The book then provides an incredible 22 new Narrative Play Scenarios. A Narrative Play Scenario in Lord of the Rings: Middle-Earth Strategy Battle Game is a pre-determined battle scenario for two opposing sides to take part in. What's so cool about these scenarios is just how descriptive they are. They tell you exactly how to populate terrain on the map, and which specific units are included in each scenario. Instead of saying "This is a 750 point match," the scenario lists out which specific heroes and warriors take part in the battle, even down to how many men hold swords vs. spears. The scenarios included in Defence of the North range from the first encounter between Brand, King of Dale and the Easterlings, the Siege of Erebor, the Wood Elf crossing of the Anduin, and even a scenario where the Spider Queen and her legions take on invading orcs (in this scenario, the Spider Queen's forces are listed as 'Good,' the quotation marks denoting the stretching of the term). Each of these scenarios offers an engaging challenge for both the Good and Evil side at war, and their varied goals and map setups really change up the game. Lord of the Rings: Middle-Earth Strategy Battle Game Dragon Emperor And Warriors storm Erebor. Image: Games Workshop If you are new to MESBG, this is a great deal and nice way to start – with clear options for next steps to expand your fighting force… with the caveat that the majority of the models are very old. The narrative mission booklet has a handful of missions than can function as tutorial missions, as well as more complex versions as you develop your skills and collection. For existing fans, it’s worth weighing the new book, terrain, and heroes against models you may already own. I do wonder if newer fans might bounce off of the old models, though. This box includes the complete Middle-earth Strategy Battle Game Rules Manual, information regarding Open, Narrative and Matched Play and Middle-earth miniatures. Find everything from the basic rules of movement through to handling siege engines and even casting magical powers. There is also beautifully painted armies to help provide inspiration for your own collections! Battle of Pelennor Fields Components Finally, there's the massive Fortress of Dol Guldur terrain box. I absolutely adore this box, which comes with a huge set of plastic sprues filled with walls, flooring, joints, and accessories needed to build your own crumbling fortress. There's a small guide to building a large structure included with the box, but this is really meant for modular construction. I love the look of this set, and can't wait to paint mine up once I've got it fully built the way I want it. This is the first time I've worked with a modular terrain set from Games Workshop, and I hope they follow this route going forward. You can choose to build one massive fortress, or at least five or six smaller outcroppings of ruins. It's an incredible set for serious terrain builders. These dreaded, looming ruins speak to ancient powers both evil and awesome. Image: Games Workshop What Are Our Final Thoughts On the Lord of the Rings: Middle-Earth Strategy Battle Game Spring 2022 Releases? It's a very simple system when you come down to it; each turn has clearly-defined steps, and the act of crossing swords is down to rolling D6 dice and comparing scores on an easy-to-read table. You don't need to worry about complex modifiers here, and even when 'Heroic' actions get thrown into the mix, they simply build on what's already there rather than making you juggle something more strenuous.

Faramir, Gothmog, Madril, and Damrod are getting new plastic miniatures for the first time in Battle of Osgiliath (Image credit: Warhammer Community) The Witch King on Fell Beast. This is another multi-part, multi-variant kit. The Fell Beast has two heads which help alter the look if you get two. You also have the Witch King as seen in the movies at the Battle of Pelennor Fields with a flaming sword, or a generic Nazgul. It would be quite the battle featuring more than one of these monsters but the option is there! Prepare to enter the amazing world of Middle-earth, and recreate the greatest battles and adventures from The Lord of the Rings™ and The Hobbit™. In this box set, you’ll find all the miniatures (no less than 84!) and rules you and an opponent will need to defend the city of Minas Tirith – or take command of the forces of Evil and wage destruction and war upon the kingdom of Gondor. Included: Oh, and there’s a nifty double-sided Priority marker in the set too. One side has the White Tree while the other displays the baleful Eye of Sauron – perfect for showing whether Good or Evil has Priority this turn. The armies of Gothmog in The Lord of the Rings Battle of Osgiliath include an impressive Mordor Troll (Image credit: Warhammer Community)

Whilst I am not overly familiar with the competitive scene for Middle Earth Strategy Battles , I understand that earlier versions of the rules allowed for a few slightly overpowered (and strange) possibilities. Eagles carrying hand axes (because the rules said they were equipped with one handed weapons and that meant any of the available options in that category, as long as it was glued to the model) were apparently a thing. The 2018 version of these rules that come bundled in Battle of the Pelennor Fields prevent such things, and I think it’s quite impressive that the ruleset is capable of catering for hardcore, competitive gamers and play-at-home hobbyists in equal measure. As previously stated, this box contains a mix of mostly old models and a few new ones. The Mordor side of the house gets a new Gothmog mini – with on foot and mounted options. The good guys get Faramir, Madril, and Damrod. These models are a nice mix of old and new design aesthetics; solid detail, and mercifully easy to put together compared to come other modern GW kits. I thoroughly enjoyed painting Gothmog, and it’s definitely motivated me to start working on the rest of the box! Damrod and his Rangers ambush the Orcs. Another battle where one side has missile weapons (and in this case a hero as well, if only a minor one) and the other does not. The Orcs start in a 6” bubble in the centre of the table and the Rangers can deploy anywhere outside of that, with each Good model getting a free shot before the first turn of the game. Since Middle Earth Strategy Battle has essentially replaced Warhammer as Games Workshop’s primary large-scale fantasy miniatures game, it shares some rules that will be familiar to players moving over from the now archived Warhammer universe. Rules such as what level of hero can lead a warband of soldiers, for example, or how combat is resolved, will feel immediately familiar. With that said, the cumbersome nature of Warhammer ’s rank and file combat is long gone; replaced instead by freeform duelling that allows units to outnumber opponents and support each other very simply. Battle of the Pelennor Fields scene is included in Tales of Middle-earth set, draft, and collector boosters.

Sauron Defeated, the fourth volume of The History of The Lord of the Rings, contains superseded versions of the battle. Some changes of detail are apparent: e.g. Théoden slain by a projectile to the heart instead of being crushed by his horse; or when Éowyn reveals her sex, her hair has been cut short, a detail absent from the final version. J.R.R. Tolkien had also considered having Éowyn die. Prepare to enter the amazing world of Middle-earth, and recreate the greatest battles and adventures from The Lord of the Rings™ and The Hobbit™. In this box set, you’ll find all the miniatures (no less than 84!) and rules you and an opponent will need to defend the city of Minas Tirith – or take command of the forces of Evil and wage destruction and war upon the kingdom of Gondor. Included:That's largely because the featured campaign does such a good job of drip-feeding you the game's mechanics - you'll never bite off more than you can chew. Once you've got a handle on the basics, more elements are added until you're balancing everything the Middle-earth Strategy Battle Game can throw at you. It's very well done. The Mordor Troll! This is nice kit, you get multiple weapon options, and heads. This gives you a chance to add some decent variation on how you asemble your troll in case you have multiple Trolls in your army. Thundercloud: The Battle of Osgiliath comes with a small booklet of scenarios and profiles for the miniatures within the box. These scenarios use the box contents and escalate in terms of model count and complexity.