Hello All,

Newbie here who has moved from Warhammer Fantasy to play some LoTR. First of all, I love it. I love the look and feel of the game, but one thing is starting to bother me; Is this game where numbers will always win? The reason I ask is because I have had six or seven games so far and the person with the most models has won every game.

I play Wood Elves. We are currently playing 250 point games, so I have just the one Warband, which includes Legolas and 12 Warriors. When I play one friend with his Uruk Hai, I have had more models than him and I win fairly easily. However when I play another friend with Goblins, they get 2 Warbands for 250 points and have way more models, which includes a Dweller in the Dark and I just cannot beat them.

To be fair, we haven't played scenarios yet. We have only played stright up battles, but I am really hoping it isn't a case of "just bring more models".

Welcome to the best system GW has ever made. Insanely simple to learn and insanely hard to master. Now some tournament results to prove that the game is not about numbers.

This year's UKGT was won by 700pts armies including:
4 models on the good side and 4 models on the evil side
the 2nd place had 48 models on the good and 60 on the evil
the 3rd place had around the same as the 2nd

The model limit was 75. Armies close to the model limit finished outside the top 5.

The 2011 GT was won with armies of 45 & 65, 2nd place with 42 and ~55 out of limit of 75 in 700pts. The best Goblin horde didn't even reach 70 and finished 4th. I could go on and on, but you might as well check out my blog in the signature, a while ago I posted a list of the winning lists from all previous GTs, all of them were far from reaching anywhere near the limits.

Numbers do matter, yes, but the game is far from being all about numbers. Get a big hero and he will destroy the numbers. Get a wizard and he will destroy the big hero. Keep on playing and balance it out with the rock/paper/scissors game. Play a few different scenarios than just pitched battles, as pitched battles do favour numbers. You'll see the game is by FAAAAAR deeper than that.

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Coordinator of the Great British Hobbit League

Glad you're enjoying the game! The raw game rules do favour quantity over quality, but the warband system (and the previous Legions of Middle Earth army limits) tend to even things out. 250 points might be a bit small to see the results of tactical choices, simply because one bad roll can end the game. 500 points is probably a better bottom limit.

You have chosen one of the tougher armies to learn with. Wood elves aren't very forgiving, but once you know what you're doing they are considered one of the more capable armies to play. Maximize your bows, make sure you take plenty of spears and throwing weapons. Learn how and when to use those spears either for support or to "shield". The GW box set is not exactly the optimal configuration, something like 4 bows, 6 spear + throwing daggers, 2 blades is better.

Good luck!

Numbers aren't the key factor; this is a game of strategy. Power at a point is the key and how you use your forces will carry the day. Aim to keep the numbers in the battle manageable, and remember that you don't have to fight the way your enemy wants you to.

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http://www.middle-earth-marauders.blogspot.co.uk/
Tabletop Gaming in London. New members welcome.

I agree with everything said for LOME. In Warbands, I wonder.

In several scenarios, it is "Whoever has the most models within 6 inches of the marker". That is huge. In a Hold Ground tournement game, there was just not time enough to kill enough goblins. I looked at those numbers and wondered if it were even possible. With all respect, the four model Uber hero armies are obsolete in Warband.

That's exactly what people thought about 4-model hero armies in 700pts playing domination and take and hold - and as proven by 2009 doubles and 2012 singles GTs people could not have been more wrong.

There is plenty of time before getting to the centre in the first place and in that time you can easily break your opponent if you play correctly. After breaking if you have 4 horses then you can obstruct a big part of the objective in hold ground. After breaking enemy tests for courage at least once before the game ends and that could be crucial.

Also most armies will have smaller number than their equivalents in the LoME rules. In 500 you're not getting more than 39 elves (or 35ish high elves) while in LoME you had easily 48-50 wood or 44ish high.

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Coordinator of the Great British Hobbit League