Is There a New META in the MESBG game
The simple statement is no. But when you look at the extensive answer I would definitely say YES. so there are two sides to this coin. Let us look at this from a few different directions. First let us look at players who have always played casually. To these players their style will not change find what looks cool try to play it well and competitively even if it isn't that good. This is where lists like the Shire, Road to Rivendell, and controversial enough the Last Alliance. Then we have the tiers that want to run the things that have changed. This tier of people is the people that got bored with the old edition of the game and want the biggest changes. these people will be heavily playing monster mash lists since they have big changes. They will also be running lists with massive changes to playstyles or just the entire list in general. Then we have the uber competitive players. these players will instantly be looking at the most solid lists. the Trolls, dale, battle of five armies. Pelennor, return of the king, men of the west, thranduils halls, Numenor, Gundabad, Usurpers of Edoras, Army of Isengard, Depths of Moria, Harad, Laketown, and Survivors. These lists are the lists that will form to become the new meta. My specific guesses to the new meta will be, the Battle of five armies, dale, Usurpers of edoras, Numenor, and the depths of moria. Those are my top five picks for the following reasons:
1. Battle of Five Armies: Everyone used to love allying gwiahir in. why not still do it. now you can do it with simply heroes of fortitude making this issue even worse then before. Or why not run bofur on the brute with iron hills shieldwall that have fight 5 elven made spears behind them. The previous soup lists will continue with those who liked them. simply this new edition made the soup a bit more normal soup.
2. Dale: Perhaps the most changed army in the game comes through with girion losing his bow but getting 3 attacks as well as having all windlances giving plus 1 to wound for all models within 6 inches and getting better while getting cheaper. the list buffs are insane and everyone who wants to win will take this list with 1 or 2 windlances and a spam of troops maxing bows meaning extreme shooting advantage with numbers and killing power. what does this list not have? it has the shooting to take out monsters with ease and the numbers with buffs to take out any other troop in the game including dwarves and the dead.
3. Usurpers of Edoras: Who doesn't like a big troll a nice hard hitting hero, smaller heroes, master of battle, and 45 models at 650 points? well thats what this list does. it is new so already that is going for them. They are good in objectives, killing, and have the tools to take out almost anything. They also get essentially free Victory Points and up to 5 of them. That is disgusting and can make or break a game. They have the tools and the beat sticks to do just about anything and are super solid while they are at it.
4. Numenor: This list is in my opinion the best in this new edition. While it does not have the soup, the free insane bonuses, or free vps, it has something none of the others has. All models have gained plus 1 fight value. this is the only fight 5 strength 4 base army in the game. yes they have mid tier defense. but Longbows which are deadly, with insane melee power along with a f8 hero with s5 and plus 1 to wound with free combats comes in with a s5 f7 son behind him and the ability to easily gain quite the load of troops this list is designed and built to take out nearly anything. Running it isildur and a bunch of captains with fight 6 and strength 5 is perhaps the most lethal way to run it as he can one on one the likes of balrogs and mathematically win almost every time. I like this list but i think giving the fight 5 is so incredibly powerful that we will see it everywhere as it is shiny and new but also incredibly powerful.
5. Depths of Moria: This list is hands down the best list in the game currently. free banner for troops, free leader protection points, free break points, insta win almost any objective. The balrog is now nearly untouchable by even aragorns or glorfindels and the like. He got that and got dominant 10 with 8 inch move. almost no hero can escape him meaning getting enemy heroes is almost guaranteed. They are no longer things that can be ignored. The balrog is an insane threat and his entire list got better as well. It is that simply. free no breaking, essentially free wounding and killing enemy leaders with almost no chance of your own to be touched, win most objectives simply because of the balrog. Most people have this army but didn't use it because it was a solid list but not a world breaker as it is now so you will see much more top table players using this in addition to the newer players who want a beatstick to have fun with and will do well with simply because of the list itself.
Those are my predictions for the current meta of the Lord of the Rings Strategy Battle Game for at least the first half of the year and probably inevitably without nerfs.
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