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).