NEHL March Round-Up
Hobbits of (York)Shire
700 Points - 3 Games
1st: Adam Bird - Army of Gundabad
2nd: Tom Abbott - Lurtz’s Scouts
3rd: David Sweeting - Army of Thror
Best Painted: Joshua Crosby - Arathorn’s Stand
Most Sporting: Elliott Connelly - Lothlorien
Starting the month with a bang, our rep knows how to Leed(s) By Example! Adam Bird has shot to victory with a list he is comfortable using: Army of Gundabad. With 3 war bats in tow, Heroes on 25mm bases should cower in fear. Lurtz’s Scouts is no stranger to a podium place, and Tom Abbott has proven they’re still on top of the game. 44 models, 5 heroes and a drummer - in case the 8” move just doesn’t cut it. Charging out of the FAQ changes, the King Under the Mountain has come into his hold! Army of Thror is back on tournament-contending form. Hopefully this continues in the coming months, but David is pioneering at the moment.
For best painted, Joshua Crosby took the trophy with Arathorn’s Stand - in spite of the army list’s flaws, it’ll look cool going down against opponents. Most Sporting went to Elliott Connelly with Lothlorien. I’d also vote for a Lothlorien list without the incredibly frustrating Mirror of Galadriel!
Gondor in 60 Seconds - Mordor and More-Draws
500 points - 3 games
1st: Jonathan Swallow - Reclamation of Osgiliath
2nd: Paul Stannard - The Three Trolls
3rd: Jack Thurlbeck - The Serpent Horde
Best Painted: Andrew Lister - Fords of Isen
Most Sporting: Lee Venables - Moria
Off the back of January’s GBHL 100 in Middlesbrough, Gondor in 60 Seconds was back for a GBHL 80, and the off-meta level is reflected in some interesting podium armies. Jonathan Swallow built his list without Faramir - not an obvious choice. But that decision has paid off for him, keeping the hitting power of the list and a healthy Might battery in Madril without dropping model count (and, let’s face it, Boromir can do work without leaning on his little brother). Paul Stannard showed good form; a long-time advocate of off-meta lists, Paul showed that not much can deal with three trolls with full bellies. Given that Storm the Camp and Seize the Prizes were played, this is a pretty mean feat. And rounding out the podium is the spectre that haunts NE podium positions: the Baba Yaga himself, Jack Thurlbeck. Notably, we finally witnessed the Birdie vs Baba Yaga derby match at this event, and Jack got the upper hand this time. We’ll see if that will continue for the rest of the season…
Hobby awards went to Andrew Lister for his brilliant efforts on the newest Theodred sculpt. Lee Venables took the Most Sporting spot and he’s done well with that considering his army included a Cave Drake and Druhzag!
Peterbowl
200 points (no named heroes) - 3 games
1st: Thomas Kindness - Assault Upon Helms Deep
2nd: Alistair Twomey - Corsair Fleets
3rd: Thomas Robertson - Kingdom of Khazad-dum
Most Sporting: Todd Gauthier - Army of Erebor
For the second month in a row, Thomas has led his beserker-heavy list to victory at Peterbowl. With named heroes restricted, is this list becoming the 200-point meta going forward? We’ll have to see if anything can dethrone the Uruks going forward. Corsairs have featured at every Peterbowl so far: lots of models, backstabbers, and a suped-up captain that isn’t to be snuffed at. It’s a lot of threat at low points… Taking 12 D7+ models is a good plan at low points, but Tom had to face two other Dwarven lists on his way to a podium finish. With so many dwarves around, is it only so long before someone makes a dwarf list to take the top spot?
A joy to play as ever, Todd won for most sporting player. Since he played against both 2nd and 3rd place, it’s good to see he can be gracious in defeat.
There and Back Again - A Hobbit’s Tournament
650 Points - 3 games
1st: Jonathan Swallow - Reclamation of Osgiliath
2nd: Richard Burton - Dragons of the North
3rd: Lee Venables - Moria
Best Painted: Dom Lord - Garrison of Dale
Most Sporting: Robin Hugill - The Fiefdoms
This tournament allowed each player to give 1 TP to an opponent for hobbying and another for their sporting behaviour, meaning the podium players are MESBG renaissance me: fierce gamers, respectable hobbyists, and courteous sportspeople!
Jonathan Swallow leads Boromir, Madril (and Faramir, this time) to victory once again, netting 2 GBHL 80 wins in the span of a single month! Besting Gwaihir twice in a row tends to have that effect! Dragons of the North took a bit of nerf during the Feb FAQ, making them a little bit more manageable for opponents. Despite the nerf, Richard Burton led them undefeated - all while avoiding the dreaded Fly and Breath Fire combo! Rounding out the podium is Lee Venables with Moria. 48 models is nothing to be snuffed at, especially when one of them is a Cave Drake! Lee forewent long-ranged shooting in favour of a stack of Goblin Prowlers and some Bat Swarms to shut down big hitters.
Dom Lord took the prize for Best Painted with Garrison of Dale, and Robin Hugill won Most Sporting with the Fiefdoms. Both prestigious awards at a hobby-centered event!
Thursday Night Throwdown
350 points - 3 games
1st: Andy Mee - Halls of Thranduil
2nd: Dave Lal - Variags of Khand
3rd: Laszlo Tari - Riders of Eomer
As with Peterbowl, February’s Thursday Night Throwdown winner - Andy Mee - has held onto his title in March. Switching from Wolf Pack to Halls of Thranduil, The potent combo of elite warriors and a ton of buffs from Thranduil has proved effective. Dave’s Variags of Khand take 2nd place, showing that off-meta lists still have their place - is 350 a sweet spot for manoeuvrable armies? Laszlo backs this up by going 2-1 with his Riders of Eomer. A lot of players achieved the same win rate, but perhaps the extra movement gave Laszlo the edge on VP scoring.
Only Us Few Remain
De-escalation (800, 600, 400, 200) - 4 games
1st: Ash Jobson - Fangorn
2nd: Andy Mee - Lurtz’s Scouts
3rd: Luke Bilton - Variags of Khand
Best Painted: Johnathan Mack - Breaking of the Fellowship
Most Sporting: Jake Pollard - Usurpers of Edoras
The last NEHL event of the month, our podium place army lists couldn’t be further apart. Ash Jobson takes 1st place with a low model count and high value army of mighty ents. Meanwhile, Andy Mee opted for a high model count and mobile Uruk force. Both lists proved consist through the de-escalation, going 4-0 apiece. Rounding out the podium was Luke’s Variags of Khand with lists that don’t need to worry about fighting combats if their impact hits can work as planned. Luke has netted the list’s first GBHL podium spot of the season too!
Hobby awards saw best painted go to Johnathan Mack’s Breaking of the Fellowship, which was closely followed by Alex Bourdas’ characterful Shire display. Most Sporting went to Jake Pollard, who did well to score every vote possible with an army as feared as Usurpers of Edoras.