Since the upcoming expansion game for War of the Ring consists of two parts, many wonder how it will add to the main game as well as being a game on its own, In this article I will be taking a closer look at the expansion for the main game that comes with the Battles of the Third Age.

The Battles of the Third Age expansion pack will add to your main game in many ways. First there are three Factions: these are elements from the game that previously only were represented in the Event cards. Secondly, there are four new characters. Thirdly, there are the new siege engine units to be used in the siege battles. Finally, there are new Event cards. Let us begin by looking at the new Factions:

The Factions
As showed earlier in different previews the Factions are the Corsairs of Umbar, the Hillmen of Dunland and the Ents of Fangorn. Instead of being tied to the old card version of these Factions the designers have now given them miniatures and new rules which allow the players to use them in more ways than they could before. This introduces new strategies available to and decisions to be made by the players. The Corsairs of Umbar are now no longer only able to launch a surprise attack on the coast of Gondor; they can now send large armies anywhere along the western coastline of Middle Earth. They are also no longer a one shot effect; if the first assault on Dol Amroth fails the Shadow player can bring up reinforcements by the aid of the Black Ships.

The Hillmen of Dunland was originally planned to be the Regular troop type for Isengard while the Uruks were to be the Elites but in the end the Hillmen were removed from the game and the Warg Riders emerged as the Elite while the Uruks had to take the role of Regulars. Now the Hillmen are back and they have taken their rightful place at the bottom of the Isengard hierarchy. They are not even as sturdy as a Regular but they have other useful abilities such as allowing the Shadow player to muster them directly into a Shadow army in an Isengard or Rohan Region.

Finally the Ents have been given miniatures of their own and now you can see the Nameless Wood grow across the game board from Fangorn. The Ents are not army units as those we are used to but work in a completely new way; one such difference is that the Shadow armies are unable to attack them. The most interesting fact about the new Ents is that now you, the Free Peoples player, are in control of where they will launch their fury at the armies of the Shadow.

The Characters
Did you miss any Character from the Lord of the Rings in the main game? Well now chances are that you don't, since with the expansion we get Lady Galadriel, the Balrog, Sméagol and a new version of the Witch King. The reasons behind why these characters where chosen and not others are many but let me shed some light on what these new additions to the game do and why they where chosen.

First we have the Balrog, a demon of the ancient world, who already is in the game but only in the form of an Event card that unless you draw it very early in the game is only ever used to attack Lorien. The Fellowship's passage through the Dwarven mines of Moria is many readers' favorite part of the story and now the Shadow player can decide to bring in the Balrog before the Fellowship has crossed the Misty Mountains and thereby forcing the Free Peoples player to make a difficult decision, is the route though Moria worth the risk the Balrog presents? Naturally there are other advantages, and disadvantages, with bringing the Balrog into the game; this ensures that an early Balrog isn't always the best option for the Shadow.

With the Balrog so close by and since its popularity as a Healing spot often ensured that the Shadow attacked there quickly the Elves of Lorien also needed a boost. This comes in the form of Galadriel, the Lady of Light. In the main game the most used strategy for Gandalf the Grey was to sacrifice him to the first 2 or 3 Hunt tile drawn and then quickly bring him back as Gandalf the White for that important extra Action die. Now this strategy can be cast aside since the Action die can be obtained in a different way and Gandalf can provide his help for Frodo a bit longer. But Galadriel has more to offer than just an extra Action die; she makes the Stronghold of Lorien a tougher nut to crack and she can aid the Fellowship as they try to remain unseen by the Eye of Sauron.

Then we have Sméagol. But he is already in the game, you say! You are correct in a way, but also incorrect. Sméagol, Tamed Wretch, represents the chance that the Fellowship had caught him following them earlier than Frodo and Sam did in the book. What would have happened if Strider or Gandalf had still been around when Sméagol was tamed? Had they been able to make better use of him as Guide than Frodo and Sam did? Now we can find out. The beauty of this new character is that he does in no way replace the Gollum we already know (and love?). His entrance into the game is also not fixed and nothing the players do influences this very much. Nor is he automatically a better choice. Remember that when Frodo "betrayed" him to the Rangers of Ithilien the "good" that was left in Sméagol vanished for good? It is the same way in the game, use him as Guide but if you betray him he will come back and haunt you as you approach the Crack of Doom.

Finally we have the Witch-King in his new incarnation. Why a new Witch-King you might ask? Well, much of the fun in War of the Ring comes from the many difficult decisions the players have to do so why not add one more? Now you can find out what could have happened if Sauron had used his chief lieutenant to continue to Hunt for the Ring instead of leading the armies of Mordor. Either way you are stuck with the choice of Witch-King you make, there is no switching between the two. Then why would you use the new version? First he will give the Shadow more Hunt Re-rolls than you ever thought possible, secondly he can still provide his superior Leadership on the fields of battle and thirdly he doesn't activate all the Free Peoples nations as the Black Captain does.

The Siege Engines
In the main game the siege battles and the Hunt for the Ring was where the game was decided. Now the siege battles can be even more brutal. The Shadow will have the ability to build Siege Towers to aid in the assault and the Free Peoples can build Trebuchets to make their defences stronger. This will not affect the mechanic of how the Sieges are fought but, as with almost everything else in the expansion, add more options and choices for the players. In the end making the game even more intriguing.

The Cards
With these new Factions, Characters and Siege Engines come new versions of some of the old Event Cards that where tied to them and a total of eight new cards (four for each side) that are tied to the new units and rules. To whet your appetite, here are the titles of the Free Peoples cards: Wind from the West, Three Rings for the Elven-Kings, Rangers of the North, and Threat to the Fiefs of the South, and for the Shadow: The Gates are Closed, Captain of Despair, Deep Trenches and Great Engines, and Shadow of Dol Guldur. Now, as to what they actually do, you will have to use your imagination ... at least until the game comes out!

Written by Kristofer Bengtsson

Stay tuned for future articles where Kristoffer will reveal even more!