Warhammer manufacturer Games Workshop has revealed the starter set for the new edition of the Middle-earth Strategy Battle Game, its officially licensed wargame set in Tolkien’s Middle-earth. The upcoming ‘The War of the Rohirrim – Battle of Edoras’ box set pits the noble horsemen of Rohan against the marauding Dunlending hill tribes, and ties in with an upcoming new LotR anime.
For those Lord of the Rings fans unfamiliar with the Middle-earth Strategy Battle Game, it’s a miniature wargame similar to Warhammer, played with models based on the characters as they appear in the Peter Jackson movies, or with original designs approved by the Tolkien estate. It’s been around under a few different names since 2001, and Games Workshop revealed a month ago that it was going to release a new edition.
On Sunday 22 – which happens to be the birthdays of Bilbo and Frodo Baggins, and the real world celebration Hobbit Day – GW showed off the contents of the new box set in a blog post. ‘The War of the Rohirrim – Battle of Edoras’ contains 56 models, including:
- Haleth, Prince of Rohan, mounted and on foot
- Háma, Prince of Rohan, mounted and on foot
- 24 Warriors of Rohan
- Wulf, leader of the Dunlendings, mounted and on foot
- General Targg, mounted and on foot
- 24 Hill Tribesmen
The box also contains a 176 page rules manual, a 48-page booklet with the unit profiles and scenarios needed to play out the Battle of Edoras, 2 plastic model Rohan Houses, dice, a themed range ruler, a double-sided play mat, and a quick reference guide.
Edoras was the capital of Rohan, and is where Aragorn, Gimli, Legolas, and Gandalf meet king Théoden during the events of The Two Towers. During the War against the Dunlendings, almost 200 years before the events of the Lord of the Rings, the exiled noble Wulf assaulted and ultimately captured it with his Dunlending forces as part of his war to destroy the line of Helm Hammerhand.
Edoras was recaptured by Fréaláf Hildeson, Hammerhand’s nephew and successor. Game Workshop already makes a model for Helm, and we will eat a hat if it doesn’t release a Fréaláf at some point in the next 12 months.
The price and release date for this launch box set aren’t yet public. The upcoming War of the Rohirrim anime film will launch in US theaters on December 13 – we imagine GW will want the box set available before then to generate plenty of Christmas sales.
If you’re a Lord of the Rings fan tempted by the models in this set but don’t know where to start, we have a guide to painting miniatures that will be a big help. Or if you’re a long time Lord of the Rings player who doesn’t fancy the changes coming in the new edition, check out our guide to the best fantasy wargames.
Source: Wargamer
