Tuesday 14 May 2013

Hobbit SBG - Arnor vs Hunter Orcs




The Hobbit SBG Logo

"... Arvedui you shall call him, for he will be the last in Arthedain."          
      -Malbeth the Seer, Prophecy at Arvedui's birth

The Hobbit SBG Rule Book
The Hobbit Strategy Battle Game Rule Book
This week I fielded my Arnor army 500 points with Arvedui the King, Malbeth the Seerer and a host of warriors, my ally was Louis who brought 500 points of Gondor to face Sam and his 500 point hunter orc army fully supported with a blue dragon... making an army of 1000 points. To keep with the theme of Arnor we used the clubs snow board and scenery. This battle would test my Arnor army against the Hunter orcs who will be battling together again for the valuable points in our current tale fo 4 gamers (which actually has 8 players!)

Sam's hunter army included the Dwimmerlaik, Fimbul and Narzug and a host of Hunter orcs, Mordor orcs and Black Guard, but the dragon put fear in the hearts of the men of Arnor.




The Hobbit SBG Lords of Battle
Hobbit SBG - Lords of Battle
The Hobbit SBG Arnor
Arvedui Last King of Arnor, his banner and loyal warband of warriors 

The Hobbit SBG Arnor
Warriors of Arnor warband led by Arnor Captain

The Hobbit SBG Rangers of Arnor
Malbeth the Seerer, leads a warband of Rangers of Arnor
on the battlefields southern flank

The Hobbit SBG Beregond and Gondor Archers
Beregond and a warband of archers take to the ruins


The Hobbit SBG Gondor Bolt thrower
Gondor bolt thrower hides in the tree... target the dragon!

The Hobbit SBG Battle for Arnor
Battle lines are set as the Dragon takes center stage
and we prepare to roll for priority

The Hobbit SBG Hunter Orc warband
Sam's orcs win and he sounds the advance

The Hobbit SBG Dragon
The dragon of ancient times is ready to move

The Hobbit SBG Arvedui last king warband
Protect the king! Arnor and Gondor warriors prepare for the advance
 on the northern flank

The Hobbit SBG Arnor battle host
Sam eyes the battle field and his dragons position

The Hobbit SBG Fimbul hunter orcs
Fimbul is shot from his warg by the Rangers of Arnor after he
managed a cheeky shot on Malbeth!

The Hobbit SBG hunter orcs
The orcs charge in and Arnor brace for the assault

The Hobbit SBG Dragon Gondor
Dragon takes on two warriors of Gondor while the others hold back, fear gripping them!
Best I not try to send in my Arnor... they lack the courage for anything

The Hobbit SBG Arnor battle line
Rangers of Arnor start to target the hunter orcs

The Hobbit SBG Dragon v Gondor
The Dragon tears the Gondorians apart

The Hobbit SBG Arnor Banner
Arvedui men seem to be getting the upper hand on the northern side of the board,
some good stats and good rolling  are ensuring the Kings men hold.

The Hobbit SBG Fimbul and hunter orcs
Fimbul and his hunter orcs race to engage the Arnor warriors in the
center of the battle

The Hobbit SBG Dwimmerlaik ring wraith
Arnor and Gondor hold and fight a savage battle

The Hobbit SBG Arvedui of Arnor
King Arvedui leads the charge for Arnor Warriors

The Hobbit SBG Arnor
Feeding dragons is never a good idea, they tend to throw the poor model
 into the midst of my Arnor army!

The Hobbit SBG Dragon v Arnor
Arnor regroup and prepare for the Hunter orcs assault

The Hobbit SBG Rangers Arnor
Rangers of Arnor pick off the odd orc on the flank of the Hunters  warband

The Hobbit SBG Dragon v Arnor
Another flying Gondor Warrior smashes into Arnor and Malbeth

The Hobbit SBG King of Arnor
Arvedui smelling victory sounds the advance on the flank

The Hobbit SBG Hunter orcs v Arnor
The rangers of Arnor continue to pick off Hunter Orcs

The Hobbit SBG Dragon v Arnor
Center stage and the battle gets under way

The Hobbit SBG Hunter orcs v Arnor
The Arnor Captain in the thick of the fighting

The Hobbit SBG Dwimmerlaik v Arvedui
The Dwimmerlaik tries to rally the orc flank against the last King Arvedui

The Hobbit SBG Malbeth saves casualties
Yes, another Gondor warrior sent crashing into my arnor 

The Hobbit SBG Rangers of Arnor attack
Sensing victory the Rangers of Arnor charge the flank of the orcs

The Hobbit SBG Dragon v Arnor attack
The Dragon moves to a new position to try to inflict damage on my Arnor Army

The Hobbit SBG Dragon v Arnor attack
The battle rages on

The Hobbit SBG Black Guard v Arnor
Fimbul is surrounded by warriors of Arnor

The Hobbit SBG Black Guard v Arnor
The orcs are defeated

The Hobbit SBG Orcs v Gondor
Gondor and orcs fight for the ruins, but there is no retreat for the orcs

The Hobbit SBG Black Guard v Arnor
Rangers overwhelm a Black Guard

The Hobbit SBG Dragon v Arnor
The rangers spread out to minimise the impact of the dragon

The Hobbit SBG Black Guard v Arnor
Arnor move in for the kill

The Hobbit SBG Arnor
With the flank fallen, Arvedui sounds the advance, but knows there is too far to travel

The Hobbit SBG Dragon v Arnor
The orcs are broken and the dragon is all that can save them...

The Hobbit SBG Hunter Orcs
Arnor and Gondor Battle hard

The Hobbit SBG Black Guard v Arnor
That Black Guard refuses to die!

The Hobbit SBG Warriors of Arnor
Arnor win the flank

The Hobbit SBG Victory for Warriors of Arnor & Gondor
Gondor and Arnor win!



I hoped you enjoyed the battle report - I was really impressed with the army of Arnor - there fight value and defense make them a formidable army.

Man of the Match
The Hobbit SBG Man of the Match - Dragon of Ancient Times
Hobbit SBG - Man of the Match, the Dragon of Ancient times
Sam - would nominate his Dragon, and this time I have to agree with him as although he was kept on a leash by a warrior here or there sacraficing themselves for the greater cause we simply could not hurt it.

Arvedui Last King of Arnor was my favourite from Arnor as he was solid on the flank and his warriors were awsome! With higher fight value and good defence, they held against everything that was thrown at them.

The men of Minas Tirith, well cannon fodder for the dragon at times.  

However, was the dragon worth 1/2 the points for the orcs...? probably not.  Arnor on the other hand I loved and am mow considering a third warband to add to my army... I loved them!

Good effort Sam - but the orcs just could't beat Arnor and the Dragon was caught up with Gondor warriors, all-in-all a well deserved victory for Arnor.

Look out for our battle event at the end of June (dates to be confirmed) for more battles in Middle Earth - please join the site and get up dates on more to come soon.

We are about to start playing LOTR SBG - both skirmish battles and walk through the books/films each Monday night and WotR on club nights.

We welcome anyone interested in playing The Hobbit SBG, Lotr SBG, WotR or any warhammer/40K battle - why not let us know so that we can arrange some starter battles, like the one above, or if you/your club want to challenge us. We have all the LOTR/Hobbit SBG figures and LOTR scenery from the Mines of Moria to the siege of Helms Deep, snow fields to desert boards ready and waiting.  

Why not join our watch list for updates and look out for Easters weekend battle event... two days of fighting in the ruins of Osgiliath, Helms Deep and Far Harad, you cannot afford to miss it.
Feel free to email us to come along or arrange a game.

East Grinstead War Gaming club 
Sussex

2 comments:

  1. Good report and interesting to see the powerful Dragon, even with the new monster rules not unbalancing the overall game. They are still a lot of points to sink into one portion of your force! How many orcs would the dragon have been worth...?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi
    Thanks Scott, the dragon was nearly 1/2 of Sam's points... So all-in-all a lot of points spent on him!
    Maybe have several more warbands of orcs would have won the battle... May be will find out!
    Thanks again for your comments, I do miss legions rules though as I often wonder why orcs would organise their rabble into groups of 12... I sense house rules coming on.

    Cheers :-)
    P.s. I fully agree with your post regarding GWS pricing on the Hobbit stuff - I will not be buying any and I am in the UK!

    ReplyDelete