Scouring of Che-Shire List Preview

Tomorrow (at time of writing) is the Scouring of Che-Shire, a 700 point GBHL tournament. Five intrepid noobs are all entering their first big tournament, ready to show the world what they are made of. Will they do well? Unlikely. Will they have fun? Definitely. What lists are they using? Funny you should ask....

Dan Slb: It’s theorycrafting time! Unfortunately my 5 month old baby is not the easiest baby in the world so I have been really struggling to get any practice in, let alone try out any lists! That being said I did manage to sneak in a couple of test games. I played twice with a list that was basically my 500 point list plus Angbor, 9 Clansmen and 6 Axemen. I have theorised about this list before and it did work the way I thought it would for the most part. However there were a couple of catches. Boromir’s banner, while enormous, just can’t cover everyone in a force this big. That became an issue when playing against Uruks as they were tying the Clansmen’s fight value. Also, the Clansmen did a great job of chopping things up when they won fights, but when they lost they just died immediately. Supported and with a reroll,  they expect to get a 6 about 40% of the time, but unfortunately the other 60% they have to suffer -1 to their roll. Added to this, when fighting against an equal fight value they then lose the roll off 50% of the time. Adding all that up is too complicated for my brain right now (it’s 3am, I told you this baby wasn’t easy!) but it boils down to them just not being reliable enough. Also, having only one really decent combat hero isn’t great when the enemy has any anti-hero tech. 

With all of this in mind, I changed to a different list. This one was again similar to my 500 points, except Madril became Denethor and got a full warband, and I added in Hurin and some more knights. This list definitely worked better and I think it could be genuinely quite good, but boy was it grindy! Having about 35 D7 S3 Warriors/FCG meant I was only getting wounded on 6s but also only wounding the enemy on 6s (I was playing Uruk Hai again). We played for about 2 hours and not much had died! I ended up winning because the Uruks just had no answer for Boromir (unlike in the movies!) but I just couldn’t subject myself to 6 games of grind like that! I want to do well but I also want to enjoy myself!

So what can I learn from all of these things. Well, whatever list I have need to improve the killing power of MT, needs to be reliable in combats, not too grindy, and most of all, be fun! So, putting all of that together has lead me to this:

Boromir, Flag, horse, shield

4 FCG, shields

4 Warriors, spears, shields

5 Warriors, shields

1 Knight, shield

Madril

5 Warriors, shields

3 Rangers, spears

2 Rangers

1 Knight

Legolas

Gimli 

29 Models, 15 Might

I’ve gone back to Madril. Denethor is such a cheap way to get 15 models but I realised I was only using 13 spots in his warband, and the benefits of Madril (maelstrom help, Heroic March, 3 extra Might) are just too good to pass up. Boromir is Boromir, he’s just amazing. I briefly considered Aragorn but I like the buff to troops that Boromir gives too much. Both of these guys have warbands that consist of solid lines with a healthy chunk of F4 that will be upgraded to F5. This is the reliable, slightly grindy core of the army. 

So that’s 500 points, but I need more killing power and I need some fun! Enter Legolas and Gimli. These guys are excellent heroes for their cost, bringing some much needed S4 (or 6 if Gimli goes 2 handed) to the list, as well as 6 more Might between them. Their special rules are also pretty much the most fun rules in the game in my opinion! Passing buffs to each other based on kills is so themey and awesome! Plus there is the slightly more practical concern that I only need to paint 2 more models! I would very much have liked to give Legolas some armour and even a horse but the points are just so tight! I really don’t think I can afford to lose any more models as I am already on the low side. 

This is a yellow alliance but it’s not really that big of a deal. I don’t have Frodo so Legolas and Gimli don’t have an army bonus anyway, and the MT troops will be using Boromir’s ridiculous courage of 6 for break tests. Terror causing armies could be an issue but at the end of the day I’m a shield wall, I’ll just section off a portion of the board and wait for them to come to me!

I have managed to squeeze in one practice game against Colm’s Grey Company (see below). In this I learnt that all hero armies that have Woodland Creature and deploy in a wood during Lords of Battle are just going to be impossible for me. Hey ho. It was a really fun game though and I’m happy with my choices. 

The most important thing to come from this though is GIMLIBOWL 2019. After learning that Dave was also taking Gimli and Legolas the smack talk about whose pair would do better started immediately. That drew Colm in as he loves a stupid competition. The smack talk got me a little carried away and I’ve even ended up getting a commission painted and engraved trophy for the event. It’s best not to ask how much I spent putting it together! I’m really looking forward to shouting THAT STILL ONLY COUNTS AS ONE whenever Legolas or Gimli kill a monster, generally just having a laugh, and hopefully taking home the GIMLIBOWL!

The topper was painted by the excellent Enigma Wargaming

PS, it’s also my 30th birthday the day before the tournament and Dave’s lovely wife has made me an incredible cake that I can’t wait to tuck in to!

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Dave: My Scouring of Che-Shire list is pretty simple, I've gone for the Return of the King Legendary Legion. I've really enjoyed playing them recently whilst helping friends prepare for tournaments, notably a very close game with Steve's Rohan when he was preparing for the Table Top weekender not too long ago, so I figured it'd be good to give them their first outing outside of my little circle of friends I play with.

I had a 500 point list written, so I just had to add 200 points, nice and easy. I asked the lads what they think, Legolas, or Gimli. Who should be the one to go in the list? My heart said Gimli, after all, I've been brought up since I was a wee nipper being told the humble words: “The Gimz alwayz Winz”. So naturally, I expected the lads to turn around to me and tell me the dwarf would be the perfect pick to lead my next warband.

Can you believe my horror when it was pretty much a unanimous vote for the Elf instead!?

Well, with all the dwarven stubbornness I could muster, and instead of making the smart call of adding in Legolas and some more warriors, I chucked both of the boys in the list.

I don't know who came up with the idea of Gimlibowl, but it was probably Dan. And I absolutely love it, who doesn't love that bit in the film?

Oh yeah, here's my list;

Aragorn – Strider with Anduril (Leader)

3 Warriors of the Dead with Spear and Shield

3 Warriors of the Dead with Shield

1 Rider of the Dead

The King of the Dead

3 Warriors of the Dead with Spear and Shield

3 Warriors of the Dead with Shield

1 Rider of the Dead

Legolas with Elven Cloak

Gimli

18 models, 10 Might

Its not exactly numerous, but man oh man, I'm gonna have a great time with it!

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Colm:

Aragorn, Armour 

Legolas, Armour, Elven Cloak

Gimli

Elodan & Elrohir, Armour, Elf Bows

Halbarad with Banner

Ranger of the North, Spear


7 Models, 19 Might

My original plan for Scouring was to bring a combination of Azog’s Legion and Azog’s Hunters as that’s what I had in enough numbers for a 700 point game, but when Dave and Dan started talking about Gimlibowl the unpainted Three Hunters box on my shelf started calling to me. Did I want to spend two days barging Azog around or tossing a hirsute, salted pork enthusiast into the enemy hordes? There was only ever one answer. Luckily I had collected a Wanderers in the Wild warband for our Battle Companies campaign so I had plenty of rangers to take Aragorn, Gimli and Legolas up to 700 points of The Grey Company (although I did inevitably impulse buy Ellodan and Elrohir so they’ll be showing up). As an army I’m sure it’s quite good in scenarios like Lords of Battle where wounds are what matter, but lacklustre when traversing the board is concerned. I will surely find out over the course of the weekend, all in the name of Gimlibowl 2019. 

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Steve: My original intention for Scouring was to run with an Isengard force, but other hobby painting and life got in the way of me sorting an army in time so decided to go back to my roots with Rohan, only in a very different direction to my previous tournament list (i.e., flood the list with Riders). This was partly down to hearing about a list from Arda Unleashed which essentially comprised a force stacked with as many Rohan Heroes as possible. Having tried playing as the Fellowship recently, this piqued my interest and I went about designing my own hero heavy force.

Rohan has a great abundance of average heroes. Not amazing, but not terrible either. This is both a blessing and a curse as they are not a large points sink like some armies key heroes, but they also aren’t as beefy as your Aragorns, Boromirs or Azogs. Your highest fight value is 5, so you’re likely to be outclassed by a lot of the bigger names but a good few reaching defence 7 for that extra survivability. There’s also some great synergy and bubble effects going on as well to help keep your army going through the game without losing their potency. On that note, on to the list I settled on:

99 Problems But an Abundance of Might Ain’t One (Riders of Theoden LL)

Théoden, King of Rohan with Heavy Armour, Shield and Armoured Horse

2 Rohan Royal Guard with Throwing Spears and Horses

1 Rider of Rohan

Éomer, Marshal of the Riddermark with Shield and Armoured Horse

2 Rohan Royal Guard with Throwing Spears and Horses

1 Rider of Rohan

Gamling, Captain of Rohan with Royal Standard of Rohan and Horse

1 Rohan Royal Guard with Throwing Spears and Horse

1 Rider of Rohan

Déorwine, Chief of the King’s Knights with Horse

1 Rohan Royal Guard with Throwing Spears and Horse

1 Riders of Rohan

Dernhelm with Throwing Spears

3 Riders of Rohan

19 Models, Infinity Might (sort of)

Six heroes, thirteen warriors in at exactly 700pts. Yes, six heroes as the true MVP on this force is the Notorious MBB - Meriadoc Brandybuck riding shotgun on Dernhelm and as we all know, hobbit heroes do all the heavy lifting for some reason. Let’s start at the top however. Going with the Théoden’s Riders legendary legion, the King of Rohan is a must - aside from his +1 fight bubble, he also allows the Royal Guard to charge any pesky terror creatures and more importantly in this hero heavy list - Death! The ability to call up to six simultaneous Heroic Combats/Strikes without expending might is huge, and if played at the right time could easily sway the battle in my direction.

Up next is the biggest hitter in the list - Éomer. With threes in all the right places, he can hold himself in combat nicely, although most of his Might will likely be spent aiming to outclass the enemy heroes with Strike. Next we have Dernhelm, easily my favourite hero in the force. Great statline for the cost, along with carrying Merry into battle, puts a good bit of bulk into the riders. Both of these heroes also have a nice little synergy with Théoden possibly limiting them a bit, but also enhancing their combat abilities which may come in useful during the endgame.

Déorwine is a solid wall with Heroic Defence - and he gets his free Heroic Combat whenever Theoden is duking it out with someone. This makes for a good hero who can switch roles when he needs to, holding up units/heroes from getting where they need to, or carving through to protect his king. Finally, the key to this list - Gamling. With such a hero focused force, it make sense to bring the Rohan Royal Standard to keep those stores of might going, allowing more early uses of Heroic Move/March for flanking and kiting and keeping your heavy hitters hitting hard through protracted combats (I tend to stick him near Éomer in order for him to keep working through enemy heroes).

The rest of the points are filled out with a decent contingent of six Royal Guard with throwing spears to benefit from Bodyguard (largely from how much I’ve come across Army of the Dead and spiders recently). The last few filled with Riders of Rohan to add that extra bulk to the force.

Some pros of the force would be its manoeuvrability, as it can get to parts of the board faster than most others combined with Gamling’s might factory it can be very reactive. Cons however would be the lower model count along with lack of tough heroes. The key to me doing well at Scouring will be recognising when best to pull heroic movements to give myself the better engagement and calling Death! at the right moment.

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Dan Stu: Men of the East

Amdur, Lord of Blades (Leader) with armoured horse

5 Warriors with shields

5 Warriors with shields, pikes

5 Warriors with shields, pikes, black dragon upgrade

Easterling Captain

3 Warriors with shields

2 Warriors with shields, pikes

3 Warriors with shields, pikes, black dragon upgrade

1 Warrior with banner

1 Kataphrakt

1 Kataphrakt with war drum

Khandish King with Khandish chariot

3 Khandish charioteers with hand and a half axes

32 Models, 8 Might

As this list was recently featured on the blog, I won’t go into much depth on it here. It seems to be a reasonably well balanced list that has seen some success, but also struggles with the things that Easterlings normally struggle with. The inclusion of the chariots gives the list both some punching power and a nice fun factor, and both Amdur and the King are pretty hefty heroes.

The biggest skill curve to the list has been learning when to bring in the chariots on the flank (something I’m still rubbish at). Clearly, the aim is the ‘chariot sandwich’, something which has been very effective but also very hard to pull off. If you bring them in too early, they’re dead. Too late, and they lose their impact. I’m hoping to get much better at this over the weekend - the chariots are a game-winning tool that I look forward to getting to grips with.

Approaching the tournament, I have been very tempted to remove both the banner and the war drum, and place in a war priest instead, which would give both a 6” fearless bubble and a 6+ death saving throw. While this would undoubtedly be the better meta pick, I have decided against it for 2 reasons: I haven’t painted the War Priest yet; and I’ve become somewhat attached to the drummer (affectionately known as Phil Collins).

While this is definitely a heart-over-head decision, Mr. Collins has proven to be pretty great in a couple of games. A successful Easterling engagement is perhaps more dependent on scenery than any other infantry block - their strength is attacking in depth, so their battle line will almost always be narrower than their opponent’s. And their flanks are oh so squishy! If your opponent starts taking away your pike supports on the majority of your duel rolls, the odds are you’ve already lost the game. The war drum has helped me zip over to the perfect ‘hot gates’ choke point to engage in several games, so fingers crossed it does the same over the weekend.

I still expect to struggle against massive heroes such as Aragorn, any magic users, and anything that causes terror. But I genuinely really like this list, and every game I’ve played with it has been more enjoyable than the last - bring on the weekend!

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So there you have it. Five lists and the thoughts behind them. Who will do the best? Who will do the worst? And most importantly, who will win GIMLIBOWL 2019?!? Check back over the coming weeks for some tournament reports on how we all got on!

Bonus extra pictures of the GIMLIBOWL topper from the inestimable Enigma Wargaming