Building on your Battlehost: Isengard

Dan Stu: 

This is the first in a new blog series, in which we'll be talking through each of the new-ish Battlehost boxes, and giving advice on how to build out your collections. 

One of the blog series that kicked off our humble blog was our 500 under 50 series. Sadly though, in a post-price-hike world, that series is now looking a little out of date - if you’re looking to get in to the game for £50, our new blog series may as well be a tutorial on how to walk in to a shop and buy a Battlehost. 

I have noticed, however, that there doesn’t seem to be much in the way of buying guides since the release of the Battlehosts. And as they are, alongside the new starter set, now the most cost-effective way of buying in to the game, I decided to put together this guide for people who are relatively new to the game and may be baffled by where to go next.  

A particularly confusing aspect for new players is the large number of Legendary Legions now in existence, and without buying a lot of books, it can be unintuitive to figure out what your most sensible purchases are. We won’t be going in to detail about the particular pros and cons of each Legion (that is extremely well covered by our friends over at Tell Me A Tale, Great Or Small) but we will be presenting a sensible order of purchases to be able to field each one. 

As is always the case in our buying guides, we won’t be going for the most optimized or competitive lists – the focus will be on the minimum number of purchases you can get away with to get your toys on the table. And where we discuss prices, we’ll be using the direct from GW costs. However, you can often find models cheaper than this, and for the older armies in particular, my first place to check would always be the online trade groups, where you can very often find job lots of older factions for very good prices - as long as you’re happy with a bit of hobby DIY. 

Speaking of hobby DIY – I’ve written the lists below so that the weapon options match what you’ll find in the various troop boxes. However, you may find that other wargear options are preferable, particularly when it comes to shields and 2-handed weapons (the rule of thumb: shields good, 2h weapons bad). With a bit of light hobbying, it’s possible to make changes – for example, adding shields to the shieldless models. For the sake of friendliness to new players, the lists below don't necessitate any such conversion work and are all made from off-the-shelf models.

And a final point - the most important rule to bear in mind is that you should always buy that models that look fun or appealing to you (as long as you can afford them!) We've taken a bare bones approach on how to get each Legion on the table with minimum purchases and not too many fancy toys, but if a troll or ballista looks like a good time, then that should be your  next purchase - don't deny yourself some of the joys of the hobby just because of something you read on a blog or forum. 

I suppose the first point to address is that while the Isengard Battlehost is a great place to start in the faction, it is also in an odd spot, in that most Isengard lists and especially the Legendary Legions will use either Uruk Scouts or Warriors, but rarely both - especially if you’re looking to optimize your list. In addition, Saruman is not present in any of the Legendary Legions. That being said, the Battlehost is still a great place to start, because it will set you up for a large number of options – so unless you’ve got your mind set on a particular Legendary Legion and would prefer to purchase only the troop type needed, the Battlehost is a much more cost effective option. And, given that the troop boxes currently retail for £30 and the Battlehost (consisting of 2 troop boxes and a character) for £55, it seems like a no brainer to cover yourself for any lists you may wish to pivot to in the future - so we'll assume that's where you're starting. 

Pure Isengard Path 

Credit: Andrew King, as featured on Warhammer Community

We'll talk in this blog about Legendary Legions, but don't be fooled in to thinking that they're the logical endpoint when collecting Isengard. Pure Isengard is just as fun and competitive as any LL, and gives you by far the most versatility, as well as access to some units that you're locked out of otherwise. 

List 1: 400pts Battlehost only

Shopping list: Isengard Battlehost, Armies of the LOTR book

  Warband 1    18/18  

  Saruman with Horse;  

  8 Uruk-hai Warrior with Shield;  

  10 Uruk-hai Warrior with Pike;  

  ----  

  Warband 2    0/0  

  Gríma Wormtongue  

 ----

395pts, 20 Units

   

This list is worth taking for a spin if you’ve just dipped your toe in to the game and bought your first battlehost. It’s good for getting toys on the table quickly, or if you and a friend both bought a battlehost together and want to play with those exclusively - but I’d strongly recommend moving on to your next purchases. Sadly we're not able to fill the last 5 points as there is no space in any of our warbands!

List 2: 650pts Pure Isengard

Shopping list: Uruk-Hai Commanders box

  Warband 1    14/18  

  Saruman with Horse;  

        4 Uruk-hai Scout with Uruk-hai bow;

            4 Uruk-hai Scout with Shield;  

  4 Uruk-hai Warrior with Shield;  

  4 Uruk-hai Warrior with Pike;  

  1 Uruk-hai Warrior with Banner;  

  ----  

  Warband 2    0/0  

  Gríma Wormtongue  

  ----  

  Warband 3    10/12  

  Uruk-hai Captain with Shield;  

  2 Uruk-hai Scout with Uruk-hai bow;  

  4 Uruk-hai Warrior with Shield;  

  4 Uruk-hai Warrior with Pike;  

  ----  

  Warband 4    6/6  

  Uruk-hai Shaman with Armour;  

  2 Uruk-hai Scout with Uruk-hai bow;  

  2 Uruk-hai Warrior with Shield;  

 2 Uruk-hai Warrior with Pike; 

650pts, 34 units, 8 Bows

   

With the commanders box, things are starting to come together, and this is a perfectly decent army. You’ve got a nice mix of magic, a banner and some shooting. This is a good set of models that you can field for plenty of games. If you are a newer player, this is an excellent 'tutorial' army - a good option to get quite a few games in while you learn the ropes, before deciding the style of army you want to buy in to next. (If you want our take on 'tutorial' armies, we have a blog post about that here, too!)

You can really pick your poison from this point, too – some more named heroes, and some specialist troops like crossbows or berzerkers will give you a much more varied toolbox and will help to build towards bigger, scarier Isengard lists.  

List 3: 800pts Pure Isengard 

Shopping list: Lurtz & Ugluk, Warg Riders

  Warband 1    17/18  

  Saruman with Horse;  

  4 Uruk-hai Scout with Uruk-hai bow;  

  2 Uruk-hai Scout with Shield;  

  4 Uruk-hai Warrior with Shield;  

  4 Uruk-hai Warrior with Pike;  

  1 Uruk-hai Warrior with Banner;  

  2 Warg Rider with Throwing spears;  

  ----  

  Warband 2    0/0  

  Gríma Wormtongue  

  ----  

  Warband 3    12/15  

  Lurtz with Shield;  

  2 Uruk-hai Scout with Uruk-hai bow;  

  2 Uruk-hai Scout with Shield;  

  3 Uruk-hai Warrior with Shield;  

  3 Uruk-hai Warrior with Pike;  

  1 Warg Rider with Orc bow;  

  1 Warg Rider  

  ----  

  Warband 4    12/12  

  Uglúk  

  2 Uruk-hai Scout with Uruk-hai bow;  

  2 Uruk-hai Scout with Shield;  

  3 Uruk-hai Warrior with Shield;  

  3 Uruk-hai Warrior with Pike;  

  1 Warg Rider with Orc bow;  

 1 Warg Rider

800pts, 45 units, 10 Bows 

 

Optional Extras: Literally everything else from the Isengard army list!

This is still a really basic Isengard list, but it’ll get you to 800pts with minimum purchases. It’s ticking similar boxes to the 650pts list, but with the addition of some named heroes and some cavalry threat. You can really season this to taste, with Mauhur & Vrasku being logical options, as well as some bigger threats such as specialist troops or trolls. Sharku would also fit right in with the warg riders.

This list really isn't doing anything all that fancy, but it's a fantastic backbone that you can add almost anything to. 

Legendary Legions

So once you’ve got a decent Isengard backbone sorted and a few games under your belt, you will most likely start thinking about Isengard Legendary Legions. These are a double edged sword, because while they offer highly specialized and powerful lists, they will lock you out of many options – the most notable being Saruman himself. It is definitely a good idea to treat them as optional sidegrades, and after some time with the vanilla Isengard list you’ll get a handle on the style of play that suits you. 

Assault on Helm’s Deep LL

Charles Lin's stunning AoHD army display. 

Why you’d like it: Tons of shooting, big siege weapons with Legion bonuses, and hordes of generic infantry and captains. 

For AoHD, you’re best off branching out from your basic Battlehost + Commanders box, (List 2) as you’ll mostly be needing Uruk Captains and Uruk Warriors. Keep in mind that if you’re looking to play Assault on Helm’s Deep exclusively, none of the other named Isengard heroes will be any use here, so buy with that in mind. 

Shopping list: Uruk-Hai Warriors, 2x Uruk Hai with Crossbows, Uruk-Hai Siege Assault Ballista, Uruk-Hai Siege Troops, 1x Uruk Hai Captain, War in Rohan book

A pretty hefty shopping list, but all stuff that you’ll be able to use in vanilla Isengard should you desire. 2 squads of crossbows isn’t exactly the bare minimum and you can play AoHD without these, but they are such a core part of how this legion is played that it feels necessary to include at least 8 of them. For a more ‘meta’ list, you can swap out the demolition team for a second Siege Ballista, although you’re not likely to earn many friends by doing this. 

You’ll need a second Captain to play this list too, but I wouldn’t advise buying a second pack of Uruk-Hai Commanders just for this – I would recommend either converting one from a regular warrior, or checking the trade groups as there are a number of old metal Captain models that can prevent you from doubling up on the same Captain sculpt. 

List 4: 800pts Assault on Helm’s Deep Legendary Legion

  Warband 1    18/18  

  Uruk-hai Commander with Shield;  

  6 Uruk-hai Warrior with Pike;  

  6 Uruk-hai Warrior with Shield;  

  3 Uruk-hai Warrior with Crossbow;  

  1 Uruk-hai Demolition Team with Flaming Brand;  

  ----  

  Warband 2    17/18  

  Uruk-hai Captain with Shield;  

  6 Uruk-hai Warrior with Pike;  

  6 Uruk-hai Warrior with Shield;  

  1 Uruk-hai Warrior with Banner; Shield;  

  4 Uruk-hai Warrior with Crossbow;  

  ----  

  Warband 3    12/12  

  Uruk-hai Shaman  

  5 Uruk-hai Warrior with Pike;  

  6 Uruk-hai Warrior with Shield;  

  1 Uruk-hai Warrior with Crossbow;  

  ----  

  Warband 4    2/12  

  Uruk-hai Siege Veteran  

 Isengard Assault Ballista

                   

                     799pts, 53 Units, 8 Crossbows  

Optional extras: More Crossbows, Berzerkers, Trolls, second Siege Ballista

This list will give any experienced SBG player cause for pause. You can probably optimise it by including more siege bows and crossbows, but this is a great starting point and will do well on the table. 

Scouts Path

The scouts path will only be building on the 24 scout models from the Battlehost, so if you desire to run only these lists, you could probably just jump in and buy Scouts directly. However, for the reasons we talked about earlier, I still think the Battlehost is such good value that you’d be better off just shelving the other models until you feel like playing a different list – so we’ll be branching off from list 1. 

Lurtz’ Scouts LL

Credit: Warhammer Community

Why you’d like it: Lots of fast guys, lots of bows, it’s very cinematic, good deployment control, and you get to throw a shield. 

Lurtz’s scouts is often maligned, and it may be treated as a stepping stone to playing the scouts list that is generally regarded as being better. However, it doesn’t require all that many purchases, so it’s an easy recommendation to follow on from the Battlehost. 

Shopping list: Lurtz & Ugluk, Mauhur & Vrasku, Uruk-Hai Scouts Commanders, Quest of the Ringbearer book

We’ll need both Lurtz and Mauhur in the list, as Mauhur allows you to upgrade your entire army to an 8” move, which is pretty much the main reason to take this list. 

I’ve also put in a single extra scout with shield, beyond what is provided in the Battlehost. If you can’t beg / borrow / steal a scout from a friend, I’m sure most people would be happy with you using an Uruk-Hai warrior as a proxy. 

If you plan on passing over this list and going straight to Ugluk’s Scouts, you can probably forego the Quest of the Ringbearer book, too – although there is a lot of other fun stuff in there. 

List 5: 500pts Lurtz’s Scouts Legendary Legion

  Warband 1    11/15  

  Lurtz with Shield;  

  Uruk-hai Drummer  

  3 Uruk-hai Marauder with Shield;  

  3 Uruk-hai Marauder with Uruk-hai bow;  

  3 Uruk-hai Marauder  

  1 Uruk-hai Marauder with Banner;  

  ----  

  Warband 2    9/12  

  Uglúk  

  3 Uruk-hai Marauder with Shield;  

  3 Uruk-hai Marauder with Uruk-hai bow;  

  3 Uruk-hai Marauder  

  ----  

  Warband 3    7/12  

  Mauhúr  

  3 Uruk-hai Marauder with Shield;  

  2 Uruk-hai Marauder with Uruk-hai bow;  

  2 Uruk-hai Marauder  

----

                    500pts, 30 Units, 8 Bows  

Optional extras: Uruk-Hai Scouts (particularly with bows)

The only way you can build on this list is by adding more Captains and Scouts. As the list probably shines most around the 500-600pts mark, and as the second set of Scouts isn’t needed to Ugluk’s scouts, you’d have to really want to play this list at higher points values to justify this purchase, so I wouldn’t recommend it immediately.  

If we were to optimise this list you'd want to hit your bow limit - but that's not something we've done here as we're limited by the number of bows in the battlehost. If you are happy to convert some of the shieldless Scouts to have bows, the list would certainly benefit. 

Ugluk’s Scouts LL

Fellow Drawn Combat writer Steve Thorley's lovely Ugluk's Scouts army. 

Why you’d like it: Tons of very fast guys, fun interactions between your troops, high model count.

Shopping List: Snaga & Grishnakh, Mordor Orcs, War in Rohan book

List 6: 700pts Ugluk’s Scouts Legendary Legion

  Warband 1    11/12  

  Uglúk  

  Uruk-hai Drummer  

  3 Uruk-hai Marauder with Shield;  

  3 Uruk-hai Marauder  

  3 Uruk-hai Marauder with Uruk-hai bow;  

  1 Uruk-hai Marauder with Banner;  

  ----  

  Warband 2    9/12  

  Mauhúr  

  3 Uruk-hai Marauder with Shield;  

  3 Uruk-hai Marauder  

  3 Uruk-hai Marauder with Uruk-hai bow;  

  ----  

  Warband 3    6/12  

  Uruk-hai Scout Captain with Shield;  

  2 Uruk-hai Marauder with Shield;  

  2 Uruk-hai Marauder  

  2 Uruk-hai Marauder with Uruk-hai bow;  

  ----  

  Warband 4    12/12  

  Grishnákh, Orc Captain with Shield;  

  4 Orc Warrior with Spear;  

  4 Orc Warrior with Shield;  

  2 Orc Warrior with Two-handed weapon;  

  2 Orc Warrior with Orc bow;  

  ----  

  Warband 5    10/12  

  Snaga, Orc Captain  

  4 Orc Warrior with Spear;  

  4 Orc Warrior with Shield;  

  1 Orc Warrior with Two-handed weapon;  

  1 Orc Warrior with Orc bow;  

  ----  

698pts, 53 Units, 11 Bows

Optional extras: Uruk-Hai Scouts, more banners

There is probably an argument for another banner in here, if you can find one or don’t mind shelling out for a second pack of Scout Commanders. We’ve used all the Uruk Scouts we own in this list, so if we want to go beyond 700pts, you’d need another box of Scouts or Orcs. However, as we’ve already included all the named heroes, this list is probably best around 700pts or less – you could pad it out with more Captains and warriors if you wanted to, but you're not really adding any new tricks at that point.

Dunland Path

My own Dunland army!

You might notice that we haven’t touched a Dunland model until now. Dunland function a bit like an army within an army, especially when you consider their Legendary lLegion which shares no models with the Isengard Battlehost. This path assumes that you’d want to collect general Isengard models with a few Dunland options, and then want to have the ability to run the pure Dunland LL. 

If your aim is to beeline to the Dunland Legendary Legion, then you’re better off just skipping the Battlehost completely and collecting Dunland from the ground up – which is actually what I did. before retroactively buying the Isengard Battlehost. But don’t get me wrong – a lot of the Dunland models are a great boon to a ‘vanilla’ Isengard list and are worth picking up even if you have no intention of running the Legion. 

Isengard & Dunland

Technically this is still pure Isengard, but we’re on a  slightly different trajectory to the ‘Pure Isengard’ lists, so I’ve separated this option out as it’s a very different way to run the army. 

Why you’d like it: Dunland has got some of the coolest toys in the game. They’re strong, cheap and very angry. Some of the heroes fit seamlessly in to the Isengard roster. You don’t get any insane heroes, but they each bring a lot of bang for their buck. 

Shopping List: Heroes of Dunland, Dunlending Warriors, Crebain

We’ve gone for the Heroes of Dunland pack here as they give great bang for your buck – three heroes that all bring something different as well as buffing some of your troops. Gorulf in particular is an absolute powerhouse in any army.

Disclaimer: I’ve recommended Wildmen and Dunlending Warriors, but it must be said that these boxes are absolutely terrible value. The way they are packaged is rubbish too – they come with as many 2 handed weapons as single, and in the case of Warriors, you get a grand total of 4 with axe & shield. Given that these make up the backbone of your Dunland troops, this is frankly a terrible value  that I would not advise purchasing - it's right up there with Easterling warriors for troop packs that make no sense.  

I’ve tried to stay away from any conversion work or third party models, but this really is a situation in which I’d recommend giving either one of them a look – both to save your wallet and to avoid duplicate sculpts (there are two poses for a Dunland warrior with axe & shield, your go-to troop type). There are a large number of historical miniatures companies out there, and several product ranges are suitable for padding or proxying Dunland troops. Of course, the ideal situation is finding a Dunland job lot on a trade group, but given the list’s relative popularity, this might be tricky to find at a good price. 

I’ve written these lists assuming you’re happy to buy multiple boxes of GW’s Dunland troops, but I’d strongly recommend keep the alternatives in mind.

List 7: Isengard & Dunland 700pts 

  Warband 1    18/18  

  Saruman with Horse;  

  7 Uruk-hai Warrior with Shield;  

  10 Uruk-hai Warrior with Pike;  

  1 Uruk-hai Warrior with Banner;  

  ----  

  Warband 2    8/12  

  Gorûlf Ironskin  

  1 Dunlending Warrior with Banner;  

  2 Dunlending Warrior with Bow;  

  2 Dunlending Warrior with Shield;  

  2 Dunlending Warrior with Two-handed weapon;  

  1 Crebain  

  ----  

  Warband 3    7/12  

  Frida Tallspear  

  2 Dunlending Warrior with Bow;  

  2 Dunlending Warrior with Shield;  

  2 Dunlending Warrior with Two-handed weapon;  

  1 Crebain  

----

                       697pts, 36 units  

I’ve built the list with the models you get in the Warrior and Wildman packs, but you should keep in mind that this is pretty sub-optimal, and the list is instantly improved if you replace all 2h weapons with their single handed equivalent (and a shield where possible.) Hopefully Games Workshop give us a way of buying Dunland troops that actually makes sense in the near future, but I wouldn’t count on it. 

It's worth noting that you’ve got a whole load of Scouts from your Battlehost untouched here, as well as some spare Dunland and Uruk heroes – so you could easily pad this list to 800pts or beyond. 

Optional Extras: Thrydan Wolfsbane is the obvious omission here and he is absolutely worth picking up, especially if you plan to eventually run the Dunland LL. I've gone for Gorulf and Frida but Thrydan is brilliant. You will also have the Wilman Oathmaker who pairs very nicely with Wildmen of Dunland if you want some cheap fearless troops. 

Army of Dunland LL

Credit: Warhammer Community

Why you’d like it: If you already like the Dunland units, you get to take a LOT of them, and you get a few nice bonuses to boost their effectiveness and killing power. Tons of might and tons of toys – you can read our hot take about it here. 

Shopping List: Thrydan Wolfsbane, Dunlending Horsemen, Dunlending Warriors, Wildmen of Dunland, Dunlending Huscarls x2

The main caveat of Dunland is that it doesn’t come cheap – and as we’re not sharing any models with the Isengard Battlehost or even the rest of Isengard at all, if you want to only run Dunland, it’s more practical to forego buying anything Uruk-related. Fortunately, Dunlending Horsemen and Huscarls  - both eye wateringly expensive if purchased in multiples – can be easily proxied by third party miniatures. If you can get past the price tag though, Dunland are very fun indeed. 

List 8: Army of Dunland 700pts

  Warband 1    11/15  

  Thrydan Wolfsbane with Horse;  

  1 Dunlending Warrior with Banner;  

  2 Dunlending Warrior with Bow;  

  2 Dunlending Warrior with Shield;  

  2 Dunlending Warrior with Two-handed weapon;  

  2 Dunlending Horseman  

  2 Dunlending Huscarl  

  ----  

  Warband 2    11/12  

  Gorûlf Ironskin  

  1 Dunlending Warrior with Banner;  

  3 Dunlending Warrior with Bow;  

  3 Dunlending Warrior with Shield;  

  1 Dunlending Warrior with Two-handed weapon;  

  2 Dunlending Huscarl  

  1 Crebain  

  ----  

  Warband 3    10/12  

  Frida Tallspear  

  3 Dunlending Warrior with Bow;  

  3 Dunlending Warrior with Shield;  

  1 Dunlending Warrior with Two-handed weapon;  

  2 Dunlending Huscarl  

  1 Crebain  

  ----  

  Warband 4    11/12  

  The Wild Man Oathmaker  

  5 Wild Man of Dunland  

  6 Wild Man of Dunland with Two-handed weapon;  

 ----

                    700pts, 47 units  

Aside from the over-abundance of two-handed weapons, this actually looks pretty great. Dunland tends to shine around the 600-700pt mark so there’s not much to change, other than perhaps buying a few more of the ‘premium’ units such as Huscarls or Horsemen – but these are best taken in moderation anyway. There’s also a strong argument to take a Dunland Chieftain over one of the named heroes too, just to have access to Heroic March - happily, these come included with the Warriors box, which is one of the few nice things that can be said about it.  

Optional Extras: More Huscarls, Horsemen, and more Warriors with axe & shield instead of bow or 2h weapon. 

Wrap-up

Some of you may have spotted that we have not addressed the Mumak in the room - the ‘Wolves of Isengard’ Legendary Legion. This is a super niche Isengard legion that shares no models with the Battlehost, so there really is no logical way to pivot in to it – it really is its own beast, and if you want to run it, more power to you! 

As we can see pretty clearly in the flowchart, it’s possible to get 800pts or higher of Isengard on the table with really very few purchases. The Legendary Legions pivot out of this core quite nicely but tend to be more purchase-heavy, so it’s really a case of picking your poison – or just keep accumulating enough models that you can run them all!

Keep your eyes peeled - this is the first blog in the series and we will be following up with our next Battlehost shortly.