It’s February, and that means it’s time for another FAQ and Designer’s Commentary from the Middle-earth Strategy Battle Game team. We caught up with Middle-earth rules writer Jay Clare to find out what’s been clarified this time around.
Jay: The first of our twice-yearly FAQ updates has landed. Gaming events are in full swing, and players are hitting the tables with their favourite armies. As always, the Middle-earth team has been keeping a close eye on the results and any rules debates!
The game seems to be in a really strong place right now, and we didn’t have a huge amount to sort out in this Designer’s Commentary. However, there are a few things that we’ve taken this opportunity to clarify to give players an even better experience.
Special Strikes
One of the most common questions concerns the order in which Special Strikes are declared. In the vast majority of cases this is a moot point, and players can easily sort this out among themselves. In certain rare instances, players may only wish to declare a Special Strike if their opponent makes one first.
As a result, we have clarified the rules. The player with Priority gets the first opportunity, followed by their opponent, and then back and forth until both players have declared all their Special Strikes (this also applies to Shielding as well). Once a model has declared a Special Strike, they cannot take it back after their opponent has declared one of their own.
Beorn & Grimbeorn
The Defence of the North saw a swell in popularity for Beorn and his kin, with armies of Beornings proving popular. As a result, there have been a few additional clarifications, in particular their Skin-changer special rule.
The Designer’s Commentary clarifies questions such as where exactly you place the Bear model when transforming, what happens if models end in base contact as a result of transforming, and whether or not Beorn or Grimbeorn can transform before coming onto the battlefield.
Storm the Camp
One of the Matched Play scenarios, Storm the Camp, requires players to try to capture their opponent’s deployment zone to score those all-important Victory Points. However, there was some confusion about when exactly an opponent’s camp counted as captured if models subsequently left it.
We have rewritten this section for greater clarity. While the ruling hasn’t actually changed, we felt it important to be as clear as possible so that there is no confusion during the course of an event.
Gothmog
The new plastic Gothmog model that comes in the Battle of Osgiliath boxed set depicts the Orc general with either a sword or a mace, both of which are seen in the film. However, Gothmog’s profile only allowed him to use a sword. We have now changed this to allow Gothmog this choice of weapon.
We’re confident that these clarifications, and the others included in this month’s Designer’s Commentary, will make for even better experiences. We’ll see you for our next update in August 2023!
Cheers Jay! Head on over to the FAQs page now to download the free PDF updates for your Middle-earth Strategy Battle Game publication of choice.