Mastering Magic: Immobilize (and its various kin)

Good morning gamers,

In our last post, we looked at how you can get the most effective use out of Sorcerous Blast. Today, we turn to the most ubiquitous spells in the Middle-Earth Strategy Battle Game: Immobilize (or Transfix). While your damage potential can be quite large with Sorcerous Blast (even given the newest changes that limit how far a model can be thrown), Immobilize focuses instead on one particular model and takes away a lot of that model's capabilities. While not as good at one-turn-killing a hero as it used to be, it is able to take a hero out of the action for an important round (or out of the game if cast on successive turns). 

Immobilize/Transfix: What Does It Do?

If you've used a spell-caster in MESBG, chances are you've used Immobilize or Transfix before. Whether you're using a wizard (Gandalf, Saruman, Radagast), a Ringwraith (named or unnamed), an Elven mage (Galadriel, Celeborn, Gildor - but not Elrond, Arwen, Cirdan, the-other-Galadriel, storm callers, or Thranduil), or some big magic-powered monster model (Smaug, Dragon with Wyrmtongue, Sauron, and the Necromancer - who isn't technically a monster), you've probably had Immobilize or Transfix in your arsenal (which one is often determined by whether they are a Forces of Good model or a Forces of Evil model).

Pro tip: if you wait to start casting Immobilize until your opponent is this close, you're in for some trouble . . .

When I first got started in MESBG, Immobilize/Transfix was frowned upon in our group because if it was successfully cast, your Fight Value was reduced to 1, your Attacks were reduced to 1, and you couldn't make Strikes (in addition to other things, which we'll cover in a minute). That was  . . . too powerful (especially when cast on a 3+ or a 2+ by most models that had it). In the current edition, Transfix doesn't affect your stats unless you channel it.

To understand what Immobilize does now, let's take a quick look at the rules (factoring in the Designer's Commentaries for the main rulebook):

• You pick an enemy model to target;
• You roll to cast the spell and the target can attempt to resist the spell;
• If cast successfully...
• The target is unable to call Heroic Actions or use active abilities.
• In the Move phase, the target cannot move, call a Stand Fast, or cast spells. 
• In the Shoot phase, the target may not shoot. 
• In the Fight phase, the target may not makes Strikes if they win a Duel.
• If the spell was channelled, the Fight Value and Attacks of the target model are halved, rounding up.

So what does this mean practically? It means that Transfix can be used to do the following kinds of things:

• Prevent casters who haven't acted yet from casting spells;
• Prevent fast models from charging you;
• Prevent supporting models who haven't moved yet (such as banner-bearers, shades, Cirdan, Gamling) from moving with their battle line and providing their auric boosts;
• Prevent archer models from being able to shoot for the turn;
• Prevents a powerful model from getting the benefits of their Heroic Actions (like Heroic Strike) or Active Abilities (such as Lord of the West).
• Prevent combat models from killing things.

This post will be focusing primarily on Immobilize/Transfix, but keep in mind that everything we cover here also applies to Command/Compel (with the exception that this spell is usually +1 pip harder to cast and adds a half-move to the target before it's not allowed to move again). There are tactics that you can use with Command/Compel that you don't get with Immobilize/Transfix, so we'll cover those that at the very end (but by and large, they will do the same thing and can be used in similar strategies).

Who's Got Immobilize/Transfix?

A lot of models have Immobilize/Transfix, but here's the comprehensive list for completeness (as of the writing of this post):

• Immobilize:
• Gandalf the Grey/White
• Gildor Inglorion
• Galadriel (Lothlorien version)
• Celeborn
• Saruman/Saruman the White/Sharkey
• Radagast the Brown
• Transfix:
• The Dark Lord Sauron
• All the Ringwraiths (from all the lists)
• Orc/Moria Goblin/Uruk-Hai Shamans
• The Mouth of Sauron
• Dragon with Wyrmtongue
• Dalamyr via his Smoke Bombs (channelled Transfix power)
• The Necromancer of Dol Guldur
• Smaug

That's a lot of models from a LOT of army lists. Within this large list, there are basically two kinds of models that we're looking at: models who can cast Immobilize/Transfix many times during the game, and models that can cast Immobilize/Transfix a few times during the game.

How Do You Use It Most Effectively?

Unlike Sorcerous Blast, Immobilize is a precision spell, affecting a single target and nobody else. There are also situations where this spell might not do anything (if the target has already moved and isn't going to be engaged, then Immobilize does nothing). Here are a few principles for using this spell:

• Spend enough Will to have a 70% chance of success (or better);
• Only channel it if it's important to beat the model; and
• If the target is transfixed and the spell was not channelled, reallocate your resources to other fights.

The theory behind these three principles is simple: figure out what you need to do to an enemy hero (keep him from killing things or actually kill the guy). Once you know that, the solution is pretty simple. Let's look at each principle and see how we do this.

1) The 70% Success Rule

As I mentioned in the last post, the idea behind a 70% success criteria is that in nearly three-out-of-four attempts you should successfully cast the spell. 

Immobilize/Transfix is cast by most models (some named Ringwraiths and Shamans as the exceptions) on a 2+ or a 3+, which is pretty good. In fact, for most models, you might be tempted to roll a single die to cast the spell (since you have a 67% chance of success). When deciding to cast this spell, I have the following advice:

If you Immobilize/Transfix on a 3+, use 1 dice if you have at least 1 Might point left and the target has no way to resist the spell. Otherwise, use 2 dice.

As I mentioned in our last post, you want the spell to work - for a caster in this game, nothing is more frustrating than failing to cast a spell (especially if the target is a high value enemy model). As a result, spending a single die gives you a better-than-not chance of casting the spell (and spending 1 die instead of 2 dice saves you a Will point). However, if you get a 2 and need a 3, the question is whether your Might point is more important than that Will point you chose to save. Generally speaking, I'd like to save the Might point instead of the Will point.

Ringwraiths are notorious for their use of Transfix (among other spells)

By rolling 2 dice, you have an 89% chance of success if you're looking for a 3+ on one of them - that's not only almost an 25% increase in likelihood, but you've also got a very low chance of having to spend Might to boost your roll. This leads to a very important principle for casting: given the choice between spending an extra Will point or an extra Might point, you want to spend the extra Will point.

For some heroes (like Gildor - who has 4 Will points and Immobilize on a 3+), this can mean that you only get 2 casts in a game instead of 4 casts in a game. However, since he only has 1 Might point, you are more likely to have your Might point for things other than casting. You also get the advantage of having a better chance of getting a higher max-die (30% chance of getting a 6, 55% chance of getting a 5+) than throwing a single die - when targeting a hero who can attempt to resist the spell, this is a big consideration.

2) Channel Only When It Matters

The channelled benefits of Immobilize/Transfix reduces the targets Fight Value and Attacks by half (rounding up). Obviously, you would only do this if you were actually going to charge the model this turn OR if he has already charged you this turn (why reduce his combat stats if you're not going to fight him) - but how useful is this really? Let's look at some examples:

• Aragorn, King Elessar will go from F6/3A to F3/2A. This is good in that you're more likely to beat/tie his Fight Value, but the number of dice he's rolling is not greatly diminished (and since his banner rule is a passive ability, he still gets a banner reroll in the fight).
• Elrond, Master of Rivendell will go from F6/3A to F3/2A as well, but he will lose his Lord of the West reroll - which is huge (thankfully for him, the errata makes Vilya a passive ability, which is consistent with all of the other Elven rings of power).
• Theoden, King of Rohan will go from F5/2A to F3/1A. This also reduces Theoden's Fight value to a modest level, but he's also only rolling a single die - which is really good. I will note that he'll go down from F3/1A to F2/1A if Grima is nearby, so no need to channel this spell against him if you have Saruman and Grima...
• A Captain of Minas Tirith will go from F4/2A to F2/1A. This is . . . really bad for him - he's probably losing to anything he fights.
• The Dark Lord Sauron will go from F9/4A to F5/2A. The reduction to F5 can be beatable (though it's more of a stretch), but the drop from 4 Attacks to 2 Attacks is huge.
• The Watcher in the Water will go from F6/6A to F3/3A. This is still a lot of attacks, but at F3, he should be far more manageable than he otherwise would be (he also can't make free tentacle shooting attacks, which is nice).

As you can see, while the Fight reduction should make beating most heroes much easier, it doesn't necessarily reduce their ability to get a good max-die roll, since the dice they're rolling isn't greatly reduced. Traps help here, since it not only increases the number of dice you can bring to bear against them, but also because it helps you kill them once you win. 

While all of this might sound exciting, here's something to remember:

Immobilize/Transfix does nothing to the Defensive stats of your target - only their offensive potential.

While I think killing heroes who have been Immobilized/Transfixed is good, killing said heroes has always been difficult (no matter what version of the rules we've had). As such, I generally recommend a different strategy: avoid the hero entirely. If the hero hasn't already charged one or more friendly models, ignore him. Why waste models on a model that can't do anything?

The possibly-overlooked sub-text of this recommendation is this: don't channel this spell if the target model isn't going to be in combat.

3) Don't Waste Resources on Transfixed Models

By casting Transfix on Elrond, your Morannons can bypass him and just focus on killing the Warriors around him

An Immobilized/Transfixed model can't make Strikes, can't shoot, and can't cast magic. In a word, they can't kill anything this round. So why fight them in the first place? Sure, removing them from the board could be good (especially if you have a hero who has Blood and Glory, or gains some kind of benefit from killing other heroes). But generally speaking, if you can Transfix/Immobilize a model for several turns, delaying their killing potential is going to be enough to sway the game. That kind of delay will make up for the points cost of the hero pretty nicely.

This is easily done by casters with lots of Will (like Ringwraiths or the Necromancer) or free Will each turn (like Wizards and Galadriel - though you can use Sorcerous Blast to keep them from killing things with some wizards, as we discussed last time). For casters who have a more limited amount of Will (like Gildor Inglorion or the Mouth of Sauron), you're looking at 2-3 successful casts each game, but even if you delay a big hero from killing for two turns, you can help your team a lot. And, unlike wizards and many Ringwraiths, these heroes are fairly inexpensive.

If you have a hero who charged you before you could Immobilize him, if an Immobilize works, re-allocate any spearmen you have to fight elsewhere - don't waste resources! If your opponent's hero wins, the models he's facing will still be alive (so there won't be a big hole in your battleline).

When Do You Use Immobilize/Transfix?

Gandalf can cast against Mauhur or Thrydan - Mauhur will be an easier target, but Thrydan is much more dangerous . . .

There are three key times when you use Immobilize/Transfix - the most common of which is when an enemy model is about to be in combat (either because you can charge him OR because he can charge you). As we've already talked about, this is a useful way of slowing an enemy hero down. It's important to note that the target hero will probably have Will to use, so your first cast might be resisted. Do what you can with what you have and move on.

Sometimes, you aren't able to cast Immobilize/Transfix until after an enemy model has already charged. When this happens, Immobilize/Transfix is still useful in that it will keep a hero from being able to Strike the model(s) he charged, but won't allow you to avoid the hero entirely (freeing up your manpower resources to fight elsewhere). This is easily the second most common use of Immobilize/Transfix: trying to rescue models from being turned into a bloody smear on someone's weapon.

"But my Lord, you want to turn around and hear what I have to say . . ."

But there's a third way you can use Immobilize/Transfix: when an enemy model is advancing across the field but hasn't moved yet. This is best employed by heroes who have lots of Will (Unlimited spell-casters), since this is a niche use of Immobilize/Transfix. Like we talked about last time with Sorcerous Blast, if you can keep an important support piece (like a banner) from moving, the group of models he's supporting is required to either wait for him OR leave him behind. Either choice is a win for you.

What About Command/Compel?

There aren't very many leveled-up spells in MESBG (where you get all of the benefits of another spell but add something else to it). As I said at the beginning, Command/Compel can be used for very similar purposes as Immobilize/Transfix - you can still half Fight Value/Attacks, you can still keep the model from dealing damage of any kind, and you can keep them from using active abilities/heroic actions. All of this is useful. But for the usually +1 pip of difficulty to cast, you add the ability to perform a half-move. Here are some things to think about (in the context of the three uses for Immobilize/Transfix):

• When you would root a hero in place to keep them from charging, you can move the hero out of position (placing them in a position that's more exposed to your archery, away from their protective battle lines so you can trap the hero with models and kill it, or delay the model from arriving for an additional turn). This can also be used to move a model off of an objective;
• When you would keep a hero who has already charged one of your models, cast Immobilize/Transfix instead of a Command/Compel (as the Designer Commentaries very clearly state that a model cannot be Commanded/Compelled out of combat - though you can get them out of combat with a Sorcerous Blast); and
• When you're trying to keep a hero from advancing down the field towards you, you can make them walk backwards or to the side (this will still make the models they were supporting have to decide between stalling the advance or continuing with the hero).

In general, I haven't cast Command/Compel much. There have always been niche cases where I might try a Command/Compel (getting someone off an objective or making a Cave Troll walk backwards), but most of the time, you're looking at an increased difficulty for very small (albeit tactical) benefits. When I started working on this article, I saw how some models could spend the same amount of resources to have a 70% or more likelihood of casting the spell for BOTH Immobilize and Command. So, for certain characters, I am more open to trying the harder spell.

We could do SO many case studies, but what we're going to do is look at a few illustrative cases that showcase the different ways you can use Immobilize/Transfix in action.

Use Case Study: Saruman

Saruman is probably the best hero in the game at casting Immobilize and Command. While the Dark Lord Sauron can cast Immobilize/Transfix and Command/Compel just as easily and just as far (2+ and 3+ respectively with 18" range on both), Saruman has that reroll in his back pocket in case he happens to fail OR if he wants a chance at a higher roll. The trick with Saruman is deciding when to cast Immobilize, Command, and Sorcerous Blast since you cast them all very well on just your free Will point:

• Immobilize: 97% chance of success on free Will point (with a reroll) with 18" range;
• Command: 89% chance of success on free Will point (with a reroll) with 18" range; and
• Sorceous Blast: 75% chance of success on free Will point (with a reroll) with 12" range.

As a long-time user of Saruman (before he was cool), here are my tips for choosing between Sorcerous Blast and Immobilize/Command:

• Most of the time, Sorcerous Blast will be your go-to move - it can keep enemy models from dealing damage (makes them Prone), though they'll still be able to use active abilities and call heroic actions. This tactic does not work against S6+ models.
• When your target is beyond the 12" range on Sorcerous Blast (or if he's S6+), use Command to walk models backwards or out of position. Saruman casts Command more reliably than most casters cast Immobilize/Transfix (and certainly more reliably than they cast Command/Compel) on his free dice alone!
• Only use Immobilize if you "need the spell to work" to keep a hero who has already charged from doing any damage - a near-90% chance of success on your Command spell means that you might fail, but a near-100% chance of success on your Immobilize spell will ever only cost you 1 Might point to make it work in the very, very rare times when it isn't cast. What's great about having an 18" range on your Command is that you've likely depleted all of the hero's Will already by trying to move him away from the fight by the time he arrives (and Immobilize becomes necessary).

Use Case Study: Gandalf (both versions), Galadriel, and Radagast the Brown

Three of my favorite casters in the game . . . 

Unlike Saruman, these wizards don't have a reroll to their casting attempts. For three of them (both Gandalfs and Galadriel), you have access to both Immobilize and Command with both having a 70%+ chance of success on two dice. As such, you should generally default to casting Command with these casters UNLESS you need to spell to work OR if you're targeting an enemy hero who doesn't have a lot of room to move (in which case Immobilize is the better play).

One of my other favorite casters . . .

Radagast benefits from having most of his spells cast on a 2+ or a 3+, so Immobilize for him is quite easy to cast. The main question for him will be whether or not to cast Panic Steed instead (on a 2+) or Nature's Wrath if you need to keep a group of nearby models from dealing wounds this turn (on a 4+). If there's an unmounted model that's causing you trouble and you're almost out of Will, rely on the Immobilize - otherwise, rely on Nature's Wrath (just like the other wizards default to Command).

Use Case Study: Dragon with Wyrmtongue

Dragons with Wyrmtongue (and Wings - because you always take Wings) are nasty - the only spells they have are Transfix (cast on a 3+ with a free Will point each turn) and Compel (cast on a 4+ with a free Will point each turn), but when you can fly (12" move with very few restrictions), are F7/S7, with 4 Attacks and Monstrous Charge, basic spells are all you need! Using Transfix to prevent an enemy hero from calling a Strike (so your F7 can dominate) and then knock them Prone and roll 10 dice to wound - NASTY! This is the only post that will feature Dragons with Wyrmtongue, but we won't be walking through how to use them for the Dragon (to know that, just read the article). :)

Use Case Study: Ringwraiths

Saruman has the freedom to cast Immobilize/Command (read Command) every turn without actually losing permanent resources. This is VERY good. Ringwraiths are often viewed as having lots of Will and so can "cast forever." If you recall from my post on Multi-Purpose Will casters, once you've allocated Will to use for fighting, staying alive, resisting spells (potentially), and (potentially) triggering special rules, Ringwraiths actually have a very limited amount of Will to use for casting - and this is particularly true if you use the Rule of 70%, as each cast of Transfix will cost them 2 Will each turn to cast (the Witch-King can get by with a single Will point if he has the Crown of Morgul - rerolls come in clutch!). 

The Nine - so much fun to use!

For most Ringwraiths (Khamul the Easterling, the Knight of Umbar, and the Betrayer have increased casting difficulties for everything except Sap Will and Instill Fear), here are some estimates to consider:

P(Success)	1 Will	2 Will	3 Will
Drain Courage (2+)	83%	97%	99.5%
Transfix (3+)	67%	89%	96%
Compel (4+)*	50%	75%	88%
Sap Will/Instill Fear/Black Dart (5+)	33%	55%	70%

*The Witch-King of Angmar and the Dark Marshal cast Instill Fear on a 4+

We'll be talking about the other Ringwraith spells later in the series, but for now you can see why Drain Courage is such a cool spell in my opinion - it's the only spell that can be reliably cast without draining your Will store quickly! You can also see that while the difference in casting Transfix and Compel is certainly present for a Ringwraith (8-17% more likely to succeed, depending on how many dice you throw at the spell), it's not that big of a gap. Since most Ringwraiths only have 2 Might points (and probably want them for things other than boosting casting rolls), it behooves you to cast Transfix or Compel with 2 dice just to give yourself the pretty-good chance of success without spending Might (and you want your Might for other things). 

In the main, I think that Ringwraiths (other than the Witch-King and the Dark Marshal) have only two real spells in their arsenal: Drain Courage and Transfix - and that's simply because these are the two spells they have that can be cast very reliably (above 80%) on 1-2 dice. That said, when you need a Compel, you should be able to cast it on the same number of dice as a Transfix!

Got five more upstairs waiting to be redeemed . . .

One of the best things about generic Ringwraiths, though, is that they can be spammed for a decent price: while Saruman can only cast Immobilize/Command once in a round, you can run two or three 2M/9W/1F Ringwraiths on horses (90-pts each, my preferred build) with the Witch-King (on horse with the Crown of Morgul, a Morgul Blade, and 3M/15W/2F - he's only 165 points) and cast Transfix FOUR TIMES in a round. Sure, you're spending 435 points on four heroes (which is more than twice the cost of Saruman - though not an outrageous price for four heroes), but Saruman will have to take several turns to wear down the Will store of a powerful hero (like Eomer or Aragorn, King Elessar). If you've got four casts of Transfix, those heroes HAVE to get at least one natural 6 in order to even be able to resist the last spell that is cast (and will be out of Will for the next round, when a single Ringwraith can take the hero out of commission).

Use Case Study: Celeborn (and Gildor and the Mouth of Sauron and Sharkey)

While Wizards (and select other heroes) can cast Immobilize/Transfix each turn and Ringwraiths can cast Transfix for quite a while, there are some heroes who are going to get off (reliably) 2 or perhaps 3 casts of this amazing spell during the game. The question with these heroes is this: when you know you only have a few chances, do you take a lower projected probability of success in order to increase your maximum number of attempts?

Converted Celeborn and some new Lorien arrivals

Celeborn and Sharkey have another complication factor for consideration: both have Exhaustion spells that can be cast on a 2+ (Terrifying Aura for Sharkey; Aura of Command for Celeborn). If Celeborn uses 1 Will to cast Aura of Command, he'll need 1 additional Will to keep it going and will then only have 1 more Will point to use for Immobilize. Sharkey could use 1 Will to cast Terrifying Aura on himself and would need to keep 1 additional Will to keep it going (saving 2 Will for Immobilize).

Yet another complication for Celeborn (and a concern for the Mouth of Sauron) is that he doesn't JUST have an Exhaustion spell and Immobilize: he has another spell too (while the Mouth of Sauron doesn't have an Exhaustion spell, he does have two other spells)! Is it more important to cast Immobilize once? Or would it be better to cast Enchanted Blades once? Or should you skip Aura of Command and so allow you to cast 3 spells with 1 die each? In reality, I think Celeborn only casts 2 spells each game (unless you ally with Gandalf, who could cast Strengthen Will on the Elven lord) - and if you're facing something powerful, a two-die Immobilize is probably best.

For the Mouth of Sauron, the need for Transfix or Drain Courage appear to be greater than an Instill Fear. You can cast Transfix twice OR cast Transfix once and Drain Courage twice - the first will take a big hero out of the fight for 1-2 turns (depending on whether the first spell is resisted), while the second will doom a captain-level hero to be ineffective at passing Courage tests or doing damage on one particular turn. 

Sharkey probably needs Terrifying Aura more than any other hero that can cast it - and if you're afraid of being charged, you probably want Sharkey to channel the spell and roll two dice to cast it. If you do that, you're looking at only casting one Transfix all game (though that could be two casts if you don't channel the Terrifying Aura spell). Casting once or twice won't make a huge difference during the game, but given that you're supporting some REALLY bad units, cutting down a power hero's killing ability for one or two turns will be felt for sure.

Finally, we have Gildor. With 4 Will points and a 3+ cast of Immobilize, you can easily cast Immobilize twice on 2 Will each time (89% chance). If you're targeting someone who has Will to resist, throwing a two-die Immobilize to start isn't a bad idea (get that high-die roll), which can then be followed up with two additional casts of Immobilize on a single die (67% chance each). If you're fighting a monster who doesn't have Will, Gildor MIGHT be able to get away with four casts of Immobilize on a single die, but I wouldn't try it - any roll of 1 will result in a fail (as you only have 1 Might point) and I wouldn't want to spend my only Might point on casting (I think you want it to win fights OR call a Heroic Defense).

"Use" Case Study: Goblin/Orc/Uruk-Hai Shamans

What to say here? "Fury shamans" are models that have Transfix on a REALLY bad value (5+). These models have another spell that is cast much more easily (Fury on a 3+). If you plan on channelling Fury, you're probably throwing 2 dice at the spell and saving your last Will point to keep the spell active. So is there any reason you'd actually cast Transfix instead of Fury?

My converted Moria Goblin Shaman - because archers are plentiful and shamans are awful . . .

Yes. There is.

Fury is a very useful ability (jury's out for me as to whether it's useful as a channelled spell or just cast normally): models near the Shaman are able to automatically pass Courage tests (and can attempt to ignore wounds on a 6 if channelled). Normally, these are warriors that don't pass Courage tests very well, so being able to ignore this glaring hole in their profile is good. It's very good. But Fury is an exhaustion spell and so anyone who can remove your Will could bring Fury down with a single blow.

And if your game features a Ringwraith on the other side of the board, Sap Will is definitely coming! So you might want to save yourself the trouble and not cast Fury at all - save all 3 Will to cast Transfix once and get one great turn of an enemy hero being rooted in place. If you're not facing a Ringwraith, pass on Transfix entirely and do a two-die Fury cast (channel if you want).

Immobilize and Transfix

Immobilize and Transfix are staples of the game - they're pin-point spells that do very simple tasks, but they're effective (even in the new edition). Whether you're using a wizard who can cast the spell reliably each turn OR if you're running a character who can only cast it a few times during the game, this spell has the potential to change the tempo of the game quickly and make your opponent work harder with their army to compensate for a reduction in killing power from an important hero or two.

In our next post, we'll be looking at a collection of exhaustion spells that provide individual or auric buffs: Terrifying Aura, Blinding Light, Aura of Command, and Aura of Dismay. Wizards have Terrifying Aura, but other spell-casters tend to be assigned only one of these spells (and each hero that has at least one of these spells tends to have something else that's begging for the use of Might - which makes channelling these spells a difficult call). Want to get better (or just more confident) in using these spells? We'll dive in next time - until then, happy hobbying!