Hi All,

Just opened my recently obtained Mines of Moria box. Looking to put together a 300 point list of Moria Goblins and wondering what would be best to get. Browsing some moria lists it looks like I'd be going for something like below. So I need another box of goblins at least.

Captain/Durburz/Druzhag/Groblog
12 Goblins with Spears?
Troll

Shaman
12 Goblins with Shields

Shaman
12 Goblins with Bows

I'm wondering which hero is best (I'd like to get all of them, but where to start) and if anyone has any suggestions on finding the harder to find ones. Also curious if people are generally ok with someone playing say a Gundabad shaman as a Moria shaman.

Thanks!

At that low points cost you are guaranteed to outnumber any opponent. I would go for a three might hero such as durburz to get your troops where they need to be. Also may I suggest having six shields and six spears in each warband so you can easily trap other models because at such low strength and fight value you would need to ensure you kill in the fights you win.

Druzhag does not add much unless you are using spiders or wargs.
If you want to use two shamans, Groblog is a good choice as he frees up 2 might from not having to heroic channel. Otherwise I lean towards Durburz.
Ghan Buri Ghan and Orc Trackers make pretty descent shaman conversions if you don't want to pick up a command box. Ebay is the way to go for the discontinued named heroes.
I would also highly recommend to pick up one or two Prowler blisters. Two-handed axes with the special rule helps to really guarantee the kills when you trap the enemy.

The bows probably wont be too effective for you, consider swapping them out for more swordsmen - the extra defense really improves your survivabilty against strength 4 and it will give you more goblins to outflank and surround the enemy in melee.

_________________
Soon Master Elf, you will enjoy the fabled hospitality of the Dwarves! Roaring fires, malt beer, red meat off the bone!

Thanks for the advise everyone. I'd like to swap the bows out at some point but don't want to spend more on goblins at the moment. I'll keep the bows in interest of saving money right now with a plan to replace them after I paint up what I've got. Maybe I can convert them with some green stuff into spears, sword/shield might be more difficult. Same goes for prowlers I definitely want some but I'll learn the game first.

Looks like my list should look closer to something like:

Durburz (managed to grab one)
6 Goblins with spears
6 Goblins with sword/shield
Cave Troll

Moria Captain
6 Goblins with spears
6 Goblins with sword/shield

Moria Shaman
12 Goblins with bows

Would it make any sense to put the cave troll with the bow goblins to provide a tank of sorts for them?

First of all, 400 points is a little unusual in terms of army size. Usually, armies are 350, 500, 600, 700, or 750 points, with 6/700 being the most common.

Second of all, the list is illegal, as the cave troll is not a hero, so must be part of a warband. This means you will have to drop a goblin from a warband and replace it with the cave troll. The benefit of this is that you can give the troll a chain, which is very useful as it allows you to potentially kill 4 models a turn.

Third of all, goblin bows are useless - drop them and replace them with something else. And the Shaman will want to be following the combat troops around, giving them the fury boost.

Your army seems simultaneously light on both numbers and heavy hitters. Either have multiple large threats and a smaller army, to divide the opponent's attention, or spam as many goblins as possible. With one cave troll, all fire will be focused at it, and bring it down very quickly, leaving you with only 36 very weak troops. Besides, the cave troll is the points cost of another captain and 9 more goblins with shields/spears.

I would use the following list at 400 points:
Shade (allied in from Angmar)
Moria Goblin Shaman
2 Bat Swarms
4 Warg Marauders (easy to convert with plastic wargs and goblins)
Moria Goblin Captain
9 Moria Goblins with Shields

Frodo is right about the troll, you will need to drop a goblin. A throwing chain or a shield for the captain is a good replacement.
You definitely don't want to leave the troll in archer only warband. He wants to get into the thick of things as soon as he can, otherwise he will go down to enemy bow fire. Same applies to the shaman, you want him at the front line so that you can immediately benefit from fury.
I had some good results with goblin archery and try to include 2-4 per warband. The trick is not to shy away from throwing them into melee. I prefer to split them equally between the warbands then either split them off to camp the objectives or add them to the mass of bodies.

Apologies Frodo, I meant it to be 350, I figured I would adjust the goblin numbers as needed for points.

But I think I've settled on this list taking everyone's thoughts into consideration, the models I have at the moment, and what I feel I would enjoy painting up and putting on the table.

Warband 1
Durburz
Cave Troll
6 Moria Goblins with Shields
5 Moria Goblins with Spears

Warband 2
Ashrak
6 Moria Goblins with Shields
6 Moria Goblins with Spears

Warband 3
Moria Goblin Captain with Bow

Total: 350 Points

One of the bow goblins with a mask will work well as a captain as he is the only one with a bow. And I'll convert another bow goblin with green stuff to make an Ashrak. Any big issue with the lone captain?

I think it all comes down on how competitive you want to be. This army is going to do fine to learn the game.
Assuming you want to use the troll (and why wouldn't you), at 350 I would run 2 captains, a shaman and 31 goblins.

I'm happy with this list to learn and very excited to convert an Ashrak. If I end up liking the game a lot I'll probably get more goblins and maybe bring them to Adepticon. The trackers are a great suggestion. Thanks again everyone, didn't expect to get so much feedback, really appreciate it.

Why use Ashrak over a normal Shaman when you don't have any Spiders?

_________________
"I am the Flying Spagetti Monster. Thou shall have no other monsters before me"
-FSM.

Gothmog is right. There is no benefit to ashrak over a shaman without any spiders in the list. Try the following:

Moria Goblin Shaman
6 Goblins with spears
6 Goblins with shields

Moria Goblin Captain
6 Goblins with spears
6 Goblins with shields

Moria Goblin Captain
Cave Troll with Chain
3 Goblins with spears
3 Goblins with shields

I'd personally try and fit durburz in the list, the 12 inch standfast, 3 might, f4, d6 is definitely valuable in Moria especially in low points. With a shaman a auto pass 12 inch bubble is extremely good, he will keep the list together when it breaks, the captain's without the shaman are unlikely to do so, and trolls left to there own devices at that point is a bad deal.

While competitively I completely understand the concern, I have a few reasons why I'd like to use Ashrak.

1. I can be a collector sometimes and it bothers me that Ashrak is hard to find. Making one will curb my appetites for spending more than I should to get one.

2. I'm actually really excited to make one with green stuff. It'll be unique and fun, and will set the army apart. I'm often more interested in modeling/painting than I am in playing. I'll post a picture when I finish the green stuffing.

3. I can always use him as a regular shaman, but will also have the option to use him as Ashrak if I do get some spiders down the line. Trying hard to build an army with minimal purchase past the Mines of Moria starter. So far just picked up Durburz and 12 more goblins. $40 for a command set feels like more than I want to invest at the moment. Will probably snag some orc trackers when they are in stock again and be done until I've learned the game and painted everything.



I went out the way to get a Durburz, I love the model and the idea of my army being led by the Goblin King rather than a captain/shaman makes me want to use him. With Durburz and a Troll, if you fill out two warbands, there just isn't much left for a third warband. I'd rather have Ashrak and have a cool looking army to put on the table than save a few points and fit in a few goblins.

I own 36 goblins total, 12 of each variety, 2 of the bow guys converted to captain/shaman. As the bow guys are rather useless it sounds like, 10 that I'm not using leaves me with 24 viable goblins. Maybe I'd have an extra spear guy cause of the troll in the first warband, but just doesn't seem worth trying to fill out the third warband or even them out. I like how clean the list came together with the captain with a bow and Ashrak.

I would also consider converting a Groblog down the line and using two shamans as that appeals to me as well. But that will be a story for another time.