My thoughts on the "Fall of the Necromancer" expansion

 When  at the end of summer a new expansion got announced, I was pretty excited! It was the first time major new stuff for MESBG was incoming since I started the Hobby end of 2020. I enjoyed being a fan about to witness a new release and felt like part of something bigger while discussing with friends, reading through blogs and posts on FB of other players.

All the new stuff is released by now and want to share my thoughts about it =)

The new book

Photo credit: GW
The expansion book itself. The Fall of the Necromancer is an interesting choice. It was said they chose it as an intermediate before the bigger expansion about the war in the north comes out. And it makes sense - the topic was already used in an old expansion around 2006. So they could build upon it and expand with new stuff. 
It also hit a spot for me because I had already plans for a Dol Guldur army and was therefore hoping for something cool to add to my plans.

The book contains:
  • Lore about Dol Guldur and Sauron as the Necromancer from his defeat in the second age till his banishment from the fortress
  • A campaign of scenarios allowing to experience the lore
  • A painting master class for the Necromancer and the new terrain set
  • Four new legendary legions
I think it is a good mix and and interestingly enough for an intermediate expansion. For me personally its sadly not an option to buy. The painting master class is for the color scheme of the Hobbit movies and I prefer the original one. I do not intend to play the campaign or buy all the miniatures required for it. Of the new LLs only "Rise of the Necromancer" is interesting for me. And while I would really enjoy reading the lore part, this and one LL is not worth spending the money.

Castellans of Dol Guldur

Photo credit: GW

The miniatures themselves are not new. However their set is. In the past it contained only two of the Castellans. Now it contains three, which means all three possible poses are in one set. The were already on my shopping list and liked their design and profile for the game. So a must buy =)

The Witch-King

Photo credit: GW


A new Witch-King miniature set! It is modular so you can build him with the morgul-crown of the Pelennor fields or with a simple hood in his "nameless" Nazgul form. And it is full plastic! I think they did an amazing job. There so many details and the poses are really dynamic and fitting. So you have multiple options on how you can use him - for the Black-Riders LL, for an Angmar army, a Morder army, etc
Not directly connected with the expansion, it is nonetheless a very cool thing they released this miniature. And it shows that there still is an effort and talent going into MESBG on GWs side =)

Terrain Set

Photo credit: GW


A modular set of Dol Guldur ruins. I am not into terrain building and I am not sure how "playable" this set really is for miniatures. But it definitely looks gorgeous and it surely will be a highlight on a war table^^ 

Dice Sets

Photo credit: GW

Photo credit: GW

Last but not least we got two new faction-specific dice sets. Fitting for my planned DG army I already bought their set. Although i think the green of the Angmar variant would better fit to Dol Guldur, I like both of them. And I was especially surprised that they were not immediately sold out after some hours^^

Conclusion

So all in all I am happy with the expansion and its accompanying releases. I think it is a good sign for the hobby and for the future of it. I only bought two things of them but on the other hand that was a good thing for my purse^^


Comments

  1. Tiberius02 December, 2021 04:58

    The sourcebook should have been cheaper than it was - Scouring of the Shire had more content (on all fronts except painting tutorials) and is $15 (USD) cheaper than the Necromancer book. That said, I bought it and am intrigued by the scenarios in it as well as the Legions. :)

    Scenario play isn't everyone's thing, but if you have an evening with an hour to play, you'll be hard pressed to get a Matched Play game in - some scenarios play rather quickly and so can be squeezed into a short night.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Asgarod02 December, 2021 10:47

      Yeah I agree it should be cheaper.
      And If it would be only for the LOTR Fan in me i would have bought it regardless. But i have to restrain my purse for all the other already planned Hobby expenses ;p

      Delete

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