Gift Guide For Gamers2024 — ‘The War Of The Rohirrim: Battle Of Edoras’ Starter Set
by Anton Kromoff
Welcome to the table,
Tis’ the season for nostalgia and family togetherness. While a lot of shows, movies, and assorted social media content is focused on people gathering around the table to share meals with family, we have some traditions that have people gathering around the table with minis and dice in hand. There will undoubtedly be a few festive drinks and some snacks as we battle each other into oblivion.
One of my favorite movies to have on in the background while such delightful holiday hijinks are occurring is the extended cut of the Lord of the Rings trilogy. This year, we are even planning to see the new Kenji Kamiyama directed LOTR movie, The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim because those films and that whole setting is such a baked-in part of the holiday. I like the Elves of Middle-earth far more than the jolly old voyeur who withholds gifts on a whim if he does not like what you have to say.
Speaking of the inhabited of the realm of Rohan, Games Workshop has some absolutely fantastic offerings this holiday season, bringing us to this installment of Comicon’s 2024 Gift Guide For Gamers.
I’m new to Games Workshops’ Middle-earth Strategy Game. My lifelong fondness for Warhammer, both fantasy and 40k, is deeply rooted in a childhood spent learning about gaming, painting, and pop culture. All this knowledge comes from a group I lovingly refer to as the Elder Nerds, those who shaped my youth in positive ways and taught me lessons that I still hold to this day.
Those Elder Nerds are the ones who showed me the 1977 Rankin/Bass The Hobbit movie for the first time. These people were my mentors and teachers. With all that emotional and nostalgic energy — and in the spirit of the holidays of sharing and caring — I am going to tell you about this rad new set of minis my pals at Games Workshop sent over to me to check out.
This is The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim — Battle of Edoras Starter Set, and as far as starter sets go, this thing has it all. There are 56 minis in the box that are super well sculpted and really capture the feel of the horse lords and hill tribes. You don’t just get the minis though, the set also comes with terrain, manuals, dice, fences, and other battlefield accessories to really make the table come to life.
The Rohirrim side is packed with cool minis including Haleth, Prince of Rohan, both on foot and mounted on an armored horse. You will also get Háma, another prince of Rohan, mounted on a horse, and on foot. There are also 24 Warriors of Rohan kitted out with spears, various melee weapons, shields, and bows.
The Hill Tribe looking for revenge for their leader Wulf’s exile from Rohan consists of High Lord of the Hill Tribe Wulf, both on foot and mounted on a horse. You get Wulf’s general, Targg, both on foot and on mounted horse. Then to clash with the Warriors of Rohan there are 24 Hill Tribesmen armed with flaming brands, bows, and various weapons.
There is also a double sided 3′ x 3′ battle mat for game play with one side styled like the planes of Rohan and the other styled like unbroken grasslands to give you multiple locations for battles. You get 12 six-sided dice in two colors as well, and a range ruler to round out everything you need to pull a game together.
On top of the minis and game table accessories, there is also a beautifully bound 176 page hardback Rules Manual, covering both narrative and matched play games with your Middle-earth miniatures. Everything from basic mechanics to advanced features is in this book. When I say beautifully bound, this book is so well made and feels so durable, it’s the kind of book I can see sitting on a table for years to come, providing guidance for this generation and possibly the next one or two generations of gamers to come.
I know there are often rules updates and things of that nature, but when you come across a well made gaming book that you think will stand the wear and tear of time, you call it out. I’m for sure calling the Rules Manual in this set out.
The box also contains a 48 page book containing all the scenarios and profiles you need to recreate the Battle of Edoras with your miniatures. There are also four scenarios that allow you to play through a linked mini campaign. You will need a copy of Armies of The Lord of The Rings for full unit profiles and that is available separately.
The whole thing is close to 680 plastic components ready to assemble and paint with friends or when you need to unplug and just pick up your brushes and go.
The price tag is also really reasonable for the amount of stuff you get. This checks a ton of boxes for fans out there. If you like mini based war games, this is going to be fun for you. If you like Lord of the Rings, this is a fun new thing for you to check out. If you like to build armies, this is going to give you plenty of things to build and paint. If you are looking for a new game to jump into, this is less intimidating than some other options as everything you need to experience hours and hours of play is in this single box.
Hands down, this is a really cool way to package and roll out this kind of property. The gang over at Games Workshop really knocked it out of the park with this one.
You can score your own The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim — Battle of Edoras Starter Set at the link.
Until next time, my hands have been having a time as of late thanks to my disability. I am looking forward to getting some relief soon and then I plan to sit down and paint these guys up. I feel like a few weekends worth of unplugging and listening to some music, or watching the LOTR movies or The Rings of Power TV series and painting some minis is just what these hands need to get some more flexibility back into them.
