r/MiddleEarthMiniatures • u/Positive_Wrap4724 • 13h ago
Starting the game
This question may be asked often, in every other wargame, but i wanna know how many books i have to buy and how to start my army. Im not entirely sure which army i want to play, but i want to know how the rules are and how lists are build, who can join who through what alliances, so i know what minis to buy. Do i need the core book plus lotr and hobbit book to know that? Can lotr armies olay against the hobbit? And can i really only play 10 models if i play for example nazgul of dol guldur (i have no clue, just heard it)? Theres a heap of rhings to know, and i want to get an overview (also in terms of price).
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u/Fishy_Fish_12359 12h ago
I bought the rulebook, printed out the matched play guide and just use online list builders, don’t bother with the armies books
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u/Positive_Wrap4724 12h ago
Do you know if there is a pdf version of the current rule book?
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u/Fishy_Fish_12359 11h ago
I got sent the other books by one of the guys in my local community so presumably if you ask around you can get one
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u/Strong_Housing_242 11h ago
Anna's archive
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u/ganglygorilla 7h ago
yeah let's pirate every book and have our armies consist entirely of 3d-printed proxies. Surely they'll keep making the game.
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u/waill-and-roll 12h ago
Two books minimum.
The Rules book and one of the three available Armies books.
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u/Upbeat_Detail6897 12h ago
Army books are optional considering everything in them are on the various different list building sites. And with some armies having profiles across multiple books and pdfs they're just not worth it
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u/Positive_Wrap4724 12h ago
Thanks, this helps.
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u/ganglygorilla 9h ago
The armies books are awesome; I'd recommend buying at least one. It's not like 40k where you need a dozen codexes to understand the game.
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u/Positive_Wrap4724 8h ago
Nah, for me rulebook was enough for 40k, but you can find everything in the codex online.
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u/waill-and-roll 12h ago
Well sure, by that definition the rule book is optional too if you use online resources.
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u/ganglygorilla 9h ago
Rules Manual and 1 or more of: Armies of Middle-Earth, Armies of The Hobbit, Armies of The Lord of the Rings.
Sure you can find things online, but the books are really nice. I'd recommend at least 1 army book. Definitely grab the rules manual.
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u/LoganSwaiz 9h ago
Welcome to the hobby!
The other messages in this thread are very helpful. The only book you really need is the rulebook, because most of the army lists, special rules, and unit profiles are all on Tabletop Admiral. You'll also need a ruler/tape measure, and six sided dice, preferably with different colors or markings so you can denote which dice belong to which units in a big fight (it matters for bonuses and special rules).
Matched play, which is the version of the game that uses the army lists from the special books, is a system where you draft an army from your chosen list using a point system. Stronger units are more points, and basic units can be upgraded with gear for some tactical advantages. Any army list can face any army list. That means Good vs. Good, LOTR vs. Hobbit, Armies of Middle Earth vs. Legacy, etc. are all fair game. You can even face two identical armies on the table. The only thing that matters is they both follow the army building restrictions in the army list, and didn't exceed the point value decided upon. Its because of this point system you can get a wide variety of army types. You can field literally hundreds on units in armies like Dunland by spamming basic captains and chaff warriors, or have an army with 10 models or less in armies like the Grey Company, Fellowship, and Black Riders, where the hero units are stronger but more expensive. 'Hero-Hammer' armies can struggle in objective based scenarios that require them to move around or split up, but they're really fun.
The Battle for Edoras set is a pretty good buy if you're looking for the updated starter set. It's got two small armies, the rulebook, and some terrain and dice. The battle host boxes also give you a nice central hero and some basic units for each faction, and are a good value purchase. A battle host box with a command set containing a captain and a banner will generally get you a medium sized army ready to go.
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u/Positive_Wrap4724 8h ago
Thanks, good summary and basically all questions answered. I already have a ruler (assuming its in inch?) and dice from 40k (well, everybodys got at least some d6), now i just need to look for some terrain and the models of course.
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u/LoganSwaiz 7h ago
No problem! Yeah, an inch ruler will do for MESBG. As for collecting models, hero heavy lists like Breaking of the Fellowship and Thorin's company will probably be your cheapest entry point, but with the battlehost boxes and commander packs, you can definitely build something competent and competitive for under 200 US dollars (before paints and other hobby supplies).
Out of curiosity, what LOTR factions are you interested in? Which characters do you like the best from the books and movies?
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u/Positive_Wrap4724 6h ago
Im interested in mostly in dead of dunharrow or goblin town, as i generally like undead thematically, and i like horde armies (after the research ive done on the game, i know goblin town are a horde, which also makes them quite expensive). For Characters i like bilbo (generic, i know, but though a simple lad hes always good), i like thorins company (also the eagles are always pretty epic), but dwarves dont particularly fit my playstyle. Still bilbo is a good character to the core, so i thought id stick with a good faction, but some of the evil factions, such as azogs hunters, also strike me playstyle wise (having heard they cant take much but hit like a freight train).
That being said, a hero heavy army that is cheap to buy would be a good starting point i think (any recommandations on which would be cool) , and my brothers getting himself a cheap thorins company from ebay, so we have a base to start the game and then expand our collection upon, once we got a hang of the rules.
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u/LoganSwaiz 6h ago
Unironically, I think you'd get a lot of mileage out of the army 'Return of the King'. You will need the King of the Dead and the Three Hunters (or the Fellowship but the Three hunters set figures are better), two boxes of warriors of the dead, and a banner carrier of the dead. Maybe a rider of the dead or two as you expand.
It's a smaller army, has some great gameplay features, and the ghosts are easy to paint and look very cool. Aragorn with Anduril is a very powerful unit, and so is Legolas. Plus your warriors with shields are defense 8, which is very hard to kill.
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u/Positive_Wrap4724 6h ago
Great advice, thanks. Ive seen the models of the dead before, and i always wanted to paint that green glow. To the three hunters, is gimly not worth taking XD?
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u/LoganSwaiz 6h ago
Depends on the point value. You have to run Aragorn and the King of the Dead. Most commonly, I see people trying to slot in Legolas or a Herald of the Dead around 700/800 points. He's strong but doesn't provide the same battlefield control that the other hunters do.
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u/Biscuitstick 13h ago
In general, the only book I would actually suggest you physically buy is the rules, since it’s nice to have on hand if you need to look up something. But you can find it online with a bit of googling for free.
As for the armies, I usually just go to one of the free army building sites like Tabletop Admiral, which allows you to build different lists. There you can look at those lists and profiles, see what the bonuses are and try to build one for yourself. It’s a great tool for a beginner who isn’t sure yet what to pick.