Scouring Top 5 Lists

This past weekend saw the return of the Scouting of Cheshire, a 90 person, 6 round event at 800 points, taking place at Element Games in Stockport. Let's have a look at what did well.

Interestingly, nobody went undefeated in this tournament, as the top 4 all had a draw at some point. In particular 1st place drew against 3rd in round 1 and 2nd place drew against 4th in round 6.

5th: Dan Slobodian, Fangorn

Played against:

Radagast's alliance (Destroy Supplies)

Minas Morgul (Domination)

Riders of Theoden (Fog Of War)

Muster of Isengard (Hold Ground)

Army of the White Hand (Recon) - Loss

Battle of Fornost (To The Death)

Oh hey that's a familiar name! I had the good fortune to go 5-1 at this event with a close 5-4 loss on Recon in round 5. I have played Ents for a while now and they are just great. They feel like a real toolbox army where you have the ability to deal with most situations but the decisions are non-trivial so it also feels rewarding to play. In particular I had previously undervalued Birchseed's free Heroic Move which was incredibly good throughout the tournament. You can read more about Ents here!

My boys

4th: Natalie, Army of the White Hand

Played against:

Erebor and Dale (Destroy Supplies)

Minas Morgul (Domination)

Battle of Five Armies (Fog Of War)

Assault on Helm's Deep (Hold Ground)

Fangorn (Recon)

Men of the West (To The Death) - Draw

Quantity is a quality of its own! 60 models and 12 Might is a lot to deal with and having fearless in there from the Oathmaker really sures up one of the lists weaknesses. Saruman is great at this points level as he doesn't have to carry the list (which he struggles with) and he has access to some great special rules as part of the Army List. Grima continues to be one of the most powerful models in the new edition, making Heroics more expensive and being able to move around with impunity is insanely good. Natalie made great use of Heroic Channels in our game, which is something I think is often overlooked with magic users. 

Credit Games Workshop

3rd: Richard Ancliff, Minas Morgul

Played against:

Army of Gundabad (Destroy Supplies) - Draw

Realms of Men (Domination)

Muster of Isengard (Fog Of War)

Riders of Theoden (Hold Ground)

Battle of Fornost (Recon)

Radagast's Alliance (To The Death)

Another horde list, this one with even more models (ok, 1 more). Richard has a lot of utility in his list with the casters, Taskmaster and Drummer, and a splash of "fearless" from all his spirits (the Spectres count for this too). These tools give the army the opportunity to really play all of the scenarios to the fullest and bring their large numbers to bear where they can be most effective.

Credit Games Workshop

2nd: Richard Calladine, Men of the West

Played against:

Muster of Isengard (Destroy Supplies)

Breaking of the Fellowship (Domination)

Battle of Fornost (Fog Of War)

Erebor Reclaimed (Hold Ground)

Breaking of the Fellowship (Recon)

Army of the White Hand (To The Death) - Draw

A solid line of troops backed up by 3 excellent heroes. This army list really shines from some excellent special rules. automatically passing courage while Aragorn is alive really warps the endgame in any scenario as your army will just keep fighting at full capacity until the end. The once per game +1 Fight and reroll wounds of a 1 can be absolutely clutch if called at the right point and can really put a hole in your opponent's line. The heroes have all been talked about a lot by now but it is worth mentioning again that Legolas' shooting is a menace and powers up MegaGimli to smash anything in his way. I also think Aragorn two handing Anduril now that you keep the 6 is very big as he will then wound anything on a 3+. Interestingly there was a lot of Fellowship murder on the way to 2nd place as Richard played two Breaking of the Fellowship armies. I guess we know who the real Aragorn is now!

Credit Games Workshop

1st: Adam Bird, Army of Gundabad

Played against:

Minas Morgul (Destroy Supplies) - Draw

Battle of Five Armies (Domination)

Realms of Men (Fog Of War)

Return of the King (Hold Ground)

Last Alliance (Recon)

Battle of Fornost (To The Death)

I'll be honest I had to go and read what this army list even does as it seems to have come out of nowhere to take the tournament! I was surprised to find some really excellent tools in the army's special rules. Master of Battle is always great, even on a 5+ it just takes a little bit of luck at the right time to be game changing. We see yet another courage mechanic too, which is always helpful for Evil armies. The flags are where they really shine though. Having a choice between and army wide banner, free heroic Marches, or a 6+ save is really good. You have to time them well as you can't use the same one two turns in a row but they are all very powerful rules. Bolg is a powerful fighter, though a bit of a glass cannon with just 1 Fate. The Ogres can take you by surprise with their ability to charge through their own lines and at S6 can be great line breakers and Bats being able to fly over models and knock them prone is insanely good, especially as they can even do it to models that are already in combat. 

Credit Games Workshop

So overall we are seeing a trend of toolbox armies doing really well. In particular all of these armies have some sort of courage mechanic, perhaps as a response to Eagles doing well? Speaking of which, we didn't see too many Eagles at the weekend, with only the Ents and Minas Morgul having played against them from this top 5, and those both being Radagast's Alliance, not pure Eagles. Perhaps the big birds just aren't as good at higher points? Or are people getting tired of them and the stigma around them? Let us know what you think about these lists and what important things we have missed!