Fantasy Fellowship

 With the recent release of Quest of the Ringbearer, the Drawn Combat crew had a think about who they'd want in their Fantasy Fellowship - a great addition to play through the campaign with a Fellowship of your own design. Safe to say it looks like we had some different themes and concepts in mind between the four of us, so let's dive in!

Dave:
As soon as Games Workshop announced Quest of the Ringbearer, I was immediately excited by the idea of Fantasy Fellowship. I remember reading about it in an older issue of White Dwarf and at the time I didn't play SBG, but I remember thinking it was such a good idea!

Well, Jay Clare has outdone himself this time! Fantasy Fellowship is incredibly well put together, and there's been a lot of hype around it already. Naturally, I had to have a go at my own, whilst I love the original Fellowship, I couldn't help but wonder how they would have done on their quest if, lets say Gandalf, was replaced by Radagast! Here's what I put together for mine

Frodo was still my Ringbearer, I love Frodo, so I couldn't get rid of him! Sam was also not replaced, honestly, who could get rid of Sam!? In place of Merry and Pippin I've gone with Gaffer Gamgee and Farmer Maggot... They're just lke Merry and Pippin but older, right? Gandalf was replaced with Radagast, I'd loved to have replaced him with Gildor, but alas that model is long out of production.

In place of Aragron, Legolas and Gimli I've gone for Halbarad (with his Banner), Faramir and Haldir respectively. I absolutely love all 3 of these characters. Halbarad is great in the books, and Faramir is one of my favourite characters in the whole series. Controversially aswell, I really like Haldir from the films, when he shows up at Helms Deep. Finally, in place of Boromir, Prince Imrahil joins my Fantasy Fellowship. Again, he's an absolutely fantastic character!

I can't wait to give these guys a go on the table as soon as I can, I've already painted them all up!

Colm:

The theme of my Fantasy Fellowship is family and how they come together to support each other during their quest. Bilbo decides to take on the quest to destroy the ring after his 111th birthday, and his nephew Frodo comes as his companion to support him. Bilbo’s old friend Gaffer Gamgee won’t let him go alone and Sam won’t let either Frodo or the Gaffer leave him behind. 

Gandalf and Legolas are replaced by the husband and wife team of Galadriel and Celebron, destined to be separated by the Balrog in Moria. Gimli and Boromir’s spots are taken by Elladan and Elrohir with tragedy in store at Amon Hen. Lastly, Aragorn has long been known as a loner patrolling the wilds, but he is the perfect leader to bring the fellowship together as the 9th member and rightful king of men.

When pulling this force together I was struck by how many possibilities there were for fellowship compositions and stories to be told. I almost made Celebron Boromir’s replacement, but his death would be before he discovered his wife had lived was a Shakespearean level of tragedy I couldn’t handle. Elrohir will instead have to spend a large chunk of his quest grieving for his brother. This also allows for some interesting story telling in how the twins’ special rules are carried across the campaign. 

After writing this I’m already itching to get working on the next one! Hopefully some games will be possible before too long to see how this Fellowship gets on.

Dan Slob:

I love the idea of doing a fantasy fellowship campaign, I think it lends itself to doing something theme-y better than anything else in the hobby. With that in mind (and also with the thought that I wanted to only use models I own) I came up with the following:

Frodo with Sting and Mithril Coat

Sam

Gandalf 

Boromir, Captain of the White Tower (Aragorn) with Flag and Shield

Faramir (Legolas) with Bow

Hurin the Tall (Gimli)

Denethor (Boromir)

Beregond (Pippin)

Damrod (Merry)

I call this The Strength of Men. The idea here is that Gandalf has taken Frodo and Sam to Gondor for their aid. Frodo has his gifts from Bilbo who gave them to him before they left. Sam needs nothing more than his frying pan. 

Boromir is, of course, the mightiest warrior Gondor has so he will replace Aragorn. He has brought along his Banner of Minas Tirith because he has heard about “stealth” and wants no truck with it.

Faramir replaces Legolas as he is also pretty hot with a bow and has always felt that he could take down a Mumak single handedly. He’ll be competing for kills with Hurin the TALL who replaces Gimli (see what I did there?). No boxes needed for this giant, and he probably won’t need tossing across the gap to the causeway, he can just stride over it! 

Denethor is replacing his son as the one who goes mad and tries to take the ring. This definitely seemed like something Denethor would do, but at least now he has the chance to redeem himself by protecting the little ones; Beregond and Damrod. These two troublemakers are always smoking on the walls of Minas Tirirth and stealing old farmer Madril’s carrots. 

Gandalf is reprising his role as himself as he’s always enjoyed the bright lights of the big city. 

And so it came to pass that Gondor’s mightiest heroes did sally forth from Minas Tirith to do battle with Sauron. Though their path may be long and treacherous, the strength of men will conquer all. 

Steve:

As I did in our Evil Fellowship article - it's time for a heist.

Bilbo Baggins (Frodo)

Hamfast 'Gaffer' Gamgee (Sam)

Radagast the Brown (Gandalf)

Aldor (Merry)

Denethor (Pippin)

Celeborn (Aragorn)

Eómer (Boromir)

Rumil (Legolas)

Floi Stonehand (Gimli)

Bilbo Baggins is our main man, and he's getting the old gang and a few new faces together for one last job. When I say old, I mean old. The new faces are needed since most of my Fellowship are getting pretty far on in their years and are about to go out in one last hurrah. Gaffer, his long time friend, is along for the ride but he's not all to happy about it - and he'll let Bilbo know it was a bad idea! For a caper like this, you always need a Wizard. Unfortunately Gandalf was needed at the West End so Radagast filled in at the last second - not entirely a bad decision though as he has a guy on the inside...it's Sebastian. Sebastian is his guy on the inside. Who doesn't want to see some fun hedgehog infiltration shenanigans?

For the rest of the crew, they had to wake up Aldor, nearly got shot in the process but who knows when those twitchy reflexes will come in handy? Denethor seems a bit sketchy, but no doubt Bilbo has some plans up ahead for an inevitable double-cross twist regarding his potential liability. Floi, being the longtime bookkeeper for the crews ill gotten gains was brought back on with his encyclopedic knowledge of what they'd have to get through and how to use it against the enemy. Whilst not looking old, he certainly is in years as Celeborn brings some of his stoic-ness and level-headed thinking to the table - but not too bad in a punch up either. 

The young blood is brought in the form of Rumil - the blade man who no-one is taking down in a hurry, and Eómer brought on as the getaway driver in the end (although, as we know with the story of the Fellowship, it was a one way journey - and Eómer's ends sooner than the rest...).

What do you think to our Fellowships? We certainly had fun writing them. Let us know what choices you've made for yours along with any fun themes you're running with!

Full on Fluff: Legendary Legions - Part 4

Good morning, Themetown-ians. once again we delve into the depths of theme and the legendary legions given to us by the developers of MESBG and question just how thematic they are. Today we're on to the most recently released supplement. We're going to see horses, we're going to see orcs beating the snot out of one another - let's look at War in Rohan.


Defenders of Helm's Deep

Basis: Oh bugger, we don't have horses.

First up is another legion that I've enjoyed running personally (largely because I already had a load of Rohan to use) and one reason for this is actually the lack of horses, the main draw of a Rohan force. Instead you get to throw in some good old Elven shooting and fight values (made even better in this legion), a buff to courage when broken and the Rohirrim finally realising the long lumps of wood they like to chuck at people can also be used supportively. So what do you get access to? In short - a lot of heroes and three different types of infantry. The sheer amount of Rohan in here means you can easily run Gamling and his Might factory (especially with two cheap sources of Might - Haleth and Aldor).

Going back to the special rules, the range bump to bows who haven't moved is a nice touch given its design as a defensive legion - doesn't work for every scenario but even more deadly elven shooting is a scary thing for objective defence/sniping. Going even more into the defensive theme, the ability to support with throwing spears is fantastic (especially when you combine it with the fact that you'll likely have a turn of throwing them before engaging).  You are, however, a bit buggered by having Théoden as your leader, whose worth is not nearly as good now that he loses his cavalry buff bubble and still isn't the best in a fight.

Fluff Verdict: 9/10

There's not really much you can fault this list on in terms of theme. The special rules revolve around the force as a whole rather than just select heroes and rules adding to the idea of the force being 'legendary'. The inclusion of heroes like Haleth and Aldor are a nice touch too (Aldor is simply my favourite for that one silly shot). Of course, this fluff is more highly representative of the movies as opposed to the books as we would not have got the Elves in the latter. It's just simply what you got from the movies and plays like a defensive force. The only thing which may have given it the final point would be giving the Legolas the janky shield slide ability he got in the old scenario for Helm's Deep if I was feeling silly.

Uglúk's Scouts

Basis: Be naff to one another, and run on, dudes!

Who doesn't like a bit of beef between Orcs and Uruks? The central theme to this legion is certainly capitalising on that dislike of one another on the eaves of Fangorn. Despite not actually killing one another (save for Uglúk beheading a few) they vent their rage by killing anyone but themselves better as long as one of each is in the fight. In game this won't always be easy but I do love the idea of both parts of the force fighting to show they can kill better - it also gives you a list you wouldn't necessarily consider as it's either usually a Mordor force with Orcs and monsters or your full Uruk force - feels like a great bridge and incentive to mix the two.

Other than the extra killy-ness, the force gets some decent bonuses to movement. Mauhur means every Uruk (including heroes) is a Marauder, giving a great boost to movement speed for no cost at all, well no cost in the points sense at least. This speed is great for objective grabbing and charges but it does mean leaving the orcs behind playing catchup, meaning you really need to choose when to use that extra movement to make full use of the legion's wounding bonus.

Fluff Verdict: 8/10

Similarly to the previous legion there's not much to fault in terms of theme - particularly when you consider the newer inclusion of Snaga and his wily ways. There's not much choice in the list but the legion itself is a choice by allying these two forces together and the heroes have to lead their respective race. I would maybe say it would be nice to have a rule between Uglúk and Grishnakh, or even a special bonus to to the Head Taker rule specific to Snaga would be great.

Riders of Éomer

Basis: Here comes the sun, here comes the sun, and I say TO THE KING!

Éomer, Gandalf and Riders. That's pretty much it for this legion and there's not much else to it other than Éomer gives you the normal Rohan bonus in a bubble. Oh, and Gandalf will blind you with the almighty power of the sun. This rule is where I get really excited about the legion - it's a one-shot use of making everyone the army is engaged with worse at fighting, including the ones supporting. The force is very one dimensional in this respect though, it relies largely on that one moment of glory and hitting the enemy force with it's full weight.

Fluff Verdict: 8/10

Honestly so far with War in Rohan, they're knocking it out of the park with the fluff. I will say compared to the other two lists though, this one is assisted by it's small roster and one pretty amazing special rule. You can't fault it's thematic rating purely as it focuses on the only two things we see the army accomplish - only other thing which could help would be a boost to the armies courage on the turn Gandalf blinds everyone but aside from that there's no much I can think of to add.

Until next time, flavour-lovers!

Full on Fluff: Legendary Legions - Part Three

Good morning, my fellow denizens of Themetown. Today we're back to our more lighthearted look the Legendary Legions available and just how much they stick to the flavour of the army/scene they are drawn from. Funnily enough we'll be finishing up not one, but two supplements today as we delve into all two of the Legions from The Scouring of the Shire and the final two from Gondor at War - one which holds a particularly special place in this game for me.

The Riders of Théoden

Basis: Tears in your eyes as you re-enact the best scene in the whole trilogy and yell 'Death!' at the top of your lungs.

The last ride of the Rohirrim, undoubtedly my favourite moment from the films and the first full army that I ran for quite a while. I will honestly do my best here to not be biased - but damn, if it doesn't make me choke up a little. Rules wise, this legion is actually pretty threadbare: Théoden has to be your leader (this can be a detriment in some scenarios), you list options are limited to just Riders of Rohan and Royal Guard but a large amount of reasonably costed heroes are available. You keep the Rohan army bonus so they're great on the charge, but where is the new stuff to set it apart?

Death! Death! is perhaps my favourite rule in the whole game (and out comes my bias). This list can easily be a hero might factory with Gamling and his banner, but what if you wanted heroic actions on top of your heroic actions? For free? Calling Death! gives every hero near Théoden a free Heroic Combat or Strike for one turn - great at turning the tide against more powerful heroes (or forcing them to spend their own might to contend) or even carving through the weaker models on the charge.

Fluff Verdict: 8/10
In the past I've penalised other legions for lack of new specials or specific rules, and unfortunately The Riders of Théoden is lacking in that department. It does have one (amazingly glorious) rule, but in that regards it's quite literally a one trick pony. It doesn't particularly alter the play style of a Rohan army, other than you want to smash your heroes into the enemy line more recklessly than you normally would. In fact scratch that, it's fluffy as all heck.

The Return of the King

Basis: I'm back baby! And I brought some friends...

Oh boy where do we begin...that was a silly question. Andúril is free. That's crazy. If you were already doing a spooky boi list then shifting it up a gear into this legion is almost a given considering how cheap of a powerhouse this makes Aragorn. Not only that, he's also now a banner to all your nearby ghosts. Other than that, your King of the Dead is now even spookier than before gaining Harbinger of Evil and making it even tougher for enemies to charge your army. This is great for allowing you to set-up the engagements you want.

Fluff Verdict: 8/10
Whilst the rules aren't particularly in-depth, they fit the army really well in giving it some buffs for having a limited roster. Given how expensive the Dead are, the free Andúril is a nice touch. I think the only thng which really could have boosted this Legion more is inclusion of some of the Grey Company to tie it more in line with the books.

The Chief's Ruffians

Basis: Ruffians still aren't that good.

So the main buff to this Legendary Legion is generally just Courage whether it be in the form of standard Courage buff or benefits of Stand Fast! Honestly, aside from that there isn't a whole lot extra this legion brings to the army. Scouring did a great job at adding some new and fun heroes to the list, but the Legion itself doesn't really add that much more. Other than Saruman really hating Hobbits now - that's kind of fun.

Fluff Verdict: 5/10
There's just not much extra to this list other than the aforementioned Courage extras, and aside from being better at using whips and Sharkey now having an axe to grind there just really isn't anything in here which leaps out at me as thematic.

Defenders of the Shire 

Basis: They're in the trees! They're in the god-damn trees!

Not being a Hobbit player myself I find this legion quite interesting as it plays to quite a few of the components listed in the Scouring of the Shire supplement, namely traps. They're not the strongest of things in the game but they can mess with your opponent, which given the guerilla tactics of the Hobbits during the Scouring plays very well into this list. More than anything they're an annoyance, blocking up good movement routes, inconveniencing formations and making the enemy spread out.

Aside from that, the tactics come through again with the special rules for Ambush! Allowing the army to arrive on whatever board edge they please later into the game. May not be the best for some objective grabbing or scenarios where you need a bit more of a cohesive force, but some may well play well into this special rule if used correctly. On top of this, most of your force can be filled with very cheap heroes - not the greatest stats-wise mind you, but some great individual special rules to help bolster the force.

Fluff Verdict: 9/10
Hobbits are certainly one of the toughest armies to use in the game, they don't have the greatest units, stats or movement. I feel this legion however breathes a bit of fun gimmicky light into a Hobbit force though. Even though the traps aren't great, I love their inclusion and potential for a laugh over the table (you're not often taking Hobbits to win, but to have some fun games) and Ambush! gives that extra bit of maneuverability they desperately need - all whilst in-keeping with the climatic chapters fo the trilogy.

Having ticked off two supplements in one article we'll be moving onto the third next time - War in Rohan. Stay tuned for more!

The Council of Evil

Listening to the excellent Entmoot podcast recently, Harry replayed one of his older interviews where he played an opponent who was taking a 'Council of Evil' list. This consisted of an all Character list of some of the biggest Evil threats in the game. This got me thinking, The Fellowship costs about 800 points to field every character with a few upgrades thrown in, so what could we conjure up on the Evil side as an equivalent? I threw it out to the Drawn Combat team with the following caveats: the list must be all characters, must be 800 points and must be legal to play (so must follow the allies rules). It can also have a maximum of 9 characters but doesn't have to have that many. I let them pick their line up however they wanted: theme, gamey-ness, or just the characters they like best! Here is what we came up with:

Dan Slob:

The Witch King (3/15/3), Crown of Morgul, Morgul Blade, Horse
The Shadow Lord, Horse
Ringwraith (2/7/2), Horse
Amdur, Armoured Horse
Khandish King, Chariot
Mahud King, War Camel, Shield, War Spear
Orc Captain, Shield, Warg

7 Models, 16 Might

I almost always write lists with gameplay in mind, so I knew straight away that I wanted to do an all mounted force and I didn't want any repeated models. I also knew that I wanted at least 7 models for the theme (I had found trying to get 9 was too hard as they have to average under 90 points each). So what have I got? Three Ringwraiths for Magic dominance, two characters with impact hits for mowing through troops, Amdur to deal with Heroes, and a Captain as support/objective grabber. The Witch King is a machine, I have used him a fair bit and I couldn't not have him in the list. The Shadow Lord is mostly there to protect the horses! With so few models those cavalry bonuses are too important to be shot out from under me so his main job is to make it hard for them to be killed! The Ringwraith is mainly for casting Transfix and calling Moves/Marches without depleting the stores of the bigger characters. As I said before, Amdur is to deal with Heroes as he is just about the best duelist that Evil has. The Kings are there for their impact hits and because they are relatively cheap! Finally the support Captain will also call Moves and Marches whenever needed and scoot of to grab objectives if he is still alive at the end! Overall I think it is straight up bad but it does look like fun at least!


Colm: 

The driving factors behind my Evil Fellowship were to discard the idea of in-game effectiveness and make something I think would be somewhat thematic and likely to lead to interesting stories (and I’m opting out of the easy thematic choice of the Black Riders), whilst slightly mirroring the Good Fellowship by representing various factions within Middle Earth.  Without further ado my selected nine are as follows:

Saruman

Grima

Lurtz

Gothmog

Goblin King

Gollum

Grishnakh

Wild Warg Chieftan

Witch King

Saruman is a powerful wizard, much like Gandalf, and Sauron believes him to be a trusted lieutenant. By embarking on a quest to find and attain the ring Saruman is taking a more direct approach than in canon, but he will be a valuable asset on the road able to compel the denizens of Middle Earth with his powerful voice and obviously able to abley assist in any fights they come across. Saruman, however, is consumed with avarice and a lust for power. He will surely betray Sauron and spark conflict within the factions of his 8 companions. Grima and Lurtz accompany Saruman to aid and defend him however they can. Saruman has a history of using spies and Grima can be dispatched to villages/towns to pursue their quest in a way that won’t attract much attention. Lurtz is a powerful fighter who can act as bodyguard and a hunter.

Gothmog is another member of this Fellowship that Sauron trusts, but rather than directing forces at the assault on Minis Tirith, Gothmog will travel through Middle Earth on his behalf. Gothmog also has his own motives . . . perhaps by getting hold of the ring he can bring about the time of the orc in a way that he sees fit. Grishnakh is another Mordor Orc, but with a different set of skills to Gothmog. He has experience in working with the forces of Isengard and the role entrusted to him by Sauron is to keep a watchful eye for any suspicious activity from Saruman or his disciples. After all, Saruman seems loyal, but Sauron has become paranoid.

The Witch King and the Wild Warg Chieftain both come from the Angmar list. I put the Wild Warg in the list first as he would be able to range far and wide and speed and would be a powerful hunter. I was going to add a generic Ringwraith to lead him as the Witch King would surely be entrusted to leading Sauron’s forces against Gondor, but as Dan (editor/tyrant-in-chief) asked for a legal list I needed a hero of valour or higher. The Witch King is a Hero of Legend and also very cheap if you don’t buy him many items, so he was added to the list (but lets pretend he’s not quite who he seems). A Ringwraith is obviously a fitting choice to hunt for the ring due to their ability to sense and see ring bearers when the ring is worn and will work unceasingly to accomplish Sauron’s goals.

The last additions to the Fellowship come as something as a duo. Gollum knows of The Shire and has met Bilbo, it makes perfect sense for him to join the hunt. He of course has his own, ulterior motives. The Goblin King allows for Gollum to join the fray, but is also a powerful figure and will hold sway with the Goblins of the mountains and influence them to assist and is also a powerful fighter who can take on the best the world of men has to offer. He was all too happy to join in  in order to gain Sauron’s favour.

It ended up a motley crew of goblins, men and more, but they are all powerful models in their own way. They all also have their own reasons for joining the quest for the ring and will surely clash along the way. It seems to me that it would be doomed to fail due to competition and a lack of trust, but it would doubtlessly be entertaining to see them forge their way across Middle Earth.

Will: 

So what I tried to do with this list is collect some of the iconic models and leaders that the Fellowship encounter throughout their journey. This was difficult assembling different parts. If I had 1000 points to work with I was golden. As it is 800 I needed to sacrifice my list in places, much to my dismay at leaving out some of my favorite models.

My list:

Witch king on Fellbeast 1/10/3  - This is one of the all time most iconic characters and images for me. The screech of the Fell Beast and the visual dominance of the Witch King striking fear in everyone on the receiving end.

Cave Troll -  One of the first biggest threats to the Fellowship was this monster crashing through Balin’s tomb door and is such a bargain I couldn’t not put this in. (Balrog was far too expensive!)

Saruman  - Sauron's trusted commander of Isenguard. As another strong caster he was a definite addition to my list. If he can get some magic off it could leave the WK to get stuck in and do some of the heavy lifting in terms of combat

Grima - He’s here to add up the numbers but more importantly be that sneaky little lizard who could pop up at the right time and turn on an opponent.

Lurtz - I know all you book readers won’t like this one but in the films this is the Uruk that kills Boromir and for this reason alone deserves a spot in my list (I’m not a fan of Boromir).

Sharku on Warg with Shield - He is here for some maneuverability and March and because I couldn’t afford my beloved Shelob. To be fair though his special rule is pretty good when hitting other heroes and the shield helps get it triggered.

Gothmog on Warg  - I mean come on, how can you not put in the Big G, with his Master of Battle on the field this could be a game changer and if you look to our previous blog you can see he is an all round great hero. I have opted to go without shield, I know it’s a brave move but I think the 5 points was better spent on the WK.

Gorbag with Shield - I had to get one character in from Cirith Ungol. Due to the size of this group he is more than likely going to be outnumbered. Also the fact he is pretty much the only one that survives the mass brawl he deserves a worthy spot.

So there we have it coming in at exactly 800 pts. Is it any good? Probably not, but it seems like it would be a lot of fun. I could have filled it out with some lesser models or gone superbig with the likes of Balrog etc but I wanted to be a bit themey and try and diverse across the options.


Dave: 

When it came to making my Evil Fellowship, I thought it'd be cool to just see if I could find an Evil equivalent of each member. More so in how they look, rather than their rules, for example all 4 of the Hobbits are Goblins in my list.

My Gandalf is Saruman since they're both Wizards.
Aragorn is Gothmog, both are good fighters and leaders!
Gimli is Mauhur... They both have two weapons!
Legolas is Vraksku because shootyshooty
Boromir is Lurtz because I couldn't resist!
Merry and Pippin are lowly Goblin Captains
Sam is Durburz, since he's the real hero.
And finally, Frodo is Groblog since they both have Mithril.


Steve:  Witchking's Nine.

Like every good caper, you've got to have a team. A team with very specific skills in order to pull the job off and it just so happens that ol'WK has put the right team together for just such a job - reclaiming the One Ring.

First up, the brains and mastermind of the operation - the WitchKing of Angmar. Willing to do anything to get the job done.

His partner in crime and old friend with the handsome face? The Mouth of Sauron can sweet talk anyone. We wouldn't be anywhere without a conman though, would we? Good old faithful Grima 'Wormtongue' Wormtongue knows just how to smooth talk all the court into his favour. Who's going to back him up though when a little muscle is needed? Buhrdur is your troll and he ain't taking no ****.

Whilst they've got the talents, you need the guy who's going to get you whatever you need. A ten thousand strong army? A new race of super orcs? A handy snowfall? Saruman ‘Wizard of Many Colours’ is the man you want to be talking to.  Want  to avoid some rival tricksy thieveses and you go right for Gollum with his sticky fingered ways and knack for climbing. Now the safe cracker or rather city cracker Gothmog may not make a pretty job, but damn he gets results.

So who's the guy you're leaving behind? The guy to take a fall...Well no-one is better to lose their head but Snaga once he goes to plant the knife in your back. Finally, the key part to staying out of fantasy jail - the getaway driver. The team have the Ring, they're running out of Bag End and who should show up but the Khandish King drifting in on his chariot - all to ride off into the Sunset in preparation for the next last job they'll ever need to do.

(Editors Note: Steve is disqualified as this is not technically a legal list (Gollum isn't a Hero of Valour) but we'll let him off as he made such pretty pictures to go with the article)


Sean: 

Khamul The Easterling
The Mouth of Sauron
Saruman
Grima Wormtongue
Lurtz
Amdur
Khandish Chieftain

Suladan

When Dan set the challenge of the Evil fellowship I was instantly drawn to the idea of having nine characters - three from each main evil areas in the films (Moria, Isenguard and Mordor). But sadly due to points it just wasn't possible. I also started to think about having some of the main evil characters they meet, but I really dislike Gothmog both in the films and the game.

In the end I decided to focus on what the fellowship was (a bunch of people of different lands in middle Earth) and with the help of the Allies tables, decide that I would focus on picking fewer people, but from as many different "lands" as possible.

Isengard was the exception as I felt Saruman and Lurtz are general stand out characters with their relationship with the Fellowship. Lurtz is the only character to kill a member of the Fellowship (not getting in the Gandalf debate) and Saruman, because without him we would never have Gandalf and his wonderful leveling up in the book! Wormtongue is just too good to miss out.

Amdur, Suladan and a Khandish Chieftain really represent Boromir, Legolas and Gimli, as well as the other people of the lands of Sauron. Khamul could have been the Witch King, but it's a nice change as the WK is always included, and the Mouth as the representative of Sauron in the party.

There are some points left over for upgrades, but I'm keen for none of them to have horses...mainly as the fellowship didn't.

So there we have it. What would your Council of Evil look like? We'd love to see your suggestions in the comments!

Full on Fluff: Legendary Legions - Part Two

Good morning, fellow adventurers into the world of fluff. Once again I’m here to look at some thematic creations from the MESBG team in the form of Legendary Legions - but who is to judge just how fluffy these lists are? Me. I am, in my own (likely biased) opinion. This week we’ll be focusing on the lists’ style, control, damage and aggression...sorry that was an excerpt from my Robot Wars blog. 

Grand Army of the South

Basis: Big angry elephants. And if you didn’t like the stomping, you’re going to hate the poison.

The glorious march of the Mumakil across the Pelennor Fields, ready to break the lines of the Rohirrim, but you’ll likely only fit a couple into lists at most. What may not make it to the table in numbers is made up for in the sheer presence of the Mumakil felt by those riders, as in this legion all of them gain the Harbinger of Evil special rule. Not only do they inflict Terror, but they also make you work harder for that charge - nice little added extra there considering their deployment in battle. But what else do you get besides scary elephants? Well, you’re getting both the Serpent Horde and Far Harad fighting together (although this isn’t anything new as they are already historical allies, despite the infighting) and both of their army bonuses are kept in the legion.


What’s new then? You may ask. Well, your leader - wanting to prove his allegiance and power to Sauron on the field of battle can now call any heroic action viable in the fight phase if he is combat with the enemy Leader. You’ve essentially gained a mini Mighty Hero into the force and that is nothing to sniff at. Especially when that mini becomes not-so-mini and is on top of a Royal War Mumak.


Fluff Verdict: 8/10
Out of all the legendary legions looked at so far, The Grand Army of the South by far has some of the most options to take in a force. You are forced to take at least one Mumak as well, which only further drives the scene on Pelennor further into your mind as you charge the enemy. The extra rules are a nice bonus as well, further adding to the fear that foes felt when being face with a battle line of Mumakil.

Men of the West

Basis: For Frodo. LEEEEEEROYYYYYYYYYY

Ready to get teary eyed and call your last stand as free men? Well this is the legion for you. Honestly though? There’s not a whole lot to the list, just a butt-load of heroes and a motley selection of troops. The last stand at the Black Gate to buy Frodo enough time to destroy the ring is a great scene - Aragorn suicidally charging headlong into an army of Orcs and everyone following suit. This is put on show by the fact that no-one, and I mean no-one needs to take courage checks whilst the King is alive - that is an incredible bonus to men who generally suffer at courage 3. 


The second special rule may not be as powerful, but certainly gives you a movie moment to proclaim across the table - channelling your inner Viggo Mortenson acting chops; “For Frodo”. Giving every friendly model within 12” of Aragorn +1 to their fight. However, if played the right way, can bait some might out of opposing heroes in order to beat your buffed guys and potentially swing a round of combat.


Fluff Rating: 8/10
It’s just such a good scene - I am such a sucker for any rule which lets you actively call out a line from the film. One nice little fluff benefit however is the book canon inclusion of the Knights of Dol Amroth with even Imrahil making an appearance on the battle line. Writing this has actually got me seriously considering running this list in the near future!

The Black Gate Opens

Basis: That troll was such a beast that we gave him his own special rule.

On the other side of the coin, we have the legion that faced off against the Men of the West, and whilst they had their fancy speeches and tear filled oscar moments, this legion brought a lot of orcs and one very scary troll. You also get the nice bonus of a pre-beheaded Mouth of Sauron so there is a little diversity in the list, allowing you to mess a little with magic. Aside from that, your troop choices are essentially limited to orcs and their Morannon counterparts. Not the most adventurous, but given the legions special rule, you’ll be wanting to swamp the enemy. Outnumbering a model in a duel now gives a tasty +1 to wound - always very useful.

Secondly, the Mordor Troll Chieftain got a buff to the tune of being Fearless and an extra point of Might, Will and Fate with no points increase - that’s pretty insane and so it should be for the troll that nearly took Aragorn down. You know, if his master hadn’t been destroyed and all.

Fluff Rating: 7/10
I think this legion is as good as you can make what was essentially a massive horde of orcs with not many defining features (especially in the films). The troll is fantastic, and the inclusion of the Mouth of Sauron is neat as well. I do feel an inclusion that may have helped the fluff would have been to allow a winged Nazgul into the list (even though they were ineffectual once the eagles arrived).

Well, we’ve nearly wrapped up Gondor at War - just two more legions to go and then we’ll be moving onto the next supplement.

Until next time, flavour lovers!

Full on Fluff: Legendary Legions - Part One

This week, Steve takes a flavour-first look at some of the game's Legendary Legions. We all know they can pack punch, but do they stay true to the source material? Let's find out!

As any of the Drawn Combat team would tell you, I love me a bit of theme. I’ll happily take a hero which has a fluffy ability or gimmick if it gives me a laugh in game - it’s why models such as Aldor, Grima and Bill the Pony melt my cold. Dead. Heart. With the latest iteration of MESBG, the devs saw fit to key in on theme in the form of Legendary Legions: historical forces from The Lord of the Rings packed into a cohesive list showcasing those present in certain battles. ‘You can make these already’ I hear and you would be right to say so, only with the Legendary Legions you tend to lose your army bonus and instead pick up a few special rules. In this series, I, your humble fluff-lover Steve will have a look at the Legions currently on offer weighing up the pros and cons based on my limited experience in the game, and also just how damn thematic they are.


Rangers of Ithilien

Basis: Faramir’s rangers, the bunch who’ve been ambushing mumaks, defending Osgiliath and capturing Hobbits. 

Personally I’ve always had a soft spot for the rangers, it was my first D&D class for starters (and heavily followed the colour scheme at that). Whilst not the strongest of forces in Middle-Earth, they do have some of the best shooting and this is put on display by losing the bow limit in warbands with a ranger commander - offsetting your less than average defense by softening up the enemy from afar. A lovely little addition however is taking Faramir’s defense of Osgiliath into account in the form of the Osgiliath Veterans - more expensive than your standard Warrior of Minas Tirith but who cares about that when these are the guys who defended Gondor's capital under Boromir and Faramir? At least this way the force gets a good bit of frontline defense and fighting, although depending on your points limit you may well want to go full bows purely to use the forces’ greatest strength.

The nicest inclusion of this however has got to be taking Frodo, Sam and Gollum into account. Whilst cost heavy for all three, they do add a nice little dynamic to the force - especially by having the One Ring allowing you to pull off some tricksy objective securing and pans to the face. It’s a solid ranged legion to use, although does depend how many opponents you might annoy with a constant peppering of arrows.


Fluff Verdict: 6/10
Whilst it’s a good scene from the films, the legion feels a little one-dimensional and where the large basis of this score comes from - they’re a shooty force, so they’re going to shoot. One addition which could have boosted the fluff score however would maybe be a special rule regarding ‘Faramirs’ quality’ and his treatment of the hobbits besides being just prisoners not able to lead a warband.

The Grey Company

Basis: Get Used to Tracking All Your Wounds, Might, Will and Fate - The Movie

Movie is a little inaccurate, as this legion is based much more off the books showcasing Aragorn's merry band of heroes on their way to Pelennor. What is accurate however, is the micromanaging you’ll be doing with all your spendable points in-game. The legion comprises of nothing but heroes with your cheapest being the Rangers of the North at 30pts basic, so regardless of your points allowance - you’re looking at a small model count. What you’re not lacking in however is sheer combat power. All the rangers are boosted to two attacks, and you have some very respectable fight values across the board. Like any hero-cenctric list however, one bad round of dice rolls can heavily hamstring you and playing objectives can be made that much more difficult.

The crowning parts of the legion on the other hand are undoubtedly the free Anduril for Aragorn making him a machine in combat and Halbarad wielding the Banner of Arwen Evenstar - one of the best banners in the game. With such a hero heavy list that could easily perish at the hands of a bad roll, that boosted re-roll range can be a lifesaver. This does however come with the drawback of keeping your force very tightly knit in order to take advantage, reducing your objective play.

Fluff Rating: 7/10
It’s great to see a company coming predominantly from the books, and inclusion of Elladan and Elrohir is a nice addition given their brotherly rules. Whilst there aren’t many special rules for the list outside of the bonus Stand Fasts and free Anduril it’s still fun as a little ‘what if it happened in the movies’ legion.

The Army of Gothmog

Basis: I don’t like Men, and I have a very convincing way of removing them.

The quintessential Minas Tirith raiding party. Gothmog, a strong hero in his own right gets his very own force featuring the Morannon all stars their lackeys. A little (although quite minor) downside to this legion straight off the bat is that most of the heroes are Forge World only. That being said, they are great units - providing nice buffs to your surrounding troops and helping your maneuverability. Aside from that, it’s an extremely orc-y force with the troops being made up of Orc Warriors and Morannon Orcs and a few heavy hitters in the form of trolls and siege units. The main strength of the legion comes from Gothmog himself in which lies its greatest strength, and weakness. Gothmog’s abilities are on full show as they get a healthy boost, giving most of your army the Hatred (Men) special rule, and for one turn only giving the entire of your force on the battlefield re-rolls to wound. If there was ever a turn-swinging ability, it’s this one. Of course the flip side is that if Gothmog dies (and especially before he triggers Time of the Orc), a lot of the legions potential is squandered.


The skill it seems in this list is using your heroes to correctly navigate and engage your fairly basic troop selection, and choosing the right engagement to trigger Time of the Orc. But if you’re a fan of big beasties, you still have access to the Mordor Troll so it’s not completely without hard hitters.

Fluff Rating: 6/10

Whilst the list is an extremely good representation of the force used within Return of the King, it does lack that certain bit of flavour I look for in the Legendary Legions. It’s special rules are essentially just a magnification of Gothmog’s standard abilities and doesn;t bring a whole lot extra to the table. Certainly a great legion to play with (and against, especially when you’re fielding Eowyn to deny Gothmog!) 

Next time I’ll be looking at three more legendary legions, but what do you think about my (certainly fluff biased) opinions on these ones? Let us know in your comments and discussion!

Until next time flavour-lovers!