Armies of Middle Earth SBG: Rohan in the Middle-Earth Strategy Battle Game

---Updated April 2024---

So I tried to think of something clever or inventive or thematic to say when introducing our faction for this week, but in the end, I couldn’t find anything better than this iconic tune (although this one is a very close second).

We’re talking, of course, about the second of the three heroic factions of men that fought at the Battle of Pelennor Fields (and other places, too, as it turns out): the Horse Lords themselves, Rohan. If you picked up the Battle of the Pelennor Fields box set when the Middle-Earth Strategy Battle Game was re-branded in 2018 (and didn’t sell off the model sprues for parts), odds are you have at least 12 of these guys, plus their fearless leader Theoden (more on him shortly—he’s kind of important to the army nowadays). 

The troop options in Rohan aren’t quite as diverse as what we have in Minas Tirith, but Rohan still features a plethora of iconic, powerful, and in many cases stupidly-cheap (in points, not necessarily cash) heroes to lead your riders into battle. Cavalry charges can be tricky in this game, and in some respects, Rohan is missing some core elements we’d expect to see if we want to recreate those smashing moments from Return of the King (high fight, lances, armored horses, etc.). Underestimate them at your peril…

As with Minas Tirith, I think it’s worth highlighting some of the fantastic community resources on Rohan that are especially worth checking out. James Clark from the GBHL was on Rohan early after the new edition came out, with a video on how Rohan’s changed in the new edition, and what their new rules could mean for their future. And I’d also be remiss if I didn’t direct you to Mik’s Fog of War entry on Rohan (which also features Mr. Clark) for some fantastic sample lists to get your creative juices flowing.

Now for wrath! Now for ruin! (And our thoughts, I guess?)

Photo Credit: The Fandamentals

Army Quick(ish) Hits

• Strength: Versatile (and relatively inexpensive) cavalry. Cavalry models aren’t “cheap” (though naked Warg Riders get pretty close, if you factor in the chance that the Warg can stick around if the rider is slain), but Rohan’s prove cheaper than most. A generic Rider of Rohan has a solid if unspectacular stat-line (Fight 3, Strength 3, Defense 5), but rarely fights with those stats unless things are going horribly wrong. Both their Fight Value (+1 Fight Value within 12” of Theoden, thanks to Arise Riders of Theoden!) and Strength (+1 Strength on the charge, from the Rohan Army Bonus) can be buffed, and a Fight 4, Strength 4 cavalry model (even without a lance) is nothing to sneeze at. Each Rider also comes equipped with a 24” Strength 2 bow, which doesn’t sound like much on its own, but can do a significant amount of damage to your force if you never manage to catch them (which, given that they’re mounted on horses who can move 7.5” with a Heroic March and still shoot, can be harder than it sounds, especially if your force consists solely or primarily of infantry). For just one point more, you can upgrade your Riders to mounted Royal Guards: Fight 4, Strength 3, and Defense 6 with Bodyguard, who become Fight 5, Strength 4, Defense 6 with Bodyguard if they’re charging within 12” of Theoden. That stat combo, on the back of a horse, is downright lethal.
• Strength: Tons of named heroes with tons of synergies. Theoden is the gold standard for this (boosting the Fight Value of your Riders, mounted Royal Guard, and even mounted Rohan Captains), but he’s not alone. If Theoden is exhibit 1A in a Rohan list, Gamling (even more so than Eomer) is usually 1B. The Royal Standard of Rohan is both a 3” banner and a mini-Might factory, giving all Rohan Heroes who start the turn within 3” of it a free Might point if their Might store has been depleted. The full suite of Rohan Heroes has access to basically every heroic action in the game (other than Channel, I think?), which means Gamling allows your heroes to do basically everything, basically infinitely, as long as you can keep him alive (he can call infinite Heroic Defenses, too, to help you with that). Both Gamling and Hama have Sworn Protector (Theoden), giving them essentially Bodyguard as long as Theoden is alive (great for dealing with Terror-causing enemy models). If you’re worried about courage on your other models, you can always enlist Erkenbrand and the Horn of Helm Hammerhand, for +2 Courage on all your Rohan models (heroes or warriors). Deorwine can get free Heroic Combats each turn if Theoden is engaged in a fight within 12” of him (with additional “free” Might from Gamling, potentially, to help him win that Heroic Combat, or score that needed wound). Elfhelm and his deadly-accurate throwing spears are a great way to eliminate a hero’s horse or take out a supporting spearman or banner, before the rest of your mounted contingent charges. If you’re worried your Fight 3, Strength 3, Defense 5 infantry are going to struggle against Fight 3, Strength 4, Defense 6 infantry (like Morannons), you can convert them all to Helmingas with Grimbold of Grimslade to at least keep the to-wound rolls even. And of course, there’s the supreme synergy: Dernhelm (which is combat Eowyn and paladin Merry fused into one, at a reduced points cost), a 3 Attack, 3 Might, 3 Will, 4 Fate, Resistant to Magic, Striking / Resolving mounted Hero which, if you kill its negative-points-cost horse, produces 2 heroes you have to deal with. Even Eorl the Young, and his limited list restrictions, gives a bonus +1 Attack to your Sons of Eorl. The point: synergies abound.
• Strength: Mobility. If you listed this as Rohan’s #1 Strength, you wouldn’t be wrong. It’s not just that (pretty much) every hero and every warrior can be mounted, it’s that you can mount them with ranged weapons. Just to take one extreme example, Mounted Royal Guards can’t take bows, but you can give them throwing spears (Strength 3, 8” range). This gives them a deceptively huge threat range: since you can shoot a throwing weapon even if you move full in the Move Phase, and a Cavalry model can move up to 15” if bolstered by a Heroic March, you could be 23” away from a mounted Royal Guard at the start of the Move Phase (or 29-33” away, if you have priority and move towards him), and he could still kill you. Just let that sink in for a moment. Speaking of Heroic March, some armies don’t have much access to it. Rohan is not one of those armies. Heroic March is everywhere…
• Strength: Renewable Might. Renewable Might is an incredibly rare thing. The Fellowship has it (Aragorn and Bill), Minas Tirith has it (if it takes Aragorn), and in a pinch any force of good can get it if it trades its Army Bonus (via Tom Bombadil’s Renew, though you may be labeled a “Power gamer” unless your list is especially themey). Rohan is one of those rare exceptions, thanks to The Royal Standard of Rohan. Held aloft by Gamling, this 3” Banner not only grants rerolls but also gives a free Might point to any Rohan heroes (not allied heroes) who start the turn within its 3” range (so at a minimum, Gamling himself gets a Free Might point every turn once he runs out). Edit: And... this has been errata'd. The banner is still very good, but only one Rohan hero within 3" of Gamling (including Gamling himself) gets a free Might point each turn. The 3” bubble is both larger than it sounds and trickier to figure out than it sounds (especially if your models are mounted on larger cav bases), and of course if you have to fight on several flanks, you’ll have to decide which one gets the Might boost. Even so, take it every time. Edit: with the errata, I'm not sure this is an auto-take anymore, but if you were already going to take a banner and a 3 Might hero, it's probably the more efficient option, so it's definitely not "bad". And if you're going heavy-cav, that free Might a turn--even if it's only on Gamling calling free Heroic Moves each turn--really reduces the chances that you'll get bogged down.

One of these can be brought in a Rohan list... the other, not so much...

Photo Credit: reddit.com

• Strength / Weakness: Killing Power. As with many of Rohan’s Strengths / Weaknesses, this come down to both your army composition and whether you get those critical charges off. When Rohan is mounted, on the charge, they’re devastatingly effective at killing any infantry that are Defense 6 or less (4 dice to-wound after knock-down, needing a single 5+). Their added mobility, ability to kill additional models on the charge (via a Strength 3 Throwing Spear) and their chance to whittle down opponents before they charge with throwing spears and bows, and they can out-skirmish most lightly armored skirmish troops in the game. Where they struggle are against high-defense infantry (Defense 7+, so Dwarves or Minas Tirith), especially if they’re supported by friendly cavalry for key counter-charges (as I’ve mentioned elsewhere, a cavalry model that charges into infantry, and is then counter-charged by an enemy cavalry model, is probably a dead cavalry model). High-Strength archers (longbows, elf bows, cross bows) defended by Defense 6+ infantry can also pose a problem by blunting the effectiveness of Rohan’s own bows and throwing spears (not to mention Blinding Light or Pall of Darkness). If Rohan is charged, it reverts to Strength 3 (unless you take a contingent of Grimbold’s Helmingas). Against most conventional armies, there’s a big difference between being Strength 3 and Strength 4. And without any access to 2-handed weapons (apart from Grimbold himself), there’s not really any way of upping your damage potential, unless you Piercing Strike with axes (which, to be fair, you can take in abundance). That will hurt your staying power (because your Defense goes down by D3 if you lose), so it’s not an ideal solution. Speaking of which…
• Strength / Weakness: Staying Power. There are two major culprits here: the Warriors themselves, and their noble steeds. The Defense 4 / 5 on a Warrior (depending on if you take the shield) isn’t great, and when combined with their average Fight (Fight 3, so you’re losing fights to Uruks, Dwarves, Elves, some factions of Men, and occasionally even Goblins) and lack of spears (so they fight in more of the Viking Shieldwall manner, instead of a standard Shieldwall), means they tend to die quickly. Strength 3 bows can shred them with ease, and they can have a hard time dealing with other skirmish infantry with throwing weapons (Grim Hammers in particular stand out, with their Fight 4 / Defense 7, and potentially Strength 4 as well if they’re led by Thror). You can up your staying power significantly by going with Royal Guard on foot, who are far more dependable in a scrap (Fight 4, Defense 6, with shields) while still retaining the option for skirmishing (Throwing Spears). Whilst mounted, you can accomplish the same thing by swapping Riders of Rohan for Royal Guards (Fight 3/4 Defense 5 becomes Fight 4/5 Defense 6), at the cost of long-range bow fire. Unfortunately, that doesn’t address the second major area of attrition: almost every model in this force, with the exception of just a few named heroes, rides a Defense 4 horse. And Defense 4 horses are notoriously easy to kill, especially if your opponent has mass bow-fire. Any standard bow will wound them on 5s, from 18-24” away, which means you’ll have to weather at least one turn of mass bowfire (and potentially 2 or more, if you’re not sufficiently aggressive / your opponent employs skirmishing tactics to maximize his shooting opportunities / your opponent has bows and throwing weapons). Crossbows are particularly lethal, since they wound the horses themselves on a 4+, and all riders on a 5+ (including most of Rohan’s heroes). If you take Rohan, just expect that you’ll lose horses. Try to minimize those losses as best you can, by getting into combat as quickly as possible. And of course, if your opponent has no bows (or just a token ranged contingent), you’ll pretty much have free reign over the board.
• Strength / Weakness: Courage. Rohan’s base courage is average, not great: Courage 3 for troops, Courage 4 for most heroes, and Courage 5 (with 3 Will points for your mainstays). Fortunately you have a fair amount of Sworn Protector (Gamling, Hama) and Bodyguard (Deorwine, Royal Guards) which will solve most of your Courage issues as long as you can keep Theoden alive (or your army leader, in the case of Bodyguard, if you don’t take Theoden for thematic reasons). In the late game, Outriders/walkers can also use the Stand Fast! of any friendly hero they can see (though that doesn’t help them with spectres, sentinels, etc.), and of course you always have Erkenbrand’s Horn of Helm Hammerhand for +2 Courage across the board (warriors and heroes) if you want a major boost against Blades of the Dead.
• Weakness: Limited army customization. In some ways, you have a lot of customization options: Rohan has one of the deepest hero suites in the game, and more cavalry options than most (Riders, Royal Guard, Outriders, plus mounted heroes who can fill a variety of roles). But unlike Minas Tirth, which has quite a few army archetypes (spam infantry, elite infantry, heavy armored archers, heavy rangers, heavy siege weapons, heavy/full cavalry, heavy named heroes, heavy unnamed heroes), Rohan has relatively few: there’s the all-mounted LOTR version (Riders, Royal Guard, maybe some mounted Outriders, led by mounted Heroes), the mixed infantry/cavalry version (again, featuring Riders, Royal Guard, maybe some Outriders/walkers, probably some Helmingas or maybe Royal Guard on foot, again led by Rohan heroes, mostly mounted), the full-infantry version (lots of warriors, some royal guard/outwalkers, maybe some token cavalry—you rarely see this force nowadays), and then the “distance past” variant with Eorl and his Sons (maybe with some unnamed Gondor sprinkled in as allies). I expect this will change some with the upcoming Rohan at War supplement (currently the only Rohan-exclusive legendary legion, Riders of Theoden, is basically LOTR all-mounted Rohan with some very nice bonus rules). The other thing about Rohan’s customization is that while you do have a pretty deep hero suite, it’s very rare to see a Rohan force that doesn’t include both Theoden and Gamling, and once you put them in the list, it’s hard not to also take Deorwine (who synergizes really well with Theoden) and either Eomer or Dernhelm (for significant hitting power). The upshot is that despite the depth of options you have, most Rohan lists end up looking more or less the same: the same core heroes, and similar if not identical supporting heroes, leading a core of mounted Riders and Royal Guards. Thematically that’s as it should be (and gameplay-wise, those lists are plenty powerful). But it does mean the variety you find in a Rohan list is more akin to what you’d see in, say, Goblin-Town or Barad-Dur, than what you’d find in Minas Tirith or Mordor.
• Weakness: Low Fight. This is less of an issue for your core troops (particularly your mounted Riders and Royal Guard, who can get to impressively high Fight Values if they charge within 12” of Theoden) than it is for your heroes. Rohan caps out at Fight 5 heroes: not even Eomer, who Tolkien singles-out as one of just three heroes to escape Pelennor unscathed (Aragorn and Imrahil being the others), gets to Fight 6 (which I’m not sure does him justice). And many of Rohan’s named heroes (Gamling, Hama, Elfhelm) end up capped at Fight 4 (since none of them can call Heroic Strike). The good news is that many of Rohan’s Fight 5 heroes can Strike (Theoden, Eomer, Theodred, Deorwine, Eowyn, even Merry), and with Gamling’s banner in tow, they can potentially Strike all game long. That’s great in the late-game, when your opponent has run out of Might trying to counter your own Heroic Strikes; it’s not as great in the early-game, when your Rohan Heroes will need a 5+ to get to Fight 10, while opposing heroes (elf heroes in particular) have a higher chance of getting there (and probably have elven-made weapons for the Fight 10 advantage, to boot). You can force a lot of strike-offs, but winning them is something else entirely.
• Strength: Army Bonus. This bonus is fantastic. +1 Strength to cavalry models makes all of your mounted warriors Strength 4 on the charge, and most of your heroes (Eowyn and Merry excepted) Strength 5, which is bonkers good. It’s not quite as good as heroes who are Strength 4 with a lance, but as long as your opponent has odd-value Strength (Defense 7 in particular), you won’t notice the difference. Unlike some army bonuses, I think you need a really good reason to trade this bonus for a convenient alliance. And given that Rohan has so many great historic alliances to choose from, you normally don’t have to. Speaking of which…

Allies forever (in the game, and in life)

Photo Credit: Owlbare

• Strength: Ally Selection. Rohan may have the best selection of historic allies in the game (Iron Hills has a pretty good selection, and so does Mordor (though Mordor’s historic alliances don’t stack in the same way that the Iron Hills and Rohan alliances can). There’s Minas Tirith, of course, plus the Fiefdoms, who as we discussed in our write-up on Minas Tirith, are great at supplementing each others’ weaknesses with strengths. Their other intriguing choice is the Wildmen of Druadan. This is a scary combination if you’re in a good-vs-evil event, where your Rohan force has a pretty good chance to be paired against orcs, goblins, and uruk-hai. Hatred (+1 to-wound) paired with poisoned blow guns and spears (SPEARS! SPEEEEEEAAAARRRRRSSSS!!!) backing up Fight 4 Royal Guard makes for a lethal infantry block. Last but not least, you have Lothlorien (hearkening back to Helm’s Deep’s pseudo-controversial-at-the-time-but-now-widely-accepted movie moment). Lorien elves can fill a wide number of roles in a Rohan force, but they’re best suited to buff an infantry block, where they can add Fight 5 spears (SPEEEEAAAARRRRRSSSSS!!!), elven-made hand-and-a-half swords, and either Defense 6 (Galahdrim) or Strength 3 throwing weapons (Wood Elves). Plus Blinding Light from Galadriel, cheap Fight 6 heroes (Celeborn, Rumil, Haldir, even generic Captains), Fight 5 Fleetfoot cavalry for taking on those annoying wooded objectives your Riders and Royal Guards would prefer not to deal with (Galadhrim Knights), and even Fight 6 pikemen you can stick behind your lower Fight heroes like Gamling, Elfhelm, and Merry if they get dismounted (Guards of the Galadhrim Court). 
• Strength: Buy-In Cost. For the most part, Rohan’s models are readily available for decent prices. If you purchased the Pelennor Fields starter box, you probably already have 12 Riders and 12 Warriors, plus a foot/mounted sculpt of Theoden, sitting in your to-do pile somewhere (and if you don’t have the box—which is a great value, by the way—odds are you can find plenty of spare Rohan models from other players’ boxed sets on the secondary market), plus both the Riders and Warriors are available in relatively cheap box sets with pretty good plastic sculpts. If you’re more inclined towards Royal Guards, they’re still available on foot (in metal) in blisters of 3, as are the mounted versions (again, in metal), one per pack. They’re pricier than the plastics, but about what you’d pay for Mahud and less than you’d pay for Fountain Court Guard or Black Guards of Barad-Dur (Outriders/Walkers are a bit pricier). The tricky part is the heroes. Finding most of them isn’t a problem: Theoden, Eowyn, Merry, Deorwine, and Elfhelm are pretty easy to get ahold of, through ForgeWorld, and Gamling, Éomer (the basic sculpt, not the Knight of the Pelennor sculpt, which is rare), and Erkenbrand are generally available through GW. (Hama and Theodred you have to hunt for.) But throw 4-6 of them into your shopping cart, and the price rises fast. Don’t forget as well that if you go with a full/heavy mounted contingent, you’ll need dismount models, too.

Named Hero Profiles

Photo Credit: Age of the Ring

·         Theoden, King of Rohan: There were plenty of iconic heroes who received a ton of TLC in the new edition, and Theoden is one of them. When I first started playing SBG (back when it was the Hobbit SBG… but my group was mostly still playing LOTR SBG… it was a complicated time), I was very… underwhelmed by Theoden. Don’t get me wrong, he was dirt cheap, but not exactly the cheapest leader for a 12-crew warband (*cough* Beregond *cough*). His heroic stats weren’t good, his combat stats were only so-so, and (most surprisingly) he didn’t do anything to buff your heroic troops (like, not even a 3” banner effect or something). That feels like an eternity ago. Theoden’s profile has undergone a revamp. His statline is pretty standard now—Fight 5, Strength 4, Defense 5, with 2 Attacks, 2 Wounds, and 5 Courage), but he’s picked up Herugrim, a sword that allows Theoden to Feint, even if his opponent has the higher Fight Value (do that every time by the way if your opponent has higher Fight—it’s literally rerolling 1s to wound with no penalty, especially if you have another hero around for Heroic Strike). He now packs 3 Will in addition to 3 Might, huge if you have to buy a turn or two against spell casters. He has the option to Heroic Strike, Heroic March, and Heroic Challenge. That last one is situational (Theoden is a Hero of Legend, so his challenge targets are limited to begin with… and he’s not exactly the beefiest of Heroic Challengers), but the other two are fantastic, especially if Theoden has a way to refresh his might (hmmmm…). You can boost his base Defense 5 up to Defense 7 with heavy armor and a shield (always very handy), and you can take him on a regular horse or an armored one, although he’s so cheap (right at about 100 points with either option) that you’ll seldom see him on an unarmored mount. He still has Expert Rider (pretty much everything in the Rohan list does), and while he only has 1 Fate, the option to spend it to keep your horse alive with Horse Lord is always a nice trick to keep in your back pocket. Most importantly, Theoden has picked up two nice troop buffs. Forth, and Fear no Darkness increases Theoden’s Stand Fast! From 6” to 12” which is great, though it doesn’t affect friendly heroes (at least not directly—more on that later, too). But the most important buff is Arise Riders of Theoden! which is found in the profile for Riders of Rohan and Rohan Royal Guards: while their within 12” of Theoden and Cavalry (they are riders of Theoden, after all) they pick up a +1 Fight bonus when they charge. Combine this with the Rohan Army bonus, and your regular Riders are Fight 4 / Strength 4 on the charge, and Royal Guard are a terrifying Fight 5 / Strength 4 on the charge—crazy, crazy good. Don’t forget that Theoden picks up the +1 Strength buff from the army bonus when he charges, too (he is a Rohan Cavalry model whilst mounted, after all). Three Attacks at Fight 5, Strength 5 on the charge is pretty sweet, and will cut through most infantry heroes with relative ease. Unfortunately there is a catch: if the enemy has Grima Wormtongue (and Grima is within 6” of Theoden), Theoden’s combat stats are dramatically reduced (Fight 3 instead of Fight 5, and 1 Attack instead of 2), plus he cannot declare any Heroic Actions or spend any Will points (The Will of Men is Easily Corrupted). So take care… Grima’s words truly are poison.

·         Eomer, Marshal of the Riddermark: A long time ago, Centaur did a write-up on Eomer (well, Eomers—there were two profiles back then) that has proven to be TMAT’s most viewed post of all time. The point of the post was that Eomer’s two profiles served two different roles: one was a cheap skirmisher (he could take throwing spears), the other a hard-hitting bruiser (Defense 7, Strength 5 on the charge, but more expensive). But like Elrond before him (who also used to have two profiles), Eomer got the “melding” treatment: both profiles were put together into one. The result is a mid-costed Eomer who can take the shield (Defense 7) and skirmishing Throwing Spears (though no bow anymore… notwithstanding the fact he uses one in the Return of the King) and gets to Strength 5 on the charge (if you keep the Rohan army bonus). So I guess that means the great debate is over? The most well-rounded of Rohan’s combat Heroes, Eomer boasts the proverbial “3s in all the right places”: 3 Attacks, 3 Wounds, 3 Might, 3 Will, and 3 Fate. He’s also Fight 5 / Strength 4 / Defense 6 base with the option to take a Shield for that sweet Defense 7. He’s also absurdly cheap for a Hero of Valor with those sorts of combat stats. He has Heroic Strike and Heroic Strength, though no March (you’ll need another support-hero, or Theoden himself, if you want that—don’t worry, though, there are a ton of Heroic March options in this list). Beyond his combined profile, his other big addition in the new rules is his The Price of Grief special rule: if Theoden or Eowyn are in the same force as Eomer, and either are slain, Eomer goes berserk. He has to charge each turn if able to do so, which isn’t great (although like Dain Ironfoot’s Fiery Temper, Eomer’s rule just says he has to charge—he doesn’t have to charge the nearest model). In exchange, he gets +1 to all to-wound rolls during the Fight Phase (so they don’t affect his throwing spears… unless you’re casting them as part of a Heroic Combat). Given that he’s already Strength 5 on the charge… and rolling 8 dice to-wound against infantry… that +1 to-wound is pretty nasty.

·         Theodred, Heir of Rohan: He’s Eomer light, at a lighter points cost. He gives up 2 Fate (3 / 3 / 1) and 1 Wound (2 Wounds), but still has 3 Might and 3 Will to go with 3 Attacks. If you mount him, he can get up to Strength 5 on the charge, plus he always rerolls any failed To Wound rolls when charging (Reckless Charge) which, like Eomer, he has to do if he’s able (but also like Eomer, he doesn’t have to charge the closest model). He can take a shield as well (for Defense 7) and throwing spears, though he only has a normal horse option. And as a Hero of Valor, he can lead 15 troops in his war band. If you can keep him charging with Heroic Moves (more on that in a minute, too), he’s a major threat at all times, especially if he can regain Might to Heroic Strike (alright, alright, we’ll get there already…)

·         Gamling, Captain of Rohan: Gamling is Rohan’s 7th hero if you read the book, but anyone who’s actually played Rohan knows that he probably belongs much higher up the pecking order thanks to his “Banner of Infinite Might" (The Royal Standard of Rohan). In addition to being a 3” banner, one Rohan Hero who starts the turn within 3” of the Royal Standard, and has no Might remaining, automatically adds 1 point of Might to his/her store. As with other unique banner carriers (Boromir, Captain of the White Tower, Halbarad in a Rangers of the North / Grey Company list), Gamling suffers no penalties for carrying his banner. He also has access to both Heroic March and Heroic Defense, which are two fantastic heroic actions to have on a hero who (literally) can’t run out of Might as long as he’s alive. His base combat stats aren’t too bad, either. Fight 4 and Courage 4 are the only real downers (although as long as you take Theoden, the Courage 4 only matters against Blades of the Dead, since Gamling has Sworn Protector (Theoden)), but Strength 4, Defense 6, 2 Attacks, 2 Wounds, and 3 Might are pretty great. And as a Hero of Fortitude, he can lead 12 blokes (mounted, too, since he can also take a horse). The Royal Standard basically doubles his cost, which speaks to how cheap he is base. This is a game of customization and creativity, to be sure; but you'll want to have a long, hard think before your Rohan force is leaving Edoras without Gamling, especially if you've opted for mostly/all-cav.

·         Hama, Captain of Rohan: Hama has picked up some nice boosts in the new edition, too. He’s still Fight 4, Strength 4, Defense 6 (up to Defense 7 with a Shield), and his Courage 4 is also offset by Sworn Protector (Theoden). You can mount him (which is great), and if he happens to be un-horsed, he can still prove difficult to beat with 2 Attacks and a Shield, especially if he has Heroic Defense up. And he continues the trend of cheap, 3 Might Heroes of Fortitude.

Photo Credit: Space Figuren

·         Deorwine, Chief of the King’s Knights: One of the new profiles in Gondor at War (with a new model to boot, courtesy of Forge World), Deorwine is on the expensive side for a Rohan hero, but boasts an impressive (for Rohan) Fight 5 to go with Strength 4/5 on the charge, Defense 7 with a Shield, 2 Attacks, 2 Wounds, and Courage 4 (offset most of the time by Bodyguard). With 3 Might, Heroic March, and Heroic Strike with the option for a horse, he’s yet another great hero if you have Gamling recharging his batteries. His signature special rule is For Theoden! Not to be confused with the other Theoden-centered special rules, this one gives Deorwine a free Heroic Combat each Fight Phase if Theoden is engaged in a Fight within 12” of Deorwine. The rule is a tad finicky as written, and doesn’t actually require Deorwine to be in a different combat as Theoden (Theoden must just be engaged in a Fight within 12” of Deorwine, and engagement in the same Fight as Deorwine certainly fits the bill). If the Heroic Combat is successful, Deorwine must then use the following move to join Theoden’s combat if possible; otherwise, he must move as close to Theoden as possible. Again, this is a little finicky if you have Deorwine in Theoden’s combat to start with: since the rule for Heroic Combats (unlike Heroic Moves or Heroic Marches) doesn’t require that the model that declared the Heroic Combat move first (or that any other models end within 6” of that model), if Theoden and Deorwine prevail in a joint Heroic Combat, you can either (a) move Deorwine first (in which case he moves as close to Theoden as possible), then move Theoden up to his full movement (which, if mounted, could be up to 10”), or (b) move Theoden first up to his full movement, then move Deorwine as close to him as possible (which would include into Theoden’s current Fight, if there’s room). Finicky, but legal (at least if you assume, as I do, that his rule will eventually be FAQ’d the same way that Sam’s Let him go, or I’ll have you Longshanks! rule has been ruled).

·         Elfhelm, Captain of Rohan: Another new hero profile from Gondor at War. I actually have this model, and the one on horse is stunning (the foot model is fine, but not nearly as dynamic). Elfhelm’s obvious trick is his Pinpoint Accuracy special rule, which lets him re-roll to-hit, to-wound, and in-the-way rolls with his Throwing Spears, which he gets for free (or perhaps more accurately, built into his base price). Given that he hits on a 3+ (and can call Heroic Accuracy too, potentially infinitely, because Gamling), plus has 3 Might to boost his rolls (or more, because Gamling), this gives him a pretty good chance at getting to back-line targets or taking out enemy hero mounts. His less obvious trick is yet another hero with a shield who can call Heroic Defense, making him much tougher to take down than his Fight 4, Defense 6, 2 Attacks, 2 Wounds, and 1 Fate look at first glance.

·         Erkenbrand, Captain of Rohan: While many heroes got positive face-lifts in the new edition, there were some (like Erkenbrand) who got a slap on the wrist. In addition to a points-cost bump, Erkenbrand lost his signature buff, the Westfold Redshields upgrade for Riders of Rohan. You can still technically give that buff to all Riders in Erkenbrand’s warband for +1 point per model, but now it gives them a banner reroll if they’re within 3” of Erkenbrand (which is good, and if you’re trying to save points on a second banner to run with Gamling’s more expensive one, it’s not a bad option, although the 3” range is deceptively small if you’re trying to cover large calvalry bases). If you want the +1 Fight value it use to give, you need to take Theoden instead (which is great for theme, not so great for Erkenbrand fans). He still has The Horn of the Hammerhand, which is a +2 Courage warhorn for all friendly Rohan models, so he’s still very useful in a Rohan force. But he’s not the auto-take he used to be. He also doesn’t have access to Heroic Strike, but with 3 Might, Fight 5, and Heroic March (plus Heroic Strength), he’s still very good.

·         Grimbold of Grimslade: Rohan’s only named unmounted model (except Merry… sorta… more on that later!). Which is a shame, since he leads the left flank in the ride to ruin on Pelennor Fields, but whatever. Fight 5, 3 Might, Strength 4, and a 2-handed axe is always good, although Heroic Strength with no Heroic Strike is a bit of a bummer. He also has no regular hand weapon in addition to his 2-handed axe, which means he’s always suffering the -1 duel penalty (which is not great), plus if his axe gets shattered he becomes unarmed (-1 duel penalty, -1 to-wound penalty) which is really not great. To compensate, he has Mighty Blow which, if you read Tiberius’s write-up on Thryden in the Isengard list (for now, at least), you know is pretty sweet. Grimbold also opens up a fascinating alternate track: Strength 4 infantry (Helmingas). They’re not quite as good as Warriors of Numenor (who are Fight 4, instead of Fight 3, and can take actual spears instead of just throwing spears), but any time you can get Strength 4 infantry, they have value, especially if you can back them up with allied spears (or pikes) with higher Fight, to help them win duels.

Photo Credit: Gizmodo

·         Eowyn, Shield Maiden of Rohan: Another perfectly fine named model who got a much-improved facelift. Eowyn is more expensive than she used to be (and got demoted to a Minor Hero, so she can only lead 6 troops), but her stats improved across the board. She’s still only Strength 3 (though she now benefits from Rohan’s +1 Strength army bonus when charging) to go with Fight 5, 2 Attacks, 2 wounds, and now 2 Fate (plus 2 Might and 2 Will). Her Defense 3 is an eyesore on its own, but you can give her armor and a shield to get to Defense 5 (which isn’t bad), along with a horse and throwing spears. Her 2* Might can be spent on Heroic Resolve, which is the closest thing pure Rohan has to army-wide magic defense, Heroic Strike is always useful, and Heroic Strength is situationally nice if she’s charged by, say, a Fell Beast (just saying). Her signature rule is I Shall Kill You if You Touch Him, which does exactly what you’d expect it would: if Theoden is in your force and slain, Eowyn must move directly towards where he fell (represented by a 25mm marker which you should go crazy making). Once she’s within 3” of it, she has to stay within 3” of it, where she gains Fearless and rerolls all failed To Wound rolls (these aren’t limited to the Fight Phase, so her throwing spears would count if she has them). She also gets +1 to-wound (on top of rerolling failed to-wounds, on top of potentially Heroic Strength, too) when making strikes against the model that killed Theoden, which means she’s one of a handful of models who can get to a 2+ to wound, rerolling 1s (Strength 6 vs. Defense 4, or Strength 7 vs. Defense 5, if she’s still mounted and charged). If you’re fighting Eowyn and were foolish enough to slay Theoden on a contested objective, beware. If you were wise enough to slay Theoden in the middle of nowhere, more power to you.

·         Meriadoc Brandybuck, Knight of the Mark: Like Pippen in the Minas Tirith list, this iteration of Merry is much improved over his Fellowship version. Unlike Pippen, he has the option for a shield to get to Defense 5 (which is great), and can also take a pony (which doesn’t get charge bonuses in the new edition, and has to take a courage test every time it charges, but definitely improves his base 4” move, especially when marching—the jump from a 4” move hobbit to a 13” move hobbit is extraordinary). He has access to Heroic Strike, which means he’s potentially a danger to mid-Fight heroes (F4/5) who can’t strike themselves (generic captains, or named captains who didn’t pick up Strike, especially if they’re captains of Men, Orcs, or Goblins), and his Resistant to Magic can be a surprising nuisance to your opponent if you position him right. He is an independent hero, so he can’t lead troops on his own. But you can slot him in another hero’s warband, which can be very nice (again, especially if he has the added mobility from a pony). In this form, he’s probably a little overcosted for what you get. But that’s only this form…

·         Dernhelm: Spoilers: this is Eowyn and Merry in disguise at Pelennor (sorry if that burst your bubble… although it wasn’t exactly a secret in the film version). Base Dernhelm (Eowyn) comes with armor, shield, sword, and a horse, at base Fight 5, Strength 3, Defense 5, 3 Attacks, Courage 5, and 2 Might, Will, and Fate. Merry comes along mounted (hence the 3 Attacks instead of Eowyn’s normal 2), but does have his shield, too, which means if you bought these two models separately, you end up spending about 20 points more than you would if you bought the combined Dernhelm profile (so there’s not much reason to do that, unless you really want Merry to have his own pony or a trusty Elven Cloak). Eowyn also gets the benefit of Merry’s point of Might to declare Heroic Actions or modify Dernhelm’s dice rolls in any of the usual ways (and, of course, Merry is a Rohan Hero, so he benefits from Gamling’s banner like all the rest). If you manage to dismount Dernhelm (which is harder to do than it sounds, given that she has Horse Lord and 2 Fate, plus Dernhelm benefits from Merry’s Resistant to Magic special rule because why not?), they revert back to just being “Eowyn” and “Merry” with all their normal rules (plus all you did was kill what was, essentially, a negative points-costed horse, which makes you both an sadist and an inefficient one at that). Just take note that because they’re the same model while in Dernhelm mode, Eowyn and Merry can only call one Heroic Action combined during each phase (so no perpetual double-Heroic Combat / Heroic Strike shenanigans powered by Gamling, which all of us have done at least once…). Last note: if you take Dernhelm in the Riders of Theoden legendary legion from Gondor at War, she/he/they can slot into Elfhelm’s warband, which is kinda cool.

• Aldor: So remember that poor Rohan archer who loosed too early at Helm's Deep? Well, you can field him now. He's an Independent Hero, but dirt cheap (think Merry + Pippen from the Fellowship, with no upgrades). He gets to reroll failed to-hit and to-wound rolls when firing his bow (which is good, because he only hits on a 5+ with a S2 bow), and also has a rule that he always shoots first in the Shoot Phase... even before Heroic Shoots. So if you're fighting an Iron Hills Ballista... I guess he's your man? He's also got a point each of Might, Will, and Fate, but other than that, he's exactly a Warrior of Rohan (F3, S3, D4, 1 Attack/Wound) with a slight courage boost (Courage 4).
• Haleth, son of Hama: A slightly more expensive Independent Hero (think three Fellowship Merrys or Pippens), but you actually get a stat line that approximates other low-cost minor heroes: F3, S3, and D4 are downers, as is the 1 Attack, but you do pick up an extra Wound and Fate (2 each). Courage 5 is pretty good as well, and in addition to a sword you get a bow for free (with a 4+ shoot value). He's best paired with Aragorn: Aragorn gives Haleth an extra attack (boosting Haleth to two), so long as they're within 6"; in exchange, Aragorn and all friendly Rohan Infantry within 6" of Haleth pick up +1 Fight, as long as Haleth is in combat. That Fight buff ends immediately if Haleth is slain, but if you have priority you can mitigate that risk (usually) by resolving Haleth's fight last; if you don't, Aragorn may have to swoop in with a Heroic Combat to save the day (but he's pretty good at doing that); better yet, keep the two in the same fight for 5+ dice to win the duel (maybe more if you have some supporting spears behind them).

·         Eorl the Young: A legendary king from a forgotten age (who, somehow, is only a Hero of Valor), Eorl the Young has a solid stat-line (Fight 5, Strength 4, Defense 7, 3 Attacks, 3 Wounds, 3* / 2 / 2). The 3* Might (Legendary Hero) looks and then sounds cool, although he’s not quite Aragorn territory. He has to roll a 4+ for a free point of Might each turn (instead of getting it automatically), plus it only triggers when he “expends a point of Might” (which means if he’s run of out Might to expend in his store, he’s actually out). Also unlike Aragorn, he has to make this roll the first time he expends Might, so there’s no selecting when to spend “free” Might and when to dig into your store. Last, because Eorl is from a different point in time, he can’t be fielded in a force with Gamling unless you want to cough up your army bonus (which is a major loss). If you go the generic Rohan route (which you can do, along with generic Gondor, without losing any army bonuses or incurring any penalties), he has a pretty good Heroic Action suite (Strength, Defense, Resolve, and Strike), plus his horse, Felarof, is a steed with 12” move. You really want him if you’re planning to field the Sons of Eorl, as they gain +1 attack (2 attacks base, 3 attacks on the charge) at Strength 4 if Eorl is within 6”(or Strength 5 if they charge with the army bonus). Very nasty for basic troops.

• Helm Hammerhand. Eorl is great (as are Eomer and Theodred), but if you're looking at the consumate Rohan hero, Helm's your man. He's still capped at Fight 5 (as all Rohan men are), but Strength 5 (6 on the charge, if you keep the army bonus), Burly, and a two-handed sword dramatically up the carnage, especially if he's mounted. He's Defense 7 with 3 Wounds and 1 Fate, making him more squishy than Eomer and Eorl, but more resilient than Theodred. He's also not Fearless (which is weird), but with a base Courage of 7 and a War Horn included in his points cost (which also gives him Terror when he charges into combat), he's basically Fearless. ;-) 3 Might and 3 Will round out his profile, along with heroic Strike, Strength, Defense, and Challenge. While you'll occasionally see Helm in vanilla Rohan lists (especially if all-mounted is your jam), his true combat prowess is unleashed in the Helm's Guard Legendary Legion, where Helm gains a 6" +1 Fight Value bubble for friendly Rohan Warriors (whether they're mounted or on foot, charging or standing their ground), a free Heroic Combat each turn, and Mighty Hero (yes... he picks up 3* Might). Which makes him an absolute wrecking ball.

Unnamed Hero Profiles

Yes, it's cross-genre... no, I don't care...

Photo Credit: WorldAndvil

·         The King’s Huntsman: Along with Grimbold, this is the only other hero in Rohan who can’t be mounted. He’s also one of your only two hero options if you’re running full-powered Eorl. He’s not much of a fighter at all (Fight 3 with just 1 Attack), and is a Minor Hero (so he only leads 6 troops in his warband). What he excels at is sniping priority target, with his 3+ shoot value, Strength 3 Longbow, and his Master Archer special rule: he only fails In The Way rolls on a 1, and each time he slays an enemy Hero or Monster model, he restores his Might to its starting level (2 Might). Two or three of them can be lethal to enemy heroes at range (which is fun for a while), but if you’re running heavy cav, they’re not an ideal fit. They prefer having infantry in front of them to buy them time to snipe.

·         Captain of Rohan: Your standard captains with Fight 4, Strength 4 (5 on the charge), up to Defense 7 if you armor/shield them up, and of course access to Heroic March. As in Minas Tirith, the March (while still useful) has less luster than normal given the sheer number of 3 Might named heroes who also have Marches (Theoden, Gamling, Deorwine, and Erkenbrand). Having said that, the drop from 3 Might to 2 matters less when every Rohan hero gets bonus Might from Gamling. One additional reason you might consider them: like Royal Guards and Riders, they also have the Arise Riders of Theoden! special rule, which basically makes them Fight 5 / Strength 5 on the charge. Most other factions would kill to have even a handful of mounted hero choices with those stats (and generally pay through the nose to have them). Rohan can do it with their generic captains, which means they can have as many of them as your points level allows.

Warrior Profiles

Photo Credit: Brybot

·         Warrior of Rohan: The bread-and-butter of your infantry core. The key thing about them is that they aren’t heavy infantry: at just Defense 5, they’ll get shredded by normal Strength 3 troops (5+ to wound), at Strength 3, they’ll struggle to wound Defense 6 or higher (6s to wound), and at Fight 3, they struggle to win fights against elite troops (Fight 4+). They also don’t have access to spears, so without allied help (from Minas Tirith, the Fiefdoms, or even the Wildmen of Druadan) they can’t pull off conventional shield-to-shield tactics with the likes of Mordor or Isengard. What they excel at is skirmishing, especially against cavalry, with their 8”, Strength 3 throwing spears tacked on to their 6” move (giving them a 14” threat range, which is significant). You can also take standard bows if you like, plus a War Horn (though not worth it if you take Erkenbrand) and Banner (if you want another one to pair with Gamling). You can boost them to Strength 4 with Grimbold’s Helmingas upgrade (which isn’t limited to just Grimbold’s warband), which gives them some good hitting power against Defense 6 armies.

·         Rider of Rohan: The gold standard (with Rivendell Knights, depending on how much you value points cost vs. statline) when it comes to multi-purpose cavalry. They can take it all: bows, shields, and horses come standard (with swords or axes), plus the option for throwing spears if you want to make your charges just that much more devastating. Strength 3 / Strength 4 on the charge, to pair with Fight 4 on the charge within 12” of Theoden (Arise Riders of Theoden!), makes them pretty dangerous against troops, and since their bows don’t count towards your bow limit in a Rohan force, you can have a full compliment of ranged warriors if you like. As with their dismounted counterparts (Warriors of Rohan), you can take a War Horn or Banner with them, which are great options to have. Just be sure you paint up some dismounts for your riders in case they lose their horses.

·         Rohan Royal Guard: These are Rohan’s elite troops, and they’re surprisingly good at a very cheap price. They come standard with a shield, sword, and heavy armor for a base Fight 4, Strength 3, Defense 6, and Courage 3 (which makes up for their Bodyguard), with an option for a horse (that pushes them just 1 point above what you’d pay for a Rider). They don’t have access to bows, but you can take throwing spears for more oomph on the charge (and a decent skirmish force, with a 4+ shoot value). Like the Riders, they also picked up Arise Riders of Theoden!, which means if they charge they get to Fight 5 / Strength 4, which is a devastating combo against most armies (Fight 4 or lower), and can pose a real problem for most generic heroes (Fight 5 or lower). They can’t take a War Horn but you can take a Banner (Bodyguard banners are always a good thing). They’re very resilient if they get charged, and devastating if they charge themselves. And, of course, you can take them on foot, too, to get some resilience in your infantry ranks.

·         Rohan Outrider: Unlike Riders and Royal Guards, Outriders (or “Outwalkers” if you don’t mount them) don’t benefit from Theoden’s fight value buff, and their base Fight 3 leaves something to be desired. To compensate, they have a 3+ shoot value to go with their Strength 2 bows, which makes them exceptionally good at harassing and skirmishing with an opponent (especially if you have a hero like Gamling calling Heroic Marches each turn, for 7.5” inches of movement per turn, followed by 24” bow shots on a 4+). Their Vanguard special rule also helps them skirmish on the fringes after you break, since they benefit from the Stand Fast! of any friendly Rohan hero they can see, regardless of distance. And since they’re Rohan Cavalry (if you mount them, of course), they’re still Strength 4 on the charge (with +1 Attack on the Charge and 4 dice to wound infantry).

·         Son of Eorl: While some cavalry got buffed in the new edition (Morgul Knights, Warg Riders), these guys took a hit. Their signature stat in years past (2 Attacks base, which on any troop is rare and on mounted troops is unheard of) went away, unless you take Eorl the Young with them (with all the list-building restrictions he brings). It makes for more thematic games (where they essentially function as cheap mini-captains without the heroic stats), but probably relegates them to niche status. Strength 5 cavalry on the charge (with the Army Bonus) are still very good (4 dice to-wound at Strength 5 still hurts, even if it’s not 6 dice to-wound), but with just 1 Attack they’re fairly overcosted. Their horses are now standard horses (10” move instead of their old 12” move), which his another hit to their value.

About those Legendary Legions…

So... there's a ton of these. Here's some quick hits, but for more details be sure to check-out Tiberius's "The Stuff of Legends" series, some of which feature yours truly (links below).

• Riders of Theoden (Gondor at War): Rohan features in only 1.33 legendary legions so far (though that is likely to change in the future) [Edit: yep, it did], and of them this one is by far the best for Rohan. You get fantastic hero selection: basically every named hero you’d want, except poor, poor, Grimbold (even though HE WAS THERE!!!), plus Riders of Rohan and Royal Guards to bulk out your numbers. By “bulk out your numbers,” of course, we mean 20-30 models when most everyone else is taking 35-60: mounted Riders and Royal Guards aren’t cheap (especially if you give them throwing spears), plus if you’re taking 4-8 heroes, that will cut into your point significantly (even if Rohan’s named heroes are among the cheapest in the game). Don’t let that dissuade you: you’ll want to take as many of these named heroes as possible, to take full advantage of the legion’s signature special rule: Death! Once per turn, at the start of a Fight Phase, you can declare that all your heroes get a free Heroic Combat or Heroic Strike, without expending Might. Pair that “free” Might with the “free” renewable Might that you’re getting from Gamling’s banner, and suddenly your "real" might is going a whole lot further. If you’re fighting this legendary legion, you don’t want to be caught flat-footed by Death! You might never recover… For more, check out The Stuff of Legends: The Riders of Theoden.
• Men of the West (Gondor at War): We covered this Legendary Legion in our summary of Minas Tirith, so I won’t rehash all of that. If you’re looking for a thematic allied force of Rohan, Minas Tirith, and the Fiefdoms (with some Fellowship and Rivendell heroes thrown in for good measure), they’re worth exploring; but if you’re in it primarily to play Rohan, this legion should be a hard pass. For one, you don’t have access to most of Rohan’s core named heroes (the ones who either die before the Battle at the Black Gate, like Theoden and Gamling, or the ones who are hurt during the battle, like Eowyn). Even worse, the heroes you can take can’t be mounted, which means you lose the core thematic element that makes Rohan, well, Rohan. Neither can the troops. Having said all that... if you still want to give this legion a go, Tiberius puts a brave face on it in The Stuff of the Legends: Men of the West.
• Defenders of Helm's Deep (War in Rohan): Loved the cinematic version of Helm's Deep in the films? You can already recreate that battle using a Historic Alliance of Rohan and Lothlorien, but this legion offers some nice cosmetic buffs (and one game-bending rule). The big kicker is that your ranged models pick up an extra 6" if they haven't moved before they shoot... which, given that you can field up to a third of your army with Strength 3 / 3+ shoot Elf Bows, is kind of insane. Tiberius loves this legion, so check out his write-up if you want more of the goods.
• Theodred's Guard (War in Rohan): This is your Fords of Isen-themed list, which picks up some nice buffs (you can use throwing spears to support if you haven't cast them, the entire army gains Sworn Protector (Theodred) to deal with Terror, and Theodred inherits Theoden's +1 Fight buff for nearby Riders and mounted Royal Guard).While you can mount this force, I'm on record saying that you shouldn't. And I stand by that recommendation.
• Riders of Eomer (War in Rohan): If you like all-mounted Rohan with a wizard (Gandalf the White), maybe this is for you? The core rule, as Centaur notes in this detailed break-down, is a one-time-use Shade debuff for nearby enemy models within 12" of Gandalf (-1 to their duel roll), which is good. And that's good... I'm just not sure it's better than taking Gandalf and some Knights of Minas Tirith in a historic alliance, to bolster your killing power.
• Helm's Guard (War in Rohan): If you're running Helm, you're probably running this. I'm a big fan of a large infantry contingent in this force, too, but Mighty Hero will keep an all-cav army churning for a while.
• The Paths of the Druadan (War in Rohan): If you forgot this was a Rohan Legendary Legion, too (like I apparently did for three years :-P), you'd be forgiven (thank you, and you're welcome). This legion is weird because it basically takes an obscure Green Alliance (Rohan + Wildmen of Druadan) and makes it into a legion. The downside is that you must take Ghan-Buri-Ghan with 15 Woses, but can't take any additional Woses or any other models on foot (Theoden, any Rohan heroes, and Rohan warriors all have to be mounted). So you have a mostly cavalry army (probably) paired with a block(?) of 16 infantry who are F3/D3, which is... kinda strange. The primary benefits that the legion confer are that you can drop "waypoints" that allow your mounted models can move through difficult terrain, and you also win Heroic Move-offs on a 3+ instead of the standard 4+. Both of those are great, of course--but when you're competing against some of the other legions and their bonuses, it's easy to see this one and shrug. (Which is sad, because I really like the themey-ness of this legion.)

Concluding Thoughts

Thanks for checking out our review of Rohan in the Middle-Earth Strategy Battle Game. As always, be sure to check out our recommended resources below, and let us know what you think in the comments. What variations of Rohan are you most fond of, or eager to try out? And what are you hoping we’ll see in the new Rohan at War supplement coming soon?

Recommended Resources

More from the TMAT Team:

• War in Rohan Inspired Lists: The Riders of Eomer LL Revisited (March 2023)
• War in Rohan Inspired Lists: The Defenders of Helm's Deep Revisited (March 2023)
• Cavalry Charge: The Wag and the Battle of Val-es-Dunes (March 2023)
• War in Rohan Inspired Lists: Theodred's Guard LL Revisited (February 2023)
• Gondor at War Inspired Lists: Rohan Revisited (November 2022)
• In Defense of: Sons of Eorl (June 2022)
• In Defense of: Erkenbrand (May 2022)
• In Defense of: Rohan Captains (April 2022)
• The Stuff of Legends: The Defenders of Helm's Deep (May 2021)
• The Stuff of Legends: The Paths of the Druadan (April 2021)
• The Stuff of Legends: Helm's Guard (March 2021)
• The Stuff of Legends: Theodred's Guard (March 2021)
• The Stuff of Legends: The Riders of Eomer (February 2021)
• The Stuff of Legends: The Riders of Theoden (February 2021)
• Thoughts on New Legendary Legions - Forces of Good (January 2021)
• Revisiting Why You Should Always Take Eomer (January 2021)
• Updates: Why You Should Always Take Eomer (December 2013, *pre-MESBG)
• The Stuff of Legends: Men of the West (January 2021)
• The Bare Necessities, Part XV: Rohan (April 2020)
• The Bare Necessities, Part I: On Cavalry (or Fast-Moving Infantry) (January 2020)
• Throwing Weapon Theory: How to Make them Work, Revisited (October 2019)
• Updates: Throwing Weapon Theory: How to Make Them Work (July 2015)
• New Rules, Part VI: The Kingdoms of Men, Part I  (December 2018)
• Why You Don't Need To Take Eomer (December 2013, *pre-MESBG)
• Rohan Tactics Post, Part I: Heroes (December 2013, *pre-MESBG)
• Rohan Tactics Post, Part II: Warriors (January 2014, *pre-MESBG)
• Cavalry (April 2013, *pre-MESBG)

Support your Hobby!

• Rohan Model Range [Games Workshop]
• Rohan Model Range [Forge World]

Recommended Resources:

• MEDIA: In Depth Rohan Army Review – BRAND NEW Middle Earth SBG (GBHL Podcast)
• IN PRINT: Middle-Earth Faction Focus: Rohan (Warhammer Community)
• IN PRINT: Fog of War, Part 5: Rohan (Veni Vini Double)
• IN PRINT: General Tactics Thread: Rohan (The One Ring)
• MEDIA: Review of the Middle Earth SBG Armies of the Lord of the Rings – Part 9, Rohan (STF Wargaming Studio)
• MEDIA: Rohan Army Lists & Tactics (ZorpaZorp Gaming)
• MEDIA: War in Rohan Tier List (Into the West Podcast)
• MEDIA: Top-5 Rohan Heroes (Top Table Gaming)
• MEDIA: How to play and buy Rohan (DC Hobbit League, *pre-MESBG)
• MEDIA: LOTR SBG  - Warriors and Heroes of Rohan (GBHL Podcast, *pre-MESBG)
• BATTLE REPORT: Rohan vs. Isengard (Top Table Gaming)
• BATTLE REPORT: Rohan vs. Lothlorien (plus ENTS!!!) (Miniwargaming)
• BATTLE REPORT: Rohan vs. Dwarves (Gaming with the Cooler)
• BATTLE REPORT: Games Shmitty Plays – (Riding to the Defense of Rohan!) (Steel Command, *pre-MESBG)
• HOBBYING: How to Paint a Rohan Warrior (GirlPainting)
• HOBBYING: Edoras Gatehouse and Palisade Wall Gaming Board Tutorial, Converting Rohan Royal Guard, Elfhelm Painting Tutorial, Royal Guard Painting Tutorial, (ZorpaZorp Gaming)
• HOBBYING: How to Paint Theoden, King of Rohan (Pete the Wargamer)
• HOBBYING: How to Paint a Rider of Rohan (Battle Games in Middle Earth)
• HOBBYING: Rohan Royal Guard Painting Tutorial (Planet Mithril)