The 2023 Middle-earth Grand Tournament took over Warhammer World last weekend, as players from across Europe descended upon its hallowed halls to do battle. Once the dust had settled from six challenging and enjoyable games, only one player could claim the title of Middle-earth Grand Tournament Champion – and this year’s victor was Edward Ball.
In the Middle-earth Grand Tournament, each player brings two forces – one Good and one Evil – and plays three games with each ensuring that every game is a Good vs Evil match-up.
Ed took The Beornings Legendary Legion as his Good list, fielding two huge bears alongside a number of burly woodsmen. Unsurprisingly, the heroes Beorn and Grimbeorn do the heavy lifting in this force, blessed as they are with the ability to transform into bear-shape and wreak havoc upon enemy lines with their monstrous Strength of 8, three Attacks, and Charge of the Bear, which provides an extra attack and knocks enemy models prone on the charge.
They are also incredibly hardy, with a Defence of 8, 3 Wounds and 3 Fate points. The Great Resilience special rule granted by their Legendary Legion then awards them an additional 5+ save against wounds, before rolling Fate. Ed was able to utilise their toughness to ensure he never gave away Victory Points for having his general killed, while the Beornings did the important stuff – killing an enemy that can’t hold objectives when they’re dead!
Ed didn’t have it easy for the three games in which he played his Good force, as he came up against some of the top lists currently seen on the tournament scene. His first game was against the Army of Gothmog in the Retrieval scenario, in which the Beornings’ low numbers are a disadvantage. Next was Assault Upon Helm’s Deep, an Isengard Legendary Legion that focuses on Siege Ballistae and Demolition Charges.
Finally, Ed’s Beornings faced an expertly built 49-model Angmar list. Reconnoitre is an especially tough scenario for the Beornings, though Ed was able to eke out the narrowest of victories with a bullish performance from his infantry.
Overall, the Beornings claimed three victories over the weekend, scoring 16 Victory Points and conceding five.
Strengths
Powerful Monsters: The Bears are incredibly strong. Preventing Beorn and Grimbeorn going on a rampage is extremely difficult, and if Ed’s opponent doesn't have something that can take them on or act as a roadblock, they may find their own army quickly overwhelmed.
High Defence Heroes: When in Bear-form, Beorn and Grimbeorn are very tough. Opposition armies will find it hard enough to Wound these ursine beasts, let alone kill them, meaning Ed will likely not give up any Victory Points for having his leader killed.
Elite Warriors: With a Fight value of 5, 2 Attacks, a Strength of 4, two-handed weapons, and Burly (which means they don’t suffer -1 to win the Duel roll), the Beornings are more than capable of cutting through their opponents quickly.
Weaknesses
No Tricks: Beornings are a very simple army to run – they like to hit and hit hard. However, with no magic or special rules to manipulate the opposition, and only a few bows, they don’t have many tricks to control an opposition army.
Fragile Warriors: With a Defence of 4, Beornings are vulnerable to being shot or quickly killed in combat. A good strategy against the Beornings is to focus on the Warriors rather than the Bears, kill enough of them to break the army and then wait for the game to end with you in the lead on Victory Points.Low Model Count: Their low model count means in many scenarios the Beornings will already be on the back foot, especially if you need to hold multiple objectives. Keep the Bears at arm's length, and use the rest of your army to swamp the Beornings themselves and swarm the objectives.
For his Evil force, Ed went with the Black Riders, a very small force consisting of only eight models. The Black Riders use dark sorceries to bombard the opposition and whittle down their Heroes before going in for the kill.
With only a single Attack, Ringwraiths need to ensure they pick the right moment to strike. Go too early and they will get overwhelmed and killed, too late and the game may already be lost. The army requires a great deal of patience, discipline, and luck – a single bad roll can kill a Ringwraith and swing the balance of power.
His first game with them was Clash by Moonlight, in which he faced a Minas Tirith and Dead of Dunharrow alliance. Then he faced the Riders of Théoden in Command the Battlefield – a scenario that favours large armies and focuses on holding the four board quarters.
His third scenario with the Black Riders was against an army of Rivendell Knights led by Elrond with Aragorn as an ally, traditionally good against the Black Riders. The scenario, however, was Lords of Battle – one that heavily favours the Black Riders – meaning that the odds were about even going into the game.
Ed secured three wins, scoring 34 Victory Points (out of a possible 36) and conceding only one.
Strengths
An Abundance of Magic: With eight Ringwraiths, Ed has plenty of Magical Powers such as Transfix, Compel and Black Dart, which he can use to shut down opposition Heroes and neutralise any immediate threats.
Control Focused: The Black Riders excel in controlling the opposition army; not only through the use of Magical powers, but also through their Terror in the Night special rule which provides additional negatives to opposition Courage tests when near multiple Ringwraiths. This makes it incredibly difficult for most opponent’s to even charge the Nazgûl in order to fight them.
Killing Power: Scenarios that rely on simply killing the opposition are very much in the favour of the Black Riders. The likes of To the Death!, Lords of Battle and Assassination play right into their hands and can be very tough for an opponent to defeat them in.
Weaknesses
Low Model Count: Each Nazgûl can only be in one place at a time, and with only eight models it can be easy to surround them and prevent them reaching objectives. If you are able to separate them, they are susceptible to quickly being brought down.
Armies with Countering Special Rules: The Black Riders rely on Magic and Terror. Armies that have ways around these cause a real headache for the Nazgûl, especially those with Resistant to Magic, Bodyguard, or special rules that automatically pass Courage tests.
Scenario Dependent: The success and failure of the Black Riders is very much at the mercy of the scenarios. The likes of Reconnoitre can be nigh-on impossible against most armies, whilst scenarios that use Maelstrom of Battle can force the Ringwraiths to become split up right from the start and at risk of being swarmed before they have a chance to do anything. It takes a very skilled general to win such scenarios!
So, there we have it – the armies that conquered all, en route to victory at the 2023 Middle-earth Grand Tournament. Congratulations on the win, Ed!