Armies of Middle-Earth SBG: The Serpent Horde in the Middle-Earth Strategy Battle Game

With the Easterlings and Khand behind us, we're moving down south to the land of the Haradrim. We'll begin with traditional Harad (rebranded the Serpent Horde in the new edition of the Middle-Earth Strategy Battle Game), before moving on to Far Harad and all their camels (so, so many camels) next time. Like any serpent, these guys move fast and strike fast, with venom dripping from their fangs. There may also be mumakil involved...

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Army Quick(ish) Thoughts

• Strength: Kill, Kill, Kill. There are plenty of high-defense armies in the Middle-Earth Strategy Battle Game, who are content to lock shields, pokey-poke spears over their shields, and grind the enemy for round after round after round. The Serpent Horde... is not one of those armies. This army is all about killing things, as fast as possible. Either your opponent dies, or you do--or both at once. There's low defense across the board (apart from the Mumak, everything in the list is Defense 5 or lower), poisoned arrows, spears, war spears, daggers, and who knows what else, plus cheap Fight 4, 2 Attack models and Fight 4, Strength 4, Burly beat-sticks. If you're not cutting through the enemy somewhere, at some point each turn, you're probably not winning.
• Strength: Cheap, Cheap, Cheap. This will be a recurring theme when we get to the profiles themselves, but there's almost nothing in the Serpent Horde list that looks over-costed when it comes to points, and there are a ton of profiles (Suladan, Haradim Raiders, Serpent Riders, Abrakhan Guard, and Watchers of Karna) who are tremendous value. You probably won't get into "spam" territory (none of the cheap Serpent Horde units are "cheap" compared to goblins or hobbits, and the elites are so good you'll want some of them in every force anyway), but you can take a heavy elite contingent in your force (Fight 4, Strength 3 + lances, 2 attacks, Strength 4 + Burly) and end up with about the same numbers as most conventional (non-swarm) armies would have with conventional, non-elite troops. Not a bad combination to have, especially since your killing power is so much greater than that of most non-elite conventional armies.
• Strength: Great mobility. Everything moves at least 6", which is a great start (and a definite advantage over swarm armies and dwarves). You also have a ton of profiles who can be mounted for very few points, plus options for mounted heroes (including a wraith on Fell Beast if you want to go that route). As with Khand, you also get the benefit of 24" bows on top of 10" move archers, which can give you a massive 29" threat range at any given point in time. Add to that the poison on your arrows (potentially allowing you to reroll all failed bow wounds), and suddenly you have very dangerous ranged weapon, on either foot or mounted models who are incredibly cheap. You also have lots of Heroic March, too (Suladan, Haradrim Kings, Haradrim Chieftains, Haradrim Taskmasters can all call March, with the Taskmaster potentially saving you the Might point on a 4+).
• Strength: Good Hero Options. The Serpent Horde isn't Mordor when it comes to heroes, but it's not Khand, either. You have a nine hero profiles in all (five generic, four unique), and almost everything is worth taking (the Haradrim Chieftains being the potential exception). The Betrayer adds tons of value to a Serpent Horde force even if he never casts a spell and never fights a combat, thanks to his fifteen warrior slots and Master of Poisons (free to-wound rerolls on all Poisoned weapons within 6" of the Betrayer, at the cost of 1 Will per turn), which makes your poisoned arrows, regular spears, and war spears so much deadlier. Suladan and the Golden King bring "free" 6" banners (not banner effects--real banners that count for VPs) built into their points costs, plus have some beefy combat profiles. Haradrim Kings have some very nice utility heroic actions attached to their own solid combat profile, Taskmasters offer a chance to call Heroic Moves, Marches, and Shoots without expending Might, and a Mumak is a Mumak is a Mumak. Hasharin are 3 Attack heroes who are very difficult to trap and kill, and then of course there's Raza, a new hero from Gondor at War who always brings 3 Attacks and can get up to Fight 6 against a big-time enemy hero (of your choice), with 3 Might for Heroic Strike. 
• Weakness: Low defense. With all that emphasis on killing power, I guess something had to give (don't tell that to Iron Hills Dwarves, though). Apart from a few heroes, the Serpent Horde caps out at Defense 4 (or Defense 3 on your Watchers of Karna). That's usually okay in the fight phase (Strength 3 models usually still need 5s to wound you, and you still have average-to-above-average Fight value to win combats), but it can make impact hits in the move phase (Khand, Iron Hills, Far Mahud) and prolonged shooting wars (against crossbows in particular) bloody affairs. Speaking of which...
• Strength / Weakness: Prolonged shooting wars. Don't get me wrong: the Serpent Horde has plenty of tools to win a prolonged shooting war. If their army bonus is active, they get a 50% bow limit (which, in an army where you can get infantry archers with 24" poisoned bows for 7 points, and cavalry archers with bows for under 13 points, is phenomenal), plus a 4+ shoot value (3+ on the Watchers if you give them poisoned arrows), plus reroll 1s for poisoned arrows, plus potentially rerolling all poisoned wounds with Master of Poisons. If the enemy has little-to-no archers, you'll do exceptionally well. But if the enemy has a sizeable contingent of archers protected by a front-rank of Defense 5-6 warriors (you wound on 6s, they wound on 5s) or, God forbid, Defense 7 warriors (you wound on a 6/4+, they wound on 5s), you probably want to get into combat quickly instead (or at least find some in-the-ways).
• Strength: Fast Games... usually. Because you kill fast, and your models usually die fast, Serpent Horde games tend not to grind to a halt as shieldwalls clash and back away, only to clash again. This is especially true if the Betrayer is involved, since you're getting a second-chance at failed to-wound rolls, early and often. The downside of this is that you're essentially rolling your to-wound dice twice, often. That eats up time, so be mindful of that, and make sure you're not intentionally slow-playing your opponent (especially if you're getting those crucial rerolls to kill their guys--it can get frustrating quickly).
• Weakness: Magic Defense. Apart from the Betrayer and the Golden King (whose Will you want to save for other things), you don't have much in the way of obvious anti-magic defense. There are no wizards, you don't have any Fury shamans, and most of your heroes have 2 Will or less. Suladan is the exception, and probably the best utility hero you have for magic defense, because he has both 3 Will points and access to Heroic Resolve. That will buy you a couple turns of defense, but if you need more than that, you probably want to ally in someone from Mordor (even a generic wraith with 8-10 Will can do the role better than anything you have in the Serpent Horde).
• Strength / Weakness: Courage. For the most part, the Serpent Horde's courage is average (Courage 3), and if an opponent has Harbinger of Evil around, it's downright bad. Fortunately, the Serpent Horde can take War Horns (to boost to Courage 4/3, which is pretty good), but if you're especially worried, you want to take a healthy contingent of Watchers of Karna, who are base Courage 3/4 with a war horn, but can get up to Courage 5/6 if charging a Terror model (and against Blades of the Dead, which is a fun little surprise). It's not quite Fearless or Bodyguard (Courage 5/6 still fails tests occasionally), but given how cheap Watchers are (and they're quite good even without that buff, with Fight 4 and the potential for 2 Attacks) you'll probably have some anyway in a Serpent Horde force, so the fact you get that buff as well is phenomenal. And if you do happen to break (which, given your low defense, definitely happens), Suladan is a Hero of Legend with a 12" stand fast to keep your army together.
• Strength: Fight Value. If you go pure conventional spam Serpent Horde (lots of Haradrim Warriors and Haradrim Raiders), you'll be at a very average Fight 3, but sprinkle any of their inexpensive elite options (Serpent Guard/Riders, Abrakhan Guard, Watchers of Karna) and you have hard-hitting Fight 4 infantry and cavalry, at bargain prices. You also have a lot of Heroic Strike in your force, between Suladan, Raza, and your non-unique Fight 5 Hasharin (who only have 1 Might point each, but are very dangerous opponents for any enemy who can't strike or knock them down).
  
• Strength: Army Bonus. We've hit on this already, but it bears repeating. A 50% bow limit on an army that can take cheap foot/mounted bows is phenomenal. A special rule granting your core warriors (Haradrim Warriors and Raiders) poison on all their weapons, in an army where poison can mean rerolling all failed to-wound rolls, is also phenomenal. Having them both together: extra-phenomenal. Some army bonuses you can live with, but this one, I think you try to take every time.
• Strength: Ally choices. In addition to having a great army bonus, the Serpent Horde also has three great choices for historic allies. Mordor is the biggest list, and offers a ton of customization options. What's better than Fight 3 / Strength 4 / Defense 6 Morannon orcs backed up by Morannon orcs? Morannon orcs backed up by Fight 4, Strength 3 Serpent Guard with poisoned spears, who are rerolling all failed to-wound rolls. Like cheap warg riders for their hitting power but worried they lack the Fight value to counter-charge enemy cavalry models? Throw in some Serpent Riders with poisoned war-spears. Like the Fight 4 on your Black Numenoreans, but want some Fight 3 spearmen behind them with more punch? Haradrim Raiders with bows and spears get rerolls at range (poisoned arrows) and then in melee (poisoned spears). Far Harad is another choice, though the favorable synergies for the Serpent Horde (Strength 4 / Defense 5 front line) are less obvious than the favorable synergies for Far Harad (24" poisoned arrows, cheap Fight 4 cavalry to support the far more expensive Fight 3 Mahud Raiders, 6" banners from Suladan or the Golden King, etc.). Last are the corsairs, who are bloody scary as allies with the Serpent Horde: their core troops are also extremely cheap; they also have very cheap two-attack, high damage models; they have tons of ranged firepower options (crossbows, throwing daggers). The Serpent Horde compliments their primary weakness very well, too (corsairs have no mounted models). Plus Raza comes in a Forge World pack with a Corsair hero (almost as if it were meant to be...).
• Strength: Start-up Cost. Apart from the Betrayer (who is temporarily unavailable but about to be released in a combination pack with other named wraiths), the Serpent Horde's models are fairly easy to get your hands on, and there are no models that are exorbitantly priced. Suladan is hero-average, the commanders and warriors are available in plastic, and the elites (Abrakhans, Watchers of Karna, Serpent Guard) are available in moderately-priced three-model metal blisters. The most expensive spammable model is the Serpent Rider, who is available in a single metal-model blister. You can go with pure models if you like, of course, although if you're up for trying some conversions, you might get more bang for your buck out of converting some boxes of Haradrim raiders (which are very nice plastic models).

Photo Credit: Greycompanyrangers.wordpress.com

Named Hero Profiles

• The Betrayer (Mordor, Serpent Horde). The Betrayer didn't score particularly high marks in our write-up on Mordor, thanks in large part to the sheer number of strong profiles in that list. But like Khamul in an Easterling list, the Betrayer is a clear top-tier choice in his alternate faction. As with Khamul, the Betrayer gives you at least some offensive magic potential (the option of a 4+ Transfix is better than no Transfix at all) in an army that otherwise wouldn't have any, and he's a surprisingly dangerous fighter in close combat if you mount him, thanks to Bane of Kings (he rerolls all failed to-wound rolls which, if you have him mounted on a Fell Beast, are going to be pretty low anyway). What you really want him for, however, is his Master of Poisons special rule, which allows all poisoned weapons within 6” of him to also reroll all failed to-wound rolls, at the cost of 1 Will per turn. If you have a pure/historic alliance Serpent Horde list, that includes all weapons on Haradrim Warriors and Raiders (daggers, spears/war spears, and their poisoned bows), plus the poisoned bows on any Watchers of Karna who take that free upgrade. Strength 2 bows on their own aren't particularly scary if you're Defense 5 or above (wound on 6s, so ~17% chance of wounding), but if they wound on rerollable 6s, suddenly you're looking at almost a 30% chance of taking a wound (28.6% to be exact) against Defense 5 or Defense 6 troops, which is almost the same to-wound odds as a crossbow would have against them (33%). Add the fact that the Serpent Horde has (a) tons of cheap 24" bows, and (b) a 50% bow limit in a pure/historic alliance force, and suddenly that's a terrifying prospect. And that's just at range. Once you close on a Haradrim force, any Strength 3 poisoned spears within 6" of the Betrayer also get rerolls to-wound, which means against Defense 4 or 5, you're wounding at a 44% clip (instead of 33%), and against Defense 6 or 7 you're wounding at a 28.6% clip (instead of 17%). The real danger are those poisoned war spears: against defense 5, that's rerollable 4s to wound (67% chance on a single die, vs. 50%) on four dice against infantry, and even defense 6 or 7 is being wounded at a 44% clip on each die (again, with only a single die needing to score a single 5+ in order to deal a wound). Add the fact that he's a Hero of Valor (15 models in his warband), and you have a fantastic army leader, or a very overqualified second-banana / supporting hero. The only thing to bear in mind is that if you take him as a combat hero, he's going to be strapped for Will (because Master of Poisons is so good), so make sure you're conservative with his spells or combats (or bring along a disposable orc shaman from Mordor for rechargeable Will).
• Suladan the Serpent Lord. The Serpent Horde's other A+ hero. He's a solid, if not spectacular fighter (Fight 5, Strength 4, Defense 5, with 3 Attacks, 3 Wounds, and 3 / 3 / 1 heroic stats), but he has a very good suite of Heroic Actions to pair with his Might (Resolve, March, Strike, and Challenge). Three Attacks with 3 Might and Heroic Strike is always good, and he also has a poisoned sword (reroll 1s on its own, reroll all failed to-wounds if within 6" of the Betrayer). He also has the option for both an armored horse and a bow with poisoned arrows, both of which are very good choices. He's a bit fragile and susceptible to arrow fire, so make sure you keep plenty of in-the-ways between him and the enemy. His primary value comes from three non-stat upgrades: he's a very inexpensive Hero of Legend (allowing you to bring a full warband of 18 models with him, he has a 12" Stand Fast!, and he has a 6" banner--and none of this "counts as a banner" shenanigans, he has a real banner (so it gives VPs in banner-bringing scenarios), plus he suffer no penalties for carrying this banner. Normally a unique heroic banner like this costs about 40 points (Boromir's 6" banner, Gamling's 3" banner, Halbarad's 6" banner), and even if you reduce the list price slightly because this banner doesn't confer extra goodies (fight value, Fearless, infinite Might), you're still getting pretty good value for what you pay for Suladan. Heroic Resolve is a great utility skill to have on an army that otherwise doesn't have much in the way of magic resistance (even if you bring the Betrayer, you'd probably rather use his Will for Poison rerolls than dealing with enemy spells), and any time you have a low-defense army, Heroic March is always useful. It's hard not to bring him every time.
• The Golden King of Abrakhan. Ah, the Golden King. Let's get the obvious out of the way first: this model is a pain to assemble and awkward to move (and attack, and in the new rules, to hurl/blast) because he's got two separate 25mm bases. So if you're going to field this model, make sure both you and your opponent agree on what "directly away" means for him--it will save you headaches later. Stat-wise, the Golden King has an exceptional combat statline in every respect but one: Strength 4 (with Burly) with 4 Attacks is absolutely brutal, and 4 Wounds at Defense 5 you can generally live with. What's not great is Fight 4 (and no option for Heroic Strike), so this guy's not a hero-killer (at least not on his own). He's quite good at taking out low-fight troops, but of course, at his hefty point cost, you'd expect him to be. Like Suladan, he also comes with a 6" banner (again, a real banner) that confers no duel penalty, which means if you can get him into a fight with another model with high Fight, you have a very good chance of winning that combat (and cleaving all before you). His only specialty heroic action is Resolve, so between that and his 6 Will, he's pretty good against magic in a pinch. But you mostly want to save those Will points for Riches Beyond Renown, where he can spend Will points to alter an enemy Hero's courage test within 12", potentially making them flee the battlefield when attempting a Stand Fast! or fail to charge a Terror-causing model (Mumak, anyone?). Sure, the enemy can then spend Will or Might to boost their courage back up, but that may require them to spend a ton of heroic resources on something that should have been an easy-pass for them. There's no longer a secret bid component to this (too bad, that was fun), but at least you know what you're getting when you spend your own Will (and if your opponent's heroic resources are depleted already, you'll know exactly how much you'll have to expend to make them flee).
• Raza, Fang of the Serpent. This is a new profile from Gondor at War, fresh with a new Forge World model to boot. His statline is similar to Suladan's (who he's clearly intended to shadow): Fight 4, Strength 4, Defense 5, with 3 Attacks, 2 Wounds, and 3 / 1 / 1 heroic stats, but he can get up to Fight 6 whenever he duels a single enemy hero (secretly chosen in advance) thanks to his The Serpent's Weapon special rule. He also has Heroic Strike (in addition to Challenge) and Bane of Kings for those juicy reroll all failed to-wound rolls (on 3 attacks), plus charging Terror-causing models isn't a problem if Suladan is around, thanks to Sworn Protector (Suladan). Unfortunately he can't be mounted, so if you're going with a mobile force he's liable to be left behind (and the lack of a horse on a 3 attack model with Bane of Kings is very, very unfortunate). 

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Unnamed Hero Profiles

• Hardrim King. He's a lot less king-like than the Khandish King, and more in-line with Dwarf Kings and the Kings of Men in Minas Tirith. He's got an above average Fight Value for a man (Fight 5) to go with Strength 4, Defense 5, 2 Attacks, 2 Wounds, Courage 5, and 2 / 2 / 1 heroic stats with Heroic March and Heroic Strength. You get some decent upgrade options with him as well: a horse (always good), a bow with poisoned arrows (very good if you're taking the Betrayer), and a war spear (very good if you're taking a horse). As with most generic captains / heroes, the Heroic March makes him very useful, although his secondary Heroic Action (Strength), while situationally useful, isn't as great in this particular army (that usually doesn't struggle to kill things). He is a Hero of Fortitude, and costs 10 points more than the generic Haradrim Chieftain. If you have the extra points, he's probably worth it, since he picks up +1 Fight, +1 Courage, +1 Will, and Heroic Resolve (plus the war spear option), which is pretty good value for 10 points.
• Haradrim Chieftain. They have a weaker statline than the King (Fight 4, Courage 4) without any obvious benefits other than a reduced points cost, but they're still pretty expensive for generic men captains. If you're really trying to spam, I guess you'd take them, but a King will be the better choice almost every time.
• Hasharin. These guys are the Serpent Horde's answer to the Easterling Dragon Knights: very cheap 3 Attack heroes, who trade 1 Might Point for a Will Point, 3 Fate points, and Preternatural Agility (they can't be trapped while standing, so long as they aren't transfixed or otherwise prevented from using active abilities). The 2 Wounds / 3 Will combo makes them incredibly difficult to kill in melee combat (although cavalry will still knock them prone, so watch out for those), and Stalk Unseen can also make them very difficult to target with magic or shooting attacks if you make good use of terrain features. Once they get into melee combat, they're extremely dangerous: Strength 3 throwing daggers (on a 3+ shoot value) means they can kill things on the charge, they have a 12" poisoned blow pipe if you try to stay out of their melee range (benefits from the Betrayer's Master of Poisons, of course), and then have Bane of Kings for full rerolls on failed to-wound rolls, to go with Fight 5, 3 Attacks, and 1 Might point for Heroic Strike. They're only Defense 4, so if you can manage to knock them prone with cavalry they can go down, but if they keep their feet (and have a banner nearby), they have a good chance at outlasting any generic troops you throw at them. Lastly, they are Heroes of Fortitude (not Minor Heroes), so you can bring 12 troops with them. Or a whole army of them, you know, just because...
• Haradrim Taskmaster. Another Hero of Fortitude with average combat stats (Fight 4, Strength 4, Defense 5, 2 Attacks, 2 Wounds, Courage 4, 1 / 1 / 1 heroic stats). You want him for Whip of the Masters, which gives you a 50-50 chance of getting back any Might spent by a friendly hero on a Heroic Move, March, or Shoot within 6" of the Taskmaster (4+ roll). Haradrim aren't exactly strapped for Might, so he's not strictly necessary, but it's always nice to get Might back whenever you can. He has Heroic March as well (and Whip of the Masters works on Heroic Marches, Moves, and Shoots that the Taskmaster calls, too). Note as well that Whip of the Masters can restore Might to any friendly hero within 6" of the Taskmaster, not just Haradrim heroes (so even allied heroes will qualify).
• War Mumak of Harad. There's a ton to talk about with mumakil, so much so that they deserve their own spotlight (which we'll do next time, when we get to Far Harad). For now, we'll just focus on the hero on top of the mumakil: a generic Haradrim Commander, with very average stats: Fight 4, Strength 4, Defense 5, 2 Attacks, 2 Wounds, Courage 4, and 2 / 1 / 1 heroic stats. The Fight, Strength, Defense, and even Attacks don't matter usually (as the commander seldom finds himself in combat whilst atop his mumak), but the Courage 4 can be a major problem if the Mumak gets wounded and stampedes, especially if you take the Foul Temperament upgrade on the war beast (4 Attacks instead of 3, but -1 penalty to all courage tests for stampedes). With only 1 Will point, entrusting your mumak to a Haradrim Commander is... risky. The Mahud Beastmaster Chieftain is a much stronger choice (Courage 5, 2 Will). One more special rule deserves mentioning: Awesome Presence gives friendly Haradrim and Mahud models within 3" of a Mumak the ability to reroll a single d6 when dueling (which is great), plus the rule says this is cumulative with a banner reroll (i.e., you can reroll 2 dice if a banner is nearby as well), although you can't reroll the same die multiple times. That's a great bonus to have, as long as you can keep your Mumak from stampeding over your own troops.

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Warrior Profiles

• Haradrim Warrior. They're the same base price as your generic warriors of Rohan, with the same stat line: Fight 3/4+, Strength 3, Defense 4, with 1 Attack, 1 Wound, and Courage 3. Unlike Rohan, they can take spears but not shields, and they can take bows (though theirs come with poisoned arrows), a war horn, and a banner. The War Horn in particular is great if you're taking Mumaks (stampede really is a thing), and of course, the option of a second banner is always good, even if you're taking one of the heroes who has one strapped to his back (Suladan, the Golden King). If your army bonus is active, all their weapons (dagger, spear, and of course the arrows) become Poisoned, which synergizes very well with the Betrayer's Master of Poisons. They're low defense, so they'll wilt in a prolonged shoot-out unless you can find some Defense 5/6 troops to put in front of them. But as a second-rank behind a Morannon or Black Numenorean shield wall they're terrifying (especially if they have poisoned spears and bows, backed by the Betrayer).
• Serpent Guard. They pay two extra points to pick up Fight 4 and a Poisoned Spear, but don't have the option for a bow. The fact that their spear is poisoned already is great if you plan to run Harad in a convenient alliance (where your normal Haradrim Warriors and Raiders will lose their poisoned weapons), and Fight 4 Poisoned Spears make ideal back-up for Fight 3, Defense 6 orcs or Easterlings.
• Haradrim Raider. Like their Khandish counterparts, these are very cheap horsemen. They're not Fight 4, but do have the option for both a bow with poisoned arrows and a War Spear (which becomes poisoned if the army bonus is active). Both the mount and rider are Defense 4, so watch out for enemy shooting. But if your enemy doesn't have much in the way of archers, you can kite, charge, and retreat at will.
• Serpent Rider. Another dirt cheap cavalry model. No bow option, but they are Fight 4 with a Poisoned War Spear, so again, this is the model you want if you're running the Betrayer with a convenient alliance. The only warning is that their Courage is low (3), so if you're trying to charge them into a Terror wall, you'll have some issues.
• Watcher of Karna. The first of Harad's dirt-cheap elite troops. At just 1 point more than a Serpent Guard, they boast a decent stat line (Fight 4, Strength 3, Defense 3, 1 Attack, 1 Wound, Courage 3) but really shine when it comes to their upgrades: they have the choice of a bow with poisoned arrows (to pair with a 3+ shoot value) or Twin Blades (2 attacks), both for free. They also are exceptionally good against Spirit models: not only do they get a free +1 to wound against spirits (Hatred (Spirit)), but they also get +2 Courage when charging Terror models and +2 Courage against Blades of the Dead, which means you can get up to effective Courage 6 if you take a war horn (and Courage 5 if Harbinger of Evil is active nearby). They're fragile in combat (Defense 3), but with Fight 4, two attacks (potentially) and a banner reroll nearby, they can be hard to beat in a duel.
• Abrakhan Guard. These guys are flat-out nasty (and, again, stupidly cheap!). Fight 4, Defense 4, 1 Attack, 1 Wound, and Courage 3 is nothing to write home about, but Strength 4 with Burly is fantastically good. They don't have any anti-Terror shenanigans like the Watchers of Karna do: they're just shock infantry, pure and simple. Protect them from enemy archers, hurl them into the enemy's front lines, and watch them wreak havoc. Give them constant banner support, and they can even turn back generic Fight 3 cavalry charges (wounding regular horses on a 3+, and armored horses on a 4+).

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About those Legendary Legions...

• Grand Army of the South. As legendary legions go, this one is pretty big and has a host of special rules to go along with it. Surprisingly, you still have access to most of the Serpent Horde faction in this legion (the Betrayer, Golden King, Watchers of Karna, and Abrakhan Guard are excluded, but everything else is there, including the Hasharin), and you gain a lot of extra stuff as well. Most of the special rules benefit the Mahud contingent pretty strongly, but you still retain your 50% bow limit (very good), and if Suladan is your leader (which he has to be, unless you take the Mumak War Leader from Far Harad), he also gets a free Heroic Action each Fight Phase when he's engaged in combat with the enemy leader, which is pretty good. The other thing is that this legendary legion has to include at least 50% Haradrim models. This isn't usually a problem (Haradrim warriors are pretty cheap, and Suladan can cram 18 of them into his warband), but it's worth flagging.

Concluding Thoughts

Thanks for checking out our thoughts on the Serpent Horde in the Middle-Earth Strategy Battle Game. For more on this incredibly dangerous faction, check out our recommended resources below, and if you have a favorite Serpent Horde unit, hero, or army build, let us know in the comments!



More from the TMAT Team

• New Rules - Part IV: The Fallen Realms, Part I (November 2018)
• Serpent Guard conversions (March 2013)
• Harad update: Corsairs, Watchers, Serpents and more! (February 2013)
• Battle Report: To the Death: Uruk-Hai vs. Harad (January 2013, *Pre-MESBG)
• Battle Report: The High Ground: The Fellowship vs. The Serpent Horde (August 2012, *Pre-MESBG)

Support your Hobby!

• The Serpent Horde Range (Games Workshop)
• Raza, Fang of the Serpent (Forge World)

Recommended Resources

• MEDIA: Review of the Serpent Horde [STF Wargaming Studio]
• MEDIA: Mustering an Army, Ep. 6: Harad, Scenario Spotlight, Ep. 12: Against the Southron Horde, Know Thine Enemy, Ep. 14: The Golden King of Abrakhan, and Know Thine Enemy Ep. 21: Ringwraiths (Betrayer begins around the 35:00 mark) [The Green Dragon Podcast, *Pre-MESBG]
• IN PRINT: Mumak Tactics with Dan Entwisle [Warhammer Community, *Pre-MESBG]
• MEDIA: List Building Tactics: Harad, 800 points [DC Hobbit League, *Pre-MESBG]
• BATTLE REPORT: Serpent Horde v. Army of the Dead [The d6 Fix]
• BATTLE REPORT: Minas Tirith v. Serpent Horde [Blackfyre Productions]
• BATTLE REPORT: Serpent Horde v. Fiefdoms [Failed Charge Games]
• BATTLE REPORT: Serpent Horde vs. Isengard [Tactical Tortoise]
• BATTLE REPORT: Goblins v. Harad [Simmuskhan's Battle Blog, *Pre-MESBG]