The Bare Necessities, Part XLII: The Survivors of Lake-town

Good morning gamers,

Today we're viewing the last of the Battle of Five Armies forces: we've already looked at the Halls of Thranduil, Erebor Reclaimed, and more recently the Iron Hills. Today we'll be looking at the "angry fishermen" in the alliance: the Survivors of Lake-town.

Photo Credit: Pinterest

The Survivors of Lake-town: Getting the Most out of Bard

A few weeks ago, we talked about the Army of Lake-town and in it we focused on how you could get a large body of troops for a relatively small number of points. In it, you could get two pretty mediocre heroes if you view their stat lines (the Master and Alfrid) and Braga (who is okay) and field a FLOOD of troops that, when augmented by these three heroes, are quite challenging to deal with (max of 39 warriors for 42 models total, coming in at ~350pts if you do 50% spears and 33% bows).

Well, as soon as Smaug burns their town, the refugees of Lake-town are . . . well, not the same kind of army. :-) Instead, your army bonus (and selection of units) makes Bard an auto-include if run pure/historically-allied (as he counts as a 12" banner and gives +1 Fight Value to most of the Lake-town models in this list WITHOUT having to spend Might like the Master of Lake-town does). For "only" 155 points when fully kitted out and a boost to a Hero of Legend, this seems like a cheaper and better version of Imrahil.

BUT when you factor in the ACTUAL cost of Bard, he's closer to 200 points, because he's probably joined by three Independent heroes: his daughters, Sigrid and Tilda, allow him to be F6 instead of F5 if one of them is within 6" of him and call free Heroic Combats so long as both of them are near him. Free Heroic Combats on a horse with F6? Sign me up! Alfrid the Councilor, demoted to an Independent Hero in this list, can still give Bard extra Might points (or give Might to Sigrid and Tilda if you don't want to risk losing Might by rolling the 1 for Dubious Counsel), which can turn him into a pseudo-Boromir hero (except with a larger radius for his banner/FV boost, free Heroic Combats, and lower Defense).

But once you've sunk nearly 200 points into Bard and his three attachés, the question is what ELSE do you put in a list to augment him? Naturally Bard is going to draw a LOT of attention and with only D5 and 3 Wounds/3 Fate (which is admittedly as good as a man-sized model can expect to be sans the Defense rating), so what else would keep him alive? Here are some ideas:

• Gandalf the Grey is a Hero of Valor in this list - one of only two lists where Gandalf can lead troops. While his casting array is meh, he provides resilience to archery with Blinding Light, which is not only good for Bard himself, but is also good for Bard's horse, his daughters, Alfrid, Gandalf's horse (if he has one), and your Lake-town Militia (particularly those without shields).
• Lake-town Militia Captains don't look like much, but within 12" of Bard, they're very cheap F4/S4 models with spears (which means they can support through a cheap grunt if they want to) and Heroic March (good for getting your infantry horde where it needs to be). They're not very expensive, so you might be able to get two or three of these guys into your army if you want to get somewhere fast for an extended period of time.
  
• Bilbo Baggins, Master Burglar is kind of expensive, but as a Hero of Fortitude he can also lead troops and can make Bard not need to call Heroic Strikes if they're in the same fight and Bilbo has the Ring on (and Bard is near the girls). This could make calling Heroic Combats easier, since you'll have the FV advantage, knock-down who you're fighting, and then get extra movement out of your horse.
• Historical Alliances with Erebor Reclaimed, The Iron Hills, and the Halls of Thranduil  provide some nice boosts for your Lake-town troops. Lake-town can get you a high body count for these elite forces, but the allies grant you stronger stat lines (that your Orc-like Lake-town guys can support). Excellent augments include Legolas (for his archery damage more than anything else), Mirkwood Cavalry or Iron Hills Goat Riders (for actual fast troops), Dain Ironfoot (and many of the things he can bring from the Iron Hills), Thorin (a second hero with free Heroic Combats) and any number of the Champions of Erebor (most notably Dwalin, Gloin, Dori, Nori, Kili, Fili, or Bifur).
  

It's important to note that one of the biggest advantages that comes from a historical alliance is that you get a second killing hero. The biggest challenge with Lake-town is that they have exactly one beater hero - Bard. Sure, you can make Captains do damage (and Percy can do some damage with archery), but for the most part, you've got Bard. And that's it. Allying with any one of Lake-town's Historical Allies gives you additional threats without weakening Bard's auric benefits to his team. And if you want, Bard doesn't have to be your leader, depending on who you choose. 

All that said, one of the Top 5 Ardacon lists relied on only Bard as its killer her and another used Lake-town Captains to support Legolas, so whether you need Bard in the list is also up to debate. Regardless of how you roll, you can't get everything we described above (not at any serious points level, that is), so here's a list that shows off some of the synergies you can get (we'll delve into others at the end of the post).

The List

• Bard the Bowman on horse with armor [ARMY LEADER]
• INDEPENDENT: Alfrid the Councilor
• INDEPENDENT: Sigrid & Tilda
• 5 Lake-town Militia with shields
• 2 Lake-town Militia with bows and spears
  
• Gandalf the Grey on horse
  
• 5 Lake-town Militia with shields
• 4 Lake-town Militia with bows
  
• HISTORICAL ALLY - EREBOR RECLAIMED: Bifur the Dwarf, Champion of Erebor
• 3 Iron Hills Dwarves with spears
• 1 Iron Hills Dwarf with spear and banner
• 3 Iron Hills Dwarves with crossbows and spears
  
• 2 Iron Hills Goat Riders
  

31 models, 6 bows hitting on a 4+ AND 3 crossbows hitting on a 4+ AND 1 Great Bow hitting on a 3+ AND a thrown stone hitting on a 3+, 10 D6+ models, 4 cavalry, 8+ Might points

The purchases required to get these units are as follows:

• Bard on foot and mounted, who was probably a given;
• Alfrid and the Master (though we won't be using the Master - also a given);
• Sigrid and Tilda (also a given);
• Two boxes of Lake-town Militia - though if your tournament scene allows, you can save a lot of money by getting any number of peasant models from alternate ranges (Frostgrave has some good ones);
• Gandalf mounted (not necessarily a given, but if you're worried about being shot to death or having Bard nuked by magic, he's probably your best option);
• The Champions of Erebor (would be cheaper to get a Captain, but we want Bifur);
• One box of Iron Hills Dwarves (two without shields to be goat rider dismounts);
• One blister of crossbows (who will need spears added to them); and
  
• One blister of Goat Riders (who you probably want for any Iron Hills/Erebor Reclaimed army that you run).
  

That's expensive - but that's the nature of Iron Hills/Champions of Erebor, am I right? Let's see what our money is getting us.

Warband #1: The Bowman

Our list begins with Bard - for both his hitting power and his auric buffs. His Great Bow gives him the ability to reach out and hit key models (or lots of chaff models) from a distance BEFORE you start smashing models in melee. With Alfrid, Sigrid, and Tilda near him, you've got a lot of power in this warband to smash through the enemy. Supporting him are six Lake-town Militia, most of whom have shields (so they can keep the enemy away from Bard by shielding at F3 with a banner boost).

Warband #2: The Wizard

If you want to keep Bard from being killed before he gets into combat, it's hard to avoid looking at Gandalf. Bard + Gandalf with all of Bard's accompanying buffs is expensive - and if it weren't for how good the army bonus is for the Survivors of Lake-town, I'd say it was a better idea to run Galadriel, Lady of Light and a Lake-town Militia Captain instead of Gandalf. However, since we want a 12" banner and F3 across our Militia, we need to work within the historical allies we have - and that means Gandalf the Grey is taken.

Supporting Gandalf is our "Lake-town anvil," featuring 10 Lake-town Militia, half have bows and the other half are carrying shields. This warband wants to be near Bard, not only because Gandalf will be blowing through his Might quickly, but also because we want to protect Bard from being harassed by archery (Blinding Light) or magic (Strengthen Will).

Warband #3: The Dwarves

We could have chosen an Iron Hills Captain to give us Heroic Marches, but we've chosen instead to go with Bifur. Bifur is cheap (65pts) and is F4 with 2-Might-and-Strike and the ability to get free Heroic Moves if you can deal 1 S4 wound to someone. If you have Bifur focus on tackling a single warrior, dealing this wound against a D6 or less model with 2 Might to boost your roll isn't hard to pull off. Once you've got free Heroic Moves from Bifur and free Heroic Combats from Bard, I think you're in a good place.

Bifur brings a nice hardy warband of Iron Hills models to flesh out your army - including some fast troops and an actual banner for victory points. The Iron Hills Warriors with spears (4) can back up Bifur and the crossbows OR get interspersed into your Lake-town battle line to lend a helpful F4 to each combat (since you can't get that with the Lake-town Militia, even if Bard is "nearby").

Scenario Overview

Okay - let's see how this list approaches each scenario from the main rulebook.

• Domination: You've got crossbows and Lake-town Militia with bows to sit on rear objectives - and with Bard's bow and Gandalf's ability to drag models off of objectives with Command, you have quite a few ways to clear out objectives being held by a few enemy models. Place your objectives as close to 12" from the center as possible so that you have three objectives within a 13" radius of the center of the board. Drive your opponent from those four objectives no matter how you deploy and then use Gandalf/Bard to pummel the enemy if he tries to stay away from you.
  
• Capture and Control: Similar strategy: dominate the center of the board, smash through whatever chooses to stay there, and keep your crossbows back to guard your rear objective. Use your Goat Riders to shield Bard from being overwhelmed, with Gandalf supporting your main line and making life easier for Bifur.
  
• Hold Ground: You have no March in this list, so you're going to slowly chug towards the center of the board. Deploy Gandalf first and make sure Bard deploys near Gandalf (spend whatever Might you need to). You can make your way towards the middle with Gandalf/Bard/your bows harassing whoever gets to the center first. The Iron Hills contingent advances either with the others or not (doesn't matter), parking crossbows in a place where they can harass the enemy as they approach the center.
  
• Seize the Prize: You're going to lose a race to the center, so make sure you have a straight line to the center with Bard, Gandalf, and all your bows. Your crossbows will want to park in the front with Bard/Gandalf/the Lake-town bows ready to fire on whoever arrives at the center before you do. Fight your way to the center with your army and use Gandalf to manipulate whoever picks up the Prize (unless you manage to get it, of course).
  
• To The Death: You have good shooting (considering your numbers) with Blinding Light to keep you from being killed with returning fire. Shoot the enemy to whittle them down, then rely on Bard to crush troops (with free Heroic Combats) so you can break the enemy.
  
• Lords of Battle: Deploy near the center and work your way through the enemy as quickly as possible. You don't have a lot of models and you don't have great Defense, so this is one of those missions that needs to end quickly or you're in trouble. Use Gandalf to hold down a hero or monster to slow the enemy down from getting kills.
  
• Contest of Champions: Bard is a great hero for this - use those free Heroic Combats to smash through enemy warriors and get kills quickly. With extra Might (potentially) from Alfrid, you should be able to keep your kills going while Gandalf is making life hard for the enemy army leader to get kills. Use your Iron Hills Dwarves to shield your Lake-town Militia from the enemy army leader (since they're harder to kill).
  
• Reconnoitre: Getting across the field is going to be hard, but with Gandalf to keep Bard/your Goat Riders from being shot up, you can probably get all four mounted models off the board. The rest of your units should stall the enemy and die so you get quartered (after Gandalf/Bard get off the board). You probably won't have free Heroic Combats in this mission (Sigrid and Tilda won't be near you), so dump Might into Bard early with Alfrid and tuck Sigrid and Tilda safely away from the action - if one of them dies, Bard won't be getting off the board (as he'll be charging the killer).
  
• Storm the Camp: You have some fast troops, but your main goal will be to use Bard and Gandalf to control the center of the board. You have crossbows that can be positioned near your camp to harry anyone who races past your Lake-town/Iron Hills battle line and can move back into your camp should you require it. You can also use the Lake-town Militia with bows (no spears) to do this if you're worried about a lot of numbers being used. If you never make it to your opponent's camp, that's fine - just focus on breaking the enemy and killing the army leader (and keeping your camp clean).
  
• Heirlooms of Ages Past: Place two of your objectives just outside of 6" of two different board edges (one that is north or south, one that is east or west) so that if you have control over your deployment, you can deploy near it. The third one should be placed near another board edge depending on what your opponent does - if there's a board edge that doesn't have an objective near it, put one there. This will make it so that you don't have to deploy your forces together (though you'll want to eventually meet up, so deploy together if you can). If you get the Heirloom, great - circle up and hold out (with Gandalf providing clutch protection from magic and archery). If you don't get it, circle up, harass the enemy while you form up, and then slam into him as quickly as possible.
  
• Fog of War: You have the choice of protecting Gandalf, Bifur, Sigrid, Tilda, or Alfrid - and I think Bifur is the only one you rule out. Bifur wants to be fighting and besides the D8, he's not resilient. Sigrid or Tilda could be tucked away from the fighting if you wanted to keep them safe - though being really close to Bard could be pretty safe too. While dumping Alfrid's Will into Sigrid, Tilda, and Bard and then hiding him away could work, I think Gandalf is your most resilient hero, and like picking Sigrid or Tilda, you're encouraged to keep him kind of safe anyway, so why not lock up more value in him by choosing to keep him alive and unwounded. For a hero to kill, pick someone who has low Will (to give Gandalf some control over him if you need it) and could be killed with archery (especially that Great Bow and your crossbows). As for the objective you want to hold, I'd pick something near the middle so you can sail your army into the center of the board and huddle up (giving your crossbows firing lanes to various parts of the board and allowing your army to benefit from both Gandalf's protection and Bard's banner/Fight Value buffs).
  
• Clash By Moonlight: Wait to cast Blinding Light until your opponent is going to be within 12" of you (or close to it if you have to cast before he moves) and then rely on your shooting to trim the enemy down to size. Target heroes if you can - those S4 ranged weapons will chew through almost everything (even Sauron will be wounded on 5s), so if you have a clear shot at a hero, take it. Otherwise, churn through warriors and force them to come to you.
  

Modifications

The Survivors of Lake-town have several variants - and if you're willing to give up your army bonus, there are LOTS of ways you can run them. Here are a few more lists you can try . . .

• Run "Pure" Survivors of Lake-town – Bard is the only power hero in the list, but if you can give him enough time, he's all you need. Pairing Bard with the girls and Alfrid can give Bard enough Might (and free Heroic Combats) to chew through things, pairing him with Gandalf to protect him from archery (and magic if you use Protection of the Valar), and bringing a Lake-town Militia Captain to March the army (with potentially more Might from Alfrid). We've also flooded the list with models (48 models total), which gives you some incredible resilience (and can buy time for Bard as well).
  
• Bard the Bowman on horse with armor
• Sigrid & Tilda
• 10 Lake-town Militia with shields
• 1 Lake-town Militia with shields and spears
• 5 Lake-town Militia with bows and spears
  
• Gandalf the Grey on horse
• 9 Lake-town Militia with shields
• 6 Lake-town Militia with bows and spears
  
• Lake-town Militia Captain with shield
• Alfrid the Councilor
  
• 5 Lake-town Militia with shields
• 6 Lake-town Militia with shields and spears
  
• Ally with the Halls of Thranduil – While Erebor Reclaimed is a great ally for Lake-town, you can also get some great use out of the Halls of Thranduil. While Legolas would be a cheaper option, taking Thranduil allows you to have a second power piece (and since both Bard and Thranduil are Heroes of Legend in their lists, either one can be your army leader). In the list below, we have 34 models (slightly more than our first list) and a nearly 50/50 mix of Elves and Men. The Elves give you the option for a heavy battle line near Thranduil or you can mix your Men and Elves together in order to get F5+ across all your fights.
  
• Bard the Bowman on horse with armor
  
• Alfrid the Councilor
• Sigrid & Tilda
• 8 Lake-town Militia with shields
• 2 Lake-town Militia with shields and spears
• 5 Lake-town Militia with bows and spears
  
• Thranduil, King of the Woodland Realm on Elk with Elf bow, extra sword, Circlet of Kings, and heavy armor [ARMY LEADER]
  
• 5 Palace Guards with shields and spears
• 1 Palace Guard with shield, spear, and banner
• 1 Mirkwood Elf with shield
• 5 Mirkwood Elves with Elf bows
• 2 Mirkwood Cavalry with shields
• Lake-town-heavy Battle of Five Armies - We looked at a Battle of Five Armies alliance recently in our post on the Iron Hills, but I wanted to look at one with Bard in it and how you can bring other heroes in with him to have not one, not two, but three heavy hitters (to make the choice of going after Bard a harder prospect). To do this, we're tapping into two very cheap heroes - Thorin Oakenshield on a war goat and Tauriel - and bringing in a sturdy line of Dwarves to back up a line of heavily-armored Elves. The Elves and Men have maxed out their archery (giving us Bard, 4 bows, and 5 Elf bows), while the Dwarves have stuck to their shieldwall (so you can get a D8 line if you want to). Like I talked about in a recent formations post, I've given spears to the Dwarves to back up the Elves because a) Glaives are more expensive than standard spears, and b) because the Elves have the capability of doing more damage when two-handing than the Dwarves. You could swap Tauriel for Legolas by dropping a guy or two if you want to do more with the shooting game. You could also make Thorin your leader instead of Bard, but I thought having Thorin be a grenade would be better. Two free Heroic Combats per turn could be absolutely devastating - try it out!
  
• Bard the Bowman on horse with armor [ARMY LEADER]
• Alfrid the Councillor
• Sigrid & Tilda
• 5 Lake-town Militia with shields
• 1 Lake-town Militia with shield and spear
  
• 4 Lake-town Militia with bows and spears
  
• Tauriel with Elf bow
  
• 4 Mirkwood Elves with shields
• 4 Mirkwood Elves with Elf bows
• 2 Mirkwood Cavalry with shields
  
• Thorin Oakenshield, King Under the Mountain on war goat
• 5 Iron Hills Dwarves with spears
• 1 Iron Hills Dwarf with spear and banner

We've wrapped up almost all of the participants for the Forces of Good in the Battle of Five Armies - next week we close out the discussion with a faction that really should be Historical Allies with Erebor Reclaimed, the Halls of Thranduil, the Survivors of Lake-town, and possibly the Iron Hills: Radagast's Alliance. I got to see other people play against a Radagast's Alliance list (with Treebeard allied in for good measure) at our last Grand Tournament and I have to say - it was terrifying. Since we recently covered the Misty Mountains, you may be wondering what's different about this army? If you are, check out our post next week - the army is very, VERY different. See you then - happy hobbying!