Good morning gamers,
In our previous two posts, we revisited the Fellowship's tactical units (Gandalf the Grey and Bill the Pony) and the Hobbit characters in the Fellowship (Frodo, Sam, Merry, Pippin, and Smeagol). Today, we wrap up our revisit of the Fellowship to the four characters who really do it all - not only the predominant kill generators, but also provide the well-roundedness the team requires to be truly frightening. At long last, we tackle Legolas, Gimli, Boromir, and Aragorn - Strider. This post revisits a post we did back in 2012 and will be quite different in some areas, but much of what was written there still holds true (so you should read that before you continue if you haven't already).
Gimli and Legolas: Combat Companions
In previous editions of the game, Legolas and Gimli were always a great bargain together - for under 200 points, they were a great addition to any army if you needed some additional range and melee damage. In the new MESBG game, they're a bit more expensive, but otherwise provide the exact same functions as they did before: give me more damage. Now, however, they do it even better.
Legolas and Gimli both sport fantastic offensive profiles: Fight 6 (with access to Heroic Strike), Strength 4 (average, whatever), 3 Might (for calling heroic actions or boosting dice), and 2 Attacks base (fine, though Gimli can get 3 Attacks instead). On defense, Gimli is a power-house with Defense 8, though Legolas only has Defense 4-5, which isn't terrible, but it's only "fine." While both can shoot (throwing axes on Gimli, Elf bow on Legolas) and kill with multiple weapons in melee (Elven-made daggers for Legolas, two axes and a masterforged two-handed axe for Gimli), these guys are a pain to fight. Added to these, both can take Elven cloaks and Legolas could get a horse (besides the armor that you should ALWAYS get for him unless you're going for a particular theme'd list). But what really makes these guys shine is a new rule they received. . . .
Gimli and Legolas have new rules that require more book-keeping for you but more enjoyable killing potential if you do so. Whenever Legolas has out-killed Gimli, Gimli gets a static +1 To Wound modifier (so he'll either be wielding 2 axes with 3 Attacks and +1 To Wound OR he'll be wielding his masterforged two-handed axe for 2 Attacks with +2 To Wound). Since most games require you to travel to your opponent, it's quite likely that Legolas will get in a kill or two before Gimli arrives in combat - which means he'll be powered up and ready to kill things right from the start. If you can't quite visualize how powerful this is, Gimli wounds:
If Gimli is being out-scored by Legolas, he can wound the Dark Lord Sauron (the highest Defense model in the game) on a 4+/2+, which means each die you roll has a 0.417 probability of wounding without using Might to promote it. Trap Sauron (with someone like Aragorn or Boromir calling Heroic Strike) and he will fall . . .
Since most models are going to be in the D4-D6 range, Gimli will be reliably wounding his targets on 2s or 3s - which is . . . better than Aragorn with Anduril does, actually. This means Gimli will be super-charged when he arrives (though he should catch up pretty quickly if you cut through chaff models). A strategy to use with Gimli, however, is to use his super-charged offensive profile to go hero-hunting, intentionally keeping his kill count low so he retains the +1 to Wound bonus for a long time and only killing warriors on your way to getting the next hero.
Using Gimli is actually quite easy: direct him towards the opponent, charge two people each turn (heroes wherever possible), and don't forget to throw your throwing axes when you're near an enemy's position or when you charge into an enemy model. I like throwing weapons a lot - and here's one of the reasons why: they are a relatively cheap (and fairly ubiquitous) way of killing enemy models in the Move phase. Throwing weapons can also be used in the Shoot phase if you're willing to hit on a 5+, but they're best employed right before charging in the Move phase (no scoot-and-shoot penalty applied there).
Naturally, all this killing will cause a swing in kill count once Gimli gets into combat, because it's not hard for him to win fights and kill things very, VERY quickly. To compensate for this, Legolas has his own rule: once Gimli starts out-killing him, he gets a -1 to the difficulty of his shooting attempts (which counters nicely the scoot-and-shoot penalty he normally has). This won't affect the difficulty of his auto-hit attack (since it ignores all modifiers), but does help his normal three shots - so just make sure there's someone unengaged that you can poor arrows into in order to get your kill count up faster.
A bonus to archery isn't as powerful (in my opinion) as getting a bonus to your To Wound rolls in combat, but since Legolas tends to stick to the periphery when used by most players (mostly due to his low Defense and modest 2 Attacks), Legolas's bonus to Hit boost is nice, since it'll encourage Legolas to hurry towards Gimli's defense and ignore the penalties he gets for moving into position that turn.
While it might seem like Legolas' ability is much lower than Gimli's ability, Legolas is often touted as the character keep instead of Gimli simply because of his reputation as an archer. Whether it's hitting three distinct targets and felling them or hitting one very important target once, Legolas is a reliable shooter and can do so for the entire game (if you shoot at the right things).
Legolas can be run in one of two ways (very similar to Bill, actually): he can be run in the center of the Fellowship, protected so that he can shoot into a friendly combat to make someone's life easier or tearing into the enemy ranks as they approach to mess up a battle line. While protected by his friends, Legolas is a deadly piece and it will force your opponent to get to him (and all your beat-stick heroes) as quickly as possible. With a small army, you want your melee troops engaged as fast as possible.
The other way you can use Legolas is to keep him on his own, relying on his incredible shooting (and probably armor and an Elven cloak) to keep him from being overrun. It's common for Legolas to "get left behind" when the rest of the Fellowship goes a-chargin', but he's perfectly capable of protecting himself (at least for a while). Even if he gets engaged, he's still got Fight 6 (and can Feint if he's fighting low-Fight models), 2 Attacks, and 3 Might points (though most of those will probably be used to boost Wounding rolls) to keep him going.
While others may (and do) disagree with me, I don't think there's a Fellowship army list that brings only one of these two heroes - Legolas and Gimli together are just too good. I don't like to think of these guys as 100-point heroes - they're a 205 point pair of heroes (Legolas taking Armor, Gimli at base cost). For most everyone else it seems, Gimli might be left at home in favor of . . .
Boromir: The Ultimate Glass Cannon (except Enraged Wild Wargs)
When I first got started in the Lord of the Rings Strategy Battle Game, I got the Mines of Moria starter set. I played several of those mission over and over and over again, but none as much as the defense of Balin's Tomb. In one particular game that I shall never forget, I decided to have Boromir charge into two Goblins. a third Goblin decided to join the attack and all three Goblins that were now engaged were supported by spearmen. During the Fight phase, Boromir blew his horn and one of the Goblins passed the resulting Courage test. Boromir attacked and flubbed his roll (got a 2 high) and the Goblins responded by getting a 6. Not wanting to waste 3 Might points on winning the fight (and then trying to wound a few), Boromir decided to just take the damage. By some miracle, the Goblins scored 3 Wounds, killing the famed hero. Ouch.
This short anecdote highlights the first rule for Fellowship Boromir: Boromir has no backup plan for losing fights and so should be protected at all times just to make sure he doesn't get himself into any trouble. While Merry and Pippin can do some of this, you need a major hero somewhere nearby in case things get ugly. Merry and Pippin, as we talked about in our last post, are able to tag a person or two, but otherwise they're just going to drain Boromir's Might. If you have Aragorn smashing through ranks nearby or Legolas laying down covering fire, life shouldn't get terrible for Boromir (at least, for a time).
Boromir's profile remains largely uncharged except that a) his point's cost went down, b) the shield is optional wargear (since he didn't have it at Amon Hen), and c) his profile was specifically assigned Heroic March - which is great to have if you need to get somewhere fast with Hobbits. The point reduction is good (especially since Legolas and Gimli went up in price. With a slightly diminished price, you can afford more extras in the rest of your army OR choose to spend more on him (giving him an Elven Cloak for example).
Personally, I don't think a horse is a great idea for him, as his D6/0 Fate profile invites enemy archery if he's mounted (though it will undoubtedly make him more powerful offensively). That being said, running Boromir near Gandalf the Grey can ensure that he's protected from magic by Protection of the Valar and protected from archery by Blinding Light - perhaps this means you should take both of them mounted, but if you do, the points will rack up quickly (and managing your points cost is the key to playing the Fellowship).
No matter how many points you run with Boromir, just make sure you save enough for . . .
Aragorn - Strider: The Second Auto-Include
When I learned to play the game, I played with the Fellowship a lot - and there's no one more fun to use on the board than Aragorn! When we played at the 500-point level, it was hard to include Aragorn as an ally into any army (hence, why he showed up in Grey Company forces on our blog), but he's incredibly powerful. With a fantastic fight profile and a free point of Might each turn, Aragorn is able to continue killing things all throughout the game. With the new rules, not only did Aragorn see a points drop, but the cost of Anduril (and his Elven cloak) got their points cut in half! This means an Aragorn with Anduril that used to cost 250 points now costs you only 200 points. While this is still expensive for a hero, Aragorn is worth every point of it.
The key to Aragorn's effectiveness is tied to his free Might point each turn, but also tied to the fact that he has access to all Heroic Actions (except Heroic Channel). This means that whatever your team needs him to do (March/Move are common, Combat is good, Strike can be awesome, Resolve when faced with a magic barrage, Shoot/Accuracy very situationally, Strength even more situationally if you have Anduril), Aragorn can do it once each turn without reducing his Might store. This is incredibly good (and makes you more likely to pick the fights you want).
The other great thing about Aragorn is his flexibility as a hero: unlike Boromir who has to get into combat as quickly as possible (without being killed on the way), Aragorn can be equipped with a bow - and thanks to his 3+ Shoot value, he's a reliable archer who can rack up a few kills with archery if you need to play keep-away from your opponent. Finally, while having a Strength 2 bow is generally not as good as having a Strength 3 bow, Aragorn can shoot at even-defense models (like D6 models) first, clear one out of the way, and expose an odd-defense model to Legolas' Strength 3 shots - perfect for making that archer kill more things (at his Dwarf friend's vexation, of course). Like Legolas, you can mount him on a horse to help him keep up with the team while shooting arrows at the enemy, which is fantastic.
Speaking of horses, Aragorn's mount not only allows him to increase the area of his Heroic Move/March calls, but also makes him more effective in melee combat and in Heroic Combats (increasing his range, making it very unlikely he doesn't kill multiple opponents on the first go). If you also equip him with a bow, he also gets a slightly better vantage point, opening up potentially softer targets to your shots and/or avoiding in-the-ways from shorter front-line models.
While Aragorn is amazing, the key to using him is keeping him "in the middle of things" - calling Heroic Moves/Marches is a must for a predominantly infantry list, but you need to stay near everyone. This takes practice. Having an incredible offensive profile is great, but you can't go killing stuff away from the rest of the group unless you want the group to fend for themselves for a turn or two (we all know how "I'm going to have a look around" turned out . . .). Using Aragorn is tricky, so I recommend starting with the following:
Keep Aragorn in the middle, with Sam and Frodo near him on one side and Boromir with Merry and Pippin on his other side. As we covered in our post on the Hobbits, the synergies you get from these pairs of heroes is incredible - Sam can call a free Heroic Combat (ideally with Aragorn in there to kill the thing) in order to get to Frodo's fight, while Merry and Pippin can slowly siphon off Might from Boromir to keep him from being swarmed. Aragorn can be helpful to both groups, not only in pushing them with a Heroic March, but being able to lend his fighting power to both groups is key.
The positioning of Legolas, Gimli, and Gandalf is less important (though Gandalf is likely to be in the middle and Legolas will likely be nearby if he's not left behind), but each can then play a supporting role to whatever you decide to do with Aragorn (maybe you send Gimli to help Sam's Heroic Combat while Aragorn rams into the front lines?) and provide general support to your team's needs. Flexibility is key and Aragorn more than anyone else isn't locked into one role - so use him to do whatever you need to do (just keep him close)!
Conclusion
It's been good getting back into the Fellowship again - and I hope to run them sometime under the new rules. In the next few months, I'll be finishing the basing on my new armored Aragorn model (from Helm's Deep) in both foot and mounted form - been waiting for this guy for SUCH a long time, it's good to finally have him and do it right. As Christmas nears, I also picked up my favorite Aragorn model ever (the Amon Hen one), so expect to see an update on that as well!
As we close out this series, our next topical series will be a four-part revisit of archery posts we've done in the past. Topics will include things like archery in Khazad-Dum/Moria lists (which most people tend to avoid using?), how to use throwing weapons effectively, how to get the most out of your archery (and how to protect your archers if there isn't enough terrain on hand), and tactics for using skirmish units in your army. As an avid fan of shooting in the MESBG system, I'm excited to dive into it. Until next time, happy hobbying!
In our previous two posts, we revisited the Fellowship's tactical units (Gandalf the Grey and Bill the Pony) and the Hobbit characters in the Fellowship (Frodo, Sam, Merry, Pippin, and Smeagol). Today, we wrap up our revisit of the Fellowship to the four characters who really do it all - not only the predominant kill generators, but also provide the well-roundedness the team requires to be truly frightening. At long last, we tackle Legolas, Gimli, Boromir, and Aragorn - Strider. This post revisits a post we did back in 2012 and will be quite different in some areas, but much of what was written there still holds true (so you should read that before you continue if you haven't already).
Gimli and Legolas: Combat Companions
In previous editions of the game, Legolas and Gimli were always a great bargain together - for under 200 points, they were a great addition to any army if you needed some additional range and melee damage. In the new MESBG game, they're a bit more expensive, but otherwise provide the exact same functions as they did before: give me more damage. Now, however, they do it even better.
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| "There's plenty for the both of us - may the best Dwarf win!" |
Gimli and Legolas have new rules that require more book-keeping for you but more enjoyable killing potential if you do so. Whenever Legolas has out-killed Gimli, Gimli gets a static +1 To Wound modifier (so he'll either be wielding 2 axes with 3 Attacks and +1 To Wound OR he'll be wielding his masterforged two-handed axe for 2 Attacks with +2 To Wound). Since most games require you to travel to your opponent, it's quite likely that Legolas will get in a kill or two before Gimli arrives in combat - which means he'll be powered up and ready to kill things right from the start. If you can't quite visualize how powerful this is, Gimli wounds:
- D1/D2 models on 3s normally (turns into 2s or 1s - which are automatic in this game);
- D3/D4 models on 4s normally (turns into 3s or 2s - most light units fall in this category);
- D5/D6 models on 5s normally (turns into 4s or 3s - most units generally fall in this category);
- D7/D8 models on 6s normally (turns into 5s or 4s - most of the highest-defense units fall into this category);
- D9 models on 6/4+ normally (turns into 5+/3+ or 4+/2+); and
- D10 models on 6/5+ normally (turns into 5+/4+ or 4+/3+).
If Gimli is being out-scored by Legolas, he can wound the Dark Lord Sauron (the highest Defense model in the game) on a 4+/2+, which means each die you roll has a 0.417 probability of wounding without using Might to promote it. Trap Sauron (with someone like Aragorn or Boromir calling Heroic Strike) and he will fall . . .
Since most models are going to be in the D4-D6 range, Gimli will be reliably wounding his targets on 2s or 3s - which is . . . better than Aragorn with Anduril does, actually. This means Gimli will be super-charged when he arrives (though he should catch up pretty quickly if you cut through chaff models). A strategy to use with Gimli, however, is to use his super-charged offensive profile to go hero-hunting, intentionally keeping his kill count low so he retains the +1 to Wound bonus for a long time and only killing warriors on your way to getting the next hero.
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| Prepare to charge - don't forget to throw! |
Naturally, all this killing will cause a swing in kill count once Gimli gets into combat, because it's not hard for him to win fights and kill things very, VERY quickly. To compensate for this, Legolas has his own rule: once Gimli starts out-killing him, he gets a -1 to the difficulty of his shooting attempts (which counters nicely the scoot-and-shoot penalty he normally has). This won't affect the difficulty of his auto-hit attack (since it ignores all modifiers), but does help his normal three shots - so just make sure there's someone unengaged that you can poor arrows into in order to get your kill count up faster.
A bonus to archery isn't as powerful (in my opinion) as getting a bonus to your To Wound rolls in combat, but since Legolas tends to stick to the periphery when used by most players (mostly due to his low Defense and modest 2 Attacks), Legolas's bonus to Hit boost is nice, since it'll encourage Legolas to hurry towards Gimli's defense and ignore the penalties he gets for moving into position that turn.
While it might seem like Legolas' ability is much lower than Gimli's ability, Legolas is often touted as the character keep instead of Gimli simply because of his reputation as an archer. Whether it's hitting three distinct targets and felling them or hitting one very important target once, Legolas is a reliable shooter and can do so for the entire game (if you shoot at the right things).
Legolas can be run in one of two ways (very similar to Bill, actually): he can be run in the center of the Fellowship, protected so that he can shoot into a friendly combat to make someone's life easier or tearing into the enemy ranks as they approach to mess up a battle line. While protected by his friends, Legolas is a deadly piece and it will force your opponent to get to him (and all your beat-stick heroes) as quickly as possible. With a small army, you want your melee troops engaged as fast as possible.
The other way you can use Legolas is to keep him on his own, relying on his incredible shooting (and probably armor and an Elven cloak) to keep him from being overrun. It's common for Legolas to "get left behind" when the rest of the Fellowship goes a-chargin', but he's perfectly capable of protecting himself (at least for a while). Even if he gets engaged, he's still got Fight 6 (and can Feint if he's fighting low-Fight models), 2 Attacks, and 3 Might points (though most of those will probably be used to boost Wounding rolls) to keep him going.
While others may (and do) disagree with me, I don't think there's a Fellowship army list that brings only one of these two heroes - Legolas and Gimli together are just too good. I don't like to think of these guys as 100-point heroes - they're a 205 point pair of heroes (Legolas taking Armor, Gimli at base cost). For most everyone else it seems, Gimli might be left at home in favor of . . .
Boromir: The Ultimate Glass Cannon (except Enraged Wild Wargs)
When I first got started in the Lord of the Rings Strategy Battle Game, I got the Mines of Moria starter set. I played several of those mission over and over and over again, but none as much as the defense of Balin's Tomb. In one particular game that I shall never forget, I decided to have Boromir charge into two Goblins. a third Goblin decided to join the attack and all three Goblins that were now engaged were supported by spearmen. During the Fight phase, Boromir blew his horn and one of the Goblins passed the resulting Courage test. Boromir attacked and flubbed his roll (got a 2 high) and the Goblins responded by getting a 6. Not wanting to waste 3 Might points on winning the fight (and then trying to wound a few), Boromir decided to just take the damage. By some miracle, the Goblins scored 3 Wounds, killing the famed hero. Ouch.
This short anecdote highlights the first rule for Fellowship Boromir: Boromir has no backup plan for losing fights and so should be protected at all times just to make sure he doesn't get himself into any trouble. While Merry and Pippin can do some of this, you need a major hero somewhere nearby in case things get ugly. Merry and Pippin, as we talked about in our last post, are able to tag a person or two, but otherwise they're just going to drain Boromir's Might. If you have Aragorn smashing through ranks nearby or Legolas laying down covering fire, life shouldn't get terrible for Boromir (at least, for a time).
Boromir's profile remains largely uncharged except that a) his point's cost went down, b) the shield is optional wargear (since he didn't have it at Amon Hen), and c) his profile was specifically assigned Heroic March - which is great to have if you need to get somewhere fast with Hobbits. The point reduction is good (especially since Legolas and Gimli went up in price. With a slightly diminished price, you can afford more extras in the rest of your army OR choose to spend more on him (giving him an Elven Cloak for example).
Personally, I don't think a horse is a great idea for him, as his D6/0 Fate profile invites enemy archery if he's mounted (though it will undoubtedly make him more powerful offensively). That being said, running Boromir near Gandalf the Grey can ensure that he's protected from magic by Protection of the Valar and protected from archery by Blinding Light - perhaps this means you should take both of them mounted, but if you do, the points will rack up quickly (and managing your points cost is the key to playing the Fellowship).
No matter how many points you run with Boromir, just make sure you save enough for . . .
Aragorn - Strider: The Second Auto-Include
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| ELENDIL!!!!!! (And note: unless you're playing a themed list, the armor is an auto-include for Aragorn...just sayin'...) |
The key to Aragorn's effectiveness is tied to his free Might point each turn, but also tied to the fact that he has access to all Heroic Actions (except Heroic Channel). This means that whatever your team needs him to do (March/Move are common, Combat is good, Strike can be awesome, Resolve when faced with a magic barrage, Shoot/Accuracy very situationally, Strength even more situationally if you have Anduril), Aragorn can do it once each turn without reducing his Might store. This is incredibly good (and makes you more likely to pick the fights you want).
The other great thing about Aragorn is his flexibility as a hero: unlike Boromir who has to get into combat as quickly as possible (without being killed on the way), Aragorn can be equipped with a bow - and thanks to his 3+ Shoot value, he's a reliable archer who can rack up a few kills with archery if you need to play keep-away from your opponent. Finally, while having a Strength 2 bow is generally not as good as having a Strength 3 bow, Aragorn can shoot at even-defense models (like D6 models) first, clear one out of the way, and expose an odd-defense model to Legolas' Strength 3 shots - perfect for making that archer kill more things (at his Dwarf friend's vexation, of course). Like Legolas, you can mount him on a horse to help him keep up with the team while shooting arrows at the enemy, which is fantastic.
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| What do you do with a horse from a used Knights of Minas Tirith set that didn't come with one of the knights and two copies of the exact same Aragorn pose? Why you do a mounted conversion, of course! |
While Aragorn is amazing, the key to using him is keeping him "in the middle of things" - calling Heroic Moves/Marches is a must for a predominantly infantry list, but you need to stay near everyone. This takes practice. Having an incredible offensive profile is great, but you can't go killing stuff away from the rest of the group unless you want the group to fend for themselves for a turn or two (we all know how "I'm going to have a look around" turned out . . .). Using Aragorn is tricky, so I recommend starting with the following:
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| Three combat groups: Boromir-Merry-Pippin, Frodo-Sam, and Aragorn-mounted - deceptively powerful... |
The positioning of Legolas, Gimli, and Gandalf is less important (though Gandalf is likely to be in the middle and Legolas will likely be nearby if he's not left behind), but each can then play a supporting role to whatever you decide to do with Aragorn (maybe you send Gimli to help Sam's Heroic Combat while Aragorn rams into the front lines?) and provide general support to your team's needs. Flexibility is key and Aragorn more than anyone else isn't locked into one role - so use him to do whatever you need to do (just keep him close)!
Sample lists: Aragorn - Strider, Boromir of Gondor, Legolas Greenleaf, Gimli, Son of Gloin
Point Limit
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Army List
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What’s in this list?
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370pts – Defending the Walls of Helm's Deep
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Aragorn - Strider with armor
Legolas Greenleaf Gimli, Son of Gloin Historical Allies: Lothlorien
Haldir with heavy armor and Elf bow
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Technically in the movie, Legolas has armor (and all four heroes have Elven cloaks), but in a small game, think of the power that comes from this list: you've got 4 heroes, three of which can shoot (and two of which can pump out 5 shots each turn hitting on 3s or 4s at Strength 3).
In small games, wounds done by archery matter - and when these heroes all have Heroic Strike and 3 Might points each (free Might on Aragorn as well), you've got some incredible killing power! Scaling this army up for larger games is simple - add in some Galadhrim Warriors and start adding Galadhrim Captains (you could get away with Rumil) to bring still more warriors! |
800pts – The Ring Goes South (last list - go big or go home!)
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Frodo Baggins with Sting and the Mithril Coat
Samwise Gamgee Meriadoc Brandybuck Peregrin Took Bill the Pony Gandalf the Grey Aragorn - Strider with bow Boromir of Gondor with shield Legolas Greenleaf Gimli, Son of Gloin |
I've been keeping the lists at 700 points, but it's our last one, so let's make it count!
At 800 points, you can run all 10 of the guys in this list and we've kept to theme with the gear the Fellowship had with them as they left Rivendell in the movies (I was tempted to go with the books and bring Anduril, but we'd be missing two young Hobbits and we'd have a base Frodo). Despite leaving the Beatstick of Destiny at home, this list is incredibly powerful (though, as I've said in past lists, you'd want to take armor on Legolas and Aragorn - probably a horse on Aragorn too). With Aragorn, Boromir, and Gimli to hack through things in the front, free Might from Sam and Aragorn (with replenishing Might from Bill), you've got power where you need it when you need it. Legolas, Aragorn, Gimli, and Gandalf can lay down S2/S3/S5 damage from a distance, while the Hobbits can supplement with S1 damage of their own (which works more often than you'd think). |
It's been good getting back into the Fellowship again - and I hope to run them sometime under the new rules. In the next few months, I'll be finishing the basing on my new armored Aragorn model (from Helm's Deep) in both foot and mounted form - been waiting for this guy for SUCH a long time, it's good to finally have him and do it right. As Christmas nears, I also picked up my favorite Aragorn model ever (the Amon Hen one), so expect to see an update on that as well!
As we close out this series, our next topical series will be a four-part revisit of archery posts we've done in the past. Topics will include things like archery in Khazad-Dum/Moria lists (which most people tend to avoid using?), how to use throwing weapons effectively, how to get the most out of your archery (and how to protect your archers if there isn't enough terrain on hand), and tactics for using skirmish units in your army. As an avid fan of shooting in the MESBG system, I'm excited to dive into it. Until next time, happy hobbying!
Gimli has a deceptive amount of variance in his hitting power. Two attacks at Strength 4 is pretty meh (same as a Goblin-Town Captain), and even two attacks at Strength 4 with +1 to-wound is not fantastic. Boost him to 3 Strength 4 attacks with +1 to-wound and he seems much better (though still not mounted), and as you pointed out, once you get to 2 Attacks at Strength 5 (Piercing Strike) with +2 to wound, he's cutting through high-defense models with laughable ease, especially if the target is trapped.
ReplyDeleteI haven't played a whole lot with Legolas, but every time I've taken the auto-hit option, I've regretted it. He doesn't always hit on his triple-strike, but there's just something about having three chances that makes your opponent worried. Looking forward to the shooting stuff!
I think the only reason to take the single-shot is to get past an archery-neg power (Blinding Light, Pall of Darkness, that kind of thing) OR to guarantee a hit on a mount vs. the rider (like when you're dismounting Ringwraiths - D8 is not fun). There's the niche case where you can snipe the guy who's engaged with Merry/Pippin (or clear out one of the guys who ganged up on Aragorn so he can pull off a successful Heroic Combat more easily), but generally speaking, I just shoot three times. Especially early in the match, it's a great way to rank up kills so Gimli's more effective.
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