Gondor At War Inspired Lists: Rohan Revisited

Good morning gamers,

In this our third post on how to turn your scenario-oriented Gondor at War collection into a Matched Play fighting force, we come to the plains of Rohan. Ah, Rohan - an army that has dominated top tables with its spam of heroes and horde of Rohan Royal Guards. While new Legions in War in Rohan opened up a variety of ways to play Rohan competitively, when Gondor at War was released, there was exactly one hyper-competitive way to build a Rohan list: run the Riders of Theoden. This makes sense, since the models you have in Gondor at War all appear in the Riders of Theoden list:

• Theoden, King of Rohan with everything
• Eomer with everything
• Dernhelm
• Gamling with everything
• Deorwine (as we mentioned in the what-do-you-need post, he TECHNICALLY doesn't have his horse except in the big Pelennor Fields scenario, but surely this is an oversight)
• Elfhelm with horse
• Captain of Rohan on foot with shield
  
• 16-36 Riders of Rohan (with 8 shield/8 bow dismounts - the 36 number reflects the big Pelennor Fields scenario)
  
• 8 Riders of Rohan with throwing spears (with 8 throwing spear and shield dismounts)
• 1 Warrior of Rohan with banner
  

Photo Credit: Gondor At War

We certainly have the heroes for a Riders of Theoden list (6 named heroes - and if we have a Captain of Rohan on foot, we probably have a mounted one too), but what we're lacking that the Riders of Theoden usually have is Rohan Royal Guards. Those guys are absolutely monstrous on the tabletop (F5/S4/2A on the charge with Bodyguard and fielded for 15-17pts each), but we have precisely . . . 0 Royal Guards (of any type) in this list. In fact, the War in Rohan scenarios only give you up to 4 of them in the main scenarios (to get more, you have to dig into the appendices), so it's fair to say that if you're looking at Scenario Play vs. Matched Play, Rohan has a pretty different feel if you're running the all-cavalry approach.

So what, then, would be an interesting army to view today? Should we run the Riders of Theoden anyway and just run Riders of Rohan? I don't think so - instead, let's look at what the books would have shown us happened at the Black Gate, where the White Horse of Rohan flew alongside the White Swan of Dol Amroth!

The List

Yes, the Fiefdoms ride again - we already saw them in our Gondor post (where we looked at the Fiefdoms forces that fought alongside the stalwart defenders of Minas Tirith) and today we'll be looking at the book-version of the Black Gate:

• Eomer, Marshal of the Riddermark on armored horse with shield and throwing spears
• 6 Riders of Rohan
  
• Captain of Rohan with heavy armor, throwing spears, and shield
• 8 Warriors of Rohan with shields and throwing spears
• 1 Warrior of Rohan with banner
  
• HISTORICAL ALLY - Prince Imrahil of Dol Amroth on armored horse with lance [ARMY LEADER]
• 6 Knights of Dol Amroth
• 6 Axemen of Lossarnach
• 6 Blackroot Vale Archers

700 points, 36 models, 6 bows hitting on a 3+ AND 6 bows hitting on a 4+, 9 D6+ models, 8 cavalry models, 8 Might points

This army is inspired by a short description in the Return of the King of the two armies fighting on the hill opposite Aragorn:

Little time was left to Aragorn for the ordering of his battle. Upon the one hill he stood with Gandalf, and there fair and desperate was raised the banner of the Tree and Stars. Upon the other hill hard by stood the banners of Rohan and Dol Amroth, White Horse and Silver Swan. And about each hill a ring was made facing all ways, bristling with spear and sword.

Our list today would be better if we had Men-at-Arms of Dol Amroth instead of Axemen of Lossarnach (no points change) and Rohan Royal Guards instead of Knights of Dol Amroth (1pt cheaper/model - no noticeable change so long as we have Men-at-Arms to back them up), but we can make this work. The list has the "bristling with spear and sword" in spades, pairing Axemen of Lossarnach to back up Knights of Dol Amroth, as well as 8 Warriors of Rohan with throwing spears and a Captain of Rohan with throwing spears (which is a bit of a departure from the gear that the Captain of Rohan has in the Black Gate scenario).

But unlike the Men of the West Legendary Legion, we've also included some cavalry in this list. While I could have dropped a few models (or just the Captain of Rohan) to convert Riders of Rohan into mounted Knights of Dol Amroth, I like having the skirmish cavalry option from Rohan more than the very expensive lancer cavalry from Dol Amroth. We also have 12 shots/turn, which is pretty good for long-range shooting (and we get 22 shots once the enemy is within 8" of us thanks to all those throwing spears).

While Fiefdoms is never a cheap investment, this army is actually quite easy to acquire - the Rohan contingent is provided entirely in the new Rohan Battlehost and you just need to get Imrahil, 2 boxes of Fiefdoms Warriors, 1 Forgeworld blister of Knights of Dol Amroth on foot, and 6 Rangers (which you could substitute with 6 Clansmen of Lamedon if you don't like archers). For having Fiefdoms in the mix, that's not bad at all. Okay, enough money talk - let's look at what the list gives us!

Army Theory

Let's begin with the Rohan infantry formation: we've chosen to get a Captain of Rohan with 9 Warriors of Rohan instead of a Captain of Dol Amroth and more Fiefdoms warriors because a) he's a cheaper March hero (so we can get a few more guys), b) he's F4 but otherwise has an identical profile to a Captain of Dol Amroth, and c) he gives us access to more skirmish troops instead of D4-5 melee-only (or archer) troops. Packing in 10 throwing spears into your army changes a lot about how your opponent plays - especially if they're led by a hero who can March them 9" and they can still shoot 8" away. So yes, I could have replaced the Captain's warband with a Captain of Dol Amroth with almost the same number of Axemen/Clansmen/Archers, but I like the Rohan force instead.

Eomer is leading a light cavalry squad - but both he and the Riders of Rohan that he leads are fully skirmish capable. These Riders can't be F4 (no Theoden in the list), but we really want them for their speed - not for their charging abilities. If we race these guys wide around the enemy flanks (harassing with their bows if we don't need to get somewhere right away), these guys can draw out enemy models to pursue them and then run down whoever tries to catch them once they have the numerical superiority (and while they can't be F4 on the charge, they will be S4 - and it can be S5 if they use Piercing Strike). Eomer is a pretty solid hero for his cost and gives us a secondary Strike hero to challenge enemy heroes and monsters.

Finally, Imrahil has reared his silver-swaned head again and is leading 18 Fiefdoms warriors. As some of the only F4 models available to the Forces of Good in Gondor at War, the Fiefdoms were always going to play a key role in this army, so I've maxed out Imrahil's warband with 6 archers (who can split off from the main group and hang at the edge of Imrahil's 12" banner reroll to guard the flanks/outer objectives) and a 6x2 anvil of Knights of Dol Amroth backed by Axemen of Lossarnach. The Knights of Dol Amroth are F4/D6, but if Imrahil is charging in the center of them (or hits the rear of the enemy formation), the Knights of Dol Armoth might be F5 (instead of F4), which can be absolutely deadly. The Axemen are solid supporting models, but can also wrap around if that's more advantageous to crippling the enemy formation.

36 models is a pretty solid army size at this points level - and with a surprising amount of shooting, we've really got the enemy's number if they didn't bring shooting of their own. Let's see how we want to approach each scenario in Matched Play . . .

Gameplay Strategy

Maelstrom & Object Missions (Pools 1 & 3)

So let's get this out of the way from the get-go: unlike the Minas Tirith-Fiefdoms list we viewed two weeks ago, each of your warbands can arrive on their own and that's perfectly fine. The Captain's warband can skirmish with their throwing spears, relying on their banner to help them survive until help arrives should they be surrounded (shielding with a banner reroll gives you 3-5 dice depending on whether you're a 1A warrior or a 2A hero). Eomer's warband is fast and can flex to support either of the other warbands if they need aid. Imrahil's warband has a little bit of everything and that MASSIVE banner radius, so they can hedge up and await the enemy however they choose to come on.

In Hold Ground, Eomer and his "rough riders" can get to the center of the board quickly, but probably want to harass/crush a warband on their way in with their shooting/charging. Ideally, you'll get a warband caught between Eomer's bows and the Captain's throwing spears - and if you do, you're in solid shape. Imrahil's warband (slightly more than half our army) should focus on trudging towards the center slowly, promising solid troops to arrive and clean up whatever the Rohan warbands haven't torn apart. You can, of course, try to get the Captain of Rohan near Imrahil's warband to March them towards the center faster.

In both Heirlooms of Ages Past and Command the Battlefield, you want your army to show up all over (near objectives in Heirlooms and on the center of different board edges in Command the Battlefield). Eomer's riders don't have much of a reason to race in and charge, so they can go racing to the corners of the board in Command the Battlefield (or circling up around an objective in Heirlooms) and force the enemy to come after them. Your throwing spear warband also doesn't have much of a need to engage and can lead a merry chase away from the enemy's pursuits.

When it comes to the object missions, the strategy changes to more of a synergy: your Fiefdoms contingent should have a direct march towards the center in Seize the Prize (relying on the Captain of Rohan to push them up and Imrahil to follow through a gap), but you can have the throwing spears and all your bows caging the enemy in so they can't get around the flanks easily. Eomer and Imrahil want to help clear/control the center until the prize has been dug up - and since Eomer is an Expert Rider, you can have him pick up the prize if it's picked up by the enemy and the holder is killed.

Retrieval is similarly tricky, but since your Fiefdoms units are the only anvil you need, you can have them hedge up around your objective and then turn out your Rohan troops to skirmish with the enemy and draw out resources before racing in to move the artifact before the game ends (if not carry it away). With as much shooting as you have, you can make your opponent nervous about sending equal numbers to chase down your troops, as a single round of shooting could see them at a disadvantage. Don't forget when retreating to retreat TOWARDS the enemy's board edges so that you're ultimately moving towards the artifact.

Finally, Destroy the Supplies requires you to guard three points. Imrahil's archers can park near two of these objectives and the Riders of Rohan can float around the third - and this means it'll be up to your Fiefdoms anvil (small though it is) and your throwing spear squad (about as small) to weaken the enemy that is approaching your supplies and attempt to break through to get to their supplies if possible. This one's going to be hard - your army doesn't really want to stand and fight that much, but that's exactly what they'll need to do . . . in three different places.

Control Missions (Pools 2 & 5)

You'd think that an army that doesn't want to stay in one place and "bunker down" and fight would LOATHE control missions - but not so with this army. No, we want our Fiefdoms models to stay on the center line and press the enemy hard, but we want our Rohan warbands to hang back a bit and harass the flanks of the enemy OR race past to get to abandoned objectives. Thanks to our throwing spears, we can threaten spear-supporting models well - and with Imrahil's massive banner, your Fiefdoms models can spread out really far and STILL get effectively 2 dice to win any fight. Imrahil's FV buff might be hard to trigger on your Knights of Dol Amroth unless they're guarding one flank that Imrahil intends to wrap around, but you probably don't need it as much. Eomer and his Riders can harass the side/rear objectives and then hold them if the enemy abandons them, while the Warriors of Rohan with throwing spears challenge the enemy flankers. No matter whether you're playing Domination, Command and Control, or Breakthrough, this army is going to punch harder than it looks . . . if it can keep its casualty rate low.

When it comes to the get-somewhere missions, your army is pretty fast and incredibly flexible. You're not that worried about Storm the Camp, where you can March up your infantry quickly and have those Blackroot Vale archers able to retreat to the camp to hold it if you need to, while your Riders of Rohan and Eomer take the long way to the enemy camp, harassing those that advance towards the center (or who are trying to hold the camp) as they approach. The Fiefdoms anvil will be attempting to hold the center, weakening the enemy trying to get to your camp while maintaining a threat against the enemy camp should they try to play avoidance.

In Reconnoitre, you can actually get all 8 of your cavalry models off the board if you want to and then get everyone else killed as quickly as possible to win. Alternatively, you can keep Eomer and Imrahil on the board while your Riders of Rohan seek the board edge on their own and Eomer/Imrahil just plan to be the last guys standing. This approach is a bit safer in that you're not "losing" your power pieces, but it does risk that your army leader could be wounded/killed.

Finally, in Divide and Conquer, you have three warbands and you probably want your two infantry warbands to go down together (just so you can March them around). But once again, I'm not sure that it matters that much which warbands deploy where - Eomer and his Riders can certainly be on their own (and race to harass one of the enemy quadrants quickly), but they could also move out from the initial corner with either of the other warbands and fulfill the same need. Sure, Imrahil's warband might arrive late, but who cares - you'll get there eventually.

Killing Missions (Pools 4 & 6)

If you're trying to break the enemy's army or rack up the kill count (To the Death and Lords of Battle), don't start close to him - deploy as far back as you safely can and harass, harass, harass. Yes, it's not that exciting, but it's effective - and since you don't have to call Heroic Marches, you COULD call Heroic Shoots with your Captain if you keep him near your Blackroot Vale Archers (though I'm not sure we really have enough here to make it worth it). In To The Death, you start the game with a real banner, so you're up 2-0 to anyone who didn't bring one and tied at 1-1 with anyone who did. Case in point: we have no reason to rush to fight, so we don't.

When it comes Contest of Champions, we don't have the luxury of hanging back, so we say, "forget shooting" and we deploy Imrahil right up in the front (just like we did in our Minas Tirith alliance) and place the Captain right there with him. Eomer, on the other hand, wants to hang back a bit, keeping his cavalry out of an initial charge range, but capable of charging in if your opponent tries to wrap you. You might even consider doing a shallow Long Fangs formation to give Eomer and Imrahil (and maybe some of your Riders of Rohan) some room to charge without risking being charged.

Your strategy for killing heroes in Fog of War and Assassination is pretty straight-forward and predictable: Eomer is going to be our assassin and we will probably pick Eomer to keep alive/unwounded. Our opponent will probably try to kill the Captain, so we may want to pick him to keep alive in Fog of War and just have him hide all game. By having the Captain hang back in Assassination too, we can attempt to lure out the enemy's assassin and pounce on him with Imrahil as soon as possible. Imrahil is worth some VPs in Assassination - and as a 12" banner for the Fiefdoms models, we don't want to be careless or reckless with him, but we can also get away with him being a little more exposed than normal because he a) will help us break the enemy, b) can challenge strong heroes if he's charging, and c) will cough up little to no VPs should he get wounded. But we don't want him to be killed.

Clash by Moonlight is, like we said in the last two posts, both a boon and a terror for us. Yes, we have tons of shooting - and yes, that shooting could be absolutely devastating to our foes. But we are predominantly D5 - and that means most shooting will wound us on 5s or 4s, so if our opponent has about as much shooting as we do (like that Mordor-Harad list we viewed last week), they're going to tear through us at least as well as we tear through them. Maybe we can get lucky and kill more in the opening salvo than they do, but we still need to get locked in fast AND manage to break the enemy before they break us (and we break surprisingly quickly if we can't hang back and shoot).

Conclusion

If you prefer the Riders of Theoden, I'd direct you to check out our Bare Necessities article on Rohan and a deep-dive on the Riders of Theoden in our Stuff of Legends series. While you could certainly run that list instead of what we ran here, keeping the list building constraints of the Gondor at War collection makes the choices of what models to take very difficult. If you enjoyed the article, let us know in the comments below - or if you thought the lists should be built differently, let us know that too! In our next post, we swing the pendulum back to evil and we look at the filthy and disgusting Corsairs of Umbar. Corsairs are a horde army that shoots lots of stuff - but with only basic access to their units (and only 12 Crossbows), how do you prepare this army for games on the tabletop? Find out next time - and until then, happy hobbying!