{7th Edition} Armies of Middle-Earth SBG: The Variags of Khand in the Middle-Earth Strategy Battle Game

Photo Credit: LOTR Fandom

Updated: Seventh Edition (June 2025)

To the east of Middle-earth lies the fractious and war-torn land of Khand, split into untold numbers of provinces, settlements and villages. These are all presided over by a host of kings and chiefs, each one having come to rule through Ruthlessness, treachery and the acquisition of wealth, for in Khand, power lies with the ones who can best afford it, and loyalty is a commodity that can be bought or sold as if it were goods on a stall...

It is not just the kings and chiefs of Khand that can buy the loyalty of these warriors. Often the rulers of nearby lands will pay the Khandish Kings handsomely for the use of their armies when they march to war against their foes in Gondor or other enemies of the Dark Lord, for the warriors of Khand are stubborn and belligerent fighters that will refuse to back down even if they should be clearly beaten, exhibiting a savage nature for which they are famed. Their horsemen are skilled riders, and will often form a flanking force to pick off scouts and those that stray too far from the safety of the rank and file. However, the most deadly force within the armies of Khand are their chariots. Ridden by only the Kings and their most loyal followers, the chariots are able to charge through ranks of enemies, leaving fields strewn with corpses in their devastating wake...

~ Armies of the Lord of the Rings, Sixth Edition

Khand is an army so legendary (and mysterious) that it made the jump to Legacies in the Seventh Edition. Almost nothing is known of this mysterious troop in the lore (apart from the fact that they were, in fact, there at Pelennor), but in the Middle-Earth Strategy Battle Game, Khand has historically taken the form of axe-wielding horse archers and charioteers, which gave them a unique place in the Middle Earth we inhabit. 

If your events allow Legacy models, the upgraded version of Khand (which you can see here) received a number of buffs in the new edition, most notably to their chariots (which are now extremely tanky and difficult to table, while remaining merchants of death once they get rolling). The entire faction also remains tailor-made to take out enemy cavalry models, between their chariots (which do two Strength 4 impact hits to both horse and rider, plus have Monstrous Charge) and their generic horsemen (which are Fight 4 with bows and hand-and-a-half axes, for a slightly more balanced points cost).

Army Quick(ish) Hits

• Strength: CHAAAAAARIOOOOOOTSSSSSSSSS! There are three things that make Khand, Khand: chariots, chariots, and chariots (okay, okay; huge axes and horse archers probably make the list, too). There are three key advantages from a chariot (see some symmetry). First, it makes Khand one of the few factions that can inflict damage in the Move Phase--and while two Strength 4 hits isn't huge, there's also nothing your opponent can do to stop it (besides moving first). Second, if you swap your charioteers' axes for bows (which you can do without penalty in the pure Khand Legacy army), you suddenly have an army that is a credible threat at range, in addition to a danger to charge (and if you pair your chariots with Khandish Horsemen, you can up your ranged threat even further). Third, your bread and butter Warrior charioteers got some nice survivability upgrades this edition: instead of trying to shield a relatively fragile warrior (Defense 4, 1 wound, no Fate) behind a 5+ in-the-way test against both ranged and melee damage, the chariot's chunky defensive stats (Defense 7 with 3 wounds) have now been incorporated into the Charioteer's base profile. That means the only way to remove a chariot is to deal at least 3 wounds past Defense 7. Talk about frustrating...
• Strength: Mobility... lots of it. Chariots are fast but not particularly mobile (once you factor in their weird movement mechanics), although if you take enough of them and form a steamroller they don't have to be particularly mobile to mess with your opponent's battle line. If you prefer conventional movement, however, Khand has access to traditional horsemen, too. Neither the horse nor the rider has much in the way of armor (Defense 4 all around), but considering you get a Fight 4 rider with a hand-and-a-half axe and a 24" bow, they're extremely economical (and, in Khand's pure Legacy list, neither they nor your chariots count towards your force's bow limit).
• Strength: High-Damage. Strength 3 and no lances isn't usually a recipe for high damage output, but Khand's horsemen (plus infantry and charioteers, unless you take them with bows) come with hand-and-a-half axes, which means you can get to effective Strength 5 if you two-hand. That, in combination to some of the buffs to 2H weapons this edition (mainly, you keep any 6s that you roll for dueling) at least gives you some options for taking out troops with varying defense values. Plus, if you're ganging up on infantry with your horsemen or chariots, you're rolling up to 4 dice to-wound at up to Strength 5. Not too shabby.
• Strength/Weakness: Prolonged shooting wars. Some of this depends on how you take your archers. On foot, they'll do quite well if the enemy has little-to-no shooting, but if they're up against, say, a large contingent of elves with Strength 3 bows (or Uruks with crossbows), they'll be in a tight spot. At Defense 4, they'll wither quickly under sustained archery fire (even conventional Strength 2 bows will wound them on 5s), and their own Strength 2 bows will have trouble if the enemy's front rank has any sort of armor (6+ to wound against Defense 5 or above, and 6/4 to wound against Defense 7). So if you think any prolonged shooting wars are in your future, you may want to invest in Charioteers instead.
• Weakness: Grinding infantry combat... and maybe infantry combat in general. Khand is a damage-dealing force (Fight 4, Defense 4, hand-and-a-half-handed axes at Strength 3), but lacks the major tools for "grinding" out infantry combat: shields and spears. They'll have higher Fight than most non-elite armies (goblins, orcs, non-elite men, hobbits), but will have trouble in a straight-up brawl with anything Fight4 / Strength 4 / Defense 6 (Uruk-Hai, dwarves), and Fight 5 / Defense 6 elves pose a problem, too (especially if the elves decide to match your two-handed weapon use with their own). Most factions can get along fine with a solo-infantry force (or a mostly-infantry force with a handful of cav thrown in), but this one probably wants a sizeable cavalry contingent all the time. 
• Weakness: Limited Hero Selection. You have two generic hero options: the Khandish King and the Khandish Chieftain. If you have the points to spend, get the King for an extra Attack (that's 4 attacks on the charge), access to Heroic Strike and Resolve (in addition to Heroic March), and a 6" banner effect for Khandish models (the only banner Khand has access to). If all you need is Might, you can go with the Chieftains. They're a surprisingly good Fight 5 (but no Heroic Strike), so they'll hold their own against mid-tier heroes. But they did lose access to their Chariot this edition, so that hurts both their damage ceiling and their survivability. Unfortunately, all the hero options cap out at 2 Might each (although if you take the pure Legacy list, the Khandish King who is your general picks up a 3rd Might Point). And without any named heroes, you'll find they lack a lot of the special-rule utility that you find in more well-rounded lists, like Mordor, Isengard, or the Serpent Horde.
• Weakness: List Options. In some respects, Khand's "ally" options have improved since last edition--which for some reason only allowed Khand to historic ally with the Easterlings, notwithstanding the fact they were at Pelennor (as were Far Harad, Serpent Horde, and Mordor... I've ranted about this before). This edition, you have just two options for Khandish troops: you can field them alone (in the Legacy list, Variags of Khand, or you can field them in one of several evil "Soup" lists, the Grand Army of the South. You still don't get the full Pelennor Alliance experience, I'm afraid--but at least you can field Khand alongside Easterlings (well, most of them--minus the Emperor, Rutabi, and Brogur), Serpent Horde, Corsairs, and Far Harad (but not Mordor... boo). Easterlings in particular cover a lot of weaknesses that you find in Khand: they have heavy infantry with shields, pikes, and banners, so you can get your conventional "anvil" of Easterling Warriors and Black Dragons to compliment your "hammer" of Khandish cav/chariots. If you prefer to lean heavily into cavalry, Serpent Horde offers cheap Haradrim Raiders to fill out your numbers (while still giving you access to affordable bowfire). Or you could lean entirely into Trample damage, and pair them with the fearsome Mahud Raiders from Far Harad (or even mumaks, I suppose...). You also get some nice named hero options to build around your Khandish Kings (like Amdur on horse, Mahud Kings, or even some named Ringwraiths). 
• Weakness: Availability (and cost). With Khand being sent to Legacies, official models are in increasingly short supply. Thankfully (I guess?), 3d printed options are available, and I expect more will pop up if Legacy events catch on (as it seems they will do, at least initially). Sure, you can't use 3d-printed/proxy models at official GW events... but you can't use Legacy models at official GW events, either. So whatever GW...

Photo Credit: Elias Luukkanen

(PS: The song is pretty ominous, too)

Hero Profiles

• Khandish King [Legacies]: A Hero of Valor, and the only source of Heroic Strike in a pure Khand force, to go along with Fight 5, Strength 4, Defense 6, 3 Attacks, 2 Wounds, and Courage/Intelligence 5+ (with 2 / 2 / 1 heroic stats). The 3 Attacks is where the ball-game is, as taking him on Chariot will boost him to 4 attacks on the charge. Along with Heroic Strike, he also has Heroic March and Heroic Resolve, giving him a very nice toolbox of abilities to assist your army. He comes with a hand-and-a-half axe and a bow as well (bows with Might are always nice), although he doesn't have a dagger (so if his axe is shattered, he'll be unarmed). He's significantly more expensive than a Khandish Chieftain, but you're getting several stat boosts for the cost (+1 Attack, Defense, and Will), plus Heroic Strike and Resolve (in addition to March), plus a 6" banner effect for all Khandish models (Commanding Presence), so you get the points back (and more) with his upgrades. You probably want at least one in every force, as Khand has no other option for banners (and, with Fight 4, cav/chariots, and hand-and-a-half axes, you probably want as many rerolls as you can get). Plus, in the Khand legacies list, the Khandish King who is your general also counts as a banner for purposes of VPs--so that's pretty cool.
• [AoME] Grand Army of the South (Valour): Friendly models gain +1 to any Courage Tests they are required to take.
• [Legacies] Variags of Khand (Valour): Required--General; General gets +1 Might and counts as a banner for purposes of VPs

• Khandish Chieftain [Legacies]: At 55 points, you get a generic elite-man captain profile: above-average Fight 5, Strength 4, Defense 5, 2 Attacks, 2 Wounds, Courage 4, 2 Might, and Heroic March. He comes with a hand-and-a-half axe and bow, and like the Khandish horsemen, he doesn't have to choose between his axe and bow, which is great. What he has lost in this edition is the option for a Chariot (he can only take the horse). At 75 points mounted, he's not exactly cheap, but he's still significantly less than a Khandish King as a Might caddy (and still has access to Heroic March), so I expect you'll continue to see a mixture of Kings and Chieftains to maximize your Might stores. One on foot also isn't bad (if you decide to invest heavily in foot warriors)... although given how squishy the foot warriors are, and how cheap/flexible the mounted versions look in comparison, maybe you won't see that very often. The biggest hit to his profile this edition is to his survivability. In the previous edition, you could shield him somewhat by mounting him in a Chariot (where ranged attacks would strike his Defense 7, 3 Wound Chariot 67% of the time). In this edition, you have a D5, 2 Wound, 1 Fate model on a D4, 1 wound horse... which is quite a bit squishier.
• [AoME] Grand Army of the South (Fortitude): Friendly models gain +1 to any Courage Tests they are required to take.
• [Legacies] Variags of Khand (Fortitude): No bonuses.

Warrior Profiles

• Khandish Warrior [Legacies]: They're decent shooters (4+ shoot, 24" Strength 2 bows), although unfortunately you have to choose between the bow and the hand-and-a-half weapon (plus the infantry versions count towards your bow limit in the Legacy army, Variags of Khand). They're susceptible to enemy archer fire, too (Defense 4, 6" move), so you may want to consider screening them with Defense 7 chariots while they March into position. Once they're in combat, they're squishy if they can be beaten in duels, but with Fight 4 (and ideally a Khandish King nearby for rerolls) they can win a lot of fights against non-elite troops. Once they win duels, their axes pack a whallop. In a pure Khand force, they have some potential value as shock troops; but if you take them as part of the Grand Army of the South, you probably leave them at home in favor of some of the other infantry options available through Serpent Horde, and especially Easterlings. But hey... you do you. 
• [AoME] Grand Army of the South: Friendly models gain +1 to any Courage Tests they are required to take.
• [Legacies] Variags of Khand: Once per game, at the start of any Fight Phase, friendly Warrior models within 3" of a friendly Hero gain +1 Fight.

• Khandish Horseman [Legacies]: These are Khandish Warriors on horses, with both bows and hand-and-a-half weapons (c'mon... we all know they're axes), for 14 points each. Basically, they're Riders of Rohan with lower defense and higher Fight + damage potential (in melee, of course; a Rider with a throwing spear has more overall combat potential, but for quite a bit more points). They synergize really well with the Khandish Chieftains (who can now only take horses), and make excellent harassers at range, before turning into screeners and shock cavalry when you charge in. You probably want at least a few of these in your army to protect your chariots from being flanked--and if you're running pure Khand, you probably want a "lot" of them to pad your model count some. But in the Grand Army of the South, I don't know that you'll see them much, given the competition you'll see from Haradrim Raiders (12-13 points), Easterling Kataphracts (15 points), and Mahud Raiders (18 points). 
• [AoME] Grand Army of the South: Friendly models gain +1 to any Courage Tests they are required to take.
• [Legacies] Variags of Khand: Once per game, at the start of any Fight Phase, friendly Warrior models within 3" of a friendly Hero gain +1 Fight.

• Khandish Charioteer [Legacies]: A surprisingly resilient battle wagon, which got even more resilient in this edition. Instead of having a very squishy rider (D4, 1 Wound, no Fate) hiding behind a 5+ in-the-way against shooting and melee attacks (from a Defense 7/3 wound chariot), their updated profile just gives them the Chariot's defensive stats (3 Wounds, D7)--which by any metric is just way better. You do have to choose between their hand-and-a-half weapon and their bow, which is probably for the best. In Grand Army, it gives you more control over your bow limit/doesn't cap the number of chariots you can field). And in the Legacy army Variags of Khand, they don't count towards your bow limit anyway. Frankly, though, the hand-weapon is probably superfluous most of the time, as their primary damage will be dealt by their impact hits (two Strength 4 hits for each model they come into contact with). They do have clunky movement mechanics (they can pivot 45 degrees for every full 3" they move, or forego all their movement to pivot in any direction). But with Monstrous Charge, they're especially dangerous to enemy cavalry units (who take two S4 hits on both the rider and the mount), and even a big-time enemy hero may find themselves unhorsed if a chariot bangs into them first (with a 5-of-6 chance of being unable to make strikes, if they roll a 1-5 on their thrown rider test--particularly nasty!). Finally, they also picked up Dominant (3), which doesn't help with your model count, but definitely helps with objective captures (if, you know, you can successfully maneuver them to stick around an objective :-P ) Given the defensive buffs they received, I do expect you'll see a ton of these in both Grand Armies of the South and the pure Khand lists...
• [AoME] Grand Army of the South: Friendly models gain +1 to any Courage Tests they are required to take.
• [Legacies] Variags of Khand: Once per game, at the start of any Fight Phase, friendly Warrior models within 3" of a friendly Hero gain +1 Fight.

About those Lists...

Just to be clear--this is not a detailed write-up on all the army lists that can field Khand units. But I did want to include a brief summary of the two lists that give you the option to use Khand units, and why you might want to consider looking at each in more depth. So here's a very brief summary, which hopefully whets your appetite:

1. Grand Army of the South [Armies of Middle Earth]: This is a Southern Kingdoms "soup" list that has a surprisingly deep roster if you include Legacy models. Apart from a few named Easterling Heroes (the Dragon Emperor, Rutabi, and Brogir), you get access to the entire roster of Easterlings, the old Serpent Horde list (Suladan, Golden King, Betrayer, Abrakhan Guard, Watchers of Karna--basically everything except Serpent Guard and Serpent Riders for some weird reason), Far Harad (camels, camels, camels), and Corsairs (including Crossbows and Reavers, but not including their shiny new Siege Bow). You lose all the Khand-specific upgrades that the pure list (below) offers, but you at least pick up a +1 Courage buff for all your models (plus all the neat interactions you get from allying in the other faction's units and heroes)... which is something.
2. The Variags of Khand [Legacies]: This list is pretty straightforward: if a profile has the Khand keyword, you can take it, and the list plays basically the same way that the previous edition's pure Khand army played, with a couple of nice quality of life improvements (Charioteers are now beefy tanks, Charioteers and Khandish Horsemen don't count towards your bow limit, and your Khandish King who's your General gets an extra Might point and counts as a banner for VP purposes). Plus, you get a once-per-game +1 Fight buff to any Warriors who are within 3" of a friendly Hero. You lose the versatility that comes from Grand Army of the South, but if all you really want to do is run chariots and horsemen, this is the best way to run them.

Concluding Thoughts

Thanks for checking out our thoughts on the Variags of Khand. As you'll see below, this faction hasn't gotten much attention on the interwebs, though we did manage to cobble together some recommended resources for you. So if you play Khand, and want to share what you've learned, please do: your knowledge is in short supply!

More from the TMAT Team:

• War in Rohan Inspired Lists: Khand Revisited (6th Edition, March 2023)
• War in Rohan: What Models do you Need? (6th Edition, February 2023)
• The Bare Necessities, Part XXVII: Khand (6th Edition, July 2020)
• New Rules - Part V: The Fallen Realms, Part II (6th Edition, November 2018)

Recommended Resources:

• PODCAST: Episode 73: Variags of Khand [The Green Dragon Podcast]
• VIDEO: Review of The Middle-Earth SBG Armies of the Lord of the Rings - Part 23, The Variags of Khand [STF Wargaming Studio]
• VIDEO: SBG Army Review - Khand (Arda Scholar)
• VIDEO: Getting Started with Middle-Earth SBG: Variags of Khand (Cinderfall Gaming)
• VIDEO: Player Interview - Khandish Chariots and Fellbeasts - Jay Clare [GBHL Podcast]
• IN PRINT: The Conversion Corner - Easterlings & Khand (Drawn Combat)
• IN PRINT: Fog of War, Part 2: Easterlings & Khand (Veni Vidi Double)
• VIDEO: Battle Report - Easterlings/Khand vs. Gondor/Rohan (Critical Focus Gaming)
• VIDEO: Army showcase - Marius Ruud Khand Army [STF Wargaming Studio]
• BATTLE REPORT: Galadhrim v. Khand [HTL World]
• BATTLE REPORT: Durins Folk and Arnor vs Khand and Harad 750pts Fog of War [LOTR SBG Team, *Pre-MESBG]
• BATTLE REPORT: The defence of the ruins of Cair Andros (August 2014)
• BATTLE REPORT: Fallen Realms special - Isengard v. Khand and Easterling [GBHL Podcast, *Pre-MESBG]
• BATTLE COMPANIES: Khand vs Moria Expedition [Failed Charge Games]
• UNBOXING: Khand - Unboxing [Gamid Magomedov]