August is here, and for fans of the Middle-earth Strategy Battle Game, that can only mean one thing – the next batch of FAQs has landed. We caught up with the Middle-earth team’s Blue Wizards Jay Clare and Dan Entwisle to get the scoop on some of the changes you can find in this update.
Jay: Ever since we switched to releasing updates twice a year (in February and August), fans of the Strategy Battle Game have been eagerly waiting to see what’s changed since the last update. However, as tournaments and events are just beginning to start up again, there haven’t been many changes this time around.
Regardless, Dan and I have taken this opportunity to make a few small tweaks and to clarify a number of rules, so we thought we’d spend a bit of time taking you through some of the updates.
The Rangers of Ithilien™
Jay: Perhaps the most significant change is to the Rangers of Ithilien Legendary Legion. The force represents the Rangers under the command of Faramir in Osgiliath, particularly the scenes from the movies where Frodo and Sam are captured.
However, we’ve noticed that many players are choosing not to take the heroic Hobbits in their force in favour of more Rangers. This has made this Legendary Legion particularly potent in matched play – especially at lower points values.
With that in mind, we have decided to make it mandatory to take Frodo, Sam, and Sméagol in this Legendary Legion. This helps to tone down its power level and makes these forces more representative of the films at the same time.
Siege Engines
Dan: These trebuchets are popular in armies across Middle-earth, particularly with players who enjoy assailing fortresses or attacking strongholds. However, there’s been some confusion about who exactly is hit when a shot from a Siege Engine hits a combat.
As a result, we’ve changed a line in the rules to state that, when a shooting attack from a Siege Engine hits a combat, you now randomly determine which model is hit by the initial shot in the same manner as any other shooting attack that hits a combat.
Banners
Jay: Recently, there’s been some discussion in the Middle-earth community about which models are affected by a friendly banner – particularly in regards to supporting models.
If only the supporting models in a Fight are in range of a banner, do they still benefit from the banner’s effect? The simple answer is yes, so we’ve clarified this in the Designer’s Commentary to put this discussion to rest.
Essentially, if a Fight has any friendly models in range of a friendly banner, including supporting models, then that Fight is affected by the banner. Therefore, one model in that Fight can re-roll a D6 in the Duel roll. Simple.
Grinnah the Goblin
Dan: Grinnah’s Swap With Me is a very unusual special rule – it allows Grinnah to switch places with another Goblin in range. Usually, this is very easy to sort out, as Grinnah just swaps places with them.
However, Grinnah can use this rule to swap with the Goblin King, who’s on a considerably larger base size. Understandably, this has caused people to wonder what happens when Grinnah uses this rule to move the Goblin King into or out of combat, given the difference in base sizes.
We’ve added a couple of entries in the Designer’s Commentary to clarify these instances, including that if Grinnah takes the place of the Goblin King whilst in combat, he’ll still fight all the same models that the Goblin King was initially fighting.
Jay: We’re confident that these clarifications, and the others included in this month’s Errata and Designer’s Commentary, will make for even better experiences for fans of the Strategy Battle Game. We’ll see you for our next update in February 2022.
Cheers, guys. Head over to the FAQs page now to download the free PDF updates for your Middle-earth Strategy Battle Game publications of choice.