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

                              

Photo Credit: MattThrelkeld on Imagr

Updated February 2024: We come at last to the final participants in the Battle of Pelennor Fields: the mysterious Mahud from Far Harad. While their fleeting limits of film glory are limited almost exclusively to running down Rohirrim astride their Mumakil, the Mahud in the Middle-Earth Strategy Battle game have more up their sleeves than giant elephants.

I try to flag excellent community resources up here whenever I can, and Far Mahud happens to have a great one: DCHL Devin's video on How to Play and Buy Far Harad (Mahud) is a fantastic introduction to the different units, strengths, weaknesses, and playstyles of this faction (updated for the new rules set, too!), so be sure to check that out. If you still want to know what we think, carry on...

Army Quick(ish) Hits

• Strength: Killing power. The Serpent Horde is about as "kill-y" a faction as you'll find in this game... and in my opinion, at least, they have nothing on Far Harad (except the Betrayer, who actually synergizes really well with Far Harad's signature blowpipes--more on that shortly). The key is the ability to inflict serious damage in all three phases of the game: Impaler/Trample damage from Mahud Raiders/Mumaks in the Move Phase; potential ranged attacks on every model in your force in the Shoot Phase, thanks to blow-pipes; and Strength 4 (or better) on every model in the combat phase. Long story short: if you want something dead, these guys can do it for you--and they'll take pride in doing so.
• Strength: Elite shock cavalry. While Mahud Warriors on foot are no slouch (Strength 4, with shields and clubs, plus options for spears, banners, and blowpipes), the real killing power comes from their beasts of war. Mahud Raiders are infantry- and cavalry-killers, with Strength 4 impact hits (Impaler) and war spears for +1 to-wound on the charge (one of two cavalry models who pair Strength 4 with +1 to-wound, alongside Iron Hills Goat Riders). While most elite cavalry are rolling 4 dice searching for a 5+ to wound Defense 6 troops, Mahud Raiders need only a single 4+ (which is crazy). And while most cavalry lose significant effectiveness when charging enemy cavalry models, the Mahud bear this better than most: Impaler deals a Strength 4 impact hit to both the mount and the rider, and if the mount is slain (4+ to wound basic horses), the rider has a 5/6 chance of not being able to make strikes in the ensuing Fight phase (as models can make strikes only if they roll a "6" on their thrown rider test). Plus, even if Impaler doesn't slay mount or rider, a charging Raider will wound standard horses on a 3+, and all other mounts on a 4+. Plus you have the option for 12" blowpipes (with a 3+ shoot value and Poison) if the enemy cavalry try to play keep-away. They're certainly not "cheap," and they don't like being shot at (see the next bullet-point). But as any seasoned player will tell you, if you get caught by these guys in the middle of a field with your pants down, the game can go very badly, and end very quickly.
• Weakness: so-so defense (probably...). With one very important exception, the defense on your troops caps at D5, and your heroes are capped at D6. Defense 5 isn't bad, but it's not Defense 6, either. Against other Strength 4 armies you won't notice the difference, but against Elf Bows (or any other Strength 3 army), you will. Add to this that your most important models are usually mounted on D4 camels (standard S2 bows wil wound them on 5s), and it's very easy to build a classic "glass cannon" army. The exception, of course, is the dreaded Half-Troll, who offers some significant staying power (D6, 2 wounds, plus Terror) to pair with excellent offensive stats (Fight 5, Strength 5, 2 attacks, and the option for a two-handed club). They're not cheap, but given that 2-3 of them can give a generic Captain a pretty good run for his money, that makes sense.
• Weakness: so-so Fight Value. Again, Half-Trolls excepted, your warriors' base Fight Value is 3, which is okay until its not. It tends to rear its ugly head most often with your expensive Mahud Raiders, who are devastating if they win fights (Strength 4, war spears, potentially 4 dice to-wound enemy infantry on the charge) but can stall if they're trying to beat enemies with higher Fight Values (or even tied Fight Value, if those 50-50 rolls don't go your way). Sprinkling in a few Half-Trolls (or even allying in Fight 4 infantry/cavalry from the Serpent Horde, Isengard, Mordor, or Khand) can help tremendously, but if you're going for a pure-Far Harad cavalry build ("camel spam"), it's a limitation you'll just need to come to terms with.
• Weakness: elite points cost. So Mahud Warriors are your cheapest unit at 8 points a pop (and more realistically, they're either going to be 9 points with shield or 10 points with shield and spear). Once you move past them, everything costs 18 points or more (technically you can get a Mahud Raider for 17, but let's be real--we all know Raiders come with War Spears). Half-Trolls are excellent buys, but given that four of them will run you close to 100 points, they don't help boost your numbers. And while the Mahud King is one of the best profiles around for his points cost, everyone knows that mumaks are... well, an investment. As a result, most "fun" Far Harad lists are either going to be on the lower side of the model count, or will need to lean heavily into an alliance (Serpent Horde makes a lot of sense) to try to get some cheaper models to balance out your Mahud investments.
• Strength: Heroes (and Hero stoppers). This probably seems like a weird strength for a faction that only has five profiles, but hear me out: of all the factions with "generic" heroes, Far Harad may have the best hero suite among them. Technically, the Mumak War Leader isn't a "generic" hero (he's one of a kind). There are very few heroes (of the Good or Evil variety) who can compete with his top-end damage potential (F5 Mumak, with Tusk Weapons), and his ability to cancel Heroic Moves can be absolutely devastating to opponents. But even if you set him to one side, you're still left with Mahud Kings and Tribemasters, who are excellent for the points you pay. The Tribemaster may not look like much (Fight 4, Strength 5, Defense 5, 2 Attacks), and his Fight 4 can leave you wanting in a fight with something big. But mount him on a War Camel, with a War Spear, and suddenly your 70-75 point model can deal effective S7 hits on the charge (6 dice to wound, needing a single "4" to wound a D7 dwarf--or inflicting wounds on a D7 hero with every "4+" he rolls). His Heroic March plays a key role in getting your army (particularly your D4 camels) where you need them, as quickly as possible. And he also has Heroic Strength in the bag, in case you need to take a chunk out of something really tough). Mahud Kings up the ante even more, by swapping Heroic March for Heroic Strike, and getting a boost from Fight 4 to Fight 5, and three Attacks base (four if you charge an infantry model whilst mounted, giving you eight dice to wound, and needing only a 4+ to wound anything D7 or below--and a 3+ to wound anything D5 and below). Last but not least, if you're looking for "budget" hero stoppers, a Half-Troll is essentially a mini-captain and more (minus the Heroic stats), with Fight 5, 2 Attacks at Strength 5, and a hearty Defense 6 with 2 Wounds (plus Terror, which will give some Captains fits), all for fewer points than a banner. Throw two of them at a generic captain of men, and he will fall.
• Weakness: Courage. This is usually an issue for evil armies, so that's not new. Unfortunately, the Mahud have fewer tricks for dealing with this than other evil armies. They don't have access to Fury, and while they can ally in a War Horn (historically through the Serpent Horde, conveniently through Mordor), that only boosts them from Courage 2 to Courage 3 (and that's assuming the enemy doesn't have Harbinger of Evil, either). If you have Mahud Kings (or the Mumak war Leader) you can get Stand Fasts! to fire (Courage 5/6 base); otherwise, your best bet is probably the army bonus: Warrior Pride, which lets your Mahud Warriors auto-pass any courage tests as long as they are within 6" of a Mahud Hero who is in combat. If you can get that hero into combat (or if the enemy does the favor for you, by charging your heroes), then you're golden (plus immune to spectres or sentinels, which is a nice bonus). But if you lose your heroes early (or they prove uncommonly cowardly), you can have a rough time against Terror armies.
• Strength/Weakness: Ally Selection. The Serpent Horde is Far Harad's only historical ally, and while they don't do much to boost Far Harad's survivability, they do have some very nice synergies to increase your killing power (if that were possible), or at least make it more predictable. First off, Serpent Horde has a host of Fight 4 infantry (Serpent Warriors, Watchers of Karna, and Abrakhan Guard) that shore up Far Harad's low Fight Value, while also offering some nice attack buffs (poisoned spears on the Serpent Warriors; 2 Attacks and effective Courage 5 against Terror models for the Watchers; and Strength 4 with Burly for the Abrakhans). Standard Haradrim Warriors also offer you a cheaper unit (something Far Harad desperately needs), with access to spears or 24" bows that you can take en mass (the Serpent Horde has a 50% bow limit built into its army bonus, plus both their spears and bows are Poisoned if the army bonus is active--if not, the bows are Poisoned all the time). If you prefer an all-mounted force, Haradrim Raiders offer a budget horse archer (24" Poisoned bow) that can be very punchy in a fight (S3 with a +1 to-wound if you take the war spear), while Serpent Riders offer a Poisoned war spear plus Fight 4. But the heart of the deal is the ability to bring along the Serpent Horde's excellent heroes. Suladan, of course, is front-and-center, offering not only a more hearty option for your army leader (3 wounds, 1 fate), but a 6" banner, access to Heroic March, Resolve, and Strike, and 18 warrior slots that you can fill with all sorts of goodies. Raza and the Hasharin give you some options for three-attack heroes with Strike (throw one or two of them into a battle line with 3-6 half-trolls, and that line gets scary very quickly). And then there's the utility heroes--a budget Haradrim Chieftain on horse (60 points with a war spear), or even a Task Master (for free Heroic Moves or Marches on a 4+) can make a huge difference for a cavalry army that likes to move first. Finally, if you'd prefer something tougher, consider your yellow (convenient) allies (the Mahud King was errata'd to a Hero of Valour, so you can pair him with any other Valour hero to make a convenient alliance work). If cheap Defense 6 is all you're after, Easterling Warriors or Morannons from Mordor will fit the bill. If you'd prefer some high-Courage front-line troops who also pack Fight 4, you can pick up some Black Numenoreans (maybe with a War Horn) from either Mordor or the Corsairs of Umbar (a front-line of Half-Trolls and Reavers, backed up by Mahud Warriors and flanked by charging Mahud Raiders will kill a lot of things). And if you're more interested in damage than staying power, there's always the Variags of Khand with their F4 cavalry (two-handed axes or bows) or dreaded chariots (two S4 impact hits), for the ultimate impact-damage army.
• Weakness: Start-up Cost. Alas, there are no plastic Mahud (beyond the Mumaks, which aren't exactly cheap, even in plastic), which means your only option is to buy them in 3-model metal blisters. While the metal models are very nice, collecting them is expensive, especially if you go the heavy-camel route (where you not only need to purchase metal camels, but also metal infantry for dismounts). And unfortunately, this range seems to go in-and-out of production pretty regularly. But at least you can always run a Mumak or two to eat up points and reduce your required model count. :-P

Special Profiles

Before moving on to the profile reviews, I wanted to spend just a few moments talking about Far Harad's three unique wargear options, because these are really what makes this faction unique:

• Blowpipes. A blowpipe is a missile weapon (Rules p. 88) with a range of 12" and a Strength 2 projectile (against Defense 3-4, you'll wound on 5s (Defense 3-4), and 6s against Defense 5-6). As a true ranged weapon (not a throwing weapon), you can only fire it during the shoot phase, and only if you have not moved more than half your movement allowance. But it doesn't count towards your bow limit, which means that you can give every model in your force (except the Mumak War Leader and Half-Trolls) a ranged weapon if you feel like it. Finally, because blowpipes shoot poisoned projectiles, you get to reroll 1s to-wound normally; and if you ally in the Betrayer from the Serpent Horde, you can reroll all failed to-wounds with your blowpipes. Strength 2 isn't amazing... but if you're shooting at something D6 or below, and get to reroll all fails, it's actually surprisingly effective.
• War Camels. Of all the wargear options in your arsenal, this is the one your opponents fear most. Stat-wise, a war camel has basic horse stats (Fight 0, Defense 4, 0 Attacks, 1 Wound, Courage 2, and 10" movement). The key stat increase is an upgrade to Strength 4 (which, when paired with a War Spear, gives them effective S6 on the charge), paired the Impaler special rule (Active): whenever a war camel charges into combat, it inflicts one Strength 4 hit on the model it charges. Three key points here: 
• First, it inflicts the Strength 4 hit on the model it charges, which means, if you charge a cavalry model, you inflict a Strength 4 hit on the mount, and another Strength 4 hit on the rider. A Strength 4 hit on the rider gives you a pretty good chance at taking out anything Defense 6 or below (wounding on a 5+, if not a 4+), but the Strength 4 hit on the mount gives you a 50% chance to take out a standard horse, and a 33% chance to take out an armored horse, or even to wound a generic Fell Beast. That's... kind of scary.
• Second, because these impact hits occur in the Move Phase, as long as you can physically maneuver to the target (move allowance + avoiding unengaged enemy models' control zones), you can inflict the hits without your opponent being able to do anything to stop it. This is especially dangerous to mounted enemy heroes: not only do you have a good chance at knocking out their horse from beneath them, but any rider who isn't slain when his horse is slain has to take a thrown rider test, and while the odds of being knocked prone aren't particularly good on that test (only a result of "1"), a thrown rider can only make strikes in the ensuing Fight Phase if he rolls a "6" on the test (which means a camel that successfully impales a hero's mount has an 83% chance of getting a risk-free combat against that hero (who is now on the ground, and thus at risk of being knocked prone if he/she loses the combat). 
• Third, Impaler kicks in whenever a war camel charges, which means that if your camel charges into combat, and slays the model it charges, it is free to continue moving (so long as it is unengaged and has movement left), which means you can potentially get 2-3 charges / Impalers out of a single war camel if your dice are hot. 
• One important caveat: Impaler only triggers when you charge into combat, so camels that benefit from a Heroic March can't trigger it (since they can't charge using a March). If you want impact hits off a March, you'll need a war beast instead. Speaking of which...
• The Mumak. We might as well start with Trample, which is impact hits in the move phase on a whole 'nother level. The base special rule inflicts three Strength 9 hits, enough to wound anything Defense 7 or below on a 3+. That's a 67% wound chance on each Trample die, and a 96.3% chance of getting at least one 3+ on one of your three Trample dice, which means the odds are exceptional that you'll munch through troops with this thing. If 96% odds aren't good enough for you (or if you anticipate running into, say, Strength 8 heroes (or dwarves)), you can take the Tusk Weapons upgrade to deal four Strength 9 hits instead of 3 (giving you a 98.77% chance of getting at least one "3+", and a 93.75% chance of getting at least one "4+"). Trampling also isn't just limited to charging: as a War Beast, the Mumak tramples whenever it moves, which means it'll do so when Heroic Marching, or even when it comes on from a board edge in Maelstrom deployment scenarios (Rules p. 80). The good news is that War Beasts have sort of finicky movement rules: they are allowed to pivot at the start of their move, but once they finish pivoting, they're locked into moving that direction until they run out of movement (or come into contact with a friendly model, whom they can choose not to Trample). Note that they don't get to stop moving to avoid trampling an enemy model: if you run your Mumakil over goblins who are standing in front of the Balrog, you don't get to abort to avoid running into the Flame of Udun. 
• Once the Mumak stalls (or if your opponent manages to charge it before it can start moving), it has a mostly beefy stat-line: Strength 9, Defense 7 (can be upgraded to Defense 8 with Gnarled Hide) and 10 Wounds, with 3 Attacks. You can upgrade that to 4 Attacks with Foul Temperament, although doing so gives it -1 to all courage tests it takes for stampeding: each time it takes a wound, the Mumak takes a courage test, using the Courage value of its driver (which varies based on the driver, but is almost always better than that of the Mumak itself), or its own Courage value if there is no such driver (Courage 2... not great). If the test is failed, your opponent gets to move the Mumak during the next Move Phase... which could mean your own troops are in danger of being Trampled. Beyond stampeding, however, your opponent can't do much to prevent the Mumak from moving (other than charging it): it can't be knocked prone, hurled, or moved with magical powers, it never counts as trapped, and it never backs away (unless fighting another War Beast or another immovable model) (see Rules p. 81).
• Mumaks can take up to 12 models on the Howdah (the choice of the models depends on the army list the Mumak is in), almost all of whom you want to arm with ranged weapons. The Howdah counts as a stationary platform, so warriors in it can fire without movement penalty (even if the Mumak moves) so long as they don't themselves move within the Howdah. The Howdah also counts as in-the-way for ranged attacks, and has 5 Wounds at Defense 9 (which is a pretty good measure of protection for those warriors). 
• The biggest issue with the Mumak's combat profile is the Fight 4, which is not great, as it tends to result in the Mumak losing fights to even basic troops who are Fight 4 (or higher). While the Mumak has an impressive upgrade suite (including a Mahud commander, who has a lot to recommend him), a generic Mumak can't improve its Fight Value beyond Fight 4 (even Druzag's Enrage Beast spell won't improve its combat stats).

Unnamed Hero Profiles

• Mahud Kings. When I originally wrote this article back in 2019, I started the Mahud King's summary by saying "The Mahud King is a pretty powerful bloke." A master-class in understatement, that. Fast-forward nearly five years, and this profile is one of my favorite profiles ever (and belongs on whatever the short-list is of absolutely terrifying models that cost 100 points or less). Fight 5, Strength 5, and 3 Attacks base give him a very good starting combat profile, and once you tack on the war spear (effective S7), he will absolutely murder basically any kind of troop. Khazad Guard? He doesn't care. Iron Hills Dwarves? Even in Shieldwall, he's not really worried. And while most of us don't call Heroic Strength most of the time, the fact that it's possible he can get to effective Strength 10 (S5 base, plus 3 Strength on the roll of a 5 or 6, plus the +1 to-wound from the war spear--wounding D6 on 2s) is absolutely insane. Plus, he's got a chance at Impaler damage if you take him on war camel (which you will always do). His weakness is his resilience: with just 2 wounds and 1 fate, he's quite fragile; and while the Shield gives him more staying power, he still caps out at just Defense 6 (although the fact that he can shield on foot with 6 dice is nice). Like every model in the list that isn't a Half-Troll, he can also take a blowpipe, which means that you can fit him seamlessly into your skirmish plans if that's how you roll. As with everything else in the Mahud list he's vulnerable to magic (just 2 Will), but if you can get him into combat, he's got as good a chance as any evil hero of really messing up someone's day. His Courage 5 is also sneaky-good, especially since all Mahud Warrior models become Fearless if they're within 6" of a Mahud Hero engaged in combat (Warrior Pride army bonus). And with the erratta to Armies of the Lord of the Rings, he is now a Hero of Valour (so he can take an extra 3 models in his warband). All told, I have taken him many, many times, in many, many different kinds of armies. I have never regretted it. And neither will you.
• Mahud Tribemasters. Depending on where you live, Tribemasters may have a bad rep. And that's understandable, I guess... when they're standing side-by-side with a Mahud King. There's no comparison between the two profiles, of course--for an extra 20 points, the Mahud King gets an extra Fight, Attack, and Fate point, plus 2 Courage and access to Heroic Strike (which is a bargain). But if you compare the Mahud Tribemaster against any other faction's generic captains (which is essentially what they are), they're insane value. Yes, their Heroic stats are the very definition of "basic" (2/1/1), and their Fight 4 is... well, kind of sad. But Strength 5 on a generic hero (2 attacks/2 wounds), who can then take a camel, blowpipe, shield, and/or spear is nothing to sneeze at, especially when they cost just 75 points fully loaded (70 if you drop the blowpipe). Apart from the Fight and extra attack (which, I grant you, are very nice on the King), they hit just as hard in combat when they charge (effective S7, thanks to their war spear). And if he succeeds in knocking his target over, his six dice to wound are plenty scary for most troops and heroes. The other notable stat differences between he and a King are that his Courage drops from 5 to 3, and he only has 1 Will. That makes him much less reliable than the Mahud King when it comes to courage checks, especially if your opponent has Harbinger of Evil or Ancient Evil). He keeps Heroic Strength, but trades Heroic Strike for Heroic March. Losing Strike isn't great, but Heroic March is always a nice option to have (especially when your camels are only D4, and thus susceptible for shooting). In a pure Far Harad force, these guys are your only way to get Heroic March in your list (and even in an allied contingent, the S5/war spear/camel combo means you at least thinkin about them over a generic captain profile... I mean, 70 points for a model that can wound D7 on a 4+ is just nuts).
• War Mumaks of Far-Harad. The War Mumak of Far Harad has the same basic stats and upgrade tree as a War Mumak of Harad (in the Serpent Horde list), with the sole exception that it also comes with the Mahud Beastmaster Chieftain upgrade (built into its points cost). This upgrade gives the Mumak's driver a shoot value boost (3+ instead of 4+), +1 Strength (Strength 5 instead of Strength 4), +1 Might, Will, and Fate (3/2/2 instead of 2/1/1), and +1 Courage (Courage 5 instead of Courage 4). The last two upgrades are where most of the value is: Courage 5 with 2 Will reduces the odds that a Mumak will stampede significantly, and 2 Wounds with 2 Fate gives the Beastmaster Chieftain a greater chance of shrugging off ranged damage if enemy archers manage to get past the Howdah that is in the way. And while the Beastmaster Chieftain can't use his 3 Might to Strike, an extra Heroic March (for even more Trample damage), or even one additional Heroic Move could make all the difference.

Named Hero Profiles

Photo Credit: Warhammer Community

Now, I know what you're thinking: But Rythbryt, there are no named profiles in Far Harad! And of course that was true prior to Gondor at War. But the updated Far Harad army list in that book (Gondor at War p. 94) includes an updated list headlined by The Mumak War Leader, and the way he's described on page 95 (as being "the greatest king in the Mahud tribes") leads me to believe he's a named profile. He's also a very good one (though you'll need Gondor at War to see it...). 

• The Mumak War Leader. When Gondor at War initially came out, Tiberius was curious why he cost so much (he's Sauron-levels of stats, for an empty howdah). It didn't take long to persuade him that he's worth it. The buffs he gets over a standard Mumak fall into three categories.
• Most of the cost increase over a basic Mumak is attributed to the upgrades that come built into his profile: Gnarled Hide (Defense 8 instead of 7), Sigils of Defiance (Resistant to Magic to everyone in the Howdah, plus a 6+ save whenever anyone in the Howdah suffers a wound), and Tusk Weapons (four Strength 9 hits from Trample, instead of just 3). That makes up most of the cost difference right there. The only potential downside of this built-in upgrade suite is that the Mumak War Leader can't take any other Mumak upgrades (rocks, rappelling lines, etc.). But if you're stuck with just three upgrades, these are the three you'd want.
• The rest of the points are tied up in the upgrade you get from a Haradrim Commander to the Mumak War Leader himself, and then some sneaky stat upgrades to the Royal War Mumak itself. Let's start with the second first: recall that generic Mumaks are capped at Fight 4 (which is generally a problem)? Well, the Royal War Mumak gets a boost to Fight 5, which is a significant power boost against all but the most elite of elite troops (elves, half-trolls), and a fair number of heroes (who suddenly may have to call Heroic Strike to get the Fight Value advantage they enjoyed against regular Mumaks). That boost alone is probably worth the 30-odd points that are left over, but there's even more! 
• The War Leader himself also gets some stat boosts over the Beastmaster Chieftain: Fight 5 (instead of 4), 3 Attacks (instead of 2), 3 Wounds (instead of 2), and Courage 6 (instead of 5). That jump in Courage is amazingly good, as you can now shrug off stampedes with ease (plus Resistant to Magic from the Sigils of Defiance gives you another option to conserve Will if you're facing a caster). Add to that three additional Heroic Actions: Strike, Strength, and Challenge (plus March), and you're getting way more than 30 points worth of stat buffs right there, making the War Leader exceptionally good value.
• But wait, there's more: the piece de resistance are two bonus special rules: High King of the Mahud gives the Mumak War Leader a 12" stand fast (rather than the usual 6"), and warriors in his warband can deploy within 12" of him (instead of the usual 6"). As a Hero of Legend, the War Leader not only gets to bring 18 warriors with him, but he auto-passes his first courage test after the army breaks (not that you'd be particularly worried about that test with Courage 6). Best of all, the range of both abilities is measured from the Mumak's base, so the range of that Stand Fast! will be massive. Second is Imposing Presence, which is game-changing for opponents of the Mumak: whilst the War Leader is mounted on the Royal War Mumak, the first time each turn that an enemy model calls a Heroic Move within 12" of the War Leader (with the range measured again from the Mumak's base), the War Leader gets to roll a D6. On a 4+, that Heroic Move is immediately canceled (and all Might spent, lost). On its face, that's bad enough (a 50% chance to lose Might for nothing is always bad), but no worse than the typical roll-off odds. What makes this twice as bad is that the Mumak War Leader doesn't have to spend any Might himself to trigger this rule (he gets it for "free" the first time a Heroic Move is called each turn), and if he whiffs the 50-50 roll, he can still call a Heroic Move of his own (or have another nearby minion do it) to force a second 50-50 roll-off. The odds that he'll successfully win at least one of those two 50-50 roll-offs is 75%... which means its happening. A lot. Take that, Gamling, and your infinite banner of Might!

Warrior Profiles

Photo Credit: weaponsandwarfare.com

• Mahud Warriors. As with everything else in Far Harad, these guys pack a punch. Strength 4 is nasty in its own right, but a 3+ shoot value with poisoned blow darts is downright rude (and, if the Betrayer has been allied in from the Serpent Horde, devastating). They don't much like elf bows (wounding on 5s), but regular bows are okay (6s to wound), and they can out-skirmish most other armies with a 100% bow limit (mainly throwing-weapon armies), thanks to their 12" range on blowdarts (4" further than throwing spears, 6" further than throwing weapons) and their 3+ shoot value (3+ to hit if they stay still, or a very respectable 4+ to hit if they're moving, while at least rerolling 1s to wound from Poisoned Weapons). In melee combat, they come with the option for spears and shields, and while Defense 5 isn't ideal for grinding out shield-to-shield combat, at least they have Strength 4 to keep both sides wounding on 5s. The two obvious weaknesses in their stat-line are Fight 3 and Courage 2, which aren't great. A War Horn from Mordor or the Serpent Horde will help with courage some, but your best bet in a historic alliance is the Warrior Pride army bonus, where all Mahud Warrior models within 6" of a friendly Mahud Hero in combat automatically pass all courage tests they're required to take (a nasty surprise if your opponent employs the usual tactic of tying up the heroes of low-courage armies after they break, to turn of Stand Fasts!). You can fix the Fight Value with banners (which they can take, no swap required) and with Serpent Guard from the Serpent Horde if you like your historic alliance (or any number of other evil Fight 4 troops from Mordor, Isengard, the Easterlings, the Corsairs, or even Khand or Moria, if you want a convenient alliance). They're also very nasty spear supporting Fight 5 half trolls. Last but not least, they carry clubs, which means this is an army that can Stun-lock enemy heroes (or monsters). It's harder to do now than it used to be, but most armies have to pay for even the option to stun a very troubling opponent. The Mahud can do it for no increased cost.
• Mahud Raiders. These models are notoriously difficult to find, expensive to procure once you do, and vulnerable to all sorts of things (shooting, Terror, losing duels, etc.). But none of that matters. Because once you get these guys into combat (and if you take them en masse, you will get them into combat), everything they touch (runs into) withers (dies a gruesome death). And while their Fight 3 and Courage 2 present real weaknesses, they have some tricks up their sleeves to get around those weaknesses in most match-ups (tl;dnr--it's their ability to deal damage in all three phases if you kit/use them correctly):
• I thought about burying the lead, but let's be real: if you're running Far Harad, odds are that you're running it because of these models, and specifically because of Impaler. We touched on how good this is at the top, but let me just reiterate: this rule is stupidly good. The ability to deal repeatable damage (S4 hit, usually a 5+ to kill, and up to 10" of hits available) in the move phase means that you can reshape the battlefield in real-time. That spellcaster who's giving you issues? Throw enough camels at him, and you can reach him (maybe kill him) before he gets to move/cast. That objective screen the opponent set-up last turn? It may not matter. That model your opponent thought he pinned in place by moving first? It may actually still get to move during your Move Phase (if you manage to slay the model that tagged it with another camel or three). That hero who charged on a horse into combat? He may not be on a horse... or able to make strikes... or even be alive by the time the Fight Phase rolls around. Oh... and once your opponent catches on to that, the fact that you can run them over from up to 10" away dramatically changes how your opponent maneuvers around you. 

• Courage 2 is a real problem... generally. But in a pure force/green alliance with the Serpent Horde, the Warrior Pride army bonus helps tremendously with the courage issues. And if you eschew the army bonus to run something more... creative (or for any Raiders outside of 6" of your hero who charged), blowpipes provide an effective way to deal with a lot of Terror models (or just to skirmish in general, if the opponent has limited archery). Like Mahud Warriors, the Raiders have a 3+ shoot value, which means they're able to move and shoot very effectively: only instead of 3"/4.5" moves plus 12" blowpipes, you now have 5"/7.5" moves plus 12" blowpipes with 4+ shoot, which makes you nigh-uncatchable. And with a S2 hit (6s to wound D5 or D6, which is most standard battle lines), with a Poison reroll (reroll 1s generally, reroll all fails if you have the Betrayer in tow), you can actually present a credible threat at range (especially since blowpipes don't count towards your bow limit, so every model in your force--except a half-troll--has the ability to bring a ranged weapon). Blowpipes also make your force even harder for enemy cavalry to tackle. A poisoned S2 blowpipe is more of a threat to standard D4 horses than they may look at first glance (especially en masse). And while you can't move full and then shoot a blowpipe, their 12" range gives them a distinct advantage over standard 8" throwing spears. If they stay too far away, you'll be able to pepper them with poisoned darts. Stray too close, and your own cavalry will do Strength 4 impact hits to both the horse (usually a 4+) and the rider (usually a 5+, but sometimes just another 4+). That's... nasty. 
• Finally, they're also excellent in combat. Other than Iron Hills Goat Riders, Mahud Raiders are the only S4 warrior cavalry profile that can also take a war spear/lance (allowing them to wound D6 models on a 4+ if they charge). Their Defense of 5 (rider) isn't awesome, but it offers enough protection against generic S2 bows that you can generally get where you want. And yes, Fight 3 isn't great for a model that costs nearly 20 points. But two thoughts on that. First, your Fight Value doesn't matter if you're able to kill models without fighting (which Impaler allows them to do). And second, even if your lower fight value means that you tend to lose more combats than your opponents (something close to 60-40, assuming an equal number of dice on each side of the fight), any models you do defeat in combat are virtually guaranteed to die if you charged them (4 dice, looking for a single 4+ thanks to your S4+war spear). And if you're eliminating 40% of the models you're fighting each turn (plus another 3-10 models in the move phase from impact hits), you'll win a lot of games.
• Half Trolls. Like so many two-attack profiles, Half-Trolls seemed ridiculously overpriced to me when I started this game, and now are one of my favorite profiles. Yes, they're expensive... relative to troop options in other factions. But their basic stat-line is superior to that of many captains (Fight 5, Strength 5, Defense 6, 2 Attacks, 2 Wounds, and Terror), with Courage being their only weak stat (courage 2 base, though as Warriors, they'll benefit from your Warrior Pride army bonus--so that can help). And if their stat line rivals that of many heroes, you won't believe what it does to standard troops. In a straight-up scrum, they're about as brutal a battle-line as you will see in our game (2 attacks at Fight 5, backed by a spear and potentially a banner reroll, gives them up to 4 dice to win a fight; if they lose, their D6 with 2 wounds is a nightmare for a lot of lines to crack; and if they win, two Strength 5 attacks will kill a lot of things quickly). And if you can somehow manage to pair them with a hero with Might for some Heroic Combats (even a generic Haradrim Chieftain from Serpent Horde will do), they can rip through a battle line with frightening speed. Definitely underrated, definitely fun to play with, definitely recommend.

About those Legendary Legions

Photo Credit: effyeah.tumblr

• Grand Army of the South. Unlike the Serpent Horde, which loses access to a lot of its top-tier heroes and elite warriors in this legendary legion, Far Harad's army list remains completely intact (the War Leader, who is one of two candidates for army leader, Mahud Kings and Tribemasters, War Mumaks, Warriors, Raiders, and Half-Trolls), and they all have their full upgrade suite. Thus, from a Far Harad point of view, there are only two reasons not to take the Legendary Legion: you want to run a pure Far Harad force (the legion requires at least 50% of the models to have the Haradrim keyword), or you want to pair your Mahud infantry with the Serpent Horde's elite infantry models (Watchers of Karna or Abrakhan Guard, who aren't in the list). Otherwise, there's no downside (the Mahud get the equivalent of their Warrior Pride army bonus in the legion's special rules), and several benefits to be gained. First, all Mumaks gain Harbinger of Evil, which also benefits the Mumak War Leader (which causes Terror). Bodyguard cavalry are extremely rare, so the risk of taking Terror tests to charge a Mumak (with a -1 penalty to Courage 4, 3, or even 2 in the case of warg riders) creates even more of a disincentive to calling Heroic Moves against the War Leader. Then there's The Making of a King, which permits the Legion's leader to declare a free Heroic Action at the start of any Fight phase in which he is engaged in combat with the enemy's leader. There's a special clarification as regards the War Leader: he can use this ability whilst mounted on the Royal War Mumak, and if he does, the Mumak itself is affected as if it had been the one to declare the Heroic Action, which means the Mumak can declare a Heroic Combat... or Strike from Fight 5 base. Either prospect is terrifying. If you're planning to take the War Leader anyway, and don't mind filling his Howdah with some cheap Haradrim warriors or taking some Serpent Riders to ride alongside your Mahud Raiders, this legion makes a ton of sense.

Concluding Thoughts

Thanks for checking out our write-up on Far Harad. Next we'll be turning to some more evil factions from the Lord of the Rings, before finally turning our sight towards the Armies of the Hobbit (which we've mostly neglected up until now). As always, let us know what you think in the comments!

Photo Credit: Makeagif.com

More from the TMAT Team

• Nemesis: How to Fight Against Mumakil (November 2023)
• The Stuff of Legends: Grand Army of the South (June 2021)
• The Bare Necessities, Part XXXI: Far Harad (August 2020)
• New Rules - Part IV: The Fallen Realms, Part I (November 2018)

Support your Hobby

• Far Harad Model Range (Games Workshop)
• The Mumak War Leader (Forge World)

Recommended Resources

• MEDIA: How to Play and Buy Far Harad (Mahud) (DC Hobbit League)
• MEDIA: Tier List: The Serpent Horde and Far Harad (The Last Alliance of Noobs and Men)
• MEDIA: Army Review: Far Harad (STF Wargaming Studio)
• PRINT: Fog of War: The Serpent Horde & Far Harad (Veni Vidi Double)
• PRINT: Mumak Tactics with Dan Entwisle (Warhammer Community)
• MEDIA: Unboxing the Mumak War Leader (STF Wargaming Studio)
• BATTLE REPORT: Far Harad & Serpent Horde v. Minas Tirith & Dead of Dunharrow (The D6 Fix)
• BATTLE REPORT: Far Harad v. Minas Tirith (Hot Gates Gaming, *Pre-MESBG)
• BATTLE REPORT: Far Harad v. Numenor (LittleWarsVA, *Pre-MESBG)
• BATTLE REPORT: Far Harad v. Khazad-Dum (East Grinstead War Gamers, *Pre-MESBG)
• HOBBYING: How to paint a Mumak War Leader (Battle Games in Middle Earth)
• HOBBYING: The Mumak War Leader (Fellowship of the Miniatures)