"Fly you Fools!" - Formations and Maneuvering in the Middle-Earth Strategy Battle Game

Army lists, rules updates, and theory-crafting are all well and good, but as any experienced player knows (and any new player learns quickly), having troops with the greatest stat-line in the world won't save your force if it gets caught out of position, or can't bring its superior firepower to bear on the enemy. In a war game that exists in three-dimensional space, the ability to maneuver your troops into position, and adapt their position to meet the objectives around you and the enemy before you, is a critical key to success.



If you're looking for tips on how to position your chosen army to maximize kills (or minimize losses), here's some food for thought:

• Rohan Army Tactics: Tricks of the Trade (October 2012) [Scatter, The Wag, Flying Columns]
• Grey Company - Strategy and Tactics (January 2013) [Wheel, Bullpen, Flying Columns, Wedge]
• Shire List, Part 4: Strategy and Tactics (September 2013) [Modified Bullpen, Raiding Band, Teutoberg]
  
• Isengard, Part III: Strategy and Tactics (October 2014) [Bull Rush, Siege, Phalanx, Flying Columns]
• Easterling Summary, Part III - Strategy and Tactics (June 2015) [Pike Phalanx, Wedge]
  
• Standard Infantry Formations (June 2019) [Swarm, Viking Shieldwall, Spear-Shieldwall, Pike Phalanx]
• Shieldwall Tactics (Making it Work) (July 2019) [Standard, Crescent, Halo, 4s]
• Appendix A: Alternate Shieldwall Formations (July 2019) [Schiltron, Warped Wall, English]
• "Fly you Fools!": Rethinking Shield-Spear Combat (September 2019)