Grim Champs: What Do You Do With 13 Broken Dwarves?

Good morning gamers,

If you've followed the last two posts in this conversion miniseries (here and here), you know that I have spent some time this year converting up some Champions of Erebor from a Thorin's Company blister and some Grim Hammers. With the converted models done, I found myself with a pile of headless, mangled bodies:

What does one do with all these? Why, we get our conversion hat out and we turn them into something useful: "bag" tokens for the Three Trolls! Let's get to work!

In Defense Of: Two-Handing!

Good morning gamers,

This series was intended to focus on models that are really good that most players seem to not like (be it opinions stated on Facebook, in podcasts, or in printed materials). Our goal with this series was to challenge assumptions - looking for new ways to approach models that get dismissed out of hand and find ways to make them work. Some of the models we covered are tournament staples that get critiqued commonly (like Galadriel or Azog), while others are obscure and almost never see the light (like Osgiliath Veterans and Harry Goatleaf).

Well today, we're shaking things up and we're NOT looking at a model - we're looking at a weapon class and something that almost every competitive player will tell you not to do: fight two-handed when you don't have a rule that removes your dueling penalty.

In MESBG, one of the best bonuses you can get is a +1 To Wound. Sometimes, models will get this because of a special rule (such as Hatred or Backstabbers) or from a piece of war gear (such as a lance). Models that have these bonuses (and actually trigger them) are commonly viewed to be really, really good - especially if they have rules like this that can stack (like Moria Goblin Prowlers in the Assault on Lothlorien Legendary Legion, who can pair Backstabbers with a Legion special rule that gives them +1 To Wound if there is at least one other friendly model engaged in the same fight - more on these guys later).

The most common way to get +1 To Wound, however, isn't with a special rule: it's with a two-handed weapon. As a brief review, there are three types of melee weapons in the game: one-handed weapons (or "hand weapons"), two-handed weapons, and hand-and-a-half weapons (which can be wielded either as hand weapons or two-handed weapons). Weapons that are wielded with one-hand "fight normally," while two-handed weapons apply a -1 penalty to the dueling roll of the model (all dice are affected) but apply a +1 bonus to the To Wound roll of the model (again, all dice are affected - and this bonus is applied to both die rolls if multiple rolls are required to wound).

Occasionally, a piece of war gear will have the "master-forged" keyword (like Narsil or Durin's Axe) that removes the -1 penalty from the dueling roll when using the weapon two-handed. A select number of profiles might have the Weapon Master or Burly special rule that ignores these penalties as well (each provides another niche benefit too, but the main event of these rules is the removal of the dueling penalty). Finally, there are some models that have situational ways of removing the dueling penalty if they get a natural 6 on their dueling roll (most notably Angbor the Fearless, Clansmen of Lamedon, and Hurin Knights of the White Tower). Yes, getting +1 To Wound when you have absolutely no downside is really good - especially if you can reliably Feint as well so you get +1 To Wound and you reroll 1s.

However, there are a TON of models that can elect to two-hand without avoiding the penalty and a select few models who HAVE to two-hand with the penalty in place. It's these models that we're going to focus on today - and we'll be looking at both sets today with the aim of examining why two-handing is valuable (and how to tailor your lists to reduce the risks of two-handing).

The Road To the TMAT GT 2023: Tiberius's List

Good morning gamers,

This weekend is our TMAT Grand Tournament and boy do we have a good batch of guys coming out! As always, I had a FLOOD of lists that I was looking at running, but for the purposes of actually practicing more than once with the list that I'd be running, I decided to rein in my thoughts and narrow it down to a few lists. As is usually the case, I decided on one list at the start that I was like, "Yeah, this is probably my list" and then played with all the OTHER lists to see if I liked how they played better. So let's look at the list I decided to take . . . and the ones that just didn't make it.

Honorable Mention: The Men of the West LL

Yep, these are my boys and I'll be honest, I picked a 600ish points level because I wanted four games in one day, but also so I could bring these guys. This list was my reference list - I compared everything to it because I've played it a ton before and it's reliable. Like, it's really reliable (and while you might say, "Minas Tirith + Rohan/Fiefdoms would be better," I have struggled to find a better list with a historical pairing at 623pts). The list has Aragorn and Eomer with maximum archery, maximum models, and a banner in Eomer's warband. I played with this list a bit before the Winter Whirlwind tournament, but ultimately there was one list (maybe two) that made me feel like it was a bit better for the match-ups I'd be looking at:

• Aragorn, King Elessar [ARMY LEADER]
• 7 Warriors of Minas Tirith with shields
• 11 Warriors of Minas Tirith shields and spears 
• Eomer, Marshal of the Riddermark with shield
• 3 Warriors of Rohan with shields and throwing spears
• 1 Warrior of Rohan with shield, throwing spears, and banner 
• 11 Warriors of Rohan with bows

623pts, 35 models, 11 bows hitting on a 4+ AND 4 throwing spears  hitting on a 4+, 20 D6+ model, no fast models but Mighty Hero and Heroic March, 6+ Might

In Defense Of: Bofur the Dwarf

Good morning gamers,

Today's article returns to a series we did back in early 2022, where we look at models that get maligned by the community and look for why they're good and worth taking (and how to tailor a list to make them work at their best). The model we'll be covering today is one of the most popular Dwarves from Thorin's Company when you consider the actor who played him, but is often left at home when looking to field Thorin's Company (or the Champions of Erebor in either version of the Erebor Reclaimed army list): Bofur the Dwarf.

My son, Gorgoroth, just finished reading the Hobbit and watching the Hobbit films (extended versions for #1 and #2, theatrical version for #3). Your own views of the films aside, chances are that Bofur the Dwarf makes you smile if not outright laugh just as he delights me when I watch the films (excellent work, James Nesbitt - you snagged my "favorite Dwarf" award, but mostly for what you do in the extended editions of the films). I love this guy and really enjoyed painting him, but I gotta say, that profile just doesn't look appealing. So let's dig into why most people critique the profile . . . and then into why I've come around to like this guy so much!

Why NOT To Take Bofur the Dwarf

The first critique of Bofur that everyone seems to make is that he has to fight two-handed. While every other Dwarf (and Hobbit and Wizard) in Thorin's Company has a hand weapon or a hand-and-a-half weapon (aka, doesn't NEED to suffer the -1 penalty to their dueling roll), Bofur has a "mattock," which is a "two-handed weapon, which can use either the Bash or Piercing Strike Special Strikes." Interestingly enough, this is different from the Grim Hammer "Pick-Hammers," which are hand-and-a-half hammers . . . not sure why that is, to be honest. Anyway, Bofur will always suffer than -1 penalty to his dueling roll, so if he's fighting alone (quite likely), his Might has pretty much one purpose: boosting his dueling rolls so he doesn't die.

Fantasy Fellowships: The Erebor Reunion, Part 4a

Good morning gamers,

We're starting off our journey through the Helm's Deep missions and we begin with one of the most iconic moments of the Lord of the Rings trilogy: the defense of the Deeping Wall after the bombs rip an opening in it. The board was . . . not finished, so you'll be seeing mostly-primed walls and the beginnings of a "Geonosis" board as our back-drop. Also, the stairs are missing - but they don't play a big part in the battle anyway. Let's get into it!

The Deeping Wall Is Breached

The game is played on a 2'x2' board and has a 6" section of water that we didn't get finished. Still, it goes out roughly to the sections of unfinished walls, so we kind of know where it goes. The Warriors of Rohan begin with Haldir and Legolas (for my Fellowship, Dwalin) on the top sections of the walls (all Prone) and so I decided to keep my throwing spears near the gap in the wall to hurl down projectiles at the models trudging through the water. Haldir also started near the gap to rain down deadly arrows from above, while my four bowmen started with a clear view of the interior of the walls (but not a view at those still coming onto the board. My shield guys and Dwalin started near the stairs in order to help keep the Uruks hemmed in - we'll see how much they do.

Gimli/Gloin started at the edge of the water area and Aragorn/Nori started Prone in the center of the board. With 12 Galadhrim coming on from the back 2" of the board, I knew my plan with them was simple: if there's no Heroic Move called on the first turn (which would push 10 Uruk-Hai Warriors and 2 Berserkers with a Captain up the field), we have Gloin join Nori near the center of the board and push the Galadhrim to aid them quickly - no point in risking an overwhelm on the first turn. I'd need to leave a firing lane for my Galadhrim bowmen (who would not be starting on the walls), but other than that, I think the plan is solid: keep my heroes together, have Galadhrim to distribute the enemy attacks, and try to survive for 10 turns.

Scoring in this scenario is interesting: there are 7 VPs up for grabs and each hero that is alive gives 1 VP to the Forces of Good (4 VPs total) and each dead hero gives 1 VP to the Forces of Evil (again, 4 VPs total). There's also 1 VP up for grabs if the Forces of Good lose 14 models (since I start with 28 models, this is basically "if we're broken" - though one model short of what we'd actually need to be broken) and 2 VPs if there are more Uruk-Hai outside the water and inside Helm's Deep than there are defenders (far more likely to happen if I'm broken than if I'm not). My thought is that I can win the game if I can just keep all four heroes alive - I can lose everyone else and I can still win if all the heroes survive. Feeling pretty good about Haldir surviving if he's on the wall, we'll see if my champs can do their thing and "just kill stuff". 

Just for fun, I decided to keep track of kills for both Dwalin and Gloin this game, even though neither has a rule that makes them better for doing so - but it proved to be very informative for me (and will hopefully be interesting for you). Okay, let's get into it!

Thoughts on the Importance of Community

Good morning gamers,

Thursdays are our "open" category for posts, so you'll usually see posts from us on terrain projects, Top 5 lists, collection updates, or whatever ideas are bouncing around in our heads. Today, I'm departing from my usual analysis of some aspect of MESBG and wanted to talk about something that I've decided to get serious about this year: expanding my sense of community - and specifically putting my money where my mouth and heart are. 

Models are great and all, but what has kept me in the hobby for the last 13 years hasn't been the models - it's the community we've built here at TMAT. This year, I've decided to expand that more and support the content creators that I admire and love. Disclaimer: per the usual, I'm not being paid by anyone to talk about how great other channels are - and I get no kick-backs from you supporting these guys monetarily. And yes, there are other great people doing great work out there, but these are the groups I've decided to get behind and support as a starting point. Without further ado, here's the list!

Armies of Middle-Earth SBG: The Army of Thror in the Middle-Earth Strategy Battle Game

Something something something GRIMHAMMERS!!!

Just kidding. There's more to this list, of course, but what can I say? I just love these models (even if I think they're about 20% too slim when standing shoulder-to-shoulder with their cousins from the Iron Hills). 

Azanulbizar, in all its... ferocity

(Don't sleep on Dwalin's head-bash in the foreground)

Photo credit: Rogue Prince on tumblr

Quest of the Ringbearer: Model Collection Update, Part VIII

Good morning gamers,

In this semi-annual update on my Quest of the Ringbearer collection, we have a LOT to cover since last November (and because some of the models aren't touched up/painted yet, I still have some on the workbench that will have to wait until the next update). With the arrival of the Battle of Osgiliath box set and some sweet Christmas gifts/purchases, we've got quite a few models to add (some of which have already been seen on the blog). First and foremost, we have a really cool Gothmog (who we showed off some WIP pictures in our brief review of the new box set):

As discussed in the article linked above, I have the infantry model's right arm magnetized so I can use either a mace or a sword! Mounted Gothmog has a spot in one of his legs for a magnet as well, so he has one so I can have the warg be "loose" too.

Gothmog is great, but he needs some helpers - so we have three generic Morannon Orc Captains with shields and four converted Morannon Orcs to stand in as Zagdush, Goroth, Guritz, and Gothmog's Enforcer (shown off in a sort-of-recent post on what to do with Morannon Orc overstock). The two-handed mace Captain has been included so he didn't feel left out:

Defence of the North Inspired Lists: The Dark Powers of Dol Guldur Revisited

Good morning gamers,

We come to it at last - the final post in what-you-can-do-with-the-scenario-forces-from-Defence-of-the-North. This has been quite the journey for me, discovering what kinds of armies you can build if you constrain yourself to just what's provided to you in scenario play, but today, we break all bonds and look at an army that Rythbyrt has been making popular here at TMAT: the Dark Powers of Dol Guldur.

Photo Credit: Warhammer Community
Fair warning, most of this post is about Castellans . . .

While we looked at the Rise of the Necromancer LL when we walked through the Fall of the Necromancer sourcebook, we don't have the Necromancer in Defence of the North. In fact, we don't even have any Nazgul in Defence of the North (what with this being Lord of the Rings era and both Sauron and the Ringwraiths being in different guises). Instead, we're left with a pretty hum-drum list of generic models:

• 5 Gundabad Orc Captains
• 6 Castellans of Dol Guldur with Morgul Blades
• 30 Gundabad Orcs with shields
• 30 Gundabad Orcs with spears
• 4 Hunter Orcs with Orc bows
• 2 Hunter Orcs with two-handed picks
• 6 Hunter Orcs
• 12 Hunter Orcs with whatever-you-want (because you're going to have them, but not need them for any scenarios)
  
• 12 Fell Wargs
• 8 Mirkwood Spiders
  

Now these are just the models available to you if you run the Dark Powers of Dol Guldur PURE. If you use their historical allies (Azog's Hunters and Azog's Legion), you actually open up a lot of other options (including 50% bow limit Hunter Orcs led by Bolg in Azog's Hunters and access to Goblin Mercenaries from Azog's Legion - along with a lot of other things). While this may not look like an inspired group of models, I can tell you that our good mate Rythbyrt has been taking these kinds of models and doing CRAZY things with them here at TMAT. While the original list looks pretty limited, we actually have a TON of options for this list and so naturally, I've included several lists for you. :-)

Fantasy Fellowship Deep-Dive, Part 4

Good morning gamers,

Today we begin the deep dive into the "Helm's Deep" missions, which only involves three scenarios, but requires quite a bit from four of our heroes (Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli, and Gandalf). Since our wizard slot is operating solo, we're going to do a deep-dive into good models for your Aragorn/Legolas/Gimli slots as well as what the trades are for the wizard that you take - and how the changes that occur in their profile after their resurrection affect the heroes in practice. Because of these deep-dives within an already deep-dive, this post is going to be LOOOOOONNNNNNGGGG. Let's get into it without any further preamble!

Part 4: The Helm's Deep Sequence 

 

These are three fun scenarios with four of our most exciting members of our Fantasy Fellowship team - and ALL the scenarios are about killing stuff. Here's who we have: 

• Aragorn (2 scenarios) 
• Legolas (2 scenarios) 
• Gimli (1 scenario) 
• Gandalf (1 scenario) 
• ALLIES: 
• Haldir with heavy armor and Elf bow (1 scenario) 
• Theoden with everything (1 scenario) 
• Gamling with everything (1 scenario) 
• Eomer on horse (1 scenario) 
• Erkenbrand on horse (1 scenario) 
• 12 Galadhrim Warriors (1 scenario, standard gear) 
• 12 Warriors of Rohan (1 scenario, standard gear) 
• 4 Rohan Royal Guards on horses with throwing spears (1 scenario) 
• 24 Riders of Rohan (1 scenario, standard gear) 

In case you didn't pick up on it - you really have three different games that all have totally different participants (except for Legolas and Aragorn, who cross over between two of them). There's a lot of cavalry models in play (27 in Eomer's Return, 8 in Ride Out) but we also have a lot of Uruks to kill: 

• 3 Uruk-Hai Captains with shields (3 scenarios) 
• 20-30 Uruk-Hai Warriors (3 scenarios, standard gear) 
• 8 Uruk-Hai Berserkers (1 scenario) 

As we saw in the Amon Hen scenario (and possibly for Merry/Pippin in the Ambush at Night scenario), it pays to be F5 (or ideally F6) in these missions. Chances are good that you had extra points to spend on these characters when you were building your Fellowship, so it would be surprising to see F4 or below models here. 

 

Cavalry Charge: The Checker Board Formation and the Battle of Lechfeld

Good morning gamers,

In today's formations post, we're tackling an ancient and difficult problem: how do you tackle skirmish cavalry in MESBG? As a brief review, there are several different classes of cavalry in MESBG (see our first article in the Cavalry Charge mini-series for what these are) and by "skirmish cavalry," we're referring to any cavalry model that has a ranged weapon.

Before we dig into the MESBG theory, let's look at a historical battle that featured some very interesting tactics for catching enemy cavalry archers - the battle of Lechfeld.

The Battle of Lechfeld: Cutting Off Escape Routes

Per the usual for this series, you can see a visualization of this battle over on the BazBattles YouTube channel - and per the usual, it's great. In the early Tenth Century AD, the King of Germany, Otto I, faced an invasion by Magyar horse archers from Hungary. These invaders pillaged and burned most places that they invaded, never staying long in one area. Since they used their horses to avoid pitched battles, they were some of the most devastating invading forces that plagued central Europe. In 910, the first Battle of Lechfeld featured Magyar horse archers destroying a German army that tried to drive them away from Augsburg, luring the German units forward in pursuit of them and then swarming them in a furious charge. This isn't the battle we're going to focus on today (you can read about it here though), but it does serve as a cruel reminder of what skirmish cavalry can do to you if they can whittle down your numbers.

In 955, however, the Magyars settled in the German duchy of Bavaria and laid siege to Augsburg instead of just raiding - they were here to stay. Otto I mobilized troops from various other duchies in Germany and met them outside the city. The Magyars attacked one of the divisions under Otto's command and began to plunder their belongings. When the Germans launched a counter-attack with their heavy cavalry, the Magyars retreated. Otto didn't race to pursue them with his forces, however - he advanced his infantry blocks steadily and pursued the enemy until they ran out of room to maneuver (in part because harsh weather conditions made maneuvering difficult). Without the ability to fade away from the enemy, the Magyar forces were eventually caught and defeated soundly by the heavy infantry and cavalry of the Germans.

Reality isn't always mirrored well in MESBG - but the nature of skirmish cavalry is captured pretty well (well, everything except the Cantabrian Circle, at any rate). Let's look at some of the specific tools we'll need to combat skirmish cavalry - and a neat little formation that almost any army can use to break them.