Top 5 New Battlehosts for Forces of Evil

Hey Reader!

Just like in our last post, a quick caveat before we start: no, we don't have special knowledge about what is going to come down the line from GW, so don't take any of this as, "these are coming in the future," because we know absolutely nothing, :P

But like we mentioned before, I think these are helping to bring people into the hobby, and I think the more ways we can make joining the hobby and playing the game easier and simpler for people, the better it is for all of us.

And with Mordor and Isengard coming to the line (and excellent choices here: both of these are great), this is a great start as they are both iconic armies from the films and books. But what other factions would be good to add? Let's take a look.

We will consider three factors: ease of packaging (so plastic models will have an advantage over resin and metal models as they are going for all plastic battlehosts), popularity (as creating a battle host for, say, The Wildmen of Druadan, may not be worth the investment), and driving sales (it should help to sell models that aren't selling out on their own).

#5: Barad-Dur

Photo Courtesy of GamesWorkshop

So it's worth noting, as I mentioned in my discussion about the current battlehosts, that you can technically do this faction already with the Mordor one (and that's also why it's so low on this list), but hear me out as to why they should make this one a separate one.

First off, a plastic Sauron would just be great. Full stop. And with the Rings of Power show having wrapped up its first season, I think it's worthwhile for us to get a new Sauron. But that's also a big undertaking and would require some investment, which I'm not sure that the company would do.

Second issue is that, again they've already got one: why not just release a new Sauron model and call it a day? There's little reason to create a battlehost that is exactly like the Mordor one but with the heroes changed out, so I don't see them going this route, awesome as it would be.

So while it's definitely possible to make a Barad-Dur battlehost, and if they want one to stand opposite Rivendell, this is a good option. But unless they release a new plastic Sauron, I don't see this battlehost happening.

#4: Easterlings

Been collecting them for a while, but...oh wait,
that's a new addition... (more on that in 2023!)

So I'll start by saying there's no living way we ever get the Dragon Emperor in a battlehost, and that's fine. This faction has two plastic blisters of warriors (kataphracts and warriors, as I'm assuming they aren't giving us any Black Dragon sprues), so all it's missing is a hero. Unfortunately though, that's also the issue.

Sure, they could remake Amdur or another hero in plastic, but considering that 1) they just released new heroes for the Easterlings, and 2) all of them are resin (even though they were already thinking about battlehosts when those releases were being planned, I'm very sure), I just don't see them going this route anytime soon. So while it could be easily overcome (and I think more easily than a Barad-Dur battlehost), I don't think it's that likely to come out.

#3: The Serpent Horde

Plan to work on these guys in 2023; just now
starting to work on painting scheme

This is a good setup: we have Haradrim Warriors and Haradrim Raiders in plastic, both of which are good and will feel apt when next to other battlehosts. The issue, like with most of these, is the hero choice: all of the Serpent Horde heroes are either metal or resin with one exception, but he comes on a massive oliphant, so something tells me that one is off the table, :P

So while not impossible to overcome (as a new Suladan sculpt - the third Suladan sculpt - is overdue I suppose), this is an obstacle, as is the fact that a decent amount of Serpent Horde sells off the shelves as it is. But if they can solve that issue, they're set.

Speaking of which...

#2: Azog's Hunters

Fimbul and my fell wargs are on loan right now

This battlehost has three warrior blisters (infantry, wargs, and cavalry), so we have options for troop choices. It plays decently well on the table (a shaman would help, but hey, *Padme Happy Face* Hobbit-era armies don't need those, right? *Anakin Face* *Padme Concerned Face* Hobbit-era armies don't need those, right?), and the models are nothing short of gorgeous.

The only thing we're missing is a plastic hero, and whether that's Azog, Fimbul/Narzug, or Bolg, any of those would be a good choice. And with the sculpts looking so good as-is, the battlehost basically sells itself.

But there's one battlehost that's basically ready to go, and it would sell like bananas (which I'm told sell a lot)...

#1: Sharkey's Rogues

Hahaha, oh, I wish. Plastic ruffians would just make my day. 

But no, this one's a joke. Here you go, here's the real one...

#1: Moria

How I run Moria, which is not how a battlehost
should or would look

Okay, I always thought the Balrog was metal for some reason, but lo: there's a plastic kit for sale on the GW website. The goblins may not be the best sculpts, but they'll do for a battlehost, and throw in either a plastic cave troll (which used to come in the Mines of Moria starter set, so the mould exists out there somewhere) or heck, even some more goblin warriors, and you're golden.

And this assumes zero changes to the current sprues: you could obviously remake prowlers, marauders, etc. as plastic kits, but even with what we have now we'd be fine. And if I'm a new player looking at "starter armies," if this one was a choice, I'd be highly tempted to just grab it because the goblin armor looks awesome and a balrog just feels great. Add on a cave troll, and boy howdy are we off to a great start.

And if people end up picking up the Quest of the Ringbearer book and using that Depths of Moria legendary legion, it turns out that they would be at least semi-competitive on the table with ways to mitigate some of the issues Moria tends to face. Slap on a few captains to march your Balrog, maybe a drum, and perhaps a few other models, and you're good to go. 

Conclusion

As I've looked at these, I keep getting excited: I've never collected Moria (well, I collect dragons and trolls, but not goblins or balrogs, so I don't really collect Moria), but I would totally spring if this battlehost dropped. And with the chance to get everything you need to get a feel for the army, it would be awesome to eventually see most factions with a battlehost at some point in the future.

Not all factions need it (The Fellowship, Dol Goldur, The Trolls, Smaug, and Thorin's Company have effectively had "battlehosts" for years), but of those that do, this is a great way to tempt people to "just try out this new army," and I think that would help to drive sales immensely for the game.

Watching the stars,

Centaur

"Firenze!  What are you doing?  You have a human on your back!  Have you no shame?  Are you a common mule?" ~ Bane, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone