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In last month's blog we discussed how Monster lists had stormed the top tables at some of the first events of the Great British Hobbit League (GBHL). The Eagles came 2nd and 3rd at Into the West, and The Trolls came 1st at A Merrier World, with Fangorn in 2nd. Of course, the Garrison of Dale with its heavy shooting, and crazy +1 to wound bonuses on a F4 horde actually won Into the West (well done again to Ben Haslam) but the story of the early events was DO THE MASH, The Monster Mash...
So has that changed?!
We'll delve into that competitive analysis down the page (skip to it by tapping here), but first I have to shout out an incredible, unique event which happened in Scotland a few weeks ago: The Breaking of the Fellowship.
This was an event built entirely around the narrative scenarios from The Quest of the Ringbearer book. Tournament Organiser Cameron Cochrane painted 300 models by himself in order to provide enough minis for attendees to play through a selection of the scenarios... An incredible feat.
Cameron explains: "The idea for the event was to bring Narrative Scenarios to people who normally wouldn't be interested in doing these".
The obvious question is How?! The numbers of models involved is incredible, even for an event with a tiny number of attendees. But Cameron decided there was an easy solution, use scenarios most people have the models for at least one side: The Fellowship.
But... that left him with a question over the evil side..."The answer to this," he says, "was that we provided them. So that was 300 Evil models which had to be bought, printed and painted for this event, plus 3 x Bill The Pony. ALL these models which were provided were donated to us by a number of different people throughout the community." In total Cameron painted:
- 12 Moria Goblin Captains,
- 144 Moria Goblins,
- 6 Cave Trolls,
- 3 Lurtz,
- 3 Uruk-Hai Captains,
- 72 Uruk-Hai Scouts,
- 3 Warg Chieftains,
- 54 Wargs.
- 3 Bill The Pony
To round things off, the event not only brought together a community of people to play narrative scenarios, but it was also a charity event raising money for a local gaming venue the ACVC Hub - which helps support Armed Forces Veterans.
The miniatures Cameron painted were sold or raffled off, and ticket proceeds also went to the charity.
"I've played a number of war games there personally and have been to some fantastic military talks there, so I decided that for this event, I wanted to give back to them for the enjoyment I have had there and make sure they can keep the lights on."
In total the event raised a huge £700.
Amazing work from Cameron, all the players - including winners David Reid, David Hunter and Matthew McKane - alongside hobbyists Gary Chadband for Best Painted Mini, Henry Hunt for Best Fellowship, Donald Leckie for Most Sporting and Cam's teammates on Team PaintsOnAXUp.
Worth noting Cam has plans to do similar events with scenarios from The Two Towers and Return of the King... so keep your eyes peeled!
So what's happening with the game itself...
One Does Not Simply Walk Into Steelies is the cracking name of the second GBHL100 event of the season, so would it provide another carrock from which The Eagles could call their Piercing Cry?
Well, in third place was Any Heroics host Stephen Denbigh playing... yep, The Eagles! But that's where the monster domination ends, because in Second place was David Farmer with a Heroes of the West list (with Aragorn Elessar, Mounted Legolas and lots of dudes) but in First Place was Jakub Krochmal who won all of his games with a Minas Morgul force (pictured, right).
So can we read much into this podium as per the power of Monsters being overstated early in the edition?
Well, first of all it's worth noting that the winning list did have a monster in! Fell Beasts haven't been seen much in the previous edition of the game (despite, fun fact, an all Fell Beast list winning the first GBHL100 of the edition...) but obviously the combination of buffs Monsters have been given, mixed in with the Magic and combat prowess of the WitchKing is something to be reckoned with (especially considering currently he gets 5A on the charge - ooft). But aside from the monsters on the podium, did Monsters live up to the hype? Let's consider the makeup of the tournament.
There were 28 players at this event, the first GBHL100 to be held in Middlesborough. There was a mixed bag of attendees from the competitive side of MESBG and the more hobby focused casual gamer side of the game (like all good GBHL100s!). In terms of lists, we saw one Garrison of Dale - which won Into The West at 450pts - but came unstuck here at the higher points level and we saw no Three Trolls armies (rated very highly among those "in the know"). But Monsters did rear their heads a few times in the form of Burhdur's Horde (4th place), and a smattering of Depths of Moria lists. One, with both Balrog and a Watcher, came 7th after winning 4 games (congrats to Allan Cameron).
But actually the true winner here was the return of classic mixed force army, led by big heroes from the movie and filling out the ranks with troops. Dave Farmer's Heroes of the West squeezed in 30 models including Aragorn and Leggy (with 9 throwing spears and 11 bows!), Adam Bird's 4th place list slotted in 40 models including Burhdur and two wild warg chieftains. In fact, all of the top ten lists hit the 30 model mark except one Last Alliance List (28, including Isildur and Elrond) and The Eagles. It seems the old ratio of a model per 20pts has remained a useful list building tool even in this new edition...
OR HAS IT.
Because, this weekend just gone, we've seen The City of Steel. The second of Alastair King's Yorkshire based banner bonanzas. The 700pt tournament has additional special rules which allow any army to take a special banner called the King's (or Queen's) colours, addressing a perceived inbalance with army building which offers some armies an additional bonus in scenarios where banners are worth Victory Points.
AND BOY DID PEOPLE LEAN INTO THAT!
Here we saw ZERO monsters in any of the top ten lists. In fact, the highest ranking monster army was The Eagles in 13th (shout out to Loz Barfoot and the rest of the There and Back Again podcast team). So in a surreal twist from the previous edition, the higher points level has reduced the impact of the big biffers. OR is there something else at work, which is undoing the might of the scary big bois?
Well, FIVE of those top ten lists included some serious elven firepower in the shape of Lothlorien, Rangers of Mirkwood and Thranduil's Halls lists. Were the Eagles simply shot off the table by Leggy and friends? Well, no... Actually it seems the Eagles came unstuck because of Recon and bumping up against some High defence armies! But perhaps that spike in shooting prowess - taken in part to counter Monsters - has devastated all other comers. With very little protection from shooting afforded to most armies now, has the bow now been proven mightier than the sword? After Dale's shooting success proved early on, ranged damage can be a real deciding factor.
But, in spite of all this theory-hammer, it wasn't a particularly potent shooting army which made the top spot...
In third, was Niall Corrigan with a 31 model strong Thranduil's Halls army packed to the rafters with 8 bows and Legolas and Tauriel alongside Thranduil on his Elk. In Second was Mr John Partridge (last year's Artisan of the Year!), also piloting a Thranduil's Hall list, but this time swapping out Tauriel for a Palace Guard Captain and a few extra troops (11 bows + Legolas). Strangely, he was the only player at the event to win 5 out of his 6 games!
In first though, was Dave Farmer continuing a great start to his GBHL Season with another strong performance, this time piloting the Army of the White Hand!
So, not a monster list, nor particularly well known for its shooting (though his list does squeeze in 17 bows, see right) and also leaning heavily on the magical might of Saruman. Magic has (allegedly) taken a nerf in the new edition... But this army has a whole host of special magical abilities for Saruman, alongside his usual solid casting ability.
Obviously though, here we have a mighty 54 model army including the now even more annoying Grima Wormtongye and a mixed arms detachment of basically every evil model under the sun. A horde like this is (and always will) be a difficult force to counter. Was the 6" banner unique to this event the x-factor that helped it to 6 wins and zero losses (under a incredibly well established and competent general of course)? Well it's not the first time the army has podiummed this edition (see A Merrier World mentioned in the last blog)... Will it be the last?
Only time will tell...
Before we leave let's look at some pretty pictures...
Alex Bourdas, an incredibly talented painter from Scotland, has once again dazzled the judges and the popular vote at The City of Kings by winning every single hobby award on offer there... Check out this incredible work:
Thanks to Alex for letting us share his awesome work!
A Quick Note, to remind you that Submissions for your GBHL Teams are still welcome! If you want to see how your Fellowship of friends compares to other friendship groups in the league, sign up via the link at the top of the GBHL page. Or follow this one here.
THE GBHL TOP TEN:
1 Jakub Krochmal
2 David Farmer
3 Thomas Wagg
4 Stephen Denbigh
5 Tom McConnell
6 Henry Brittain
7 John Partridge
8 Aaron Wright
9 Sam Gratton
10 Niall Corrigan
Upcoming events (in the words of their TOs):
The Battle of Eglarest is the first north east GBHL 90 for a while. It's set during the war of the jewels, with a jewel collecting side quest, good vs evil match ups, location themed tables, and a special bottom table scenario featuring a rogue Gothmog, Lord of balrogs, where you score points for stealing his treasure! (Near Sunderland, Feb 9)
The Battle for Greenhollow - Space for 100 players this weekend! (Glasgow, Feb 8/9)
The 7th City Grand Prix. We're back, and in greater numbers! A bigger Hotel, more tickets, more bars, more prizes, the same amazing event that you've all come to love! A competitive event which divides players up according to ability in day 2, to allow top players to duke it out for a Smaug and everyone else to compete for prizes in their own pod. (Loughborough, Feb 22/23)
The Battle of Borough-Dur 2025 GBHL 80 Is back for its biggest year ever! Hosted in London best wargaming cafe, they even serve beer and it comes in pints! (London, Feb 23)
Defence of North Bristol: It’s doubles isn’t it, what’s not to like? But if that doesn’t convince you then we’ve got loads of prizes available regardless of where you finish, Middle Earth themed terrain, a charity cake sale and an evening meal & social. (Bristol, Mar 1)
We'll talk more about the 2025 league soon, but in the meantime check out the calendar of events here, and check where you are in the placings for both gaming and Hobbying here!
Until Next time, may this hobby be a light for you when all other lights go out.
BURARUM - HARRY - GBHL Marketing CoOrdinator
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