Jay Clare: Fans of the Middle-earth Strategy Battle Game will soon be able to get their hands on the new Gundabad War Bat models. These strange creatures are some of the more unusual beasts that Azog unleashes upon Erebor during the Battle of the Five Armies, and now players will be able to field their own winged host for their Azog’s Legion force. But just how good are they on the battlefield, and how can you get the most from them? Well, we caught up with the current British champion, the aptly named Will Champion, to get all the tips and tricks to using Gundabad War Bats – after all, he certainly knows his stuff!
Will: The Gundabad War Bats are among the most anticipated models for the Middle-earth Strategy Battle Game, and it’s easy to see why. Their profile is incredibly strong, filling many roles within their faction, as well as being a great addition to many other lists. So, let’s dive into the bat cave!
War Bats have a 12" move and can Fly, which means they’re incredibly swift and can swoop across the battlefield at a terrifying rate. This speed and access to vertical perches mean that they can almost always pick their battles, hiding atop terrain until the perfect time to strike. When they do decide to get into the fray, they have a Fight value of 3, Strength of 4 and 2 Attacks – not bad when fighting an enemy one-on-one! If things don’t go their way, they feel relatively safe with a Defence of 4 and 2 Wounds – pick your fights well and your bats shouldn’t be killed in one round.
When War Bats do win in combat following a Charge, they sink their claws into their prey thanks to the Piercing Talons special rule.
No other rule in the game does this, and it means that even the toughest of Iron Hills Dwarves can be felled on a 5+ – and the likes of Elves even easier! There are several ways to get the most from this special rule, the main one is trapping your opponent for double Strikes! “How can a War Bat trap a model?” I hear you ask... Well, the next unique rule in the War Bat’s repertoire is aptly titled Pluck!
These odds may seem slim, but knocking over any Man-sized model with a flap of your wings has spectacular potential, especially if a tough Hero is giving your Orcs a hard time. There’s also no reason why a whole cloud of War Bats can’t take a particular disliking to the same warrior or even the King Under the Mountain himself!
War Bats also provide excellent mobility to an army with relatively average movement – their Movement speed allows them to fly well ahead of the pack and force your opponent into spending Might to avoid letting you snag objectives early on. They can also stand in the wings and perform strafing runs over models that you don’t want to face, before retreating to safety.
With all of these abilities, it’s clear that they would make excellent allies in almost any Evil list – especially Azog’s Legion’s Historical Allies, Azog’s Hunters and The Dark Powers of Dol Guldur. One of the most potent compacts for War Bats is with a Moria list featuring Drûzhag the Beastcaller – the combination of both War Bats and Bat Swarms is a terrifying prospect for anyone to face. If Drûzhag decides to enrage a War Bat, they become truly devastating. Strength 6 with their Piercing Talons and 4 Attacks means even the hardiest of Heroes can fall under their flurry of claws, especially if they have been knocked to the floor!
At 25 points each, War Bats are not the cheapest of models, but they offer such utility that they’re well worth the cost. I would consider two or four in a standard list to grab objectives and provide supreme board coverage. But if you really want to have a fast, hard-hitting list, you could run a whole cloud of them!
Here are a few example army lists featuring the all-new War Bats:
This is a tweak of a regular list of mine, where I’ve swapped out the Mirkwood Spiders I normally take for War Bats. They fulfil similar roles, bringing unique issues that your opponent must consider when engaging in combat, while also being excellent objective holders. The War Bats work phenomenally well with Hunter Orcs as they can knock over troublesome models for the Orcs to quickly overwhelm.
For contrast, this is a slightly more harebrained alternative list to really let the bats fly!
This list allows you to dominate Scenarios with board coverage – you can get to almost any objective you desire within a couple of turns. With Master of Battle, Bolg can hold his own and even prey upon an unfortunate Hero who’s been thrown to the floor after a strafing run. The Goblin Mercenaries can either deploy in a hard to reach place to make breaking your force tougher or spring out to engage the enemy’s rear lines as the War Bats cause havoc at the front!
Jay: Thanks, Will – those are some pretty terrifying lists! The Gundabad War Bats will be available to pre-order for your own Azog’s Legion forces from Friday, but in the meantime why not pick up some Gundabad Orcs or Goblin Mercenaries to fight alongside these fearsome beasts of war!