Top 10 Series: Top 10 Shock Cavalry

Hey Reader!

We're back! Who doesn't love another Centaur rankings post (except Sharbie, ;P ) - and with the release of the Rise of Angmar supplement coming soon, now is as great a time as ever to do our review of the best shock cavalry in the Middle Earth Strategy Battle Game. As I always do with this series, I need to make some caveats first.

So first, we're combining evil and good in this list, which means that, in general, you're likely to see a greater weight toward Evil because 1) they are far more likely to get S4 on mounted models, and 2) they get easier access to war spears and lances in general, and +1 to wound is really, really good for shock cavalry.

Second caveat: we're looking at shock cavalry, not cavalry generally. So while skirmish capabilities are really good, and can make the difference between cavalry making it to the enemy mounted or not, we're not ranking skirmish and harassing cavalry here: we're purely ranking cavalry on their aptitude on the charge. This also means we will be assuming that the model is charging when assessed, though we will weigh their effectiveness against both infantry and cavalry models.

Third caveat: I'm only looking at warrior models for this comparison, mostly because we already reviewed the heroes in a previous podcast (and if you're wondering, I think the best shock cavalryman in the game is Radagast on a Great Eagle for oh so many reasons, most notably his ability to charge into enemy cavalry, cast Panic Steed on a 2+ on models all around him, turn those cavalry into infantry, and then finish the charge, which feels really strong for me even if he doesn't get the benefits of his Staff of Power), but also because some of the special rules/Might point discrepancies make them hard to compare to each other, so I figured warrior profiles were closer in value and form to each other (and a LOT closer in points cost).

Fourth caveat: while we will be considering the ability to charge in difficult terrain, we are assuming open ground for these assessments because, well, that's kinda necessary to get the benefits of the cavalry charging rules. So I know this puts Lorien Cavalry at a disadvantage, and I'm sorry, but it would skew the results pretty heavily if we did, so there.

And final caveat (I promise!): I'm using a criteria for this comparison that will guide my thinking, very similar to what we used for archers and skirmishers. I'm ranking shock cavalry on three categories: damage potential (which weighs the number of attacks, Fight Value, Strength, and damage modifiers (if any) of the cavalryman to determine how likely they are to damage a target, resilience (which we are rating far more heavily than we did for archers and skirmishers since you are far more likely to be engaged in multiple turns, and you need to have staying power to break through enemy ranks), and utility (which is defined here as, "filling roles tied to victory conditions that don't involve removing models," including picking up light object objectives (like that one heirloom from ages past, for example), "board control" by threatening charges against enemies that enter their charge range, and forcing out Might Points for Heroic Moves to attempt to keep them from charging. So if you disagree with the criteria, naturally that will skew the way you read the results.

So with no further ado, let's get to the list!

Honorable Mention: Khandish Chariots

The Khandish Chariot has several things going for it: F4 (which is really nice), 2 Attacks on the charge, and Impact Hits (S4) when they run into people, so they may remove a F5 enemy without having to actually duel them. And with a D7 chariot that blocks archery on a 4 or lower and 3 Wounds, it's decently survivable if the chariot is the one taking hits.

The issues come after this point. At S3 with access to a two-handed weapon (and no Burly special rule), the damage output beyond the Impact Hits is actually pretty bad, as you're best damage is S4 with +1 to wound if you Piercing Strike, but that comes at the expense of a -1 to win the fight (which heavily nullifies the benefit of your F4), which for this ranking is good, but with the cost to get here it makes the charioteer a pretty poor choice (potentially dropping to D1, only being at a maximum of D4, so very, very easy to remove).

Great unit, I own several, arguably better damage output than a Mirkwood Cavalryman (who he beat out on this list), but I'm honest: not high enough to make the top ten list.

Honorable Mention: Rohan Royal Knights

I wanted to rank these guys higher, as they have a lot of the stats you want from shock cavalry: F4 (or 5 if they're near Theoden/Theodred in his legion/Helm in his legion), S4 on the charge, D6, and Bodyguard to make sure they actually get the charge off. 

And as one of the first models I ever collected, I really, really wanted these guys to place high (especially after their solid placing in the skirmisher list). But as it turns out, 1) there's a lot of models that get +1 to wound on the charge (making them effectively S5 or even S6 on the charge), which is huge for making charge damage more reliable, and 2) a fair number of models also get up to F4-5, so even that wasn't that unique. So unfortunately, these guys didn't quite make the cut. Sound off in the comments if I'm wrong (you're probably right), but for now I'm leaving them off the list.

From a utility standpoint they are also Expert Riders, which means that in scenarios like Retrieval, for example, they can pick up light objects (like the objective token) without dismounting. So their ability to zip in, grab the thing, and zip out is quite excellent, and better than all but two of the cavalry in this top ten list. So it should be noted that in the utility category, these guys placed really well.

#10: Knights of Minas Tirith

This is one of the most prolific ones you'll see, mostly because it comes in a plastic kit, and you can get them as part of a battlehost. But the other reason you'll see them is they are very cheap, efficient firepower. At 14pts for S3 with +1 to wound on the charge, these guys are solid wounding platforms, especially against infantry.

What holds them back is their F3, and while they can be F4 near Boromir, 1) that's only a 6" radius, so you're not catching that many 40mm bases in that radius, and 2) the +1 Fight bonus is in high demand across the battlefield, so when pursuing far-flung objectives, flanking, etc., it's hard to plan on having that F4. And that is part of what we're ranking here today: charging in to the main enemy body, but also running over troops at a far-flung objective to quickly clear it for Victory Points, and in that scenario, if you've ever tried to use these guys against F4 warriors (even infantry) you'll find it very difficult to do purely because if they roll a 6 to win the duel they're likely trying to dismount you.

Great choice, worth taking, but not as high as others on this list. If we were ranking based on cost, though, these guys would probably be like top three (though I don't think they'd dethrone the #1 choice, as the cost is pretty similar between the two and their profile all-around is stronger).

#9: The Iron Hills Chariot (No Heroes)

This one was hard to rank, because on the one hand it checks all the boxes for shock cavalry support: a decent move distance at 8", F4, good Strength, and impact hits to potentially deal with enemies before you go to duel rolls. So there was no doubt in my mind that it would make the top ten.

The issues with this one are mostly tied to mobility: not only is it only an 8" range (so its threat range isn't as far as other shock cavalry), but it has limitations on its turning (admittedly, though, at least it can turn, which the Khandish Chariot cannot do while charging), and more than that it has a really, really large base, so maneuvering it is actually quite hard, both when providing flank coverage for your Iron Hills army as well as on terrain-heavy boards (which are growing in popularity thanks to GW releasing Gondorian terrain packs and many 3D printing providers giving us more and more options for home-printed terrain for boards).

So I have to acknowledge that there's a lot of mental gymnatics I have to do in order to put it on the same plane as some of the others, so I don't feel bad putting it here. And of course, if we were ranking based on value for cost, this would probably fall off the list entirely.

So I want to acknowledge that it's a great profile: very durable, very capable, one of the few Impact Hit models in the game (and I think the only access the Forces of Good get to Impact Hits), and capable in combat. But if you're looking for Most Effective Shock Cavalry, I don't think this is your best choice, even in an Iron Hills list (more on that later).

#8: Knights of Arnor

These guys are new, but the limited stats we have confirmed tell us they will be F4 (which is good), D6 (which is good), S3 with +1 to wound (thanks to the war spear), and assuming you have your army special rule, they can automatically pass Courage tests as long as they are within 6" of Arvedui.

So effectively this is a Knight of Minas Tirith with +1 Fight Value, -2 Courage Value (assuming you have the army special rule for Minas Tirith), and the ability to auto-pass Courage tests if you're clever about how you place him in proximity to Arvedui, which kind of makes up for the lower Courage. And hence why I put them higher.

What holds them back is a few things. First, if they ever need to make a Courage Test far from Arvedui they're in trouble (like, "orcs running from everything" levels of trouble), and with a D4 horse instead of an armored horse they are susceptible to being dismounted by any kind of archery. But I think from an effectiveness standpoint you'll get good value out of these guys, especially in a predominately dismounted force. So by all means buy the new models which are now up on preorder. :)

#7: Iron Hills Goat Riders

These guys have everything you'd like from a cavalry model: F4, S4 with +1 to wound, D6, and even the ability to knock down an opponent when they charge them. It's not a great chance (5+), but it's a chance, and that ability is SUPER rare.

What holds it back is a few things. First, the 8" movement means while it's a perfectly serviceable unit for assaulting ranks of infantry, it's not great at chasing down archers (especially mounted archers), offending a large zone, or picking up objectives (as they have to dismount to pick/dig them up). They are also not as effective for clearing flanks, as you have less movement, and you're probably tucking them behind your D8 frontline to protect them from archery, so their attack range is quite short by comparison to other cavalry.

And while Courage 4 is good, Courage 3 against a Terror wall if a Harbinger of Evil model is nearby is not great odds by comparison to other options on this list. 

So to be clear, there's nothing wrong with these guys: they are excellent for what you get. But in a game that actually has quite a few effective cavalry profiles, these guys come in #7 (though I had them as high as #5 at one point).

#6: Morgul Knights

Imagine a Knight of Arnor with double the Courage Value, causing Terror, and access to a War Drum, and you have the Morgul Knight. They've got the F4 that you pretty much need to have at this point to be in the top of the list, S3 with +1 to wound, D6, and the Terror special rule, meaning it's harder for swarm armies (which generally have lower Courage) to counterattack them (which is always nice), and actually makes them pretty effective against a lot of cavalry as well (as C2-3 is pretty common for cavalrymen).

The issue with these guys that holds them back is two-fold. First, S3 with +1 to wound is standard and not even the highest on this list, so their firepower is just enough to make the countdown. And similarly, while D6 on an armored horse is great, you'll discover that's pretty common up here as well, so even that doesn't stand out.

The second issue is the Terror rule: this might be useful, though 1) shamans are a thing, 2) Aura of Command is a thing, 3) rolling high is a thing, and 4) archery/spells dismounting people is a thing, so when I think through the benefits of this over and against what the other profiles have, it keeps them from breaking the top half.

#5: Knights of Dol Amroth

As a base profile these guys would be a bit lower, but not by much: possibly just below the Morgul Knights, but not much lower. At F4, S3 with +1 to wound, D6, armored horses, and high Courage, these guys are everything you want from a shock cavalry option.

But it doesn't stop there. There's a very high chance that they are within 12" of Imrahil, which means you have easy access to a banner reroll, making that F4 far more useful. There's a good chance with good positioning that they're within 6" of Forlong the Fat, so now they have S3 with +1 to wound rerolling 1s, which is very reliable damage output when you're rolling 1-4 dice to wound. And if you're within 3" of Imrahil (so like 2-4 of them at the most), you're now Fight 5, so winning ties against most warriors in the game. And if you happen to be within 6" of Angbor the Fearless, you're also Fearless, so Terror is not an issue anymore.

All of this combines to make a very good profile, and while yes, there's a lot of contingencies to push them to the stratosphere, most of these can be attained pretty easily with a simple order of battle, so I don't mind giving most of those bonuses to them in our consideration, as a smart player is going to do that. They're expensive, and probably too expensive if you don't have any of your hero bonuses, but with even 1-2 of those you're in really good shape to do really well with these guys. So I don't mind placing them as high as #5 (though again, if you wanted to push them down a bit and put Iron Hills Goat Riders or Morgul Knights ahead of them, I understand why).

#4: Rivendell Knights

I know what you're probably thinking: how are Rivendell Knights this low?!?! The truth is, I was actually reaching to put them this high, if I'm honest. Rivendell Knights are awesome, they come in a plastic kit, and they round out the needs of the Rivendell faction really well, so by all means you should buy some. But they are very much a jack-of-all-trades cavalry option, and we're not ranking that here.

They get a number of the stats you like: F5 (with an elven-made weapon if you're not using the lance - more on that later), S3 with +1 to wound on the charge (again, though, not an elven-made lance: it's just a lance), D6, and from a utility perspective they do have elf bows, so you can dismount enemies potentially before charging home, which is great.

What holds them back is the issue of equipment: if the elven-made weapon bonus was on the lance, these guys would be top three, because winning ties a lot of the time is crazy good. But you kind of want the lance for that +1 to wound, so as far as I can tell, you lose the elven-made weapon bonus by doing this as the lance is just a lance.

The other issue is that with S3 with +1 to wound in 1-2 attacks (so 2-4 dice against infantry, or 1 dice against cavalry) the damage output for these guys is just not enough to make it into the top three. Which should tell you something about the profiles that are present in the top three.

#3: Warg Marauders

See, I don't hate Moria! I promise! If we're being honest, this profile is crazy as a cavalry profile: sure, they're only F3, but 3 Attacks makes up for having a lower Fight Value in a lot of situations, especially if you can go up to 4 Attacks against infantry. The profile is decently durable (thanks to having so many wounds), you can borrow the S4 from the warg, and you are pretty much as effective when charged as when you charge, which is not bad at all.

And from a utility standpoint, this unit is awesome: you can technically drop off the passengers (not great for your damge output, but it's an option), so being able to claim objectives (with admittedly trash archers) and to exploit a break in the enemy lines is really good. Of all the units on this list so far, from a shock cavalry perspective, this is one of the few units that's probably pretty reliable in terms of crunching through enemy lines (assuming you don't roll trash, or your opponent is on fire rolling 6s every time with elite troops, which is also what holds this unit back: if your opponent beats you on Fight Value and rolls high, you're in trouble).

#2: Sons of Eorl

Unsurprisingly Rohan makes an appearance in the top three, though perhaps not for the profile you expected! These guys are great: they are "only" F4 (but that's perfectly serviceable), and they are "only" D6, and they are "only" Courage 4, but beyond that everything they have is amazing.

First, they are base S4, which is very rare. And while these guys don't get a +1 to wound on the charge, they do get a Strength +1 on the charge from the army special rule (which you should keep!), and you can Piercing Strike to get up to S6 if you want it (or up to S5 if you're not on the charge), so your ability to do damage when not charging is better than everyone else on this list (and in most cases it's as good as what the other models can get on the charge, as most of them are S3 with +1 to wound).

But second, and what really pushes them ahead, is that when within 6" of Eorl the Young (which is way better than the 3" Fight Value bubble from Imrahil for Knights of Dol Amroth) they add +1 Attack. Not on the charge: they add +1 Attack to their Attack value generally. So if you charge them and they're near Eorl, you're attacking a 2A cavalry model which is very, very rare. So even if you can counterattack this guy, you're not looking at great odds to beat him, especially if you're just a 1 Attack infantryman supported by a spearman (and even less if it's 1-1).

But this also means that when charging near Eorl, these guys have a whopping 3 Attacks at F4 S5-6, which is INSANE. This means you have 3-6 dice to wound, wounding over 80% of profiles in the game on 4-5s, which means you are likely dealing 1-3 wounds if you win the fight (which you have a good chance to do).

These guys are reliable, they are durable (D6 on an armored horse), but if that's not enough, they have the Expert Rider special rule, so they can grab light objects without dismounting (unless they have to dig them up, so I recommend digging it up with like a Rider of Rohan, and then handing it off to one of these guys). These guys cover the whole gamete, and they are crazy good (if you're running Eorl).

But all of these pale in comparison to one...

#1: Mahud Raiders with War Spears and Shields

And topping the list is the list that won the NOVA Open in 2022, as well as the list that won Fords of the Potomac in June 2024: the camel riders themselves! Mahud Raiders are basically the perfect blend for shock cavalry: defensible enough at D5 that they can weather archery on approach (especially if they have terrain for In the Ways), S4 with +1 to wound on the charge is good enough to handle most everything you'll charge (including enemy cavalry), but of course the big kicker is that Impaler special rule: with a good chance of unhorsing enemy cavalry when you charge in, coupled with a good chance of taking out the enemy without needing to fight him at all, you save yourself a lot of potential turns of grinding through enemy ranks if you take camels.

And unlike the Khandish Chariots that we looked at before, Mahud Raiders don't have nearly the same difficulty with mobility: you can move around difficult terrain, flank attack easily, and skip past difficult heroes with ease.

And while yes, it would be nice to have F5-6 on these guys, 1) you don't run into F5+ very often (elves, some Easterlings, some Rohirrim, some mid-range heroes, and apparently woodsmen from the Anduin Valley), 2) you might remove that F5 model before they get a chance to use their F5, and 3) the ability to turn enemy cavalrymen into infantry makes it so that even if you lose the fight you're not in nearly as much danger, either on this turn or the next. And with a well-placed Heroic Move and a bit of favor from the Valar that govern the dice, you might get a second chance to finish off that stubborn F5 dude on the following turn.

And while Mahud models in general have a bit of an issue with Courage, their army special rule gives them the ability to automatically pass Courage tests to charge if a Mahud hero within range passes, and with Mahud Kings being a highly affordable 100ish pts with a great Courage value, you can technically spam Mahud Kings too and do just fine.

Having played against camels many times before, I have zero problems giving them the win in this ranking: these guys are a good bit cheaper than the other guys near the top of the list, so you can actually run them en masse, they are well worth the cost you pay, and they can pretty easily make their points back. If you're looking for a shock cavalry option for your force, you should definitely consider allying with Far Harad.

Conclusion

So that's the top ten! I felt bad that Serpent Riders didn't make the list (talk about firepower for cost, those guys are crazy good) and that both Mirkwood and Lorien cavalry didn't make the list (though the whole S3 with no modifier thing makes them very unreliable from a damage perspective), but you know, maybe that's a good thing: it shows that there's actually quite a bit of diversity among the cavalrymen in this game, even when only focusing on the charge aspect of their profiles. 

But did a warrior profile that you love not make the list? Should F3 Warg Marauders be lower (or higher)? Let me know in the comments below!

Watching the stars,

Centaur

"Lie back on the floor," said Firenze in a calm voice, "and observe the heavens.  Here is written, for those who can see, the fortune of our races." ~ Firenze, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix