Personally, I'm just as happy that they're fairly "vanilla." I don't see what special rules or equipment (other than maybe a great bow, but they don't
need them) warriors of Dale would deserve, and I'd generally prefer that they avoid stat creep.
WhoelsebutHaldir wrote:
That's pretty disappointing, I was hoping that they would actually have a use....but besides fluff I just don't see it, from what you've described.
Eh, IMO fluff
should be the reason to include a unit in your armies. Presumably they're not unbalanced, i.e. overpriced or underpowered, they just don't have any special rules or equipment. The basic infantry of most other armies is pretty bland, as well. The main difference is that this is an army that isn't at all expanded on by the story, so we don't get to see anything
but the basic infantry. In that regard, they're pretty similar to Numenoreans (or Easterlings, or Moria, or any number of others, before GW added new characters and units). Maybe after the movies they'll add some character models like Girion, or a variant troop type. Until then, though, these seem to pretty much fit the bill as far as what they're supposed to represent.
They do bring something to Erebor armies, it would seem, in the form of light infantry and archers. Too bad they're more expensive than dwarf miniatures, which is a bit ridiculous if part of the purpose of including them is to bolster your numbers with light infantry.
It would be nice if GW would put some of the generic hero profiles, like Kings of Men, into newer lists, though. Then you could at least have a "counts-as" Girion.