Games Workshop Warhammer Middle Earth - The Balrog Black 99121466010

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No journey through Moria would be complete without a terrifying encounter with the Balrog – or Durin’s Bane, as it’s known to the Dwarves. This flame-wreathed Monster wreaks havoc on the battlefield, and your opponent will need to send their best Heroes into harm’s way if they want the best chance of bringing it down. With a Fight value of 10, even the likes of Aragorn, Glorfindel, or Boromir will be reliant on Heroic Strike if they wish to best the Balrog in combat. Should they manage to win a duel against Durin’s Bane, their work has only just begun – for the Balrog’s Defence of 9 and its whopping 10 Wounds makes it incredibly difficult to lay low. The first of our example army lists represents some of the dangers faced by The Fellowship as they traversed the long dark of Moria. This list could also be used as a starting point for making an army using the Depths of Moria Legendary Legion . Rivalling Erebor in its prime, the great Dwarf city of Dwarrowdelf was a celebration of the wealth and power of Durin's folk. But, as it would come to be understood in aftertimes, the Longbeards delved too greedily and too deep... The Goblins of Moria fight as a writhing mass of bodies and blades, relying more on overwhelming numbers than skill at arms. This is represented perfectly by the Moria Army Bonus We cannot get out, they are coming – which gives a bonus of +1 to the Fight value of friendly Moria Goblins when they are fighting a Trapped enemy. Heroes Sam has described the Jaghatai Khan miniature as “grounded and confident” – a perfect mix of aggression and restraint – as well as providing loads more info on how this staggering miniature was designed. So much indeed, that we gave the Khan his own article – a must-read for fans of the White Scars and miniature design.

In this instalment of Faction Focus, the Middle-earth Strategy Battle Game team uncovers the foul things that lurk in the deep places of the world, as they delve into the depths of Moria… Sam: “I didn’t sculpt this one, but it’s a great miniature. The pose is quite simple, but the weight of the posture is just right, making it look really brooding. It conveys a real sense of dark menace, perfect for Lorgar .” Horus, The Warmaster, Primarch of the Sons of Horus

Sam: “ Fulgrim was designed to be released as part of a diorama – one half of a duel playing out between him and Ferrus Manus on Isstvan V, at that pivotal point in the Heresy. We depict him with the Blade of the Laer. Fulgrim was released first, while I worked on finishing Ferrus. With the Fulgrim sculpt it was very much about the flamboyance of the Emperor’s Children, the perfection of swordsmanship and the elegance of movement against the brute strength of Ferrus.” Ferrus Manus, Primarch of the Iron Hands Sam: “As the most iconic figure of the Horus Heresy, Horus needed to have a really strong pose – one that would show the majesty of the Warmaster. He is stood upon the head of an Imperial Eagle with his mace Worldbreaker, guiding the Imperium forward. Based on both John Blanche and Neil Roberts artwork, his armour – the Serpent’s Scales – is adorned with Luna Wolves and Sons of Horus iconography, and can be painted in the colours of either legion.” Mortarion, Primarch of the Death Guard The Balrog is a mighty creature of great age and power. Awoken by eager Dwarven miners, the Balrog brought destruction to their kingdoms, overwhelming Durin and his doughty warriors in a series of terrible battles. Of all the evil powers in the world, the Balrog is amongst the most terrible and as one of the largest models we sell, is the perfect centre piece for an evil army. Sam: “ Dorn is in a very stoic, ‘none shall pass’ pose, which conveys the idea of him being the last line of defence for Terra. He stands defiant against the enemies of the Imperium, with his hands on the pommel of his chainblade, Storm’s Teeth. The bulk of the design was taken from John Blanche and Neil Roberts’ artwork, and his Auric Armour is based on Mk IV plate adorned with Imperial eagles and Imperial Fists iconography.” Alpharius, Primarch of the Alpha Legion

Sam: “ Sanguinius is the Primarch that’s most similar to the original John Blanche design. We wanted a strong flying pose so we could make the most of his angelic wings, while adding to the dynamism of the figure. He needed to have interchangeable weapons that worked with the pose, and all the elements had to flow together to emphasise the movement and power of the model. The inspiration for the pose came from classical depictions of the archangel Michael fighting the Devil.” Lion El’Jonson Jay: Middle-earth contains all manner of weird and wonderful creatures that roam its lands or live within its many mountain ranges. From the likes of Trolls , Eagles and Ents , to other creatures that are talked about in stories and songs, Monsters have become synonymous with Middle-earth.

1 – Smaug™

To celebrate this momentous occasion, we sat down with the Forge World team to discuss the Primarchs project. Designer Sam Egan was kind enough to talk us through each of the models in turn, and he had oodles of insights into the design process behind this amazing series of miniatures, which started a decade ago with the Red Angel himself. Angron, Primarch of the World Eaters In the Strategy Battle Game , Monsters pose a huge threat on the battlefield, each one capable of wading through large swathes of enemies and causing major problems for opposing generals to deal with. So, with that in mind, we’re going to run down our top five Monsters in the Strategy Battle Game and how to get the most out of them in your games. 5 – The Balrog ™

When the War In Rohan ™ supplement was released, Helm’s Deep featured in many scenarios, so I felt I had to do the epic battle justice by building the full fortress. Sam: “We wanted to show Lion El’Jonson’s fighting abilities, as well as the animosity between the Dark Angels and the Night Lords, so we went with a dynamic pose where he is swinging his sword down on the sons of Curze. We also made the figure so he can be equipped with either of his swords, Wolfblade or the Lion Sword, and he comes with the option to go bareheaded, or to wear the legendary Lion Helm. We designed the Leonine Panoply utilising elements of real-world knights’ crusade armour overlaid with Dark Angels iconography and lion motifs.” Jaghatai Khan, Primarch of the White Scars Moria armies rely on a combination of vast numbers and powerful Monsters to achieve victory. Use your numerical advantage to wrap around the flanks of your opponent’s shield wall, as this will cause many of their models to become Trapped . This allows your Goblins to take advantage of the Fight value boost provided by your Army Bonus, and makes it more likely they will strike their opponents down. Elliot: When The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers ™ was released two decades ago, I was inspired by the movie, and a Helm’s Deep board in White Dwarf, to start my own terrain-making journey – with the ultimate goal of building the Hornburg itself.

2 – Azog™

Want to celebrate the 20th anniversary yourself? The new Middle-earth starter box, The Lord of the Rings: Battle of Osgiliath, has everything you need to recreate the Men of Gondors’ war against the Orc hordes. Michael Patterson: I often see dioramas depicting Gandalf defying the Balrog on the Bridge of Khazad-dûm, but I haven’t come across anything depicting the later stages of that battle, when the two Maiar clash at Durin’s Tower, so I built it as a unique project. The project took approximately 300 hours, from planning to finishing. So far, the forces of Evil are yet to conquer the Hornburg – I may have to paint up 10,000 Uruk-hai now to storm the keep!

At 48″ wide, 68″ long, and 50″ tall, the table has a modular setup of 13 pieces, including replaceable battle-damaged sections for the gates and culvert. The stairs were magnetised in key places to accommodate magnetic bases, and the gates open and close – also using magnets. Sam: “ Corax was a challenge to sculpt, mainly due to the Panoply of the Raven Lord, which includes two archeotech pistols, an energised whip, and artificer lightning claws. It was difficult to come up with a believable pose that integrated all of these elements, and worked with the Korvidine Pinions. His Sable Armour is based on Mk IV armour with details taken from Raven Guard artwork in the Forge World Horus Heresy books.” Leman Russ, Primarch of the Space Wolves Quest of the Ringbearer provides full rules for running your own Fantasy Fellowship campaign, including how to build your Fellowship, which scenarios to play, and how your Fellowship develops over the course of the campaign. When we decided to write Quest of the Ringbearer, this was one of the things we knew we wanted to include, and we hope that gaming groups across the globe get as much fun and use out of this as they did when it was first featured in White Dwarf! Sam: “ As with Ferrus Manus, very little design work had been done for Vulkan . That meant we were able to create a model with lots of details taken from Forge World Salamanders artwork. The result is a huge, imposing model based on beautifully crafted Mk III armour detailed with XVIII Legion iconography. The skull of the great firedrake, Kasare, is mounted upon his shoulder plate.” Konrad Curze, Primarch of the Night Lords This box set contains one multipart plastic Balrog and includes options for a flaming sword or whipSam: “ Angron was one of the most difficult as he was the first. We had no idea how he would be received, as we were dealing with one of the most iconic figures in the Imperium’s history. We needed to set the scale in relation to the rest of the miniature range, plus we had to get across the brutality of Angron and the sense that he was unstoppable. John Blanche’s iconic artwork was the starting point, mixed with gladiatorial details.” Fulgrim, Primarch of the Emperor’s Children Thanks to the combination of the Burly special rule, their hand-and-a-half hammers, and their Strength of 6, Cave Trolls can dish out a frightening amount of damage when they win combats. Coupled with their Fight value of 6, these lumbering brutes are a dangerous threat to both Warrior and Hero models alike. Tactics Cheers, Michael! Some brave souls even recreate entire strongholds from the film, such as Elliot Prowse and his take on Helm’s Deep. The Balrog is a mighty creature of great age and power. Awoken by eager Dwarven miners, the Balrog brought destruction to their kingdoms, overwhelming Durin and his doughty warriors in a series of terrible battles. Of all the evil powers in the world, the Balrog is amongst the most terrible and as one of the largest models in The Lord of The Rings game, is the perfect centre piece for an evil army.