NEHL May 2026 Round-Up
Gondor in 60 Seconds - The More Draws the Merrier
600 points - 3 Games
1st: Jermaine Jackson - Breaking of the Fellowship
2nd: Tom Marsh - Garrison of Dale
3rd: Adam Bird Grand Army of the South
Best Painted: Jamie Ailano - Moria
Most Sporting: Dan Scott - The Grey Company
The Fellowship of Steel have a lot to celebrate after this event, and North East players have some new bruises to tend. Jermaine Johnson led the rankings with a Breaking of the Fellowship army that is as lean as it gets. Though the 8 Fellowship members can be taken at this points level, Jermaine has (clearly quite rightly) chosen to drop Gimli and the non-ring-bearing hobbits to make sure he has the spear supports he needed.
Though renowned for his Far Harad (As seen on There and Back Again), Tom Marsh proved his flexibility in tactics by leading Garrison of Dale to 2nd place. Although the list has clear ranged power, Tom’s list balances knights, bowmen and shieldmen. For a force with limited mobility, Destroy the Supplies and Seize the Prizes are difficult to gain an advantage in; Lords of Battle surely conjured a sign of relief going into round 3.
Adam Bird takes 3rd place, and he’s mastering his Corsair-heavy Grand Army of the South. The build certainly packs a punch with 10 corsair crossbows and a glass-cannon battleline anchored around 2 half trolls with two-handed weapons and a pair of Abrakhan Guard. It’s a safe bet that Adam’s games were bloody on both sides.
For Hobby prizes, Jamie Ailano took the prize for best painted after winning the tiebreaker with Martyn King. Jamie’s Moria was chock full of 46 models and one of those was a cave drake, so he deserves credit for his high painting standard that’s consistent across so many - and varied - models. As for most sporting, Dan Scott took the most important award with a hero-heavy Grey Company army. I’d also give my most sporting vote to anyone who chooses Gimli before Legolas!
Peterbowl
200 points (no named heroes) - 3 Games
1st: Phil White - Assault Upon Helms Deep
2nd: Stephen Davison - Minas Morgul
3rd: Jamie Ailano - Wolf Pack of Angmar
Most Sporting: Rob Lindsey - Assault Upon Helms Deep
Low-point carnage continues, and some familiar phantoms stalk the leaderboard. Wolf Pack of Angmar achieves first place in April’s Peterbowl, and Jamie Ailano used the list to catapult him to 3rd place in the latest event. The Wild Warg Chieftain is a scary prospect, and backing him up with three werewolves only makes them more difficult to deal with.
Minas Morgul saw its podium debut at Peterbowl under the stewardship of Stephen Davison. Stephen opted for a Ringwraith and introduced magic to a tournament scene that had been caster-free until now. With a spectre backing him up, these tricks can cause mayhem for low model count armies.
And at the top of the rankings, Phil White took first place with Assault Upon Helm’s Deep. Phil did not concede a single VP to his opponents during the tournament with a familiar berserker-heavy build. In fact, Phil’s victory means that Assault on Helm’s Deep has now won 3 of the 5 Peterbowl events this year. They’re the firm favourite of the format at this point in the year.
Proving that Isengard lists aren’t always oppressive, Rob Lindsey was awarded the prize for Most Sporting Player with his Muster of Isengard list.
The Great North Rhûn
704 points - 3 Games
1st: Jack Zalokoski - Host of the Witch King
2nd: Andrew Lister - Arnor
3rd: Allan Cameron - Expedition to the East
Best Painted: Andrew Lister - Arnor
Most Sporting: Paul Harte - Minas Morgul
The North East’s first GBHL event returned in May at Northern Alliance Games. Unlike the other GBHL tournament in the region this month, it was a slew of North East-based players who brought home the glory.
Topping the leaderboards, Jack Zalokoski fended off all comers with his Host of the Witch King. It’s a list feared by many (or maybe just the Barrow-Wights), but Jack proved that a balanced build can do wonders. He faced 3 lists that presented different challenges: Realms of Men with Siege Engines; Thorin’s Company’s hero-heavy deathball; and a solid but tricksy force from the Pits of Dol Guldur. Jack opted for Aldrac as a heavy hitter, the Barrow Wight to nullify heroes, and a Captain to get them into the action quickly. With all that covered, the Witch King has a lot of free rein to pick his targets!
Showing himself to be a consistent top-table contender, Andrew Lister scored himself his second 2nd podium place in 2 months. This time, Lister swapped out the Might-heavy Ride Out for the slower but reliable Arnor battleline. The change of pace paid off, with Andrew winning all three games by a significant margin (even though on paper Ride Out seems better suited to the Great North Rhûn and Breakthrough scenarios). He even brought Argadir along for some extra hitting power; so many this hero has a place despite his detractors…
Rounding out the top three was a choice no one saw coming (personally, I’ve never seen this list at a tournament before!). Allan Cameron took 3rd place with Expedition to the East. This Legacy-ed list showed there’s still life in these much-ignored profiles (Murin, Drar and Cirion can all only be taken in this list) by winning all 3 games. With in impressive 43 models on the board at D6 and D7, it seemed difficult to control the board against the Dwarf/ Men alliance.
It’s a familiar face who won best painted, with Andrew Lister taking home the painting bacon for his efforts. And even though his list was perfectly scummy, Paul Harte proved that not all Minas Morgul players delight in torturing their opponents, and he took home Most Sporting Player for his efforts.
At the end of our fifth NEHL month, we're wracking up quite a tally of trophies, wins, armies, and rankings. To make all of that information more visible, you can now see Army Statistics for the NEHL in the menu on the left. Have a look to see how your favourite armies are doing in the rankings, and see if you can push the needle in the right direction at an upcoming event...