Not too long ago, Games Workshop announced a new edition of Middle-earth Strategy Battle Game — their licensed tabletop miniature wargame that’s based on Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit film trilogies.
Slipped into that annnouncement was a one-sentence tease that, as part of the update, GW would also release a series of figures based on the forthcoming anime feature the Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim. (Sneaky!)
Now they’ve revealed the first of these: foot and mounted versions of Wulf, the Rohirrim lordling who seizes Meduseld (and the throne) from Helm Hammerhand.
Wulf mounted figure for the Middle-earth Battle Strategy Game.
GW Lead Design Manager told TheOnering.net that they “worked with Warner Bros. and the creative team behind the movie — including the absolutely wonderful Arty Papageorgiou and Philippa Boyens — to make sure our miniatures reflected the visuals of the film whilst sitting well alongside our existing range.”
Although I don’t play the game myself, I found the card that outlines Wulf’s special rule quite interesting.
To me, that first sentence suggests that GW will subsequently release figures for “the heirs and leaders of Rohan”. At a guess, I extrapolate that mean it’s reasonable to expect additional figures (in no particular order) for: Helm Hammerhand, Háma, Héra, Haleth, and Fréaláf Hildeson. Leaders could also include the mysterious Olwyn who features as a supporter or advisor to Héra in some of the scenes in the recently released Japanese trailer.
UPDATE
TORn Staffer Ostadan wrote to me to suggest that the new edition will very probably be rolled out with a new ‘Starter’ set (like the Battle for Osgiliath set of a few years ago). He said that “most of the game’s fans seem to think that this new starter will be between Rohan and Dunlending factions. This is not a certainty, but does seem likely.”
I certainly agree this makes a lot of sense. It would mean additional fiugures such as Freca (Helm’s father), the General Taarg, and the bald fellow whose name escapes me right now. Probably a mish-mash of Wulf’s folk, Dunlendings and Haradrim/Corsair (I’ve now seen the offical coloring book calling them Southrons) mercenaries. And perhaps a Mûmakil.
Wulf on foot. Courtesy: Games Workshop.Mounted Wulf. Courtesy: Games Workshop.
Plus even more War of the Rohirrim tie-in merch from Harper Collins
That’s not all!
In case you missed it, Harper Collins is also releasing three tie-in books that are now available for pre-order on both the HC site, and on Amazomg. (NB: at the time of writing, Amazon seems to have Falconer’s Art book on sale.)
The Art of The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim By Daniel Falconer. 256pp. Releases February 25, 2025
A comprehensive, large-format hardcover offering unparalleled insight into the making of The War of the Rohirrim, and the complete creative journey from concept to finished film told by the artists and filmmakers themselves. Cover art not yet available.
The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim Visual Companion By Chris Smith. 96pp. Releases November 5, 2024.
Set 183 years before the events chronicled in the original trilogy of films, “The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim” tells the fate of the House of Helm Hammerhand, the legendary King of Rohan. A sudden attack by Wulf, a clever and ruthless Dunlending lord seeking vengeance for the death of his father, forces Helm and his people to make a daring last stand in the ancient stronghold of the Hornburg—a mighty fortress that will later come to be known as Helm’s Deep. Finding herself in an increasingly desperate situation, Héra, the daughter of Helm, must summon the will to lead the resistance against a deadly enemy intent on their total destruction.
With a cast of exciting and original characters, and a mix of locations both familiar and new, this dramatic new standalone story weaves another thread in the grand tapestry of Middle-earth. Lavishly illustrated with breathtaking art and imagery, The War of the Rohirrim: Official Visual Companion is the ultimate introduction to every character, creature and location you will encounter in this epic adventure from the official Lord of the Rings saga.
The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim Official Coloring Book By Warner Bros. 80pp. Releases November 5, 2024.
Experience the valiant spirit of Rohan’s warriors defending their homeland against the forces of darkness as you color these breathtaking scenes featuring all the characters, creatures, and landscapes from the new Lord of the Rings movie. Return to Middle-earth and begin a brand-new coloring adventure, from the splendor of the Golden Hall atop Edoras, to the breathtaking landscapes of Rohan, and ancient fortress of the Hornburg.
As well as dramatic scenes from this exciting new installment in the Lord of the Rings movie saga, you can color all of its heroes and villains, including Rohan’s legendary king, Helm Hammerhand, his intrepid daughter, Héra, and her brothers Haleth and Háma, Lord Freca and his son, Wulf, the warlike Southrons and iconic creatures such as the monstrous mûmakil and the savage snow-troll.
It will come as a surprise to no one that as the Amazon Rings of Power program approaches, publishers and manufacturers of Tolkien-related products have been busy, preparing for a new wave of Lord of the Rings ‘buzz’ or awareness that must be the inevitable result of the Amazon release—regardless of its critical reception among Tolkien fans.
In the specific area of tabletop gaming, we have seen two large announcements in the last few weeks.
Ares Games
Ares Games has been producing tabletop games for some years now, including popular games like Battlestar Galactica or the Wings of Glory dogfighting miniatures game. Tolkien fans surely know them best for War of the Ring (2004; Second Edition, 2011), a massive board game for two players that pits the Free Peoples against the Shadow Armies.
While many find the game intimidatingly large and complex, it has gathered a large and enthusiastic following among board gamers. At the major gaming convention Gen Con (August 4–7), Ares demonstrated a new game to be released in November, [War of the Ring: The Card Game].
War of the Ring: The Card Game from Ares Games.
Unlike the Fantasy Flight Lord of the Rings: Journeys in Middle-earth or Lord of the Rings: The Card Game (recently revised and republished), which are fully co-operative or solo games, in the War of the Ring card game:
Up to 4 players compete in two teams, the Shadow against the Free Peoples, each player using a specific and different card deck representing the strengths and weaknesses of the different factions involved in the war.
The Free Peoples desperately try to complete their quest to destroy the One Ring, while at the same time defending their homelands from the encroaching hordes of Sauron and from his evil allies.
The Shadow players must strike quickly and decisively, before the Ring-bearers can complete their quest; or try to slowly corrupt Frodo, burdening him with wounds, toil, and the sorrow for the loss of his Companions.
The game should play in one or two hours (compared to the four hours or more required for the War of the Ring board game). The box contains about 165 cards (with 100 original illustrations by artists including John Howe) and 45 tokens, and should sell for $45. By comparison, the Fantasy Flight Lord of the Rings card game Core set contains about 300 cards and 150 tokens (plus four Threat Dials), but retails for about $70.
Ares Games does have the rulebook available now for downloading for those who are interested in more details.
Games Workshop
On August 7, Games Workshop, Ltd., had a big announcement event for new products in their Middle-earth line of tabletop miniatures games.
The biggest news from this was the forthcoming release of The Battle for Osgiliath, a new starter set for their Middle-earth Strategy Battle Game that will replace the Battle of Pelennor Fields starter set released in 2018 (see my August 2018 article); people interested in the older product should buy it soon.
This new starter set will include a slightly revised rulebook (224 pages); 12 Warriors of Minas Tirith and 12 Rangers of Gondor, plus new sculpts for their leaders: Faramir, Madril, and Damrod; 24 Mordor orcs and a Mordor Troll, led by Gothmog, in two new sculpts—mounted and unmounted; four modular terrain pieces for the ruins of Osgiliath; a Scenario book, dice, range ruler, and some game tokens. Note that this adds up to 54 unpainted miniatures, compared to the 84 miniatures in the older product, reflecting the economics of our time.
On the other hand, this may be a slightly more “accessible” game for new players, lacking the more complex game play associated with the Witch-king in the earlier set.
No price has been announced: Games Workshop will have an unusual two-week pre-order window between September 10 and 26, 2022.
Also announced were four new “battlehost boxes”. These seem to be intended as a convenient way for the new players who have purchased the starter box to expand their armies, which has been a problem for GW customers in the past. The boxes—Mordor, Isengard, Minas Tirith, and Rohan—contain 32–48 (for Isengard) miniatures including leaders like Gandalf and Saruman. None of these are new sculpts, and so will be of less interest to longtime player/collectors.
Finally, there will be individual “mighty elven heroes” products: Glorfindel (mounted and unmounted), Rumil, Orophin, and Galadhrim guards. And there will be an Elrond product: on horse, on foot, and (tying into the Second Age at last), Elrond as the Herald of Gil-galad, bearing his banner.
Our friends at Games Workshop sent us this incredible set from their Battle for Middle-earth strategy game, which is called The Battle of Pelennor Fields. In this set, you get to build and paint your characters to replicate what you saw on film. Then fans can use the rules book and strategy guide to play out a very D&D type game, involving our favorite characters. As you will see in this review and picture, you get a ton of stuff with the set, which comes in at $158. You also will need to buy the paint set, and that will cost you $45, but based on what you can do with these sets, even putting all the costs together, it’s still a pretty fair price for everything.
Games Workshop, Ltd. will be releasing a new game, Battle of Pelennor Fields, the first new boxed game in their Middle-earth line of tabletop miniatures games since their Escape from Goblin Town game in 2012, and their first self-contained Lord of the Rings product since 2005’s Mines of Moria.
WARNER BROS. CONSUMER PRODUCTS EXTENDS LICENSING AGREEMENT WITH GAMES WORKSHOP TO INCLUDE
“THE HOBBIT” AND “THE LORD OF THE RINGS”
BURBANK, Calif., Wednesday, February 9, 2011 – Warner Bros. Consumer Products (WBCP) announced today that it has extended its six-year licensing agreement with Games Workshop, enabling them exclusive, worldwide, all-language rights to produce tabletop games based on “The Hobbit” and “The Lord of the Rings” properties. More..
Our friends at Games Workshop sent us this incredible set from their 