Armies of Middle-Earth SBG: The Dark Powers of Dol-Guldur in the Middle-Earth Strategy Battle Game

Photo Credit: The New York Times

So, funny story: I started writing this post almost two years ago. Actually, it was (briefly) published two years ago (as basically a list of bullet points--very embarrassing). So this probably has the record for longest-post-never-to-be-posted (although my "Ode to Kardush the Firecaller" is getting close). Anyway, good things come to those who wait. Or in this case, very spooky things...

So yeah. Dol Guldur. Spooky stuff. Lots of Strength 4. Historical Allies with Azog, Bolg, and da boys. Spoiler alert: they're good, and surprisingly versatile.

Also, be sure you check out the Green Dragon Podcast's recent episode on Dol Guldur at some point--it's phenomenal (except for the discussion of my favorite profile in the list). Definitely worth your time, especially if you have pressing painting projects.

Onward!

Army Quick(ish) Hits

Photo Credit: Quora

• Strength: Solid core troops. If you were listing all the "strengths of this list"... well, this one probably wouldn't be at the top. :-P But I'm starting here because (a) it's a good bridge between Dol Guldur and the other two Hobbit-era armies that form the evil triumvirate (Azog's Legion and Azog's Hunters), and (b) it's the strength that makes the other strengths really shine. One of the neat things about Dol Guldur is that it borrows all of its troops (and make no mistake--you can pack a ton of troops into this list)  from other army lists: Gundabad Orcs from Azog's Legion, Hunter Orcs and Fell Wargs from Azog's Hunters, and Mirkwood Spiders from the Dark Denizens of Mirkwood. That may not sound like much, but these four options actually cover a ton of bases:
• Gundabad Orcs are your base Fight 3 / Defense 6 troops that move 6" on small 25mm bases, and come with options for shields, spears, and banners (all fantastic). If you want to build your Dol Guldur force like a conventional army (shieldwall, banner support), they're a core aspect of the list. And if your local scene is fraught with elf shooting (or really any other shooting, given what's in the rest of the list), their Defense 6 is huge. They're not exactly cheap (9 points with shield, 10 if you go spear/shield), but they have three nice boosts that account for the higher price: Strength 4 (making them excellent at grinding down other D6 troops), Courage 3 (sneaky good for orcs, potentially even better if paired with another upgrade available to the list), and the ability to reroll 1s to-wound against dwarves and elves (just because). You could do much worse for a front-line troop (as many other factions know from personal experience).
• Hunter Orcs are among the most flexible troops in the game. They can be melee beat-sticks (2 attacks at S4 whilst on foot, with the option for two-handed picks to get to effectively 2 attacks S7 whilst on foot). They can be average-to-above-average evil archers (5+ shoot with a S2 bow, but a much more dangerous archer block for opponents to charge). They can be cavalry (hunter orc on fell warg), and potentially cavalry archers (hunter orc with orc bow on fell warg).  Lastly, they have options for both a banner (if you need a mounted banner to keep pace with mounted troops / heroes, for example) and a war horn (to boost your Hunter Orcs, wargs and spiders to C3, your Gundabad Orcs to C4, and your heroes as high as Courage 7). Basically, you can go a ton of different directions here.
• Fell Wargs fill fewer roles than hunter orcs (although being half-responsible for your option to field cavalry is nothing to sneeze at), but they do bring something your orcs just don't offer: speed. There's a reason most factions have to spend more than 11 points to field models that move at least 10". Fell Wargs are a very affordable 8 points each, and offer pretty good combat stats for that cost (average Fight 3, above-average Strength 4) in addition to Fell Sight (allowing them to do all sorts of nasty things if your board is filled with terrain). Plus, they're sneaky fast through difficult terrain (5") because they're not Cavalry models (so long as there's no hunter orc on them). Their defense is lack-luster (D4) and their Courage isn't great (C2), but you can field 10 of them for basically the cost of a mid-tier hero or 4-5 standard cavalry models. If you're looking for cheap objective clearers who can double as objective holders, they'll fill that bill admirably (as long as you don't break too quickly).
• Mirkwood Spiders also offer speed (10" move, and with Swift Movement they can move over all difficult terrain--including walls and vertical surfaces--without movement penalties) and a pretty good combat profile. Fight 2 obviously isn't great, but Strength 5, 2 Attacks, and Poisoned Fangs will wound a lot of things if you win the fight. Defense 3 on a huge 60mm base is also not great, but 2 Wounds, Terror, and a relatively low profile (e.g., they're not very tall), combined with their aforementioned way to scale walls, at least gives them a fighting chance at getting where they're headed. As everyone knows, what takes them over top is their Spider Webs special rule, which allows them to strip Fate off of heroes from a distance, and to Paralyze heroes (or troops) who don't have any more Fate. A 5+ to hit (6+ if they've moved) isn't great odds, but in large numbers (3-4) you roll enough dice where it will actually proc with some regularity, and of course when it procs it can be game-changing. Also, the fact that it's an 8" throwing weapon gives it a surprisingly long range (18" when coupled with a full move, which covers a decent chunk of the board).
• Strength: Great hero suite. With this core collection of troops (heavy infantry, shock infantry/skirmishers/cavalry, and fast infantry with tricks to engage the enemy), Dol Guldur has a lot of room to customize its heroes. And boy are there options, here. The Necromancer headlines the list, of course; and if you're building for a competitive tournament (and really like magic), he's a strong play, especially at large points levels. After the Necromancer, every other hero in this list is really cheap for what it brings. The Nazgul offer lots of Might and Heroic Strike, with pretty dangerous combat stats (F5, S4, 2+ attacks, and usually a profile boost like an elven-made weapon or +1 to-wound); and if they "die," they tend to come back (which makes them frustrating to play against, especially against armies that are designed to kill enemy heroes quickly). The Keeper of the Dungeons is a bludgeon (and that's about it), but every list has room for a 3-Might bludgeoning hero with Strike. If you need Heroic March, you can take a Gundabad Orc Captain (F4, S5, D7 with shield) or a Hunter Orc Captain on foot (F4, S4, D5, 3 attacks on foot) or mounted (on Fell Warg) for a very affordable 45-55 points. And then there's the Castellans of Dol Guldur, who add another level of threat and durability to your Gundabad Orc shield walls (not to mention danger to low-fate heroes).
• Strength: Surprising versatility. The result is that there are a ton of ways you can build competitive Dol Guldur lists, at a number of points levels:
• A well-rounded force of the Necromancer, two supporting Nazgul (say, the Witch-King and Lingering Shadow), and a Hunter Orc Captain on warg can come in at between 35-38 models at 800 points (Gundabad with banner, shield and spear, 9 fell wargs, 2 spiders, and 22 9-point Gundabads/Hunter Orcs of your choice). That's not a huge model count, but given the number of heroes (4, 10 Might), D6+ models (19 counting heroes), and fast models (12) you have (plus a top-tier spellcaster as your leader), an average-size list isn't bad.
• If you drop the Necromancer for, say, a third Nazgul (like an Abyssal Knight, for the elven-made weapon) and a Gundabad Orc Captain, you can get to 50 models on the nose (5 heroes/11 Might, banner, 2 Gundabads with shields/spears, 26 more 9-point orcs of your choice, 12 wargs, and 4 spiders). Still pretty fast, still pretty tanky, still a lot of Striking heroes who are tough to wound, and two marching heroes (one mounted, one on foot).
• Or, if you're looking to punch up your shieldwall, you can get in the mid-40s range (44-47) with two Nazgul, a Hunter Orc Captain on warg, banner, 6 shield/spear gundabads, 19 9-point orcs, 13 wargs, and 5 Castellans with morgul blades (or 8 wargs and 2 spiders if that seems like a lot of wargs for you). In other words, you have options with this list (and options to tweak the list archetype that you like best).
• Weakness: Courage (probably). Three "strengths" (which you could really count as 6 or 7 strengths) is probably as far as I should go without introducing a weakness. Two stand out. The first is Courage. While Gundabad Orcs have above-average Courage, it's still only 3 (which becomes 2 in Harbinger range), and while Hunter Orcs can bring a War Horn, that's a pretty expensive upgrade for a somewhat fragile hunter orc (D4, and costs the equivalent of 3-4 troops). Fortunately, Dol Guldur has a lot of high-courage heroes who can help you if your army breaks (the Necromancer, the Nazgul, and even the Keeper of the Dungeons--a sneaky Courage 5). Castellans won't help with that (Automaton prevents them from calling Stand Fast!), but if you need to charge something with Terror they'll do that quite reliably (and have as good a chance at killing those Terror models as anything else in the list, or most lists for that matter). Long story short--you have options for getting around the innate courage of your hunter orcs, fell wargs, and spiders. But you don't have Fury options (unless you ally in Durburz and a Moria Shaman).
• Weakness: Speed or vulnerability to shooting. As we mentioned above, Dol Guldur has a lot of options for plugging weaknesses, including two huge ones: getting places fast (fell wargs and spiders) and surviving mass archery (Gundabad Orcs and Castellans). The problem is that they don't have a single troop that fills both roles (unless you plan to get your nazgul shot so they can close the archery gap by respawning 6" away... which I guess kind of counts, but not really?). So if you build a fast-list, you'll be more vulnerable to shooting; and if you build a list with high defense it takes time to get where you're headed. Heroic March helps with the second issue, of course; and the fact that your fast models (wargs and spiders) can work somewhat independent of your main fighting force by taking advantage of terrain (with Fell Sight and Swift Movement) also helps. But a well-rounded list will have some soft-spots (although I guess that's true of any well-rounded list that isn't Iron Hills).
• Strength: As tanky as you want them. Or, if speed and flexibility doesn't matter to you, you can just field a list that's incredibly hard to retire from the field:
• Witch-King of Angmar
• Gundabad Orc Captain on foot
• x1 Gundabad Orc with Shield, Spear, and Banner
• x10 Gundabad Orcs with Shields
• x13 Gundabad Orcs with Shields and Spears
• x4 Hunter Orcs with Orc Bows
• x8 Fell Wargs
• x7 Castellans with Morgul Blades
• 800/800, 45 Models

Does this list have some gaps in it? Sure. But how many armies are going to enjoy killing that many S4/D6 orcs (24) and S5/immortal Castellans / Wraiths / Captains (9)? Eeesh...

I can take... most of you...

Photo Credit: lotr.fandom.com

• Strength: Hobbit-era magic. Having spent the last three months thinking a lot about Dol Guldur, it turns out that if you're looking to ally magic into a Dol Guldur list (or any Hobbit-era army, actually) and you don't want a red alliance, your choices are (a) the goblin magic guys (Druzhag, Ashrak, and shamans), or (b) the Necromancer. That's it--that's the list. Kind of slim pickings, actually. And while I looked at goblin magics for a while, there's clearly a gulf between a caster like Druzhag (who, don't get me wrong, is great) and the Necromancer (who is on whatever short-list there is of best evil casters in the game, especially when charged by the army bonus). At which point, we might as well talk about...
• Strength / Weakness: Army bonus. So this is one of those bonuses that is either fantastic or worthless, depending on what you have in your army. If you're running the Necromancer and multiple Nazgul, it's great--extra dice each time the Necromancer casts (off a 25 Will pool to start with) is great, and of course the Nazgul get super annoying if they always resurrect on no more than a 3+ (and more often, on a 2+). But if you're looking to ally and weren't running the Necromancer anyway (because of points limits, taste, etc.), you can jettison the army bonus and form Yellow alliances with impunity (and you have quite a few options on that score, too). 
• Strength: Alliance options. So far, we've thought just about Dol Guldur on its own. But of course they're green allies with both Azog's Legion and Azog's Hunters, which opens up some intriguing possibilities. The Legion offers a host of cool troop options--we could think big (Ogres, berserkers, war bats, even a troll), really big (Bolg or Azog), or even small (allying in a single warband of goblin mercenaries--at a bargain price of 90-110 points--makes a fast Dol Guldur list even faster). Azog's Hunters, on the other hand, offers cheap might (via Fimbul, Yazneg, and Narzug) and better shooting if we were already planning to bring hunter orcs and fell wargs (50% bow limit, with a 4+ shoot value). Expand to the yellow allies, and you have other intriguing options: Goblin-Town (the Goblin-King is a more affordable Hero of Legend than the Necromancer to lead your army at lower points levels, plus Gollum pairs really nicely with your Nazgul or Castellans), Dark Denizens (the Spider Queen and bats to pair with your Necromancer), Moria (Durburz, a couple of bat swarms, Druzhag, and goblin spears to pad your numbers is more affordable than you might think), and even the three trolls (few heroes will feel confident in the vicinity of Bill the Troll, flanked by two Castellans with blades). Evil armies tend not to have that many options when it comes to allies; Dol Guldur does better than most.
• Weakness: Start-up Cost. As with Azog's Hunters and Azog's Legion, there is a price for stat-creep: namely, the models are pretty expensive. If you go heavy into hunter orcs and fell wargs, you'll be alright--both come in plastic sets that are pretty reasonably priced. But Gundabad Orcs remain very expensive; and while the Necromancer and Keeper of the Dungeon aren't too bad, the Nazgul of Dol Guldur are one of the priciest sets in the range (and their generic LOTR counterparts aren't much better). That said, there are some affordable work-arounds. If you're comfortable with press-molding green stuff with blue stuff, some helmet and shield swaps from the Gundabad Orc Upgrade Kit look pretty good on Isengard Uruks (plus they're conversions from official GW/FW models, to boot). And if you've been playing games for any length of time, you probably have a spare Nazgul lying around...

Named Hero Profiles

Boo!

Photo Credit: DarkSide Collectibles Studio

• The Necromancer of Dol Guldur. There's a reason why the Necromancer has featured in just about every write-up Tiberius has done on mastering magic. His spell suite is pretty crazy: 9 spells (with the addition of Curse in the errata) puts him on par with Gandalf the White for most magic options in the game. He can sap your will and drain your courage. He can instill great fear in you. He can break your wizard's staff. He can disappear from sight. He can nuke your leader or banner. He can chip off fate points before nuking your leader. Obviously, he can transfix you (or move you against your will). And the army bonus helps him do this more effectively. While magic is his forte, he's not terrible at other roles, either. As a hero of legend with Defense 8 and 25 Will that can double as Fate points, he's a very durable leader for your force, and his Courage 6 (again, backed by tons of Will) allows him to keep the rest of your force together if you break. Ancient evil (18" Harbinger of Evil effect) and Terror make him (and any other Terror models in your force) more difficult to charge. And if he does manage to win fights (with F7 but a single attack), his S6 hit plus Drain Soul (any unsaved wounds one-shot almost all models in the game) can be very dangerous (especially if he's chipped off some Fate on the approach). Keep him safe, and he'll do a ton for your force over the course of a game.
• The Nazgul of Dol Guldur. These are nazgul that do no magic (like, at all; it's kinda weird, actually), but they still fill four roles in this list. First, they kill things. F5, 2 Attacks, and S4 isn't awesome, but it's perfectly serviceable for taking out D6 and under troops, and pressuring smaller heroes (when coupled with Heroic Strike, which they gained in the errata). Second, they're might caddies. All come with 2 Might (except the Witch-King, who has three), and at an affordable 75 points (for a hero of Valor, to boot) you can fit a couple into your list (even with the Necromancer) and have all the warrior slots you'll need (though you probably want a hero who can call Heroic March for certain scenarios). Third, their Harbinger of Evil special rule is a nice add-on if you have models with Terror in your list (the Necromancer, other Nazgul, Mirkwood Spiders, and Castellans), and if you can break the opponent early it can pay real dividends. Finally, they annoy your opponent into doing really stupid things because they just WON'T DIE. Well, okay: they die all the time (because they only have 1 Wound and no Fate). But they're really only "mostly dead" (a.k.a. "slightly alive") because if they roll a 3+ in the following priority phase they return to the board within 6" of where they were slain (or on a 2+ if the Necromancer is in your list, or a 4+ if they were "slain" by magic or elf-weapons, or a 3+ again if both those conditions are present). Plus, you get to choose a specific name for your wraith (which confers a special, unique benefit):
• The Witch-King of Angmar. He's a wraith with 3 Might. Pretty self-explanatory.
• Khamul the Easterling. Gains a third attack (awesome) and a two-handed mace (okay), but isn't Burly (bummer). If you can win the fight, he'll do a lot of damage, but he's best paired with another wraith (or a ton of supporting models) who can roll that "6."
• The Dark Headsman. He has an axe that does D3 wounds if he wounds on a natural 6. Your odds of rolling a natural 6 on two dice is about 30%, so it's not terrible. But of course, it only helps against heroes and multi-wound models. The model looks pretty sweet, though.
• The Forsaken. He has a spear and must reroll all failed to-wound rolls. He loses the second attack when supporting (so I'm not sure why you'd do that, especially since you're generally not worried about "dying"), but rerolling failed to-wound rolls is pretty good.
• The Lingering Shadow. He gets to move (sorry--"displace") 3" at the start of the move phase, and can pass through other models when doing so. So really, he can travel up to 9" in a turn if he moves first (or if the enemy can't tag him). If he "died" the previous turn and returned, he can end up as much as 15" away from where he "died" (6" resurrection radius + 3" displacement + 6" move). This has a tendency to freak opponents out.
• The Abyssal Knights. They have elven-made swords (pretty rare for evil) and also have a teleport mechanic (during the priority phase, you can teleport one of them into base contact with the other). The teleport usually only works once, unless you have them alternate calling heroic combats (one calls a combat and moves up to 6", the following priority the other catches up, and then that one calls a heroic combat that turn, moving another 6", so that the other can catch up in the next priority phase). Niche, I know, but it's there (though I agree with what you're thinking--you'll generally get more use out of the elven-made weapons).
• The Slayers of Men. They have two-handed maces but don't suffer the penalty for going two-handed. Basically, they're S6, which is great. 'Nuff said.
• The Keeper of the Dungeon. Not a wraith, but definitely a slayer (like them). He only has 2 Attacks, but Fight 5, S5, Heroic Strike (with 3 Might and 3 Will) and Burly with a pick (up to effective S8 with a two-handed piercing strike) will punch holes in a lot of things. He also gets a +1 to-wound against bearers of elven rings (Gandalf, Elrond, Galadriel)--though curiously not dwarf rings. He also has a mini-buff mechanic like Bolg does (rerolls 1s-to-wound after 1 kill, gets Terror after three kills, and rerolls all failed to-wound rolls after five kills). He's pretty fragile (D6, 2 wounds, 0 Fate), but if you can keep him alive until he gets into a scrap, he can threaten (if not kill) a lot of things that cost more than 75 points--and if the Necromancer is supporting him with spells (like Shroud of Shadows), watch out.

Unnamed Hero Profiles

• Hunter Orc Captains. Hunter Orc Captains in a Dol Guldur list have the same advantages that one would expect from a profile borrowed from another list. Fimbul they are not; but they're still 3 Attack heroes on foot (at Fight 4, Strength 4) for a paltry 45 points, and also have Heroic March. You can add a bow as well if you like (although if you're green allies, definitely look into Narzug instead for an extra 5 points), and if you're feeling especially brave, you can give them a two-handed pick as well (for effective Strength 7, if you piercing strike). Don't forget they can be mounted on Fell Wargs (your only mounted Might option in this list).
• Gundabad Orc Captains. Gundabad Orc Captains also fill the same roles here that they fill in Azog's Legion. They're essentially 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 very affordable hero who will hold your infantry line intact (and at Courage 4, have a chance of holding it together if you break). 
• Castellans of Dol Guldur. I've written extensively about these guys elsewhere, so I'll just hit the high points: Two Attacks, Fight 5, Strength 5, Defense 6, and 12 Will they can spend as Fate, plus Terror and the option for a Morgul Blade in a very affordable package (45 points with the blade). If you only take one, they're easy to play around; but once you get to 3+ in a list, they're (at worst) a serious roadblock for your opponent's heroes, and in larger numbers (4+) they can decimate even the toughest enemy shieldwalls in a hurry. The magic number (for me, at least) seems to be 5--you can cover a lot of ground with that number, and they draw a lot of threat (leaving your other heroes free--or at least free-er--to do other tasks for you). Plus, if you absolutely must kill something, five Morgul Blades will usually kill it.

Warrior Profiles

Photo Credit: Indie DB

• Gundabad Orc Warriors. They're still 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 still awesome--banners, spears, and shields are all useful, especially when paired with Strength 4. If you ally in a war horn from Azog's Hunters, they jump to Courage 4 which is... very good for basic orc troops (and makes up for their lack of Fury... mostly).
• Hunter Orcs. They aren't quite as good as they are in Azog's Hunters (no 4+ shoot value, or option for Morgul Arrows), but they're still loaded with upgrade options to customize your force. In addition to a banner (great), orc bow (pretty good if you keep your army bonus), two-handed pick (again, the chance for effective Strength 7) on just 9 point models, and of course the Fell Warg mount, you also have the option for a War Horn, which is crazy for orcs. They don't have spears or shields, but if the enemy is light on shooting (or if the scenario lets you start near the center line), a front-rank of hunter orcs backed by Gundabad Orcs with spears (and a banner) will deal an awful lot of damage very quickly. A small number of them mounted on wargs (2-4) is also helpful for counter-charging mounted enemies (especially heroes) to take away their extra dice and knock-down bonuses. Again, if you're a green alliance, look into allying them from Azog's Hunters (for the 50% bow limit and 4+ shoot value buffs).
• Fell Wargs. They do more damage as mounts for hunter orcs, but a generic fell warg with Fell Sight is an affordable, fast-moving, hard-hitting model. 10" move, Strength / Defense 4, and Courage 2 are stock-standard for wargs. At 8 points each, they also synergize well cost-wise with the spiders (40 points buys you five wargs or 2 spiders, so you can adjust the ratio of your fast models pretty easily).
• Mirkwood Spiders. Their combat stats are somewhat less than their Giant Spider cousins (and their base size larger, ironically enough), but if you set aside the Fight 2 (and standard D3 for spiders not named Shelob), the rest of their combat profile is pretty good (S5, 2 Attacks, and Poisoned Fangs). Of course, it's the Spider Webs special rule that makes them game-changers, with the chance to strip Fate off of heroes from a distance (and to Paralyze heroes (or troops) who don't have any more Fate. A 5+ to hit (6+ if they've moved) isn't awesome odds, and I've never been able to get them to work for me, but if you can focus fire on a single hero with 3-4 of these, the odds are that you'll get that enemy hero eventually (and once Paralyzed, the odds are stacked against the enemy hero recovering fast enough to trouble your army). Plus they're pretty good objective grabbers with Swift Movement (and again, single-Fate heroes are going to be somewhat reluctant to lead a party to reclaim an objective that a couple of Mirkwood Spiders have captured).

About those Legendary Legions

There's no legendary legion for Dol Guldur proper, but there were two legions in Fall of the Necromancer that borrowed from the list pretty liberally:

• The Pits of Dol Guldur. If you wanted to argue that this legion is more Azog's Legion than Dark Powers of Dol Guldur, I wouldn't disagree. After all, Azog is the featured big-bad (picking up Resistant to Magic and free Heroic Combats, plus the Ambush special rule that trumps an opponent's heroic move). But the Keeper of the Dungeons makes an appearance here, along with the two captain Orcs (Gundabad and Hunter Orc). You also have access to Hunter Orcs, Gundabad Orcs, and Fell Wargs, but lose the Mirkwood Spiders (and of course the Nazgul and Castellans... more on them shortly). If you weren't going to bring the Necromancer (or spiders) and were planning to ally Azog anyway, this offers some nice variation on that list. Is allying with Azog's Legion (for Master of Battle and D7) better than an Azog that's D5, has Resistant to Magic, and can call free Heroic Combats? It depends on what you're fighting, probably (and perhaps whether you were also going to ally in something from Azog's Hunters).
• Rise of the Necromancer. This legion swings the opposite direction: you get the Necromancer, the Nazgul, the Keeper of the Dungeons (again), Castellans... and that's it, actually. :-P That's right--this is an all-hero legion, although unlike most all-hero legions you can actually play this one at any points level greater than 250 (because Castellans aren't unique heroes)--and to be perfectly frank, I might take this legion against all other all-hero lists at huge points levels (and maybe any list at an infinite points level). If you were planning to play the Necromancer and the Dol Guldur wraiths as an all-hero list, this is definitely the way to do it; and as we discussed on TMAT Talks, the inclusion of the Castellans gives the list far more staying power than what the Nazgul offer if you have to, say, hold an opponent off an objective. But if you're looking for more of a conventional army, the lack of troops (and perhaps more importantly, speed) is definitely a downside. 

Concluding Thoughts

So there we are--it took two years, but we did it! I've played with Dol Guldur quite a bit over the last few months, and as evil armies go it's one of my favorite. Lots of options, some unique heroes, and cool alliance options.

This is usually the part where I pitch what's coming next. But school's started up again, and life is busy, so I'm not sure. :-P 

Until next time...

More from the TMAT Team

• The Hunter's Red October (THRO) 2014: Introduction and Round 1, Rounds 2 and 3 (November 2014, *pre-MESBG)
• Armies of the Hobbit, Part I: Orcs! (March 2019)
• The Bare Necessities, Part XIX: The Dark Powers of Dol Guldur (May 2020)
• Tournament Time: Rythbryt's Army Thoughts (April 2021)
• In Defense of: Castellans of Dol Guldur (May 2022)

Support your Hobby

• Games-Workshop: The Necromancer, Hunter Orcs, Fell Wargs, Hunter Orcs on Fell Wargs, Gundabad Orcs, and Castellans
• Forge World: Keeper of the Dungeons, Nazgul of Dol Guldur, and Gundabad Orc Upgrade Kit

Recommended Community Resources

• AUDIO: The Green Dragon Podcast, Ep. 75 - Dark Powers of Dol Guldur (April 2020)
• YOUTUBE: DC Hobbit League, Unexpected Podcast Ep. 11 - Dark Powers of Dol Guldur (August 2020)
• YOUTUBE: STF Wargaming Studio, Review of the Armies of the Hobbit: Part 3, Dark Powers of Dol Guldur (December 2018)
• YOUTUBE: Shadow Wraith, Shadow Reviews - Dark Powers of Dol Guldur (July 2020)
• IN PRINT: Warhammer Community/Sebastiaan Raats, Nazgul of Dol Guldur Tactica: Part 1 and Part 2 (March 2018, *pre-MESBG)
• IN PRINT: Tactics in Miniature, Sauron, the Necromancer, Castellans of Dol Guldur
• BAT-REPS: The D6 Fix, Dol Guldur v. Iron Hills (March 2019)
• BAT-REPS: Rotterdam White Scars, Dol Guldur v. Mordor (December 2018)
• BAT-REPS: Blackfyre Productions, Dol Guldur v. Radagast's Alliance (December 2017, *pre-MESBG)
• HOBBYING: Warhammer Community/Jay Clare, Jay's Nazgul of Dol Guldur (March 2018)
• HOBBYING: Deathwatch Studios, The Witch-King Summons Allies! and What's Next for Azog's Legion? (November-December 2018)