Top 10 Wraiths, Revisited

And after a VERY long move and get-the-old-place-ready-for-renters kind of month, WE'RE ALIVE!!!!!!!!!

And naturally, once we're back to being alive, we blog about our hobbies. :)

A while back, we did a post on the "top 10 Ringwraiths," with the emphasis being on an all-Ringwraith team (because that's what we were taking to THRO that year). Today, we're going to do that again, but consider how these guys have changed under the new rules. We'll also be expanding our horizons to discuss each Ringwraith in the context of their more traditional usage: as one of several heroes leading lots of warriors. I will note that even in an all-hero army of Ringwraiths (like we did a while back), the order wouldn't change much in my opinion. So gather up your blackest robes, prepare that screech you've been working on, prepare your dark steed, and let's get to it!


Ringwraiths: How They've Changed (And How They Haven't Changed)

Ringwraiths are different than they used to be, but in many ways, they remain unchanged in this release of the rules:

• The spells Ringwraiths have are basically the same as they used to be, with the exception that Ringwraiths got Instill Fear under the new rules. Sap Will got harder to caster (a 5+ instead of a 3+), which basically makes it (and Instill Fear) unlikely choices for a Ringwraith with 2 or fewer Might points to cast, but you've still got the same arsenal;
• All Ringwraiths have retained Transfix/Compel, though the spells themselves suffered a little under the new rules (no longer reducing Fight Value or Attacks by default and NEVER bringing them both down to 1). As I've said in many posts recently on magic, while it's sad that we can't nerf a hero's stats as effectively as we used to, Transfix (and in certain situations Compel) are still quite useful in that they keep power heroes from being able to make Strikes if they win the fight (or use Brutal Power Attacks ... or call Heroic Actions ... or use Active special abilities ... or move ... or shoot ... or cast magic against us);
• While the named Ringwraiths have kept their special rules, most of the Ringwraith special rules require the expenditure of Will points to use (the Dark Marshal's warrior-only-banner-rule, the Shadow Lord's enemy-archery-only-hits-on-6s-rule, the Betrayer's my-poison-friends-wound-better-rule, etc.). While this isn't a big deal for some of them (the Betrayer, Khamul the Easterling, and the Knight of Umbar cast spells worse than the others, so they've got Will to spare), others are able to do far less in a game (the Dark Marshal probably can't get much use out of his Fight 6 AND cast spells AND be a banner, so he'll need to pick one to focus on, one to do a little, and one to do once if he does it at all);
• Ringwraiths are still Terror-Harbinger models - and this is still as terrifying as ever (see what I did there?). Models that cause Terror are more common now than they used to be and armies that can bring Harbingers (or have Harbinger-like rules) can maximize on Terror and keep portions of their army from being charged. Angmar armies basically have no reason now to avoid taking the Witch-King (or the Tainted ... or the Dwimmerlaik ... or any mix of the three).

Our discussion will be shaped by the above notes - let's get into them!

Ringwraiths: The Top 10

#10: The Betrayer
The Betrayer is one of three Ringwraiths who can't cast magic well - basically everything is +1 harder to cast (which makes it unlikely that you try to cast anything). While most Ringwraiths can get good mileage out of Drain Courage (cast on a 2+, reliably on 1 die), the Betrayer cannot (along with two of his compadres, who we'll address later). In some ways, this isn't a problem - the Betrayer is a good Ringwraith to introduce new players to since you can say up-front: "don't worry about the magic spells he has - we'll get to those later." His Will store is far from wasted, assuming he's near Poison-toting models - allowing them to reroll all failed To Wound rolls is DEADLY and now that it costs 1 Will to active this ability, you want to save your Will for a) upping the damage of friendly Poison models, b) fighting when charged, or c) just staying alive. Because his true benefit comes from being near Poison-carrying models, there isn't a reason to field him with a Mordor list (or any of the other Ringwraith models), but in a Serpent Horde list, he's quite good. Not a great Ringwraith in general, but very useful in some armies.

#9: The Dwimmerlaik (formerly #5)
The greatest fall from grace (in my opinion) is the Dwimmerlaik: while he used to make Might/Will/Fate harder to use for enemy heroes at no cost to himself, under the current rules the Dwimmerlaik must spend a point of Will in order to force the hero to see if he must spend an additional point of Might/Will/Fate. If the payment of Will guaranteed that an additional point needed to be spent, the Dwimmerlaik would go from one of the worst Ringwraiths to one of the best, but since half the time you'll spend a Will point and get nothing out of it, it's a real gambit. As such, I'd recommend you only employ this power when your opponent is spending his last point of Might/Will/Fate, since the point your opponent spends will be wasted if you do manage to get a 4+ on your roll. Otherwise, you'll drain the Dwimmerlaik's Will too fast. To add to this reduction in effectiveness, the Dwimmerlaik has 0 Might (this isn't different from before), so he's an expensive model to have in your army that won't give you the flexibility to call Heroic actions. A shame, really - I used to really like the guy.

#8: The Shadow Lord
The only Ringwraith who isn't Courage 6, the Shadow Lord has a pretty basic Ringwraith profile. While he certainly has his uses in armies that need protection from archery, he used to be a reliable caster AND archery retardant. Now, he can do both, but since they compete for resources, he can't do either for very long. One other change that we've seen in the game is that rules that say "you only hit on 6s" aren't as powerful as they used to be, since models suffer a -1 penalty to moving and shooting. While any reduction is good, some archer models begin by hitting on 5s (Moria Goblin Warriors and Orc Warriors as the big ones), so by having a "hit only on 6s" bubble up, you actually encourage these models to "scoot and shoot" towards you since they don't suffer anything by doing so. Other models begin with a 4+ shoot which would normally be dropped to a 5+ shoot when moving, so while they do get a reduction for shooting at your arrow cloud, it's not THAT much worse than it was. The only real reduction you'll see is when someone starts with a 3+ shoot (or a 2+ shoot) and tries to shoot into your cloud - and while it's good that we can stop those, these archers are far less common. A good Ringwraith to include in a low Defense army, but not a great one.

#7: The Knight of Umbar
Okay, let me get this out of the way from the beginning: Combat Mimicry is one of the coolest abilities in the game (and a great way to keep your opponent from calling Heroic Strike against you). Since it costs 1 Will, however, the Knight of Umbar is bred for only one thing: killing stuff. If you can manage to win fights, you won't lose Will for being in the Fight (which is good), but any turn you mimic someone else's combat stats, it'll cost you 1 Will (just as if you were any other Ringwraith who fought in a fight). If you LOSE a fight while using Combat Mimicry, you'll lose 2 Will - which would be really bad and drain you very quickly. While the Knight of Umbar is good to include in any list where you need a good fighter, I strongly recommend you mount him (horse works fine, fell beast is better) so you can occasionally get better dice counts/stats than your opponent. Don't cast magic - he's dreadful at it.

#6: The Tainted
I always liked the Tainted - he's weird. He definitely got better in that you can choose to activate his "no warriors - friend or foe - can benefit from a stand fast or Heroic Actions while standing near me" ability and it's nice that his "I get a chance to wound everyone engaged with me before we fight" doesn't cost Will to activate. I think the Tainted is actually tied for 5th with our next entry - the reason I placed him here is because he's basically a generic Ringwraith who HAS to max out Might/Will/Fate (it's good he isn't 1 Might anymore), costs a little bit extra, and has a few rules that might give him an edge. If you have the points to field him, do so - especially in an Angmar list. Otherwise, you might be better served with...

#5: Ringwraith with at least 2M/9W/1F and a horse
Let's be honest - no one is going to run a 55-point base Ringwraith: with no Might, no Fate, and only enough Will to cast a few spells and stay alive, they're not that much fun to play with (and certainly don't have the shock and awe that Ringwraiths can have). Ergo, I submit that any Ringwraith that you bring should have maximum Might (2 for +10 points), at least 1 Fate point (since Fate/Will both keep you alive, you need to determine how many wounds you're actually going to take, so 1 for +5 points), and at least 9 Will (6 for casting, 3 for staying alive - 2 for +10 points), and a horse (for mobility and in case you're needed to charge into someone, claim an objective, or race off the board - 1 horse for +10 points). This brings you up to 90 points base, though you can get up to 120 if you add more Will/Fate. Fell Beasts might be tempting for one such as this, but I think several of the named characters would be better employed on them. The greatest advantage that a generic Ringwraith has, however, is that he has access to Heroic March (while most named Ringwraiths only have Heroic Channelling) - this is huge if he's mounted (and leading a mounted contingent), but also allows you to catapult slower models (like the Dark Lord Sauron) into combat faster - which is a HUGE benefit.

#4: The Undying (formerly #2)
The Undying has gotten worse - though I expect a lot of people still like him (someone won a tournament with him recently). While having 18 Will points that you can use as Fate points is nothing to sniff at, it's lower than the 20 that he used to have. The biggest reason for his fall, however, is that he used to regain a Will point each time a spell (friendly or opposing) was successfully cast within 6" of him. Now, he needs to spend a Will point in order for this to work - which is fine if you're casting a spell on 1 die (you'll get it back), but it used to be that you could cast a difficult spell (like Black Dart) on 3 dice and have two friendly figures also cast spells nearby (Immobilize or Drain Courage for example) and be right back where you started. Now you need more people nearby in order for this to work. I still think he's good, but you'll be hard-pressed to get as much use out of this guy as with some of the other heroes below.

#3: Dark Marshal (formerly #9)
I'll confess, I've always loved the Dark Marshal the best (probably just behind the Witch-King), but now I feel like I can justify him being ranked this high. In previous editions, his Fight 6 was good because no other Ringwraiths had it, though the advent of Heroic Strike on everyone made this less impressive than it is now. While Heroic Strike is still an issue, the Dark Marshal can employ Transfix on someone he intends to charge and use that Fight 6 to great advantage now. I ALWAYS recommend you mount him - his auric buff (though it costs Will to use) gets better as his base gets larger. While I think a horse of some kind is the best way to field him, a Fell Beast can be used effectively too (and ups his base Attacks/Strength, which is good). Personally I think he outranks most Ringwraiths because while all other Ringwraiths (except the Witch-King) cast Instill Fear on a 5+, he casts it on a 4+, making him very effective at scattering ranks before a charge. If you take a Fell Beast, I recommend you do your best to get behind the enemy ranks and scatter them towards your lines - that way, you make spearmen more vulnerable (since models scatter directly away from you, making gaps in their lines) and then engage all the models you can (swooping in with the Dark Marshal into the back ranks).

#2: Khamul (formerly #3)
Khamul ranks as #2 for one reason above all others: he's not limited to just Heroic Channelling (or Heroic Move). With a decent selection of heroic actions (to include Strike) AND with the ability to spend Will to improve his Fight/Strength/Attacks (I'd always choose Attacks) AND with the ability to regain lost Will if you do damage (mount him on an armored horse and the job's a good one), you can keep Khamul alive for a very long time if you're constantly charging into enemies. Khamul is great in both an Easterling list or a Mordor list and has always been one of the most reliable Ringwraiths to use in an army. He falls just shy of #1 though, who is (to no surprise) ...

#1: The Witch-King of Angmar with at least 3M/15W/2F, the Crown of Morgul, and a mount
Okay - we all saw this coming. But why is he the best? For one thing, he's got access to Strike/Strength/Challenge like most other power heroes do (and Ringwraiths do not). For another thing, he costs more than the others so he'd better be better (a 3/15/2 with crown/horse combo will run you 155 points). Third, the Crown of Morgul got slightly cheaper and now allows the Witch-King to not only get 3 Attacks, but also allows him to reroll a casting/resisting die - so you can all-but-guarantee Drain Courage, Transfix, and (slightly riskier) Compel/Instill Fear go off at the cost of 1 Will. This is HUGE. While I still wouldn't cast Black Dart (sure, you have a 55% chance of getting it off on 1 die and a 70% chance of getting it off on 2 dice, but you still only have a 50-67% chance of wounding the target you hit), his other spells are easily cast, allowing you to save your precious Will for fighting. If you take the Crown of Morgul, I don't think you need a Fell Beast (though shock and awe argue against me) - you'll get 4 attacks on the charge using either a Fell Beast or a horse and you'll get F5 with either mount as well, so it's really paying for a) flying, b) Strength 6, c) different cavalry rules thanks to Monstrous Charge, and d) the height elevation which might help you cast magic better. That's probably worth it, but at that point, you're pushing 200 points with a single model - is that worth it?

I'll make one note on the Witch-King before I leave this post: he's not always worth taking. Like the article cited earlier under the Undying says, the Hero of Legend status on the Witch-King can prevent other models (like the Undying) from being your Army Leader. If you're worried about having a 1 Wound Army Leader, you might choose to forego taking him and choose someone else. Of course, he's only a Hero of Valor in a Barad-Dur army (where you'll be supporting Sauron), so...you could always run him there. :)

That's it for our discussion of Ringwraiths. As we move into a busy summer, I'm hoping to get some workbench updates on each of my armies (mostly painting, some conversions), along with a status of where they're going. Starting in Christmas, I hope to start a few new armies (I know, I know - who actually needs this many?), so I'm trying to crank out the armies I have now before then. Should be fun - our next post takes us to Gondor where my Minas Tirith army is waiting for some dire tender loving care. Until then, happy hobbying!