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Thursday, December 30, 2021

Revisiting Play Styles Part 3: The Linchpin Playstyle

Hey Reader!

Welcome back to the blog! Tiberius wrote a blog post recently about list building for beginners, based on a 2015 post I made talking about the seven list building play styles I noticed at the time. Last time we talked about the Theme Playstyle, and in today's post we are looking at the third playstyle: the linchpin list.

As before, we will look at what this playstyle looks like in concept, and then work to maximize its potential on the table to bring you victory, coupled with thoughts on which armies do this best.


I.  The Linchpin Playstyle: "Focus and Overwhelm"

Also referred to as the "Focus and Overwhelm" strategy, this playstyle looks at one aspect of the game - magic, monsters, mobility, melee prowess, mob tactics, might points, archery (sorry - I couldn't come up with an "M" word for the last one! I feel ashamed), etc. - and turns that up to 11 in the army. If that part of the game works for the controlling player, they are probably going to win because they dominate that aspect of the game.

Shire: an army that focuses on Shooting and Numbers to win

I will go on record (and Tiberius will probably write a reply post on this, which is fine) saying that I think there is a hierarchy in regards to which of these you should overpower to be most effective (more on that below), but before I do, I want to say that you can do any of these quite effectively, and by focusing on any given aspect you may find it easier to beat some of the more powerful armies in the current meta.

And that's one of the nice things about playing a Linchpin army: you can take one aspect of the game that you really like, that your army does really well, etc. and lean heavily into it to attain victory. You tend to see this a lot from Tiberius in our gaming group (most of the time it's magic or archery, as he really loves magic and throwing weapons), but I think we've all dabbled with it at some point.

You'll also find a lot of crossover between the theme playstyle and this one, which is why we're doing these two back-to-back, as some themes focus around a specific aspect of the game (monsters, poison arrows, etc.). But I think they are different because the focus on, "I want as many archers as possible" is very different from a thematic army, and that's why it gets it own list.

Put another way, Linchpin strategies are often incidental Thematic armies: the theme of, "as many ranger as we can fit in" or "as many artillery pieces as I can fit in" is incidental to the actual aim which is, "a butt-ton of dangerous stuff clouding out the sun will hit some people even on a bad day."

So toward that end, let's look at how we can make the most of the Linchpin style.

Monday, December 27, 2021

Quest of the Ringbearer Inspired Lists: Rangers of Ithilien LL

Good morning gamers,

Well, this is our last post in this series for now. We've already seen how to take your Quest of the Ringbearer collection to field armies like Angmar, Rivendell, and the Serpent Horde, as well as Legendary Legions like the Breaking of the Fellowship, the Black Riders, Ugluk's Scouts, and Cirith Ungol. Today, we're covering an army that has gone from dominance to decline in the international competitive community: the Rangers of Ithilien.

The List

We get quite a few Minas Tirith models in Quest of the Ringbearer (despite the faction only showing up in three missions) - here's the full list:
  • You have access to several heroes from the Black Gate (King Aragorn, Gandalf the White, and Peregrin Took, Guard of the Citadel);
  • You'll need Faramir, Madril, and Damrod;
  • You'll need the ForgeWorld models for Anborn and Mablung;
  • You'll need 24 Warriors of Minas Tirith;
  • You'll need one Minas Tirith Command blister (for the Warrior of Minas Tirith with banner);
  • You'll need one box of Rangers of Gondor; and
  • You'll need 6 Osgiliath Veterans (two with shields, two with spears, and two with bows) - though you can convert these models pretty easily from Warriors of Minas Tirith if you want too.

Thursday, December 23, 2021

This Army Will Break Your Local Meta . . .

Good morning gamers,

Let me begin by acknowledging the click-bait title - I couldn't help myself. Centaur has recently been playing with a new army (and exercising a new 3D printer) and I have to admit, I had no idea how powerful it was until it started crushing armies that are deemed crazy powerful (the Vanquishers of the Necromancer in Command and Control, the Black Riders LL in Contest of Champions, and a Balrog/Cave Troll spam from the Depths of Moria LL in To The Death - twice). What army am I talking about? Well, Centaur's been running this one:

Photo Credit: Warhammer Community

Yep, today we're looking at Fangorn and how they can single-handedly change your local meta - because traditional, conventional armies (and faddish, awesome armies that are used to fighting conventional armies) have no idea how to fight them. :-)

Monday, December 20, 2021

Quest of the Ringbearer Inspired Lists: Cirith Until LL

Good morning gamers,

We're almost done with the year and we've almost finished with this mini-series of taking our collection from Quest of the Ringbearer onto the tabletop for matched play. Today we turn to a Legion that I was very excited to see (and kinda groaning at collecting - the models are SO EXPENSIVE!) - the Cirith Ungol LL. This Legion, run as a normal Mordor list for a long time by theme-minded fans, looks a lot like the Ugluk's Scouts LL, but behaves very differently. Let's look at what we have to work with!

The List

This is once again an army that can use Orcs - and as we saw with both Angmar and the Ugluk's Scouts LL, Quest of the Ringbearer gives you a LOT of Orcs. Unlike the Ugluk's Scouts list, we only have 16 Uruk-Hai (including Shagrat), so our options for running Uruk-Hai in this Legion is pretty limited (though only just less than the 25 Uruk-Hai we had for Ugluk's Scouts). Thankfully, though, we do have plenty to work with - let's see what we have:

  • You'll need the Shagrat and Gorbag pack - the new one with the two poses of Shagrat is best, more on that in a minute;
  • You'll also need Shelob, who is a nasty piece of work in this legion;
  • You'll need 37 Orc Warriors (12 shields, 12 spears, 6 Orc bows, 6 two-handed weapons, and 1 banner); 
  • You'll need 3 Orc Captains and if you purchased the Orc command blister, you also have an Orc Shaman; and
  • You'll need 15 Mordor Uruk-Hai - technically, you need 15 with no extra gear, so this could be as many as 30 Mordor Uruk-Hai if you want to spend a lot of money and be technically correct.

True talk: I'm not sure that anyone would ever run Mordor Uruk-Hai with no extra gear in matched play - getting a shield seems to be a popular choice, though I prefer the Orc bow (they're decent archers and scary to charge). I equip some of these Uruks with two-handed maces as well for extra damage. If you're buying 3 packs of Mordor Uruk-Hai so you have 18 warriors (though again, you COULD buy 5 packs so you have 15 warriors without extra wargear), we can safely assume you have 18 Uruk-Hai to work with in reality. Today, we'll be taking advantage of our "actual collection" and assume you have access to 18 Mordor Uruk-Hai (plus 2 Shagrat models) - let's look at the list:

  • Shagrat, War Leader [ARMY LEADER]
    • 1 Mordor Uruk-Hai with two-handed mace
    • 3 Mordor Uruk-Hai with Orc bows and two-handed maces
    • 4 Mordor Uruk-Hai with Orc bows
  • Mordor Uruk-hai Captain with shield
    • 1 Mordor Uruk-Hai with two-handed mace
    • 2 Mordor Uruk-Hai with Orc bows and two-handed maces
    • 5 Mordor Uruk-Hai with Orc bows
  • Gorbag, Orc Captain with shield
    • 6 Orc Warriors with shields
    • 5 Orc Warriors with shields and spears
    • 1 Orc Warrior with shield, spear, and banner
  • Orc Captain with shield
    • 6 Orc Warriors with shields
    • 6 Orc Warriors with shields and spears
  • Shelob

The equipment is all wrong and many of the Uruks are Isengard Scouts . . .

700 points, 45 models, 14 Orc bows hitting on a 4+, 5 D6+ models, 1 fast infantry, 10 Might

Thursday, December 16, 2021

Revisiting Play Styles Part 2: The Theme Playstyle

Hey Reader!

Welcome back to the blog! Tiberius wrote a blog post recently about list building for beginners, based on a 2015 post I made talking about the seven list building play styles I noticed at the time. Last time we talked about the Collection Playstyle, and in today's post we are looking at the second playstyle: the themed army.

Similar to our last post we will examine what goes into this playstyle, and then discuss how we can maximize the effect of that playstyle and which armies best allow us to maximize the potential of the theme.


I.  The Theme Playstyle: "Feel Over Math"

In a very oversimplified paraphrase of the philosophy, this playstyle comes down to accuracy over aptitude. If Lorien wasn't at Helm's Deep in the books, then we aren't taking elves in a Helm's Deep centric army (and in fact, you're probably playing Vanilla Rohan so you can add Hama and Eomer to the army, as Hama dies there and Eomer is also with them). If Gimli wasn't with Balin when he setup the Kingdom of Moria you won't run Gimli in a Kingdom of Moria Khazad Dum army. The theme comes first.

Minuteman Kirk in our gaming group is renowned for this, and I suspect that Red Jacket falls into this category to some extent as well: the feel of the army is critical to how we build lists.

Now, this means that there's a good chance that good models (like Gimli) won't be taken in an army because they just don't fit the theme, which is why the power level of the model isn't necessarily considered (hence "accuracy over aptitude"). It also means that you may not take advantage of other boons or special rules available to your faction.

Monday, December 13, 2021

Quest of the Ringbearer Inspired Lists: Black Riders LL

Good morning gamers,

Today we dig into a list that is very similar to a list that I ran years ago at a THRO tournament before the new rules dropped (and before the Legendary Legion): the Black Riders Legendary Legion. I've always loved the Ringwraith models - and while managing their Will and risking them being charged to death by the weakest of warriors can be difficult, I love how much raw magical power these guys have and the flexibility they give to your battle lines. But what happens when you run "just Ringwraiths" instead of the hordes of warriors and other beater heroes they usually accompany? Well, you get a REALLY interesting game - especially with the new Legion. Let's dig in and see how we use this list!

The List

With their mounted models returned to the store, you can now get everything you need for this army as follows:

  • You'll need the 9 Ringwraiths on foot;
  • You'll also need three packs of the 9 mounted Ringwraiths; and
  • You can optionally get the new Witch-King blister (which will give you an extra Ringwraith on foot and mounted from the other sets - maybe a good Christmas or birthday gift for someone interested in Ringwraiths, but not interested in running "all Ringwraiths").

Interestingly enough, this comes out to ~$250 - the same as getting all of the Haradrim models we talked about last time! Still, these are iconic models that are used heavily in the early missions of the Quest of the Ringbearer campaign and can be a fun army to use if you like magic and high-risk, high-reward armies. Let's look at the list that we're running:

  • The Witch-King of Angmar on horse with 3M/10W/2F [ARMY LEADER]
    • Ringwraith #1 on horse with 2M/8W/1F
    • Ringwraith #2 on horse with 2M/8W/1F
    • Ringwraith #3 on horse with 2M/8W/1F
    • Ringwraith #4 on horse with 2M/8W/1F
    • Ringwraith #5 on horse with 2M/8W/1F
    • Ringwraith #6 on horse with 2M/8W/1F
    • Ringwraith #7 on horse with 2M/8W/1F

700 points, 8 models, 8 Black Darts cast on a 5+, 8 D6+ models, 8 cavalry, 17 Might

We have one extra guy in this photo, but Ringwraith #8 didn't want to be left in the box . . .

At 700 points, you can't get all nine Ringwraiths in your army with "the bare essentials" of resources allocated to each. Don't get me wrong - you COULD run all nine models with no upgrades for 600 points, allocating 20 points of Might, Will, or Fate to your models. Split 9 ways, this means all of your normal Ringwraiths probably have 1 Might/1 Fate, while the Witch-King has 2 Might/2 Fate, but it seems to me that by dropping 75 points worth of models to get +15 resources for the remaining 8 models (~2 points more for each of them) is a better move. Yes, you'd want the extra guy in some scenarios, but having a second Might point to boost rolls or call Heroic Moves/Combats seems to have more utility.

Thursday, December 9, 2021

Revisiting Play Styles Part 1: The Collection Playstyle

Hey Reader!

Welcome back to the blog! Tiberius wrote a blog post recently about list building for beginners, based on a 2015 post I made talking about the seven list building play styles I noticed at the time (during "The Dark Age" when we were not getting a lot of new content for the game). This post, which will be the first in a series on different playstyles, is designed to revisit, flesh out, and update my thoughts from 2015 as I've progressed as a strategy war gamer, and follow-up on Tiberius's post as a "next step" for beginners as you begin thinking through list building for more competitive play.

Quick disclaimer: if you don't care that much about matched play and just love collecting, then I've done my best to include some of my most beautiful* models for your viewing pleasure, but this will probably not be the best article for you. I'm sorry. 

(* - Centaur's models are not that beautiful. He's aware of this and wrote this note. So don't expect the sun, moon, and stars in what follows, :P)

This post is more for those who have played some matched games, have found that they tend to like running specific models, and want to up their game so that they can place higher at a tournament. I hope this post is helpful for you, :)


I.  The Collection Playstyle: "Current Models"

A small band of Centaur's Azog's Hunters, one of his favorite evil armies

The first playstyle we will look at is what I'm calling the "Collection" playstyle, as frankly it's the easiest one to address, and I suspect it's where most people start when they join the hobby. Back in 2015 I called this the, "Current Models" style of play, where you look at the models that you own and that's how you build your army.

Now, I have to say, as someone who started with this playstyle in 2010 when I joined the hobby, I still use this style to this day over ten years later. Sometimes I don't want to put in an order for 1-2 new heroes and paint them up before a tournament because life is busy (let alone whole sprues of new warriors that will also need storage space once assembled and painted), so even as a veteran player of the game I will sometimes default to this style of play.

So I want to start off by debunking the idea (in case you have it) that this is a "starter playstyle" because it's not: it's a practical playstyle, looking at what you own and building lists from there.

Monday, December 6, 2021

Quest of the Ringbearer Inspired Lists: The Serpent Horde

Good morning gamers,

We've looked at a variety of armies in this series so far - we've looked at traditional armies like Angmar and Ugluk's Scouts, as well as an all-hero army (the Breaking of the Fellowship), and an army that we needed to be fleshed out a bit in order to make it work (Rivendell - though you could do it with Fantasy Fellowship models if you're okay making Rivendell the allied contingent). Today, we're looking at an army that is, by no means, a competitive choice - and there are hard counters to it for sure. But there are also many armies that will be quaking in their boots when they fight it - it's the Serpent Horde, run the only way you can with Quest of the Ringbearer as your basis. Let's get stuck in!

The List

Quest of the Ringbearer has lots of models in it and for exactly one mission, you need to invest in the Serpent Horde - here's what you need:
  • You need two War Mumaks of Harad (currently the entry barrier for me);
  • You need one box of Haradrim Warriors (I have half of these guys right now).
And that's it - still ~$250, but "that's it." Fantasy Fellowship missions don't get us any other models, so there's exactly one way to run this force - double Mumaks:
  • War Mumak of Harad with Rappelling Lines [ARMY LEADER]
    • 5 Haradrim Warriors
    • 5 Haradrim Warriors with bows and poisoned arrows
  • War Mumak of Harad with Rappelling Lines
    • 5 Haradrim Warriors
    • 5 Haradrim Warriors with bows and poisoned arrows
Photo Credit: Warhammer Community

700 points, 24 models, 10 bows hitting on a 4+, 2 D6+ models (the Mumaks), 2 war beasts with 22 passengers, 4 Might

This list has already been mentioned on the blog in our Bare Necessities series, though I only presented it as an idea (I didn't cover it in the main article). Today, we flesh out the discussion on this list and see how it approaches each of the scenarios. If you want to learn about Mumak tactics from the professionals, read Dan Entwisle's article on Warhammer Community.

Army Theory

The list above has two models on the ground - the Mumaks. On each of the Mumaks are 11 models (of the possible 13 models) and we have three kinds of models up there: a commander who drives the Mumak, 5 melee models with no extra gear and 5 ranged models with bows to shoot at the enemy. We did this for a few reasons. First and foremost, two Mumaks that have archers on them will mean that staying away from us is going to be all-but-impossible - and if we can threaten the enemy with bows, our opponent will need to engage us as quickly as possible or risk getting picked off a little at a time. Engaging, of course, could mean getting picked off a lot at a time, but I digress.

We could have placed all of our archers in one Mumak and put all of the melee models in the other (which could save us 10 points for Rappelling Lines on one of them - that would be another bowman and 3 spears, probably), but I instead chose to give both Mumaks Rappelling Lines, which is important for two reasons. First and foremost, Mumaks don't want big heroes to charge into them, so being able to peel them off and force them to fight something else is a good way to make them burn through resources. You can also have three Haradrim charge someone like the King of the Dead so he can't call a Heroic Combat and kill the Mumak (which he can do with a single wound). Since all models in the Howdah automatically pass Courage tests, you don't have to worry about the Terror or Harbinger of Evil, so you can just charge him. Pulling him off can give you a chance to kill a little more before he gets there - and maybe even get a charge off on the following turn.

TMAT Talks: Episode 18 - The Fall of the Necromancer Legions and All-Hero Lists


Centaur, Tiberius, and Rythbryt discuss the newest flavor of the month: the Fall of the Necromancer legendary legions, with a special emphasis on what those legions do to make all-hero lists competitive--and how one might apply those lessons to other all-hero lists that are... less competitive... to improve them (like poor Thorin's Company).

Also, is magic OP? (That is the question.) Oh, and there are also some Black Riders hanging about. (Because when are they not?)

You can check out the podcast over on Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts!

Music: Happy Haunts by Aaron Kenny
____________________________________________

SHOW NOTES:

Breaking down the Fall of the Necromancer Legendary Legions (0:00)

All-Hero armies that work, and some that don't (1:04:30)

The Black Riders Legendary Legion (1:56:20)

Parting Thoughts (2:28:12)

Bonus: TMAT Talks Reviews... stupid-funny, gratuitously-violent movies from the 2000s (2:31:45)

Friday, December 3, 2021

Holiday Shopping with TMAT!


Sleigh bells ring, are you listenin'?
In the lane, snow is glistenin'!
A beautiful sight!
We're HAPPY tonight!
Walkin' in a winter wonderlan'!
Photo Credit: Pexels.com

December is here, which can only mean one thing: it's once again time to procrastinate buying the perfect Christmas gift for your family and friends with whom you share the mutual obligation of gift-giving.

Now for some of us who share the hobby, this is not actually difficult. I'm mean, really: what gift could be more perfect than a box of still-sprued plastic orcs, just oozing with creative potential? Who could refuse the joy of a disassembled Nazgul? Even the challenge of a fine-cast Great Beast is a joy when the fine-cast is gifted. Plus, the gift of miniatures to someone in your gaming group is almost the same as a gift to yourself, right? (Hey, can I borrow that Sauron next week? After all, I did give him to you for Christmas...)

But gift-buying for the few who haven't seen the light (or who are still stuck in Warhammer)? Well, that's more of a challenge.

That's where we come in. Because you see, over the past year, TMAT has been collecting gift ideas on our blog from hundreds of highly-motivated entrepreneurs who have been spamming our blog* with the perfect way to buy that perfect gift for that perfect someone with that hard-earned money (or kidney) you haven't spent (or sold) on miniature goodness.

So without further ado, here are the top-10 things you never knew you needed this holiday season... until now**:

Thursday, December 2, 2021

Unexpected Military Formations: In-set Heroes

Good morning gamers,

Recently, an article was posted on the Against All Odds blog about auto-winning scenarios with the Black Riders LL and how there's no way to fight the list on them (okay, that's a bit of an over-simplification, but it's clear that the Riders LL can have a tremendous advantage in them). Sharbie makes good points in the article, though I'm not convinced that all of the scenarios listed are necessarily an auto-win for the Legion.

These guys are scary for hero-reliant armies . . .

The Black Riders Legendary Legion is certainly one of the most blatant offenders of the "kill quickly and end the game in a few turns" style of play, but there are other lists that can turn those heroes that you love into do-nothings the entire game (and while the game might go on for a while, you don't get any of the fun you anticipated having - see a recent post from the Drawn Combat team for an expose on how this works). Whether it's the Black Riders Legion or another magic-heavy or shooting-heavy list (like the Vanquishers of the Necromancer and the Rangers of Ithilien), there are times when you might feel like everything is gunning for your heroes - and without those heroes, your chances of having an enjoyable game are basically gone.

This has made me think about whether the reason certain scenarios seem rigged to favor one side are due to problems with the lists themselves or because of the lists they're fighting against - or worse, how the lists they fight deploy their troops. As I got to thinking about this, I started forming ideas about how you can build your army (not tailored to fight one list and nothing else) and how you can deploy your forces to mitigate the effectiveness of these kinds of lists in scenarios that seem to favor them. This is a formations post, not a list building post, so we'll focus on formations that lots of armies can run (though I will recommend a few list building tips, as all formations evolve from their lists). Let's look at your options.

Monday, November 29, 2021

Quest of the Ringbearer Inspired Lists: Ugluk's Scouts Legendary Legion

Good morning gamers,

In our last article, we looked at some Rivendell models you can add to your Quest of the Ringbearer collection to run a fun Rivendell list. Today we're looking at some of my favorite models in the range (aesthetically and thematically): Uruk-Hai Scouts! Yep, we're going to Isengard and seeing what kind of Scout-based lists we can make!

The List

Isengard plays an important part in the Lord of the Rings films, particularly in the Two Towers. In the Fellowship of the Ring, though, there are few forces that are quite as terrifying as seeing the scouts of Isengard racing down the Anduin pursuing the Fellowship (and ultimately engaging them at Amon Hen). Your Isengard collection, though, leaves you with very, VERY few choices:
  • Lurtz is the "big hero" during the Amon Hen sequence;
  • The Uruk-Hai Scout command pack will be useful too, though you only NEED the Captain with two-handed weapon (the other guys are useful too - just not needed for the campaign);
  • You'll need 24 Uruk-Hai Scouts, conveniently provided in a single plastic kit; and
  • You have access to 3 Orc Captains and 37 Mordor Orcs from the Osgiliath scenario (which Isengard has access to if you read closely enough).
If you're playing Fantasy Fellowships, though, you get a few more models to work with thanks to the Ambush at Night scenario:
  • You need Ugluk (who comes in the Lurtz pack);
  • You need Mauhur; and
  • You need Grishnakh and Snaga.
If you limit yourself to these models, the clear army to run is the Ugluk's Scouts Legendary Legion, where you can field 5 warbands of Orcs or Uruk-Hai Scouts (for a total of 52 models):

  • Ugluk [ARMY LEADER]
    • 3 Uruk-Hai Marauders with shields
    • 2 Uruk-Hai Marauders
    • 1 Uruk-Hai Marauder with banner
    • 3 Uruk-Hai Marauders with Uruk-Hai bows
  • Mauhur
    • 3 Uruk-Hai Marauders with shields
    • 3 Uruk-Hai Marauders
    • 3 Uruk-Hai Marauders with Uruk-Hai bows
  • Uruk-Hai Scout Captain with two-handed axe
    • 2 Uruk-Hai Marauders with shields
    • 3 Uruk-Hai Marauders
    • 2 Uruk-Hai Marauders with Uruk-Hai bows
  • Snaga, Orc Captain
    • 4 Orc Warriors with shields
    • 1 Orc Warrior with spear
    • 5 Orc Warriors with shields and spears
  • Grishnakh, Orc Captain with shield
    • 5 Orc Warriors with shields
    • 6 Orc Warriors with shields and spears
    • 1 Orc Warrior with shield, spear, and banner
700 points, 52 models, 8 Uruk-Hai bows hitting on a 4+, 1 D6+ model, 28 fast infantry, 13 Might

This is a big list - 52 models is nothing to sniff at. In the international community, it would appear that a lot of people think that this list is a great choice. I, however, get frustrated with this list because the 8" move on the Uruk-Hai is wasted a good bit of the time. Since you have access to spears on the Orcs, if you want to run a shield-supported Uruk-Hai line, your Uruks will need to either a) move 6" to let the Orcs keep up, or b) need to move 4" to shoot and move on the same turn (slowing down your Orcs and not allowing the archers to keep up with any melee Uruks that want to move 8"). Sure, you can run an Uruk-Hai Drummer to make those bow-armed Uruks move 5.5" while shooting (which is basically the same movement as you get on your Orcs), but at that rate, you're moving "as fast as normal troops" - which means the 8-11" movement you should get on those Uruks is still wasted (at least to a degree).

Thursday, November 25, 2021

Quest of the Ringbearer: Pop-Up Bree!

Good morning gamers (and happy Thanksgiving if you're in the States),

Confession: I have wanted to build a city board with tons of houses for ages. The idea of having side streets and main roads for armies to use to maneuver has always intrigued me. But, in MESBG, there is a tendency for boards with overly-cluttered maps to become a game in and of themselves and detract from the ACTUAL game that's being played. So when I saw the Nazgul In Bree scenario in Quest of the Ringbearer sourcebook, I immediately got thinking about how to build Bree (and how to run the Depths of Moria LL, but that's a different story). :-)

I knew there were two complications I needed to tackle when it came to the buildings: first and foremost was storage. Most of the YouTube content you find out there on building medieval taverns or Bree buildings specifically are built from foam card and aren't easy to store. I don't have a lot of storage space, so I wanted to avoid having 3-4 boxes of terrain for a single board.

Second and more applicable to game play was the skyline problem. You've probably run into a situation once or twice where you were not able to get your head behind your model to see if it has line of sight to something - and that usually happens when there's a building behind your model. Well, I wanted the buildings to be easy to remove and replace so that wouldn't be a problem (since the streets will be narrow).

So how do we do this? Well, we start by eating lots of family-sized cereal (my go-to is a Post-brand cereal that has raisins in it, but I settled for others when those weren't in stock at my favorite warehouse members-only supply store).

Monday, November 22, 2021

Quest of the Ringbearer Inspired Lists: Rivendell Revisited

Good morning gamers,

We're back in Quest of the Ringbearer and discussing lists we can make for Matched Play based on models we've collected from the sourcebook. Last time we looked at Angmar and today we're digging into their ancient foe, Rivendell.

I know what you're thinking though:

You: "Aren't we given basically no Rivendell units in Quest of the Ringbearer - just Gildor, Arwen, and technically Glorfindel?"

Me: "Correct - next to none."

You: "And we've got loads of other factions we could be building for?"

Me: "Absolutely - and we will."

You: "But we're still covering Rivendell today?"

Me: "Yes."

You: " . . . Why? . . ."

Me: "Because of these guys . . ."


Yes, I've been searching high and low for these two models for AGES and now that I have them, I'm getting them on the tabletop! So strap in - we're going to see how we can finnagle Quest of the Ringbearer to suit our needs (and maybe purchase a few more models along the way).

The List

If you limit yourself to just the models from Quest of the Ringbearer, your Rivendell collection is . . . depressingly small:
  • Gildor Inglorion is used in one mission (Shortcuts Make Long Delays);
  • Arwen Evenstar is used in one mission (Flight to the Ford);
  • You have the option to use Glorfindel in Flight to the Ford instead of Arwen; and
  • You have 6 Wood Elf Warriors in the Lothlorien scenarios (and probably have 18 other Wood Elf Warriors if you bought the plastic box) who could be used as Noldorin Exiles.
This doesn't give you much to go on - so go purely from Quest of the Ringbearer, you need to a) collect models for Fantasy Fellowships, and b) be okay allying with Lothlorien and the Fellowship. Some of the members of the Fellowship (Aragorn, Boromir, and Legolas in particular) are powerful heroes who can increase your damage output (up-close or from a distance) and Aragorn/Boromir have March for your army (so Gildor doesn't have to spend his Might point doing that). With Fantasy Fellowships, you get access to:
  • An armored-version of Haldir (and Celeborn, actually); and
  • 12 Galadhrim Warriors (though you probably have 24 if you picked up the plastic box). 
With the knowledge that you could do a direct swap of Aragorn for Glorfindel, the list you could run looks like this:
  • Gildor Inglorion
    • 1 Noldorin Exile with throwing daggers
    • 5 Noldorin Exiles with Wood Elf spears and throwing daggers
    • 4 Noldorin Exiles with Elf bows
  • HISTORICAL ALLY: Haldir with heavy armor and Elf bow
    • 5 Galadhrim Warriors with shields
    • 5 Galadhrim Warriors with shields and spears
    • 5 Galadhrim Warriors with Elf bows
  • HISTORICAL ALLY: Aragorn - Strider with armor and bow [ARMY LEADER]
    • Boromir of Gondor with shield
With 29 models, 11 fast infantry with a free Heroic March from Aragorn (or 6 Might for March on Boromir if you run Glorfindel instead of Aragorn), and 13 Might points (plus Mighty Hero if you run Aragorn), this is a truly terrifying list (vulnerable to archery, perhaps, but a terrifying list all the same). However, it doesn't feel very Rivendell-like - AND it doesn't really give Gildor or Glorfindel the time to shine that they really deserve. So instead, I've recently been trying something else out (plus most of my Galadhrim Warriors have Elf bows and spears . . . so I can't play this list right now).

Most Rivendell lists will sport a bunch of High Elf Warriors, which we don't have in any of the QOTR scenarios. Many Rivendell lists will also include at least a few Rivendell Knights, which we don't have in any of the QOTR scenarios either. With access to Noldorin Exiles, you probably don't NEED Rivendell Knights for speed per se, but many players would prefer the high-Defense, lance-wielding, all-bow cavalry models over their half-priced, more fragile, all-throwing-weapon-capable infantry models. I get that.

Thursday, November 18, 2021

Quest of the Ringbearer: Model Collection Update, Part III

Good morning gamers,

We're back for another update on my Quest of the Ringbearer collection and while I don't have the 12 Wargs I need for Part II, we're looking at the Amon Hen sequence for Part III today!

Part III: Lothlorien to Emyn Muil

There are four scenarios covered here - three chain-linked scenarios and one "big scenario" with everyone in it. Depending on whether you're playing Fantasy Fellowships or the normal campaign determines which one you'll be doing, so let's look at the participants.

Purchase #18: Lurtz and Ugluk

Two pretty good mid-tier heroes . . .

These are two great heroes and I have enjoyed using them in the Lurtz's Scouts LL. I got both for cheap off eBay and Ugluk got a skinnier sword than the original metal model has thanks to being damaged before I got him.

Purchase #19: Uruk-Hai Captain with 2h

You can get this guy now in the Scout command pack, but I did a conversion off a Scout - those poses are really dynamic and some of my favorite poses in the game.

Purchase #20: 24 Uruk-Hai Scouts

You need a box of Scouts for the scenarios, but if you plan on running the Lurtz's Scouts LL or the Ugluk's Scouts LL, you probably want more. Here are my 24 favorite ones in all their glory:

You want as many of these guys as you can in two Legendary Legions . . .

Crowd favorites - fast with average Defense and above-average Fight/Strength

Usually not run without shields, but I find you can get a few more numbers out of these guys if you leave some shields at home . . .

Bonus pic - I converted an Uruk-Hai Drummer up as well (and three Uruk-Hai Scouts with Uruk-Hai bows and banners for the Lurtz's Scouts LL). I've actually shown these guys on the blog before, but I think they deserve some billings here on their own:

Conclusion

Here's how the standings look:

  • Current Model count: 
    • Part I: 42/42 (100%)
    • Part II: 43/55 (~78%)
    • Part III: 27/27 (100%)
    • TOTAL: 112/124 (~90%)
  • Estimated cost remaining: ~$80

Monday, November 15, 2021

Quest of the Ringbearer Inspired Lists: Angmar Revisited

Good morning gamers,

Angmar is an old kingdom and as such, it doesn't have any historical allies. Early in the Third Age, after the fall of Sauron, the kingdom of Angmar dominated over the weakened kingdom of men in Arnor and strove against the Elves of Rivendell. You wouldn't think that a scenario book set during the late Third Age would be able field much from Angmar, but alas, the Quest of the Ringbearer is FULL of Angmar models. Let's see what kind of list we can build from it!

The List

In Quest of the Ringbearer, we have a surprising number of Angmar models available to us:
  • We have 4 Barrow-Wights from the Fog of the Barrow-Downs scenario;
  • The Witch-King of Angmar in a variety of missions;
  • A Wild Warg Chieftain and 18 Wild Wargs in two missions;
  • 1 Cave Troll (who is a much needed hitter);
  • 6 Dead Marsh Spectres from the Dead Marshes mission; and
  • 3 Orc Captains and 37 Orcs (12 shields, 12 spears, 6 two-handed weapons, 6 Orc bows, 1 banner) from the Osgiliath mission. 
This is . . . a really good foundation for an Angmar army - and if you expand your collection to play Fantasy Fellowships, you also have 18 Warg Riders to add to your team. Let's look at one of the ways you can do it:

I didn't quite have enough Spectres for this one, so I have a Warrior of the Dead standing in . . . see if you can spot him. :)
  • Barrow-Wight [Red - ARMY LEADER]
    • 3 Angmar Orc Warriors with shields
    • 3 Angmar Orc Warriors with shields and spears
    • 3 Angmar Orc Warriors with Orc bows
    • 1 Angmar Orc Warrior with two-handed axe
    • 1 Cave Troll with Troll chain and hand-and-a-half hammer
  • Barrow-Wight [Yellow]
    • 3 Angmar Orc Warriors with shields
    • 2 Angmar Orc Warriors with shields and spears
    • 1 Angmar Orc Warrior with shield, spear, and banner
    • 1 Angmar Orc Warrior with Orc bow
    • 1 Dead Marsh Spectre
  • Barrow-Wight [Green]
    • 3 Angmar Orc Warriors with shields
    • 2 Angmar Orc Warriors with shields and spears
    • 1 Angmar Orc Warrior with shield, spear, and banner
    • 1 Angmar Orc Warrior with Orc bow
    • 1 Dead Marsh Spectre
  • Barrow-Wight [Blue]
    • 3 Angmar Orc Warriors with shields
    • 3 Angmar Orc Warriors with shields and spears
    • 1 Angmar Orc Warrior with Orc bow
    • 1 Dead Marsh Spectre
  • Wild Warg Chieftain
    • 6 Wild Wargs

Thursday, November 11, 2021

Top 10 Heroes to Challenge with a Heroic Challenge

 Hey Reader!

Tiberius did a post a few months back on the best heroes in the game for calling a Heroic Challenge, and a lot of that post came down to, "This is not a great heroic action, but in a few rare circumstances these characters will do better than others in using it well." And I 100% agree with all of this: Heroic Challenge needs an update, and you might see something on that on this space in the coming months, so stay tuned!

In the interim, though, I'm of the mind that there are specific heroes that are worth issuing a Heroic Challenge to, as your chance of losing is pretty low and your chances of winning are pretty high. So what follows here is a list of the best heroes to issue a Heroic Challenge to, combining both the Forces of Good and Evil.

We have two rules for which heroes make this list. First, they must be a Hero of Valour or higher, as the vast majority of heroes with the Heroic Challenge action are Valour or above. The trick, though, about this heroic action is that there has to be a reason for the hero to accept the challenge, and that means that, second, the hero should have a good reason not to refuse the challenge. So with this in mind, let's look at the best heroes to issue a challenge to in the Middle Earth Strategy Battle Game.


Honorable Mentions: There are two models we should highlight that didn't make the cut, as they are both strong enough that you'd want to accept, but you stand an okay chance of killing them. Forlong the Fat and Balin the Dwarf (Champion of Erebor) are both good options for challenging. Both have a good chance of accepting (as the former will take more Might every day of the week and the latter is a good caddy for Heroic Moves, so a good reason not to decline). The former has good killing power (so a good reason to believe he will win) and the latter is quite resilient (D8 goes a long way, and 2 wounds with 2 Fate isn't too shabby). But neither has Heroic Strike, Balin has a two-hander he must use (so an automatic -1 to win the fight), and as I noted in our podcast talking about Forlong, if he's not on the charge, his offensive profile goes down immensely. So both are good choices, but not as good as the guys below.


#10: Master of Lake-Town

The Master of Lake-Town is an ideal target for a challenge: he's F4 with 2 Attacks at S4, but he's also unarmed, so he's suffering a -1 to the duel and wounding rolls he makes. And at D4 with 2 wounds and 2 Fate, he's very easy to kill so long as he doesn't call Heroic Defense.

The reason why he's #10, though, is that there's very little reason for him to accept. Unless you are out of Might and close to if not out of Fate, he's not going to accept it. In part this is because he's probably leading his detachment (more so a reason not to accept if he's the army leader), but also because he's also spending Might to trigger his Moneybags ability, so he has good reasons to stick around as his army needs the Fight Value and banner bonus from him.

On the flipside, though, will the Master turn down the chance to get more Might if the target is soft enough? Does he feel like he needs to be able to call a Heroic Move later in the match? Maybe so, but maybe he doesn't care either way, which is why he's #10.


#9: Balin the Dwarf (Thorin's Company) 

Balin the Dwarf is one of the weakest of Thorin's Company from a combat perspective, sitting at F4 with 1 Attack at S3, and since he only has 1 Might and Heroic Defense he's not the easiest person to kill, but he's not that hard either. He does not have Heroic Strike, and with only 2 wounds at D5 with 2 Fate, he's pretty easy to kill. 

He's not likely to accept the challenge (which is why he's this low on the list), though on the other hand he's one of the few heroes in Thorin's Company who is comfortable calling a Heroic Move, so declining is not without its consequences in an army with low mobility.


#8: Sharkey

This army doesn't want Sharkey fighting, which means his Might is either going to be best used when channeling a spell or calling a Heroic Move. This is a disincentive to accept (hence why he's here on the list), but if he can't move his boys because he's declined a challenge, that's a problem for the army (and an army that is already short on Might as it is: no one in the list has more than 2 Might, and those guys you kinda want fighting people). So there's a disincentive to declining, not to mention the allure of getting more Might for him if you accept and win, that puts him ahead of the Master of Lake-Town and Denethor in my book. 

Plus there's a hidden incentive to accepting: Worm can't stab him if he's engaged in a challenge, so even if he suffers a wound in the challenge he's denying that special rule from being used (small consolation prize, but it exists). Should he accept, he's only F4 S4 with 1 Attack and 1 Might, so not only is it hard for him to kill stuff but there's an appeal to getting more Might points. And with D4 2 Wounds and only 1 Fate, he's an easy kill. 

So my recommendation: use your last Might to challenge this guy. It gives a good reason for him to try for it (as you're out of Might), it will still take him a while to kill you even if you lose, and then you get some Might back once you (inevitably, I'd argue) kill him.


#7: Denethor, Steward of Gondor

At Fight 5 Denethor is on-par if not below anyone that can challenge him (with a very small number of exceptions), and while he is S4 with 2 Attacks, he presents some danger but not a lot of danger to you. There is a natural pull for him not to accept the challenge as he's probably leading his contingent (if not the army), but on the flipside he has no Might, and this is one of the few ways he can gain Might. So there's a draw toward taking a chance if you don't look that intimidating. 

If you can get him to accept and you can get past his F5, he is only D5 with 2 wound and no Fate, so it's a relatively high chance that you kill him if you can get into a challenge with him.


#6: Ghan-Buri-Ghan

Ghan is not a strong fighter to start with: he is F4 with S4 and 2 Attacks, and while he has 3M he has no Strike or Defense, so fighting him in melee is not that difficult. And since he's very squishy at D4 with 2 wounds and 1 Fate, you can remove him in a single turn with relative ease. 

He places this low on this list, though, because the only reason for him to accept the challenge is because his army (whether the Wildmen list, the Paths of the Druadan Legendary Legion, or a list with an allied contingent) needs to be able to benefit from his Heroic Moves (or calling a Heroic Combat to catapult allied heroes into things). So there could be an appeal, especially if you challenge with a weaker hero with Challenge (Snaga the orc comes to mind), but on the whole I'd expect him to decline. If he accepts, though, you're golden.


#5: Worm

Okay, so this is up for debate as to whether he meets the parameters, but hear me out: nowhere on the profile does it say that he's an Independent Hero: the profile has "Hero of Legend" applied to both of them, and then in the text for "The Chief" passive ability it says that "Worm will always be the first follower in Sharkey's warband," but it never calls him an Independent Hero. So just like how Murin and Drar are both assumed to be heroes of fortitude, as that is their designation, and Elrohir and Elladan are assumed to both be heroes of fortitude, Worm is technically a hero of legend, and thus may be challenged by anyone with the heroic action. 

Now: he has a good reason to decline (which is why he's middle of this list), but consider the reasons for accepting: if he cannot be seen by anyone else he has 3 Attacks at F4, which is not bad. This is the only way he can get Might Points, and having Might that could be used for Heroic Moves on someone as disposable as Worm is not a bad thing to have. And if Worm dies, there's a 33% chance that all the hero does is get back the spent Might for winning the challenge, so a good chance that all he did was speedbump the enemy. 

So your opponent (I say as I work on a Sharkey's Rogues army) has a decent reason to accept the challenge so long as Grima has the 3 attacks. So make sure Worm is getting those 3 attacks, and then issue the challenge. If you do, he's a good choice to challenge.


#4: Golden King of Abrakhan

Okay hear me out on this one - 4 Attacks is a lot (which is also a good reason for him to accept, which is half the battle to successfully getting off a Heroic Challenge), but for having 4 Attacks with a burly two-handed S4 sword he's actually not that dangerous. Check it out.

First, he's only F4, so you are probably higher Fight Value than him (unless, I dunno - maybe if you're Snaga? But no one else is coming to mind), and thus will win ties. Second, he has no Heroic Strike or Heroic Defense, so you don't need to worry about him going up to F5+, and you will have an easy chance to wound him. Third, he's pretty easy to trap, as it's relatively hard to maneuver him once he's engaged in combat, and all you need to do is place models near him and suddenly boom: he can't move anywhere following the fight, doubling your wounding dice. And even if you can't set this up, he's also an infantry model, so charging him with a cavalry model can also knock him prone. And finally, he's only D5, so even though you have to do 4-6 wounds to him, it's not that hard to do. 

And again, since he's effectively S6 with 4 Attacks, you have a good chance of him accepting because he feels pretty good about his chances of winning. Tack onto that the desire to use his 2 Might to do things to help the army (as I believe only Suladan gets 3 Might for the Serpent Horde - no one else is coming to mind at least), and he's got good reasons to say, "Sure: let's do a Challenge."


#3: The Dwimmerlaik

There are three ways you can run the Dwimmerlaik (on foot, on a horse of some kind, or on a fell beast of some kind), and in all cases this is an excellent choice for calling a Heroic Challenge. First of all, the Dwimmerlaik starts by being in their element: they can potentially make you spend 2 Might to call the Challenge, which is already excellent. Second, the draw for accepting is high since it's one of the few ways he can get Might, and Angmar is always hurting for Might thanks to how many 0 Might heroes they have, and all of their 3 Might heroes don't want to be calling Heroic Moves (or Heroic Combats if they can get someone else in the fight to call it for them). And at D8 past 2 Fate and a +1 to all of his wound rolls, the Dwimmerlaik is pretty survivable and decently good at killing things, especially if he's mounted on a fell beast for more attacks.

But even with the best fighting profile he has access to (fell beast mount), he will only have 2-3 attacks (depending on whether or not he charges on a given turn) at S6, but since the Dwimmerlaik carries a two-handed sword only, he has to use it, so all of his dice are getting -1 to the roll. And at F5 with no Strike (as he has no Might to call Strike), this is a very beatable character.

The other thing to remember is that if you kill him the mount flees, so you don't need to wound the fell beast at all. And if he's not mounted or mounted on a horse, he gets easier and easier to beat. There is a decent chance that an opponent will decline (as he's not calling any heroic actions), but having played Angmar, the allure of getting more Might on a character who has options for dealing good damage is high if the person issuing the challenge is around F5 and around S4. So don't challenge with Elessar, but Lurtz? There's an appeal there.


#2: Nazgul of Dol Guldur

With only 1 wound past D6, this is the easiest person on this list to wound and slay (and even if they return due to their special rule, that doesn't cancel the fact that you slew them, getting the Might points - so this could be an infinite source of Heroic Challenges!). And with F5 with 2 Attacks at S4 with no Heroic Strike, this is an easy profile to defeat in a challenge compared to the others we've looked at, especially if you're mounted. 

Of these profiles, the following are the ones you want to challenge: Slayer of Men and the Witch-King of Angmar, as both stand a chance at actually trying to kill you (so a reason to accept), but all of them lack Strike, so you're probably fine (Khamul would be a good choice, but I think he'd refuse the challenge). 

They can refuse, though if they do the army has very little Might for heroic actions, so that's a potential red flag for an army that has a lot of infantry that will likely want to move first and/or cast with the Necromancer. So while yes, it's not an ideal situation to be challenged, it's also not ideal to decline. And if you have to lose someone in a challenge, the best person to lose is a person who comes back.


#1: Sid Briarthorn

Sid is a glorified ruffian, so he's not that good in combat: F4 S4 with 2 Attacks, and only 2 wounds with D4 and 1 Fate. And yet he's one of the best slayers that Sharkey's Rogues has, so he's on the front lines doing the dirty work, so your chances of getting into a position to challenge him is high. He has 2 Might, but can only call Heroic Strength and the standard actions. 

He could refuse, but Sharkey's Rogues as an army has an issue with not having a lot of Might, so there's an allure there (not to mention the allure of being able to move more than just himself on a Heroic Move to counter, say, a cavalry charge), so refusing is a dangerous proposition for him: you might save him for 1-2 more turns, but you pass up extra Might and could hurt your team by not being able to call useful heroic actions that would help your team.

So Sid's in a difficult spot: there's a lot of reasons to accept purely to keep the army moving the way it has to, and he's your best bet for winning the challenge in that army list, but at the same time he's a good option for slaying. So in my opinion, looking at the heroes available, I think he's the best option for issuing a Heroic Challenge.


Encouraging Acceptance

So how do you incentivize the target to accept the challenge, in the event that they have a good reason to decline? A few notes.

First, charge with multiple models. If you have 3-4 models (which could include spearmen, but even better if you have spearmen in addition to 3-4 models) against the target model and then you offer to Heroic Challenge, your opponent has the option to cut out about half of the dice in the combat by accepting (if not far more than half) or keep the odds as they are and weather it. Some of your opponents will opt to take the challenge, as they stand a better chance of not being killed in a single turn.

Interestingly enough, though: since the others in the combat don't back up a full 1", if the hero would have been trapped before the challenged was called they will still be trapped afterwards, even though you are not. And in future turns you can just move everyone around the enemy model to trap them for future rounds, insuring that anytime you win you are doubling your wounding dice. So pretty reliable means to finish off the hero.

Second, challenge with a weakened hero. No one wants to accept a challenge from a person with lots of Might, Fate, or wounds, so if you find yourself below maximum potential, you are more primed to be acceptable as a challenger. This can then help you regain your Might Points, pulling you back up. And if you happen to have a hero with a restoration spell on them to replenish your stats, still better.

And finally, look for those low Fight Value heroes with a lot of Attacks. There are not very many of them, but they do exist, and if they exist, then you can challenge them and your opponent looks at their number of attacks and thinks, "Hey: I think I can beat this guy. Let's give it a shot."


Conclusion

The Heroic Challenge is not heavily used, and for good reason: its uses are limited, and the incentive to decline is high. While Heroic Resolve and Heroic Accuracy are pretty bad, Heroic Challenge is still one of the worst heroic actions in the game. But since it is not heavily used most people don't plan for it, so if you find yourself in a unique situation where it is deviously excellent to call it, don't be afraid to call it.

Watching the stars,

Centaur

"I watch the stars, for it is mine to watch, as it is yours, Badger, to remember." ~ Glenstorm, Prince Caspian