Goblin Captains win 100 player event!?

This article was written in March, but remained unpublished for months (I was going to add to it... but never found the time. Rather than consign to the dustbin of history, I thought I'd publish as it is! )

In the last GBHL Event Blog we discussed how the Monster heavy meta at GBHL events had developed into something more resembling a horde's paradise. The Army of the White Hand had proven a force to reckon with at some events, with Minas Morgul also proving a player favourite at top tables... But both armies still had the oomph of magic and/or monster support...

So I'll quickly take a look back at one of the biggest events of the year, The 7th City Grand Prix, the first GBHL100 of February. Billed as one of the biggest competitive events going, the event had over 100 players duking it out for the coveted prize of a Smaug (and a baffling array of other prizes for those finishing the top of their respective pods).

The unique format included a marathon 8 games - four games on each day - where the first four games were a "standard" swiss-ranked tournament and the second was divided into a series of mini-knockout tournaments to win escalatingly exciting prizes.

First, before we tackle the top tables... Let's admire some incredible miniatures:

David Nixon's Werewolf army won Best Painted at the GP

David is well known for his success at the tabletops (particularly with Sharku's Wolves of Isengard in the previous edition) but he has quite justifiably impressed with his painting talents after painting an army of werewolves... (clearly someone likes his Wolves!).

So, to the results, and it's worth remembering the knockout format of the event - so the final four should get some props for finding themselves duking it out on the top two tables fighting for podium positions. Thomas McArdle went away with 4th place having lost in the 3rd place play-off, his 25 model Battle of Five Armies force feels like a last-edition throwback with Gwahir and Legolas supporting a dwarven shield wall.

But Balin the Champion of Erebor led the list with a pretty even split of Mirkwood Warriors (2/3 Glaives, 1/3 bow) and Iron Hills warriors. The Five Armies list clearly has potency in its breadth of choice - and including two of the most useful heroes in your force is clearly a smart choice but sadly it fell after an excellent run.

The army beating it to third place was tournament veteran and former league winner Alastair King. His army similarly felt like something he'd have run in the old edition - as a renowned lover of short folk with beards - with a 29 model strong Erebor Reclaimed list.

Led by Thorin alongside Gloin, and Ori buffing them both (within 6" neither hero takes a penalty for going two-handed). But the strength of the force is the horde of S8 Shieldwall Dwarves. Ali has always known how to get the most of the dwarves and clearly they performed well for him here in the third place playoff.

But in second place, and falling at the final hurdle was top table tyrant David Farmer, who appears to be making a concerted effort to achieve the elusive GBHL Crown once again this year. After a strong run of events, he's already flying high in the league. Here he took the Army of the White Hand to great success. A horde of 46 models, including a whopping 14 bows (though, of course, not all in the hands of the most adept archers (wildmen!) backed up by the mighty magic of Saruman and the ever present nuisance of Grima Wormtongue.

But besting him in the final throes of the 8 game uber event, was Matthew Light-Barnett's horde of goblins. This Depths of Moria force has already passed into legend as being unusual in its build, in that it neglects to include any of the 'flavour' pieces most Depths forces contain. No Balrog, no trolls, no watcher. Just goblins upon goblins. 74 to be precise - and 24 armed with orc bows too.

The horde appears to be capable of resisting most smaller forces' damage output and weather the storm of even heavy monster lists like the Eagles, Ents or Trolls. After all, what good is a Hurl when it's aimed at a 50pt goblin captain? Obviously the horde was in the hands of a regular top table player, but perhaps favoured by the combination of scenarios in the early stages of the current edition. With no Lords of Battle or Contest of Champions handing his opponents a free win is there anything that can lessen the impact of a huge horde like this?

Step forward Matched Play Guide and Armies of Middle Earth... More in a future Blog...