A few Q's from a returning hobbyist

mordoryaza · **Posted:** Tue Dec 17, 2013 12:46 am

Just played through a few of the scenarios from EFGT with the gf and we ran into a few rule queries that we weren't too sure about.

For Fili and Kili's special rule, if one of them is in combat, can the other switch with them at the start of the fight phase? (This came up as fili was down to 1W and 0 fate but kili was full)

Can Oin heal a friend who he is in base contact with even if that friend is engaged in combat?

My gf was very sneaky and blocked the whole side with her models where I was able to jump across to fetch the luggage in the Bifur/Bofur/Bombur scenario. Since there was no open space to leap across and land onto, we played it that they couldn't jump across, as I couldn't find anything about leaping onto a model in the rules manual. What is the best way to play this situation?

And just a few general questions:

Do you guys consider models with 2-handed weapons to be at a disadvantage? I've always felt that with the -1 to fight, it's hardly worth risking that just to get +1 to wound.

For Radagast's Sleigh, if he charges and wins the fight, does he get 5 attacks at S4? (+ the double for knocking to the ground) or are the rabbit's S2 used?

For grimhammers, is throwing axes and 2-h axe with the bash and piercing strike really worth it for 3 extra points over warriors of erebor? (I guess some of my bias for 2-h weapons is playing through here)

For the points, Treebeard seems to be a better value than Beorn. 10 points cheaper, throw stones, not berserk, more will, mostly all the same stuff. Thoughts? I will be getting the man and the bear regardless because I really think they are fantastic models.

Sorry for the long post, I wasn't sure whether or not to make several different posts, so I just threw it all into one.

JamesR · **Posted:** Tue Dec 17, 2013 1:15 am

1 Yes they can.
2 you treat it as defending a barrier but if the leaping model loses they fall
3 Yes I personally do, but if you pair a 2 hander with a warrior with a normal they work well
4 it's at his strength, when cav attack they get the best stats from each, so Radagast strikes at his strength.
5 Grimhammers are garbage. Avoid them lol
6 you make good points but I believe Beorn is far superior. Extra movement, a very good brutal power attack and the base line of treebeard

mordoryaza · **Posted:** Tue Dec 17, 2013 1:28 am

For Beorn you can consider his extra movement a bit of a disadvantage in that your opponents will be able to place themselves 8 inches away so that Beorn will have to charge, but will get surrounded easily because the regular 6" troops won't be able to go and back him up. Also, his brutal power attack is quite useless except against monsters with high wounds and no fate like the mumak. Realistically he is going to have to roll 1 less to wound at S10 over S8, but he may only get one attack if he rolls too low. To me it seems like a risky brutal power attack.

JamesR · **Posted:** Tue Dec 17, 2013 1:45 am

His brutal power attack is risky but it's added to the other three so in that I don't see how it can be anything other than a bonus. If you're that worried about "having" to charge in then keep your distance or just change to his man form temporarily. You can always find what ifs that will take advantage of a character's weaknesses.
I like the extra move for Beorn, I will never put him in the aforementioned scenario that you mentioned, and really the simple fix is if you're that worried about him getting ahead just keep him 2" behind your 6" movement troops lol

Dr Grant · **Joined:** Fri Aug 03, 2012 1:50 pm **Posts:** 1339

A few added tid-bits.

Oin can heal a friend who is combat.

I personally do see having a two-handed weapon as a disadvantage. As JamesR says the common tactic is to have a normal warrior fighting as well (normally in the form of a spear support) but they way I see it, having the extra model doubles your chances of winning the fight and if one of them uses a two-handed weapon you're reducing your chances of winning again. I very rarely fight two-handed with models that have two-handed weapons, the only time I do tends to be when I'm surrounding an enemy model (and normally only 1 with high defence at that) and have enough other dice to reliably win the fight.

Yep, Radagast's Sleigh is a beast! Assuming you've given him Seb (why wouldn't you?!?!) and that he charges he gets 6 F5 attacks to win the fight. Assuming he wins he then gets 10 S4 and 2 S1 strikes at the enemy (although he can only kill a max of 6 models). Bizarrely I think Radagast on sleigh can generate more to-wound dice than any other model in the game!

Hee, as memory serves I've disagreed with JamesR about Grmhammers before. Don't want to retread old ground but just to offer a counter-opinion I don't think they're as bad as they're made out to be. They certainly suffer when compared to Khazad Guard etc. but in an Army of Thror list you don't have that option and their throwing weapons and two-handed weapons give you some nice options. Ultimately it comes down to whether you value throwing weapons (I do) as that's what you're paying the points for. They're fairly costed and balanced next to other dwarfs it's just that most people see them as expensive as they don't want the throwing weapons and would rather S4/D7. It ultimately depends on your play style and your opponent's army - D7 makes a difference over D6 against S4 and S2 so if you're playing Isengard (S4 warriors and crossbows) or Azog's hunters (S4 Gundabads/Wargs and S2 shooting) then you'd want warriors of Erebor whereas if you're playing elves (S3 warriors and shooting) Grimhammers will fare better.

I'm totally with James about Beorn, he looks like he'll be more than worth it as a monster killer. It's a risk certainly but as soon as you come up against anything with S/D7 (lots of monsters) that would prevent a successful rend, his Brutal Power attack looks very appealing. Most monsters don't have much Fate (and you would have tried to remove any before getting Beorn involved) and the fact that Beorn has got Might means he can top up those 2s to get another roll. A couple of good rolls and you've made a big whole in the enemy monster in one turn. Can't wait to get him on the table!

Beowulf03809 · **Posted:** Fri Dec 20, 2013 5:20 pm

The 2H roll is critical in many cases. It doesn't do too much good to win a Fight if you just can't crack the Defense of the enemy (well...it keeps you alive).

For my Wood Elf force (pre new Hobbit stuff) I would typically have to have a few Elf Blades in the force so when I get up against heavy armor or monsters then the normal Elves would try to grab the Fight and the 2H would help with the S3 of the attacker. Otherwise I'd spend several turns just tying up enemy models as I kept snuffing the 6 needed to Wound.

I also really like having the 2H accompany a Hero (Captain, etc.). The Hero often has multiple attacks to begin with and a higher Fight so you have a better chance of winning. The 2H may secure the needed Wound(s) and if you're confident of the kill you can call an Heroic Combat and jump over to another model and do it again.

Regarding GH vs. KG, I think the KG are probably undercosted slightly which makes every other Dwarf option pale in comparison, but I do believe the GH are usable for most games. If you're tuning a tournament army that needs everything at its most optimal then your choices are going to always be very limited. If you're building a competitive force for anything less than 'prize winning' GHs and most other models can be incorporated effectively based on your play style and other forces in your army.

A few Q's from a returning hobbyist

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