As with many wargamers, I got my introduction into the hobby with the Lord of the Rings Strategy Battle Game, specifically the DeAgostini partworks magazine series, Battle Games in Middle-earth. As such, MESBG holds a special place in my hobby life and I regard it as one of the better game systems produced by Games Workshop, rose-tinted glasses likely in full effect. I was beyond happy therefore when Games Workshop announced they would be releasing a new edition of the game to coincide with the release of the new War of the Rohirrim anime. I got my box for Christmas and I'll break down my thoughts on the contents over the next few posts, beginning with the Hill Tribes of Dunland miniatures.
Wulf, High Lord of the Hill Tribes
The primary antagonist in the film, Wulf is the focal point of the Hill Tribes in the box. He was a good build. He was straightforward to put together and had next to no mouldlines. It did not take long to clean him up.
I had no issues with the foot model, but I had some issues attaching the scabbard on the mounted version. Your mileage may vary, but I found it a bit ambiguous as to where it was meant to attach.
I like the model as it is very dynamic, but I do not actually feel that it is a great representation of Wulf from the film. It could be that my opinion changes once I have the miniature painted up however and I am comparing a 3d mini to an anime character. I'm a bit concerned at the dynamism of the model as he has quite a lean to him which concerns me for the mounted model. Thankfully, his horse's ankle is a fair bit thicker than the old plastic Rohan horses' so it hopefully shouldn't snap.
Ruleswise, he's a powerful Fight 6, 3 Attack, 3 Wound character, let down mostly by the lists he is in. He adds a strong melee threat to his lists whilst mounted on a horse. I am looking forward to getting him on the table in an Usurpers of Edoras list soon.
General Targg
Targg is Wulf's right hand man in the film and I enjoyed his character. His model is equal to Wulf's in terms of the quality of the model and ease of assembly. The seams are well hidden and there were few mouldlines. I had zero issues with his assembly. Again, there's a bit of a lean to the mounted model, but Targg at least has a second contact point on the base so I'm much less concerned for him.
Ruleswise, he is basically an auto-include in the lists he is apart of, but that's mostly due to a lack of other options. He is a fairly typical 2 Attack, 2 Wound hero with a nifty special rule that buffs nearby Hill Tribesmen if you win and give up priority to the opponent. It's a bit awkward to get use out of as you don't particularly want to give away priority with your horde of murderhobos but it's nice to have when it doesn't matter much and at the end of the day, he is another mounted hero that can be used by the Hill Tribes which is always useful. The horse is less useful on him, but I think you take it due to the lack of other cavalry in the force.
Hill Tribesmen
If you had told me a year ago that I'd be excited for plastic Wildmen, I'd have called you a fool of a Took! This is what the game needs. Full high quality plastic troop options.
These are a great kit. You basically just glue the two legs together, attach the back of the torso, then the front and head, then finish with the arms and weapons. That is a lot of pieces compared to other Middle-earth kits, but it's no more than a typical 40k or AoS kit. The sprue is sympathetically laid out in any event so all the pieces for each model are located in their own section of the sprue which makes clipping them out quick. Mouldlines are minimal but some care should be taken with some of the spears/arrows as they are quite fragile. Thankfully, I had no issues at the assembly stage, but my Uruk-hai pikes can sadly attest to that only being the first trial. The archers don't have any options, but the hand weapon guys can be given shields and/or flaming brands. The spearmen have the option of two handed weapons instead. This choice of weapons is very novel and I hope it continues with the MESBG range.
Ruleswise, these guys are as basic as they come. Essentially just a naked human, sent to war. I'll be building as many as I can with spears and taking the full allotment of bows. The flaming brands give you Dominant (2) which is powerful, but I won't be going crazy with them. I have assembled my hand weapon guys with an mix of swords/flaming brands with and without shields just for the variety.
I plan to run them in Usurpers of Edoras, so I'll be adding 12 Throwing Spear armed Rohirric Traitors, and 12 Hill Tribe archers with 12 Hill Tribe spearmen added to those seems like a good core to a 600pt force. Throw in a box of Crebain, Wulf, Targg, and Thorne and you are essentially there.
No comments:
Post a Comment