The Stuff of Legends: The Rangers of Ithilien

Good morning gamers,

We have come to it at last: we're looking at the last Legendary Legion that has been released so far - the Rangers of Ithilien. This Legion, often touted as the most competitive Legion at low points levels, has seen an increase in popularity (and notoriety) at higher points levels with the release of two Ranger Minor Heroes in Quest of the Ringbearer (Anborn and Mablung).

Most players love the theme of this list (the scene with "the Rangers shooting the Mumaks" from the Two Towers is really cool), but feel this list is "a good way to lose friends" as well. Sure, you can run it at competitive events, but is this actually a good list? And how do you structure your army so that you can handle any scenario (and fight a mirror-match, which may happen)? Well, that's what we're digging into today - let's see what we have!

Part 1: What Do You Need?

Legion Tax: 85-95pts

The only model you NEED to take is Faramir, Captain of Gondor. On foot, he's 85 points with his bow, but you can also give him a horse for 10 points. 95 points is a pretty small tax for a Legion (something we'll get into later), which means that no matter what your points level is, you should be able to get plenty of models to bring the pain to your opponent. With Rangers of Gondor not counting towards your bow limit in Faramir's warband (thanks to a Legion army building rule), you can take up to 15 Rangers of Gondor (120-135pts) before you NEED to bring another hero. If you spend 215-230pts on 16 Ranger models, I feel like you could do worse.

What you actually need are at least three other heroes: Madril, Captain of Ithilien gives you 3 Might for Heroic March (important since you will be overwhelmingly infantry and not very fast), as well as a guarantee of better arrival options in Maelstrom fights and +12 free Ranger slots. Anborn, Ranger of Ithilien gives you +6 free Ranger slots and gets a free Might point to be used each round on shooting rolls, which makes him a very good 30-point hero. Third, you want Mablung, Ranger of Ithilien in your army to give you yet another +6 free Rangers lots and he provides the Stalk Unseen rule to any Rangers you have - perfect for making those pesky Rangers of Gondor ineligible targets for enemy archery! A recent FAQ clarified that his Birdcalls special rule allows Rangers nearby to ignore the Stalk Unseen rule for models they wish to shoot (no spotter required to see those models for them). For 30 points, he's also a bargain hero.

A nice supporting cast of Gondorian heroes includes Damrod, Ranger of Ithilien, who doesn't have any special rules in his own right, but gives you +6 Ranger slots and costs a little less than the other named Rangers of Ithilien (25 points). For 25 points, I think he's worth taking over 3 Rangers of Gondor simply because a) he has Might, which makes him more reliable model at taking down D5 hero mounts, b) he gives you another small warband to delay deploying your important warbands so you can see where your opponent has deployed his strongest pieces, and c) the Will/Fate he has can help him survive a little longer and help his mates not die to a Wrath of Bruinen/channelled Nature's Wrath (which wounds Rangers of Gondor on 5s). You also have access to a Captain of Minas Tirith, who not only gives you +2 Might for March, but gives you another mounted hero - and one who can take a lance! While F4 heroes aren't great, charging him in with Faramir (who can also be mounted) can get you more killing power in melee (Faramir's 3 Attacks with knock down supplemented by 3 Attacks with knock down and +1 To Wound). This is something this Legion really doesn't do very well (but one might argue that it's unnecessary if your opponent is half your size when they finally make it to you).

UPDATE: As of August 2021, you are required to take Frodo, Sam, and Smeagol - but seeing as how that rewrites much of this article, I'm just going to note it here.

There is some debate about whether Frodo, Sam, and Smeagol should be in your list (either at all or at certain points levels). The advantage to taking Frodo is that you have a Ringbearer in your army who gives you +2 Might. He comes in at a little more expensive than a Captain of Minas Tirith with horse, shield, and lance, but allows Faramir to not have to spend Might for Strike (you could guarantee yourself the higher Fight Value, but Sting gives you an Elven-made weapon in the fight). Frodo also has Heroic Defense with D6 and 2 Wounds with 3 Fate - which makes him an interesting grenade to hold down an enemy hero for a turn or two (giving Sam potentially free Heroic combats if he's nearby - maybe in the same fight as Faramir?).

If you bring Frodo, Sam isn't a bad option. For 45 points, you get 2 Might on a hero who wears an Elven cloak and is REALLY SHORT! Those 2 Might points can be used for Heroic Strike (if fighting alongside Frodo with the Ring, you can all but guarantee getting to F5+) or just boosting your rolls (like if you've got a free Heroic Combat going on in order to get to Frodo). Sam works well as a Heroic-Move-Might-caddy as well, able to call Heroic Moves without really needing the Might for other things (so long as there are other models backing him up). Personally, I think paying 130 points for Frodo and Sam seems pretty steep, but you're getting a LOT out of them and they're well worth the investment.

Smeagol is . . . well, a different story for most players. For 30 points, you could certainly do worse - with F4/S4/2 Attacks and 1 Might, Smeagol is in some ways better than the Minor Heroes you get in this army. On Defense, he's "fine" compared to the Rangers in this army, with D4/2 Wounds and 1 Fate (a little lower on Defense, more total Wounds though). If you compare him to heroes like Denethor (relatively the same cost, have 2 Attacks/Wounds), he's not bad - so consider taking him if you want an extra Might point in your list. Of the three travelers, I'd be okay with leaving him at home, but if you're bringing Sam and Frodo, you could just bring Smeagol along as well. Adding all three of these heroes to your list will boost your Might up by 5 - and Smeagol's Might, like Sam's Might, is the kind of thing you could just use for a Heroic Move (saving your Ranger heroes from having to do that).

The last thing we need to cover about including in your force is a banner. Rangers of Gondor are great units - and if you're bringing this Legion, I'm assuming you're taking them (and a LOT of them at that). While spamming Rangers of Gondor is fun and glorious, don't forget the importance of bringing a banner. Certain scenarios give you VPs if you have one - and if you start the game with a banner on the field, your opponent might be forced to come at you (instead of you being forced to come to him). To The Death and Heirlooms of Ages Past can be pretty bleak for your opponent if you have a banner on the field (and control of the Heirloom because your archers came on all over the board) - so don't forget to bring one! I highly recommend converting up a Ranger of Gondor with spear and banner - you can't give a banner to Rangers in their basic equipment, but since they're warriors, they can pick up the banner if/when the Warrior of Minas Tirith carrying it falls.

Part 2: Why Take This Legion Over "Normal" Allied Forces?

Minas Tirith has one of the best hero and warrior suites in the game - lots of mounted heroes who do lots of damage, access to a wizard and supporting heroes to back up the shooting and slaying heroes, and great choices for both heavily-armored warriors and lightly-armored skirmish troops. This Legion pairs down a lot of that, but keeps the two most point efficient warrior models available to Minas Tirith (Rangers of Gondor and Warriors of Minas Tirith), has heroes who either come with bows by default or can take them, adds a Ringbearer and some of his brave companions for flavor (and to deal with high-Fight models).

With all that you're losing, it might seem like this list isn't worth taking unless "you like the bows" (which I do - as you probably know by now). But let's look and see what other advantages (and disadvantages) this army has.

Weakness #1: Usually Low Defense

Rangers of Ithilien Bonuses

Rangers are good troops - they have a Fight Value of 4/3+ and are average cost troops. While only average bravery (C3), the glaring weakness of Rangers of Gondor is D4 - which means if they're not in cover, they can be torn to pieces by enemy archery. Of course, if they fire first, they can tear most things to pieces if fielded en masse in this list, but you're going to run into problems keeping them alive if your opponent manages to find some cover for his men. Once you're engaged in combat, spears will help you a lot (as will a banner), but should you lose a duel, assume you're dying.

Of course, an anvil of Warriors of Minas Tirith or Osgiliath Veterans can remedy this pretty well - and if you include Osgiliath Veterans in Faramir's warband, you can have F4/D6 troops protecting your F4/D4 archers, which is pretty sweet. It will mean fewer Rangers, but maybe the higher Defense (and +1 Courage) is worth the cost. Warriors of Minas Tirith can't get to F4 in this Legion (though spears on your Rangers can help with this), but they can be D6 (D7 with shieldwall) and retain average cost - if you need some pincushion models to absorb archery, you could certainly do worse.

Strength #1: Lots of Shooting

We'll just get this out of the way now - this army shoots. It's shoots everything. If you don't believe me, read my article on 5 MORE ways you can waste Might points (I talk about this army near the end when discussing the value of calling a Heroic Shoot). This army not only has Rangers of Gondor that can be added to the army without worrying about your bow limit (up to 45 of them - FORTY-FIVE OF THEM!), but also allows you to bring bows on your Warriors of Minas Tirith (to embed in a Shieldwall, though I'm not sure they're valuable to this list), your Osgiliath Veterans (even less valuable here, if I'm honest), and your Captains of Minas Tirith - to say nothing of the five Ranger heroes you probably already have. Even Frodo and Sam have thrown stones, which means you can have quite a long shoot phase if you want to. This leads into another problem though . . .

Weakness #2: Pretty Slow Army
Besides Faramir and Captains of Minas Tirith, you don't have mounted models in this list. You do have access to both Madril and Captains of Minas Tirith for Heroic March, but your army is going to be slow (and chances are, not everyone will be able to March at the same time unless you pull a Millenium Falcon or Pac-Man maneuver). This is especially true if you're shooting at people - not only because you can only move at half speed, but also because the more time you spend shooting, the less total rounds you can play in a timed game (and THAT means that scenarios that require you to get somewhere are going to be hard).

Strength #2: Lots of Might
This list has a lot of Might points. Whether you run Frodo/Sam/Smeagol or just spam the Ranger heroes, you've got 3 Might on Faramir, 3 Might on Madril (in most cases), 0-3 Might on your mini Ranger heroes, and 0-5 Might on Frodo, Sam, and Smeagol. The fun part is this: if you include Frodo in your army, Faramir doesn't have to Strike so long as Frodo can get in his fight (since the F5 on Faramir, paired with Frodo's Elven-made weapon will beat anyone who doesn't make it to F9-10 and Frodo has the Elven-made weapon for advantage). Faramir CAN Strike, but he doesn't have to. Similarly, Sam can bring free Heroic Combats to the table, which allows your Ranger heroes from having to call them. Finally, since your most common specialized heroic action is Heroic Accuracy, most of your heroes are free to spend their Might to boost wounding rolls instead of calling other heroic actions.

Weakness #3: No Big Heroes
Faramir isn't a bad hero - without a lance he lacks the punch that you'd expect from him in Minas Tirith and without the heavy armor/shield, he lacks the resilience you'd like. Having a Ringbearer in his army and Heroic Strike/Defense makes up for some of that, but on the whole, Faramir is not a great slaying hero. The rest of his army is a mixture of basic Captains (Madril and Captains of Minas Tirith), glorified warriors (Damrod, Anborn,  Mablung, and Smeagol), and wee-folk (Frodo and Sam). If you're looking for someone to go rampaging through an enemy list, this isn't going to give it to you.

Strength #3: You Don't Need Big Heroes

We've already mentioned that this list shoots - and while you won't be able to shoot Sauron off the table, and while you might struggle shoot to death the likes of the Balrog or Smaug, most heroes are going to be vulnerable to your archery - even if they have an anti-archery bubble up (e.g. Blinding Light). The archery pumped out by this list IS its big hero - and that means you can afford to not spend a bunch of points on a hero who is just going to attract all of the magic and monsters and shooting of your opponent.

You also have nice synergies within your list that will make dealing with enemy big models easier (such as the Frodo-Faramir combo). We've already talked about this quite a bit, but it bears repeating here: your small heroes can work together in order to function like a big hero - and that can work if you play it right.

Strength #4: Deployment Advantage

Chances are, you're going to want to run all five Ranger heroes. Most armies - no matter what the points level is - are not going to have 5 warbands to deploy. Given that knowledge, in scenarios where you alternate deploying warbands, you can start off with your "throw away" warbands - Damrod, then Mablung, then Anborn - and wait to deploy your more important warbands - Madril, then Faramir - until after you know where the bulk of your opponent's force is (or all of it, as may be the case). Want to keep Faramir safely away from that big nasty hero he's got? Well, just deploy him late so you know where he is!

Even in scenarios where Faramir has to deploy in a specific spot (Contest of Champions), you can deploy your unimportant warbands in a particular order to get as much information as possible BEFORE you deploy your more important warbands down. Being able to know as much as possible about the board will help tremendously in keeping your important units alive - and this army does it really well!

Oh, and Madril (if deployed first) helps you in Maelstrom, in case we haven't mentioned that yet . . .

Part 3: Legendary Legion Improvements

I'll start with the improvement that most people recommend: Sam and Frodo (and possibly Smeagol) should be required in this Legion. Not requiring them allows you to play the Rangers of Ithilien BEFORE Sam/Frodo join their ranks, so I get why they're not required. Requiring Sam and Frodo (but not Smeagol) allows you to play the Legion after the Mumakil skirmish and before they find Smeagol in the Forbidden Pool. Adding Smeagol to the required list, of course, covers the time until they get to Osgiliath. I think the Middle-Earth team wanted to give you the flexibility to do all three time periods - but frankly, I think the Legion needs the additional heroes not only to curb the dominance of spammed Rangers of Gondor at lower points levels. Some tournaments have announced recently that players bringing the Rangers of Ithilien list need to bring at least Frodo and Sam - I would just go the whole hog and require Smeagol as well. For players who wish to field the Rangers shooting at the Mumaks without Frodo and company, let me direct you to the scenario from Quest of the Ringbearer . . .

A second modification I'd make is to Osgiliath Veterans - either making Osgiliath Veterans cheaper if taken in Faramir's warband or giving them higher Strength. Since you don't get Citadel Guard or Fountain Court Guard in this list, there's a place for them in this list that you don't normally find in Minas Tirith. However, with the spam of Rangers in your army, you don't need F4 that much (you'll have it in the back rank if you just give your Rangers spears) and if you want D6, you can get Warriors of Minas Tirith (who might be D7) for fewer points - if you're okay with -1 Courage on the front-rank model. These guys are super cool models, but they just don't feel that special in this list (and they certainly don't feel special in a normal Minas Tirith list). Ergo, making them S4 (which is probably anathema) or making them the same cost as Warriors of Minas Tirith (instead of +1 point more expensive) would make them more viable options. You could also not allow Warriors of Minas Tirith at all . . . which would make these guys the only D5-6 warrior models in the list and would give them a clear purpose. You'd also have no banner options, which might make your opponent very happy.

One last option is to take away the spear option for Rangers of Gondor in this Legion, which would force the army to wrap around it's opponent's army and rely on getting as many bodies as possible into fights. This won't have a big impact on players who are tempted to leave Spears at home in favor of raw numbers, but most players would rather have F4 on a stick. The rationale for requiring this change would be that Faramir's Rangers don't have spears with them on their skirmish in Ithilien, so why allow them to take spears in this Legion?

Part 4: Army Strategies

We've already talked about a lot of this, but let's go through a few things: first and foremost, you should at least consider taking Frodo and Sam (possibly Smeagol) in Faramir's warband. Never deploy them on their own - you want their Might in Faramir's warband and you want them to synergize with him. Yes, this will cost you 2-3 Ranger slots, but you'll have plenty of Rangers - don't worry about it. With them in his warband, you've got the power to deal with big threats and call Heroic Moves with Sam (saving Might on Frodo/Faramir for other things).

Always bring a banner. Banners help you win fights - and you don't want your Rangers dying, so bring a banner. As mentioned previously, I highly recommend converting up a Ranger of Gondor with banner and spear because they can pick up dropped banners (even though it's not in their starting wargear). One "tin can" in Faramir's warband is fine - though if you're running a Captain of Minas Tirith in a large game, you could throw him into that warband with a block of other "tin cans" if you wanted to.

As much as possible, you want to have 50% of each warband carrying spears. Rangers die when they're in one-on-one fights, so make sure you fill the warbands with spears to make sure you get plenty of supporting attacks (and possibly a banner) in each fight. If you haven't maxed out your numbers, I recommend running Anborn/Mablung/Damrod with 1-2 Rangers of Gondor without spears and 2-3 Rangers of Gondor with spears so you have a 2x2 or 3x2 block of bowmen that run a 50/50 split between spears and no spears. Madril's warband should shoot for 7-11 warriors, half of which have spears as well. Faramir's warband should have Frodo/Sam/Smeagol, the banner behind Faramir, and a 50/50 split of Rangers with and without spears. All of this assumes that your heroes are in the front rank - you could tuck them in the second rank if you wanted to.

Also, be patient with your archery - you have lots of bows, so if you want to move some models their full distance, you can do that and not suffer too much on the shooting front. In most scenarios, getting somewhere is valuable - and since you're likely to be footing it along the board, you need to prioritize getting there as fast as possible. So give up a few shots and move full (taking advantage of cover if you can). Madril (or a Captain of Minas Tirith) are likely to be part of any sprinting group, but don't underestimate the value that Mablung can bring as well (giving the Rangers in your team the benefits of Stalk Unseen).

Finally, when it comes to shooting, concentrate your fire in one place where possible. Taking off wounds here and there won't make that much of an impact, but leveling an entire formation (or crippling it) is devastating. And besides, it feels good when you do this . . .

Part 5: Army Showcase

Our first list today starts at 500 points, the old "best points level" for this Legion. Honestly, you could still play this Legion at this points level and do just fine, but we're going to start off by looking at a "friendly" way to play this Legion that still runs lots of Rangers, but makes life a bit more enjoyable for your opponent. We talked in the Legion modifications that it would be good if Sam, Frodo, and Smeagol were prerequisites - and towards that end, we'll be taking all three of them. In low points games, having a Ringbearer and +5 Might points for ~175pts isn't "bad", but there are only so many Rangers you can bring when half of your points are dedicated to getting Faramir and his three little prisoners. This list runs Madril as well (for both the Might AND the March), though I'm not sure he's better at lower points levels than both Anborn AND Mablung (March is good, but the other guys have pretty good rules). From a collector's point of view, this list only requires you to own Faramir/Madril, Frodo/Sam/Smeagol (who now come in a set), a Warrior of Minas Tirith with banner, and 1 box of Rangers - so it's pretty "affordable." With 26 models (and 22 bows), I feel the numbers are pretty good and the bows are certainly very good, but the army itself is pretty manageable and "friendly" (or at least as friendly as this list is going to get without "just adding Tin Cans" - though I added one so we'd have a banner). Because of points, I didn't not get to 50% spears in this list (and no, I don't care).

• Faramir, Captain of Gondor with bow [AL]
• INDEPENDENT: Frodo Baggins with Sting, Mithril Coat, and Elven cloak
• INDEPENDENT: Samwise Gamgee with Elven cloak
• INDEPENDENT: Smeagol
• 1 Warrior of Minas Tirith with shield, spear, and banner
  
• 6 Rangers of Gondor
  
• 4 Rangers of Gondor with spears
• Madril, Captain of Ithilien
• 8 Rangers of Gondor
• 2 Rangers of Gondor with spears
  

Assuming you're going to a 500-point tournament and you want to do more shooting (you jerk, :-P), you could always choose to leave Frodo, Sam, Smeagol, and the banner at home and instead run more Rangers. This 500-point focuses on the Rangers as they're ambushing the Mumakil in Ithilien before they meet Frodo and Sam. We've added Anborn, Mablung, and Damrod, and added a bunch of Rangers to our list. We could have passed on Damrod to take 3 more Rangers, but as I mentioned before, I feel like the extra Might (and deployment group) will help us out more in the long-run than +2 bows. The list has a whopping 36 models in it, 9 Might points, and 36 bows in it - that's . . . a proper horde at this points level (and the model count you'd expect to find at 700 points)! I'm not sure that leaving the banner at home is the right choice (rerolls are good), but this list is a proper "just Rangers" lists - and that has its own appeal. You'll see the micro-warbands of Minor Hero + 3 Rangers that can move around in a 2x2 block here - great flexibility and their firing lanes are left quite open. I did get close to 50% spears in this list - when you finally are engaged, you will hopefully not crumble quickly.

• Faramir, Captain of Gondor with bow [AL]
• 6 Rangers of Gondor
  
• 7 Rangers of Gondor with spears
  
• Madril, Captain of Ithilien
• 5 Rangers of Gondor
  
• 4 Rangers of Gondor with spears
  
• Damrod, Captain of Ithilien
• 1 Ranger of Gondor
• 2 Rangers of Gondor with spears
• Anborn, Captain of Ithilien
• 1 Ranger of Gondor
• 2 Rangers of Gondor with spears
• Mablung, Captain of Ithilien
• 1 Ranger of Gondor
• 2 Rangers of Gondor with spears
  

As we scale up to 700 points, our "friendly game" army adds more Rangers but keeps Frodo, Sam, and Smeagol. We have 41 models (quite large for a 700pt game, but only slightly more than our 500-point "just Rangers" build), has a banner, and Madril for March. You won't be THAT fast, but with any luck, you won't have to be (3 Marches with Madril can cover a multitude of sins, but won't make you fast by any means). We have almost 50% spears, which will make engaging us more painful than if we left the spears at home.

• Faramir, Captain of Gondor with bow [AL]
• Frodo Baggins with Sting, Mithril coat, and Elven cloak
• Samwise Gamgee with Elven cloak
• Smeagol
• 1 Warrior of Minas Tirith with shield, spear, and banner
• 8 Rangers of Gondor
• 3 Rangers of Gondor with spears
  
• Madril, Captain of Ithilien
• 6 Rangers of Gondor
  
• 6 Rangers of Gondor with spears
  
• Damrod, Ranger of Ithilien
• 1 Ranger of Gondor
• 2 Rangers of Gondor with spears
  
• Anborn, Ranger of Ithilien
• 1 Ranger of Gondor
• 2 Rangers of Gondor with spears
  
• Mablung, Ranger of Ithilien
• 1 Ranger of Gondor
• 2 Rangers of Gondor with spears
  

If you don't like running Frodo, Sam, and Smeagol, you can add a Captain of Minas Tirith on horse to get more March into your army and added a few more models (and a horse for Faramir). With 48 models in our army, we've grown a bit in numbers by leaving the three Independent Heroes at home, but we've lost 3 Might (and free Heroic Combats and a Ringbearer). Personally, I think this might be a sub-optimal approach, but whatever. Note that you could move a Ranger of Gondor into the Captain of Minas Tirith's warband if you wanted and still be within the bow limit.

• Faramir, Captain of Gondor on horse with bow [AL]
• 1 Warrior of Minas Tirith with shield, spear, and banner
  
• 6 Rangers of Gondor
• 8 Rangers of Gondor with spears
• Madril, Captain of Ithilien
• 6 Rangers of Gondor
• 6 Rangers of Gondor with spears
• Damrod, Ranger of Ithilien
• 2 Rangers of Gondor
• 3 Rangers of Gondor with spears
  
• Anborn, Ranger of Ithilien
• 2 Rangers of Gondor
• 3 Rangers of Gondor with spears
  
• Mablung, Ranger of Ithilien
• 2 Rangers of Gondor
• 3 Rangers of Gondor with spears
  
• Captain of Minas Tirith on horse with shield and lance
  

Army Summary

Well, we've done it - we've finished discussing all of the Legendary Legions that have been released to date. When the War in the North Legions are released and we've had a chance to ruminate on them, we'll do posts on them, but in the meantime, we're going to go back to the Bare Necessities series and cover the factions we haven't looked at so far. 

Before we jump back into building balanced lists, we're going to take a four week diversion and go back to basics with a review of how to play MESBG, going through how the game works and things to think about in each phase of the game. We've had a few new players approach us recently and it's been nearly a decade since I wrote these kinds of posts. With novice and veteran players getting back into the tournament scene, reviewing fundamentals isn't a bad idea - so we'll be focusing on that for the next few weeks. Until next time, happy hobbying!