Armies of Middle-Earth SBG: Azog's Legion in the MIddle-Earth Strategy Battle Game

Our subject today was spoiled last week, so no elaborate intro for these guys. But that's oddly appropriate, as this army is all-business (as in the business-end of a cleaver).

Azog has come to blot out the line of Durin. If that makes you happy, read on (and perhaps seek some help?).

Praise me, my peoplez!

Photo Credit: 4.bp.blogspot.com on Pinterest

Army Quick(ish) Hits

• Strength: Heavy hitters galore. In addition to keeping Azog and Bolg (Bolg is the same--Azog can hit even harder with the stone flail, and also can take a boost to Defense 7), you also pick up Strength 5 Gundabad Orc Captains, war bats, ogres, and of course the feared Gundabad trolls. Plus Strength 4 orcs and berserkers, too, to fill out your numbers. Getting the elite heavy hitters adds up quickly, but Azog's Legion offers about as much threat over-saturation options as any other evil force (though Mordor and Moria are probably skeptical about that).
• Strength: Army bonus. As if Azog (or Bolg) weren't scary enough, did you know they can get Master of Battle, too? And not a watered-down version of Master of Battle with a (4+), (5+), or even a (2+) tacked on--the OG version of Master of Battle that Gothmog has, which fires every time someone within 6" calls a heroic action. Proactively, you probably use it most often to counter-call Heroic Moves for free (or, perhaps, induce your opponent not to call Heroic Moves that they'd otherwise like to call). Reactively, it's great insurance for both Bolg and Azog against being out-fought--at Fight 7, most enemy heroes will feel forced to call Heroic Strike to have a chance of beating you. If they do so, you have a pretty good chance of getting to Fight 10 anyway (3+, or 66.67%), only your opponent is burning Might to get there and you're not. And if your opponent somehow forgets, and calls a Heroic Combat within 6" of you, it also makes Bolg even more efficient at "Bolging." Not every army bonus in the game is worth holding on to, but unless you're getting access to a reaaaaaaaaly sweet unit from a convenient ally, I wouldn't recommend abandoning this one.
• Strength: Sneaky Mobility. We already talked about the free Heroic Moves you can pick up from Master of Battle, but believe it or not, there are other movement tricks in this force. For one thing, every hero choice comes with Heroic March (Azog, Bolg, and the two captain choices) on models that almost all move at least 6". Despite not having any cavalry options (except Azog and Bolg), you also have a nice range of fast-moving models. Ogres and Berserkers move 8" base (11" with a Heroic March, which is crazy), and then you have War Bats which move 12" (and have a 12" Fly, as well... which is weird and     unique), or up to 15" with a March. If you'd rather be conservative with your Might (and have room for a random 200 point upgrade), Azog's Signal Tower gets you free battlefield-wide Heroic Marches to all your heroes (among other goodies), plus seven more heroes who can call said marches for free. Last but not least, while the Goblin Mercenaries' 5" move (and Defense 4) looks out of place in this force, the Mercenary Ambush rule on their captains can not only keep them off the board when you initially deploy, but also allow you to put them on any terrain feature on the board (so long as they can all fit on it) in a subsequent turn, as long as their leader can pass a courage test. Much like the Goblin Scribe in Goblin-Town, this can dramatically alter the balance of power if your opponent doesn't plan for it (and can still change the balance of power, if your opponent plans wrongly or plans too much for it, without adequately planning for everything else you have.
• Strength: Resilience. When it comes to resilience, a Defense 6 core troop (Gundabad orcs with shields) is a pretty good start. Your berserkers and ogres are only D5, which isn't great, but at least you have the 6+ save on the Berserkers (which I like, even if Centaur says they never work--which is not mathematically true, even when it feels mathematically true). With the Signal Tower in tow, that becomes a battlefield-wide 6+ save for all Gundabad models (so not the goblin mercs), with a 5+ save for Berserkers (which does work for Centaur). What's more annoying than a 4-wound Gundabad Troll? A Gundabad Troll that may take more than 4 wounds to kill, that's what!
• Strength: Customization and optimization. Apart from two glaring exceptions (one of which is the lack of cavalry that we've already talked about), Azog's Legion has access to pretty much any troop type / upgrade option you'd want in a standing army. Big heroes? Yes. Monsters? Gotcha covered. Fast infantry? Oh yeah. Siege weapons? Sure. Your troops can take banners, shields, and spears (Gundabad Orcs) or two-handed picks (Berserkers), flavored to taste. Add some disruptive War Bats in, and a Fearless crushing Troll Brute for laughs and giggles, and you have a pretty complete army list.
• Weakness: No ranged attacks (well, almost). Except for this. Yes, technically the Catapult Troll is available to you (if you feel up for sculpting your own, or can find someone else's conversion), but at almost 200 points himself--and with just a single shot per turn--he's not exactly a gun line. Between your D6 front-line troops, 8" move ogres and berserkers, potentially a lot of Heroic March, and a well-placed ambush of Goblin Mercenaries, you may be able to weather the storm if your enemy has a large shooting contingent. But you will almost definitely have to move toward them (unless you enjoy dying by a thousand papercuts).
• Strength: Great alliance options. Or, if you'd like to fix your shooting (and also add some cavalry), you could just ally in Azog's Hunters! 4+ shoot on hunter orcs isn't bad, and hunter orcs on warg can cover a lot of ground very quickly (especially if they're powered by Heroic Marches). Narzug, Yazneg, and especially Fimbul also add some good value--and cheap might--while conserving points for other things (or more troops). If enemy magic is your bane, or if you'd prefer something more disruptive to supplement your big bads (or just want the ultimate annoyance army that won't die and/or stay dead), the Dark Powers of Dol-Guldur offer the Necromancer (who can either shield Azog/Bolg, or super-charge them) and/or his combat-oriented, self-resurrecting Nazgul lieutenants who (wait for it) can also lead hunter orcs if you need more cav/shooting, fast-moving Fell Wargs, or even Mirkwood Spiders (because what's more terrifying than being charged by Azog? Being charged by Azog after a Mirkwood Spider has Paralyzed you!). And those are just the historic (green) allies. You can bring the spiders and fell wargs (plus the Spider Queen) from the Dark Denizens of Mirkwood, too, and of course if you dip into Goblin-Town, the Goblin Scribe is a great way to tie up enemy archers who are all the way across the board (plus Gollum's Ring).
• Strength / Weakness: Too many great choices? The upshot of all this is that even at a thousand points (which is a huge game), you are likely to have way more options for Azog's Legion (and their allies, if you lean that way) than you could ever take. Is that a weakness? If it keeps you up late at night, I suppose so. Otherwise, probably not. Lists like Arnor or Sharkey's Rogues have far more problems than Azog's Legion does.
• Weakness: Start-up cost. Those choices will cost you, though. If you already picked up Azog or Bolg for Azog's Hunters that'll help some (although the armored Azog from the Character Series is pretty sweet), but pretty much everything else in the list has to be purchased from ForgeWorld. The Berserkers are the cheapest investment (at over $10 USD per model), but the Gundabad Orcs, monsters, and (surprisingly) the Goblin Mercs are quite expensive. If you'll play predominantly friendly matches, you may be able to get around some of this with conversions--Goblin-town goblins are quite a bit cheaper if you're up for armoring them, and the Gundabad Orc conversion pack offers an array of variant helmets, weapons, and shields that you could press-mold into service on something like Morannon Orcs or armored Uruk-Hai. You're probably out of luck on the monsters, though. This is definitely an army you don't want to start on a whim--I would strongly recommend borrowing from a friend (or proxying, if you can't) to figure out what you want to invest in, before you mortgage your spare kidney.

We da bomb!

Photo Credit: Comic Vine

Named Hero Profiles

• Azog the Defiler. We covered basic Azog (who's still terrifying) in the write-up on Hunter Orcs, so rather than repeating all that let's talk about how he changes in Azog's Legion. 
• For one, he can now take heavy armor (for D7). Not much to say here--everyone takes that upgrade, and you should, too. 
• The Stone Flail upgrade is very expensive for a two-handed wargear option (and a whirling flail, at that), but has a lot of special rules. On the one hand, Azog drops from F7 to F6 if he uses it (not great); on the other hand, it is a Strength 5 two-handed flail that does D3 wounds and knocks "any model" that survives prone. That's not "any man-sized model," that's "any model." Now it won't knock down models that can't be knocked prone for any reason (war beasts, Smaug), and Amdur / Dragon Knights might manage to keep their footing, but everything else (fell beasts, Sauron, the Balrog) is prone if they lose a combat. Last, when you whirl with this flail (i.e., every model engaged with Azog suffers a single Strength 5, two-handed hit that deals D3 wounds after Fate), Azog remains Fight 6 (instead of Fight 1). Oh, and Azog is still Burly. Did I mention that yet?
• Last is that signal tower. Tiberius and I have talked about this a lot recently, so I won't belabor the point--which is that this thing is tremendous value. How much value? Well, the seven lieutenants you pick up account for more than 160 points on their own (assuming 8 points for their basic Gundabad Orc profile, plus 15 points each for their single point of Might, Will, and Fate)--plus, that means Azog on the White Warg, plus the Signal Tower, nets you 13 Might without any other heroes (4x more than any other 400+ point hero offers you). That leaves 40 points for four banners--one of which is an actual, battlefield-wide banner for your Gundabad models, and one of which is a War Horn (+1 Courage to all models in your army (yes, even non-Gundabad ones), except it's also a battlefield-wide Goblin Drum from Moria (-1 courage to all enemy models, again battlefield-wide). Given that a normal 3" banner and war horn would cost us well north of 40 points (55 points, minimum), that's tremendous value--even if you don't think the free heroic marches or 6+ save are valuable (which, if you're like me, you totally do!). But wait, there's more! Azog gets to lead 24 models instead of just 18 (which is nice), who can deploy within 12" of Azog instead of the usual 6" (which can change up certain scenarios quite a bit). Most important, you get a placeable terrain feature, with virtually no placement rules (before deployment, but after board edges are chosen, you get to place the Signal Tower, plus Azog's seven Lieutenants "anywhere on the battlefield" (after which it cannot be moved). Since there's no official model for said signal tower (or even an official size), some degree of common sense is needed for this--so if you're going to take the tower to a tournament (or even a "friendly" game), be sure you talk to your TO/opponent about it beforehand to avoid unnecessary frustration. It's only sporting after all.
  
• Bolg. Bolg is the same as he was in Azog's Hunters. He is still terrifying, and you should still take him mounted every time. The only difference is that instead of trying to screen him from enemy heroes (so you can get to 10 kills) with just F3, D4 hunter orcs, you can now screen him with D6 gundabad orcs, or F4 berserkers, or F5 ogres, or F7 trolls (although if you run him with the latter, you may run out of generic troops to kill). He also gains Master of Battle if he's your army leader (and you keep your army bonus), as well as that orc bow option, too... so I guess troll catapult's aren't your only ranged option after all.

Unnamed Hero Profiles

• Gundabad Orc Captain. These are Morannon Orc Captains (F4, S5, D6-7 with shield, 2 attacks / wounds) with slightly higher Courage (4) and the Ancient Enemies rule for elves and dwarves (reroll 1s to wound, which is nice), plus Heroic March and 2/1/1 heroic stats. Defense 7 with a shield always makes for a good tank, and at just 55 points with the full kit they're a much-needed cheap option if you're running other expensive stuff. 
• Goblin Mercenary Captain. These guys look (and probably are) expensive at 50 points, and give up 1 Fight (F3) and 2 defense (D5) on the only-slightly-more-expensive Gundabad Orc captains. But their troops are very cheap (5 points for D4 goblins, which is standard), which means you can still get a full warband for just north of 100 points--fantastic, again, for a list like this where most everything else is expensive. Their gimmick is Mercenary Ambush which, depending on how much terrain you have on your board (and how large it is, and where it is), may be as annoying or more annoying than the Goblin Scribe (if you're playing Fog of War, it's definitely more). Add to that Cave Dwellers (+1 to all jump/leap/climb tests) and Chittering Hordes (you can support other Chittering Horde models), and they can be surprisingly disruptive.

Only slightly more imposing than goblins...

Photo Credit: Total War Center Forums

Warrior Profiles

• Gundabad Orc Warriors. Morannon orcs with +1 Courage (F3, S4, D5, 1A, 1W, C3) and Ancient Enemies (reroll 1s to-wound against Elves and Dwarves). Their wargear options are solid--banners, spears, and shields are all useful, especially when paired with Strength 4. If you ally in a war horn from Azog's Hunters, or bring the Signal Tower along, they jump to Courage 4 which is... very good for basic orc troops. No Fury, though.
• Gundabad Berserkers. Speaking of Courage, these Berserkers are basically Isengard Berserkers (F4, S4, D5, 2A, 1W, C6, with a 6+ save) if Isengard Berserkers could move 8" instead of 6" (and got free rerolls on 1s to wound from Ancient Enemies). You have to pay an extra point for the two-handed weapon option, and don't have the sweeping-cut ability that Isengard Berserkers do, but c'mon--you move 8". Stop belly-aching. Sneaky fact I missed on my first few read-throughs: their base weapon can be either a sword or an axe. They already roll 1s to wound against two of the three major good factions (elves and dwarves--apologies to hobbits, ents, and eagles), so strongly consider the axe (two attacks at Strength 5 if you piercing strike). If you do go the two-handed weapon route, that's a pick, too (so effective Strength 7 if you two-handed Piercing Strike). Very nasty. Avoid them if you can (although with an 8" move, you probably can't).
• War Bats. Speaking of avoiding (only not really), War Bats move 12" on the ground and when they Fly, although if we're being honest they'll be flying most of the time anyway. Pluck is a nasty special rule that does two things for you. First, it allows you, on the roll of a 4+, to inflict a single S4 hit on any unengaged man-sized model you've moved over during your 12" move. Then, if the model survives, you get to roll another d6, and on a 4+ you get to knock that model prone. Just because you flew over them. Now I know, the odds of getting both the S4 and the knock-down aren't great (you have a 25% chance to get both 4+ rolls, and then of course the model has to survive the S4 hit in order for you to knock it prone, so the odds will be less than that), but even so: this is a free chance to wound and knock prone that you get just because you moved (which, news flash, you were going to do anyway, because if you charge into a model you reduce its defense by 2 with Piercing Talons). By all means, set your expectations accordingly--but this special rule is fantastic!
• Goblin Mercenaries. These are Goblin-Town goblins with armor (D4), and a dangerous gimmick (Mercenary Ambush). You know that already. Rather than belaboring those points here, here are five additional thoughts:
• First, don't miss their option to take a pick (instead of a sword) as their base weapon. If you're fighting anything S4 or greater, there's almost no reason not to piercing strike all the time (S4 models for 5 points are pretty good). 
• Second, while it's tempting to max out their warbands to bulk your numbers, if you plan to use the Mercenary Ambush rule you may want smaller groups (say, 6-8 troops with your captain) so you can fit them onto more terrain features (if the whole warband won't fit on a terrain feature, you can't ambush from it).
• Third, as cool as Mercenary Ambush is, remember that for it to work your goblin merc captain does eventually have to pass a courage test. And unlike some "deploy-new-guys" mechanics (like the Goblin Scribe's), this test isn't optional--you have to take the test at the start of every turn from Round 2 onward. If you pass, you get to decide if they come on or not; if you fail, your opponent gets to decide if they come on or not, right then. You always retain control over where they deploy, even if your opponent decides they're coming on right then (scenarios like Reconnoitre may change that). But if you want control over the when, too, you'll want to bulk up your captain's courage somehow. The good news is that he has a point of Will (which you won't spend ahead of time, because he's off the board and therefore can't be targeted by magic) so you can get to Courage 4, which is close to reliable. But for maximum control, consider a War Horn (ether from Azog's signal tower, or allied in from Azog's hunters) which will bump your captain to Courage 4 base, plus a Will point in case something happens. Unless your luck is terrible (and it might be), that should be enough.
• Fourth, the rules for Mercenary Ambush say that your warbands of mercs "do not have to deploy on the board at the start of the game. Instead, they may be kept in reserve." As you may have noticed, there's some grey area in there: the rules don't tell you when, exactly, at "the start of the game" you have to make this decision. Do you have to choose whether to set them aside at the beginning of the game, before anyone deploys? It doesn't say that, exactly. Does that mean you can wait until your deployment phase to decide? I don't see any reason why you couldn't. Does that mean, if your opponent "wins" first priority and has to deploy first, they have to deploy without knowing if your goblins are going to deploy normally or ambush them later? I think he might. Does this unlock all sorts of head-games with your opponent? Well does it?!?
• Finally, don't forget that setting aside these warbands is optional. Yes, it's a cool mechanic, and yes the Schrodinger's Cat phenomenon will-they-deploy/won't-they-deploy can prove disruptive to your opponent, but if you'd be better served in a particular match having 7-60 goblins (or any portion of them) on the board from the start of Round 1, there's no shame in doing that, too.

Yeah... that totally doesn't look menacing...

Photo Credit: Revora Forums

Monster Profiles

• Gundabad Ogres. Azog's junior-division monsters are the cheapest Monsters in the game, at 60 points a pop. They're also among the most versatile. Fight 5 is slightly below troll-level, and Defense 5 isn't awesome, but 3 Attacks, 3 Wounds, and Strength 6 is phenomenal on something that costs as much as two orc drummers. Speaking of orc drummers, Ogres move 8" (11" with a Heroic March), and also have the Relentless Advance special rule that the Goblin King has, which allow them to move through friendly Orc, Goblin, and Bat models at the cost of a S3 hit (or to remove them outright if they want to occupy their space). This makes them exceptional at getting to priority targets (code: low-level enemy heroes) who would normally be unreachable due to the clash of battle and geometry of battle lines, or at setting up things like hurls. Did I mention their only 60 points each?
• Troll Brutes. These poor fellows are a slightly upgraded version of ogres, for 40 points more. Fight 5 and 3 Attacks are the same (as is your courage 3... hold that thought), but you pick up Strength 7 (very good), Defense 6 (about the same as your average hill or cave troll), and critically 4 wounds (wait, what?). In addition to all your Monster brutal power attacks, you also get Terror (nice) and Fearless, which allows you to forget that Courage 3 unless you lose a fight to the undead. Last, you have Crushing Blow, which allows you to inflict a single S10 hit on any model you move into base contact with (one each on mount and rider if you move into a cavalry model), which doesn't sound like much until you start rolling 3-pluses like no one's business. Lastly, you have flails. Moving on.
• Gundabad Trolls. Further evidence that Mordor's trolls (and I guess Isengard's, too) got left behind in the rules revamp (every other troll has a +1 to-wound option with no duel penalty). For twenty points more, Gundabad Trolls retain Fight 7 and Strength 7, but pick up 1 Defense (D8) and, more importantly, 1 more wound (4 wounds... count 'em, 4 wounds). That's a lot to chew through, for all but the biggest of fellow monster heroes. You still have the option to Barge, Rend, or Hurl if you like (because Monster keyword), but with their free weapon upgrade options there's not many situations where you would. The Crushing Club does an absurd D3 wounds before Fate is rolled (which is insane), plus you knock any model who survives prone on a 3+ (obviously models that can't be knocked prone, like War Beasts or Smaug are exempt, but everything else is fair game, even if they're higher than Strength 7). If that doesn't float your boat, you also have the option for Scythe Gauntlets, for a free +1 to-wound all the time, every time, giving you effective S9. You wound Sauron (and siege engines, I guess) on 5s, but everyone else is 4s or better (if they're a hefty D7 or below, 2s or better). Oh, and they also have Ancient Enemies to reroll 1s against Dwarves and Elves. Really, Mordor Trolls couldn't get Burly, too?
• Gundabad Catapult Trolls. There's no official model for these yet, so I'm operating under the assumption they sit on 80mm bases (like their other Gundabad troll brethren). These are a tough read. Technically they're Gundabad Trolls (awesome), but they've been slightly de-powered (maybe), trading 1 Fight (F6) and 1 Defense (D7) for an extra wound (5 total). You also pick up a 12"-96" catapult with a S10 projectile that does S6 splash damage to all targets within 2" of whatever it ends up hitting. You can also hurl at S10 (Metal Gauntlets), can shoot on a turn that you move (although if you do so and roll a "1" to hit, you take a wound), and if you don't use brutal power attacks you pick up D6 S3 strikes from the invisible, non-targetable goblins on your back (although the goblins don't get to roll to help you win the fight). Finally, unlike most siege engines, your troll counts as the Siege Veteran, but doesn't get any M/W/F (huh?). But hey, you can't be destroyed if the enemy stands in base contact with you for a full turn. 

Concluding Thoughts

Whew. That was exhausting (and terrifying). I'm gonna fix myself some lunch. If Azog's legion is your jam, let us know what you enjoy taking. And if you haven't tried Azog's legion before, are you keen to try it? (Don't forget to check out our recommended resources below, too.) As always, thanks for reading!

More from the TMAT Team

• The Bare Necessities, Part XXI: Azog's Legion (May 2020)
• Armies of the Hobbit, Part 1: Orcs (March 2019)
• Battle Report: Azog's Hunters v. Minas Tirith / Army of the Dead (May 2020)

Support your Hobby

• Azog's Legion Model Range (Games Workshop)
• Azog's Legion Model Range (ForgeWorld)

Recommended Resources

• PODCAST: The Green Dragon Podcast, Ep. 77: Azog's Legion (The Green Dragon Podcast)
• IN PRINT: Playing Azog's Legion (Death Watch Studios)
• VIDEO: Review of Middle-Earth SBG: Armies of the Hobbit, Part 1: Azog's Legion (STF Wargaming)
• VIDEO: Middle-Earth SBG: Azog's Legion (Dicey Lab)
• VIDEO: How to Play: Azog's Legion, There and Back Again Review: Azog's Legion (DC Hobbit League, *Pre-MESBG)
• IN PRINT: Gundabad Tactics (Warhammer Community, *Pre-MESBG)
• BATTLE REPORT: Azog's Legion (Ogres) v. Iron Hills (Chariots) (ZorpaZorp Gaming / The Green Dragon Podcast)
• BATTLE REPORT: Azog's Legion v. Iron Hills/Halls of Thranduil (The D6 Fix)
• BATTLE REPORT: Azog's Legion v. Halls of Thranduil (Top Table Gaming)
• HOBBYING: The Pale Orc (Armored Azog mount conversion) (Plastic Crack)
• HOBBYING: Unboxing Thorin v. Azog (ToME Tabletop Gaming)
• HOBBYING: Miniatur-Sammlung Olli - Azog's Legion (Army Showcase: Azog's Legion) (HTL World)