Back to Basics, Revisited: Monsters in MESBG

Good morning gamers,

Last time, we talked about how cavalry work in MESBG and today, we're turning to an element of MESBG that can absolutely alter the way a game can go: how monsters work. When I first got started in the game, things like "Brutal Power Attacks" weren't a thing - and neither was Heroic Strike (every hero had Move, Shoot, and Combat - and that was it). This meant two things with regard to monsters: first, a Monster was quite likely to have a higher Fight Value than anything he was fighting (or at least a tied Fight Value). Second, the go-to tactic for dealing with them was hoping one poor, unfortunate soul would be brave enough to tie them down for a turn - and if the dice were kind, he'd get a 6 while the monster wouldn't and he'd live to do it all over again on another turn. Or . . . you'd just shoot the guy/tie him down with an Immobilize to make him F1 with 1 Attack. My, those were odd times . . .

While the Hobbit rulebook modified this strategy some (early versions of Brutal Power Attacks were a thing), monsters - especially Warrior monsters - were in a bit of a spot because EVERY hero could call Heroic Strike and win the Fight Value mini-game. When the MESGB rules revamp arrived in late 2017, we got a rebalanced set of Brutal Power Attacks and Heroic Strike was constrained to certain heroes. Heroic Defense was added to others in that edition, which allowed for more diverse options for dealing with monsters.

In the current edition, Heroic Strike got toned down, Brutal Power Attacks changed slightly, and Dominant X was added to monsters. With no less than FOUR things you can do when you win a fight (and for some Hero monsters you can pick from a few more options), a lot of new players (to say nothing of us old vets who have various versions of the old rules sets in our heads) might forget some of the nuances of how these rules work. So what we're going to walk through today is not only how monsters work in MESBG, but how to use them well and how to fight against them if you see them across the table.

The Meta is Dead, Long Live the Meta

So next week, Tiberius will have a much more thorough, well-reasoned, dispassionate summary of the latest FAQs and Erratas that dropped on Thursday. 

But while you're waiting, allow me to be dis-dispassionate and express what we're all feeling:

Photo Credit: tenor.com (and The Wizard of Oz, of course)

So I have slightly mixed feelings about some of the changes that were made to a few popular lists (well, okay... one very popular ally choice). But overall, I'm like the rest of you: all my very thematic list ideas are overjoyed tonight that another round of power-creep fad lists have been restored to their proper place: history (or at least the niche pile).

In no-particular-order-of-overjoyness:

No more Lake-Town Spam (well, allied at least)

Like most of you, when I first read The Armies of the Hobbit, I took a look at the Army of Lake-Town, thought "man, that's boring," and kept right on reading. Then, like you, one day I was looking around for something cheap and decent to ally into something very large and cool and expensive (it's usually some sort of list with Gwaihir, isn't it?), and thought "hey, this is a VERY cheap way to get 50+ dudes who aren't complete duds in combat." And then I (like you, maybe) took them to a tournament, felt kind of guilty about it, and then forgot the guilt after kicking other people's butts with them.

Well, no more. At least mostly.

TMAT Talks: Episode 19 - The Ultimate Uber-Slayer Podcast (Part 5)

One year from when they first began this gargantuan project, Tiberius, Centaur, and Rythbryt are back, attempting to do the impossible: rank the top-50 slayer profiles for the forces of evil.

(No, really... it's very hard!)

In part 5 of their uber-slayer podcast, the TMAT crew discusses their top-picks in three underrated categories (all of which purposefully exclude the likes of the Witch-King, Azog, and Smaug): best budget slayers (under 101 points), best unmounted (man-sized) slayers, and the best generic (spammable) slayers that evil can field. There are some surprises and surprising omissions (not all of which were intentional). 

Did your favorite slayers make the cut? And what does this tell us about how the final list will shake out?

Now available on Anchor, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, and wherever you listen to podcasts!

Music: Happy Haunts by Aaron Kenny
____________________________________________

Show Notes:

Intro (0:00)

Good: Top-10 Slayers for under 101 points (3:20)

Good: Top-10 Slayers who can't take mounts (50:45)

Good: Top-10 Generic Slayers (1:38:20)

TMAT Talks, Episode 13: The Grand Tournament 2021 (Part 2)

A global pandemic may have claimed TMAT's 2020 Grand Tournament, but those dark days are finally past, and a red sun is rising once more. The 2021 Grand Tournament is upon us--so of course, TMAT's resident armchair quarterbacks had to break it down!

In Part II, Tiberius, Centaur, and Rythbryt recap their escalation rounds (which featured a lot of elves, Rohirrim, and monsters). If you need a refresher on the lists, you can find them here: 

https://tellmeatalegreatorsmall.blogspot.com/2021/04/tmat-talks-episode-10-grand-tournament.html

Now available on Spotify, Google Play, Apple Podcasts, and most places you get your podcasts!

Music: Happy Haunts by Aaron Kenny

____________________________________________

Show Notes:

Intro (0:00)

Round 1: Uruks v. Monster Mash, Lothlorien v. Rohan, Mountain Rohan v. Gwaihir & Galad (2:20)

Round 2: Monster Mash v. Mounted Rohan, Uruks v. Rohan, Lothlorien v. Gwaihir & Galad (39:06)

Round 3: Rohan v. Mounted Rohan, Monster Mash v. Gwaihir & Galad, Lothlorien v. Uruks (1:36:07)

Final Placements and Parting Thoughts (2:51:44)

TMAT Talks, Episode 10: The Grand Tournament 2021 (Part I)

A global pandemic may have claimed TMAT's 2020 Grand Tournament, but those dark days are finally past, and a red sun is rising once more. The 2021 Grand Tournament is upon us--so of course, TMAT's resident armchair quarterbacks had to break it down!

In Part I, Tiberius, Centaur, and Rythbryt give an overview of the tournament's escalation rules, muse on the three scenarios, and discuss the six armies that will take the field before making some (very reluctant) predictions about the impending weekend.

Now available most places you listen to podcasts (including Spotify and Apple Podcasts)!

You can find the show notes and army lists after the jump!

Music: Happy Haunts by Aaron Kenny

Workbench Update: Building the Watcher in the Water

Good morning gamers,

So Christmas was wonderful - got some Galadhrim Warriors from Centaur to paint up, started painting some new Hobbits for the Quest of the Ringbearer missions, and got some flocking and flowers from my kids. Life is great.

One other addition I got was the Watcher in the Water (got a discount from Rythbryt) - and so during naptimes during the past few weeks, I've been slowly putting this guy together. Today I figured I'd show you how it's been coming along!

TMAT Challenge - Episode 5: Bandobras "Bullroarer" Took

 

Not every warrior of Middle-Earth is chiseled from stone or as tall as a mountain. Sometimes it is the smallest folk that strike the truest blows for freedom!

Centaur brings the legendary Bandobras "Bullroarer" Took to the monster arena, where Chuckles lies in wait. Can the inventor of golf etch yet another achievement in the annals of history?

It's halfling versus monster in the ultimate test of survival! Join Tiberius, Centaur, and Rythbryt as they pit some of Tolkien's most iconic heroes against the deadliest creatures that Middle-Earth has to offer in an escalating test of heroic mettle.

Now available on YouTube

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)

Guest Post: How I Learnt to Stop Worrying and Love the Tentacle (A Tactica on the Watcher in the Water with Sharpie)

Good morning gamers,

So today we have a guest post that was sent to us on Facebook by one of our readers. Today's tactics discussion centers around using a model I find intriguing (but haven't scrounged up the money to purchase yet): the Watcher in the Water. As an avid Moria player who loves throwing weapons, this model has long been on my list of models to try out (though with me always running the Balrog, I'm not sure I can squeeze this guy into enough games, if I'm honest).

Our guest author, Sharbie, has some interesting thoughts on using one of the most underused monsters in the game - take it away Sharbie!

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

Introducing... TMAT Talks, Episode 1: Top-10 Monsters

Photo Credit: Charliebitsme

Ever wondered how a TMAT write-up would sound if read in the author's own voice? No? Well great news--you get to find out anyway!

In true Benjamin-Button fashion, we wrote before we learned to talk, but now we're talking and we're very excited about it. It's TMAT Talks: all TMAT, all the time (as long as you're playing it).

In our inaugural episode, Centaur, Tiberius, and Rythbryt take a look at the top-10(ish) Monster models for good and evil, breaking down what makes some of them great, why others suck, and where they rank against each other, filled with plenty of our own user-biases along the way. Are eagles better than ents? Is Shelob even viable? And who ya got: Beorn or Gwaihir? Sauron or Smaug? (Spoiler Alert: One of us would take neither... twice...)

So grab some paint brushes, dust off that monstrous mumak model that's been sitting in your to-do pile for years, and join us for TMAT Talks.

Now available on Soundcloud!

And also available on YouTube!

Magic: Top Five Anti-Casters

Good morning gamers,

In our series on heroes, we’ve looked at Uruk-Hai heroes from Isengard, Dwarf (and wizard and Hobbit) heroes from Thorin’s Company, and the top five ways to waste Might points in the game. Today, we look at the top five heroes that you can employ to resist enemy magic casters (and in preparing for this post, I was rather proud to know that I own most of them - good thing, since almost all of my armies run magic, huh?). :)

How to stop magic?

As I discussed in a previous post on Magic in MESBG, there are four ways to block magic:

• Spend Will (one die for each point of Will you spend – any that get a “natural 6” are returned to your Will store);
• Resistant to Magic (free die anytime you’re targeted by a spell – available whether you spend Will or not);
• Heroic Resolve (free die anytime you’re targeted by a spell, but requires the hero who calls it to stay stationary); and
• Fortify Spirit/Protection of the Valar (two free dice anytime you’re targeted by a spell OR immunity from hostile spells, but requires the hero who casts the magical powers to retain Will OR cast the magical power that turn).

No model has access to all of these innately and most heroes only have access to one or two. Since magic is out of favor for many players these days, you might not get much practice fighting against magic (which can be a nasty surprise). As such, let’s look at some of the qualities that makes a hero a good anti-caster option (in the odd event you run into a double-Ringwraith army).

Using/Fighting Spellcasters: Unlimited Casters, Revisited

Good morning gamers,

We come to the last post in this series – we’ve revisited a four-part discussion we did years ago on Combat Mages, Auxiliary Mages, Multi-Purpose Will Mages, and now we finally address Unlimited Mages. The original post is here. Of all the mages in the game, these types of casters have the potential for the most Will in the game (in aggregate) and are virtually the only casters who can be active at casting magic each turn for the entirety of the game. For our purposes, we’re following this taxonomy for casters:

• Multi-Purpose Will Mages: Anyone with the Will of Evil rule (or a similar rule) and has spells (who uses Will to cast magic AND stay alive…and possibly other things);
• Unlimited Mages: Anyone who gets “free Will,” has spells that can be cast, and does not fall in the previous category;
• Combat Mages: Anyone with 2+ Attacks, has spells that can be cast, and does not fall in either of the previous two categories;
• Auxiliary Mages: Catch-all for everyone else, usually limited casting with some kind of immediate/lasting benefit to the army.

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

Someone has to wear the black hat. In the Middle Earth Strategy Battle Game, the blackest of hats (or helms) is worn by Sauron and his fell forces. If you like Sauron's baddies, you have two options. Mordor recreates Sauron's forces during the War of the Ring, but doesn't feature the big bad himself. If you prefer Sauron in bodily form, you're looking at Barad-Dur, which features Sauron and his hordes at the time of the Last Alliance. If you love slaughter and fire, detest all things green and beautiful (at least some of the time), and want Evil to have a face, you’ve come to the right place.