Quest of the Ringbearer Inspired Lists: Angmar Revisited

Good morning gamers,

Angmar is an old kingdom and as such, it doesn't have any historical allies. Early in the Third Age, after the fall of Sauron, the kingdom of Angmar dominated over the weakened kingdom of men in Arnor and strove against the Elves of Rivendell. You wouldn't think that a scenario book set during the late Third Age would be able field much from Angmar, but alas, the Quest of the Ringbearer is FULL of Angmar models. Let's see what kind of list we can build from it!

The List

In Quest of the Ringbearer, we have a surprising number of Angmar models available to us:

• We have 4 Barrow-Wights from the Fog of the Barrow-Downs scenario;
• The Witch-King of Angmar in a variety of missions;
• A Wild Warg Chieftain and 18 Wild Wargs in two missions;
• 1 Cave Troll (who is a much needed hitter);
• 6 Dead Marsh Spectres from the Dead Marshes mission; and
• 3 Orc Captains and 37 Orcs (12 shields, 12 spears, 6 two-handed weapons, 6 Orc bows, 1 banner) from the Osgiliath mission. 

This is . . . a really good foundation for an Angmar army - and if you expand your collection to play Fantasy Fellowships, you also have 18 Warg Riders to add to your team. Let's look at one of the ways you can do it:

I didn't quite have enough Spectres for this one, so I have a Warrior of the Dead standing in . . . see if you can spot him. :)

• Barrow-Wight [Red - ARMY LEADER]
• 3 Angmar Orc Warriors with shields
• 3 Angmar Orc Warriors with shields and spears
• 3 Angmar Orc Warriors with Orc bows
• 1 Angmar Orc Warrior with two-handed axe
• 1 Cave Troll with Troll chain and hand-and-a-half hammer
• Barrow-Wight [Yellow]
• 3 Angmar Orc Warriors with shields
• 2 Angmar Orc Warriors with shields and spears
• 1 Angmar Orc Warrior with shield, spear, and banner
• 1 Angmar Orc Warrior with Orc bow
• 1 Dead Marsh Spectre
• Barrow-Wight [Green]
• 3 Angmar Orc Warriors with shields
• 2 Angmar Orc Warriors with shields and spears
• 1 Angmar Orc Warrior with shield, spear, and banner
• 1 Angmar Orc Warrior with Orc bow
• 1 Dead Marsh Spectre
• Barrow-Wight [Blue]
• 3 Angmar Orc Warriors with shields
• 3 Angmar Orc Warriors with shields and spears
• 1 Angmar Orc Warrior with Orc bow
• 1 Dead Marsh Spectre
• Wild Warg Chieftain
• 6 Wild Wargs

If you have everything from Quest of the Ringbearer, the only model that you need to add to your collection is a second Orc Warrior with banner. Depending on how you got your 3 Orc Captains, you may already have 2 banners, so you'd be okay. If you wanted to just drop this model (32 points), you could pick up 3 Orc Warriors with two-handed weapons and 2 Wild Wargs for the same price. Let's see how this list utilizes the strengths of Angmar:

• Angmar's army bonus gives your Orcs the Terror special rule if they're within 3" of a Spirit Hero - and this list has four of them in the form of Barrow-Wights. Not only do our Barrow-Wights make our Orcs cause Terror, but they can also Paralyze enemy models, allowing your Orcs to win fights automatically and double their dice to wound - brutal!
• Because both Orcs and Wild Wargs are cheap models (6-7 points/model), you can get a LOT of guys. This list has 46 models in it, thanks to also having cheap heroes in it. The horde allows you to get the most out of your Terror rule AND makes up for the limited profiles available to you (F3 warriors that aren't Cave Trolls). We were also able to get 2 banners in our list, which is really good for low Fight value troops.
• We managed to get two big beater models (the Cave Troll and Wild Warg Chieftain) into our force, which will distract our opponent from sending his biggest hitters into our lines and tearing through our ranks. These big models will be near Barrow-Wights, of course, so charging into them does come with some serious risks. I did think about running the Witch-King with this army, but he costs the same as both of these big hitters - frankly I think I want my hitters in two places instead of one (especially if I need to sweep in and hit someone who's been Paralyzed by some Barrow-Wights). We could have also taken an Orc Captain or two instead of the Wild Warg Chieftain, but even on a Warg, these guys just don't have the same punch as the Wild Warg Chieftain (and he's a BEAST against monsters that are paralyzed).
• We also have three Spectres in our ranks for irritating enemy warriors that are standing on objectives OR targeting low Courage heroes and causing them to retreat from the fight. Monsters beware - it may take you some time to arrive. Paired with the Barrow-Wights, any monster who tries to advance towards us and manages to shrug off the Spectres may spend time on their backs as well.

This army does have low Might (2 Might on the Wild Warg Chieftain, who can't affect our Orcs or Spirits with his heroic actions), but with Terror we don't need to move first necessarily. I will say that this army is . . . oppressive. I mean, it's REALLY not fun to fight. You have two big hitters and 4 sources of Paralyze - in practice, most heroes go down to these guys (and the Barrow-Wights are tough enough that shooting them to death is quite difficult). So, if you're feeling more generous, consider dropping 1-2 of them and swapping them out for Orc Captains - you have three in the scenarios that we're not using and you can add universal Marches to your list of assets (which would be good). For today, though, we're going with the gimmicks and running four Barrow-Wights . . . because I just painted them up . . . and I want to use them. :)

Let's look and see what the strategy is for using this army.

Army Theory

Let's start with this: because we have lots of models and no March (except on the Wild Warg Chieftain), we need to play fast. Your core troops are Orcs and Wild Wargs - besides making sure that spears are supporting models in the front and the banners are touching unengaged friendly Orc warriors, you don't need to think too hard about where your models are. We have a mix of bows and shields (and a two-handed weapon guy), so just know what models you are moving around (and who can stay where they are). Move your grunts as quickly as you can so you can be more precise with your specialized units.

With three Spectres and four Barrow-Wights, you can do all KINDS of shenanigans. Throwing 2 Will points at a Paralyze should succeed 75% of the time, which means four Barrow-Wights throwing Paralyze in a single round with 2 Will each should result in 3 successful casts. If three different heroes are targeted, they may be able to shrug it off (hopefully losing Will points and possibly Might points), but if these spells target a SINGLE hero, you can bring any high Will model (3+ Will) to its knees. I know Galadriel, Lady of Light is a powerful model against Barrow-Wights, but she can't Banish them all before they can cast - and 2 free dice to resist (probably with +1 To Resist if she channelled Fortify Spirit on herself) won't always get the required resisting roll (she has a 30% chance of getting a 6, 55% chance of getting a 5, and a 75% chance of getting a 4 - bump these all up a level if she channelled Fortify Spirit on herself), so you can burn through her resources and eventually defeat her. Will spent by other heroes to resist magic will also make them less likely to pass Courage tests to charge your troops, so there's that too.

The Cave Troll-Wild Warg Chieftain combo is nice because both models on their own aren't great at tackling heroes, but a Paralyzed hero wants to be nowhere near these guys. 6 dice from either of these S6 monsters (and the Cave Troll getting +1 To Wound) is absolutely brutal and the Wild Warg Chieftain pairs that threat with an incredible 10" move - watch out, enemy heroes, we're coming for you (with help)! Ideally, of course, these guys "threaten" enemy heroes into staying away from them and they ACTUALLY just butcher troops - they're both quite good at that too (and in some ways, they're much better at it).

Finally, your army leader is a Barrow-Wight - he is not a great combatant (F3 with 1A) and not very resilient (D7 with 2 Wounds and no Fate), so bring him in to assist in the initial assault and then get OUT of there! You will have plenty of pieces to deal damage to the enemy - you don't need to risk this guy.

Now a little while ago, the Drawn Combat blog featured an article that lamented how powerful magic is in the game - particularly that of Angmar. Comments were made there by a frustrated player (who had nothing bad to say about his opponents) that the magic he faced from Ringwaiths and Barrow-Wights basically made his army (Boromir + Imrahil + Damrod + 30 guys) not able to play with the models he wanted to use. And that's a real concern. And this is an army that's going to make an army like that not have any fun. 

My heart goes out to players who are frustrated that they can't use their big toys - and if that bothers you, don't run today's list. I played with this list exactly one time and it worked - it worked really well. My dear friend Red Jacket was pretty frustrated with my Barrow-Wights by the end of it and had to kill my army off with just his warriors (he broke it with very little input from his heroes). But you should know before you come to the tabletop that your opponent won't like your list very much - so approach each game with as much grace and patience as you can. In a competitive setting, you don't need to pull punches, but be as courteous, respectful, and probably quiet as possible.

Game Play Strategy

Maelstrom & Object Missions (Pools 1 & 3)

We have a ton of warbands, so maelstrom missions are alright. Yes, it would be nice if we could arrive in the same spot, but each warband is pretty independent and can hold its own if you're careful. In Hold Ground, you can March with your Wargs, but you can't March with anyone else. Assume you're showing up second, use your Wargs to hem enemy models off of the center objective, and wait to arrive with all of your forces later in the game. If your opponent has holed up in the center, he's probably in range of all four Barrow-Wights with all of his heroes . . . that gives you some options.

In Heirlooms of Ages Past, you have some of the best objective grabbers in the game in the form of the Wild Wargs (and specifically the Wild Warg Chieftain). Fragile though they be, these guys are fast infantry models that can hop on an objective, dig it up, and run away with it. Hide the Heirloom as quickly as you can (or pursue the enemy model who picks it up if you don't find it first) and sail in with a horde of Orcs to cage and trap the enemy.

Command the Battlefield gives you an advantage since you can arrive on opposite sides of the board near the center and automatically contest all four quadrants with an outlandish number of models. Should your opponent try to arrive near you, you have Barrow-Wights (so make sure they're protected in a bubble of models so they don't get charged on the second turn). I think most opponents who arrive second will want to steer clear of your Barrow-Wights at the start - that will play to your advantage if you're careful.

Similar to Heirlooms, Seize the Prize will see your Wild Wargs paying for themselves nicely. Racing into the center (potentially Marching there with your Chieftain) could see you get the Prize on Turn 1 - and if you get it, you can run that thing back behind your lines and slowly advance towards the enemy board edge with your Barrow-Wight-backed line of Orcs scaring your enemy away. Should your opponent get the Prize first, you can try to use your Spectres to make the model carrying the Prize walk backwards (or towards your line). Paralyze is key here - once paralyzed, the model can't hand off the Prize and it will be stuck in place. Ouch!

For Retrieval, you'll start on the center line and prepare to fight it out. If you can focus your Paralyzes in one spot and chop a big hole in the enemy line, you might be able to race in and get the enemy's flag and race back to the safety of your own ranks. If not . . . well, you can always back up and defend your own, I guess.

Destroy the Supplies is another mission that rewards you for having Wargs - fast models that can race in, tag an objective, and clear it quickly. Your Orcs with bows can sit back and protect your supplies (though you'll want help nearby - probably in the form of Spectres and a Barrow-Wight or two). Your Troll and Warg Chieftain can be dangerous threats to the enemy's force since they'll likely be spread out - exactly what you want (so long as each has a Barrow-Wight escort).

Control Missions (Pools 2 & 5)

You have a massive army, so the control-based stuff should be pretty straight-forward. In Domination, we have four Barrow-Wights and five objectives - find three of them that you want to hold, double-up on one of them, and have a Barrow-Wight and at least a few bodyguards on each of the others. The Wild Warg Chieftain and his warband support your main objective (probably the center one) OR race off to a lightly-guarded objective that your opponent has abandoned.

In Command and Control, we have five objectives neatly organized around the center - start on the centerline with all four Barrow-Wights (one at each of the side objectives and two on the center) with your Wargs held in reserve to support based on what your opponent does. Your Barrow-Wights need to be shielded so that they can't be charged on the first turn (watch out for Heroic Combats from mounted models!), but with four of them on the board, your opponent may deploy further back just to give himself some options. Similarly, in Breakthrough, you're looking at no center objective - but the same kind of strategy: roll up the side objectives with double-Barrow-Wight teams and head for the rear objective, while threatening anyone who races for your starting objective with Wargs and flank attacks from Barrow-Wights and Orcs. Spectres are great for keeping the side objectives clear with their Fell Light rule (or dragging models off the objectives that aren't on the sides).

Divide and Conquer isn't so bad for you - you'll have 2-3 Barrow-Wights in each corner (depending on how you want to use your Wargs) and you're advancing to the middle slowly, ready to smash the enemy with raw numbers and Barrow-Wights. Your Wargs can pick off any stragglers, but you don't want to rush them ahead of your Orcs - they'll die far too quickly. This is one of those scenarios where you need to remember that you win the game late in the match, not right away, so don't rush to the middle (let your opponent hole up if he wants to).

Storm the Camp is tough for most factions, but you have a mixture of fast models (Wargs) AND control models (Spectres), so if you can just push your forces close enough to the enemy camp, you should be able to take it. Leaving your archers and one of your Barrow-Wights near your camp will give you some options for dealing with whoever gets past your main line (12 Orcs long with 3 Barrow-Wights and a Cave Troll to support it). Your Wargs will need to do double-duty of guarding your flanks AND threatening the enemy camp. Similarly in Reconnoitre, you have fast Wargs to get off the board (and can March them 13" with the Wild Warg Chieftain), but mostly your job is to hold up the enemy from getting his own models off the board. With lots of models, you can make a thin red line and quarter yourself while still getting 3-4 Wargs off the board edge (if you can shield them from archery).

Killing Missions (Pools 4 & 6)

In Assassination, our objective is to pick a hero who can be Paralyzed and killed by one of the two beaters (preferably the Wild Warg Chieftain, who will be our assassin, but we'd be okay getting 5VPs instead of 7VPs by killing our target with anyone else). Our opponent will have to target a Barrow-Wight or the Wild Warg Chieftain, so watch for how he's behaving to see what you have to do. If the Chieftain appears to be the target, get him away from the action - he's surprisingly squishy with D5 and only 1 Fate. Your army needs to advance up quickly, though, in order to neutralize his would-be assassins (and to kill your target). This game can randomly end when one side is broken, so do your best to break your opponent while getting at least one wound on your target.

Fog of War is one of my favorite scenarios and is very tricky with this list. You probably want to pick a Barrow-Wight to keep alive, but you don't want him hidden the entire game (you need his 5 Will for Paralyzes). So, have one of these guys burn through his Will quickly (3-dice cast and a 2-dice cast) so he can get in, do something, then get out. When picking a target hero, pick someone that you think your Wargs can hunt down - siege veterans can be good choices if you have terrain to hide behind (otherwise, someone who's going to be in the front where your Troll or Wild Warg Chieftain can hunt them down once they're Paralyzed). You have a massive army that isn't great at shooting, so pick a piece of terrain near the center of the board and flood it with guys (and all of your Barorw-Wights). Break the enemy, try not to get broken, and have a good time.

Clash by Moonlight isn't great for Angmar - your average Defense will usually mean that shooting armies will tear through your ranks (and breaking your opponent is worth a lot of points in this scenario). It also rewards you for hero-hunting, which is great for you since you have Barrow-Wights, but could also be bad for you as your heroes can all be felled pretty easily by S3+ archery. So . . . race in as quickly as you can, shoot if you can, but otherwise just get in and start killing stuff. Keep those heroes away from view as best you can.

Lords of Battle is also a difficult draw for Angmar, as your average Defense usually means that your units aren't hard to kill (and so you cough up a lot of points). Without enemy heroes to support in the killing, however, your opponent could find this more difficult than he imagines - so get those Paralyzes off as quickly as you can. Killing stuff with this many Orcs isn't particularly difficult, especially with a Cave Troll and Wild Warg Chieftain wading through guys.

To The Death is normally a mission where I say sit back and shoot, but this army doesn't really do that. Sure, you can shoot - but not reliably and not with as much volume as you'd want. You're going to need to walk to your opponent and hope there's enough of you left to fight him when you arrive. Do your best to keep your army leader from taking damage - there's plenty of Barrow-Wights in this force that he could show up late to the fight if you wanted to make your non-leader Wights a bit more threatening (more attractive targets).

Contest of Champions is a rough one for this army, except that you can have your leader kill Paralyzed warriors to build up his kill count, while the other Barrow-Wights keep the enemy leader on the ground. If you can use your Orcs like a screen to keep the enemy away from your leader, you could win with just 3 kills to your leader's name. Of course, if your opponent weathers the barrage of spells (with Elendil, Glorfindel, or other Fortify Spirit models), you could be in for a lot of trouble.

Conclusion

Angmar isn't really "fun" to play against, but this army showcases one of the ways you can play the army JUST with the models from Quest of the Ringbearer. In our next post, we'll be looking at an army built around two heroes who were re-released with Quest of the Ringbearer: Glorfindel and Gildor Inglorion. I waited a long time for these guys to come back and I've been playing with them recently. We'll probably need to expand our collection a bit - tune in next time to see what else we need (though you can run a great list with what you have from Quest of the Ringbearer). Be safe and happy hobbying!