Gaming again...

Hi all,

Well, I managed to get a a game in again this week- and not of Fantasy or 40K. Oh no, down at the local GW,  I got to play Lord of the Rings instead! I will confess to not having taken any of my LotR armies with me. Instead, when someone turned up to the gaming night wanted a game of Tolkein's favourite, I was given one of the store armies to play with so that the poor soul could get a game. It fell to me mainly because, apart from the staff member, I was the only other person in the store that knew the rules!

I have frothed about LotR in the past, so I won't do it again here, apart to say that I find it incredible that so few people play what is Games Workshop's best shop-floor game (probably?) Anyway, I was more than happy to get a game of LotR against a fresh opponent, especially since it was my first opportunity to use the new army books.



For those in the dark, the way armies are built has changed- now, you buy 1 Hero from the list, then buy up to 12 Followers. This means that games are now much more focused on Heroes, with the warriors there to back them up. Having now used it, I really like this system of list-building, and the suits the game very well.

On to the game- Raph brought Moria Goblins, and I ended up using Galadhrim Elves. We rolled up Clash of Pickets, got scenery out and got the game on. Two things struck me- firstly, Raph had a fully painted army- this is a rarity in my experience. Secondly, he had some neat little conversions (photos in a sec) which for LotR, again, is a rarity. I was definitely coloured impressed! It was a great game- I can't do a battle report since Battle Chronicler isn't playing nice. Suffice to say, having never used Elves before, I was murdered in short order (those new units for the Goblins are terrifying!) 28 dead Elves for 7 dead Goblins. Raph played a great game (defending with Goblins?) and certainly knows the game inside and out- I was outplayed across the table, and had a great time in the process.

Before I show the photos of some of Raphs' models, there is one more thing to say- Thursday was the first time in a hell of a long time (certainly over the last year) that all 3 core games have been played in the store on a Gaming Night- so things are looking up. Now on to the models:

First off, a converted Cave Drake- taken from an old Mithril miniature, and heavily repositioned.

Next up, 2 Dwellers in the Dark. I love these conversions, and I think they suit the idea of the Dwellers far more than the GW version. Although I don't have pictures of his Balrog, Raph has tied the models together with paint jobs and a little conversion work on the Balrog.

 Now, the Gundabad Blackshields. These guys were a nasty surprise for me- S4 Def 6 Goblins! The little touch of the cloaks painted starkly meant that I could easily pick them out on the battlefield against the standard Gobbos, and marked them out as something special on the table.

Finally, the Spider Queen- gribbly and leggy!

Well, a little LotR makes a nice change. Now, I'm cracking on with the Dark Eldar- the week of no-Undead is swiftly coming to an end. Luckily, I have managed to get the look of the Wyches set, and I'm now staring at the first full test unit, Hekatrix and Venom- painting ahoy, and pics up tomorrow.

Comments, as always, are welcome.