First Impressions: Gundabad and Dol Goldur, Part I

Hey Reader!

Welcome back! We're back reviewing more of the armies from the new edition, and today we're looking at the 19 profiles tied to Azog, whether they be part of his hunters or his legion. This one has seen small tweaks to...actually most of the profiles, and some of them have toned down some of the craziness of the old edition (some of which I'll miss, but some of which honestly makes sense and is fine. I see why they did it, even if it dropped the power curve on my Azog's Hunters lists), but the small changes do change some of the decisions you make, in ways that I think are healthy.

Leader Overview: How Have Azog and Bolg Changed?

Photo GamesWorkshop

So let's start with the big man himself: Gorgowrath's go-to man, the beast for destroying any hero, and a monster without the monster keyword: Azog the Defiler. Azog is largely the same: still F7 (grumble grumble, he's not that great in the movies or the books, but whatever), still S5, and the clarity of his special rule helps to remove some of the potential shenanigans that can come with his wounding heroes on a 3+, so great job rules team! And just in general I appreciate the greater use across the books of the use of "natural" when combined with a number to provide clarity: good choice all around.

He has access to heavy armor to get up to D7, which is good because while he has 3 Wounds he still only has the 1 Fate Point, so he can be fragile. And his White Warg isn't much better: still only D5 with 2 Wounds and 1 Fate, so once again, just watch out for archery and magic as that could be devastating to you. But there are two major changes that should be noted here, both of which are less than optimal.

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. :-)

Defence of the North Inspired Lists: Azog's Legion Revisited

Good morning gamers,

We're almost done looking at different armies you can make with the scenario participants from Defence of the North. Today we turn to a faction entirely represented by models required for scenarios from the Appendices: Azog's Legion. While not a "Legion" in the "Legendary Legion" sense, this faction has an incredible array of models from the scenarios, mostly because they are the only evil faction in the Battle of Five Armies scenario. Regardless of what kind of models you like to run in Azog's Legion, chances are good you'll have the models you want if you collect what's in this book (unless you're like me and you're intrigued by a double-Catapult-Troll list):

• Azog with everything (including the Signal Tower)
• Bolg (on foot)
• 5 Gundabad Orc Captains
• 2 Goblin Mercenary Captains
• 30 Gundabad Orc Warriors with shields
• 30 Gundabad Orc Warriors with spears
• 24 Gundabad Berserkers
• 24 Goblin Mercenaries
  
• 4 Ogres
• 6 War Bats
• 2 Gundabad Trolls with Crushing Clubs
• 2 Gundabad Trolls with Scythe Gauntlets
• 1 Catapult Troll

Photo Credit: the Armies of the Hobbit 

You can actually run an Azog's Hunters allied contingent led by Bolg and featuring a mix of 12 Hunter Orcs (but you probably have a box of 24) and 12 Fell Wargs, which is pretty cool. Since you have no other heroes, though, you'll have a max of 16 models from that allied contingent (Bolg and 15 followers). You could also use all those Gundabad Orc Captains to ally in the Hunter Orcs, the Fell Wargs, and up to 8 Mirkwood Spiders from the Dark Powers of Dol Guldur (your choice of Azog or Bolg to lead the Azog's Legion force - either will pick up Master of Battle). This would, admittedly, be quite good too.

However, our list today is going to be pure Azog's Legion because there's one really neat piece I want to use . . . and it won't help the Azog's Hunters units and most of the Dark Powers of Dol Guldur units at all . . .

In Defense Of: Azog

Good morning gamers,

Today we come to a TMAT crowd favorite who seems to be absent from much of the competitive circles: Azog. Despite being a member of the of "6-Might-club," Azog has several limitations that make many players look the other way towards his cheaper son, Bolg. For me, Centaur, and my son Gorgoroth, though, taking Azog is a no-brainer and he's head-and-shoulders better than his competitors (especially his cheaper son, Bolg). Want to find out why? Well, let's have a look - Centaur, get us started!

Why NOT To Take Azog

Photo Credit: Games Workshop

Centaur: Okay, so to start off, I think Azog is only worth taking if you take him with the White Warg. This means, full stop, he's expensive for what you get. At 225+ points you're looking at a model that is only at par for wounding D6+ warriors (5s or worse, same as you get on a 100pt Theoden, Faramir, etc.), whereas an evil monster hero for the same cost or cheaper is ripping those warriors apart on 4s or better. He's got a good offensive profile and he's very good at killing heroes (one of the best against heroes generally), but when compared to Bolg he's not dramatically better and is a good 50ish points more expensive.

Add onto this that Bolg gives all of your archers Morgul Arrows (a niche benefit when fighting multi-wound models, but hey, it's a boon against those high Defense multi-wound models that you don't want to have to wound more than once with S2 archery) and potentially access to free Might Points if he can kill enough stuff, and it begs the question whether you need Azog over and against his younger counterpart.

In Defense Of: Catapult Trolls

Good morning gamers,

Today we're continuing our discussion of models that get maligned by the community and our travels take us to the most expensive warrior monster in the game (since war beasts are hero selections): Catapult Trolls from Azog's Legion. While no official model has been released for this guy yet (I expect he'll get released with whatever Hobbit-equivalent-of-Quest-of-the-Ringbearer sourcebook is made), there are some alternate sculpts from other companies (one of which is shown on this blog) OR you could just strap a catapult-looking-thing to a Gundabad Troll.

However you choose to do it, there are lots of things these guys get critiqued for - probably because they're found in Azog's Legion with a lot of other monsters (and a few big heroes). To examine this unit, I've asked my son Gorgoroth to share his insights on the model, since he's been using Azog's Legion (and specifically this model) a LOT recently. Take it away mate!

No, my son doesn't own this one, but it does look cool - Photo Credit: Reddit.com

Why NOT To Take Catapult Trolls

Gorgoroth: First of all, their Courage is very low, so if you're facing Terror, you want them to shoot instead. If they fight someone (especially another Troll), they'll probably have a lower or the same Fight Value as their opponent. Like most siege weapons, they need to stand still if they want to hit you on a 4+ - otherwise, they can move and shoot, but will only hit on a 6. When compared to Gundabad Trolls (with scythe gauntlets or crushing club), the Catapult Troll has a lower Fight Value (F6 vs. F7) and otherwise has a similar profile. 

Azog's Legion has a LOT of monster warrior choices . . .

Fixing the Orc Fight Value Problem

Hey Reader!

Welcome back to the TMAT blog! In today's post I'm going to address my overall annoyance at how good some of the Hobbit era orcs are at fighting, because it seems like in their haste to make the microcosm of the Hobbit line work thematically they inadvertently snubbed a lot of the best heroes across the three ages of Tolkien's primary history of Middle Earth. And today I'm going to recommend a simple fix that would solve this issue.

First we're going to build the case for a change, because I hate recommending changes to stats in profiles if I don't have to. Once we establish that, thematically within the world, the Fight Value of specific models is too high (and it won't just be orcs - we'll address some Forces of Good models as well), we will present a simple, semi-elegant way to fix this problem that is consistent with current rules in the game that will allow for those thematic battles between orcs and dwarves without encroaching on the territory of the likes of Elessar, Glorfindel, and some of the greatest elf lords in all of Tolkien's legendarium.

I.  The Problem: Why High Fight Values?

Let's start with the biggest perpetrators of "Fight Value Bloat," which is Azog and Bolg. First off, in Tolkien's world, Bolg is a scary dude (as is Azog in his day, to be fair): these guys are good fighters. But we have no indication that it would have taken a heroic feat involving one of the best elven lords of all time tying either of these guys in their fighting prowess, which is the current state of the models in our game.

Both Azog and Bolg are Fight 7, which makes them better than Imrahil (a half-elven descendant of both the Quendi and the Numenoreans, and among the strongest three warriors of his time), Elrond (herald of the Faithful and among their best warriors in the Second Age), Celeborn (another of the strongest elf lords that ever lived), and Aragorn (the best warrior of his time) to name a few. That...doesn't seem right to me, any which way you look at it.

Armies of Middle-Earth SBG: Azog's Legion in the MIddle-Earth Strategy Battle Game

Our subject today was spoiled last week, so no elaborate intro for these guys. But that's oddly appropriate, as this army is all-business (as in the business-end of a cleaver).

Azog has come to blot out the line of Durin. If that makes you happy, read on (and perhaps seek some help?).

Praise me, my peoplez!

Photo Credit: 4.bp.blogspot.com on Pinterest

The Bare Necessities, Part XXX: Azog's Hunters

Good morning gamers,

In today's post, we revisit a faction that got a some coverage in our post on the Dark Powers of Dol Guldur (and got a hat-tip in our post on Azog's Legion): Azog's Hunters. Azog's Hunters doesn't have a lot of profiles (six heroes, two warriors) and there aren't a lot of equipment options for most of them (none for Fell Wargs, options for mounts for most of the heroes with an occasional other option). Still, this list has some REALLY good customizability options that can make for a high-damage team that can move at tremendous speed. Also, if you want an in-depth look at the list, please check out Rythbryt's review in the Armies of the Hobbit series that came out last week - it's really good!

If you've never fought this guy, count yourself lucky . . .

While I'm a big fan of Azog's Hunters, I'm more drawn to using them as an allied contingent more than a pure list (Azog is just better in Azog's Legion, thanks to getting access to heavy armor, to say nothing of the Signal Tower and Master of Battle if you keep your army bonus). Still, you have access to two really great power heroes, three pretty good supporting combat heroes, the cheapest three Attack model in the game, and some solid (albeit squishy) warriors. My good mate Centaur has run Azog's Hunters a lot recently and so had some light to shed on a pure Azog's Hunters list:

Army Principles with Centaur

T: In large games (700-points and above), would you ever run both Azog and Bolg (or do they cut into your points too much)? 

C: You can, though I don't. Unless you know that you're facing hero-heavy armies (Fellowship, Thorin's Company, Erebor Reclaimed, Rangers of the North) and you know that you'll want two big men to dismantle enemy heroes you probably don't need both, and you'll want the numbers because the fundamental rule of Azog's Hunters is low defense means casualties. You don't have effective anti-archery protection (you don't even have 24" range on your archers, so you can't even return fire effectively on all boards), you don't have great Fight Value (so you'll lose combats up close), and you don't get access to a shaman for Fury, so you're going to suffer a lot of wounds. This means you need numbers to keep you in the game long enough for your big man to do the job.

T: If you can only take Azog or Bolg, which do you choose (and why)?  

C: I personally run Azog, in part because 1) I got him as a gift, so I'm going to use the models I have, and 2) because while Bolg is awesome he grows more awesome as the game goes on, and some armies are such hard counters to Azog's Hunters (Army of the Dead being the big one) that you may not get a chance to get Bolg to his Uber-Bolg version. Plus the White Warg is really nice for the points, so I tend to lean toward Azog. Bolg is good and I'm looking to purchase him within the next few years (I've got other armies higher on the priority list right now), but for now Azog does the job.

T: How important is the Azog's Hunters Army Bonus? 

C: So, it is and it isn't important. It's important because it turns your archers into 4+ Shoot archers, which is nice for when you need to cover an objective as you can reliably whittle down an incoming force before they reach the objective, and then tear them a new one once they reach it as you have 2 Attacks on each model at S4. But truthfully, part of why I love Azog's Hunters more than Azog's Legion is the ability to team them up with other armies - you don't really miss the army bonus, so there's no real problem with going with an orange or red alliance (which is virtually all of their alliances).

T: Does Azog's Hunters need allies (and if so, who is your go to)? 

C: You don't technically need allies (as you can do almost everything really well), but it doesn't hurt to have them. Azog's Hunters does melee brawling very well, as you can get two-handers at S4 (S5 if you Piercing Strike) with 2 Attacks, tons of 2 Attack S4 guys, mounted versions of both, plus bannermen for very little, but what you lack is effective cover from enemies and high Courage models for charging terror models. So personally I would team them in with Angmar (no surprise to anyone as I really like Angmar) or Mordor, and for different reasons. Angmar is nice because you get the Shade and the Barrow Wight, plus access to trolls if you want something higher than F3. Mordor is really nice because you can take guys like the Shadow Lord to cover you from archery plus the wealth of anti-magic options that Mordor presents, not to mention big war beasts or siege weapons to keep you safe while your forces close.

T: Since Hunter Orcs (and Hunter Orc Captains) have the Many Blades rule (while on foot, they get +1 Attack), is there value in giving Hunter Orcs Fell Warg mounts? 

C: There is - threat radius and charging options. Now granted, this comes from a guy who plays Shire (where you use terrain to the point of almost abuse because otherwise you get shot/ripped to pieces), but a lot of people count on hiding units behind pillars/trees, lying people down, etc. as a way to hold portions of the board/guarantee that they get the charge, and fell wargs get you out of this problem. Add onto this the fact that you have a 10" range for standard movement, and now you can reach out and strike an enemy well before they can strike you.

The complication to this argument, though, is that you can also just take Fell Wargs, and since the cost of a Hunter Orc on Fell Warg is the same as buying a Fell Warg and a Hunter Orc on foot, there's little reason to take them as a single unit except the charge bonus. I run a few, but truthfully you could probably do just fine just taking fell wargs for the threat range and hunter orcs on foot for numbers.

T: Are generic Hunter Orc Captains models you take after you've taken all of the named captains? 

C: Or are they good in their own right? Oh, you should have at least 1 of these guys in your army always, and you should take him with a two-handed weapon. I think you should even take him above a number of the named heroes - my order is: Azog/Bolg -> Narzug -> Hunter Orc Captain -> Whatever else you want. Fimbul is very good, and the 3 Might with Strike means you can use him to take on enemy heroes. You should of course always mount him, and he makes for a nice strike cavalryman through forests and other difficult terrain as he gets all of his bonuses regardless of being in difficult terrain. And while Yazneg comes with an axe and high Strength, I think for the points you get more out of a Hunter Orc Captain, so personally I never take Yazneg. We would have been much better off in the list if we had a shaman rather than Yazneg.

T: What gear do you give Hunter Orc Captains? 

C: I almost always give them two-handed weapons, as I think that 1) having base 3 attacks all getting +1 to wound is just insane for the price, and 2) if you have enough numbers you don't need to worry about winning the fight: other guys can win the fight for you, and these guys are just there to mop up. You can definitely give them fell wargs, but keep in mind that you'll need to charge to make it worth it, as otherwise you'll lose attacks. So it all depends; personally I've found that the high Strength with +1 to wound and a chance to Piercing Strike is typically enough, so I save money and buy an extra warrior instead of mounting them, as I find I like the numbers more (plus it's easier to hide my heroes from archery if they are among the rank-and-file).

I don't generally give them bows; that has mostly to do with the fact that 1) orc bows aren't that good, 2) their Shoot Value isn't that good, and 3) Narzug will do the job for you well enough on his own, so why would I need a clear second fiddle? I'd much rather give the bro a two-hander and just send him wading through the enemy shieldwall.

T: How do you deal with Terror armies? 

C: So, I'll start by saying that, as I alluded to above, this is one of the issues for the army. Since your army is Courage 2 except for your heroes (and beyond Azog and Bolg it's not particularly good even among your heroes), Terror is a huge problem. You can mitigate this in two ways. First, since all of your dismounted orcs have 2 Attacks, you effectively charge two people in with one successful Courage Test, so thankfully it's not as dangerous if you don't succeed in all of your charges. More than that, it's not like charging in a person and then spear supporting them as they can't pull off the spearman into a separate combat: you always get 2 attacks. Second is numbers: if you make 30 charges on a given turn (which, ideally, is how many models you would have charging on a single turn), even at Courage 2 you'll pass with 10+ of them, probably including your heroes. This means that you have 20+ Attacks in combat, which is pretty good among c. 10+ fights. So numbers are important: you have to get a lot of people charging to insure that you can take down enough terror models that turn to whittle the enemy force down.

And on a related note, it's actually not a bad thing per se if you don't get a lot of charges in - remember: at D4 you are going to lose a lot of guys, so if you don't have a lot of fights to resolve you can't lose that many people. So there's a silver lining to failed tests, as long as you have numbers to replace fallen troops that get ganked by being alone following failed Courage tests.

Thanks Centaur - today we'll be looking at Centaur's list for Azog's Hunters - let's see what's cooking!

The Bare Necessities, Part XXI: Azog's Legion

Good morning gamers,

If you live in the States, happy Memorial Day. In the words of King Theoden, "Tonight we remember those who gave their blood for this country - hail the victorious dead!"

In today's post, we're continuing our discussion on armies I'm still purchasing. We've already covered the Halls of Thranduil, the Dark Powers of Dol Guldur, and the Shire and today we come to one of the newest armies that has crossed my mind with some neat ideas: Azog's Legion. While we mentioned that the Dark Powers of Dol Guldur list is the most flexible evil army from the Armies of the Hobbit book, Azog's Legion has a wide variety of units that all basically do the same thing: kill things in melee and shrug off damage with pretty good Defense (some don't have great Defense, but the majority do). For the opinions of the experts, you want to check out the recent podcast from the Green Dragon Podcast on this army (I differ in opinion from them a little bit in this post).

Azog's Legion: If You Bring Azog, When Do You Bring The Signal Tower?

When I first looked at Azog's Legion, I saw a) no shooting apart from Catapult Trolls, and b) very few hero choices (Azog, Bolg, various generic captains). To me, this made them worse than Azog's Hunters and MUCH worse than the Dark Powers of Dol Guldur. When you factor in that some of the models haven't been made yet, many of the models are available exclusively through Forge World, and the handful from GW are pretty expensive, this army was a no-go for me (possibly as an alliance).

When I looked at the list the first time, I also glossed over the Signal Tower - like the One Ring or War Beasts, when you have a whole page of rules (or two) dedicated to one thing in the game (something you may rarely/never face), new players and experienced players alike probably say "Huh, that's nice" and turn the page before digging too far into it. When I first looked at the list, I had no interest in the Signal Tower because a) there's no model for it yet, and b) it costs 200 points - and why in the heck would you spend 200 points for an upgrade?

Well, I'm glad you asked - because after looking into the Signal Tower, it's actually a really good bargain. Let's break it down:

• The Signal Tower includes 7 Azog's Lieutenants, who have profiles very similar to Rangers of the North (no bows and lower Courage, but otherwise their gear and stats are exactly the same). Rangers of the North are 30 points each, so let's assume that Azog's Lieutenants would each be worth 20-25 points. With 7 of them included in the price of the tower, you've got 140-175 points of the Signal Tower covered (25-60 points more to make up).
• The Signal Tower comes with 3 banners (that count as banners in scenarios that give you victory points for having a banner on the board at the end of the game), one of which counts as a battlefield-wide banner for all Gundabad models - that's worth at least 25 points, but probably worth more than that.
• The Signal Tower also has the Horn of Gorgoroth, which counts as a war horn for you (+1 Courage), but also applies a -1 Courage penalty on enemy models all over the battlefield. This, added to the battlefield-wide banner, is basically what you get from a Moria Goblin Drum (which is worth 75 points to Moria and doesn't actually cover the entire battlefield). At the very least, this horn and the battlefield-wide banner are worth 75 points together (which is more than the rest of the cost we need to make up).
• One of the other banners on the signal tower allows you to call free Heroic Marches - each time you call a free Heroic March, that's worth 5 points (as a Might point adds roughly 5 points to a normal profile). Since you don't have shooting, getting across the board is important - and if you want to have Might left over for Heroic Moves on your Captains (and Strike on Azog), this tower is your friend.
• The third banner gives all of the Gundabad models on the battlefield a 6+ save against taking wounds (which turns the 6+ Oblivious To Pain save on your Gundabad Berserkers into a 5+ save) - this is not only a nice surprise for your warriors, but also is great because both Azog and Bolg (all your heroes, actually) have a single Fate point. Having a non-zero probability of stopping every wound is nice to have when you give up points for having wounds on your Army Leader.
• Finally, the Signal Tower is placed at the beginning of the game anywhere on the battlefield - which means you can place it safely behind your lines in most scenarios OR place it in your opponent's side of the board in scenarios where you need to get somewhere. Even if your opponent tries to take the tower, you'll have 7 mini-heroes to defend the banners and distract while the rest of your army gets in position - PERFECT!

In large games, you're getting well over 200 points worth of value for "only" 200 points. The tax comes in this: you need to take Azog in order to take this - so you're spending at least 365 points on Azog and this upgrade (though I don't think you'd leave the White Warg at home or the heavy armor - so realistically, it's 425 points). At lower point levels, Bolg with a Goblin Mercenary warband is probably the better option, but at games at/above 700 points, I think Azog is well worth bringing with the Signal Tower.

One final note on the Signal Tower: if you don't have enough models to man all of the elements, I'd prioritize the signal tower elements as follows:

• Battlefield-wide banner (because you're going to want this).
• Battlefield-wide 6+ save (not a great save, but your army has basically no archery, so every little bit helps as you slog across the map - more important during the middle/end of the game OR from the very beginning if you get to deploy on the center-line).
• Battlefield-wide free Heroic Marches (not really necessary during the middle of the game, essential early in the game, sometimes necessary late in the game).
• War Horn with Battlefield-wide Courage debuff (unless you're facing a Terror/Harbinger army, you can often get away with losing this during the early/middle of the game).

Currently, I have the following models:

• Azog F&M
• Gundabad Troll with Club
• The makings of a Signal Tower

Early picture of my Signal Tower in the works - the tower stands roughly 7" high and is roughly 6" in diameter with a circular stairway that goes around the outside of the tower (total travel distance is 19" up the stairs). There is a tunnel on the ground level and an open landing on the second level (which provide some options for fighting if desired and also makes it more usable as a generic ruin piece in a game where I'm not playing with the Signal Tower).

Perhaps I've already shown my hand, but here's our list today:

The Bare Necessities, Part XIX: The Dark Powers of Dol Guldur

Good morning gamers,

Last time, we looked at my plans for developing a Halls of Thranduil force in the coming months. Today, we turn our attention to a force of Evil that I've been scheming about for a while. Most of this year/next year's hobby funds will be devoted to the Halls of Thranduil, but hot on its heels is Dol Guldur, which I consider to be the second most versatile Evil faction in the game (behind Mordor - they are certainly the most versatile force in the Armies of the Hobbit book). Not too long ago, the Green Dragon team posted an amazing podcast on the Dark Powers army - listen to that for some really good insights from veterans of the Dol Guldur faction. My theories happened to coincide with some of theirs, so I feel like I have some good direction for what to collect.

Dark Powers of Dol Guldur: Pure Force or Historical Allies?

It took me a long time to "like" the Orc-based armies from the Hobbit book. I love the Trolls and I gained a lot of respect for Goblin-town the first time my son used it against me. I've fought Centaur's Hunter Orcs for a while now (Azog's Hunters, not Dark Powers) and gained a huge respect for them in his "Halloween Army" that he brought to a TMAT GT back in 2014 (which never lost to my beloved Isengard force).

The Dark Powers of Dol Guldur list, in my opinion, is the most balanced of the Evil forces from the Armies of the Hobbit. As I explained in our podcast/video on Evil Spell-casters, the Dark Powers of Dol Guldur list has all of the warrior profiles available in the Azog's Hunters list (albeit with a lower Shoot value and a lower bow limit) and has Gundabad Orcs which are available in the Azog's Legion list (though none of the other specialized troops) AND have a unique warrior choice in Mirkwood Spiders.

The question is this: should you make a pure Dark Powers of Dol Guldur army? Or should you ally with one of these other forces? If you plan to bring the Necromancer of Dol Guldur, bringing a Historical ally is far better than bringing a Convenient ally (as the Necromancer benefits greatly from the army bonus). Bringing him and a bunch of Nazgul of Dol Guldur appears to be a popular approach, though the warriors in this list beg to be brought along too. Bringing just the Necromancer from the Dark Powers list (with a warband of troops) and bringing in an allied contingent from either (or both) of the Azog lists can give you access to better archers (with Azog's Hunters) and more elite warriors/monsters (with Azog's Legion). Currently, I don't have any models from this army, so everything is from scratch.

The Armies of the Hobbit, Part I: Orcs!

Good morning gamers,

This post begins our discussion of the Armies of the Hobbit and like we did with the Armies of the Lord of the Rings, we'll be covering the Forces of Evil first (in two parts) and the Forces of Good after that. Unlike the Armies of the Lord of the Rings, we don't have previous sourcebooks to group things (and we don't have the old Legions of Middle-Earth book to guide us either). Ergo, we'll be grouping things by common types (Orcs, other Bad Guys, Dwarves, Men, other Good Guys). It should be fun.

1) The New Lists: Azog's Hunters, Azog's Legion, Dark Powers of Dol Guldur

These three lists are, in many ways, one list broken out in to three parts (if you ignore their army bonuses): many of the warrior choices provided in these lists are shared across the others: both of the Warrior options for the Azog's Hunters list are available in the Dark Powers of Dol Guldur list (hereafter Dark Powers), and the Dark Powers list also has access to the Gundabad Orc Warriors available in the Azog's Legion list. While there are some unique warrior choices across the Azog's Legion and Dark Powers lists, by and large you get the same feel from a warrior-perspective no matter which of these lists you choose.

Where these lists differ is in their heroes - Azog's Hunters have average-defense heroes, all of which can be mounted (and with Expert Rider on many of them, there's good reason to do so). Azog's Legion has barely any hero optons, but most of them are/can be heavily armored. The Dark Powers list provides you with the Necromancer and the Nazgul, along with several other generic hero options and the Keeper of the Dungeons (powerhouse options abound). When looking at the lists, the heroes are what make the greatest difference between them (and should come to the forefront of your decisions about what kind of army to get).