The Stuff of Legends: The Black Gate Opens

Good morning gamers,

We're returning today to the Gondor at War supplement and covering (what I believe is) the most popular evil Legion from that book: the Black Gate Opens. Chances are that if you own the Battle for Pelennor Fields box set, you can all-but-run this Legion. All you need to get started is a Mordor Troll Chieftain, the Mouth of Sauron (highly recommend), and probably a Morannon Orc/Mordor Orc command blister - boom, you're done (roughly $250 for the core set and all this).

But how do you make this Legion work without the usual named heroes that a Mordor army has access to? And can you function without Fury? Taking us through this Legion is Rythbyrt - take it away man!

Legion Tax: 140pts

Rythbryt: As I may have told you elsewhere (and perhaps a few times already), my first tournament experience featured a Troll Chieftain, Kardush, Gorbag, and a bunch of Morannons and Mordor Orcs (roughly 25 models at 450, which isn't bad all things considered). If you're just starting out (like I was), the Troll Chieftain is a great hero to start with: he's tough as nails, quite scary, very forgiving, and a joy to play. Highly, highly recommended.

As it turns out, the bulk of my list was also (unwittingly) a fore-runner of The Black Gate Opens legendary legion, which consists (primarily) of a Troll Chieftain, supported by Mordor and Morannon Orcs. There are some important differences (no Kardush / Fury for one, and no 3 Might orc heroes for another), but if you love the Troll Chieftain as I do, he really comes into his own in this list. And while the unit choices look limited to start with, underestimate this list at your peril: it may not be broad enough to be "competitive," but properly built and run, it will hit almost everything like a truck.

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)

Why the Two-Hander Rules Should Change

Hey Reader!

So, to start off, I want to reaffirm that I love the ruleset for the Middle Earth Strategy Battle Game. I think on the whole this game is both easy to understand while also giving a lot of options and depth for list building (albeit to greater degrees with some factions over others) so that strategy/math-minded people have a lot to keep them engaged in the game. The hobby aspect of the game is also excellent, with a vibrant and positive community that supports the game and make works of art.

But every now and then you come across some rules and profiles where you think to yourself, "...are we sure that this is the best way to do this," and today's post is one of those questions. The aim here is to make the game better, and I hope that the love and passion for the game is what comes through in this post. I've been playing this game for over ten years, have loved this game even during the "dark times" when we were getting hardly anything new, and I've only grown in my love and appreciation for the game as the years pass.

But two-handed weapons get a bad rap in this game, and that shouldn't be the case. We will start off with a "high concept" look at two-handed weapons across history, and then look at a small change that could be made to the game to fix these issues without "breaking the game" in favor of two-handed weapons.

The Stuff of Legends: The Army of Dunland

Good morning gamers,

PSYCHE - I know last time I said we'd be covering the Black Gate Opens, but Rythbyrt needed some extra time to write his thoughts down, so today we are jumping ahead to the Army of Dunland.

We've covered a lot of ground in this series and today, we wrap up the last of the Legions from War in Rohan by examining the vicious and furious warriors of Dunland. Finally receiving love from the GW team is a subset of Isengard that has a cult following almost as large as the Easterlings of Rhun. Dunland has exactly one hero from the movies and three named heroes that were machinations of GW - and with a healthy list of warrior profiles and access to pretty much every piece of ordinary gear, Dunland is a powerful army that can be run as a horde or as an elite army. Let's delve in and see what we can build!

Part 1: What Do You Need?

Legion Tax: 85-95pts
Also, Dunland needs better GIFs...

In this list, you NEED to take Thrydan Wolfsbane - and because he's your only mounted hero (and his Mighty Blow rule gets better when he's mounted), you might as well give him the horse. With his horse, he's a pretty affordable 95 points, which makes him an easy inclusion in any army - be it this Legion or an Isengard army.

On his own, however, Thrydan doesn't help his team get better (and he's going to need help dealing with the biggest and baddest models your opponent has in his force). One way you can help him is by taking Gorulf Ironskin, who can either be a 3A model with F5-and-Strike OR a 3A model with a free Heroic Defense and 2 Wounds/1 Fate, so long as you're fighting against an enemy hero. He can also spend his 3 Might to call Heroic Defense against warriors, but usually you want this guy either chomping through grunts OR stalling enemy heroes. Gorulf is good, but honestly for me, he's the fourth hero choice, because there are two other heroes you want to buy first.

TMAT Talks: Episode 12 - List Reviews!

 

Centaur, Tiberius, and Rythbryt take a break from rankings to discuss some lists from TMAT follower Daniel! If you've been kicking around 700 point list ideas for Minas Tirith, Mordor, or the Grand Army of the South, perhaps this is the podcast for you?

If not, there's an extended discussion of which wraiths to mount on fell-beast, Citadel Guard vs. Rangers, and the best wing-men/trolls for your Mumak. Plus, Tiberius surprises with a bonus-list of his own!

Now available on Anchor, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Play, and most devices near you!

Music: Happy Haunts by Aaron Kenny

____________________________________________

SHOW NOTES:

Minas Tirith - 700 (1:45)

Mordor - 700 (23:08)

The Grand Army of the South - 700 (1:01:12)

The Black Gate Opens - 550 (1:34:30)