An Unexpected Podcast

The glorious Battle for Osgiliath boxed set has arrived, and with it a brand new rulebook. Has anything changed? Surprisingly, yes! Join us as we review the new boxed set and take a look at some of the subtle changes to the rules with the newest iteration of the Strategy Battle Game.

Happy Thanksgiving to all our listeners! In this episode, we talk through the bespoke scenarios in the forthcoming Shadow in the East event in Rhode Island. In addition to our standard fare of list reviews and banter, the crew also take some time to share what we are thankful for in the world of SBG during this holiday season. So strap in and join us!

With several of the Ardacon SBG International System Opens on the books, the crew take a look at the winning lists from the USA, Italy, Germany, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland.

Rainier, Devin and Rob discuss their experiences at the Battle of Lancaster Fields tournament as part of the Fall In! Convention. How do the crew fare and why is it Faramir's fault? Tune in! Then the crew do a bit of a list building workshop, going through the various elements they consider when build competitive lists... including a 'live' list build by Evan.

Join us for a short-ish discussion on recent events past and future while we sit in the eye of the hurricane between a flurry of tournaments! 

Rings of Power season one has come and gone! Join the crew for a spoilerific discussion of the season Finale followed by a group brainstorm of how to best represent the characters and armies from the show on the tabletop using current SBG profiles!

Henry joins the crew once again as we unpack the winning lists of the recent Australian Masters event, and Mik gives us an overview of his experience at the London GT.

Continuing our 'around the world' series of diagnosing the global SBG meta, the group is joined by special guest and friend of the podcast Henry Kerr for a fascinating discussion on the state of the game in Australia!

As the long shadow of Evil continues to blanket the land, the crew explore ways Good armies can start to fight back in an unfriendly meta. Join us as we discuss ways players can leverage Good armies’ strengths to taste competitive success. And most important of all, this episode features the much anticipated and very welcome return of Rainier!

On this episode, we are joined by a very special guest, and great friend of the podcast, James 'Ardacon' Clark to discuss our take on the UK meta, backed up by some great analytics from the world's largest SBG event!  In addition, Mik has his list savaged by the crowd, and we engage in some fun (spoilery) discussion of Rings of Power!

The NOVA Open has come and gone, and over 80 players from around North America fought for the title of Champion and a ticket to the Ardacon Masters Invitational. With the dust settled, we take a look at what lists showed up, which ones did well and what this all suggests about the state of the SBG Meta!

Our Ardacon coverage comes to a close with part four of our series, wrapping up with Matt and Evan's storied recounting of their glories in battle. Ish.  On this episode, Evan finally learns how bow limit works, and Matt injures his back carrying the team. Join us!

With the Masters and Doubles done and dusted, the Unexpected crew finally tackle the Ardacon World Team Championship. On this episode Mik and Rob give a rundown of their games while Evan dutifully heckles.

Wherein Gulavhar terrorizes the Masters, Elrond is lured to his death by a chicken, and Mik's rise back to glory doesn't last Forlong.

Here we go over our favorite 3 profiles. SHOW MORE

Here we review the long awaited easterling supplement!

Here we talk about the Army of Dunland in Middle Earth SBG