Building MESBG armies: the Battle Companies checklist

One thing about Battle Companies that makes it such a great tool, is that it can serve perfectly to start a couple armies for the "regular" game of MESBG.

In this follow up article to yesterday's review of the rulesbook, I'm taking a look at the forces in the book, and what I would need to complete them all.

I wanted to do this article actually with the previous edition, but didn't get round to it before they announced a second edition would be on the way, so to that end I'm going now over all the lists published in the book, and see what I would need to field the starting forces in the game.

If I already completed a starter force, it will of course just be listed as "completed", but if not, it will state a list with either what I still need to Buy (B), and what I already possess but still need to finish (or start) painting (P).  And the completed bands will be marked in italics to show some 'closure' on them...

So without further ado, let's run over all the army lists from the book as such...

Good Battle Companies

Minas Tirith: completed

Osgiliath: completed

Fiefdoms: (B) Knight of Dol Amroth on foot, Man-at-Arms of Dol Amroth (P) 2 Blackroot Vale Archers

Rohan: (P) 3x Warrior with Shield, 2x Warrior with Throwing Spear

Men of the West: (B) 2x Knights of Dol Amorth (P) Warrior of Rohan with Shield, Warrior of Rohan with Throwing Spear

Dead of Dunharrow: completed

Arnor: (B) 5x Warrior of Arnor (P) 2x Ranger of Arnor

Rangers of the North: (B) 2x Ranger of the North, 2x Ranger of the North with Spear

Lake-Town: (B) 3x Lake-Town Guard, 2x Lake-Town Militia with Shield, 2x Lake-Town Militia with Spear, 2x Lake-Town Militia with Bow.

The Last Alliance: (P) 3x Men of Numenor

Erebor and Dale: (B) 2x Warrior of Erebor with Shield, 1x Warrior of Erebor with Spear, 1x Warrior of Dale with Shield, 1x Warrior of Dale with Shield and Spear, 1x Warrior of Dale with Esgaroth Bow

Lothlorien: (B) 1x Wood Elf Warrior, 1x Wood Elf Warrior with Spear, 1x Wood Elf Warrior with Bow (P) 1x Galadhrim Warrior, 1x Galadhrim Warrior with Spear and Shield

Rivendell: (B) 2x High Elf Warrior with spear and shield

Halls of Thranduil: (B) 2x Mirkwood Elf with Shield, 1x Mirkwood Elf with glaive, 1x Mirkwood Elf with bow, 1x Mirkwood Ranger

Iron Hills: (B) 2x Iron Hills Dwarf with shield and spear, 2x Iron Hills Dwarf with mattock, 1x Iron Hills Dwarf with crossbow

Durin's Folk: (P) 2x Dwarf Warrior with Shield, 2x Dwarf Warrior with two-handed axe, 2x Dwarf Warrior with Bow

Moria Expedition: (B) Dwarf Ranger with bow, Dwarf Ranger with two-handed axe, Dwarf ranger with throwing axes (P) Dwarf Warrior with shield, Dwarf Warrior with two-handed axe, Dwarf Warrior with bow

The Shire: (B) 8x Hobbit Militia, 4x Hobbit Archer

Wanderers in the Wild: (B) Dwarf Ranger with two-handed axe, Dwarf Ranger with two-handed axe, Wood Elf, Wood Elf with bow, Hobbit Militia

Evil Battle Companies

Mordor: completed

Cirith Ungol: (P) 3x Mordor Uruk-hai

Minas Morgul: (B) 2x Black Numenorean

Isengard: (B) 2x Uruk-hai Scout, 3x Uruk-hai Scout with shield, 2x Uruk-hai Scout with bow

Warg Riders: (B) 2x Wild Warg (P) 2x Warg Rider with shield, Warg Rider with bow

Dunland: (B) 2x Dunlending Warrior with shield, Dunlending Warrior with two-handed axe, Dunlending Warrior with bow, 4x Wildman of Dunland

Sharkey's Rogues: (B) 3x Ruffian, 2x Ruffian with bow, 1x Ruffian with whip, 3x Wildmen of Dunland

Moria: (P) 4x Moria Goblin with shield, 4x Moria Goblin with spear, 3x Moria Goblin with bow

Goblin-Town: (B) 10x Goblin Warrior, 2x Goblin Warrior with two-handed weapon

Angmar: completed

Gundabad: (B) 2x Gundabad Orc with shield, 2x Gundabad Orc with spear, 4x Goblin Mercenary

Dol Guldur: (B) 2x Hunter Orc, Hunter Orc with Bow, Hunter Orc with two-handed weapon, 2x Fell Warg

Denizens of Mirkwood: (B) 2x Mirkwood Spider, 3x Fell Warg

Harad: (P) 4x Haradrim Warrior with spear, 4x Haradrim Warrior with Bow

Karna: (B) 2x Watcher of Karna with twin blades, (P) Watcher of Karna with bow, 3x Haradrim Warrior with spear, 2x Haradrim Warrior with bow

Far Harad: (B) 2x Mahud Warrior, 2x Mahud Warrior with blowpipe, 2x Mahud Warrior with spear

Corsairs of Umbar: (B) 3x Corsair with shield, 2x Corsair with spear, 2x Corsair with bow

The Easterlings: (P) 2x Easterling with shield, 2x Easterling with pike and shield, 2x Easterling with bow

Khand: (B) 5x Khandish Warrior, 2x Khandish Warrior with bow

There we have it as such, a full list of the current warbands, and how far 'in' I am with each of them to be able to put them onto the gaming table.

I will be revisiting this list twice before I start a campaign in the mancave, near the half of 2020, being once towards the end of this year, and once right before the campaign is about to start.  With already 5 warbands ready to go, playing games isn't hard, but it is also a motivator to get a lot of forces going.

My 'plan' wih each of them is that once they are done, they will be expanded to 400 points forces (well, most of them, lists like Denizens of Mirkwood or Men of the West are ending 'in' other armies) to play small scale games.

The next step then is to pull those armies up to standard gaming level of 600 points, then evolving into 1000 point forces.

A final step then on the planning once they reach that mark, is to put them all on War of the Ring sized movement trays, and fill them nicely out in the multiples of eight, in order to have some decent and awesome looking armies in the cabinets of the new place.

Now to get those brushes going...