So...We're Getting New Battlehosts!

 

Hey Reader!

In case you hadn't heard the news from last month, word on the street is that we're getting new battlehosts for Middle Earth! So I figured, might as well dredge up the old articles about potential new battlehosts for the Forces of Good and Forces of Evil that we made like 4 years ago, and see how well we did!

Now as a quick reminder, these articles were written back in 2022, when we were getting new supplements every other year, along with new sculpts, profiles, and heroes, and while the new edition has given us some new sculpts (new Rohan warriors/horses do look good!), it's not as common as it was back in those days that we get new kits. And since we haven't gotten any new battlehosts since then, technically the details are still mostly the same from these articles from yesteryear in terms of which kits might quickly become new ones for us.

So while these article are old, let's see how well they did!

The New Age Is Begun: The Fields of Celebrant Army List

Good morning gamers,

The month of September will tackle the last four army lists with Rohan models. We're kicking things off with a list that harkens back to when I first got started with Rohan: the Fields of Celebrant. Back in the last edition, you could run Eorl the Young with other named heroes if you were okay losing your army bonus . . . and I figured that the Might regen from Gamling's banner (which was far more reliable last edition) and the Arise, Riders of Theoden rule from having Theoden in your list made everything better (Eorl basically became a cheaper version of Eomer, slightly worse in some ways and slightly better in other ways). This edition, you don't need these boosts nearly as much - so let's see if the requirement to work with Minas Tirith (which was an option last edition but wasn't required) changes anything about how the list operates.

The Fields of Celebrant: Changes for 2025

Profile Selection

This list doesn't give us a lot of profiles, but most of our bases are covered. We have to take Eorl the Young and a Gondor King of Men (and we're limited to taking a single King of Men in this list). The list also has Captains of Rohan/Minas Tirith for generic hero support and a basic warrior unit (Riders of Rohan and Warriors of Minas Tirith) and a more specialized warrior unit (Sons of Eorl and Citadel Guard). I think there are models that would be good to add to this list, but I think what we have is perfectly functional.

Army List Bonuses

This list has the two expected rules restrictions for list building: Rohan Warriors can only be taken by Rohan Heroes and Gondor Warriors can only be taken by Gondor Heroes. I gotta say, while I fully accept these list building restrictions, it sure makes me appreciate the more open list building options you have in lists like Men of the West and Defenders of Helm's Deep, where you can mix-and-match your warbands to make each a bit more balanced and self-sufficient. This list, like a lot of other lists, has a clear build: some infantry blocks in certain warbands and a threatening cavalry charge in others.

To assist with these list building restrictions, there are three special rules that affect the models in the list. With the Gondor's Last Defence rule, Gondor models that are within range of an Objective Marker get to reroll 1s when making Strikes, which is . . . not nothing, but certainly not as good as what you see in Atop the Walls where it also affects shooting attacks. The Rohan models bring a once-per-game rule (The Charge of Eorl) that requires friendly Cavalry models (your Rohan models that are still mounted and the King of Men if he took a horse) to Charge if they choose to move and can Charge AND they get to reroll all failed To Wound rolls when making Strikes. This operates just like the Ride Out army list rule and Theodred's rule but NOT like Beorn's Berserk rule: if the unit can Charge and chooses to move, it has to Charge - but it doesn't have to Charge if it chooses not to move.

The New Age Is Begun: the Defenders of the Pelennor Army List

Good morning gamers,

This month is "Pelennor month" and we've covered the Fiefdoms (lots of Gondor units with special take-this-hero-to-get-these-warriors rules), the Grief of Eomer (a mix of Gondor and Rohan units, led by two smashy heroes), and the Return of the King (all of the ghosts with the Three Hunters thrown in). Today, we're taking all of those units - plus a bunch of others who show up in the Atop the Walls list - and putting them into one monster list! In trade for this greatly expanded roster, we're going to have a single special rule . . . but don't let that knowledge cramp your style. The list is very strong and gives veteran players a lot of options for list building. Let's see what we have to work with today!

The Defenders of the Pelennor: Changes for 2025

Profile Selection

There are a ton of profiles in this list - the full list is provided in the profile adjustment section below. Suffice it to say that if you're looking for someone from Minas Tirith, the Fiefdoms, Rohan, or the Rangers who was fighting in the War of the Ring, chances are good that you'll find them in this list.

Army List Bonuses

This list has some army building restrictions - none of which are unique to this list. Your Rohan Warriors have to be led by Rohan Heroes, your Gondor Warriors need to be led by Gondor Heroes, and your Dunharrow Warriors have to be led by a Dunharrow Hero or one of the Three Hunters. The omission in this list is that the Rangers don't have the ability to lead anyone - they're included because of their appearance in the Return of the King book, where they led Clansmen of Lamedon (and other Fiefdoms militia from the coast), so it seems to me that they should be able to lead other units (maybe if there are no Dunharrow units in your list to be book-accurate?).

Beyond this, there's only one rule: each Hero in your army gets to declare a free Heroic Combat once per game. This is a really great rule since a) it's free, so Grima can't make it cost extra Might, b) it affects all heroes regardless of their affiliations, and c) it's easy to keep track of for both you and your opponent. On its face, this is weaker than the Riders of Theoden army list (where you get a once-per-game Heroic Combat on a single turn if Theoden is still alive, but also get +1 Strength on the Charge) and probably weaker than the Return of the King (where you get Anduril for free and F4 on some of your Warriors), but overall, it helps this list a lot in that you can take the list in any direction and you won't be fighting against the army list bonus.

So It Begins, Part 3: Plant the Charges

Good morning gamers,

We're back for our third scenario in our custom Helm's Deep campaign. Today, the Uruk-Hai are trying to blow up the culvert with some fancy explosives! Can Aragorn and his friends kill all three torch-bearing Berserkers before the wall is blown?

Plant the Charges (War in Rohan, p. 28)

We're using the actual scenario participants in this scenario:

• Forces of Good: Mostly The Defenders of Helm's Deep
• Aragorn - Strider with armor
• Legolas Greenleaf with armor
• Gimli, Son of Gloin
• Haldir with Elf bow and heavy armor
• 4 Warriors of Rohan with shields
• 4 Warriors of Rohan with shields and throwing spears
• 4 Warriors of Rohan with bows
• 4 Galadhrim Warriors
• 4 Galadhrim Warriors with shields and spears
• 4 Galadhrim Warriors with Elf bows
• Forces of Evil: The Assault Upon Helm's Deep 
• 4 Uruk-Hai Captains
• 10 Uruk-Hai Warriors with shields
• 10 Uruk-Hai Warriors with pikes
• 8 Uruk-Hai Berserkers
• 3 Demolition Teams

This scenario requires Evil to blow up the Deeping Wall via the culvert, while Good needs to kill all three of the torch-carrying Berserkers (hereafter referred to as "torch-boyz"). I will say from the outset that Gorgoroth was watching us set up, and he told Centaur, "You know, you should just keep one of your Berserkers with a torch really far back." Centaur was like, "Yes, I should - but this is scenario play." So . . . for you meta gamers out there, enjoy the resulting fireworks display as both Centaur and I go all-out for not-a-draw!

The New Age Is Begun: the Return of the King Army List

Good morning gamers,

One of the most popular Legendary Legions last edition was one of the first Legendary Legions that was released: the Return of the King. This list is really easy to collect - just get the Three Hunters, the King of the Dead with Heralds, and a box of the Warriors of the Dead and you're pretty much golden (especially if you use one of the Heralds as a banner-carrying Warrior of the Dead). When all is said and done, that's not a lot to spend (by wargaming standards) and you have a perfectly functional, durable army. Today, we're looking to see if that inexpensive army is actually worth taking - and if so, how you do it. Let's dive in and see what's cooking in the Vale of Erech!

The Return of the King: Changes for 2025

Profile Selection

This list requires us to take both Aragorn and the King of the Dead - these are two heroes that we'd probably want to take anyway (and if you don't want to take the King of the Dead, consider the list that we're looking at next week instead). In addition to these two, we have Legolas, Gimli, and Heralds of the Dead as our heroes (Heralds being the only generic hero option) and we have Warriors of the Dead and Riders of the Dead for our warrior choices.

I think this list lost a real opportunity by not including other options - namely Dunedain/Rangers of the North as heroes in any list and Angbor the Fearless as a required choice (instead of the King of the Dead) and Clansmen of Lamedon if you don't take the Dead. The addition of the Lamedon contingent allows you to do the Book-accurate part of Aragorn and his men arriving at the Pelennor (the Dead help them get the black ships from the Corsairs, but don't actually come to the Pelennor). I guess if you want to play with that list . . . come back next week. :)

Army List Bonuses

There are two army list bonuses that center around Aragorn and one for the King of the Dead. Aragorn gets Anduril for free (a 40pt value) and this helps him keep up with the absurdly low wounding difficulties of the Dead. Additionally, friendly Dunharrow Warriors will get +1 Fight Value while within 3" of him, which means some of your warriors (but not many at all) will be F4 . . . that's something that you used to have to get with spearmen before and now you're getting it for free - yaye!

The King of the Dead picks up a niche rule that allows him to spend a Will point when he Charges to force each enemy model within 3" of him to pass a Courage test or move as far as possible directly away from the King of the Dead. This is what Instill Fear used to do last edition - and if you're not keeping the King of the Dead from being shut down by magic, this gives you a good use for his 6 Will points.