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

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After a couple-month hiatus due to work and more work, we're back for man-flesh (and yet another awesome score, which you should totally listen to while reading this)!

The recent release of War in Rohan seems like a good time to dig into one of the most popular factions in the Middle-Earth Strategy Battle Game: Isengard. Isengard as a faction now contains four fairly developed subsets of troops and heroes: Uruk-Hai scouts (led by Lurtz, Ugluk, and Mahur), their more heavily armored / firepower-boosted siege variants (Saruman and his siege captains), warg riders and orc warriors (Sharku and Snaga), and now the disenfranchised hordes from Dunland (Thrydan, Frida, Gorulf and the Wildman Oathmaker). Thanks to the new legendary legions in War in Rohan, you can run each component as its own independent force (with some cool new buffs) or keep them all together for the ultimate Isengard horde.

Army Quick(ish) Hits


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• Strength: Strong, durable combat troops. There's a reason why many consider Uruk-Hai the gold-standard when it comes to infantry in the Middle-Earth SBG (not me, I prefer porcupine dwarves, but still...). Fight 4, Strength 4, and Defense 5-6 is a fantastic stat-line that more often than not will give you an advantage over your opponent's troops in at least one category (again, aforementioned porcupine dwarves excepted). Whether it's winning ties in duels or wounding on 5s instead of 6s, Uruk-Hai can almost always deal out the punishment, and almost always take it, too.
• Strength: Good troop selection and upgrade options. There are very few factions--even conventional armies--in the Middle-Earth Strategy Battle Game that have access to the full panoply of troop and weapon upgrade options available in our game. Most armies have at least one category of troop / wargear / equipment they simply can't access without the inclusion of an allied contingent: the ability to run a second rank of spears (Rohan, at least pre-War in Rohan legendary legions), access to long-range bows (Far Harad), the absence of skirmish cavalry (Dol Amroth), heavy cavalry (The Serpent Horde), or any cavalry (Azog's Legion), no infantry options with greater than Defense 5 (Numenor), the general dearth of siege weapons (Elves of all stripes), no option for banners (the Army of Lake-Town), no access to a wizard / magic defense (the Iron Hills), or some combination of the above (or, in the Shire's case, most of the above). There are some exceptions, of course: Minas Tirith and Mordor come to mind, no doubt why they have proven to be popular army choices. Isengard fits that mold as well, with a variety of cheap infantry (orcs and wildmen), fast infantry (marauders), heavy infantry (Uruk-Hai warriors), and even elite infantry (huskarals, ferals, and berserkers), fast-moving, hard-hitting cavalry (warg riders and Dunland Riders), mobile and stationary archers (marauders with Uruk-Hai bows, Uruk-Hai crossbows), two siege weapon options (the demo team and ballista), and even a top-tier wizard (Saruman). Add the option for shields (lots), spears (orcs), pikes (Uruk-Hai), and banners, plus a lot of heroes of both the infantry and cavalry variety, and you have a tremendous selection of building-blocks when organizing your force.
• Strength: Lots of disruption. In addition to Saruman with his 18" immobilise/command spells and Grima's "spend more Might than you wanted" shennanigans, there's high-Courage Berserkers (hard to run off objectives with their improved defense against archery, 2 Attacks base, and the option to cleave all opponents engaged with them if they win a fight with their two-handed weapon), Fearless 4-point models you can spam en masse (Wildmen near the Wildman Oathmaker), several models who get bonuses if they go after your expensive mounts (Frida, Dunlending horsemen), and, of course, some of the more dangerous and disruptive siege weapons in the game (demo team, siege ballista). Stay away from them, and Saruman, crossbows, and a ballista or three will tear you apart slowly. Charge them without a plan, and the charge may be blunted (or blasted) before it ever gets going.
• Strength: Good, cheap heroes. Isengard has almost as many hero profiles as Mordor, which is the gold standard for evil armies. While Mordor has more with "oomph" (the Witch-King is a better all-around caster model, I think, than Saruman; Shagrat is a better combat model than Lurtz; Kardush is a better Fury shaman than an Isengard shaman, etc.; Isengard doesn't have any analogue for wraiths on fell beasts), the Isengard heroes run cheaper and, in many cases, look scarier, especially when you surround them with Fight 4, Strength 4, Defense 6 troops (which Mordor simply can't marshall) and cheap siege weapons (which Mordor can marshall with Siege Bows, though they're clearly a cut below the Isengard ballista). Lurtz, Thrydan, and Gorulf are very competitively costed for their mix of raw combat stats, heroic resources, and special rules, and as far as cheap Might batteries go, you could do far worse than Ugluk, Mahur, Vrasku, Mahur, Snaga, and Sharku.
• Strength: Excellent mobility. If Isengard only had Warg Riders and Mahur's 8" move Marauders, it would be in fantastic shape. But there's more. First and foremost is the Uruk-Hai Drummer, an independent hero who can boost the movement of all your Isengard Uruk-Hai by 3" without spending any Might. Pair him with a hero who can call Heroic March (which is almost all of them--Lurtz, Ugluk, Sharku, Mahur, and even Vrasku, in addition to your generic Uruk-Hai scout, siege, and Dunland captains), and suddenly your generic Uruk-Hai siege warriors are moving 12" per turn, your Marauders are moving 14", and your warg riders are moving 15" (the war drum doesn't stack due to a keyword issue). That's a ton of space on a 48" x 48" board.
• Strength: Flexible archery. If you need to punch through something in a hurry, there's little that can stand up to sustained fire from massed crossbows (in which case, you hit it with a siege ballista). As a result, crossbows are relatively rare (the Corsairs and Iron Hills / Erebor Reclaimed are the only other forces that have access to them), and while they pack a punch, you trade that firepower for almost no mobility (as you can't move and shoot with a crossbow, unless you have a specialized hero in Battle Companies). If you need that mobility, Isengard has an excellent fall-back option: not only do you get access to Strength 3 Uruk-Hai bows (something no other crossbow force has access to), but you can put them on 8" move Marauders, which means you can move 4"-7" (depending on the presence or absence of drummers or Marches) and then unload a S3 weapon that fires up to 18" away. You could even take a mix of both if you wanted, to open up some intriguing cover-fire scenarios while your crossbows and marauders take turns moving into better positions.
• Weakness: Surprisingly little Heroic Strike... For an army that has lots of hard-hitting Strength 5 heroes with multiple attacks, Isengard has surprisingly few models who can clear Fight 5 (Lurtz, Ugluk, Thrydan, and now Gorulf). If your opponent runs armies with large warbands and few heroes, this probably won't be an issue, but against hero-heavy lists with decent-to-high Fight (the Fellowship, Thorin's Company / Erebor Reclaimed, Rohan, Minas Tirith, elves, etc.), they can struggle to win combats in key moments. Saruman's Immobilise can help, but only if your opponent has one such big hero. If there are two or more, you may have no choice but to chance that 5+ Immobilize on your Fury shaman (which is never ideal, on many, many levels)...
• Weakness: Magic Defense (beyond Saruman). As good as Isengard is at disrupting enemy plans, it has limited tools for dealing with enemy disruption through magic. Saruman is great at fighting one wizard to a stand-still, but against 2 or more casters (something Mordor and Angmar tend to leverage, and even some elven factions can take advantage of) he can run out of Will (or at least run out of enough Will that he can't take advantage of his offensive spells). After Saruman, Thrydan is your only hero with more than 1 Will (2 Will), and while he's better than no one at dealing with AOE spells like Nature's Wrath or Wrath of Bruinen, you'd probably rather keep his Will in reserve for something else. Lurtz, Mahur, and Isengard trolls are scary on paper (Strength 5-7, 3 Attacks), but they're decidedly less so if they spend the whole game transfixed (or worse, compelled somewhere the enemy is not). And while some low-Will armies like the Serpent Horde have access to Heroic Resolve (trading Might points for magic resistance in a pinch), Isengard doesn't have a single hero with that heroic action. It's your Will, and maybe Saruman... and that's it.
• Weakness: Courage (in certain builds). Let me caveat this by saying that no Isengard force that includes one or more of (a) Courage 7 Berserkers / Courage 5 Ferals, (b) Fearless Wildmen with the Wildman Oathmaker, (c) Bodyguard Dunland Huscarls, (d) an Isengard Shaman with Fury up, or (e) Ugluk, will struggle with courage. The problems come when you build lists around orcs (Snaga, Sharku, warg riders, orc warriors), around mid-tier Uruk-Hai heroes (Vrasku and Mauhur only have Courage 4) without taking that Uruk-Hai Shaman, or a pure Dunland force that doesn't include the Oathmaker (Thrydan, Gorulf, and Frida are all Courage 4, while Wildmen and Dunnlendings are only Courage 3 base). If the enemy has Harbinger of Evil or Ancient Evil those 4s become 3s, those 3s become 2s, and those 2s become 1s, none of which are great.
• Strength / Weakness: Army bonus. If you're running a pure Isengard force (either because you mass Uruk-Hai or you fold the Wildman Oathmaker into a force that's heavy on wildmen), this is a great bonus. It doesn't keep you from hemorrhaging VPs for being broken, but you don't have to take courage tests until you drop below 66% (no matter what your courage is, any courage test you don't have to take is a good thing). If you run heavy warg riders or have a large orc contingent, it may be less valuable, and if you're only running warg riders and orcs, it's not going to impact you at all. The same thing goes for the Woodland Creature buff for Lurtz, Ugluk, Mauhur, Vrasku, and Uruk Hai Captains/Scouts--fantastic if you bring them, useless if you don't.
• Weakness: Alliance options. Unlike Mordor and Minas Tirith (which are both complete armies that also have substantial ally choices), Isengard is pretty much a self-contained complete army, with no green alliances. Even worse, given that the Rise of Isengard was short-lived, Isengard has a relatively low number of yellow alliances: all of the Hobbit era armies are off-limits (plus Sharkey's Rogues, for obvious book-related reasons), leaving only 7 non-Red alliance choices (out of 17 total). Given that most Evil armies want their army bonuses and/or don't like being broken in separate contingents, allying Isengard with most other factions is... not that appealing.
• Strength: Cheap and available (Uruk-Hai) models. Uruk-Hai warriors, siege troops, and warg riders are available in plastic which definitely helps, there are just about as many sculpts of Saruman as there are of any other character, and even Uruk Hai scouts are making a comeback. You get slightly fewer Uruk-Hai siege warriors in a standard box than you do other evil warriors (20 vs. 24 Mordor / Morannon orcs), but it's better than only having the option of metal blisters (like you do with the Uruk-Hai Crossbowmen). And, of course, Isengard's long run in the game means it is one of the more popular factions available for purchase on second-hand markets.
• Weakness: Cheap and available (Dunland) models. This may be a product of re-launching a product line recently, but as of this writing, most of the Dunland models are hard to get your hands on (and fairly expensive to purchase). The Forge World heroes and models have the sorts of prices you expect, as does the price of what is mostly a metal range with some fine cast. Hopefully some of those issues will be fixed as supply issues are fixed, because after years of waiting for Dunland to receive some love, it'd be a real shame if most players are priced out of that faction.

Named (Men) Hero Profiles


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• Saruman. If you've followed... well, really, anything Tiberius has written about Saruman/Isengard over the years, this will be old-hat to you. Let's just say for a decent price for a wizard, you're getting a master spell-caster who can reroll a single die when casting and resisting spells (Lord of the Istari) which, when combined with a free Will per turn, a 6 Will store, and some shrewd spell selection (go with the 4+ Sorcerous Blast over the 5+ Flameburst virtually every time), means you can always have a good go at shutting down the enemy's most dangerous piece (a 2+ Immobilise or 3+ Command at 18" range with a reroll to cast? yes, please). Add a 12" Stand Fast! that reaches other Hero models, in an army that may not start testing until you're reduced to 33% on a Hero of Legend who auto-passes his first test (and is Courage 7 the rest of the way), and you can keep your already pretty-good-to-amazingly-good courage models on the board for a while. Last is the Palantir--a one-time use "give me that all-important priority" that your opponent can't do anything about (and you don't have an opportunity to botch, since there's no X+ roll for it). If there is a weak stat in his profile, he really doesn't like being in combat, with just 1 Attack, Fight 5, and no Heroic Strike (although you can take a horse to give him some added oomph and/or keep him mobile while casting). The Witch-King of Angmar he is not (although not all of us here at TMAT agree), but he's still a top-tier caster for evil, even if he is also one of the squishier ones.
• Grima Wormtongue. He's Saruman's stooge, literally. An Independent Hero, Grima has to go somewhere, and that somewhere is usually in the middle of Saruman's warband, unless you choose to attach him to an enemy warband instead. This isn't a bad idea provided he can keep up with them (the option to take a horse helps), since any enemy Hero within 6" of Grima must spend 2 Might points to declare a Heroic Action instead of just one (although other dice-boosting shenanigans are unaffected--no comboing Grima with a Shade, for example, to mind-numbingly frustrating effect). Magic can target him, so if your opponent has a mage with some sort of damage-dealing spell (Gandalf, the Witch-King, Elrond/Thranduil/Arwen, Kardush, or a rival Saruman), probably best to keep him with the rest of your force where you can try to keep him safe from enemy archer fire. (Or not.)
• Thrydan Wolfsbane. Another darling of Tiberius's, so I won't wax long on him. Suffice it to say, Strength 5 with a two-handed axe and Mighty Blow is dangerous, especially if he's mounted, and if he was also Burly he'd be an amazing evil hero (instead of just a very, very good one). The one glaring issue with his profile is that, despite being the unquestioned leader of Dunland, he's only a Hero of Fortitude in a conventional Isengard force; given that Angbor, Duinhir and Lurtz are heroes of Valor, and Suladan and Dalamyr are Heroes of Legend, Hero of Valor status for Thrydan seems fair to me. Oh, and he's also got a 12" Stand Fast!, which means if you ever take both he and Saruman in the same force, it's theoretically possible to cover more than 90% of the game board in Stand Fasts! at the same time.
• Gorulf Ironskin. One of three new Dunland heroes added in War in Rohan, and the beefiest combat profile among them. A hero of fortitude (same as Thrydan... again, this is weird), he's Fight 5 (good), Strength 5 (great), and Defense 5 (fine), with 3 Attacks (yes!), 2 Wounds (fair), Courage 4 (standard for Dunland), and 3/1/1 heroic stats (the 3 Might is good; the 2 Wounds with 1 Fate is iffy; and the 1 Will is, as we mentioned before, standard for Isengard). He has access to Heroic Strike, Strength, and Defense which is pretty good, and as an added bonus, he gets to declare Heroic Defense without spending Might when he's engaged with an enemy Hero. There's a trade-off for that, of course: if he's calling Heroic Defense, he can't be calling Heroic Strike, and Isengard doesn't have much Strike outside of Gorulf (Lurtz, Ugluk, and Thrydan). But it does make his Defense 5 less of a liability (in combat--he's still vulnerable to Strength 3+ archery, of course). 
• Frida Tallspear. Another Fight 5 Hero of Fortitude, with Strength 4, Defense 4, 2 Attacks, 2 Wounds, Courage 4, and 3/1/1 heroic stats, Heroic Strength, and Heroic Defense. You really want her for her two special rules, which can be nasty surprises for enemy cavalry. First, cavalry models do not gain extra attack or knock-to-ground against Frida or a model she is supporting (that spear-support addendum can lead to a nasty surprise, especially if your opponent has priority). Second, friendly dunland models within 3" reroll to-wound against mounts during the Fight Phase, which generally is going to mean a 75% chance of killing a Defense 4 mount with a Strength 4 Dunland Warrior or Dunlending Horseman (4s to wound, x1 reroll). Most models pay a premium for their mounts (both warriors and heroes), so turning an all cav army into a heavy-infantry army generally ups your winning odds.
• The Wild Man Oathmaker. The last new hero (for Dunland) introduced in War in Rohan, and the one with the most screen-time. His statline is fine (Fight/Strength/Defense 4, 2 Attacks/Wounds, Courage 4, and 3/1/1 heroic stats), and Hatred (Rohan) is a nice touch, but the central feature is Fearless and his special rule, which makes all friendly Wildmen in your force gain the Isengard keyword (they test for break at 66% instead of 50%) and that makes all friendly Wildmen within 6" Fearless. Courage 7 berserkers are great but expensive. Orc warriors with spears are cheap, but have trouble charging models with Terror. Fearless wildmen are dirt cheap and expendable: perfect for throwing at the Dead of Dunharrow or Aura of Dismay elves, while your other troops bring their spears or pikes to bear behind them.

Named (Uruk-ish) Hero Profiles

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• Lurtz. He's a pretty good combat model (Fight 5, Strength 5, Defense 6, 3 Attacks / Wounds, Courage 5, and 3/1/1 heroic stats) who comes with a shield (though it doesn't boost his defense stats) and a Strength 3 bow. He's got a good collection of heroic actions as well (March, Strike, Strength, and Challenge), and as a Hero of Valor, he can lead 15 troops. The extra warband slots are nice, given that any models he leads can arrive whenever and wherever he wants them to in scenarios where you typically roll for reinforcements or deployment (Find the Halflings). At just Defense 6 with 1 Fate and 3 Wounds he will eventually fall if he's trapped or if he finds himself engaged with a hero who's out of his league (*cough* Aragorn *cough*), but most heroes in his points-range will find him incredibly challenging, if not dangerous.
• Ugluk. Quite a bit cheaper than Lurtz, with some reduction in killing power (still Fight 5 and Strength 5, but his Defense, Attacks, Wounds, and Courage have all dropped by 1). He has Strike and 3 Might (plus Heroic March and Strength), and his Head Taker special rule is very nice (kill one friendly Warrior within 2" to cause Ugluk to auto-pass his Stand Fast! that now has a range of 12" and affects friendly Heroes), if a bit finnicky (the rule only takes effect "should Ugluk's force be broken," which can become tricky if you have any non-Isengard models in your force). He drops to a Hero of Fortitude, so only 12 models in his warband.
• Mauhur. Mauhur has two things going for him: he can beat up on mid-tier human / orc / goblin captains with a beefy stat profile (Fight 5, Strength 5, 3 Attacks), and he moves 8" with the option to upgrade up to 12 Uruk-Hai Scouts to Marauders with 8" movement. Unfortunately he has a 3+ shoot but no option for shooting weapons, only 2 Might (instead of the stock-standard 3), and no option to Heroic Strike, which means he's handicapped as a combat model and as a supporting model. He's best on the flanks munching on troops with his faster minions; you don't really want him anywhere near your enemy's primary beatstick. Is he good? Yes. Is he as good as he could be? Not really, no.
• Vrasku. Unlike Mauhur, Vrasku actually makes use of most of his stat profile: a 3+ shoot pairs nicely with a Crossbow and Expert Shot (provided you can get around the no-move-and-shoot limitations inherent to crossbows), and while he doesn't have Heroic Strike either, having 3 Might is always better than having 2 Might. He's also a hero of fortitude, so you can bring 12 models along with him. And as far as master archers go, he has one of their better combat profiles (Fight 5, Strength 5, Defense 5, 2 Attacks, 2 Wounds).
• Sharku. An orc (but an Isengard orc, at least) with orc captain stats: Fight 4, Strength 4, Defense 5, 2 Attacks, 2 Wounds, Courage 3, and 3/1/1 heroic stats. He comes with Heroic March (which is good) but no Strike (less good), and would only ever take him above an Uruk-Hai hero for the mounted warg option (he can also take a shield to get to Defense 6). His Riding Dagger is a fun bit of war-gear: if an enemy Hero fails to wound Sharku in combat, Sharku gets to resolve 1 Strength 4 strike against that model, which is kind of cool. He also features prominently in one of War in Rohan's new Legendary Legions.
• Snaga. Fight 4, Strength 4, Defense 5, 2 Attacks, 2 Wounds, Courage 3, 3/1/1 heroic stats. Heroic Challenge, hero of fortitude, only include Orc models, choose not to take part in a friendly Hero model's heroic action without any penalty, and doesn't need to stay in range of any heroic action he participates in.

Unnamed Hero Profiles

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• Uruk-Hai Captain. Isengard's equivalent of your standard heavy-armor captain, complete with Uruk-Hai stat boosts (Fight 5, Strength 5 to go with Defense 6, 2 Attacks / Wounds, Courage 4, and 2/1/1 heroic stats). As with Captains of Minas Tirith, they lose some of their lustre due to the number of named Isengard captains who have Heroic March, but if you can survive without Heroic Strike they're pretty cheap heroes of fortitude who can beat up on mid-tier heroes if left unchecked. If you're looking to run multiple of these, consider the Siege of Helm's Deep Legendary Legion in War in Rohan, as the leader gets an attack and wound stat boost (3 Attacks/Wounds), and they can lead up to 18 troops instead of the standard 12.
• Uruk-Hai Scout Captain. An identical stat profile to the Uruk-Hai Captain, apart from the drop from Defense 6/7 to 5/6 (depending on whether you take a shield). You can take an Uruk-Hai bow as well, if you want some Might attached to your ranged attacks (in case you need to go for an enemy mount, for example). If you keep your army bonus active, they gain Woodland Creature as well.
• Orc Captain.Another stat drop, to Fight 4, Strength 4, Defense 5/6, and Courage 3. There's not a lot of reasons to take these apart from building a more thematic force. If you are looking at this option, you may just want to fully commit to an allied contingent which will allow you to bring more powerful orcs (Morannons from Mordor, for example), as your army bonus won't affect them. Their low courage may be an issue, too, as they don't share the necessary keywords with any of the shamans in your army list. Speaking of which...
• Uruk-Hai Shaman. Your standard Shaman profile (F4, Strength 4, Defense 4, 1 Attack, 2 Wounds, Courage 4, and 1/3/1 heroic stats), with a 12" range Transfix (5+) that you probably won't use, and a 2+ Fury that affects all Isengard Uruk-Hai. If you're running a pure Uruk-Hai force, it's a good spell to get up in general (auto-pass all courage tests within 6"), and if you're fighting anything that causes Terror you may rely on it heavily. You also have the option for armor to get up to Defense 5, but no option for a Warg. They're also only minor heroes, so only six warriors can accompany them into combat. They don't have the right keywords for Dunland warriors or orc warriors, so if you're going to be bringing a lot of those, consider the Wildman Oathmaker or an Orc Shaman (which you'll have to ally in, unfortunately) if you need the courage boost.
• Uruk-Hai Drummer. A fairly cheap independent hero with a warrior's stat line (Fight 4, Strength 4, Defense 5, 1 Attack, 1 Wound, Courage 4, and 1 point of Fate). You really want him for the war drum that boosts the movement of all Isengard Uruk-Hai without burning Might. If you want to get your infantry moving fast, he's your man (er, Uruk), and if you want to get them moving really fast (up to 14" with marching Marauders), he's essential.
• Dunlending Chieftain. His statline is slightly underwhelming when compared to his Uruk counterparts (only Fight 4), but he picks up another point of Will (2/2/1 heroic stats) to go with Strength 5, Defense 5, Courage 4, and 2 Attacks / Wounds, plus Heroic March. His Strength 2 bow isn't a great wargear upgrade (at least not when you have access to Uruk-Hai bows on some of your other heroes), but swapping the two-handed axe for an axe and shield (to get to Defense 6) can be. He's priced close to many of your named heroes who have more Might, so again, probably more of a thematic choice than a competitive one.

Isengard Warrior Profiles

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• Uruk-Hai Scout. Remarkably cheap for a very good combat stat line. The obvious eyesore is Defense 4 (Defense 5 with a shield), but Fight 4, Strength 4, and Courage 3 are all fine-to-very-good on just an 8 point model. They have an option for banners (which is good) and shields if you need them, but their biggest boost in the newest edition is the ability to take 18" Strength 3 Uruk-Hai bows instead of regular bows. Keep your army bonus, and they gain Woodland Creature. Upgrade up to 12 of them to 8" move Marauders (if you take Mauhur), and suddenly you've got very fast shock troops (or skirmishers if you take the bows) for a pretty cheap cost.
• Uruk-Hai Warrior. One additional point over their Scout versions picks up an armor boost (Defense 5/6 with shield), and an incredibly well-rounded combat profile. In addition to shields, they can pick up pikes, crossbows, and banners to round out Isengard's infantry profile. At Strength 4 / Defense 6, they're the most dangerous and resilient pike formation in the game, so protecting their flanks will be critical. 
• Feral Uruk-Hai. The slightly cheaper elite infantry option for Isengard: Fight 4, Strength 4, Defense 4, 2 Attacks, 1 Wound, Courage 5, and a 6+ save whenever they take a wound (though unfortunately it's not cumulative with a channeled Fury save). Unfortunately they don't gain Woodland Creature from the army bonus (which would be awesome), but they're pretty good at protecting the flanks of a pike block (and particularly dangerous as the front-rank of a pike block). They can also cop a Fight 3 cavalry charge pretty well, too, especially if you give them banner support.
• Uruk-Hai Berserker. For two points more than Feral, you pick up an extra Defense (Defense 5), two extra Defense against shooting attacks (Impervious to Bow-Fire), 2 Courage (a whopping Courage 7), and the Berserker Blade--a hand-and-a-half sword which, if you win a duel while using it as a 2-handed weapon, gives you the option of either striking normally or doing one Strength 4 hit at +1 to-wound on every model engaged in the fight (or supporting) that is in base-contact with the berserker (so it can take out your own guys). Against most enemy infantry (Defense 6) that's a 4+ to wound when you add the +1 to-wound bonus, which is lethal. Against Defense 4 enemy cavalry, that's a 3+ to wound, which is downright scary.
• Orc Warrior. The tried-and-true grunt orc. Fight 3, Strength 3, and Defense 5 are nothing to write home about, but they’re very cheap to field, even if you kit out with shield, spear, and hand-weapon. Speaking of which, they have a ton of wargear options so you can customize them to taste: sword (stab/feint) or pick (piercing strike) for free, spears, shields, bows (on a 5+ shoot), and banners (definitely take one of these on someone). Nothing screams “evil” like hordes of orcs (although since you have access to wildmen, they're not your only horde option in this list). The only caveat is that these will start courage-testing for breaking before your Isengard models do if your army bonus is active, so plan accordingly.
• Isengard Troll. The best statline troll warrior in The Armies of the Lord of the Rings, pairing your stock-standard Fight 7, Strength 7, and 3 Attacks / Wounds with Defense 8 and the ability to shield (its Courage 4 is also not bad). You can also take an Isengard war drum if you want more than just your Uruk-Hai to get movement boosts (it'll affect Isengard Orcs like Sharku and Snaga, as well as Dunland Wildmen if you have the Wildman Oathmaker in your force), though that will cost you the shield. Like all non-hero trolls they really don't like to be Transfixed, so some magical support (probably Saruman) is encouraged if you plan to bring one along.

Dunland Warrior Profiles

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• Wild Man of Dunland. I'll be honest--unless you're taking the Wildman Oathmaker, these seem a little overcosted: Fight 3, Strength 3, Defense 3, 1 Attack / Wound, and Courage 3 for the same cost as a goblin warrior with no upgrades is... probably fair, but not fantastic. Add the Oathmaker (who makes them all Fearless within 6", plus gives them the Isengard keyword) and they're substantially better--basically a cheap hard-counter to any army that likes to throw up Terror front lines, provided you have something with higher fight / strength / more dice to back them up. The two-handed axe upgrade for 1 point is intriguing, especially if you're fighting Rohan--a Strength 4 Piercing Strike with +2 to-wound (effectively Strength 8) in combination with Hatred (Rohan) will kill a lot of things, and even without the extra +1 to-wound from Hatred, effective Strength 6 is fantastic value on a 6 point model, especially if the model is also Fearless. They may not look like much, but don't let these guys catch you napping; you may not live to recover.
• Dunlending Warrior. These are essentially Helmingas from Rohan (Strength 4), with the same points cost. They have the option for a banner which is nice, and they can take a shield or two-handed axe. They also have an option for normal bows which will cost you your axe. They don't have Hatred (Rohan), so no effective Strength 9 for them with the two-handed axe and a piercing strike, but effective Strength 7 is usually good enough to crack open most things.
• Dunlending Horsemen. One of three new warrior profiles introduced in War in Rohan. For 12 points, you get a mid-tier cavalry profile: Fight 3, Defense 5, and Courage 3 aren't great, but Strength 4 is nice. Unfortunately they don't have any option for lances or other boosts, unless you count their ability to piercing-strike with an axe. Their special rule is that they're allowed to reroll 1s to wound cavalry mounts, which is fairly good against armored horses and pretty good against camels and regular horses (or Defense 5 mounts if you piercing strike). If you can manage to get them within 3" of Frida, they can reroll all failed to-wound rolls, too.
• Dunlending Huscarls. Another new profile, this time boosting Dunland's infantry ranks. These are essentially Axemen of Lossarnach from the Fiefdom's list, who trade Fight 4 and Strength 3 for Fight 3 and Strength 4. Like the Axemen, their Dunlending War Axe can be used as a spear or two-handed weapon, which makes them fairly flexible. Defense 5 is good, not great, but you can get around their average Courage 3 thanks to Bodyguard if their sworn hero is alive. They also get a +1 Fight bonus if they're within 3" of any friendly Dunland Hero, which means you can actually run a pure Dunland force without Uruk-Hai and still draw some combats against dwarves or elite men.
• Crebain. These are kind of strange models, in that they're really not built for combat (Fight 2, Strength 2, Defense 3, 2 Attacks, 4 Wounds, Courage 2) and don't really do anything to help you win combats (models within 12" lose the Stalk Unseen special rule, but that's more of a protection against shooting attacks than combat). What they are good at, at a minimum, is holding far-flung objectives: Fly (12" move) gives them the mobility, 4 Wounds gives them survivability, and their special rule (they're only hit by shooting attacks on a natural 6) helps them evade arrow fire. If you have a roving band of marauders, warg riders, or even a lone Berserker anywhere nearby to clear objectives, these guys will hold them for you (or at least contest them for you) for a while.

Seige Profiles

Photo Credit: imgur.com

• Uruk-Hai Demoliton Team. One of the more curious area-denial profiles in the Middle-Earth Strategy Battle Game. On paper, it seems fairly innocuous: yes, it does D6 wounds (or 2D6 wounds on occasion) but its range is only 2" on a 48" x 48" (or larger board), and detonating it relies on a series of rolls (courage test to detonate, then detonation, then the d6 wound calculation roll) any of which could derail it. Underestimate it at your peril, though--especially if your opponent has a war drum tucked away in his force.
• Isengard Assault Ballista. This is Centaur's baby, so there's not much I could say that he hasn't already said better. All I will add is (1) these things are dirt cheap, (2) if your enemy has some, be sure to keep some of your own troops near your heroes / priority models to take advantage of its 3" scatter, and (3) they are downright (and unnecessarily) lethal in the Assault on Helms Deep Legendary Legion. If you plan to spam them in a competitive event, I would strongly consider the legion over a regular Isengard force. Speaking of which...

About those Legendary Legions

War in Rohan introduced four new legendary legions that incorporate various models from Isengard. All four take advantage of the fact that Isengard is really four factions rolled into one (orcs on wargs, Uruk-Hai scouts, Uruk-Hai siege troops, and Dunland warriors), so they offer boosts to players who limit their profile choices to just one subset of the list (whilst also rewarding thematic choices). If you like to cherry-pick from all the things that make Isengard diverse, these probably aren't for you, but if you're heavily invested in just one subset they tend to offer more boosts to those subsets than you'll find in just the Isengard army bonus.

• Ugluk's Scouts. A strong choice if you're already inclined towards lots of uruk scouts and a drummer. You get a decent selection of heroes--Ugluk (must be your leader--obviously), Mauhur, Snaga, Uruk-Hai Scout Captains, and Uruk-Hai Drummers, plus Grishnakh from the Mordor list--along with Uruk-Hai scouts and orc warriors. The most pressing issue is a lack of Heroic Strike to deal with big enemy heroes (only Ugluk and Grishnakh have it). Mobility is pretty good: in addition to all friendly models picking up Woodland Creature (very nice), as long as you include Mauhur, you can upgrade any number of scouts to Marauders (not just the ones in his warband) for free, plus Ugluk, Uruk-Hai Scout Captains, and Uruk-Hai drummers also get a boost to move 8" (also for free). The fact that your drummer only boosts Isengard Uruk-Hai can lead to some interesting shennanigans if you have a lot of Mordor Orcs mixed in, as well. Your damage potential is also increased, as your orcs pick up a free +1 to-wound when involved in the same combat as an Uruk-Hai (and vice-versa), to reflect their rivalry/animosity. If you weren't planning to take siege Uruk troops, warg riders, or Dunland models anyway, and can live without Lurtz, this is a good list.
• Wolves of Isengard. The army composition of this one is pretty straightforward: Sharku (who has to be your leader), warg captains on wargs, warg shamans on wargs, warg riders, and wild wargs. Sharku gets a boost to a Hero of Valor (can lead 15 instead of just 12), which is nice, and also gets to declare a free Heroic Combat every turn without spending Might (which is very nice). You also get some keyword swaps (all friendly models pick up the Isengard keyword, and your shamans swap their Fury (Mordor Orc) to Fury (Isengard Orc) to keep things clean. The legion also gains bonuses in scenarios where you come on with dice rolls: in addition to choosing whether to win or lose priority (huge), they can also charge on the turn they enter the board, which is normally not allowed (also huge). Up to 6 models in the warband can also make a free "move" and "shoot" before the first turn of the game (though they can't charge during that move), which is great in scenarios like Sieze the Prize, where extra movement early could be the difference between playing from in-front and playing from behind. At higher points levels, this legion will struggle to deal with big heroes (you have no Heroic Strike at all), but if you like running Wargs (and Gothmog / Mordor warg riders aren't your cup of tea), these guys are pretty fun.
• Assault upon Helm's Deep. Most of your siege units are found here: Uruk-Hai Captains, Shamans, Warriors, Berserkers, Isengard Trolls, Demo Teams, and the Assault Ballistae. Again, the glaring issue at higher points will be the lack of Heroic Strike (although your leader Captain gains a nice boost to 3 Attacks / Wounds with the option for a shield, so he may be able to tank a bigger hero for a short time with some luck). Otherwise, your best bet of dealing with big heroes is either to swarm them (your heroes gain +6 to their warband sizes), batter them with your siege ballistae (which get to reroll both their hit and scatter rolls in the shoot phase), run an Isengard troll, or some combination of the three. You're also exempt from taking courage tests until you lose more than 66% of your army, and you always have the demo charges to deter enemies (which you get to roll 2 dice when detonating, and choose the highest). Not everyone's cup of tea, but if you're all about Isengard's bread-and-butter warrior choices, and not so much its named heroes, this gives those troops some nice buffs.
• Army of Dunland. At last, Dunland gets its day. You get access to all the Dunland units in Isengard--Thrydan (must be your leader), Gorulf, Frida, Oathmaker, Chieftains, warriors, wildmen, horesmen, huscarls, crebain--which get some buffs. In addition to Thrydan finally getting that bump to Hero of Valor, all your Dunland models pick up Hatred (Rohan), which means any that are using 2-handed axes could get a +2 to-wound if your opponent brought straw-heads. But wait, it gets better: once per game, all friendly models within 12" of Thrydan can pick up another +1 to-wound when making strikes, which means a +3 to-wound (from Strength 4 or Strength 5, if you piercing-strike) is potentially in play. Oh, and they get 6" banners, too. Just because. MURDERERS!!!

Concluding Thoughts

And there we have it. A time-honored faction with some cool new face-lifts. If you've tried out any of the new Isengard legendary legions (or the new heroes / units), do let us know in the comments section, or on facebook. And if Isengard's your jam, don't forget to check out the rest of our recommended resources below.

Photo Credit: giphy.com

More from the TMAT Team

• The Stuff of Legends: Lurtz's Scouts (March 2021)
• Overly Pedantic Stats: Improving Isengard (February 2021)
• THRO 2020 Army Preview: Raise the White Hand! (September 2020)
• The Bare Necessities, Part VII: Isengard (February 2020)
• Uruk Heroes: Taxonomy, Revisited (December 2019)
• Workbench Update: Isengard (October 2019)
• Using/Fighting Spellcasters: Unlimited Casters, Revisited (August 2019)
• Dunlendings: Any Good? (May 2019)
• Magic in MESBG, Part III: Isengard (April 2019)
• Revisiting Magic: Magic in the Middle Earth Strategy Battle Game (February 2019)
• New Rules - Part V: The Fallen Realms, Part II (November 2018)
• Isengard Strategies: Ballista Crews (August 2015, *Pre-MESBG)
• Isengard Heroes, Warriors, and Tactics (/October 2014, *Pre-MESBG)
• A Newbie's Top 20 Heroes: One Gamer's Perspective (January 2014, *Pre-MESBG)
• Post-Tournament Review: Why I Uruk the way I Uruk (April 2013, *Pre-MESBG)
• April Project: Uruk-Hai Month with a Twist! (April 2013, *Pre-MESBG)
• Picking a Captain - Uruk Style! (January 2013, *Pre-MESBG)
• The A Team (October 2012, *Pre-MESBG)
• Spell-Caster Evaluation: Saruman the Colorful (June 2012, *Pre-MESBG)
• BATTLE REPORT: Fellowship v. Isengard (Hold Ground) (July 2019)
• BATTLE REPORT: Isengard v. Rivendell (Domination) (July 2015, *Pre-MESBG)
• BATTLE REPORT: Isengard v. Harad (To the Death) (January 2013, *Pre-MESBG)
• BATTLE REPORT: Isengard v. The Grey Company (Lord of Battle) (November 2012, *Pre-MESBG)

Support your Hobby

• Isengard Model Range (Games Workshop)
• Dunland Model Range (Forge World)

Recommended Resources

• PODCAST: Episode 85: Isengard (The Green Dragon Podcast)
• IN PRINT: Fog of War, Part 6: Isengard (Veni Vini Double)
• MEDIA: War in Rohan Terrain & Rulebook Detailed Review (ZorpaZorp)
• MEDIA: Top 5 Isengard Heroes, Legendary Legion Review & Tactics Talk (Top Table Gaming)
• MEDIA: Armies of the Lord of the Rings Review: Episode 21, Isengard, War in Rohan Review (STF Wargaming Studio)
• MEDIA: Mustering an Army, Episode 12: Isengard, Making Dunland Work, Know Thine Enemy: Saruman, Know Thine Enemy: Vrasku, and Scenario Spotlight: Scouring of the Westfold (Green Dragon Podcast, *Pre-MESBG)
• MEDIA: How to Play and Buy Isengard (DC Hobbit League, *Pre-MESBG)
• MEDIA: Fallen Realms Week - Heroes of Isengard (GBHL Podcast)
• MEDIA: Tactic Talks: Isengard (Lotr SBG Team, *Pre-MESBG)
• BATTLE COMPANIES: Isengard Uruk-Hai Battle Company Breakdown - Review, Tactics, & Showcase (Ontario SBG League) 
• BATTLE REPORTS: Ugluk's Scouts v. Theodred's Guard, The Wolves of Isengard v. Paths of the Druadan (ZorpaZorp)
• BATTLE REPORT: Isengard v. Iron Hills Dwarves (Guerrilla Miniature Games)
• BATTLE REPORT: Isengard v. Rohan (MWG Studios)
• BATTLE REPORT: Serpent Horde v. Isengard (Tactical Tortoise)
• BATTLE REPORT: Isengard v. Thranduil's Halls (STF Wargaming Studio)
• BATTLE REPORT: Isengard v. Ejercito de los Muertos (Bolson Abierto)
• BATTLE REPORT: Isengard v. Mumak War Leader (Der Wurfelorden)
• HOBBYING: How to Paint Saruman, How to Paint an Uruk-Hai Captain (Battle Games in Middle Earth)
• HOBBYING: How to Paint Uruk-Hai (SlokosPaintstation)
• HOBBYING: Middle-Earth Painting Series Episode 1: Uruk-Hai Warriors (Industria Artificis)
• HOBBYING: How to Paint: Uruk-Hai Berserkers, Battle-Ready (The Wargamer Bandit)
• HOBBYING: Let's Paint Uruk-Hai Berserkers (V1989)
• HOBBYING: Painting Guide: Uruk-Hai Scouts, Painting Guide: Uruk-Hai Berserkers (Paintbrush Pirate)
• HOBBYING: Uruk-Hai Scout Painting Tutorial (BuchanDuck)