In Defense Of: Captains of Rohan (aka "my Ode to Ordwald")

Good morning gamers,

In this series, we've looked at a lot of profiles that don't look good - either because a model has a weak statline, costs "too much", or might have to be your army leader when you'd rather have another model take that place. Today we'll be looking at a completely different model - a model that has a perfectly good statline, but is seemingly unnecessary in his faction because  . . . well, there are PLENTY of "better" named models to choose from. Yes, we're looking at Captains of Rohan.

While not the actual Captain of Rohan, Ordwald (astride his faithful and fearless steed, Fluttershy) is one of my favorite Rohan models - and has killed many, MANY foes . . .

There are two generic Rohan heroes: King's Huntsmen (available in vanilla Rohan, the Defenders of Helm's Deep LL, and Helm's Guard LL) and Captains of Rohan (available in vanilla Rohan, all 6 Rohan-centric Legendary Legions, AND the Men of the West LL). King's Huntsmen might have a place in the Defenders of Helm's Deep LL because everyone is infantry and could have a place in Helm's Guard as well (though Matt Iverson says no from experience), but with vanilla Rohan being encouraged to go all-cav and having LOTS of named heroes to choose from, it's hard to include King's Huntsmen in a vanilla Rohan list without feeling like they'll be left behind.

Captains of Rohan don't really seem to have a place in most Rohan lists either. Generally speaking, generic heroes are the only source of Heroic March in a faction (or are a better alternative for March than using the Might on a big hero like Dain or Suladan). The problem, of course, is that several named Rohan heroes have Heroic March (Theoden, Gamling, Erkenbrand, Deorwine) and their profiles are better on the whole than Captains of Rohan (permanently F5 instead of situationally F5, 3 Might instead of 2 Might, extra shenanigans on the side for all). In addition, most Rohan-oriented Legendary Legions include at least one of these guys (the Riders of Theoden and the Paths of the Druadan have Theoden, Gamling, and Deorwine; the Defenders of Helm's Deep have Theoden and Gamling - and Aragorn, of course; the Riders of Eomer have Erkenbrand), so it's not like a reduced set of heroes will cause you to "need" this guy (though Helm's Guard and Theodred's Guard will - more on that later). So if you wanted to take a Captain of Rohan on horse with heavy armor, shield, and maybe a ranged weapon (65-70pts), why not pay an extra 5-15pts for Elfhelm or Deorwine (or an extra 30-50pts for Theoden or Gamling)?

Captains of Rohan also "only" have 2 Might points - and while this is pretty normal, with so many 3-Might heroes (some of which have Heroic March, just like Captains do), it begs the question of whether having an extra 2 Might is all that valuable over a similarly-costed 3 Might hero. Besides Gamling, Hama, and Elfhelm, these named heroes are all F5 by default (as has already been mentioned), which makes the situational boost to F5 on Captains just a little less valuable.

With all this in mind, you may wonder if this is just a wasted profile. As it turns out, though, the profile isn't wasted. Let's see why that is.

Why TO Take Captains of Rohan

There are currently 8 Rohan lists in the game (vanilla Rohan and 7 Legendary Legions) - and these can be classified in one of two ways: lists with lots of named heroes and lists that have a very limited list of heroes. For the Rohan lists that have limited hero options, Captains of Rohan will be a necessity because . . . well, eventually you probably need them to keep your points level increasing. These lists include:

• Helm's Guard (Helm Hammerhand, Captains of Rohan, King's Huntsmen), Captains are limited to F4;
• The Riders of Eomer (Eomer, Gandalf the White, Erkenbrand, Captains of Rohan), Captains are limited to F4;
• Theodred's Guard (Theodred, Elfhelm, Grimbold, Captains of Rohan), Captains can be F5; and
  
• The Men of the West (Rohan models can only be led by Eomer or Captains of Rohan), Captains can be F5 for one round only if they are within 12" of Aragorn.
  

With the exception of the Men of the West (where you could just focus on taking Gondor warriors/heroes or a great selection of heroes who can't lead any troops at all), these lists will probably need to take a Captain of Rohan or three eventually - OR you just play these armies at lower points levels.

The other four lists don't appear at first glance to have a good place for Captains of Rohan:

• Vanilla Rohan has 17 hero choices (not going to list them all here - though Helm Hammerhand and Eorl the Young probably don't count to that number), Captains can be F5;
• The Defenders of Helm's Deep have 6 Rohan heroes (Theoden, Gamling, Aldor, Haleth, Captains of Rohan, King's Huntsmen) and 5 non-Rohan profiles (all of which can lead both Lothlorien and Rohan models), Captains are limited to F4;
• The Paths of the Druadan have 7 Rohan heroes (Theoden, Eomer, Dernhelm, Gamling, Deorwine, Elfhelm, Captains of Rohan) and Ghan-Buri-Ghan, Captains can be F5; and
• The Riders of Theoden have 7 Rohan heroes (same heroes), Captains can be F5.
  

No matter what list you're looking at, Captains of Rohan have an appeal that is undeniable: Captains of Rohan begin with an axe. For three of the Rohan lists (vanilla Rohan, Riders of Theoden, and Riders of Eomer), your heroes can get +1 Strength on the charge, but for the other five, your heroes are capped out at S4 (named or generic) - and since some of those (the Defenders of Helm's Deep and the Men of the West) can't get any mounts in their list at all, the ability to kill things is limited. Should you run in D7 warriors (who are surprisingly common) and D7 heroes (which are VERY common), you could be looking at wounding on 6s for most heroes. Against D5 troops (which are very common), having that axe allows you to wound on 4s when your S4 companions would otherwise wound on 5s - and if you've got the knock-down, killing several D5 troops you run into isn't hard.

Since named heroes can't swap their weapons, Captains of Rohan have the unique ability to be S5 all the time (mounted or not, charging or not) and with 2 Attacks and 2 Might that could be used for boosting their dueling rolls, these guys can dish out punishment like few other Rohan heroes - Helm Hammerhand excepted. Helm, though, is often fielded in his Legion where he needs these guys to not only provide Might points in general for things like Heroic Moves/Marches, but also to do killing that doesn't involve shooting people (since King's Huntsmen are your only other option). You could run him outside his Legion, but his prohibition on other named Rohan heroes will get you a similar limit on your Rohan contingent.

Captains are also essential to lists like Helm's Guard and the Riders of Eomer - not only because you're forced to take them, but because they provide much-needed killing power in the list. Since Helm's Guard doesn't get the Strength +1 on the charge on its warriors - and doesn't get access to Helmingas for reasons I don't understand - having a Captain or three in your ranks is a nice way to smash through the enemy (put them in the same fight as a Rohan Royal Guard within 6" of Helm Hammerhand and you can make up for their F4 limit).

In the Riders of Eomer, they are your fourth and additional heroes - and when on the charge on the turn that the Sun is Rising, they can be BEASTS in Heroic Combats and with Piercing Strike can reach S6 and really tear through the enemy ranks. Beyond this, you'd rather not be calling Heroic Moves with Eomer or Gandalf (Erkenbrand can probably do it without too much lost), so having another hero around to call the Moves that you need to keep your charge going is essential to success.

In Legions like Theodred's Guard and the Men of the West, Captains of Rohan have niche benefits over the other heroes in the list. In Theodred's Guard, you can get a F5 infantry hero in Grimbold, but he isn't mounted and has to use his axe two-handed (which can be a real set-back to his damage potential, despite having Mighty Blow). Elfhelm can be mounted (and is better if he is), but is capped at F4 and really doesn't want to be slamming into the enemy except in very managed fights (hopefully after skewering someone with his throwing spear). Captains of Rohan are more durable than both of these guys (can be D7 vs. D5-6) and can be F5/S5 on the charge with 3 Attacks and knock-down (vs. F4/S4/3 Attacks with knock-down and F5/S5/2 Attacks without knock-down). For additional thoughts on the role of Captains of Rohan in this Legion, I highly recommend Ali King's article on the GBHL blog.

Similarly, in the Men of the West, Captains of Rohan are cheap heroes you can include in your list to bring Rohan skirmish infantry (either Warriors of Rohan with bows or Warriors of Rohan with throwing spears). Rohan troops aren't going to be as good at being front-line troops in a shieldwall as their Minas Tirith brethren, but are excellent at sitting on your starting objectives with bows (where they cost -1pt compared to Warriors of Minas Tirith and only suffer -1 Defense) or for harassing enemy infantry blocks or enemy-held objectives with their throwing spears. Eomer is a better value than a Captain of Rohan in a lot of ways, but for +45pts over a Captain of Rohan with shield, heavy armor, and throwing spears, you could downgrade to a Captain if you needed the points to work out better.

As you get to the bigger lists, Captains of Rohan lose some of their appeal, but are still valid choices. In the Defenders of Helm's Deep, you don't get any other Rohan heroes who can reach S5, but you do get Gimli - and he's going to be a MUCH better bargain than a Captain of Rohan (costs 40pts more than a Captain with heavy armor, shield, and throwing spears, but gets you +2 FV with Strike, +1 Defense, +1 Attack OR +1 To Wound, +2 Courage, +1M/+1W/+1F, +3 troop slots, throwing axe with -2" range compared to the throwing spear). Still, this is your second option for a hero who can get to S5 and can be an alternative to Gimli if you're playing at a points level that would find it hard to fit Gimli in OR one that relies on Gamling to restore Might.

In the Paths of the Druadan, you have to spend 300pts on Theoden, Ghan-Buri-Ghan, and 15 Woses, so you can usually fit in 2-3 other named heroes and a handful of Rohan Cavalry warriors to fill out the ranks - and while adding the likes of Deorwine, Dernhelm, and Eomer certainly has its appeal, these heroes are capped at S4 and rerolling 1s To Wound against Orcs, Goblins, and Uruks. If you run into D7 Dwarves or Guards of the Fountain Court, these guys can stall out hard - not so with F5 Captains of Rohan, though, if they Piercing Strike.

The Riders of Theoden tend to focus on the 6 named heroes, which will eat up the greater portion of a 700pt army (maybe a few Royal Guards make it into the list to keep the flack off the heroes). But since this list wants to take advantage of a free round of Heroic Combats or Strikes, having a Captain as a seventh (or even eighth) hero can be really valuable for an extra turn of fighting. Even if you run the Captain at a bare-minimum 60pts (Captain on horse with shield), this one hero in a Heroic Combat can be F5/S6/3A on the charge if he's within 12" of Theoden (which is easy) and may do as much damage on that one turn as 3-4 F5/S4/2A Royal Guards will. Yes, your numbers will fall a little, but the more your numbers fall, the more heroes the enemy has to deal with in order to break you - if he can.

Finally, in vanilla Rohan, Captains of Rohan don't have any problem justifying themselves if you run someone like Eorl the Young - they are your only mounted hero choice if you want to keep your army bonus (and most players want to). If you don't run Eorl the Young or Helm Hammerhand (always run HIM in his Legion), you may be tempted to pass on these guys. But since the only reason to run vanilla Rohan is because you want heroes who don't pair well in Legions (including Theodred, Hama, or Erkenbrand with Theoden/Eomer/Dernhelm), adding a Captain will give you a slightly cheaper hero who can be S5-6 - and that has value. Sure, I'd be tempted just to take named heroes (and my go-to vanilla Rohan army leaves these guys at home), but there is an argument for taking him.

Making It Work

The only model you NEED to take with Captains of Rohan in vanilla Rohan to really make them work is Theoden - and it doesn't hurt to keep your army bonus. With Theoden and the army bonus, these guys are insanely good and some of the only human models that can make it to S6 (besides Sons of Eorl, which we'll cover later in the series, and Easterlings with Bladewrath). Sure, anyone who is S4 with a lance can effectively be S6 (or you could call Heroic Strength, I guess), but actually getting to S6 is rare. With lots of D6 models in the game and few named heroes having axes, Captains of Rohan have a distinct place as line breakers against most lists.

I, however, think these guys really shine the most in the Riders of Eomer. Not only are they critically necessary because of how few profiles are available in that Legion, but the Sun is Rising charge can see them devastating lots of enemy warriors during a Heroic Combat - and being limited to F4 isn't as big a deal when enemy warriors cap out at F6. Being able to be S6 on the charge allows you to convert winning fights into wounding things easily (something some heroes really struggle to do in other lists).

Conclusion

Hopefully this article showed off how good a generic hero can be - even in a list where there are lots of named alternative options. For my part, these guys gain the most-improved-generic-hero in my mind, as they were all-but written off by me whenever I've looked at the army book.

In our next post, we look at a profile that is also seemingly worthless in its vanilla list: Mordor Uruk-Hai. After having FINALLY gained a Legion that allows thematically-inclined players to run the "Cirith Ungol only" Mordor list, these guys have become popular again. But when you see a pure Mordor army (or a Mordor allied force), these guys are noticeably absent. Is it because they're bad? Do they just not have a place outside their Legendary Legion? I don't think so - tune in next time to find out why! Until then, happy hobbying!