The Road to the Winter Whirlwind Tournament

Good morning gamers,

Centaur sprung a surprise* tournament on us and the tournament is intended to get some of the players who have drifted from the game over the years to come back and give it a try (and to introduce some new players to the game). As such, the tournament tomorrow will be 300pts (with no single model costing more than 150pts) and we'll be playing 5 games (45min each). Centaur picked one scenario from each pool and each round, he'll draw the pool that we'll be using (so we need to prepare for 6 scenarios but will only be playing 5 of them). 

We haven't had a tournament at/under 300pts in a long time (we had a 150-pt event in 2017 - and that one didn't require heroes), so this was an interesting challenge. While most people might think that a low points limit would mean fewer armies than normal for my consideration, I can assure you that I tested no less than TEN different lists at this points level (and wrote up a TON more that never even made it to the tabletop). Let's take a look at the front-runners!

Honorable Mention: Vanilla Mordor

Which is more scary: a winged monstrosity or a horde of Morannons!

Last September, I got a Fell Beast (you can see him in a few pictures here, close-ups to come in the next Quest of the Ringbearer collection update) - and it is FUN to use! When Centaur mentioned off-handedly that he was going to do this, I immediately looked to see if I could pair my knowledge of spell-casting, my love of Ringwraiths, AND my new Fell Beast model into a list - but the 150pt limit for individual models really limited what I could take:

• The Witch-King of Angmar on Fell Beast with 3M/11W/2F [ARMY LEADER]
• 2 Morannon Orcs
• 6 Morannon Orcs with shields
• 6 Morannon Orcs with shields and spears
• 1 Morannon Orc with shield, spear, and banner

Veteran Witch-King players will see the glaring omission from this list: the Crown of Morgul. With it, the Witch-King not only casts more reliably with less Will, but is also always 3 Attacks (4 Attacks on the charge). Still, this list behaves exactly as you think it will: it'll win if the Witch-King lives and it will lose if the Witch-King dies. With the Fell Beast as part of the investment, I need to be at least a little aggressive with him - and I ultimately didn't like how swingy my games could be just based on his fights. I would encourage players to experiment with this kind of list without a 150pt cap (or just swap the Fell Beast for a horse, the Crown, and 2-3 Will depending on whether you take an armored horse or not) - it actually is a good list. Alas, it was far less reliable than the other contenders you'll see below.

Candidate #5: The Black Gate Opens LL

Which is scarier: one monster or two? In practice . . . two, at this points level!

You know what's more fun than having one monster at low points levels? It's having two monsters. Yes, I could have run two Troll Chieftains, by I didn't think I could win Breakthrough or Divide and Conquer if I did that. So, I opted for a normal Troll to back up my Troll Chieftain (he needs a name - the working name is Peter, pronounced like this) and 10 Orcs to hold the line:

• Mordor Uber-Troll Chieftain [ARMY LEADER]
• 1 Mordor Troll
• 7 Mordor Orcs with shields
• 3 Mordor Orcs with Orc bows

My games with this list have been . . . mixed. It took me a little while to get used to having two Trolls (see a post that I patently ignored in my first game about how to use them well - it worked much better when I followed my own advice), but ultimately, I think I "liked" the list, but not enough to run it compared to what else I was fielding. I think this Legion is (ironically) better at lower points levels than higher ones, but 300pts its probably too low for most monster lists (and especially most double-monster lists - though Centaur did threaten to run Buhrdur and 2 Cave Trolls, and he could probably have made that work). I would also have to get Peter painted, so not taking this list helped remove that deadline.

Candidate #4: The Army of Gothmog LL

No monsters, but a lot more numbers and Might!

I've had Mordor on the brain, can you tell? With a new box set, a new Gothmog model, and far more Morannons than anyone could imagine (more on that in a future post), I figured I could try running Gothmog and a horde of Morannons supplemented by some archers (because, you know, Morannon Orcs can't take bows):

• Gothmog, Lieutenant of Sauron on Warg with shield [ARMY LEADER]
• 5 Morannon Orcs with shields
• 5 Morannon Orcs with shields and spears
• 1 Morannon Orc with shield, spear, and banner 
• 6 Orc Warriors with Orc bows 

Similar to the Witch-King list, this army basically falls apart if Gothmog dies - though 18 models is a lot of bodies at this points level. Gothmog doesn't need to sail in and challenge the biggest brute in the bunch, but if he ever attracts that much attention, he's probably going down. I would also have to paint Gothmog, so once again, deadline solved by not taking this list! Ultimately, I thought if I was going to have one big hero leading a pack of tough warriors, I might want to try someone a bit tougher and punchier . . .

Candidate #3: Erebor Reclaimed (War of the Ring Edition)

This model is GORGEOUS - but I need some guys to back him up . . . more on that in a future post :-)

If you're going to run only one hero, you should choose someone big - and for this tournament, it would be good if he's cheap and gives you a banner bonus too. With Aragorn off the table (160+ points) and Imrahil effectively off the table (he'd have to be dismounted - kind of takes the bite out of him, I think), your next beefiest hero is going to be "Old Dain" from Erebor Reclaimed. With a 6" banner from the modified army bonus (thanks, Defence of the North!), I could lead 15 D7-8 Iron Hills Dwarves with this 130-point hero and absolutely devastate my foes:

• Dain Ironfoot, King Under the Mountain [ARMY LEADER]
• 10 Iron Hills Dwarves (with shields)
• 5 Iron Hills Dwarves with spears (and shields)

But I do need to amend that statement: I could absolutely devastate my foes . . . if I could catch them. With 5" move and no Heroic March, I'll be slogging it across the field in any scenario where I can't start right in the enemy's face (every scenario EXCEPT Breakthrough and Retrieval). While I have a sweet new model for this guy, I just couldn't bring myself to fielding him. Sorry, Dain, you'll just have to wait.

Candidate #2: Rohan

10 cavalry is a lot at this points level (and we're not afraid of anything)!

I looked at a list from the Riders of Theoden LL that had Theoden, Gamling, and 6 Riders of Rohan in it (and my son, Gorgoroth, thought hard about running that list - it is devastating when it charges). Ultimately, I feared running into Angmar with that list and the charges stalling out, so I decided that having better Courage (and more guys) might be better than one round of free Heroic Combats. For that, I turned to one of the least appreciated Rohan heroes of the lot - Erkenbrand:

• Theoden, King of Rohan with everything [ARMY LEADER]
• 5 Riders of Rohan
• Erkenbrand, Captain of Rohan on horse
• 3 Westfold Redshields

10 models is the smallest we've seen, but at this points level, you only need one devastating charge to shift everything. Having 3 Westfold Redshields means I can charge Erkenbrand into one enemy model with a Redshield, charge Theoden and a Redshield into someone nearby, and both fights can have a banner reroll to help their Heroic Combats go off. Erkenbrand has 3 Might and no Strike, so Heroic Moves/Combats are us (and yes, I think it's fine for heroes to be designated as the Heroic Move hero). This list doesn't want to charge into big heroes - but thanks to the 8 bows in it, we don't have to engage until we're ready.

This list was always going to struggle with two things: low model count and average Defense. While having one of these problems isn't an issue at this points level, having both together - no matter how hard you can hit - is going to pose a problem. So, I ultimately abandoned this list in favor of . . .

Candidate #1 and my tournament list: Theodred's Guard LL

This list is nuts and is rapidly becoming my favorite Rohan list ever. While I much prefer Theodred in vanilla Rohan lists where he isn't your army leader, the list below has maxed out his warband and everyone can shoot:

• Theodred, Heir of Rohan on horse with throwing spears and shield [ARMY LEADER]
• 4 Warriors of Rohan with shields and throwing spears 
• 1 Warrior of Rohan with shield, throwing spears, and banner
• 5 Rohan Royal Guards with throwing spears
• 5 Riders of Rohan 

This army does it all - good mix of cavalry and infantry, the Rohan infantry can support each other thanks to the Fight in Ranks rule from the Legion, everyone (including Theodred) has Sworn Protector (Theodred) to auto-pass Courage tests, and we can all shoot from 8-24" away. In practice, this list hits like a train and underscores something I have touted for a long time: shooting can have a massive impact at low points levels. So yes, I'm taking Rohan to a tournament this year - and I've included Centaur's #9, #2, and #1 skirmisher choices (though the #2s don't have throwing spears and the #1s don't have mounts).

I will say that, ironically, this is very similar to the list I ran at the 150pt tournament we ran back in 2017, where I ran a "pajama party" from Lothlorien with lots of throwing daggers and Elf bows. In that tournament, we always played To The Death (an older variant as the new rules hadn't come out yet) and in this tournament we're rotating scenarios. Despite that, I feel pretty confident with it - I don't worry about Terror, I can probably outshoot anything that shows up, and unlike my Elves I fielded in 2017, I'm D5-6 (unless my Riders get dismounted) and my throwing weapons can be used as standard spears instead of having to pay for spears AND throwing weapons. So yes, I'm pretty excited!

But wait, we have one more list . . .

Dishonorable Mention: Quest-of-the-Ringbearer Angmar

As great as a 16-model, fearless, all-shooting army is, I have to say that the army I ACTUALLY almost took (and even now think I should have taken) is a filthy list that runs models from Angmar that I've been collecting for Quest of the Ringbearer. As I've written up before, you actually get a lot of Angmar models in that book - and at 300pts, very little is going to stand up to two Barrow-Wights and 24 Orcs/Warg Riders (many of whom will cause Terror):

• Barrow-Wight [ARMY LEADER]
• 5 Angmar Orc Warriors with shields
• 4 Angmar Orc Warriors with shields and spears
• 1 Angmar Orc Warrior with shield, spear, and banner
• 2 Angmar Warg Riders with Orc bows
• Barrow-Wight
• 2 Angmar Orc Warriors with shields
• 2 Angmar Orc Warriors with shields and spears
• 6 Angmar Orc Warriors with Orc bows
• 2 Angmar Warg Riders with shields

This list has a 7-file shieldwall that can cause Terror, flanked by two skirmish triangles, and screened by four fast troops. With some of the most oppressive magic casters in the game, this army can shut down a lot of enemy heroes (and are unlikely to have much in the way of magical defense built into their profiles thanks to the point-cap limit in this tournament) - and if it can do that, the press of numbers (paired with Terror if the enemy tries to charge first) could see us rolling over the enemy in a horrible, spooky tide.

So why not run this list? Because the point of this tournament was to get people back into the game. And THIS list wasn't going to make people want to come back. So . . . I left it at home (that, and I think my Theodred's Guard list could tear it apart with shooting, Sworn Protector, and F4). Don't worry, oh Orcs and fell Spirits, I have variants of this list at a variety of points levels and I might just bring it out for the next event we throw . . . we'll see . . .

Well, the tournament is tomorrow and I can't wait to compete against friends again. Until next time, happy hobbying!

*Well, it wasn't REALLY a surprise - he warned us that it might happen in November, but it wasn't scheduled until January.