There and Back Again - A Hobbit’s Podcast

This week we catch up on all things podcast, going through community comments, looking at 2025 goals and what we want to achieve in 2026. At the end we announce our teams for the year in a unique and funny way!

Its our first episode of 2026 and we have wanted to discuss armies that you shouldnt take to events for a while - especially as Adam keeps calling us out for it! The intent was to take a fun look at it and not be a big moan...which I think we achieved!

We also discuss Richs stats for the year, how the guys got on at the GBHL Finale event and epic moments in MESBG from us and the community!

Adam is also a content creator.

Birdies...

Festive greetings everyone!

This week we are doing a special Christmas episode looking at lotr memes. The links for them are here:

⁠Council of Elrond but it's a musical⁠⁠The Fellowship of the Vuvuzela⁠⁠Lord of the Rings - Holiday Edition⁠

Lord of the Rings - Holiday Edition

This week we are joined by Tom and Dan, our teams experts in using siege weapons. They help us go through the rules and explain how to deploy, shoot, and the tactics they use when playing them.

Our Patreon subscribers chose an army for Dan to buy, build, paint and take to a tournament. He's finally finished it and taken it to two tournaments.

Join us in this episode as we explore further how army performed at the two tournaments as well as discussing how Dan found them generally as an army.

If you want to get involved in more stuff like this, or support us directly, join our Patreon!

https://linktr.ee/ahobbitspodcast

A well-known individual once stated, "Never give up," and we took that to heart. One of us has finally won a tournament through hussle, loyalty, and respect, but who could it be? Join us in today’s episode as we discuss three recent tournaments we attended. That notable person is John Cena. You can't see us, our time is now! 

https://linktr.ee/ahobbitspodcast

Join us for part 3 of our epic run down of MESBG Special Rules.

Also hear about our plans for our first tournament in march 2026

https://linktr.ee/ahobbitspodcast

Part 2 of our Special Rules discussion.

https://linktr.ee/ahobbitspodcast

This week we go through all the Special Rules (similar to how we did spells in S2) to understand what they do, what units have them and tactics we use

This week we compare Strength values of profiles, weapons, spells, seige weapons and impact hits to see what stands out. THe key question to think is...what would you rather be punched by?

We couldnt convince Loz's wife to be our quiz master so went for Loz's brother instead. Rick is an excellent quizmaster and we have a lot of fun answering the quiz questions our community sent in.

https://linktr.ee/ahobbitspodcast

This week’s episode is a short and sweet update from Dan. The poll on which army patrons wanted to see Dan build has ended and there is a clear winner… Listen along to find out!

https://linktr.ee/ahobbitspodcast

This week we are joined by two experts in the Three Trolls to help us go through an army with potential, that hasnt been doing that well recently. Can Jonny (the one with the strong Barnsley accent) and Jermaine (the one with the strong Leeds accent) convince anyone to play this army?!?

This week we have Harry Parkhill from Entmoot podcast as a special guest. Join us as we go through  the actors in the LOTR films, discussing how they got their iconic roles, how much they got paid, what films they were in before and after the trilogy and what other actors were considered for these roles. We really enjoyed researching this one and Harry was a perfect addition so we hope you enjoy it too!

https://linktr.ee/ahobbitspodcast

This weeks email email goes through Loz vs Thorin - keep these emails coming in!

We are joined this week by the number 1 player on Longshanks for Men of the West - Ric Calladine. Ric shares his experience will the list and offers advice on list building and strategies to use with this army. As always with our deep dives, we do a somewhat related quiz - this time on 'men' and 'the west'.

Please let us know if you enjoy these episodes as we have plenty of people in the community who we would like to invite on to share their secrets!

https://linktr.ee/ahobbitspodcast<...

Join us as Rich again reads through some amazing feedback and insights we received from someone regarding the Loz vs Thorin episode

We have discussed some of the best armies to start with in this hobby, this week join Dan and Rich to go over some of the worst. Reasons could include, cost, rarity of models, complexity, competitiveness, or a combination of the above.

https://linktr.ee/ahobbitspodcast

In this mini episode Rich goes through some feedback we had on the episode Rich vs Aragorn - can the debate finally be settled?

This week we take a step back to understand the basic stats and to discuss any characters in the films that have too much, or too little resources!

We haven't done a tournament review for a while and its the first GBHL100 we have been to for a while. Tune in to find out how Loz and Rich got on. We also hope you enjoy Rich's new quiz format.

Linktree for all our links.

Mark joins us this week to go over more new armies that are perfect for beginners!

Join us for Rich talking us through Minas Morgul - should you take the Morgul Blade, Trolls, a second Ringwraith, a drummer etc. As always with the deep dives we have a quiz that's slightly related to the army, can you guess what this one is?

This week we go through Fight Value, starting at Fight 1 and going up to Fight 10 discussing the models in each bracket, what it means to be each Fight Value and offer our opinions on whether we think its correct.

We also have Daniel Scott on who is promoting a charity event he is co-hosting with Rich in Worksop on 6th December 2025. To find out more please see:Minas Merryth.docxThe charity is for :ANDYSMANCLUB - It's Okay To TalkTickets are £25 to d.scott91@outlook.com and include both breakfast and lunch!

We have been there and are now back again for season 3. This week we warm up the season with some stories of whats happened in the off season (legacy, new book, new scenarios) and chat about what our plans are for season 3 (we have lots of plans!)

Apologies for Richs mike - he needs a new one for S3!

Here we bring Season 2 to an end with an episode going through the Hobbit films. Should Thorin be F7 and have free combats, should he have Barrel Riding as an ability? should the Oakenshield be better? where are the dwarf songs? and the Arkenstone?!?! We go through the significant scenes in the trilogy to try and understand what should be in Thorins profile.

This week its just Loz and Rich catching up on the mailbag and discussing upcoming tournaments - can anyone join us???

Over the recent bank holidays Rich has been teaching people some other LOTR board games and this week we have 2 guests to discuss them with.

A massive welcome to Richard Calladine and Olliver Hammond! 

The games we are discussing are the 2000s co-op board game The Lord of the Rings and the 2019 app based game Journeys of Middle Earth

https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/823/the-lord-of-the-rings

https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/269385/the-lord-of-the-rings-journeys-in-middle-earth

This week we complete our epic trilogy of spells. Listen to the end for a quiz and news about the upcoming season 3 of the podcast!

Just like the Hobbit films...we have drawn out 1 episode about spells into an epic trilogy. This week we continue to go through all the spells in the game, adding our thoughts and tactics to help explain which are the best to use.

We have all been playing spell casters over the last couple of months to truly understand how they work, when you should call a Heroic Channel and when to use them.

We thought it was time to return to the rules and go through each spell in order to say who can cast them and explain tactics in using them.

We move way from the game this week (boo), to take a different look at the Return of the King movie (yay!). What Oscars did it win? Why was this significant? What elements of the film led to so many wins? Join us for a nostalgia episode, discussing all the filming elements that made RoTK so amazing.

Join us this week to hear all about the Breaking of the Fellowship army. Dan goes through his tactics and the best way to build the army, for example Boromir vs Gimli - who would you choose? Also hear how Rich got on at Masters...and Loz has a quiz on breakups!

We googled how to be sporting at MESBG events and couldn't find anything so decided to discuss our thoughts on how to play the game in a sporting way.

Do you vote for the player who was most sporting, or most fun? What makes you vote for someone to win most sporting?

Let us know! 

Our first deep dive into the new edition starts with the Eagles. Thinking of playing them? Want to know strategies against them? Fancy an eagles based quiz? Join us as we listen to Loz sharing all his secrets in this weeks episode.

Adam Bird joins us to discuss the doubles event held last weekend.

Adam has great knowledge of all things MESBG and if you want to find out more please check out his Youtube at: https://www.youtube.com/@birdiesworld5755. 

This week Rich talks us through the classic military book The Art of War by Sun Tzu and tries to apply some of the lessons from this 2500 year old book into the game we all love.

This week we quickly discuss our doubles lists for an upcoming tournament  in Sheffield and then Loz goes through his epic quiz from the GP - get a pen ready!

There are still places available at Honour that Alliegence, if you wish to attend on the 23rd March 2025 please follow this link https://www.the-outpost.co.uk/product/ticket-honour-that-allegiance-2025-eve-22-03-2025/

This week Rich is back from Australia to hear how Loz and Dan did at the GP - a tournament with over 120 attendees

We talk about what armies we think are the best to start. Whether you are a new player or you are looking to branch out into a brand new army.

Will Champion joins us again to talk about the 6 scenarios, which are the best and worst for competitions and Will offers some tactics to use to improve your game play.  

Will Champion joins us this week to discuss the GBHL

This week we talk about the changes for Monsters, their brutal power attacks and how to use them.

Does movie Aragorn deserve fight 7? We break down each fight he has throughout the trilogy. Listen to find out!

Join us as we discuss all the heroic actions a Hero can take, how these have changed in the new edition and whether or not we think they are going to be used more or less often.

In this week episode we discuss our plans and goals for 2025.

In the last episode of 2024, the guys discuss the turn order for the new edition, explain the key differences and what armies they are looking forward to playing in the new year. 

Today we discuss the last ever tournament Rich went to for the old edition. 250 points and 5 games. Tom and Lee join us to discuss the event (spoiler - one of us wins it!)

Join our love letter to the old edition where we talk about favorite memories and the things we will miss. We are all excited for the new edition, but loved the old one so wanted to remember and give a shout out to the people and places that have helped us grow. Dan does an excelled quiz at the end!

A review of the last GBHL the Fellowship of Steel attend in the old edition. Heroes of the West is a 6 person team event, join us to find out how our team did.

Join us as we look back over the last year of gaming. We discuss our favourite armies, games and moments and Rich takes us through some of his stats.

A brief introduction to our newly rebranded podcast (following the huge success of the Paladan podcast in early 2024). In this episode The Paladan, Rich and Loz discuss the dreams for the podcast, what we will talk about in future episodes, and we even managed to have a mini-quiz. Tune in to find out just how little these 3 know about MESBG.

This episode sees Dan, Loz and Rich exploring list building, strategy and how to (potentially) successfully run The Depths of Moria legendary legion.

An episode where Loz and I caught up with the legendary Harry Parkhill of Entmoot fame. Harry shares his hobbying history, the details of his latest tournament and some tips for new starters. He also goes head to head with the me (the Paladan) in a quiz organised by our resident quizmaster Rich.

An episode all about proxies. My guest, Jon and I talk about all things proxies. Except long philosophical debates about the morality of it (just kidding).

A guest episode with Loz and Rich, who share what they’ve been up to in the hobby recently as well as answering some of the FAQs new players have. We end with a 10 question quiz which may become a regular part of my podcast!

General life and Paladan MESBG updates, a discussion around the recent Warhammer Community post featuring Arnor Knights and some top tips (sent in by Loz AKA The Morgul Babe)

A post GBHL 80 doubles tournament episode featuring the TO Natalie and my doubles partner Jack.

After attending a tournament at Sanctuary near Nottingham, listen to the reflections of some of my fellow teammates from Fellowship of Steel and get to know two more members of our Sheffield based team.

My first interview with a real person! Jonny from our GBHL team talks about all things MESBG. You’ll also get a sneak peak of my and Jonny’s list for our upcoming tournaments.

A good half hour ramble about how I paint and my little-to-no experience at it. I’m surprised it’s even coherent! Even if you just listen to catch me out.. check it out.

This episode focuses mainly on the things I wish I knew earlier on in my time playing MESBG. Mainly game prep & list building with a bit about playing the game too.

Welcome to my podcast! In this intro episode I talk a little bit about myself and share my top tips for new or prospective MESBG players.