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TACTICS·WHITE DWARF 386

The Armies of Middle-earth

February 2012·pp. 34–45

THE SHORT VERSION

Simon Grant surveys the five new sourcebooks and explains their shared warband system: ordinarily a Hero leads up to twelve Warriors, with special exceptions for groups such as the Fellowship and White Council. The books supplement the existing Rules Manual, gather a wide variety of army lists and provide six matched scenarios as well as historical encounters. His overview shows how the same selection framework accommodates cheap Goblin hordes, elite Elves, cavalry kingdoms and Mordor’s unusually broad range of troops and monsters.

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Army lists & selection Tactics & strategy

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EditorialWD 386 · Inside cover

A Return to Middle-earth

Andrew Kenrick recalls beginning his Rohan collection while at university and losing his first recreation of Helm’s Deep. The new Middle-earth sourcebooks and the Great Beast of Gorgoroth tempt him towards Mordor, while the issue also continues Warhammer Civil War and turns over for a separate celebration of Warhammer 40,000’s twenty-fifth birthday.

Middle-earth Strategy Battle GameWarhammer Fantasy Battles
February 2012Read summary
CommunityWD 386 · pp. 2–7

The Lord of the Rings

Andy Hall introduces the Strategy Battle Game through the stories and alternative outcomes it lets players explore, from saving Boromir to pitching unlikely opponents against each other. He explains how individual warriors, exceptional Heroes and their reserves of Might recreate Tolkien’s adventures, then describes routes into collecting through the Mines of Moria set, the Journey books and the new army sourcebooks. The emphasis is on choosing a story and growing models and terrain around it rather than beginning with a large army.

Middle-earth Strategy Battle Game
February 2012Read summary
Battle reportWD 386 · pp. 24–31

A Race for the Ruins

Andy Hall’s Fellowship races Andrew Kenrick’s Moria force towards a central ruin in Hold Ground, with random arrivals separating the opposing warbands. The Watcher in the Water appears behind the Hobbits and draws the Fellowship’s powerful fighters away from the objective: Aragorn and Legolas wound it badly, but it still kills Merry, Legolas and Sam. Gandalf, Boromir and Gimli bring down the Cave Troll, yet the Goblin Captain’s Heroic Move and Aragorn’s exhausted Might leave the Fellowship broken. Moria wins twelve victory points to three, illustrating how scenario positioning can outweigh a handful of heroic combat successes.

Middle-earth Strategy Battle GameThe Fellowship
February 2012Read summary