Quick Look: Scouring Of The Shire, Middle-earth Strategy Battle Game
July 24, 2019 by dracs
It's time to talk about the most important part of the whole Lord of the Rings saga. No, not Mt. Doom. Not the siege of Minas Tirith. It's the Scouring of the Shire!
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The Scouring of the Shire is the latest sourcebook for Games Workshop's Middle-earth Strategy Battle Game. The four heroic hobbits have returned to their green and pleasant homeland only to find it ravaged by the predations of the mysterious Sharkey and his rogues.
The sourcebook features sixteen scenarios, which can be linked together to form a narrative campaign, taking you from the first arrival of the ruffians to the climactic Battle of the Bywater.
The scenarios are generally of a much smaller scale, with some very fun narrative games to play through. The Scouring of the Shire chapters from the original books don't detail too many clashes, so Games Workshop have had to get creative. For example, the murder of Lotho Sackville-Baggins by Grima Wormtongue is turned into a full fight, as opposed to the more ignominious end he meets in the books.
There are plenty of new characters in this sourcebook, providing Shire players with lots of fun new rules to play with. It does rather feel like GW have given rules to anyone mentioned by name in the books, but this doesn't make their addition any less welcome. Some of them give nice tactical options, such as Robin Smallburrow's A Nose For Shortcuts, while others are more thematic and fun, like Gaffer Gamgee's Leave My Flowers Alone! or Rowan Thistelwood's Burn It Down!
The book also features step-by-step instructions on how to make a hobbit hole, using the facade from Forge World. It's a little frustrating that there are no tips on how to build one from scratch, but the instructions can be easily adapted to give you a starting point.
All in all, this is an addition to the Middle-earth line-up I am very excited to see. The different scenarios provide plenty of fun game ideas, while the wide variety of hero characters will give players new tactical options to make a pure Shire or Ruffian force viable.
Will you venture into the Shire?
"The four heroic hobbits have returned to their green and pleasant homeland only to find it ravaged by the predations of the mysterious Sharkey and his rogues. "
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Wonderfully presented book with lots for avid Middle-earth fans. Glad to see GW still pulling out all the stops for folks who love this game.
I remember as a child wanting to build a real Hobbit town. Now I’d settle for buying this book and building a miniature town for hobbits!
I too am glad GW is still supporting this great game and the fans of it!
@dracs looks like it’s Christmas early… and look, those “book” things again… nice paint job on them 😉
Are those Forgeworld hobbit holes Sam sized?
look a great book just to see all the great figures and scenery of the Shire.
I might just have to pick this one up as it sounds rather entertaining.
@dracs don’t worry about giving scant regard to the ruffians, they are just white-trash scumbags. We have all had plenty of experience with them to know how they are. 😉
I’m off to the M-e SBG doubles tournament at Warhammer World at the weekend. I looking forward to the event but I’m also looking forward to splurging on the new models and those lovely hobbit holes!
Nice review for a nice book.
This one has just gone on my want list.
Fantastic looking book, I’ve been tempted by a Hobbit army for ages but everyone will be doing them now.
This could get me back into playing Lord of the Rings.