Back to Basics, Revisited: Magical Powers in MESBG

Good morning gamers,

I have always been a HUGE fan of the magical powers in MESBG and how the system of casting and resisting spells works. The rules for casting and resisting hasn't changed much since I got started and the only additions that were made (Heroic Channelling casts a spell on a 6 now and you get Will points back on resist tests that get a natural 6) have been good - and I think the change to Channelling was epic in this edition. The purpose of today's article isn't to go in-depth into every spell - we'll be doing that in a later series - but rather to explain how casting works, things to think about for different caster types, and how to pick the right targets for your spells. Furthermore, you should be aware that I'll be using the term "spell" and "magical power" interchangeably in this post (and have already done so in this paragraph). Let's dig in!

How It Works: Casting and Resisting Magical Power in MESBG

Casting got both harder and easier in the new version of MESBG. This is partly due to the change to Heroic Channelling, where you spend a Might point to "get the spell off on a 6" (more on that later), but also the casting difficulties of most spells went up (nothing is cast on a 2+ anymore and many spells are cast on a 4+ or a 5+). While the casting difficulties went up (and many people would say this had made casting magic harder - and it is now), the fact of the matter is that magic itself got stronger in this edition of the game - so learning how to use it is definitely a good idea. We'll see why magic is so good at the end of the post.

In order to cast a spell, a model with at least one magical power has to be unengaged in order to cast one of its magical powers (though there might be a list that gives its members the ability to cast some of their spells while engaged). This means that if you can charge an enemy caster before they get to cast, you can prevent them (most of the time) from being able to cast a spell. Perfect!

As you probably noticed in the statements above, each model with at least one magical power can only cast one magical power each round (though again, there are models that might plead an exception in certain army lists). Since many casters have access to more than one spell, they have to be selective and intentional with which spell they're using this round. It's often a good idea to figure out BEFORE you play a game what spells you intend to use and in what situations you intend to use them. For casters like Moria Goblin Shamans, this may be decided pretty easily (I'm casting Fury with two dice and then I'm done OR I'm channelling Fury and will save 1 Will for a one-off use later), while casters like Ringwraiths and Wizards might require an entire chart to figure out what spell you're going to cast. Experience and practice helps with this a lot.

Back to Basics: Magical Powers in MESBG

Good morning gamers,

I am a HUGE fan of the magical powers that are in MESBG and (generally speaking) how the system of casting and resisting spells (as well as channelling them) works. The rules for casting and resisting hasn't changed much since I got started and the only additions that were made (Heroic Channelling and restoring Will points on resist tests that get a natural 6) have been good - though perhaps not always implemented the way I would have done it. The purpose of today's article isn't to go in-depth into every spell - we've actually already done that in a previous series - but rather to explain how casting works, things to think about for different caster types, and how to pick the right targets for your spells. Furthermore, you should be aware that I'll be using the term "spell" and "magical power" interchangeably in this post (and have already done so in this paragraph). Let's dig in!

How It Works: Casting and Resisting Magical Power in MESBG

If you want a slimmed down version of this, you can check out my post from 2019 on the Top 5 Ways to Waste Might Points - the third topic covers the basics of casting. That article was specifically focused on whether channelling certain spells (some heroes have the ability to declare a "Heroic Channelling" with a Might point in the Move phase - if they do, the spell/spells they cast that round have a "stronger effect" than normal), while this article will be focused on the nuts and bolts of casting spells, regardless of whether they're channelled.

In order to cast a spell, a model with at least one magical power has to be unengaged in order to cast one of its magical powers (though the Vanquishers of the Necromancer Legendary Legion gives its members the ability to cast some of their spells while engaged). This means that if you can charge an enemy caster before they get to cast, you can prevent them (most of the time) from being able to cast a spell. Perfect!

As you probably noticed in the statements above, each model with at least one magical power can only cast one magical power each round (though Saruman in the Vanquishers Legion and the Necromancer of Dol Guldur in the Rise of the Necromancer Legendary Legion have rules that allow them to do a little more). Since many casters have access to more than one spell, they have to be selective and intentional with which spell they're using this round. It's often a good idea to figure out BEFORE you play a game what spells you intend to use and in what situations you intend to use them. For casters like Moria Goblin Shamans, this may be decided pretty easily (I'm casting Fury with two dice and then I'm done), while casters like Ringwraiths and Wizards might require an entire chart to figure out what spell you're going to cast. Experience and practice helps with this a lot.

Nemesis: How To Fight Against Ringwraiths

Good morning gamers,

So far in this series, we've looked at specific monster models (that usually show up in a single list, maybe two) or specific Legendary Legions that everyone seems to hate fighting. Today, we're turning to a model type that's pretty ubiquitous across the forces of Evil and units that don't look all that dangerous until they're neutralizing your heroes and chewing them up. Yep, it's time to turn to the Witch-King of Angmar and all his Ringwraith friends! I love these models (and have written quite a bit about them), so let's go in-depth today (fair warning, this post is LONG) and look at all the grisly bits about Ringwraiths, shall we?

What Makes Ringwraiths So Hated

Photo Credit: Warhammer Community

Part 1: An Overly Pedantic Study of Ringwraiths

You can't start talking about Ringwraiths without going over a brief taxonomy of the ten Ringwraith profiles that we have and how they're usually fielded. Despite there being nine Ringwraiths in total, the generic "Ringwraith" profile (which you can actually take nine of - you don't have to run the Witch-King!) provides a nice "blank slate" version of a Ringwraith for you to customize to your liking. These guys have decent-not-good combat stats (F5/S4/1A with 0-2 Might) and decent-not-good defense stats (D8/1 Wound/0-2 Fate). As far as Heroes of Fortitude for Evil go, they are great for keeping your army in the field should you break with Courage 6 and with 7-14 Will points, they have the potential to cast magic and/or fight for a long time (but don't think this means they have a lot of Will - read my post on Multi-Purpose Will Casters for more information on this). Though they look fragile, the Terror-Harbinger-of-Evil combo (something we've talked about before) can make charging them particularly difficult.

Besides the Might/Will/Fate on these guys, you can also take mounts for your Ringwraiths in the form of horses (10 points - a good cheap option for increased speed, slightly increased damage when you charge, and an easier time getting the casting direction/look-angle you want on a target), Fell Beasts (50 points - slightly more speed with more maneuverability options, greatly increased damage when you charge, and opportunities to get casting directions/look-angles that are not present when you're on a horse), and Armored Fell Beasts (70 points, which just seems like too much to pay for +1 Defense on your Fell Beast . . .). While you "can" field these guys for 55 points each, I think it would be unwise to leave home without adding 2 Might points, at least 1 Fate point, and a horse (which brings these guys up to 80 points). Personally, I normally throw in 2 extra Will points (9 total) for a tidy 90 points, but 7 Will can be just fine (it just means you're casting for one fewer turns).

When you compare these basic Ringwraiths to the "named" Ringwraiths, there are some differences. First and foremost, each of the named Ringwraiths is a Hero of Valour (or Hero of Legend in the case of the Witch-King in the Mordor/Angmar army lists, as well as in the Black Riders Legendary Legion). While generic Ringwraiths have both Heroic March and Heroic Channelling for their specialized Heroic Actions, most of the named Ringwraiths just have Heroic Channelling. The Witch-King and Khamul are exceptions to this - both have Heroic Strike, and the Witch-King also has Heroic Resolve, Heroic Strength, and Heroic Challenge. For most players . . . yeah, you're probably sticking to Heroic Strike/March and the occasional Channel.

If Tiberius Were King For A Day: Top 5 Rules Changes I'd Make

Good morning gamers,

In our last post in this mini-series, I looked at five profiles (well, four profiles and a unit upgrade) that I would "fix" in order to make thematic profiles/upgrades more competitive. All of these involved a minor tweak that would give the unit/upgrade a place among its current competitors - and I don't think any of them were THAT earth-shattering or meta-breaking. Today, we turn our attention to five rules changes that I would make that fix known problems in the game or make things viable that should be (but aren't right now). Like the last post, I wanted my changes to be minor in nature (no big overhauls) but have actual consequences - and I think only one of these is an actual overhaul of a major system (maybe two of them), but I think all of them make the game just a bit better. Let's take a look!

Rule #1: Barriers 

If you talk to competitive players, this is the thing that gets people - picture a board with a barrier between two armies as shown below:

If the Orcs get to move first, they can move into base contact with the barrier and gain an in-the-way bonus from shooting attacks AND an in-the-way bonus from strikes in melee. All you have to do is touch it, like this: 

This is really good and this is how people are "supposed" to play with barriers. However, what you can ACTUALLY do in the game is move near the barrier without touching it - and this will not only still give you the in-the-way from the barrier (probably), but it will also prevent your opponent from charging you (since he can't fit his bases on your side of the barrier) AND it will prevent him from reaching the barrier because your control zones extend beyond the barrier:

The Orcs are all showing off different ways of not touching the barrier - and only the second guy from the top is chargeable . . . if the charging model gets a 6 . . .

The Dwarves, in this situation, can only rely on shooting to clear out the Orcs - and with the barrier in the way, that's really hard. Dwarf Rangers have a better chance than most of actually getting the 6 to Jump, but it's still going to be hard. Most competitive players will tell you, "Yeah, we all know it's a thing, but we don't do it because we want to be good sports and have a good game." This has been a known glitch in the game and I propose a really simple fix to the problem: a model may not come within 2" of an obstacle without coming into base contact with it. Theoretically, you can do something similar with a wall, keeping a model next to a wall to prevent an opponent from getting too close to an objective marker or something - but the principle is the same: force players to either defend the barrier or not go near it. I chose a 2" restriction so that the new rules change that requires you to get a 6 to charge after a Jump/Leap wouldn't continue to preclude models from jumping barriers. This seems like a simple and easy change to me, but drop me a note in the comments if you think this is too simple or misses something.

The Stuff of Legends: The Black Riders

Good morning gamers,

We've covered a lot of Legendary Legions already in this series - and today, we turn to one of the Legendary Legions I was most excited about in the Quest of the Ringbearer book (and one I ran at a tournament LONG before the Legion was available): the Black Riders. While the "actual" models (sans the Witch-King) have only recently become available (I provided four different ways to get them if you want to play through the Quest of the Ringbearer scenarios), these models represent one of the most iconic forces of Evil in the entire Lord of the Rings trilogy. While their Fell-Beast-mounted cousins are more powerful on offense, these guys are set to dominate the magical game in ways that other Ringwraiths will envy forever. Let's dive in!

Part 1: What Do You Need?

Legion Tax: 80-165pts

The only model you NEED to take is the Witch-King of Angmar on horse, who comes in at a very affordable 80 points. Functionally, he's going to come in at 100 points, because you want to give him 3 Might points and at least 1 Fate point.

Since most games are played above 200 points, you'll be running at least one Ringwraith on horse, but you really want to include at least 3 Ringwraiths on horses. Like the Witch-King, I think you want to run these guys with 2 Might each and at least 1 Fate point. This means they're at least 80 points each - and each stat improvement will cost you 5 points/model (if you're going to have these guys have different Will/Fate allocations, make sure you mark your Ringwraiths well!).

We'll be talking in the Strategy section about when to get more Will/Fate on each Ringwraith, but for now let it suffice to say that the customizability of this force is largely found in the allocation of Will/Fate to each model (I think you run full Might on all of them - even over Fate). An interesting OTHER way to customize your army is to do weapon swaps on your Ringwraiths: as generic heroes, you can swap their swords for other weapons (axes perhaps?) if you want some variety in your ranks (or just do more damage). In February 2019, I recommended giving these guys clubs so they can get the OLD version of Transfix via the Stun special strike - not sure it's worth it in this Legion because you need to be killing things, but it could be very useful (stunned models are easy to kill).

An Apologetic for the Flameburst Spell

 Hey Reader!

So I was talking with the rest of the TMAT team about evil spellcasters and the damage potential of Saruman, and one of the things that I brought up was how Saruman had two spells that did good damage: Sorcerous Blast and Flameburst. And the comment was made: "well, except the fire, because no one casts that, like, ever," so effectively he has one damage spell.

And that made me sad, because I've always loved the Flameburst spell.

And since only two people in the game have it (Kardush and Saruman), and one of them apparently never casts it, it means the spell gets virtually no use.

And that made me sad, so I decided I'd craft an apologetic for why you should cast this spell at least once every game. I'll start off with a quick look (because I don't think people will disagree with this) at why it isn't cast as much as, say, Sorcerous Blast, and then walk through the situations that would make it wise to cast this spell over and against the other spells on Saruman's list, and how these come up an amazingly high amount of the time regardless of the army you are facing.

We will not be looking as much at Kardush, not because he isn't great, but because the only spells he has are Fury and Flameburst so he tends to use it a lot. But everything we mention below for tactical uses of the spell apply to both Kardush and Saruman equally (albeit with the caveat that Saruman can be mounted for 10" of movement and Kardush cannot).

Also, if you want a nice comparison of Flameburst to other similar spells in the game to give you greater context for the spell, my buddy Tiberius did a great write-up on it in his Mastering Magic series a few months ago. You should check that out - won't take more than a few minutes.

Heroic Heroes: Top 10 Heroes for Heroic Resolve

 Good morning gamers,

So far in this series on heroes, we've looked at Heroic Accuracy and Heroic Channelling and who are the best heroes (for Good and Evil) to call these heroic actions. Today, we're returning to a very niche heroic action - and the heroic action that is the hardest to deny your opponent the benefits of: Heroic Resolve. This heroic action isn't held by most heroes - and some armies have only a single model with access to it. With the limitations that come with it, is it worth using? Well, that's what we'll discuss below!

What Does the Heroic Action Do?

Heroic Resolve is declared in the Move phase and allows the hero who calls it to grant friendly models within 6" (and the hero himself) to get a free die to resist magical powers during the round. In trade, the hero may not move. In order for this heroic action to take effect, the hero needs to just not die during the Move phase (which would require some kind of impact hit or throwing weapon charge).

For you rules-smiths out there, it is unclear to me whether a model that calls a Heroic Resolve can be moved by an enemy model (either with a Command/Compel or with a special rule like a Fell Light is in Them or the Eldamar Madrigal). We have no FAQ on it, but we do have an FAQ that says the following with regard to Heroic March:

Q: If a model has declared a Heroic March, can they be Compelled/Commanded to charge an enemy model? (p.70 & 97) 

A: No. A model that has declared a Heroic March may not charge that turn, even if moved by another model.

It stands to reason that if Heroic March says a model can't charge and rules that might make that happen are not allowed to make you charge, a model that calls Heroic Resolve would similarly be immune to rules that would make them move. It does seem a bit broken that it would stop things like a Hurl or Barge though, so it probably merits an FAQ submission. For the purposes of this article, I'm assuming that this heroic action grants immunity to spells/special rules that would cause them to move in the Move phase (where the action would be more-or-less voluntary), but not immunity to spells/special rules/brutal power attacks that do an involuntary move (like Hurl, Sorcerous Blast, or Call Winds).

Heroic Resolve is a rare heroic action and has a very niche use: giving you a better chance of resisting enemy magic. If you face armies that have area of effect magical powers (or Sorcerous Blast), this can be a great way to make sure your troops have some kind of resistance to the magical power (though one die to resist a spell that is cast on a 4+ or 5+ isn't a reliable defense). Paired with Resistant to Magic (which would grant you two free dice to resist magical powers), you can provide a real deterrent to enemy casters who are determined to score some quick kills with their magic. While shutting down area of effect spells is great, keeping a hero from being Transfixed (or a warrior from being Compelled towards an enemy hero for a heroic combat) can also be mitigated more by calling a Heroic Resolve.

One final note: last December, I did a post on the best anti-caster models in the game and one of the categories that helped you get on that list was access to Heroic Resolve. If you'd like to see the list of models that have Heroic Resolve (might have had one or two new ones that have been added since then), check it out here. Alight, let's look at some of the nuanced conditions for using this heroic action.

Heroic Heroes: Top 10 Heroes for Heroic Channelling

Good morning gamers,

In our last post, we looked at the heroes who can get the most out of Heroic Accuracy. In today's post, we'll be looking at the Top 5 heroes for using a far more ubiquitous heroic action: Heroic Channeling. Like Heroic Accuracy, I've talked about Heroic Channelling as one of the Top 5 ways to waste a Might point - and this is driven in no small part by how niche the increased effects of a channelled spell might be. Some spells (like Blinding Light) become a TON better when channelled, while others only have marginal benefits (like Immobilize or Chill Soul). Still others often provide D3 of something instead of 1 of something (like Strengthen Will or Banishment), but these spells can end up doing nothing more than the unchannelled version.

Before reading any further, I highly recommend you catch up on our recent series on magic, where I went through all of the magical powers in the game by topic to showcase how you can use each of the spells - and in each post, there's a discussion for when to channel and when to cast normally (spoiler alert: there are some spells that are just not worth channelling. Like ever).

What Does the Heroic Action Do?

Heroic Channelling is declared in the Move phase and allows the hero who calls it to use the "channelled" version of a spell that he/she has in his/her list of magical powers. In order for this heroic action to take effect, a caster needs to:

• Not be charged before they cast a magical power;
• Successfully cast the magical power they wish to channel; and
• If the spell targets an enemy model, the enemy model needs to either not try to resist the magical power OR needs to fail to resist the magical power.

If any of these situations aren't met, then the Might point is wasted and cannot be used. It should be clear that models that have this heroic action need to have magical powers in their profile AND need to have Might points. That said, there are a few models (Thranduil with the Circlet of Kings, Tom Bombadil, Goldberry, and Barrow-Wights) who have access to magical powers, but DON'T have Heroic Channelling in their profiles. For Thranduil, this is because (I presume) his magical powers are once-per-game and come from an item, while the other three lack Heroic Channelling because (again, presumption) they don't have any Might.

Mastering Magic: Fury

Good morning gamers,

We come to it at last - the final spell in all of MESBG. We've talked about damage spells (Sorcerous Blast, Area-of-Effect damage spells, and precision spells). We've talked about augments (auric bonuses, stat/resource restoration, magical protection, and damage enhancers). We've talked about debuffs (stat/resource reduction, neutralizing with Immobilize et al, and breaking gear). We've talked about spells that scatter enemy models.

Today, we wrap it all up with one of the first spells I ever used and the spell that (in my opinion) has changed the most from the Legions era to the current MESBG gaming system: Fury.

Ah, Fury. As I've stated in many posts, I got started playing the game with the Mines of Moria starter set and one of the first things I learned was that I needed a Moria Goblin Shaman - Goblins just can't charge Gandalf or gang-up on Boromir reliably without one (that, and they seem to run away a lot)!

Back then, Fury didn't require you to have a Will point to keep it alive - you just had to not lose a fight (which, if you were spear-supporting from the second rank OR standing in the third/fourth rank, was pretty easy to pull off). Even if your opponent had a Ringwraith who could cast Sap Will on you and you lost all your Will, the Fury train kept on chugging. While it was active, all models of the same race as the caster passed all Courage tests and got a 6+ save against all wounds.

When the Hobbit SBG system redid the way magic worked, Fury became dependent on having a Will point in your store. Like the previous version of the rules, friendly models of the same race passed all Courage tests and got a 6+ save against all wounds, but you could channel the spell to improve that spell to a 5+ save. Moria didn't have to do this, as they could take Groblog (whose crown made Fury give a 5+ save so long as he was on the board).

In the newest edition, things have changed yet again - let's look at what Fury does, and to help me with this discussion, I've asked the other members of the TMAT team to help me out a few things based on their experiences (and if you haven't heard our podcast on Evil Spellcasters, I highly recommend you check that out for our extended discussion on Fury).

What Does Fury Do?

Fury is an exhaustion spell that is cast on the caster himself and affects all friendly models within 6" of the caster that have certain keywords (specified by the spell). For the most part, these keywords match the race and affiliation of the caster (Mordor Orc Shamans have "Fury (Mordor Orc)" and so won't help your Black Numenoreans - who aren't Orcs - or your Cave Trolls - who are not Mordor models). Affected models automatically pass any Courage tests they need to take. If channelled, affected models may roll a die for each wound they are dealt and ignore a wound they would have suffered for each roll of a 6 they get.

Mastering Magic: Augmenting Damage Spells

Good morning gamers,

We've only got two more posts left in this series - and today we have some really fun spells: Bladewrath, Enchanted Blades, and Enrage Beast. These three spells are held by only five models - three with Enchanted Blades and two special models who alone have Bladewrath and Enrage Beast. While we've looked at spells that do damage (either as a blast, in an area, or to a single model), restore stats/resources, remove stats/resources, protect friendly models from magic, breaking items, neutralizing enemy combatants, scattering models, and provide auric benefits (either by enhancing nearby models/the caster OR by scattering models), today's spells are the only ones that make you more lethal in combat (though I guess a channelled Shroud of Shadows counts as well).

Fair warning, I only have two of the models in this list, so pictures will be scarce . . .

What Do These Spells Do?

The most common of these spells is Enchanted Blades. When cast normally, the caster picks a friendly model within range (6" for all of them) and if cast successfully, the model is allowed to reroll all failed To Wound rolls it makes. When channelled, the target model also receives a bonus of +1 To Wound (which is cumulative with similar rules, such as the bonus provided by using a two-handed weapon or having the Backstabbers/Hatred special rules).

Bladewrath allows a caster to pick a friendly model within range (6" as well) and that model makes Strikes in the Fight phase at Strength 6. If channelled, this is improved to Strength 10. It's important to note that the model itself doesn't become S6/S10, but rather resolves Strikes at S6/S10 (otherwise, this would be a great counter to the Rend/Hurl Brutal Power Attacks or special rules like Monstrous Charge).

Finally, Enrage Beast picks a friendly Bat, unridden Warg, or Spider model within range (12" this time) and increases the target model's Fight, Attacks, Strength, and Courage values by 2 until the End phase. Because this boosts the model's characteristics, this IS a good counter to the Rend/Hurl BPAs and rules like Monstrous Charge. When channelled, the target's characteristics are increased by 3 (instead of 2). While this is a powerful augment, the friendly model then suffers a S10 hit at the end of the round because of how exhausting being awesome can be (most models will be wounded on 3s - which still means a 33% chance of avoiding any damage at all).

All three of these spells are useful - especially if you are using units that "have problems wounding." Adding someone who has these spells can increase your overall damage, but picking the right model to augment is often the difficulty with these spells (and making sure they stay within range). To help with this, let's understand who has these spells and how best to use them.

Introducing: TMAT Challenge

One of the perks of Tolkien fandom is that Middle-Earth offers our imaginations plenty of room to roam. Case-in-point: you're shooting the breeze with your mates one day, and somebody says out of the blue, "Hey, you know that Haldir guy? I'll bet he couldn't beat Shagrat in a fight straight-up." To which your mate says, "Dude, you're full of it." And then you debate (and smack-talk) for an hour about who'd beat who, and how, and have a great time (while your significant other looks on, worriedly). 

We have those conversations all the time. And then it dawned on us: we have a gaming system that let's us test these theories! What are we doing!

And so, TMAT Challenge was born.

List-building and tournament tactics are fine and all, but sometimes you just need to kick back and rediscover the fun of the Middle-Earth Strategy Battle Game. How many monsters can Theodred kill before he dies? Who'd kill more Goblins: Thranduil and Dain, or the Witch-King and the Wild Warg Chieftain? And can 350 points of barrow-wights really kill 350 points of Balrog?

Find the answers to these burning questions you've never thought about (and more) on TMAT Challenge! 

Available exclusively on YouTube

(because if there's no internet video, it didn't happen)

Mastering Magic: Call Winds and Instill Fear

Good morning gamers,

Well, we've been plowing through magical spells for a while now, but we come today to the last spell in the arsenal of MANY evil spell-casters (causing us to wrap up a LOT of models today). While Ringwraiths (and other evil casters) have neutralizing spells in the form of Transfix/Compel, a precision damage spell in Black Dart, and the ability to reduce enemy resources/stats via Sap Will and Drain Courage (the Witch-King also has access to Your Staff is Broken), Ringwaiths have a very iconic spell in the game that can scatter enemy models: Instill Fear.

While Instill Fear is a good scattering spell, we'll be talking about a more precise scatter spell as well: Call Winds (which is only available to Galadhrim and High Elf Stormcallers).

Nazgul: "I'm casting Instill Fear - SCREEEEEEEEECH (or is that Transfix now? oh well, whatever!)!"

What Do These Spells Do?

Instill Fear is an area-of-effect scatter spell that affects all models within 3" of the caster (not because the spell says it's 3", it's just always 3" for all the models that have it). All enemy models within 3" of the caster have to pass a Courage test or make a full move directly away from the caster (or until they run into something/someone) and are afterwards unable to move (basically, they run in fear). If channelled, the models that test for Courage have to roll three dice and use the lowest two dice (which, if you haven't seen the math for it, is pretty brutal for anything that is below Courage 5 - and even C5 models are only 60% likely of passing). Add to this that most models with Instill Fear have some kind of Harbinger of Evil/Ancient Evil special rule attached to them, models really have to be Courage 6 to have a better-than-not chance of passing this channelled spell . . . ouch.

The models test in the order the caster wants, so it's pretty common to test with the models furthest from the caster first, then working your way inward. You can cast this spell a few milimeters from a model (aka within an enemy model's control zone), but after the scattering, you will need to complete the charge against whatever model you entered the control zone of first.

Call Winds is a precise scatter spell, targeting a single model and pushing that model back D6" (2D6" if channelled). The model stops if it hits an obstacle (but not models) and is Knocked Prone. Unlike previous versions of the game, models aren't forced to stay on the ground for the rest of the turn (which is sad). Like Sorcerous Blast, the Strength of your target doesn't dictate whether the model can be knocked Prone - anyone is fair game. This spell is different from Sorcerous Blast in two ways, though: first, this spell doesn't knock any other models Prone if they're in the path of the scattered model. Second, no damage is done to the target (or anyone else the model would pass through - even when channelled). While not a damage spell, it certainly changes the way an enemy model can behave for the round (and usually the next round as well).

Mastering Magic: Debuff Spells

Good morning gamers,

Today we're covering four spells that will knock down your opponent's stats or heroic resources. Like our post on Restoration spells, the value of these spells is based on denying your opponent the ability to use heroic resources effectively (or reduce important stats - like Strength or Courage). Most of the characters we'll be viewing today are spooky and wraith-like, but you get some weird other characters showing up too. Today's post features such nasty spells as Curse (blows away Fate), Sap Will (blows away Will), Wither (reduces Strength), and one of my favorite spells in the game (and an often underrated spell), Drain Courage (reduces Courage).

What Do These Spells Do?

Two of the spells we're covering today (Sap Will and Drain Courage) are present on every single Ringwraith, as well as Sauron, the Necromancer of Dol Guldur and (for Drain Courage, at least) the Mouth of Sauron. Since these are spell-casters available to most of the armies of evil, chances are you'll have one of these spells available to you (if not both).

Drain Courage is a straight-forward spell: if not resisted, the target's Courage value is reduced by 1 (to a minimum of 0). Since most of the models with this spell also have Harbinger of Evil/Ancient Evil, you probably don't need to ACTUALLY reduce your target's Courage to 0, but still. . . . When channelled, this reduction is changed to D3 Courage (which, as I've said in a previous post on magic, means you're not guaranteed to actually get anything from the channel).

Sap Will is similar, but targets your opponent's Will store. When cast normally, the target's Will is reduced by D3 and when channelled, the target's Will is reduced by D6. While this sounds great, most models in the game (unless they're spell-casters or a select few other models) have 1-3 Will points and they'll probably use at least 1 Will point to resist this spell. This means this spell is likely to be cast against models with lots of Will only (which will make you have to decide whether channelling is worth it against your target).

The other two spells are MUCH more niche, belonging to only one model in the range each. Curse is a nasty piece of work, removing 1 Fate when cast normally or ALL Fate when channelled. Most heroes have 1-2 Fate points, so channelling this spell is really only necessary against the select few models that have 3 Fate (especially if they're rerollable). Since this spell is only found on the Necromancer of Dol Guldur (who has Drain Soul to insta-kill any model that is out of Fate AND who can be accompanied by Mirkwood Spiders who can Paralyze people if they don't spend a Fate point to protect themselves), it's quite likely that this spell will prompt a resistance attempt from your opponent.

Wither is only available to the Angmar Orc Shaman and reduces the target's Strength by 1 if cast normally (and reduces the target's Strength by D3 if channelled). A Strength penalty of 1 doesn't seem like much, but when cast against a S4 hero, suddenly D6 troops are MUCH harder for the hero to crack through. In an Angmar list where most of your units are D5, that may not seem like much - but your Cave Trolls, Ringwraiths, and Gulavhar suddenly become much harder to deal with, since your opponent can't rely on a big hero to take them out. When channelled, this could do nothing extra than a normal cast, but it will (again) probably prompt a resist roll (because you do NOT want to lose 2-3 pips of Strength).

Armies of Middle-Earth SBG: Angmar in the Middle-Earth Strategy Battle Game

Photo Credit: Game Art on Pinterest

Yes, we're back from hibernation with another Armies of Middle-Earth write-up! The Fall semester is usually pretty full for me (because life), so I wouldn't get your hopes up for more of these in the near-future. But I thought I'd make an exception for everyone's favorite faction to play against (just kidding): Angmar.

Those of you who have been following this series probably noticed that we skipped over Angmar when we did our cadre of evil army reviews last year. That was intentional, because my own experience in Angmar was... basically non-existent. And while there's a lot of stuff in Angmar that looks good on-paper, I had a suspicion that to truly appreciate what it can do, you had to experience it. So that's what I did, over the course of this summer, as I got ready for TMAT's THRO tournament (where I took an Angmar army). Now that the tourney is over--and armed with all the things I learned--I finally feel like I can do Angmar justice.

Spoiler alert: this army is crazy good, and I'm hardly the first person to say that. You'll find our standard list of recommended resources in the back, but I'll flag a few that I particularly liked--and used a lot when preparing my own Angmar force for THRO--here at the outset. Taylor over at The Nazgul Times has a great break-down of all the profile choices in the army. My take is slightly different than his on some things (mostly the Dwimmerlaik and Warg Riders), but his insights are fantastic. For a panoply of list-building ideas, check out Mik's Fog of War post on Angmar with Dave Nolan (Dave's instincts are more in-line with mine--WK and barrow-wight spam--while Mik loves the trolls, wargs, and especially Gulavhar that can make Angmar particularly scary). Tiberius posted his own thoughts on balanced Angmar lists last Spring in his Bare Necessities Series. Lastly, if you have painting projects and are looking for something to play in the background, I would highly recommend the Green Dragon Podcast's recap of Ardacon 2019's Masters Tournament (featuring Kylie's Angmar army), supplemented if you like by video coverage of three of her rounds courtesy of STF Wargaming Studio (though I don't know that you'll get much painting done if you have that on in the background). Tiberius, Centaur, and I also talked about Angmar quite a bit in our lengthy recap of the THRO tournament (complete with some battle reports), in the highly unlikely event you want to hear anything more from me. Edit: And, as a special treat, you can now listen to the Green Dragon's full faction break-down of Angmar. Plus a whole bunch of other links to other community resources at the end!

Alright, here we go... 

(although for full thematic effect, you'll have to run this music track in the background)

TMAT Talks: Episode 7 - The Hunters Red October (THRO) 2020

It'd been a while since TMAT's last tournament, so Red Jacket was like, "gotta shake off some cobweb legs, dudes." *

If your tournament scene is quiet (or you're looking for batreps involving Barad-Dur, Hunter Orcs, Angmar, all-mounted Rohan, or Easterlings (with Shagrat)), Tiberius, Centaur, and Rythbryt are back to give you some before-action predictions and post-action breakdowns from our recent 700 point tournament. It's a time-travel miracle! **

Now available wherever you find your podcasts (mostly):

• Apple Podcasts
• Breaker
• Google Podcasts
• Overcast
• Pocket Casts
• Radio Public
• Spotify
• Anchor

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* Okay, fine... generously, that's a very rough paraphrase.

** Patent pending.

Mastering Magic: Shatter and Your Staff is Broken

Good morning gamers,

So we come to it at last - the last post that will involved Gandalf the White (eight posts required to cover all his spells - clearly, he is a beast)! Gandalf does a lot - he can cast Sorcerous Blast if he wants to do damage to one or more models, he can cast Immobilize/Command if he needs to neutralize one particular model, he can cast Terrifying Aura and Blinding Light as augments to himself and those nearby him, he can give Will points to friendly models (including himself) with Strengthen Will, he can protect models with Fortify Spirit, and he can do precision damage against Spirit models with Banishment.

So today, we cover the most niche thing he (and others) can do in MESBG: break a weapon that is wielded by an enemy wizard (which, if paired with Fortify Spirit, gives him a distinct advantage over enemy wizards). The other characters besides Gandalf who have item-breaking power (Moria Blackshield Shamans, the Witch-King of Angmar, and the Necromancer of Dol Guldur) are also very good at fighting wizards or combat heroes (in the case of the Shaman). Let's take a look at these game-altering, hero-negating, niche-ability casters!

For the third week in a row, no pictures - just got back from vacation, don't own all the models, you've seen plenty from Gandalf, yada-yada . . .

No fair - I was totally going to ruin your day with that!

What Do These Spells Do?

These spells are, as has already been mentioned, incredibly niche. Your Staff is Broken is only possessed by three models in the range and at first glance the spell can only be used against three models in the range (five profiles): Gandalf the Grey/White, Radagast the Brown, and Saruman (or Saruman the White). While these five profiles might not seem like much, they show up in nine different army lists (eight Forces of Good, one Forces of Evil) and these casters can be VERY dominant on the table.

All three of these wizards are expensive (Radagast is the cheapest when run without extra gear at 150 points, though he can be up to 200 points with the Sleigh and Sebastian) and their free Will point each turn from their Staffs of Power is very much why they are "good" to include in any army (I've talked about Gandalf the Grey, Gandalf the White, and Saruman at length in a previous series on magic, showing how they provide good benefits to their team that simply cannot be provided by other unit choices). Taking away this free Will point not only limits the wizard's casting potential (as they move from an Unlimited Spellcasters to an Auxiliary Spellcaster), but also makes them far less cost-effective than other unit options (Gandalf the White without his Staff of Power is a vastly inferior choice compared to Boromir or Aragorn).

When channeled, this spell also does a S7 hit to the caster, which is a cheap shot to be sure (wounds most of these profiles on 3s - Gandalf the White would be wounded on 4s). 

It's important to note before we move on to Shatter that Radagast can choose to NOT take his Staff of Power by taking a Great Eagle mount. I don't generally think this is a good idea - while he becomes a great combat mage while mounted, you might want to support your Eagles with the ability to heal wounds (with Renew), Immobilize enemy heroes who want to Strike against your Great Eagle warriors, and knock models down that are trying to swarm your troops (Nature's Wrath) - and with only 6 Will points, you're just not going to get enough out of him to make him worth it, I think. Still, 6 Will can do some of this work and you're getting a Great Eagle for 50 points, so . . .

As I alluded to above, there are sneaky targets you can hit with Your Staff is Broken besides the wizards listed above, since the spell can break a "staff," which means it can disarm models like the Undying or Sharkey as well. The benefits of this will be a lot less dramatic, but will still be present.

Our other spell we're covering today is Shatter, which can destroy any item that is NOT a Staff of Power, the One Ring, or a piece of organic gear (like mounts, creatures, claws, teeth, wings, or tails). Similar to Your Staff is Broken, when channelled, this spell does a S6 hit - not as strong as Your Staff is Broken, but still quite strong.

Mastering Magic: Precision Damage

Good morning gamers,

Today is our seventh post in our series on magic and we turn our attention to spells that do precision damage (that is, damage to a single target). While we've already covered Sorcerous Blast and area-of-effect spells, these spells require a lot of thought to use well - just plucking off a Wound here and there or sniping a random warrior could leave you drained by the end of the game without doing enough for the cost you pay. The spells we'll be covering today are the feared Chill Soul, the deceptively alluring Black Dart, the cool (mostly for Kardush) Flameburst, the very-much-hated Paralyze, and . . .

BANISHMENT!!!! Credit: Quora.com

As I was preparing this post, I didn't see a lot of places that needed pictures, so I've passed on them again. Call me lazy, I guess.

What Do These Spells Do?

Two of these spells do Wounds: Chill Soul does 1 Wound against whoever the target is (need to specify if the mount or rider is the target if the model is a cavalry model), while Banishment does 1 Wound against a target Spirit model. If Chill Soul is channelled, you add 6" of range to the spell, which means you'd only want to do this if you need that range (more on this later). Banishment moves from doing 1 Wound to doing D3 Wounds against your target. This could mean one-turn-killing many Spirit models in the game (even if they pass all their Fate). As has been discussed in previous posts, sometimes that D3 roll will still result in a single Wound - whatever.

Two of these spells do Strength-something hits: Flameburst does a Strength 6 hit (which is a pretty decent hit - any model in the game will be wounded on a single die, most warriors will be wounded on a 3+ or a 4+, heavily-armored troops and most combat-oriented heroes will be wounded on a 5+), while Black Dart deals a Strength 9 hit (which will wound most things on a 3+, really tough things on a 4+, and Sauron on a 5+). While you have to specify the mount or rider for Black Dart, Flameburst damages both mount and rider.

When channelled, the Black Dart deals D3 hits instead of one hit, which (again) means that sometimes your channel will do absolutely nothing because you will roll a 1 or 2 and end up doing 1 S9 hit. Flameburst, when channelled, adds Set Ablaze to the target (mount and rider), which deals an extra S9 hit and a S5 hit at the end of each turn until the model a) lies down and crawls (aka, chooses to be prone for a turn), b) walks through water (aka, risks drowning or is entering difficult terrain), or c) dies. This can be REALLY useful at forcing an enemy hero to step away from the fighting for a turn or two, but more importantly, this will make whoever you're facing think twice about whether their hero can just press through and kill stuff. 

Finally, Paralyze on its own doesn't do any damage, but functionally, models that are Paralyzed will take damage from whoever charges them. As we discussed in our podcast on evil spell-casters, when you choose to cast Paralyze, you need to make it count - charge that model with strong stuff, beat the model into a bloody pulp, and move on. Paralyze, at the moment, cannot be channeled - it's channelled version is cool, but not game-altering (each turn the model is Paralyzed, they take a S5 hit - this would be really good in some cases, but since most of the targets for Paralyze tend to be big models that you don't want to deal with, you probably aren't wounding on better than a 5+ each time).

Mastering Magic: Magical Protection

Good morning gamers,

Today we start our sixth post in our "masterclass" series on Magic in MESBG. We've looked at Sorcerous Blast, Immobilize (et al), auric spells, restoration spells, and area-of-effect spells. Today we turn our attention to some of the most useful spells a caster can have when facing an army with a spell-caster of its own (or multiple spell-casters - THE HORROR): Fortify Spirit, Protection of the Valar, and Shroud of Shadows. While we'll only be looking at five models today (three Forces of Good, two Forces of Evil), several of these heroes (Galadriel, Lady of Light from the White Council, Gandalf the Grey from several lists including the White Council, and Ashrak from Moria) can ally with all but four factions in the game either Conveniently or Historically (woe to Arnor, Numenor, Barad-Dur, and Sharkey's Rogues). This means that understanding what these heroes do - and why they might be slapped into a list - is good for any player to know.

Pre-warning: no pictures in this post, mostly because I only own the two Gandalf models and have photographed them a lot already in this series. Call me lazy.

What Do These Spells Do?

Two of these spells are quite straight-forward: Fortify Spirit gives a friendly model (which could be the caster himself) not one but TWO free dice when you make a Resist test against a magical power - and yes, this stacks with other free dice that might come from Heroic Resolve, Resistant to Magic, or a Staff of Power, and they don't require you to spend a Will point of your own to use them. They're just free. When channelled, the highest Resist die also gets +1 to its result (meaning you can automatically resist any spell that is cast against you on the roll of a 5 or 6 - wow-zahs). This spell is an Exhaustion spell, so once cast, you want to make sure the caster (not the person who is the target of the spell) retains 1 Will in their Will store to keep it up.

Protection of the Valar is also straight-forward in that the friendly model that is targeted by the spell is immune to both magical powers and weird special rules for the round (I'm looking at you Golden King of Abrakhan and Dead Marsh Spectres!). When channelled, this spell affects the target and all friendly models within 3" of the target, which can make A GROUP of heroes immune to any magical barrage. Unlike Fortify Spirit, however, this spell isn't an Exhaustion spell, so you need to cast it every round in order to make it work (the opportunity cost is certainly higher, but not being affected by magic for the round is guaranteed).

Shroud of Shadows is the most nuanced of the spells and also the most powerful. Based on the most recent Designer Commentaries, the friendly model that is targeted by the spell is not only immune to magical powers (except from Ringwraiths, maybe Sauron), but is also invisible (granting all kinds of movement benefits) and is immune to shooting attacks and requires a Courage test to charge the model with a reduction of Courage based on the distance the model is from the target. As clarified in the most recent FAQ, models that fail this Courage test get to move normally and aren't rooted in place. When channelled, any enemy models in base contact with the target halve their Fight Value (rounding up). While definitely useful at keeping models from being targeted by spells, this spell ALSO makes it hard to shoot or charge them - perfect for keeping a very important model safe.

Mastering Magic: Area of Effect Spells

Good morning gamers,

Today we start our fifth post in our "masterclass" series on Magic in MESBG. We've looked at Sorcerous Blast, Immobilize (et al), auric spells, and restoration spells. Today we look at some of the most fun spells in the game: area-of-effect offensive spells! As fun as rooting a model in place can be, as great as regaining heroic resources is, and as awesome as augmenting models around you is, we REALLY want to do massive damage. While you can do that with Sorcerous Blast under certain conditions, it's easier with some other spells - or is it? The spells we'll be covering today are: Collapse Rocks, Wrath of Bruinen, Nature's Wrath, Panic Steed, and Tremor.

What Do These Spells Do?

These spells can be grouped together in different ways, but here's the basics of each spell:

• Panic Steed removes the mount of the target (becomes an area-of-effect when channelled);
• Nature's Wrath knocks enemy models Prone near the caster (and deals S2 hits when channelled);
• Wrath of Bruinen also knocks enemy models Prone near the caster, but also inflicts a S2 hit (channel for higher Strength on the hits);
• Collapse Rocks deals a S5 hit to a target model that is near a rocky piece of terrain (becomes an area-of-effect when channelled); and
• Tremor deals a S6 hit and knocks models Prone who are on a D6" line away from the target model.

All of these spells have the ability to affect an area of the board - but some require you to channel them in order to get the area of effect to occur. Wrath of Bruinen, Nature's Wrath, and Tremor all affect a given area of the board (3" around the caster for Wrath of Bruinen and Nature's Wrath, D6" line away from the target for Tremor). Collapse Rocks and Panic Steed become area of effect spells when channelled (2" around the target for Collapse Rocks, 3" around the target for Panic Steed).

Most of these spells also knock their targets Prone: any hostile figure within the affected area of Wrath of Bruinen, Nature's Wrath, or Tremor are Knocked Prone (with cavalry suffering from Knocked Flying instead of rolling on the Thrown Rider chart). Collapse Rocks and Panic Steed don't innately Knock Prone, but Panic Steed does require a roll on the Thrown Rider chart.

Most of these spells do damage: Wrath of Bruinen does Strength 2 hits (Strength 3 if channelled, Strength 8/9 if the target is in a water feature) to all affected models, Collapse Rocks does a Strength 5 hit to all affected models (so long as the targets are near a rocky piece of terrain), and Tremor does a Strength 6 hit to all affected models. Panic Steed removes the mounts of the affected models, but otherwise doesn't do any damage. Nature's Wrath does no damage innately, but does a Strength 2 hit to all affected models if channelled (basically becomes Wrath of Bruinen without the water feature rule).

Finally, most of these spells affect only enemy models. Wrath of Bruinen, Nature's Wrath, and Panic Steed only harm enemy models (which makes them great spells to cast when your opponent charges one of your battle lines). Collapse Rocks and Tremor have to be used more carefully, since their damage (Strength 5 and Strength 6 hits!) are suffered by both friendly and enemy models.

For those of you who like charts, here's the visual summary of what is described above:

	Collapse Rocks	Nature's Wrath	Panic Steed	Tremor	Wrath of Bruinen
Area of Effect?	*	X	*	X	X
Knock Targets Prone?		X	**	X	X
Damage Spell?	X	*	**	X	X
Affect Only Enemy Models?		X	X		X

* Channelled version meets the requirement

** Models that get a 1 on the Thrown Rider chart will be Prone and take a S3 hit