A Noob’s Perspective: Easterlings

Dan Slb: Today we have fellow noob Dan Stu (yes we have two Dan S's here at Drawn Combat!) talking us through his thoughts on Easterlings. Be sure to look out for the pictures of his beautifully painted models too!

Hello! Dan Stu here, first time blogger and almost first time SBGer, sharing my thoughts on my gateway faction in to this great little game.

Before we get into the list discussion, I think I should mention a little bit about where I’m  approaching the game from. I’ve collected a couple of games in the past – 40k, X-wing – but almost entirely for their hobby aspects. I’ve always gravitated towards armies that look good above all else, so the actual competitive list building side of wargaming is something I have almost no experience of. I’ve always been content to just get some nicely painted boots on the ground and start rolling some dice. After a long break from hobbying, earlier this year I signed up for a battle companies campaign - a bit of casual fun, they said - and my hobby inspiration came back with a vengeance! Before I knew it, I had around 900pts of Easterlings to paint, a ton of conversions done, an entire RoTK legion on the workbench, and a bank account that was feeling decidedly sorry for itself. There’s even rumours of a Fiefdoms project for next year… This is easily the most ‘seriously’ I’ve ever taken a wargame. Truth be told, it’s the only wargame where I’ve enjoyed playing the game as much as painting the models. So with all those hours spent hunched over a workbench, it was time to make a few lists that would do my shiny boys justice. Here are my attempts so far. 

List Attempt #1 – the Purist

This was my first serious stab at creating a semi-decent Easterlings list using the models that I had purchased at the time. Easterlings are a funny beast. There are no quirky heroes, clever synergies or control elements (outside of Khamul, who I have decided not to use until I have mastered the basics). But there are solid heavy infantry options, Amdur as a noob-friendly beatstick to anchor your list on, and lots and lots of pikes.

Amdur, Lord of Blades with Armoured Horse

4 Warriors with Shield

4 Warriors with Shield, Pike

4 Warriors with Shield, Pike and Black Dragon upgrade

Easterling Captain

2 Warriors with Shield

3 Warriors with Shield, Pike

3 Warriors with Shield, Pikes and Black Dragon upgrade

Easterling War Priest

3 Warriors with Shield

2 Warriors with Shield, Pike

2 Warriors with Shield, Pike and Black Dragon upgrade

1 Warrior with Banner

Easterling Dragon Knight with Armoured Horse

5 Easterling Kataphrakts with Black Dragon upgrade

700pts, 37 models, 8 might

This is your basic pure Easterling force. It uses most of the models I had purchased for Battle Companies, plus all the pikes I could scrape up from the trade groups. (4 pikes in a box of 20 warriors? For a faction known mostly for its pikes? Really, GW?) If you sit down to make a pure Easterling army without using archers or Khamul, you’ll probably come up with the same list.

It’s solid – the warriors are arranged in 3 rows of 9, with all the buffing models spread out so that every model in the pike block feels the benefit of a banner reroll and channelled Fury - assuming you can roll a 3+ on 2 dice to cast it. The back rank is all black dragons, so if you get your engagement right, most fights should have fight 4, 2 pike supports, a banner reroll, and a penalty-free feinting swordsman, with no danger of being trapped due to the phalanx special rule. Not bad at all - in your perfect infantry-on-infantry engagement you should have the upper hand in the duel roll most of the time.

Feint in the front, fight value in the back. The workhorse of any Easterling pike block.

Amdur sits in the middle as the F6, 3-attack hammerhead, providing his free banner bonus too.

And you have a few heavy cav sprinkled in for objectives/flanking/ protecting flanks, who should be relatively immune to bow fire due to the gleaming horde giving them D7 riders / D6 horses.

But if you think the list looks a little one-dimensional, you’d be absolutely correct! If you get your engagement spot on, protect your flanks with scenery, and your opponent politely engages your pike block head on, you’ll do very well at grinding them down with your pure efficiency.

However, there are no tools to deal with monsters or magic, and thanks to S3 almost across the board, you’ll have a hard time killing… well, anything. For everything that the pike block brings in terms of duelling finesse, it lacks in killing power. You’ll be fishing for that big 6 to kill a lot more often than you’d like! Amdur and the Dragon Knight are your only real killy pieces, and while they are great, they can only do so much (and the DK will die when sneezed at thanks to his 2 wounds and ZERO fate). The objective and mobility game is weak, too – your strength relies in you deploying in one unbroken block, and turning / moving is cumbersome, leaving your opponent free to literally run rings around you.

Oh, and elephant in the room - not a fan of Easterling archers. The only thing Easterlings do better than anybody else is pikes, and adding bows just means less room for pikes as far as I'm concerned.

Don’t get me wrong, this is a very fun list, and it showcases all of the Easterlings’ strengths and weaknesses perfectly. But after a few games with this list and its variations, it was time to inject a little flair (and maybe a little competitiveness…?)

List Attempt #2 – Men of the East

You know what’s a really good answer to the following issues?

-          Poor mobility

-          Poor killing power

-          Lack of list diversity

-          Lack of chariots

That’s right, it’s chariots.

Amdur, Lord of Blades with Armoured Horse

5 Warriors with Shield

5 Warriors with Shield, Pike

5 Warriors with Shield, Pike and Black Dragon upgrade

Easterling Captain

3 Warriors with Shield

2 Warriors with Shield, Pike

3 Warriors with Shield, Pikes and Black Dragon upgrade

1 Warrior with Banner

1 Kataphrakt

1 Kataphrakt with War Drum

Khandish King with Chariot

3 Charioteers

700pts, 32 models, 7 might

Allying in Khand makes this list instantly look much healthier. The pricey chariots have inevitably taken a toll on the body count, but the pike block is still 8 columns wide - albeit minus the fury buff from the War Priest. The low killing power cavalry wing has gone, replaced by a couple of katas who are purely there for last-minute objective grabbing. There is a drum to help you line up that all-important first engagement correctly (9” move on infantry, 15” on cav), so that the pike block’s squishy sides can hopefully find some scenery to anchor themselves on - crucial to avoid being outflanked, or engulfed by your opponent’s wider infantry line.

And then there are the chariots, who are equal parts effective, terrifying, and ridiculous fun. Nobody is sad to see a chariot set up opposite them - well, apart from maybe D4 goblins! After a few games, despite their steep learning curve, the chariots seem to add a real second dimension to the Easterlings. They bring damage in spades - 2 free S4 hits per model they run over, and then effective S4 attacks on their monstrous charge boosted by the King’s 6” banner (they will almost always be using piercing strike - if any attacks get past the chariot’s 5+ In The Way roll they’re dead anyway). 3-4 chariots seems to be the sweet spot too - it allows for one or two chariots to inevitably fluff the rolls for their impact hits without ruining your entire flanking move. Plus, they’re a magnet for bow fire.

Obligatory juicy chariot closeup photo

A third point of might on the King for one extra heroic move would be amazing, and this list does find itself thirsty for might - you want as many heroic moves as you can get. But when your chariots are steamrolling their way through the enemy back line, you’ll be having too much fun to think about resource management. The dream scenario – digging in with your pike block, flanking with the chariots and pinning your opponent in a vice – has only happened a couple of times, and required some tricky timing to pull off. But the results were devastating! Just keep this list far away from any Laketown board.

Of course, the list still suffers from the Easterlings’ main weaknesses, and is hampered by their critical lack of hero options and gimmicky tricks. After a few more games I’ll start experimenting with Khamul instead of Amdur, who trades a bit of hero-killing muscle for the much-needed magical toolbox. Plus, it gives me a good excuse to convert up a fell beast.

The other logical ally is, of course, Mordor, who can offer the Easterlings a number of good things - a front rank with punching power (S4 Morannons or S5 black guard), a cavalry wing that can actually kill things  (the Mouth of Sauron and his Morgul Knights with their lances and magic). But this is all yet to come, as the chariots need to run around the block - and over some more goblins - a few more times first.

Bonus List – Black Dragon Beatstick

Amdur, Lord of Blades with Armoured Horse

4 Warriors with Shield

4 Warriors with Shield, Pike

4 Warriors with Shield, Pike and Black Dragon upgrade

Dragon Knight with Armoured Horse

2 Kataphrakts with Black Dragon upgrade

Dragon Knight with  Armoured Horse

1 Kataphrakt with Black Dragon upgrade

1 Kataphrakt with Black Dragon upgrade and War Drum

500pts, 19 Models, 7 Might

It doesn’t have many models. It has very limited access to heroic actions. It only has 1 fate point across the list. It has no magic.

But what it does have is 3 separate 3-attack models at 500pts, and something to prove.

Realistically, as I start getting more in to list building in general, Easterlings seem more and more to be something you’d want to ally in as a heavy defensive infantry contingent. But there’s just something so likeable about the gleaming horde in all their heavily eyelinered, one-dimensional glory. When the stars align and you get that perfect engagement, they work fantastically. So for the time being, the shinier my lists, the better!

The Gleaming not-quite-a-Horde-yet

Dan Slb: Thanks Dan! What do you guys think about the gleaming horde? Are they best as allies or can they cut it on their own? Let us know in the comments!

500 Under 50: Army of Gothmog/Mordor

Dave: When I started this small series, my aim was to try and keep as close to £50 for a 500 point list as possible, whilst I think I'm still close enough to that restriction, I'm starting to see that £60 is much more a reasonable price goal. There may have been a price increase from Games Workshop that I didn't notice, but I swear some stuff seems more expensive than usual... Either way, the following list should set you back no more that £60, and the Hero models are all from Games Workshop, whereas the Orcs themselves come from eBay, so some searching may yield better prices. You could also save £24 if you are handy with conversions/Green Stuff and make the Commanders yourself!

For this list you will need to purchase:
Gothmog (Foot and Mounted) - £22 (Games Workshop)
Morannon Orc Commanders - £24 (Games Workshop)
Morannon Orcs - £7 for 12 on eBay. You will need 2 sets, so £14 for 24 Orcs
Total Costs: £60

This list is as follows:

Gothmog on Warg with Shield.
1 Morannon Orc with Banner.
9 Morannon Orcs with Shields.
5 Morannon Orcs with Spears.

Morannon Orc Captain with Two-Handed Axe.
5 Morannon Orcs with Shields.
4 Morannon Orcs with Spears.

Orc Shaman

Orc Drummer

500 Points, 28 Models, 6 Might

If you don't own the Gondor at War Supplement, you can run this list as a Mordor army list instead of an “Army of Gothmog” Legendary Legion, even if you own the book, the choice is yours. The list also clocks in just shy of 500, at 496, as I've left shields off of the Orcs with Spears. Some of them are moulded onto them, 2 on each of the sprues, 4 total amongst the Orcs you'll have. If you want to include those Orcs with shields, that takes you up to a neat 500, but will require you to remember that only the ones with shields actually have them, not too hard, but if you're completely new to the game, its another small piece of information on top of all of the rules. Anyway...

Where the last list I wrote for this series (“The Rangers of Ithilien”) was all about shooting, you may notice a complete lack of it in this list! This list wants to get in your opponents face as quickly as it can. Having an Orc drummer in there can help, as sounding the drum during your movement phase will grant valuable extra inches to your whole army's movement and let them all keep up with  Gothmog on his Warg.

Speaking of Gothmog, he's an absolute monster. Boasting the “Master of Battle” rule, he can keep up with any hero in combat if they try to get their leg over him with a Heroic Action. On top of that, he's bringing 3 Might to the table, as well as 3 attacks, with a 4th when he charges due to his mount. He's really not a fan of Men at all either, so you'll find a very flavourful pair of rules to deal with them, and set in stone that “the age of men is over, the time of the Orc has come”. These grant Hatred (Men) permanently and rerolls to wound for one turn. If you are using this as the Legendary Legion then the ranges of these buffs are greatly increased! His warband also features a banner, giving you the edge in a duel for all your Orcs within it's range.

There's not much to say about the generic Captain, he's a cheap way for you to be able to field more Orcs, as well as granting more Might and Heroic March to the army, ensuring that you won't just spend the whole game chasing after cavalry models to no avail.

The Shaman is great addition in this list, being able to grant Fury, which is even better if you spend his Might for Heroic Channelling. It grants a very generous buff of Fearless, and, if Channelled, a 1/6 chance to ignore a wound, just as if a fate had been spent for all Orcs within 6". From my experience (and much to the frustration of my opponent) I've had Orcs stick around for far longer than they should do thanks to this guy!

Dan: Thanks Dave! I have personally witnessed Dave's Fury saves and they are a sight to behold! If you have saved a load of money thanks to these articles, consider buying Dave's Rohan dice off him, those Horsies show up a lot! 😉 Let us know what you think of this list or if you have any experience with Army of Gothmog/Mordor and would make any changes! Thanks for reading!

500 Under 50: Rangers of Ithilien

Dave: Recently I've seen a few posts pop up on Reddit (r/MiddleEarthMiniatures), Facebook or a few comments from some of my friends who aren't (yet) playing SBG about how they can affordably get into the game. Now, most of the time, people are more than happy to lend advice, and it's often very good. But often, you see people recommending out of production (oop) models that are going to bring costs up, or complex lists that new players might not understand.. Or another common one is just suggesting Rohan or Mordor, since that's what you get in the starter set. I'm not saying any of those are bad, and it's great to see people happy to dispense advice to new players!

What I want to achieve in this short series, is a way to get 500 points on the table, for about £50 and for the force, for the most part, be all directly available from Games Workshop or commonly appearing on eBay/Facebook Marketplace for a reasonable price, I will however endeavour to make sure the bulk of the list comes from GW. I won't be including Rule Books in the price, as they will always be an investment, and a cost you will eventually have to make one way or another.

The first list I want to look at is the Legendary Legion “Rangers of Ithilien. If you're new to the game, you might be wondering what on earth a “Legendary Legion” is. In a nutshell, it's a restricted army list where you are only allowed certain models (and sometimes only certain equipment on those models), but in return you are given some extra rules to let you theme your army better.

The Rangers of Ithilien are really cool, because where normally no more than 33% of your army may have bows, any models lead by Faramir, Madril or Damrod are exempt from that limit! You'll also gain the ability to move through woods and forests unhindered, so a really great way to have a nice ranged army that can still have some combat potential. A downside to the Legendary Legion, is that this is no longer considered a “Minas Tirith” army list, so the Army Bonus of +1C is lost.

So, lets get down to business, for this list you will need;
Ranger Captains: Faramir, Madril and Damrod - £20 for the pack of 3
1 box of Rangers of Gondor - £26 for a box of 24 models, of which you will need 23.
Frodo, Sam and Gollum – Roughly £10 from eBay, but depends when you search etc.
Total cost: £56, if you get your 2 GW items sent to your local store and collect yourself.

And here's the list I've thrown together;
Faramir with Bow
8 Rangers of Gondor
4 Rangers of Gondor with Spears

Madril
3 Rangers of Gondor
2 Rangers of Gondor with Spears

Damrod
3 Rangers of Gondor
1 Rangers of Gondor with Spears

Frodo Baggins with Mithril Vest, Sting and Elven Cloak
Sam Gamgee with Elven Cloak
Smeagol

This list's main focus, if it wasn't already obvious, is fighting at range. Every one of your models, aside from Frodo, Sam and Gollum has a bow, and will hit on a roll of a 3+ if they stay still. You're going to want to get into a good position and defend it, as a downside of this list is its low-ish defence value. I'm actually working on this very list for a cheap and fun Good army to get on the table myself, so if anyone has any questions regarding painting or playing the army, feel free to comment and I'll get back to you!

Thanks Dave! We look forward to more articles in this series, especially in the run up to Christmas! It is worth noting that a Rangers of Ithilien LL won a 500 point Good v Evil tournament last weekend but that list would require mounting Faramir, an extra box of Rangers and a mounted Captain! Maybe that would be a nice next step if you decide to collect Dave's list.

A Noob's Perspective: Thorin's Company

Dan: Thorin's Company is one of the unusual all-hero rosters. We decided to do this slightly differently as there isn't a huge amount to talk about apart from just discussing the special rules of each dwarf in turn. This would be boring for everyone (just go read the rulebook!) so instead we decided to have 3 of us each make a 500 point list in secret and talk about why we chose that list. We promise we did not confer at all no one had any influence on anyone else's list. Also, for reference, here is a picture of the dwarves as I never know which one is which!

Dave's List:

Thorin Oakensield with Orcrist and The Oakenshield

Dwalin (The combat one)

Gloin (The other combat one)

Nori (The other Burly one)

Kili (Twin 1)

Fili (Twin 2)

Bofur (The steadfast one)

Dave: This was my take on a 500 point list of Thorin's Company. The obvious thing straight away is that I have forgone Gandalf, as I don't really think it's worth 1/5 of the list, but then again, the extent of my knowledge of Magical Powers in this game doesn't often stretch past Channelled Fury...

So who have I take then? Well, thankfully, the list is small enough that I'll be able to talk a bit about each of my picks!

Thorin is the obvious choice, not just as it's his name sake warband, and the nice rule along with it,  but with an impressive Fight Value and 3's in all the right places, he makes a potent combat piece, his average strength of 4 may be a problem for fighting the higher defences, but thankfully, access to Heroic Strength can help to over come it. I've kitted him out with Orcrist and the Oakenshield, both for added flavour and some nice boosts, Orcrist being a Bane Weapon is very handy in some match ups, and the chance of causing Terror can't be passed up too. However, if nothing else, the Elven Made aspect of it is enough to suit me, especially at F6, since you'll be expecting some other heroes around that level. The Oakenshield is a nice little upgrade to, letting you still attack even when you're on the back foot.

Let's get into the good stuff now, Dwalin and Gloin;

Dwalin is an absolute monster! He's got an impressive strength of 5, and a Two Handed Hammer, with Burly! And if that wasn't enough, he's still rocking 3 Attacks, with 2 points of Might, and he's Fearless, whilst, not huge since, as a whole the whole company have decent Courage, it's nice to have. If you want to win a game and be able to kill your opponent, this guy looks like an Auto pick to me.

Gloin might be less obvious a choice, but continuing the theme of 3 Attacks, he checks in as the third nice damage dealer. His Might, Will and Fate isn't as impressive as Throin or Dwalin, but 3 Attacks, with axes, so he can Piercing Strike to go up to Strength 5 if you're feeling brave, he should be potent in a fight. He's also the first inclusion of a ranged weapon in this list, in the form of some Throwing Axes, not list breaking, but a nice bonus.

Nori is a nice pick, as he's armed with a Two-Handed Mace, and never suffered -1 to his Duel, so he's like a mini Dwalin; He's dropped an Attack and a Might point, and sadly only has regular armour and not the fancy Dwarf Armour, but is also nearly half the points. Don't really know what else to say about him, he's not going to go toe to toe with your opponents Leader, but he'll give any captain a run for their money.

Kili and Fili are incredibly similar, so I'll go through them both now. Their stats are the same as each others, and akin to Nori. They have a nice rule where they can swap places with each other if they're base to bases, and it doesn't count as moving, so pretty handy for getting one out of combat if they're running out of steam. They both have a ranged weapon, with Kili bringing a Bow into the list, though I think all that adds is false hope that it'll be effective.

And that takes us to our last Dwarf, James Nesbitt... I mean, Bofur! I'll admit, I have a soft spot for him, but I think he's worth having for the last Dwarf. He's hitting with a Mattock, so he posses some degree of versatility, but again, like the last few picks, he's bringing a similar stat line to the weaker dwarves in the list, but sadly only get's to F4, the lowest in this list, but he can ignore magic on a 2+, so when the whole list gets Transfixed or Immobilised, he'll be the hero we all need ;D

Dan's List:

Gandalf

Bilbo with The One Ring

Bifur (The one with the axe in his head)

Bombur (The fat one)

Ori (The slingshot one)

Dwalin (The combat one)

Oin (The reroll one)

Dan: When coming up with my version of “Thorin’s Company” I had to actually read all the special rules for each dwarf and then make a little spreadsheet to compare their stats (I know, I’m that sad). As you can probably tell from other articles, I’m a big fan of synergy so that was mainly what I was looking for. With that in mind, the combo of Oin handing out rerolls and Bombur refreshing his Will immediately jumped out so I wanted to take those 2 straight away. Bifur and Ori’s special rules also jumped out at me. Possible free heroic moves and shots that auto wound on 6s to hit? Yes please! Bifur is also the only one with a spear. It seems unlikely that I’ll be doing much supporting but you never know. Also Ori can give back a point of Might, Will or Fate if someone nearby kills a hero. Again, this is situational but a nice bonus if it comes off. I also knew that I definitely wanted Bilbo in there as the Ringbearer is a great way to deal with enemy heroes by halving their fight value. So these 5 are 235 points between them with no upgrades. I did briefly flirt with putting them all on ponies but then found out ponies don’t give cavalry bonuses so forget that! I’ll deal with the 3” fewer movement and use those points to buy a scarier dwarf. 

Speaking of which, the elephant in the room, there is no Thorin in my company. I had him in for a while but then I started looking at Gandalf. Thorin is scary in combat but that’s all he really is. Everyone in the company is already above average in combat so I don’t really feel like I need to double down on that. Gandalf, on the other hand, adds some much needed utility to the list. He can protect (Blinding Light, Protection of the Valar), attack (Sorcerous Blast, Collapse Rocks), control (Immobilise, Command, Terrifying Aura) and most importantly Strengthen Will on Oin who can turn that into rerolls in combat. Since Gandalf gets a free point of Will every turn I can attempt this a lot with little consequence. Finally then, I do actually need a combat hero. I have 95 points left so obviously we’ll go with Dwalin who is an absolute machine. He adds some high Fight and Strength to the list which will be useful in cracking high defence. The way I imagine this list being used is by having Gandalf and Dwalin team up and then Bilbo, Bifur, Oin and Bombur be another team. Meanwhile Ori will stand back and snipe. All in all it’s probably terrible but it does look like fun! I can’t possibly imagine how it would beat a regular army but maybe there is a secret sauce somewhere!

Colm's List

Colm: There were a couple of things that I had clear in my mind before setting off on building a list:

• My collection currently consists of an Azog’s Legion and Dol Guldur alliance, so I wanted to think of a force I could take to a Good vs Evil tournament
• Gandalf is too expensive to include at 500 pts as he makes the low model count of Thorin’s company even lower
• I wanted to include Bilbo because hobbits are cool.

What I’ve come up with is the following:

Thorin Oakenshield w/ Orcrist, the Oakenshield, and Pony

Gloin (the other combat one)

Dori (the one that helps Bilbo)

Bilbo w/Sting, The One Ring, and Pony

Balin (the one that rerolls priority)

Bifur (the one with the axe in his head)

Ori (the slingshot one)

Oin (the reroll duels one)

This list can be split into two sections; the combat half (Thorin, Gloin, Dori, and Bilbo) and the support half (Balin, Bifur, Ori, and Oin). Combat-wise, Thorin and Gloin are very effective in combat with F6, access to Heroic Strike, high defence, and three attacks. Bilbo’s role in combat comes from his ability to wear The One Ring as halving the fight value of his opponent means that there’s
nothing that will beat the F6 of Thorin or Gloin when they’re in the same combat. He’s not the toughest combatant beyond that, but with support from his friends and three fate he can hopefully stick around long enough to get the job done. Dori is decent in combat, but doesn’t hit the highs of the other two dwarves. His ability to share his might, will, and fate with Bilbo is a nice bonus to keep the hobbit around if he’s being focussed on.

There are also some controlling aspects to this part of the list. Thorin is carrying Orcrist, which means he will cause terror to Orcs, Goblins, and Uruk-hai (not to mention the bane rule). This will be strong in the Good vs Evil format this list would compete in as these troop types will be common. There are also terror checks required to charge Bilbo whilst he’s wearing the ring. This will especially help to stop him getting paired off into a fight with a random trooper rather than joining Thorin where the action is.

The support half is there to help maintain the efficacy of the combat characters into the late-game. Bifur is able to call heroic moves for free once he has dislodged the axeblade in his noggin and save on might. This is admittedly not the easiest thing to do, but the payoff is so good it has to be worth a try. Ori is there to refill the might, will, and fate of the big hitters and add a little shooting into the force. Oin can heal the dwarves after they’ve been knocked about a bit, and can help them win a fight with his once per fight phase banner effect (I think access to rerolls is something that is sorely lacking in the army). Balin is there for his ability to reroll the priority dice as well as some magic defence via Heroic Resolve (Oin can also use this heroic action). Controlling priority is powerful in determining charges, but also offsets the slow pace of the army a little by letting them move towards objectives before the enemy. 

Other things that might be worthwhile considering is dropping a character to fit in more ponies to try and speed them all up a bit. I thought about adding in Bombur to refill the will of Balin and Oin, but he’s not the best fighter and his ability only works on a 4+ so I opted against it.

Dan: So there we have it! Three very different lists from the same small roster. This game never ceases to amaze me with the variety it offers. What is even more amazing is that not a single one of the Company is in all 3 of these lists! We promise we didn’t plan this and came up with our lists independently!

The 6 Company members that made it on to two lists come to about 450 points...could it be we have found an even better list between the three of us...?

I have put Thorin's company on my Christmas list this year so hopefully I will get to try some of these out in the new year! Let us know which of the three lists you like best and please share your own Thorin's Company lists with us too! Thanks for reading!

List Review: W.A.R. of the Ring

Today we are looking at the Top 5 lists from W.A.R. of the Ring, a 500 point Good v Evil event held down in Reading last weekend. It was also a 100 point GBHL event and had 54 attendees. Read on to have a look at the lists or skip to the end to see how it compares with the Scouring of Stirlingshire, another Good v Evil event from a few weeks ago. 

5th Place

Good: Army of Lake-Town (Pure List)

The Master of Lake-Town

6 Guard

6 Guard with Spear

Alfrid the Councilor

Braga, Captain of the Guard

3 Guard

8 Guard with Spear

Bard the Bowman with Armour and Horse

Sigrid and Tilda

11 Guard with Bow

40 Models, 8 Might (up to 11 though)

This is very similar to a list on the most recent episode of the Green Dragon Podcast. Since those guys are far more experienced than me I’ll just parrot what they said. This list is based around The Master using his Money Bags special rule to up the Fight value of the Guard to 4 and Braga to 5 at key points in order to win a load of fights and either kill the enemy or control a certain area. Added to this is the fact that they count as within range of a banner when within 6” of Bard, or The Master whenever the Money Bags rule is active. This gives a huge amount of coverage. You’ve also got the reliable combat hero that is Bard with the standard upgrade package (Alfrid, Sigrid and Tilda) for dealing with big heroes. Alfrid doesn’t have to just give his Might to Bard though, he could give it to the Master if the Guard need more buffing. Finally, 40 Models at 500 points is pretty huge so there is definitely scope for swamping and surrounding the enemy. Remember, traps win games! (Sorry Green Dragon guys, hope you don’t mind me stealing your wisdom 😉)

Evil: Azog's Legion (Pure List)

Azog with White Warg, Heavy Armour and Stone Flail

7 Gundabad Orcs with Shield

7 Gundabad Orcs with Spear

1 Gundabad Orc with Banner and Shield

Goblin Mercenary Captain

9 Goblin Mercenaries

26 Models, 8 Might

This list really revolves around Azog and him being basically unkillable. Going down the rest of the Top 5 I really can't see anything that could deal with Azog in a straight fight. The rest of the list is an escort for Azog and to help play the objectives. With that in mind it might suffer from a lack of mobility, especially as it is one of the smaller forces in the Top 5. However in Contest of Champions this should be a very easy win. Not sure what else to say about this one to be honest, I guess the Goblins can jump out of terrain to surround people but really it’s all about Azog. 

4th Place

Good: Fiefdoms (Pure List)

Prince Imrahil with Armoured Horse and Lance

1 Knight with Armoured Horse and Lance

2 Knights

6 Men-at-arms

1 Clansman

1 Blackroot Vale Archer

1 Blackroot Vale Archer with Spear

Forlong with Horse

1 Knight with Armoured Horse and Lance

2 Knights

6 Men-at-arms

2 Clansmen

1 Blackroot Vale Archer

1 Blackroot Vale Archer with Spear

29 Models, 6 Might

This is a solid fighting force of a lot of F4 troops being helped by Imrahil’s ridiculously large banner effect. We’ve also got two impressive combat heroes and some very punchy cavalry backed up by a pretty decent pike block and some choppy two handed weapons. The Knights are F5 within 3” of Imrahil and everyone within 6” of Forlong is rerolling 1s to wound. Overall this just seems extremely solid and has tools for pretty much everything. You’ve got to know how and when to use them but if you do this list will not let you down. 

Evil: Mordor (Pure List)

Gothmog with Warg and Shield

4 Black Numenoreans

4 Morannon Orcs with Shield and Spear

Gorbag

4 Black Numenoreans

4 Morannon Orcs with Shield and Spear

1 Warg Rider with Shield

Zagdush

4 Black Numenoreans

4 Morannon Orcs with Shield and Spear

1 Warg Rider with Shield

29 Models, 9 Might

No legendary legion here, instead 12 Black Numenoreans are accompanying the orcs, bringing with them high defence and an above average Fight value of 4. Also, 2 Warg Riders let you play objectives slightly more effectively than the LL allows. Gothmog with full kit is still very strong despite the limited range on his special rules, however, 29 models in 500 points means you'll have to whittle some forces down to be able to activate the Mordor army bonus, so the BN's have to put in some leg work, especially since Mog’s abilities do not buff them at all. Gorbag and Zagdush are nice choices, as they're cheaper named captains who are both bringing 3 Might each and 3 attacks each (Gorbag gets 3 if outnumbered). Zagdush can deal with stronger models with a combo of Heroic Strength and his ability, but that risks death if he loses the fight, as his D drops to 4. Morannons all armed with Shield and Spear imply that all of the leg work in the list is being done by the BN's rather than having the Orcs on the front line, paired with Gothmog, once per game the spear line will reroll failed strikes, and can potentially have Hatred if they are against Men. BN's cause Terror, that and the F4 has to be worth something since it did well. They are 1 point more than an M.Orc with a shield, but for the 1 point you gain +1 Fight and Terror.

3rd Place

Good: Lothlorien and The Shire (Yellow Alliance)

Haldir with Heavy Armour and Bow

2 Guards of the Galadhrim Court

4 Wood Elves with Bow and Spear

5 Wood Elves with Spear

1 Galadhrim Warrior with Spear and Banner

Holfoot

12 Shirriffs

Farmer Maggot

Grip, Fang and Wolf

6 Archers

3 Militia

Farmer Cotton

5 Shirriffs

6 Archers

51 Models, 7 Might

Well this is a strange, unassuming, little list. At first it doesn’t look like much but as I read through the profiles I found more and more little tricks hidden within it. Sure the Hobbits are low Fight, but the Elves are above average and all have spears/pikes so can support in key places. The Hobbits are low Strength, but actually all the Shirriffs around Farmer Cotton can go two handed with no penalty so they are essentially S4. Everyone in the army actually has a pretty impressive shoot value so those Short Bows are going to pull more than their weight, and then you’ve got 40-odd lots of Throw Stones when the enemy gets close. Even at S1 that is going to leave a mark. Finally, at 51 models this is a veritable horde at this points level so it has good objective game too!

Evil: Moria and Goblin Town (Yellow Alliance)

Dragon with Fly 

6 Moria Goblins with Shield

3 Moria Goblins with Spear

Grinnah

10 Goblins

Goblin Town Captain

10 Goblins

32 Models, 8 Might

Another strange list, the centrepiece of which is the Dragon. This thing is a machine at F7 S7 D7 and 5A on the charge. Maybe this thing could go up against the Azog above but it’d take a bit of luck as Azog has double the Might. It also has fly so it can pick its fights or grab an objective if need be. The rest of the army is a big screen of troops, most of which can support each other thanks to either spears or the Chittering Horde special rule. It really looks as though the Dragon needs to do some serious work here as the goblins are nothing special, but at this points level there aren’t a huge amount of things that can stop it! 

2nd Place

Good: Army of Thror (Pure List)

Thror

12 Guardians of the King

Young Dwalin

5 Warriors with Spear and Shield

Dwarf Captain

4 Warriors with Spear and Shield

24 Models, 7 Might

This list is just plain solid. Lots of high Fight, lots of high Strength and lots of high Defence all backed up by 2 very powerful heroes. It’s also the smallest list in the Top 5 but unlike some lists there is no filler here, everything can hold its own. The Guardians of the King in particular can smash through basically anything with their F4, S4 two handed weapons backed up by the F4 of the Warriors. They are going to be outnumbered but Thror is a large banner and there are plenty of spears in the list to help even things out again. 

Evil: Azog's Legion and Azog's Hunters (Green Alliance)

Bolg with Fell Warg

13 Gundabad Orcs with Spears and Shields

Fimbul

5 Hunter Orcs with Bows

3 Hunter Orcs with Two Handed Weapons

2 Hunter Orcs

1 Hunter Orc with Bow and War Horn

1 Fell Warg

27 Models, 6 Might

Here we have Bolg. He’s not quite Azog but he isn’t far behind, especially in small games. Backing him up is a block of decent Defense troops and a chunk of 2 attack Hunter Orcs. These guys seem to be all the rage at the moment. Sure they are only F3 but if they win a Fight they’ve got 2 strikes at S4. That can end up mowing down a lot of stuff quickly. Master of Battle also can’t be overemphasised in small games where resources are already limited. 

1st Place

Good: Rangers of Ithilien (Legendary Legion)

Faramir with Bow and Horse

12 Rangers with Spear

Madril

12 Rangers

Damrod

3 Rangers with Spear

3 Rangers

Captain of Minas Tirith with Horse, Lance and Bow

34 Models, 9 Might

What a disgusting number of bows. 34 of the buggers, hitting on 3+ and probably wounding on 5s or 6s, you'd expect to get somewhere between 4 and 8 wounds per turn. At this points level that could be a quarter of your army! Yikes. As this was Good v Evil unless you have brought the Shadow Lord along you are really not going to have a good time against this list. It is not super hard to see why this won, I don't really know what could deal with it on the Evil side!

Evil: Mordor, Dark Denizens of Mirkwood and Moria (Yellow Alliance)

The Shadow Lord with Fellbeast

10 Black Numenoreans

2 Orc Trackers

2 Orc Trackers on Wargs

The Spider Queen

Moria Goblin Captain

8 Goblins with Spear and Shield

2 Goblins with Spear

27 Models, 7 Might

This is a strange amalgamation but at 500 points having 2 monsters, protection from shooting, a strong magic caster and a decent number of troops is pretty good going. I thought for sure when I saw Moria alliance that it would involve Bat Swarms but I guess they are there for the numbers. Presumably the goblins are the back rank behind the Black Numenoreans who have all of the benefits that we’ve discussed in other lists but with the added bonus of Harbinger of Evil. In fact, almost half the army causes terror. Not generally a huge problem for Good armies but still adds an element of control. 

So just like in previous tournaments we have looked at there is no one thing we can pick out as common to all of these lists. Some rely on numbers, some on heroes. What is interesting is that at this points level players seem to be building lists that are less about having tricks and tools, and much more abut raw efficiency. Plenty of these lists are very straightforward, bow spam, troop spam, unkillable heroes, solid defensive lines, etc. This definitely makes sense as you have fewer points to work with but it’s still interesting to see. 

Something that I have noticed is that all but one of these lists have either elements from Armies of the Hobbit or one of the new supplements (Gondor at War, Scouring of the Shire). Only the Fiefdoms list is purely from Armies of the LOTR. I thought this might just be a quirk but then I went and looked at the Stirlingshire lists and all but 2 of them were the same. So out of 20 lists that’s only 3 pure AoLOTR lists. Does this suggest there has been some power creep with the new additions to the game? Quite possibly. It’ll be interesting to see if this trend continues as this is still only 2 data points so not enough to make sweeping conclusions but it is something to keep an eye on. 

What do you think about these lists? What about the possibility of power creep? Leave us a comment and let us know!