The Scouring of the Shire Inspired Lists: Angmar Revisited

Good morning gamers,

This is our last post in this series of taking your Scouring of the Shire scenario collection and using them in Matched Play - and today we're focusing on a faction that only makes an appearance in three scenarios in the appendix of the sourcebook. Angmar is one of the most competitive factions in SBG and has been dominant certainly since the MESBG rules were issued a few years ago. But the Scouring of the Shire scenarios include a rather generic set of models from Angmar that you can take - and depending on how you make your purchases, you may have some extra models lying around that you can use. Here's the list:

• Golfimbul;
• 1 Wild Warg Chieftain;
• The Witch-King on foot and mounted on a horse (if you purchased the Battle Host as recommended);
  
• 12 Warg Riders (4 shields, 4 shields and throwing spears, 4 Orc bows);
• 8 Wild Wargs (actually 12 Wild Wargs because they come in packs of 6); and
  
• 12 Orc Warriors (but we actually need 48 Orcs because we need 6 bowmen and there are 4 in each box of 24 models)
  

If we have 12 Warg Riders, 12 Wargs, and 48 Orcs . . . that's plenty to work with! Where we'd run into trouble is with the heroes, but that's easily solved by picking up the Mordor Battle Host to get a "free" Witch-King model for the same cost as a box of Orcs and Warg Riders. As such, our hero corps is pretty simple: one big caster, one big wolf, and one fat, fat Orc!

The List

We're going to cheat a bit and assume you have the Battle Host (though if you don't, you can make up two of the Warg Riders and two of the Orc Warriors into cool Captains and run them in place of the Witch-King - but the list won't be as good). With it, we have a power piece to trigger our army bonus, deal with big heroes, and provide some staying power should our army break:

• The Witch-King of Angmar on horse with the Crown of Morgul, a Morgul Blade, and 3 Might/15 Will/3 Fate [ARMY LEADER]
• 8 Angmar Orc Warriors with shields
  
• 8 Angmar Orc Warriors with spears
  
• 2 Angmar Warg Riders with shields and throwing spears
  
• Golfimbul, Orc Captain on Warg
• 4 Angmar Orc Warriors with shields
  
• 4 Angmar Orc Warriors with spears
  
• 4 Angmar Orc Warriors with Orc bows
• Wild Warg Chieftain
• 2 Angmar Warg Riders with Orc bows
  
• 2 Angmar Warg Riders with shields and throwing spears
  
• 8 Wild Wargs
  

600 points, 45 models, 6 Orc bows hitting on a 5+ AND 4 throwing spears hitting on a 5+ AND Black Dart cast on a 5+, 1 D6+ model, 7 cavalry + 9 fast infantry, 7 Might points

45 models is pretty average for this mini-series (4 more than a Gandalf/Aragorn Shire list, 30 less than a Sharkey's Rogues spam list), but 40+ models at 600 points is quite good. When you have three killing-oriented heroes and lots of cheap-but-cost-efficient warriors, you're in good shape. Let's see what the list can do!

Army Theory

The Witch-King is our lead power piece, but he's not our only power piece. His magic will be needed to keep enemy heroes neutralized one at a time while we slam into them with the likes of Golfimbul (F3 with Strike and the ability to fight two-handed) and the Wild Warg Chieftain (F5/S6 with 3 Attacks). The Witch-King himself is no slouch and with 15 Will points, he should be able to fight and cast for a while (thanks to that reroll he gets from the Crown of Morgul). I've planned the allocation of his Will thusly - see my post on Multi-Purpose Will Casters for what all this means:

• Combat Store: 6 Will
• Casting Store: 4-8 Will
• Resisting Store: 0-4 Will
• Life Store: 1 Will
  

Without a Fell Beast, we need to be careful about our Witch-King matchups, making sure anyone he charges he can actually kill, but we have the Wild Warg Chieftain to crack through high Defense models and Golfimbul to stall out smaller heroes or warriors.

We've used half of the Warg Riders we own - 4 with shields and throwing spears and 2 with Orc bows. Warg Riders are some of the cheapest cavalry in the game and are most useful in turning off cavalry charge bonuses from enemy models, knocking models over so they can be killed more easily (especially if a hero like the Wild Warg Chieftain is in the fight, since he doesn't knock Infantry over), and getting to objectives quickly. By making sure all six of these guys have skirmishing weapons, we don't have to commit to charging in order to get use out of them and they're perfect for tagging/guarding objectives or rapidly redeploying our units to another flank.

Naturally, we're packing in Orc Warriors and Wild Wargs. With 48 Orcs in our hands, we've added 12 Orcs with shields (all but 4 that we own), 12 Orcs with shields and spears (with the 4 throwing spear dismounts, this is all the spears we own), 4 Orcs with Orc bows (with the 2 Orc bow dismounts, we've used up almost all the bows we own), and 8 Wild Wargs (all the Wargs we got in the scenario and almost all of the Wargs we own period). Our Orcs are there to hold the line (and they'll cause Terror while near the Witch-King) while the Wargs assist with claiming objectives and picking up objects (should the scenario require it). With a Warg Chieftain to Heroic March them further on a turn or two, we can have some REALLY fast units if we need them.

Let's look now at how to plan out using this army in the various scenarios.

Gameplay Strategy

Maelstrom & Object Missions (Pools 1 & 3)

Our warbands aren't dependent on each other at all - so in maelstrom, we don't care where we show up. Golfimbul should deploy first in any maelstrom fight, since he's got an all-infantry warband and it'll be good to know where his troops are committed. With a small shieldwall (2 ranks of 4 files) and a small pocket of archers to guard the flanks (4), Golfimbul's warband could be overrun by the enemy if we're not careful. The Wild Warg Chieftain's warband is fast - everyone has 10" movement and the Chieftain has Heroic March (as we've already mentioned), so this warband can split up or rush to provide assistance as needed - deploy it last. The Witch-King's warband should advance as a block - one large shieldwall (2 ranks of 8 files) with some cavalry to guard the flanks/race off with the Witch-King, ready to get locked in against the largest concentration of the enemy.

In Hold Ground, the Wild Warg Chieftain's warband should focus on reaching the center quickly (sending its Warg Riders to provide support to any floundering warbands if needed), while the others try to engage enemy warbands as they approach the middle. Keep the Witch-King in a safe spot so he doesn't get overwhelmed. In Heirlooms of Ages Past, our Wargs spread out wide while our Orcs concentrate near the center of the map, counting on the speed of our fast models to secure the Heirloom quickly (deploy your heirloom tokens 8-10" from a board edge so you can jump on the tokens easily, while infantry armies can't reach them on the first turn). Finally, in Command the Battlefield, you can send Warg Riders and Wargs to each quadrant while your Orc warbands group together and engage with your opponent's largest concentration of forces. With 15 fast models (not including the Witch-King), you can rely on your wolf-units to clear stragglers hiding in the reaches of any quadrant, while your Orc bowmen get left behind to "hold" a quadrant and cause trouble.

Object missions will see those Wargs come into a realm all their own: in Seize the Prize, we can surge forward with our fast troops, relying on our throwing spears on our Warg Riders to threaten anyone who nears the Prize, while our infantry surge forward behind us. You could March your Wild Wargs 13" forward with the Wild Warg Chieftains to attempt to snatch it up quickly, but you don't want to do this if your opponent has fast models thundering towards the middle. Instead, get close with your Wild Wargs (Warg Riders behind them to shoot from behind the wargs) and count on Golfimbul to call a Heroic Move on the following turn so you can surge forward into combat instead of getting caught on the back foot. Have the Wild Warg Chieftain dig up the Prize if you can (or if he's not available to dig it up, have him focus on clearing out a path for you to race the Prize away).

In Destroy the Supplies, we have lots of fast units and some big blocks of troops to hold the enemy in the center. The Witch-King's warband would do well to deploy in the center of your deployment zone, allowing his Warg Riders to flex to wherever they're needed. Golfimbul will be leaving his archers behind at one of your supplies while he leads his shieldwall up one flank, while the Wild Warg Chieftain leads his wargs up the other side, supported by the throwing spear Warg Riders (your bow-armed Warg Riders would do well to flex-guard your other supplies). Keep the press high until you can break through with someone fast.

Finally, in Retrieval, our goal is to throw a 12-long, 2-rank shieldwall into the enemy's face, with the Witch-King to support, Golfimbul to lead one flank, and the Wild Warg Chieftain to charge on the other. Alternatively, you could form up in a Long Fangs formation with the Witch-King, giving him and his Warg Riders running lanes to pick their charges (and make sure counter-charging them is harder). The goal is to keep our units together and in force so that we have room to work on the periphery with our fast units (or break a hole in the middle) so we can get to our opponent's flag.

Control Missions (Pools 2 & 5)

Control missions begin with having bodies - and while we don't have as many as the Ruffians we viewed last time, we have PLENTY of guys. As we've done with most of the armies we've reviewed in the last few months, we're starting front-and-center, contesting the middle of the board as far up as possible. The Witch-King can use Compels to manipulate the enemy control of objectives while the Orcs and Wargs swarm the objectives held by the enemy. Some of Golfimbul's archers can drift to rear objectives, but you want to make sure your forces control the center at all costs in Domination and Capture and Control (using your speed to support fights on any other objectives you seem to be losing). In Breakthrough, control of the center is only necessary to support your rear objective (keeping your opponent from securing it) - your primary focus should be to drop a large contingent of troops on your opponent's rear objective as quickly as possible.

Unlike the Shire and Ruffian lists we've looked at in this series, we're not that worried about the get-somewhere missions - we have plenty of fast troops to threaten the enemy in Reconnoitre and Storm the Camp, and can even risk racing some of our throwing-spear-armed Warg Riders (and maybe Golfimbul) at their fastest pace forward to force the enemy to keep troops close to his board edge/camp to intercept them (slowing their advance and letting our Orcs get further up the field than they otherwise would). The Wargs would do well to be held in reserve, able to race for the board edge/camp later in the game after our Orcs have engaged. We don't have a strong contingent of bows to guard our stuff, but we can leave some Orc bowmen to float by our camp if the enemy has fast troops. Otherwise, we can rely on the Witch-King to hunt down anyone racing past our lines, working in tandem with our bow-armed Warg Riders to keep them hemmed in.

Finally, in Divide and Conquer, we want our Orcs to come down together, starting with Golfimbul, followed by the Wild Warg Chieftain on the opposite corner, and with the Witch-King coming in last. We aren't doing this to be coy with our opponent (as soon as we declare where the Warg Chieftain is going, our opponent will know where the Witch-King is going) - we're doing it so we can determine how to form up our largest block of Orcs. If our opponent has a formation that is ready to race for the objective, we know the Wild Warg Chieftain and his band will try to head them off, allowing some of our Orcs to face that direction, but most of our Orcs to face the other way. If our opponent has two small blocks, we'll want to advance quickly towards the middle and draw up battle lines when we get closer (with our Wargs racing to the center quickly).

Killing Missions (Pools 4 & 6)

With a predominantly D4-5 army, we can't really wait for our opponent to come to us, so in any killing mission, we want to race forward towards our opponent, starting as far up as possible. Thankfully, with such large numbers, we should be able to double-up against most foes and will hopefully make up whatever we lose to enemy archery in the first few turns of melee. All three of our heroes are good beaters (if Golfimbul Strikes) and we can get some good mileage out of them if we can manage their fights. In both To The Death and Clash by Moonlight, we'll start away from our opponent, but we want to advance swiftly but behind cover if we can. Our Wargs/Warg Riders should wait to utilize their speed until after we've neared the enemy - their wargs are pretty fragile and will be essential to getting kills later.

In Lords of Battle and Contest of Champions, we'll be on the center line - and in these fights, we want to get locked in fast! The Witch-King can (again) utilize a Long Fangs formation to manage his initial match-ups in Contest of Champions and can rely on Transfix to draw resources out of the enemy army leader (or restrict his kill count). If our opponent tries to charge us, he'll need to pass Terror tests for many of the Orcs in the center - perfect for helping us get favorable match-ups and whittle down the enemy slowly.

In Fog of War and Assassination, we have some interesting choices. Our assassin is likely assumed to be the Wild Warg Chieftain, but Golfimbul is a sneaky alternate pick - I don't know that it matters which you choose, so consider what hero you may be forced to wound. When picking a hero you need to kill, the Wild Warg Chieftain has the advantage against D7+ models (who Golfimbul will struggle to wound without two-handing), while Golfimbul has the advantage against D6 and below models if they're infantry (and especially if they can't Strike). Your opponent will probably try to kill Golfimbul, but could also eye that D5 3 Wound/1 Fate Warg Chieftain, so manage their match-ups (as usual).

The choice for who to keep alive in Fog of War is also an interesting choice - Golfimbul could very easily be kept in the back and ignored, but the Wild Warg Chieftain could also prowl around the periphery, staying clear of archery and threatening anyone who tries to force him to come out. You definitely want the Warg Chieftain fighting, but WHEN he engages will be critical. Similarly, pick someone you can Black Dart to death easily or someone you can run over with your heroes/Warg Riders - shouldn't be too hard to pull off. Your terrain piece, once again, should be something near the center that you can park 20+ Orcs on with the Witch-King, daring your opponent to try to shift you off of it.

Conclusion

This is our last post in the Scouring of the Shire, and while the Scouring supplement content has traditionally been less of a draw for our readers, I hope you learned a thing or two from it. Not this coming Thursday but NEXT Thursday, we'll be looking at a more popular supplement: War in Rohan. Tag along as we explore what you need to play the scenarios - and what this means if we're using that purchasing guide for running factions of various kinds. 

This coming Thursday is the first Thursday in February, which means we not only have our usual formations post, but the Warhammer Community website SHOULD have the February 2023 FAQ releases - join us next Monday as we walk through those (and what they mean for the state of the game). Until next time, happy hobbying!