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I don't have time to write a post section, but atleast add MESBG to the unloved games section. 
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Dec 12, 2022 19:25
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| # ¿ May 22, 2024 05:23 |
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Indolent Bastard posted:Only if you tell me what MESBG is. It is so unloved I don't even recognize the acronym. Middle-Earth Strategy Battle Game, or more commonly know as 'Lord of the Rings' or 'The Hobbit'.
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Dec 12, 2022 19:42
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Covermeinsunshine posted:The only thing I know about MESBG is that the dice sets for it look really nice 16mm cornered are the best dice money can buy, in my honest opinion. Though you really want a dicebox in a game that's mostly about positioning and has a lot of metal miniatures.
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Dec 12, 2022 21:52
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EdsTeioh posted:I was only sort of aware of Gorkamorka but man that write up had me literally laughing out loud. Ork=best faction. MESBG is my main game at the moment, and I really like it a lot. "Better supported" is perhaps subjective, as MESBG gets regular FAQs and erratas, and a new supplement every two years, without the sweeping changes to rules and balance that invalidate entire armies. The core rules have been fairly stable for years, and the balance is solid enough that you can mostly bring what you want and have a good game. Also, as with some other specialist games, MESBG has strong 'COOL DAD' energy, where player are generally a bit older and just want to have a fun game instead of trying to pubstomp at the local GW. As for the 'quaint' aesthetic, the majority of basic troops are old enough to drink, but hold up fairly well and are actually very fun to paint. They're low on excessive details and pouches, so painting a bunch of them in an evening is totally doable. Some images, for flavour.  My Moria gobs moving in for the kill on some Uruk-Hai scouts.  My friend playing my gobs against my Rivendell elves.    Literally me irl.
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Dec 13, 2022 19:44
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Indolent Bastard posted:Do a writeup for the OP, do it, dooooooooo eet. Atlas Hugged said he'd write one, but if he doesn't get around to it, I'll do one later in the week.
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Dec 13, 2022 21:02
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Muir posted:I love Lord of the Rings as a setting, and "COOL DAD" energy is exactly my brand. Specifically, I have fond memories of going to the Metreon in San Francisco and seeing all the Middle Earth models in the GW store there when they first came out. If I knew anyone around here who played it, I'd get into it, but for now it's Underworlds and Warcry and maybe Kill Team instead. Well, the new two-player starter box Battle for Osgiliath just dropped, and it has everything you need to get started for two players (2 decent size forces, full size new rule book and terrain) and comes with a cool little mini-campaign. You could probably get it and just trick people into playing it as a cool wargame in a box. EDIT: Also, there's a stripped down version of the rules available for free online now, which is both cool, and good: https://www.warhammer-community.com/downloads/#middle-earth-strategy-battle-game Bad Decision Dino fucked around with this message at 21:33 on Dec 13, 2022 |
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Dec 13, 2022 21:30
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Middle-earth Strategy Battle Game MESBG or Middle-Earth Strategy Battle Game, more commonly know as ‘Lord of the Rings’ or ‘The Hobbit’ is a 28mm scale individual move army game based on, and expanding on the movie adaptations by Peter Jackson of the original work by J.R.R. Tolkien. Since launching in 2001, the game was GW's rising star for a time, but interest waned somewhat from it's glory days after the original trilogy of movies. In more recent years, the game seems to have found a second life as a specialist game, with support from both GW and Forgeworld, and interest has seen a notable uptick. The game is best described as a well-balanced, tactical skirmish* scale game in a notable low-fantasy setting. Nearly all of the forces from the movies are featured, and most have additional units or characters mentioned in the original works or just invented by GW. MESBG has a lot of flavourful narrative scenarios, meant to recreate moments from the books and movies. These are often not strictly balanced, but fun and dramatic to play. Alternatively, matched play features 12 scenarios that mostly focus on achieving objectives instead of killing the opponent outright for victory (it is not uncommon to decimate an opponent but still lose the game). In terms of force selection, 600 points is generally seen as midsize for tournaments (though the game is perfectly playable even at ~300p without houserules), where forces can range from very small (Smaug  1 model, Ents ~4 models, Black Riders ~9 models) to quite large (Moria Goblins ~40 models, Goblin Town ‘why did you do this’ models). The game has a rich helping of variant lists and an ally system that rewards thematic play, but also lets you cook up just about whatever you want. No mixing Good and Evil tho!Gameplay Each round players roll off to determine who has Priority. Starting with the player who has priority, both players move all their forces, both players shoot all of their bows and both players together resolve fights. Heroes give players options to move outside of the rounds initiative order, by spending from their limited supply of Might points. The main tactical object of the game is to position to maximize positive outcomes of fights. Not only are bow weapons generally limited to 1/3 of your force, they are much less effective than similar games. For this reason, the game is generally won the movement phase (figuratively speaking). Cavalry gains bonuses for charging, models double their hits against encircled opponents, even pinning the enemy powerhouse hero in place with a single 4 point goblin can be critical. Games often become quite dramatic, with desperate last stands and heroic turnarounds. Support by GW The game is largely unchanged since its launch, but receives regular support in terms of FAQ and errata. The previous version of the rulebook was from 2018, and a new rulebook has just gone up for sale as of december 2022. This rulebook does not invalidate the previous version(which is cool, and good), but simply adds in all the FAQ and errata. Supplements are released on a biennial cycle, the latest being ‘War in the North’. These supplements normally add a few new models, variant army lists and narrative scenarios and are entirely optional if you don’t care for them. Getting into the game If you want to get into the game, there are several options that are worth considering. Battle for Osgiliath is the new flagship big box starter, and comes with two relatively complete forces, the latest rulebook, and plastic terrain, as well as a cool mini-campaign for the models in the box. Pelenor Fields is the previous started set, and may be worth getting if found at a discount or if you prefer the forces inside. As mentioned previously, the rulebook inside is still valid, but lacking the addition of current errata. After years of community demand, GW has finally released battlehost boxes for the game, giving a reasonable discount on the combination of two troop boxes and a hero box. These also pair fairly well with the forces in the starter sets. Another good option to start playing is to simply buy a troop box and convert or paint a single model as a captain. It also should be stated that the game has a very robust second hand market, and checking out local deals can be very worthwhile if you’re up for a bit of salvage work. Also, there's a lite version of the rules available for free online now, which is both cool, and good. Links Warhammer Community downloads - has free starter rules for Middle Earth, as well as profiles for the 4 battlehost boxes Goonhammer's Middle Earth section - check out their excellent 'Getting Started: Middle Earth Strategy Battle Game' Pictures Moria goblins move to encircle on some Uruk-Hai scouts. Goblins close in on a Rivendell phalanx. Treebeard with Merry and Pippin Glorfindel Literally me irl. *don't @ me
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Dec 16, 2022 21:00
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Bored Online posted:Thank you so much for doing this. This post got me mega amped to start painting the new starter box and get some interest building at the lgs. Hell yes, post cool models when you're done painting.
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Dec 16, 2022 22:29
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Randalor posted:Middle-Earth question: You absolutely can! Quest of the Ringbearer comes with a army list called Black Riders that offers bonuses in exchange for limiting your selection to ringwraiths on horses, who have to be led by the witch king on a horse (no fellbeasts or morgul crown tho). At 700 points (about the upper limit for tournaments), you'd want to run all nine, and have a handful of foot models in case someone loses a horse. Witch king plus two riders should put you at 250, which is a pretty good point for a beginner game. If you want to play ringwraiths list without the restriction on fellbeasts and such, you totally can. You just don't get Black Riders' pretty cool bonus. See also: https://www.warhammer-community.com/2021/10/12/who-rides-with-the-lord-of-the-nazgul-3-top-players-share-their-army-lists/ https://tellmeatalegreatorsmall.blogspot.com/2021/04/the-stuff-of-legends-black-riders.html?m=1 https://soundcloud.com/the-green-dragon-podcasts/ep-97-black-riders-ll?in_system_playlist=artist-stations%3A104795045 Bad Decision Dino fucked around with this message at 23:42 on Dec 16, 2022 |
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Dec 16, 2022 23:36
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Oh, are we posting more handsome green boys? (Crossposting from the Oath thread) Bad Decision Dino posted:Oath Complete!
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Dec 23, 2022 19:11
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The current release cadence would suggest Soulshackle be a new team plus an upgrade sprue for an existing kit. Also, having 'dudes with flak armour' three boxes in a row seems like a weird choice. Dark Eldar are cool tho, and between them and the Kroot getting a box release I might step into some Kill Team next year.
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Dec 30, 2022 19:16
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I thought it was Hellraiser, but I've never actually seen those so 
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Dec 31, 2022 10:19
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Al-Saqr posted:I still cant believe I managed to get soulshackle when I did, I feel very very lucky. Supposedly their ability to source printed cardboard has been limiting their production since at least Cursed City. This was previously sourced from China, but global supply chain issues have made that difficult. Supposedly. Also, I would be very surprised if these stock shortages aren't atleast partially due to them producing an absolute boatload of Leviathan boxes, and thus having to squeeze production for other releases. Finally, I would be very surprised if they didn't lead with the made-to-order system they implemented for Indomitus. They caught so much flak for it then, it would be very dumb to repeat the same mistake.
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May 20, 2023 19:10
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For some Middle-Earth content, a little batrep from my game at the FLGW this weekend. The table is and AoS table, and my Ents are shamefully unpainted. Sometimes, we take the games we can get. We played my 600 points opponent's Angmar (Witch King's personal kingdom, consisting of orcs, trolls and spirits) against my ally's 300 points of Defenders of Helms Deep (A Rohan variant list that loses riders, but gains Lothlorien elves and the ability to spear support) and my 300 points of Fangorn (Ents).  The scenario was Contest of Champions, where each sides leaders tries rack up kills for points. This was great for us, as our leader was Beechbone, a big fighty tree, and our opponent had tooled his leader, the Witch King, for more of a spellcasting role.  In the first few turns, the troll failed his Terror check to charge Quickbeam the Ent, and got charged in return. After two rounds of combat, the troll was dead and Quickbeam unscathed. Beechbone the Ent dunked the handful of orcs that made their Terror checks. On the far left, the barrow wight failed to paralyse Legolas on the first turn, but Legolas missed his shot to kill the wight in return, allowing the wight to paralyse him the next turn. On the far right, the orcs, barrow wight and shade closed a pincer around Theoden's outmatched warband, and paralysed Theoden himself.  Over the next few turns, the elves managed to protect the paralysed Legolas and killed their opposing warband of orcs and warg riders without a single loss.  With Theoden paralysed, the rohirrim tried to close ranks and protect their king, but between the shade debuffing their duel rolls and being trapped they were losing hard. Theoden managed to shake his paralysis just in time to die on his feet.  Beechbone managed to killed a few orcs every turn, while the Witch King finally decided to commit to a fight with Quickbeam. A few rounds of combat had Quickbeam out of Might, but unwounded, with the Witch King having lost his horse, and his Might and Fate. In the end, partially due to a favourable scenario, we ended up winning by a fairly hefty margin.
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May 30, 2023 10:04
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For some more Middle-Earth content, I too played some games this weekend. We played 600 points , with my Rivendell facing off against the Depths of Moria Legendary Legion. My opponent brought the Balrog, a goblin captain, the drums and decent heap of goblins, while I brought Elrond, some Rivendell knights, Cirdan and a elven captain with a decent helping elven warriors. For our first game we played 'To The Death!', which is a combat heavy scenario. Looking at the objectives and the interaction with my opponents Legendary Legion rules, I needed to beat the Balrog up some to have a chance to win. I kept my elves back to take advantage of my shooting, and managed to put a wound into the Balrog while my opponent closed the distance. My opponent moved towards my flanks to avoid having to fight over the barricade in the middle. Cirdan cast all of his support spells on free Will.  As my opponent committed the Balrog to my right flank, I redeployed Elrond and the knights over to counter, leaving the captain and some elves to hold the left.  The Balrog charged into my right flank but got trapped by a countercharge led by Elrond. With Elrond calling Heroic Strike and using Hadhafang and supported by Cirdan casting Enchanted Blades, the Balrog went down after a few turns. With my opponent unable to break through my rearguard on the left flank, and the right convincingly won by me, we decided to call it and play a second game. For our second game, we played 'Seize the Prize', which involves retrieving an objective from the center for some points and moving it off the opponents board edge for some more. The objective meant I had to move up as fast as I could, but my opponent spent the only two Might in his army and won a big priority to Heroic March up and get there first. With the Balrog holding the objective, there was no choice but to fight him again.  Thankfully, his right flank had been out of range of his Heroic March, which allowed me to surround the Balrog again. However, Elrond fluffed his Heroic Strike, allowing the Balrog win the combat and Rend the Lord of Rivendell. Using all of his Fate, and some rerolls granted by Vilya, Elrond managed to survive. Over the next few turns, the situation turned out similar to the first game. With the Balrog slain, the objective passed to a knight of Rivendell,  Adding insult to injurt, Elrond rode into the center of his remaining line and cast Wrath of Bruinen, knocking most of his goblins to the dirt and killing several. We called it here with another win for Rivendell.
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Jun 17, 2023 19:34
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Spanish Manlove posted:I still think knights are dumb as hell and don't fit in 40k in any way Combat Patrol seems to be getting a lot of people excited, so hopefully that's another step to GW realizing that 40k should take a few steps back in scale.
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Jun 30, 2023 18:09
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moths posted:Base sizes matters to a degree, but 5mm per figure isn't going to make a substantial advantage or disadvantage either way. IIRC (and providing they haven’t changed it) wheels are measured from the outside of a turn. Having a smaller unit means you can wheel more effectively. Really interested to see which kits they rotate back in. I could see them only doing it for core factions, but that would leave the other faction rather difficult to play.
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Nov 24, 2023 08:04
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Stephenls posted:Cross posting from the painting thread. Normally black schemes look kinda boring to me, but you’ve really made it work. Would it be too much to ask you for a writeup of your full process? Gravitas Shortfall posted:this owns
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Jan 25, 2024 12:45
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I don't know the first thing about LI, but if you could only take one of them, what would be the point of having Transport and Support twice?
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Feb 15, 2024 20:45
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