Hello chaps,

Well after roaming days on end around here and the Lord of the Rings section on the GW website i've decided to get into the game myself. While I do collect Warhammer Fantasy and 40K my history with Lord of the Rings finally caught up and awoke the geek.

I know this is not the best way to start an army but considering I have decided to start collecting a Moria Army (yes people, the lowly goblins), my first model will be a Balrog.

Now I have to ask, how are the Goblins like? I know they're cheap, expendable but some impressions gameplay wise would be nice.

On my acquisition list thus I have Mr. Balrog which I have to name (haven't decided yet), a SBG rulebook and a Khazad-Dum Sourcebook.

Regardless, glad to be here,
Cheers,
Bogdan

Welcome! I hope you enjoy the game. I'm going to strongly urge you NOT to buy the Balrog as your first model. It won't take more than a few games before you realize you need to amass a huge army just to make him worth his points. It might be okay for doing the scenarios in the Khazad-dum sourcebook (I don't know, haven't played them), but outside of that you'll quickly find no one will want to play against you. It's not because they can't win, it's because the game will be really boring...there is only one tactic for dealing with a Balrog, and that is a slow grinding wait for the dice. In other words, it's not tactical at all, it's pure luck.

As for goblins, while I personally prefer elves, goblins are loads of fun. Normally I'd say get the big rule book, but since you want goblins anyway, you might consider getting the Mines of Moria set, which a smaller book with all the rules, 24 goblins, a cave troll and the fellowship. This small rulebook doesn't have any many profiles, but it should serve your needs in the beginning. Also get the Khazad-Dum book.

Goblins are best used with swarm tactics. You want to outnumber and surround (trap) your opponents whenever possible. Though they are slow movers, they can often ignore certain terrain such as walls and chasms, because they have the Cave Dweller rule. They have great allies, like bats, wargs, spiders, and trolls, and a couple of decent heroes (Druzhag and Durburz). The spider queen is a great ally as well.

Hope you enjoy!

Thank you for the warm welcome.

Well I wanted a fun factor so I guess Goblins will do. Sneaky little dogs they are. I had to ask, will I be able to include units such as Warg Riders in a Gobbo warband? ... Armies are what i'd call for War of the Ring.

The Bats and Spider Queen sound great!

Yes indeedy! They're part of the goblin forces. And wargs are superior to horses as well!

Of course, gobbos aren't...

Sadly, no Warg Riders for the Goblins. There is a list in SBG which contains both Wild Wargs and Goblins and the Misty Mountains list in WotR also has those two as well.

I would take whafrog's advice and purchase the Mines of Moria starter set and the Khazad-Dum sourcebook, these two purchases should provide you with a great start to a Moria force. Also, are you new to miniature wargaming in general, or just LotR? Because, if you're completely new to the hobby I'd advise that you definitley wait to purchase and paint the Balrog. He's a very large model, and could be difficult to paint. You'd also want to paint him well, so it'd probably be better to use some Goblins to test out your painting skills first. If you're a wargamer anyways, I guess there's nothing stopping you from buying it first, however I still think the money could be better spent on starting your force up.

And also, welcome to OR and LotR!

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" I think I'm... quite ready for another adventure!"

Bilbo

Longbottom,

I am not new to Wargaming, however my painting experience is not well very vast. I can paint my own models at a basic standard. I think getting the Mines of Moria, Khazad-Dum book and perhaps a Goblin Captain will be a good way to start. Or so I hope.

That sounds like a great start to me! You should have a nice start to your army there, and you should be able to play some small points level games with it.

_________________
" I think I'm... quite ready for another adventure!"

Bilbo

Welcome to OR and Lord of the Rings. Have fun!!

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No one sculpts Chuck Norris - Chuck Norris miniatures are created by acts of God.
~ Dagorlad

The nice thing about SBG is you can usually ally in something you're missing. I think Moria can ally with Isengard, so you could take Sharku (or some other orc on a warg) and some warg riders. The Khazad-dum book should list which alliances are legal for the different goblin groups.

If you want a full but outdated list of legal alliances, pick up Legions of Middle Earth. All sourcebooks were released after LoME, so might have more updated info wrt their specific regions.

The captain blister has 2 in it, one with a bow. Consider picking up Durburz, as his extra Standfast will help keep your force from breaking. Goblins tend to die quickly, and once you reach the breaking point they will run more quickly as well. That's how elves can get away with lower numbers: they might break sooner, but they tend to stick around regardless.

Personally, I would recommend tracking down some of the old metal goblins and using them as captains (they are called Moria Armoured Goblin Warriors on the GW website). I've never liked the actual captains much, and for the same price you can get twice as many metal warriors. Of course, it all comes down to your own personal tastes.

Edit: I think they may be only available via direct order, so you may not be able to find them sitting on a shelf at your local GW store.

Welcome to One Ring, hope you enjoy your stay here, Goblins are a great force for a beginner, lots of models so a small risk factor, they are easy to paint, and best of all, you get to roll lots of dice!

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Sun is by sea-men always hoped for,
when they fare away over the fishes' bath,
until the brine-stallion they bring to land.
OERP