Armies of Middle-Earth: Updated Errata and Rules Summaries (February 2020)

Photo Credit: Now for Wrath, Now for Ruin

We interrupt our regularly-scheduled lull in programming for a quick discussion of the new Errata and Designer Commentaries that dropped earlier today. While most models remain unchanged, there were several clarifications (and, in some cases, changes) that seemed worth highlighting, including some that may impact the Rivendell faction we spotlighted yesterday.

You can access the official list of changes by clicking the link above, or by checking out our all-in-one-place summary at the end of this post if you don't feel like piecing together the various pdfs on Warhammer Community. But we might as well start with the obvious one: 

• The End of Shades (as allies)!!!!!(?) Ah, the dreaded shade. -1 duel penalties are always rough, but most of the time you have a choice whether you can suffer one (you take an Unarmed hero in your list, or choose to use a two-handed weapon) or have some way to challenge it (in theory, you can always save your Will to resist a Shatter). But not the Shade (beyond staying more than 6" away from him at all times which... you can't always choose to do). That's a great feature in a niche list like Angmar, which has tons of crazy buffs but also pretty non-descript troop options to deal with (Strength 3, Fight 3, Defense 5 orcs, spectres, and warg riders, with the occasional Fight 6 Might-less Cave Troll), and only a couple combat-oriented heroes (the Witch-King, Burdur, and Gulavhar... everyone else is pretty meh when it comes to fighting, so long as a Barrow Wight hasn't cast Paralyze). It's not great if you're trying to fight Fight 5 Half-Trolls from the South or 100 Goblintown grunts, while taking mandatory -1 penalties to your duel rolls because someone allied in a Shade. The recent changes to Red Alliances were probably adopted with this synergy in mind, but the new errata takes the bull by the horns. Now, the Shade inflicts a -1 penalty to all models within 6" of it, friend or foe, with the exception of friendly Angmar models. So you can still take a Shade in an allied evil list if you like, but it won't help (and will, in fact, hurt) your allied contingent significantly. Will some players still ally-in a Shade? Sure. But I think it probably becomes much less niche, which is a good thing. Especially since...
• Each allied contingent now has to include at least one Hero of Valour. ...

• This is potentially game-altering in several ways. First, it eliminates those random warbands where you brought a single allied siege engine led by an engineer captain. Second, it's another disincentive to just shoe-horning in a Shade (as Shades are Heroes of Fortitude)--you have to bring Buhrdur, Gulavhar, or a named Wraith from Angmar along as well, which is going to rack up the points. All of that is good. What will be interesting to see is how this affects alliances in-game, and specifically three-team alliances, especially in small points games (600-700 and under). The list of factions that have a Hero of Valour or higher for 80 points and under is pretty small: the Shire and Rangers (Green), Minas Tirith, Rohan, and the Fiefdoms (Green), Khazad-Dum, Thorin's Company, the Champions of Erebor, the Army of Lake-Town and Dale, Mordor, Moria, Dol-Guldur, and the Serpent Horde (plus Sharkey's Rogues). Who doesn't have cheap Heroes of Valour? Elves, Angmar, and Azog (plus your Easterling / Khand factions... which is kind of unfortunate). Is (most of) that intentional? Probably. If you want to ally Cirdan, you have to bring Glorfindel, Elrond, or Gil-Galad along, too, at which point you might as well bring a good number of warriors along for the ride (at which point your Rivendell force is probably your primary contingent, not a secondary one which, if I'm being honest, is probably how it should be). 
• In unrelated news, Mumaks can now get 6+ saves on all wounds. Plus Resistant to Magic, if you take the Sigils of Defiance upgrade (or the Mumak War Leader). The TMAT team is somewhat divided (like the rest of the community) on how "worth it" a 6+ save is--specifically if it costs you Might to do it (channelled Fury). However you feel about that, I do think this is a separate (and different) discussion, because if you were going to take Sigils of Defiance anyway (and most Mumak players look hard at Sigils of Defiance anyway because Resistant to Magic on your mumak driver is always a good idea), you're not paying anything extra for it to now affect the Mumak. Without any sort of added cost, I think this is a clear benefit, and potentially a game-changing one. How do you deal with Mumaks? By shooting them with arrows or siege weapons; by wounding them in combat or through magic; and by trying to insta-kill them with something like the King of the Dead's Drain Soul special rule. For shooting attacks, a 6+ save is yet another roll that has to go in the opponent's favor (after rolling to hit, and then to-wound--no scatter or in-the-ways on a mumak usually), and yet another opportunity for their plans to go awry. It's another stab at getting rid of a Stampede roll you have to take if your Mumak loses a duel and sustains wounds. And it's the only prayer your precious war beast has if the King of the Dead scores a wound (and may even deter some opponents who would otherwise spend the King's only Might point to boost a to-wound roll... if there's a 1-in-6 chance that the wound could be saved, that might persuade some opponents not to risk it, especially if there's a second mumak on the table). Plus your Mumak gets a free resist roll against incoming damage from Sorcerous Blast (always a plus). Who knows: it may even save your army's bacon if the Mumak's massive base happens to be within range of an incoming Nature's Wrath, Wrath of Bruinen, or even an Instill Fear. Again, this is a free bonus if you take the Sigils of Defiance anyway, so even if you're not sold on spending resources for a 6+ save, you're still glad to take it, right? Plus you cannot shatter Sigils of Defiance, or any other upgrade option on a Mumak (better and better).
• Also speaking of Mumaks, if you're shooting from the back of a war beast, you measure the range of the shooting attack from the base of the target to the base of the shooter, not the base of the War Beast. You shouldn't notice much of a difference if you have 24" Haradrim bows on your Mumak, but if you're partial to the Rocks upgrade (12" range, Strength 6 hits), you probably will, especially if you have a guy trying to chuck stones from the top perch on the howdah. 
• In a clarification that is probably of interest no one but myself, friendly models can officially Make Way for other friendly models who have lost a duel, even if the model that lost could back away unobstructed in some other direction. The assumption that this was how Make Way worked formed the crux of my bread-and-butter strategy on making Shieldwall work, so I was somewhat invested in the outcome. I'm relieved to see that my thoughts are still legal. I also think there's a lot to explore here for non-Shieldwall armies, too; maybe we'll do that in the future.
• Several big-name heroes have special wargear items (Anduril, for example) that have Active rules associated with them, which raised the question: if you're transfixed or compelled, and your only wargear item is described as having / being an Active special rule, do you count as being Unarmed in the fight? The answer to that question is, thankfully, "no." You don't get the benefit of any of those active special rules, but you still count has having (and using) a sword. So that's good. If Anduril gets Shattered on the other hand...
• Both Aragorn, King Elessar and Denethor got some helpful clarifications on how they function in certain Minas Tirith Lists. The core answer is that you can no longer include Aragorn, King Elessar in any list that also includes Denethor or any version of Borimir (including the more points-efficient Fellowship variant profile). That's a hard-"no," not just a "Red Alliance" penalty, which is how they attempted to solve it last time. This is good news not just for the lore, but for opponents of Minas Tirith in general, as a 6M Fight 7 Boromir with 6" banner, along with a Fight 6, Infinite-Might Aragorn with 6" banner effect, is almost always too much to deal with. Also speaking of which...
• One key way of getting rid of banner effects is to knock the banner bearer prone. The Designer's Commentary clarified that this works on heroes who have actual banners (like Boromir and Gamling) as well as heroes who "count as" a banner (maybe Amdur?), so if you can knock them prone, their banner-bonus goes away. But it doesn't work on heroes like Aragorn, King Elessar, who say that "friendly models within X inches count as being in range of a banner"; so long as friendly models are within X" of them, they get that reroll, regardless of whether the hero is standing. 
• Enemy Grimas who are deployed with one of your warbands remain as annoying as ever; you cannot strike Grima even if you compel him into combat with one of your models, nor strike his horse if you charge a mounted Grima. Stick to Sorcerous Blast or other magical powers that do damage... if you have them.
• Balin may be the new counter-Elrond, as Balin's Longbeard special rule is resolved after Elrond spends Foresight Points. This is, admittedly, a niche interaction, but if Elrond decides to modify a priority roll with Foresight Points, and Balin decides to spend one of his 3 Will points to reroll his side's priority roll, Elrond is stuck with whatever his modified result was. Let the mind games and psychological warfare commence! The obvious counter-counter would be to ally Balin (from Thorin's Company or Erebor Reclaimed) into a list with Elrond... then you're golden. Or at least get the chance for the last-laugh (or an even bigger cry). Either way, it'll make for a memorable moment.
• Azog's I Am the Master caps at a 3+ to-wound heroes; no 2+ to wound, even if you're using the Stone Flail two-handed. Azog is already on the verge of being a broken model, so this is a welcome return to pseudo-brokenness. Speaking of Azog, because the White Warg is a hero, you can try to kill it or protect it in the Fog of War Scenario (hadn't occurred to me before; good to know...). In addition, all of the standards on Azog's signal tower are, in fact, banners for VP purposes in scenarios. I tend to think that one is fair; if you're dropping 200 points on the signal tower in an ordinary match-play scenario, you deserve to have a shot at VPs in 5-of-18 scenarios. Now if only we had an official model...
• It turns out that passenger Merry, mounted on Dernhelm, is still a passenger, and thus cannot re-mount Eowyn's horse if Merry dismounts from Dernhelm. There are situations where you would think about dismounting Merry; this ensure that they stay niche situations.
• Last but not least, if you take Mardin in a Khazad-Dum list, along with some Vault Wardens, and Mardin is fighting a monster while supporting an Iron Shield with his Foe Spear, Mardin gets +2 to-wound (one from fighting a Monster, one from fighting a Monster with a Foe Spear while supporting an Iron Shield). Will this induce more players to run Mardin? I have no idea, but that wouldn't possibly be a bad thing, right?

I'm not sure these changes are more earth-shattering than the last batch of changes (Nature's Wrath / Wrath of Bruinen dropping from 6" range to 3" range; the Iron Hills Ballista getting a points hike). The one to watch is how the Hero of Valour requirement for Alliances pans out (I'm already of the opinion that the shade rule will be an unmitigated success). On the whole I'm pretty happy with them, and it's always exciting to see updates to the gaming system as a whole, as it suggests we'll continue to receive support from the game's designers. But as always, let us know what you think in the comments!

Speaking of game support, my copy of the Matched Play Guide is on its way, so maybe there'll be some thoughts on the new scenarios in the offing. And no, this isn't the big surprise we have in store for you this weekend that was teased at the end of yesterdays Armies of Middle-Earth SBG: Rivendell (because it's not the weekend... unfortunately). So more on that later.

=====Summary of Changes=====

(Click here for official errata and commentary language)

Rules Errata: 

• If you disable a siege engine, you now remove its model from play. Bad if you used disabled siege engines as impassable terrain pieces; good if you like moving the crew more than 6" away from a disabled siege engine. :-P
• Huge change to alliances: "Naturally, when multiple armies ally with each other to fight together, they will each be led by an appropriate leader. TO represent this in-game, each allied force must contain at least one Hero with a Heroic Tier of Hero of Valour or Higher. Models from the Wanderers in the Wild army list ignore these restrictions."

Rules Commentary:

• Characteristics that are reduced are always rounded up unless rules state otherwise
• Nothing on a models' base impedes line of sight (rocks, trees, etc.)
• Models can always back away (unless trapped) because it is not a move
• You can still Make Way for a friendly model even if that model could back away in another direction
• Cavalry models can not use the courage value of their mount when making courage tests
• Clarification on what to do if you have a warg rider that is knocked prone prior to combat and the warg passes its courage test. You treat both as occupying the same space during the combat, and either can be attacked by any model in the fight (assuming the attackers win the duel). After the fight is resolved, if both are alive, move all models the minimum amount needed to put both the warg and dismounted rider models as close as possible to where the cavalry model was located.
• You can still call one Heroic Action per phase (not once per turn)
• If you have two Hero models who call Heroic Combats against each other (rare, but it happens), and the model that wins the 50/50 roll-off dies, does the second model (who lost the 50-50 roll off) does not get to move, because his heroic action hasn't triggered. He would then get to declare his Heroic Action... at which point, there's nothing to kill (because his target is dead), so his fails. As the rules say, "this will essentially cancel the other Hero models' Heroic Combat."
• If you have two Heroes call Heroic Moves within 6" of each other, when the first Hero goes and calls With Me!, the second hero can either move with the first (in which case his Heroic Move is forfeited) or stay put (in which case his Heroic Move is forfeited). Either way, the second Hero's Heroic Move is forfeited, and he cannot call With Me!
• If one hero calls Heroic Move and a second within 6" calls Heroic March, the Heroic Move model goes first and doesn't get a March bonus. The March triggers whenever the March hero moves, at which point he can call With Me! Any models within 6" of both heroes have to remain within 6" of both heroes.
• If you shoot from the Howdah of a war beast, you measure distance from the base of the shooting model (not the war beast's base) to the target.
• A War Rider who has had a weapon shattered cannot attack using the mount's teeth or claws to avoid being Unarmed.
• No supporting with spears / pikes if you are prone
• A model holding a banner who flees can pass off the banner to a friendly model as if they had been slain
• If you have a hero who "counts as a banner," they only give their banner bonus if standing (not prone). If a hero says that friendly models within X" count as being in range of a banner, they still give their bonus even if prone.
• You can move engaged models out of combat with Sorcerous Blast, but not Compel or Instill Fear
• If a model with a wargear item that has an Active special rule is immobilized or transfixed, you lose the Active part of the rule but do not count as unarmed
• A model with Shroud of Shadows cast on it follows the same invisibility rules as the One Ring (but fight value is only halved if the spell is channelled)
• A model that casts Sorcerous Blast can only spend Might to wound the initial target, not a target that is hit by the knock-back
• Paralyzed models still take swim tests in deep water, which represents whether it floats or sinks
• A lot of siege engine clarifications:
• Siege engine line-of-sight (for those sad siege engines that need line of sight) is measured from any crew member, not the siege engine itself (doesn't specify if the crew member has to be in base-contact, or whether you can have a "spotter" 6" away)
• No firing a siege engine if the crew has moved
• No firing an enemy siege engine ever
• No firing a good siege engine with AOE damage if doing so would cause AOE direct damage to a friendly model (presumably you could do it if it would directly damage an enemy model in combat with a friendly model, but the friendly model is outside of the direct impact range, but the rule doesn't specify)
• You can scatter onto a model that is beyond a siege engine's maximum range; you can scatter onto a model that is not in line of sight of the siege engine only if the siege engine has the Volley Fire special rule
• You cannot knock a siege engine prone for any reason
• You roll a single D6 (or 2D6) for wounds caused by the Demolition Charge, not a D6 for each model affected; models with Fate can attempt to save each Wound individually
• Engineer captains can only have siege crew in their warband (not basic warriors, cavalry, etc.) (note as well that, per the new allied contingent rules, you'd also need a Hero of Valour or higher from the same force in order to bring an allied siege weapon along)
• You cannot command/compel a model entering the board vai Maelstrom to charge an enemy model on the turn they arrive (as Maelstrom's rules say they cannot charge the turn they arrive)
• You count kills in Lords of Battle "any time an enemy model is removed as a casualty." This includes (but is not limited to) fleeing models (but not mounts, unless you kill them), trampled models, falling damage kills, and special rule removal (like Kardush's Heart of Darkness or Ugluk's Head-Taker).
• You do not count kills in Lords of Battle if wounds are saved by Fate, by Will points used as Fate, or by the 6+ Fury save
• Models that escape the board in Reconnoitre still count as being on the board for purposes of figuring out if a force has been broken or quartered

LOTR Errata: 

• all Kings (Dwarves, Men, Harad, Mahud) are now Heroes of Valor 
• King Aragorn can't be included in the same force as any Boromir or Denethor
• The shade now inflicts a -1 duel penalty on all models within 6", except from friendly Angmar models (which basically eliminates any incentive for including it as a one-drop in an allied force)

LOTR Commentary:

• Denethor has to be the leader if he's in an allied force, even if that force has a Hero of Legend
• Floi's special rule negates only the active or passive benefits for wargear items--i.e., he can prevent Anduril from wounding on a 4+, but Anduril is still a sword and can be used as such
• If Mardin supports an Iron Shield, he gets +2 to wound against Monsters (once for wounding monsters, and once for having a Foe Spear supporting an Iron Shield)
• Detailed breakdown on how Khazad-Dum dwarf ballistae work. It clarifies that if you shoot into combat, all models in the Fight take a Strength 9 hit, and all models in the combat Strength 5 or less are knocked prone. The model that is hit (if Strength 5 or below) is the only model flung D6" directly away from the ballista, and is flung even if slain by the Strength 9 hit. Any models it hits on its way out take a Strength 6 hit, and any Strength 5 or below are also knocked prone.
• If you charge Grima with an enemy and win the fight, you can't slay his horse. You also can't target Grima if you force him to charge a model.
• You cannot shatter the War Mumak of Harad's options (rocks, sigils, etc.), and sigils affect the War Mumak in addition to the passengers on the Howdah (which means Mumaks now have Resistant to Magic and 6+ saves on all wounds...)

Hobbit Errata: No changes

Hobbit Commentary:  

• Balin's Longbeard gets resolved after Elrond spends Foresight Points
• Bifur can't use his 2-H weapon or Piercing Strike when trying to trigger the embedded axe blade, and gets only one D6 to wound, even if the target is trapped
• Azog's I am the Master caps out at a 3+ to wound, even if he's 2-handing with the Stone Flail
• Azog's signal tower banners are, in fact, all banners, and you have to get rid of all 4 of them to deny the opponent banner VPs
• You can target Azog's White Warg as a hero to protect / kill in Fog of War
• The Troll Catapult in Azog's Legion does not, in fact, have the Troll siege weapon upgrade (rerolling hit and scatter results)
  

Gondor at War Errata: 

• The Witch-King is back to counting as a Hero of Legend in a Mordor list

Gondor at War Commentary: 

• Floi can turn off Hurin's Line of Command special rule, but it doesn't do anything (as VPs for slaying the enemy leader are calculated at the end of the game, not the turn)
• Merry cannot remount if he dismounts from Dernhelm

Scouring of the Shire Errata: 

• Dunedain count as Minor Heroes in a Shire List, but you can only include them if you also include Gandalf the Grey
• Imports the Gandalf limitations from the Shire list to Scouring of the Shire (no Gandalf if you include any of the named 4 Hobbits in Shire form; Gandalf counts as a Hero of Valour, not a Hero of Legend)

War in Rohan Errata: 

• Haldir now costs 85 points in the Defenders of Helm's Deep LL
• The Isengard Troll's War Drum option in the Assault upon Helm's Deep LL is now 25 points

Battle Companies Errata: 

• Riders of Rohan are back to not counting towards your bow limit
• Standardized the ranges of magical powers on sorcerers, sages, and shamans (Dismay 6", Blinding Light (none), Call Winds 12", Command/Compel 12", Enchanted Blades 6", Flameburst 6", Fury (none), Immobilize/Transfix 12", Instill Fear 3", Wither 12")

Battle Companies Commentary:

• Magical Powers don't add any points to a Hero model
• Haradrim Raiders and Warriors still have poisoned arrows on their bows for free
• The Wargs cannot be broken in the Wolves Attack scenario
• If no BC has lost a Hero in battle, and you roll A Daring Rescue, reroll for a different scenario. If you roll A Daring Rescue and a BC has lost multiple heroes in battle, play the scenario with one Hero model first, then roll again to determine if you need to play A Daring Rescue or Secure the Area to rescue the other Hero. You cannot shoot the prisoner in the Daring Rescue scenario
• Baggage Ponies start anywhere touching the southern board edge in the Baggage Train scenario
• Any +1 reinforcement bonuses or injury bonuses in the map based campaign are optional bonuses