Introductions - A Return to the Lord of the Rings Strategy Battle Game

So here it is! A blog!

I've considered making a blog for many years about various things, but with 2020 being what it is, I've found more time for two hobbies that have a lot of crossover. That is, D&D and Tabletop Wargames, with the latter more specifically being Games Workshop's Lord of the Rings Strategy Battle Game (which I've learned these days is called Middle Earth Strategy Battle Game).

I fell off of the Games Workshop hobby a good 6 or 7 years ago, after a stint in Warhammer 40k. There, I played Orks, which was a great army to play for all sorts of conversion and customisation opportunities. But inevitably, with minimal time to play, minimal funds and minimal motivation, it got put aside and many of models were sold off. 40k was a cool game, but I think the problem was that it wasn't The Lord of the Rings. 

It was LotR that got me into the hobby in the first place. I'd read the trilogy at the tender age of 10 or so, and the game and Peter Jackson movies came not long after this. It was prime timing! Games Workshop also partnered with Deagostini, known for many a weekly/monthly subscription magazine, to release a LotR magazine that provided models, paints and taught your the rules over several months. Long term subscribers would find themselves with small armies for every faction, the full Fellowship of the Ring, and numerous supporting characters both Good and Evil.

I was one such subscriber, but unfortunately time and younger siblings mean I have very few remaining, and what does sits likely damaged and badly painted in a box in a storage unit miles away.

However! It is seems the game had a resurgence over recent years, and although you can no longer walk into the local Games Workshop store (now renamed Warhammer store) and see the collection of LotR boxes, they are still available on the online store, including several Forgeworld models, or from Independant Hobby stores. It is from here I dived back into the hobby with The Battle of the Pelennor Fields.

As starting points go, at least for a returning player, this box is absolutely fantastic. 

From what I remember, you never got this level of contents in the old starter boxes. Firstly, the rules book. Instead of a cut down, simplified "mini-booklet", they provided the full 200 page hardback rules manual for the latest edition. The only thing missing from this book is army profiles, though there is a small booklet that covers the models included in the box. A downside for sure, as expansion would require the purchase of another two books (one for LotR era armies, another for The Hobbit era), but this is Games Workshop after all!

Aside from the book, you also get dice (great since I'm a D&D player, just a shame there's only D6s!), tokens for marking conditions and statuses for models, and a stylised measuring ruler for each faction.

But the models, the models are where it really shines. Old starter sets came with a handful of models, usually a dozen or so warriors for Good and Evil each. This one comes with over three dozen for each side, the individual pricings for which would be well over double the cost of the box alone.

Representing the side of Good is Rohan, led by King Theoden himself. This model is a new plastic sculpt that didn't exist when I played before, and is one of the most stunning and well made models GW has done in my opinion. The old Theoden model was metal, and whilst it was detailed, it was fairly static and stiff-looking. I'm very much looking forwards to painting this up.

Old (Left) vs New (Right)

Following Theoden is 12 Riders of Rohan, these are the classic models and essentially two sets of the 6 variants. There are also 12 Warriors of Rohan, but foot soldiers tend to be rare on the tabletop outside of Helm's Deep recreations, and will often be relegated as replacements for when the Riders have their horses shot out from beneath them. The final set contingent is 12 Army of the Dead, which I believe normally can't be fielded without Aragorn or at least their King, but it's a cool inclusion and another example of previously metal models being reproduced as great plastic sets.

The opposition is a little more simple, but includes two great models. The mainstay of the forces of Evil are 36 Morannon Orcs, who bear better armour and hit harder than the standard Orcs, as these are Gothmog's elite forces. Supporting them is no less than a Mordor Troll, a beast that could likely smash its through most of the Rohirrim forces solo, especially if fielded as a Chieftain. I never owned any of the larger monsters Middle Earth had to offer, they were too expensive for me back then, but now I don't get just one, but two!

As leading the Evil side is none other than the Witch King himself! And he comes on a Fell Beast, another expensive model I never expected to own back in the day.

Who needs horsemen when you have a flying mount?

This is the second model I'm looking forwards to putting together, because the Witch King is metal as heck.

So I'm throwing myself back into the hobby full speed, and will be constructing both Rohan and Mordor armies in parallel. With luck, I can entice my siblings into playing a few games whilst I look to see what the local scene offers (all depending on the old pandemic going around of course!). To this end, I've already purchased more Riders, the Forgeworld rendition of Deorwine, Captain of the Royal Guard, and some Warg Riders. I've also got plans for a conversion or twenty, naturally.

Future posts will go over the initial army lists, and progress for each one, and I'll look to expand each force in parallel, slowly building up the points levels, so consider subscribing and keep your eyes peeled for all that. I may also put together my painting and conversion processes, and if we're lucky, a battle report or two as I relearn the rules and hopefully claim victory.

Thanks for reading, and I'll see you next time!