Announcing the TMAT Hunter's Red October 2023 Tournament!

 Good morning gamers,

Fall is hastening to us, so it must be time for THRO 2023! The tournament will be held at Patrick Henry College on October 14, 2023. This year, we're going to do another good vs. evil team event while trying out the rules for siege scenarios in War in Rohan. Without further ado, here are (in my typical style) the Ten Commandments of the Tournament (Rules):

1) Thou Shalt Understand The Canon

The ruleset from the updated Middle-Earth Strategy Battle Game Rules Manual will be our baseline. The Armies of the Lord of the Rings supplement will govern the rules for armies from the Lord of the Rings, while the Armies of the Hobbit supplement will govern the rules for armies from the Hobbit. Legendary Legions and profiles from any of the GW supplements may be used, provided that the army building requirements for the Legendary Legion are followed. Any GW errata for these books will take precedent over the printed text of these documents.

The rules for siege equipment and siege scenarios can be found in the War in Rohan supplement. This supplement will be the definitive authority for how siege gear works, except as amended in this post.

2) Thou Shalt Honor Thy Alliance

This tournament follows the alliance "restrictions" provided in the Armies of the Lord of the Rings and Armies of the Hobbit supplements - players are allowed to have "pure" armies or Historical/Convenient/Impossible alliances. Legendary Legions from any of the Games Workshop supplements can be taken as well, but obviously cannot take allies nor be taken as allies.

Because this is a team event, no Legendary Legion may be taken more than once across the alliance. Additionally, each named hero may only appear once across the alliance (across all the various identities a character may have). If there is a conflict with two players wishing to bring the same character, the Tournament Director will notify the player(s) who submitted their list(s) later that list(s) modifications are required.

3) Thou Shalt Not Bring Too Many Points

All players will create one or two army lists that are no more than 1000 points, with the ability to field a legitimate 800-point sublist for their list/lists. If a player submits two lists, one must be Good and one must be Evil. The list(s) must be submitted to the Tournament Director at joshua.kamakawiwoole@gmail.com by September 30, 2023. Players will be notified of the other armies have been submitted for the tournament after the registration period, to include which of their submitted lists they will be using at the tournament. If a player has a preference for one list over the other, please provide that in your submission email.

Note on proxy/converted models: proxy models will be automatically accepted if the models are not available from the GW webstore. Other proxy models will be accepted if they 1) have the same equipment (weapons, armor, gear) as the model it's proxying, and 2) is clearly distinct from other models in the list. Please note any models that are being proxied in the email to the Tournament Director. Converted models should have the same gear as the model profile that they're substituting for and should also be distinct from any other models in the army.

4) Thou Shalt Know The Scenario

Each round, the teams will alternate between attacking or defending a village or fortress. The rules for these scenarios are provided below.

Each round, the appointed Team Captains will secretly write down the name of the Captain or a teammate and a board for that player to be on for the round. After both Captains have finished, they will reveal their choices and the teammates may move to their respective boards. 

Next, each Team Captain will select an opposing player and one of their unassigned players to fight against each other. If the selected opposing player has not been assigned to a table, the opposing player's Captain selects the board for them to play on.

Once these players have been assigned to their tables, the Team Captains will then secretly assign their remaining players to the remaining tables. 

The scenario rules will work as follows:

• Defend The Village
• Setup: The board will have five buildings distributed fairly within one half of the board (24" from one board edge, hereafter called the "village board edge"). In practice, having 2-3 buildings within 12" of the board edge and the remaining buildings between 12-24" of the same board edge has worked well.
• Deployment: The attacking player will deploy his 1000-point force within 12" of the board edge that isn't the village board edge. The defending player will deploy his 1000-point force within 24" of the village board edge. Models with special rules that allow them to deploy after setup cannot deploy inside another player's deployment zone.
• Burning Buildings: If an attacking model ends its move in base contact with a building, it may roll a D6 (even if it has charged): on a 5+, the building is set alight. Models that start the round in base contact with the building and are charged before they have the opportunity to move cannot attempt to set a building alight. Models that have special rules that allow them to set buildings on fire may use their special rule to set a building alight. If a model that has been Set Ablaze comes into contact with a building, the model must roll to see if the building becomes alight.
• Extinguishing Buildings: If a defending model ends its movement in base contact with a building that has been set alight, it may roll a D6 (even if it has charged): on a 6, the fire is put out and the building is no longer alight. On the roll of a 1, the fire blazes out of control and the fire cannot be put out anymore.
• Victory Conditions: Once one side has been broken, the game may suddenly end - at the end of each turn after one side has been broken, the player with priority will roll a D6: on a 1-2, the game ends. Victory points will be scored as follows:
• 2 VPs to the attacking player for each building that is on fire;
• 2 VPs to the defending player for each building that isn't on fire;
• 1 VP for breaking the enemy; and
• 1 VP for dealing at least one wound to the enemy army leader.
• The Grand Siege
• Setup: The board will have a wall, which should be roughly 12" from his board edge (leeway given to the board creators here, but it should be pretty close to 12"). This indicates the extent of the "fortress." There should be some terrain (but not too much) both inside and outside the fortress.
• Deployment: The attacking player will deploy his 1000-point force within 12" of an established board edge (not the side with the wall). In his deployment zone, he may also deploy 1 siege tower, 1 battering ram, and 4 siege ladders (rules can be found for these on page 102 of War in Rohan). The defending player will deploy an 800-point subset of his force within the walls of the fortress. Additionally, he may deploy one rallying point anywhere in the fortress and one boiling oil marker and 4 rock piles on the walls (p. 100-101 of War in Rohan). Models with special rules that allow them to deploy after setup cannot deploy inside another player's deployment zone. The following modifications are being made to the rules for the siege gear provided:
• Fortress Gates do not count as being trapped;
• Siege Towers move at the speed of the slowest model pushing it (not a static 6"); and
• Siege Towers are siege targets, not battlefield targets.
• Fortress Gate: The fortress gate will be assigned Defense/Wound values based on what's provided in War in Rohan - the player providing the board will specify which of the following values is used for the gate:
• Armored Door: Defense 8, 2 Wounds
• Heavy Armored Door: Defense 9, 2 Wounds
• Dwarven Door: Defense 9, 3 Wounds
• Fortress Gate: Defense 10, 3 Wounds
• Victory Conditions: The game will end after one side is quartered - victory points will be scored as follows:
• 1 VP for breaking the enemy (or 3 VPs if the enemy is broken and your force is unbroken);
• 1 VP for wounding the enemy army leader (or 3 VPs if the enemy army leader is removed as a casualty);
• 1 VP if you have more models fully on the walls to the right of the gate (or 2 VPs if you are the only player with models to the right of the gate);
• 1 VP if you have more models fully on the walls to the left of the gate (or 2 VPs if you are the only player with models to the left of the gate); and
• 1 VP if you have more models fully within the fortress walls, including the ground of the gate area (or 2 VPs if you are the only player with models within the fortress walls and the ground of the gate area).

Tournament points will be awarded based on the number of Victory Points each side received:

• Major Victory (6+ VPs and at least double your opponent's VPs): 10 TPs
• Minor Victory (more VPs than your opponent but not more than 6 VPs and/or double your opponent's VPs): 8 TPs
• Draw: 6 TPs
• Minor Loss (opposing player received a Minor Victory): 4 TPs
• Major Loss (opposing player received a Major Victory): 2 TPs

Besides the tournament scoring, during the lunch hour, each player may place one model from their army to be entered into a painting competition. The participating players will vote for whatever model they think is the best painted model present. At the end of the tournament, the votes will be tallied and the winner will receive a prize.

5) Thou Shalt Break Ties Properly

The team with the highest combined Tournament Point score will win the event - though special recognition will be given to the top player on each team. In the event of a tie, the team with the player who submitted their list(s) first will win.

6) Thou Shalt Face Comparable Opponents

This tournament is a team event, with matchups being chosen by the Team Captains. In the second round, Team Captains may not assign a team member to fight against the opponent that team member fought in the first round.

7) Thou Shalt Not Take All Day

Each match will be 150 minutes (2hr 30min). Time will be displayed visually for all games and will only be stopped in the event of a "red flag" being thrown. A red flag will be thrown when two players cannot agree on a rule (line of sight, special rules for a unit, etc.), in which case all fights will stop and the Tournament Director will mediate what the proper ruling is.

Should the time limit drop below 5 minutes remaining without the victory conditions being met, the current round will be played and then the game will end. Any player found intentionally stalling the game to make time run out will be awarded 0 Victory Points for the round. Between Round 1 and Round 2 will be a lunch break.

8) Thou Shalt Fight In Middle-Earth

Players who have built terrain for a thematic board (48" x 48") are encouraged to bring their boards to be used in the tournament. Players intending to bring a board for the tournament should mention it in their army submission email. Players should use their best judgment when building their maps to ensure that armies are able to maneuver the map within the time constraints. Players who bring boards should also make sure their map has 5 buildings/ruined building outlines to be used for the village scenario or a 48" wall for the grand siege (some buildings inside the wall would be good too). If more boards are supplied than are needed for the tournament, the Tournament Director will let the players know if their boards are required.

9) Thou Shalt Be Gentlemen

Players must be courteous to their opponents and play these games in the spirit of good fun. Should a player conduct himself in a manner which destroys the fun atmosphere of the tournament, a red flag will be thrown and depending on the severity of the infraction, the player may be issued a warning against future infraction, forfeit the game, or be dismissed from the tournament.

10) Thou Shalt Not Be Late

Players who are bringing terrain to the tournament must arrive by 9:00am to set up the tables and register their armies. All other players must arrive by 9:30am in order to get preliminary check-in requirements, set up their armies at their tables, and fellowship with other players. All armies need to have a sheet of paper that provides their complete army list (with profiles), along with necessary unit-count information (total units in the army, how many units must be lost when the army is broken - and how many units the army must lose before it tests for Courage if the player is bringing certain Isengard armies - and how many units must be lost to be reduced to 25%). The tournament will follow this schedule:

10:00am - 12:30pm - ROUND 1 (Good Attacks)

12:30pm - 1:30pm - LUNCH and Painting Competition Voting 

1:30pm - 4:00pm - ROUND 2 (Evil Attacks)

4:00pm - 5:00pm - Tournament/Painting Competition Results and tear down 

Looking forward to see the armies that participate!

Tiberius, Tournament Director

Named Heroes Potentially in Use (units in bold are guaranteed to be in play):

• Good:
• Beregond
• Boromir
• Faramir
• Ingold
• Dain
• Bifur the Dwarf
• Gloin the Dwarf
• Theoden
• Elfhelm 
• Aragorn 
• Legolas
• Gimli
• Elrond
• Gil-Galad
• Erestor
• Glorfindel
• Elladan and Elrohir 
• Celeborn
• Evil:
• Brorgir
• Khamul
• Durburz
• Druzhag
• Ashrak
• The Mouth of Sauron 
• Rutabi
• Shagrat 
• Kardush
• Dalamyr
• The Dark Marshal 
• Suladan
• The Mumak War Leader
• The Balrog

Legendary Legions Potentially In Use (legions in bold are guaranteed to be in play):

• Good:
• None
• Evil:
• Assault Upon Helm's Deep
• The Grand Army of the South
• The Depths of Moria 

Tournament Lists:

Centaur: The Osgiliath Defense Force - pure Minas Tirith (1000pts, 50 models)

• Boromir, Captain of the White Tower on horse with the Banner of Minas Tirith and shield [AL]
• 7 Osgiliath Veterans with shields
• 8 Osgiliath Veterans with shields and spears
• Faramir, Captain of Gondor with heavy armor and bow
• 3 Osgiliath Veterans with shields
• 3 Osgiliath Veterans with shields and spears
• 8 Rangers of Gondor with spears
• Beregond, Guard of the Citadel
• 6 Citadel Guard with longbows
• Ingold, Warden of the Rammas Echor
• 1 Warrior of Minas Tirith with shield, spear, and banner
• 4 Knights of Minas Tirith with shields
• 2 Rangers of Gondor with spears
• Siege veteran with Gondor Battlecry Trebuchet
• 2 crew
• Siege veteran with Gondor Battlecry Trebuchet
• 2 crew

Gorgoroth: "The Defense of the North" - pure War of the Ring era Erebor Reclaimed (1000pts, 54 models)

• Dain Ironfoot, King Under the Mountain [AL]
• 8 Iron Hills Dwarves
• 9 Iron Hills Dwarves with spears
• Gloin the Dwarf, Champion of Erebor
• 5 Iron Hills Dwarves
• 6 Iron Hills Dwarves with spears
• Iron Hills Captain on war goat
• 4 Iron Hills Dwarves
• 6 Iron Hills Goat Riders
• Bifur the Dwarf, Champion of Erebor
• 6 Iron Hills Dwarves
• 6 Iron Hills Dwarves with spears

The Black Prince: "The Warg Attack" - Rohan - Fellowship Convenient Alliance (1000pts, 32 models)

• Theoden, King of Rohan on armored horse with shield and heavy armor [AL]
• 16 Riders of Rohan with throwing spears 
• Elfhelm, Captain of Rohan on horse
• 10 Riders of Rohan with throwing spears 
• 1 Rohan Outrider on horse
• CONVENIENT ALLY - The Fellowship: Aragorn - Strider on horse with bow and armor 
• Legolas Greenleaf on horse with armor
• Gimli, Son of Gloin

Red Jacket: pure Rivendell (1000pts, 48 models)

• Elrond, Master of Rivendell on horse with heavy armor [AL]
• 2 High Elf Warriors with shields
• 15 High Elf Warriors with Elf bows
• 1 High Elf Warrior with banner and spear
• Gil-Galad, High King of the Elves on horse with shield
• 2 High Elf Warriors with shields
• 1 High Elf Warrior with banner, spear, and shield
• 12 King's Guard with spears and shields
• Erestor
• 12 High Elf Warriors with shields

Strider: "Siege of Minas Tirith in the North" Easterling - Mordor Historical Alliance (1000pts, 43 models)

• Rutabi, General of the Dragon Legion [AL]
• 5 Black Dragons with shields
• 10 Black Dragons with shields and pikes
• Brorgir the Conjurer
• 4 Dragon Cult Acolytes
• 1 Easterling Warrior with shield
• 1 Easterling Warrior with shield and pike
• 1 Easterling Kataphrakt with war drum
• HISTORICAL ALLY - Shagrat, Captain of Cirith Ungol with heavy armor and the Shield of Cirith Ungol
• 5 Black Numenoreans
• 5 Morannon Orcs with spears
• 1 Mordor Troll with war drum
• HISTORICAL ALLY - Kardush the Firecaller
• 2 Orc Trackers
• HISTORICAL ALLY - Mordor Siege Veteran with Mordor War Catapult
• 2 crew
• 1 Troll

Dronak: "Will's Wild Warbeasts" Mordor - Moria Convenient Alliance (1000pts, 46 models)

• Durburz [AL]
• 6 Moria Goblin Warriors with shields and spears
• 6 Moria Goblin Warriors with spears
• Druzhag the Beastcaller
• 4 Giant Spiders (Hippos)
• 2 Warg Marauders
• 2 Bat Swarms
• Ashrak
• 12 Venomback Spiders
• CONVENIENT ALLY - The Mouth of Sauron
• 10 Black Numenoreans
• CONVENIENT ALLY - Shelob

Ikaika: "The Rest of Rivendell" Rivendell - Lothlorien Historical Alliance (1000pts, 41 models)

• Glorfindel with everything [AL]
• 8 High Elf Warriors with shields and spears
• 2 High Elf Warriors with Elf bows and spears
• 3 Rivendell Knights with shields
• 1 Rivendell Knight with shield and banner
• Elladan and Elrohir with heavy armor and horses
• 11 High Elf Warriors with shields and spears
• HISTORICAL ALLY - Lothlorien: Celeborn with everything
• 12 Guards of the Galadhrim Court

Tiberius: "The Dark of Moria" The Depths of Moria Legendary Legion (1000pts, 61 models)

• The Balrog [AL]
• 7 Moria Goblin Prowlers
• 7 Moria Goblin Warriors with spears
• Moria Goblin Captain
• 4 Moria Goblin Warriors with shields
• 4 Moria Goblin Warriors with spears
• 2 Moria Goblin Warriors with Orc bows
• Moria Goblin Captain
• 3 Moria Goblin Prowlers
• 4 Moria Goblin Warriors with spears
• 2 Moria Goblin Warriors with Orc bows
• Moria Blackshield Captain
• 4 Moria Goblin Warriors with shields
• 5 Moria Goblin Warriors with spears
• 1 Cave Troll with hand-and-a-half hammer and Troll chain
• Moria Goblin Shaman
• 4 Moria Goblin Warriors with Orc bows
• 2 Moria Goblin Drummers with Moria Goblin Drum
• Moria Blackshield Shaman
• 3 Moria Goblin Warriors with shields
• 3 Moria Goblin Warriors with spears

Rythbyrt: "The Waaaaaay South Empties" Corsairs - Mordor - Far Harad Convenient Alliance (1000pts, 52 models)

• Dalamyr, Fleetmaster of Umbar [AL]
• 9 Black Numenoreans
• 9 Corsairs of Umbar with spears
• Corsair Bosun with crossbow
• 9 Corsair Arbalesters
• CONVENIENT ALLY - The Dark Marshal on Fell Beast
• 8 Orc Warriors with spears
• CONVENIENT ALLY - Mordor: Mordor Troll Chieftain
• 4 Morannon Orcs with shields and spears
• 3 Orc Warriors with spears
• CONVENIENT ALLY - Far Harad: Mahud King on camel with shield and war spear
• 5 Half-Trolls

Jane: The Grand Army of the South Legendary Legion (1000pts, 47 models)

• The Mumak War Leader on Royal War Mumak [ARMY LEADER]
• 12 Haradrim Warriors with bows and poisoned arrows
• 1 Haradrim Warrior with spear
• Suladan the Serpent Lord with everything
• 6 Haradrim Warriors with bows and poisoned arrows
• 12 Haradrim Warriors with spears
• Mahud King on war camel with war spear and shield
• 1 Haradrim Warrior
• 5 Haradrim Warriors with spears
• 4 Half-Trolls
• 2 Mahud Raiders with war spears