Fog of War, Part 7: Gondor

FOG OF WAR

Part 7: Gondor

Few factions in the game are so vast as the Kingdom of Gondor. Between Warriors of Minas Tirith, Osgiliath Veterans, Rangers, Citadel Guards, Fountain Guards, War Machines, a host of Heroes, and a selection of strong allies from the Fiefdoms, it is the second most diverse army in the game with a great number of possible army lists to choose from. For this part of the series, I am joined by a player who won the Kingdoms of Men Faction category at Ardacon in 2017 and ended up in 3rd place, undefeated, at the 2018 World Championships. A gentleman and a Captain of Gondor like none other, David Clubley. 

David: The Kingdom of Gondor and its iconic city, Minas Tirith, has long been a favourite army of mine and many others. However, with the previous ruleset meta they were long considered underwhelming and so often overlooked. But now as our game enters a new era, with new rules and new profiles Minas Tirith is ready to regain its former glory! And here is how you do it. 

- The “Big” Three

In this new edition of the game big heroes have been given the time to shine and Gondor has 3 to pick from. Of course, ideally you would want all of them but that will cost you a lot of points.

1. Aragorn, King Elessar is the only Hero of Legend in the list and has everything you could want in a profile including 1 free might per turn and a sword that allows him to wound on 3s! Make sure you give him an armoured horse for extra effect.

2. Gandalf the White is arguably the best magic caster in the game and has a great arsenal of Spells to choose from as well as being a decent and tough fighter. Make sure to mount him on his trusty steed Shadowfax for maximum impact.

3. Boromir, Captain of the White Tower is definitely my favourite and the one I will be trying out the most. Why I hear you ask? The Banner of Minas Tirith! Boromir with this banner is going to make your Minas Tirith Warriors some of the best troops in the game (more on that below). The other Wargear item I would give Boromir is a shield, as YES he can carry it and the banner for no effect and be defence 7 😉 

I would avoid the temptation to mount Boromir on the horse because he is there to buff your troops primarily and if he has a horse that horse will be the public enemy number one to your opponent (and be very unlikely to survive before combat).

Mik: Having played Gondor as my primary faction for more than a decade I always felt like they were one of the best armies in the game – or at least if not, they had the tools to be if the correct meta existed on the tournament they would be attending. To me their strength always came in their numbers of high Defence (7) troops that Heroes such as Beregond and Damrod allowed you to bring. This changed in the new rules, as the two little stars became Minor Heroes, but I still feel that Gondor has the options to be built in a very elite or a very horde-style and both ways of playing the game work. 

I’ve always used the Guards of the Fountain Court as the primary Warrior choice, supported by Saruman, the White, as the combination of the high Defence of the Guards and the high utility of Saruman (especially his Sorcerous Blast) allowed us to be a very safe and controlling faction. With Magic being generally nerfed, I am actually looking forward to again playing a Gondor force that I used at the start of my competitive career – a horde led by Faramir. 

David’s Lists:

So what has Minas Tirith gained that has made me so excited to play them? Well for starters their army bonus of +1 Courage is pretty nifty and gives your Warriors about an 18% increase in the likelihood of passing their courage checks. Then the average Warrior of Minas Tirith themselves, long considered a bit naff, has gained the Shieldwall special rule making them Defence 7 (making them one of only two non-dwarven warrior profiles to get defence 7, the other being Guard of the Fountain Court).

As you can see if you combine this army bonus, Shieldwall and the Banner of Minas Tirith you can make a 12 inch area of Fight 4, Defence 7, Courage 4 with banner re-rolls to boot. Try bringing that down you filthy orcs!

So let’s look at some sample lists for some standard points match sizes…

List 1: 500 Points

Warband 1:

Faramir, Captain of Gondor (Heavy Armour, Shield, Lance, Horse)

6 Osgiliath Veterans (Shields)

5 Knights of Minas Tirith (Shields)

Warband 2:

Madril

12 Warriors of Minas Tirith (12 Shields, 6 Spears, 1 Banner)

Warband 3:

Damrod

6 Rangers of Gondor (Spears)

Total: 32 Models, 7 Might, Cavalry and 8 Bows. 

This army has the tactical flexibility to take on all comers and if they have a big hero running around then firstly use your bows to take them off their horse. Then use Faramir to hold them up with his Heroic Defence stalling them in their tracks or if you can out Heroic Strike them and use Faramir with a lance to kill them.

List 2: 750 Points

Warband 1:

Boromir, Captain of the White Tower (Banner of Minas Tirith, Shield)

15 Warriors of Minas Tirith (15 Shields, 8 Spears)

Warband 2:

Faramir, Captain of Gondor (Heavy Armour, Shield, Lance, Horse)

15 Warriors of Minas Tirith (15 Shields, 8 Spears)

Warband 3:

Madril

7 Rangers of Gondor (Spears)

5 Knights of Minas Tirith

Total: 45 Models, 12 Might, Cavalry and 8 Bows. 

This army again has great tactical flexibility and a huge pool of Might to use. Both Boromir and Faramir are capable of taking on big threats whilst your super buffed warriors grind the enemy down.

Mik’s Lists:

List 3: 600 Points of Minas Tirith

Warband 1:

Denethor, Steward of Gondor

14 Guards of the Fountain Court with Shields

Warband 2:

Faramir, Captain of Gondor with a Bow 

11 Rangers of Gondor with Spears

3 Rangers of Gondor

Warband 3:

Beregond, Guard of the Citadel on a Horse

3 Knights of Minas Tirith with Shields

2 Warrior of Minas Tirith with Shield

1 Warrior of Minas Tirith with Shield and Spear

Warband 4:

Damrod, Ranger of Ithilien

2 Warriors of Minas Tirith with Shields and Spears

3 Warriors of Minas Tirith with Shields

1 Warrior of Minas Tirith with a Shield, Spear and a Banner

Total: 600 Points, 44 models, 17 Bows

For this army I opted for a horde with a lot of shooting (up to 5 Heroic Accuracies!), a lot of Defence 7, some level of cavalry support and a very bad General. Sadly in Contest of Champions the force will probably not do very well, as Denethor's Special Rule forces him to be our Army Leader, but in all other scenarios the numbers, bows and 5 Might spread across the army’s 4 Warbands should put fear into a lot of our opponents. Whilst lacking the killing power of Boromir, the force is better suited to scenarios requiring a spread of models across the entire battlefield.

This list is inspired by the 2017 Grand Tournament winning list by Dave Nolan, which can be found here:
https://www.warhammer-community.com/2017/03/23/armies-of-the-hobbit-grand-tournament-winner/

Dave at the time used staggering 46 models in 600 points at that tournament to overwhelm his opponents, whose armies would have most often only had 30-35 models in total. Although it looks weak with just Faramir to do the heroic fighting, its sheer numbers case trouble for a lot of enemies. 

List 4: 800 Points of the Fiefdoms

Warband 1:

Prince Imrahil of Dol Amroth on an Armoured Horse with Lance

9 Knights of Dol Amroth

9 Men-at-Arms of Dol Amroth

Warband 2:

Duinhir

15 Blackroot Vale Archers with Spears

Warband 3:

Forlong, the Fat on a Horse

7 Knights of Dol Amroth

7 Men-At-Arms of Dol Amroth 

1 Man-at-Arms of Dol Amroth with a Banner

TOTAL: 798 Points, 51 Models, 16 Bows, 8 Might

This points level seems perfect for a Fiefdoms list to reach its full potential. Whereas 500 or 600 will be missing Imrahil or the numbers, at 800 points this list is something I would worry about facing. Imrahil provides a very large Banner effect, essentially allowing the Knights in his Warband to roll 3 dice to win combat when supported by 1 pike, or 4 dice to win combat when supported by 2 pikes. Same happens to Forlong’s Warband and the Banner in it will more often than not be there as a Victory Points attribute rather than a useful re-roll. 

Blackroot Vale Archers really caught my eye. In the previous edition of the rules, they were quite underwhelming, but in this edition, their re-roll to wound when under Heroic Shoot is interesting. Imagine that Duinhir stands in the middle of 15 Blackroot Vale Archers and none of them have moved. He calls a Heroic Shoot. You have 15 shots that hit on 3+ and thanks to their Special Rule they re-roll 1s to hit, leading to an average of 11.66 hits (10 hits normally plus re-rolling the 1s). If your targets are all Defence 4 or lower, that leads to 6.5 kills (3.9 normally plus all the re-rolls, plus Duinhir on top of that. Forces of Harad or Wood Elves will tremble. 

In fact, if there’s a 2nd rank hero with D6 and you're willing to use both Accuracy with Duinhir and Heroic Shoot with another hero, you are going to be causing about 2-3 wounds on them on average. I think a version of this may just become my next army project!

ALLIES

David: The White City does not stand alone in its hour of need, many valorous allies rallied to their defence and you should definitely take advantage of them! The best options to take, Rohan and The Fiefdoms, are also Historical Allies with each other too so you can keep all 3 army bonuses. Let me give you a great example of how to benefit from this…

List 5: 750 Points

Warband 1:

Boromir, Captain of the White Tower (Banner of Minas Tirith, Shield)

15 Warriors of Minas Tirith (15 Shields)

Warband 2:

Forlong the Fat (Horse)

15 Axemen of Lossanarch

Warband 3:

Theoden (Heavy Armour, Shield, Armoured Horse)

10 Rohan Royal Guard (5 Throwing Spears)

Total: 43 Models, 12 Might, 12 Cavalry

So why does this army work so well? The answer is SYNERGY! 

Firstly lets look at the battle line of Minas Tirith Warriors backed by Axemen of Lossanarch you will be forming. With Shieldwall every front ranker apart from the end two will be Defence 7, a solid start. Then with Boromir in the centre of this line your Warriors of Minas Tirith will be F4 BUT the Axemen will be Fight FIVE!!! As the Banner of Minas Tirith affects these guys too. But wait, it gets better, as Forlong carries a War Horn, your Warriors of Minas Tirith will be at an insane Courage 5 (because they still get the +1 for their army bonus). A nice little cherry on the cake is that those Axemen will be re-rolling 1’s to wound within 6 inches of Forlong, nothing to shout about but still helpful.

Now lets look at Forlong himself, with a beastly Fight 5, Strength 5 and a horse & Warspear use Forlong and his 3 Might points to tear the enemy to shreds.

And lastly (but by no means least) the Courage 6 Theoden will be causing devastation on the charge with his Body Guard Royal Guard as they will ALL be Fight 5 and Theoden will be Strength 5 and his Royal Guard will be Strength 4. Woe betide any enemy who is on the receiving end of that cavalry charge.

Well that is all the advice I have for you at the moment, as always though the best way to learn and get better is to get out there and play games. Have fun defending the White City 🙂

Mik: The great thing about Minas Tirith to me is that they don’t need allies. They have all the tools. They can get Dol Amroth into the mix and Rohan, as stated above by David, but they can also go it all by themselves. If I were to ally, I would look into something that the army itself is not very good at. Minas Tirith’s Army Bonus of +1 Courage is in my opinion mediocre, so I’m not bothered about losing it. Instead, I wonder about such things as the Eagles of the Misty Mountains. 

List 6: 800 Points:

Warband 1:

Gwaihir

2 Great Eagle

Warband 2:

Madril, Captain of Ithilien

5 Warriors of MT with Shields

5 Warriors of MT with Shields and Spears

1 Warrior of MT with Shield, Spear and Banner

Warband 3:

Cirion, Lieutenant of Amon Barad

6 Warriors of MT with Shields

5 Warriors of MT with Shields and Spears

Warband 4:

Beregond

2 Warriors of MT with Shields

2 Warriors of MT with Shields and Spears

Warband 5:

Damrod

2 Warriors of MT with Shields

2 Warriors of MT with Shields and Spears

Total: 795 Points, 37 models, 4 Monsters, 30+ model Shield Wall.

Perhaps Gwaihir and 2 Eagles are too many. But with Defence 7 across the board, perhaps Gwaihir and 2 Eagles are exactly what the army needs to cut through everything it comes up against. 

Summary

As you can see from the above, we've created 6 lists, all of which are quite significantly different to each other. Whereas David's forces focused on the killing power of the likes of Boromir, Faramir, Theoden and others, my armies win by swarming and rely less on single characters. It’s hard to say right now which is better, or if perhaps something in the middle is the best – only time will tell how the metagame shapes. I hope however that this article has given you some ideas for fighting with Gondorians and inspired you to perhaps start a new army. 

Good Luck!

BlackMist & David

Fog of War, Part 6: Isengard

FOG OF WAR

Part 6: Isengard

With the introduction of the new edition of the game, Isengard is one of the factions that has had probably some of the biggest changes and got a lot of people excited to try it out again. Today I shall be riding to Isengard to seek counsel from someone who has had more success in the GBHL using Isengard than any other player in the UK. It is with great honour to welcome the next guest on the series, the Captain of the 2017 Team World Champions, Team Wanderers in the Wild, the winner of 6 GBHL tournaments (to date), a Freddo-aficionado and one of the founding writers of the SBG Magazine, Damian O’Byrne. 

Damian: Saruman’s vast armies of Isengard are my favourite Evil force in the Lord of the Rings trilogy and have been one of my go-to armies in the Strategy Battle Game for as long as I have been playing. They’re a powerful and versatile army that look great on the tabletop and to this day I still think they’re one of the best sculpted ranges in the game. They’re also the army with which I’ve had the most competitive success, largely due to what I dubbed the ‘Fererker’ build which, in its simplest terms, is an Isengard army that consists of one third Crossbows and two thirds Berserkers and Feral Uruk-hai. With the exception of one major nerf to Berserkers (more on that later), the forces of Isengard have received some fantastic boosts in the new edition which should help its generals to taste man-flesh like never before!

Isengard has a lot of the basic tools that make for a strong army, they have a wide range of troops and can easily access valuable stats like Fight 4, Strength 4 and Defence 6. They also have good ranged troops in the form of their deadly Crossbows and, more recently, Uruk-hai Bows, making them as deadly from afar as they are up close. These solid troops are backed up by some excellent Heroes; the new and improved Saruman is one of the best Wizards in the game and we now have no less than three 3 Might Heroes with access to Heroic Strike, an attribute I believe will be key if you are to have any hope of bringing down the terrifying mounted Heroes you will likely be facing in this edition. 

Isengard have so much versatility at their disposal that one of the biggest challenges is figuring out exactly which type of army you want to take; the army list encompasses the fast moving scouts that harried the Fellowship, the heavily armoured fighting Uruk-hai that assaulted Helm’s Deep, my elite Fererker builds geared towards competitive play and any number of other combinations that can be made by adding in Orcs, Dunlendings and Wild Men. It’s genuinely tough to attempt to pick the ‘best’ approach but in this article we’ll look at a few builds, Mik will be looking at the Scouts whilst I will be examining the fighting Uruk-hai and trying to figure out if my Fererker build is still viable in this brave new world (spoilers: no). We’ll be politely ignoring the Dunlendings and the Wild Men because, well quite frankly they’re just dreadful…[I found them to be really good conversion material for Axe-wielding Corsair Reavers in the last edition 😉 – Mik]

Mik: To me, the combination of all the captain-level named heroes such as Ugluk, Mauhur, Sharku and ultimately Lurtz are what most appeals to me about this faction. It’s a force that allows you to bring more Might to the table than probably any other ‘standard’ army in the game (not counting such things as All-hero) and the amount of Might is one of the most important factors in winning games, as it allows you to call more Heroic Moves, Marches and Combats than your opponents. The other advantage here is that the Captain-level heroes are able to bring excessive numbers to the table, leading to often outnumbering most opponents, with the exception of the likes of Moria, Shire or Goblin Town, all of whom they will be faster than and stronger in combat against. Combination of high numbers, Strength 4, multiple heroes and the excess Might really makes an Isengard army terrifying. Add to that the army bonus of Woodland Creature and no Courage Tests until 66% casualties and we could have one of the most powerful factions of the Middle-earth. Although I am probably the world’s biggest fan of Saruman, I decided for this article to leave him at home and give him to Damian to try to figure out the best list with him. I am still trying to get used to the idea that Sorcerous Blast will no longer be killing 10-20 models in every game!

Damian’s Army lists:

List 1 – 600 Points of Fighting Uruk Hai

I’m going to start with a fairly generic 600 point fighting Uruk-hai list that new players might want to try, it uses a range of basic troop types (saving the Scouts for Mik) and should perform fairly solidly on the tabletop.

Warband 1

Leader - Lurtz with shield 

4 Uruk-hai Warriors with shields 

2 Uruk-hai Warriors with pikes

2 Uruk-hai Berserkers

Uruk-hai Warrior with banner and shield 

Warg Rider with shield and throwing weapon

Warband 2

Ugluk

3 Uruk-hai Warriors with shields

2 Uruk-hai Warriors with pikes 

3 Uruk-hai Berserkers 

Orc Warrior with spear 

Orc Warrior with spear and shield 

Warg Rider with shield and throwing weapon 

Warband 3

Vrasku 

11 Uruk-hai Warriors with crossbows 

Total: 600 points, 35 models, 9 Might, 13 crossbow shots + 1 bow

This list contains a wide range of the troops that make Isengard strong. In the new edition Lurtz has been given the profile that many Isengard players dreamed of and now surely becomes the default army-leader until Saruman can join the force - +1 Courage, Shoot, Attack, Defence and Wound, an Uruk-hai bow and an incredible special rule for a 30 point increase? Yes please! At these lower point values where you won’t have Saruman, Ugluk’s 'Head Taker' Special Rule will now be invaluable and the two Orc Warriors are brought along as sacrifices for him. Head Taker has received a fantastic boost in the new edition as it is far easier to achieve and it now affects other Heroes, so be sure to move Ugluk first to keep Lurtz in the game! 

In the previous edition, I always favoured the 3 Might of Ugluk and Lurtz over the 3 Attacks of Mauhur and I think he now drops even further out of favour for me due to his lack of Heroic Strike. Vrashku was pretty much the only auto-include Hero in an Isengard list in the previous edition and, despite his lack of Heroic Strike, I think he remains so in the new rules. Firing two crossbow shots on a 3+ is very effective and, crucially, he brings Heroic Accuracy to the table which could be absolutely invaluable in bringing down the horses of Gil-Galad, Elrond, Glorfindel etc. as they come charging towards you. Finally, I have included the Warg Riders and the Banner with scenario objectives in mind. Two of the scenarios now award VPs for having a Banner and the speed of the Warg Riders can be invaluable in scenarios like Reconnoitre, Heirloom of Ages Past, Fog of War, Capture and Control etc.

List 2 – 850 Points of ‘Fererkers’

Next, I’m going to give an example of how my ‘competitive’ Fererker build looks in the new edition. I’ve picked 850 points for this as, after some initial number crunching, this feels like the most favourable points level for this build.

Warband 1

Saruman on horse 

Grima 

11 Berserkers 

Warband 2

Lurtz with shield 

12 Berserkers 

Warband 3

Vrasku 

12 Uruk-hai with crossbows (3 with shields) 

Total: 39 models. 9 Might points, 14 crossbow shots + 1 bow

For those who have never faced the Fererkers on the table it’s easy to say that the numbers and Might are too low for 850 points but I can only promise that this has not been an issue in the past. The army works by making good use of the 14 Crossbow shots to thin the numbers and then hits like an absolute hammer in combat (it’s essentially an army of Captains of Men). However, the weaknesses of the previous edition remain: armies with Blinding Light/Pall of Darkness will negate the impact of the Crossbows and hordes will have a good chance of overwhelming it through sheer weight of numbers.

700 points has always been the point at which I would add Saruman to an Isengard list and that remains so for his buffed profile in the new edition. Saruman now has much improved Spell-casting (and a new Spell!), the Lord of the Istari rule and his Stand Fast! now affects Heroes - He might cost 10 points more but, even with the nerfs to Immobilise and Sorcerous Blast, he’s still an incredibly strong choice in the new edition and he probably remains an auto-include for Isengard at higher point levels.

You’ll note that, despite this being a Fererker list, there is not a single Feral Uruk-hai to be seen; in my opinion, Ferals have been nerfed into oblivion in the new edition, the drop to Defence 4 along with a 1 point increase means that there is simply no reason to ever take them over a Berserker. The Berserker gains +2 courage and +1/+2 defence for only 2 points more, sadly it’s an absolute no-brainer that will forever consign my trusty Ferals to storage case. Goodnight boys, it’s been a blast.

Unfortunately, the buffs and points increases to heroes have actually had a negative impact on this build. In the previous edition I would achieve similar numbers to this list at around the 800 point mark and the loss of models comes from the ‘tax’ you now pay for the points increases on all three Heroes. The real-world impact of this is the loss of 2 Berserkers, 1 Feral and 1 Crossbowman and the loss of 4 models (3 of whom have 2 Attacks). In a small, elite force this is a huge problem and one of the reasons that I don’t think this build will be anywhere near as competitive anymore. As such, there’s a case to be made that Mauhur or Sharku and some extra Warriors might actually be a better choice than Lurtz, despite how great his new profile is. However, the biggest problem with this force in the new edition is that Berserkers are now Defence 5 in combat; I can tell you from long, hard experience that the Berserkers’ Defence 6 was absolutely vital to winning games against Strength 3 Good forces. Defence 6 kept the small, elite army viable whereas Defence 5 makes them far more susceptible to the attacks of those enemy forces that frequently outnumber you. I will certainly give the list at least one try at a competitive event but I fear they simply no longer have the tools to compete.

Mik’s Army Lists 

List 3 - 500 Points Scouting Force:

Warband 1:

Lurtz

14 Uruk-Hai Scouts with Shields

Warband 2:

Mauhur

12 Uruk-Hai Marauders with Shields

Warband 3:

Uruk-Hai Scout Captain

8 Orcs with Spears

Total: 499 Points, 8 Might, 37 Models

This force utilises speed, numbers and Might. Lurtz’s Warband includes 15 models for that all-important Maelstrom of Battle deployment when he can drop all of his friends in the most crucial or the safest place we need them in. Mauhur’s Warband moves 8” allowing them to outrun all of the infantry forces and even cause troubles to Riders of Rohan who wish to move and shoot against us. The last part of the force is a Captain and some Spear wielding Orcs, simply for the sake of giving us the flexibility of the spear support if/when it is needed as well as the Captain with 2 Might points for the Heroic March, so that we don’t have to use up Lurtz’s. 

The obvious weakness here is Defence 4 and 5 across the board and not an excessive number of spears. Elves naturally benefit from that as they will be killing us on 5s, but we will outnumber them. Lurtz can hold his own against most heroes, just like we’ve seen in the films. Normally terrain would pose an issue, as we could get stuck fighting a shield wall with a lower number of attacks, but with the Woodland Creature Special Rule we are able to use forests to our advantage. 

List 4 - 800 Points Scouting Force

Warband 1:

Lurtz

Uruk-Hai Drummer

9 Uruk-Hai Scouts with Shields, including 1 Banner

5 Uruk-Hai Scouts with Bows

Warband 2:

Mauhur

12 Uruk-Hai Marauders with Shields

Warband 3:

Ugluk

11 Uruk-Hai Scouts with Bows

Warband 4:

Sharku on a Warg

10 Warg Riders with Shields

Total: 800 Points, 12 Might, 52 models.

Now… Uruk-Hai Drummer is not listed in the Army Bonus as gaining the Woodland Creature, but I think that will get fixed in an FAQ, as the model is represented by a Scout with a drum. Naturally I’m not the rules writer and my blog isn’t official GW, but I’d be happy to bet on it happening 😉

As it stands now, the Drum and Heroic March effects stack, giving us potentially 14” movement on the Marauders – you must turn the Drum on at the start of the Movement Phase, call a Heroic March, move the Marching hero first and then all models who were under the effect of both March and Drum get +6” movement. It’s a pretty crazy bonus, as for most armies 14” is pretty far. Again this makes Scouts incredible in Maelstrom deployment scenarios like Hold Ground or Heirlooms. 

I have listed 16 Uruk-Hai with bows. I think the upgrade of their bow to Strength 3 makes them far more valuable than in the past, despite keeping the same 18" range. One thing I wonder about is who should actually be armed with bows. Marauders could move 4" and shoot, but we may want to be able to always move them 8. Marauders with a Drum could move 5.5" and shoot, but then if we're sounding the drum, they are still lagging behind a bit and it feels like the 14" move of Marauders could be quite valuable in some situations, so I'm not sure I want them to be stuck with bows. Lurtz's Warband has been given some, so Ugluk had to take the rest. No idea which combination is correct at this stage. 

Isengard do not have any Historical Allies, so I’m not entirely convinced we should really be looking at the alliance options if we're going for a Scouting force, because the Army Bonus is just so powerful, especially if we combine Woodland Creature with it. Instead in this list I opted for Sharku and Warg Riders, because of the overall theme of Need For Speed. 

This list does not have spear supports. But it does have a staggering 52 models, 3 heroes with 3 attacks (Sharku counts on Charge), abundance of Might and fast-moving models to grab objectives, quickly surround and catch people unprepared, great Army Bonus and Ugluk’s Special Rule that essentially means you probably will not have to ever take a Courage Test for being Broken. 

If you compare the numbers with the other factions I have so far written about:

- Rivendell @ 32

- Easterlings @ 37

- Númenor @ 38

- Moria @ 48 (albeit with a Balrog)

- Rohan @ 34

It appears we have a new Horde on the block 😉 Naturally, these are not the optimal and the best lists that can be made at 800 points and there is a ton of room for improvement in all of them, but I’m liking the sound of a very themed Scouting Force – not just because of how cool they look and how rare I have seen such forces do well in tournaments, but also because of how different their play style will be to all other infantry armies. 

Chances are that the way the new meta shapes will surprise us all, so although these are the starting numbers, I would not count this as be-all-and-end-all advice on army building. 

One final note… One idea I’ve always been a fan of, but never really worked it into any of my armies, has been the Demolition Team. I always wondered how these guys could be implemented into points matches. Now that Magic is weaker, there are fewer ways to deal with big Named Heroes. What if we were to combine a Drum, a Heroic March and some bombs to nuke Glorfindel, Elrond, Aragorn and their friends into oblivion? Imagine the look on your opponent’s face when you drop a bomb on their General on turn 1 in Contest of Champions or Hold Ground… A bomb is effectively only 45 points as long as we don’t pop it, as we get a Berserker and 2 Uruks to fight if need be. 

Lurtz-Nuke-Em-Halflings!

Lurtz

Uruk-Hai Drummer

2x Uruk-Hai Demolition Teams (4 Uruks and 2 Berserkers)

4 Uruks with Shields

3 Uruks with Pikes

A 16-model Warband with 2 bombs is 340 points. Bombs alone can take out that amount of points if you get a lucky roll!

ALLIES:

Damian: Isengard have been blessed with a grand total of zero Historical Allies in the new edition so the question of whether to bring allies is actually a question of whether or not allies can bring more to the force than the army bonus. The Isengard Army Bonus means that models with the Isengard keyword don’t have to take courage tests for being Broken until the force has taken 66% casualties. There’s no doubt that this is a solid bonus, my 600 point army above has 35 models which would mean that an opponent would have to kill 24 models instead of 18 to force Courage Tests. Whilst it’s perfectly possible to lose over 6 models in one turn if the game is going against you, I think that will be rather unlikely in most games meaning that the army bonus should give you one extra turn without having to take Courage Tests and might give you two extra turns (or even more), something that could very well make the difference between victory and defeat for Courage 3 Uruk-hai holding your objectives. However, when using the Fererker build over the years, the Courage Tests from  being Broken generally didn’t worry me: As long as Saruman was free to move then his Stand Fast! and the high courage of the Fererkers meant that the force was largely unaffected by being Broken. Conversely, if I was Broken and Saruman wasn’t free or had been killed then I wasn’t too worried about Courage Tests as I’d probably lost the game anyway… Similarly, at lower points games where you don’t have Saruman you should have Ugluk performing a similar role, again making the army bonus less critical. So, for me, the Army bonus is just that, a bonus that forms a welcome addition but not something that would prevent me adding allies to boost my competitiveness.

As for what to ally, there’s only one choice that springs to mind and it’s a bit of a roll your eyes obvious one - The Shadow Lord. I’ve noted before that the Fererker army suffers against Blinding Light so fight fire with fire and neuter your opponent’s shooting. I’ve had great success in the past with a 1000 point Fererker list that added a cheap Witch-King, two casters is always helpful and Your Staff is Broken was a great counter for enemy wizards so a Wraith can certainly work well with an Isengard force. I actually think there could be potential in an alternate 850 point Fererker list that dropped Saruman and Grima in favour of the Shadow Lord on horse, Ugluk and a few more Berserkers (including some sacrificial orcs for Ugluk of course!) - hopefully the Pall of Darkness will keep enough Berserkers alive so that their lower Defence is of less consequence when the lines clash - perhaps I’ll try it out sometime in 2019!

Mik: As I mentioned before, the Army Bonus is extremely powerful, so I’m not convinced at this stage that we need to worry about allies, unless of course our focus is on a large number of Berserkers, at which point we really don't care about Courage, as Damian mentioned above. However, if we did, there are some things that are always worthy additions to any army – Perhaps a Shade? Perhaps a Ringwraith? Perhaps a Balrog? Perhaps not... Losing a bonus may not be the end of the world if we don’t care about the Scouts and if we have Saruman in the army, as his special Stand Fast! rule keeps everyone we care about together, as long as we don’t dip too deeply into the Impossible Alliances. Isengard is quite complete by itself that it probably doesn’t really need allies, but only time will tell, as we'll be looking for answers to things that the army cannot solve by itself. 

Summary

Damian: So there you have it, between Crossbows, Saruman, Grima and multiple sources of Heroics Strike, the Isengard army certainly has the tools to deal with the mega-Heroes that will surely become ever-more prevalent. Isengard also has access to some less traditional threats to enemy Heroes such as the Ballista (whose ability to deploy at the back of a board with a Might point could be deadly against small all-hero armies) and the Isengard troll. The Isengard troll has received a huge boost in this edition of the game that seems to have gone largely unnoticed, gaining +1 Fight and +1 Strength, he now eclipses his Mordor cousins and should cause at least a moment of caution to those tricksy mounted Heroes. And if all that doesn’t work, why not just grab a Demolition team and blow them all to smithereens? 

In short, Isengard definitely has the tools to compete in this new edition of the game but, whilst its Heroes have become more effective than ever, it remains to be seen exactly which combination of Warriors will lead to the most success - it’ll sure be fun finding out though!

Mik: Isengard is an army that’s always been in the back of my mind. The first ever blister pack I bought was 3 Berserkers. I used Isengard at the GTs in 2008 (with 26 Crossbows and 48 Orcs at 700 points…), 2009 and 2010 and ever since they have always stayed on my radar as something I’d like to come back to. I think in the new edition, I may just dig some of these toys out of the box. Although I’ve never been a fan of the Fererkers, I always dreaded playing Damian with them. Hopefully that build of the army can still be viable, but if it isn’t, I think there are now quite a few different ways we can shape Isengard armies. With magic becoming weaker in the new edition than in the last, and Shadow Lord needing to expend Will points to turn Pall of Darkness on, it seems to me that we may just see a few less of the dreaded 6s-to-hit effects (although Cirdan is now certainly a valuable Hero), so Crossbows may be viable again, despite losing their pikes. 

Although Damian focused on a non-Scout army and I focused exclusively on Scouts, I think there is an argument for mixing both of these ideas together. On one hand you could have a very strong fighting line, on the other you could have a lot of models with Woodland Creature to be able to ignore the forests, surround your enemies and grab objectives that aren't so easy for your opponents to get to. Perhaps we should be looking at a Warband of Scouts for every 2 Warbands of non-Scouts?

As for other things, Saruman is better than before, but Magic is worse in general, so only time will tell how he develops and how strong he ends up being.

Grima’s rule has been nerfed to only affect Heroic Actions and not all Might spent, which is a welcome change to all of Isengard’s enemies. 

In all I think there is a lot to think about when building Isengard lists and we will have to wait a while before the best builds are figured out. Until then I hope that this guide will be handy to all new and old generals of the White Hand. 

Good Luck!

BlackMist & Dr Grant 

Fog of War, Part 5: Rohan

FOG OF WAR

Part 5: Rohan

After reviewing Moria with Jasmine, time comes for another Champion of GBHL to share their knowledge of their favourite army. In today’s army review we venture to the plains of the Kingdom of Rohan, with none other than the Warhammer Hero (of Legend(TM)), James Clark of the Riddermark. In the nearly 20 year history of the game, Rohan has had its ups and downs, although mostly downs throughout the last several years, and with the new edition of the rules, that now changes. Their Army Bonus is outstanding and amount of possibilities within Rohan forces is staggering.

James: With the launch of Middle-earth SBG, it really is time to mount up and ride for ruin and the world’s ending! Us Horse Lords have received an awful lot of love and attention in the latest edition of the game, with new rules and profile tweaks that allow the wannabe Marshalls of the Mark to play out the charges of the Rohirrim how they see them in both the books and the films.

Previously, recklessly charging the lines of your foes screaming “Deeeeeaaaath” usually led to exactly that and mastering the horse masters required further guile, patience and skill. It was a strategy of probing and picking, skirting and circling rather than anything we witnessed of them at Helms Deep or the Pelennor. Iconic Heroes we know and loved were often sidelined in the pursuit of optimising your muster, which was rarely without the mighty (cheap) Erkenbrand with all he brought to your Eored. Sweeping renovations have seen Theoden regain the lead as perhaps he well should, with a Heroic stat line to match his fabled heroics and a swath of Special Rules and buffs which make him indispensable for any commander bringing Riders of Rohan or Royal Guard. The latter of which seem to have ridden to the front of our force, with fight 5 and strength 4 on the charge making them a most formidable foe. 

Whilst killing was never really the issue for the charging Eored, +1 strength across the board whilst charging on horseback truly enables players to feel like they can play the Rohirrim how they’ve always wanted, all but guaranteeing those casualties and in particularly buffing the chances of their Heroes to succeed in those all-important initial Heroic Combats. Combine all of the above with the pegging down of two of Rohan’s greatest hinderances, Magic and Monsters (Hurl) it may just be time for those fluttering Banners of white horses against green to reign supreme on the battlefields of Middle-earth going into the next age.

Mik: The new edition brings a major overhaul of the rules, now enabling once-forgotten models to be brought back to the table. As mentioned by James, Theoden poses a real threat now, but he is not the only one. Combination of cheap heroes, the Army Bonus and the overall 10” move of all of its primary Warriors mean that Rohan will have a clear advantage in the scenarios that require speed such as Reconnoitre, Fog of War or Hold Ground. Gamling in particular has caught my eye, as now the Royal Standard of Rohan renews not only the Might points of other Rohan Heroes around him, but also himself, meaning that once he burns the 3 Might points, he regains one at the start of every turn, turning into a Mini-Aragorn of sorts (without the Fight, Sword, Attacks, Wounds, Courage, Will, Fate, the million Heroic Actions and a claim to the throne of a kingdom… but you know what I mean…). The ‘Free’ Might point is going to not only allow Gamling to call unlimited number of Heroic Moves and Marches, but also let him survive for extended amount of time with his Heroic Defense. Being a veteran with nearly 15 years of experience, I can remember very well the days when Rohan Outriders counted as Heroes and benefitted from Gamling’s Banner. Not counting towards the Bow Limit due to the Hero status and every turn gaining either +1 to hit or +1 to wound… some of us can still feel the pain their arrows caused!

The big downside of Rohan has always been the vulnerability of its horses to bowfire. Although it is still the case, the Horse Lord Special Rule somewhat solves that issue by allowing Fate points to be used to protect the horses, so we are just slightly more likely to get the Heroes into combats with their horses unharmed and gain the Extra Attack and Knock To The Ground bonuses. But even then, with just 1 point of Fate on most of their Heroes, chances are the same problems will persist, but in smaller measure. The other problem has always been in their numbers, but that is something that can be often taken care of by good tactics.

James’s Army lists:

List 1: 600 Points

Warband 1:

Theoden, King of Rohan with Armour, Shield and on an Armoured Horse

7 Rohan Royal Guard on Horses

Warband 2:

Gamling, Captain of Rohan with the Royal Standard and on a Horse

7 Rohan Royal Guard on Horses

Warband 3:

Hama, Captain of Rohan with shield on a Horse

7 Rohan Royal Guard on Horses

Total: 600 Points, 9 Might

The age of men is over, the age of the Royal Guard has begun! The above list is a solid choice for a variety of reasons. Everything synergises with your mighty King, from 'Sworn Protector' on Gamling and Hama to the 'Arise Riders of Theoden'n Special Rules on our Royal Guard. High defence across the board and Terror knows not the heart of these riders! Both Gamling and Hama have moved up the hero hierarchy, the key area being that in spite of a rather lacklustre Fight Value of 4, they now both bring 3 might each to the table, key for pulling off those much-needed Heroic Moves and Combats.

The Royal Standard of Rohan adds significantly to this too, not only giving Theoden and Hama a Might top up when they reach zero, but also working for Gamling himself now, who effectively gains Mighty Hero once his might is depleted. 9 Might Point base with top ups available will be key for this army. Add to that the fact that the Standard itself will be giving re-rolls across the board, which increase in value as the Royal Guard benefit from +1 Fight Value and become Fight 5 on the charge. Plus being key in a number of Scenarios now. Leaving a couple of Guard to support Gamling and Hama should shield them from their own Fight Value inadequacies! 

Since this force wants to be in the face of your opponents, Gamling’s ability to Heroic March should help with this, especially as you can afford to be liberal with your Might. But if you don’t feel comfortable being without the range threat Riders of Rohan give you with their ability to break the Bow Limit, you could always drop all the Royal Guard with Gamling and Hama for Riders of Rohan and gain yourself an extra Rider, increasing your troops to 22. But I think I’d prefer to replace just the 7 with Rohan Outriders on Horses instead, which then also allow you to bring an extra Rider of Rohan OR kit out 7 Royal Guard with Throwing Spears.

List 2: 800 Points

Now I would love to reveal the 800 point all mounted Rohan army I’m planning to take to Stirling BUT I think I’ll share something more rounded instead. It builds on the 600 point list above.

Warband 1:

Theoden, King of Rohan with Armour, Shield and on an Armoured Horse

10 Rohan Royal Guard on Horses

Warband 2:

Gamling, Captain of Rohan with the Royal Standard of Rohan and on a Horse

10 Rohan Royal Guard on Horses

Warband 3:

Eomer, Marshall of the Mark with Shield and on an Armoured Horse

11 Rohan Royal Guard on Horses

Total: 800 Points, 34 Models

The list takes the opportunity to upgrade Hama into Rohan’s mightiest single piece Hero, Eomer. A beast in combat and a huge threat, a hero like this will be a must at bigger points levels. The great thing is that Theodred can also fill this role incredibly well now too. The army works on the same principle as the one above, but do note that at higher points levels, the number of bows you may face may be an amount that can cause problems. So you may wish to build on the advice given for the 600 point list if you wish to be able to counter that threat beyond using your manoeuvrability and Heroic March capability!

Mik’s Lists:

List 3: 500 Points

Warband 1

Theoden, King of Rohan with Heavy Armour, Shield and Armoured Horse

10 Riders of Rohan

Warband 2

Eomer, Marshal of the Riddermark with Shield and Armoured Horse

10 Riders of Rohan

Total: 500 Points, 6 Might, 22 Models, 20 Bows

500 is a points level where effects such as Blinding Light and Pall of Night are hardly ever present. That means that we can take a full advantage of the Bow fire capabilities of the Riders of Rohan. It is unlikely that any other army at this level will be able to get up to 20 shots per turn. Combining this with 10” movement means that we can not only set ourselves up in the best positions and force our opponents out into open spaces, where they will lose the defensive terrain bonuses, but it also means that our Army can move and shoot at almost the same speed as most opponents will just be moving. Although you could call it a coward’s tactic, it is viable for you to spend most of the game running around your opponent and shooting, reducing their numbers, whilst trying to set yourself up for some devastating charges. 

At the European Team Championships, one member of the Polish team members used an army of 20-something Riders of Rohan, Saruman and Gandalf, and did not lose a game, nearly beating me in the final round of the tournament (I salvaged a draw from the jaws of defeat after salvaging a defeat from the jaws of victory ;)). Although the rules have changed, the strategy in my opinion remains viable.

The choice of Eomer over Gamling comes down to the fact that I like heroes with 3 Attacks at a points level where it is difficult to stop them! Gamling appeals to me more in forces that can really take advantage of the constantly replenishing Might. 

One consideration for you however may be that if you play Gamling in an all-bow force, you could potentially call Heroic March every single turn, letting you to move 7.5" and still shooting. Your enemies would find it difficult to ever catch you, as long as you planned and executed your moves well.

List 4: 800 Points

Warband 1

Theoden, King of Rohan with Heavy Armour, Shield and Armoured Horse

10 Riders of Rohan

Warband 2

Eomer, Marshal of the Riddermark with Shield and Armoured Horse

10 Riders of Rohan

Warband 3:

Ghan-Buri-Ghan

9 Woses Warriors

Warband 4:

9 Woses Warriors

Warband 5:

9 Woses Warriors

Total: 799 Points, 9 Might, 50 Models, 48 of which have ranged attacks.

Not only does Rohan have some amazing Heroes and Cavalry choices. They are also Historic Allies with my all-time favourite army – Wildmen of Druadan. The Woses Warriors have had some significant changes made to them in the new edition of the rules. First of all, they no longer require Warband Leaders other than Ghan to lead them. They went up by 2 points and Stalk Unseen is not quite the Elven Cloak of the olden days, allowing you to hide 50 models behind a single tree… However, they have also gained 1” of movement and the Blowpipe no longer restricts movement like a Crossbow, but is now treated as a Bow with shorter range.

At 800 points, due to the number of models, many armies suffer disadvantages from the terrain present on the battlefield. This is especially true with Cavalry forces such as Rohan, since their opponents can simply hide inside forests, stay safe, shoot out of the forests or just stall the game, forcing a draw. With 28 Woses, forests now become open ground to a large portion of our army. Not only that, forests can now be used by our army to shoot from, whilst being chased – we can move 3” and shoot, whilst our opponents can move 3” at full speed and still not catch us!

Total of 48 shots across the entire battle-line is also something rather scary. Even at Strength 2, with 28 of them re-rolling 1s to wound, our opponents will generally be forced to play on our terms and come where we want them to come. When that happens, we can combine the deadly Rohirrim charge with the abundance of Warriors who Hate Orcs, Goblins and Uruk-Hai.

Another consideration could be an army full of Warriors of Rohan on foot upgraded to have Strength 4 with Grimbold. It's definitely an option worth exploring, although I don't think it offers as much as the Woses. 

ALLIES:

James: Gondor calls for aid… and Rohan shall answer! Minas Tirith are a natural ally for Rohan, not just thematically but in SBG too. Whether you’re deciding to ally in Gandalf the White for some Wizard support at higher points levels, or truly want an anvil for your hammer, provided nicely by the newly Shield-Walling Warriors of Minas Tirith, look no further than the Gondorians to buff up your numbers. There is no obvious alliance worth sacrificing your army bonuses for, so if you are inclined to stand side by side with others, stand by those given the green light by the Alliance Matrix. You might feel combining Galadriel’s Protection of the Valar spell with the Horse Lord special rule is a nice synergy in what is another green alliance, but honestly, if I was taking this route, it’s Gondor that comes to the fore.

Mik: As I’ve already discussed above, Woses seem like a go-to Infantry force in my opinion. Although I’ve been a lifelong fan of Gondor, I think that the combination of their Shieldwalls and big Heroes may not necessarily allow us to play the synergistic game that Rohan wants to play, whilst Woses provide what the Horse Lords are missing – more open ground where there would normally be forests, and more models. All-mounted Rohan forces will suffer from always being outnumbered, but Woses go a long way in fixing that issue.

And so here you have it. Both James and I have looked at Rohan from different perspectives and created 4 vastly different lists. Who is right? Probably the one who is successful with Rohan in 12 months time, as how the best armies are built will depend on what other players do with their armies and what shape the meta takes.

If you’re interested in a more in-depth analysis of Rohan, you can check out James’s video on the GBHL Podcast right here: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wkrMZXYYP0g

I would also highly recommend recently published content by Damian O’Byrne about Theoden on the ForgeWorld Blog:

https://www.warhammer-community.com/2018/09/10/10th-sept-riding-to-glory-with-king-theodengw-homepage-post-2gw-homepage-post-4/

Ride now... Ride for Ruin...

Good luck!

BlackMist James

Fog of War, Part 4: Moria

FOG OF WAR

Part 4: Moria

When I first started writing the series, I imagined that some of the most prolific members of the community would be able to spare some time and chip in with their personal thoughts on their favourite factions. I lit the beacons and indeed my allies have answered! It is with great honour to welcome the 2020 UK Grand Tournament Champion, Jasmine Tetley.

Jasmine: Moria were always great, with lots of diversity and powerful monsters, and the brand new Balrog is the king of them all! There is little that Moria doesn’t have. The basic Goblin is still the staple of every army, but more elite and harder to kill troops can support them. Especially worth noting is the killing power of the Prowlers. Diverse Shamans can bring other beasts (Spiders and Bats) which give more movement to an army that has little speed outside the Warg Marauders.

The new army bonus and Groblog’s special rule can help to make up for the lower fight value, while Durburz is still well worth his points, especially as he can be a rare back line and safe leader in the new hero tiers system. There is a lack of Magic, but with the access to a huge variety of Monsters (cheaper ones like the Dweller and Cave Troll, plus the more expensive Balrog and Dragon), it makes Moria very fun (and powerful) in a game. With the diminished power of Magic, they are now going to be harder to stop.

Whilst the Army Bonus is aimed towards your classic horde army, an all-Monster Moria looks very fun and potentially quite good with the buffs to the Balrog and both Cave Drakes and Dragons with their Monstrous Charge. The below lists steer towards numbers and their bonus which seems to be very effective, but show two different ways of playing. 

List 1: 800 Points - With The Balrog

Warband 1:
The Balrog
7 Moria Goblin Prowlers
6 Moria Goblins with Shield
5 Moria Goblins with Spear

Warband 2:
Durburz
5 Moria Goblin Prowlers
5 Moria Goblins with Shield
5 Moria Goblins with Spear

Warband 3:
Groblog
3 Moria Goblin Prowlers
3 Moria Goblins with Shield
3 Moria Goblins with Spear
3 Warg Marauder

Total: 800 Points, 6 Might, 48 Models

The Balrog is the centre of this list and obviously the most important piece. Yes, the Balrog is slow and can be easy to pin down with one model, but he now has ways to work around that, the first of which is being able call a Heroic Combat for free every turn. The second part is the Flaming Whip, which allows you to potentially pull enemies in during the Shoot Phase, and then Heroic Combat. An additional use for the Whip can be to target back line Heroes and Banners etc. as with some luck on the In The Ways, you can drag them into combat over their own friendly models. 

Finally The Balrog acts as a super Shaman, allowing you to bring along Fearless Goblins, which provide the numbers. The new Army Bonus, alongside Groblog, potentially gives you Fight Value 5 prowlers with +2 To Wound modifier applied against trapped models.

List 2: 750 Points - Without The Balrog

Warband 1:
Durburz
3 Moria Blackshields
4 Moria Goblin Prowlers
2 Moria Goblins with Shield
6 Moria Goblins with Spear

Warband 2:
Moria Blackshield Captain
Moria Blackshield Drummers
3 Moria Blackshields
1 Moria Goblin Prowler
2 Moria Goblins with Shield
4 Moria Goblins with Spear

Warband 3:
Moria Goblin Captain
2 Moria Blackshields
1 Moria Goblin Prowler
5 Moria Goblins with Shield
4 Moria Goblins with Spear

Warband 4:
Moria Goblin Captain
1 Moria Goblin Prowler
6 Moria Goblins with Shield
4 Moria Goblins with Spear

Warband 5:
Cave Drake
2 Warg Marauders

Total: 750 Points, 10 Might, 57 models

The reduction in points to the Goblin Drums (100 in the previous edition) makes them even better than they were before, with the Blackshield one favoured for the Courage and ability to re-position. The increase in courage gives us a Courage 5 Leader and Courage 4 troops with Blackshields. The Re-Rolls are great and the -1 Courage Modifier to the enemy makes it hard for them to charge your Terrifying models and more likely to run when Broken. Captains are favoured for Heroic Marches. Marauders still have their place as they apply pressure and can grab objectives. 

The army is topped off with the now very powerful Cave Drake that has the new Monstrous Charge rule, giving it 5 attacks and the ability to knock over lower Strength Monsters (Fell Beasts!). Combination of a large base, Mountain Dweller and Woodland Creature, all mean that it should not be too hard to get the Drake round the back of your enemy's lines and provide a lot more traps for your Goblins, as well as causing general chaos. A Drake is best used offensively to disrupt and cause the enemy problems early (Due to its low Courage, it is more likely to flee once you are Broken), and allows your goblins more freedom to gain an advantage. 

Mik: My experience with Moria has not been as vast as Jasmine’s. However, I’ve always been a fan of the regular goblins and their sheer numbers, instead of focusing on the elite troops such as Blackshields and Prowlers. Check out this list:

List 3: 500 Points

Warband 1
Durburz, The Goblin King of Moria
6 Goblins with Shields
6 Goblins with Spears
1 Cave Troll

Warband 2
Groblog
6 Goblins with Shields
5 Goblins with Spears
1 Cave Troll

Warband 3
Moria Goblin Captain
6 Goblins with Shields
5 Goblins with Spears
1 Bat Swarm

Total: 500 points, 39 Models, 8 Might Points and “They have 2 Cave Trolls!”

Naturally at 500 it’s difficult to include The Balrog (although… you never know… it wouldn’t surprise me if I saw one!). Instead the list focuses on amassing as many Goblins as it can. 2 Cave Trolls provide an enormous amount of hitting power on top of the large numbers and a Bat Swarm designed to help cutting down the enemy heroes. 

There is an argument that says you generally require some number of fast moving creatures in this game, due to the variety of scenarios you may end up playing, as some of them need you to move quickly off the board or chase an objective. To help with speed, whilst still keeping the high Strength and killing power, here's an alternative 500 Points list with Druzhag and his beasts:

List 4: 500 Points

Warband 1:
Durburz, The Goblin King of Moria
6 Goblins with Shields
6 Goblins with Spears

Warband 2:
Groblog
6 Goblins with Shields
6 Goblins with Spears

Warband 3:
Druzhag, the Beastcaller
1 Bat Swarm
6 Wild Wargs

Warband 4:
Moria Goblin Captain
6 Goblins with Shields
6 Goblins with Spears

Total: 47 Models, 10 Might Points, 0 Bows.

There are just so many ways of building Moria lists. At 500 points you can outnumber pretty much every opponent, with the exception of maybe Shire and Goblin Town. At higher points, you have the biggest and coolest Monsters in the game. It wouldn't surprise me at all to see a Double-Dragon list at 800 built such as:

2 Dragons with Fly
26 Goblins
2 Bat Swarms

Or perhaps with the point reduction and the staggering 6/6/6 (Fight/Strength/Attacks) we should be looking at the Watcher in the Water as the new powerhouse among big threats. It wouldn't be hard for the Watcher to simply appear next to the enemy General, drag him into combat with a Tentacle and outright kill him. It seems quite literally as a sleeper Monster right now that could put a lot of players in major trouble. 

And what about the Dwellers in the Dark? With the significantly lower access to Heroic Strike than in the last edition, perhaps each Warband could have one of these instead of a Cave Troll? 8-inch Movement, very high Fight Value, Magic Resistance and a lot of Strength 5 Attacks are not something anyone can scoff at. Only time will tell what rules the tables!

Just my favourite part of the Moria equation - The Balrog and 6 Dwellers total 800 points. How cool is that?!

With all this excitement about Monsters in mind, we must however remember that despite their sheer combat prowess, they are still not the be-all-end-all models in the game. A well placed Heroic Strike, a Channelled Transfix, or simply one bad roll can bring a Monster on its knees, so no matter how many of them you have, you must be careful not to put them into too much trouble and always protect them the way you would protect your Queen in a game of Chess. For me Monsters are the reason to play Moria, but they can also be the player's downfall, as without them, the rest of the army can crumble. 

Allies 

Jasmine: You can afford to lose the army bonus in most situations, and being convenient allies with most gives you lots of options to explore. 

Mik: I could have added allies, but as they do not have any Historical Allies, I didn’t want to lose the Army Bonus at 500 points. The Fight Value increase can help against armies such as Rohan, Minas Tirith, Mordor, Goblin Town, Hobbits and even other Moria forces if they decide to get tricksy and ally something special! At higher points, it's worth considering losing the bonus, just like Jasmine mentioned - there's a lot more options to explore!

Good luck!
BlackMist & Jasmine

Fog of War, Part 3: Númenor

FOG OF WAR

Part 3: Númenor

Following on from Rivendell and Easterlings, I thought it would be cool to finish off the week on the Númenor / Last Alliance theme, as it’s another one of the armies that hasn’t seen much play in the last decade and has not really had any great tournament results in the past editions of the game. So here we are!

The first thing that jumps out from the faction list is Elendil. With Strength 5, Narsil, good choice of Heroic Actions, magic protection and an ability to ride a Horse, he is truly the High King worthy of the Legendary status he possesses. His son, Isildur is also a worthy fighter, although compared to the old rules, he cannot take The Ring if Elendil is present (as naturally Elendil died before Isildur claimed it), adding a bit of a thematic dilemma for those wanting to build an army out of Númenor.

Another good thing about Númenor is that all of its warriors have Fight Value and Strength at level 4, making it easier to chop through whatever is thrown at them and between Elendil and their Army Bonus it is unlikely they will be running away from the table very often.

500 Points:

Warband 1:
Elendil, High King of Gondor and Arnor with a Shield on a Horse
3 Warriors of Númenor with Shields
3 Warriors of Númenor with Spears and Shields
2 Warriors of Númenor with Bows
1 Warrior of Númenor with a Spear and a Bow

Warband 2:
Isildur on a Horse
3 Warriors of Númenor with Shields
3 Warriors of Númenor with Spears and Shields
2 Warriors of Númenor with Bows
1 Warrior of Númenor with a Spear and a Bow

Total: 500 Points, 20 Models, 6 Might, 6 Bows.

Although it doesn’t look like much, with only 20 Models, the sheer strength of Elendil and Isildur makes up for the lack of numbers, as they are both easily capable of cutting down 4 models per turn each, this being especially true with Elendil’s Heroic Combats. 

Lack of a Banner is a weakness for some scenarios, but not all armies have Banners at 500 points. This army’s primary focus is to correctly navigate their heroes into spots where they cause large amount of damage, whilst ensuring the rest of the army is there to support them. Naturally what this means is that your mission will be to achieve the most possible amount of damage with your heroes, whilst using your warriors for claiming objectives and protecting their leaders from getting swamped and overworked. 

Some armies in the game struggle at certain points levels but excel at others. Númenor may just be one of them. Whereas at 500 we lack the numbers to really support the two generals, at 600 we are able to bring 10+ extra models at no additional cost (other than their own points), due to the Heroic Tier that Elendil at Isildur possess:

600 Points:

Warband 1:
Elendil, High King of Gondor and Arnor with a Shield on a Horse
4 Warriors of Númenor with Shields
4 Warriors of Númenor with Spears and Shields
3 Warriors of Númenor with Bows
2 Warrior of Númenor with a Spear and a Bow

Warband 2:
Isildur on a Horse
4 Warriors of Númenor with Shields
4 Warriors of Númenor with Spears and Shields
1 Warrior of Numenor with a Banner
2 Warriors of Númenor with Bows
2 Warrior of Númenor with a Spear and a Bow

Total: 600 Points, 6 Might, 28 Models, 9 Bows.

And the Heroic Tier still allows us to get a total of 7 more models if we were to go up to 650 or 700 points!

Another way of building Númenor at 500 points could be to skip the superheroes and go for generic captains, for a sort of an elite Cavalry formation, like here:

500 Points:

Warband 1:
Captain of Númenor with Shield, Heavy Armour, Lance and Horse
3 Warriors of Númenor with Shields
2 Warriors of Númenor with Spears and Shields
1 Warriors of Númenor with a Bow
1 Warrior of Númenor with a Bow and Spear

Warband 2:
Captain of Númenor with Shield, Heavy Armour, Lance and Horse
3 Warriors of Númenor with Shields
2 Warriors of Númenor with Spears and Shields
2 Warriors of Númenor with a Bow
1 Warrior of Númenor with a Bow and Spear

Warband 3:
Captain of Númenor with Shield, Heavy Armour, Lance and Horse
2 Warriors of Númenor with Shields
2 Warriors of Númenor with Spears and Shields
2 Warriors of Númenor with a Bow
1 Warrior of Númenor with a Bow and Spear

Warband 4:
Captain of Númenor with Shield, Heavy Armour, Lance and Horse

Total: 500 Points, 26 Models, 8 Might, 8 Bows

Although this list lacks the flavour of the other one, the 4 Captains of Númenor riding horses with Lances are not something I’d be looking forward taking head on. 

Perhaps the right answer lies somewhere in between the two?

ALLIES:

Moving onto 800 points and above I think it’s fair to say that the Númenoreans will be looking for some allies. Their friends aren’t many if we want to stay within either Historic of Convenient alliance levels – A bunch of monsters and or Elves of all variety. Naturally the Last Alliance theme seems like something out of a book ;)

800 Points:

Warband 1:
Elendil, High King of Gondor and Arnor with a Shield on a Horse
6 Warriors of Númenor with Shields
5 Warriors of Númenor with Spears and Shields
1 Warrior of Númenor with a Spear, Shield and a Banner
3 Warriors of Númenor with Bows
3 Warriors of Númenor with Bows and Spears

Warband 2:
Gil-Galad, High King of the Elves, with a Shield on a Horse
6 High Elf Warriors with Shields
5 High Elf Warriors with Shields and Spears
1 High Elf Warrior with a Spear and a Banner
3 High Elf Warriors with Bows
3 High Elf Warriors with Bows and Spears

Total: 800 points, 6 Might, 38 Models, 12 Bows and 2 Banners

Of course, TWO banners might be an overkill, but if the two warbands end up being deployed separately on two opposite board edges, like they could be in Hold Ground, or Heirlooms of Ages Past, you at least ensure that all of your warriors will be getting additional dice in combat. Also, as the Banner bearers also carry Spears, you will want to keep them close to the fighting lines, and especially close to Gil-Galad and Elendil, providing them with extra re-rolls to win combats. Besides, they just look awesome!

Lastly, a thing worth considering is mixing up the two factions together into one combat line. If you were to invest into less Spears on the High Elves and more spears on the Númenoreans, you will be able to create a battle line that has the front rank of Elves and the back rank of Men (or vice versa!), providing you with Fight Value 5, Defence 6 front rank alongside Strength 4 support – and if you are facing Strength 4 opponents, you will probably want to swap this to have the Defence 5 Men at the front, to preserve the higher Defence troops for later. Perhaps the correct thing would be to arm every model in the army with a Spear, instead of having a second Banner? Or perhaps that’s an overkill… I’ll leave it to you to figure out!

Join me next week as we venture into some of the more popular armies with some guest writers from all across GBHL! 

Good Luck!
BlackMist

Fog of War, Part 2: Easterlings & Khand

FOG OF WAR

Part 2: Easterlings & Khand
(Updated in September 2020 to include latest FAQs)

After beginning the series with High Elves, I decided to move onto an army that has not seen much love in the recent years, or in fact most of the game's history. My experience with it goes back over a decade. Last time I used Easterlings, they were led by Khamul on Fell Beast in an alliance with Harad at the 2007 Eastern Europe Grand Tournament, where I finished 2nd. Since then, I have stashed them so deeply into the box, that I haven't been able to find them since. I still hope they will one day make a glorious comeback. 

The premise of this series from the beginning has bring to bring together some of the brightest minds of Middle-earth SBG and ask them to share their experiences of the game in order to help new players discover the factions and intricacies of this incredible game. The guest in this part is Tim Hixon, a California player with whom I have debated SBG since as long as I can remember, going back all the way to Games Workshop Forums around 2005, through to The Last Alliance forums and now on GBHL Facebook page. We first met in real life about a decade ago at Warhammer World, though I think that's excusable, since we do live about 5000 miles from each other! He is someone who over the years has had a major influence on my gaming and taught me to look at the game from different perspectives. His input into my armylists has made me a far better player than I ever thought I would become. I have asked Tim to help me write this article, as for most part of the last 15 years I have known him to be an avid Khand player.

Before we begin, I would like to thank Zachary Adamczyk for providing me with some excellent pictures of his amazingly painted Easterling army, which won the Best Painted Army Award at the Polish Team Championships in 2018. 

THE EASTERLINGS

Mik: The thing that stands out for the Easterlings is their Army Bonus. Although I'm not generally concerned about Courage after breaking, as correctly played heroes tend to take care of that, I like the +1 Courage bonus that armies like Easterlings or Minas Tirith get, as it makes it easier for them to fight Terror-causing enemies without the need to bring someone like a War Priest (East) or models with Bodyguard (MT). Easterlings get something extra special though - the Scenario-specific re-roll, which can have an enormous effect and will come in handy in all scenarios that have an end-game condition depending on a roll of 1-2 after an army has been broken. Frankly, there are so many of them that you will probably play at least 1 in every tournament. 

First look at the Easterlings shows that Amdur is what I call a 633 - A Hero with Fight Value of 6 or higher, 3 Attacks and 3 points of Might. What this means is that he can easily outfight all rank and file troops in the game, with the exception of King's Guard and a rare few others. His special rules are also very interesting, as he can either help with the core fighting or go after heroes without the fear of automatically losing to Heroic Strikes. As it stands, Amdur is one of the best heroes of the Evil side and possibly one of the best heroes in the game - not necessarily in power level alone, but rather by his efficiency, ie. how much a player gets for the amount of points spent. 

Easterlings use the unique Phalanx rule, allowing them to fight in 3 ranks without trapping the warriors in the front rank when they lose combat. Uruk-Hai and Fiefdoms Pikemen always suffer from a very high variance - when they win fights, they usually kill, but when they lose fights, their warriors usually die to double strikes from the enemy. Easterlings don't suffer this penalty thanks to the Phalanx rule. 

Final thing that Easterlings have going for them is their ability to carry shields and pikes and still receive the shield bonus, meaning that they don't leave you in a situation where you'll have to choose if you take a pike or a shield like in the case of Isengard, instead you get best of both worlds. 

List 1: Mik's 500 Points of Easterlings

Warband 1:

Amdur, Lord of Blades on an Armoured Horse

9 Easterling Warriors with Shields and Pikes

3 Black Dragon Warriors with Shields and Pikes

2 Black Dragon Kataphrakts

Warband 2:

Easterling Captain with Shield on an Armoured Horse 

1 Black Dragon Kataphrakt with a War Drum

9 Easterling Warriors with Shields & Pikes

2 Black Dragon Warriors with Shields and Pikes

Total 500 Points, 28 Models, 5 Might. 

To start off I think arming all of your foot models with Shield and Pike is better than having some with just shields. It means that you’ll be able to freely move, turn, face whatever direction and always have 2 or 3 attacks in every fight. However, the way GW packages Easterlings doesn't give you this choice, so you may need to convert or stick to more shields & swords, which is okay too, since the front rank will be able to faint keeping the Fight value 4 of Black Dragons. 

The 5 Black Dragons are there as a reassurance that if you need the Fight 4 (facing Minas Tirith, Mordor, Dwarves, etc), then you’ll have access to it at all times, as the Fight Value is passed into combat whether you’re directly in it or just supporting. You can put them in the back rank to keep them protected, whilst providing Fight 4 to the front rank.

The second Warband with the drum greatly improves the speed of the army and the total of 5 mounted models make the army really fast. Not only will you be able to outmaneuver most opponents, you can also get to objectives and better positions quicker. I opted for 0 bows, as I don’t think they’re great here.

You can have a War Priest, a Dragon Knight or a Captain to lead the second Warband. For me at 500 points the War Priest is too weak in combat, whilst Bladewrath is too much of an overkill for Amdur, who will manage with no help. Dragon Knight is interesting thanks to his 3 attacks, but his status as a Minor Hero is a problem, since we want to maximise numbers. As such, the best option here is to go for a Captain (also Heroic March stacks with the drum, so you can have those board-leaping marches if you need). 

Lack of a banner may be a hindrance for certain scenarios, but we still get the combat re-rolls through Amdur's special rule. It's worth noting Amdur benefits from his own banner, so will always roll 4 dice to win combat and 5 when charging mounted - a total beast! 

List 2: Mik's 800 Points of Easterlings

Warband 1:

Amdur, Lord of Blades on an Armoured Horse

10 Easterling Warriors with Shields and Pikes (1 also carries a Banner)

5 Black Dragon Warriors with Shields and Pikes

Warband 2:

Khamul on Fell Beast

6 Black Dragon Kataphrakts 

1 Kataphrakt with a War Drum

Warband 3:

Easterling War Priest on an Armoured Horse

9 Easterling Warriors with Shields and Pikes

3 Black Dragon Warriors with Shields and Pikes

Total: 799 points, 6 Might, 37 models. 

There is an argument here to add bows and by all means get 10-12 of them if you wish. Bows will cost you a point of Defence, so it’s a trade off that you could make if you think that they will be useful and they can be kept in the second rank of the Phalanx, instead of shields, thus staying safe at least at the start. 

Khamul is a worthy addition at 800 points. An important thing to note is that I would make Amdur the Army Leader and let Khamul roam around behind enemy lines, trying to pick off banners, heroes or other unprotected targets. Then, if Khamul dies, we haven't given away Victory Points for losing the Leader. Being one of only two Wraiths with access to Heroic Strike makes Khamul incredibly valuable, as he's not going to be too afraid going after enemy Heroes, especially since his special rule allows him to increase his Fight Value to 6 too. 

10 Cavalry models, including a Fell Beast, all moving at 15-17" per turn, alongside a 5x3 Phalanx and a 4x3 Phalanx with 9" movement makes a very mobile force. The War Priest's Bladewrath in this instance can essentially turn Amdur into a second Fell Beast, as he'll be charging with 4 Attacks , Banner re-roll and 8 Strength 6 (or 10!) strikes when he wins, ensuring easy kills.

The primary weakness of an Easterling force is going to be its low Fight Value and Strength in combat. You can invest in a lot of Black Dragons, but they will cut into your numbers. You can not do anything about Strength 3 however. To play this army properly you'll have to learn how to utilise your centre piece heroes, as well as how to mitigate the lower Fight Value by bringing in as many attacks into each combat as possible, so making the most of your Phalanx. The numbers are not your strength either, as the above 800 points list has 37 models, which is somewhat of a low-end at 800 points. Your models are generally weaker than your opponent's, so it's your movement speed, manoeuvrability and combination of War Priest, Khamul and Amdur that will define your results. It might be an idea to swap 4 Black Dragon Kataphrakts for 8 Warriors, but whether you want to do it is up to you - I like the look of a force full of heavy cavalry. 

You could also go with Captains and more Warriors instead of the Fell Beast, but where's the fun in that?

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VARIAGS OF KHAND

(Mik's converted Khandish King/Ringwraith in a Chariot)

Tim: Khandish Kings are a rare breed of three attack unnamed heroes and are the back bone of any Variag force with their killing potential and their 6" Commanding Presence special rule.  The King also has access to Heroic Strike which allows him to go toe to toe with any hero or monster.  Finally, the Kings have access to Heroic Resolve which can provide a crucial turn of Magical defense when facing a magic capable opponent.

All Variag heroes and models are armed with a hand-and-a-half axe which give them access to Piercing Strike in addition to going two-handed.  The chariot provides an additional layer of protection by taking strikes for the rider 2/3s of the time when they lose duels and during the shoot phase. 

Khandish Chariots are scythes that can cut down rank and file models as they hit them, with cavalry being more vulnerable as both the rider and the mount take the impact hits.  With a hero at the reigns, the chariots can potentially move twice in a turn by using a Heroic Combat.  Chariots are also cheap enough that they can be used in larger numbers.

Khandish Horsemen are in my opinion the best light cavalry in the game.  Their Fight Value is higher than 3, they can be 100% bow armed if using a pure theme or allied with Easterlings and they have a hand-and-a-half axe which allows them to piercing strike and/or two handed strike.  This gives this warrior the potential to hit at strength 4 with a +1 to wound and double strikes when they win.

Khandish Warriors are nothing special other than their Fight Value and weapon choices.  They are good for adding numbers and holding objectives.  Against the right opponent (Rohan and Gondor) they can also provide additional support in combat.

The Variags of Khand are great allies to other forces, but do not greatly benefit from using allies in their own force.  Easterlings are their only Historical Ally which allows the Variags of Khand access to a Fellbeast mounted Khamùl. The Easterling and Variags keep their respective army bonuses and including Khamùl on a Fellbeast provides an anti-monster tool with some magical support, Harbinger of Evil and line breaking hurl capability to the Khandish army. Khandish Heroes on Chariots bring a punch the Easterlings lack on their own, alongside the ability to bring mounted horsemen for taking objectives, some additional combat support and sniping on the move.

Variags Heroes do make for great allies to other forces, even Impossible Alliances.  A King on a chariot can freely ally with any other force and provide a rank and file scything blade.  Because they do not affect allied heroes or troops they can call Heroic Moves independently of the main force without cancelling out any Heroic Move or March actions called within six inches of themselves.  This allows the chariots to disrupt enemy movements while the allied force manoeuvres without constraints.

List 3: Tim's 500 Points of Khand

Warband 1:

Khandish King with Khandish Chariot

5 Khandish Horsemen

2 Khandish Charioteers with hand-and-a-half axe

Warband 2:

Khandish King with Khandish Chariot

5 Khandish Horsemen

2 Khandish Charioteers with hand-and-a-half axe

Total: 500 Points, 16 Models, 12 bows

List 4: Tim's 800 Points of Khand

Warband 1:

Khamûl the Easterling with Fell Beast

Warband 2:

Khandish King with Khandish Chariot

15 Khandish Horsemen

Warband 3:

Khandish King with Khandish Chariot

14 Khandish Horsemen

Total: 797 Points, 32 Models, 31 bows

List 5: Tim's "Modern version of his best performing Khandish Army"

Warband 1:

Khandish King with Horse; 

15 Khandish Horsemen

Warband 2:

Khandish King with Khandish Chariot; 

14 Khandish Warriors

1 Khandish Horseman

Warband 3:

Khandish King with Khandish Chariot; 

14 Khandish Warriors

1 Khandish Horseman

Total: 800 Points, 48 Models, 20 Bows

Mik: I personally have very little experience playing with or against Khand, but the army has one of the most fascinating tricks in the game. Since Chariots are unaffected by spells that would knock them down, such as Sorcerous Blast or Nature's Wrath, there exists a cool interaction between Saruman and Khandish Chariots (as well War Beasts and Iron Hills Chariot on the good side):

- Sorcerous Blasts knocks over all models in combat except Chariots. 

- If a Chariot is in combat with multiple enemies, casting Blast on just 1 of them will knock them all down, including Trolls, Fell Beasts and all sorts of things like that. The Chariot will stay standing. As a result, getting your chariots surrounded is what you want to happen with a Wizard around. Naturally the S3 hit will then occur on both sides, possibly wounding or killing multiple enemies (and potentially the Charioteer!). 

This is especially good with Heroes, since they won't die from a single S3 hit. Additionally, they can call Heroic Move and choose not to call With Me! when doing so, resulting in some cool situations:

1. Move first, charge, trample someone. 

2. Opponent will counter-charge and surround the Chariot. 

3. One model will be blasted, leaving the Chariot in combat with enemies on the ground, resulting in a situation where even if the Chariot loses, opponents won't be able to strike (unless they have spear support). 

In the event of losing a Heroic Move roll-off, opponents will charge and then end up on the floor again. This creates an interesting situation where it is generally best not to challenge Heroic Moves called by Chariots and where winning Priority whilst using a Chariot is actively bad (because then the Wizard has to move before opponents get to trap the Chariot). Opponent may choose to engage the Chariot with only 1 or two warriors in fear of Sorcerous Blast, but that can result in a Heroic Combat from your Chieftain or King, killing those 1 or 2 warriors and moving again in the Combat Phase. 

Although it's a cool interaction, there really isn't an army that can deploy it competitively, because Saruman and King in Chariot take up so many points, it leaves very little for anything else. But if you want a fun list trying to abuse this trick, here's one for you:

Saruman on a Horse

18 Orcs with Spears

Khandish King on a Chariot

12 Khandish Warriors

Khandish Chieftain on a Chariot

12 Khandish Warriors

Total 700 Points, 45 Models, 7 Might. 

I'm not saying this will win you events and it might struggle to win games too, but I'd love to see my opponent's frustration dealing with the Chariots :) Alternatively you could try dropping in a King Chariot into an Isengard army or some other weird monstrosity. 

Summary:

So whether you're looking for a force full of heavy Golden Infantry, or an army full of nomadic horsemen, both Easterlings and Khand will provide a lot of memorable experiences. The armies may require more luck and skill than most other forces out there to achieve success with, but if you're up for a challenge, you should definitely try them out!

Good luck!

BlackMist & Tim

PS. Khand is one of those armies, which isn't seen on the tables very often, which is why on An Unexpected Podcast, Tim, Devin, Matt, Rainier and I had a little chat about them. You can check it out here and on iTunes: