Fall of the Necromancer: What Models Do You Need?

Good morning gamers,

We're starting our way through the fifth sourcebook released for the Middle-Earth Strategy Battle Game, which is a follow-up to an older sourcebook from a previous edition of the game (also bearing the same name): The Fall of the Necromancer. While the original book was inspired by Elves and Wizards who would have been around during the time of the Necromancer (to include Cirdan and Arwen . . . you know, because THEY would be larking about in Mirkwood during the time of Thorin's epic journey to Erebor), the current rendition follows the storyline of the Hobbit trilogy, including some interesting missions which appeared off-camera but were mentioned in the film franchise.

Photo Credit: Warhammer Community

The book is also critiqued for being VERY thin compared to other sourcebooks of similar pricing - the book is similar in size to the Scouring of the Shire supplement, which is priced a lot less than the other supplements that have been released to date. The other limitations to this sourcebook will be viewed as we go through it, but let's get this out of the way first: this was the first supplement released that featured Armies of the Hobbit models in the scenarios - and while Defence of the North also features some models from the Armies of the Hobbit, Fall of the Necromancer is the only sourcebook to date that contains exclusively Armies of the Hobbit Legendary Legions (there are two in Defence of the North - one of which might be redundant). While we'll be focusing on the scenario side of the house, this sourcebook has released Legions that have been dominant on top tables (both before and after nerfing was done) at a variety of different points levels and is still valuable for both Matched Play enthusiasts and scenario-driven players. Let's dig in!

Part 1: The Founding of Dol Guldur to Lurking in the Shadows

In the first four scenarios, we have quite a few models - they'll form the basis for most of the campaign. While most of the scenarios will involve models from the Armies of the Hobbit, we begin, actually, with a few from the Armies of the Lord of the Rings. Let's see what we need.

Purchase #1: Rohan Command blister (or Rohan Mounted Command blister)

It's funny that, in a book devoted to the Armies of the Hobbit, we start off with some Rohan models. :) While profiles could have been made (even if just for scenario play) for the woodmen of Rhovanion, we are just using nomadic Rohan guys . . . okay, fine.

Personally, I think giving us "Mirkwood Woodsmen" with a basic profile akin to the Bree Villagers we saw in the Scouring of the Shire (and incorporated into our Watchers of the Roads LL last December) would have been great. As it happens, because we only need a Captain of Rohan on foot, you can get either the foot Command blister or the mounted Command blister - whichever you like better (or think you'll use).

Purchase #2: 12 Warriors of Rohan (or the Rohan Battle Host)

Well, look at that - we also need 12 Warriors of Rohan to join our Captain. Funny, in order to get 12 of these guys, we need to get 24 of them. But if we're willing to pay ~$45 for the Warriors of Rohan and ~$50 for the Command blister . . . we could save some cash and use Eomer as our "Woodsman Chieftain" (or paint up one of our extra Warriors of Rohan to look more elite than the others) and 12 Warriors of Rohan and just get the Rohan Battle Host and get some Riders of Rohan for free. Chances are good we'll want a Battle Host if we want to get started in Rohan anyway, so while it's a pricey bit of kit, it's actually a far better value for us than trying to get the exact models we want (though adding the Rohan Mounted Command blister to the Rohan Battle Host is a really good option too).

Since we only need these woodsman for a single scenario, I still think giving us custom profiles for a Woodsman Chieftain and Woodsmen for the scenario (like they did for Bree Villagers) would have been the right call. Just saying . . .

Purchase #3: The Necromancer of Dol Guldur

This is an old sculpt and I know a lot of people (including me) were hoping for a new sculpt - something more in line with what we see in the movies. Still, he's a big model and gives you lots of opportunity for cool painting schemes (but more on that later).

Purchase #4: 12 Orc Warriors (but actually 24 Orc Warriors)

Well, what do you know - more non-Armies of the Hobbit models! Why you need Orc Warriors in the scenarios instead of a reduced number of Hunter Orcs is beyond me - especially since Orc Warriors didn't get rolled into any of the Legendary Legions. But I guess a fight between Orc Warriors and Warriors of Rohan would be less one-sided than a fight between Hunter Orcs and Warriors of Rohan . . . though the presence of the Necromancer is going to REALLY swing things.

Purchase #5: Mirkwood Captain blister (actually 2 blisters)

The Mirkwood Captain blister includes three heroes - a Palace Guard Captain, a Mirkwood Captain (which is basically irrelevant for competitive play outside of our proposed Defense of Mirkwood LL), and Mirkwood Ranger Captains. There was a two-man blister of the out-of-production Mirkwood Ranger Captain and Palace Guard Captain sculpts, so since we'll be needing two Mirkwood Ranger Captains, you can either look for the out-of-production one and the current blister OR get two of the current blisters . . . or just use one of your other Captains if you'd like to save some cash.

Purchase #6: 10 Mirkwood Rangers (actually 20 Rangers)

Mirkwood Rangers are squishy but cool models - and in the scenarios, they're really finnicky to use since the Spiders kill them with ease but have lower Fight Values. You need a full box of these guys (which keeps us from saving money by converting some warriors into Captains), but they're a cool troop to have around.

Purchase #7: 2 blisters of Castellans of Dol Guldur

Castellans get a bad wrap around the community, but they've been used a TON here at TMAT by Rythbyrt (for a starting point, you should read his love-letter to them in our In Defense Of series). In the scenarios, we only have 4 Castellans (which is a fine number of Castellans for Matched Play), though with the current purchase quantity of three-per-pack, you'll have six lying around if you buy two blisters. Six works better for Matched Play anyway . . .

Purchase #8: 3 Blisters of Spiders

Okay, if you thought the Rohan Battle Host was expensive, check out this one: we need 6 of each kind of spider and currently they're sold in a set of four models for $60 each in the States - that's $180 for twelve Spiders . . . yikes . . . Honestly, you're never going to use this many models in Matched Play (unless you're REALLY steering into the skid), so paint a few of them really well and get the rest up to a functional standard.

Purchase #9: 6 Fell Wargs

Fell Wargs are great fast-infantry (and we'll need these guys later on as dismounts for our mounted Hunter Orcs) - get these guys, they're great.

Purchase #10: 2 Bat Swarms

Bat Swarms are some of the best models in the game - fast, multi-wound models that can halve the Fight Value of enemy models they engage, these guys are staples of most Moria armies, Dark Denizens of Mirkwood, the Fell Beings of Mirkwood LL, and the Assault on Lothlorien LL. For around $15/model, buying two of these isn't that expensive - and there are TONS of applications for these guys in Matched Play.

Purchase #11: The Spider Queen

She's finally back in the webstore - and she's brilliant and powerful. At low points levels, she's incredibly dangerous - and as an ally to any number of factions (but especially Mordor or Moria) or as part of the Fell Beings of Mirkwood LL, she's incredibly strong (if she doesn't get shot up first). You want her - get her.

These purchases cost a lot of money, but does get a lot of what we need out of the way (we've actually bought half of the bundles we need). The total price so far is . . . well, incredibly high, actually:

• Part 1: $637
  
• Total Cost: $637
  

As we move into Part 2, we see the addition of wizards into the Forces of Good. Evil is . . . basically the same.

Part 2: Flight to the East to Attack on Rhosgobel

In these four scenarios, we add a bunch of named heroes (and a few generic heroes). These heroes are really good for Matched Play (and Fantasy Fellowships), so owning them is a huge boon.

Purchase #12: Gandalf the Grey and Thrain the Broken

Gandalf appears in a bunch of lists, including the Shire and Lake-town. He's also available in the Fellowship, the White Council, Thorin's Company, and the Vanquishers of the Necromancer LL - lots of lists. As far as casting capability goes, Gandalf's spells are actually quite difficult to cast successfully, but his options for spells is incredibly flexible. We're going to use this guy more than any other model in the book - so do a good job with him.

We don't need Thrain the Broken yet, but we'll need him later - so get him too. Buying these guys together is quite expensive, but only half as expensive as getting the cart and horse for Gandalf too.

Purchase #13: Legolas and Tauriel

There are two options for buying Legolas and Tauriel: the infantry only versions are cheaper and have equipment that's consistent with the Rangers of Mirkwood Legendary Legion (and the scenarios in this book). Alternatively, you can pay ~$15 more and get Legolas on foot and mounted alongside Tauriel - but in this set, Legolas has Orcrist (which he doesn't have in these scenarios) and Tauriel doesn't have her bow (which she has in these scenarios). So . . . save money if you can find the old stuff in a made-to-order, or just spend more and accept that the gear isn't going to be quite right.

Purchase #14: Orc Command blister (and possibly two blisters)

We've already got a ton of Orcs, so naturally, we need some Captains. Technically, since we need 2 Orc Captains, we should get two Orc Command blisters, but in the interest of saving money, you could use your Orc Taskmaster as your second Captain and just buy one of the blisters.

Purchase #15: Radagast the Brown on foot and on sleigh

Radagast is one of the best wizards Good has access to - a healer, an Immobilizer, a Terror-giving buffer, and the ability to remove horses from enemy models. Whether you run him on his sleigh or a Great Eagle, he's a powerhouse caster who can deal excellent damage on the charge - and can be REALLY hard to deal with. I love this guy - get him.

Just four purchases, but boy are these doozies for a price. Sure, this is on-par with the expense we saw in Scouring of the Shire, but for only four scenarios, it's pretty pricey (and after the first part, we've basically spent as much as we spend for the non-Appendices for the Scouring of the Shire supplement . . . ouch . . .):

• Part 1: $637
  
• Part 2: $207
  
• Total Cost: $844
  

We're wrapping up the campaign now as we move into Part 3 - and while Evil hardly got anything here, they really pull out the stops and get some pretty big pieces in these last few missions . . . along with some pretty hefty price tags to match!

Part 3: The Exploration of Dol Guldur to The Fall of the Necromancer

Some of the models we need (like Thrain) we've already picked up. What remains are six purchases that, honestly, you probably want if you're going to use the Forces of Evil in Matched Play anyway - and some named heroes who are pretty cool to use either in the Vanquishers of the Necromancer Legendary Legion, allied into other forces, or in your Fantasy Fellowships. Let's dig in!

Purchase #16: The Nazgul of Dol Guldur

So . . . these guys are expensive. Yes, you get nine of them, but it's still expensive. The models are gorgeous and prepare you well to use the Rise of the Necromancer LL, but even if you run this, you might not use all the Nazgul you get . . . so do a good job for the love of painting them, but do a particularly good job on the ones you plan to use in Matched Play.

Purchase #17: 12 Hunter Orcs (and 6 dismounts . . . and possibly 6 mounts)

So, you can get 24 Hunter Orcs in a single box - with two copies of twelve variant. I would encourage finding six poses that don't have their legs spread and paint these up as your 12 vanilla Hunter Orcs. Save the other twelve models - we'll need them.

Purchase #18: Azog

Azog is an amazing hero - and in the Pits of Dol Guldur Legendary Legion (included in this supplement), he's CRAZY powerful. We need him and the sculpt for him is incredibly nice.

"Purchase" #19: 6 Mounted Hunter Orcs

If you want to get the actual Hunter Orcs on Fell Wargs, you can get them for about $45 - BUT since we already have 6 Fell Wargs and we have 12 spare Hunter Orcs, we COULD magnetize one of each type of Hunter Orc to be able to sit on the back of each Fell Warg - and then use the identical copy for the dismounts. If you do this, you'll save some cash (offsets the price of some of the other kits we need to buy).

Purchase #20: The Vanquishers of the Necromancer

These are three classic and epic models - they look great and are some of the most powerful casters Good has access to (besides Radagast, of course). Elrond is amazing, Saruman is amazing, and Galadriel, Lady of Light is amazing (though allying her into an alliance is more difficult now). These guys are gold - getting them is a great plan as well.

Purchase #21: The Keeper of the Dungeons

While we've talked about a lot of great buys . . . this guy can be a real disappointment. Don't get me wrong - I've gotten some good mileage out of this guy alongside Azog at low points levels (it's a LOT easier to trigger his kill-count counter than you can with Bolg). But compared to the other models we've bought in this section, this guy is pretty lackluster. Still, cool model.

Look at that - only 21 purchases! This brings us to the end of the scenarios - but boy did we end on an EXPENSIVE foot (coming out to about $50 more, in the end, as what we spent on the models for the Scouring of the Shire supplement in all its glory):

• Part 1: $637
  
• Part 2: $207
  
• Part 3: $315
  
• Total Cost: $1,159
  

Well, that's it for the campaign - I guess we should move on to . . .

Part 4: The Appendices - wait, where did they go?

In the books we've covered this year (The Scouring of the Shire and War in Rohan), we've seen additional forces and scenarios provided in the appendices of the books. These additional scenarios aren't tied to the main story, but give you alternate flavors for the forces that compose the mainstay of the book. While appendices aren't a given (they don't appear in Gondor at War or Quest of the Ringbearer - though let's be honest, the rules for Fantasy Fellowships ARE the appendices for Quest of the Ringbearer), this book . . . doesn't have any.

To its credit, The Fall of the Necromancer has gone a little further than Gondor at War (which just presented a showcase of different models), including a painting guide for the old Necromancer sculpt and how to paint up the new ruins of Dol Guldur terrain. All told, not a bad inclusion by any means (on-par with the Hobbit smial terrain guide in the Scouring of the Shire supplement or the Weathertop painting guide in Quest of the Ringbearer), but alas, no new models, additional scenarios, or anything. Like I said at the beginning, this sourcebook missed a few opportunities, I feel.

The appendices, in my opinion, should have included a few things: first and foremost, an appearance from Celeborn and Glorfindel - both of whom most certainly fought against the Necromancer beside the White Council in the books. It would have been interesting to have a book-variant of the Fall of the Necromancer scenario where you had Celeborn and Glorfindel present, maybe with a need to hack your way to the captured Gandalf and throwing some Castellans into the mix to "stall" the heroes before they got to him.

Second, the appendices should have also included a few of the scenarios from the old sourcebook - scenarios like "Do Not Meddle in the Affairs of Wizards" featured Gandalf, Saruman, and Radagast being attacked by various vermin and would have been neat to see here. Additionally, the scenario where Cirdan/Arwen are ambushed could have been fun with other participants (though perhaps the Radagast vs. spiders scenarios are supposed to cover this?).

Finally, while the painting guide for the Necromancer was interesting (some flame effects/light-based highlighting are included, which is cool), I think also providing a showcase on how to paint some of the mundane models that will be used in repeat scenarios (such as spiders, Mirkwood Rangers, or the Nazgul of Dol Guldur) in different ways would have been more interesting (doing various shadow/lighting effects, making your own spider webs for base decoration, etc.).

For this part we have . . . exactly $0 to add, which is good and bad, I guess.

Conclusion: Why Quest of the Ringbearer is Such a Good Supplement

I know, I do this at the end of each of these posts. You'd think that a book almost entirely dedicated to Armies of the Hobbit models (who are noticeably absent from Quest of the Ringbearer sourcebook) would mean your Quest of the Ringbearer collection would have no bearing on this sourcebook. Well, think again.

In the first section of the book, we have a Captain of Rohan alongside 12 Warriors of Rohan fighting off 12 Orc Warriors and the Necromancer - and with the exception of the big spirit himself, you have all of these in Quest of the Ringbearer. 6 Fell Wargs in a later scenario? Got 18 Wild Wargs that can easily sub in if you like (or perhaps you picked up some Fell Wargs to use in the scenario as Wild Wargs to get some sculpt variety). Later in Part 2, we'll need 2 Orc Captains (not Hunter Orc Captains - the normal Mordor kind), which we have as well thanks to the Osgiliath mission.

There's also several named heroes you might have some version of - Gandalf the Grey, obviously, but also some version of Legolas. Depending on whether you play Fantasy Fellowships or not, you might also have the rest of the White Council models (since one of them could be your caster), Tauriel (nice cheap combat/ranged hero), or the ACTUAL Legolas that you need for these scenarios (since he's cheaper than the Fellowship version and only loses the kill-count rule with Gimli).

What you won't have are most of the Evil models - Hunter Orcs, Spiders, Bats, and Nazgul just don't show up much in Quest of the Ringbearer . . . though proxies for 18 Hunter Orcs (12 on foot and 6 mounted), 40mm base spiders/bats (use any cavalry model), a big spider hero (Shelob), or the Keeper (any named Orc hero) could be easily done. Mirkwood Rangers may not be in your collection, but if you picked up a box of Wood Elf Warriors, you have 22 models in pajamas that you could use to stand in if you wanted. While not the exact models you need, the substitutions are pretty easy to do.

Similarly, you have 9 Ringwraiths in your collection - if they're all numbered, you can assign Nazgul of Dol Guldor profiles to each of them to proxy them in without having to drop money on the Nazgul of Dol Guldur ForgeWorld blister. This basically leaves you with 60mm spiders (so in reality the substituting for the 40mm spiders is irrelevant), Azog, and the Necromancer as the models you need . . . not bad at all if you just want to get locked into the scenarios quickly.

I hope you enjoyed this walk-through - similar to the other sourcebooks, we'll be going through a four-week series on how to take this VERY limited selection of models into Matched Play. Tune in on Monday for the first installment - until then, happy hobbying!