I remember that Gandalf mentionen Moria had access to the 'Underdeeps', the bowels of Middle-Earth, because the dwarves mined too deep and were too greedy for mithril. This way the Balrog was released. Possibly other creatures, like the watcher, lurked there too. This leaves the possibilities for the strangest creature that hid there after Morgoth's defeat to enter play on the side of Goblins. We might check up on the Sil after all. Take Werewolfes for example. Either as a small horde or better yet as a hero. This kindof makes the Balrog suited best for Goblins. Since Saruman had access to the Grey Mountains as well, even Isengard could profit unitwise from a creative brainstorming. 
Of course, either we base new creatures on existing ones, or this will be a motivating force for our brilliant modelers. Or both. *wink*
I wouldn't think actual units, but those kinds of goodies could make for some really crazy summon powers...especially to replace the bland ones like isen's summon wildmen" and crap, and plus, if gobs lost their spider influence, they'd neeed a few new powers as well.
Now...a lot of this stuff is fresh in my mind since i actually just finished the hobbit last night. There was no mention of any kind of half-troll ever...but there was an interesting unit mentioned right before bilbo left gollum's cave. There was a mention to a great spear-weilding goblin of very large size, and they were referred to as the Orcs of the Mountain, which i would gather would probably be around the same size, if not differentially proportioned, than half-trolls. It said that most goblins were very lightly armored, exceot for those that were either battle-ready or very strong. Goblins weren't always ready for a fight, but when they steeled themselves they were brutal, emaning that their armor upgrades would give them a lot of help.
After the party leaves the caves and meets up with bilbo (who now has the ring) they run into the goblins again, this time fully armed and accompanied by wolves. these wolves are less wargish (as in movie appearance) and look more like real wolves. The goblins could speak the language of the wolves and rode them very efficiantly. In fact, at the Battle of the Five Armies the goblin's primary unit of choice was the warg rider. That's why i think that the rider should be a first teir basic unit that you use throughout the match.
At the battle of the Five Armies 3 basic infantry types were mentioned, other than riders: swordsmen spearmen, and archers. This is the basic 3 that pretty much everybody gets, right? Well, i think the goblins should get the reaper instead of spearmen . An area-effect unit that excelles at killing cavalry and ground control would do wonders for their tactics, not to mention improve base defence massively.
Now, here' where the goblins start getting really unique. The goblins, more than any other faction, have serious trouble with basic infantry. Cavalry aren't a problem due to half-trolls, and archers are easily overcome by the speed of average goblins, but those basic infantry, orcs, uruk-hai, any of those, just cleave through them. The answer to this problem could be solved in several ways, even just buffing their archers, but i have a comepletely different idea. The idea is to incorporate a short-ranged high-damage unit called the assasin. assasins chuck knives. That's pretty much all there is to them. Stealth is..ehh, undecided on my part. I like the idea of their attacks stealing life, though, since their short-ranged and couldn't overly be abused.
The Elite infantry of the goblins includes mountain orcs?, but another addition could be a unit called the goblin mercenary. Goblin Mercenaries are experts at all forms of combat. They weild dual swords and can switch for longbows. Goblin emrcenaries have incredible range and do lots of damage when upclose, but like most goblin infantry they have relatively low health. their secret is their ability to infultrate undetected and destroy structures. Goblin Mercs can stealth while moving, climb over an enemies' walls, and set explosive mines. Once you realise there's a team of mercs in your base you have to act, before they go trigger-happy. Mercs can effectively destroy outposts, but heavier base defences can slaughter them. This is a Starcraft moment, when you keep getting spammed with nukes. If they keep on attacking from behind, you have to be ready for them.
As for siege, the cave troll is a fine unit, perhaps needing a little armor for a cool effect. The mountain giant can stay as well, just with a massive revision.
Sorry for writing a book, but you asked for suggestions.
Edited by Garrison Nomad, 18 June 2007 - 04:02 PM.
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