{7th Edition} Armies of Middle Earth: Iron Hills and Erebor Reclaimed in the Middle Earth Strategy Battle Game

Du Bekar!!! (Or something like that)

Updated: Seventh Edition (October 2025)

In the lore of Middle Earth, there are dwarves, and then there are the dwarves of the Iron Hills. Founded by Gror, the brother of Thror, the arrival of the Iron Hills have tipped the balance of many fateful battles: at Azanulbizar, routing the orcs when a young Dain Ironfoot slew Azog before the gates of Moria; at Erebor, when they stood against the forces of Bolg in the Battle of the Five Armies; and in the North, when they resisted Sauron in the War of the Ring.

In the Seventh Edition of the Middle Earth Strategy Battle Game, the Iron Hills dwarves remain the pinnacle of dwarven military power and ingenuity. Their heroes have undergone some significant revisions (some improvements, some lateral, and some head-scratching), but their warriors remain both resilient and deadly fighters in close-combat; and their cavalry, crossbows and war machines still pose a threat to enemies who doubt the reach of their “stubby little legs.” In stubbornness and staying power, they are second to none.

Dwarven steel...

Army Quick(ish) Hits: Strengths and Weaknesses

• Strength: Perhaps the best “core” warrior profile in the game: It’s tough to bestow the title of “best warrior” on a single profile, but the Iron Hills Warrior is on whatever short list there is. Their F4 is average (especially after the buffs to Warriors of Minas Tirith, Black Dragons, and Uruk Berserkers), but their S4 and D7 (with shield) means they have a serious advantage grinding against most standard battle lines (their S4 will wound D6 on a 5+, while opponents who are S4 will only wound them on 6s). While +1s to wound are more plentiful this edition, S5 is not, so their D7 is still valuable because of how it reduces the damage output of S4 armies (a S4 army with +1 to-wound still needs 5s to wound them, instead of the 4s they'll need against S6 foes). You also have a ton of wargear options that allow a broad range of customization. Spear and Shield (2 points) is the primary upgrade, but you can also supplement your main battle line with mattocks (1 point—2H weapons at effective S6, plus access to the old Bash rules for knocking models prone), ranged crossbows (2 points—S4 projectiles at 24” range), and banners (25 points base, or 26 if you give your banner-bearer a shield--which you should always do). While losing the shield hurts, your custom warriors still have above-average defense for their positions (D6 crossbowmen, and D6 cavalry/D5 mounts), which means that strength 3 armies in particular will struggle to kill even your specialized troops quickly. Finally, a base Courage of 4+, potentially bolstered by any number of hero buffs (a 12” Fearless bubble from Super-Dain; a Battlefield-wide Standfast! from old Dain; Heroic Resolve on Balin/Bofur/Dori/Dwarf Kings/Old Dain; Sworn Protector (Thorin) on most of the Champs--which RAW may apply to Thorin III as well as Thorin Oakenshield; and a lot of access to Courage 4+ on your heroes) means the core of your army can generally get around Terror, and won't run if you break. So if you want to make them run, you have to force them to run. Oh--and the heroes are pretty resilient, too. Speaking of which...
• Strength: One of the deepest hero suites in the game (and probably the most durable): So you can’t take all of them in a single list—but altogether Iron Hills/Erebor have access to twenty-one hero profiles: four centerpiece heroes (two Thorins and two Dains), up to twelve other Champions of Erebor, and five more supplemental heroes (Iron Hills Captain, Murin & Drar, Dwarf Kings, and even Gimli):
• Two profiles tower above the rest: BoFA Super-Dain and King Thorin. Dain is the only dwarf hero who retained his mount option in the 7th edition, which I think makes him the undisputed king of dwarf damage. In addition, he's still got all the combat stats that made him a beast in combat last edition (Strength 5, 3 Attacks, a two-handed weapon with Burly, Fearless, and Defense 8 with 3 Wounds/Fate), while also getting a buff to F7 and retaining Heroic Strike (plus Heroic Strength is pretty good now). Not to be outdone, King Thorin also got a bump to F7, can still take the elf-made Orcrist, and can still call a heroic combat for free—albeit only if he charges (instead of all the time). He lost access to the war goat (notwithstanding the fact that it's clearly on film... not that I'm salty), so that makes his damage output quite a lot less reliable. But two-handing with Orcrist isn't quite the risk it was in the last edition (especially if you bolt a spearman to his back), and the fact that friendly models treat him as a 3" banner just because is also a nice buff. Either of them will give you a solid answer to most lists' top-damage dealer, while also providing some passive buffs to the rest of your army, too. And you can even take the two of them together in a couple of lists, for just over 300 points fully kitted out. Not too shabby.
• Beneath them is an excellent selection of five combat heroes  who are Fight 5, can strike, have 3 Might, and either have three attacks base or can get there reliably—Champion Dwalin, Champion Gloin, Thorin III, Old Dain, and Gimli. Dwalin and Gloin can be taken in Erebor Reclaimed with super-Dain and Thorin (which is... well, it's a pretty good squad of combat heroes). Or you can take all five of them in the Army of Erebor (or all of them, sans Gimli, in the Defenders of Erebor list), which I can tell you from personal experience is really solid. As an added plus, everyone but Thorin III can also get +1 to-wound, and all of them (including Thorin) have Heroic Strength if you really need to pump out the damage. If you’ve never played with dwarves who are effective S6, S7, S8, or S10, I can tell you from personal experience that it’s great fun. 
• Below that tier, you have a second tier of seven more combat heroes who are under 100 points (some of them well under), who are Fight 5 or 6, have 2-3 attacks, are D8, and can either Strike with 3 Might (Fili and Kili), get to D9 (IH Captains), get a +1 to wound (Dori), or some combination of the three (Nori, Murin)—plus F6 dwarf kings who are Fearless heroes of valour, just because. Depending on the list you're running, you don't actually need these most of the time--but if you're trying to boost your model count by a little bit, or want to sneak a second banner into your list, you can substitute a model like Gimli and/or Dwalin for cheaper heros like Nori and/or Dori, and pad your numbers slightly without losing much damage output.
• And below that tier, you have your remaining seven hero profiles, who fill a variety of roles in your force: a dedicated archer hero (Drar), priority shenanigans (Balin), free heroic moves (Bifur), your special rule/spell thwarter (Bofur), your healer (Oin), and your stat regenerators (Ori, Bombur)--all for 70 points or less. That's a lot of design space available on the cheap.
• Weakness: You're elite... to a point: As printed in the Army of the Hobbit book, the points cost of Iron Hills Warriors is a deceptive "10"--in actual fact, they're generally 12 points a piece (either with shield and spear, or a crossbow), unless you opt for the 1-point Mattock upgrade (which isn't a bad option for a F4, D6, effectively S6 model that still has access to the old Bash special attack), or a banner-bearer without a shield (not sure saving the 1-point is worth it, but hey--you do you). 12 points a model isn't cheap by any stretch--and in pure lists (Iron Hills, Erebor Reclaimed, Army of Erebor), you don't have access to any cheaper troop profiles, so you can expect your model count to be on the lower side. To help balance things out, your heroes are very competitively priced, with several top-tier combat heroes at well under 200 points, and a slew of solid-to-excellent combat/support heroes between 50 and 100 points. Heroes of Valor and Legend are also fairly easy to come by (including several cheap ones, like Balin, Fili and Kili, and Dwarf Kings), in case you want to pad your numbers a little. You're not going to ever "horde out," but you can usually get to average list sizes if you're conservative on your heroes (with above-average troops at average-sized numbers), or you can get an elite-sized force with more than your typical heroes (either in quantity or quality).  
• Strength: Heroic Resources (specifically Might): Some lists struggle to get Might on the board, but that’s generally not the case with these lists. Even if you set aside the bonkers Battle of the Five Armies list (which is about as diverse an army as you’ll see in the game when it comes to hero suites), you still have three Erebor lists with fifteen (Erebor Reclaimed), twelve (Defenders of Erebor), and eleven (Army of Erebor) hero profiles to choose from (including four, six, and five profiles with 3 Might, respectively). All three also include ways to cheat out extra Might: Erebor Reclaimed has access to King Thorin (free heroic combats), Bifur (free heroic moves), and Iron Hills Captains (Master of Battle 5+), while Defenders of Erebor can supplement Bifur and Captains with Thorin III (heroic actions are free on a 5+) plus free heroic combats on old Dain/Thorin if their matching Dale compatriot (Brand/Bard II, respectively) is trapped (or vice versa), and Army of Erebor has access to Thorin III, Bifur, and IH Captains, plus each of your heroes gets a free heroic combat once per game. A standard Iron Hills list can't match those three lists when it comes to the raw number of hero profiles; but its own hero suite isn't shabby by any stretch (super-Dain and Iron Hills Captains, plus Dwarf Kings and Murin/Drar if your events allow Legacy Profiles); and it also has a few tools to stretch out their Might, with Master of Battle 5+ on both Dain and the Captains, plus a free +1/-1 to Maelstrom/reinforcement rolls. Finally, if you do lean into the standard Erebor Reclaimed list at high points levels, you also have access to extra Will from Bombur, healing from Oin, and regenerated Might/Will/Fate from Ori... which is kind of crazy.
• Weakness: Reduced Movement: For all their buffed stats, Iron Hills dwarves (and their dwarf heroes) are still capped at 5" move, like all dwarves. The options to take crossbowmen, cavalry, chariots and siege weapons definitely makes this less punishing than it could be, although the number of lists where you can take cavalry and siege weapons is much more limited than it was in the previous edition (Iron Hills can take them all; Battle of the Five Armies, Defenders of Erebor, and Army of Erebor can take crossbows and goats; and Erebor Reclaimed can only take crossbows). Additionally, access to Heroic March is pretty limited in most lists. Super-Dain still has it (although you're generally going to want to use his Might for other things, if you can help it) and King Thorin picked it up (although like super-Dain, you probably need it for other stuff), but the other Champs, Old Dain, and Thorin III don't have it in their base profiles, so for Iron Hills, Defenders of Erebor, and Army of Erebor you will probably need either an Iron Hills Captain (for the Master of Battle 5+ and potentially D9 with Shieldwall) or a Dwarf King (if you prefer a more combat-oriented F6 hero with March, as well as Heroic Resolve). The exception is Erebor Reclaimed, which can't take Goat Riders, but compensates by giving every infantry hero Heroic March and allows infantry models to charge after they March... and yes, you read that right (it's bonkers).
• Strength: Superb Anti-Archery Protection (and some anti-kiting tools): While Dwarves will always struggle in certain match-ups (and scenarios) because of their reduced movement speed, the addition of Shieldwall on your rank-and-file troops generally means that you can survive an extra turn or two of marching under enemy bowfire. Defense 8 is next to impossible for enemy archers to crack: elf bows (S3) need a 6/4+ to deal wounds, while standard bows (S2) only wound you on 6/5+s... which only happens about 6% of the time your opponent rolls to wound. Or, you can ignore enemy shooting entirely by fielding the Ballista in a pure Iron Hills list. The ballista isn't as strong as it was last edition (where it could also reroll 1s to hit and got a free Heroic Shoot each turn); but it's still able to block all incoming shooting that's S6 or less (including a dreaded crossbow block), while also encouraging your opponent to come to you (which negates your reduced speed disadvantage considerably). Mixing in a decent contingent of crossbows, tucked away behind a D8 shieldwall, will generally accomplish the same goalat a reduced points cost/increased model count. Crossbows do make your army more static, which isn't ideal in all scenarios; but they do make it much harder for most armies to kite you, especially enemy armies of mounted archers (who almost always come mounted on standard D4 horses, and thus hate skirmishing with crossbows.
• Weakness: Magic Resistance: Most Iron Hills/Erebor lists have some sort of magic resistance, whether it's Bofur's Steadfast (ignore most magic effects--we think--on a 3+) and Bombur’s Raising Spirits (regenerate Will on a 4+) in Erebor Reclaimed, Defenders of Erebor, Army of Erebor; or Heroic Resolve on super-Dain, Dwarf Kings, and several Champions in all of the lists. If that's not enough for you, you can also look at the cheat list (Battle of the Five Armies) and bring along a wizard like Gandalf or Radagast--but outside of that, you're generally relying on your heroes' innate Will stats to weather lock-down attempts by enemy opponents. That said, most of the heroes have a surprising 2 Will or better (with the two Dains, the two Thorins, Balin, Bombur, and Oin having 3+). And the fact that your troops are so solid (on both offense and defense) and your heroes are so cheap (so you can field more of them) means you may be able to pump out above-average damage even if one of your main heroes is locked down for a few turns. So while facing a magic-heavy opponent still sucks, it generally sucks less than normal. :-P
• Strength/Weakness: Grindy play-style: Chariots, goat riders, and hero spam lists can play differently--but as a general rule, most of the time when you're playing dwarves you’re going to be playing a long game. The troops move slower than most, and they’re rewarded for getting into good defensive positions and then holding those positions in good order. Even with Strength 4, you’re wounding most enemies on a 5+, and failing two out of every three wound rolls makes combat a bit of a slog (especially against other dwarves, where everyone's wounding on 6s). This isn't necessarily a weakness--I enjoy these sorts of combat slogs, myself--but it's not everyone's cup of tea. The good news is that you’re probably the best armies in the game at slogging, and have plenty of hero options to give you some added "punch" in spots (either in important parts of your battleline, or on key turns when your opponent's Might reserves are dwindling).
• Weakness: Cost (in real dollars, euros, etc.): While the five lists described below share some important differences, they unfortunately all rely at their core on Iron Hills Warriors... and that means you're paying ForgeWorld prices for official models (which, sadly, are only going up). The rank-and-file spearmen (of which you'll probably need two full sets, at least) are pretty hefty, while adding dwarves with mallets, crossbows, or goats adds up fast. If you are big into conversions, you can convert the Thorin's Company models (which are in a single, relatively inexpensive plastic set) into champions by giving them armor upgrades (and, in the case of some of the heroes like Gloin, some weapon swaps). But the official champs, along with Dain, are quite expensive. If you lean into WotR-era Erebor, you can stretch your dollars a little further with Old Dain/Thorin III (who cost less than half of what super-Dain will run you) and Gloin (using a Gimli model as your conversion base)... so that helps some. But yeah... this army isn't cheap to collect--and that's before we get to the chariot and ballista, which can now only be taken in one version of the list. 

Ironfoot (and 'is lads) 'ave come!

Photo credit: elgea.illyriad.co.uk

Centerpiece Heroes

As we discussed above (and will discuss again below), you're spoiled for hero choices in most of these lists. That said, there's four core profiles that tend to define the list you're taking: 

• Dain Ironfoot, Lord of the Iron Hills {AotH}: "Super-Dain" is not only the best dwarf combat model this edition (and it's not particularly close): he's one of the best combat models in the game, full-stop. His combat stats are on-par with the best non-Monster models in the game. He got the much-coveted bump to Fight 7 while retaining Heroic Strike, and can win duels reliably. If he wins, his Strength 5, two-handed weapon, and Burly (plus access to Heroic Strength) means he can deal reliable damage to basically any warrior and hero. And in both the Iron Hills and Battle of Five Armies lists, he can still take his war boar, which is among the better value mounts out there (D6 with 2 wounds, for the same points as a standard Armored Horse). Defensively, he's a monster as well, with Defense 8, 3 Wounds, and 3 Fate. He also brings Heroic March and Heroic Resolve to the table (for additional movement or magic protection in a pinch). He has both Courage 3+ and Fearless (so he definitely doesn't run, and is largely impervious to Blades of the Dead), and his Lord of the Iron Hills special rule makes all Iron Hills warriors and Goat Riders within 12” of him Fearless, too. Finally, in a pure Iron Hills list he picks up Master of Battle (5+), which gives him a chance to copy and contest critical Heroic Moves, Strikes, or other heroic actions called by opponents—even after his own Might store has been spent. Paired with the Iron Hills Captains (who have Master of Battle (5+) built into their base profile), calling heroic actions against an Iron Hills force—even if it has run out of Might—is a risky proposition.
• [AotH] Iron Hills (Legend): Must be the general; gains Mountain Dweller and Master of Battle (5+); whilst Infantry, rerolls 1s to wound if in base contact with 2+ friendly Infantry models; may modify Maelstrom/Deployment rolls by +1 or -1.
• [AotH] Erebor Reclaimed (Valour): Infantry Heroes gain Heroic March; Infantry models may charge after participating in a Heroic March; cannot take War Boar (boo!).
• [AotH] Battle of Five Armies (Legend): May reroll 1s to wound if involved in a combat with a friendly model with a different race keyword.

• Thorin Oakenshield, King Under the Mountain {AotH}: Like Dain, King Thorin also got a buff to Fight 7 this edition, while retaining Heroic Strike. That, coupled with the option for Orcrist (an elven made hand-and-a-half weapon), means he is very good at winning combats. He unfortunately lost his option for a war goat this edition (boo), which definitely reduces his damage output. But with 3 Attacks at Strength 4, he's still good for about a kill per round--and if you take Orcrist (+1 to-wound if you two-hand, plus Orc/Goblin/Uruk-bane for extra wounds against Orcs, Goblins, and Uruks), can pull off the trap (6 dice to-wound), and/or draw Gundabad in your match (Hatred-Gundabad), his damage can definitely spike. That's good, because if he charges into combat he can declare a Heroic Combat for free (Ancestral Fury), which can put a lot of pressure on opposing heroes. He also has Fearless to help with Stand Fasts! and charging models with Terror; and all friendly Dwarf heroes now treat him as a banner, which means either Thorin or his attending spearman can count on at least one reroll per combat (potentially more if Oin is nearby). He does need to be your general in both armies where you can field him (Erebor Reclaimed and Assault on Raven Hill), so you'll just need to make sure you keep him safe. He has 3 Wounds (which is great), and Defense 8 means that standard troops will have a tough time taking him down. But he only has a single Fate point and didn't pick up Heroic Defense this edition, so elite troops with stacking +1s to wound--or cavalry heroes on the charge--can take him down.
• [AotH] Erebor Reclaimed (Legend): Must be the the general; Infantry Heroes gain Heroic March; Infantry models may charge after participating in a Heroic March; in a pure Hero list, can reroll 1s to wound; cannot take a War Goat anymore (boo!)
• [AotH] Battle of Five Armies (Legend): May reroll 1s to wound if involved in a combat with a friendly model with a different race keyword.
• [AotH] Assault on Raven Hill (Legend): Can get access to Orcrist (for free) from Legolas; friendly models treat Thorin as a 6" banner/for VPs; Dwalin can declare a heroic combat for free if Thorin is in combat within 6" of Dwalin.

• Dain, King Under the Mountain {AoME}: At first glance, "Old Dain" isn't a particularly exciting profile. I think a huge chunk of that is based on how de-powered this version of Dain is compared to his heyday-form. The loss of the War Boar is huge, as is the drop to Fight 6 (which is pretty good, but not Fight 7) and the downgrade from Strength 5 to four (although with 3 Attacks base, and a master-forged axe, Baranzathul, he's still excellent at pumping out damage). He's still Defense 8 with 3 Wounds, but the drop to just a single Fate also isn't amazing. The other reason he loses some of his shine is his cost: at 130 points, he's still a plus-value hero, especially if you compare him with non-dwarf armies (who would kill for a F6, 3 Attack, D8 hero with a master-forged axe, 3 Might, and Heroic Strike). The problem is that none of his stats are especially impressive in the lists he's in, which have access to multiple F6/3 Attack/D8 heroes with 3 Might, Strike, and a +1 to-wound (Dwalin, Gloin, sometimes Gimli) as well as Thorin III (no +1 to wound, but D9 with 3/3/3 heroic stats and Might for free on the roll of a 5+) for 20-30 points less. And that's before you get to the bargain-bin combat heroes in both lists (like Nori, Dori, and Dwaf Kings) who are 45-55 points cheaper. I mean, don't get me wrong: Fearless with a battlefield-wide Stand Fast! is great and all... but is it better than an extra 2-5 warriors, a second banner, or having two pretty-good combat heroes instead of just one very good one (or having him be your army leader, instead of, say, a D9 Thorin III with 3 Wounds/Fate and a shield)? Hence, the debate. My take? I think Thorin III is probably the default first choice for dwarf hero in both the new-Erebor lists (Defenders and Army), followed closely by a Dwarf King (unless you're planning to take a Dale Captain in Defenders to get your Heroic March for less points). But I could see Dain in that next tier of selections as another Fight 6 beater, especially if he'll get to take advantage of those once-per-game free Heroic Combats in Army of Erebor. Would I take him ahead of Champion Gloin and Champion Dwalin? Probably not (for the record, Dwalin's S5 with an option to two-hand is really nasty... and it's stupid-easy to get Gloin's 4 Attacks to trigger). But if you wanted to, I wouldn't knock it. That said, if he was even 10 points cheaper, it'd be a much easier sell...
• [AoME] Defenders of Erebor (Legend): rerolls 1s to wound when within 1" of a friendly Dale model; friendly models treat him as a banner; may declare a heroic combat for free if Brand is in your army and is trapped at the start of the Fight phase.
• [AoME] Army of Erebor (Legend): May declare a Heroic Combat once per game for free.

• Thorin III "Stonehelm" {AoME}: While Old Dain didn't receive any noticeable buffs in this edition, Thorin III got some sizeable improvements. He got 10 points cheaper, without suffering any reduction in combat stats (still Fight 6 with 3 Attacks at Strength 4; still 2 Wounds and 3/3/3 heroic stats), and actually picked up the defensive buff for having a shield (a very rare Defense 9, which makes him virtually immune to standard archery fire). His Courage 4+ and Intelligence 5+ are both above-average, and his heroic suite--which includes the extremely powerful Heroic Defense, in addition to Strike and Strength--is quite good. The only sore spot is the lack of any +1 to wound bonus, which means that like King Thorin without Orcrist, he tends to only much through a single troop per turn. But at just 110 points (and with plenty of cheap combat heroes in both his lists), you don't necessarily need him to fill the role of beatstick. In fact, he's probably better-suited to anchoring your main battle-line--perhaps flanked by a beater like Dwalin, Gloin, Gimli, or even his father, Dain--where you can get maximum value out of his Cool-Headed special rule (roll a d6 after declaring a Heroic Action, and on a 5+ it is free--plus, he can change his declared Heroic Action without penalty if an enemy model subsequently calls a heroic action). That's a 1/3 chance of getting a free Heroic Move or Combat, both of which can help power an assault (even if he's not spearheading it). I tend to think he's generally the first hero you pick in a new-Erebor army, thanks to his low points cost and tanky defensive stats (2 Wounds and 3 Fate is about equal to Dain, but the D9 and shield are massive improvements over Dain--and the whole package is better than what you'll get on any other hero in Army of Erebor or Defenders of Erebor). And his synergy with Bard II in Defenders of Erebor (who I think is a consensus better profile than Brand) is a nice plus in that list (free heroic combat if Bard is trapped at the start of the Fight Phase). 
• [AoME] Defenders of Erebor (Valour): rerolls 1s to wound when within 1" of a friendly Dale model; friendly models treat him as a banner; may declare a heroic combat for free if Bard is in your army and is trapped at the start of the Fight phase.
• [AoME] Army of Erebor (Valour): May declare a Heroic Combat once per game for free.

Combat Heroes

Not sure this was ever in the film... but it looks cool!

Photo Credit: whoisdhillon.com

While King Thorin and Super-Dain are probably in a tier of their own, one of the distinctives about these lists is the sheer number of combat heroes they can field at once. No really--it's actually nuts:

• Dwalin the Dwarf, Champion of Erebor {AotH}: In the previous edition, Dwalin was on whatever short-list there was for top damage-dealing dwarves in the game. Unfortunately, his profile has taken a major hit this edition. While most of his core stats are the same (Fight 6, Strength 5, Defense 8, 2 Wounds, Courage 4+ with Sworn Protector (Thorin), and 3/2/2 Heroic Stats with Heroic Strike and Strength), the loss of the War Goat is pretty bad, his base attacks dropped from 3 to 2, and The King's Axeman has been completely reworked, granting Dwalin access to the old Piercing Strike rule (+1 strength if you win the duel, -d3 defense if you lose the duel) instead of giving him +1 attack while on foot (which is definitely a downgrade). In place of those buffs, he's picked up Grasper & Keeper, which is a super-charged version of Gimli's Axes of the Dwarves: when using these two hand-axes, he gets +1 attack on foot (so back to 3 Attacks), and any natural to-wound rolls of a natural "6" that aren't prevented deal 2 wounds instead of the normal one. While that rule is situational (1/6 chance on each to-wound die), it's not as situational as you may think at first glance: it turns out you have about a 42% chance of rolling at least one "6" on three dice, and if Dwalin manages to trap his opponent (and is rolling 6 dice), he has a 67% chance of rolling at least one natural "6" (and a 25% chance of rolling at least two 6s). Unfortunately you don't get this buff when using his two-handed axe, but because Dwalin is Strength 5, you don't feel the loss of the +1 to-wound as much as you'd think (D7 heroes are still wounded on 5s, and there's a lot of D5 troops now that a lot of spearmen have lost the option to take shields). Having played quite a bit with new Dwalin, I think the real loser is his two-handed weapon option. Because opting to two-hand means Dwalin is only rolling two attack dice (three if supported by a spear) and loses out on the extra wounds, it's hard to justify going two-handed (even with Burly) against an opponent who isn't trapped. And if the opponent is trapped, I expect the damage output you'll get from six Strength 5 dice (with double wounds on natural 6s) will outpace what you'll deal with just four dice at effective Strength 7 (with no bonus damage). All that said, Dwalin still remains one of the better combat heroes available to Iron Hills/Erebor, with 3 Might, Heroic Strike, and Heroic Strength (which gives him a whopping Strength 10, potentially with a +1 to-wound). And while he's not the bargain he used to be, he's still very good for just 110 points... so I'm definitely not knocking him.
• [AotH] Erebor Reclaimed (Valour): Infantry Heroes gain Heroic March; Infantry models may charge after participating in a Heroic March; can use Balin's M/W/F if within 3" of each other; in a pure Hero list, can reroll 1s to wound; cannot take a War Goat anymore (boo!)
• [AotH] Battle of Five Armies (Valour): May reroll 1s to wound if involved in a combat with a friendly model with a different race keyword.
• [AotH] Assault on Raven Hill (Valour): Dwalin can declare a heroic combat for free if Thorin is within 6" and in combat (must attempt to join Thorin's combat, or get as close as possible).
• [AoME] Defenders of Erebor (Valour): rerolls 1s to wound when within 1" of a friendly Dale model.
• [AoME] Army of Erebor (Valour): May declare a Heroic Combat once per game for free.

• Gloin the Dwarf, Champion of Erebor {AotH}: Like Dwalin, Gloin's core stats are largely unchanged: Fight 6, Strength 4, Defense 8, 3 Attacks, 2 Wounds, and 3 Might with Heroic Strike/Strength are all very solid. He did lose Weapon Master (so he suffers the 2-handed penalty now), although the two-handing rules in general are less punishing this edition (since 6s stay 6s). But for an extra 10 points, he also gained an extra Will and two extra Fate (3/2/3 heroic stats), which beefs up his survivability significantly. Last, he's added Axe Mastery which gives him a fourth attack when outnumbered in a combat (which is fairly easy to do if you move first). With four attacks base (plus the obligatory spearman bolted on his back), he's got close to a 60% chance of getting that "6" to win the duel (closer to 67% if you add a banner reroll). And if he does win the duel, those four dice with a +1 to wound (or six dice with a +1 to-wound against a single trapped target) are pretty reliable at getting damage through high-defense targets, or clearing out generic rank-and-file warriors. And that's before you factor in his bonus in the Army of Erebor, where he gets to reroll all failed to-wounds when within 3" of Gimli (which is pretty beastly). All-in-all, he's one of the better dwarf combat profiles you'll see this edition--and at just 100 points, he's a real bargain, too.
• [AotH] Erebor Reclaimed (Fortitude): Infantry Heroes gain Heroic March; Infantry models may charge after participating in a Heroic March; can use Oin's M/W/F if within 3" of each other; in a pure Hero list, can reroll 1s to wound
• [AotH] Battle of Five Armies (Fortitude): May reroll 1s to wound if involved in a combat with a friendly model with a different race keyword.
• [AoME] Defenders of Erebor (Fortitude): rerolls 1s to wound when within 1" of a friendly Dale model.
• [AoME] Army of Erebor (Fortitude): May declare a Heroic Combat once per game for free; rerolls all failed to-wound rolls within 3" of Gimli.

• Nori the Dwarf, Champion of Erebor {AotH}: At 75 points, Nori doesn't have the top-end Fight Value or Might pool as Erebor's top-tier heroes (Fight 5 with 2/2/2 heroic stats). But he still has 3 Attacks and access to Heroic Strike, and also picked up an extra Defense (a whopping D9) from his dwarf shield, which combined with his extra Fate makes him a decent tank. His Courage and Intelligence (5+) are both above average, plus he has Sworn Protector (Thorin), so depending on your list build he can reliably charge Terror models and keep your army together after it breaks. Finally, he has a situational buff to his damage (Just a couple of keepsakes) centered around carrying objective markers (he rerolls all failed To Wound rolls when carrying one... which is pretty nice). He lost Weapon Synergy this edition (which allowed him to reroll a duel and to-wound die for free, two dice with a banner, and up to three dice if supported by Oin), so that's a downgrade; but he also randomly picked up throwing weapons (which is cool) and still has Weapon Master even though he doesn't have a two-handed weapon (but he never counts as unarmed--so that's nice). He's unlikely to get the damage ceiling that Dwalin, Gloin, Thorin or Dain can; but he can still slot in as a very reliable third or fourth combat option, at a very reasonable cost. And like Dwalin and Gloin, you can take him in almost every Iron Hills/Erebor Reclaimed list
• [AotH] Erebor Reclaimed (Fortitude): Infantry Heroes gain Heroic March; Infantry models may charge after participating in a Heroic March; can use Dori or Ori's M/W/F if within 3" of each other; in a pure Hero list, can reroll 1s to wound
• [AotH] Battle of Five Armies (Fortitude): May reroll 1s to wound if involved in a combat with a friendly model with a different race keyword.
• [AoME] Defenders of Erebor (Fortitude): rerolls 1s to wound when within 1" of a friendly Dale model.
• [AoME] Army of Erebor (Fortitude): May declare a Heroic Combat once per game for free.

• Dori the Dwarf, Champion of Erebor {AotH}: Like Dwalin, Dori got his base attacks reduced to 2 this edition, but his base combat profile is still decent (Fight 5, Strength 4 with two-handed weapon, Defense 8, 2 Attacks/Wounds, Courage/Intelligence 5+, and 2/2/2 Heroic Stats). He unfortunately lost access to Heroic Defense (which was a primary reason for bringing him), but he still has Heroic Strength and added Heroic Resolve for some additional magic protection. He's also lost Weapon Master (which, unlike Nori's, actually mattered last edition because it got rid of the two-handed penalty), so that hurts his reliability in combat a little. Thankfully, A Good Sort Really has been reworked this edition--instead of it allowing Bilbo to use Dori's heroic stats if he was within 3" of Dori (which I don't know if anyone ever used), this edition it gives Dori back his third Attack if he is within 3" of Nori, plus Dori can reroll any 1s he roles during a duel. That's still not quite as good as 3 attacks base with Weapon Master... but it does mean that you can take Nori and Dori for about what a lot of armies will pay for one very good combat hero, and can get two pretty good heroes (with warband slots) for comparable points. In some lists (like Battle of Five Armies) that's probably not optimal; in others (like Army of Erebor, where each also gets a free Heroic Combat every game), it's pretty sweet.
• [AotH] Erebor Reclaimed (Fortitude): Infantry Heroes gain Heroic March; Infantry models may charge after participating in a Heroic March; can use Nori or Ori's M/W/F if within 3" of each other; in a pure Hero list, can reroll 1s to wound
• [AotH] Battle of Five Armies (Fortitude): May reroll 1s to wound if involved in a combat with a friendly model with a different race keyword.
• [AoME] Defenders of Erebor (Fortitude): rerolls 1s to wound when within 1" of a friendly Dale model.
• [AoME] Army of Erebor (Fortitude): May declare a Heroic Combat once per game for free.

• Kili the Dwarf and Fili the Dwarf, Champions of Erebor {AotH}: In the Seventh Edition, like the previous edition, Fili and Kili have basically identical profiles, with the exception of their heroic action suite. Their base profile has actually improved somewhat: for five points less, they've both retained that third Might point and picked up an extra Will (for 3/2/1 heroic stats), while retaining their Captain-level stat line (Fight 5, Strength 4, Defense 8, 2 Attacks/Wounds, Courage 5+, and Sworn Protector (Thorin)) and access to Heroic Strike. The main loss comes in their wargear options: like Thorin and Dwalin, they lost access to war goats (which really hurts), and also can't take Dwarf Bows anymore to pair with their 3+ shoot value (which I grant was a rare include, but at least it captured some cool movie moments). They still have Combat Synergy, which would still make more sense if they had more than 2 wounds or more than 2 Fate or had Heroic Defense (2 wounds/1 fate/no Defense means it's harder to cycle wounds between the two of them). That said, they do get to reroll a single D6 in a duel when they trigger it (and it doesn't cost anything to trigger it), so it's probably worth doing just because for that reason--and it does mean they could get to reroll both of their duel dice if they're also within range of a banner, banner effect (like Thorin), or Oin. Finally, their secondary heroic actions have both been improved in this edition. Fili retains Heroic Strength, which can get him to Strength 8 (which is pretty solid), while Kili swapped Heroic Accuracy for Heroic Challenge--meaning he can get to 3 Attacks with a +1 to-wound against his declared target. Oh--and they're Heroes of Valour now (nice) and get base 3 Attacks in the Assault on Raven Hill list (so 4 attacks for Kili if he challenges, which is quite good)... although in my opinion, the loss of war goats in that list is an absolute travesty. Worst-case scenario: at 70 points, they're cheap Might caddies for your army, who can bring along a lot of warriors and can be serviceable bodyguards for one of your bigger combat heroes. Best-case scenario, they can gang up on something that costs quite a bit more points than them, and at least play it to a draw if supported by a healthy contingent of warriors.
• [AotH] Erebor Reclaimed (Valour): Infantry Heroes gain Heroic March; Infantry models may charge after participating in a Heroic March; can use each other's M/W/F if within 3" of each other; in a pure Hero list, can reroll 1s to wound; cannot take a War Goat anymore (boo!)
• [AotH] Battle of Five Armies (Valour): May reroll 1s to wound if involved in a combat with a friendly model with a different race keyword.
• [AotH] Assault on Raven Hill (Valour): Fili and Kili have 3 Attacks instead of 2.

• Gimli, Son of Gloin {AoLotR}: As I mentioned in our write-up on the Fellowship, Gimli only marginally improved this edition. Apart from picking up an extra Fate point (which is nice), he's exactly the same as he was in the Sixth Edition (except for his 6+ Intelligence stat... which is frankly kind of insulting). That said, his lack of glow-up is less noticeable in the Army of Erebor list than it is when he's standing next to Aragorn and Legolas (who are both top-tier combat profiles this edition). At fight 6, with 2 attacks and Heroic Strike and Strength (to go with 3/2/3 heroic stats), he is similar to Dwalin in terms of his flexibility. If you're good with two attacks (or if the opponent is trapped), he can use his Master-Forged dwarf axe to punch up to S6 without any penalty to his duel roll, which is super useful against high-defense targets and monsters. Or he can use his two hand-axes (at Strength 4) and get three attacks instead of his normal two. Unfortunately you can't trigger his I myself am sitting pretty on 43 in the Army of Erebor (because there's no option for Legolas); but he does pick up rerolls on all failed-to-wound rolls as long as he's within 3" of Gloin (and Gloin also gets to reroll all failed to-wounds if within 3" of Gimli), which is frankly kind of busted given that both Gimli and Gloin can two-hand. Oh, and he picks up a free Heroic Combat once per game, too, just for funsies. Gimli probably isn't going to be your first choice in Army of Erebor just like he isn't your first choice in a Fellowship/Three Hunters list (I think it's Thorin III, or maybe King Dain), and probably won't be your second either because he doesn't have Heroic March (Dwarf King for offense, Iron Hills Captain for the Shieldwall and Master of Battle (5+). But after that, I suspect it comes down to whether you like Dwalin and an extra 7-8 troops, or the Gimli/Gloin pair... and I think that's a real decision.
• {AoME} Army of Erebor (Fortitude): may declare a Heroic Combat once per game for free; rerolls all failed to-wound rolls within 3" of Gloin.

• Murin {Legacies}: Murin is largely unchanged from last edition. His base profile is still solid. Fight 5, Strength 4, and 2 Attacks (with a +1 to-wound against Orcs, Goblins, and Uruk-Hai) isn’t bad for effectively 70 points. And while he did trade a Might for an extra Will and Fate, his 2/2/2 heroic stats mean he has a little more cushion to tank things (with his 2 Wounds/Fate, D8, and shield). He also retained Heroic Strike, when a lot of other profiles (including dwarf heroes) lost it, so that’s a plus. If you could take him in Erebor lists, I think he’d be outshone pretty quickly; but as it happens, he can only be slotted into an Iron Hills list (where his F5/Heroic Strike/ability to anchor your battle line while Dain is rampaging) is actually pretty useful). Or you can run him in the legacies list where he picks up another +1 to-wound against Easterlings (Hatred (Easterling)), alongside the OG Khazad-Dum dwarves (instead of Iron Hills Warriors).
• [AotH] Iron Hills (Fortitude): Gains Mountain Dweller; whilst Infantry, rerolls 1s to wound if in base contact with 2+ friendly Infantry models; may modify Maelstrom/Deployment rolls by +1 or -1.
• [Legacies] Expedition to the East (Fortitude): Friendly Dwarf models may reroll 1s to wound while within 1" of a friendly Gondor model; gains Hatred (Easterling).

Supporting Heroes

Yes, he looks goofy in this picture. But don't let that deceive you...

Photo credit: Lotr Dwarven on Pinterest

And you thought we were done with the hero profiles, didn't you? ;-) The sneaky thing is that most of these heroes are actually decent fighters in their own right. But because the actual combat heroes in these lists are so strong, if you're fielding any of these models, it's probably because of the additional talents they bring to the table (and there's a lot of them).

• Balin the Dwarf, Champion of Erebor {AotH}: Like most of these support heroes, Balin's combat profile in some respects looks more like a warrior's than a hero's. He's base Fight 4 with no option to Strike, which means that if you throw him into a big beater, he's not likely to win (the fact that he has a two-handed weapon with no way to avoid the duel penalty doesn't help matters). His Heroic Stats are also a little wonky (1/3/2), although his Courage and Intelligence (both 4+) are quite good. And his S4 is pretty average (although the +1 to-wound bonus from his two-hander means that he can pack a surprising punch, especially if a model is trapped). The best part of his combat profile is actually his defensive stats. Defense 8 with 2 Wounds/2 Fate can be difficult for enemy troops to crack, and the fact that he retained Heroic Defense (in addition to Heroic Resolve) is a nice bonus (though with just one Might point, you won't get a ton of use out of Heroic Defense unless other heroes are killing enemy heroes or monsters within 6" of Ori, and then you opt to restore Balin's Might for some reason--kind of a longshot). For all those reasons, if your fielding Balin, it's probably not for his combat output--it's because he's a really cheap Hero of Valour (which allows you to pack more Iron Hills Warriors into your army), and because his Longbeard ability is a nice utility skill that allows us to re-roll a priority roll on a turn we need to win it. Given that winning the priority roll is always good now (because you can choose whether to take or give Priority), that's a definite plus. Finally, like several of his supporting compatriots, Balin can only be fielded in a couple of lists set during the Hobbit (as his doomed expedition to Moria met its demise prior to the War of the Ring).
• [AotH] Erebor Reclaimed (Valour): Infantry Heroes gain Heroic March; Infantry models may charge after participating in a Heroic March; can use Dwalin's M/W/F if within 3" of each other; in a pure Hero list, can reroll 1s to wound; cannot take a War Goat anymore (boo!)
• [AotH] Battle of Five Armies (Valour): May reroll 1s to wound if involved in a combat with a friendly model with a different race keyword.

• Bifur the Dwarf, Champion of Erebor {AotH}: Bifur's profile has actually received a pretty substantial rework this edition. On the plus side, he's Fight 5 now (up from F4), picked up Heroic Strength (which, when paired with his two-handed axe, gives him effective Strength 10), kept his ability to throw stones (which isn't amazing, but is something), and gained an extra Will and Fate (2 each), at no increase in points cost. On the downside, his Might dropped from 2 to 1 (1/2/2 heroic stats... which is a little weird), his hand-and-a-half axe is now a two-handed axe (so he suffers the 2-handed duel penalty unless he rolls a "6"), and he lost Heroic Strike (so while the bump from F4 to F5 is nice, he's effectively much worse than he was last edition at winning combats). His Courage is basically the same (5+), but his Intelligence stat is a surprisingly low 7+. That matters because his core ability last edition (Embedded Axe) is both harder to trigger (he gets to make a single S4 Strike, which isn't doubled if the target is trapped, and can now only be modified by a single Might) and harder to activate once you unlock it (as Bifur needs to pass that 7+ Intelligence Test to trigger that free Heroic Move). Don't get me wrong: any option for getting a free Heroic Move each turn is better than having no option for a free Heroic Move each turn (and in a list like Army of Erebor, where every hero gets a free heroic combat once per game and Thorin III/Iron Hills Captains may be calling free heroics on a 5+, it can get pretty bonkers pretty quickly). But I don't know that he's an auto-take anymore, given the degree of difficulty of unlocking and triggering the effect.
• [AotH] Erebor Reclaimed (Fortitude): Infantry Heroes gain Heroic March; Infantry models may charge after participating in a Heroic March; can use Bofur or Bombur's M/W/F if within 3" of each other; in a pure Hero list, can reroll 1s to wound
• [AotH] Battle of Five Armies (Fortitude): May reroll 1s to wound if involved in a combat with a friendly model with a different race keyword.
• [AoME] Defenders of Erebor (Fortitude): rerolls 1s to wound when within 1" of a friendly Dale model.
• [AoME] Army of Erebor (Fortitude): May declare a Heroic Combat once per game for free.

• Bofur the Dwarf, Champion of Erebor {AotH}: Like Bifur, Bofur also got a Fight buff this edition (F5 instead of F4), lost Heroic Strike, and got his hand-and-a-half hammer converted into a two-handed weapon (although he curiously picked up throwing weapons to pair with his 4+ shoot value). He also kept his second Might and picked up a random Fate point (for 2/1/2 heroic stats... which is again just kind of weird). The rest of his combat profile is solid but not spectacular: Fight 5, Strength 4/Defense 8, 2 Attacks/Wounds, Courage 5+ and Intelligence 6+. He also finally got an official wargear option for Troll Brute (which he can take in both the Erebor Reclaimed and Battle of Five Armies lists, but sadly--though I suppose understandably--not in the War of the Ring-era lists). Despite the moderate buffs to Heroic Resolve, I suspect the primary reason for taking Bofur remains his signature special rule, Steadfast, which according to its text will allow Bofur--or another friendly Erebor Hero within 3" of him--to "ignore" the "effects" of "an enemy special rule or Magical Power" that "affect[s]" them, on the roll of a 3+ (if the offending thing is a magical power, the Steadfast test is done after any resist tests are made). Two comments on this: first, definitely check the Designers Commentary and Erratas for more details on exactly how this works... because it's not exactly as straight-forward as the written rule suggests, and I don't want to come back and edit this every time a new FAQ is released. That said, the rule does seem to apply to more special rules and spells than it doesn't... which means it's potentially very disruptive to your opponent. How disruptive? Well, that leads me to the second observation: unlike other rules that can cancel enemy effects (like Floi's Loremaster rule, which requires you to spend Will, have line-of-sight to the target, and caps the range at 12"), Bifur's Steadfast applies to any friendly Erebor Heroes within 3" of Bifur, "whenever" they would be affected by a spell or special rule, without any need to expend a resource. In other words, it's a free 3+ roll every time you get targeted. Sure, it only works 2/3 of the time. But if you're disrupting 2/3 of your enemy's Paralyzes, or turning off 2/3 of their cavalry charges, or removing 2/3 of their +1s to-wound... or potentially prevents Grima from increasing your Might expenditures 2/3 of the time? Yeah, it can get pretty disruptive in a hurry...  
• [AotH] Erebor Reclaimed (Fortitude): Infantry Heroes gain Heroic March; Infantry models may charge after participating in a Heroic March; can use Bifur or Bombur's M/W/F if within 3" of each other; in a pure Hero list, can reroll 1s to wound
• [AotH] Battle of Five Armies (Fortitude): May reroll 1s to wound if involved in a combat with a friendly model with a different race keyword.
• [AoME] Defenders of Erebor (Fortitude): rerolls 1s to wound when within 1" of a friendly Dale model.
• [AoME] Army of Erebor (Fortitude): May declare a Heroic Combat once per game for free.

• Bombur the Dwarf, Champion of Erebor {AotH}: Like Balin, Bombur is probably best working on a warrior or two instead of taking on heroes. With just Fight 4 and 2 Attacks, he's unlikely to out-duel a dedicated combat hero; and with just Defense 7, he's also relatively "fragile" for a dwarf hero (although is 3 Wounds and 2 Fate will help some). He does have Heroic Defense in a pinch--although like Balin, he has only 1 Might (1/3/2 Heroic Stats), so it's more a "break glass in case of emergency" ability instead of a dedicated tanking tool. That said, his Courage and Intelligence (both 4+) are solid if unspectacular (plus he has Sworn Protector (Thorin), with options for Thorins in all his lists); he picked up Dominant (2) which is kind of fun; and he can still use the old Whirl special strike, only without reducing his Fight Value to 1 (allowing him to use his flail as a hand weapon or two-handed weapon, and allowing him to make normal strikes or one strike against each enemy in the combat, which he declares after he wins the duel). Due to his immense girth, he can't call Heroic Moves and has to reroll 6s on any jump/leap/swing tests he takes (thematic). And like Balin, his primary benefit to your force is likely to be his Raising Spirits special rule: once per activation, he can choose a friendly model within 3", roll a d6, and on a 4+ will restore a point of Will to that model that was spent earlier in the battle. While this can help with magic resistance in a pinch, the obvious synergies are with both Balin and Oin (who can use their Will points to reroll priority and give bonus duel rerolls to friendly models, respectively), which is pretty nifty in Hobbit-era armies.
• [AotH] Erebor Reclaimed (Fortitude): Infantry Heroes gain Heroic March; Infantry models may charge after participating in a Heroic March; can use Bifur or Bofur's M/W/F if within 3" of each other; in a pure Hero list, can reroll 1s to wound
• [AotH] Battle of Five Armies (Fortitude): May reroll 1s to wound if involved in a combat with a friendly model with a different race keyword.
• [AoME] Defenders of Erebor (Fortitude): rerolls 1s to wound when within 1" of a friendly Dale model.
• [AoME] Army of Erebor (Fortitude): May declare a Heroic Combat once per game for free.

• Ori the Dwarf, Champion of Erebor {AotH}: Ori is still the weakest of the Champion profiles when it comes to combat... although if you compare him to last edition, he's actually a much-improved profile (and 5 points cheaper than last edition, to boot). In addition to Fight 4, he's also only Strength 3--although with a two-handed weapon and 2 Attacks he can do some decent damage against troops (plus he also picked up throwing weapons, which pair nicely with his 3+ shoot value). His Defense of 7 is also low for a dwarf hero, although he's picked up a 2nd Fate point in this edition and traded in a Will point for a second Might point (and his resulting 2/2/2 heroic stats, to pair with 2 Wounds, actually aren't too shabby). His Courage and Intelligence of 6+ are both serviceable, and unlike Balin or Bombur (who only have 1 Might to spend on Heroic Defense), Ori can actually call his Heroic Defense a couple of times if you need a spot tank. But the two biggest improvements--and the real reason you take him--are to his two special rules. Chronicler still restores a Might, Will, or Fate "whenever" an enemy Hero or Monster is slain (so you can potentially trigger it multiple times in the same Fight Phase), but the range has been expanded from 3" to within 6" of Ori; it can now be triggered by any Erebor Hero (instead of just Thorin or a Champion of Erebor); and if the hero who makes the kill is still at full-stats, another Erebor Hero within 6" and line-of-sight to Ori can gain it instead (user's choice). And then, for no apparent reason, Ori also picked up Protect the Young, which removes the two-handed penalty from friendly Erebor Heroes within 6" of Ori... so Dori and Gloin effectively get Weapon Master again--yay! Did I mention he's 5 points cheaper than he used to be?
• [AotH] Erebor Reclaimed (Fortitude): Infantry Heroes gain Heroic March; Infantry models may charge after participating in a Heroic March; can use Dwalin's M/W/F if within 3" of each other; in a pure Hero list, can reroll 1s to wound; cannot take a War Goat anymore (boo!)
• [AotH] Battle of Five Armies (Fortitude): May reroll 1s to wound if involved in a combat with a friendly model with a different race keyword.
• [Legacies] Reclamation of Moria (Fortitude): gains the Khazad-Dum keyword (check with your TO as to how Chronicler and Protect the Young work if every model in your army has the Khazad-Dum instead of Erebor keyword); +1 to-wound when making strikes if the army is broken; friendly Dwarf Heroes may declare a Heroic Defense for free if they are trapped at the start of the Fight Phase, even if they cannot normally call Heroic Defense

• Oin the Dwarf, Champion of Erebor {AotH}: Similar to Ori, Oin also has an improved profile over last edition, while also getting 5 points cheaper (kind of makes you wonder what Dwalin did to the developers to get his base Attacks neutered to 2, with no cost decrease...). He is still Fight 4/Strength 4/Defense 8 with 2 Wounds/1 Fate, but has picked up an extra attack (2 attacks base, 4 if he shields), an extra Will point (1/5/1 heroic stats), and has swapped Heroic Resolve for Defense (which is on balance an improvement, I think). As with Ori, his core value to your force is going to be found in his unique special rules. Two of them are carryovers from last edition, which have been slightly modified. Healing Herbs still lets him heal a wound on a friendly model he is in base-contact with, on the roll of a 4+. The ability to heal all wounds on a "6" has gone away, but Oin can now trigger it at any point in his activation (instead of having to forfeit his move and be in base-contact with the target), which makes it much easier to proc and means that Oin can potentially fight on the same turn (it can still only be attempted once per round). And like Bombur’s Raising Spirits, or Bofur's Steadfast, Oin doesn’t have to spend any Will to trigger this ability: it’s always free, as long as you get the required roll. Likewise, Oin's Prognostication still allows him to spend a Will point to let a friendly model reroll a duel die (and as far as I know, it's still cumulative with banner effects)--only it can now apply to any friendly model within 6" (instead of 3" last edition) and can be triggered multiple times in the same Fight Phase if Oin has the Will to spend (instead of just once per Fight Phase last edition), which are again vast improvements. Finally, Oin has picked up a new wargear item--a Hearing Trumpet--which basically gives him Master of Battle (5+) (allowing him to copy an enemy heroic action declared within 6" of him, for free). The only "downside"? If he rolls a natural 1, he loses a Will (or has to forfeit his Move if he has no more Will, as he tries to fix his Trumpet). Is it corny? Yes. Does it only add to Erebor's Might shenanigans? You bet it does.
• [AotH] Erebor Reclaimed (Valour): Infantry Heroes gain Heroic March; Infantry models may charge after participating in a Heroic March; can use Dwalin's M/W/F if within 3" of each other; in a pure Hero list, can reroll 1s to wound; cannot take a War Goat anymore (boo!)
• [AotH] Battle of Five Armies (Valour): May reroll 1s to wound if involved in a combat with a friendly model with a different race keyword.
• [Legacies] Reclamation of Moria (Fortitude): gains the Khazad-Dum keyword (as with Ori, check with your TO as to how Healing Herbs and Reading the Portents work if every model in your army has the Khazad-Dum instead of Erebor keyword); +1 to-wound when making strikes if the army is broken; friendly Dwarf Heroes may declare a Heroic Defense for free if they are trapped at the start of the Fight Phase, even if they cannot normally call Heroic Defense

• Drar {Legacies}: Like Murin, Drar is largely unchanged from last edition (although he did get a nice bump to F5, to pair with S4, 2 Attacks, and a sneaky D7 which is exceptional for an archer). His 2/2/2 heroic stats trade some Might for survivability, and he also picked up Sharpshooter to pair with Expert Shot and Mountain Dweller. He and Murin are a decent investment in a pure Iron Hills list, but they’re an interesting alternative to an Iron Hills Captain or Dwarf King if you’re looking to spice things up.
• [AotH] Iron Hills (Fortitude): Gains Mountain Dweller; whilst Infantry, rerolls 1s to wound if in base contact with 2+ friendly Infantry models; may modify Maelstrom/Deployment rolls by +1 or -1.
• [Legacies] Expedition to the East (Fortitude): Friendly Dwarf models may reroll 1s to wound while within 1" of a friendly Gondor model; gains Hatred (Easterling).

• Iron Hills Captains {AotH}: They're very pricey for generic heroes (80 points) and have unfortunately lost their option for a war goat (boo!), which limits their damage output. As a result, if you bring one it'll be for what they were originally designed to do: get your battle line of 5" move dwarves where it needs to go (thanks to Heroic March), and then help anchor it with heroic moves and the general awesomeness that comes with being Fight 5, with 2 Attacks at Strength 4, and Defense 8 base with a shield (or D9 with Shieldwall).  Plus, because they come with Master of Battle (5+) built into their base profile, you have the chance to  keep powering your battle line after your Might stores have been depleted. You also have the option to swap the shield for a mattock, which will increase damage output somewhat while still staying a respectable D7. I probably wouldn't go that direction if you're just planning to maximize stats, although the mattock-wielding captain is a really cool model. Since March is really important in some scenarios, this would probably be an auto-include in most lists (except Erebor Reclaimed, where every Infantry Hero gets Heroic March) if it weren't for...
• [AotH] Iron Hills (Fortitude): Gains Mountain Dweller; whilst Infantry, rerolls 1s to wound if in base contact with 2+ friendly Infantry models; may modify Maelstrom/Deployment rolls by +1 or -1.
• [AotH] Erebor Reclaimed (Fortitude): Infantry Heroes gain Heroic March; Infantry models may charge after participating in a Heroic March; cannot take War Boar (boo!).
• [AotH] Battle of Five Armies (Fortitude): May reroll 1s to wound if involved in a combat with a friendly model with a different race keyword.
• [AoME] Defenders of Erebor (Fortitude): rerolls 1s to wound when within 1" of a friendly Dale model.
• [AoME] Army of Erebor (Fortitude):  May declare a Heroic Combat once per game for free.

• Dwarf Kings {AotH}: That's right--Iron Hills also gets Dwarf Kings in two of their list variants, which is very cool (for the record, so does Army of Thror). Their profile got a bit of a glow-up from last edition: in addition to Heroic March and a very solid stat line (Fight 6, 2 Attacks at S4, 2 Wounds at D8 with 1 Fate), they also got an extra Will and Fate (2/2/2) and also get a faction-specific bonus rule (in the Iron Hills list, they have the Iron Hills keyword, so they're Fearless; in the Army of Erebor list they have the Erebor keyword, they gain Ancient Enemies (Orc), so they reroll 1s to wound). Neither bonus is super-powerful, but it's nice to have. More importantly, having another option for a F6 hero (who's also pretty solid in combat) is pretty great, especially in a list like Iron Hills (where all your other hero options cap out at F5) and Army of Erebor (where you have another F6 hero you can push around with that free Heroic Combat once per game). They come with hand-and-a-half axes so you have the option for some added punch (effective S6 if you two-hand), and D8 with 2 Wounds and 2 Fate makes them decent tanks. Lastly, in addition to Heroic March (which is always helpful for dwarves), they also have Heroic Resolve in case you run into an opponent who leans heavily into magic, or you're worried about break tests. At just 5 points more than an Iron Hills Captain, you lose access to the shielding option (and potential D9, plus the Master of Battle (5+)), but gain the Fight 6, potential damage output, and that extra Will/Fate point... so I think there's a real choice here.
• [AotH] Iron Hills (Valour): Gains Mountain Dweller; whilst Infantry, rerolls 1s to wound if in base contact with 2+ friendly Infantry models; may modify Maelstrom/Deployment rolls by +1 or -1.
• [AoME] Army of Erebor (Valour):  May declare a Heroic Combat once per game for free.

Warrior Profiles 

It's harder to take, but still plenty scary...

Photo credit: middle-earthcinematicuniverse.fandom.com

Lest you forgot (in the midst of all the hero-praising), these lists also have really good warrior profiles, too. The stock-standard Iron Hills Warrior appears in every list (except Ravenhill), and the Goat Riders are pretty ubiquitous, too. Sadly, the Chariot and Ballista are just limited to one list... but they're an essential part of what makes that list competitive. And if you have the cash for them, all of the models  themselves are simply stunning.

• Iron Hills Warriors {AotH}: While these lists have a lot of cool models in them, the Iron Hills Warrior profile is likely to remain the backbone of all your armies (with the exception of the niche Assault on Raven Hill list, which is a special case), thanks in large part to their solid core stats (Fight 4, Defense 6 base, Defense 7 with shield) and tons of very good wargear options. The most basic upgrade is to add a shield and spear for two points. Back in ye olden days, dwarves didn't have spears (except for half of the Vault Warden Team), but they've been a core part of the Iron Hills army since the beginning, and are really useful to have en masse, especially in the hero-heavy variants of the list (Erebor Reclaimed, with all the champions; and especially Army of Erebor, where every hero gets a free once-per-game Heroic Combat, and every supporting model gets +1 to wound... yes, you read that correctly). And the addition of the shield means that your standard warriors are D7 base, and can get to D8 thanks to Shieldwall, which is way easier to pull off this edition (since you apply the bonus before you back away, instead of after). That buff to defense, coupled with an exceptional Strength 4, makes them one of the best core units in the game. And while they're not cheap by any stretch, 12 points for those stats (plus spears) is a really good value. Shield and Spear is so good that their other melee choice--the mattock--tends to look dull in comparison. While it's true you go "down" to D6 (no shield, and thus no Shieldwall bonus), Defense 6 for a heavy-hitting shock infantry unit isn't terrible by any stretch. And while special strikes have largely gone away, the special rules for Mattocks allow these dwarves to basically replicate the effect of the Bash special strike, by allowing them to knock their foe down if their Strength plus a d6 is equal to or greater than their target's Strength plus a d6. They sadly don't get a +1 modifier for using their two-handed mattock anymore; but since their strength (S4) is equal to the strength of most enemy heroes (S4) and basically any enemy cavalry model, and a d6 is pretty variable, you can potentially knock something prone (or off its mount) that costs a lot more than your warrior--with basically no risk when you flub. Are you likely to knock down that S9 Balrog? Not really. But could you? Actually, yes--yes, you can (S4 Dwarf rolls a "6," S9 Balrog rolls a "1," and the Dwarf wins the tie). Oh--and if the target is trapped and you decide to two-hand instead of bashing, you can roll two dice each, at effectively S6, and deal damage that way. Would I run a ton of these like I used to run a ton of Grim Hammers (back before they capped throwing weapons at 1/3--boo!)? I would not. But is there room in the list for at least a few of them (especially if you need to shave off a few points somewhere)? Yeah, I think there is. Iron Hills dwarves can also be equipped with Strength 4 crossbows, which can cut through most opposing ranks at a massive 24” threat range. This, combined with the Defense 8 buff from Shieldwall, is invaluable for dealing with armies (particularly cavalry armies who can take mass-bow fire) that would prefer to kite you from a distance with shooting attacks. Doing so against an Iron Hills force is not without risk. And when the enemy does charge you, your crossbowmen are still Fight 4/Strength 4, and the fact that they're also a sneaky Defense 6 means they can even fight in the front rank if you wish--either out of necessity, or to tempt your opponent to charge a "weak" flank or center. Sadly, you can't give your crossbowmen spears anymore (boo); and if you are too reliant on getting quality crossbow shots, your army can become surprisingly stagnant/immobile. But if you have 4-6 of them in every list, you can generally force most opponents to charge you at some point, which is really all you need them to do. Finally, you have access to the all-important banner option (which is great), and you can even give your banner guy a shield, too (for 26 points instead of 25). Frankly, I think the fact that you can't generally give your banner guy a shield is stupid... so I'm glad reason prevailed here, at least. Not much to say here, other than that elite armies like this one tend to benefit from having rerolls, so always bring at least one banner in your list (and maybe two, unless you're running one of the variants like Erebor Reclaimed or Defenders of Erebor, where a hero or four counts as a banner--in that case, just bring the one banner you need for scenario VPs).
• [AotH] Iron Hills (Valour): Gains Mountain Dweller; whilst Infantry, rerolls 1s to wound if in base contact with 2+ friendly Infantry models.
• [AotH] Erebor Reclaimed (Valour): Infantry models may charge after participating in a Heroic March.
• [AotH] Battle of Five Armies (Legend): May reroll 1s to wound if involved in a combat with a friendly model with a different race keyword.
• [AoME] Defenders of Erebor (Legend): rerolls 1s to wound when within 1" of a friendly Dale model; treats Dain, Thorin III, Brand, and/or Bard as a banner.
• [AoME] Army of Erebor (Legend): Gains +1 to-wound while supporting.

• Iron Hills Goat Riders {AotH}: They're not quite as devastating as Mahud Raiders, but they're close. Like Mahud Raiders, you have a Strength 4 rider (an Iron Hills Warrior) who gets a +1 to-wound on the charge (war spear). Unlike Mahud Raiders, you don't do a S4 hit on the charge, but the rider is Fight 4 and Defense 6, while the goat is a hefty D5. The result is that while Mahud Raiders are punchier, Goat Riders have much better staying power. The addition of Mountain Dweller can make charging through rocky terrain (or ruins) good fun; and while there's no impact hits, Devastating Charge (when charging into combat, roll a D6 for any models on a 25mm base, and on a 5+ they are immediately knocked prone) can be very disruptive when charging enemy battle lines (or heroes), while increasing the survivability of your expensive cavalry models (as anything you knock prone can't make strikes against your goat, even if they win the combat). While an 8” move is short by cavalry standards, it’s enough to counter-attack even the fastest infantry units (unless they’re marching, in which case they’re not charging you). And while they aren't as good as counter-charging enemy cavalry as the Mahud (who may kill the enemy rider or mount or both outright), they are much more reliable at counter-charging anything with Terror (Morgul Knights, Nazgul, etc.), especially if you have super-Dain (Fearless within 12" of him).
• [AotH] Iron Hills (Valour): Gains Mountain Dweller; if dismounted (Infantry), rerolls 1s to wound if in base contact with 2+ friendly Infantry models.
• [AotH] Battle of Five Armies (Legend): May reroll 1s to wound if involved in a combat with a friendly model with a different race keyword.
• [AoME] Defenders of Erebor (Legend): rerolls 1s to wound when within 1" of a friendly Dale model; treats Dain, Thorin III, Brand, and/or Bard as a banner.
• [AoME] Army of Erebor (Legend): Gains +1 to-wound while supporting.

• Iron Hills Chariot {AotH}: The Chariot has been reworked some since last edition. The biggest difference is that it uses the rules for chariots, which are too numerous to recount here... but has generally standardized the rule-set and also makes it much harder to "snipe" the chariot by targeting its weaker riders (as there is no more separate "rider" to snipe anymore). It can do damage from a distance thanks to its Rapid Fire Bolt Thrower (d6 crossbow shots with no -1 movement penalty, and it can shoot even if it is in combat, but all shooting is subject to a special 45-degree firing arc... it's complicated, read the rules). It's much better on the charge, where it deals three S6 hits to any target it moves into (which will munch through most troops pretty reliably). It's a beefy D8 with 4 wounds (and the ability to "heal" itself by putting a new Dwarf on it... again, read the rules). And it's picked up Dominant (4), which is handy. Moving the chariot remains challenging (as you still use the 45-degree template, in increments). And you usually only get one good chariot charge out of it, before it has to spend a turn pivoting outside of the battle. But if you get that one charge off at just the right time, and you avoid the game-altering botch, they can be incredibly devastating. 
• [AotH] Iron Hills (Valour): Gains Mountain Dweller.

• Iron Hills Ballista {AotH}: Last, we have the Iron Hills' original siege weapon, which has been really tamped down since last edition. In addition to getting a slight cost increase (130 points), it's lost two rules: it no longer gets to call a Heroic Shoot for free each turn (so priority matters quite a bit), and it doesn't get to reroll 1s to hit (so instead of hitting ~55% of the time, it hits ~50% of the time instead). That said, the rest of what makes it game-altering is still there. It's still a S8 projectile with a range of 12-60". It still uses the old volley fire rules for targeting (Arcing Shot), so you can shoot over enemy lines at priority targets (as long as you can see them). It's still accurate, only scattering 3". It still comes with the Siege Veteran (with that important point of Might for modifying rolls--typically scatter rolls). It still does a S5 hit to anything within 2" of the target, and any surviving models are knocked prone (Area Effect). And once it has shot, you still draw the invisible line from the Ballista to the target, and any shooting attacks (friend or foe) that are S6 or lower and cross the line or target a model within 3" of the line are blocked (S7 or higher shooting attacks are blocked on a 5+) (The Old Twirly Whirlies). Given that the old alliance matrix is dead, you really only have one army where you can take these now (Iron Hills). But they remain a really strong choice in that list, both for dealing with big enemy heroes (which Dain can do, but not in two spots at the same time), and for encouraging your enemy to loosen their formation (which means they charge you piecemeal--something dwarves love). I don't know that you need more than two of them, but you could do a lot worse than getting two of them for 260 points. 
• [AotH] Iron Hills (Valour): Gains Mountain Dweller; crew (Infantry) reroll 1s to wound if in base contact with 2+ friendly Infantry models.

On those Army Lists...

Yeah, Sauron tried to defeat these guys, too...
Photo credit: lotr.fandom.com

As with our other write-ups, this section doesn't do a deep-dive into all the army lists that can field these profiles. But I did want to cover at least some of the highlights, since there are actually some noticeable differences between these different dwarf lists. So here's a very brief summary, which hopefully whets your appetite for some deeper dives:

1. The Iron Hills [Armies of the Hobbit]: If you want to play Super-Dain on hard mode, or just love the OG Iron Hills siege weapons (Chariot, Ballista), this is the list for you. In addition to Dain on War Boar, you have access to the entire suite of Iron Hills profiles (Captains, Warriors, Goat Riders, Chariot, Ballista) plus the sneaky Dwarf King profile, and Murin and Drar (if your event allows Legacy profiles). The list has some built-in limitations: only Dain (and maybe Murin) can Strike without help (Captains could potentially counter-strike via Master of Battle (5+)), although the addition of Dwarf Kings (F6) is very nice. Short of that, you'll probably lean on the ballista or chariot (potentially multiples) to deal with your opponent's major threats--plus a very healthy dose of Dain. You also get a super-Shieldwall of sorts, as friendly Infantry models in base contact with 2 or more infantry models also get to reroll 1s to wound (in addition to potentially getting a buff to D8). Dain also picks up Master of Battle (5+), which makes him even more threatening than normal. Finally, you get to modify maelstrom/deployment rolls by +1/-1, and also pick up Mountain Dweller on all your models. Both are situational, but in the right situation they can be a plus. But really, this list is all about Dain, his resilient troops, and his resourceful dwarven engineers.
2. Erebor Reclaimed [Armies of the Hobbit]: This is Super-Dain on easy mode. King Thorin is required, and if you pair him with Dain you can live the dream of having two Fight 7 heroes running around (one with a two-handed elven-made weapon, the other with a two-handed hammer and Burly), which is quite terrifying (even though Dain can't take his boar--booooooo!). It gets more terrifying, as you have access to almost the entire next tier of combat heroes (Champion Dwalin, Gloin, Nori, Dori), and all the shenanigan supporting Champs (Bifur, Bofur, Bombur, Oin, Ori, and Balin). The downside is that you're quite limited for troop choices (just Iron Hills Warriors--no goats). But the Warriors do have their entire upgrade suite available to them (spear/shield, mattock, crossbow, banner, banner/shield), and the loss of goats matters less when every hero gets access to Heroic March, and every Infantry model can participate in a Heroic March and charge (which is nuts). Really, though, if Iron Hills is catered primarily to the troops (and super-Dain), this list is really about the heroes (who can use each other's heroic stats, if they belong to the same family group and are within 3" of each other). 
3. Battle of Five Armies [Armies of the Hobbit]: So this is is Super-Dain on Cheat Mode. In addition to getting his boar back (yay), you can also take Dain with basically everyone (including King Thorin, the re-worked Thranduil, Bard, Gandalf and Radagast, all the Champs, Legolas, Alfrid, Hilda-Bianca, Tauriel, and even Gwaihir, Beorn, and Eagles). Plus you get Iron Hills Warriors and Goat Riders again, plus Lake-Town militia, and Mirkwood Warriors and Knights (but no Palace Guard--boo!). You certainly don't have to take dwarves in this list if you don't want to; but a pairing with Lake-Town (for cheap spears) or elves (for a F5/D7-D8 shieldwall) is really tempting, especially since Dain and some dwarves will fix any of your courage problems and 90% of your archery problems. The army bonus is very meh (reroll 1s to wound if you're in the same fight as a friendly model with a different race), but the list building space is pretty broad... so something had to give, I guess.
4. Assault on Ravenhill [Armies of the Hobbit]: I included this list because it is mostly a compilation of dwarf heroes (King Thorin, Dwalin, Fili, Kili), but this is really an all-hero list that you take primarily so you get the old "Mega-las" profile (Legolas, only he's Fight 7 with 3 Attacks and starts the game with Orcrist for free), plus Tauriel (who gets to reroll all failed to-wound rolls) and Bilbo (who can throw stones as if they were throwing weapons... yes, the Strength 1 stones... it's meh). Of the dwarves, Dwalin gets the best buff, getting to declare a free Heroic Combat each turn if Thorin is fighting a combat within 6" of him. I'd feel better about this if Dwalin could still get 4 attacks on foot... but there is some fun daisy-chaining possibilities here if you win priority and get to charge (Thorin gets a free heroic combat when he charges; Dwalin gets a free heroic combat if Thorin has charged into combat, which he of course resolves first to help peel guys off of Thorin, thereby improving the chances that Thorin's combat works). Fili and Kili also get buffed to 3 Attacks, which is nice. Ironically, the one guy who doesn't really get a buff is Thorin. Don't get me wrong, he's great and all as-is. But something like Haldir's rule (you get to make strikes after you're defeated) would be cool, given what happens in the movie. Also, would it have killed anyone to let this all-hero list take Goats on Thorin, Dwalin, Fili, and Kili?
5. Defenders of Erebor [Armies of Middle Earth]: This is a third-age Dwarf Army, which melds the Iron Hills with their neighbors in Dale. Super-Dain is gone, which makes Old Dain look lackluster. But Thorin III is quite good now, plus you get a number of the legacy champion profiles to play with (Dwalin, Bifur, Bofur, Nori, Dori, and Gloin), along with Iron Hills Captains, Warriors and Goat Riders (with all their wargear options). The reason to take this army instead of the other third-age army is to bring in Warriors and Knights of Dale (plus Brand, Bard, and Dale Captains). The execution is a bit... well, it's uneven. Most of the rules are designed around having Dain and Brand, or Thorin III and Bard, who can call free heroic combats if the other is trapped before the fight starts (which... well, it's remarkably difficult to do, prompting a ton of FAQs last edition). This edition doubled-down on the mechanic (literally--the same rule is actually printed twice, once for Dain/Brand and once for Thorin III/Bard), without actually making it any easier to determine what a trap is. It's nice that friendly models treat the four core heroes as banners, and the Warriors of Dale in particular offer some added flexibility in the form of S3 longbows (so you can move and shoot with your army, if you prefer that to stationary crossbows). But the Knights of Dale, which are quite good in a standard Dale army, lose some of their shine next to dwarves (11 points for F4/S3/D6 with a +1 to-wound if you charge them, vs 12 points for F4/S4/D7-8). And you don't have access to the improved shoot value buff or the windlances that make standard Dale so lethal. If you just really like this pairing of heroes and warriors, by all means try it--no army built around Iron Hills Warriors and multiple Fight 5-6 combat heroes is ever going to be bad. But if you're in this mainly for the dwarves, the superior choice is clearly... 
6. Army of Erebor [Armies of Middle Earth]: Gone are Bard, Brand, Dale Captains, Dale Warriors, and Knights of Dale. Instead, you have the entire dwarf hero suite from Defenders (Old Dain, Thorin III, Dwalin, Bifur, Bofur, Nori, Dori, Gloin, and Iron Hills Captains, plus Warriors and Goat Riders), plus Fight 6 Dwarf Kings and Gimli. To make matters better, all of your supporting warriors get a +1 to-wound (so they're effective Strength 6, which is nuts) and all your heroes get a free Heroic Combat once per game (plus Thorin III gets Heroic Actions for free on a 5+, plus you potentially have Captains with Master of Battle (5+)). That's a ton of actual might (between the five hero profiles that have 3 Might) and potentially a lot of free might, too. And you can distribute those free heroic combats to up to seven heroes with three attacks (Dain, Thorin, Dwalin, Nori, Dori, Gloin, and Gimli), six that are Fight 6 (Dain, Thorin, Dwalin, Gloin, Gimli, Dwarf Kings), and six who can get +1s to wound (Dain, Dwalin, Gloin, Dori, Gimli, Dwarf Kings). Oh--and if you do take Gimli and Gloin (which is just fun), they can both reroll any failed to-wound rolls if they're within 3" of each other. Given that both can also two-hand if they wish, that's a ton of damage potential, especially if the target is a standard infantry model (4s to wound D6) or is trapped. All without giving up any durability, or any of the wargear options that make these dwarf armies so versatile (goats, crossbows, spears, banners, even mattocks). If you like the Iron Hills for their warriors, run the OG Iron Hills. But if you like Iron Hills because they have dominant kill ratios, then this is the army for you.

For Further Reading

So there we have it--a fitting update for one of my favorite factions in the game. As always, we've included some additional resources from the TMAT team and other members of the Middle Earth SBG Community below (which we'll update as new edition resources become available). And if you think we've over/understated a case, or have got tips from running these guys that you'd like to share, let us know in the comments!

 

More from the TMAT Team:

• Quick Starter Armies with the Armies of the Hobbit! (7th Edition, July 2025)
• Top 10 Most Improved Good Profiles from The Armies of the Hobbit (7th Edition, July 2025)
• Nine Companions: Building a Hero-Heavy... Shieldwall? (7th Edition, May 2025)
• First Impressions, Dwarves of the Hobbit, Part I (7th Edition, May 2025)
• Tournament Time: Rythbryt's Army Thoughts (Grand Tournament 2024) (6th Edition, May 2024)
• In Defense Of: Mattocks (6th Edition, January 2024)
• MESBG Christmas List #10: Erebor Reclaimed (6th Edition, December 2023)
• Defense of the North Inspired Lists: The Halls of Thranduil Revisited (6th Edition, May 2023)
• Defense of the North Inspired Lists: The Defenders of Erebor Legendary Legion Revisited (6th Edition, May 2023)
• Grim Champs: Converting the Champions of Erebor, Part 1 and Part 2 (Hobbying, April/May 2023)
• Unexpected Military Formations: Trapping Your Own Heroes?!?!?!?! (6th Edition, September 2022)
• The Stuff of Legends: Defenders of Erebor (6th Edition, August 2022)
• Unexpected Military Formations: Epic Movie Moments, Part III (6th Edition, September 2021)
• War in the North: Understanding the Erebor Reclaimed Revamp (6th Edition, August 2021)
• The Bare Necessities, Part XXXVI: The Iron Hills (6th Edition, August 2021)
• The Bare Necessities, Part XXIX: Erebor Reclaimed (6th Edition, July 2020)
• Sizing Up Dwarves: Thorin's Company vs. Erebor Reclaimed (6th Edition, December 2019)
• Heroes of Middle Earth SBG: Dain Ironfoot, Lord of the Iron Hills (Profile and Basic Tactics) (6th Edition, July 2019)
• Appendix A: Alternate Shieldwall Formations (6th Edition, July 2019)
• Armies of Middle Earth SBG: Shieldwall Tactics (Making it Work) (6th Edition, July 2019) 
• Armies of Middle Earth SBG: Iron Hills Goat Riders (Profile and Basic Tactics) (6th Edition, June 2019)
• Armies of Middle Earth SBG: Iron Hills Dwarves (Profile, Wargear, and Basic Tactics) (6th Edition, June 2019)
• Middle Earth SBG: Standard Infantry Formations (6th Edition, June 2019)
• The Armies of the Hobbit, Part V: The “Other” Armies of Good (6th Edition, March 2019)
• The Armies of the Hobbit, Part III: Dwarves (6th Edition, March 2019)

Community Resources:

• PODCAST: Episode 78: Iron Hills (The Green Dragon Podcast, 6th Edition)
• VIDEOS: Battle of Five Armies, Assault on Raven Hill, Erebor Reclaimed (Mountain Goat Gaming, 7th Edition)
• VIDEOS: Forces of Good Tier List (Into the West, 7th Edition)
• VIDEOS: Top Hobbit Armies in the New Edition (Goblin's Gamers, 7th Edition)
• VIDEOS: Getting Started with Middle-Earth SBG: Iron Hills and Erebor Reclaimed (Cinderfall Gaming, 6th Edition)
• IN PRINT: Fog of War, Part 15: Iron Hills & Erebor Reclaimed (Veni, Vidi, Double, 6th Edition)
• PODCAST: Episode 14 - Erebor Reclaimed, Army of Thror, and Iron Hills Review (DC Hobbit League, 6th Edition)
• VIDEOS: Iron Hills Faction Review and Erebor Reclaimed Faction Review (STF Wargaming, 6th Edition)
• VIDEOS: The Iron Hills - An Army Review and Tactics and Talk #1 - Iron Hills (Arda Scholar, 6th Edition)
• PODCAST: Episode 17: Erebor Reclaimed and Iron Hills (The Dicebearers Podcast, 6th Edition)
• VIDEOS: Army Guide: Iron Hills and Army Guide: Erebor Reclaimed (King Bonezai, 6th Edition)
• VIDEOS: Before You Buy: Iron Hills (The Hobby Breakfast Show, 6th Edition)
• IN PRINT: Shieldwall Tactics for Iron Hills Dwarves (Warhammer Community) 
• IN PRINT: Baruk Khazad: Iron Hills for Middle Earth! (Not by Strength, by Guile, 6th Edition)
• IN PRINT: The Iron Hills Dwarves in Middle-earth Strategy Battle Game (Frontline Gaming, 6th Edition)
• VIDEOS: How to Play and Buy Iron Hills and There and Back Again Review: Dwarves (DC Hobbit League, 5th Edition)
• PODCAST: The Green Dragon Ep. 30: There and Back Again Part 5, Know Thine Enemy Ep. 24: Iron Hills Chariot, and Ep. 46: Silmarilli Talk (The Green Dragon Podcast, 5th Edition)
• VIDEOS: Middle Earth SBG Unboxing: Iron Hills Warriors, Middle Earth SBG Unboxing: Iron Hills Ballista, and There and Back Again SBG Review: Good Heroes Part One (GBHL Podcast, 5th Edition)
• VIDEO: Hobbit SBG Army Showcase: Champions of Erebor (GBHL Podcast)
• VIDEO: Iron Hills Tactics, List-Building and Winning Tournaments and Champions of Erebor Showcase (Top Table Gaming, 6th Edition)
• HOBBYING: Iron Hills Dwarves, Mattocks, Crossbows, and Command Painting Guide (Paintbrush Pirate)
• HOBBYING: Goat Rider Conversions into Heroes (Top Table Wargaming)
• HOBBYING: Metalic Sprays - Simple Iron Hills Scheme (JMacc's Armies of Middle Earth)
• HOBBYING: Quickie: Iron Hills! And how to paint them (Lemmy Mini LOTR)
• HOBBYING: Iron Hills on a Budget! (Rabtastic Paints)
• BAT-REP: Iron Hills vs. Army of Gundabad (Gondor Calls for Ale, 7th Edition)
• BAT-REP: Iron Hills vs. Return of the King (Blackfyre Productions, 6th Edition)
• BAT-REP: Erebor Reclaimed vs. Moria (The D6 Fix, 6th Edition)
• BAT-REP: Iron Hills vs. Azog’s Legion (Top Table Gaming, 6th Edition)
• BAT-REP: Iron Hills vs. Isengard (Guerilla Miniature Games, 6th Edition)
• BAT-REP: Iron Hills vs. Smaug (Blackfyre Productions, 5th Edition... but it's Smaug, y'all!)