On Monday, we gave fans of the Middle-earth Strategy Battle Game a taster of the profile changes coming in the new Armies of Middle-earth supplement. Lead Games Developer Jay is back again to discuss some of the new army lists.
Jay: The Armies of Middle-earth supplement focuses on the characters and factions from Middle-earth who aren’t specifically seen within the movies, rather in the novels or the wider world of Middle-earth. Additionally, all the profiles and army lists found in the Armies of Arnor and Angmar PDF are included here, which will be superseded upon the release of this supplement.
In this edition, profiles are separated into army lists that allow players to form armies from the most iconic battles, alliances and factions from across the history of Middle-earth. Armies of Middle-earth contains 28 lists, some containing profiles only found within this supplement, though others allow you to use profiles found in the Armies of The Lord of the Rings and Armies of The Hobbit supplements in new and exciting ways.*
I’ve picked three of my favourites from the new supplement to discuss.
The Grief of Éomer
In one of the great heroic scenes in the novels, we see Prince Imrahil leading his warriors to Éomer’s rescue on Pelennor Fields after the Marshal of the Riddermark has been driven mad by grief. You can combine the Rohirrim with Knights of Dol Amroth and warriors from Minas Tirith into a single army list – led by Éomer of course!
As for special rules, Éomer gets some great bonuses in this list by becoming Fearless and gaining a bonus of +1 to his Fight Value on a turn in which he charges, putting him to a whopping Fight Value of 7 – Éomer has never had it so good**!
Additionally, friendly Gondor models may reroll To Wound Rolls of a 1 when they charge, making it that bit easier to punch through enemy lines to reach Éomer.
Kingdom of Khazad-dûm
Dwarves are back in force in Armies of Middle-earth, and in particular within the Kingdom of Khazad-dûm Army List. Many of the profiles have had some subtle tweaks, but it is the special rules that really make this list stand out.
Friendly models get to reroll To Wound Rolls of a 1 thanks to their exceptional weaponry, and certain Dwarves also gain the Dominant (2) special rule. Additionally, The Stubbornness of Dwarves special rule allows a single friendly Khazad-dûm model to re-roll a single D6 in a duel roll if their side has rolled fewer dice in that duel roll – really showcasing the stoic defiance of Dwarven-kind in the face of overwhelming odds!
To top it off, you can also place two Dwarven Mirror Markers on the board at the start of the game. These give a number of benefits, from illuminating areas of the board, making their models harder to hit within shooting attacks, and even providing negatives to the courage tests of enemy Orc and Goblin models nearby.
Umbar
The city of Umbar lies on the southern coast of Middle-earth, and is home to all manner of Evil Men. As such, this list allows players to take a mixture of Corsairs, Haradrim and Black Númenóreans in their ranks. As a place of clandestine dealings and ill intent to the White City, it is fitting that the special rules provide friendly models with the Stalk Unseen and Hatred (Gondor) special rules.
It should also be noted that as Umbar is controlled from the shadows by the mysterious order of the Hâsharii that any Umbar list must contain at least one Hâsharin in it – but there is more. Additionally, should your General prove to be inept and be reduced to a single Wound, a friendly Hâsharin within 3” can choose to kill them. This will cause them to lose the General keyword (and therefore no longer count as the General for the purpose of scoring Victory Points) while another friendly Hero immediately becomes your General instead!
It’s a really interesting special rule that highlights the cutthroat and ruthless nature that all live by in the city of Umbar.
Other army lists
There are loads more army lists in the supplement. If you want to create the ultimate Mordor army from all of the Dark Lord’s Orcish servants, then an Army of the Great Eye is for you. Want to muster the Hobbits of the Shire? Check out the Battle of Bywater and its collection of Hobbit heroes. And if you’ve ever wanted an army solely of Dragons, then the Dragons of the North list has you covered!
Legions of Middle-earth
The final section of this supplement allows players to use many profiles in army lists from Armies of The Lord of the Rings or Armies of The Hobbit, giving players new ways to play their existing armies by adding in new heroes and warriors. Each entry outlines which army lists the profile can be used in, and what Heroic Tier they are in the case of Heroes.
Armies of Middle-earth will be available to pre-order on Saturday. Check back later in the week where we will be taking a dive into the other new supplement that is coming out – the Middle-earth Matched Play Guide.
* You will need a copy of Armies of The Lord of the Rings and Armies of The Hobbit to get the most out of this supplement.
** In terms of rules anyway – it’s a pretty rough time for Éomer in the novels here!
