Defenders of Helm's Deep Army Review

The next tournament I'm attending will be a four-man teams event, with the players needing to divide up a War of the Ring era Good army, an WotR Evil army, a Hobbit-era Good army and an Evil Hobbit-era army. I can currently only field WotR lists, so after a bit of discussion I was nominated to run the WotR Good Army. I deliberated for while with various lists, considering Defenders of the Pelennor and Realms of Men primarily, alongside Grey Company which I've done well with earlier in the year.

Despite struggling somewhat in the meta, I can't avoid running Rohan, but I am very aware of the faction's weaknesses. This namely being average Defence and below-average Fight value, coupled with limited boosts to damage boost outside occasional list bonuses. They aren't bottom tier by any stretch, but they have been left a little behind in the meta.

Allies are the solution for some of this, and Rohan does have many options in its available lists. I've tried Gondorian support a few times via Pelennor and Realms of Men, and they work well, but thinking about potential lists I may have to face I figured I would go with Rohan's most elite allies; the Elves of Lorien.

Can't go wrong with some Elven firepower

Defenders of Helm's Deep is of course the movie-canon depiction of the battles of Helm's Deep, allowing you to field an alliance of Rohan infantry, armoured Galadhrim and the Three Hunters. It's a damn shame it doesn't retain cavalry, but obviously that would not make sense. What it does do is partially address the list of Rohan weaknesses I mentioned earlier:

• Elves cover the Fight Value issue superbly. F5 outfights most enemy troops and even threatens  a good number of heroes. With Elven Blades also, it tips ties in my favour.
• Whilst not a major boost as it does tie with Throwing Spears, Elf Bows are Str 3 to threaten odd numbered Defences more, and do so at a greater range. Elven Swords are also hand-and-a-half allowing for +1 to wound if needed.
• Elves with shields alongside Royal Guard can be D6, to give the battleline that important defensive boost. 

Finally, I do like a list with some decent shooting, and DoHD does offer a good amount between the combination of Elf Bows, Rohan Bows and Throwing Spears, plus Legolas, Haldir, Aldor and King's Huntsmen as hero options. It would be a bit of a trap to lean too heavily into shooting with this list I think, but I ignoring it would be equally silly.

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So let's break down the options the list gives before we build our final list for the event:

Heroes

Heroes of Legend

Theoden, King of Rohan

Theoden is the list's only "tax" and must be your leader. At 80pts base with the option for a shield (bringing him to D7), that's a fairly low cost start, and for the price you get a fairly normal mid-level hero profile with March and Strike. The former is nice in an all-infantry list, but Strike is likely more of a last-resort option and Theoden is going to be more comfortable chopping through infantry. 

His special rules do elevate him somewhat, Herugrim is a fantastic piece of wargear that auto-wins tied combats rather than going to a roll-off, giving some weight to Heroic Strike. It's important to note that the auto-win is tied to Theoden's personal Fight Value, he can't simply support Aragorn to win at F7 fights, but it is useful nonetheless. Theoden also comes with a 12" Stand Fast paired with his 5+ Courage. Should the army break, he also gives Courage re-rolls within 6" once the army is Broken. This is fantastic for keeping your models in the field, and incentivises keeping Theoden alive to the late game. Not always easy as he does only have 2 Wounds and a single Fate point.

Finally, he confers a Banner re-roll to Haldir if he is within 6", whilst also allowing him to auto-pass Courage tests and re-roll failed To-Wound rolls when making Strikes. More on this when we get to Haldir.

All-in-all, you may be missing Snowmane, but Theoden is a solid support for the list. Keep him safe at the back of the battle-line and manage his fights carefully.

Heroes of Valour

Aragorn (Strider)

We all know how Aragorn works by now. At 165pts he's the most expensive model in the list, but for that cost you're getting one of the most combat-capable characters in the game thanks to his suite of Heroics, F7, free Might points, and hand-and-a-half sword. This incarnation has no wargear options, but comes with Armour by default, bringing him up to a much safer D6.

Free Heroic Marches and Moves are fantastic for the army's mobility throughout the entire game, long outlasting the equivalent from Captains. I also quite rate Heroic Accuracy after playing Grey Company, allowing me better chances at picking-off banners or threatening heroes in the early game. There's also the option to call it to affect Throwing Spears as well, which could be an interesting play.

Oh, and he boosts Haldir in the exact same way Theoden does.

If you've got the points and your meta revolves around similar heroes, he's well worth considering.

Perhaps the absolute best option for leading the charge

Gimli, Son of Gloin

The future Lord of the Glittering Caves is much in the same guise as he is in any other list. 100pts gets you a solid roadblock of a hero, F6, 2-3 attacks with the option of two-handing, Strike and Strength on offence with D8, 2 wounds and 3 Fate should things go south. He's not going to flashy, but I'd argue he's going to be a solid addition to the list, and a worthwhile consideration if you just can't squeeze in Aragorn.

Unfortunately, like those other lists, he's in competition with Legolas and the elf certainly is the flashier option. Useful if you can afford both, as it'll make sure you can almost always get that +1 To Wound bonus for Gimli, but otherwise he's got stiff competition.

Haldir, Galadhrim Captain

Haldir feels almost like an auto-include in the list to me, despite being most obviously yet another piece of competition for Legolas. At 85pts base (optional Elven Cloak) this saves nearly fifteen points in comparison, and whilst you do lose a lot of the ranged threat, Haldir still gets two shots a turn, still has Sharpshooter and still has 3 Might.

All that said, Haldir does fit a different niche better with the Army Rules allowing Haldir to treat both Theoden and Aragorn as a 6" banner that grants him Fearless and re-roll all failed wounds. This turns him into a reliable combat piece in my opinion, F6 with Strike and an Elven Hand-and-a-half weapon makes for a valuable second beater hero to back up Aragorn.

He's going to potentially take less wounds than Legolas would in the same role thanks to being D6 over Leggy's D4/D5 though he does only have a single Fate. Finally, he brings his Final Blow special rule, granting a free S4 hit on every opponent in the combat should he die, all of which can be affected with Might if needs be.

Legolas Greenleaf

An incredibly popular profile this edition, Legolas possibly needs less introduction than even Aragorn does. You're bringing this 100pt Elf (5pts each for Armour or Elven Cloak) if you want to be an absolute menace at range. There's very little in the game that isn't threatened by this guy's shooting, even if you manage to pin him down in combat. He's arguably even more powerful in this list as well, as now he has a 30" range as well.

If you manage to squeeze him in alongside Gimli and you can get the dwarf's kill count up, there's also the chance for a +1 to Wound on those shots as well, effectively making them Strength 5! 

Legolas is going to be a huge consideration in every build of this list, often the first option. He's far from invincible of course, but considering he's likely going to have the support of plenty of other archers, your opponent is going to have a hard time advancing on you intact.

Heroes of Fortitude

Captain of Rohan

The lowly Captain of Rohan isn't without merit. 45pts is incredibly cheap for getting some extra Might into the list, and Might that frees up needing to have Theoden use his on Marches. You can also bump 10 points to boost this guy to D7, making for a decent anchor in your battleline that's not going to go down too easily, even if that F4 is a bit dicey.

They might best on a budget, but don't overlook them entirely.

Galadhrim Captain

Perhaps a straight upgrade to Rohan equivalent, 70pts gets you all the same stuff but packaged in with F6, Elven Weapons and Woodland Creature. They can also bring an Elf Bow if you really want it.

That said, you're probably best just finding the points to bring Haldir instead, who is essentially an "Uber-Captain" and offers so much more. 

Gamling, Captain of Rohan

If Haldir is a straight upgrade to Galadhrim Captains, Gamling is the same for Rohan Captains. If fully kitted out, you do lose a point of Defence, but in exchange you get F5, Bodyguard, Heroic Defence and the ability to lead Royal Guard. Gamling is an easy alternative if you were considering a Captain, but the main reason to consider would be the Royal Standard of Rohan.

40pts for a 6" banner in your all-infantry list is going to be a powerful purchase, especially when some of your battleline is going to be F5 Elves. For that alone it might be worth the cost over bringing both a regular Captain and a Warrior with Banner (76-86pts versus Gamling's 95pts) or simply two Warriors with Banners (62pts). The standard of course does bring the extra bonus of allowing Rohan heroes to ignore Might spent on a roll of a 6. In this list that's at minimum Gamling and Theoden who are going to be likely candidates for calling Marches and Moves consistently.

It's certainly less powerful than it is in purer-Rohan lists, but a consideration nonetheless as Gamling will always be easier to keep alive than a Rohan Warrior.

Minor Heroes

King's Huntsman

Only one option here, and it's from Legacies.  Much of what I said in my Army of Edoras review will remain true here too, but if he has a niche there, it's infinitely less in Defenders of Helm's Deep. Here you've got competition from Haldir, Legolas and Galadhrim Captains. Even Aldor (more on him in a moment) is potentially a better choice, and for half the cost.

For his special rules, only failing In-the-Ways on a 1, and with the potential to regain his two Might points if he kills the right thing is still something unique, but I'd be surprised to see him fielded in anything that isn't 1000pts plus, or if you absolutely insists on packing in as much shooting as possible and already have the two Elf Heroes.

Independent Heroes

Aldor, Rohan Archer

Aldor is one of those Ranger of the North style profiles. For 20pts your essentiallly get a Warrior of Rohan with Bow, boosted with a single point each of Might, Will and Fate. And I think that's perfect for representing minor characters sometimes!

Unlike his Warrior counterparts, Aldor does only have a 5+ Shoot value but he makes up for it with some special rules. Unsteady Nerves means he will always shoot first, even before Heroic Shoot. The potential to kill someone who is themselves calling Heroic Shoot is hilarious, even if it is incredibly unlikely to happen. He also has Lucky Shot that means he must re-roll failed To-Hit and To-Wound rolls when shooting. Even with his low shoot value and Str 2 bow, he's suddenly much more reliable, especially with a Might point to potentially flip a crucial roll.

Aldor is well worth taking in my humble opinion, if only for the whimsy.

Haleth, Son of Hama

The final hero on the list, Haleth represents the young boy Aragorn speaks to on the steps of Helm's Deep before the battle. He is not quite the powerhouse of his name-counterpart in the War of the Rohirrim however, instead being a support hero. Much like Aldor, he's a boosted warrior, though for the 30pts instead, which gets him an 2 Wounds and 2 Fate. He also goes up to 2 Attacks if Aragorn is within 6". 

Should he be in combat, he also boosts the Fight Value of all Rohan Infantry and Aragorn by one if they're within 6". F8 Aragorn, F5 Royal Guard and Captains, F6 Theoden and Gamling. Even the Rohan Warriors are pulling their weight much better at F4. It's certainly a powerful boost, but not without downsides. First, Haleth is Fearful with 6+ Courage, so may not even make it into combat.

Second, he's an F3 warrior with D4. He might not die to a stray arrow, but he will fall quite easily if not protected. You'll want him near Aragorn for the mutual boosts, which will help as he can either join Aragorn's combat or be rescued via Heroic Combat. I'd still probably assign a Royal Guard or an Elf to babysit him though.

I've personally found him tough to squeeze into my lists, so I'm not sure how worth his points he really is, but there's certainly space for him, even if it's just flavour.

Warriors

To support your Heroes, you have Rohan Royal Guard, Warriors of Rohan and Galadhrim Warriors. 

Warriors of Rohan are going to be your mainstay, and you can horde out quite nicely with them. They suffer with F3 and D4/5, plus the limit to Throwing Spears, but remain reliable skirmish infantry. I'd personally get as many Throwing Spears as you can here, an infantry horde will appreciate the support and the option to sit back 8" and pepper your opponent with S3 shots is great option. Don't overlook the Bows either, even though you have Elves, Rohan archers are cheap and can still put on the pressure at up to 30".

Rohan Royal Guard are limited to either Theoden or Gamling's warbands, but that still means you could bring up to 30 of them in the list. They do feel overcosted here however, especially with the Galadhrim, but aren't without merit. They're your only option for Bodyguard, which does have value and are still F4 D6 heavy infantry (with a potential for F5). Just a couple of these guys accompanying Theoden is probably not the worst idea, though it may be best to leave the spears to the standard warriors.

Finally Galadhrim warriors. They're limited to being only 33% of your lists, so you have to be discerning on what wargear you want to bring with them. An Elf with a shield is cheaper than a Royal Guard and fights better, so whilst the temptation is going to be to max out on Elf Bows, sprinkling a few with Shields, Spears, both or neither across your battleline is going to do wonders for your ability to grind out the opponent. Take a mix and you won't be sorry.

Final Round Up

Pros:

 - Good mix of Heroes

 - Flexible troops. 

 - Lots of synergy and auric bonuses.

 - Access to the Three Hunters.

 - Access to F5 troops.

 - Good access to March.

 - Great Ranged potential.

Cons:

 - Heroes compete a little for roles.

 - Theoden isn't the strongest general.

 - Troops limited to S3 (only elves get to two-hand).

 - Royal Guard are overpriced.

 - Battleline is hurt by throwing weapon limitations.

 - No magic or magic resistance (except Aragorn).

 - No cavalry/fast movers.

So, onto my Tournament list. The event is running at 650pts so I think I can fit at least three heroes into the lists. 

Theoden is a given, so it's just a matter of his support. I've gone for a small battleline of Royal Guard supported by Elves with Spear and Shield, giving me high Fight, high Courage, decent defence and Bodyguard. With a banner in support and two skirmish triangles of Rohan Throwing Spears, this should be able to block out a spot and harass an enemy into coming to me.

Next up is Haldir. I mentioned above I feel he is almost an auto-take for his bonuses, so here is. Legolas was considered, but I think I'll have enough shooting and want the hero support for Theoden. Haldir will bring along a trio of Elf archers, who will be shielded in turn by a few Rohan Warriors with shields. I don't expect this warband to be too static, with Haldir and the Rohirrim at least running off to support the combat up-close if I don't need his bow shots. The Elven archers are the prime candidates for objective capture, as they can move freely through woods and still shoot where needed, but it never hurts to have three more F5 combatants if the situation calls for it.

Finally, I'm bringing Aragorn. I seem to be too often faced with the likes of Beorn, Durin and Elessar, so having my own big combat piece seems like a smart move. The fact that his free Might can be freely upping my mobility or directing a cheeky Heroic Accuracy to pick of something important is the cherry on top. Having a second boost aura for Haldir seemed like a good plan too. 

Aragorn will be bringing along two more elves with shields, some more Rohirrim with Throwing Spears, and a trio of Rohan archers. His warband can both bolster the battleline and also offer ranged and skirmishing support nicely. 

Of course, I couldn't just leave it there. With the 20 points freed up from taking Haldir over Legolas, I reckon I had space for a bit of whimsy in the list in the form of Aldor. He'll fit nicely into Theoden's warband ensuring I have bows in all three and an extra body to help keep the King safe (even if it's a Fearful one).

I'm quite happy with this list. I have tried to take as many Throwing Spears as possible as they offer so much flexibility, and also spread Galadhrim around into each warband to ensure that F5 is available. The list has a solid enough battleline when brought together (11 warriors long if needed, not counting heroes), and Aragorn and Haldir can offer the punch it needs. 9 Bow shots (5 being elven) and 9 throwing spears is a respectable amount of shooting as well, and should hopefully be enough to soften up the enemy. I could've gotten more bows, but that feels like a trap in some ways.

33 models also seems like a decent number considering I've got Aragorn and a good number of elite troops taking up a chunk of points, and the list has some good Courage bonuses for keeping it in the lists should things go wrong. It pretty much nails the "five models per 100 points" guidance you hear sometimes, over by a half model.

The overall plan with this list is to get Theoden's warband anchored somewhere defensible and let the bow and spears force the opponent forwards. Haldir can support Theoden and leave Aragorn to hunt down whatever needs killing/fetching/sitting on. With extended Stand Fast and Courage Bonuses, the bow-armed Elves can be safely spread to rear objectives where they can still threaten the opponent with bow fire.

My weakpoint really is Theoden, as he's not the strongest General in the game, especially on foot. It will really depend on what the scenario is for how he fares. Thankfully as well, I know only Game 1 has a chance of facing Grima, as that will be against an LotR-era Evil army. The other games will be against the respective Hobbit lists and an LotR Good list. 

Really, I expect any fight to be a grind, and it will just be case of whether or not the early shooting can give me an advantage. I'm hoping my lessons from playing Grey Company will apply here in kind, with patient manoeuvring and focused shooting carrying the day. Hopefully I can get some test games in before the end of June.

Thank you for your time once again. If you like what I do here, you can also follow my hobby progress via Instagram, where I can be found at @Manic.Hobbying. In any case, just your support being here is greatly appreciated, and I hope to see you again.

Until next time! 

The Power of the Disengage - Why I'm losing games

It's probably quite obvious on this blog, but I'm quite the fan of Rohan and its cavalry forces. It was likely witnessing the Ride of Rohirrim at Pelennor in my formative years, and it's a very common story for a lot of players. Now, Rohan in the latest edition struggles to properly recreate that moment on the tabletop, but with luck, canny hero usage and good timing for the charge and use of Army Rules, you can get some fantastic results with the Riders of Rohan charging through some Orcs.

In general practice though, Rohan excels much more as a skirmishing force, as many of us know well. Throwing Spears and Bows on cavalry makes for a tough force to pin down without taking casualties, and they are able to kite and still cause damage. When coupled with the likes of Eomer, Theodred or Helm Hammerhand coming crashing through your lines with a few Royal Guard, you have an effective list for frustrating your foe and keeping the initiative, assuming you have the skills.

This is my failing in recent games however. Using Riders of Eomer within a Doubles tournament and a Rohan-cavalry-heavy Realms of Men list in a practice game, I have noticed an unfortunate trend in my piloting of cavalry. I get tunnel-visioned into the charge, quite often re-charging a battleline and leaving myself open to counter-charge. I've gotten better and leaving that relief force behind for a second-turn charge, but there's still issues with how I'm playing. Let's get into it.

The Doubles Tournament

This tournament back in April was my girlfriend's first real look at competitive MESBG. I've corrupted her thoroughly with a love for The Lord of the Rings (that latent nerdiness hit hard), so when she found she enjoyed the game after a few home practice matches, it was great to have her volunteer to accompany me to a Doubles event. If you've read the previous post on building an Ent, I went into this a little there.

Our Alliance in force, ready to take the fight to the White Wizard

So how did the event go?  I was outwardly confident, particularly due to the power of the Ents and free Heroics on Eomer. Three games across a single day with two 400pt lists using the Doubles scenarios from the Matched Play guide, and the final result was 1 Win, 2 Losses. We both had a tonne of fun, and the first two games were thrilling for different reasons, but by the third tiredness was setting in and a difficult game definitely left us disheartened.

The issue I believe was actually how I personally played my cavalry. Let's break it down.

Game 1 was against a Khazad Dum-Riders of Eomer alliance. My intention had been to try and focus down the opposing cavalry and support the Ents against the large group of Hearthguard dwarves. The high defence coupled with F5 and Burly just wasn't a prime target for my Riders. Deployment however put this very group of Dwarves right in front of Eomer, and so I tunnel-visioned right at them. The initial charge went ok, but I was ahead of the Ents and they were at least two turns away from supporting me, though rocks were flying in from the Ash Ent and hobbits. Erkenbrand's warband was also off to the far side offering fire support, which did to a semi-decent job of keeping part of the opposing cavalry back for fear of losing horses.

The smart move would've been to drop back after that first turn, take some pot shots, then charge back in once the Ents were in combat support range. Instead I stayed in close, and got counter-charged by the opposing Eomer. He Heroic Combated through a couple of Riders and my banner, and took part in killing his counter-part alongside Durin. This left the Ents vulnerable to being outnumbered, and whilst they did acquit themselves well particularly with Hurls keeping the enemy heroes on their backs, the Oak Ent eventually fell allowing for our force to count as Broken. Unlucky rolling on the Ent's special Brutal Power also left us one short on a VP goal to get a draw.

It might not sound like it, but the game was actually fairly close and tactically interesting. Our opponents were also both fun players and I believe we gave them our Most Sporting vote. 

Game 2 was against the event's ringer, Dale Groves. Always a good lad to play against, he was incredibly helpful and welcoming, recognising my girlfriend as a newcomer. His Gundabad list looked scary but luck with combats, Gabii's love for Hurl's and some helpful pointers from Dale himself saw us tear through the Berserkers, and even take down Azog and the Troll Brute quite efficiently. 

The difference here is clear in hindsight. Deployment saw the Ents in the centre with my cavalry at the back of the board. This meant the Ents were first into combat and my Cavalry could support them as I'd always intended whilst building the list, guarding the flanks and grabbing objectives whilst being a threat with their bows.

If only I'd remembered that lesson.

Game 3 was against a Reclamation of Osgiliath-Khazad Dum alliance. It promised to be as tough as it sounds, a bucket-load of high Defence models led by Boromir and yet another Durin. A river down the centre and a split deployment could've been a challenge, but we were able to ford the river with the Ents and reunite with our full might to bear on the Dwarves, leaving the Gondorians to run for several turns and get bottlenecked at the river.

It should've been so easy, and my initial charge tore through a good number of dwarves to keep them pinned in. The failure came in the follow-up again of course, not utilising Hit-and-Run tactics against a much slower force and ultimately I even ended up blocking out Treebeard, one of our most powerful combat pieces. He spent far too many turns behind Eomer and the Oak Ent, unable to help except with thrown stones.  Boromir got into play as well, despite us shooting out his horse. In getting overly focused on having Eomer trying to protect the Oak Ent with his Heroic Strikes against Boromir, I ultimately lost my leader again, and Treebeard failed to get into the fight until late in the game. 

We were ground down by the troops and lost simply due to lost initiative. The cavalry wasn't charging, the Ents weren't Hurling and our most mobile troops were little more than roadblocks instead of support. It left a sour taste in the mouth, simply for my choices essentially outplaying our own army.

A lot to learn, and realistically I just need to take a step back once I commit my cavalry. Had I faded back in both Game 1 and Game 3, the story could've been much different.

Easier said then done...

Realms of Men Practice Game

For this game, I was testing out the idea of running Realms of Men at an upcoming Teams event, and essentially built a list that was "Fields of Celebrant at home".

With this list I wanted to match a decent Gondorian battleline with the power of F5 cavalry, needing a Rohan General to give that bonus to the Royal Guard. On paper it's pretty good, with a lot of options for controlling the battlefield. A solid defensive battleline bolstered by two F6 Strike Heroes, a contingent of shock cavalry that can skirmish, scouts, light infantry and decent bow line and in particular a Bolt Thrower constricting enemy movement.

I went up against fellow Brumdabad team member Matt, who had brought along his Host of the Dragon Emperor list, featuring Rutabi. With the scenario being Stake a Claim, my cavalry should allow me to get early fortification points and it does, especially with Matt skirting terrain to avoid being targeted by the Bolt Thrower. 

Where it goes wrong is the right-flank. Rutabi's warband is small, but not enough to ignore. I could either cede the flank to her and risk bow-fire in the back, consolidating my forces against the Emperor, or go for a swift kill. With the combo of a pike-support Knight of the White Tower and my Rohan King, it's certainly doable to take down the Easterling Hero. 

A winnable fight, if managed well.

It doesn't go that way, I missed that the flank had enough space for the War Drakes to get around, meaning the Rohan King would only split the combat, and then he goes and whiffs the Heroic Combat anyway. Worse, the risk goes against me even further, as on the following turn, whilst I am able to win a Heroic Move off, it turns out that I had in fact blocked my King in with the Banner. I am able to charge and bring in Royal Guard reinforcements, but not being able to tactically retreat sees a good portion of my cavalry pinned in unequal fights. 

Rutabi ultimately brings down both the Knight and my King. I do lose the game in the end, though the Fortification points are fairly equal. Notably I also misplayed the Gondorian battleline on this one, again tunnel-visioning on getting into combat. Had I instead moved to the right, it would've forced the Emperors warband to cross open field to engage me, leaving the his flank open to the Bolt Thrower.

I should really get my eyesight checked.

Lessons Learned

So the takeaways from all this, aside from needing to step-back and see the bigger picture.

First: All the timing and positioning in the world won't help a good cavalry charge if you just get bogged down with it in the following turns. I've already learned the relief-force method, and that helps, but I need to recognise when to disengage, especially with Rohan cavalry who struggle with their statline but can still cause damage at range. I've spent too much time cycle-charging cavalry units in Total War not to understand this.

Second: Escape and reinforcement avenues. It's all well and good getting off a good charge if I then block off elite infantry or monsters from getting into help as well. Cavalry is there to make the hole, the infantry (or Ent) is there to plug it! 

Similarly, not blocking in my heroes. MESBG is 100% a game about mobility, and the Heroic Move is one of the core facets of that. Whilst the banners and backup needs to be close, if the the Hero can't move back, he can only go forwards, often into two, three or even four enemy infantry looking to kill him on the opponent's Move Phase.

Third: Perhaps don't fight if I don't have to. Many scenarios have objectives and rushing those, perhaps to take off the token defenders my opponent has left, is often more of use than charging headlong into a fight. Perhaps engaging in a slightly different location gives some penalties to my opponent, like a siege engine shooting into their flank, or bottle-necking Gondorians at a river ford.

What else do you recommend, oh dear armchair generals? 

With the next event coming up, I'll be pivoting back to Defenders of Helm's Deep, so these lessons will be a little less of use for that particular set of games, but not without merit. We'll have to keep them in mind for when I next run cavalry, whenever that may be.

Thank you for your time once again. If you like what I do here, you can also follow my hobby progress via Instagram, where I can be found at @Manic.Hobbying. In any case, just your support being here is greatly appreciated, and I hope to see you again.

Until next time! 

Theorycrafting - All-Cavalry Army of the White Hand

We all do it, theory-crafting different lists at various points levels just to see what we can do. Often these lists are just for fun or theme and are unlikely to be competitive, but they can sometimes be a hidden gem to keep the game fresh and run something unexpected and different.

All-Cavalry Army of the White Hand

Yeah, I know, Wolves of Isengard is right there, but that list is limited in its profile selection, and Army of the White Hand offers everything WoI does (with the exception of Sharku and mounted Captains) and a few more options besides. Don't get me wrong, I think WoI is great, it can field a fairly high number of cavalry models and Sharku got a rather nice boost in this edition. If he'd been available in other lists as well, I reckon we'd have seen him more, as he'd only lose the free Heroic Combats.

Going to need more than just this handful of Warg Riders to run this list!

Enough about that however, this here is a White Hand list. The first and primary draw for using AotWH is Saruman. He of course can bring a horse to fit the full cavalry theme, and not only gives the list a big magical boost (much above WoI's, even though it did get Shamans), he also brings the incredibly useful list specific spells; Conjure Lightning, Summon Gale and Call Thunder.

All three are incredibly useful for a cavalry list in my opinion. Call Lightning's power is well known, and the chance to take out a few enemy models early on to level the numbers disparity you're likely to have cannot be overlooked. Even if the opponent spreads out to avoid you taking out too many troops, you can still target a banner, wound a hero/general or knock out siege crew, all key targets that can level the playing field or gain you an advantage and key VPs.

Then there's Summon Gale, which quite simply halves the opponents movement for a turn. When you already likely have the speed advantage as all cavalry, this is doubly powerful. You can much more easily set up a key charge, by preventing an opponents own charge or them escaping from your range. In the turn after a charge, or perhaps if you moved first, you may be able to prevent counter charges. As the ability is activated when Saruman himself activates, there is scope for him to call a Heroic Move from a distant spot and fire off the Gale to protect your charging cavalry elsewhere. The opponent is unlikely to counter Move in these cases, as Saruman may be too far away to actually affect the battlelines they would not see it coming.

And of course, in the race to objectives or board edges you vastly outpace your opponent when they have to spend a turn crawling at half speed. 

Finally, Call Thunder does a lot for preventing counter-charges as well, making charging when you win priority much safer to pull off. A one-two punch of Call Thunder and Summon Gale could see your cavalry completely smash through enemy lines without much resistance as the opponent either can't reach your or fails to charge at all.

All this without getting into his normal suite of spells, Palantir, +1 Courage aura or Saruman's Deceit ability. It's crazy how good Saruman is, making it doubly important to keep him protected as he is undoubtedly the core of the list.

My poor 20+ year old Saruman (from the BGiME mags) needs some TLC

Supporting Saruman of course there are Isengard Orc Shamans. Naturally being able to be mounted on Wargs, they're likely to see a place in the list, and they do what Shamans always do; cast Fury so your Orcs are able to charge into Terror or stick around when the army is broken. This is pretty handy in a list where the majority of your troops will be Warg Riders (ie. Isengard Orcs) and they aren't exactly known for being courageous.

Isengard Shamans do also have the standard Transfix as well, a damn good candidate for Channelling when you absolutely have to stop a rampaging enemy hero. It's likely to force out Will points to resist as well when cast at the right time, allowing you to follow up with Saruman's magic to increase the chances of it going off.

Their signature spell is Enrage Beast, which always felt like an interesting choice in Isengard lists, but you do have plentiful access to Wargs and of course Crebain. This latter is likely to be the usual target for raging out, F4, S4 and four attacks is good for dealing a quick bunch of wounds to troops or potentially even a transfixed hero, but in this list outside the fight value, your cavalry is already doing 4 S4 attacks against infantry so it's not really a gain unless you need the Fight Value or are facing something that can't be knocked down. There is also the potential to Enrage Wargs themselves, which is much more interesting. That riderless Warg that stuck around is suddenly F5, with 3 S6 attacks and can do some real damage to whichever unsuspecting warrior or hero that thought it an easy target.

Shame that the Warg then dies at the end of the turn, but it'd be a fun surprise to drop on your opponent.

So that's the magical might of the list clear, how about physical? Without Sharku, the only mounted martial hero in the list is Thrydan Wolfsbane. He's fairly decent mid-tier hero, but won't be hurting your opponent's heroes without support from Saruman or Shamans. F5 is middling, even though he does have access to Strike, and D5 with 2W and 2F means he won't be able to take many hits either. The selling point for him is the 2 S5 attacks with Mighty Blow, which when mounted can jump to 6 strikes and a potential 12 wounds. Coupled with Heroic Strength if you ever feel you need it, if this guy is able to hit he's going to feel very much like Helm Hammerhand has come to town.

Thrydan Wolfsbane, hits like a truck, but not necessarily built like one.

He's got 3 Might for Moves or Combats if you need them, so you'll really want him smashing through enemy troops as he'll quickly decimate enemy battlelines so long as you avoid letting him get overwhelmed.

His 12" Stand Fast is really the cherry on the cake also, supplementing your Fury if you brought it, but best of all doubling up with Saruman's own Stand Fast for some impressive coverage.

So that's the Heroes, how about the troops? Going all cavalry, you've really only got two options; Warg Riders and Dunlending Horsemen (though an argument could be made for including a couple of swarms of Crebain, as they're just too damn good).

On the surface, the two options are functionally the same as both are F3, S4, D5 cavalry, and both cost 12 points, with only Throwing Spear and Shield armed Warg Riders costing more. Warg Riders bring your ranged options if you want them, bows and throwing spears, plus the potential for the mounts to stick around. They also benefit from Fury and Enrage Beast. Dunlending Horsemen have no wargear options, and instead get to re-roll wounds against mounts, which is situationally useful, and boast a slightly higher Intelligence and Courage score.

I don't think there's enough to focus on the Dunlendings over the Warg Riders. The Orcs are just much more tactically flexible, and the potential for the Warg sticking around is just a great boon. I would certainly always try to include a couple of Dunlendings however, there are some mounts that do just need to die and it may be difficult for you to remove the rider. More importantly the higher courage and intelligence stats on them make them the best choices for securing objectives, especially with Saruman in sight providing an extra +1 bonus to Courage tests.

So, are there weakenesses to this list? Well of course. Firstly, being an all-Cav army, it's going to have low numbers even with the relatively cost-efficient Warg Riders making up the bulk of the list. Expect to be outnumbered, but your speed, range and Army Bonuses can mitigate this.

Second, you lack a real power combat hero. The combination of Saruman and Thrydan can emulate this somewhat, but directly opposing Aragorn, Gil-Galad or the Balrog is going to take some finesse. Your magic really needs to be working for you against these threats, and you should be focused on removing their support.

Third, no March. Saruman, Thrydan and Shaman lack Heroic March, which could matter in certain match-ups or situations. That said, we covered the speed advantages this list will have earlier, so it's less of an issue here than in other lists.

Finally, whilst your core troops are fantastic for their points, they are limited to F3 and D4-5 with no way to boost these even temporarily outside of casting Enrage Beast on Wargs. You have no banners either, so you're gonna be heavily reliant on outrolling your opponent to win fights in an awful lot of matchups. As previously mentioned though, you will likely have the mobility advantage that you can use to skirmish with throwing spears and bows before ganging up 2-1 or more to ensure you have the dice advantage. Your Crebain, if you take them, are great for getting extra attacks into a fight and the traps they can facilitate can really ensure those Str 4 hits do what they need to do.

This is how I'd build list at a glance. One each of the three hero options gives me all the tricks, though 7 Might isn't great (give Captains back their Wargs GW!). Add in a smattering of Crebain to act as roadblocks, give even more mobility options and act as Saruman's eyes. Finally, it nicely adds up that you can fit a clean half dozen cavalry into each warband, with just short of the maximum number for bows and throwing spears (though you could swap some wargear around to get them maxed and probably should).

24 models is low, but you've got the range, speed and magic to really hem the opponent in. 12 shots a turn, even at 6s to hit (assuming you're moving) will still average out to a wound most turns. Canny use of cover will allow you to get in close and threaten enemy archers, potentially giving you the ranged advantage early on. Even more so if you targeted them for a Lightning Strike!

I think I could keep going on and on, but let's just leave it here. I would love to get this list onto the table and see how it can perform.

 

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Until next time!