Full on Fluff: Legendary Legions - Part 4

Good morning, Themetown-ians. once again we delve into the depths of theme and the legendary legions given to us by the developers of MESBG and question just how thematic they are. Today we're on to the most recently released supplement. We're going to see horses, we're going to see orcs beating the snot out of one another - let's look at War in Rohan.


Defenders of Helm's Deep

Basis: Oh bugger, we don't have horses.

First up is another legion that I've enjoyed running personally (largely because I already had a load of Rohan to use) and one reason for this is actually the lack of horses, the main draw of a Rohan force. Instead you get to throw in some good old Elven shooting and fight values (made even better in this legion), a buff to courage when broken and the Rohirrim finally realising the long lumps of wood they like to chuck at people can also be used supportively. So what do you get access to? In short - a lot of heroes and three different types of infantry. The sheer amount of Rohan in here means you can easily run Gamling and his Might factory (especially with two cheap sources of Might - Haleth and Aldor).

Going back to the special rules, the range bump to bows who haven't moved is a nice touch given its design as a defensive legion - doesn't work for every scenario but even more deadly elven shooting is a scary thing for objective defence/sniping. Going even more into the defensive theme, the ability to support with throwing spears is fantastic (especially when you combine it with the fact that you'll likely have a turn of throwing them before engaging).  You are, however, a bit buggered by having Théoden as your leader, whose worth is not nearly as good now that he loses his cavalry buff bubble and still isn't the best in a fight.

Fluff Verdict: 9/10

There's not really much you can fault this list on in terms of theme. The special rules revolve around the force as a whole rather than just select heroes and rules adding to the idea of the force being 'legendary'. The inclusion of heroes like Haleth and Aldor are a nice touch too (Aldor is simply my favourite for that one silly shot). Of course, this fluff is more highly representative of the movies as opposed to the books as we would not have got the Elves in the latter. It's just simply what you got from the movies and plays like a defensive force. The only thing which may have given it the final point would be giving the Legolas the janky shield slide ability he got in the old scenario for Helm's Deep if I was feeling silly.

Uglúk's Scouts

Basis: Be naff to one another, and run on, dudes!

Who doesn't like a bit of beef between Orcs and Uruks? The central theme to this legion is certainly capitalising on that dislike of one another on the eaves of Fangorn. Despite not actually killing one another (save for Uglúk beheading a few) they vent their rage by killing anyone but themselves better as long as one of each is in the fight. In game this won't always be easy but I do love the idea of both parts of the force fighting to show they can kill better - it also gives you a list you wouldn't necessarily consider as it's either usually a Mordor force with Orcs and monsters or your full Uruk force - feels like a great bridge and incentive to mix the two.

Other than the extra killy-ness, the force gets some decent bonuses to movement. Mauhur means every Uruk (including heroes) is a Marauder, giving a great boost to movement speed for no cost at all, well no cost in the points sense at least. This speed is great for objective grabbing and charges but it does mean leaving the orcs behind playing catchup, meaning you really need to choose when to use that extra movement to make full use of the legion's wounding bonus.

Fluff Verdict: 8/10

Similarly to the previous legion there's not much to fault in terms of theme - particularly when you consider the newer inclusion of Snaga and his wily ways. There's not much choice in the list but the legion itself is a choice by allying these two forces together and the heroes have to lead their respective race. I would maybe say it would be nice to have a rule between Uglúk and Grishnakh, or even a special bonus to to the Head Taker rule specific to Snaga would be great.

Riders of Éomer

Basis: Here comes the sun, here comes the sun, and I say TO THE KING!

Éomer, Gandalf and Riders. That's pretty much it for this legion and there's not much else to it other than Éomer gives you the normal Rohan bonus in a bubble. Oh, and Gandalf will blind you with the almighty power of the sun. This rule is where I get really excited about the legion - it's a one-shot use of making everyone the army is engaged with worse at fighting, including the ones supporting. The force is very one dimensional in this respect though, it relies largely on that one moment of glory and hitting the enemy force with it's full weight.

Fluff Verdict: 8/10

Honestly so far with War in Rohan, they're knocking it out of the park with the fluff. I will say compared to the other two lists though, this one is assisted by it's small roster and one pretty amazing special rule. You can't fault it's thematic rating purely as it focuses on the only two things we see the army accomplish - only other thing which could help would be a boost to the armies courage on the turn Gandalf blinds everyone but aside from that there's no much I can think of to add.

Until next time, flavour-lovers!