It doesn't seem more than a day ago that it was Christmas eve. The last few days have well and truly gone in the blink of an eye.
So what did I get for Christmas? Enough to keep me busy for a long time.
A warband of Dunlending warriors which includes a chieftain
A box of wild men
Thrydan foot and mounted
An Uruk Scout command pack
Galadhrim command pack
A box of galadhrim knights
Haldir and Celeborn
And to top it all off the new War in Rohan book!
Now, the tradition seems to be looking back at the year, so let's get into it.
We started off around the end of January. Not sure what made me do it, but during a trip to Nottingham with my partner I visited Warhammer World. I had no idea that Middle Earth SBG had just released under a new edition. I purchased the rules book, and before long found myself with the armies book, a box of Uruk Scouts and all the paints and tools required to assemble them. I already had Lurtz, Ugluk and a bunch of beserkers home so I was ready to field a small army of around 500 points.
I had the models, but knew of nobody around the area that played, barring a few but these out their efforts into "optimal meta" armies and that clashed with my themed play style. A quick search of the local page gaming store pages found a chap willing to give me a game. I quickly got the hang of the game, and played the guy a second time, this time with the aid of Mordor orcs and an Isengard troll! I also met and played another gentlemen. This was all well and good, but the journey to the game and back wasn't great and left only around 2-3 hours of play time. A long way to travel for a single game. Around this time I'd began looking into other wargames and was quite Charmed by the simple skirmish game called Frost grave. Through this I met Richard Y, who invited me to join the KIA gaming group, and this really was the gateway into the wargaming world for me.
I steadily attended every club day I could, playing a variety of games such as Middle Earth, Frost Grave, Bolt Action and finally putting to use my Cromwell and British Airborne that I'd received some years before...
Of course the other game I played, and got fully stuck into was Warhammer Fantasy 8th edition. I now have a 2000 points Empire army... A lot of painting to do!
I also went to two all day games, with Pelennor Fields and The Black Gate Opens, using the War of the Ring system.
And then on the painting front, I've slowly progressed to a point where I'm happy with my results. I have two major flaws with painting, a lack of patience and very high standards! It's been tough but I find I'm getting used to layering, high lighting, shading etc and can now produce miniatures to a table top standard. I'm particularly happy with my latest two miniatures, Thrydan on foot and the uruk scout captain with two handed axe. Photos of these will appear on a blog post some time soon.
So where do plans lie in the future? Well I will fully assemble, paint and base my Dunland and Isengard army, before purchasing Sharku and enough warg riders to field 500 points of the Wolves of Isengard. Many games of LOTR await including me and Richard B continuing our journey books campaign, expect and update on that in a new post shortly.
And on that note, I hope you all achieve your hobby goals this year!
Happy new years folks,
Have a good one.
Tuesday, December 31, 2019
Tuesday, December 24, 2019
Merry Christmas!
Well, it came around rather quickly this year in my eyes. Strange to think that this time next month, I'll have purchased the new Middle Earth Strategy Battle Game rulebook on a whim, from Warhammer World... Little did I know the journey this would set me on.
I'm eager to see what I'll wake to tomorrow, gift wise. I suspect some Dunland and Uruks will have found their way into my gifts from my girlfriend. We shall see.
So, having polished off a few nibbles and a drink or two, I'll bid you all a good night and a merry Christmas, here's hoping its a good one.
I'm eager to see what I'll wake to tomorrow, gift wise. I suspect some Dunland and Uruks will have found their way into my gifts from my girlfriend. We shall see.
Friday, November 8, 2019
Middle Earth In Review - Isengard
This post takes a look at picking apart the various factions of Middle Earth Strategy Battle Game, and having a look at their strengths and weaknesses. Now, even though I can count the factions I've actually played on one hand, I've come up against almost all of them, and the others I've seen played in great detail so I feel fairly confident in what I'm reviewing, but as always this is purely my own opinion and what is right to me could be wrong to others!
For this first review, I thought I'd check out a faction I play more than any other and one I find to be one of my favourites. I am of course talking about Isengard!
So why do I like it? well from a "fluff" perspective Isengard has a lot that appeals to me. Brutish, thugs in heavy armour with broad blades and a taste for man flesh backed by cowardly orcs and hate-filled men from Dunland provide a decent amount of variety amongst your troop choices, and the film and books give a very good amount of choice for forces to theme your army on, from a small force of Dunland warriors attacking a Rohan village to of course, the legion of the white hand clad in steel, marching to Helm's Deep.
In game, as mentioned above, they have a large variety to choose from. Worth noting however is that only models with the "Uruk-hai" key word will benefit from their army bonus which is in my opinion, a very good bonus, requiring them to take courage tests for being broken only when losing 66% of models as opposed to 50%. The other bonus allows Lurtz, Ugluk, Mauhur, Scout captains and regular scouts to have the woodland creatures rule. They also have a very good stat line for the most part, with a few more options being a bit less useful, but still very good choices for theme.
And with that, lets take a look at what Isengard have on offer.
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You do not know pain, you do not know fear!
All friendly models with the "Isengard" key word do not take courage tests for being broken until 66% or more of the army is removed as casualties. Named scout heroes, scout heroes and scouts also gain the woodland creatures special rule.
This is probably one of the better special rules depending on your army. A list full of armoured fighting uruk-hai will benefit from this more than a mix of uruks, orcs and men would as they do not contain the "Isengard" key word and therefore will test for being broken on 50% as usual. Note that the rule only changes the COURAGE TESTS. you are still BROKEN when you drop below 50%, and thus any effect from the scenario will happen on 50%.
Heroes of legend:
Saruman:
A hero of legend, Saruman can lead up to 18 units in his warband. He comes with a few special rules that certainly gives you an edge should you choose to field him.
The first is The Palantir, which allows Saruman to use the Palantir to automatically win priority that turn, as long as it is declared before any dice are rolled. Used at the right time, this can either allow you to pull off some devastating charges, or save you from the enemy attempting the same.
Voice of Curunir is the next, giving him a Stand Fast! range of 12" that can also effect other heroes, and with a courage of 7 it's only some very bad luck with the dice that'll send Saruman running, and even then you have your other heroes with acceptable courage to keep others in check.
The last rule he has is the Lord of the Istari, allowing him to re-roll one dice when casting or resisting spells. Useful when trying to pull off some of his harder to cast spells, and goes together quite nicely with his one free point of will per turn.
His spells include:
Immobilise
Terrifying Aura
Command
Sorcerous Blast
Flameburst.
He has the standard wizard stat line and can purchase a horse, which in my opinion is a must if possible as it allows him to stay out of danger and line up good spells, and gives him an in the way save if targeted by archery. He is however, quite expensive. This will limit his usefulness in smaller point sized games, but still a solid choice in my opinion.
Grima Wormtongue:
Grima can only be fielded if taken with Saruman, cannot lead troops and must either deploy in his warband or in an enemies warband. If deployed in an enemy warband, models may attack him but may not strike blows if they win, nor may they shoot at him. He can however, be targeted by magical powers. When he's in 6" range of an enemy hero, that hero must spend two might points per heroic action instead of one.
This is a useful ability and can come in handy against "mighty" heroes such as Boromir, and even Aragorn will suffer as he can no longer reliably use his free might per turn to call heroic actions. There are however some down sides to this choice.
Saruman and Grima together cost over 200 points, and that's before any horses are considered. He also has a miserable stat line and courage value that will see him flee if he is revealed as a traitor (he strikes a blow on an enemy, or Saruman is slain). Another thing I'll mention is something I witnessed during a game between Rohan and Isengard. Two games were played and both times Grima achieved nothing. The first game, he didn't have a horse and therefore couldn't keep up with heroes to make his ability come into play. The second time, whilst he did have a horse, a lone rider of Rohan kept him pinned in duels for most of the game, and prevented him from using his ability more than once or twice.
So whilst he is a useful choice, you have to decide if you can deal with the points cost, and how you're going to keep close to your targets.
Heroes of Valour:
Lurtz:
A hero of valour that has seen a big upgrade from his profile in previous editions.
With a fight and strength of 5, defence of 6 and 3 attacks he is now quite a beast in combat. He can shield for 6 dice, and has a strength 3 bow hitting on 3+. He also has 3 might that allow him to save himself, or take out dangerous targets.
He also comes with a special rule, "Find the Halflings!" that allows him to choose when and where it arrives in scenarios that require a roll for deploying. This is sometimes very useful, others not at all. It's still a nice bonus to have, especially when that warband you wanted behind your lines deploys close to the enemy with no support.
Heroes of Fortitude:
Ugluk:
Ugluk gets a bit of a bad rep in my opinion. With 2 attacks and 5/5/5 F/S/D, 3 might and 1 fate does suggest he's fragile and many avoid using him unless it's to take advantage of his Head Taker special rule, allowing him to kill a nearby friendly model to instantly pass his (and all within his stand fast range) courage test for being broken.
But with 2 attacks at S5 and 3M to ensure some of those attacks hit, I think Ugluk is a solid choice. Sure, he'll go down fairly quickly to concentrated attacks, but with his bad reputation not many opponents will focus their fire on him unless you give them a reason to and this largely allows Ugluk to slip under the radar, as it were. Often my opponent has underestimated Ugluk and pinned his efforts on Lurtz or my troll and realised only too late that a hole has been punched in his battle like by Ugluk supported by spears or pikes (preferably orcs with spears, so you're not sacrificing a more useful uruk for his special rule if you should need it.)
Vrasku:
The ranged option of the named scout heroes. Vrasku is very popular, and rightly so. He has the same stats as Ugluk, but drops heroic strike and strength for heroic accuracy to go with his crossbow, hitting on 3+ with the Expert Shot rule. I've seen many people take him, and he is a solid choice. Me personally? I prefer a scout captain with bow, as it better fits the theme of the mobile scout force as opposed to Vrasku who has to move OR shoot. Kind of defeats the purpose of mobility right? but only from a theme point of view. If this doesn't bother you, he's a solid choice.
Mauhur:
The final option of the named scout heroes. a stat line similar to Ugluk but with an extra attack and 2" move at the cost of a point of might. He also allows any scouts in his warband to become marauders, giving them the same 8" move for an extra point. This has many uses such as flanking the opponents battle line, getting to objectives quickly or even moving 4" and firing with a bow. He is a bit fragile but with those attacks, and hopefully supported by orcs or pikes, he shouldn't be losing the fight. Be aware, he doesn't have heroic strike, so fight 5 is the highest you're getting with him.
Sharku:
The orc that almost killed Aragorn, Sharku comes with a stat line close to an orc captain, but with 3 might. He also has a special rule with his dagger, where any enemy hero in base contact that fails to wound him immediately takes a strength 4 hit from his dagger. Not terribly dangerous outright (except on certain low defence heroes, like wood elf captains) but definitely something your opponent will start to take into consideration after his hero cops a wound and suddenly is either a fate point or a wound closer to death.
NOTE he does have to buy his warg mount, and can also buy a shield. I fully recommend taking both, putting him at the same cost as Vrasku or Ugluk but giving him a much better chance of survival.
Thrydan Wolfsbane:
I love the warriors of Dunland, but have yet to play a game with them because the models are long OOP and cost an arm and a leg on Ebay. With Rohan at War, a new MESBG expansion set to drop soon, here's hoping they make a comeback!
Thrydan has an identical stat line to Ugluk, but with an added point of will and fate, giving him a bit more survivability. He comes with a sword and a two handed axe, which I believe he can swap between, and has the option to buy a horse. He also has a Stand Fast! of 12" thanks to his Lord of Dunland rule, and mighty blow allowing him to cause two wounds for every one inflicted! A good choice, especially if you want to theme your army for a Dunland raiding force, or a combined uruk, orc and Dunland force assaulting Helm's Deep! He is however pretty pricey, costing 20 points more than Ugluk, 30 with his horse. And remember, though his Stand Fast! is 12", he does only have 4 courage, and being a MAN, does not benefit from the special rule of Isengard.
Uruk-Hai Scout Captain:
5 points less than a regular captain, and one less point of defence. I am on the look out for one of these myself as I love the model, and it would fit nicely for a skirmish depicting a raid on a Rohan village, where the named heroes would not have been present (possibly Mauhur or Vrasku).
Only marginally cheaper, if you're interested in a hero better at surviving, take a regular captain. If you want a hero that can move and shoot however, this is your choice as captains cannot take bows, only crossbows.
Uruk-Hai Captain:
6 defence standard, 7 with a shield. These guys can anchor a position and defend it for a long time. An example from a recent game, my captain shielding with 4 dice, fight 5 managed to hold off the efforts of 3 Gondor rangers for 3 turns, allowing my orcs to move over and support, and remove the rangers, denying the objective. Definitely worth their points.
Dunlending Chieftain:
Same stats as Thrydan, minus a point of might, will, fate and the Stand Fast! and Mighty Blow rules. Comes with a dagger and a two-handed axe, and can swap that two-handed axe for a hand axe and shield for efree, or a bow for 5 points. A bow is a potentially wasted option but COULD come in handy in the right circumstances. When playing as evil, I play my archers aggressively, and use them as melee warriors the second the fight starts to tip against me, since they perform as well as their melee counterparts but without the shield. He will be stuck at defence 5 if you take the bow, but that's not too much of an issue. With strength 5 and two attacks, he'll make his presence felt in combat, especially if you elect to keep the two-handed axe, which is the best option for him in my opinion.
Minor Heroes:
Uruk-Hai Shaman:
Used to be a lot more useful before Fury changed. Fight 4, strength and defence 4 and 1 fate point means he is not a front line fighter. He can support with his spear but I'd suggest using him to stay back and try and channel fury for a 6+ save on all uruk-hai when wounded. If you can get this off, I'd use my last will and might point to attempt to transfix a hero, allowing him to be cut down with ease. Makes for a nice themed force with a few beserkers or ferals.
Independent heroes:
Uruk-Hai Drummer:
These guys are cheap, but only come with a dagger and a drum, and no other choices. They do however confer a bonus 3" movement to other uruks around them, but not orcs or men of Dunland. This will stack with Mauhur and his marauder upgrade effectively giving the whole warband 11" move, which can outpace some cavalry, or allow a scout with bow to move 5.5" before and still fire! a deadly combination, but still useful for other units as well. Most of your army will benefit greatly from 9", allowing them to eventually catch up to pesky cavalry or other fast units that would harass you to death with spears or bows.
Wild Man of Dunland:
An odd profile. Worse defence than an orc but a slightly higher courage. They are cheap and can take two handed axes, which is their best option in my opinion, otherwise I'd get as many of them as cheaply as possible and use them to screen my approaching uruks. They also have hatred against Rohan, for what it's worth. They, like Dunlending warriors, fit very nicely into themed raiding force lists.
Isengard Orc Warrior:
the orc you know and love. Compared to uruks, their stats are awful. They are dirt cheap however, and can be used much like wild men to screen the approach of uruks. They can however bring more equipment and most importantly, support combats cheaply with a spear giving them a bit more use than wild men. I usually take a few spears to support my scouts, and I ALWAYS take at the most 3 with shield, to act as Ugluk's body guards/sacrifices for his special rule. You can also take an Orc Captain, which I'll cover in a later post. Briefly though, they're slightly stronger orcs with access to might, will, fate and heroic actions including march.
Beserker:
A fantastic unit. 2 attacks, high strength and respectable defence. Insane courage. These guys will hit hard and with a bit of luck, can survive the retaliation thanks to their special rules. One lets them ignore wounds on the roll of a 6, and the other increases their defence against shooting attacks. They are best used as a hard hitting unit supported by others so that they don't get overwhelmed and brought down by cheap infantry models, especially when you factor in the cost of a beserker.
Feral Uruk:
The poor mans beserker. Only marginally cheaper but nowhere near as good, in my opinion. They lack the defence against archery and have poor defence in general. They can still make their presence felt and deal damage but for 2 points more, you may as well take a beserker unless you want them for theme, or you just want to use them in general in which case, good on yer'!
Warg Rider:
The obvious choice if taking Sharku on warg. These guys are standard orcs but use the strength of the warg, which is the same as a standard uruk, and obviously gain juicy charge bonuses. They can be upgraded with shields and throwing spears, or bows. Bows aren't overly worth it for me, as their low shoot skill combined with the fact they'll rarely be stationary means they're hitting on 6, at 18" with strength 2. The spears are much better. Some people will tell you not to take them as they don't benefit from the 66% break point rule. I disagree, as they can be your answer to enemy cavalry, can isolate and pick apart back line units with ease and they can get to objectives faster than most other units in the army (beaten only by marauders and drum combo).
Isengard Troll:
A beauty of a beast, but an expensive one. 3 attacks, 7 strength and can take a shield with his sword or spear, giving him 8 defence. Human archery is wounding him on 6 followed by 4. Elves on 6. Useful in a few ways, but here's how he usually performs when I use him:
Charges in, hurls, rends and barges his way through multiple units before finally fighting with, and depending on the hero, winning. Alternatively, the opponent focuses all archery on him and it takes a good few turns but he finally goes down. This is a shame, but still provided a useful distraction, and my entire battle line of uruks and orcs make it to the enemy with barely a wound between them. Protect his approach and he can do a lot of heavy lifting.
Uruk-Hai Demolition Team:
Not often seen but a fun choice, and excellent in a siege. Comes with two warriors with sword and a beserker with a flaming brand. There's a small chance the bomb will be a dud but getting it off at the right place at the right time can be catastrophic for all nearby, including your own units. If you can somehow get it off on cavalry it'll do 2d6 wounds instead of 1d6.
Isengard Assault Ballista:
Quite useful, has a long range and it's ability to inflict a strength 9 wound on a target, and then fling it 1D6" away as long as the target is below strength 6 is great, especially since every model hit by the flung model take a strength 6 hit. Not too expensive, and only scatters 3" instead of 6" due to it's accuracy. Very good in sieges, where it can raise ladders onto walls.
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From the above we can see that Isengard prefers to get stuck in up close. An aggressive army with many options for mobility, either by increase through upgrades or making use of the scouts woodland creature rule to exploit terrain. Make no mistake, they are a force to be reckoned with due to their high fight, strength and defence. Some of the weaker units will only see play in scenarios, or in the armies of those that prefer theme over efficiency, but this army really can cover a fair few play styles. Pure uruk warriors will be a tough nut to crack, and scouts can easily flank. A variety of heroes, all of which are good on the field, and access to magic through the shaman and Saruman all make the army even harder to overcome. All in all, I'd give Isengard a 9/10 and rate them as beginner friendly. Devastating if used in the right hands.
Onto lists! here are 3 lists I've thrown together, 1 "meta" and 2 themed lists.
List 1: Armoured Might.
Lurtz with shield - Leader
6 Uruk-Hai Warrior with shield
1 Uruk-Hai Warrior with banner
6 Uruk-Hai Warrior with pike
2 Uruk-Hai Beserker
Uruk-Hai Captain with shield
6 Uruk-Hai Warrior with shield
3 Uruk-Hai Warrior with pike
3 Uruk-Hai Beserker
Vrasku
11 Uruk-Hai warrior with Crossbow
1 Uruk-Hai Beserker
685, This list would be my choice at a 700 points tournament. How well would it do? I'm not sure. I've yet to play a tournament or many games that are truly competitive (we're a casual lot at the club, preferring games with lesser seen armies and combinations as opposed to cookie cutter "best army" lists). So this is purely speculation. However, Lurtz acts as the hammer, his warriors tying up and bogging down the enemy line whilst he and the beserkers attempt to flank, preferably with the beserkers from the other warbands. Vrasku and his crossbows can stand back and snipe, and if needs be, can rush to get into the action up close. The uruk captain brings more shields and pikes to the line, and beserkers to flank. With 7 defence and 6 dice when shielding, the captain will hold almost anybody in place for a while, and acts as the anchor in the lines.
You could mess around with the hero choices, perhaps adding in Ugluk or Mauhur or even a shaman for added protection on your main uruks. Consider a troll, if you want more heavy hitters, but beware spell casters that may try to magically subdue him. I did however leave 15 points spare, which a more seasoned player could probably work into the list somehow.
List 2: The Westfold Burns
Uruk-Hai Scout Captain with shield- Leader
6 Uruk-Hai Scout with shield
3 Uruk-Hai Scout with bow
3 Feral Uruk-Hai
Uruk-Hai Scout Captain with shield
6 Uruk-Hai Scout with shield
6 Orc Warrior with spear
Dunlending Chieftain with two-handed axe
12 Dunlending Warrior with two-handed axe
Dunlending Chieftain with axe and shield
4 Dunlending Warrior with bow
4 Dunlending Warrior with axe and shield
4 Wild men of Dunland with two-handed axe
At 597 points (for a 600 points game) this is themed on a joint raiding party from Isengard and Dunland. The scouts with shield lead a small force comprised mostly of shields to do the front line fighting, with a sprinkling of bows and spears here and there to support them. 3 ferals complete this warband, adding punch to the list and looking to expose any chink in the battle lines armour.
The Dunlendings serve three purposes. The chieftain with axe and shield leads 4 more shield bearers, and 4 wild men with two axes for hatred and theme. 4 warriors with bow can support their approach and act as fighters should they need to. The chieftain with two-handed axe, supported by 12 other two-handed axe warriors will put serious hurt on anything they can get in contact with, providing they have support.
Would it do well competitively? most likely not. But to most players, the sight of a list comprising Dunland and lesser used models like scout captains and wild men will be like a breath of fresh air. And of course, a win is always possible and will feel all the better when you manage to pull it off.
List 3: The Wolves of Isengard
Sharku on Warg with shield - leader
1 Warg rider with banner
11 Warg rider with shield and throwing spears
Isengard Orc Captain on Warg with shield
6 Warg rider with bow
6 Warg rider with shield and throwing spears
Isengard Orc Captain on Warg
499/500 points used, this small skirmish level list is not competitive in the slightest. It is however a lot of fun running pure cavalry. This is of course themed on the force that attacks Aragorn and co. en route to Helm's Deep. Sure, you get none of the army bonuses but you have an army capable of a lot of manoeuvrability and with throwing spears and a few bows, your warg riders are hopefully capable of thinning the numbers a bit before clashing. Of course, with only 27 models you've got to be very careful about when and where you commit your charges. In some scenarios, you'll need to swap a few warg riders for standard orcs to claim objectives, but in a straight up "kill stuff" game this isn't a problem. You could also swap the banner to give the lone captain a bit of company if you see fit.
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And hopefully that has given you a bit of insight into the Isengard faction, and a bit of help with what you can achieve with it. Please bare in mind, whilst I've watched the game played for many years (since the Return of the King rules book, so about 2003 or 4? Blimey I feel old) I only started playing this January. Whilst I feel like I have enough knowledge and competence to back what I'm saying, ultimately I do have a lack of experience of actually playing on the competitive scene, so in NO WAY is this the ultimate be all, end all guide.
With that being said, thanks for reading and again, I hope you enjoy and benefit from the review. The final important point I want to impress on you (and arguably the most important) is that there is NO wrong way to play this game. If you want a list that will top tournament tables then by all means go for it. If you want something that is less likely to win but looks great or fits to a themed army that you have a particular interest in from the books/films/video games then more power to you.
Join me next time (probably after Christmas, as university coursework piles on and my time for gaming is cut short barring 2-3 club days that are left in the year) as we review Lothlorien, and keep an eye out for two battle reports being uploaded in the next few weeks.
For this first review, I thought I'd check out a faction I play more than any other and one I find to be one of my favourites. I am of course talking about Isengard!
So why do I like it? well from a "fluff" perspective Isengard has a lot that appeals to me. Brutish, thugs in heavy armour with broad blades and a taste for man flesh backed by cowardly orcs and hate-filled men from Dunland provide a decent amount of variety amongst your troop choices, and the film and books give a very good amount of choice for forces to theme your army on, from a small force of Dunland warriors attacking a Rohan village to of course, the legion of the white hand clad in steel, marching to Helm's Deep.
In game, as mentioned above, they have a large variety to choose from. Worth noting however is that only models with the "Uruk-hai" key word will benefit from their army bonus which is in my opinion, a very good bonus, requiring them to take courage tests for being broken only when losing 66% of models as opposed to 50%. The other bonus allows Lurtz, Ugluk, Mauhur, Scout captains and regular scouts to have the woodland creatures rule. They also have a very good stat line for the most part, with a few more options being a bit less useful, but still very good choices for theme.
And with that, lets take a look at what Isengard have on offer.
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Army Bonus
All friendly models with the "Isengard" key word do not take courage tests for being broken until 66% or more of the army is removed as casualties. Named scout heroes, scout heroes and scouts also gain the woodland creatures special rule.
This is probably one of the better special rules depending on your army. A list full of armoured fighting uruk-hai will benefit from this more than a mix of uruks, orcs and men would as they do not contain the "Isengard" key word and therefore will test for being broken on 50% as usual. Note that the rule only changes the COURAGE TESTS. you are still BROKEN when you drop below 50%, and thus any effect from the scenario will happen on 50%.
Heroes
Heroes of legend:
Saruman:
A hero of legend, Saruman can lead up to 18 units in his warband. He comes with a few special rules that certainly gives you an edge should you choose to field him.
The first is The Palantir, which allows Saruman to use the Palantir to automatically win priority that turn, as long as it is declared before any dice are rolled. Used at the right time, this can either allow you to pull off some devastating charges, or save you from the enemy attempting the same.
Voice of Curunir is the next, giving him a Stand Fast! range of 12" that can also effect other heroes, and with a courage of 7 it's only some very bad luck with the dice that'll send Saruman running, and even then you have your other heroes with acceptable courage to keep others in check.
The last rule he has is the Lord of the Istari, allowing him to re-roll one dice when casting or resisting spells. Useful when trying to pull off some of his harder to cast spells, and goes together quite nicely with his one free point of will per turn.
His spells include:
Immobilise
Terrifying Aura
Command
Sorcerous Blast
Flameburst.
He has the standard wizard stat line and can purchase a horse, which in my opinion is a must if possible as it allows him to stay out of danger and line up good spells, and gives him an in the way save if targeted by archery. He is however, quite expensive. This will limit his usefulness in smaller point sized games, but still a solid choice in my opinion.
Grima Wormtongue:
Grima can only be fielded if taken with Saruman, cannot lead troops and must either deploy in his warband or in an enemies warband. If deployed in an enemy warband, models may attack him but may not strike blows if they win, nor may they shoot at him. He can however, be targeted by magical powers. When he's in 6" range of an enemy hero, that hero must spend two might points per heroic action instead of one.
This is a useful ability and can come in handy against "mighty" heroes such as Boromir, and even Aragorn will suffer as he can no longer reliably use his free might per turn to call heroic actions. There are however some down sides to this choice.
Saruman and Grima together cost over 200 points, and that's before any horses are considered. He also has a miserable stat line and courage value that will see him flee if he is revealed as a traitor (he strikes a blow on an enemy, or Saruman is slain). Another thing I'll mention is something I witnessed during a game between Rohan and Isengard. Two games were played and both times Grima achieved nothing. The first game, he didn't have a horse and therefore couldn't keep up with heroes to make his ability come into play. The second time, whilst he did have a horse, a lone rider of Rohan kept him pinned in duels for most of the game, and prevented him from using his ability more than once or twice.
So whilst he is a useful choice, you have to decide if you can deal with the points cost, and how you're going to keep close to your targets.
Heroes of Valour:
Lurtz:
A hero of valour that has seen a big upgrade from his profile in previous editions.
With a fight and strength of 5, defence of 6 and 3 attacks he is now quite a beast in combat. He can shield for 6 dice, and has a strength 3 bow hitting on 3+. He also has 3 might that allow him to save himself, or take out dangerous targets.
He also comes with a special rule, "Find the Halflings!" that allows him to choose when and where it arrives in scenarios that require a roll for deploying. This is sometimes very useful, others not at all. It's still a nice bonus to have, especially when that warband you wanted behind your lines deploys close to the enemy with no support.
Heroes of Fortitude:
Ugluk:
Ugluk gets a bit of a bad rep in my opinion. With 2 attacks and 5/5/5 F/S/D, 3 might and 1 fate does suggest he's fragile and many avoid using him unless it's to take advantage of his Head Taker special rule, allowing him to kill a nearby friendly model to instantly pass his (and all within his stand fast range) courage test for being broken.
But with 2 attacks at S5 and 3M to ensure some of those attacks hit, I think Ugluk is a solid choice. Sure, he'll go down fairly quickly to concentrated attacks, but with his bad reputation not many opponents will focus their fire on him unless you give them a reason to and this largely allows Ugluk to slip under the radar, as it were. Often my opponent has underestimated Ugluk and pinned his efforts on Lurtz or my troll and realised only too late that a hole has been punched in his battle like by Ugluk supported by spears or pikes (preferably orcs with spears, so you're not sacrificing a more useful uruk for his special rule if you should need it.)
Vrasku:
The ranged option of the named scout heroes. Vrasku is very popular, and rightly so. He has the same stats as Ugluk, but drops heroic strike and strength for heroic accuracy to go with his crossbow, hitting on 3+ with the Expert Shot rule. I've seen many people take him, and he is a solid choice. Me personally? I prefer a scout captain with bow, as it better fits the theme of the mobile scout force as opposed to Vrasku who has to move OR shoot. Kind of defeats the purpose of mobility right? but only from a theme point of view. If this doesn't bother you, he's a solid choice.
Mauhur:
The final option of the named scout heroes. a stat line similar to Ugluk but with an extra attack and 2" move at the cost of a point of might. He also allows any scouts in his warband to become marauders, giving them the same 8" move for an extra point. This has many uses such as flanking the opponents battle line, getting to objectives quickly or even moving 4" and firing with a bow. He is a bit fragile but with those attacks, and hopefully supported by orcs or pikes, he shouldn't be losing the fight. Be aware, he doesn't have heroic strike, so fight 5 is the highest you're getting with him.
Sharku:
The orc that almost killed Aragorn, Sharku comes with a stat line close to an orc captain, but with 3 might. He also has a special rule with his dagger, where any enemy hero in base contact that fails to wound him immediately takes a strength 4 hit from his dagger. Not terribly dangerous outright (except on certain low defence heroes, like wood elf captains) but definitely something your opponent will start to take into consideration after his hero cops a wound and suddenly is either a fate point or a wound closer to death.
NOTE he does have to buy his warg mount, and can also buy a shield. I fully recommend taking both, putting him at the same cost as Vrasku or Ugluk but giving him a much better chance of survival.
Thrydan Wolfsbane:
I love the warriors of Dunland, but have yet to play a game with them because the models are long OOP and cost an arm and a leg on Ebay. With Rohan at War, a new MESBG expansion set to drop soon, here's hoping they make a comeback!
Thrydan has an identical stat line to Ugluk, but with an added point of will and fate, giving him a bit more survivability. He comes with a sword and a two handed axe, which I believe he can swap between, and has the option to buy a horse. He also has a Stand Fast! of 12" thanks to his Lord of Dunland rule, and mighty blow allowing him to cause two wounds for every one inflicted! A good choice, especially if you want to theme your army for a Dunland raiding force, or a combined uruk, orc and Dunland force assaulting Helm's Deep! He is however pretty pricey, costing 20 points more than Ugluk, 30 with his horse. And remember, though his Stand Fast! is 12", he does only have 4 courage, and being a MAN, does not benefit from the special rule of Isengard.
Uruk-Hai Scout Captain:
5 points less than a regular captain, and one less point of defence. I am on the look out for one of these myself as I love the model, and it would fit nicely for a skirmish depicting a raid on a Rohan village, where the named heroes would not have been present (possibly Mauhur or Vrasku).
Only marginally cheaper, if you're interested in a hero better at surviving, take a regular captain. If you want a hero that can move and shoot however, this is your choice as captains cannot take bows, only crossbows.
Uruk-Hai Captain:
6 defence standard, 7 with a shield. These guys can anchor a position and defend it for a long time. An example from a recent game, my captain shielding with 4 dice, fight 5 managed to hold off the efforts of 3 Gondor rangers for 3 turns, allowing my orcs to move over and support, and remove the rangers, denying the objective. Definitely worth their points.
Dunlending Chieftain:
Same stats as Thrydan, minus a point of might, will, fate and the Stand Fast! and Mighty Blow rules. Comes with a dagger and a two-handed axe, and can swap that two-handed axe for a hand axe and shield for efree, or a bow for 5 points. A bow is a potentially wasted option but COULD come in handy in the right circumstances. When playing as evil, I play my archers aggressively, and use them as melee warriors the second the fight starts to tip against me, since they perform as well as their melee counterparts but without the shield. He will be stuck at defence 5 if you take the bow, but that's not too much of an issue. With strength 5 and two attacks, he'll make his presence felt in combat, especially if you elect to keep the two-handed axe, which is the best option for him in my opinion.
Minor Heroes:
Uruk-Hai Shaman:
Used to be a lot more useful before Fury changed. Fight 4, strength and defence 4 and 1 fate point means he is not a front line fighter. He can support with his spear but I'd suggest using him to stay back and try and channel fury for a 6+ save on all uruk-hai when wounded. If you can get this off, I'd use my last will and might point to attempt to transfix a hero, allowing him to be cut down with ease. Makes for a nice themed force with a few beserkers or ferals.
Independent heroes:
Uruk-Hai Drummer:
These guys are cheap, but only come with a dagger and a drum, and no other choices. They do however confer a bonus 3" movement to other uruks around them, but not orcs or men of Dunland. This will stack with Mauhur and his marauder upgrade effectively giving the whole warband 11" move, which can outpace some cavalry, or allow a scout with bow to move 5.5" before and still fire! a deadly combination, but still useful for other units as well. Most of your army will benefit greatly from 9", allowing them to eventually catch up to pesky cavalry or other fast units that would harass you to death with spears or bows.
Warriors
Uruk-Hai Scout:
My favourite unit in the army. Most armies will only take one warband, unless they're playing to a theme, as they're more squishy than standard uruks. They benefit from the goodness of fight and strength 4, and courage 3 which is marginally better than an orc's. They only have defence 4 however, 5 with a shield, with renders them a bit less effective as a front line fighter in the eyes of many. I dispute this as my personal experience with my main army list (80% scouts, 20% orcs and trolls) has resulted in an a fair amount of wins, which is more than some would have you believe possible. They also have bows which are often overlooked for crossbows, which again is a mistake in my eyes. The bow is only one point of strength lower than a crossbow and has slightly less range, but makes up for it by allowing the scouts to stay close to the back of your warriors, whilst still firing. Yes it's only at 5+ if you move, but the dice will roll in your favour sometimes, and even if not, your strength 4 warrior isn't far behind your main force as opposed to sitting miles back. In no way do I think this is better than a crossbow, but both have their uses and restrictions, which a lot of players seem to fail to realise. Can also take a banner.
Uruk-Hai Warrior:
Your bread and butter unit. This guy can fill 3 rolls quite well. With a shield he will be defence 6, which can shrug off most armies strength 3 or 4 attacks. With a pike, two of them can support a sword and shield for 3 attacks (this does however leave you vulnerable to trapping yourself if you lose). Finally, with a crossbow they can pick off units from afar with strength 4 bolts, but this can leave them vulnerable or at times irrelevant when they fail to get line of sight to targets, and find themselves too far away to contribute to melee combat. Definitely a good choice, and can work well both for themed or competitive lists, another of my favourite units in the army. They can also take a banner.
Dunlending Warrior:
The usual human warrior profile, but taking a point of defence away and giving them a point of strength in return. They can buy shields, banners, two handed axes or bows. These guys should be used with two handed axes in my opinion, as a +1 to defence is nice but unless they are your front line fighters, you're likely to have uruks elsewhere that can better hold the line. Using their two handed weapon, they will be able to cut through units with ease when supported, and can even threaten a dwarf or other heavily armoured unit. Unless you're running pure Dunland I would suggest against taking bows, as the other options in this list can do the same for cheaper, or at a higher strength.
Wild Man of Dunland:
An odd profile. Worse defence than an orc but a slightly higher courage. They are cheap and can take two handed axes, which is their best option in my opinion, otherwise I'd get as many of them as cheaply as possible and use them to screen my approaching uruks. They also have hatred against Rohan, for what it's worth. They, like Dunlending warriors, fit very nicely into themed raiding force lists.
Isengard Orc Warrior:
the orc you know and love. Compared to uruks, their stats are awful. They are dirt cheap however, and can be used much like wild men to screen the approach of uruks. They can however bring more equipment and most importantly, support combats cheaply with a spear giving them a bit more use than wild men. I usually take a few spears to support my scouts, and I ALWAYS take at the most 3 with shield, to act as Ugluk's body guards/sacrifices for his special rule. You can also take an Orc Captain, which I'll cover in a later post. Briefly though, they're slightly stronger orcs with access to might, will, fate and heroic actions including march.
Beserker:
A fantastic unit. 2 attacks, high strength and respectable defence. Insane courage. These guys will hit hard and with a bit of luck, can survive the retaliation thanks to their special rules. One lets them ignore wounds on the roll of a 6, and the other increases their defence against shooting attacks. They are best used as a hard hitting unit supported by others so that they don't get overwhelmed and brought down by cheap infantry models, especially when you factor in the cost of a beserker.
Feral Uruk:
The poor mans beserker. Only marginally cheaper but nowhere near as good, in my opinion. They lack the defence against archery and have poor defence in general. They can still make their presence felt and deal damage but for 2 points more, you may as well take a beserker unless you want them for theme, or you just want to use them in general in which case, good on yer'!
Warg Rider:
The obvious choice if taking Sharku on warg. These guys are standard orcs but use the strength of the warg, which is the same as a standard uruk, and obviously gain juicy charge bonuses. They can be upgraded with shields and throwing spears, or bows. Bows aren't overly worth it for me, as their low shoot skill combined with the fact they'll rarely be stationary means they're hitting on 6, at 18" with strength 2. The spears are much better. Some people will tell you not to take them as they don't benefit from the 66% break point rule. I disagree, as they can be your answer to enemy cavalry, can isolate and pick apart back line units with ease and they can get to objectives faster than most other units in the army (beaten only by marauders and drum combo).
Isengard Troll:
A beauty of a beast, but an expensive one. 3 attacks, 7 strength and can take a shield with his sword or spear, giving him 8 defence. Human archery is wounding him on 6 followed by 4. Elves on 6. Useful in a few ways, but here's how he usually performs when I use him:
Charges in, hurls, rends and barges his way through multiple units before finally fighting with, and depending on the hero, winning. Alternatively, the opponent focuses all archery on him and it takes a good few turns but he finally goes down. This is a shame, but still provided a useful distraction, and my entire battle line of uruks and orcs make it to the enemy with barely a wound between them. Protect his approach and he can do a lot of heavy lifting.
Uruk-Hai Demolition Team:
Not often seen but a fun choice, and excellent in a siege. Comes with two warriors with sword and a beserker with a flaming brand. There's a small chance the bomb will be a dud but getting it off at the right place at the right time can be catastrophic for all nearby, including your own units. If you can somehow get it off on cavalry it'll do 2d6 wounds instead of 1d6.
Isengard Assault Ballista:
Quite useful, has a long range and it's ability to inflict a strength 9 wound on a target, and then fling it 1D6" away as long as the target is below strength 6 is great, especially since every model hit by the flung model take a strength 6 hit. Not too expensive, and only scatters 3" instead of 6" due to it's accuracy. Very good in sieges, where it can raise ladders onto walls.
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From the above we can see that Isengard prefers to get stuck in up close. An aggressive army with many options for mobility, either by increase through upgrades or making use of the scouts woodland creature rule to exploit terrain. Make no mistake, they are a force to be reckoned with due to their high fight, strength and defence. Some of the weaker units will only see play in scenarios, or in the armies of those that prefer theme over efficiency, but this army really can cover a fair few play styles. Pure uruk warriors will be a tough nut to crack, and scouts can easily flank. A variety of heroes, all of which are good on the field, and access to magic through the shaman and Saruman all make the army even harder to overcome. All in all, I'd give Isengard a 9/10 and rate them as beginner friendly. Devastating if used in the right hands.
Onto lists! here are 3 lists I've thrown together, 1 "meta" and 2 themed lists.
List 1: Armoured Might.
Lurtz with shield - Leader
6 Uruk-Hai Warrior with shield
1 Uruk-Hai Warrior with banner
6 Uruk-Hai Warrior with pike
2 Uruk-Hai Beserker
Uruk-Hai Captain with shield
6 Uruk-Hai Warrior with shield
3 Uruk-Hai Warrior with pike
3 Uruk-Hai Beserker
Vrasku
11 Uruk-Hai warrior with Crossbow
1 Uruk-Hai Beserker
685, This list would be my choice at a 700 points tournament. How well would it do? I'm not sure. I've yet to play a tournament or many games that are truly competitive (we're a casual lot at the club, preferring games with lesser seen armies and combinations as opposed to cookie cutter "best army" lists). So this is purely speculation. However, Lurtz acts as the hammer, his warriors tying up and bogging down the enemy line whilst he and the beserkers attempt to flank, preferably with the beserkers from the other warbands. Vrasku and his crossbows can stand back and snipe, and if needs be, can rush to get into the action up close. The uruk captain brings more shields and pikes to the line, and beserkers to flank. With 7 defence and 6 dice when shielding, the captain will hold almost anybody in place for a while, and acts as the anchor in the lines.
You could mess around with the hero choices, perhaps adding in Ugluk or Mauhur or even a shaman for added protection on your main uruks. Consider a troll, if you want more heavy hitters, but beware spell casters that may try to magically subdue him. I did however leave 15 points spare, which a more seasoned player could probably work into the list somehow.
List 2: The Westfold Burns
Uruk-Hai Scout Captain with shield- Leader
6 Uruk-Hai Scout with shield
3 Uruk-Hai Scout with bow
3 Feral Uruk-Hai
Uruk-Hai Scout Captain with shield
6 Uruk-Hai Scout with shield
6 Orc Warrior with spear
Dunlending Chieftain with two-handed axe
12 Dunlending Warrior with two-handed axe
Dunlending Chieftain with axe and shield
4 Dunlending Warrior with bow
4 Dunlending Warrior with axe and shield
4 Wild men of Dunland with two-handed axe
At 597 points (for a 600 points game) this is themed on a joint raiding party from Isengard and Dunland. The scouts with shield lead a small force comprised mostly of shields to do the front line fighting, with a sprinkling of bows and spears here and there to support them. 3 ferals complete this warband, adding punch to the list and looking to expose any chink in the battle lines armour.
The Dunlendings serve three purposes. The chieftain with axe and shield leads 4 more shield bearers, and 4 wild men with two axes for hatred and theme. 4 warriors with bow can support their approach and act as fighters should they need to. The chieftain with two-handed axe, supported by 12 other two-handed axe warriors will put serious hurt on anything they can get in contact with, providing they have support.
Would it do well competitively? most likely not. But to most players, the sight of a list comprising Dunland and lesser used models like scout captains and wild men will be like a breath of fresh air. And of course, a win is always possible and will feel all the better when you manage to pull it off.
List 3: The Wolves of Isengard
Sharku on Warg with shield - leader
1 Warg rider with banner
11 Warg rider with shield and throwing spears
Isengard Orc Captain on Warg with shield
6 Warg rider with bow
6 Warg rider with shield and throwing spears
Isengard Orc Captain on Warg
499/500 points used, this small skirmish level list is not competitive in the slightest. It is however a lot of fun running pure cavalry. This is of course themed on the force that attacks Aragorn and co. en route to Helm's Deep. Sure, you get none of the army bonuses but you have an army capable of a lot of manoeuvrability and with throwing spears and a few bows, your warg riders are hopefully capable of thinning the numbers a bit before clashing. Of course, with only 27 models you've got to be very careful about when and where you commit your charges. In some scenarios, you'll need to swap a few warg riders for standard orcs to claim objectives, but in a straight up "kill stuff" game this isn't a problem. You could also swap the banner to give the lone captain a bit of company if you see fit.
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And hopefully that has given you a bit of insight into the Isengard faction, and a bit of help with what you can achieve with it. Please bare in mind, whilst I've watched the game played for many years (since the Return of the King rules book, so about 2003 or 4? Blimey I feel old) I only started playing this January. Whilst I feel like I have enough knowledge and competence to back what I'm saying, ultimately I do have a lack of experience of actually playing on the competitive scene, so in NO WAY is this the ultimate be all, end all guide.
With that being said, thanks for reading and again, I hope you enjoy and benefit from the review. The final important point I want to impress on you (and arguably the most important) is that there is NO wrong way to play this game. If you want a list that will top tournament tables then by all means go for it. If you want something that is less likely to win but looks great or fits to a themed army that you have a particular interest in from the books/films/video games then more power to you.
Join me next time (probably after Christmas, as university coursework piles on and my time for gaming is cut short barring 2-3 club days that are left in the year) as we review Lothlorien, and keep an eye out for two battle reports being uploaded in the next few weeks.
Friday, September 13, 2019
For Hannibal! - Fields of Glory
As September the 7th rolled around, I headed off to the Kirkby gaming club for a demo game of Fields of Glory, a set of rules for historical conflicts dating from BC to the Dark Ages and beyond.
Friend Richard Y had purchased some Carthaginians, Romans and Gauls from a pleasant chap (selling stuff at maybe a 10th of the value. I plan to purchase some Warhammer Orcs and Goblins from him!) and was keen to try out the game. Having discussed it many weeks before, I'd read through the rules book and was looking forward to the game.
A few words on the system itself before I get onto the game we played.
The rules book is, simply put, a pain. The contents are laid out in a confusing manner and this lead to a lot of time spent cycling through pages. The chart for weapon ranges, PoA (points of advantage), Cohesion tests and all the other important stuff are repeated at the back of the book which is handy.
However, the rest are laid out across a number of pages which aren't necessarily close together.
An example of this would be during a game later in the afternoon, during which Richard Y and Richard B both wanted to put their commanders in a unit to see how that affected combat. Right I thought, a simple look in the index... right, so flip to page 19... and yet I could see no rule there. I noticed however, a single line mid paragraph a different rule saying "as mentioned on page 84". Right, so off to page 84... and again, "As mentioned on page 90" and it was only on page 90 that we finally found our answer but only after the game had been held up for a good 5 minutes.
Despite this, the game itself played well and was quite enjoyable. It took a while for me to get used to the fact that having better armor meant you hit harder in combat, or that even if you somehow land 20 odd hits you can only ever remove 2 bases of a unit and no more. This was a game that was focused more on forcing the opponent to take and hopefully fail "cohesion tests" which in turn reduces the unit's fighting capabilities until it eventually breaks and begins running at full speed away from the enemy it lost to, eventually off the table edge or long enough to allow the opponent to swing in and destroy the enemies camp, which will win them the game.
A few pictures of the game I took part in, in which I played the Carthaginians.
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| Roman Legionaries march forward |
Richard Y took 2 blocks of Legionaries which count as heavy infantry. With a move of 3" a turn and an automatic disordered status when entering rough terrain (The first stage of failed cohesion tests. The second is fragmented followed by broken as the third) these guys in my mind are better suited to protecting your camp, or a strategic location. They will shred any medium or light foot and can go toe to toe with other heavy foot or medium cavalry.
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| On the right, my heavy cavalry prepares to charge Roman cavalry, backed by their second commander |
Cavalry also suffer disorder from terrain pieces. At the start of each game, before deployment, each player rolls a dice. Highest number gains priority for terrain placement and then the chart is followed. Priority player places their terrain, the opposing player can roll a dice to attempt to shift the terrain by so many inches etc and it all adds to the tactical options of the game, something I thoroughly enjoyed.
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| Run away! |
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| Elephant madness |
Skirmishers and archers etc count as light foot, or cavalry if mounted. When charged by anything other than other light models, they will attempt to evade which is done via a chart for evading and perusing. They also have to take a cohesion test to attempt to stand bravely as opposed to evading (tactical cowardice ;o)!). This will rarely be attempted as they will be easily defeated in close combat, but is necessary if you don't want to evade off the board!
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| Battle is met! |
In the last few turns, battle really heated up. African spearmen fought the legionaries, who beat them off and broke them, chasing them towards the Carthage camp. Poeni infantry also delay another unit of legionaries. Poeni slingers pelt some Romans from the safety of the rough terrain, a field. Finally, the elephant looks set to flank charge the legionaries...
But the game ended before this could happen...
The Carthage cavalry shatters the Roman cavalry, leaving the way for the elephant to trample the Roman camp, netting me the game!
It was a game that took us a while to play due to learning the rules and wasn't helped by the fact we played on a table twice as big as we should have, but all these were great learning experiences and lessons learned. I acted as the rules reader for Richard Y Richard B's game, and since it was played on the correct sized table, it was a lot smoother and came to a conclusion in a much more reasonable time.
There are plans for a second game when I can next get to the club. The Roe mans will either battle the Gauls or try to quell a slave uprising.
Elsewhere, I also have plans for a Bolt Action game, but as ever my painting schedule is packed and I haven't managed to get a lick of paint on my Britisy out h, so I apologise in advance for the grey minis. I'm hoping an order I placed, for a sniper team in ghillie suit arrives in time, so I can snipe a couple of Gerry's and show them we are the boys who will make you think again!
They don't like it up 'em sir, they don't like it up 'em ;o)
Sunday, September 1, 2019
The danger of watching The Lord of the Rings
I was watching The Fellowship of the Ring the other night, for what must have been the hundredth time, followed by The Two Towers tonight and it got me thinking...
just how much of a danger is my wallet in when I watch these things?!
It had just gotten to the point where the uruk scouts are rode down by Eomer and his Rohirrim, at the edge of Fangorn and I suddenly saw the Rohirrim in a whole new light. This is nothing new to me, as I regularly get new "favourite armies" or "favourite characters" every time I re-watch them, and gain a new liking or disliking to a certain army or character.
There was something about the Rohirrim, striking from the shadows on horseback, scattering the fierce uruks who lets face it, aren't exactly a push over, and all but eliminating them and giving Merry and Pippin a chance to escape into Fangorn Forest, that got my imagination whirring at the thought of a LOTR SBG Rohan army themed around this particular skirmish, and had my hand stretching towards my phone to order some riders!
Luckily, common sense kicked in and I recalled the priority list I'd made, as shown in a previous blog post. The Rohirrim will just have to wait!
But this connection to Middle Earth, and the ever shifting attraction I have to those within it really do sum up for me why I enjoy playing this game. Being somebody that plays for mostly fun, rather than a competitive side of things, I can very easily theme an army or list on just about anything I take fancy to, without worrying too much about how "optimal" it may be in the game itself. A pure warg rider list lead by Sharku and a few captains on wargs? definitely. An all foot Rohan force, representing the defenders trying to hold off Dunland in the outer lying Rohan villages? why not!
And with The Return of the King coming up in the next few days, whilst painting the remainder of my Moria battle company, I dread to think what extra models and forces I'll mentally add to my growing list of things to buy!
Is there any particular scene in a book or film that inspires you to collect a force? let me know!
until next time, dear reader.
Monday, August 26, 2019
A small scout force...
I was thinking to myself only yesterday, "Why haven't I uploaded any pictures of my miniatures yet?"
Well the first answer that comes to mind is, compared to a lot of other people's I see, mine pale in comparison. I think I've got the hang of a few basics, layering, drybrushing, washing etc and I'm able to paint my miniatures up to table top standard. I'm happy with this, and I'm happy with how fast I've made that improvement from getting paint in the wrong place, or getting the right consistency of paint onto certain parts. It's very daunting for a new painter like myself.
That being said, I find the wargaming community (most of it, anyway) to be encouraging, kind and great at constructive feedback without leaving the painter/modeller leaving feeling downtrodden.
So with that in mind, I'm going to start posting what I've painted. If nothing else, I can look back on it as I improve and see just how much far I may have come.
For the past few months on and off, I've been painting my uruk-hai scouts. After speaking to a friend who's played for years, back in December last year, I decided that Isengard was a good force for me to go for. At the time my reasoning was that I really enjoy uruk-hai, especially mixed with orcs and wild men. They'd be easy to paint, and they're beginner friendly, with a higher than average fight, strength and courage for the forces of evil.
So that's theme, painting and playing ticked on the check list, and the only deviation I made along those three points was opting to choose scouts over fighting uruk-hai. They're both a bit more difficult to paint, and slightly more squishy in game than their armoured counterparts, with less defence. I can say without a doubt I made the right choice though, as the scouts have some nice sculpts, and the fight at Amon Hen is one of my favourite scenes in the trilogy...
Apologies for the picture quality. I'm still trying to figure out the focussing on our new camera...
I can definitely improve, and one day I would like to be able to consistently paint eyes and facial details etc, but have left them blank and let a wash shadow those details instead for now as I lack the skill to do much else.
The Uruk Scouts themselves aren't too difficult to paint. I started off with a prime of Abaddon Black, before heavily drybrushing the boots, swords, shields and anything else metal with Leadbelcher. I then very lightly drybrushed parts of the metal with Runefang Steel to highlight various parts that would be reflecting from the sun or other sources of natural light.
I then painted the leather straps with Doombull brown, and the skin Mournfang Brown. Some of the lower belt portions I painted Zandri Dust, like the one pictured above without shield or helm. This is to differentiate any "marauders" I use, an upgraded variant if taken in Mauhur's warband...
any bows or quivers were painted in Rhinox Hide, a nice darker brown to stand out from the leather armour.
Finally, I gave the models a wash. So far, I've given most of them the Nuln Oil treatment, but the odd few get Agrax Earthshade, to represent the more dirty, worn leather of the uruks fleeing to Orthanc, with Merry and Pippin (I plan on sourcing these models to add to that particular collection).
I do of course need to add white hands, and I'm still practicing this. Of the 10 attempts I've done so far, I've been happy with the last three that I've attempted to paint on shields!
Finally, I based them (which I'm new at, and found quite difficult to be frank! painting the smaller stones to look like dirt, I had trouble with.) in the usual manner, a bit of bird sand, the smaller coarse type and the larger type to represent the larger stones, suitable paint scheme and a bit of static grass mixed with a bit of static hay to represent the many small villages of Rohan.
Overall, whilst pretty basic True I still have a long way to go, and a lot I can improve on, but I think I've done a fairly good job, at least to a tabletop standard that I can enjoy playing with them, and ultimately that's what matters isn't it? whether we like what we've painted. If we're satisfied with them personally, and enjoy their look and playing with them, then it's a win in my books!
So whilst this is only a small section of my scout force, I do have Lurtz, Ugluk, Saruman, Grima and a fair few other scouts to paint up. I even have around 10-15 of them already painted, ready to be based. I'll post an update on them as and when I get them finished.
However, whilst the scouts are out shouting about halflings to be found, a few Moria goblins have sneaked into my painting queue, namely for Battle Companies... so plenty to be done.
Well the first answer that comes to mind is, compared to a lot of other people's I see, mine pale in comparison. I think I've got the hang of a few basics, layering, drybrushing, washing etc and I'm able to paint my miniatures up to table top standard. I'm happy with this, and I'm happy with how fast I've made that improvement from getting paint in the wrong place, or getting the right consistency of paint onto certain parts. It's very daunting for a new painter like myself.
That being said, I find the wargaming community (most of it, anyway) to be encouraging, kind and great at constructive feedback without leaving the painter/modeller leaving feeling downtrodden.
So with that in mind, I'm going to start posting what I've painted. If nothing else, I can look back on it as I improve and see just how much far I may have come.
For the past few months on and off, I've been painting my uruk-hai scouts. After speaking to a friend who's played for years, back in December last year, I decided that Isengard was a good force for me to go for. At the time my reasoning was that I really enjoy uruk-hai, especially mixed with orcs and wild men. They'd be easy to paint, and they're beginner friendly, with a higher than average fight, strength and courage for the forces of evil.
So that's theme, painting and playing ticked on the check list, and the only deviation I made along those three points was opting to choose scouts over fighting uruk-hai. They're both a bit more difficult to paint, and slightly more squishy in game than their armoured counterparts, with less defence. I can say without a doubt I made the right choice though, as the scouts have some nice sculpts, and the fight at Amon Hen is one of my favourite scenes in the trilogy...
 |
| These are no mere orcs! |
Apologies for the picture quality. I'm still trying to figure out the focussing on our new camera...
 |
| Find the halfling! |
I can definitely improve, and one day I would like to be able to consistently paint eyes and facial details etc, but have left them blank and let a wash shadow those details instead for now as I lack the skill to do much else.
The Uruk Scouts themselves aren't too difficult to paint. I started off with a prime of Abaddon Black, before heavily drybrushing the boots, swords, shields and anything else metal with Leadbelcher. I then very lightly drybrushed parts of the metal with Runefang Steel to highlight various parts that would be reflecting from the sun or other sources of natural light.
 |
Sitting at defence 5 with a shield,
the scout can still be rather
tanky to those strength 3 armies
|
I then painted the leather straps with Doombull brown, and the skin Mournfang Brown. Some of the lower belt portions I painted Zandri Dust, like the one pictured above without shield or helm. This is to differentiate any "marauders" I use, an upgraded variant if taken in Mauhur's warband...
any bows or quivers were painted in Rhinox Hide, a nice darker brown to stand out from the leather armour.
 |
One of my "marauders" as evidenced by
the different coloured belt section
of his armour...
|
 |
| Zoomed out version of the above. |
Finally, I gave the models a wash. So far, I've given most of them the Nuln Oil treatment, but the odd few get Agrax Earthshade, to represent the more dirty, worn leather of the uruks fleeing to Orthanc, with Merry and Pippin (I plan on sourcing these models to add to that particular collection).
 |
Not where you want to be if you're a hobbit.
|
I do of course need to add white hands, and I'm still practicing this. Of the 10 attempts I've done so far, I've been happy with the last three that I've attempted to paint on shields!
Finally, I based them (which I'm new at, and found quite difficult to be frank! painting the smaller stones to look like dirt, I had trouble with.) in the usual manner, a bit of bird sand, the smaller coarse type and the larger type to represent the larger stones, suitable paint scheme and a bit of static grass mixed with a bit of static hay to represent the many small villages of Rohan.
Overall, whilst pretty basic True I still have a long way to go, and a lot I can improve on, but I think I've done a fairly good job, at least to a tabletop standard that I can enjoy playing with them, and ultimately that's what matters isn't it? whether we like what we've painted. If we're satisfied with them personally, and enjoy their look and playing with them, then it's a win in my books!
So whilst this is only a small section of my scout force, I do have Lurtz, Ugluk, Saruman, Grima and a fair few other scouts to paint up. I even have around 10-15 of them already painted, ready to be based. I'll post an update on them as and when I get them finished.
However, whilst the scouts are out shouting about halflings to be found, a few Moria goblins have sneaked into my painting queue, namely for Battle Companies... so plenty to be done.
Friday, August 23, 2019
Hobby Catch Up
So, I just posted about the Battle of Pelennor Fields "Mega-game" we had the other week. But what have I been doing in the months between the last post and the new one?
Well, I've found time to go to club days and play a variety of games, mostly Lord of the Rings and Warhammer but also a bit of Flames of War.
Playing these systems have made me realise I've done what I said I wouldn't do when I first got into the hobby, namely being pulled in many different directions by all the brilliant games and systems out there. I've been rationalizing what priorities I have within the hobby and I've come up with a fairly decent plan for moving forward.
Lord of the Rings - Priority status: Low-Middle.
I've played enough of SBG to know that this game will be one that I enjoy for a very long time and that nothing short of GW butchering it (Which is always on the tables... though props to the current Middle Earth team, who I have very good faith in, means this hopefully won't happen) is likely to stop me playing it. Recent forays into the world of Battle Companies has even further cemented this, as it makes for a fun, short alternative and the progression options for your company heroes/soldiers are thrilling. In terms of "purchasing priorities" though, they remain possibly at the bottom of the pile. I have a decent sized "Sacking of the Westfold" list (though it is missing wild men, until GW hopefully bring them out on a made to order.) that is both a theme I enjoy and competitive enough to win at least half of the games I play. I also have plenty of Moria goblins lurking around which I'm using for my battle companies. True I'm missing a good army and though I have The Fellowship which can be a decent force, I would like to begin collecting for a themed Rangers of Ithilien legendary legion. But since I have all the models I need right now to play the game regularly, it will stay at the bottom unless I find a hard pressed reason to purchase more.
Bolt Action - Priority status: Middle.
My British army is quite small, composing of two full infantry squads and a full commando squad with upgrades, a medium mortar, a HQ team and a Cromwell. It's something I'm looking to expand and begin painting, but it's also something that isn't played as often at the club. I know of at least two people that would be down for a game of it, should I ask however. So whilst there may not be a mad rush to get the army built up to full strength, it is something I'm hoping to do around Christmas time. I'm thinking of adding some more armoured power perhaps in the form of something heavy like a Sherman Firefly, or perhaps a more subtle approach, relying on some Bren carriers or an AEC armoured car.
Warhammer Fantasy 8th Edition - Priority status: High.
I've had so much fun with this game so far. The random elements, such as your cannon potentially blowing up on turn 1, or an enemy cavalry unit hilariously failing the charge to then be swarmed and defeated by lowly goblins, they all add up for a fun time. I've currently got 3 Orc lords/heroes and a rock lobber as well as 16 handgunners, 16 spearmen with musician and banner and an Empire cannon, as well as the Core rule book and the battle magic cards for the 8 standard lores of magic. I DID plan on purchasing a block of night goblins and orcs from the local "bring and buy" at a flgs… but this deal fell through as the seller is unable to make it. I will be purchasing them from him at a later date but this has thrown all my plans into the air, as I'm now sorely tempted to just buy the rest of the Empire forces instead, with many companies out there selling miniatures that easily pass as swords men/ spear men/ cavalry... time will tell!
Flames of War - Priority status: Low.
I've only played the one game, and whilst I like it, I do enjoy Bolt Action a lot more. I might dabble in getting a German force just to play the few games here and there, but not for a while. The only way I can see myself getting an army of these before any of the above would be if I run across a bargain or split a starter set with a friend.
And that's pretty much the list! I do have some other games I have a vague interest in (because I refuse to let myself get pulled in yet another direction) such as Star wars legion and Empire of the Dead. But it will be a fair while indeed before I
choose to dive in to these games with both feet.
And yet, the best laid plans can always change!
Well, I've found time to go to club days and play a variety of games, mostly Lord of the Rings and Warhammer but also a bit of Flames of War.
Playing these systems have made me realise I've done what I said I wouldn't do when I first got into the hobby, namely being pulled in many different directions by all the brilliant games and systems out there. I've been rationalizing what priorities I have within the hobby and I've come up with a fairly decent plan for moving forward.
Lord of the Rings - Priority status: Low-Middle.
I've played enough of SBG to know that this game will be one that I enjoy for a very long time and that nothing short of GW butchering it (Which is always on the tables... though props to the current Middle Earth team, who I have very good faith in, means this hopefully won't happen) is likely to stop me playing it. Recent forays into the world of Battle Companies has even further cemented this, as it makes for a fun, short alternative and the progression options for your company heroes/soldiers are thrilling. In terms of "purchasing priorities" though, they remain possibly at the bottom of the pile. I have a decent sized "Sacking of the Westfold" list (though it is missing wild men, until GW hopefully bring them out on a made to order.) that is both a theme I enjoy and competitive enough to win at least half of the games I play. I also have plenty of Moria goblins lurking around which I'm using for my battle companies. True I'm missing a good army and though I have The Fellowship which can be a decent force, I would like to begin collecting for a themed Rangers of Ithilien legendary legion. But since I have all the models I need right now to play the game regularly, it will stay at the bottom unless I find a hard pressed reason to purchase more.
 |
The Fellowship begin their journey -
Much like mine into Wargaming!
|
Bolt Action - Priority status: Middle.
My British army is quite small, composing of two full infantry squads and a full commando squad with upgrades, a medium mortar, a HQ team and a Cromwell. It's something I'm looking to expand and begin painting, but it's also something that isn't played as often at the club. I know of at least two people that would be down for a game of it, should I ask however. So whilst there may not be a mad rush to get the army built up to full strength, it is something I'm hoping to do around Christmas time. I'm thinking of adding some more armoured power perhaps in the form of something heavy like a Sherman Firefly, or perhaps a more subtle approach, relying on some Bren carriers or an AEC armoured car.
 |
| A unit of British Commandos |
Warhammer Fantasy 8th Edition - Priority status: High.
I've had so much fun with this game so far. The random elements, such as your cannon potentially blowing up on turn 1, or an enemy cavalry unit hilariously failing the charge to then be swarmed and defeated by lowly goblins, they all add up for a fun time. I've currently got 3 Orc lords/heroes and a rock lobber as well as 16 handgunners, 16 spearmen with musician and banner and an Empire cannon, as well as the Core rule book and the battle magic cards for the 8 standard lores of magic. I DID plan on purchasing a block of night goblins and orcs from the local "bring and buy" at a flgs… but this deal fell through as the seller is unable to make it. I will be purchasing them from him at a later date but this has thrown all my plans into the air, as I'm now sorely tempted to just buy the rest of the Empire forces instead, with many companies out there selling miniatures that easily pass as swords men/ spear men/ cavalry... time will tell!
Flames of War - Priority status: Low.
I've only played the one game, and whilst I like it, I do enjoy Bolt Action a lot more. I might dabble in getting a German force just to play the few games here and there, but not for a while. The only way I can see myself getting an army of these before any of the above would be if I run across a bargain or split a starter set with a friend.
 |
One of the many Flames of War starter
forces available.
|
And that's pretty much the list! I do have some other games I have a vague interest in (because I refuse to let myself get pulled in yet another direction) such as Star wars legion and Empire of the Dead. But it will be a fair while indeed before I
And yet, the best laid plans can always change!
Saturday, August 17, 2019
The Battle Of Pelennor Fields
After a long delay in part due to a house move and various other "real life" problems, I finally found myself able to take part in a game on a grand scale.
August the 4th, many of us met at the club to partake in the Battle of Pelennor Fields, using the War of the Ring system and scenario...
It was a great day. A few people came from quite far away to play, and in the end we had 3 players controlling Mordor, Harad and the Easterlings whilst myself and Adam controlled Rohan, Gondor & Fiefdoms and the Dead of Dunharrow.
It was a mighty game, and it wasn't clear right until the end who would win (Evil sneaked a victory at the last minute.)
Pictured below, a few high lights of the game...
 |
The Host of Mordor, mid-siege at Minas Tirith
|
 |
| Rohan to the rescue! |
With an Earth Shattering charge for the first 2 turns, Rohan can really hurt those orc battalions!
 |
Dol Amroth and Minas Tirith knights ride out
to face the threat
|
 |
The Witch King swoops unwittingly into the unit that
contains Eowyn!
|
 |
| Horns blow as the Mumak war host arrives! |
It was a long game. We finished setting up at about 10:15 and ended up finishing at around 8:45pm...
Of course, with visits from family and friends and plenty of cakes and snacks going around we inevitably spent a lot longer talking than playing the game. It was however an extremely fun game and I can't wait to play the next scenario next year, with Gondor and Rohan making a last stand outside The Black Gate of Mordor!
 |
The sun shines as the riders of Rohan smash into, and skewer
two trolls!
|
 |
From the black ships, the dead swarm onto the fields
accompanied by the Three Hunters
|
 |
Me on the left, with Richard and Darrel (controlling evil, boo!) in the middle
and right respectively.
|
And as a final note, I am returning to my blog periodically. I'd like to say with at least a weekly post but realistically I'm not sure I'll even manage that until at least October, when I've settled into university properly and can manage my work load effectively. I am however going to be picking up a WFB Orcs and Goblins army this coming Saturday, at the Bring & Buy in Sanctuary, so I'll be making a post on that. I'll also be making a post on an upcoming Fields of Glory game, so keep an eye out for that! and one final thing I'm planning on making a post about shortly is the new Battle Companies campaign we've started, with the new LOTR Battle Companies rules!
Thanks for reading folks.
Until next time...
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