Quest of the Ringbearer: Model Collection Update, Part V

Good morning gamers,

Well, I don't have the 12 Warg Riders that I need to finish Part II or any new Mumaks, Fell Beasts, Spectres, or Rangers to finish up what I need from Part IV, but we're covering the last piece of the Quest of the Ringbearer main scenarios today (Fantasy Fellowship require a slightly different collection), going from Cirith Ungol to Mount Doom. If you have the Battle for Pelennor Fields box set already, you've got a good start on these models. The other models you need are generally quite useful to have anyway - let's get into it!

Part V: Cirith Ungol to Mount Doom

In this section, you're going to see a mix of the actual models and some conversion work (mostly because I either didn't like the model or I didn't think they were worth the $$$ to have the actual one). Many of the models I do have from this set you've already seen on the blog if you've been following the Formations series (it's every first Thursday of the month if you aren't!).

Purchase #33: Shagrat and Gorbag

I love these guys - both in Mordor generally and in the Cirith Ungol Legendary Legion. Gorbag is a very cheap 3 Might hero who can be F5/3A if he's charging 2 warriors each turn. Shagrat provides the hero-thumping power, though he's at his best when he's got a spearman at his back and preferably a friend in the fight (ideally with a spearman at his back too - and maybe a banner nearby). You need these guys for exactly one scenario in the book, but you will probably use at least one of them in any Mordor list you build.

In Defense Of: Orophin

Good morning gamers,

With a new sourcebook in hand, we delve into a profile that generated a lot of excitement when his model was first seen in the Defence of the North supplement . . . and by almost all reviewers (Sharbie excluded), we see heavy critique for the ONLY Lorien model released in Defense of the North: Orophin. The long-lost brother of Haldir and Rumil (both of whom have been in the range for ages), Orophin was a welcome inclusion in a book that features Lothlorien as one of the three campaigns (that can be linked into one big campaign) in the Defence of the North supplement. But what is it that holds this guy back? Why is it that people don't seem to like him? Well, let's dive in and see what the critics have to say . . . and why I think this guy has a welcome place in Lothlorien lists.

Why NOT To Take Orophin

Photo Credit: Centaur's copy of Defence of the North - photos of this guy are sparse!

On behalf of all Lothlorien fans, let me begin by saying that the first critique of this guy is that he doesn't have a mount option. This isn't new for named Lothlorien heroes - apparently none of them get horses. If you're used to playing with the Halls of Thranduil (two of the three named heroes can take mounts) or Rivendell (five named combat-heavy heroes can take mounts), you probably know that high-Fight heroes who are capped at S3-4 REALLY get more mileage out of having a mount (not only for speed, but also in killing power). It's a known problem for Lorien players that named Lothlorien heroes don't get mounts - and I tell you what, it would have been nice to have Orophin be "the mounted named hero guy" - it just would have been nice.

I'm also going to note in passing that Orophin as printed in the book doesn't have Woodland Creature - but I fully expect that to be erratad in the upcoming August FAQ. I'm writing it up - you should write them too. Moving on . . .

Top 5 Things I Love About Defence Of The North . . . And Top 5 Things I Don't Love About It

Good morning gamers,

Photo Credit: Warhammer Community

A new supplement has finally made its way across the pond and into our hands here at TMAT and as I madly update my army builder spreadsheet to accommodate the new profiles and Legions, I have discovered that there are some really good things about this supplement and some disappointments. 

I don't intend this post to be a harsh criticism of Defence of the North, but rather an honest review of things I like and the sighs I've expressed over what might have been. I do think this is a great supplement overall and while it hasn't risen to the level of War in Rohan or Quest of the Ringbearer, it is a great addition to anyone's MESBG collection. Let's dig in!

In Defense Of: Dragons

 Hey Reader!

Today we're continuing the In Defense Of series, and Tiberius asked me to jump in and chat about the Dragon from Moria, as it's often passed over for other hero choices - both monstrous and goblin - for various reasons. We will start by looking at why people tell you not to take this model, then we'll discuss why you should take it, and then close out by discussing how to make it work effectively in your army list.

Why NOT To Take Dragons

I have not bought the GW dragon, because I don't think it's that cool looking.
This is Argamentum from Loot Studios.

We've heard it all before: for the same cost as a fully upgraded dragon you can get The Balrog, who gets Fight 10 (instead of F7), Strength 9 (instead of S7), free heroic combats, and the ability to pull people into base contact with him (thereby making it harder to keep him from fighting, as you effectively have to stay more than 14-17" away from him if he hasn't moved yet, which is really hard to do on any sized board). Tack onto this 10 wounds, turning auto-death abilities into 5 wounds instead, and being available in a legendary legion that makes him even more dangerous (and less susceptible to shooting, which is a huge boon when you only move 6"), and it's easy to see why people take the Balrog over a dragon.

So...Let's Talk about That Dragon (Emperor)

Photo from Gamespot - still one of the best movies ever made

Hey Reader!

So Defence of the North is finally here! We've been hearing about this supplement for quite some time, and as someone who has collected Easterlings since 2012 and has wanted to collect Dale for quite some time (I like Erebor as well, just not a high priority right now), I am so excited to finally have my hands on this book! Shipping across the Pond takes a while, but grateful for the team at GW for their work to get it through customs to us.

One of the most previewed models from the supplement was The Dragon Emperor, with constant discussions about what his profile should look like, what his special abilities should be, and how to fit him into an army that already has good mounted heroes (Amdur and Khamul), good secondary damage heroes (Dragon Knights and now Rutabi), and the balance between mounted forces and an infantry pike block (oh, and archers - believe it or not Easterlings have archers, too). And as information slowly trickled out two things became clear:

First, they were trying to sell a new model. Now it should be noted that I don't mind this, as GW is a company, and they need to sell models. Totally down with him having bonkers stats and abilities both in-world as he's the best that the Easterlings will probably ever get, and also out-of-world from a business perspective. So I've got no issues with the mercantile reasons for making a new power hero for the Easterlings: everything checks out.

And second, and perhaps more so, he's a very interesting fit for Easterlings, serving as a "centerpiece" model (not that Easterlings lacked that before - more on that later) that has both offensive firepower and support abilities (not that Easterlings lacked that either, but we're getting ahead of ourselves).

So how does he hold up? Is he worth the monetary and points investment (as both are high: $190 USD and 170 points in-game)? And is he actually undercosted as some have claimed? Let's take a look.