Hi guys,

Like you may know from my WIP thread, I recently aquired a hobbit force. I'm now trying to build a force to get a general idea of where I'm going and figuring out what to paint.

First I have way more Shirrif than Militia, But from what I've seen, I believe that the Brandybuck are better so here's my first question, Is it better 20 brandybuck with 10 Shirrif or 20 Shirrif and 10 Brandybuck?

Here's the list, let me know any change you would make.

Samwise the Brave
10 Shirrif

Meriadoc with Shield
10 Brandybuck

Peregrin
10 Brandybuck

Paladin Took
12 Archer, 1 War Horn

Gandalf the Grey

Give me 47 models.

Are the Hobbits better mounted? Should I drop or change anything? I used to play like 10 years ago so I know a lot as changed. I've started watching videos to learn the change and I've ordered the hobbit rulebook.

Thanks guys.

Yes the hobbits are always worth it Mounted, as well as Gandalf the Grey.


Now you can even go back on history and add hmm... young bilbo and make a themed based out of that :D

A bunch of Shirriffs are certainly useful (F3 and access to the 'stun' special strike), but I would indeed put the emphasis on Militia (normally with the upgrade) - S3 (+ axes) gives them the ability to actually wound something.

Also useful to maximise the archers, it's one of the halflings' greatest strengths, especially when Gandalf negates much of the opponent's shooting through Blinding Light.

Ponies are certainly a good upgrade, mostly on Pip and Merry, who become decent combatants with them - and that's a rare thing for a Hobbit!

As above basically, give the heroes ponies where possible, and max out your archers. If you're going competitively and so all axes, maybe you don't need the Brandybuck upgrade as much and can spend the points somewhere else?

Also, I'd keep the number of shiriffs you have now, but spread them out amongst the militia warbands so that the fight value can be had right across the battle line, as hopefully you'll be able to gang up on enemy models.

If I wanted to go "here and back again/BoFA themed" when bilbo came from the Quest at Erebor...I would go based on let´s say Goblins decided to move up against the shire a 2nd time for payback for the dead of the previous goblin king Golfimbul by the hands of Gorkil the current Goblin King whom sucessed(Bfme 2 character). In the meantime and not far from the Shire, Bilbo was saying farewell to Gandalf as they got interrupted and saw smoke and heard noise from nearby. They decided to go in together to see what was happening... (story can be crazily diverse.. thats the good thing of this hobby...)

Warband 1
Bilbo Baggins, Master Burglar

Warband 2
Gandalf the Grey 1

Warband 3
Fortinbras Took II (Palladin took)
5 Shirrifs
5 Battlin Brandybucks with axes

Warband 4
Ferumbras Took III(Peregrin took )
6 Shirrifs
6 Tookish hunters with axes

warband 5
Rorimac Brandybuck (Meriadoc)
6 Battling brandybucks with axes
6 tookish hunters with axes

Warband 6
Lobelia Sackville-Baggins

total: 500pts

OP how competitive are you trying to make this? Right now seems like youre going more for theme.

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BLACKHAWK 2010 2013 2015 DYNASTY

I think that the first list in this topic is quite good. The only thing I would do is dropping the horn and use those points to give a horse to gandalf and ponies to Merry and Pippin. That aside, the sheriffs should be splitted between other warbands, so that every warband will have a chance to stun dangerous models.

47 models including a wizard at 500 points is more than enough

Thanks for all the feedbacks and suggestion guys.



To be honest, I'm not totally sure what I making with this. I bought a bunch of models and now I'm trying to see were that can lead me and and I need to buy to have a workable force.

Here's the list of models that I've got, way more sherrif than I'll need but that's what was offered ( and I do like the look of them with a stick )

15 Archer (2 Horn)
30 Shirrif
3 Militia
Multiple of the 4 Hobbits
Paladin Took
Bullroarer (Foot version only and the mounted one seems hard to find)
All hobbits on ponies

I'll try to convert a few of the famous hobbits into Militia and buy a few pack more.

#1-Yes Bullroarer is hard to find on horse which is a shame, because hes your best combat hobbit. Still put him in. Maybe find some way to convert. All you need is a hobbit....he rides a horse so there is no problem there....
#2-Frodo and Sam are overcosted for what they bring stats wise. Merry and Pippin are good. Paladin too.
#3-Mount every unit you can.
#4-The warhorn is useless. Meriadoc has one that provides +2 courage on his profile....
#5-GET MILITIA! Especially the ones with the axes. Piercing strike all day with these guys. All of them are good though to fill in holes.

Here's what I would do. If I were you, I would take out Gandalf. He's themed yes and a good model. BUT, in a hobbit army he doesnt do much. He might hold off a monster or big hero but thats it. Hes not going to hold a lot of them at bay. What you need in a Hobbit army is killing power. That is what it lacks the most. Take a hero and/or some other units that can do that.

My suggestions:
-A small one warband contingent of wood Elves
-A few warbands of men who are like rangers(you can call them bree guards or something and paint them accordingly)

I took a 700 pt army with the following:
Thranduil and 12 wood elves
Legolas on horse with Bill
Bandobras, Meriadoc, Peregrin, and Paladin.

I had terror, legolas to attack shaman, heroes, etc, a lot of bows and units, and a mobile banner. The problem is the army takes too long to move and develop but it can work......

For you with the units you have here is what I would put together:


Peregrin on Pony
Meriadoc on Pony
Paladin
Bandobras
Then you have 30 shirrifs, 15 archers, and 3 militia to fill out their warbands.

That all right there is 5 might, 52 units, 15 bows.

Now, you have 161 points left. You could take a Legolas and some Elves, you can take Some Rangers......think about that...an Arnor hero, ranger of the north or two, and some rangers.

Or you can do something else. Maybe drop a few Hobbits and put in Strider on a horse.

Many options. But get some militia, and Id say drop Gandalf if you want to be competitive. I cant tell you how many militia axes killed uruk hair and high elves, etc with their high defense.

Ive played Hobbits now about 15 times. So I can tell you what you should and shouldnt use with them.




Have you ever played Hobbits? Like for your army.....?

Thats not enough.....when they start to die, they go fast...

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BLACKHAWK 2010 2013 2015 DYNASTY

Really? Because some things you say don't exactly add up...


Only Erkenbrand has a +2 Courage horn. The warhorn is far from useless - Merry has a horn that gives +1 Courage to all Hobbits, but is not listed as a warhorn. This means that an additional warhorn does in fact give a total effect of +2 Courage, which is exactly why it is useful. Terrifying enemies suddenly become a lot less scary if you're as brave as an Elf.

Gandalf is probably one of the greatest assets a Hobbit army can have, altough I agree that a hero like Aragorn can be equally useful. Hobbits can hit reasonably hard (though they lack spears or multiple attack models), but are extremely soft and go down quickly. At 500pts, you won't face many large heroes or creatures, and Gandalf should do a decent job controlling it by himself - if left unchecked, a few heroic combats or hurls will quickly decimate the army. Despite being good at shooting, the Halflings also go down very quickly, and unless you go full horde, an Elven army will still outshoot you with S3 bows, and possibly D6 frontline or Elven cloaks. Enter Gandalf, and his Blinding Light should swing it massively in your favour, especially since other armies will rarely have a similar effect at this points level.

As for the abundance of shirriffs - can easily be converted to militia, just remove the feathers and add an axe blade to the club. Seeing how it's the shirrifs that are out of production though, I'd keep most of them intact, or simply swap a few for militia with somebody.

1-Typo on the 2 courage.
2-I really dont think a war horn for that many points is worth putting less units in a spam list which is exactly what you need-More units. Their courage isnt bad at all.
3-Paladins stand fast is excellent.....again....no need for war horn
4-The Gandalf thing is very debatable. Hes hugely expensive. Yes, he might keep some hobbits alive but eventually they will die. You said it yourself....at 500 there will not be many if any big heroes. So whats the point of Gandalf? His most useful ability is to slow down tough units. Imagine OP comes up against a goblin whorde, or Isengard with three of their uruk captains....how about Harad and Umbar with half trolls and reavers? Numenor? Gondor? Dwarves? All of those make the blind light useless that you mentioned.
Hobbits will out shoot almost every army they play by basically having 4 bows for every 48 points worth of troops maximum cost. Unless enemy elves have galadriel you win that shooting war. If they do, rush them. They probably have less than half the units you do.

Ill stop there after having made a few points. Basically....Im not saying youre wrong. Im just saying if you want to up your killing power(which is exactly what this army needs) you dont spend almost 200 points on a Gandalf with upgrades(I know hes cheaper but we must refrain from exact points value of course).
I dont know if youre some Hobbit master but whatever you have done with your force should have led you to one conclusion. Any army thats defense 5+ means you need 6's the entire game to wound anything. And D5 isnt uncommon. Furthermore almost all armies are strength 3. This means all your Hobbits die on 4s.
With Gandalf in there I believe more armies hold an advantage over you than if you found a suitable cheaper replacement.

Ive faced armies that were half my size, that I tactically bested, and still didnt roll sixes and struggled to win, or lost to. Sometimes with weak units, you just dont get those sixes, and thats why I suggest a more offensive outlet. With Gandalf, youre only playing defense. And when you play defense with a spam army that has D3, you are setting yourself up for failure.

So Id be interested to hear any stories you have about your history with Hobbits if theres something Im missing out on.

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BLACKHAWK 2010 2013 2015 DYNASTY

If you want killing power with that force go simple in replace for Gandalf.

Thorin with orcrist and oakenshield on pony + Bombur on pony...

There simple... nasty heroe and a nice will backup support moving dwarf.

That or Oin on pony instead of bombur on pony.

Although thorin itss expensive like a bit over 1/5 of the army, hes very deadly vs anything that is orc stuff... even the goblin town goblin king with ssome luck can be chopped off in a round of combat... and hes one of the few nasty heroes that can come up at 500pts

I do love a Gandalf in these pure Shire lists. Not only does it help with monsters and bows which are rather problematic (although you can outshoot quite many armies), but he's also perfect thematically. I'd go with him.