Hi there!,

I'm new here in your forums and I like to ask you some questions about this game (that I really enjoy).
First of all, I've been too long without playing so please, be patient with me
I used to play with Dwarves armies against Elves phalanx ones (the hardest ones, with high defense). I remember that I couldn't beat them because the other player throws a lot of dice with better Fight value. So, in conclusion I needed almost a bannerbearer and a lot of luck to win a combat (I could attack him from the sides with Iron Guards and so on, but they used to win anyway the combat. Gil Galad supported by lance and pike seems unbeatable for me). Surely, I was doing any thing bad, but I would like to know any tactic or advice to fight against that.

On the other hand, I've been reading in this forum it is important to maximize the number of soldiers in your list because you throw more dice and so on. But I'm not agree, because I feel a lot of times having problems to engage, for example, little "blocks" of soldiers like the elven example explained before. I'm thinking in the Champion of the King new miniature and 37 more dwarves for a 500 pts game. But then I have only 2 Might points in the whole army (but 2 bannerbearer to throw more dice). I use the champion banners in order to defend from lots of dice from phalanx lists. I would appreciate if someone could explain me this fact more deeply and give me any advice too.

Next, I always found throwing axes and dwarf rangers a bit difficult to use. Throwing axes behind a line of dwarves with shields can only throw them before the battle begins. Later, the two forces are going to engange all the time, not letting you to use them against them again. And the dwarf rangers can target further miniatures but Strength 2 and Defense 5 makes them vulnerable. I have to say that I used to fight against elves, and they are the best archers in the game (I think so) and probably that's why I'm so frustrated with ranged combat.

Finally, I have some last questions: do you think banners are worth for a 500 pts game? I'm not sure what is the common point limit in most of the official competitions (500/600?) and the maximun alliances allowed from Legions rulebook.
In the dwarf case I think are pretty important to throw more dice. And, what kind of scenarios do you use in your games? I have the suplement Legions of Middle Earth but I think it has some scenarios a bit unbalance for some races (like getting the treasure) or another ones a bit strange (like the ones that makes you deploy some miniatures throwing dice).

Thank you very much!

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"All that is gold does not glitter, not all those who wander are lost."

In general, I think banners are more useful for armies that don't get spear support (like dwarves) than others. So you probably had the right instincts. As far as numbers go, a reasonable 500 point list might be Gimli, a banner, and as many normal dwarves you can pack in (make sure you hit the 33% bow limit), something like this:

Gimli - 90
Banner - 38
12 Dwarves, 2H axe - 96
12 Dwarves, bow - 108
12 Dwarves, shield - 108
4 Iron Guard
500 points, 42 models, 12 shots, 3 might

Your bows will pay off better if you target high elf spears rather than the high elf shields

From your description I'm not sure you were using the spear support rules correctly. Elves don't really have a phalanx, the only pike carrying elf is the Guard of the Galadhrim Court, which is only in the Galadhrim list and hasn't been around all that long (at least, in SBG years). So the most support a high elf hero like Gil-Galad should get is one extra attack.

For your rangers, you shouldn't have them behind a line of shields. Any model close enough to shoot in that instance is going to want to charge or flee out of range the next, which means your opportunities will be limited. IMHO they are best for flanking, charging into spear support (throwing as they charge). Somebody did the math and proved that S2 bows with longer range gets slightly more kills than S3 dwarf bows, but I'm not sure that takes into account post-combat sniping of spear support. I think I'd rather have the S3 bow and save the 3 points per model.

As for scenarios, we play all kinds and I like them all so far. We generally build our armies and roll the scenario randomly. I've grown to really enjoy the random deployment scenarios (Take and Hold, and Clash of Piquets), it results in total chaos and forces you to be canny about how you group back up. I'm hosting a variation of Take and Hold tonight:

Rohan vs Easterlings ~700 points each
Deployment is as per special rules: 1-2 model doesn't arrive; 3-4 opponent decides where model is placed; 5-6 you decide where your model is placed.
Center is GW's ruined tower model. Unfortunately, some dwarvish adventurers are seeking treasure in there, and are hostile to all comers.
Objectives:
5 points for leading the dwarves' pony off the battlefield. It will buck and struggle, so if one model is in base contact they can only move 1/2. Two models can move it at full speed, up to a max of 8" per turn.
1 point for each dwarf killed
1 point for each model in the tower at the end of the game.
Game is over when one side is broken, and a 1-2 is rolled in the end phase.
Since I'm hosting, I'm playing the dwarves (one captain, 4 archers, 4 shields, 2 iron guard, 2 khazad guard). My rules are: must shoot at the nearest target, regardless of who it is. Can not move more than 3" from the tower unless someone is in base contact with the pony, in which case I can get into base contact with the pony (reducing its movement) or attack whoever is pulling the pony.

Should be quite a mess, which is exactly what a skirmish game is for

Well yes it is good to have huge numbers but in some games you would really do better to have a balance, something like a few small points Heroes maximum to spread the Might around with a good 30-45 Warriors to back them up would be great.

Well the throwing axes are great for getting that chance of a double charge, where you charge an enemy, kill them with a throwing axe and charge another target and cut them down. Aside from this skill they are really only good if the enemy is out of range of a charge but in range for a little quick throwing axe to the face (or groin in the case of Dwarves throwing at an Uruk ).

Finally well here is the thing, opinion is divided on the matter about banners. I personally think that unless you are playing 1000pts or more matches they aren't useful at all. As for LoME you can ally any number of times but each army must be able to ally, must have a Hero and must conform to the 33% bow limit.

As for the Scenarios they are a bit hit and miss sometimes, the best way to play is to play the scenarios both ways, as attacker and defender then compare who did the scenario in the least number of turns as the attacker etc.

'FireKnife'

Hi new player... Dwarves are pwoerful and Whatfrog already gave you many advices about them... Hope you enjoy yourself and good luck...

Thank you very much for your advice!

I'll try to test Gimli instead The Champion of the King (I'm not sure if it's better than Balin with Durin's axe or something) and I'll try rangers too to see what i'm going to prefer.
Sorry about the phalanx elves misunderstood. I think he was using all the elves with shields and a bannerbearer with Gil-Galad (it's probably that he used pikes with that kind of elves in any game to have an extra and demolishing die). It was really tough because I couldn't almost win fights with elven high Combat value (two dice and one repeated by the banner, awesome!).
It's great to know that this game is still alive, because I felt overwhelmed when I see the One Ring for the first time. Too much hero combos and so on :S And I like your idea of that scenery whafrog .

Thank you very much!

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"All that is gold does not glitter, not all those who wander are lost."

The game is still alive... Somehow
Anyway welcome...