The Bare Necessities, Part XXVIII: The Chief's Ruffians

Good morning gamers,

We've looked at lots of armies in this series - armies that can have balanced lists and ones that cannot. I think any list can be made to be a balanced list, but as we've seen in some of our lists (Rohan, Moria, Kingdom of Moria), not all have to check all five boxes. In today's post, we're going to look at a list that checks off  . . . almost no boxes! Centaur has been a huge fan of Hobbits for a long time, so I figured (what with him having the Scouring of the Shire book and all) he wouldn't mind helping me think through how to run Sharkey's Rogues as a "balanced" list. As we've done in the more recent posts of this series, we begin with some interviews.

Credit: Davetownsend

Interview Questions with Centaur (edited by Tiberius for clarity)

T: Sharkey's Rogues doesn't have any fast models and does not have access to Heroic March - how do you think about missions that require you to get places?

C: So, this is one of the weaknesses of Sharkey's Rogues: you just have to admit that your opponent will reach your board edge or objectives before you do on the whole. There is one exception to this, though, and it's how I'd deal with the problem and that is heavy amounts of archers. If you are running 10-man warbands, you can put a lot of points into warriors without having to buy heroes. Assuming you only buy Sharkey, Worm, Sid, and Ted, for 598 pts you can take 30 archers along with 49 ruffians and 12 hobbit militia if you don't take whips on anyone, which is a LOT of shooting. You can use that to drive people off an objective, keep them from getting across the board (even if you move, you're doing an average of 5 hits per turn, which assuming 6s to wound is 1 wound on average each turn), or keep solo riders or even small bands of riders from getting to an heirloom or other objective quickly. So while you can't move quickly yourself, you can at least neutralize the effectiveness of your opponent moving quickly, which is basically just as good (except in some ways better, as you then have the numerical advantage when fighting closes).

T: Sharkey's Rogues is Impossible Allies with everyone - is there a faction that you would risk an Impossible Alliance with?

C: Probably not, though there is one exception to this rule in my mind, and that is Angmar, ironically. [Sharkey's Rogues] are Impossible with everyone, but truthfully you don't give much up by losing either of their army special rules, and you gain a lot as Sharkey's Rogues if you ally them in. You get access to cheap cav with warg riders, cheap casters with barrow wights, and you can ally them in by taking a dirt cheap Valor hero with Buhrdur. But the biggest reason why you ally them in is to add shades to the army (which won't help your Ruffians, but will make your Orcs harder to deal with): being able to knock a -1 (or -2 if fighting a two-hander or a banner) off their roll makes up for the fact that you have a sub-par Fight Value, and if you can't take 10-man warbands, you might as well take dirt cheap orcs to aid you. Plus you get access to cave trolls if you need guys who can smash through enemy lines.

T: How important is it to include the new Ruffian heroes (Sid Briarthorn, Rowan Thistlewood, and Bill Ferny)?

C: Sid is an auto-include: he's strong, he's a banner for everyone who is not him, and he's the closest thing you have to a fighting hero. Rowan is good on terrain-heavy maps; you probably don't get to use his free Heroic Combats very often (as how often will you fight against armies with hobbit heroes, and how often will Rowan be near enough or capable of calling a Heroic Combat to get to that fight? There's a lot of variables working against you). Bill Ferny is good (and cheap), but I don't think he's an auto-include per se. Great for random deployment matches as he can keep a power hero's warband off the table a bit longer, but I don't like how it's fully out of your control. If the opponent really wants Boromir, Aragorn, etc. to come onto the table and your -1 is making it so that there's a 33% chance they don't come on, and another 33% chance you get to control where they come on, all they have to do is spend 1 Might and the bonus is gone. And it's not like Ferny is a great fighter once that model comes onto the table. Plus if they have someone like Madril or anyone who makes it easier to get onto the table, you're really not doing anything useful (definitely nothing as useful as adding 7-8 ruffians to your army). So I'm not personally sold on Bill; you can include him, but I definitely think he's the weak link.

T: How important is it to include the new Hobbit heroes (Lotho Sackville-Baggins and Ted Sandyman)?

C: Both are really good, but the real winner here is Ted Sandyman: being able to add, for 48 pts, 12 models with axes (S3 when they Piercing Strike)? This is great (more info on this in the next question). Lotho is good (as bribing is awesome), but I don't think he's this good. Ted is the other auto-include for this army, and for good reason.

T: What is the point of taking Hobbit Militia with Ted Sandyman (over more Ruffians)?

C: Hobbit militia give you cheap access to axes, allowing you to Piercing Strike to get S3 attacks for 4pts/model. This means you can put them in a fight with another Ruffian (not hard, as you have so many), use numbers (and possibly a banner on the Ruffian from Sid) to win the fight, ignoring the penalty from Piercing Strike. And even if you do miss, there's not a much higher chance that your opponent wounds you than you had walking into it, so it's fine. Besides, it keeps your F3 S3 model, who is also D3, from being killed by the guy who strikes at the less than D3 hobbit that used Piercing Strike. So that's actually a plus. Hobbit Militia also have a 8" 3+ shooting attack when the enemy starts getting close.

T: Is there a reason to run the normal Sharkey's Rogues over the Chief's Ruffians Legendary Legion?

C: Again, it would really only be if you wanted to ally in another faction. Otherwise the LL is great, and allows you to overrun the enemy, but not with a F2 or lower army like other spam armies. Sure, you're low defense, but most models have a 50% chance of failing to wound anyway; I'd rather take the higher FV than higher Defense, and with 30 archers you can pound away at smaller forces very effectively (not to mention extra throwing stones as they close). But truthfully, the LL is pretty much all you need if you're running these guys: use a ton of guys on the table, and swarm the enemy to death.

Thanks Centaur - we'll view some alternate lists based on Centaur's recommendations at the end of the post. The list we'll be looking at today is based on the info provided here and features the critically-acclaimed Chief's Ruffians Legendary Legion.

The List

• Sharkey and Worm [ARMY LEADER]
• 4 Ruffians with clubs and bows
• 6 Ruffians with clubs and whips
• Sid Briarthorn
• 3 Ruffians with clubs and bows
• 2 Ruffians with weapon-swapped-axes and whips
• 6 Ruffians with clubs and whips
• Rowan Thistlewood
• 4 Ruffians with clubs and bows
• 5 Ruffians with clubs and whips
• Bill Ferny
• 4 Ruffians with clubs and bows
• 5 Ruffians with clubs and whips
• Lotho Sackville-Baggins
• 4 Ruffians with clubs and bows
• 5 Ruffians with clubs and whips
• Ted Sandyman
• 12 Hobbit Militia with axes
• Ruffian with a weapon-swapped-axe and whip
• 4 Ruffians with clubs and bows
• 5 Ruffians with clubs and whips
• Ruffian with a weapon-swapped-axe and whip
• 4 Ruffians with clubs and bows
• 5 Ruffians with clubs and whips

87 models, 27 bows hitting on a 5+ AND 13 thrown stones hitting on a 3+ AND 43 whips hitting on a 4+, no D6+ models, no fast troops, 7 Might points

Tiberius: This is the kind of list that won't have a problem with numbers. The Chief's Ruffians LL requires you to run all of the named heroes, so Sharkey will be your Army Leader and your first 240 points are spoken for in your heroes (higher hero tax than most LL, but not as high as the Return of the King or Paths of the Druadan LLs). The good news is that your next 90 points can get you 12 Hobbit Militia with axes and 7 Ruffians with bows (because bow limit rounds up). This gets you a respectable 26 models for only 330 points. In any games above 350 points, this LL will have 30+ models (which checks one of our boxes).

EDIT - 10/2020: with the release of Quest of the Ringbearer, you now need to include Harry Goatleaf (40-pt model) in your army if you want the Ruffian-only warbands. With 7 extra slots in Sharkey's warband, 3 extra slots in Sid Briarthorn's warband, and 3 slots each in the other hero warbands, you'd need to drop a Ruffian and do some weapon slots OR drop a few Ruffians and include Harry. 

Your warriors have a variety of weapon choices in principle, but I think there's really only one option for each: your Ruffians should all take clubs (or do a weapon swap) and forego daggers, while the Hobbit Militia should all take axes (instead of daggers or hammers). Since all your warriors are F1-2 (unless you're facing Hobbit models), you're probably limited to Stabbing with your daggers (you'll be killed on a 5+), so I'd take the chance with clubs on your Ruffians if you feel like you want to use a special strike. Your Hobbit Militia can be S3 with Piercing Strike, which is better than trying to Bash at S2 (or Stabbing with D3). I could be convinced that Stab isn't bad if you're trying to break/quarter yourself (stabbing your way to victory is possible), but besides that, I think your weapon choices are pretty simple.

Your gear options are also simple: all Ruffians get either a whip or a bow. The utility of bows has been highlighted by Centaur above: you get lots of troops, so you can afford to take lots of bows. The more bows you have, the more wounds you can deal without having to actually be fighting. With 27 bows in this list, we should have numerical superiority in the archery department over anything we face (and even though our Shoot value is a "bad" 5+, we should get 5-9 hits each round - depending on whether any of them moved in the Move phase - and 1-2 wounds each round against D5/6 troops). When you're pushing 90 models, any models you can kill before combat begins will be very, VERY welcome (and the more models you kill, the greater the disparity of models between you and your opponent when they finally engage you).

The whips are a big part of this list: not only does the LL make these 43 whips hit on a 4+ (which gives us an estimated 22 hits/charge, turning into ~4 wounds/round against D4/5 models and 2 wounds against D6 models - WHICH IS INSANE!!!!!), but they can be used in melee to Whirl. While Whirl gets a bad wrap, you can charge two models in the front of a battle line with a single Whirling warrior and send his friends around the flanks to get traps. If your opponent moved first, he'll probably be forced to direct 4 attacks (2 front-line models and 2 supporting models) against a single guy. Will the Ruffian lose? Probably. Will he die? Probably. Will your opponent only be able to kill a few models in that round (and probably be down-handed/trapped elsewhere during the next round)? Almost certainly. And THAT's why whips are so great- they allow you to manage your damage intake, while allowing you to prioritize the fights the way you want to on the following turn (and, as throwing weapons, they can do damage on the charge or in the Shoot phase after a full turn of movement, so anyone who wraps around the enemy without charging will still have a non-zero chance of dealing damage).

You also want to max out your Hobbit Militia: having Resistant to Magic interspersed everywhere can be really useful, and spending 4 points/model allows you to get a few more upgrades on your Ruffians (or a few more Ruffians if you don't believe in gear). I've given a handful of the Ruffians axes as well, because having some S4 models is good (plus, I think cleavers should be classified as axes).

Let's look at each warband and what it's supposed to do.

Warband #1: The Chief

Sharkey, more so than Denethor, wants to lead from the back. Thankfully, he doesn't have any auric boosts that require us to have him near the front (sure, Ruffians within 6" of Sharkey can be Courage 4 in this Legendary Legion, but they're Courage 3 while the army is unbroken, so you can get by without Sharkey hanging around the front). When your army does break, Sharkey wants to be in a visible, safe place, as his Stand Fast covers the entire battlefield. Since you're keeping him in the back, I'd save his Will points to pass Courage tests when you need to make a Stand Fast (though, as a Hero of Legend, your first Stand Fast is passed automatically).

Assisting him is Worm, who is best employed when fighting models who are alone without supports (as he becomes a F4/3A model). This is really hard to pull off, but you can try. Sharkey's retinue also includes 6 Ruffians with whips and 4 Ruffians with bows, giving you a small pocket of troops to hold off enemy warbands in a maelstrom scenario (and escort Worm across the map). This warband should work in tandem with any of the other warbands to maximize on your numbers, but if you have to fight alone, use those whips as described above to artificially extend your battle line.

Warband #2: The Banner Guy
Sid Briarthorn isn't that much to write home about, but he's pretty good for a Ruffian. With 2 Attacks at F4/S4, he's not bad compared to a normal captain in most other man-based lists. He also has a surprising amount of special strikes at his command: a dagger gives him access to Feint/Stab, a club gives him access to Stun, he never counts as unarmed even if all his weapons are Shattered, AND he has a whip for Whirl (and he hits on a 3+ with it thanks to the LL bonus), he can do some decent damage. The counts-as-a-banner is a huge benefit to this team, as the troops near him can benefit from a reroll (and it's the only banner we have). With only 2 Wounds, 1 Fate, and D4, he's not very resilient, so be sure to keep him shielded from enemy archery (but get him into combat as quickly as you can once the fighting begins).

Supporting him are 8 Ruffians with whips (2 have axes) and 4 Ruffians with bows. The bows (like those in Sharkey's warband) can be left behind at objectives if needed. Those 8 melee-oriented Ruffians will find the banner boost pretty helpful, as will anyone else who can get close enough to benefit from the banner. The axes have been added to this warband for some extra punch (shield them from archery too, for kicks).

Warband #3: The Burning Guy

Rowan Thistlewood is only slightly less punchy than Sid Briarthorn (Fight 3, Courage 3, 1 Might point, no whip), but has one really good advantage: if your opponent moves through certain terrain pieces, you can burn those units up! While burning Elves who are running through forests is certainly a pretty good idea, so might burning a ruined building that is serving as an objective in a certain scenario (Fog of War, for example) or Azog's Signal Tower. Since he sets buildings alight on a 3+ and can use his 1 Might point to boost the roll, he can all-but-guarnatee that a single building/wood is burned during the game (with a 4+ chance of Setting Ablaze each model in/touching the terrain piece). What's really great about this is that you can subsequently charge these models to keep them from putting out their blazes, which will continue to do damage over time without risking any damage to your own troops. When fighting Hobbits, you can also call free Heroic Combats to engage Hobbit Heroes (but it's worthless against other armies).

Supporting him is my "stock-standard" supporting team of 5 melee-oriented Ruffians and 4 shooting-oriented Ruffians. This provides enough models to engage/wrap an enemy warband of 10-12 models and do some decent damage with archery to even out the numbers. Rowan doesn't count as a banner and with only 1 Might point and Fight 3, he's not a great fighter. Using him in a gang-up fight on the flanks is probably best.

Warband #4: The Sneaky Guy

Bill Ferny is weird: he can apply a -1 penalty to one warband in a maelstrom/random-deploy scenario (good against heroes like Madril or Goritz who apply a more flexible deployment to friendly models once they're on the board), but other than that is just a whip-carrying Ruffian basically (with 2 Wounds and 1 Fate point). He does have a whip, so you can deal some added damage with him that way, but he's very inexpensive and makes for a good one-time Heroic Move caller (with all these whips, you want to go first).

He's also supported by the stock-standard team of 9 Ruffians (5 melee, 4 bows). This warband can double the effectiveness of any of the other warbands, though on its own, you'll find it lacks very much in the killing department because it has no killing hero included in it. Honestly, though, I think your plan with this warband is to have it move as quickly as it can towards whatever objectives are on the board (walking off the board in Reconnoitre, getting to the camp in Storm the Camp, threatening a far objective in Domination/Capture and Control).

Warband #5: The Rich Shaman-Like Kid

Lotho Sackville-Baggins is better off in a Shire list than a Chief's Ruffians/Sharkey's Rogues list, but he does one thing that's really important (in some situations) for Ruffians: he can help them auto-pass Courage tests. We hinted at the Fight Value boost that Lotho can grant to Hobbit allies in our post on the Shire, but in this list, he can only boost Hobbit Militia Fight value (to F2 - I don't think that's worth it), potentially keep a model from charging him (I don't think so either), or make Ruffians within 3" automatically pass courage tests (yes, that sounds good). When you're dependent on the charge (and actually engaging with enemy models), this is huge.

Lotho also wields the stock-standard set of 9 Ruffians, who shouldn't have any problem keeping him from being seen. For up to 4 rounds, these Ruffians (and potentially others) can auto-pass Courage tests and tie down Terrifying units, which is really nice tactically. Pair this warband with Sid Briarthorn's warband when possible.

Warband #6: The "Other Children"

Ted Sandyman is nothing to write home about - even for Hobbit heroes. With a Hobbit Archer's stats and 1M/1W/1F and a hammer, he's not good at all. You bring him in this list because a) you have to, and b) because he gives you access to Hobbit Militia.

We've taken a full warband of Hobbit Militia, who (as was discussed earlier) can provide Resistant to Magic against area-of-effect magical powers (that would otherwise be DEVASTATING to your force), access to S3 with their axes (so they're kinda like Ruffians), and thrown stones for extra damage from a distance. With most of the army relying on whips for extra damage, having 8" crossbows at the same Strength as a whip is quite nice. I will say that enemy forces are encouraged to Feint against you if they can, since the worst they might do is tie your Fight Value (F1 - though anything that's F5+ will still be beating your Fight Value).

Warbands #7 and #8: The "Extra Bodies"

We wrap up the list with two warbands of 10 Ruffians each - an axe-wielding Ruffian added to our stock-standard 9 Ruffians. With no hero to lead these warbands, they're intended to be dropped near any of the other named warbands to support them. Alternatively, you can deploy them first to gain knowledge of where your opponent is deploying before you commit any of your heroes to the board. Each has an axe-wielding Ruffian that serves as the "hero" for the purposes of deployment - this is because a) it will be easy for you and your opponent to see, b) because the cleaver pose looks awesome, and c) because we could. Pair one of these two warbands with Rowan Thistlewood and the other with Ted Sandyman where possible.

This is quite easily the least balanced list I've written for this series - so let's see how you need to think about each scenario that you might face.

Scenario Overview

• Domination: Six of your eight warbands can form up into three mega-warbands (Sid + Lotho, Rowan + unnamed warband, Ted + unnamed warband) and can advance towards three of the farthest objectives. With 20 models in each group, your opponent can try taking on one or two of these warbands, but not all three without being outnumbered (some factions can pull it off). The other two warbands can focus on holding objectives you start with (I recommend Sharkey and Ferny). Even if your army breaks, you have a good chance of having a lot more models than your opponent does on the objectives - remember to wrap around the battle line, using your whips to deal extra damage and minimize the amount of casualties you can suffer in a round.
• Capture and Control: Similar strategy, except that you can start with Sharkey sitting on your back objective, all three pairs of mega-warbands sitting on the center three objectives, and Bill Ferny's squad ready to race around the center to contest the farthest objective. Leave archers touching the objective marker where possible so you're harder to shift. In many ways, this scenario is easier than Domination, because if/when you break, the game could end early.
• Hold Ground: Racing to the center won't be easy for this army - you're showing up second in most cases. The good news is that you will show up ALL OVER on the map, so you should be able to engage a few warbands with numerical advantages early in the game to whittle them down. Be sure to focus with 1-2 of your warbands (Ferny, maybe some of the unnamed warbands) on getting to the center since this scenario can end early too - don't want to break your opponent when you don't have anyone near the center!
• Seize the Prize: Another race to the center mission - and you're showing up second. Your best bet is to make the most of having LOTS of models by making it impossible for your opponent to get the Prize far onto your side of the board. Use your bows and whips to deal as much damage as possible early in the game, keeping your archers in reserve to shoot/cut off models that try to escort the Prize off the board edge.
• To The Death: The goal is to break the opponent, because chances are, you're breaking. Wrap around enemy formations to get traps as much as possible, use the whips to mitigate how much damage you're suffering, and do your best to avoid taking damage from archery. Not much strategy to this one - going to be a hard fight against shooting-heavy, spear-supporting lists.
• Lords of Battle: Well, you're going to cough up a LOT of wounds. The good news is you can start on the center line - once again, wrap around the enemy formations, use whips to mitigate damage suffered, do your best to get traps. Your bows will hopefully be able to contribute to the damage tally as well - don't forget to try to Stun enemy heroes if you can beat them in a fight - should make killing them easier in the next round!
• Contest of Champions: Um . . . we have Sharkey as our leader. While there are worse army leaders to have in Contest of Champions, you will find it hard to limit your opponent's army leader from getting kills. Sharkey can Immobilize the army leader, but with a limited amount of Will, he's unlikely to delay the army leader for long. As such, your best bet is to take a note from the Corsairs of Umbar playbook and have your Ruffians use their bows (or Whips/thrown stones in a pinch) to shoot at the army leader (you'll kill your own guy on a 5+ with any of your ranged weapons, which would deny the enemy army leader from getting any kills). Since you hit on a 4+ (assume you didn't move with some whips - thrown stones will hit on a 3+), fail the in-the-way on a 1-3, and wound your own guy on a 5+ (regardless of whether you use whips or bows or stones), you'll need ~12 guys shooting (~10 Hobbit Militia). Normally, I'd say that's a lot of your army - but not with this list! Might be rude, but this is just how you play the scenario!
• Reconnoitre: You're walking onto the board from your board edge at the start of the game and you've got a LONG way to go (with no Heroic March ANYWHERE). So make sure EVERY warband advances towards the center. The neat thing about this list is that even if you allow ALL of your opponent's models to get across the board, he'll probably have to break you (and then some) in order to not lose himself - so don't focus on shooting, don't focus on fighting, just focus on walking off the board edge! If you get some kills, great. If you walk more than a quarter of your army off, fine. Just get as many models as possible off the board edge (use your archers to shoot any of his models that get past your men)!
• Storm the Camp: You're probably not going to be able to fit all of your guys on the board at the start, so just make sure your Hobbits, Sharkey, and Sid are on the board. Everyone else can walk on later, having your archers hold back near your camp to protect your camp from being overwhelmed. Most of your force can advance down the center, though I'd recommend 1-2 warbands (Ferny and an unnamed one?) moving around the flanks to either attack the enemy camp OR to distract models from your main force. When the fighting is finally joined, be sure to use those whips to artificially extend your battle line (as discussed previously)!
• Heirlooms of Ages Past: Another maelstrom fight - you'll be all over the map. Once again, that's fine - focus on harassing enemy warbands and whittling down their numbers before the heirloom is found. Send a few guys from each warband to dig up artifacts, but mostly you want to keep enemy models from finding the Heirloom. Once you get it, run it away fast - your guys aren't survivable.
• Fog of War: Well, there are a few things working against you: first, you have six heroes for your opponent to choose (Worm, Sid, Rowan, Bill, Lotho, and Ted) - and half of them have 1 Wound and 0-1 Fate points. With low Fight and Defense, these guys will die. When looking for someone to keep alive, I'd pick Bill Ferny - you don't need him for anything! When looking for someone to kill, pick basically anyone - it's going to be hard anyway. Terrain? Anything on the periphery isn't a bad idea, since you can send lots of guys out no matter what you're facing.
• Clash By Moonlight: Almost everything shoots in this list and everything will be shot up - so use terrain to your advantage as best you can and get locked in quickly! Your Whips are the understated power of your list in this scenario - hitting on a 4+ when you charge and wounding D4-5 models on a 5+ (wounding D6 models on a 5+/3+) will do some really good work! Of course, a lot of these guys might die as you charge, but whatever . . . Hobbit stones do similar damage from a distance (but more accurately).

Modifications
Here are some alternate lists based on the interview I did with Centaur.

• Tiberius: Centaur's Recommended Angmar Horde – As Centaur stated above, you gain a lot by allying in Angmar. Centaur is a big fan of Buhrdur and I don't blame him - he's been wrecking lines here at TMAT for ages. This list showcases the cheap, average troops you can get with Angmar to accompany the horde of models from Sharkey's Rogues. Because I think you need three threats in any list, we're also relying on Angmar to give us some beefy units to kill things - and what better model to accompany Buhrdur than a Cave Troll! Because I needed models, I opted for the third threat to be a Wild Warg Chieftain (who is basically a faster Cave Troll that can lead models). I've put Sharkey and Worm in the list mostly so we can be more reckless with Buhrdur. We've included Ted Sandyman, of course, for the Hobbit Militia. This list gives us 33 models from Sharkey's Rogues (broken after 17 casualties) and 28 models from Angmar (broken after 15 casualties) for what is a pretty impressive 61 models, considering we have three massive killing machines in this list! 
• Sharkey and Worm [ARMY LEADER]
• 10 Ruffians with bows
• 8 Ruffians
• Ted Sandyman
• 12 Hobbit Militia
• IMPOSSIBLE ALLY: Buhrdur, Hill Troll Chieftain
• 1 Cave Troll with hand-and-a-half hammer
• 6 Orc Warriors with shields
• 7 Orc Warriors with shields and spears
• 1 Orc Warrior with shield, spear, and banner
• IMPOSSIBLE ALLY: Wild Warg Chieftain
• 12 Wild Wargs
• Tiberius: Thematic Horde – If you want fast models AND a banner to supplement an army from Sharkey's Rogues, the only "thematic" choice you have is Isengard. Not only can you bolster your numbers by taking cheap troops (like Orcs, Warg Riders, and Wildmen of Dunland - very similar to Angmar, actually), but you can also STILL get lots of Ruffians. This list will see the team-up of the two most helpful heroes to ally in (Sid Briarthorn and Ted Sandyman - we don't want Sharkey being the army leader) and allied in a few heroes from Isengard to help out (Lurtz because we need a Valor or Legend hero, Mauhur so we can get fairly cheap fast troops, and the Wild Man Oathmaker for cheap, Fearless troops). In total, this list has 66 models, 29 of which come from Sharkey's Rogues (broken after 15 casualties), while the other 37 come from Isengard (broken after 19 casualties). Most of the models in this list are D3-4, with the occasional Uruk-Hai Scout or Orc Warrior making it to D5 - you're still going to struggle with being low Defense, but Isengard has that problem on its own:
• Sid Briarthorn
• 9 Ruffians with clubs and bows
• 6 Ruffians with clubs and whips
• Ted Sandyman
• 12 Hobbit Militia with axes
• IMPOSSIBLE ALLY: Lurtz [ARMY LEADER]
• 12 Uruk-Hai Scouts with Uruk-Hai bows
• 1 Orc Warrior with spear and shield
• IMPOSSIBLE ALLY: Mauhur
• 5 Uruk-Hai Marauders with shields
• 5 Orc Warriors with shields and spears
• 1 Orc Warrior with shield, spear, and banner
• IMPOSSIBLE ALLY: Wild Man Oathmaker
• 10 Wild Men of Dunland with two-handed axes
• Tiberius: Unthemed Horde – I do think that Sharkey's Rogues is unbalanced, so the question is this - what list can be allied with it that makes it MORE balanced? A force with a banner would be nice, and it would also be good if they could get a lot of numbers on their own and mounted units. I thought about tacking on the Serpent Horde, but ultimately found that the "good" heroes we'd want just wouldn't have participated with them. So, I instead went with the largest horde army on the block (which gets us neither banners nor fast troops, but DOES get us lots of models) - Goblin-town. Not only can we get the hero-breaking team-up of the Goblin-King and Gollum AND the board-control of Rowan Thistlewood, a Goblin Scribe, and a warband of Goblin Mercenaries, but we can get a whopping 81+ models (assuming the Goblin Scribe brings more models onto the table - our starting tally is 42 models from Sharkey's Rogues and 39 models from Goblin-town), making it hard to break us EVEN THOUGH we're Impossible Allies (Sharkey's Rogues breaks after 22 losses, Goblin-town breaks after 20 losses). We have left Sharkey at home this time, mostly because we didn't want him to have to be the army leader. Interestingly enough, this list is also a bit more affordable to collect than getting 80-something Ruffians and Hobbit Militia (though it is admittedly a filthy list that denies all theme and will drive your opponents crazy with how STUPIDLY weak everyone is but how absurdly many they are):
• Sid Briarthorn
• 7 Ruffians with clubs and bows
• 8 Ruffians with clubs and whips
• Rowan Thistlewood
• 6 Ruffians with clubs and bows
• 6 Ruffians with clubs and whips
• Ted Sandyman
• 12 Hobbit Militia with axes
• IMPOSSIBLE ALLY: The Goblin King [ARMY LEADER]
• 4 Goblin Warriors
• 13 Goblin Warriors with two-handed axes
• INDEPENDENT: Gollum
• IMPOSSIBLE ALLY: The Goblin Scribe
• 6 Goblin Warriors
• IMPOSSIBLE ALLY: Goblin Mercenary Captain
• 12 Goblin Mercenaries

In our next post, Centaur joins us again to discuss Azog's Hunters - the ligher-but-better-at-shooting-cousins of Azog's Legion. While we covered Azog's Hunters as an allied contingent in both our Azog's Legion post AND the Dark Powers of Dol Guldur post (the "evil trinity" from the Hobbit book - only evil historical allies in the whole thing), Azog's Hunters has some neat game-play options for those looking for strong (yet squishy) models. Centaur is a battle-hardened veteran with Azog's Hunters (read the battle report between his Azog's Hunters list and my Dead of Dunharrow alliance ahead of time if you like). Can't wait - let us know if there are other factions you'd like to see in this series! Until next time, happy hobbying!