Magic: Top Five Anti-Casters

Good morning gamers,

In our series on heroes, we’ve looked at Uruk-Hai heroes from Isengard, Dwarf (and wizard and Hobbit) heroes from Thorin’s Company, and the top five ways to waste Might points in the game. Today, we look at the top five heroes that you can employ to resist enemy magic casters (and in preparing for this post, I was rather proud to know that I own most of them - good thing, since almost all of my armies run magic, huh?). :)

How to stop magic?

As I discussed in a previous post on Magic in MESBG, there are four ways to block magic:

• Spend Will (one die for each point of Will you spend – any that get a “natural 6” are returned to your Will store);
• Resistant to Magic (free die anytime you’re targeted by a spell – available whether you spend Will or not);
• Heroic Resolve (free die anytime you’re targeted by a spell, but requires the hero who calls it to stay stationary); and
• Fortify Spirit/Protection of the Valar (two free dice anytime you’re targeted by a spell OR immunity from hostile spells, but requires the hero who casts the magical powers to retain Will OR cast the magical power that turn).

No model has access to all of these innately and most heroes only have access to one or two. Since magic is out of favor for many players these days, you might not get much practice fighting against magic (which can be a nasty surprise). As such, let’s look at some of the qualities that makes a hero a good anti-caster option (in the odd event you run into a double-Ringwraith army).

Evaluating Heroes: Methodology Explained

As mentioned above, there are four categories that can be used to fight magic casters. Our methodology will look for the most well-rounded heroes who can provide as many of these attributes as possible. This will include:

• 3+ Will points (1 point if the hero has nothing else to use the Will for; 0.5 points if a magical power/special rule uses Will points);
• Resistant to Magic/Free Will Point/Access to Resistant to Magic (1 point if the hero has Resistant to Magic/a free Will point each turn; 0.5 points if you need to bring along another model in order to provide Resistant to Magic);
• Heroic Resolve (note that this could be used to buff someone else – and if you’re looking for an offensive piece, a cheap Heroic Resolve character wouldn’t be a bad choice); and
• Fortify Spirit/Protection of the Valar (you either need to be able to cast this spell OR have the rules for it through some other special rule).

That’s a total of 4 points up for grabs - please note that while our scoring mechanism "should" indicate the most well-rounded anti-casters, the scoring mechanism doesn't adequately address who is "the best" - some models (as we'll see in a moment) are immune to magical powers even though they don't have very many of the categories we're looking at. Other heroes are good because they can make your warriors better at resisting magic (a common tactic employed to avoid wasting magic on heroes who might be able to resist), while remaining vulnerable themselves.

Notable Mentions:

There were five heroes/hero combos that didn’t make the list, but I felt deserved some mention since they are effective at stopping magic casters. Here they are:

Notable #5: Wanderers in the Wild – Tom Bombadil (Score: 0.5):

Tom is required in order to have Goldberry - often times, you'll only see him in a game (as 300 points for 2 Independent Heroes is a bit pricey).

Tom Bombadil is one of those “meta-gamer” tools that, if you have 160 points available to you and a disposable army bonus, you should consider taking in a game (at least once). Tom is not only immune to all magical powers (friendly or hostile), but he has the ability to replenish lost Might/Will/Fate/Wounds as well as remove permanent conditions (like Paralyze, Transfix, Drain Courage) via Refreshing Song. Tom also adds Banishment to his list of tricks, which means against some casters (Ringwraiths and Barrow-Wights in particular) you’ll be able to do Wounds.

If you have 300 points available, his wife Goldberry is very helpful too (basically a second Tom Bombadil, just without Banishment). It should be mentioned that Tom and Goldberry have many uses for their Will points – not least of which is fighting off enemy models. If you need someone to tie down a mob of warriors while your hero sneaks past to tackle a caster, consider taking Tom or Goldberry – they’ll be just fine so long as you don’t charge very much.

Notable #4: Numenor – Elendil, High King of Gondor and Arnor (Score: 2):

Elendil is great at fighting mages (and so Isildur - who is also good at fighting mages, since most can't cast against him while he has the Ring on . . . though the Captains of Numenor aren't bad either).

If you’ve never fought Elendil, he’s a pain to have to fight. Against heroes who can brawl like him, you tend to resort to archery or magic to slow them down or slay them before they get to you. With the potential to be Defense 8 (if you take a shield) and with an innate Fortify Spirit rule (via Unbending Resolve), tackling Elendil in anything other than melee combat is a daunting task (and even that is hard to pull off).

With the ability to be mounted, Elendil can, if unchecked, race around the battlefield, slaying what needs to die for his team to forge a victory. He’s also great, because he can give Resistant to Magic to all of your warriors, making them that much more resilient to enemy magical attacks. While warrior profiles won’t feature prominently in this post (no Will, no Heroic Resolve, no Fortify Spirit makes it hard for warriors to rank well), Warriors of Numenor are some of the finest anti-magic warriors in the game (right up there with Lothlorien warriors and Hobbits).

Notable #2 & #3: Moria – The Balrog & the Watcher in the Water (Score: 2):

Don't have a Watcher, so here's the Balrog . . . who is pretty lethal against just about everything (except a good Sauron player . . . and a good Aragorn player).

Let’s face it: if you’re a magic caster who wants to avoid getting engaged in combat, monsters who can fly are one of the worst things you can fight (Eagles and Fell Beasts in particular). But I’ve found that the only thing worse than a flying model (which you can keep from attacking you by preventing the large base of the flying model from landing next to you) is a model that can lash you towards them with a shooting attack. Both the Balrog and the Watcher in the Water (who we discussed previously) have shooting attacks that can bring models they hit (and don’t kill) into base contact with them so they can stomp on them.

While the Watcher’s shooting capabilities (and unpredictable arrival) are better against casters than the Balrog’s shooting (and deployment options), there are few monsters who can rush a caster as well as the Balrog. Both monsters have Resistant to Magic, and with 5 Will on the Watcher and 10 Will on the Balrog, you should be able to shrug off the assaults of whatever mage has the ill-luck of being near you. Of course, I’m contemplating a list that runs both of these guys and a mob of Goblins to support them - so maybe you'd be even more dangerous if enemy mages knew there was nowhere they could go to escape your lashings (I know what you’re think – “Of course you are thinking about this, Tiberius - they have throwing weapon rules?!?!?!”).

Notable #1: Lothlorien – Galadriel with the Lothlorien army bonus (Score 2.5)

Heroic Resolve is a tricky heroic action to call since it requires that the person calling it (in most cases, someone who’d rather be fighting) NOT be able to move in order to boost the magical resistance of himself/herself and nearby models. Galadriel is one of a handful of models who can cast Heroic Resolve multiple times AND be perfectly fine standing still. With 6 Will points (and a free one each turn), Resistant to Magic thanks to her army bonus, and access to Heroic Resolve with 3 Might points, she was a shy step away from making the top lists.

Still, Galadriel is a powerful anti-caster because of her access to Immobilize (reliably cast on her free Will point, though you can often spend some from her store to make sure it goes off) or Command (you’ll want two dice for this one), which can silence a caster before they get a chance to cast during the turn. For those casters that don’t get free dice to cast spells, see them squirm as they debate throwing away precious Will points to resist her Immobilize in order to have a chance to do something in return that round!

These five characters are great, but they don’t stack up against the five listed below when you look at all-around anti-magic capabilities. So, let’s dig into the top five!

#5: Shire – Frodo of the Nine Fingers (Score: 3)

Don't own the right Frodo, so here's another one (who also isn't bad at fighting mages).

Of all the Hobbit heroes available to the Shire, Frodo is a great one to have around (mostly because he counts as a banner). One of the things he does best, however, is to shrug off enemy magical powers (that, and standing around). With 3 Will points and Courage 6, it’s unlikely that Frodo will need his Will to pass Courage tests, so he can use them to resist magical powers, which supplements his Resistant to Magic rule and his one-time-pop of Heroic Resolve.

In an army of hobbits (where everyone has Resistant to Magic), you might not need to call Heroic Resolve, but a single die has a hard time getting a 5 or 6 on its highest die, so having Frodo around to give everyone nearby an extra die can make sure that Hobbits don’t get trounced by a Wrath of Bruinen, Collapse Rocks, Sorcerous Blast, or Tremor. Consider adding in Folco Boffin so Frodo can call Heroic Moves with Folco’s resources, allowing his single Might point to be usable for Heroic Resolve.

#4: Survivors of Lake-town: Bilbo Baggins, Master Burglar (Score: 3)

Don't own this Bilbo, have an Old Bilbo model waiting upstairs to be redeemed. :)

It should be noted that all three versions of Bilbo (Young Bilbo from Thorin’s Company, Mega-Bilbo from Survivors of Lake-town, and Old Bilbo from Rivendell/The Shire) are more-or-less the same when it comes to stopping magic – all three are Resistant to Magic, all three have Heroic Resolve, and all three have 3 Will points. The main difference between them is Might points: Old Bilbo has 1 Might, Young Bilbo has 2 Might, and Mega-Bilbo has 3 Might (hence why he shows up here).

The Bilbos have one other benefit going for them: they are often able to carry the One Ring. So long as you don’t have the Dark Lord Sauron or Isildur present, one of these Bilbos will be able to wear the Ring (Young/Mega before Old, naturally), which not only makes you immune to (most) magical attacks, but allows you to move through units in order to get to whoever you’re trying to reach. Unless you’re facing a Ringwraith, putting on the Ring is a sneaky way to get to the best casters in the game without exposing yourself to their attacks.

#3: Rivendell – Glorfindel with the Armor of Gondolin near Lindir with heavy armor (Score: 3.5)

Forgot to get a picture of my converted Lindir model - check him out here (was going to be a converted Cirdan model, except then I got a Cirdan model...).

Let’s face it, both Glorfindel and Lindir are probably mounted in this list – the mounts augment them so well! Glorfindel is the only model in the game with access to all four actual means of resisting magic: he has 3 Will points, he is Resistant to Magic while within 6” of Lindir, he can call Heroic Resolve, and he has Fortify Spirit innately on his profile (via Unbending Resolve). I’ve added the Armor of Gondolin to Glorfindel and heavy armor to Lindir because, while not necessary for magical defense, I doubt most players will avoid giving it to them.

When kitted out with armor and horses, these two Elven lords come in at only 255 points and can lead 27 warriors to deadly victory. Glorfindel, like Elendil, is a difficult hero to fight, as his Defense 7 and innate magical protection make shooting him and casting against him difficult. His Fight 7 and 3 Attacks with Lord of the West make him difficult to beat in combat too! Lindir is not particularly great as a hero, but his auric boosts to friendly Rivendell models (especially Elrond) has seen him show up at a big tournament.

#2: Minas Tirith – Gandalf the White (Score: 3.5)

Gandalf the White - an amazing wizard and nearly the best option you have at stopping magic.

After doing two posts on this guy, did you really think he wouldn’t make the list? If you look at each of the categories, Gandalf the White is present in all four (like Glorfindel), but he also excels in all four as well: he’s got 6 Will (uses them to cast spells too, so only a half point, but he also has the ability to get them back via Strengthen Will – which he can reliably cast on his free die), he’s got a free Will point each turn thanks to his Staff of Power (and he can break other people’s Staffs of Power on a 4+), he’s got Heroic Resolve (which ideally, you don’t want to have him use – though he can still cast magic while standing stationary), and he can cast Fortify Spirit on himself or others (staying up so long as Gandalf retains 1 Will).

Where Gandalf the White really excels above other casters is the ability to take Shadowfax: while mounts give their riders a better vantage point and more control over the direction of their magical attacks (very important for Sorcerous Blast nowadays), Shadowfax also has 2 Will points. While you can’t use these to cast, you can use them to resist magical powers directed towards the model. In addition to the 2 free dice you can get from Fortify Spirit (and potentially another free die from Heroic Resolve and ANOTHER free die from your Staff of Power), you can spend Shadowfax’s Will points to resist magical powers, preserving your own store. Yes, Gandalf can survive magical attacks for a long, LONG time without crippling himself.

#1: The White Council – Gandalf the Grey with Galadriel, Lady of Light (Score: 3.5 & 2.5)

Not the right Galadriel, but seeing as how I can't get my hands on the right one, this will have to do.

Coming in at 300 points, we’ve spent a good bit of points on two heroes who can’t lead any warriors. However, what you get from these heroes (especially if you keep them together) is amazing: both have an impressive 6 Will with a free Will point each turn, Galadriel can cast Fortify Spirit on herself and Gandalf (making Gandalf’s Protection of the Valar redundant for them), and Gandalf provides Heroic Resolve (though with Fortify Spirit and lots of Might, it’s arguable whether you need more free Will). While Gandalf the Grey and Gandalf the White score the same in our rubric, it's important to note that Gandalf the White is the more reliable of the two (Fortify Spirit is easier to cast and more permanent than Protection of the Valar - to say nothing of his mount), but Gandalf the Grey is good in his own right against mages.

But the reason I put both of these heroes together is that the White Council army bonus makes them even better at resisting magic if they’re near each other: so long as two models from the White Council list are within 6” of each other, they add +1 to their highest roll to resist magical powers – so on a 5+ on any die they roll, they’ll automatically resist the spell! But wait – that’s not ALL! If you don’t feel like you need Galadriel’s Might (which, you probably do – but hear me out), you could channel Fortify Spirit on her and Gandalf, which will not only give her and Gandalf 2 free dice to resist magical powers, but you’ll get +1 to your Resist rolls in addition to the +1 to your Resist rolls you get for the army bonus (which means you’re guaranteed a resist if you roll a 4+ on either of the two free dice you roll). That’s…just insane.

Okay, perhaps I’ve convinced you that Galadriel and Gandalf can withstand a magical barrage. But can they deal with magic casters? You bet! With Banishment (and Instill Fear to make a hole in the battle line protecting the caster) available to Galadriel and Sorcerous Blast (and Immobilize) on Gandalf, you’ve got two heroes who can deal nasty surprises through magic of their own while being all-but-impregnable to enemy casters in return. Add that to Galadriel’s impressive combat profile (and Gandalf’s less-impressive combat profile, but ability to regrow Will points with Strengthen Will on a 4+ to keep the magical damage coming) and add to that the fact that BOTH heroes having good anti-archery rules, and you’ve got a powerful team in the making!

Conclusion

In case you can’t tell, I love talking about magic – it’s an underrated part of the game in my opinion, with most of the flashy heroes ignoring it altogether. While a good caster can alter the course of a game, a good anti-caster can provide solid ways of saving a game. I would like to note that while we covered a handful of very good heroes in this post, there are many others that deserve mentions (and some teams deserve mentions because they have no answer to it at all!) – so I provided a chart below for your perusal. It takes all four categories we ironed out and shows how each hero stacks up on them. Catch anything I missed if it pleases you - though the chart makes it clear why everyone listed above is from the Forces of Good (three of the four categories are hardly ever present in the Forces of Evil).

Sometime soon, I'll be doing a five-part TMAT series on the heroes we think are "the best heroes" in ten different categories (separating the list between Good and Evil). This will revisit a series I did back in January 2014 with my “Top 20” heroes. While I had a great time coming up with the top five heroes in four different categories last time, the initial work we've cooked up looks to be better by far than what was seen before.

Not sure when the series will be released, but my next series will be on list-building (and in particular, how you can build lists for certain factions that optimize your ability to score victory points in any scenario you might have to play). We'll be covering such topics as the need for fast units (and what is the benefit to taking cavalry vs. "fast infantry"), the need for banners (and how many you might want to bring), the "numbers game", how to neutralize enemy heroes, and how to protect your own. Until then, have a happy new year and happy hobbying!

Appendix A: “The Anti-Caster Chart”

Army List	3+ Will (has Will-dependent special rules)	Resistant to Magic/Free Will	Heroic Resolve	Fortify Spirit/ Protection of the Valar	TOP ENTRIES (if category count >1)
Army of Lake-town	Bard, Alfrid, Bain		Bard		Bard (2)
Army of Thror	Thror, Thrain, Young Thorin, Young Balin
Arnor		Hobbit Archer
Dead of Dunharrow	King of the Dead, Herald of the Dead	Herald of the Dead, EVERYONE within 6” of a Herald of the Dead			King of the Dead near 1+ Heralds of the Dead (1.5), Herald of the Dead (1.5)
Erebor Reclaimed	Dain, Thorin, Balin, Ori, Oin		Dain, Thorin, Balin, Bofur, Oin		Dain (2), Thorin (2)
Fangorn	Treebeard	Immune to some magic effects
Fellowship	Frodo, Gandalf, Aragorn	Frodo, Sam, Merry, Pippin, Gandalf	Gandalf, Aragorn	Gandalf	Frodo (2), Aragorn (2), Gandalf (3.5)
Fiefdoms	Prince Imrahil, Angbor		Prince Imrahil		Prince Imrahil (2)
Garrison of Dale
Halls of Thranduil	Thranduil
Iron Hills	Dain		Dain		Dain (2)
Kingdom of Khazad-Dum	Durin		Dwarf King
Kingdom of Moria	Floi, Balin, Oin, Ori		Balin, Oin, Dwarf King		Balin (1.5), Oin (1.5)
Lothlorien	Galadriel, Celeborn,  Galadhrim Stormcaller	EVERYONE (with army bonus), Galadriel	Galadriel		Galadriel (2.5), Celeborn (1.5), Galadhrim Stormcaller (1.5)
Minas Tirith	Aragorn, Gandalf, Denethor, Boromir, Faramir	Pippin, Gandalf	Aragorn, Gandalf, Faramir, Hurin, Cirion	Gandalf	Aragorn (2), Gandalf (3.5), Faramir (2)
Misty Mountains	Gwaihir
Numenor	Elendil	Isildur, Captain of Numenor, Warrior of Numenor		Elendil	Elendil (2)
Radagast’s Alliance	Radagast, Beorn, Gwaihir	Beorn, Gwaihir/Great Eagles within 12” of Radagast			Beorn (2), Gwaihir near Radagast (1.5), Radagast (0.5)
Rangers	Aragorn		Aragorn		Aragorn (2)
Rivendell	Gil-Galad, Elrond, Glorfindel, Arwen, Lindir, Cirdan, Gildor, Bilbo, High Elf Stormcaller	Cirdan, Bilbo, EVERYONE within 6” of Lindir, Elrond within 6” of Lindir	Gil-Galad, Elrond, Glorfindel, Arwen, Cirdan, Gildor, Bilbo	Glorfindel	Gil-Galad (2), Glorfindel near Lindir (3.5), Elrond near Lindir (2), Arwen near Lindir (2.5), Cirdan near Lindir (2.5), Gildor near Lindir (2.5), Bilbo (3)
Rohan	Theoden, Theodred, Eomer	Dernhelm (while Merry is mounted)	Eowyn/Dernhelm, Eorl		Dernhelm (2)
Shire	Frodo, Lobelia, Will Whitfoot, Lotho, Bilbo, Gandalf	Everyone Hobbit model, Gandalf	Frodo, Sam, Bilbo, Gandalf	Gandalf	Frodo (3), Bilbo (3), Lobelia (2), Sam (2), Gandalf (2.5), Will Whitfoot (1.5), Lotho Sackville-Baggins (1.5)
Survivors of Lake-town	Bard, Alfrid, Bain, Gandalf, Bilbo	Bilbo, Gandalf	Bard, Gandalf, Bilbo	Gandalf	Bilbo (3), Bard (2), Gandalf (2.5)
Thorin’s Company	Thorin, Balin, Ori, Oin, Bilbo, Gandalf	Bilbo, Gandalf	Balin, Bofur, Oin, Bilbo, Gandalf	Gandalf	Bilbo (3), Balin (1.5), Gandalf (2.5), Oin (1.5)
White Council	EVERYONE (Saruman, Galadriel, Elrond, Radagast, Glorfindel, Celeborn, Gandalf)	Saruman, Gandalf, Radagast, Galadriel	Elrond, Gandalf, Glorfindel	Galadriel, Glorfindel, Gandalf	Glorfindel (3), Gandalf (3.5), Galadriel (2.5), Saruman (1.5), Elrond (1.5)
Wildmen of Druadan
Wanderers in the Wild	Tom, Goldberry				Special note on Tom/Goldberry
Angmar	Gulavhar, Witch-King, Tainted, Dwimmerlaik, Shade, Barrow-Wight, Angmar Orc Shaman	Gulavhar	Witch-King		Gulavhar (2)
Azog’s Hunters	Azog, Bolg
Azog’s Legion	Azog, Bolg
Barad-Dur	Sauron, Witch-King, Ringwraith, Shelob, Orc Shaman	Sauron	Witch-King		Sauron (1.5), The Witch-King (1.5)
Corsairs of Umbar	Knight of Umbar
Dark Denizens of Mirkwood	Spider Queen
Dark Powers of Dul Guldor	Necromancer, Keeper of the Dungeons, Castellan
Desolator of the North	Smaug	Smaug			Smaug (1.5)
Easterlings	Khamul, Amdur, Easterling War Priest
Far Harad
Goblin-town		The Goblin King
Isengard	Saruman, Uruk-Hai Shaman
Mordor	Shelob, Witch-King, Ringwraith, Tainted, Dwimmerlaik, Khamul, Dark Marshal, Shadow Lord, Undying, Knight of Umbar, Betrayer, Gothmog, Mouth of Sauron, Shagrat, Kardush, Gothmog’s Enforcer, Orc Shaman		The Witch-King of Angmar		The Witch-King (1.5)
Moria	The Balrog, Druzhag, Ashrak, Dragon with fire/wyrmtongue, Dragon without fire/wyrmtongue, Cave Drake, Watcher in the Water, Moria Goblin Shaman, Moria Blackshield Shaman	The Balrog, Dragon, Cave Drake, The Watcher in the Water, Dwellers in the Dark	Durburz		The Balrog (2), Watcher in the Water (2), Dragon without fire/ wyrmtongue (2), Dragon with fire/ wyrmtonuge (1.5)
Serpent Horde	Betrayer, Suladan, Golden King	Howdah models with Sigils of Defiance, Watcher of Karna	Suladan, The Golden King		Suladan (2), The Golden King (1.5)
Sharkey’s Rogues	Sharkey, Lotho
The Trolls	Tom the Troll	EVERYONE if within 6” of the Campfire			Tom near the Campfire (1.5)
Variags of Khand			Khandish King