A Noob's Perspective: Corsairs of Umbar

Today Dan Stu takes a deeper dive than usual into one of the more niche armies; the Corsairs of Umber. Time to up anchor and hoist sails! (Sorry)

Dan Stu: In the true spirit of giving a noob’s perspective, this is an army list I have never played, never played against, and never even really looked at before today. But with a few months of SBG under my belt, here is how I’d approach this incredibly aggressive army.

Quick hits:

Race: Men

Strength: Base 3 for warriors, 4 for heroes

Defense: Base 3 for warriors, 4 for heroes, with limited options to improve

Fight: Base 4 for warriors

Courage: Base 3 for warriors, 4 for heroes

Kit: Almost no armour in sight. Almost everything has throwing daggers. Very few wargear options. 

Army Bonus: +1 to wound against trapped models

This army is defined by high killing power and a toolbox full of pirate tricks, so to begin I’ll go through the models that most clearly define the faction.

Dalamyr - Hero of legend

Dalamyr is likely to be an auto-include just because of his bargain cost. How many other 90pt models can bring 18 friends along with them? It also helps that he’s no slouch as an assassin, and the tricks up his sleeves ensure that even an Aragorn or a Gil-Galad aren’t going to get complacent when fighting him - especially with Bane of Kings giving Dalamyr rerolls on all his wounds! 3A, S4, and 3 fate are all great. Slightly less great: F5, 2 might and D4. You really need to make sure you’re giving this guy the backup he needs to win duels, because he doesn’t have the might to spare for modifying dice - and when he’s not winning duels he’ll go down fast. But for 90pts, you can’t really expect him to have the all-rounder stats of a top-tier beatstick hero.

What you do get in abundance are toys. Smoke bombs, if they hit on a 3+, inflict a strength 1 hit (because hey, you never know) and force your opponent to spend will or be transfixed. This makes Dalamyr really bad news for any heroes with only 1 will, as in a multi-round combat, Dalamyr should get a free transfix over half the time. That’s terrifying - and it also helps to make up for his defensive shortcomings. His ability to never be trapped while standing and Stalk Unseen round out his profile, making Dalamyr surprisingly slippery.

Throwing daggers are always nice to have, too, in case you run out of smoke bombs by rolling a 1 to hit.

All in all, a fantastic assassin hero at an aggressive price point, and a great start to your list.

Delgamar – Hero of Valour

Delgamar is a bit more of a traditional general, and trades in the assassin’s tools (no heroic strike, no bane of kings and no smoke bombs) for a more rounded toolkit  - an extra might, a more respectable defense of 5, and…a whip!? He also comes with a soft 3” banner effect, allowing warriors to reroll in the duel, but take a S2 hit should they lose. Probably not something you should use all the time (just like the Stab special strike), but I’m sure there will be situations where you just can’t lose that fight and you’re glad to have it. At a modest 75pts, Delgamar gives you a cunning tactician, to complement his hot-headed companion, Dalamyr. Unless you have a specific exotic build in mind (Hâsharin spam, etc), I think it’s hard to go wrong with Dal & Del.   

Hâsharin – Hero of Valour

Hâsharins are singing from the same hymn sheet as Dalamyr – they’re hero-seeking missiles. S4, 3A and Bane of bloody Kings on a generic bloody hero means that nobody in the game will feel completely safe with a Hâsharin or two stalking them.

They keep Dalamyr’s weaknesses – D4 and a painful 1 might, which in many matchups will be reserved for a heroic strike. Better hope you roll that 6 in the duel!

Adding to their wildcard playstyle is 2 wounds and 3 fate – effectively giving them anywhere between 2 and 5 wounds.

These guys won’t gradually grind down their target with statistical superiority. They are true assassins, and I think the ‘mind games’ aspect of that is important. Sure, they could lose a duel, flub a couple of fate rolls and die without even ruffling Aragorn’s feathers, and I’m sure Corsairs players have seen this happen many times! But losing the duel roll against these guys is bad, bad news - and that’s going to be in their opponents’ minds at all times.

They’re very similar to Easterling Dragon Knights; glass cannon wildcards, and similarly to DKs, you probably want to take as many as you can without crippling the rest of your list. They cost exactly the same, but trade the DK’s horse and extra might for the terrifying Bane of Kings. Happily, though, they can still bring 15 troops with them compared to the DK’s 6, so even if you go greedy on the assassins you’re not compromising your ability to bring extra warriors.  

Corsair Bo’sun – Hero of Fortitude and Reaver – Warrior

Hoo boy.

If you were thinking the Corsair troops would be any less spicy than their heroes, then think again. One again, ridiculous aggression is the mission statement. Bo’suns function as fairly standard captains with a built in 3” banner effect and a two handed weapon – they’re also very customisable and can be built for melee, support or shooting – I think I’d take them with a spear most of the time.

But their interaction with Reavers is where the magic happens. Take a Reaver away from his Bo’sun at the start of his move phase, and the Reaver must take a courage test. If he fails:

-       He must charge the nearest enemy, if possible

-       If no enemies, he must charge the nearest friend

-       If no friends, he must move towards the nearest enemy

-       He gets +1 to wound, and ignores all courage tests (including terror checks)

And the really crazy thing – you can choose to voluntarily fail the courage test! Which means that when you’re within charging distance of the enemy, you can withdraw your Bo’sun, and watch the carnage unfold. Bonus points if you get to ignore terror checks in the process.

I’m sure this is very tricky to do. You need to be up close to the enemy, and your enemy needs to be committed to the fight, otherwise they can just withdraw – bad news! But even if your bluff is called and you are caught without your Bo’sun when you need him, the Reavers’ courage value of 4 will hopefully allow most of them to keep their heads (though a few of them might kill each other before the Bo’sun comes back next turn to calm things down.) I’d definitely need a game or two with these to gauge when it’s best to send these guys in to a bloodthirsty rage, but judging that decision perfectly seems very fun and very devastating.

Oh, and did I mention these guys are 9pts, and have 2 attacks?

If Dalamyr and the Hâsharins have been setting the example for the Corsairs, the Reavers have been taking some serious notes. I would bet good money that learning how to unlock the massive potential of these models is, by far, the biggest learning curve in the Corsairs.

It’s an absolute crime that these guys don’t have their own models.

Corsair Arbalester – Warrior

As you’ve come to expect by now, even ranged Corsair units hit hard and die fast. Arbalesters are Corsairs with crossbows – and at 4+ shoot, 24” range and S4, there aren’t many armies that will want to drag their heels when closing the gap on your frontline. Perfect thing to bring if, for example, you have a horde of 2-attack psychopaths, and you’d love your enemy to get within charging range.

The quirk with Arbalesters is that their Pavisse grants them +3 defense at range, making them weirdly sturdy in the shooting battle. They can theoretically out-shoot Uruk crossbows, and for 1 point cheaper! Although I suspect that in a shooting war, your opponent will just select one of the many, many squishier targets on offer.

Black Númenórean  - Warrior and Black Númenórean Marshal – Hero of Fortitude

Remember everything I said about Corsairs being very killy and very squishy? Ignore it completely. For a modest 9pts a head, you can place one of the game’s most stubborn infantry lines in to one of the game’s squishiest factions. This opens up tons of possibilities for placing down a terror-inducing roadblock at a key tactical location. Between BNs and Arbalesters, you have powerful tools for controlling when and where your opponent engages you. And while I don’t think the Marshal will see much use, a handful of BNs will find their way in to many Corsair warbands - army diversification doesn’t get much more diverse than this.

And now for the slightly more conventional models.

The above models really represent to me what the faction is about. If I’m running Corsairs, I’m running them for these profiles. These next models just miss the ‘spicy’ cut, but they do round out the army list nicely:

The Knight of Umbar – Hero of Valour

It takes a certain type of army list to make a named Ringwraith look a little plain. He’s certainly not bad – he’s a sub-par caster (by Wraith standards), but a 4+ transfix is very dependable. And he gives access to the wrecking ball that is a Fell Beast, should you get bored of the Corsairs’ other toys. But all told, I feel like the Corsairs don’t rely on their named Wraith in the same way as other factions such as the Serpent Horde, or the Easterlings. He’s a good combat piece, but he doesn’t make his list sparkle in the same way as other Wraiths.

Corsair of Umbar – Warrior

Your basic troop. Fairly cheap at 7pts, with the standard Man profile, but with fight 4 and defense 3. They do have the holy trifecta of bow, shield and spear available to them, so feel free to tailor these guys to any situation. You’ll almost always want shields. They, like most other Corsair models, have throwing daggers, so a mob of Corsairs can expect to pick up a few ‘free’ kills over the course of the game. Big numbers will also help to activate Backstabbers often, which lends itself to a very piratey ‘defeat in detail’ playstyle.

Corsair Captain – Hero of Fortitude

A standard generic captain with a two handed weapon, coming in at 50pts with an extra strength, defense, attack, wound, Heroic March, you know the drill. Fight 5 on a captain is tasty though, and is one compelling reason to take these over a Bo’sun.

Overview

So that’s the Corsairs. Tons of killing power, tons of toys, terrible durability (apart from Númenóreans), but a surprising amount of diversity and a huge amount of list building potential. Which is good, because they only have Historical Allies in the form of the Serpent Horde – which, it’s worth noting, is your only way of getting a banner in your list. If you run pure Corsairs, you are giving up a few potential VP’s, which is a small shame.

The other conspicuous omissions are the complete lack of cavalry (allying in Serpent Riders helps), and the lack of a rugged combat hero that you can throw in to a big fight without a plan in mind. But that's not the Corsair way. They're sneakier, and must be more deliberate with their aims. If the mission requires them to win certain fights, they'll have the tools available to do that – they just need to use them correctly. It’s hard to complain about what they don't have, when the things they do have are so specialised and so fun.

Corsair games are bound to be quick and bloody – you can’t just clash lines, grind out combat and wait to see if a weak spot appears. Every turn you don’t achieve your objectives, you’ll be losing models and diminishing your lethal potential. So have a game plan, have no mercy and take no prisoners!

Here is a noob’s first pass at an army list:

Dalamyr 

4 x Black Númenóreans

4 x Corsair Arbalesters

6 x Corsairs of Umbar, Shield, Spear

Delgamar 

4 x Black Númenóreans

4 x Corsair Arbalesters

4 x Corsairs of Umbar, Shield, Spear

Corsair Bo’sun

9 x Corsair Reavers

Hâsharin

3 x Corsairs of Umbar, Shield, Spear

Hâsharin

3 x Corsairs of Umbar, Shield, Spear

747pts

46 models

8 Might

I think that the balance between Corsairs, Arbalesters and Numenoreans will take a few games to get right - as will the correct way to deploy them. And while there is no ‘real’ banner, the Bo’sun acts as one, and you get a ‘half banner’ from Delgamar. 8 might is on the low side, but 46 models is very healthy, and the extra board control should help with the lack of cavalry. There’s a smattering of crossbow fire to pressure the opponent to engage on your terms, and a few Numenoreans to help with objective play - And each Hasharin has a few meat shield friends to support them while they do their vicious work.

Corsairs look great, and I hope to take them for some swashbuckling adventures on the table one day.

So, what did this noob get right, and what did I miss completely? If you’re an experienced Corsair, I’d love to hear your opinion!

Shiver me timbers that was a good read (sorry again). Thanks to Dan for this excellent look at the Corsairs! It has certainly made me want to strap on an eye patch and dive in! Who knows, maybe it's a pirate's life for me? (Sorry a third time).

500 under 50: The Rangers

I put off doing this one for a while, because it's so remarkably similar to the first in our series, The Rangers of Ithilien, but I've decided to just put it out there in case it's helpful to anyone... And to get back into the swing of writing these after I took a much longer Christmas break than I intended!
This is a really simple list, and since Games Workshop have added Halbarad back onto their online store, it won't cost you an arm and a leg! The list, as complex as it is, is as follows:

The Aragorn one
Aragorn – Strider with Armour and Bow
Halbarad with The Banner of Arwen Evenstar
7x Rangers in The North with Spears
Points: 497

The hardest part of the list, in terms of buying will be finding the Aragorn model you're happy with. The original Three Hunters Aragorn would look great, but he's OoP, so you'll have to pay premium for him. Anyway, to build the list you'll need to pick up:

Lord of the Dunedain: £20
3 sets of Rangers of The North £24.60 (£8.20 each)
Aragorn: The rest of your budget (£5.40 takes you up to £50)

Which Aragorn will you choose?

So obviously, a big drawback of the list is the model count, and even though each of your models has Might, I'd probably recommend the Ithilien list in our first 500u50 at this points range. However, the list does offer up a lot, and like I said before, you've got Might coming out of every model.

So what's the deal with the Rangers? Well, each of your 7 Rangers gets 2 attacks, due to the army bonus, and they are backed up with a solid F4, S4, and a banner from Halbarad (which extends out to 6”, rather than just 3”) as well as making those in range Fearless, a huge boost when you only have 9 models.

As you'd expect the army is very competent at shooting, there isn't a model in the army boasting anything less than a 3+ Shoot value. You'll need to make good work of your bows, as your 9 shots will on average net you 1 or 2 kills per turn. You'll really want to thin out the enemy as much as you can before engaging in combat.

Your main heroes, Aragorn and Halbarad are both strong, with 3 Might and solid fight values. Halbarad wants to stay near his buddies, making the most of the banner where he needs to. Making good use of Aragorn will be a huge part of the list. His free Might can be used each turn for Heroic Accuracy or Shoot, with the former being very helpful for sniping key heroes who are hiding behind the lines. This is a fun and thematic force which can be very effective when played well, you really just have to make the most of your bows and not commit until the fights are in your favour.

I've thrown together another list, since Aragorn eats so many points. This list will use the same models as above, not including Aragorn. It comes in a little short on points, so you can add another ranger, but it'll require you to buy another pack. The list is:

The Arathorn one:
Arathorn
Halbarad with The Banner of Arwen Evenstar
9x Rangers in The North with Spears
Points: 464

Like I said, you can add another Ranger, but it'll require you to buy another pack. If I was playing this list, I'd try and convert 3 of my Rangers to mounted Rangers, instead of adding a tenth model. That way, you can move about for some objectives later in the game, and start putting some pressure on your opponent from his flank. I'd only recommend this if you're more experienced with the hobby and converting as a whole.

The list plays very similar, you just lack the free might from Aragorn each turn, but you gain Arathorn, who is very similar in terms of stats, again, just lacking that free might.

Battle Companies Session 1

On Tuesday we had out first session of Battle Companies Season 2. Not everyone could make it, and we were all there at different times but we managed to get a fair few games in! Here is a rundown of what happened.

A side note, we have been using the utterly fantastic Battle Companies Manager to track everything this time around. I had heard of this but hadn't used it before, expecting it to be a glorified spreadsheet. Boy was I wrong. It is such an incredible tool that makes keeping your Company up to date so easy. It automatically tracks experience and influence, it allows you to add special rules or injuries and it even calculates your rating automatically. I cannot recommend it enough. In fact, I love it so much I went straight home and became a Patron on Patreon immediately after my games on Tuesday! Definitely check it out if you can!

The positions after our initial expansion

Dan Slob:
In the first expansion phase I went straight to Erech so that I could hopefully have a spooky recruit to help in my games!

Game 1 saw my Rohan take on Steve’s Lothlorien. I thought this would be a tough match but the scenario had us deploy right up next to each other (Kill the Messenger). My Rohan were straight savages and tore the elves apart! Oof, sorry Steve! Man of the match was Phil who sniped away two elves!

No one gained enough experience to upgrade but I did get enough influence to buy myself a horse! Riders of RoDan indeed!

My second game was against Adam and his Minas Tirith. I had a shaky start, with random deployment meaning I had one model on each board edge and 3 not show up! On the other hand half of Adam’s company came in on the same edge while the other half stayed at home. Phil was a hero once again and held up the 3 WoMT for a while, even killing a hero! Dan Stu came to help but got smacked down. After breaking Adam, all of the rest of his guys ran away leaving me uncontested on the objective. 

This time I had all 3 heroes get on to a path. I chose the path of the warrior and got an extra Might. Adam went on the path of the sorcerer and took the army bonus, and Phil went on the path of the ranger and gets to call a free heroic shoot each turn. I also bought Adam a horse to get use out of that bonus! Unfortunately I suffered my first loss, RIP Dan Stu, who died for the Rohan cause. This is very annoying as now my numbers are lower than I’d like! Guess I’ll be recruiting soon!

The Rohan warriors and their spooky friend line up to batter the elves!

Dave:

The first game for the Second Breakfast Club say them pitted against Dan Stuarts ghosts in the mission “Rescue”.

Fillibert, my leader, started in the centre, along with 2 archers, Bungo and Marcho. They spent the next few turns running away, whilst trying to meet back up with the rest of their company. One of my Hobbits picked up an early kill with their bow, but such fortune would not last, as this would be my only kill. Combats ensued, but with Dan being a game or two ahead, he'd managed to get a Banner effect from Path of the General, and that proved too much for the Hobbits to beat!

Fillibert suffered a broken leg, reducing his move to 3”! Robin Chubb, a plucky militia, fell to ghosts and was the Companies first Death, however rolling on the reinforcement table granted me 2 Shirrifs!

Game 2 saw me playing Adam, with the mission “A Show of Strength”. Leader kills were the win condition, and a 3” move on Fillibert made that difficult! A couple of bow kills from Tobold and Bungo were a good start, and the kills continued, though I can't remember who picked them up, but none went to Fillibert, meaning, even though I got Adam down to 25% and caused the game to end, he still won as he had managed to pick up 2 kills on his Leader!

Marcho fell in this game, putting me down to only 3 archers now, but similar to last time, I gained a Hobbit Shirrif on my reinforcement roll, putting me at 3 models with Fight Value 3!

Dan Stu
Game 1: Steve’s Lothlorien – Stand your Ground, Defender
Unfortunately for Steve he had lost an Elf to an unlucky roll in the previous game, putting him on only 5 models – fewer than his starting company!
Thanks to a lucky early kill, I could start setting up traps for the elven swordsmen, and by the time the archers arrived it was too late. My leader picked up 3 kills, which scored him a banner (with the help of a reroll from the territory bonus) – a ridiculously strong start.
MVP: Lie-in-Hell Messi, for getting the banner on game 1.

Game 2: Dave’s Shire – Rescue, Attacker
Oh dear. I had to kill Dave’s leader while he tried to run away – not a great scenario pick for the most ‘rule of cool’ company out there. Despite this, Dave had a strong start with a bow kill and winning  heroic move, allowing his leader to run to relative safety. Sadly, the pure stats advantage of the banner-backed ghosts, combined with terror, made it straightforward to drop a hobbit or two a turn, picking up some XP before cornering and finishing off the leader.
MVP: David Screaman – not a hero, but racked up 3 kills.

Game 3: Colm’s Gundabad – Stand your Ground, Defender
Oh dear oh dear. Courage 2-3 orcs and gobbos meant another ridiculously favourable matchup for the ghosts – which seems to be a running theme... To rub salt in the wound, Colm had just picked up an Ogre – a terrifying opponent in battle Companies, until you remember that he’s still only courage 3. The writing was on the wall– low courage and terror checks meant that ghosts had mostly favourable engagements, getting a clean sweep by turn 3. Ouch.
MVP: Wayne Wooooooney, who has a funny name.

After 3 games, Liverghoul F.C. are looking… pretty overpowered, to be honest. They now have a banner, a rider and 6 ghosts, as well as a sprinkling of F4 and D9. Hopefully next time somebody can put them in their place!

The Hobbits are just expressing what we all feel when Dan's ghosts approach

Colm:
The Gundabad Shaggers got off to a middling start by scrapping with some Wanderers in the Wild in an attempt to kill their messenger. The portly hobbit fled the board with message in hand after the force broke leaving us with a draw, but a few xp and some influence to kick things off.

The next game was Infiltrate and Assassinate against Adam's Minas Tirith. Thanks to some shoddy sentry work Seal Team Shag were able to kick down the door of Adam's leader and take him out! This got my leader started on path of the general and a sergeant on path of the warrior.

This was quickly followed by a brawl with Steve's elves that gave more xp and due to a lucky roll on the hero injury chart a bucket load of influence! This got the company their first new hire, an ogre!

Unfortunately he was promptly was taken out by some ghoulish hooligans, but thankfully made a full recovery. I paid my reminding influence to earn a Beserker, which combined with my general's new ability to boost courage in 6" should give me better game against the ghosts next time out.

Colm's newest recruit - Shagbalrog

Will:

The Forgotten Sons – My first SBG experience.

Game 1 - Colm, Mission: Kill the Messenger
After watching a lot of videos on SBG and flicking through the rule book the night before I took the plunge and joined in the campaign at the last minute. Taking Wanderers in the Wild was a good opportunity to try out several factions at the same time. First battle against the Gundabads was kill the messenger. I picked the hobbit as my Messenger due to him being named after Colm (so he may just leave him alone). In the first shooting phase, with my first ever rolls of dice in the game of SBG resulted in 3 shots and 3 dead goblins- I like this game. The remainder of the game was a game of attrition which the orcs won but still resulted in a draw with my MVP Godrir Wisesnarl (Ranger) taking 2 goblins down but having to miss next game due to injury.

Game 2- Adam,  Mission: Rescue
I was the rescuer so left my Elf bow wielding Hero (Pelleas) in the centre with two warriors. I backed up and shot as much as I could until I took cover with my elf cloak and provided kills from afar, whilst my other band of merry men could come in to charge. It worked and I managed to break the army and win. Upgrading my leader (Eldarion) on the General table to give 12” steadfast was good, but the best thing was Pelleas getting Lethal aim with a double 6 on the ranger table. I also managed to roll an ELF SENTINEL on the reinforcements table. Wooohoo!

Game 3 – Steve T Mission: A darling rescue.
Confidence was high going in to this I felt my force could easily prevail as he was seriously down on models. After a few useless shots by my archers he kindly charged into my indestructible circle, or so I thought. My newly beloved Elf Sentinel going down instantly to a bow shot and then losing a dwarf and an elf in combat, it was pretty plain sailing from there for Steve and his Hero ran off through the gap in the lines into the sunset. Finished up with a loss, a DEAD Sentinel and Wood Elf (RIP Slobodian). So I rolled on the reinforcements table and lo and behold another Sentinel! Facing the Hobbits with this may be a good bonus.

Summary- I love this game!!!! So I went and bought more models.

He wasn't kidding, he really did go and buy this straight after!