Games Workshop took the weekend to offer up a massive amount of news for those interested in the Middle-earth Strategy Battle Game. At the forefront of this was a brand new Boxed Set/Starter Set, the Battle Of Osgiliath.

Battle Of Osgiliath Box // Middle-earth Strategy Battle Game

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This set will replace the Battle Of Pelennor Fields Boxed Set and will be another introductory product for getting you started with the Middle-earth Strategy Battle Game.

Battle Of Osgiliath Boxed Set Reveal // Middle-earth Strategy Battle Game

Inside the new set, you're going to find two armies. On the one side, you have the forces of Minas Tirith who will be fighting a desperate battle for control of the ruined city of Osgiliath. You will get Warriors Of Minas Tirith and Rangers Of Gondor alongside a selection of brand new plastic heroes.

Battle Of Osgiliath // Middle-earth Strategy Battle Game

The same goes for the Evil side. Gothmog is leading the way at the head of a band of Morannon Orcs with a Mordor Troll following in their wake as a living battering ram. As you'll have also noted, the set comes with new modular Osgiliath terrain (can be built ruined or intact), dice, tokens, a scenario booklet and a rulebook. We'll talk about that a bit later!

As mentioned, there are some new plastic miniatures alongside the old ones. Faramir and his trusted companions are going to be leading the way with a neat trio of Faramir, Madril and Damrod seeing if they can hold off the Orcs at the river.

Faramir, Madril & Damrod // Middle-earth Strategy Battle Game

These miniatures will come with the ruins on their bases as you see but you can also change that up and use woodland scenic bases if you prefer. So, you could have them ambushing the Harad on the road or fighting an urban skirmish with the Orcs and forces of Gothmog.

Talking of Gothmog and the Orcs, this mighty Lieutenant Of Sauron is getting a brand new plastic kit that I think captures the character even better than the original metal sculpt.

Gothmog Foot & Mounted // Middle-earth Strategy Battle Game

He comes with a Foot and Mounted version so you can use him in a variety of ways. The Foot version of the miniature is also very handy if your Gothmog gets un-warged by a stray arrow or two from some annoying Rangers!

As mentioned above, there is also a new Rulebook included in the set. Importantly, this is not a new edition of the game. It uses all of the same rules as the previous book but with all of the FAQ and Errata included from the past four or five years. It has also been tweaked and revamped layout-wise to feature the miniatures from the boxed game in its examples and such. So, it's very "Battle Of Osgiliath" themed. To reassure you once again, you don't need this new book if you already have it but it might be handy if you want to keep your finger on the pulse of the game.

Middle-earth Strategy Battle Game Battlehosts

The new Boxed Game offers up a great way for two people (split the box and the armies!) to get started with the Middle-earth Strategy Battle Game. You can then supplement this with four new themed Battlehosts.

Battlehosts // Middle-earth Strategy Battle Game

There are boxed sets for four different factions and each comes with a new plastic hero character (or two if you're lucky!) alongside a bunch of the classic plastic Warriors.

Minas Tirith Battlehost // Middle-earth Strategy Game

Mordor Battlehost // Middle-earth Strategy Game

The four Battlehosts pair off nicely with the Minas Tirith and Mordor ones being perfect accompaniments for each other. You could get the new Battle Of Osgiliath set and then expand things with these Battlehost sets to get more Warriors and Cavalry plus some amazing characters. Minas Tirith gets Gandalf The White and Pippin whilst Mordor get the Witch-King Of Angmar On Foot & Mounted.

Moving to the plains of Rohan, we have a Battlehost led by Eomer (On Foot & Mounted) that can go up against Saruman and Grima and their fighting Uruk-Hai.

Rohan Battlehost // Middle-earth Strategy Game

Isengard Battlehost // Middle-earth Strategy Game

Again, these are all plastic so they should be great for newcomers. You get more of those classic plastic miniatures alongside the new heroes and villains that have been introduced into the range by Games Workshop over the last few years.

Whilst these won't be something that a lot of Middle-earth veterans are going to dive into, I can see these continuing to make it easier to get stuck into Middle-earth on the tabletop. I think the named characters in each box are going to be a big draw. Folks are certainly going to be interested in playing as some of the epic characters from the movies/books over just a no-name captain or two.

Glorfindel & More Mighty Elves!

Ok, we're still not done. As well as the new plastic sets, we also got a bunch of new miniatures for those who want to see more Elves on the tabletop. Glorfindel, one of the most powerful characters in Middle-earth, is getting a new Forge World miniature.

Glorfindel Foot & Mounted // Middle-earth Strategy Battle Game

I think these miniatures look fantastic. They have managed to capture the grace and quiet command that Glorfindel has. I think there are going to be a lot of folks looking to start Rivendell armies now. I like the little additions they have added to Asfaloth too. Glorfindel's horse has the little bells on it that signal his coming on the road, a neat addition from the books where he is the one who scoops up Frodo and rides him to Imladris.

Sticking with Forge World and Elves, we also got some sets that are actually available to pre-order this weekend alongside Glorfindel! Rumil & Orophim, the brothers of Haldir, are coming to support the warriors of the Galadhrim.

Rumil & Orophim // Middle-earth Strategy Battle Game

These masters of the blade are also going to be joined by upgraded Guards Of The Galadhrim Court. These were previously available in Finecast (bleurgh) and will now be in Forge World resin instead.

Guards Of The Galadhrim Court // Middle-earth Strategy Battle Game

I think toning down the gold colour scheme here would make these miniatures pop. I quite like the bronze/gold over the shimmering gold that we see here when it comes to my Galadhrim. Regardless, we're getting some fantastic new Elves to use on the tabletop with growing armies.

New Miniature For Elrond!

Finally, we also got a new miniature for Elrond. Whilst this miniature has no doubt been in the works for a while it seems good timing to have a new miniature for him with The Rings Of Power looming in the near distance.

Elrond Foot & Mounted // Middle-earth Strategy Battle Game

He comes mounted on a charging steed with his sword at his side or on foot, ready to accept the charge of the Orcs at The Last Alliance. The old metal version of Elrond was one of the first miniatures that I picked up for the game so it's awesome to see a revamped version coming as I'm diving back into the game.

Elrond Reveal // Middle-earth Strategy Battle Game

I think they have done a brilliant job on Elrond here and whilst I have been focused on Dwarves and Rohan at the moment, I am sorely tempted to snap up Elrond and start a Rivendell army. It's just a shame that their very, very old plastic miniatures are so static and wooden!

Interestingly, you do also get this fellow in the Elrond set. The High Elf Warrior With Banner could well be the start of a revamp for The Last Alliance range as a whole.

High Elf Warrior With Banner // Middle-earth Strategy Battle Game

Wishful thinking? Well, possibly. But, I think it could be neat to see them release a new set of miniatures themed around The Last Alliance just to get onto the Second Age bandwagon that will come with The Rings Of Power.

So, quite a few reveals from Games Workshop this weekend. I think this is moving things in the right direction when it comes to Middle-earth, offering up lots of fun sets that are designed to get newcomers into the game and those returning after many years away. A few tasty morsels are also there for us Middle-earth veterans like Elrond and Glorfindel...tempting us to start entirely new armies.

I think I might have to start painting some Rivendell Elves...