New army book for ME SBG finally arrived!

FYI: 

This post in shorter version was originally posted in July 2025 on my IG and Tumblr account (https://ilfirinart.tumblr.com/). I’ve started my journey with social media at the turn of March and April this year. As my work is typically shown on photos, my main focus was on Instagram, but I really like words 😉 and that’s why I’ve decided to start writing a blog (in October). There is always something interesting happening when you do hobby stuff and I needed a proper space to tell my stories and share some reflections (Instagram isn’t the best place for that, imo). Right now I’m in the process of updating this blog with overdue content from this year (halfway there already!). Everything should be up to date by the end of November.

“Armies of Middle-earth” has arrived!

This means a serious model collection inventory is about to happen. 😉 And a lot of Excel spreadsheets. While I’m glad we finally have a full list of models back in the game, there was something strange about Games Workshop strategy this time. An over half a year period when so many models were out of official armylists?! It didn’t affect me directly, because I haven’t played in any tournaments lately, but still, quite a delay for many players around the world.

My book collection

Over the lifespan of the Middle-earth Strategy Battle Game, I’ve bought a lot of things, but I haven’t collected every rulebook, sourcebook, or expansion that was released (yes, you’ve guessed it - budget issues 😉).

Yet I’ve been a Tolkien fan since I was 8 years old, long before Peter Jackson’s epic movie trilogy and our beloved game by Games Workshop came to life.

With all the original Tolkien books and all the GW publications, it has become quite a collection of its own!

Right now, I’m still waiting for Matched Play*, which is unfortunately temporarily out of stock.

And of course… The History of Middle-earth – a twelve-volume series that has been released in Polish translation since 2022 (halfway there as far as I know). This is something I’d love to see on my bookshelf one day. 😉

My favourites and ‘precious’

A Dozen years ago I was pretty active (much more than today actually) on local gaming groups and online – back then rather on dedicated websites and forums. I also took part in some hobby competitions and I’ve even won some of them! :D One of the prizes I was really proud of was “Harad” supplement signed by the authors!

At this point, The Atlas of Middle-earth by Karen Wynn Fonstad is one of my favorite titles in this collection. It’s an absolutely brilliant work and a perfect supplement to The Silmarillion if you want to better understand the creation of Arda, but also to visualize the military aspects of the battles of the Third Age. For every LOTR fan, I recommend it without hesitation. 😉 Right now I’m also using it quite often while rereading LOTR.

Books were made for reading

For now – I’ve just finished rereading The Hobbit, and not long ago I started The Lord of the Rings again. I’m really curious how this journey will feel now, after so many years since my last reading and after about 18 rewatches of the movie trilogy (or more – I’ve stopped counting after 15 😉) I believe over the last several years I reached more often to “Silmarillion” or “Atlas” than LOTR. Also, reading LOTR again means new modeling temptations — so expect more forest terrain, more characters… and probably more plastic sprues appearing at my door than planned 😅 Stay tuned!

If you’re a Tolkien, LOTR, or MESBG fan too, stay and follow – I believe you’ll find more things here you might enjoy!

To wrap things up, here’s a short video of the whole book collection:

*November EDIT: While updating this post, I am happily in possession of a “Matched Play” supplement. Not only that - my collection recently expanded with the new “The War of the Rohirrim” expansion. I must admit, I’m not a big fan of the latest movie, but I do like the look of new miniatures based on it (honestly I have no idea when I’ll find time to paint them).

Yet to be honest, I’m a bit disappointed with this new supplement. I like how the new scenarios tell a coherent story, but from a gameplay perspective, I have a feeling that some of them might be a bit less exciting to play, unbalanced, or too luck based… Still, a few look promising. Time (and games) will tell – I hope I’m wrong. I’m really happy that the hobby and crafting sections is back in the books, but once again, I was hoping for a bit more 😉

That’s all for today – thanks for reading and see you next time 😉