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