https://www.warhammer-community.com/202 ... eals041221

New models incoming. An Orc chieftain and Shaman plus what looks like the Dragon Emperor of Rhun!

I haven't been very into LotR lately, but I am excited for this one! The Khandish and the Rhun are my favorite evil armies.

I would certainly say that looks like the (Black) Dragon Emperor on a palanquin carried by other black dragons. Maybe the horns on their helmets are actual horns this time. The Mickey Mouse ears asthetic is my least favorite part of the Easterlings.

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"Diplomacy is the art of saying 'nice doggie' until you can find a rock." -Will Rogers

I'm disappointed to see the Emperor is going to be portrayed as the Golden King 2.0. Never liked seeing multiple models forming a single unit of the filed like that. The kind of king that would show up to a battlefield in a sedan chair doesn't seem like the sort that would actually bother to get close enough to the action to fight anyone. More like the one that would be way behind on a hill watching things progress and legging it when he's side starts loosing. Still, he has a better base set up than the Golden King, so that's good.

I am glad we are getting all three northern campaigns in a single book. It gives me BfME2 vibes thinking about how they might interconnect. I also like that we are getting some more orc heroes for a post-Hobbit Dol Guldur army. Not sure they will be able to stand up to Thrandual too well. Maybe the spider queen will get a role in one of the scenario again like in the old Fall of the Necromancer book to give the elven king a run for his money.

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"Draw your sword with a heavy heart, but swing it with a heavy hand"

It is really cool to see so much new stuff for the hobby =)

Especially interesting since it will be about events that are barely touched by original source material.

Wonder if the new expansion is gonna be more expensive since it has much more content than "Fall of the Necromancer"

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https://castellan-of-the-ring.blogspot.com/

Looks like all the current campaign supplements, including Necromancer, are priced at £30, so it'll probably be that.

The Scouring of the Shire seems the one exception, currently listed at £22 ... maybe a hobbit-sized price on that one?

https://www.warhammer-community.com/202 ... as23122021

Looks like there will also be a couple of new Easterling commanders in addition to the other new models. Defence of the North could be the biggest update to the range for a while!

I think the rumour is that there are 16 new profiles in the next book ... so that would be:

Dain and Thorin III, Bain and Brand, Knights of Dale, Easterling Acolytes, Easterling black dragons, new orc captain, new orc wizard, Easterling dragon emperor, Easterling captain, Easterling warpriest

That's 12 models out of 16 (if the black dragons count ... new model but existing profile).

With four left maybe it could be a couple more elves for Lothlorien perhaps and two more?

Anyone else got any guesses?

I wouldn't mind some new orcs to go with the commanders but there are obviously lots of options already.

But if there's 4 extra profiles perhaps 2 more sets of commanders with 2 more sets of 6 special warrior units. Elves as you suggested and Dwarves perhaps.

Or Easterling chariot? Might make the Khandish obsolete for gamers though.

Exciting times! I have some theories...

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"That'll do it..."

My guess is Haldirs other brother Orophin and a non-canon Lothlorien elf, possibly one that can be mounted?

Any chance to get Grimbeorn and the Beornings? As they were part of the armies involved in the battle under the trees (Mirkwood).

Would love that. I'm currently compiling a list (love my lists) of all the models I think GW could still release. Grimbeorn and the Beornings are on there.

I don't think I've seen this link posted anywhere else so far, but the new orc heroes are available for sale on Forgeworld and their stat lines are available to see.

https://www.forgeworld.co.uk/resources/PDF/Downloads/Razgush_Muzgur_Unit_Rules_NEW.pdf

Got to say, I think the Razgush looks pretty decent profile wise. He's really be waited down to kill elves but wasn't given an unreasonably high fight for an orc. He won't always win the fight, but when he does, he'll flatten an elf into paste. Muzgur is just alright for a named shaman. He's ability is cool enough and he has a more robust stat line than Kardush. Seeing wither again reminds me of the Dol Guldur themed orc upgrades from the 2012 army books.

I am a little disappointed to see that the fixed army matrix is forcing GW to basically make more Balin's Kingdom of Moria-type lists within lists instead of just making War of the Ring era Dol Guldur list its own thing.

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"Draw your sword with a heavy heart, but swing it with a heavy hand"