Games Workshop is going to be making plenty of us Hobbits very happy this coming weekend with the new Battle Of Pelennor Fields Boxed Set for the Middle-earth Strategy Battle Game which introduces not only two mighty armies but the revamped rules too.

The new set contains forces of both Good & Evil. Rohan rides to the aid of Gondor as Minas Tirith is besieged on all sides by the Witch King of Angmar. King Theoden leads the charge with a new miniature.

He is supported by Warriors and Riders Of Rohan who are crying Forth Eorlingas and smashing into the myriad ranks of Morannon Orc who have been called up by The Dark Lord to do his bidding.

Summoned by Aragorn as he walked The Paths Of The Dead, the Good people of Middle-earth are also able to call upon the aid of the Warriors Of The Dead.

The task of the Men of Rohan and their allies, however, is not an easy one as they are facing the mightiest of Sauron's champions in the shape of the Witch King Of Angmar, mounted atop his Fellbeast.

He not only has a host of Orcs at his command but also Trolls too who are just as adept at crushing skulls as they are at breaking down gates and harrying those inside The White City.

All of the kits in here, with the exception of King Theoden, are from the existing plastic range so many Middle-earth fans are going to be familiar with the offerings presented to them.

That's not to say that I'm not grateful to Games Workshop for putting a lot more faith in this product. It's great to see Middle-earth going from strength to strength on the tabletop and seeing a resurgence backed by a great community.

New Rules

As well as the new boxed set you will also see two new books from Games Workshop. The first of these is the new Rules Manual which collates everything together into one place and contains all of the updated rules you need to play games set in the period of The Lord of the Rings or The Hobbit.

This book will contain an array of scenarios and profiles for the miniatures within the boxed game pictured above but if you want to play with heroes and villains from further afield you'll need the Middle-earth Armies Of Lord Of The Rings book.

In here you will find the points values and statistics for the creatures, characters and soldiers of The Lord of the Rings. It's quite important to be aware that profiles for The Hobbit characters probably won't be included in here so bear that in mind.

I can't wait to check this game out in more detail and see what has changed as we look towards a new era for this splendid tabletop game.

Will you be pre-ordering?