Good morning gamers,
This series was intended to focus on models that are really good that most players seem to not like (be it opinions stated on Facebook, in podcasts, or in printed materials). Our goal with this series was to challenge assumptions - looking for new ways to approach models that get dismissed out of hand and find ways to make them work. Some of the models we covered are tournament staples that get critiqued commonly (like Galadriel or Azog), while others are obscure and almost never see the light (like Osgiliath Veterans and Harry Goatleaf).
Well today, we're shaking things up and we're NOT looking at a model - we're looking at a weapon class and something that almost every competitive player will tell you not to do: fight two-handed when you don't have a rule that removes your dueling penalty.
In MESBG, one of the best bonuses you can get is a +1 To Wound. Sometimes, models will get this because of a special rule (such as Hatred or Backstabbers) or from a piece of war gear (such as a lance). Models that have these bonuses (and actually trigger them) are commonly viewed to be really, really good - especially if they have rules like this that can stack (like Moria Goblin Prowlers in the Assault on Lothlorien Legendary Legion, who can pair Backstabbers with a Legion special rule that gives them +1 To Wound if there is at least one other friendly model engaged in the same fight - more on these guys later).
The most common way to get +1 To Wound, however, isn't with a special rule: it's with a two-handed weapon. As a brief review, there are three types of melee weapons in the game: one-handed weapons (or "hand weapons"), two-handed weapons, and hand-and-a-half weapons (which can be wielded either as hand weapons or two-handed weapons). Weapons that are wielded with one-hand "fight normally," while two-handed weapons apply a -1 penalty to the dueling roll of the model (all dice are affected) but apply a +1 bonus to the To Wound roll of the model (again, all dice are affected - and this bonus is applied to both die rolls if multiple rolls are required to wound).
Occasionally, a piece of war gear will have the "master-forged" keyword (like Narsil or Durin's Axe) that removes the -1 penalty from the dueling roll when using the weapon two-handed. A select number of profiles might have the Weapon Master or Burly special rule that ignores these penalties as well (each provides another niche benefit too, but the main event of these rules is the removal of the dueling penalty). Finally, there are some models that have situational ways of removing the dueling penalty if they get a natural 6 on their dueling roll (most notably Angbor the Fearless, Clansmen of Lamedon, and Hurin Knights of the White Tower). Yes, getting +1 To Wound when you have absolutely no downside is really good - especially if you can reliably Feint as well so you get +1 To Wound and you reroll 1s.
However, there are a TON of models that can elect to two-hand without avoiding the penalty and a select few models who HAVE to two-hand with the penalty in place. It's these models that we're going to focus on today - and we'll be looking at both sets today with the aim of examining why two-handing is valuable (and how to tailor your lists to reduce the risks of two-handing).
