Tournament Time: Rythbryt's Army Thoughts (Grand Tournament 2024)

Edited May 6, 2024, with tournament results

Bonus post this week. Must be something special going on... ;)

As faithful readers of the blog know, TMAT's annual GT is coming up this weekend. I generally don't post articles on the armies I'm running (I leave that to Tiberius, who's far more practiced--be sure to check out his article from yesterday, if you missed it). Nor do I generally recap how the tournament went (Centaur's your man... er... horse-man... for that). But I'm making an exception this time, for several reasons:

1. I've been light on generating content recently (and feel somewhat guilty about that);
2. I owe Tiberius at least two podcasts on tournaments that have long since wrapped (and, again, feel somewhat guilty about that);
3. I really liked a number of the lists that I batted around (and felt like sharing them); and
4. Perhaps because I really liked these lists, I actually locked into a list earlier than the final day they were due (actually, almost 2 full weeks before they were due), which meant there was actually time to write a prospective post on it. :-P

Along the way, there were twists and turns and trepidations (well, okay, actually less trepidation than usual). So yeah... if you want some musings about heavy/all-cavalry armies (or their equivalent), with a heavy dose of strategy (and maybe some obsession-bordering-on-neurosis), read on. :)

This may be a spoiler...

Photo Credit: cbr.com

Factual Background (because all of life is a story, right?)

First, a digression that's not really a digression.

About two months ago, TMAT hosted a winter "mixer" tournament designed to be a fun, pseudo-competitive way for the people in our gaming group to play some games (always fun), while also introducing new/newer players to MESBG. Because of that, we had a pretty small tournament by most standards: a 350 point cap (4-model minimum), with 5 games in one day (45 minutes per game). The five scenarios were pre-selected (though not their order), and all opponents were randomized. (For about a 72-hour period, we also thought this was going to morph into a funsies doubles-event, but we did end up having enough players for a full singles event--10 players altogether, which is also a weird number for doubles :-P).

For those of you who are familiar with the Matched Play guide, you know that 45 minutes is... kind of tight for a 350 point game (the guide recommends 1 hour 15 minutes for a game of that size, so this was definitely on the "fast" side). The pool of scenarios for the tournament (Hold Ground, Capture and Control, Destroy the Supplies, Lords of Battle, Divide and Conquer) also offered a mix of "capture objectives" and "kill models outright/around objectives," which posed some... interesting choices given the 45-minute time limit. For objective games, you wanted lots of models (and, in general, I think you want more models than less in MESBG). But more models equals longer phases, which means less rounds (which means less moving, less shooting, less fighting, less botching, etc.). And taking an army composed of slower models (goblins? hobbits?), shooting models (a 6-second shoot phase vs. a 10-minute shoot phase makes a huge difference), or models that last a long time but have trouble wounding standard (D6) shieldwalls (S3/D7 dwarves, for instance) could further complicate things.

So with those issues in mind, as I mulled my options for the tournament (and all told, I think I mulled some 200 different list ideas/variations), I kept finding myself drawn to lists that could move fast, kill very quickly, take a beating... and do all the above without relying on a lot of shooting/time-intensive roll-offs. And ultimately, it worked. I won all five of my games at the GT with a list that consisted of the Dark-Marshal on Fell Beast (F6 wraith who casts normally, on a flying monster, who can also be a 6" banner in a pinch), leading eight Morgul Knights (who I've always loved, and never brought to a tournament before), and four Black Numenoreans on foot (which I have brought to tournaments before, and never disappoint me) for a grand total of 13 models at 350. 

A portend of things to come?

In Defense Of: Mattocks

Good morning gamers,

A surprising number of posts in the last two rounds of this "In Defense Of" series have centered around two-handed weapons - whether it's models who have to fight two-handed (like Bofur the Dwarf or Moria Blackshield Captains) or models that can fight two-handed even if they have other options (like Morannon Orc Captains - if you give them a two-handed weapon instead of a shield - or Mordor Trolls). I've even written an entire article talking about why two-handing can be okay (ignoring models who don't suffer the dueling penalty from the discussion). Today, we're going to continue looking at the topic of two-handed weapon options by looking at an equipment choice that I've come to appreciate having here and there in my Erebor Reclaimed lists: mattocks.

Photo Credit: Spikey Bits

For starters, there are a handful of models that have this rather specialized kind of weapon - most of them can be found in the Erebor Reclaimed/Iron Hills factions:

• Bofur the Dwarf (Thorin's Company)
• Iron Hills Captains (Erebor Reclaimed/Iron Hills)
• Iron Hills Dwarves (same)
• Iron Hills Goat Riders (same)
  

A mattock is described in Bofur's profile as being a "two-handed weapon, which can use either the Bash or Piercing Strike Special Strikes," which is neat since Bashing with a two-handed weapon makes your Bash more likely to work and getting +1 To Wound when you've raised your Strength value to improve your wounding roll is even better. There's nothing to dislike about this, right?

Well, actually no - most competitive players (including the Into The West podcast team) will tell you that the models look cool, but the mattock isn't worth taking. And on its face, I think they're right. However, there's more to this weapon than meets the eye - let's see why mattocks are critiqued so heavily and then we'll look at why (and more importantly how) they can be worth taking.

Why NOT To Take Mattocks

Our discussion of mattocks has to begin with a comparison between a mattock and a pick-hammer. If you look at the Grim Hammer profile from the Army of Thror, you'll see that a Pick-Hammer is a "hand-and-a-half weapon, which may use either the Bash or Piercing Strike Special Strikes." Wait a minute - did you say you can choose whether you want to use this thing one-handed or two-handed? Are you telling me that the Grim Hammers of Erebor knew how to wield things that look almost EXACTLY like the mattocks wielded by their Iron Hills brethren with one hand! Why yes, yes they could - and that's stop number one for many players (including our very own Rythbyrt): there's no reason why a mattock should have to be wielded two-handed when pick-hammers are a thing.

Unexpected Military Formations: Epic Movie Moments, Part III

Good morning gamers,

We're back with our third installment of the "epic movie moments" that no one in their right minds would try to run in MESBG! We've looked recently at the Uruk-Hai receiving a charge from Aragorn and some Galadhrim and how you can set up your Rivendell battleline to do the "windmill thing" to attack everyone with two-handed weapons and no supports. Today, we turn to a moment that is really stunning to watch but EVERYONE was thinking, "That's a really dumb move" - yes, we're looking at the Elves jumping over the Iron Hills line from the Battle of Five Armies!

Movie Moment #3: "The Elven Jumping Sequence"

Did anyone else almost cry when you saw the Dwarf shieldwall preparing to meet the Gundabad Orc charge during the Battle of Five Armies and the Elves go VAULTING over the line, landing on top of the Orcs and hacking through them? Sure, this wasn't a sound tactical decision, but it was AMAZING, right? Well, of all the things you can't do in MESBG, hopping on the heads of friendly models is not one of them (though I could see this being a rule in a scenario for the Battle of Five Armies sourcebook, whenever that's released). Somehow I doubt it will ever become part of a Legendary Legion, but how would one attempt to capture this event in the game?

Weeeeeeeee . . .

The Bare Necessities, Part XXXVI: The Iron Hills

Good morning gamers,

We've already looked at the Iron Hills a little when we reviewed the Army of Thror - they make great allies for basically anyone in the Armies of the Hobbit book (Historical allies with the Army of Thror, the Halls of Thranduil, and the Survivors of Lake-town; Convenient allies with everyone else). With D7 infantry that can be D8 in shieldwall, D6 infantry who can wield either crossbows or two-handed pick-hammers, D6 cavalry that can knock enemy models over BEFORE fighting, chariots that deal three S6 impact hits, and those nasty ballistas that can deny enemy archery. While the list doesn't have a lot of hero options, the heroes it DOES have are very good. So where do we begin when looking to build a balanced list with this army? Well, we should probably begin with this guy . . .

Photo Credit: Rebloggy.com

The Iron Hills: What Do You Leave At Home (And What Can You NOT Leave At Home)?

All pure Iron Hills lists begin with Dain Ironfoot - and in most cases, he will be mounted on his war boar (though an article from Dwarf aficionado Ali King indicates that may not be necessary). Regardless of whether you have a pure Iron Hills army or a Historical Alliance, the addition of Master of Battle (4+) is great for Dain - so unless you're bringing a bigger hero than Dain (not many are), you probably want Dain in your army. For 160 points when mounted, he's expensive for a Hero of Legend, but not as expensive as two Heroes of Fortitude, so you won't suffer too much from bringing him.

With the exception of the mattocks (unfortunate, since they look really cool), all of the gear options for Iron Hills Warriors are amazing - shields by default, the option to trade the shield for a crossbow, a banner on anyone (maybe two banners?), and spears for shield-carrying or crossbow-carrying Dwarves is good. These infantry models form a good core for any army - and make a great anvil for this force in particular. Adding a few Goat Riders to support this army gives you slightly more speed (especially if you March them) - not necessary en masse, but a very dangerous pocket of power.

I don't think you leave home without a good block of infantry and some Goat Riders. The question becomes whether the siege weapons are important to your strategy. On the one hand, bringing a ballista can force almost any shooting army to come to you and engage you in melee (exactly what you want with your block of Dwarf heavy infantry), but similarly, ballista require you to be in a particular place (giving you less deployment flexibility and very little maneuvering once you've deployed). Sure, some scenarios may not require you to move, but if you need to get somewhere, a ballista could be a liability.

The Iron Hills Chariots are very expensive - and while they can do lots of damage, I'm not sure how useful they are without someone like Gandalf the Grey to knock everyone who has engaged the chariot over with a Sorcerous Blast. Chariots are even more expensive when equipped on an Iron Hills Captain (or in an Erebor Reclaimed list with the Champions of Erebor on it). They're powerful, but oh so very expensive. I know people like these things, but I just don't see them fitting in our list today - they cost too much.

Without further ado, let's look and see what we're doing with the Iron Hills in a balanced list . . .

Heroes of Middle Earth SBG: Dain Ironfoot, Lord of the Iron Hills (Profile and Basic Tactics)

No discussion of the Iron Hills and Erebor Reclaimed army lists would be complete without Dain Ironfoot, the Lord of the Iron Hills himself. He made a name for himself (in the books, anyway) by slaying Azog at the gates of Moria in the Drimrill Dale, and in the Middle Earth Strategy Battle Game, he’s on any short-list of top-tier dwarf heroes. He is the undisputed commander of some of the slickest-looking dwarves in Middle Earth, and has some incredibly thematic rules to pair with an exceptional profile (plus an iconic mount). So if you want to indulge your reckless side, or just want an excuse to tell Sauron’s messenger to shove it or call an elven lord “princess,” Dain’s your man (er, dwarf).

(Oh. And his maths are pretty good, too…)

Armies of Middle Earth SBG: Shieldwall Tactics (Making it Work)

Having done a lot recently on Iron Hills dwarves, while preparing to paint up a couple boxes of warriors of Minas Tirith, I've been thinking a lot about Shieldwall recently. On paper, the ability is very strong: the jump from Defense 6 to Defense 7 (Minas Tirith) is fantastic against Strength 4 opponents and heroes (there are a lot of those), and the jump from Defense 7 to Defense 8 (Iron Hills) makes it very difficult for Strength 3 troops to deal any wounds to you.

The knock on Shieldwall is that while it's fairly easy to keep it up against enemy archers (more difficult against certain siege weapons), it's not easy to keep up in-combat unless you keep your infantry in a very disciplined (but inflexible) formation. Since flexibility of movement is a key concept in the Middle Earth SBG (we have to protect our flanks, pressure our opponent's flanks, and get to/contest important objectives--sometimes all at once!), I spent an evening last month trying to figure out if there were any more flexible formations that could sustain Shieldwall. Here's some of what I discovered.

(Apologies in advance: this post contains a lot of pictures, so hopefully your load time won't be too long. Also, no maths!)

Armies of Middle Earth SBG: Iron Hills Goat Riders (Profile and Basic Tactics)

Photo Credit: Sepulcher of Heroes

There are many stunning models in Forge World’s Iron Hills range, and yet the Iron Hills Goat Riders still manage to stand out. They’re not cheap (either in points or real money), but your investment is rewarded in-game. With a beefy stat-line, an 8” move, heavy armor on rider and steed, and a Strength 4 lance (okay, War Spear), they are a versatile and invaluable part of any dwarf army (and can be fielded in two: the Iron Hills and Erebor Reclaimed).

Below the jump, we’ll jump into their profile (including their signature special ability, Devastating Charge) and look at why they prove so dangerous (and resilient) on the table-top, as well as some basic tactics for when to commit your Goat Riders to the fray (and when you might want to rein them in). Plus, our signature series maths!

Armies of Middle Earth SBG: Iron Hills Dwarves (Profile, Wargear, and Basic Tactics)

Photo Credit: Wargameterrain

Iron Hills Dwarves are a personal favorite of mine. Beyond their aesthetics (which are stunning in Forge World resin), they boast very good statlines and a host of customization options and special rules for function and theme (or both). They can also be fielded in two separate army lists—The Iron Hills and Erebor Reclaimed—which offer loads more thematic material in addition to many capable heroes, including some of the fiercest and most resilient combat heroes in all of Middle Earth. Wherever they are found, Iron Hills dwarves are second to none when it comes to stubbornness and staying power.

We discussed the big-picture strengths and weaknesses of Iron Hills dwarves in our summary of the Armies of the Iron Hills and Erebor Reclaimed, but if you finished that unsatisfied and craving more, this is for you. In this detailed expose, we’ll spend far too much time breaking down the profile of Iron Hills Dwarves, running through their basic combat probabilities, and exploring how we can customize their wargear options to mitigate some of the weaknesses common to dwarves, or to further augment their prowess in combat.

(Combat Stats, Tactics, and Maths ahead...)

{7th Edition} Armies of Middle Earth: Iron Hills and Erebor Reclaimed in the Middle Earth Strategy Battle Game

Du Bekar!!! (Or something like that)

Updated: Seventh Edition (October 2025)

In the lore of Middle Earth, there are dwarves, and then there are the dwarves of the Iron Hills. Founded by Gror, the brother of Thror, the arrival of the Iron Hills have tipped the balance of many fateful battles: at Azanulbizar, routing the orcs when a young Dain Ironfoot slew Azog before the gates of Moria; at Erebor, when they stood against the forces of Bolg in the Battle of the Five Armies; and in the North, when they resisted Sauron in the War of the Ring.

In the Seventh Edition of the Middle Earth Strategy Battle Game, the Iron Hills dwarves remain the pinnacle of dwarven military power and ingenuity. Their heroes have undergone some significant revisions (some improvements, some lateral, and some head-scratching), but their warriors remain both resilient and deadly fighters in close-combat; and their cavalry, crossbows and war machines still pose a threat to enemies who doubt the reach of their “stubby little legs.” In stubbornness and staying power, they are second to none.