: red; font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">4 Uruk Scouts with Shields</span></li><li style="margin-left: 15px;"><span style="color: red; font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">4 Orc Warriors with Shields and Spears</span></li><li style="margin-left: 15px;"><span style="color: red; font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">1 Orc Warrior with Shield, Spear, and Banner</span></li><li style="margin-left: 15px;"><span style="color: red; font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">3 Feral Uruk-Hai</span></li></ul><li style="margin-left: 15px;"><span style="color: red; font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Mauhur</span></li><ul><li style="margin-left: 15px;"><span style="color: red; font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">6 Uruk Marauders with Shields</span></li><li style="margin-left: 15px;"><span style="color: red; font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">6 Uruk Marauders with Uruk-Hai Bows</span></li></ul><li style="margin-left: 15px;"><span style="color: red; font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Uruk-Hai Scout Captain with Two-Handed Weapon</span></li><ul><li style="margin-left: 15px;"><span style="color: red; font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">5 Uruk Scouts with Shields</span></li><li style="margin-left: 15px;"><span style="color: red; font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">5 Orc Warriors with Shields and Spears</span></li><li style="margin-left: 15px;"><span style="color: red; font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">2 Feral Uruk-Hai</span></li></ul></ul><div><span><span style="color: red; font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">800pts, 55 models, 7 Uruk-Hai Bows hitting on a 3+ (Lurtz) and a 4+ (everyone else), 1 D6 model, 13 fast infantry and 10 Might for Heroic March, 10 Might points</span></span></div><div><span><span style="color: red; font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span><span style="color: red; font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">This list may not look like much, but it hits with 4 heroes and 9 warriors that have 2-3 Attacks, plus 16 spears (including two banners) to give even more attacks to the front lines. And with 20 uruk scouts (6 of them marauders) with shields to back them up, your front line is <i>wide</i>, and with a small number of speedy bows thrown in, you have enough (6-7) to keep your opponent honest about having to use cover and protect their heroes. And if you wanted to, you could convert more marauders to archers if you wanted more threat, but I've found that 6 or so is about right, especially if the board is terrain-heavy.</span></span></div><div><span><span style="color: red; font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span><span style="color: red; font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">But the big thing is the inclusion of almost a dozen Feral Uruk-Hai: for 13pts you get 1) Courage 5, which is <i>super </i>useful for dealing with <i>Terror </i>in case you didn't want to pay for a shaman (which I didn't want to for this army for several reasons we don't need to discuss here), 2), 2 Attacks at F4 S4, which is a bargain for those stats compared to other models in the game (which are all 15pts or more), and you get a 6+ Save against all wounds, which isn't a great Save (arguably not a save at all), but it does play psychological games with enemy heroes on whether they want to risk a Heroic Combat being botched if you roll a 6 to avoid the wound. And with spears backing them up, these guys can chew through enemy front lines with relative ease if they aren't sporting D7.</span></span></div><div style="color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><b><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Conclusion</span></b></span></div></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Well, I think we covered the topic thoroughly today. :) Hopefully you learned something new about these guys - and while they certainly can be shredded if not supported well, I rather like these guys (and definitely more so now than I did 10 years ago). Next time, Centaur takes the stage on his own to defend one of his favorite Minas Tirith units - and no, it's not Osgiliath Veterans, since <a href="https://tellmeatalegreatorsmall.blogspot.com/2022/07/in-defense-of-osgiliath-veterans.html" target="_blank">I've already done that</a>. Find out what's to like amidst all the other awesome Minas Tirith warrior choices - and until then, happy hobbying!</span></span></div>Tiberiushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01032927898313675650noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2010239046857689405.post-80866650342922040662024-01-18T12:00:00.001-05:002024-01-18T12:00:00.125-05:005 Reflections on Fantasy Fellowships (Centaur Edition)<p>Hey Reader!</p><p>So Tiberius and I just finished up Fantasy Fellowships, and I thought I'd take a few minutes to reflect on some of the mistakes I made with my fellowship, things that are useful (if not essential) to success in Fantasy Fellowships when building a fellowship, and a few final thoughts on scenario design that I'd adjust.</p><p><br /></p><p><u>1. Don't Skimp on Your Wizard</u></p><p>The nine companion slots are not created equal: skimping on, say, the Fated Companion, is not as big a deal because you don't actually use that slot very much in the campaign. And the wizard slot is one of those slots you shouldn't slouch on either, because there's a loooooot that rides on that character.</p><p>The fact that it's the primary defender on <i>Atop the Walls</i> and the linchpin in <i>The Bridge of Khazad Dum</i> (more on that scenario later) aside for a moment, the wizard slot is one of the few reliable positions for providing support for your Fellowship, and especially stat recovery (which is a huge issue in Fantasy Fellowships, as you don't always automatically reset your stats at the start of each scenario).</p><p>I used <b>Gildor</b> (proxied by my wood elf warrior, as I don't own Gildor but look forward to picking him up soon), and he's a decent fighter with 2 Attacks and F6 S4, and with 4 Will Points and a 3+ <i>Immobilize</i>, he's not a horrible caster. But he's not a great caster for this spot, as he has limited utility, limited survivability (D4 with 2 Wound 1 Fate is not good), and a limited number of Will Points.</p><p>While Gildor placed decently in <a href="https://tellmeatalegreatorsmall.blogspot.com/2023/11/fantasy-fellowship-deep-dive-optimizing.html">Tiberius's ranking</a> of eligible characters, I think you should aim for someone higher than him. He won't provide the critical punch you need in beat-down fights like <i>Balin's Tomb </i>and <i>Warg Attack</i>, he will struggle to complete mission objectives when he is the focal character, and he can be wiped out in a single round, and I'm not a fan of any of those things, :P So while I loved using him, and he's still a top five caster in my mind, if I was doing Fantasy Fellowships again, I'd probably opt to invest more in this slot - probably my boy <b>Elrond</b> if I'm honest.</p><p><br /></p><p><u><span></span></u></p><a name='more'></a><u>2. Farmer Maggot is the Bomb-Diggetty</u><p></p><p>I've said this since 2012 when I first bought this guy: <b>Farmer Maggot</b> is a BEAST. I took him as my Boon Companion (as did Tiberius), and I think that is the right call 9 times out of 10. Being able to bring four bodies (three dogs + the Giga-Chad himself) + your Ringbearer, possibly also Gollum, means you have a lot of bodies when you run the Ringbearer missions, which helps IMMENSELY with completing your mission objectives. Plus his access to S3 with a <i>Piercing Strike </i>on 2 Attacks with a two-handed weapon means you can be effectively S6, so cleaving through D8 Ringwraiths, D6 orcs, and D6 trolls is pretty easy. So offensively he's excellent.</p><p>Also the whole Courage 5 (and adding this to your dogs while Maggot is alive) solves a lot of the <i>Terror </i>issues you're likely to have throughout the campaign, with 2 Will to fix a particularly low roll if that should come up. So from a "I can hold enemies down so that the Frodo character can get away" perspective, Maggot is exceptional.</p><p>And at only 45pts, you're well costed for this position. It's hard to trim points in this slot while still being useful. As a Shire player I thought about taking <b>Farmer Tolman Cotton</b> (so that all hobbits can reroll 1s to duel within 3"), <b>Holfoot Bracegirdle</b> (for S3 with free two-handing all time, so 1 Attack with effective S5 instead of 2 Attacks at effective S6 with a -1 to duel for Maggot), and <b>Baldo Tulpenny</b> (for reliable wounds at range, as my army concept started as a heavy shooting army), but I'm glad I went with Maggot. He came in clutch in so many scenarios, and I think he's the only real auto-include in Fantasy Fellowships. Maggot for your "Sam" slot (you could place him in the Merry/Pippin slots, but I think he's best accompanying your Ringbearer).</p><p><br /></p><p><u>3. Archery Is Overrated</u></p><p>Archery in general in MESBG is very fickle, which I suspect is a feature, not a flaw, as it's designed to keep "gun line" armies from dominating the game (though some have argued that Poison-heavy Serpent Horde, Assault on Helm's Deep, and Assault on Lothlorien do gun line strategies very effectively in the game, and fair enough). That being said, quality archery can be quite effective, and you have access to that in Fantasy Fellowships.</p><p>The issue is more about deployment than mechanics: there are a lot of scenarios where fielding a host of archers doesn't actually help you. Early on, the "Sentry Missions" cause any ranged attacks to alert the wraiths to your presence, which heavily discourages archery when there's a small number of foes. By the time you reach Balin's Tomb you deploy really close up, so you don't really get chances to shoot, and when you do you're actually giving bodies to your opponent to deploy in the trapdoors (unless your archers stand on them, which is what I did). And by time you reach the end of the campaign you have a combination of needing to run models to specific places (which complicates the whole "shoot and scoot" thing) and a large volume of enemies and/or never-ending streams of enemies, so less than a half dozen shots on a given turn won't really do much to blunt the enemy's fighting power.</p><p>There's also a dearth of flexibility if you want to heavily invest in archery. Most of the best archers for Forces of Good are fragile chasses (D4 and D5 for the most part if you want 2-3 shots at S3+, with <b>Drar</b> and <b>Haldir</b> being the notable exceptions, but even with them you're looking at 2 wounds and 1 Fate, so losing a fight could be lethal), and with 1-2 Attacks in close combat for all of them except <b>Bard the Bowman</b> (and a few archers that fire once per turn like <b>Thranduil</b>, <b>Tauriel</b>, and the <b>Twin Sons of Elrond</b>), it's a tough fight when you're probably outnumbered in every scenario.</p><p>So while having some archery is good, I wouldn't build your list around it. I did this with my force (taking the <b>Twin Sons of Elrond</b>, <b>Aragorn/Strider</b> with a bow, and <b>Halbarad</b> in my force), and it didn't pay off. Not in the slightest. Save yourself some points, take a sniper if you want one, but otherwise plan on going heavier into melee prowess, or putting more points into your spellcaster (like I mentioned above).</p><p><br /></p><p><u>4. Banners are Critical</u></p><p>You are going to be down on the numbers in almost every fight, and when that happens, may I recommend bringing a banner to help you improve a low roll without spending Might. Naturally the best banners don't inflict the -1 penalty, and for heroes that's actually basically all of the banner options you have (as you can't take Frodo of the Nine Fingers, if I recall correctly, and he's unarmed so he gets a -1 penalty).</p><p>And the game actually gives you access to a lot of banners/banner effects. Halbarad, Elessar, and Boromir Captain of the White Tower all give you access to infinite 6" banner effects (as there are no Blackshield Shamans in Fantasy Fellowships to break your gear), and Mayor Will Whitfoot gives your hobbits a limited 6" banner effect as well (not a bad choice for a "Sam Slot" if you have a good fighting Ringbearer like Young Bilbo, but probably better in your "Merry Slot" for helping the four companions at the start).</p><p>And then of course there's other heroes with banner effects like Gamling (if you run a lot of Rohan heroes), Duinhir, Thorin King Under the Mountain (if you run a lot of Hobbit-era dwarves), etc., but they're more niche. But hey - if you need to save some points and still want a banner, this might be an option. As mentioned earlier I took Halbarad, and I found that having a 6" Fearless banner was <i>very </i>helpful on many occasions, and I really loved having those rerolls. Holding the Deeping Wall got a lot easier when you could post a 6" banner nearby and affect every fight near the breaching point.</p><p><br /></p><p><u>5. <i>The Bridge of Khazad Dum</i> Is Messed Up</u></p><p>On the whole I loved all of the scenarios - Atop the Walls and Osgiliath stand out as being particularly well-designed, and while I may have a few gripes with some of the early missions (the sentry rules for the Nazgul can make it hard for the Nazgul to play the scenario at all, and even more so the Dead Marsh Spectres doing random movement in the Dead Marsh later on), none stand out more to me than the <i>Bridge of Khazad Dum </i>scenario as needing a change. According to the rules, if you slay the Balrog and every other model on the board, if you don't destroy the bridge (which means you have to have a spellcaster with at least 5-6 Will, possibly more depending on how well you roll), you cannot win. </p><p>And I kind of understand why; breaking the bridge slows down the goblins following you, but last I checked the breaking of the bridge was more about stopping Durin's Bane, not about stopping the hosts of Moria. And ultimately it didn't: the goblins pursue them all the way to Lorien, where even Haldir and his men come across a few bands of them on their patrol. So I don't like these victory conditions: I think they should be adjusted, both for game play purposes (as a lot of fellowships will walk into it with no way to win) and for thematic purposes (the books and movies disagree as to what "victory" or a "draw" should look like).</p><p>And this brings us back to the issue of skimping on your wizard slot: you can't really afford to skimp on your wizard because if you do, you're literally throwing this scenario. And since not winning reduces your ability to recover lost stats, the loss of specific missions could cause issues - possibly even catastrophic issues - down the line.</p><p>So I'd make a slight change to the victory conditions: Good wins if they can destroy the bridge or slay the Balrog, Evil wins normally, and it's a Draw if the wizard and the Balrog are both slain (aka, the way it works out in the story).</p><p><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b>Conclusion</b></p><p>Fantasy Fellowships was so fun, and I'm so glad that the Middle Earth team gave us this way to play the game in <i>Quest of the Ringbearer</i>. I've really enjoyed getting to try out new heroes, reconnect with old ones, and try out some of the narrative scenarios that I've glanced over but never played. And a huge thank you to Tiberius for being my partner in this, as I had a lot of fun playing with him (and tapping his far more vast knowledge of profiles and scenario objectives, because I'm ADHD and often forget specific things, :P ). Until next time, you know where to find me,</p><p>Watching the stars,</p><p>Centaur</p><p>"(Your teacher) is a human...and is therefore blinkered and fettered by the limitations of your kind." ~ Firenze, <i>Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix</i></p>Centaurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06864036616223908725noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2010239046857689405.post-11388707466900710952024-01-15T09:00:00.121-05:002024-01-15T09:00:00.130-05:00In Defense Of: Mattocks <div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Good morning gamers,</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">A surprising number of posts in the last two rounds of this "In Defense Of" series have centered around two-handed weapons - whether it's models who have to fight two-handed (like <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://tellmeatalegreatorsmall.blogspot.com/2023/06/in-defense-of-bofur-dwarf.html&source=gmail&ust=1702050598170000&usg=AOvVaw0VQTMsiXwBVQEvOMB2FdGZ" href="https://tellmeatalegreatorsmall.blogspot.com/2023/06/in-defense-of-bofur-dwarf.html" id="m_3191692075244607152LPlnkOWALinkPreview" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank" title="https://tellmeatalegreatorsmall.blogspot.com/2023/06/in-defense-of-bofur-dwarf.html">Bofur the Dwarf</a> or Moria Blackshield Captains) or models that can fight two-handed even if they have other options (like <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://tellmeatalegreatorsmall.blogspot.com/2023/07/in-defense-of-morannon-orc-captains.html&source=gmail&ust=1702050598170000&usg=AOvVaw1z4MwYbT2XJ0xBD6M7QSbD" href="https://tellmeatalegreatorsmall.blogspot.com/2023/07/in-defense-of-morannon-orc-captains.html" id="m_3191692075244607152LPlnkOWALinkPreview_1" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank" title="https://tellmeatalegreatorsmall.blogspot.com/2023/07/in-defense-of-morannon-orc-captains.html">Morannon Orc Captains</a> - if you give them a two-handed weapon instead of a shield - or <a href="https://tellmeatalegreatorsmall.blogspot.com/2024/01/in-defense-of-mordor-trolls-and-sort-of.html" target="_blank">Mordor Trolls</a>). I've even written <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://tellmeatalegreatorsmall.blogspot.com/2023/06/in-defense-of-two-handing.html&source=gmail&ust=1702050598170000&usg=AOvVaw2VG-M6-rFfMXCCzMz0xY4r" href="https://tellmeatalegreatorsmall.blogspot.com/2023/06/in-defense-of-two-handing.html" id="m_3191692075244607152LPlnk195819" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank" title="https://tellmeatalegreatorsmall.blogspot.com/2023/06/in-defense-of-two-handing.html">an entire article talking about why two-handing can be okay</a> (ignoring models who don't suffer the dueling penalty from the discussion). Today, we're going to continue looking at the topic of two-handed weapon options by looking at an equipment choice that I've come to appreciate having here and there in my Erebor Reclaimed lists: mattocks.</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://spikeybits.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Iron-Hills-Dwarves-with-Mattocks-1.jpg?ezimgfmt=rs:600x620/rscb3/ng:webp/ngcb3" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="620" data-original-width="600" height="320" src="https://spikeybits.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Iron-Hills-Dwarves-with-Mattocks-1.jpg?ezimgfmt=rs:600x620/rscb3/ng:webp/ngcb3" width="310" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo Credit: <a href="https://spikeybits.com/2017/03/forge-worlds-new-release-lineup-revealed-5.html" target="_blank">Spikey Bits</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br />For starters, there are a handful of models that have this rather specialized kind of weapon - most of them can be found in the Erebor Reclaimed/Iron Hills factions:</span></span></div><ul style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Bofur the Dwarf (Thorin's Company)</span></li><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Iron Hills Captains (Erebor Reclaimed/Iron Hills)</span></li><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Iron Hills Dwarves (same)</span></li><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Iron Hills Goat Riders (same)<br /></span></li></ul><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">A mattock is described in Bofur's profile as being a "two-handed weapon, which can use either the Bash or Piercing Strike Special Strikes," which is neat since Bashing with a two-handed weapon makes your Bash more likely to work and getting +1 To Wound when you've raised your Strength value to improve your wounding roll is even better. There's nothing to dislike about this, right?</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Well, actually no - most competitive players (including the <a href="https://youtu.be/qx-TE-xnOSI?si=1vFJk4gvRTB-Ar-W" target="_blank">Into The West podcast team</a>) will tell you that the models look cool, but the mattock isn't worth taking. And on its face, I think they're right. However, there's more to this weapon than meets the eye - let's see why mattocks are critiqued so heavily and then we'll look at why (and more importantly how) they can be worth taking.</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><b><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></b></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><b><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Why NOT To Take Mattocks</span></b></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Our discussion of mattocks has to begin with a comparison between a mattock and a pick-hammer. If you look at the Grim Hammer profile from the Army of Thror, you'll see that a Pick-Hammer is a "hand-and-a-half weapon, which may use either the Bash or Piercing Strike Special Strikes." Wait a minute - did you say you can <i><u>choose</u></i> whether you want to use this thing one-handed or two-handed? Are you telling me that the Grim Hammers of Erebor knew how to wield things that look almost EXACTLY like the mattocks wielded by their Iron Hills brethren with one hand! Why yes, yes they could - and that's stop number one for many players (including our very own Rythbyrt): <b><span style="color: #cc0000;">there's no reason why a mattock should have to be wielded two-handed when pick-hammers are a thing</span></b>.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #222222;"><a name='more'></a></span><span style="color: #222222;">A second critique about mattocks is that two of the units that can take them (</span>Iron Hills Captains and Iron Hills Goat Riders<span>) are/can be mounted on war goats - and since both of these profiles swap their war spear for a mattock (free of charge), they are <span style="color: #990000;"><b><span>trading a weapon that could be used as a lance</span></b> <b>while mounted</b></span> (+1 To Wound if you charged that turn with no penalties to your dueling roll) <b><span style="color: #990000;">or as a spear on foot</span></b> (supporting attacks are good - especially if you're a D6 Iron Hills Goat Rider and you have a D7-8 Iron Hills Dwarf with a shield in front of you) <b><span style="color: #990000;">for a two-handed weapon</span></b> . . . why would anyone do that?</span></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #222222;">The third critique is that taking the mattock on the other Iron Hills warrior option (Iron Hills Dwarves) requires swapping the shield, which means you're </span><b><span style="color: #990000;">taking a D6 model that really should be fighting two-handed to make up for not having a shield AND is a model who doesn't have a shield to trigger the shieldwall rule anymore</span></b><span style="color: #222222;">. From experience, if you have a few of these guys in your front rank and a bunch of D7+ models around them . . . they become archery magnets like nothing else. I think for most players, getting +1 To Wound with a -1 penalty to the dueling roll is just not as good as being D7-8 and having the option of shielding.</span></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">These are all solid critiques - and if you look at most competitive lists for the Iron Hills or Erebor Reclaimed, you won't see a mattock in the list. But I think they're worth taking - not only because <a href="https://tellmeatalegreatorsmall.blogspot.com/2023/06/in-defense-of-two-handing.html" target="_blank">I think you can make two-handing work</a>, but because there are things that a few mattock-wielding Dwarves can do that you just can't get anywhere else in the Erebor Reclaimed or Iron Hills lists. Let's see what those are . . .</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><b><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Why TO take Mattocks</span></b></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #222222;">Before we jump into the main discussion about mattocks, I need to begin by saying that </span><b><span style="color: #990000;">I'm not going to talk about Bofur the Dwarf here</span></b><span style="color: #222222;"> - </span><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://tellmeatalegreatorsmall.blogspot.com/2023/06/in-defense-of-bofur-dwarf.html&source=gmail&ust=1702050598170000&usg=AOvVaw0VQTMsiXwBVQEvOMB2FdGZ" href="https://tellmeatalegreatorsmall.blogspot.com/2023/06/in-defense-of-bofur-dwarf.html" id="m_3191692075244607152LPlnk517746" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank" title="https://tellmeatalegreatorsmall.blogspot.com/2023/06/in-defense-of-bofur-dwarf.html">I've already done that</a><span style="color: #222222;"> and have nothing more to add on him (he's great, give him a go). The TL;DR on that article is that he hits hard and should have a spearman backing him up (a similar thread was pulled when talking about the Moria Blackshield Captain last time).</span></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #222222;">The second preliminary we need to cover here is that </span><b><span style="color: #990000;">I'm not going to defend the choice of a mattock on an Iron Hills Goat Rider or an Iron Hills Captain on war goat</span></b><span style="color: #222222;"> - both of these models have to trade their war spear (a weapon that is easy to get +1 To Wound without a dueling penalty) for a mattock (which gives +1 To Wound with a dueling penalty) and I agree with the greater community's wisdom in foregoing that swap here.</span></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #222222;">But I do think that </span><b><span style="color: #38761d;">mattocks are worth investing in for a few Iron Hills Dwarves and all Iron Hills Captains on foot</span></b><span style="color: #222222;">. It's unclear to me whether an Iron Hills Captain on a chariot would benefit greatly from having a two-handed weapon option, but I'm inclined to think the answer would be yes if his war spear doesn't give him a +1 To Wound on the charge . . . though one could argue that knocking someone down and doubling your dice makes the +1 To Wound a bit superfluous in most cases. Why are a few mattocks worth buying? Well, there are a few reasons for it . . .</span></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #222222;">The first is that Erebor Reclaimed (and to a much lesser degree the Iron Hills) has a LOT of </span><span style="color: #38761d;"><b>heroes</b> <b>without mount options</b></span><span style="color: #222222;">. Dwarves in general lack mounts, but there are only a handful of Dwarves in either of these factions that can take mounts (Dain, Iron Hills Captains, Thorin, Kili, Fili, and Dwalin in the Hobbit era). While these heroes are often enough for most players to have an "all mounted" hero corps, there are other perfectly good heroes who will have to wound their opponents without doubling their dice - these include big slaying heroes like Gloin, Dori, and Old Dain who all get +1 To Wound without penalties, as well as tactical heroes like Bifur, Nori, and Thorin III. When you have a hero who can't take a mount and would like to double their wounding dice against an enemy hero, it helps to have a buddy at your elbow whose sole job is to knock someone on their back before the hammer falls.</span></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">This is particularly true in the War of the Ring era Erebor Reclaimed list, where the only mounted hero option you have is the Iron Hills Captain (what with Dain getting older, Thorin/Kili/Fili dying, and Dwalin apparently being too old to ride but NOT too old to have the Venerable special rule). If you invest money on Old Dain (who is still awesome), Thorin III, Dwalin, Gloin, Nori, or Dori - all of whom are budget hitter heroes - it would be nice if they could go up against a big hero and have a chance at doubling their dice against him (or her). While two of these guys can Bash (Dori and Nori), it's far better to have that Bash be on a S4 model with 1 Attack instead of a S4 model with 3 Attacks.</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">This continues to be true if you're fielding Murin and Drar in an Iron Hills list (no mount options - and Murin's damage output goes up by a TON if he's fighting someone who's prone) or if you're fielding the War of the Ring Erebor Reclaimed heroes in the Defenders of Erebor Legendary Legion where you pick up a bunch of infantry heroes and warriors from Dale. As someone who has run this Legion a fair number of times, I can tell you that there are times when you can get an Iron Hills Goat Rider into the same fight as a hero, but most of the time, these guys are going to be embedded in a battle line . . . and you'll be better served by having an infantry model that can set up the Heroic Combat for all-but-certain success.</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #222222;">When you look at </span><b><span style="color: #38761d;">allying into other factions</span></b><span style="color: #222222;">, there are a surprising number of factions with infantry-only heroes who benefit greatly from having a good Bash model (and you can't really argue with S4 and +1 To Wound when you Bash) - Lothlorien is WOEFULLY lacking in mounted hero options, as are the Halls of Thranduil (just Thranduil and Legolas), the Survivors of Lake-town (just Bard and Gandalf), the Army of Thror (no mounted hero options), and the aforementioned Garrison of Dale - all of which can be either historical or convenient allies with either the Hobbit-era Erebor Reclaimed or the Iron Hills. Most of the other Good factions become convenient allies if you run the War of the Ring variant of Erebor Reclaimed - though if you lose your army bonus, Dain becomes a lot less useful. While you could invest in Iron Hills Goat Riders, you could also just jump for a few 11-point Iron Hills Dwarves with mattocks . . . just saying.</span></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #222222;">Mattocks don't have to be used just for Bashing though - the </span><b><span style="color: #38761d;">increased damage</span></b><span style="color: #222222;"> they bring (+1 To Wound and potentially +1 Strength with Piercing Strike) can turn even a lowly Iron Hills Dwarf into a dangerous player when there's a friend in the fight. Consider this: a S4 Iron Hills Dwarf who uses Piercing Strike (boost to S5) with a Mattock (+1 To Wound) can wound a D7 model on 5s normally, which becomes 4s after the +1 To Wound from the two-handed weapon is applied - that means every other fight that's won by an Iron Hills Dwarf with a mattock is supposed to translate into a kill against a DEFENSE 7 MODEL! That's insane if you ask me (though it's about what you expect from models with effectively S7, like Khazad Guards). </span></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #222222;">Furthermore, since Old Dain can count as a </span><b><span style="color: #38761d;">6" banner</span><span style="color: #222222;"> </span></b><span style="color: #222222;">in a pure War of the Ring Erebor Reclaimed list (and Dain, Thorin III, Brand, and Bard II count as 3" banners in the Defenders of Erebor Legendary Legion), any two-handing warriors within that banner radius (either in the banner-hero's fight or just killing other people nearby) will have a reroll on either their dueling die OR that of the spearman behind them - that greatly increases the reliability of winning fights, despite having that penalty applied. If you have a higher Fight Value, your likelihood of winning is even higher - and all you need is one good round with these guys and your heroes and you'll have severely reduced the enemy's numbers.</span></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #222222;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://images.beastsofwar.com/2017/03/IRON-HILLS-DWARF-COMMAND-WITH-MATTOCKS-381x394.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="394" data-original-width="381" height="320" src="https://images.beastsofwar.com/2017/03/IRON-HILLS-DWARF-COMMAND-WITH-MATTOCKS-381x394.jpg" width="309" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo Credit: <a href="https://www.beastsofwar.com/the-hobbit/brawling-gundabad-trolls-battle-iron-hills-dwarves-forge-world/" target="_blank">Beasts of War</a></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><b><span style="color: #38761d;">Iron Hills Captains on foot</span><span style="color: #222222;"> </span></b><span style="color: #222222;">suffer very little from swapping their war spear for a mattock, since they would only be able to lend a single die to a friendly model if they spear-supported - and while spear-supporting a F4 Dwarf with a F5 Captain could be great, it's far better if the 2-Attack F5 Captain is in the front being supported by a F4 spearman. Furthermore, since Iron Hills Captains have Master of Battle (5+), it's possible that a Heroic Combat called nearby would allow the Captain to charge into additional enemies if he's in the front rank - a spearman can't declare Heroic Combats on behalf of the model he's supporting, so you'd have to let the chance of a free Heroic Action and potentially more fallen foes pass you by . . . who wants to do that?</span></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #222222;">My last defense of the mattock is simple: </span><b><span style="color: #38761d;">when you're up against something big that you need to maul to death NOW, you don't want a S4 Iron Hills Dwarf</span></b><span style="color: #222222;">. D7-8 is great and all, but if you run afoul of a Balrog, a Mumak, or just another army of Dwarves, you NEED the two-handed weapons. Like a Shaman in an evil list, if you need this in your tool kit and you don't have it, you're going to wish you had it. It's that simple - so take a few (not a lot, but a few). There are other principles that should be followed if you're to get the most out of two-handed weapons, but I submit <a href="https://tellmeatalegreatorsmall.blogspot.com/2023/06/in-defense-of-two-handing.html" target="_blank">my previous defense of two-handing</a> as well as my discussion of <a href="https://tellmeatalegreatorsmall.blogspot.com/2021/08/unexpected-military-formations-epic.html" target="_blank">the "windmill" formation</a> for very practical thoughts on how to make this work.</span><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><b><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Making It Work</span></b></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">One of the lists we've talked about where these guys can be helpful is in the Defenders of Erebor Legendary Legion. The following list is a 700-point, 39-model list that has three Iron Hills Dwarves with mattocks to escort Bard II, Thorin III, and Bifur (the Captain of Dale isn't intended to be near the action, so he can stand near the crossbow guy instead of a spearman).</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><ul><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Thorin III Stonehelm [ARMY LEADER]</span></li><ul><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">2 Iron Hills Dwarves<br /></span></li><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">2 Iron Hills Dwarves with mattocks</span></li><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">8 Iron Hills Dwarves with spears<br /></span></li></ul><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Bifur the Dwarf, Champion of Erebor</span></li><ul><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">3 Iron Hills Dwarves<br /></span></li><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">1 Iron Hills Dwarf with mattock</span></li><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">4 Iron Hills Dwarves with spears</span></li><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">1 Iron Hills Dwarf with crossbow<br /></span></li></ul><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Bard II, Prince of Dale</span></li><ul><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">6 Warriors of Dale with Esgaroth bows<br /></span></li><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">3 Warriors of Dale with shields and spears<br /></span></li></ul><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Captain of Dale with Esgaroth bow</span></li><ul><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">5 Warriors of Dale with Esgaroth bows<br /></span></li></ul></ul></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">700pts, 39 models, 12 Esgaroth bows hitting on a 4+ AND 1 crossbow hitting on a 4+, 24 D6+ models, no fast models but 2 Might for Heroic March, 10+ Might points</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Our second list is a pure War of the Ring Erebor Reclaimed list - and the first three purchases I buy for this list are ALWAYS King Dain, an Iron Hills Captain on foot (with mattock, of course), and Bifur.</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><ul><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Dain Ironfoot, King Under the Mountain [ARMY LEADER]</span></li><ul><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">4 Iron Hills Dwarves</span></li><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">1 Iron Hills Dwarf with mattock</span></li><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">5 Iron Hills Dwarves with spears</span></li><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">4 Iron Hills Dwarves with crossbows</span></li><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">2 Iron Hills Dwarves with crossbows and spears<br /></span></li></ul><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Iron Hills Captain with Mattock</span></li><ul><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">2 Iron Hills Dwarves<br /></span></li><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">1 Iron Hills Dwarf with mattock</span></li><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">4 Iron Hills Dwarves with spears</span></li><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">2 Iron Hills Dwarves with crossbows</span></li><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">1 Iron Hills Dwarf with crossbow and spear<br /></span></li></ul><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Bifur the Dwarf, Champion of Erebor</span></li><ul><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">2 Iron Hills Dwarves</span></li><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">1 Iron Hills Dwarf with mattock</span></li><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">4 Iron Hills Dwarves with spears</span></li><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">2 Iron Hills Dwarves with crossbows</span></li><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">1 Iron Hills Dwarf with crossbow and spear<br /></span></li></ul></ul><div><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">700pts, 39 models, 12 crossbows hitting on a 4+ AND 1 thrown stone hitting on a 3+, 39 D6+ models, no fast units but 2 Might for Heroic March, 7+ Might points</span></span></div><div><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="color: black;"><b><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Conclusion</span></b></span></div></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">I will openly accept criticism from veteran Iron Hills and Erebor Reclaimed players on the inclusion of mattocks in these armies - and I am certain that I have failed to convince Rythbyrt (who very much prefers the mounted Hobbit-era heroes rather than the infantry-only War-of-the-Ring-era heroes for Erebor Reclaimed anyway - and REALLY likes Grim Hammers, who don't have this conundrum). Still, I think these guys have a place in the game (albeit a small cubby of a place) and I've enjoyed putting them on the board in small numbers to add some extra oomph to the list. </span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Next time, it's a tag-team article between me and Centaur defending one of Centaur's most beloved units: Uruk-Hai Scouts. Often overshadowed by other Uruk-Hai models, these guys are usually seen in their Legendary Legions and are noticeably absent from generic Isengard lists. Their Captain equivalents will also be showing up, as will their Feral cousins. Join us next time for a grand old Isengard discussion - and until then, happy hobbying!</span></span></div>Tiberiushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01032927898313675650noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2010239046857689405.post-53601733658141897312024-01-08T09:00:00.105-05:002024-01-08T09:00:00.129-05:00In Defense Of: Moria Blackshield Captains<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Good morning gamers,</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Last week I tried to give a passionate defense of <a href="https://tellmeatalegreatorsmall.blogspot.com/2024/01/in-defense-of-mordor-trolls-and-sort-of.html" target="_blank">Mordor Trolls</a> (and who knows if I succeeded in making them look good), but today we're turning to yet another unloved model: the Moria Blackshield Captain. Moria has lots of great heroes, ranging from powerful monsters (like the Balrog and the Watcher in the Water) to puny-but-cheap/functional heroes, like Moria Blackshield Shamans and Durburz. Among the host of options available to Moria is a model that looks really cool but . . . well, just falls shy of the mark for most people - which is a shame, because he's actually really good. Join me today as we walk through what's so great about the Moria Blackshield Captain . . . but first, we gotta talk about the critiques this guy gets (in general, the comments are fair critiques) . . .</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><b><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></b></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><b><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Why NOT To Take Moria Blackshield Captains</span></b></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #222222;">If the Moria Blackshield Captain were the only generic Captain option for Moria, that would be one thing, but Moria has two generic heroes who can lead 12 troops and have Heroic March: Moria Blackshield Captains and </span><b><span style="color: #990000;">Moria Goblin Captains</span></b><span style="color: #222222;">. Without any additional gear, the Blackshield Captain costs 10pts more and has +1 Defense (which is mitigated if the Moria Goblin Captain takes a shield - which not everyone does), has +1 Courage (bringing him up to C4 innately and C5 if there's a drum around), and gains the Hatred (Dwarf) special rule (+1 To Wound against Dwarves - which can be awesome, more on this later).</span></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.warhammer-community.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/KoKRpJ3XEgULdckv.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="800" height="320" src="https://www.warhammer-community.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/KoKRpJ3XEgULdckv.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo Credit: <a href="https://www.warhammer-community.com/2022/03/17/warriors-of-moria-and-lake-town-return-to-the-middle-earth-strategy-battle-game/" target="_blank">Warhammer Community</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br />One of these boosts is free - but the benefits of all of these boosts are highly situational. Being D6 is generally a good thing for a hero (many warriors will wound you on 6s - as will most shooting attacks), but it isn't very good if you're up against another hero, who probably wounds you on 5s (if not 4s if he gets +1 To Wound). Being C4 is also good - but only marginally better than being C3 (and if C4 is good enough, than a Moria Goblin Captain within range of a Moria Goblin Drum is going to be C4 as well). Furthermore, both of these hero options can automatically pass any Courage tests they need to take if they're within 6" of a Moria Goblin Shaman who has cast Fury or if they are within 12" of the Balrog . . . so the Courage thing might be moot.</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #222222;"><a name='more'></a></span><span style="color: #222222;">The most situational of these boosts is definitely the </span><b><span style="color: #990000;">Hatred (Dwarf)</span></b><span style="color: #222222;"> rule, which is great if there are a) Dwarves actually on the table, and b) they are the kind of Dwarves that a F3 hero can actually beat. There are ways for a Moria Blackshield Captain's Fight Value to go up, but he has no Heroic Strike in his profile (honestly, I wouldn't mind if he traded March for Strike and be more like a Knight of the White Tower from the Minas Tirith list), so if you're going to be on-par or worse than the Fight Value of a Dwarf (all of which are at least F4), you're going to need to be very mindful of your positioning.</span></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #222222;">But the starting </span><b><span style="color: #990000;">Fight Value of 3</span></b><span style="color: #222222;"> is a problem against more than just Dwarves - in most situations, purchasing a hero (even a generic one) means you should have a higher Fight Value than the basic troops the enemy has (unless your core units are basic and your opponent's units are elite), and one would think that a hero who is clearly designed for chopping up the enemy would have a good Fight Value to go with it . . . well this guy does not. This guy just doesn't seem to have anything going for him . . . but it gets worse . . .</span></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #222222;">A final reason why most players favor the Moria Goblin Captain over the Moria Blackshield Captains is because of their war gear. The Goblin Captain begins with a one-handed sword and can take a shield (which not everyone does) or an Orc bow (which basically nobody does), while the Moria Blackshield Captain starts with a two-handed sword and has no one-handed option available to him. Yes, </span><b><span style="color: #990000;">he must always fight two-handed</span></b><span style="color: #222222;">. We'll talk about this more later, but for many players, the requirement to fight two-handed makes this hero (and certain other heroes, like Grimbold and Balin the Dwarf, Champion of Erebor) just not as good as other hero options that don't have to suffer a dueling penalty.</span></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">So are the nay-sayers right? Is this guy doomed to be the only member of the Blackshield blister to not have a reason to grace the table (assuming you like the mobile nature of the Blackshield Drum and are okay with paying extra for substitute drummers or just not having substitutes around)? I don't think so - I actually like having this guy on the table. Here's why . . .</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><b><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Why TO take Moria Blackshield Captains</span></b></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #222222;">I'm going to begin with the critique about having to fight two-handed first because I think it will frame the discussion that's coming really well. The defense here boils down to one thing: </span><b><span style="color: #38761d;">fighting two-handed is okay . . . if you have lots of dice</span></b><span style="color: #222222;">. I won't go into the math here - <a href="https://tellmeatalegreatorsmall.blogspot.com/2023/06/in-defense-of-two-handing.html" target="_blank">I've already done that</a> - but believe me when I say that in all the years I've played SBG, I've become more and more convinced that two-handing just gets a bad wrap from players in the community. I roll plenty of 1s and 2s with dice that are two-handing - and most of the time when I roll that badly, I'm losing that fight whether I two-handed or not. That's just the game we play. I've been using a few heroes who either can fight two-handed with a penalty or <i>have </i>to fight two-handed with a penalty lately - these heroes include:</span></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><ul style="color: #222222;"><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><b>3-Attack Uber-Uruk-Hai Captain</b> from the Assault Upon Helm's Deep list (if you give him and use a two-handed weapon, which I do)</span></li><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><b>2-Attack Bofur the Dwarf</b> from Thorin's Company (for the first half of my Fantasy Fellowship journey last year, he had to fight two-handed - then he got a shiny dagger from Galadriel and I basically didn't two-hand anymore with him)</span></li><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><b>3-Attack Khamul the Easterling, Nazgul of Dol Guldur</b> (who is AWESOME in the Rise of the Necromancer Legion, no matter what anyone else says)</span></li><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><b>3-Attack Thorin III Stonehelm</b> from the War of the Ring era Erebor Reclaimed list (who has a hand-and-a-half pick)</span></li><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><b>3-Attack Thorin Oakenshield</b> (from Thorin's Company - though this also applies to Thorin Oakenshield, King Under the Mountain from Erebor Reclaimed) fighting two-handed <b>with Orcrist</b></span></li></ul><div style="color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Do you know what the best thing is about fighting two-handed? The more difficult part of the fight (the wounding roll) becomes much easier - and so long as your opponent doesn't get a 6, you don't really NEED to get a 6 yourself if your Fight Value is good (and sometimes you don't even need a good Fight Value)! All you have to do is out-dice the other guy (and it helps if your Fight Value is higher too).</span></span></div><div style="color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Moria Blackshield Captains don't have great Fight Value innately, but it's not hard for them to roll a lot of dice. If they have a spear-supporter (+1 Attack with no penalty to its highest roll) and are within range of a drum (1 reroll on any Goblin die that's been rolled), suddenly you have four base dice (roughly 50% chance of getting a natural 6 on at least one of those dice and a roughly 80% chance of getting a 5+ on at least one of those dice), which is good enough to beat anyone who gets a 1-3 and depending on which die gets what roll, it may even be enough to beat a 4 or 5 high - REGARDLESS of the enemy Fight Value in play.</span></span></div><div style="color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #222222;">Furthermore, the penalty of fighting two-handed is pretty easily remedied if you </span><b><span style="color: #38761d;">save your Might for boosting your dueling rolls</span></b><span style="color: #222222;">. If you plan to call Heroic Combats with these heroes, think again - you want them to save their Might to boost their rolls so that a) they can win what would have been a narrow loss to a grunt, or b) force an enemy hero to either burn Might themselves OR face the added pain that comes from fighting two-handed. Moria Blackshield Captains may not look great on paper, but S4 with +1 To Wound while fighting two-handed is enough to make even a D8 hero concerned.</span></span></span></div><div style="color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #222222;">But it gets even better if that hero is also a Dwarf! Since </span><b><span style="color: #38761d;">Hatred</span></b><span style="color: #222222;"> (+1 To Wound) stacks with the bonus you get from fighting two-handed (+1 To Wound), a Moria Blackshield Captain is a credible threat to any Dwarf, since he'll wound D7-8 Dwarves on 4s (which is basically everyone), D9 Dwarves on a 4/2+ (Durin, Thror, Vault Warden Foe Shields, and situationally King's Champions and Iron Hills Captains in shieldwall), and those rare D5-6 Dwarves on 3s (Floi, Vault Warden Foe Spears, Dwarf Rangers, Iron Guard, and Dwarf Warriors/Iron Hills Dwarves without shields) - sheesh, they make it look easy. Lest you think this is limited to Dwarves, this guy can wound any D7-8 model on 5s, any D5-6 model on 4s, and any D3-4 model on 3s JUST with the two-handed weapon - and for only 45pts, this guy looks like a dangerous chap if he can just win his duel.</span></span></span></div><div style="color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #222222;">Of course, to actually wound these targets, they need to win the duel - and for this, there are several strategies they can employ. The first, of course, is to have a </span><b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Drum </span></b><span style="color: #222222;">nearby and a </span><b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">spear-supporter</span></b><span style="color: #222222;"> in their fight. We've already talked about this above, so I won't elaborate more. The second thing they can do is have a </span><b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Bat Swarm</span></b><span style="color: #222222;"> handy, who not only brings more dice to the fight, but also halves the Fight Value of whoever is fighting the Blackshield Captain (rounding down). This means that your opponents will need to reach F8 to be better than your base F3 - and will need to reach F10 to be better than F4, which you can reach by a) keeping the Moria army bonus and fighting a model who is trapped, b) fighting within 3" of Groblog on a turn when he gets a 4+ on his Mithril Crown roll, or c) fighting within 6" of the Balrog in the Depths of Moria Legendary Legion. Any one of these conditions will lead to your Captain being F4 - which is good enough to force basically every hero in the game with Heroic Strike to call a Heroic Strike against you if there's a Bat in the fight . . . yes, they need to Strike against a <i><u>Blackshield Captain</u></i> instead of whatever big nasty is in your list (be it a Balrog, Dragon, or the Watcher in the Water) . . .</span></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #222222;">But it gets better - because if you run a pure Moria list, you can have Groblog AND the Moria army bonus, which means your opponents will have to reach F10 just to TIE your Fight Value, not beat it - and if you have a 40mm base flying model engaged in the same fight, your opponent can be trapped quite easily! To get this maneuver to work, you'll need to have your Blackshield Captain </span><b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">fighting models who are capping off the enemy battle lines or who have drifted away from their shieldwall</span></b><span style="color: #222222;"> - </span><b><span style="color: #990000;">don't try to rush into the center of a shieldwall</span></b><span style="color: #222222;"> UNLESS you can get someone onto the other side of the fight. Since you won't be calling a Heroic Combat with this guy, you might be able to Combat someone else around in order to force the trap. These guys will be capped at F4 in the Balrog Legion, but you'll have a Balrog with you, so the Heroic-Combat-To-Hurl on the previous turn thing is probably guaranteed to happen if you're patient with the approach.</span></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #222222;">Viewing the offensive profile of the Blackshield Captain in this list highlights something really cool about this guy: in many respects, </span><b><span style="color: #38761d;">he's basically a weaker-but-cheaper Cave Troll</span></b><span style="color: #222222;">! F6 he is not, but with a little help, he doesn't need to be. S6 with +1 To Wound he is not - unless he's fighting Dwarves, in which case he functionally is! 3 Attacks without a dueling penalty is way better than 2 Attacks with a dueling penalty, but a drum and a spearman can sort that right out. C4 might not be that much better than C3, but C5 (Captain + Drum) is definitely good. While Cave Trolls are awesome, they can't lead warbands - and if you only have the money for one Cave Troll and want two, you might want to look at having one of these guys lead your Cave Troll into battle and work close by as his "little brother in crime." This is my go-to when fielding this guy - have a Cave Troll around to distract all the aggro while this guy deals punishment to people.</span></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #222222;">If you're concerned about having the -1 penalty to your dueling roll, there are a few different things you can do to mitigate its impact (besides just throwing more dice in his fight). The first thing you can do, of course, is </span><b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">save all your Might for boosting dueling rolls</span></b><span style="color: #222222;">. Back when I got started playing MESBG, this was one of the few things you could actually use Might for - there were only three heroic actions (Move, Shoot, and Combat) and so if you weren't going to be calling any of those, you could boost your dueling/shooting rolls, your wounding rolls, your Fate saves, your Courage tests, and maybe a casting/resisting roll if you had magic or if your opponent did. That was it (basically). With MESBG the way it is now, it often feels like a waste to have a hero whose best use of Might is to "win the dueling roll," but I gotta say, Moria usually has other pieces that can do the other things for you - having one guy whose job is to just win fights and make sure whoever's on the other side doesn't walk away from the encounter is just fine.</span></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #222222;">Your second option is to </span><b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">pair a Moria Blackshield Captain with a Moria Blackshield Shaman</span></b><span style="color: #222222;"> (or two) - the mere presence of these guys on a battlefield can scare off heroes with only 1 weapon and limited Will points from coming anywhere close to someone who can deal them a nasty blow. While there are certainly Dwarf heroes who aren't afraid of becoming unarmed (either because they have an endless supply of weapons or because they have rules that say they never count as being unarmed), there are MANY heroes across ALL the factions who have a single weapon - and if they have it Shattered, they'll be suffering a -1 penalty as well. When cast against warriors (who generally can't resist spells and probably only have one weapon on them), this can soften up a part of the enemy battle line for the Captain to cut a quick hole through - especially if he's got a spearman/drum supporting him. If you think Shattering the weapons of warriors is beneath a Blackshield Shaman, you could always go the Tremor route too - fighting a prone foe is also good for a Blackshield Captain.</span></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #222222;">Finally, you can always say, "</span><b><span style="color: #38761d;">eh, it's just a 45-point Captain</span></b><span style="color: #222222;"> - he doesn't need to perform like <pick your favorite more expensive hero>." At the end of the day, how much can you really expect a sub-50-point hero to do? If he kills 3-4 warriors on one flank, will he have done his share? If the Balrog is tanking all of the big units of the enemy and all that's left in front of this guy and his Cave Troll friend are warriors, can they have done their part if they just take care of a single warband? I think so . . .</span></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #222222;">The last thing I wanted to cover is </span><b><span style="color: #38761d;">using a Moria Blackshield Captain as your army leader</span></b><span style="color: #222222;">. If you're running pure Moria, you have quite the array of Heroes of Fortitude - and they can all bring different things to the table. </span><b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Druzhag </span></b><span style="color: #222222;">can make Spiders and Bats hit harder (and if you're willing to risk their immediate death, he can even make a Wild/Fell Warg pretty beastly), </span><b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Ashrak </span></b><span style="color: #222222;">can upgrade spiders to be really powerful wounding machines, </span><b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Moria Goblin Captains</span></b><span style="color: #222222;"> can call Heroic Marches (they're your real option for March in the list), and </span><b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Moria Blackshield Captains</span></b><span style="color: #222222;"> can deal good damage (if they can win the fight). </span><b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Groblog </span></b><span style="color: #222222;">would appear to be the best choice for your army leader, but he tends to want to be near the action so his Mithril Crown rule can help bolster the Fight Value of your Goblins (especially those who are fighting in a battle line and are unlikely to be fighting against trapped opponents) and that can mean he's exposed. </span></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Instead of putting Groblog in that role, put a Blackshield Captain there - he can afford to wait to get into the action until some Might on the other side has been spent, his resilience is as good as Groblog's (and arguably better than the others), and if you have to count his kills, you'll get far more out of him than any of those other guys. Additionally, Groblog can hang out WITH the Captain to bolster his Fight Value and potentially lend a Heroic Strike (and two penalty-free dice) to the same fight. For 45pts, I think you can fit this guy into any pure Moria list you're building. Let's take a look at some lists to wrap this up . . .</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><b><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Making It Work</span></b></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Our first stop is a 500pt pure Moria list with the Watcher in the Water - the Watcher and Cave Drakes are monster heroes who can't be your army leader, which means you can do the Fortitude spam thing and get a bunch of models with some hitting power from someone who isn't worth victory points. While some players swear up and down by Cave Drakes, I like the surprise and tactical play (or should I say tentacle play?) that you can get from the Watcher. For more on how this works, you should actually check out <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://againstalloddsmesbg.blogspot.com/2022/12/who-watches-watcher-using-and-defeating.html&source=gmail&ust=1701308473334000&usg=AOvVaw2reGrZzFEx3Xigyw0UXRph" href="https://againstalloddsmesbg.blogspot.com/2022/12/who-watches-watcher-using-and-defeating.html" id="m_2234502277748741206LPlnkOWALinkPreview" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank" title="https://againstalloddsmesbg.blogspot.com/2022/12/who-watches-watcher-using-and-defeating.html">Sharbie's blog</a> - this is his weird-looking-baby, after all (though I doubt heavily that he'd ever run this list . . . challenge issued, though):</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><ul><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Groblog</span></li><ul><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">5 Moria Goblin Warriors with shields</span></li><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">5 Moria Goblin Warriors with spears</span></li></ul><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Moria Blackshield Captain [ARMY LEADER]</span></li><ul><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">4 Moria Goblin Warriors with shields</span></li><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">5 Moria Goblin Warriors with spears</span></li><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">1 Bat Swarm<br /></span></li></ul><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Moria Goblin Captain</span></li><ul><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">4 Moria Goblin Warriors with shields</span></li><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">4 Moria Goblin Warriors with spears</span></li></ul><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Watcher in the Water<br /></span></li></ul></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">500pts, 32 models, D6 tentacles hitting on a 3+, 3 D6+ models, no fast models but 2-4 Might for Heroic March, 8 Might points</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Our second stop is the Depths of Moria Legendary Legion - and this happens to be a no-Shaman variant, which relies on the Balrog and a bunch of Prowlers to do the heavy-hitting, while the Blackshield Captain and the vanilla Captain handle the flanks around the Balrog. With most of the enemy's focus being directed against the Balrog and his F4 two-handing cronies, it's easy for this guy to get ignored and get in some damage in more manageable fights.</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><ul><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">The Balrog [ARMY LEADER]</span></li><ul><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">8 Moria Goblin Prowlers</span></li><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">8 Moria Goblin Warriors with spears</span></li></ul><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Moria Goblin Captain</span></li><ul><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">2 Moria Goblin Prowlers</span></li><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">2 Moria Goblin Warriors with spears</span></li><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">6 Moria Goblin Warriors with Orc bows</span></li><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">2 Moria Goblin Drummers with Moria Goblin Drum<br /></span></li></ul><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Moria Blackshield Captain</span></li><ul><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">4 Moria Goblin Warriors with shields</span></li><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">5 Moria Goblin Warriors with spears<br /></span></li></ul></ul><div><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">700pts, 40 models, 6 Orc bows hitting on a 5+ AND 10 throwing daggers hitting on a 4+, 12 D6+ models, 1 cavalry and 5 Might for Heroic March, 7 Might points</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: black;"><b><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Conclusion</span></b></span></div></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">If you don't like models that need to two-hand, I can understand if you're not convinced - but if you're a Moria player and you happen to have one of these guys lying around, I'd highly recommend you give him a try. Manage your expectations, use him where he'll be able to get good matchups, and for goodness sake, have a spearman nearby to help him out. </span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">In our next article, we'll be hopping over to the Iron Hills and Erebor and taking a look at a piece of wargear that basically everyone says is worthless (especially my fellow admin, Rythbyrt): Mattocks. While there are clearly situations where this is not a good choice for your war gear, I think these things have a place - even if they should function like the Pick-hammers that Grim Hammers carry. Find out what's to like about these things next time - and until then, happy hobbying!</span></span></div>Tiberiushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01032927898313675650noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2010239046857689405.post-3780150669477467532024-01-04T09:00:00.088-05:002024-01-08T18:14:11.011-05:00Preventing Burnout and the 2024 TMAT Release Schedule <span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Good morning gamers,</span><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Okay, I'm a guy who writes articles for the internet - I'm allowed to make click-bait titles and not apologize for them. Usually the first Thursdays are formation posts, but as this is the first week of the new year, I wanted to do a quick review of the posts we did last year to give some perspective on what to expect from this blog during 2024. The TL;DR is simple - <b>I'm cutting back a bit on my writing on this blog this year</b>.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><b><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">2023 In Review</span></b></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">From January through November, we had an article released every Monday (including taking scenario participants from the various sourcebooks into Matched Play, some In Defense Of articles, a few Back to Basics articles, a new Nemesis series, and Rythbyrt emerged from the woodwork to continue his long-running Armies of MESBG series - including some anti-Angmar articles) and every Thursday (which covered a TON of different topics, but included formation articles, FAQ reviews, rules changes I'd make, and some math articles on optimizing your Fantasy Fellowships . . . and updates on the Minas Tirith/Osgiliath project). These articles alone were almost 100 articles written last year.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://cdn3.whatculture.com/images/2015/03/The-Lord-Of-The-Rings-Crying-Aragorn-600x338.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="338" data-original-width="600" height="180" src="https://cdn3.whatculture.com/images/2015/03/The-Lord-Of-The-Rings-Crying-Aragorn-600x338.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>What you look like after writing close to 100 articles every Monday and Thursday (and every other Saturday - more on that next) for a year . . .</i></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">During this same time, we had articles coming out every other Saturday on Fantasy Fellowships - both deep-dive analyses of what your models actually need to be able to do in the various missions you'll have, but also reviewing how my Fantasy Fellowship (the Erebor Reunion) did in their missions. Some of these missions were incredibly close and others were over very quickly (one way or another), but all in all, it was quite fun.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Then in December, we did a "Christmas List" series where we here at TMAT and various other content creators from across the globe contributed army lists that they'd been playing this year and really enjoyed (for whatever reason - competitive success, fun to play, wacky idea finally realized, you get the idea). I am both incredibly humbled that the guys who participated actually wanted to be part of this little blog's life, but equally amazed at the generosity and sense of unity that complete strangers can have just because of a hobby they both do. The lists are great - if you haven't checked them out yet, you really should!</span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://img.wattpad.com/018f8ba6a6d8e9996ed25dcd67f57d5c192f078a/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f6d7a5431345334556a36674a66513d3d2d3636323037363439322e313536636463383861306161623032633830383738323834383535372e676966" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="202" data-original-width="436" height="148" src="https://img.wattpad.com/018f8ba6a6d8e9996ed25dcd67f57d5c192f078a/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f6d7a5431345334556a36674a66513d3d2d3636323037363439322e313536636463383861306161623032633830383738323834383535372e676966" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">To Harry, Dan, Sam, Mitchell, Markus, Matt, and the TMAT crew (and all the other guys who wanted to help out but were too swamped with work) - you guys are truly the best!</td></tr></tbody></table><br />All told, this gave us a grand total of 139 posts in 2023 . . . or put differently, more than one article every three days. That's . . . a lot of writing. Not all of it was me writing (especially in December), but I did write the lion's share of them. <a href="https://tellmeatalegreatorsmall.blogspot.com/2023/05/five-things-i-love-about-mesbg-because.html" target="_blank">One of the articles I wrote last year</a> was about things I appreciated about MESBG more because my son got me into Star Wars Legion - and while my opinions about Legion have improved since then (and most of the critiques in that article aren't held as strongly by myself anymore), I did decide that - Legion noob though I am - I really do want to start putting up more Star Wars content for both Legion and Imperial Assault on our alternate channel (which you can find <a href="https://wretchedhivearmada.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">here</a>). To do this, I need to cut back here because if I don't, I'm going to burn out. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><b><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><span><a name='more'></a></span>Fighting Burnout in 2024</span></b></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">One of the biggest causes of burnout in content creation has got to be <b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">the demand of the schedule</span></b> - which my wife loves to inform me is a burden I place on myself . . . and I know this all too well. But I am my harshest critic and I want to make myself happy, so to make sure that I have the time that I need to do a good job on the articles I have planned out, I'm cutting back on the schedule a bit for this upcoming year.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">For starters, <b>every Monday is still going to be a posting day</b> - I've already got most of the main series articles projected out for the rest of the year (and a good chunk of those are already written). So Monday's are still going to be content days for us and I think you'll like the articles we have planned for this year.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Thursdays are also going to be content days, but I'm going to be moving to <b>every other Thursday instead of every Thursday</b>. This is in part because . . . I don't have all the ideas fleshed out for Thursday posts this year and I don't want to force content where none exists. But I'm also doing it so I can write <b>an article every other week on Star Wars Legion </b>based on what I've been learning (both by playing and by soaking up as much knowledge as I can from various content providers on YouTube) and <b>wrap up some articles that have been sitting in the backlog for Star Wars Imperial Assault</b> as well. Please note though: I will definitely make exceptions to the every-other-week schedule for posts about the armies I considered taking to tournaments and the most recent FAQ update if I need to.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Finally, <b>the only content you'll see on Saturdays is any podcast material</b> that Rythbyrt releases <b>as well as tournament announcements</b>. As great as our Fantasy Fellowship campaign was last year, Centaur and I are taking a break from it this year (though we do have a scenario project that we're working on this year - be watching for that in a future Thursday post). With this plan, I think I can keep from burning out and really enjoy the articles I'm planning to write.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">But the other main cause of burnout has got to be <b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">losing focus on why you're doing what you're doing</span></b>. Ultimately, I write articles on the internet because there are people like you who are reading what I'm writing and hopefully you reach the end and think, "that was useful." If you do find what we do here useful, drop us a note here or on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/tmatsbg" target="_blank">Facebook </a>so we know what's important to you as a reader. :) I don't write just because we get comments, but it sure helps.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><b><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Conclusion</span></b></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">So all that to say, we're still here and we're still writing content because we still love the game - we're just going to be posting once every four or five days instead of every three days. :) While our content is going to be reduced a little here at TMAT, we'll still be getting content out to you - and if there are things you'd like us to cover, please let us know! Until next time, happy hobbying!</span></div>Tiberiushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01032927898313675650noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2010239046857689405.post-85394963291935259682024-01-01T09:00:00.182-05:002024-01-01T09:00:00.128-05:00In Defense Of: Mordor Trolls (and sort of Isengard Trolls)<div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Good morning gamers,</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">First off, happy new year! Or, for you math-heads out there . . .</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQ0CdR9Ly9s4j9ZNc8KLP-tvVBC8Csudr97CLb8hFHBqBlL1KYdTmEGcbTfR-DYqU1b-0Y&usqp=CAU" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="240" data-original-width="210" height="240" src="https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQ0CdR9Ly9s4j9ZNc8KLP-tvVBC8Csudr97CLb8hFHBqBlL1KYdTmEGcbTfR-DYqU1b-0Y&usqp=CAU" width="210" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Golly, I love math . . . I know, I have a problem . . .</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br />We're back in our In Defense Of series for the next few weeks and I wanted to start off with what has become one of my favorite Mordor units: the Mordor Troll. If you ask basically any competitive player, they will tell you that these models are just not worth taking - which is a real shame, because they have been available in both of the starter sets since the MESBG revamp and are highly customizable models (not to mention that Mordor/Isengard Trolls can be fielded in three army lists, as well as three Legendary Legions - yes, there are three of them, check my work if you like).</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.warhammer-community.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/IyyZj53iHBk4uxXM.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="800" height="320" src="https://www.warhammer-community.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/IyyZj53iHBk4uxXM.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo Credit: <a href="https://www.warhammer-community.com/2023/06/22/middle-earth-strategy-battle-game-quail-before-the-army-of-gothmog/" target="_blank">Warhammer Community</a><br />Also, don't miss the weapon swaps on all the Orcs . . .</td></tr></tbody></table><br />There are a wealth of reasons why these models are discouraged from competitive play and today, we begin the year with the impossible task of trying to provide a counter-perspective to . . . basically everyone in the community, including me from a year ago (though I don't know that this will be as hard of a sell as defending <a href="https://tellmeatalegreatorsmall.blogspot.com/2022/07/in-defense-of-osgiliath-veterans.html" target="_blank">Osgiliath Veterans</a>) . . . so in typical Tiberius style, let's get into it!</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><b><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></b></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><b><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Why NOT To Take Mordor Trolls</span></b></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Any discussion of Mordor Trolls has to begin with a discussion about <b><span style="color: #990000;">Mordor Troll Chieftains</span></b> - Mordor Trolls are warrior models, which means they don't have heroic stats (Might, Will, Fate) and since they're expensive warrior models, they will cost more than heroes who have heroic stats AND won't have heroic stats themselves. As great as the Mordor Troll's profile is (F7/S7/3 Attacks on offense, D7/3 Wounds on Defense - and Courage 4, which is pretty good for a monster), most Strike heroes can get above F7 reliably (or at least to F7), they can roll 3+ Attack dice (especially if there are multiple models that charged the Troll), and dealing 3 wounds to a trapped monster isn't that hard - and for some heroes, the trap isn't even necessary. It's in times like these, that you really want the 2-Might-and-Strike of the Troll Chieftain (who has all the same stats as a Mordor Troll, except that he has 2 Might, 1 Will, 1 Fate, Defense 8, and Heroic Strike/Strength - all of which are/can be incredibly useful).</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><span><a name='more'></a></span>Second (and still on the topic of Troll Chieftains), <b><span style="color: #990000;">the cost of a Mordor Troll plus a cheap Hero of Fortitude</span></b> in any Mordor list is likely to cost MORE than the cost of a Troll Chieftain. If the Troll gave you most of the Chieftain's fighting power but costed less when fielded with an Orc Captain of some kind, you might have an argument for fielding the Mordor Troll + captain instead . . . but that just isn't the case. There are things that Mordor Trolls can do that Mordor Troll Chieftains can't (more on that in the next section), but if points are at a premium, it's probably more efficient to just buy a Chieftain than to buy an Orc hero AND a Mordor Troll. Unless you're playing with the Army of Gothmog or an Isengard list/Legion, you'll always have access to a Mordor Troll Chieftain . . . so why not just take the Chieftain?</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Third, if you're looking for a big brawler piece, your </span><b style="font-family: trebuchet;"><span style="color: #990000;">base size</span></b><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"> matters a lot. 60mm bases are pretty common for big monsters in MESBG (my beloved Balrog has one, as do Ents, Eagles, Shelob, Gulavhar, the Spider Queen, and Mordor Trolls/Chieftains), but with 6" movement AND a large base size, the typical situation a Mordor Troll will find himself in is that he will a) move towards the enemy line very predictably, b) charge or be charged, and c) be stuck in that general area for the rest of the game. This makes the learning curve of actually USING Mordor Trolls on the table quite steep - whether that's a Mordor Troll or a Mordor Troll Chieftain (or a Balrog, actually).</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Finally, any time you invest in a big monster, there's a good chance that your opponent might grab his handy-dandy <b><span style="color: #990000;">Heroic Defense</span> </b>caddy to run right up to the Troll and say, "I see your F7 and I raise you a wound-me-only-on-natural-6s". Since the Mordor Troll is a warrior, the fact that these wounds need to be natural rolls isn't a big deal, but the fact that these wounds need to be on 6s instead of the likely 3s with Rend is . . . kind of a bummer. There are tons of cheap Heroic Defense heroes out there for both Good and Evil - and if your 100pt monster is tied up by a 50-70pt Defense hero for several turns, you do feel like you've wasted some investment there . . . and that assumes that you don't LOSE a fight to the Heroic Defense hero and take some damage.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">A similar strategy could be employed by using an <b><span style="color: #990000;">Immobilize/Transfix spell caster</span></b> - anyone who can cast either of these spells on a 2+ or 3+ against a model that can't resist them has the potential to stall out a good lump of points away from the action (or worse still, who is in the MIDDLE of the action but can't move and can't make Strikes if engaged). If that caster is a Ringwraith or a wizard and can keep this up for a long time . . . I mean, even a single Will point would have been awesome, am I right?</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">This critique is pretty condemning if you ask me - and for a long time, these were the reasons I avoided Mordor Trolls. After picking up the Battle for Pelennor Fields box set (my son Gorgoroth got the Evil models from that one) and more recently the Battle of Osgiliath box set (I kept all those models because I'm greedy), and after buying a used Troll and giving actual Mordor Trolls (not Chieftains) a try . . . I gotta say, I've come a long ways from where I was a year or two ago. So let's take a second look at these guys and see what's to like about them and why they're so good to have in <i>certain</i> Mordor builds . . .</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><b><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Why TO take Mordor Trolls</span></b></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">If you're expecting me to say that every Mordor, Barad-Dur, and Isengard list should take at least one Mordor/Isengard Troll, you're going to be deeply disappointed. The critiques we've leveled against them are all true - and in certain list builds, I will happily admit these guys are just not going to do enough for you. However, we need to look at the unique roles that a Mordor Troll can fill in a Mordor list. Note: I won't be applying most of my thoughts directly to Isengard Trolls, but some of the comments I make about Mordor Trolls will apply to Isengard Trolls too - and I'll specifically talk about these guys at the end.</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Before we delve too deep, let's do a quick review of the <b><span style="color: #38761d;">three ways Mordor Trolls can be fielded</span></b>: they can be run "<b><span style="color: #38761d;">vanilla</span></b>" for 100 points, they can be given a <b><span style="color: #38761d;">War Drum</span></b> (that affects all "Mordor" models - or "Isengard" models for Isengard Trolls) for 130 points, or as part of a <b><span style="color: #38761d;">Mordor War Catapult</span></b> - yes, the Mordor War Catapult profile on page 123 of the Armies of the Lord of the Rings book says that the siege engine is crewed by "three Orc Warriors with armor and sword, and a Mordor Troll, all with no additional wargear." So yes, we have three ways you can run a Mordor Troll - with a drum, without a drum, and with a catapult.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">For the most part, the stats of these Trolls are all the same - if fielded as part of a War Catapult, the Troll's Courage goes down (C3) but his shoot value goes up (4+), which is particularly awesome, since the Troll doesn't actually fire the siege engine - he just gives it rerolls if he's touching it, so he can hurl a S8 stone if he doesn't move AND you can fire a S10/S5 Catapult (or S3 + Courage-test-or-flee if you get the Severed Heads upgrade) with each catapult team (rerolling To Hit and Scatter rolls). All Mordor Trolls have F7/S7/D7/3 Attacks/3 Wounds, which is good enough to roast most warrior units - and even contest most monsters - but isn't much to write home about when fighting heroes.</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">But this leads to our first rule about fielding Mordor Trolls: <b><span style="color: #38761d;">Mordor Trolls are great at draining enemy resources, especially Might points</span></b>. One of the most popular Man-sized heroes available to Mordor is Shagrat, who costs 100pts base, but is usually fielded at 115pts because you want the heavy armor and the Shield of Cirith Ungol (which together bring him up to D7 and allow him to knock over infantry models he charges, just like cavalry). Shagrat is base F5 and if you charge him with a F6+ hero, Shagrat is probably going to call a Heroic Strike, which may prompt the hero charging him to Strike up as well (this very much depends on the charging hero's starting Fight Value and Defense value - Treebeard, Gwaihir, and Sauron might pass on it - and whether you think <a href="https://tellmeatalegreatorsmall.blogspot.com/2019/12/top-5-ways-to-waste-might-points-one.html" target="_blank">counter-calling Heroic Strikes</a> is worth doing). Shagrat's best outcome is that he gets a higher Fight Value than his foe (or ties at F10) and then wins the duel and gets a few strikes in, but depending on the Defense of the opponent, his ability to convert Might spent to win the fight (calling a Strike and maybe boosting a dueling roll) into meaningful damage can be really difficult.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">But what happens if the enemy F6+ hero is fighting a Mordor Troll instead of Shagrat? With base F7, most heroes are going to need to declare a Heroic Strike just to tie/beat the Troll's Fight Value (the F8+ club is pretty exclusive), so we know that the hero is going to be down at least 1 Might point. If the hero is S4 and has no bonuses To Wound (which is surprisingly common - especially if you don't believe in using your hand-and-a-half weapon two-handed unless you have a rule that removes the dueling penalty), even a hero who Strikes up and wins a duel is only going to wound the Troll on 6s . . . which means an untrapped Troll is probably walking away from the encounter just fine. On the following turn, our massive base size will make it hard for the hero to get around us - and he'll be down at least 1 Might point when we start round two . . . Shagrat might drain resources too, but those resources we force out of our opponent also cost US resources - resources that we didn't have to spend with a Mordor Troll.</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">The Mordor Troll stat line also has two sleeper stats in it: <b><span style="color: #38761d;">Defense 7</span></b> and Strength 7. While we already mentioned at S4 heroes with no bonuses To Wound are likely to bounce off our Mordor Trolls without dealing much damage to them, D7 is also the gold standard for anti-archery - S3-4 bows will wound on 6s and S2 bows will wound on a 6/4+ (or 5/3+ if night conditions are in play). This usually means that, given the choice between using archery to bring down your Troll before you engage or bringing down D3-6 Orcs, your opponent is likely to avoid shooting the Trolls down and instead seek to even the numbers out.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">But the <b><span style="color: #38761d;">Strength 7</span></b> stat is also really good - not only because this makes you unlikely to be Rended by most monsters (since your Strength and Defense are the same), but very few models with Monstrous Charge are going to be able to beat F7 AND get to S8+ - Gwaihir with Heroic Strength, Bear-Beorn in his Legion, Bear-Grimbeorn with Heroic Strike in his Legion, and Smaug are the only models likely to do this solo (though Smaug doesn't technically have Monstrous Charge), and models like Gulavhar, Shelob, and the Spider Queen will need some kind of shenanigan to help them get the higher Fight Value AND be higher Strength. If these kinds of models are smashing a Mordor Troll instead of the heroes you brought along, you're kind of okay with that, I think . . .</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">It's true, however, that Heroic Defense models can pose a problem for big heroes and anyone who dumps points into their Strength stat . . . but Mordor Trolls might have the easiest time out of any Monster models of dealing with Heroic Defense. Thanks to having the Monster keyword (and also depending on how you modeled your Mordor Troll), several options will be available to you. If you're near other enemy models, you can always use <b><span style="color: #38761d;">Barge </span></b>or <b><span style="color: #38761d;">Hurl </span></b>to charge other nearby models or to knock models prone that are directly away from you in the direction of the Heroic Defense model. These options are available to all monsters, but being S7 and not being able to two-hand without penalty (since these guys carry hand-and-a-half weapons) means that foregoing a wounding roll in order to move someone out of the way and fight again OR sending a S4 model 4-6" away from you is pretty good (especially if that Heroic Defense hero is mounted). Sending a S4 model at least 4" away from you should guarantee that the hero won't be able to charge you on the following round - and that means your opponent will have to find another way of dealing with you.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #222222;">If you took the hand-and-a-half hammer on the Troll, you can always choose to </span><b><span style="color: #38761d;">Bash</span></b><span style="color: #222222;"> the hero you're fighting - and if that hero is a S4 man-sized model, this means you're starting with a +3 advantage on the Bash roll-off WITHOUT two-handing (and you COULD two-hand to get a +4 advantage). If you get higher than a 3, there's nothing your opponent can do to stop you - he's knocked Prone. If you took the hand-and-a-half club instead, you could choose to </span><b><span style="color: #38761d;">Stun</span></b><span style="color: #222222;">, which won't keep the hero from calling another Heroic Defense next round, but they'll be doing it with a lower Fight Value and only 1 Attack. While I don't think this is as good as Bashing, it's still valuable (especially if your foe has a good Fight Value, like Gil-Galad or Treebeard). If you took the sword . . . you can always </span><b><span style="color: #38761d;">Feint</span></b><span style="color: #222222;"> to reroll 1s for another chance at natural 6s - and depending on the Fight Value of the model calling Heroic Defense, this might mean you still have the higher Fight Value.</span></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">All of these thoughts apply to Mordor Trolls however you field them - now let's turn to the two more specialized cases of Mordor Trolls. If you took a <b><span style="color: #38761d;">Drummer Troll</span></b>, you gain a war drum that affects all <b><span>Mordor</span><span style="color: #38761d;"> </span></b>models. While both Mordor and Barad-Dur (and most of the Legions from Mordor) have access to an Orc Drummer for 30pts, you COULD have +1 model by taking an Orc Drummer with <your choice of 100pt hero or a Mordor Troll>. If you go this route, the Orc Drummer will only affect <b><span>Mordor Orcs</span></b> . . . which won't do anything for those Black Numenoreans, Trolls, Mordor Uruk-Hai, or Ringwraiths in your army. Taking the Drummer Troll also makes your War Drum far less likely to be sniped by the enemy (D5 with 1 Wound/1 Fate is laughably easy to kill with most serious shooting threats), which preserves your army's overall speed much better than if you ran an Orc Drummer.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Additionally, if you compare the Drummer Troll to a March Captain, you can probably get <b><span style="color: #38761d;">more overall speed from the Drum</span></b> than by calling Heroic Marches, thanks to the 12" range of the drum and no need to spend Might to make it work. While a March hero has to move first in order to provide their movement benefits (and everyone needs to start/end within 6" of the March in order to move), a Drum can be beaten after heroics are declared in the Move Phase and everyone can go wherever they please . . . they just can't charge at all (instead of only being prohibited from charging if they move after the March hero). Instead of running a mid-tier hero and a March hero (like Shagrat and an Orc Captain on Warg/Guritz), you could instead run a Mordor Troll with a war drum and a cheap beater hero (like Gorbag or Zagdush), which will give you two good combat pieces instead of 1 good combat piece and a so-so combat piece.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">The second way you can run a Mordor Troll in a specialized capacity is with a <b><span style="color: #38761d;">War Catapult</span></b> - and my golly are these things fun! I've talked about War Catapults a bit in several articles (most notably in our <a href="https://tellmeatalegreatorsmall.blogspot.com/2023/09/back-to-basics-siege-engines-in-mesbg.html" target="_blank">Back to Basics article on siege engines</a>, as well as my review of the <a href="https://tellmeatalegreatorsmall.blogspot.com/2021/02/the-stuff-of-legends-army-of-gothmog.html" target="_blank">Army of Gothmog</a>), but the most important thing to point out about this is that your Mordor Troll makes up 100pts of the 160 point siege engine, which means that the 3 Orcs, 3 points of heroic resources, and the Catapult itself only cost you 60pts - which is a steal! Tack some severed heads on that thing to cause devastation against low Courage armies and you're golden!</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">There is a need to field at least one Hero of Fortitude or higher for each siege engine, so in reality, you're actually paying 250-300 points for a siege engine and a full Fortitude warband, but you're also getting 15-20 models for those points, so you could have some pretty massive numbers if you don't splurge on a really expensive hero. War Catapults are also a great way for Mordor armies (which struggle to have good archery) to force archery-heavy lists to actually engage with them - get one direct hit with a catapult and the message will be received. If paired with the Shadow Lord (outside of Gothmog's Legion, of course), you can REALLY force the issue - and that can only work in your favor.</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Regardless of how you build out your Mordor Troll, the primary purpose of taking them is to provide a <b><span style="color: #38761d;">distribution of your threats</span></b>. Most opponents will look at this model and say, "Eh, I should deal with <pick-a-hero> first, then I'll get to the Troll." Trolls actually like this a lot, since a resource-depleted hero usually doesn't want to end up anywhere NEAR a F7/S7/3A model - let alone a monster model who can wound most man-sized models on 3s with Rend! If this guy is paired with other big threats (the Witch-King, Shagrat, and at least conceivably, Sauron), chances are good your opponent will either choose to spend their resources trying to gronk the Troll (weakening them before fighting these other threats) or they'll try to neutralize the power heroes and end up without resources to fight the Troll. Yes, not having Might can mean that these guys lose a fight here or there, but it's a rare situation that a Mordor Troll suffers much from a random warrior or two - they tend to stick around.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">One final thought is about <b><span style="color: #38761d;">Isengard Trolls</span></b>: these guys are pretty similar to Mordor Trolls, but they can have limitations. First and foremost, they cost an extra 10pts and swap their hand-and-a-half weapon (hammer, club, or sword) for a sword and shield (you can optionally swap the sword for a spear - don't ever do this). If you don't believe in two-handing or Bash or Stun, then maybe you're okay with a sword and shield. 10 extra points to pick up D8 and swapping the flexibility of Bashing or Stunning (or Feinting) for shielding (or Feinting) might be worth it - though you'll actually pay 5pts more if you get a Drummer Troll variant (and because you swap the shield for the drum, you'll actually have exactly the same stats as a Mordor Drummer Troll . . . but be 5pts more expensive).</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Furthermore, the drum on the Isengard Troll isn't as great because not everyone in the Isengard list has the Isengard keyword - Saruman, Grima, all of the Uruk-Hai models, Sharku, and Isengard Trolls have it, but the Dunland models (with the exception of the Oathmaker and Wild Men if the Oathmaker is in the list) and Orc models don't have the right keyword, so like an Uruk-Hai Drummer, you can secure extra movement on some of your units, but not on all of them . . . something you don't have to worry about with a Mordor Drummer Troll. This is "potentially" a problem, but only if you want cheaper Dunland/Orc models in your list instead of running pure Uruk-Hai - then it's not a problem.</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Perhaps this is why I've seen Isengard Trolls recommended by at least one person on Facebook at low points levels in an Assault Upon Helm's Deep list - it's an interesting idea, since the Helm's Deep list usually relies on siege engines to deal with big heroes . . . but at low points levels, you'll be hard-pressed to get your synergies to work properly if you're trying to pack in 2 Uruk-Hai Captains and 2 ballistas at 500pts . . . but 2 Captains and 2 Trolls might just work out.</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">For my part, I have no interest in running Isengard Trolls - they cut into my numbers too much because I like Uruk-Hai so much (whereas if I've got a bunch of 6-7pt Orcs, I can probably make space for a 100-130pt monster warrior). That said, if they work for you, then by all means, run them. Isengard has lots of cheap F4-5 heroes who can Strike (kind of like Mordor), but an Isengard Troll gives resilience to these beater units - something Isengard really doesn't have. Mordor has a few heroes who can rival a Troll in the stats department (once you factor in the Heroic Strike they're calling), but Isengard has very few models that can match the damage or defense of an Isengard Troll . . . but the cost of doing business with one of those just doesn't seem as valuable to me.</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Okay, let's wrap this post up with some lists . . .</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><b><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Making It Work</span></b></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Our first stop is a "Tiberius Special" for Mordor - a list that fields a ton of units that I love (some of which people think are garbage from a competitive standpoint). The Witch-King and the Shadow Lord are excellent heroes - and great for deterring heroes from challenging our Drummer Troll, who is supported by a horde of Morannon Orcs and Mordor Uruk-Hai (and some Orc Trackers to sit on objectives). With lots of shooting, a Fell Beast, and a Drummer Troll to keep our infantry blocks moving quickly, this army is ready for all comers (though it only has 31 models . . . which isn't great, but we've also got a lot of D6, so hopefully that holds).</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><ul><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">The Witch-King of Angmar on Fell Beast with the Crown of Morgul and 3M/15W/2F [ARMY LEADER]</span></li><ul><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">4 Morannon Orcs with shields</span></li><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">6 Morannon Orcs with shields and spears</span></li><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">1 Morannon Orc with shield, spear, and banner<br /></span></li><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">3 Mordor Uruk-Hai with Orc bows<br /></span></li></ul><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">The Shadow Lord<br /></span></li><ul><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">4 Orc Trackers<br /></span></li><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">2 Morannon Orcs with shields</span></li><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">5 Morannon Orcs with shields and spears</span></li><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">3 Mordor Uruk-Hai with Orc bows</span></li><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">1 Mordor Troll with War Drum<br /></span></li></ul></ul></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">700pts, 31 models, 10 Orc bows hitting on a 4+ AND 1 thrown stone hitting on a 4+, 21 D6+ models, 1 cavalry and a War Drum, 5 Might points</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Our second stop is the Army of Gothmog LL, which I believe to be the best list for running double Mordor War Catapults - mostly because everyone else in the list is bad at killing stuff. At 700pts, it's certainly possible to spam a lot of guys (a mix of Orc Warriors and Morannon Orcs, probably - along with lots of 50-80pt heroes), but the double catapults does a few things for you. First and foremost, it will make most shooting lists (even the Assault on Lothlorien and Assault Upon Helm's Deep Legions) have to at least think about engaging you - two catapults with a 30-75% chance of hitting without spending Might and then wounding on 5s followed by a C2-3 Courage test is pretty devastating - and if they target the ballistas in the Helm's Deep legion with their normal shots, they have a good chance with the reroll To Hit of breaking a ballista in two rounds!</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">As I've said before, having two F7 Trolls in the list also makes Gothmog a lot better, since the Trolls can transition from helping with the shooting to charging into the enemy (with the catapult running behind them, since they have to stay within 6" of the catapult) and forcing enemy heroes to call Heroic Strikes . . . which Gothmog can then copy for free with Master of Battle. Having double monsters also gives you some very interesting shenanigans, as does having two siege engines that might muck up your opponent's attempts at wrapping around your flanks! Because our catapults will be joining the action eventually, I've slanted a TON of emphasis into their crew - you'll want to avoid getting caught in the center in Contest of Champions with this list, as over one-third of your army will be starting within 6" of your board edge!</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><ul><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Gothmog, Lieutenant of Sauron on Warg with shield [AL]</span></li><ul><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">8 Orc Warriors with Orc bows<br /></span></li></ul><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Morannon Orc Captain with shield</span></li><ul><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">4 Morannon Orcs with shields</span></li><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">4 Morannon Orcs with shields and spears</span></li><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">1 Orc Warrior with spear<br /></span></li><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">3 Orc Warriors with Orc bows<br /></span></li></ul><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Mordor Siege Veteran with Mordor War Catapult with Severed Heads</span></li><ul><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">5 crew</span></li><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">1 Troll crew<br /></span></li></ul><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Mordor Siege Veteran with Mordor War Catapult with Severed Heads</span></li><ul><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">5 crew</span></li><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">1 Troll crew<br /></span></li></ul></ul><div><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">700pts, 36 models, 11 Orc bows hitting on a 5+ AND 2 catapults hitting on a 4+ (rerollable with Trolls in base contact) AND 2 thrown stones hitting on a 4+, 12 D6+ models, 1 cavalry and 5 Might for Heroic March, 7 Might points</span></span></div><div><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Our final list is the most likely situation where you'll see a Mordor Troll show up - and it's in the Black Gate Opens Legendary Legion. While fielding an army with lots of Trolls sounds like something you'd want to do at a high points level, I've actually found this list to be the most effective at low points levels, since it's very unlikely that you get heroes who can rival Mordor Trolls for very long there! Shooting tends to be minimal at low points and magic is almost entirely non-existent, so a Mordor Troll (not even a Chieftain - but also a Chieftain) can basically do whatever they want . . . and that's pretty great. While you can certainly run two Troll Chieftains, this list at 500pts has only 16 models, but your Uber-Troll Chieftain is going to be your only hero, so he's you defacto assassin and keep-alive guy, which could be very daunting for your opponent:</span></span></div><ul><li style="color: black; list-style-type: disc; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Uber-Mordor Troll Chieftain [ARMY LEADER]</span></li><ul><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">2 Orc Warriors with Orc bows</span></li><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">6 Morannon Orcs with shields</span></li><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">4 Morannon Orcs with shields and spears</span></li><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">1 Morannon Orc with shield, spear, and banner</span></li><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">1 Mordor Troll</span></li><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">1 Mordor Troll with War Drum<br /></span></li></ul></ul><div><span style="color: black;"><b><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Conclusion</span></b></span></div></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Maybe I didn't convince you that Mordor Trolls are worth running - and that's fine. I've had games where I've been disappointed with these guys, but I've also had games that I've really enjoyed using them (and I've both underestimated them and faced other players who have underestimated them). While I'm not always sold on a vanilla Troll, I think both of the other options are excellent. </span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Next time, we're turning our attention to another much-despised model: the Moria Blackshield Captain. Yes, these guys are the more-expensive, less-reliable cousins of Moria Goblin Captains - and the often overlooked blister-mates of the dreaded Moria Blackshield Shaman. Are these guys only worth being used as paperweights for your sourcebooks? Or are they actually worth something on the gaming table? I'll do my best to convince you that they do, in fact, have a place next time - and until then, happy hobbying!</span></span></div>Tiberiushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01032927898313675650noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2010239046857689405.post-71908219650103817402023-12-28T09:00:00.474-05:002023-12-28T09:00:00.124-05:002023 Hobby Bingo: Tiberius's Board<span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Good morning gamers,</span><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Well, 2023 has been a year - and it's been full of hobby fun! With Fantasy Fellowships, the Minas Tirith board, several tournaments, and lots and lots and LOTS of Morannon Orcs, there's been a lot to keep me busy during my off nights. I haven't officially done the hobby bingo challenge before, though I've always looked at the boards and thought, "I should do that." Well, this year, I said, "Darn it, we're gonna do it this year" - and I am proud to say that it turned out pretty well. Let's have a look!</span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGdQ_gO4-alapAN2VUdi2440AbfOas4iGDf5HbO4isfItW88MwzFolHRkl_HQXG4bJkkGxW1Flrnnl7i3ZS_iM0TKXkaR52LWI0j0hsjakmn-E6ERq7LZQiHpg81RqvYZe3wo-UBcvCA2SvgQ2cEoKA2BtqIhzBIR7DXyfofM-1PxGTquhcwLax1WL/s713/hobby_bingo_2023.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="673" data-original-width="713" height="302" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGdQ_gO4-alapAN2VUdi2440AbfOas4iGDf5HbO4isfItW88MwzFolHRkl_HQXG4bJkkGxW1Flrnnl7i3ZS_iM0TKXkaR52LWI0j0hsjakmn-E6ERq7LZQiHpg81RqvYZe3wo-UBcvCA2SvgQ2cEoKA2BtqIhzBIR7DXyfofM-1PxGTquhcwLax1WL/s320/hobby_bingo_2023.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Photo Credit: Warhammer Community</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><b>Row #1: Lots of New Models (and some movies and a tournament)</b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Our first square in the first row requires us to start a new army, and for me this year, that was easy: Corsairs of Umbar! Throwing weapons are my thing and these guys have them everywhere. I also had these models sitting around for a while, so I don't have all the guys I painted shown here because . . . well, I need a guy for another bingo box:</span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRVid5sBoLqKJNNKUODgA_g3tRtofL8fVpo7ObWXMv6AT3sbGhFT5g0e8072hBXkKdBmld_hrZjclGrXCqMJfzfoA0T3-PjDFrh7eW-xkQLDP-NMlkB4VjdxmmDhycpWgslEPY2gdB_165oRXfRMtLB_qDEvxBcJfGrCvAQ-R5OYCIY23kfDE7pHCWWpY/s4160/IMG_20231202_112708881.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3120" data-original-width="4160" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRVid5sBoLqKJNNKUODgA_g3tRtofL8fVpo7ObWXMv6AT3sbGhFT5g0e8072hBXkKdBmld_hrZjclGrXCqMJfzfoA0T3-PjDFrh7eW-xkQLDP-NMlkB4VjdxmmDhycpWgslEPY2gdB_165oRXfRMtLB_qDEvxBcJfGrCvAQ-R5OYCIY23kfDE7pHCWWpY/s320/IMG_20231202_112708881.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /></span><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Box two is easy - watch the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Yes, I watch the extended cuts every year at least once, usually while I'm working on batch painting something or working on a terrain project. </span><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">It took me longer than usual to watch them this year, since I had to catch up on a bunch of Star Wars shows, but I finished watching the extended editions of <i>The Fellowship of the Ring</i> on June 28th, </span><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><i>The Two Towers</i> on August 14th, </span><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">and <i>The Return of the King</i> on September 9th</span><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">.</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Box three was checked off on June 24th when I attended our annual Grand Tournament - I got last place with a Quest of the Ringbearer Angmar army (you can read about my process of picking that list <a href="https://tellmeatalegreatorsmall.blogspot.com/2023/03/tiberiuss-recap-2023-winter-whirlwind.html" target="_blank">here</a> and some thoughts on the scoring system - and a brief overview of my games - <a href="https://tellmeatalegreatorsmall.blogspot.com/2023/09/thoughts-on-german-scoring-system.html" target="_blank">here</a>).</span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Box 4 requires scenic bases for one of my armies and I decided to showcase my basing style for my Erebor Dwarves, as shown on Ori. The bases were done by painting white through a dryer sheet, then washing in black, then spot-highlighting in black, and then making piles of gold and emeralds from green glitter, PVA glue, and gold paint:</span></div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8-sRXD_T5ri4Q7nzCeyrXBwW5GXQIVQdiHlTWvWKrd2DQWiATmPI5Sl-4lnyYqp7sD0cbSi1_rC1e1C0y670G2Mui0U_YtWib25aEkUzwnSeHA6weeMfy45e1DSQIoyyIVsmEbQQRzYAMpChv-xb4ckWv2swOzB9jJAfHxBYUasP86K7P5zyA6cV2LGI/s4160/IMG_20230715_150314238.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3120" data-original-width="4160" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8-sRXD_T5ri4Q7nzCeyrXBwW5GXQIVQdiHlTWvWKrd2DQWiATmPI5Sl-4lnyYqp7sD0cbSi1_rC1e1C0y670G2Mui0U_YtWib25aEkUzwnSeHA6weeMfy45e1DSQIoyyIVsmEbQQRzYAMpChv-xb4ckWv2swOzB9jJAfHxBYUasP86K7P5zyA6cV2LGI/s320/IMG_20230715_150314238.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Finally, I needed to finish a Good army of at least 600 points. Because of the way Hobby Bingo works, I wanted to have a list that "just" reached 600pts (because I need elements of this project to cover multiple boxes, and you can't double-count a model) and since I spent quite a bit of time this year converting up Grim Hammers, Warriors of Erebor, and Thorin's Company heads into a War of the Ring era Erebor Reclaimed list, I figured I'd grab over 600 points from them. You can see here Thorin III Stonehelm, Dwalin, Bifur, Bofur, Nori, Dori, Gloin, and 7 converted <span>Iron Hills Dwarves with shields and spears</span>:</span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMiYXO0YmC0P4528MkhbGrggxL58I-GVOVRslBu9YjILkGZAcZrFYIKDCAb85JEWmRgeFpocOJRT8MRa8o0VQt-jWZGPmevtfLyovBhTg88-yrUisaMBk-0cd3jheQlsY4VBPTLXJqPEkd6BV0mLK6cpevKj8jRRRrGETA8Ppkl4GcolLd4iQTTwB0Qu0/s4160/IMG_20231126_150828756.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3120" data-original-width="4160" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMiYXO0YmC0P4528MkhbGrggxL58I-GVOVRslBu9YjILkGZAcZrFYIKDCAb85JEWmRgeFpocOJRT8MRa8o0VQt-jWZGPmevtfLyovBhTg88-yrUisaMBk-0cd3jheQlsY4VBPTLXJqPEkd6BV0mLK6cpevKj8jRRRrGETA8Ppkl4GcolLd4iQTTwB0Qu0/s320/IMG_20231126_150828756.jpg" width="320" /></a></div></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><b><span><a name='more'></a></span>Row #2: More of the Same</b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">In the second row, we start off needing to paint a monster, so for me that was easy: I'll do up that <span>new Mordor Troll</span> I got in the Battle of Osgiliath starter set. I love Mordor Trolls - but usually if they're carrying a War Drum or manning a catapult, so this guy was an easy choice: give that boy a drum (and the option to man a catapult)! This guy still needs a name - drop your thoughts in the comments!</span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpdedS9qV0Otw_0yr1KbeGX_bFfFjPxnlXwm4-xHV2VdRg9L5f0vG0bvmw7IiLBZqwbvk7zKqwqYp-dBieRqBW1fDRjQekKMBMXo9DO293LFAkHxfTVKbUqjfYVkqNy06l7j1h4ozGySWtmijRbpfueFAcJsFQ9x-PMC_ksD20im4VvK7_qvJQ2VUl/s4160/IMG_20230615_134938748.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3120" data-original-width="4160" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpdedS9qV0Otw_0yr1KbeGX_bFfFjPxnlXwm4-xHV2VdRg9L5f0vG0bvmw7IiLBZqwbvk7zKqwqYp-dBieRqBW1fDRjQekKMBMXo9DO293LFAkHxfTVKbUqjfYVkqNy06l7j1h4ozGySWtmijRbpfueFAcJsFQ9x-PMC_ksD20im4VvK7_qvJQ2VUl/s320/IMG_20230615_134938748.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Current front-runner name is Alex . . . because the Troll Chieftain is Gregg #Taskmaster</td></tr></tbody></table><br />I then needed to paint a model that's been waiting in the pile for over a year, and for that I have the last<span style="color: #cc0000;"> </span><span>Corsair of Umbar</span> that I got from Rythbyrt for my birthday a few years back that has been languishing:</span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9l09lMa8Ub6QBiQhH1Ov-a78saCvHBzXNLJJKDB1wHvnmJ5Rqjmp8h5YWLOjAfv4gAbQeeo2KahngKVO3D5axbnZ3tu7F0fHJImRuMZLy5BwSgwZVpp5Em4rpBi6ndGdDf0qhCCIdSeTA3D0OxqqviDZBuO41Hdq59a85hLr26EjzlYCVBPfe_dmK4SU/s4160/IMG_20231009_131757210.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3120" data-original-width="4160" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9l09lMa8Ub6QBiQhH1Ov-a78saCvHBzXNLJJKDB1wHvnmJ5Rqjmp8h5YWLOjAfv4gAbQeeo2KahngKVO3D5axbnZ3tu7F0fHJImRuMZLy5BwSgwZVpp5Em4rpBi6ndGdDf0qhCCIdSeTA3D0OxqqviDZBuO41Hdq59a85hLr26EjzlYCVBPfe_dmK4SU/s320/IMG_20231009_131757210.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>The Winter Whirlwind Tournament came in clutch for me in box 3 as I got to play against not one but two new opponents (Ethan and Tyler) - both games were really fun, though one was very, very intense (you can read about them </span><a href="https://tellmeatalegreatorsmall.blogspot.com/2023/03/tiberiuss-recap-2023-winter-whirlwind.html" target="_blank">here</a><span>)!</span></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Box four is another given - I re-listen to the audiobooks of the Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings every year (I own the 1990s recordings narrated by Rob Inglis, and just picked up the Andy Serkis recordings on Audible). I finished <i>The</i> <i>Hobbit</i> on St. Patrick's Day (March 17th), <i>The Fellowship of the Ring</i> was completed on March 31st, <i>The Two Towers</i> was completed on April 11th, and <i>The </i><span><i>Return of the King</i> (sans the appendices)</span> was completed on April 28th. For those keeping count, these were finished well before I made the time to rewatch any of the films . . . </span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Box 5 required a display board - and the choice here was simple: finally finish up the barrow terrain needed for my Quest of the Ringbearer Angmar army!</span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3jeOUImgGniMUyGxrbl3dNoaMUp0-G6BHywngYVkkXmwqW3Bi-dFIwYRUIU3eLynltkR73M7OB1BWYRgss_6kX5Iuhjsxn-oVt09bClbLbDv7vJitE8bUG9TQxxCIuoZ6WZXop4PNSq-auGyt9QksAQn8NHp1odwRG17opBxJyRctldbze-5AMEve/s4160/IMG_20230509_215145530.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3120" data-original-width="4160" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3jeOUImgGniMUyGxrbl3dNoaMUp0-G6BHywngYVkkXmwqW3Bi-dFIwYRUIU3eLynltkR73M7OB1BWYRgss_6kX5Iuhjsxn-oVt09bClbLbDv7vJitE8bUG9TQxxCIuoZ6WZXop4PNSq-auGyt9QksAQn8NHp1odwRG17opBxJyRctldbze-5AMEve/s320/IMG_20230509_215145530.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">No bells or whistles in this army - just Orcs, Wild Wargs, and a few Warg Riders . . . oh, and a Wild Warg Chieftain and FOUR Barrow-Wights!</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><b>Row 3: Lots of Bad Guys (especially Orcs)</b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Row three begins with starting a new battle company - and while I haven't played any battle company games this year, I did manage to paint up 8 Haradrim in January for a Harad Battle Company!</span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPUo2aaNI0ZycoU1frb2Hhsw1LRDTF0tKyZUzLe8xgg9hzdA56xzpmdCi_k0MS4KkeYQAkD9NcGq1mhLwwqyRYLH4yvKQD6opTLK3vcxr2aQHw1wo8HY4BNjzhw6simJTp2nJ7sHjCkKNR9_UxoIrkXy_iuquh05wPGfE0dtX68aQANvursurXA4jo/s4160/IMG_20230613_232338708.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3120" data-original-width="4160" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPUo2aaNI0ZycoU1frb2Hhsw1LRDTF0tKyZUzLe8xgg9hzdA56xzpmdCi_k0MS4KkeYQAkD9NcGq1mhLwwqyRYLH4yvKQD6opTLK3vcxr2aQHw1wo8HY4BNjzhw6simJTp2nJ7sHjCkKNR9_UxoIrkXy_iuquh05wPGfE0dtX68aQANvursurXA4jo/s320/IMG_20230613_232338708.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The bowmen bases are awaiting inspiration - I want them to look like their standing on a howdah.</td></tr></tbody></table><br />Like the Forces of Good army we've already seen, box two required me to complete an evil army of at least 600pts and for that there was only ever going to be one option: Mordor. Thanks to a bunch of hero conversions from spare Morannon Orcs, I had quite the list of models to choose from. Not being able to take the drummer troll really cut into my options, but with a bunch of Morannons and converted Captains, I got a pretty good pile of Orcs to count. Featured here are my proxies for <span>Goroth, Guritz</span><span>, Zagdush</span><span>, a standard Troll (Peter), a</span><span> converted Morannon Orc Captain with shield</span><span>,</span><span style="color: #cc0000;"> </span><span>one Morannon with</span><span> shield/spear/banner, 4 </span><span>vanilla Morannons</span><span>, 4 Morannons with shields, 4 Morannons with spears, and 4 Morannons with shields and spears:</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb011NbVq-kPRmykT7QmUPMQs6tHWXckKDbBIqGhlqs9ggt9YByo70v9bU3oHyxTl9OnKFpwh2zPNj1f0ggxDBR6dREhBRCWfMJfovwYo3iz5KbZ5H5gLsWiu3RPvdPsALF9Ox3WyeS8fQU9g8LlKY8n35aR0ElIqKe5-aMr8md6k597pQfUNN3Jky/s4160/IMG_20230615_135747268.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3120" data-original-width="4160" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb011NbVq-kPRmykT7QmUPMQs6tHWXckKDbBIqGhlqs9ggt9YByo70v9bU3oHyxTl9OnKFpwh2zPNj1f0ggxDBR6dREhBRCWfMJfovwYo3iz5KbZ5H5gLsWiu3RPvdPsALF9Ox3WyeS8fQU9g8LlKY8n35aR0ElIqKe5-aMr8md6k597pQfUNN3Jky/s320/IMG_20230615_135747268.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">I know you're supposed to check off the center box automatically, but in going through my collection, I found quite a few models (especially from <span>Numenor, Rivendell</span><span>, and Lothlorien</span>) that were half-way based - the bases weren't black, but they didn't have anything on them. So . . . after a LONG set of nights of flocking . . . and more flocking . . . and painting rims on bases . . . I can say I checked the box!</span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGnginW3MDr-KRHsK8_7SBCREHRRuqCWGvSP3_lME5ck3-mduO9sFWraAq5nODPR2SqcL17YL-KMA0eXUa7XNFSuIDBsL3gMA3WuoB26Idp29OfaozaGWxhyZsBbeEqwgOEei04PKwXdPOlAqtnOwfOW1EPkGBHtG6GOWAgDSZ0uljz_SBnaGbZRCeCJM/s4160/IMG_20231206_173344950.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3120" data-original-width="4160" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGnginW3MDr-KRHsK8_7SBCREHRRuqCWGvSP3_lME5ck3-mduO9sFWraAq5nODPR2SqcL17YL-KMA0eXUa7XNFSuIDBsL3gMA3WuoB26Idp29OfaozaGWxhyZsBbeEqwgOEei04PKwXdPOlAqtnOwfOW1EPkGBHtG6GOWAgDSZ0uljz_SBnaGbZRCeCJM/s320/IMG_20231206_173344950.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRwn1ICFk_xvThREJWKdlk03UAZ9iPRNXsDYkwg4kcdGdSfYoGXSLrbwNXBH6qnXWfI8gRsw1Pe0axQUsFI1YXzmyvYI-956KO9fl4ZJcPDECEllE2hLfpSHmGIeL_jNZD18e9aVzn9kY-06jVp033PVb2jOfUz3X9KDoJ1Q2mU0z-VX1wvzsyxU2Tv_U/s4160/IMG_20231207_160753425.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3120" data-original-width="4160" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRwn1ICFk_xvThREJWKdlk03UAZ9iPRNXsDYkwg4kcdGdSfYoGXSLrbwNXBH6qnXWfI8gRsw1Pe0axQUsFI1YXzmyvYI-956KO9fl4ZJcPDECEllE2hLfpSHmGIeL_jNZD18e9aVzn9kY-06jVp033PVb2jOfUz3X9KDoJ1Q2mU0z-VX1wvzsyxU2Tv_U/s320/IMG_20231207_160753425.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYtr55sdrIPiCqxTjD7ITmgdNdyZbOAZffFuixfPMRiJxY-aZFB5Xs1b-Tl4RxSe4hB6HmkW-fD3RALYRaQm-4FcTFGdLtg2YshsqP0Ip5DCmnYxFioxuXoNwaJqYMJY7ZFRpoqQtj1ayWwobIGUI8tInG2gVBhQ4HO_IoUGLYu38nesrg-2lSZthlCys/s4160/IMG_20231207_160801457.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3120" data-original-width="4160" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYtr55sdrIPiCqxTjD7ITmgdNdyZbOAZffFuixfPMRiJxY-aZFB5Xs1b-Tl4RxSe4hB6HmkW-fD3RALYRaQm-4FcTFGdLtg2YshsqP0Ip5DCmnYxFioxuXoNwaJqYMJY7ZFRpoqQtj1ayWwobIGUI8tInG2gVBhQ4HO_IoUGLYu38nesrg-2lSZthlCys/s320/IMG_20231207_160801457.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />Box four requires two Heroes of Valour to be painted - one good, one evil. For Evil, the choice was super simple: Gothmog (you know, because I got the new set - but not the mounted model I needed above). </span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">For Good, I decided to pick the conversion I did for Balin, Champion of Erebor - I'm super stoked with how this conversion came out!</span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3yLPyc7oW1Y4rL5KnHaYZ4SySNINQj1OiSNvFpX_DMleoidAtwxbpBuIluXerNtDI-DhsEV5ijX3K6gal77Ft5c0a0qxqFucIzp9nWtCh_eIH-Xwp0DBbAPKhEdRTo8Iz5-XEGqtrUk1_uMB9siSa4_pJJXw9AaN1Gkt3fvQIlpyt2DqZBrY_j0n5/s4160/IMG_20230429_102155200.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3120" data-original-width="4160" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3yLPyc7oW1Y4rL5KnHaYZ4SySNINQj1OiSNvFpX_DMleoidAtwxbpBuIluXerNtDI-DhsEV5ijX3K6gal77Ft5c0a0qxqFucIzp9nWtCh_eIH-Xwp0DBbAPKhEdRTo8Iz5-XEGqtrUk1_uMB9siSa4_pJJXw9AaN1Gkt3fvQIlpyt2DqZBrY_j0n5/s320/IMG_20230429_102155200.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Box five was a super simple one for me - we finally did Fantasy Fellowships this and there were a bunch of missions post-Amon-Hen that I'd never played any variant of before (the ones that show up before Amon Hen were all variants of the scenarios from the old Fellowship of the Ring journey book, which Centaur and I played through years ago). So, I decided that I wouldn't do just one. My favorites of the new scenarios we played were the Deeping Wall Is Breached (you can read about it <span><a href="https://tellmeatalegreatorsmall.blogspot.com/2023/06/fantasy-fellowships-erebor-reunion-part.html" target="_blank">here</a></span>) and Osgiliath (which you can find <a href="https://tellmeatalegreatorsmall.blogspot.com/2023/08/fantasy-fellowships-erebor-reunion-part_0390827467.html" target="_blank">here</a>).</span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><b>Row 4: SO MANY DWARVES!</b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Row 4 starts off with the requirement to convert a model up to be different from before . . . and boy was there a lot of that this year! I'm choosing to showcase the Dwarves of Erebor that I don't need for any other boxes: Thorin, Fili, Kili, and Oin (so <span>glad I did the head swaps for Kili and Oin</span>)!</span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiApH6Kj_yuNW6v4Rvm3SMHFtUwnHm6ooTpY-rgYqrEJIUQ88uStcvi5X8eDjg-oCEBcSYSTMR21NGg5ri3viuEgJCxxQ6XZQtKfxCk33LiW2fjKriIgOHCoclTVtmZpBQROHY5kcsklS_cqsiasHFdsKD2c5NITC-qNEzMTEwZDCyexwVrR-7vrgv0q6U/s4160/IMG_20231126_150902799.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3120" data-original-width="4160" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiApH6Kj_yuNW6v4Rvm3SMHFtUwnHm6ooTpY-rgYqrEJIUQ88uStcvi5X8eDjg-oCEBcSYSTMR21NGg5ri3viuEgJCxxQ6XZQtKfxCk33LiW2fjKriIgOHCoclTVtmZpBQROHY5kcsklS_cqsiasHFdsKD2c5NITC-qNEzMTEwZDCyexwVrR-7vrgv0q6U/s320/IMG_20231126_150902799.jpg" width="320" /></a></div></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Box two required entering a painting competition, so I decided that the TMAT THRO tournament would have a painting competition . . . just so I could check off the box for hobby bingo. :)</span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiGA_YefW7u6ngUT9xyz7EDwVa4rwizeKkOztZqbaUXoA-w2kMr-ufsjOIxXyQTsTwa7txdfDk46oamCKyhaf0l7nVLEf6askD9uxlfE372PZxNc4KwqHbW7D_sfHtlT-h208ZDbmuhogJWLPKXEwND0yu3W3_PtC3SujYWk4q1nN-U9wyZMGICoEqVD8/s4160/IMG_20231008_153209008.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4160" data-original-width="3120" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiGA_YefW7u6ngUT9xyz7EDwVa4rwizeKkOztZqbaUXoA-w2kMr-ufsjOIxXyQTsTwa7txdfDk46oamCKyhaf0l7nVLEf6askD9uxlfE372PZxNc4KwqHbW7D_sfHtlT-h208ZDbmuhogJWLPKXEwND0yu3W3_PtC3SujYWk4q1nN-U9wyZMGICoEqVD8/s320/IMG_20231008_153209008.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">That moment when you decide to redo the flame effects on your Balrog and it kind of works out!</td></tr></tbody></table><br />Box three required watching all the (extended) Hobbit films, which was again a gimme, but particularly so since my son Gorgoroth was reading <i>The Hobbit</i> this year so he could watch the films with me (extended cuts for the first two, theatrical for the third) - it was awesome watching with him! I don't recall when I finished the first two extended films, but I finished <span>the extended cut of the Battle of Five Armies</span> on April 15th (Gorgoroth finished the book and watched the theatrical version of the Battle of Five Armies on June 5th). In an interesting turn of events, Gorgoroth submitted <i>The Hobbit</i> to his book club as their third book to read this year - and it was randomly drawn! So yeah, he actually read <i>The</i> <i>Hobbit</i> twice this year and watched the classic animated film a few weeks ago.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Just like we needed to paint two Heroes of Valour, now we need to paint two Heroes of Fortitude. For this, I turned to two models I'd converted up this year: Bombur, Champion of Erebor (my favorite of the Champ conversions) and <span>Gothmog's Enforcer</span>.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6lObalAw_jeuaCmbZH59SPVQTAii8lQB5uRUY8cT7_y2xaYhW4s7SA7HQSfv4FfSKLjo0qAju1TzRr5C30UOk9SqngYbfXKErwKx7dM7-3mMSqhH0pzqMHZhI7rO5rf-tgDnXKoawB3pHDRlTf_WOZvenjWdlGp0_9FGRoX0V56jdT7L2fnnfJJPG/s4160/IMG_20230429_102435209.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3120" data-original-width="4160" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6lObalAw_jeuaCmbZH59SPVQTAii8lQB5uRUY8cT7_y2xaYhW4s7SA7HQSfv4FfSKLjo0qAju1TzRr5C30UOk9SqngYbfXKErwKx7dM7-3mMSqhH0pzqMHZhI7rO5rf-tgDnXKoawB3pHDRlTf_WOZvenjWdlGp0_9FGRoX0V56jdT7L2fnnfJJPG/s320/IMG_20230429_102435209.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Finally, I needed to practice a painting technique I hadn't tried before and I decided to showcase an OSL project I did this year, which involved about 20 black washes to make Bilbo look like he's in the dark, followed by a very sharp blue being cast by Sting:</span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXtDZAqO1vW4xuxrdR7Nj2gBl6n2QiwG_mu_I0AF7Uf_c56MD0RZUDPLT-Aei0h4fDJ52dkRsgyksxjADy7mhmjVyBSaDmR6e9fPK9jiUI2_fwfn8_RL7wgNCuBx3KZ_PsdSbhHKn9QdIcYXOumvgd6QXeUwUmgSqg2sCWr9J26vpj20BBh7DNSaDT4KE/s4160/IMG_20231220_175747751.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3120" data-original-width="4160" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXtDZAqO1vW4xuxrdR7Nj2gBl6n2QiwG_mu_I0AF7Uf_c56MD0RZUDPLT-Aei0h4fDJ52dkRsgyksxjADy7mhmjVyBSaDmR6e9fPK9jiUI2_fwfn8_RL7wgNCuBx3KZ_PsdSbhHKn9QdIcYXOumvgd6QXeUwUmgSqg2sCWr9J26vpj20BBh7DNSaDT4KE/s320/IMG_20231220_175747751.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><b>Row 5: Pretty Much Just Gandalf (and some Dwarves)</b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">In Row 5, we start off by needing to paint a member of the Fellowship - and for that, I decided to paint <span>Gandalf the Grey on foot and mounted</span>. This is actually the second version of the foot sculpt that I've owned, but my son wanted my other one. This one is here to stay (probably as my Shire version, though). </span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIJaGnQCaBPhTYKbBz7A3qroL04Sqh2Gj9kLHr9QwBes-3rGAH-70DIV_dzbdKqNXFTq1LMLBFCk5JoMczMgAxlsMU5rCn0kuyv5ttBuBgXv_BM0Cso1sA5HyfThvIs-JXX7celaoZWdpvVHLAg1HebdIiuxedk0uCmldGg0_qJMHaOsLSPeB1EvLl/s4160/IMG_20230603_093414422.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3120" data-original-width="4160" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIJaGnQCaBPhTYKbBz7A3qroL04Sqh2Gj9kLHr9QwBes-3rGAH-70DIV_dzbdKqNXFTq1LMLBFCk5JoMczMgAxlsMU5rCn0kuyv5ttBuBgXv_BM0Cso1sA5HyfThvIs-JXX7celaoZWdpvVHLAg1HebdIiuxedk0uCmldGg0_qJMHaOsLSPeB1EvLl/s320/IMG_20230603_093414422.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />Box two required painting a model within 48 hours of receiving it - and boy did I think ahead on this one! As soon as <span>my box of Warriors of Erebor arrived</span>, I opened it, popped a guy off the sprue, cleaned up the sprue lines, and got him painted and based the following day - DONE!</span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxVNW1OzuYcTJy-dpIICQ-xP4zGYCHLxgJ0WSxTVBCvCwHpMIbPMi5Wzdi3JXPmMDKVqu2ktAO5QutayKwct_ptUazPoQqBoUiBRL1qxxjUuUW85zdYqjeNIcw4pmEuooejFi4S6c2QAaBiQRTxhVLN6F9v1nbmuL1342YTQgZK7ddLYTCPLLTBaFf/s4160/IMG_20230406_164656308.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3120" data-original-width="4160" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxVNW1OzuYcTJy-dpIICQ-xP4zGYCHLxgJ0WSxTVBCvCwHpMIbPMi5Wzdi3JXPmMDKVqu2ktAO5QutayKwct_ptUazPoQqBoUiBRL1qxxjUuUW85zdYqjeNIcw4pmEuooejFi4S6c2QAaBiQRTxhVLN6F9v1nbmuL1342YTQgZK7ddLYTCPLLTBaFf/w320-h240/IMG_20230406_164656308.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />The third box requires us to put together a scenery kit, and since I didn't get the buildings from the Battle of Osgiliath box set, I knew GW scenery just wasn't going to be a thing. So instead, I bought the <span>ramshackle raft file</span> from Zorpazorp as well as the <span>siege tower file from Conquest Creations</span> and <span>backed Jacob's Kingdom of Durak Deep project on Kickstarter and printed a bunch of the buildings and 48" of walls.</span> The rafts and siege towers were needed for Fantasy Fellowships. Do these count, though? I'm counting them. Here's a few photos for your viewing:</span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgenKMCNuOInALcmwHunKi9fG0HivV5WfiUPk9FnpTO05rcmd0gRSA9vfgPUE4aqg65L_y0-ncthhUp6Id3xInLDZENtsxSRG2UEgQSFv_i1wPJVdR-iHY6yZd2jryo7CpwYvjpsYgiBL3TMsPtrFPeQaOjQtx4rOO-zBW4gEiExrSssF6pORy7KWYy8UI/s4160/IMG_20230905_185834286.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4160" data-original-width="3120" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgenKMCNuOInALcmwHunKi9fG0HivV5WfiUPk9FnpTO05rcmd0gRSA9vfgPUE4aqg65L_y0-ncthhUp6Id3xInLDZENtsxSRG2UEgQSFv_i1wPJVdR-iHY6yZd2jryo7CpwYvjpsYgiBL3TMsPtrFPeQaOjQtx4rOO-zBW4gEiExrSssF6pORy7KWYy8UI/s320/IMG_20230905_185834286.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Zorpazorp Ramshackle Rafts - or "bridges" if you ask my children . . .</td></tr></tbody></table><br /></span><span><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQl8b0SZMIo8E6YxGir1GWSXCmosVDXVTHLJ7CiBg-Tb3U5nbokQwwQkd_-FaRCceyGvT9QDdVKrFs7_4a1N22uFF1w5n4cRxP7Urlsn-bEG8Kzi0eDyZ-rkue4xWzb7kBsNS0mN9yFVQqdOo4hujFIfVhDKphW5cSVoCVOvztR4c-BkDfm-yooX2M0Do/s4160/IMG_20230909_155524043.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3120" data-original-width="4160" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQl8b0SZMIo8E6YxGir1GWSXCmosVDXVTHLJ7CiBg-Tb3U5nbokQwwQkd_-FaRCceyGvT9QDdVKrFs7_4a1N22uFF1w5n4cRxP7Urlsn-bEG8Kzi0eDyZ-rkue4xWzb7kBsNS0mN9yFVQqdOo4hujFIfVhDKphW5cSVoCVOvztR4c-BkDfm-yooX2M0Do/s320/IMG_20230909_155524043.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Conquest Creations Kingdom of Durak Deep walls, used at THRO 2023 - I ended up gifting these to my youngest sons for Christmas because they love them so much (and because we couldn't find anything else to get them for Christmas)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /></span></span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Box four required two Heroes of Legend (one good, one evil), so I painted up </span><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Dalamyr</span><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"> to match my Corsair contingent and, of course, painted Dain Ironfoot, King Under the Mountain:</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN6CECaO7NzldypLtOFNLEK9HUD6OMBYJ_8SifrsuuYDJjm8AB2-yzdsCrAUt7Xfz722thSmsRvjwPzKUxM5Z-cHO8yx-mVboTFKeDPqDl3ZyEL6KixN7yIWv44OX4avWn0tFdLLjpU14ez84FIeSpxHbaVzJX3N1xTOPZQys1m7bk0AXP-u4eTUkcV94/s4160/IMG_20231126_150933339.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3120" data-original-width="4160" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN6CECaO7NzldypLtOFNLEK9HUD6OMBYJ_8SifrsuuYDJjm8AB2-yzdsCrAUt7Xfz722thSmsRvjwPzKUxM5Z-cHO8yx-mVboTFKeDPqDl3ZyEL6KixN7yIWv44OX4avWn0tFdLLjpU14ez84FIeSpxHbaVzJX3N1xTOPZQys1m7bk0AXP-u4eTUkcV94/s320/IMG_20231126_150933339.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">That's an Easyerling Kataphrakt sword, by the way . . .</td></tr></tbody></table></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Last box - and it's a member of Thorin's Company. Seeing as how I converted up all those Dwarves into their champ versions, I didn't think painting the "<a href="https://tellmeatalegreatorsmall.blogspot.com/2023/06/grim-champs-what-do-you-do-with-13.html" target="_blank">bagged Dwarves</a>" really counted (I just painted their feet). So . . . I painted up Gandalf the Grey from my new Thorin's Company blister instead. :)</span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSCIGR0d_4XhSvQFoqAjcV_nKwtYgV5OSkB-o0pbi-qT0iW3G8AJNKCtzVe6EpcV24z2bwTZG0n95IhR5NTs5jhkskNIY6CsbDbkUG9pYIhz5UBeDvoS_6tQv92a2ZeenvaERqjpu5ca_klK0OE43tPIjHgZc539w7ahHDmAr948SgPsMymfTRMxVR/s4160/IMG_20230319_214739430.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3120" data-original-width="4160" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSCIGR0d_4XhSvQFoqAjcV_nKwtYgV5OSkB-o0pbi-qT0iW3G8AJNKCtzVe6EpcV24z2bwTZG0n95IhR5NTs5jhkskNIY6CsbDbkUG9pYIhz5UBeDvoS_6tQv92a2ZeenvaERqjpu5ca_klK0OE43tPIjHgZc539w7ahHDmAr948SgPsMymfTRMxVR/s320/IMG_20230319_214739430.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><b>Conclusion</b> </span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">And that's it - all 25 squares filled out for hobby bingo. Technically one of those squares wasn't met by GW products (the scenery kit), so if you want to be particular about GW only products, I didn't get that one. Still, the process of pushing myself to do different things was really great and I'm quite happy with this year's progress. Until next time, happy hobbying and have a happy new year!</span></div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"></ul></div>Tiberiushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01032927898313675650noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2010239046857689405.post-67516261777072069992023-12-25T09:00:00.030-05:002023-12-25T09:00:00.140-05:00MESBG Christmas Lists, List #11: The Kingdom of Moria . . . and Friends?<p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white;">Good morning gamers,</span></span></p><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><b>Tiberius</b>: Merry Christmas to all! I hope you've been enjoying this series - it's always great when content creators from across the international community contribute to a project like this (and I feel very blessed that anyone out there who generates good content wants to even be involved with our work here)! Today's "Christmas list" comes to you from . . . me! I've hinted at this list several times this year and it has got to be one of the most FUN lists I've ever played - and it's a throw-back to the way I originally built my Kingdom of Moria lists for MESBG (which was actually the "Erebor" list in the LOTR SBG days). So stroll with me down memory lane as we look at the most awesome Dwarf list I ever made (while most of the posts in this series have been short . . . this article will only be short compared to some of my other work . . . and maybe Rythbyrt's article)!</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Oh, and I'm going to cheat and provide multiple lists, but they nest together, okay?</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">The Evolution of a Crazy Impossible Alliance</span></b></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">It's no secret - I'm a huge fan of the Kingdom of Moria: the heroes are excellent (Balin, King's Champions, and Dwarf Kings are/can be all budget F6/D8+ combat heroes - and two of them give you Heroic March, which is always nice to have as an option), the warriors are excellent (their core troops are 9pts each with 1 piece of gear, while their elite units get stronger and more expensive), and as a whole, they're incredibly forgiving as a faction. You can also splurge on two plastic boxes of core troops (two boxes of Dwarf Warriors, two boxes of Dwarf Rangers, or a box of each like I did), the Balin/Floi pack, and a King's Champion pack (with an optional Dwarf King pack, if you can find it), and you can get started with the army quickly and easily.</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">No matter how competitive you want to be, this is a great starting foundation for MESBG - good, resilient heroes and solid, resilient troops. What more could you want . . . besides cavalry . . . and spears . . . and maybe some magic . . . yeah, there's some to be desired in this list, but hey, you gotta give something, right?</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Like most new players to the game, I stuck to pure lists for a while - I mean, I was slowly collecting models and we were playing at low points levels, so allying just wasn't on my mind at the time. I allied Gandalf into some Wood Elf lists (before getting Galadriel), and I allied Legolas into everything (including Dwarf lists), but I eventually got around to looking at the profile for Radagast the Brown . . . and boy did I have a crazy idea. </span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">You see, back in the day, you were able to do "volley fire" with 10+ bows of the same type, so if you had 10 Dwarf Warriors with Dwarf bows, you could shoot at targets that were within 18" normally and at models that were 18-36" away from you by hitting on a 6. The trick was, only one model in your army needed to be able to see the target . . . and Radagast could (and still can) "see" everyone thanks to the Master of Birds special rule. </span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><span><a name='more'></a></span>Oh, and he could also give your Dwarves Terror, which was awesome. Since you could run 1 hero with any number of warriors back then (with a 50-model limit if you were playing at/below 500pts, like we were), the list was basically Radagast (no Sebastian back then), Balin (more or less how he is now - but cheaper and he gave no priority rerolls), a few Dwarf Rangers with throwing axes or bows (slightly more expensive then), and as many Dwarf Warriors as I could pack in with the rest of the points (10 with Dwarf bows, certainly). Around 2011, the 31-model, 500-point list looked like this (especially if you were a poor guy like me and converted 2 of your Dwarf Warriors with two-handed weapons into Dwarf Warriors with Dwarf bows so you wouldn't have to buy a whole other box to have a volley team):</span></div><ul style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Radagast the Brown<br /></span></li><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Balin the Dwarf</span></li><ul><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">8 Dwarf Warriors with shields</span></li><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">6 Dwarf Warriors with two-handed axes</span></li><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">1 Dwarf Ranger</span></li><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">1 Dwarf Ranger with two-handed axe<br /></span></li><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">3 Dwarf Rangers with throwing axes</span></li><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">10 Dwarf Warriors with Dwarf bows<br /></span></li></ul></ul><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Fast forward about a year and we got the "warband" books and now I needed to bring 1 hero per 12 warriors . . . even with a bump up to 600pts for most of our events, I suddenly didn't have the space for Radagast in my lists, so I leaned harder into the pure faction of Durin's Folk and less into the allied realm (you can check out an example list <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://tellmeatalegreatorsmall.blogspot.com/2011/04/understanding-strategy-dwarves-of-erebor.html&source=gmail&ust=1700576972597000&usg=AOvVaw356DO_IJuxmDzxREQ-zOdQ" href="https://tellmeatalegreatorsmall.blogspot.com/2011/04/understanding-strategy-dwarves-of-erebor.html" id="m_-1475615582511567487LPlnkOWALinkPreview" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank" title="https://tellmeatalegreatorsmall.blogspot.com/2011/04/understanding-strategy-dwarves-of-erebor.html">here</a> . . . and boy am I surprised how much of that article can still be applied to today's game . . .). </span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Fast forward about five years more (and a bunch of Hobbit armies later) and suddenly the current version of MESBG launched and with some new people in our group jumping into the action, I was invigorated to try out a bunch of lists - and while my bearded fellows were still near and dear to my heart, their style of play just wasn't as exciting as it once was . . . they felt like they were lacking ways of dealing with big heroes and threats that didn't involve sacrificing a big hero in return.</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">About the middle of this year, after our Grand Tournament was over and Barrow-Wights were off my mind, I started playing the siege scenarios in prep for THRO 2023 - which was super fun and I'm really glad we did it. A lot of players in my group have been asking for a big points level so they can bring all the fun toys (and boy were there some new lists at that event!). With 1000 points, I was iterating through a bunch of list ideas, and I kept coming back to my beloved Dwarves, looking for inspiration. Then, out of the blue, I was like, "I could use this tournament as a way to try making Floi work - there's bound to be something big that I want to shut down, right?" I may have already had Floi on the brain since I was writing Nemesis articles at the time - he shows up a lot in that series, if you haven't been following it . . .</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">So I sat down and I built a pretty good Kingdom of Moria list that came in at just under 700 points - it looked like this:</span></div><ul style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Balin the Dwarf, King of Moria [AL]</span></li><ul><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">6 Dwarf Warriors with shields<br /></span></li><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">6 Dwarf Rangers with bows</span></li><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">6 Dwarf Rangers with throwing axes<br /></span></li></ul><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Floi Stonehand (instead of a Dwarf King)</span></li><ul><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">6 Dwarf Warriors with shields</span></li><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">6 Dwarf Warriors with Dwarf bows<br /></span></li></ul><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">King's Champion</span></li><ul><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">2 Heralds</span></li><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">8 Dwarf Warriors with shields<br /></span></li><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">1 Dwarf Warrior with Dwarf bow</span></li><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">1 Dwarf Ranger with bow<br /></span></li></ul></ul><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">This is usually the part of list building where I just start piling in more Dwarf heroes/bodies, but I didn't want to do that this time. My model count was pretty good (I hit the maximum possible 45 models with only 685pts), but I wanted a) a way to deal with big threats that didn't involve a 5" move infantry model, and b) a stronger army leader who wouldn't suffer a wound or die from a random event. If possible, it would be great if these models also worked well with Floi, so to answer these problems, I turned to <b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Radagast the Brown with Sebastian</span> </b>(for fun/survivability if he gets charged). This brought me to 840 points . . . not bad . . .</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">. . . but we were still missing something: <span style="color: #2b00fe;"><b>Will regeneration</b></span>. Floi is great, but he's best if there are a lot of combat heroes who can help him get Will back by killing things (3 Will on him only goes so far). All Khazad-Dum heroes exchange the Khazad-Dum keyword for the Moria keyword by bringing Balin along, so any Dwarf hero from that list will have the right keyword - but they still have to kill hero and monster models to give Floi Will . . . and I wasn't confident that I wanted to be dependent on my Dwarf heroes getting into contact with and killing enemy heroes. </span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">I've played enough Fantasy Fellowship missions now to know that there are really only three ways to get Will points on your units: <b><span style="color: #38761d;">Tom Bombadil</span></b> (who you can't take in Fantasy Fellowships), <b><span style="color: #38761d;">Gandalf the Grey</span></b> (who would cost me at least 1 Dwarf Warrior and probably 2-3), and <b><span style="color: #38761d;">Bombur the Dwarf</span></b> (who is a Hero of Fortitude in either of the lists that he's in). Because the Kingdom of Moria is Impossible Allies with everyone, bringing Bombur along would mean that I'd need a Hero of Valour or Legend to come with him - and with Balin already in my list, that meant bringing along Dwalin the Dwarf (not too expensive, hits very hard, but also not very resilient), Dain Ironfoot if I was bringing Champ-Bombur (which would WAY blow my budget), or Thorin (who is actually quite affordable in either of his forms). With 160pts to work with, I had just enough points for <b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Thorin's Company Bombur</span></b> (45pts) and <b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Thorin's Company Thorin with Orcrist and the Oakenshield</span></b> (115pts) - 1000 points exactly! Here's the final list:</span></div><ul style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><li style="margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Balin the Dwarf, King of Moria</span></li><ul><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">6 Dwarf Warriors with shields<br /></span></li><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">6 Dwarf Rangers with bows</span></li><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">6 Dwarf Rangers with throwing axes<br /></span></li></ul><li style="margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Floi Stonehand</span></li><ul><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">6 Dwarf Warriors with shields</span></li><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">6 Dwarf Warriors with Dwarf bows<br /></span></li></ul><li style="margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">King's Champion</span></li><ul><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">2 Heralds</span></li><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">8 Dwarf Warriors with shields<br /></span></li><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">1 Dwarf Warrior with Dwarf bow</span></li><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">1 Dwarf Ranger with bow</span></li></ul><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">IMPOSSIBLE ALLY - Radagast's Alliance: Radagast the Brown with Sebastian [ARMY LEADER]</span></li><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">IMPOSSIBLE ALLY - Thorin's Company: Thorin Oakenshield with Orcrist and the Oakenshield</span></li><ul><li style="color: black; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Bombur the Dwarf</span></li></ul></ul><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">1000 points, 48 models, 7 Dwarf bows hitting on a 4+ AND 7 bows hitting on a 3+ AND 6 throwing axes hitting on a 3+, 33 D6+ models, no fast models but 3 Might for Heroic March (doesn't affect 3 of our models), 14 Might</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">I know this post has already gone on too long, but let me break this down a bit: I decided to take Radagast from Radagast's Alliance so he would become a Hero of Legend and so could be my army leader. With 3 Wounds/3 Fate and NO reason to be anywhere close to the enemy, I felt like leader wounds would be pretty hard to get - especially since he's on foot and has Stalk Unseen active. If I had to defend the walls of a town, I would drop Radagast, 3 Dwarf Rangers with throwing axes, and 2 Dwarf Rangers with bows from the list - which would still leave me with 42 models to defend the walls . . . most of whom are D7-8.</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Into my army leader void would step Thorin, who is also a 3 Wound/3 Fate Hero of Legend and BOY can he be difficult to charge with Terror [Orcs, Goblins, Uruk-Hai]! With the ability to fight two-handed if he needs to crack through something, access to Strike or Defense with an Elven-made weapon (or doubling his dueling dice with a single Strike if he wins), and dealing multiple wounds to Orcs, Goblins, and Uruk-Hai, this guy is crazy good at killing stuff - and stands as a good alternative to the other Kingdom of Moria hero options.</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">And of course, he brings along Bombur, who can stand next to Floi, Radagast, or Balin (who is happily sitting as our third-string hitter behind Thorin and the King's Champion - and gives us 3-Might-and-Strike/March) to regrow their Will. Radagast will be getting Aura of Dismay up early (we hope) and will want more Will before the mid-game when Nature's Wrath will be very helpful (or Panic Steed, Immobilize, or Renew), Balin will want Will if we're rerolling priority rolls, and Floi, of course, will be trying to turn off special rules. I expect Bombur will be very busy indeed.</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Oh, and the list has 40 Dwarf Warriors or Dwarf Rangers in it. Did I mention them at all? 20 F4/D7 units who can fight normally if they're within one of two banner radiuses or defend by shielding if they aren't within banner range - and if they can get one-on-one fights, they can absolutely tear through anything the enemy has (especially if they risk a Piercing Strike against someone who isn't F4). 14 bows (7 with S2, 7 with S3) and 6 throwing axes are also very good and can really set the tone for our opponent's engagement. Yes, I built this list to play the siege scenarios, but expect to see some variant of this list playing normal Matched Play games in the near future (though I don't think I'll be able to get everything I want in it).</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">The only downside to this list is that it's an Impossible Alliance, so calling Heroic Moves is tricky (if I call a Heroic Move with Balin, Radagast/Thorin/Bombur won't be affected - and Heroic Moves with Radagast are basically not going to be worth it EXCEPT to cast before being charged). Still, if we've got a channelled Aura of Dismay up (which I did in every practice game - 12" Terror for all friendly units is pretty sweet), not going first is just fine. The banners from the King's Champion don't affect Thorin, so I kept him away from the Champion and with whatever parts of the army were working to stop someone else . . . which was again, fine. </span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Separate break points were also fine, since my opponent would need to kill Radagast (which a Mumak did once, but no one else managed it in practice), both Thorin and Bombur (which never happened - even against a Mumak), or 23+ Moria Dwarves (which never happened either). While you can break if half of your overall models die, the interesting thing about this list is that one of those three break conditions needs to be met for that to happen too, so functionally, breaking this list is quite hard if Radagast and Bombur are safe . . . assuming a slew of D6-7 Dwarves don't die, but then we have bigger problems.</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">This post was long, but hopefully you enjoyed it. From all of us here at TMAT, have a wonderful Christmas and until next time, happy hobbying!</span></span></div>Tiberiushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01032927898313675650noreply@blogger.com0