Magic in MESBG, Part II: Minas Tirith

Good morning gamers,

In our last post, we looked at how adding Gandalf the Grey to a Thorin’s Company list doesn’t provide too much of a setback to your army while providing some excellent mitigations to the team’s greatest weaknesses. In today’s post, we’ll be looking at the “new-and-improved version” of Gandalf (Gandalf the White) and how using this hero in a Minas Tirith army can greatly improve the resiliency of your team (and provide some powerful tools on offense as well). Brace yourselves - this post is kinda long...

Two Lists: With and Without Magic

As mentioned in a recent post, I got a slew of Minas Tirith models between Christmas and New Years and while they’re almost all painted, I was sorely tempted to bring the list to the 2019 TMAT GT. I ended up going with Lothlorien instead, but don’t think the decision was easy! Most people who post lists on Minas Tirith seem to ignore the great wizard and opt for Mega-Boromir or Mega-Aragorn – an exemplar list by David Clubley looks something like this (note this list is a 750 pt list – my list will only be 700):

• Boromir, Captain of the White Tower with Banner of Minas Tirith and shield [Amy Leader]
• Faramir, Captain of Gondor with heavy armor, shield, lance, and horse
• Madril
• 14 Warriors of Minas Tirith with shields
• 16 Warriors of Minas Tirith with shields and spears
• 7 Rangers of Gondor with spears
• 5 Knights of Minas Tirith (note that these guys DON’T have shields)

This list was submitted to BlackMist’s blog by an internationally-renowned player, so I’m not going to dis it in any way – it’s got great toolkit options (cavalry, bowmen, Shieldwall, three great heroes) and a very respectable 45 models (albeit at a slightly higher point level than we play with currently on TMAT). The army features Mega-Boromir who makes your Shieldwall F4 and is supported by mounted Faramir (who doesn’t need to charge anything he sees because daddy decided to play golf today instead of going to his son’s game…not that he’s bitter or anything…). The army is a good one (though since it spent only 749 points, I’d probably have dropped 4 spears across the Warriors of Minas Tirith or Rangers in order to get your knights shields…they’re kinda squishy if only F3/D5 in my opinion).

Much of the strategy for running Mega-Boromir is orchestrated around what his offensive profile (and offensive buff bonus) provide to the team – but I’m going to submit that there’s a more powerful asset you can bring…Gandalf the White:

• Gandalf the White with Shadowfax
• Boromir, Captain of the White Tower with Banner of Minas Tirith and shield [Amy Leader]
• Faramir, Captain of Gondor with bow heavy armor, shield, lance, and horse [Army Leader]
• Madril
• Beregond
• Damrod
• 14 Warriors of Minas Tirith with shields
• 12 Osgiliath Veterans with shields
• 12 16 Warriors of Minas Tirith with shields and spears
• 13 7 Rangers of Gondor with spears
• 5 Knights of Minas Tirith (note that these guys DON’T have shields)

Our list has shrunk slightly (41 models instead of 45 models), but recall that we’re also playing with 50 fewer points, so if we were trying to match points, we’d probably be on-par for numbers (3 Guards of the Fountain Court with shields + 2 Rangers of Gondor + 1 spear given to a lucky Ranger – something like that). Here’s how the list compares:

• We’ve decided in this list to take Damrod and Beregond instead of taking Madril – note that you get 12 Warrior slots with either selection and the cost is the same for both choices, so if you prefer Madril to Damrod and Beregond, take him instead (it will only cost you 1 model);
• Boromir costs 35 points less than Gandalf, but we make up that points difference by taking less gear on Faramir (saves us 20 points, though he’s more vulnerable) and by not taking knights (each horse saves us 5 points if we replace them with Rangers of Gondor – as great as having a small squad of cavalry is, I’m not convinced that D5 riders are going to last all that long);
• No matter whether you think Gandalf or Boromir is the better character, Gandalf the White is much better than he used to be at no increase in price – with 2 Attacks (instead of one), Defense 6 (instead of D5), access to Heroic Strike and a 2+ Immobilize (to keep your opponent from counter-calling Heroic Strike), and a great mount, Gandalf is a terror on the battlefield (and can even make himself cause Terror and be VERY hard to charge against successfully) – and while Boromir provides good offensive buffs (banner + FV), Gandalf has great defensive buffs that can keep your models alive and in the field longer;

o   While Gandalf isn’t as beastly as Mega-Boromir, he’s still pretty tough to beat: Boromir in the first list we viewed has both the banner and a shield, giving him F7 S4 A3 on offense (with a no-penalty-to-dueling-banner and 6M). Gandalf wielding Glamdring is comparable but not as good, with F5 S5 A2 (plus cavalry bonuses if he charges and functionally 2M – more on that in a bit). While the numerical differences appear to be stark, because Gandalf is both mounted and a magic caster, he’s got the ability to prevent himself from being wounded by his target (Immobilize/Sorcerous Blast) AND boost his profile by +1 Attack and double dice if he wins against an infantry target.

o   While Boromir’s F7 will carry him through many dangers, against F7+ figures (many Troll models, Glorfindel, Gil-Galad, Elendil, Sauron, Dragons, Balrog), you’re required to either rely on a roll-off (not great against Elven-made weapon-wielders) OR calling Heroic Strike with one of your many Might points (and most of them can counter-call Heroic Strike against you) – neither is a guarantee that the fight will go your way. Gandalf, on the other hand, can Immobilize his target on a 2+ (assuming you use your mount to keep you from being in charge range until you’re ready to close on your own terms) and if you call a Heroic Strike, the target will be unable to counter-call, making it far more likely that you beat him.

o   Sometimes an opponent’s special rule will make winning the fight quite difficult – take for example Tom the Troll’s Lingering Cold active ability, that would reduce Boromir’s awesome F7 to F4 (and a F10 hero to F5) – unless both Faramir AND Boromir are in the same fight against Tom and Faramir calls a Heroic Strike, Tom’s winning ties (and probably stuffing Mega Boromir in a sack if he wins not only because it would remove the banner bonus from his troops, but because it’s fun and cheeky). While Gandalf can’t get his Fight value any higher than Boromir can, he can cast Immobilize on a 2+ that would prevent the Lingering Cold active ability from being used (because Immobilize still does that). Gandalf could also cast things on Tom (like Command) to make him spend Will points to resist magic instead of sneezing on people OR risk never getting into a fight.

o   Even if Boromir wins the fight (and he often will), he’s still only a S4 hero, so if your opponent is D7+, might do 1 Wound to your target (unless you spend Might points). Gandalf, by contrast, is S5 (with an Elven-made hand-and-a-half sword) and since he’s mounted, he can knock his target over and roll 6 dice at S5 (which will do an estimated 4 Wounds against D3 models, 3 Wounds against D4-5 models, 2 Wounds against D6-7 models, and 1 Wound against D8-9 models WITHOUT the use of Might).

o   While the offensive end might come out with Boromir on top, on defense it’s not even close: Boromir is D7 (very admirable) with 3 Wounds and 3 Fate points, but Gandalf is D6 (often the same difficulty to wound as D7) with 3 Wounds and 3 reroll-able Fate points. In addition, Gandalf has built-in resilience against both archery and magic (more on that in a moment) – both of which you’ll find are vulnerabilities for Boromir.

• There are many ways we could compare Gandalf and Boromir – for instance:
• We’ve downsized our shieldwall models (mostly for the lower point limit) and chosen to upgrade half of our models to Osgiliath Veterans – as mentioned in a past post, I do this because keeping the Shieldwall rule is really hard to do and doesn’t have an impact against S3 models, so I’ve opted instead for F4/D6 (which maintains the same Fight value as you’d get by having Boromir’s banner nearby);
• This list is far more oriented around shooting (kind of my thing), using high Shoot Value archers to whittle down the ranks before you fight them (instead of mega-heroes that go crashing through the enemy) – I find that since your opponent generally has no say in the Shoot phase, we focus our efforts there instead of in the Fight phase; and
• While we lack cavalry (besides Gandalf), the emphasis on archery allows us to a) pick off singleton cavalry models our opponent uses to claim objectives, b) soften up a flank of an enemy before they arrive instead of dealing with them when they charge, c) allows us in “kill-all-the-things” scenarios to wait for an opponent to come to us instead of taking the fight to them, and d) because all our models are infantry, it’s quite likely that we’ll all arrive in combat at nearly the same time (vs. having an advance guard of a half dozen cavalry attacking before the rest of the group is ready to support).

Perhaps what’s the most incredible thing about taking Gandalf in this list is that he’s a Hero of Valor, this means that we can make Faramir our Army Leader. Since we’ve built Faramir as a shooting hero (and a weaker one than the first list), we can keep him safely tucked away in the back (surrounded by OsVets) to make sure he’s well taken care of (something we can’t do in the first list without wasting his damage potential) and be as reckless as we want with Gandalf the White (if you noticed the theme of recklessness from our last post, you now have some insight into how I play). J

How Magic Helps – A Deeper Look

Gandalf the White has access to all of the spells of Gandalf the Grey in addition to a few others – we’re going to focus on the new magical powers (in Green), but will provide some insight into the ones we covered previously (though if you want the “Why Cast This” part, look at the last post):

• Blinding Light (Static) – Gandalf the White casts this just as well as Gandalf the Grey and if your opponent brings archery, you should channel this with 1 Will + the free Will point from your Staff of Power (though WHEN to cast it is dependent on whether you’re playing Clash by Moonlight or not). Since your army is a shooting army, you want to use this to force opposing shooting lists to have to come at you in melee (where you’re likely to have numerical superiority by the time they arrive).
• Terrifying Aura (Static) – Gandalf the White also casts this one just as well as Gandalf the Grey, so follow the instructions provided there. Since Gandalf is mounted, causing Terror is huge for not getting charged by low-Courage opponents.
• Strengthen Will (Static) – I recommend only spending your free Will point to cast this spell (67% chance of success) and I don’t recommend channeling this (for the same reasons I mentioned in my last post). 
• Why cast this? Unlike the Thorin’s Company list we looked at last time, the only character who really NEEDS extra Will is Gandalf, but that’s where one of the new big changes of the magical power comes into play - Gandalf can bolster his OWN Will store before he’s in range to cast damage spells on enemy models (which is a HUGE change). In effect, he can take the free Will point he gets each turn and turn it into a permanent Will point. As mentioned previously, Strengthen Will was easily Gandalf the White’s worst spell, but it’s MUCH better now.
• Immobilize/Command (Control) – With Immobilize cast on a 2+ and Command on 3+, you cast Immobilize ONLY when the spell HAS to go off and you don’t need your opponent to move anywhere. On a single die, you have a 67% chance of Command going off, which can provide incredible tactical benefits (e.g. moving a banner out of support range, moving an auric hero away from some important fights, keeping a model from getting to an objective, drawing someone out of a battle line to be charged). For more info on why you’d want this spell, check out the last post.
• Fortify Spirit (Control) – You only need to cast this if your opponent has magic wielders – and I recommend you cast it BEFORE they get within range of casting against you. Since you cast it on a 3+, I recommend using 1 Will + your free Will from your Staff of Power (it’s the best use of Will you’ll get in the entire game). While you COULD consider channeling this, I’d say no – getting +1 to your resist rolls is likely to just make your opponent avoid casting against Gandalf (or Faramir) at all – hence saving your hero but otherwise “wasting” a perfectly good Might point. 
• Why cast this? While Gandalf the White doesn’t have access to Protection of the Valar, he can cast Fortify Spirit on a 3+, choosing himself or a friendly target (like Faramir) to receive a free 2D6 to resist magical attacks. With two free dice, you have a 75% chance of getting a 4+, a 55% chance of getting a 5+, and a 30% chance of getting a 6 on your resist test WITHOUT spending any of your other Will points. With this on Faramir AND Gandalf, you’ve got good protection against magic (and this is paired nicely with the archery protection of Blinding Light, making these two heroes only vulnerable to damage in melee, which is far more predictable than magic/shooting).
• Banishment (Damage) – While Collapse Rocks is a very niche damage spell, Banishment has far greater applicability and helps Gandalf take down some of the toughest enemy casters in the game. Cast on a 4+, you’ll want to throw 1 Will + your free Will point at this one and in general I don’t think you need to channel it (read my remarks about D3 bonuses on my recent post on magic). 
• Why cast this? Unlike Sorcerous Blast, Collapse Rocks, Flameburst, or Black Dart, Banishment (more like Chill Soul) does 1 Wound against a spirit model, NOT a S5+ hit (which has at best a 67% success rate). This spell is perfect for cleaning up Ringwraiths (hopefully blowing through some Will points on the way), Barrow-Wights (who are crippled by both attempting to resist it OR by taking its damage), Shades (who have a larger Will store than Barrow-Wights and no spells to cast but are PAINFUL to deal with in melee), Warriors of the Dead/Dead Marsh Spectres (who will probably wound your units on 4s if they can engage them), and units that use Will like Fate points (the Undying, the Necromancer of Dol Guldor, Castellans of Dol Guldur).
• Sorcerous Blast (Damage) – While Gandalf the Grey has a risky time casting this spell, Gandalf the White casts it on a 4+ (on-par with Banishment), so against non-Spirit models, you definitely want this one. I recommend using 1 Will + your free Will point from your Staff of Power, though you can always through an extra one if you REALLY want it to go off. For this team, having models on the ground is great, since it will slow down an advance (particularly great if those two models are in the front of a battle line, as their spear-supporters will either need to move around them OR will have to lag behind with the two guys as they finally get back up. Anything you can do to mess up a battle line will help your archers and your melee troops.
• Your Staff Is Broken (Control) – This is the most niche spell you’ll have, since most models don’t carry staffs. Still, if you’re up against one, use 1 Will + your free Will point and watch your opponent squirm. I wouldn’t channel this – the hit is nice, but it’s not an auto-wound, so there’s a chance that it fails (or that it costs your more Might to make it work). 
• Why cast this? This spell is a useful way to get an edge over an enemy wizard OR to disarm certain other models. Heroes like Radagast the Brown and Saruman (either Good or Evil version) get good use out of their staffs, so breaking their staves not only forces them to use their free Will point to resist your spell, but it can also deplete their stores of Will (which makes it less likely they can cast against you). Since you can get Fortify Spirit up on yourself, you’re quite likely to be able to resist their spells WITHOUT using your free Will point from your Staff of Power (allowing you to both resist and cast in the same turn). Other models (like the Undying or Moria Blackshield Shamans) are unarmed if they lose their staffs, which makes killing them much easier.

Now I’ve made a bold claim (though others agree with me) that Gandalf the White is the best caster in the game – if you don’t agree yet, let’s take a quick look at the competition (I’ve left out most of the “grunt” casters who have Fury + 1 other spell and the combat heroes who “have a few spells” but won’t be casting for very long in the game - I'm thinking of characters like Celeborn, the Mouth of Sauron, and Thranduil with the Circlet of Kings):

• Gandalf the Grey (Fellowship/Shire/Thorin’s Company/Survivors of Lake-town/White Council): as much as we loved Gandalf the Grey in the last post, the extra 50 points you pay for Gandalf the White (70 points with Shadowfax) are well worth it – added resiliency, better casting values on most spells, higher Attacks/Defense, access to Shadowfax as a fast mount, and most importantly, better magic defense via Fortify Spirit. As great as Protection of the Valar is, it’s not as good as a static +2D6 to resist to be cast on yourself or others.
• Elrond (Rivendell/White Council): Elrond is a very killy hero and Wrath of Bruinen is no joke. While Renew can restore Wounds to friendly models, Elrond runs out of steam pretty fast (though Lindir can help with that). If you buy both Elrond and Lindir, though, you’re spending MORE than you do on Gandalf the White – and Gandalf can bolster his much larger store of Will with Strengthen Will as you advance across the field.
• Cirdan (Rivendell): probably the best auric caster in the game (access to persistent protection against archery, terror for nearby units, and auto-passing Courage tests), Cirdan is great IF your single Might point successfully channels Blinding Light. Passing Aura of Dismay to give Terror to your models is difficult, but if you get that off AND Blinding Light, you’re in good shape. You’re then free to cast Aura of Command whenever you like and Enchanted Blades to make your killy heroes even better (like one of the twins). Cirdan, though, can’t deal with enemy casters very well and because he’s not Resistant to Magic, his auric buffs can disappear with a Sap Will or two – it’s sad. Gandalf’s buffs last much longer, thanks to Fortify Spirit.
• Elf Stormcaller (Rivendell/Lothlorien): I’ve included these guys ONLY because of Call Winds – this spell is nasty against monsters who aren’t Resistant to Magic (e.g. Cave Trolls, Mordor Trolls), since they can be Knocked Prone after being flung D6” – most of which they’ll only recover the following round (if they get up before the caster casts it again). Unlike normal resist tests, Stormcallers get their Will back if they get a natural 6 on the cast, so in some games, you’ll get (likely) 4 casts of Call Winds in a game – perfect for keeping a big player out of the way for a few rounds. Gandalf doesn’t have access to this spell, but he’s likely to beat it AND can knock most people to the ground with Sorcerous Blast if he needs to.
• Galadriel (Lothlorien): Perhaps my favorite caster in the game, Galadriel can give herself (and others) Fate points back (invaluable) as well as provides protection from archery. You can’t go wrong taking her in a Lorien force, but her lack of damage powers means that while you can make one model not attack, it’s hard for you to keep your army alive with her magic (besides the archery protection). Gandalf does a far better job of neutralizing people on his own AND resists barrages of magic (which Galadriel does slightly if you keep the army bonus). Note: her alter-ego from the White Council list has a static Blinding Light (tied to a special rule, not her Will store) and both Fortify Spirit and Banishment, so she's a lot like Gandalf the White. She's also very hard to charge thanks to a mini-Harbinger rule and causing Terror. She's also an amazing combat hero, so if you're looking for a version of Galadriel to rival Gandalf, it's probably that one...
• Tom Bombadil/Goldberry (Wanderers in the Wild): Not sure how competitive these two are now that they run away when they run out of Will, but their spell is incredibly (albeit at short range). Gandalf would truly benefit from their help (and Tom has Banishment!), but eventually, they’re going to become pillars on the board, denying your opponents the ability to move into their control zones. As great as they are, they provide no buffs to your team, which puts your grunts at a distinct disadvantage.
• Radagast (Radagast’s Alliance/White Council): probably the second best caster available to the forces of Good, Radagast has spells that are easy to cast (besides of Aura of Dismay), which means his Will store can be used to resist spells instead of casting them. While this gives him some added resiliency, it’s nowhere near the power that you get from Gandalf. Radagast does have the advantage of being able to draw line of sight to anywhere on the battlefield, allowing him to cast magic without being able to physically see his targets – wouldn’t that be nice for Gandalf. Still, when he’s engaged, he can get 2 Attacks (kind of – if you take Sebastian), though they’re not as powerful as Gandalf’s Attacks.
• Saruman the White (The White Council): I love this guy and he’s great – by casting standards, he’s as good as Gandalf on the spells they both cast if not better. However, Saruman the White lacks most of the auric spells that make Gandalf the White so good – he’s a great damage caster, but so is Gandalf the White. For only 60 points more, Gandalf is where it’s at. I will note that he has a free reroll to cast/resist, so you’re slightly more likely to get stuff off than Gandalf will.
• The Dark Lord Sauron (Barad-Dur): While Sauron has access to Chill Soul (the upgraded form of Banishment, since it can hit anyone – not just Spirit models), he doesn’t resist taking Magical punishment very well. As a Spirit model, he’s vulnerable to Banishment and with only Resistant to Magic to block Gandalf’s barrage (and only 6” movement), it’s unlikely that he wins a prolonged duel with a wizard who costs half of his points.
• All the Ringwraith ilk (Barad-Dur/Angmar/Mordor/Easterlings/Serpent Horde/Corsairs of Umbar): Ringwraiths are nasty to fight, but with Sap Will becoming MUCH harder to cast, they don’t fight enemy casters very well (and with Transfix getting reduced, they don’t fight melee fighters very well). Some of the Ringwraiths (Khamul, Betrayer, and the Knight of Umbar) actually cast their spells at a harder difficulty, making them even worse casters (though they’re very good in other ways). Having a Ringwraith or two in a Mordor army is very useful (especially if the Witch-King has the Crown of Morgul for a free reroll to cast/resist), but they’re not as good as Gandalf (and as Spirit models, they’re likely to die in a duel with him). Furthermore, anytime you cast a spell with a Ringwraith, you are (in a sense) killing them, as they are removed as casualties if they lose all their Will. Since they also lose Will every time they Fight, casting spells is risky.
• Kardush the Firecaller (the only Fury guy we’re including): perhaps the only non-Staff-of-Power model who can compete for longevity with Staff-of-Power models, Kardush suffers from having only one spell that’s not Fury – and with only 1 Might point, you probably need to throw 2 dice each turn at it. While this speaks well for him, Kardush not only lacks the auric bonuses to protect your men, but he chews through them in order to cast magic longer. Gandalf provides great protection and doesn’t afford any risk to your men to keep the magic flowing.
• Barrow-Wight (Angmar): if you’ve never faced these guy’s they’re SCARY!!!! But with no Fate, 5 Will points (and no Might points), they’re not scary for very long. As Spirit models (who have no Fate), they’re quite squishy to Gandalf. Like many combat heroes who "happen to have magic," their longevity leaves much to be desired (usually only 2-3 turns of magic before they taper out - and without Might, you still might not get your spells off when you throw 2-3 Will at them).
• Necromancer of Dol Guldur (Dark Powers of Dol Guldur): I like that they gave Curse back to this guy – he can kill many people if he’s assisted by the right units (Drain Soul with F7/S6 on the turn that you take all your target's Fate points away is NASTY). As a caster, the Necromancer is good (especially if you keep your army bonus), but since his Fate points are his Will points, any damage he takes undercuts his ability to cast magic – and like we said with Ringwraiths above, each time you cast a spell, you are (in a sense) damaging yourself.
• Smaug (Desolator of the North): At nearly three times Gandalf’s cost, you CAN cast spells with him, but you’re likely to eventually forego the spells in favor of breathing fire (since both eat your Will up). The spells he has are basic and he’s not even very good at casting them (decent, but not good). So…not a great caster (but as a fighter, very different story).

If you didn't notice, Saruman from the Isengard list doesn't appear in this post. Why? Because he's the subject of our next post in the series - the army that ALMOST was my GT list this year. For more info on Saruman and how he changes "the way you Uruk tonight," stay tuned. Until then, happy hobbying!