This coming Sunday I will be attending my second MESBG tournament, once again at Board In Brum over in Walsall. Rather than the smaller scaled 395pts built around the Road to Rivendell theme, this one instead is at the rather odd points value of 624pts, seemingly scaled to prevent the common builds of most Eagles lists. I don't know enough to work out if that's a good idea, over the top, or even rather pointless, but as a die-hard Rohan fanboy, it didn't affect me either way.
So far my experiences have had me run a Riders of Theoden list at the 395pts scale, and I also ran both of halves of doubles list in a practice game, combining this time Riders of Eomer and Defenders of Helm's Deep, both at 400pts. This latter experience highlighted to me that I currently lack the skills to sufficiently pilot cavalry in great numbers. Whilst Eomer himself did great work, my Riders were ineffective. What did work was the tried and true shieldwall, making up for even Theoden rolling a ridiculous number of one, and with elves in support, held off Lurtz's scouts for a good long while.
I've always liked the idea of "mixed-arms" Rohan, so when it came to drafting up a list for Nobody Tosses a Dwarf, I looked straight at what I'd taken in the 400pt Defenders of Helm's Deep list. It might lack the cavalry part of that mix, but it does have elves, which are not the same thing but do at least offer a boost.
399 points | 22 models
Defenders of Helm's Deep
6 Might | 7 Bows | 6 Throwing Weapons
Theoden, King of Rohan: Exchange armour for Heavy armour, Shield (85)
5x Rohan Royal Guard (55)
6x Warrior of Rohan: Shield and throwing spears (54)
1x Warrior of Rohan: Banner (31)
Haldir, Galadhrim Captain: Elf Bow, Heavy Armour, Elven Cloak (90)
6x Galadhrim Warrior: Elf Bow (66)
2x Galadhrim Warrior (18)
Whilst expensive, a front-line of F4, D6 Royal Guard is quite effective when backed up with spears and a banner. The oppurtunity to also hurl those S3 spears into enemy ranks pre-clash is also quite nice. It doesn't necessarily hit that hard, with everything but Theoden and Haldir capped at S3, but with a nice amount of F5 support and some rather threatening bow fire I feel it grinds well.
With an extra 224pts available, I can include an extra combat hero and extend that battleline a little. The easiest option is to go straight for one or more of the Three Hunters. There's enough points for both Legolas and Gimli if I want it, and the elf is the current star of pretty much every list he can be taken in. I also do like Gimli a lot, and he is the only one of the three currently painted. There are of course other heroes that could be taken, and Haldir could be swapped out for Legolas to save points, but in the end I can't skip on the man himself, Aragorn.
With his new F7 and magical resistances, he's reliable powerhouse, and probably guaranteed to draw in my opponents attention, giving the rest of my force a bit of breathing room. He's also tough enough to be able to take on other big threats, even if he won't necessarily come out on top. Acting as a banner for Haldir is a cherry on the top.
Will I miss a Legolas and Gimli combo? Probably, but Haldir still has two shots him combined with Sharpshooter to snipe out what I need gone, and has literally three banners running around, two of which give him re-rolls to wound. So long as I don't leave him in the gun line, he might be a bit of a dark-horse in the Fight Phase. Should I need it, he also has his Elven Cloak, so can sneak around for targets of oppurtunity, or otherwise hide from would-be ranged assassins.
623 points | 30 models
Defenders of Helm's Deep
9(+1) Might | 7 Bows | 9 Throwing Weapons
Theoden, King of Rohan: Exchange armour for Heavy armour, Shield (85)
6x Rohan Royal Guard (66)
6x Warrior of Rohan: Shield and throwing spears (54)
1x Warrior of Rohan: Banner (31)
Haldir, Galadhrim Captain: Elf Bow, Heavy Armour, Elven Cloak (90)
4x Galadhrim Warrior: Elf Bow (44)
2x Galadhrim Warrior (18)
Aragorn (Strider): Armour (165)
2x Galadhrim Warrior: Elf Bow (22)
3x Warrior of Rohan: Shield (21)
3x Warrior of Rohan: Shield and throwing spears (27)
The battleline only brings a single extra Royal Guard (I've run out of them), but does have three ranks in Aragorn's warband to fill in gaps or be a second front elsewhere as required. I've also split up the archers a little to avoid having all the eggs in a single basket on that front. I did consider Aldor and Haleth, the two unique heroes for this list, but felt it'd be better to bring the numbers. I don't think I need an extra bow, and Haleth's Fight boost is contingent on him being in combat. It's powerful in a lot of situations, but I have plenty of F4 and F5 already. Whilst I do expect to see Uruks and other elite warriors, I'm also aware the likes of Moria and other horde armies are popular too, so it's gamble on whether I need it.
I'm sure I'll regret it as soon as Aragorn is staring down a Balrog and would really appreciate a boost before he Strikes. When it comes to big targets like that, I will really have to rely on the Galadhrim Bows to bring it down before letting Aragorn have a go, or otherwise feed it sacrificial warriors whilst (hopefully) churning up the rest of the opponents force. It will really depend on the scenario and what my opponents gets up to.
So, to summarise the strengths and weaknesses of this list:
Pros:
- Aragorn
- Haldir possibly underrated
- Above average battleline with skirmishing potential.
- Strong archery
- F5 elves
- Banner
Cons:
- Slow, unless able to March.
- Mostly S3
- Reliant on heroes to do damage.
- Average numbers
I think it's a solid enough list without a huge amount of gimmicks, just grind and follow the heroes. I do miss the option for cavalry however.
There was the option for an Army of Edoras list, but I lack the time to get all the models ready and don't have a proxy for Frealaf just yet. I may run it at a future event however. It does drop a lot of Fight Value advantage, but brings Shieldwall for a wider D6 battleline that can be extended as needed, as well as an extra hero and a bit of synergy with Frealaf's Master of Battle.
620 points | 31 models
Army of Edoras
10 Might | 9 Bows | 9 Throwing Weapons
Haleth, Prince of Rohan: Armoured horse (125)
4x Rider of Rohan (56)
Frealaf, First Marshal of the Riddermark: (100)
7x Warrior of Rohan: Shield (49)
7x Warrior of Rohan: Shield and throwing spears (63)
1x Warrior of Rohan: Banner (31)
Hera, Daughter of Helm: (70)
2x Warrior of Rohan: Shield (14)
2x Warrior of Rohan: Shield and throwing spears (18)
Hama, Prince of Rohan: (70)
4x Warrior of Rohan (24)
Whilst this list lacks some of the power I think the Aragorn-Haldir combo brings, it's not without strength with Haleth being a solid combat hero and Hera able to perform well if her fights are lined up properly. Hama brings the Sharpshooter value, and Frealaf even counters Heroics. It's not as elite as the Defender's list, but is much more able to skirmish, and can even peform hammer-and-anvil tactics thanks to the cavalry contingent. It seems very fun and hopefully once the hobbying is done (and GW actually releases Frealaf and Hera) I'll have a chance to field it. The fifteen conversions for the Warriors of Harrowdale are slowing me down!
So wish me luck, and I'll report back after. Until next time!
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