A Noob's Perspective: Goblin-Town

There are many reasons that might draw a player to Goblin-town, but the best one is definitely their catchy theme song. If you need a more game-centric reason read on!

One of the main draws for me was that, while it's not the cheapest army in SBG, it is probably the cheapest horde army. The heroes and basic troop types all have plastic kits and sum up to a lot less than buying metal hobbits (as an example) for an equivalent sized army. They also seemed relatively easy to paint. In fact, I got this lot done in just under a week!

There are also some fun shenanigans available to them, but to talk about that we'll need to get into some details. Without further ado it's time to go down down down to Goblin-town.

Goblin Warriors

These guys will be the bulk of any Goblin-town force and at first glance they appear . . . terrible. Fight 2 is below most troops you'd expect to see across the board and with only S3 and D3 they'll struggle to either survive or kill anything (if they can even get to the fight with their 5" move). They do however have two things that make up for this; they're a super cheap 4pts each and their Chittering Hordes special rule. Chittering Hordes allows you to truly swarm your enemy and use a weight of numbers to rack up kills and use number of attacks to outweigh your opponents fight value. They have the option of taking a two handed axe, but I'm not sure on the value of this versus just taking more goblins.

Goblin Mercenaries

The mercenary goblins cost a single point more than their warrior compatriots for which they gain an extra point of defence, which isn't great, but they also gain the Mercenary Ambush special rule. They only get to use this when led by a Mercenary Captain so I'll discuss this further at their entry, except to note that the use of this rule is where they really shine and I don't think I'd take them otherwise.


The Goblin King

Onto the heroes and we start with the biggest boy in town and one that I think goes in every Goblin-town list unless you have a very good reason. Stats wise he's super solid with Fight 6 and three attacks so he's up there with most of the best heroes in the game. He has Strength 5 and a two handed pick (with burly) so he can dish out the hurt and because of his Blubbery Mass special rule can really shrug off a lot of damage (using this in conjunction with Fate and Might points he should be very survivable). Resistant to Magic is also great to have as he is probably the key piece of your army, so avoiding compels and immobilises is very important. He has the monster keyword so can use Brutal Power Attacks, adding some utility to how he can fight.

One of the things I'm looking forward to most is using his Goblin Projectile. By flinging a goblin up to 12" he can deal a Strength 8 hit to a model on a 5+, but perhaps more importantly, automatically knock them prone. Your opponent has a Ringwraith on a Fellbeast? The King will be raining goblins down on them until he gets unseated and the Fellbeast flies home to Mordor.

The next rule to discuss is arguably his most powerful, Relentless Advance, which allows him to move through Goblins in his way when charging. It means there is no hiding from him and that if a goblin ties up a hero in combat the King can still swing in for the kill. This is even more powerful when he's paired with the next hero on our list, Gollum.


Gollum

Stats-wise Gollum is probably the fightiest hero in your army other than the King himself, but that isn't saying much. Where he really shines is his ability to equip the One Ring. When Gollum is wearing the Ring he halves enemy fight values and can move through troops as if they weren't there. This allows him to hang around the back of you army and then dive into a fight after the King and allows his F6 to be the highest in the fight no matter who he's against (unless there's a bat swarm hanging about . . .). This turns the King and Gollum combo into one of the most effective assassins in the game.

Grinnah

Grinnah has 3 Might and reasonable stats, but when compared to a regular captain he doesn't have Heroic March a very important Heroic Action in an army with move 5". He makes up for it with his Swap With Me special rule that allows him to pull the Goblin King out of a deadly situation and keep him alive for VPs and later fights.

The Goblin Scribe

The Scribe is an interesting one and I find myself unsure on if he's worth it. He's quite expensive for a minor hero, but it's because his ability allows him to move Goblin Warriors on from a board edge at an average of 2 or so per turn. This ability seems quite powerful as it allows otherwise slow Goblins to appear on the other side of the table near objectives etc and can potentially set up some small flanking moves. He does require looking after though and seems an obvious target in missions such as Assassination and Fog of War. The Goblins also have to deployed carefully as if isolated they can be quickly cut down and bring about the breaking of your army faster than desired. There's also slightly less flexibility in how he can be used compared to Goblin Mercenaries which can also ambush from a piece of terrain and have the hero with them for Stand Fast and Heroic Moves etc. I think he will require experimentation, but I've put him into at least some of my lists and think he can be a strong piece.

Goblin Captain

You'll doubtlessly have loads of these guys in your army just so you have enough warbands to meet the points limit. They have Heroic March and are 35pts. What's not to like? Having such cheap and plentiful captains means that you will often outnumber your opponent in terms of Might points, which can absolutely be a game clincher.

Goblin Mercenary Captain

I won't discuss this guys stats as it's all about the ambush rule mentioned earlier. It allows them to appear late in the game from a board edge or piece of terrain to seize objectives and just generally be a pain in the arse that your opponent has to commit a decent chunk of their army to getting rid of, which, whilst collapsing under a wave of Goblins, can be quite tricky! My guess is that small warbands is the way to go so that you have maximum choice in terms of what terrain you can spring out of and you don't commit too much on troops that hopefully won't be on the board for much of the game.

Army Bonus and Alliances

The army bonus for Goblin-town seems good at first, but as I wrote lists I often found that the way warbands fit in around common points values it was quite hard to take advantage of (with the exception of bumping The Goblin Scribe up from a Minor Hero to essentially a Hero of Fortitude). It's also quite good to take a few captains for having Might to burn so I don't think it's really essential and opens up the possibility of taking a yellow alliance without really caring about losing it (Goblin-town has no green alliances). In the end though I haven't come up with any alliances that I really like. The biggest strength of the army is by far it's ability to deploy a huge number of warrior models. By having to pay for a hero of valour from another army and whatever troops they want to bring you can really cut into your numbers and crucially bring down your break point. The low Courage of the army means they really can't afford to take too many break checks.

Lists:

500 pts

The Goblin King
24 Goblin Warriors

Grinnah
18 Goblin Warriors

The Goblin Scribe
12 Goblin Warriors

Goblin Captain
6 Goblin Warriors
1 Goblin Warrior w/ 2-Handed Axe

65 Models, 10 Might

This one is pretty simple. It's a massive amount of troops for 500 pts and more can come on with The Goblin Scribe's ability. Powerful list at the points level such as The Rangers of Ithilien will struggle to take enough of them off or deal with The Goblin King. It's given up some hero killing power by leaving Gollum behind, but the King should be good enough by himself at this points value.

800 pts

The Goblin King
18 Goblin Warriors

Grinnah
12 Goblin Warriors

Goblin Captain
12 Goblin Warriors

Goblin Captain
12 Goblin Warriors

Goblin Captain
12 Goblin Warriors

Goblin Mercenary Captain
4 Goblin Mercenaries

Gollum

Spider Queen
2 Mirkwood Spiders

80 Models, 20 Might

This gives up raw numbers to bring in one of the alliances that can best accompany the Goblin force. The Spider Queen and Mirkwood Spiders bring in a lot of mobility and some control. It's a list that still has good numbers, but also has a lot of flexible threats. It looks fun to get on the table and I shall definitely be giving it a go!

A Noob's Perspective - the Army of Dunland

This week, Dan Stu takes a look at the current hotness that is the Army of Dunland Legendary Legion from the recent Rohan at War book!

That’s right, it’s time for another Noob’s Perspective! With the ‘you-know-what’ still at large, the team here at Drawn Combat have had a lot of time to get through our painting piles, and just like Steve in his recent article, I’ve started to look at what’s next! As always – this is a Noob’s Perspective, so I’m going purely on the models’ profiles, having never seen this army on a table.

I’m not alone in eyeing up Dunland - ever since the Legendary Legion dropped, the army has exploded in popularity thanks to some beautiful sculpts, a well-designed and competitive rule set, and the fact that they’ve been a real underdog for a long time! Like many others I’m itching for Forge World to reopen so I can order those amazing new models!

For this article we’ll be looking exclusively at the Legendary Legion. The odds are that if you’re running Dunland these days, it will be in this legion. Not only is it really well designed, with every unit having a unique, important job – it’s also really powerful (at least in theory- but some recent tournament results seem to back this up too.)

I think my favourite thing about this Legendary Legion is how almost nothing treads on each other’s toes. Everything is varied, unique and useful – the Legendary Legions seem to be getting better with every release, and the team has really nailed it with this one. So that being said, let’s take a look at the Legion perks, and then dive straight in to the units!

The Army of Dunland

Death to the Forgoil!  - Hatred of Rohan has been included across the entire list. This is really great, and more than just a fluffy inclusion, for reasons we’ll see later!
Dunlending Pride – Dunlending Banners are now 6” instead of 3”, which almost quadruples their area of effect. For a largely Fight 3 army, this is a massive help.
Dunlending War Cry – for one turn, models within 12” of Thrydan roll to wound at a +1. Spicy! For an army that really doesn’t struggle for ways to amp up their killing power - as we’ll see -this ability could be devastating if timed correctly.

Army Quick Hits:
Race: Men
Strength: Base 4 for warriors, 3 for Wildmen
Defense: Base 4 for warriors, 3 for Wildmen
Fight: Base 3 for Warriors & Wildmen
Courage: Base 3 across the board
Kit: Lots of axes and access to 2 handed weapons. Limited access to spears.

Heroes

Thrydan Wolfsbane
He’s a mandatory hero in this list – but let’s be honest, you’d be taking him 99 percent of the time anyway. He has a solid profile for his cost – but it’s his toolbox that really makes him shine (this is going to be a recurring theme here!) The star of the show is Mighty Blow, which doubles his damage output when wounding. He has both a sword and a two-handed axe for flexibility, meaning that when he really wants to pile on the pain, he can call a two handed piercing strike – giving him a whopping Strength 6, +1 to wound, and double wounds. He’s also got the option to take a mount (unique among the Dunland heroes) – meaning that when the stars align, his potential damage output is crazy, even to high-defense models. He does only have 2 Attacks to make up for this, meaning that he’ll rely on getting the charge and being supported to be reach his full potential. 3 Might is very healthy, too, and will mostly be going towards his Heroic Strike addiction.

Absolutely amazing job on these sculpts. Well done, SBG team!

Gorulf Ironskin
The first of the new heroes is a really solid addition, as well as being an absolutely gorgeous model. 3 Attacks at Fight 5 is always going to be good. His best trick is his Ironskin ability, granting him a free Heroic Defense. I initially thought this was a bit of a trap and would just allow him to ‘lose more slowly’ – but combining with piercing strike is definitely the way to go, totally cancelling out the penalty that comes with the +1 Strength. All of a sudden you’ve got a Strength 6 monster that’s only being wounded on 6s, with 3 Might to swing fights his way – this guy punches above his weight in terms of grinding out duels. It’s tempered a little by his 2 Wounds and 1 Fate, meaning that even with Heroic Defense, he’s still only 1 bad roll away from death – but for 70 points this seems more than fair.

Frida Tallspear
I love this hero. One of the Legion’s main weaknesses is its lack of access to mounted heroes, which really opens you up to charges by mounted enemy heroes. Frida’s inclusion gives you a tool to mitigate that weakness – but only if you use her well. It’s pitch perfect design, and turns an army's blind spot in to an opportunity for engaging gameplay. Frida will cancel out the enemy charge bonuses of any fight that she is supporting, as well as giving all nearby troops rerolls to wound against mounts. She’s a spear support on steroids!

If you keep Frida mobile in your back ranks, all of a sudden you’ll almost want to lose the priority rolls just to bait your opponent in to wasting their big hero charge! Similarly, enemy mounted heroes will really have to think twice about when and where to charge if there is a chance that Frida will come and join the fight – an opportunistic charge could easily turn in to a Dunlending ambush, and without their charge bonuses, the larger cavalry bases can become a big liability. Frida gives tons of play and counter-play options to both sides, and might be my favourite new addition to the list.

Oops – we haven’t even got to her profile yet! She’s another really solid hitter, bringing yet another 3 Might. You’ll want to keep her mobile in the second rank, so she can mostly be thought of as a Fight 5, Strength 4 supporting Spear attack – nothing to sniff at. No Heroic Strike – but I’ll let her off.

The Wildman Oathmaker & Wildmen of Dunland
I’ve grouped these together, as it doesn’t make much sense to discuss them separately.

The Oathmaker is another iconic model, with great rules to match. At first glance, 3 Might (yes, another 3) and a decent combat profile for 55 points is an absolute bargain. He probably has the least use for his Might out of any of the heroes, with only Strength - I’d have loved to see March here, but alas. He’ll probably be your main man for Heroic Move a lot of the time – but this isn’t an easy decision either, as most of the time I think he’ll be run outside your main fighting force and in a blob of Wildmen of Dunland, to whom he gives a 6” fearless bubble – permanent Fury for free!

This turns your Wildmen in to a bit of a swiss army blob – especially if you mix in a few axes and 2h weapons to let them scare some bigger targets. At 5pts each (6 with a 2 handed axe), you can really throw them around – and at only Defense 3, your axes and two handers will be piercing striking often, especially if you’re up against Strength 4+ (I dropped from defense 3 to defense 1? Who cares, I was dead anyway!) They’re a great cheap horde that you won’t care about preserving all that much, and they can really blunt the fangs of some terror-causing lists. With Fight and Courage of 3, these are actually a really good counter to Dunharrow Ghosts, too – tying up a 14pt Ghost with a 5pt Wildman is a great trade (and a very frustrating one for the Ghost player!)

I think there’s also a good argument for including a Dunlending Warrior with Banner in this blob, too- cheap attacks en masse really enjoy banner effects – especially big juicy 6” ones.

Dunlending Chieftain
Expectedly, the only non-named hero is also now the least exciting. But he still has his place, with a good combat stat line and a scary Strength 5. In larger lists I think he’s worth taking just to have access to Heroic March. He comes with a 2-handed axe, but I think I’d trade this for the 1h axe and shield at no cost. This makes him the only Defense 6 model in the list alongside Frida - useful if you need to anchor a location down.

Warriors

Dunlending Warriors
Your bread-and-butter troop choice – but in typical Dunland fashion, you’ve still got plenty of versatility here. Strength 4 with an axe for Piercing Strike is great. Their Defense is average, maxing at 5 with a shield, so running axe and shield should be your default. Access to bows is good, and I think I’d usually include a few. Two-handed axes are slightly less convincing but still nice to have. These are also your source for the Dunland Super-Banners, which I’d always take two of in an average sized army – they really help with the Fight 3.

The Warrior profile lays the groundwork for a really solid Horde-type army. However, the Army of Dunland is not nearly that straightforward in its playstyle, thanks to our next troop choice…

Dunlending Huscarls
These are my second-favourite addition to the list. I’ve heard people say that these models are over-costed – but I couldn’t disagree more! The are expensive, sure - in a vacuum, 11 points for a Strength 4 Defense 5 spear support is a lot. But you’ve got to consider that these guys are your only non-hero access to Spears and Fight 4 in the whole army! 

But what I love about them is that they don’t give the Fight bonus consistently – it’s only when they’re within 3” of a hero. Want Frida to go and cancel out Aragorn’s charge? Or want Thrydan to go and mow down that vulnerable captain? Well, you’d better think about whether or not their sections of your line can cope without Fight 4 for a round or two! Huscarls hammer home the positioning-heavy theme of this army, and their high price point means that you have to be smart with them. Their high cost is an intrinsic part of their design. They aren’t intended as a replacement for your warriors!

Bodyguard as a counter to Terror, and the option to go two-handed axe also means that you also have the flexibility to put them on the front rank if the situation calls for it.

I think efficient positioning of Huscarls and Heroes will be this army’s biggest skill curve – and it’s a little sad that against Elves, this aspect goes out of the window, turning the army in to a more 2-dimensional horde list. But that’s a really minor nitpick.

Also, those models. Phwoar.

Dunlending Horsemen
Dunland’s only Cavalry aren’t amazing, but they’re not really supposed to be. Fight 3 on a Cavalry model is always a little painful, and they won’t be getting any Huscarl support either. But 12 points for a mounted model is a steal! (Also, I think it means that these guys are the only SBG models that cost more in pounds than points…If you can think of any others let us know!)

Still, cavalry with the potential to Piercing Strike up to Strength 5 can never be ignored – and while they won’t be forming the ‘hammer’ of your list, they still have their place. They certainly seem more suited to the counter-charge than the charge. I think their best home is on one of your flanks in a defensive / reactive position – they reroll 1s to wound against horses, which will make mounted enemy heroes think twice about swooping in. They could also serve as late game objective grabbers – but they are quite fragile, and might be fighting with our next choice for that role!

Crebain
Another new addition and they’ve knocked it out of the park yet again. While the models seems to be a little bit more divisive, the rules are great, and open up a ton of possibilities. Easy access to a durable, large base flying model means that you’ll always be on the lookout for potential traps, and your opponent will really have to work hard to prevent this. Of course, if you throw them behind enemy lines too soon they will be trapped themselves – so I think they’ll mostly be used to punish models that overextend.

They can also negate the Stalk Unseen special rule, which is probably situational at best.

But their other logical use is as objective grabbers. 12” of movement will see you flapping over to wherever you need to be - and when bows only hit you on a 6, 4 wounds means that you’re all but immune to ranged fire. And with 2 attacks, they even have a decent shot at taking over control of an objective if it’s only tagged by a single enemy warrior. Even if they can’t get the kill, it’ll take an enemy at least 4 turns to whittle you down, making them great objective deniers.


The List

OK! Now that we’ve got a feel for this insane toolbox full of axes, let’s see if we can put something together.

Thrydan Wolfsbane – Horse
7 Dunlending Warriors with axe and shield
1 Dunlending Warrior with banner
5 Dunlending Huscarls
2 Crebain

Frida Tallspear
3 Dunlending Warriors with axe and shield
2 Dunlending Warriors with bow
2 Dunlending Huscarls
3 Dunlending Horsemen
1 Crebain

Gorulf Ironskin
4 Dunlending Warriors with axe and shield
2 Dunlending Warriors with bow
2 Dunlending Huscarls
3 Dunlending Horsemen
1 Crebain

The Wild Man Oathmaker
1 Dunlending Warrior with banner
5 Wildmen of Dunland with sword
5 Wildmen of Dunland with axe
1 Wildman of Dunland with 2 handed axe

800pts, 54 models, 12 Might

Every unit type other than the Dunlending Chieftain is represented here – not because I was aiming for that, but because I think they all bring something important. I think that’s the sign of a really well designed army list! Looking at it, I would expect it to play somewhere between a horde and a standard battle line army, and the great thing is that you’ve got the flexibility to do either depending on the scenario.

I am a little torn on putting the second banner in with the Wildmen, and might switch it over to Frida’s warband. But in theory, Thrydan, Frida and Gorulf should all be fighting nearby, with a group of Wildmen on one flank, so hopefully 2 banners will cover almost everything. I’ll also have to see how the horsemen get on being split across 2 warbands – they might be better off deploying together. But I wanted to leave the most solid block of troops with the most Huscarl support to be in Thrydan’s warband, just in case of Contest of Champions – an early Dunlending War Cry with all of your best fighters in the centre of the board could be devastating!

It’s a very area-buff-heavy army, similar to the Fiefdoms (a comparison also made on the Green Dragon podcast!) But unlike the Fiefdoms, it’s very dynamic – you can't just keep everything in one blob that gets all the buffs all the time. You’ll be constantly assessing where each unit can provide the most benefit and balancing that against what the scenario requires. You can turn it in to a really efficient killing machine, but you have to work for it. You’ll want to keep Heroes and Huscarls distributed across the line, banners spread out, horses ready to pounce, Frida mobile, and hopefully everything centred around Thrydan ready for that War Cry!

A couple of things I haven’t covered in the profiles above are some of the main things I think this list will struggle against. The most obvious thing missing is a massive hero like Gil-Galad or Elessar- Dunland has great heroes but they cap at Fight 5, and you don’t really have a hero-seeking missile that you can fire-and-forget at your opponent. You’ll be really reliant on Heroic Strike (fortunately you have a lot of might to throw at it), and will probably struggle in the more hero-centric scenarios.
The other blind spot is ranged weaponry. With their archers maxing at Defense 4, you’re not likely to win any shootouts – the bows you do take should just be for opportunistic potshots. Skirmish armies could cause you a real headache. Fortunately against Rohan you’ve got Hatred to even the odds, but against other skirmish armies like Khand and (Valinor forbid) mounted Rivendell, you could have a really frustrating matchup on your hands.

Finally, you have no magic to speak of whatsoever. This is helped a tiny bit by the fact that you’re likely to have will points scattered across the entire army as your heroes will be spread out – so you could always score that lucky 6 to deny. However, the flip side to not having a single massive hero is that your list won’t be crippled if your opponent does score a Transfix or Paralyse.

These are really nicely designed weaknesses; none of them are outright blind spots, and all of them can be mitigated through smart play and using the tools available to you – hopefully making for an army that’s really fun to play, and to play against!

To wrap up, let’s just go over what I think the strengths and weaknesses will be when I get these beautiful models on the table to march on the Westfold:

Strengths
- Incredible damage potential
- Good numbers
- Flexible weaponry, lots of Piercing Strike
- Area buffs for smart positioning
- Lots of Might
- Lots of options against Terror

Weaknesses
- Fight value, especially against Elves
- Lack of an indestructible beatstick hero
- Low-ish defense
- Poor ranged ability and weakness to Skirmish armies
- Lack of mounted heroes – but Frida helps!
- No magic, and not much Will
- Limited access to Heroic March

So there it is! What did I get right or wrong, and what did I miss entirely? Let us know!

A Noob's Perspective: Fangorn (and Friends!)

Recently I have embarked on a hobby project involving everyone's favourite mobile trees. My usual way of doing an army is to throw contrast at it until it looks 'good enough'. However, inspired by the extreme talents of the Drawn Combat team, I decided I wanted to do something that I could take time over and actually be proud of the result! Well that sort of happened, in that I am proud of what I have made but I definitely got carried away and smashed out 3 Ents in less than a week! Hey-ho. It got me thinking about how they might actually function on the tabletop though, so let's have a look at how they work!

Army Quick Hits:

Race: Ents
Strength: 8 😱
Defense: 8 😱
Fight: 7 or 8 😱

Attacks: 3

Wounds: 3
Courage: Base 6 (7 for Treebeard 😱)
Kit: Branches, Roots, Twigs, Leaves, Rocks 🌿

Special Stuff: Everything is a Monster, everything causes Terror, everything can Throw Stones (18" Range, Strength 10 😱) everything is a Woodland Creature (you'd really hope so), everything can Bludgeon. 

Bludgeon is a Special Strike where you pick up a model in base contact (anything smaller than a Monster - if you choose a Cavalry model they get dismounted automatically) and smack them into their friends. If you kill the first thing you hit (the attack counts as having S8) you can move on and hit something else. This continues until you fail to kill someone or there is nothing left around you but pulp. The person you pick up takes a S8 hit every time but you can continue even if they die. This means that you should be prioritising picking up mounted Heroes first, Heroes on foot second, Cavalry third and then anyone you fancy after that. 

Army Bonus: Everything becomes Fearless and is completely unaffected by Magic or anything that would move them/prevent them from moving. 

Heroes:

Treebeard: For a long time this guy was Fangorn's only hero and so had to be included in every list. Luckily he is a Hero of Legend so you can bring up to 18 Ents with you (which would only cost 2160 points plus Treebeard himself). He has 3 Might, 6 Will and 3 Fate. The 6 Will is interesting because if you have your army bonus up then it has really limited uses. The most common spells (Transfix/ Compel) won't affect him anyway, and he is Fearless so won't need it for Courage tests. There are some spells he will want to guard against (Black Dart/Chill Soul) but they are fairly rare or hard to cast anyway. 

Treebeard also has access to Heroic Strike, Strength and Defence. All of these are useful to have, especially Strike, meaning you only have a 1 in 6 chance of not getting up to F10. 

Finally, Treebeard has the option to equip some shoulder mounted machine guns in the form of Merry and Pippin. Admittedly these machine guns have accidentally loaded feathers instead of bullets with their Thrown Stones only being S1 and 8" range but every little helps! They can also be left on objectives if need be, though this is risky since pretty much anything in the game could take them down without too much trouble. 

Quickbeam: The first of the new Heroes from War in Rohan. For 50 points cheaper than Treebeard you lose a point of Fight and Courage, as well as only having 3/1/1 for M/W/F. However what you get in return are an 8" Move and Heroic March. This guy is Fangorn's answer to Usain Bolt. A better comparison might be to a regular Ent, as he only costs 20 points more but gains the Heroic stats and March. That seems like a bargain! His Might will almost certainly all be spent on Marches as Ents really suffer from their not-being-so-hasty in some Scenarios. 

Beechbone: This guy is 20 points more than Quickbeam for which he gains a point of Fight, Heroic Strength and Strike but loses QB's movement bonuses. Beechbone also gets rerolls to wound against Orcs, Uruk-Hai, Goblin or Isengard models. That covers a pretty large amount of the Evil armies in the game which is great! Not so great is that he must charge one of these models if able to do so. A wily opponent will be able to take advantage of this and draw him out for an ambush if you aren't careful. Having a second Heroic Strike available is very handy though so I still think this guy gets included where possible.

Troops:

Ents: These have got to be a contender for some of the toughest troops in the game, with F7 S8 D8 A3 W3, but they do come with a price tag! They cost the same as around 20 Orcs, which they may well be able to take on in a straight up fight (maybe...) but tactically 20 Orcs are going to give you a lot more options. However with a bit of luck that can smash virtually anything! Don't let them get surrounded at your peril!

Lists:

When going for an all Ent force they really write themselves. If you don't want to waste points then there is rarely more than one way to fill you points up. So here is a quick rundown of how to get your points worth with Ents. 

500 points

Treebeard with Merry and Pippin

Quickbeam

Beechbone

9 Might, 3 Models

600 Points

Treebeard with Merry and Pippin

Beechbone

Ent

Ent

6 Might, 4 Models

700 Points

Treebeard with Merry and Pippin

Quickbeam

Ent

Ent

Ent

6 Might, 5 Models

800 Points

Treebeard with Merry and Pippin

Ent

Ent

Ent

Ent

Ent

3 Might, 6 Models

As you can see, because of the way the points work out you actually get fewer Might as your points level increases. This is a strange phenomenon and unfortunately has to happen if you don't want to waste vast chunks of points. These lists also suffer from a lack of rerolls and a very small model count. But let's be honest, you aren't taking Fangorn to be competitive, you are taking them to Bludgeon everything in sight!

Luckily though, Fangorn is Yellow Allies with every other army. This means that you can make some interesting lists, as long as you don't mind losing your army bonuses. As for the Fangorn army bonus, it is one that you may well not want to give up, but it becomes less important if you have more distractions for your opponent's magic. Let's see what we can do.

Fangorn and Rivendell

Elrond, Horse, Heavy Armour

5 Knights of Rivendell, Shields

1 Knight of Rivendell, Shield, Banner

1 High Elf Warrior, Bow

Treebeard, Merry and Pippin

Ent

Ent

800 Points, 11 Models, 6 Might

What do Elves lack? High strength. What do Ents lack? Speed. Put the two together though... and you have what is probably a terrible list! However it can do several things pretty well. It can stand back and shoot pretty reasonably (7 S3 shots hitting on 3s and 3 S10 shots hitting on 4s), it should dominate in combat as everyone is F5 or higher, plus a banner for rerolls. I would imagine you will be outnumbered but the Knights are fast enough that you can pick your battles, plus Elrond's Foresight Points will help with this too. You also have 1 unmounted Elf to hold an objective and just shoot things. The Ents and Elrond will deal with any big threats while your Elves go to town on the troops or lend a knockdown bonus to the Ents should they need it. Everyone is playing to their strengths so maybe it isn't as bad as it first looks!

Fangorn and Minas Tirith

Treebeard with Merry and Pippin

Ent

Ent

Denethor

2 Knights of Minas Tirith Shields

4 Rangers, Spears

6 Warriors of Minas Tirith, Shields

1 Warrior of Minas Tirith, Shield, Banner

Madril

5 Rangers, Spears

10 Warriors of Minas Tirith, Shields

800 Points, 6 Might, 33 Models

Here we have a big old shield wall punctuated by some big smashy Ents. An advantage of Treebeard here is that he is a Hero of Legend and so is automatically the Leader, meaning Denethor is less liable to giving points away. It also means Denethor can get his surprisingly good combat stats into play. You troops are going to line up in a big wall, Warriors at the front, Rangers shooting over their shoulders and lending their F4 to combats. They are the anvil to the Ents' Hammer. 

Fangorn and Hobbits

Meriadoc, Captain of the Shire

8 Militia

7 Shirriffs

Farmer Maggot

Grip

Fang

Wolf

7 Archers

Holfoot Bracegirdle, Shirriff-Leader

12 Shirriffs

Will Whitfoot, Mayor of Hobbiton

12 Militia

Treebeard

Ent

Ent

800 Points, 8 Might, 53 Models

Any army that contains 53 models including 3 Ents has got to be good right?! The thought here is board control. Ents don't do it very well, so let's flood the board with Hobbits! The dogs can be our pseudo-cavalry for getting objectives but otherwise it is a case of throwing enough bodies at the enemy to slow him to a crawl while the Ents smash the big things. Not a huge amount of subtlety here!

Fangorn and Wanderers

Treebeard, Merry and Pippin

Ent

Ent

Tom Bombadil

600 Points, 3 Might (Plus lots of regen), 4 Models

Definitely going to be outnumbered here but Tom can shut of sections of the board to protect your flank and can keep giving Treebeard Might back. Definitely not great but I do like the theme of it.

Fangorn and The White Council

Galdriel, Lady of Light

Saruman the White, Horse

Treebeard

Ent

Ent

750 Points, 5 Models, 9 Might

If you are losing your protection from magic from the army bonus then why not acquire some serious magic potential yourself? Galadriel and Saruman are just about the best casters on the Good side plus their extra rules combo well too. Saruman can make everyone Stand Fast, and Galadriel protects them from shooting and gives -1 Courage to combo with the Ent's Terror.You'll have to play pretty Tactically with only having 5 models at 800 points though!

A Noob's Perspective - The Kingdom of Khazad-Dûm

Steve: Ah Khazad-Dûm, the OG dwarves of MESBG. So OG in fact that the first model released for them was already dead in a tomb and his buddy Ori alongside him. I'm actually starting work on a Khazad army myself so now felt the right time to delve into one of our Noob's Perspectives on one of the greatest dwarven kingoms in Middle-Earth...and one not so great. So immediately off the bat youre limited in what you can take in a Khazad-dum force purely based on who is leading you're army - an historic army led by Durin himself or the more recent reclamation force led by Balin before he decided to retire to a small stone box. With that in mind, let's have a look at a list made for each shall we?

The Kingdom of Khazad-Dûm

Durin, King of Khazad-Dûm
12 Khazâd Guard with Hearthguard upgrade
1 Dwarf Warrior with Shield
2 Vault Warden Teams

Mardin
12 Dwarf Warriors with Shield
1 Khazâd Guard

King's Champion
2 Heralds

700pts, 29 Warriors and 8 Might.

Going into this list was the very one-dimensional thought of 'we will outlast them'. Going off the great standard Defende of the Dwarves and making sure that everything survives long enough to get up close and personal. It severely lacks in ranged power, but makes up for it in Strength. Particularly from the Hearthguard protecting Durin - Strength 4 and Burly with two-handed means that most standard enemies will be dropping on a 4+. Even if they roll badly, the army bonus of re-rolling 1's to wound means they get another shot. A little bit more defense and tricksiness is provided by the two Vault Warden teams to help against anything big and scary.

Durin himself is a mean customer with plenty of tricks including terror, a Warhorn, a soft fate roll, a crazy powerful axe and a single priority re-roll. He does suffer from a shortage of Fate however, but is stocky with Defence 9. Being surrounded by Hearthguard will make him tough to kill, but shame about a lack of Heroic Strength. Durin is being backed up by other warbands, the first being led by Mardin who I took over a Dwarf Captain firstly for that extra point of Might, although this is at the cost of Heroic March which Dwarves could do with.

To fill out the roster, he has a bunch of Dwarf Warriors to provide some extra bulk to the force and general boots on the ground. Finally we have the King's Champion. A set of three models so cool to look at that I couldn't really resist putting them in the list. There's not a huge amount of complexity to it other than that this is a guy who likes to fight, and he brought his mates along to back him up with defense and re-rolls.

The Kingdom of Moria

Balin the Dwarf, King of Moria
1 Dwarf Warrior with Banner
6 Khazâd Guard
5 Dwarf Warriors with Shield
2 Vault Warden Teams

Dwarf Captain with Shield
9 Dwarf Warrior with Shield
3 Khazâd Guard

Flói Stonehand
5 Dwarf Rangers with Dwarf Longbow

697pts, 35 Warriors and 6 Might.

So we start off with a soft version of Durin - Balin, with slightly worse stats and missing a lot of the wargear aside from the axe. He does have a better version of the priority re-roll however which goes off his Will, so if the opponent has no magic you've got three chances to get priority back which isn't too shabby. Filling out the rest of the force, I wanted to be a little thematic of Balin's expedition. So we've dropped a few of the Khazad guard in favour of more Warriors and a few Rangers to round it out. Also a Ballista. Because Trolls and Balrogs. The crowning part of the list, personally for me, has to be Flói Stonehand.

Flói who has probably one of my favourite rules (and got me very excited about starting Dwarves myself) - negating enemy passives. This is a crazy rule, letting you turn off Aragorn's free Might, Imrahil and Boromir's banner effects and The Crown of Morgul for a turn, potentially swinging engagements your way (providing you have line of sight). It's gimmicky stuff like this that I love.

Filling out the list we have a Captain with the handy access to Heroic March to make up for that dwindling Dwarven speed and a little boost of Might where we need it.

Overall, both lists are quite heavy on the defensive, which is certainly a way the Dwarves like to play - they're stubborn and they'll take hits like nothing else. Personally I like the appeal of a strong central character of Durin over Balin, but Balin does have access to Flói and good ol' Gimmers if I were so inclined. The interesting thing is each list does feel different - the first working around a solid core whilst the second has a few more toys at it's disposal to work around brute force.

Have any of you played using Khazad-Dûm? Let us know in the comments and any thoughts you may have on their roster!

Mordor Commanders

So after looking at the troop choices I now want to look at commanding them. With at least 27 options on my hands I need to break this down. I am not going to include the Wraiths in this just yet, they will be for a later blog.

With such choice how to choose is ultimately up to you, but I will say each one has their place. Let's look at commanders/captains in base cost points order, highest to lowest, for the named and then the generics:

Gothmog - Is always a solid choice especially in his own legendary legion. His special rules when fighting against humans can be devastating as well as the Master of Battle special rule, getting free, endless heroics is a big plus. Positioning is key with him, mounting him on a Warg so he can be put in the right place to activate his Time Of The Orc special rule is really important (outside of the LL). In combat he is solid, F5 with 3 attacks and D7 with a shield, but unfortunately lacking on strength at a fairly standard 4. He isn't the most hard hitting at this price point but with all his rules it makes him worth it. Beware though as he only has 1 Fate so don't hang him out to dry and think he can powerhouse on his own.

Shagrat - Apart from my favorite name, this Captain for the points is a power house and well worth looking at in all lists, especially those at lower points value. This guy is a hero killer and this is reinforced by the Blood and Glory rule (kill a hero, regain a might). Armed with his shield of Cirith Ungol he can also get the knockdown rule on the charge, which only amplifies his impressive F5 S5 and 3 attacks (see I told you he was a beast). As if all this wasn't enough he comes with a whopping 3M 3W 3F. Overall a great piece!

Goroth - Here we have another heavy hitter. Wielding a two handed mace with Burly when he is already S5, he is pretty much going to wound most things on a 4+ or better. At D6 and 2 wounds he is still tough enough to stick around for a bit in the fight.....but wait, he can also use other orcs within 1 inch as human shields on a 2+. In any sort of list (well one with at least a few orcs) this is a strong choice and definitely one I will be using.

Mouth of Sauron - With 4 Will points this is a cheap model for Drain Courage and Transfix, perfect to synergise with terror (It's almost like he was a BN himself...hmmmm). His base stats are pretty good with F5 S4 D6 and 2 attacks he can definitely hold his own in combat. With the option for March and an armoured horse, he can get himself and others to where they need to be quickly. Paired with a Wraith so you have two casters, he is a very strong contender for my go to commander. As an added extra he is the cheapest allying model available to Mordor.

Guritz - Around this price there is a bit of competition but this guy is my favorite. In a tournament setting this commander is great. As well as his access to March he can add or subtract one from your reserve roll for Maelstrom style deployments, not just for his warband but for others when he is on the table. At my last tournament this was crucial and saved me every time. F4 S5 D6 so not too shabby, he has an option to go two handed with a pick but beware he doesn't have Burly so it could hurt you.

Gothmog's Enforcer- Only worth the points if you're taking Gothmog.....and even then it's debatable. He allows Gothmog to use his Will points (3) as Might. The fact the Big G already gets lots for free I'm not convinced by him. At F4 S4 D6 he isn't anything to shout about compared to a lot of the other commanders at a similar price point.

Zagdush - Not bad a shout with 3 attacks and access to Strike and Strength at this price. He has access to the Reckless Fighter rule where he can increase his Strength but lower his Defence by 1. He is only F4 S4 D5 so you do need to be careful when you decide to do this...but I suppose that is why it is called "reckless".

Try to ignore the photobomb by Shagrat.

Gorbag - I love this little guy. F4 S4 D5 with option for shield. Again a situational rule with getting an extra point of Fight and Attack if outnumbered certainly makes people think twice about multi-model attacks. With access to Strike and Strength you may be the one charging other heroes but he is better suited as a troop killer.

Grishnakh - F4 S4 D5, but does get options for a shield. His special rule is getting an extra attack against trapped models. Quite situational really, I would take him if points were tight and I'd generally prefer him over a generic Captain. His woodland creature rule doesn't really appeal to me, on the odd occasion a relic is in a wood it would come in handy. Cool looking model though.

Now we get on to the Generics

Black Numenorean Marshall - F5 S4 D7 with Terror, to be fair for a generic these aren't bad stats at all. However named heroes at lesser points cost are more attractive. 2M 1W 1F - standard for a generic.

Captain of the Black Guard - F5 S5 D7 A more hard hitting generic than previous, this has the standard MWF but has a special rule if you take a Wraith you get +2 courage while it's alive. Meh.

Mordor Uruk-hai Captain - F5 S5 D5- you can kit these out with shields, two handed weapons or bows for extra utility. Given the options above I don't know why you would take one.

Orc Taskmaster - Now I can't decide whether these guys are worth it or not. If you are taking him alongside a commander that is always calling heroics then maybe he is, having a 50% chance of not using your Might if you are within 6 inches seems good. He is F4 S4 D6 and can use a whip in a fight if he chooses. The whip can target ALL models in the fight but reduces your fight to 1. Probably not then eh?!

Morannon Orc Captain - No special rules here, access to March F4 S5 D6- option for shield and 2 handed weapon. With the named commanders coming in at similar points I really don't see a place for this in my armies apart for the D7 option if I was tailoring a list.

Orc Captain - Woodland creature and March F4 S4 D5 - This guy can be put on a Warg, have a shield and bow. There is an argument for having him for mobility and the cheap March, maybe as the commander of a group of Warg Riders. Other than that I think you are better off with other named heroes, though there is something to be said for him being so cheap!

As you can see, there are a lot of options available, even more if you count Ringwraith's, Kardush and the Orc Shaman but I will cover these in later blogs. Let us know what your favorite is or what you think is essential to your list.

A Noob's Perspective: Moria

It has been a while since we did a Noob's Perspective article but all this isolation has had me thinking about armies I wouldn't normally consider. During some of the time between rounds at Desolation of Stockport a few weeks ago we were chatting about meme monster lists and these were mostly centered around Moria so I thought I would expand that discussion into an article.

Let's start out with a two sentence review of each entry in the army list. This is going to be tricky!

Heroes:

The Balrog: Probably the best Monster in the game: F10, S9, D9 and 10 Wounds with a free heroic combat each turn. Need I say more?

Durburz: The best Goblin "brawler" with a mighty F4 S4 and access to Strike. Also the only Hero of Valour besides a Dragon so a must take if you want to bring a horde army.

Groblog: A very cheap way of getting 3 Might on the table, and can stick around a surprisingly long time with Heroic Defence. Also has access to Strike and a 50/50 chance of boosting the Fight value of those around him.

Druzhag the Beastcaller: Can bring Wargs and Spiders as part of a Moria list and can also pump them up with Enrage Beast. A good way of getting some heavier hitters into a Moria army.

Ashrak: Another way of getting Spiders into Moria and can make them Fearless through Fury. His chance to Paralyse things makes him a good way to rebuff heroes as they will want to avoid him.

Moria Goblin Captain: Very cheap Might and March. Only F3 but at S4 and D6 with shield he is fairly good for a Goblin.

Moria Goblin Shaman: Good for Fury as your Courage is pretty lacking , however Moria has a lot of ways of boosting Courage and this is one of the more expensive ways to help it. Ultimately probably not worth it.

Moria Blackshield Captain: You are paying 5 points more than a regular Captain with Shield for Hatred (Dwarf) and an extra point of Courage. However having to always go two handed is a pretty big downside for someone who is only F3.

Moria Blackshield Shaman: This guy has access to what could be the best spell in the game, Shatter (that's a nice Banner you have there Gamling....). He also has access to Tremor, which, while difficult to cast, knocks people prone so they count as trapped.

Dragon: The only other Hero of Valour with a pick and mix of upgrades. They can get expensive really fast if you take too many of these though (probably just Fly is the way to go).

Cave Drake: For 100 points less than a Dragon you get one fewer Fight, one fewer Wound, and two fewer Might and Fate. However you do also get the chance to kill multi-wound models outright and a little Fearless bubble around its eggs.

The Watcher in the Water: Pretty much the only example of 'Deep Strike' in the game. Also becomes utterly terrifying if it is in water (those pretty Lake Town boards suddenly become a whole lot scarier). [Bonus 3rd sentence: In my opinion the biggest victim of the allies changes; adding one in to a random other Evil list was hilarious]

Troops:

Moria Goblin Warrior: Your basic troop with emphasis on the basic. F2, S3 and D4 but what do you want for 4 points?!

Moria Blackshield: An extra 2 Defence, 1 Courage and Hatred (Dwarf) for double the price of a regular Goblin? Pass.

Moria Goblin Drum: Moria's equivalent of Banners except with an 18" range and they add 1 to your courage and minus 1 to the enemy's on the entire battlefield. Seems like a must have!

Moria Blackshield Drum: The banner effect is reduced by 6" in exchange for being able to move it and still play it. Possibly a decent trade off but I think i'd rather have the bigger Banner if you have a lot of troops.

Moria Goblin Prowler: Do not get trapped with these guys around as they become F4 and have +2 to wound! Ouch!

Cave Troll: A pretty tasty way to get some punch into the list. However for the same points cost as a Dweller I'm not sure that I wouldn't rather just have one of those.

Bat Swarm: 35 points to make Sauron's Fight value go down to 4?! Oh my.

Warg Marauder: Maybe the craziest model in the game. Have a look at our Cavalry Comparison article for more info.

Dweller in the Dark: Aww, it's a little baby Balrog! F7 is amazing and getting wounds back is pretty great too.

As you can see Moria is a funny force which only really has things on either end of the power spectrum, and very little in the middle. So what lists can we put together? Well there are pretty much 3 archetypes: Horde, Monster Mash, or a mix of the two. Let's have a look at some examples.

Horde

Durburz
3 Prowlers
6 Warriors with Shields
6 Warriors with Spear

Druzhag
2 Bat Swarms
2 Fell Wargs
2 Giant Spiders
5 Warriors with Shields

Groblog
2 Prowlers
5 Warriors with Shields
5 Warriors with Spears

Blackshield Shaman
1 Prowler
3 Warriors with Shield
2 Warriors with Spear

Moria Goblin Shaman
2 Prowlers
5 Warriors with Shields
5 Warriors with Spears

700 points, 56 Models, 10 Might

A large amount of models with some variety thrown in from all the beasties. The beasties actually play an important roll though as they are objective grabbers (Wargs), hero debuffers (Bats) and some much needed punch (Spiders). In fact they can all become pretty good punchers if Druhzag casts Enrage Beasts on them. There are also a smattering of Prowlers thrown in to take advantage of all those lovely traps you will be able to set up. Character wise, you haven't got much in the way of fighters but you have some tasty options with Fury and, most importantly, Shatter. What's that Gil-Galad? You're F9? Well it'd be a real shame if that spear of your got Shattered and you had -1 to all duel rolls. And you're trapped with 2 Prowlers in the fight? This is going to hurt mate.

Monster Mash

Dragon with Fly
Cave Drake
The Watcher in the Water
Dweller in the Dark
Dweller in the Dark

800 points, 5 Models, 5 Might

I mean, this is probably bad, but just look at it. Everything is F6 or higher so it can trouble heroes, everything has Terror so it has control, everything is Resistant to Magic so it's hard to deal with it that way too. It has Fly, it has a Deep Strike, and the other models have an 8" move so it's mobile too. You have to kill 3 of the 5 models to break it and 4 to quarter it. I kind of love it to be honest.

A Balanced Force

The Balrog
Bat Swarm
8 Warriors with Shields
8 Warriors with Spears

Durburz
6 Warriors with Shields
5 Warriors with Spears
1 Warrior

Groblog
3 Prowlers
2 Warriors with Shields
5 Warriors with Spears

700 Points, 42 Models, 6 Might

Here you have plenty of Warriors and a couple of middling heroes to back up the big man himself; The Balrog. It is a little low on Might but the 'Rog gets a free Heroic Combat every turn so he can really churn through the enemy. The Balrog presents that classic problem of a super powerful figure that you cannot ignore but is going to take a disproportionate amount of your resources to deal with. Combined with the previously talked about Bats and Prowlers you have a force that can do a bit of everything.

So that is Moria. Hordes, monsters, magic, it can do a bit of everything. It is also a Yellow Alliance with all other Evil armies (except Barad-dur and Sharkey's Rogues which are Red) so if you are happy to give up the ok-ish army bonus to get some other allies in there you can do. However if you do so you'll have to take The Balrog, Durburz or a Dragon because of the new allies rules!