An Unexpected Blog Post - How to Build Lists for Teaching MESBG

Kia Ora, Shire-Folk,

Welcome to a new blog, a blog set in Aotearoa New Zealand - the real Middle-Earth. Here, we will talk about various thoughts, topics, games, and many other things related to the Middle-Earth Strategy Battle Game published by Games Workshop, better known as MESBG. In the future, I hope to expand into including perspectives and some awesome work from the passionate members of the MESBG community.

When teaching new players, it usually falls on us to build a list for them - they can build their own lists when they know what stats and rules actually mean. This post therefore focusses on building lists for newbies (and may also be useful for people reading this trying to learn the hobby for themselves), but will include some other tips and suggestions here and there.

Disclaimer for this and all future blog posts: while I am solidly familiar with the rules, I am not the best player in the world, I am not the best player in New Zealand, to be honest, I might not even be the best player in my circles. This blog aims to give some well informed opinions, but they are opinions, and if you disagree I would love to hear from you in the comments or by contacting me using the form on the blog.

Oh and if you would like me to delve too greedily and too deep into new topics, please suggest those too! If it's MESBG related I want to talk about it.

The Golden Rule

Before starting with this section I must point out the golden rule of list building when creating an entry point for bringing someone into the hobby - If they want to play something in particular, don't make them play something else because it's easy. One of the most amazing things about MESBG is the Middle-Earth part. I would put money on the statement that most people who play this game do so not just because it is a great game system but because we love the theme. As a result, some people want to just play their favourite characters (which is more than fine). 

As a person who has taught dozens upon dozens of people to play all manner of board, card, and tabletop games over the years, take my word for it when I say that interest (particularly in theme) is the absolute most important factor in picking up a ruleset.

The reason many people started playing, and the reason people might stay!
Photo from: Games Workshop

List Building

MESBG is not the most complicated game system in the world, we're not talking about a game with massive asymmetry where you have to learn your opponents stat cards in depth like 40k can be at times, or massive rulesets like Infinity. However, there does exist asymmetry between factions, and there are still a significant number of rules, even for people who might be familiar with other systems.

To compound this issue, hidden amongst all of the many rules that dictate the game, there are an equal or greater number of profiles and rules that break it. Fearless armies that ignore breaking as a mechanic, models that ignore terrain rules, auto-winning ties, the list goes ever on...

One of the more notorious rule breakers for literally breaking rules.
Photo from: Beasts of War

To account for this, lets talk about some of the Do's and Do-not's of building lists to teach new players.

Do #1: Include a few fast models.

As my partner loves to remind me, 5" is not a lot. By that, I mean she tried playing Moria Goblins with no fast moving options, and hated how slowly the list moved (what did you think I meant?).

My partner's lovingly painted Warg Marauder - The fast option
 for my Moria list (or it was, I don't want to talk about it...)

Let me attempt to peer deep into your mind - when you build a list, your first thoughts are 'how do I kill heroes and monsters?' or 'how do I mow through troops'... Scary right? Jokes aside, we often put priority on killing/staying power when list building, and for good reason. You won't get very far with a list that can't kill and dies quickly. However, players with even a moderate amount of experience know that MESBG is very often a game of moving. 

Of the six current mission options, four of them require taking and holding objectives, another requires running off the opposite side of the board, and all six would likely benefit from generally being able to outmanoeuvre some of your enemy's models. This is a fundamental part of the game - we are teaching fundamentals - GIVE NEW PLAYERS SOME CAVALRY (or really anything that moves like cav).

This rules out some lists right away, as many of them outright lack models that move more than 6" without the aid of more complicated parts like drummers or marches. I would consider Depths of Moria, Assault on Helm's Deep, Defenders of Helm's Deep, or any other similar lists to be avoided, as although experienced players know how to make this lists use inbuilt tricks or strategies to mitigate this problem, a new player will feel bogged down by a lack of speedy models.

Sure, it can pop up anywhere on the board,
but it brings along an entire page of rules by itself.
Photo from: LOTR Fandom

If it can be helped, include something fast in the list. It helps to show players the value of speed in a game like this, and lets them feel like they have more agency on the table.

Don't #1: Include a caster

Don't get me wrong, casters are cool. Quite cool.

It's quite cool.
Photo from: lord_Shen_official - Reddit

Although they are more fun than a party in the Shire, they are also more complicated than the polyamorous relationship between Sam, Frodo, and Rosie Cotton.

It's not just the addition of a part of the game that happens in a phase otherwise entirely related only to moving, or that each spell often requires multiple checks of the rulebook (Instil fear does what? Gives fearful? What does fearful mean? Courage test, what is that?). Often spellcasters themselves are complicated models.

Take the Witch-King for example. It isn't just some pleb warrior model with the addition of seven spells to have to remember the purpose of, he also has terror, will of evil, harbinger of evil, heroic stats (with a varied profile to boot), and the option for two unique pieces of wargear. That is a lot for one model in your army.

I know I said we are teaching the fundamentals, and to be fair magic definitely feels like a fundamental part of the game (and could be argued as such), but not every army has them, and they can always be introduced after the basic mechanics are down pat.  

Although they are cool.

Do #2: Include plenty of warriors and duplicates

I don't need to tell you that almost every list has warrior models to follow around your hero models. This will be the norm playing MESBG, and new players should get used to seeing plenty of them.

However, probably more importantly than this, warrior models are almost always significantly less complicated than hero models. They don't have to worry about silly things like heroic actions or named weapons or stand fasts, these brave soldiers need to worry about one thing - fighting.

Our one job, to fight! Fight and move... Move and fight... Our
two jobs are to fight and move... and hold objectives! Our three jobs...
Photo from: Monty Python Wiki 

Without heroic stats and several special rules, warrior models (excluding monsters) have very little mental management that needs to be used to run them. They create room for players to learn what each stat means without considering other factors too often - this is especially the case if you steer away from including too many varied types of troops. It's fine to include a couple of models with a significantly different job, like cavalry, but try to otherwise stick to one type of foot model. Still include varied wargear, like some with spears, some with bows, and some with shields, but try to stick to, for example, only Uruk-Hai warriors, and don't try to also mix in Berserkers and Scouts. Keep the mental load lighter for the first few games.

Don't #2: Include too many heroes (or monsters)

Let's not kid ourselves. We know the warriors are awesome, but we are playing MESBG for the heroes. This isn't just because of cool-factor, or being thematic, but also because they provide the greatest depth of play options, with all their special rules and heroic stats/actions. The same goes for monsters - a troll might not be able to strike, but being able to choose between a minimum of four options on what to do after winning a fight, they also give depth for expression of player skill.

When learning a game, there is no benefit to having this much option for skill expression. New players are still trying to learn how to keep spears in formation with shields and when to move their archers to avoid penalties, they don't need this much additional overhead.

Obviously every army needs to include at least one hero per warband, but try to dilute the ratio as much as possible - fill out all the warband slots, and choose heroes that can take good sized warbands. If possible, avoid chucking any monsters in until after a few games have been played, and play with smaller forces to further reduce the number of complicated hero models involved, and maybe for the first few games even stick to non-named heroes.

If you spend too much time deliberating on how to special strike
 a hobbit, you might get turned to stone, or worse, lose the game.
Photo from: Games Workshop

Do #3: Include bow-armed models

It doesn't matter if you think shooting is wildly underpowered or the cornerstone of a strong list - shooting has an entire phase dedicated to it, and is going to be a major factor in many, if not most, games of MESBG you play.

Although the fact that it is fundamental to the game is a good enough reason to include bowmen in a new player's list, it also has a secondary purpose: it is a super easy thing to play, just popping some models down on a high point and rolling some dice against something they can see every turn, but also gives a chance to learn about the depths of positioning, moving around terrain, controlling enemy movement, and the different levels of shooting that might be present between armies (Think Goblin Warriors vs Rivendell Warriors).

Probably won't kill anything, but it sure is fun to
shoot twice as many times as your opponent.
Photo from: roxatanc - Reddit

Not a lot to this point, just try to max their bow limit, and let them roll some dice in the shoot phase. It feels nice to have something to do in every part of the game.

Don't #3: Build your own list without these rules

Don't make your play partner follow these rules while you take a horrific skew list like The Balrog (sorry, Jesse), The Black Riders, Return of the King, etc. that requires specific counterplay or a lot for your opponent to remember. If the new player is running Warriors of Minas Tirith with a couple of Knights and a Captain, maybe play Orc Warriors, some Warg Riders and a Captain too. 

Remember K.I.S.S. - Keep It Simple, Saruman.
Photo from: Games Workshop

If you are going to run some crazy-meta-power list against the newbies basic army that they can barely keep track of or work out how to beat then may all your future meals taste of Éowyn's stew. 

Yeah, I said it.

Concluding Thoughts

MESBG isn't the biggest wargame in the world, and if we want more people to experience this beautiful hobby we have a responsibility to guide them on this unexpected journey in a smooth and welcoming manner - not tell them to meet us in Bree and never show up. 

Thank you for wandering in here for a read, remember, not all those who wander are lost!