Newbie Help with Erebor Dwarves 500 pt

Wulox · **Joined:** Mon Dec 16, 2013 10:02 pm **Posts:** 45

Hi all, long time LOTR and Hobbit fan.
Used to collect Rohan years ago and the rules etc have changed a fair bit since I last played as I started doing more for WH40k.
So, treat me like a newbie haha!
Basically I want to have an Erebor only army with a Battle of Azanulbizar theme.
Pretty much I want the army to be made up of the young versions of Thorin, Balin and Dwalin. I heard Grimhammers are terrible, but I'd like to include a few of them anyway for a bit of variation, maybe about 6, and I will convert the other 6 into plain Warriors of Erebor, with or without shields.
I was thinking about picking up two boxes of Warriors of Erebor and one box of Grimhammers.
Any help on where to place all the figures would be greatly appreciated. Should I aim to get spears in each warband in small numbers, or not have them in one so the other two can have a larger amount.
Thanks, James

SouthernDunedain · **Posted:** Tue Dec 17, 2013 10:23 am

I have also done an army themed to that battle. Got all the young versions of thorin, dwalin, balin plus thrain and a captain of erebor.

All my warriors of erebor were converted from grimhammers and I have an equal number of spears and shields. I do have 6 grimhammers for thrain's warband but I doubt they'll see much action.

Denizen · **Joined:** Sun Mar 03, 2013 8:15 pm **Posts:** 156

Aim for 50% spears in every warband.

Dr Grant · **Joined:** Fri Aug 03, 2012 1:50 pm **Posts:** 1339

Southy knows his stuff when it comes to the Army of Thror, he's got a great looking army and a lot of games under his belt, I've certainly never cracked 'em!

However, I always feel the need to stand up for Grimhammers a little. They're not as bad as they're made out to be, they're just not as effective when directly compared to some other troops. Their S3 and D6 really let them down compared to other dwarf elites like Khazad Guard but in a pure Army of Thror list you don't have that option. They're not over-costed or underpowered for their points, they simply don't have most people's idea of an optimum wargear setup. A lot of the issue is that they come with throwing weapons as default which a lot of people don't like, you're essentially paying two points for an upgrade a lot of people don't like. However, if you like Throwing Weapons (as I do) then they're good value for their points, it's just that most people would prefer +1S and +1D instead of throwing weapons!

However, I think their two-handed weapons and throwing weapons add a nice tactical option to an Army of Thror list. I'm planning my own for later this year and am thinking of 9 Grimhammers, 9 Warriors of Erebor with shield and 18 Warriors of Erebor with shield and spear. If you went with those numbers you'll then have 3 full war bands for Throin, Dwalin and Balin to lead.

So there you go, Grimhammers - far from the best troops in the game but certainly better than they're commonly made out to be.

thatguy513 · **Posted:** Tue Dec 17, 2013 1:00 pm

Thorin leading erebor dwarves (axe+shield, spear), Dwalin leading erebor dwarves (axe+shield, spear), also consider warriors of dale for f4 spear support/ archers.

Dr Grant · **Joined:** Fri Aug 03, 2012 1:50 pm **Posts:** 1339

Yeah Warriors of Dale are a nice addition for some (admittedly weak) long range support. Remember that they're from the same army list so you can take Dale Warriors exclusively armed with bows.

The 1000 point army I want to build this year is something like

Thror
Thrain
Thorin
Dwalin
Balin
9 Grimhammers
9 Warriors of Erebor with shield
18 Warriors of Erebor with spear and shield
18 Warriors of Dale with bow

That's about 100 points and would be good fun to play with and look great on the table.

SouthernDunedain · **Posted:** Tue Dec 17, 2013 5:25 pm

My 1000pt army (while we are on the subject

) is

Thorin
11 WoE (5 shield, 6 spear)
Dwalin
11 WoE (5 shield, 6 spear + shield)
Balin
11 WoD w/ bow
WoE w/ horn + shield
Captain of Erebor
11 WoE (5 Shield, 6 spear + shield)
Floi
5 Vault warden teams
Bombur.

High Def, good fighty heroes and a fat dwarf. I am tempted to go full Army of Thror though and get thrain in there with some grimhammers just for variety. There is also the option to add in Legolas/ Tauriel/ Thranduil + 12 mirkwood rangers aswell for even more bow shots.

Wulox · **Joined:** Mon Dec 16, 2013 10:02 pm **Posts:** 45

Thanks for the quick replies all, might have to pick up an extra box of WoE so that I can max out on as many spears as possible it seems, which isn't too bad!

SouthernDunedain wrote:

High Def, good fighty heroes and a fat dwarf. I am tempted to go full Army of Thror though and get thrain in there with some grimhammers just for variety. There is also the option to add in Legolas/ Tauriel/ Thranduil + 12 mirkwood rangers aswell for even more bow shots.

I was actually also purchasing Tauriel and some rangers because I think they are beautiful sculpts, if push comes to shove and I need some bows I guess I could use them!

Thermo · **Posted:** Tue Dec 17, 2013 8:59 pm

Welcome to the forum! Let us know how you get on and post pictures

I'm also building an army of Thror list, the army I have taken so far has been (off the top of my head)

W1 - Thorin (Oakenshield)
5 Warriors of Erebor (shield)
5 Warriors of Erebor (spear/shield)

W2 - Dwalin
5 Warriors of Erebor (shield)
6 Warriors of Erebor (spear/shield)

W3 - Gloin

… which has been fun (but not as fun as Rohan!)

Get your pictures posted when it all starts to come together and hopefully we'll see you at a tournament next year for a bit of fun!

Newbie Help with Erebor Dwarves 500 pt

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