Hello, One-Ringers!

I guess I could start off with a little introduction, or one can just skip ahead to my actual question (hence the spoiler tab).


Now, to the actual point of this post (yes, there is one!)

He decided that he would pick up Mordor (because hey, how cool aren't Ringwraiths?), and we happily browsed the web putting together a simple shopping list for an army of 300 points, since we decided to start small and gradually add to our armies.

I looked over the good armies and, after some consideration, narrowed it down to two choices; Minas Tirith or Durin's Folk. Here, however, I can't quite make the final decision. I usually enjoy solid, quality armies which I assume would be in favour of the dwarves. As someone who adores the LotR background, however, Gondor versus Mordor has a considerable appeal. Looking through the stats I sort of get the feeling that Gondor lacks some real punching power though, something to crack open those Black Guard my brother will be including in his army.

In short:
* I am chosing between Durin's Folk and Minas Tirith to make a 300p army which will be facing a Mordor army.
* Theme is a factor, although not the only one.
* I am not looking for super competitive, but the force should be "decent enough".
* Money spent is also a factor. I would rather not spend exorbitant amounts of money just to get started.

I could also provide some info on what my brother will be fielding, and some examples of army lists I considered. But I wouldn't want to make an already long post that much longer

So, please comment and help a returning hobbyist out! Suggestions for army lists, general tactical advice, or simply happy welcomes are all equally appreciated!

Thanks in advance,
Old Grumpy

Well the first thing I would recommend is picking up the relevant sourcebooks. So Kingdoms of Men for gondor, Free Peoples for Dwarves and Mordor for...yup Mordor Have a flick through those first and see what units catches your eye and appeals to you.

With gondor, I would recommend plenty of elites so citadel guard and fountain guard. These may be expensive though as one set are metal and one are finecast. You could ally in some of the fiefdom troops, they have a bit more punch.

Dwarves are hard to kill as most of their troops are base D6 without shields. Again, Khazad Guard, Iron Guard and warriors with shields are the way to go. At the moment, dwarves are lacking spear support but hopefully within a few months GW will release the Warriors of Erebor who can take spears. (profile are in the big hobbit book).

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Dwarves are definetly a fun and relatively forgiving force to start with. I have a few friends that play them and they are always a nice challenge to play against. They have some potent Heroes and solid core troops. I have some heroes and a box of warriors in my backlog that I'm always anxious to get to. There is not as much variety (currently) as many other armies enjoy but I expect to see that change with the Hobbit films, especially when we get to the Battle of Five Armies. With the more flexible ally rules in the new SBG format you can pull in anyone you want anyway.

As for Gondor, there is some nice variety in elites, cavalry and themed allies. And your basic troops (WoMT) are one of the easiest to paint in bulk and can often be found cheap online (second hand for example).

Each are good choices. Just think of which one gets you more excited to watch on film, from the books or thinking about playing. The one that has more interest for you will probably prove the most fulfilling to plan, paint and play.

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Hello,
erebor is an option becaus you've got the heroes already (torin balin and dwalin)
they are awsome and stong.
about gondor:
when you just buy some warriors some riders and a hero like faramir (on horse) and a captain you've got a themed army witch isn't to strong but able to do his work

As SouthernDunedain mentioned buying the sourcebooks will give you a good indication of each of the forces. I play Dwarves and I have to tell you they are extremely reliable but they have a certain rigid play style. Gondor is a bit more flexible (in selection both factions are great, in implementation of different diverse tactics Gondor has the upper hand).

Hi and welcome! You've started out at a good point level.

You mentioned specifically about your brother's Black Guard...one thing nice about Dwarves is they have a few S4 troops, like Iron Guard or Khazad Guard, that will crack D6 better. The only thing (currently) lacking for Dwarves is spears, but it looks like they are coming, possibly in the next few months. Otherwise, you need banners with Dwarves, at least 1 in 300 points.

If you're playing Gondor you need different tactics than you'd think. Sounds like your brother is building an army of elites, and one way to counter that is with a "swarm" army...Gondor's troops are relatively cheaper than what he's fielding, and they have lots of good cheap heroes (like Damrod and Beregond), so make sure you pack in the numbers and get good spear support. You don't have any S4 options, so you have to get as many attacks/dice into a fight as possible. Some elites are good, especially because their spear support helps more in a fight now under the new rules.

I know my comment is off-topic but: , more than 1 banner in 300 points with Dwarves is too much. The two cost the equivalent of 7 Dwarf warriors with shields or 4 Iron Guards.

Thank you all for the advice! Much appreciated.

The Sourcebooks are indeed on the shopping list!
I've played around a bit with LonleyKnight's spreadsheet army builder, and came up with two lists that fit within the 300 points margin and where the models are quite reasonable in cost (as far as Citadel Miniatures are so, of course )

Minas Tirith

Warband 1
Cirion
4 Warriors of Minas Tirith w/ shields
4 Warriors of Minas Tirith w/ spears, shields
2 Rangers of Gondor
2 Rangers of Gondor w/ spears

Warband 2
Madril
4 Warriors of Minas Tirith w/ shields
4 Warriors of Minas Tirith w/ spears, shields
2 Rangers of Gondor w/ spears

Pros:
* Every unit in the army has spear support (in theory)
* 6 Might points should provide mobility to position the army well

Cons:
* Nothing higher than S3 apart from heroes

Possible changes:
* Exchange Ciron and Madril for Faramir w/ bow and Damrod


Durin's Folk

Warband 1
Dwarf Captain w/ shield
4 Dwarf Warriors w/ shields
4 Dwarf Warriors w/ two-handed axes
4 Dwarf Warriors w/ bows

Warband 2
Shieldbearer
Dwarf Warrior w/ banner
3 Khazâd Guard

Pros:
* High Defense and fight all over
* Khazâd Guard supported by banner should be able to carve through most enemies

Cons:
* Slightly low on numbers (18 units total)
* 3 Might in total seems on the low side

Possible Changes:
* Try to fit in Balin w/ Durin's Axe
* Remove the warriors with bows for more Khazâd Guard or Warriors


Thoughs? Am I on the right track here?

first list:
faramir with bow I shouldn't take.
good startlist. one thing, put all the rangers in the warband of mardil and maybe some more warriors in ciron's warband

dwarf list
drop the bows and switch your captain for balin with axe.
swap within the warband's some units to take for example the warriors with shields and kuazads in one warband.
and the banner has to be in the warband with the most (and strongest) warriors, now it can only help 3 men.

Lucas
and try to use iron guards, they are really good

I think gondor is a rather dull, stale army. Dwarve son the other hand are just great, plenty of zany, interesting heroes with killer special moves. Also you have Dwalin, who is, in my opinion, the most interesting model the good side has been offered in a while. 3 attacks at str 5 with +1 to wound? Yes please! So go dwarves.

My tip for dwarves: don't use captains- stick to named heroes or dwarf kings/shieldbearers at the very least! That way it is more fun.

Agreed, I messed up my sentence

@Old Grumpy: good starting lists, I'd say. For Gondor, if money is an object you've got the right base using plastics, and having both your heroes in a single blister.

Why don;t you include an alliance of Minas Tirith and Durin's folk then you can include minis fromn both. The Minis Tirith can provide cheaper troops and the dwraves heavy hitters.

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Thank you all again! Great feedback all round

The suggestion of allying is probably a sound one, but it feels more thematic and somehow more appropriate to start of with a "pure" force, if you get my drift. Thanks for the idea either way, Gothmog!

So, at least one thing is decided; dwarves it is! In the end it was my brother who helped me with one of those little pearls of wisdom that come from the mouths of 11 year olds: "One shouldn't think too much, then the choice you make will always be wrong."
So in the end I just sat down and, well, decided. Dwarves just held more appeal somehow.

So I am sticking roughly to the list posted above, but I have a few last questions before I place my orders:

*Would you guys say Khazâd Guard or Iron Guard would be the more effective choice for elites? After looking it over Iron Guard would seem slighly better, although the 4 points more per model reflects that I guess.
*Is Balin with Axe "worth it" over a normal captain? What I'm asking is really how big a factor it will be in the army, as it would mean buying another blister for some 20ish euros instead of utilizing the captain from the command box. Not a huge deal, but still a bit of money.
*How important is the composition of warbands, i.e. what units go where. I can see it affecting higher point games to a larger degree, but with the rather compact nature of a smaller force, how big a deal is it? Any general pointers for how it should be done?
* Bow armed warriors, yay or nay?

And sorry for all the questions I guess I just want to feel confident with my purchase and that it provides a good starting point for an army

okay dwarves:
*Yes, exspesially iron guards
*yes, he's really stong (take his axe)
*important, in some senario's your warbands start at the other side of the table.
*maybe, if you want it, they still have D6 so they can fight.

Lucas

Old grumpy: use ebay, you will save so much money it is unbelievable. There are countless metal Balin's floating about on ebay for like £3. Only buy from GW what you absolutely have to such as durin or the iron guards.

I like iron guards, but Khazads do have their advantages.

If you want Balin, Dain and some Khazad Guard and Dwarven Warriors, I have a few. Fire me a PM!

With regards to choosing your forces, you could do what I'm planning. I love the Grey Company theme and also the Rohan theme but there are others I would like a crack at too...

So I will start with 500pts of Grey Company
Then 500pts of Rohan... and combine them for biggers games.

Down the line I'm hoping for 500pts of each, so I can mix and match appropriately depending on what my enemies bring to the table (getting way ahead of myself here...)

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