Top 5 Profile Changes - Mordor Edition

 Good morning gamers,

This is our third installment in this series of proposing a single change to five profiles that most players dismiss as "bad" in order to turn them into something that appears to be more worth taking. We've already looked at revamping the Minas Tirith and Thorin's Company lists and today we're turning to one of the most competitive and fleshed out factions in the game: Mordor.

Tackling Mordor is hard because there are SO many profiles and between all of them, there are units that basically do everything. If you want any mix of F4, S4, and D6, you can find an infantry model (or even cavalry model) to suit your fancy. If you want a horde of models, they have that too. Cheap, scrappy combat heroes? Got several of those. Magic casters (both on the cheap and expensive/powerful)? There's about a dozen. Nasty monsters? A few come to mind - and others will come if you dig deep enough. Siege weapons? Yes - two (and arguably both are worth buying - one of them even comes with a monster attached). Mordor's got it all . . . which is why some of its profiles fall to the wayside. 

Our goal is to find a way to make five profiles from one of the best factions in the game (if not THE best faction in the game) just that little bit more appealing to players so that the flavor of the game isn't lost. With a new edition coming out that promises more thematically-adapted profiles, here's my hopes for the changes coming to Mordor (among other things). We'll start with . . .

Profile #1: The Knight of Umbar

There are ten Ringwraith profiles available to Mordor - one generic version and nine named versions. The generic version is quite useful if you want a cheap caster to support a more expensive one (like Sauron in a Barad-Dur list) or if you want to throw out a lot of them (such as in the Black Riders Legendary Legion - and possibly in a standard Mordor list, though you have a lot more options at your disposal). Some of the named versions are also good deals - the Witch-King is a better version of the generic Ringwraith once he has the Crown of Morgul and the third Might point, the Shadow Lord can protect models near him from archery, the Dark Marshal is a VERY cheap 6" warrior-only banner with a decent fighting profile, and the Betrayer can really make a Serpent Horde list (or Serpent Horde allies) deadly beyond all reason.

Other named Ringwraiths can take some practice but also have niche ways of making things work - the Tainted is one of very few ways to shut down enemy heroic actions and stand fasts, the Dwimmerlaik can make heroes with limited heroic resources sputter out more quickly (and even those with lots of resources will be shutting down faster while he's around), the Undying can be a fantastic army leader if you don't want to cough up VPs (especially if paired with a generic Ringwraith, Kardush, and possibly the Shadow Lord), and Khamul remains a decent flex-fighter since he CAN call Heroic Strike, but doesn't HAVE to call Heroic Strike to be better than F5 grunts (so long as he's willing to pay a Will point). Theoretically, the last named Ringwraith, the Knight of Umbar, should also fit in as a good anti-hero fighter, but there are some . . . complications with his special rules.

The Knight of Umbar has two claims to fame: first, he only loses his Will point for fighting each round due to the Will of Evil special rule if he loses the fight, thanks to the Armour of the Sundered Land passive rule. This rule is, admittedly, quite good - and something that carried over into the Black Riders Legendary Legion. His second special rule is Combat Mimicry, which is an active rule that allows him at the start of the Fight phase, before any Heroic Actions are declared, to spend a Will point to use the Fight, Strength, and/or Attack value of one model that he's Engaged with. On paper, this is also a really good ability - and in some matchups, being able to copy the Fight Value of a foe can put you on even footing for winning the duel (as can copying their Attack stat), and copying their Strength stat can be really, really good.

However, the timing of this rule is not great. Because The Knight of Umbar copies the values of his foe at the start of the Fight Phase (before Heroic Actions are declared - and most importantly, before any stat-increasing Heroic Actions are resolved), if the Knight of Umbar is fighting a F6 hero with Heroic Strike, he can spend a Will point to boost his own F5 to F6, but the enemy hero will know that this has happened BEFORE he has to commit to calling a Strike. Once he calls the Strike, the Knight of Umbar will still be F6, even though his foe will improve his Fight Value to F7+. To be honest, I don't think this was intended in the rules. The fix, therefore, is quite easy (new text added in red):

Combat Mimicry ACTIVE - At the start of any Fight phase, before Heroic Actions are declared, The Knight of Umbar may spend a Will point to active this ability. The Knight of Umbar can elect to use the Fight, Strength, and/or Attack values of his opponent instead of his own. He does not need to adopt all of these characteristics; he could, for example, only adopt the Fight value. If these values are increased in any way during the remainder of the Fight Phase, the Knight of Umbar will use the improved value instead.

I think the intention of the rule (playing off of "mimicry") is that "I'm gonna walk like you / talk like you / too (wee-bah-dee-bee-dee-bee)". If the Knight of Umbar can hard-out a hero and say, "Look, I won't have your defensive stats, but we're going to have all the same offensive stats," I think he's a lot more appealing. There are still ways to cheat him out of this rule (Rohan Royal Guards and Khazad Guards have the same/worse offensive stats and can charge him automatically with Bodyguard) and some heroes where their defensive stats are so big that copying their offensive stats still gives them a resiliency edge - to say nothing of models with Elven-made weapons that will still have an advantage on tied dueling results.

Okay, on to another hero - this time, a hero who some players really like, but most think just doesn't do enough in most lists . . .

Profile #2: Gothmog's Enforcer

Confession time: until the Battle of Osgiliath box set came out, I didn't own a Gothmog - he was just too expensive for a F5/S4 hero in a Mordor list. If I wanted that, I'd just take a Ringwraith, right? Yes, Hatred (Man) is really good when it works, Master of Battle is really good (though not as good on a F5 hero as it is on a F7 hero like Azog), and he's a decent combat hero, but he's also really expensive for what he's doing. Apparently, I'm not the only person who holds this view - even though I like the guy now in certain Mordor builds.

Now imagine that you have an already-expensive hero and you ADD to that hero another hero whose sole job is to help the first expensive hero call free Heroic Moves . . . I mean, that's useful and all, but it's really only useful if a) you don't have priority and need to call the Heroic Move first, or b) if you have priority but Gothmog isn't within 6" of whatever hero is calling a Heroic Move. Also, Gothmog's Enforcer has to be within 3" of Gothmog, which is . . . a really tight radius. I can see the value in being able to call Heroic Moves without spending Gothmog's very precious Might points, but the 3" radius more than anything else just gets at me. The fix, then, is easy: we make it so Gothmog's Enforcer just has to be within 6" of Gothmog.

Why three extra inches - why not nine extra inches and let it be a 12" thing? Honestly, that doesn't bother me either - but I've chosen a 6" radius because a) the range of Master of Battle is 6", so it's reasonable to think that an order could be heard from that distance away, and b) it's still pretty similar to the idea that's innate in the rule as written - we want Gothmog and his Enforcer to be close together. 3" is too small - but 6" is far more manageable, and even allows Gothmog to go a little aggressive and still have his skulking side-kick larking about in the third rank.

Does this change "fix" Gothmog's Enforcer sufficiently? I don't know - but as he is right now, I feel like using him is going to be too hard. Improving that range to 6" suddenly makes the idea of proc'ing the rule a lot easier and having effectively 4 extra Might points in the list for 60pts seems like a good investment (especially if I know I won't have a maelstrom mission and need to have Guritz on hand, along with a cheap beater hero to support Gothmog).

Okay, on to the next profile - and they're some of my favorite Mordor heroes!

Profile #3: Black Numenorean Marshals

So here's the thing - if you were to ask any list in the game, "Hey, would your roster like to have a F5/S4/2A generic hero with a lance and armored horse with Terror and Heroic March for the low-low price of 85 points?" I think most lists would be like, "Sure, that sounds great!" Whether you're a faction that lacks horses or not, that kind of stat line on a generic hero sounds really, really good. Enter the Black Numenorean Marshal - who might have a place in Barad-Dur lists (if you want a slightly better profile than an Orc Captain or a more combat-oriented Terror piece than a generic Ringwraith) and might even have a place in Corsairs of Umbar lists (seeing as how they're they only mounted models innate in the list - and being D7 when everyone around you is D3-5 is pretty sweet too).

But in a Mordor list . . . yeah, there's no reason to take these guys. For starters, the Mouth of Sauron on an armored horse has a nearly identical profile (no shield, +3 Will with three magical powers, Heroic Channelling, and a hand-and-a-half sword instead of a lance, +3 warband slots) for the exact same price. The EXACT same price! If you're looking for a more flexible hitting piece - who happens to also be a really cheap alliance-enabling hero, this guy is where it's at. Beyond this, if you look at the other March heroes available to Mordor (the aforementioned Ringwraiths/Gothmog/Mouth of Sauron, Guritz, Morannon Orc Captains, Black Guard Captains, Mordor Uruk-Hai Captains, Orc Captains, and Orc Taskmasters), they're all sporting additional capabilities over the Black Numenorean Marshal or are a little (or a lot) cheaper with similar stats. Regardless of who you compare these guys too, they need something extra to make them appealing.

It would be good if there was a rule that these guys could get that still jived with the "faction identity" of the Black Numenoreans (to include Morgul Knights, the Mouth of Sauron, and the Dark Marshal) and my choice is that as follows:

Ancient Lineage PASSIVE - Friendly Mordor Man models and The Dark Marshal within 6" of a Black Numenorean Marshal count as being in range of a banner.

While I thought for a hot second about doing a variant of the Blood of Numenor special rule (giving these guys Resistant to Magic while within 6" of the Dark Marshal or the Mouth of Sauron), I feel like that change would also need to be propagated to Black Numenoreans and Morgul Knights - and those models would need price increases to offset their already incredible value. No, I wanted the stars of the show to be the Marshals themselves - and like Khandish Kings (whose Commanding Presence rule was the inspiration for this special rule), the idea is that the Black Numenorean Marshal would benefit his kind of units (Morgul Knights, Black Numenoreans, The Mouth of Sauron, and of course Black Numenorean Marshals) and not all the Orc rabble that they were pulling in tow. It also jives nicely with the theme of the Dark Marshal, who can get a more general 6" banner bonus at the cost of a Will point, but can't give that bonus to the hero corps that is supporting him. If all of your heroes happened to be Black Numenorean Marshals, the Mouth of Sauron, and the Marshal, you could have banners for everyone . . . just sayin'.

This also gives the Black Numenorean Marshal profile a supporting ability - something he desperately needs if he's going to cost more than 60pts. There are just too many 60-point beater heroes in Mordor for that to be all they're doing (I didn't even compare these guys to Shelob, who's scarily close to their cost and can do a LOT more damage if she's allowed to work).

Anyway, that's my love letters to Black Numenorean Marshals - now for my favorite Mordor Warrior profile (and their associated generic heroes) . . .

Profile #4: Mordor Uruk-Hai (and Mordor Uruk-Hai Captains)

I think these guys are really cool aesthetically and I think most players like them and think they're cool, but aren't going to field them outside of the Cirith Ungol Legendary Legion (if they even like Legions). As I mentioned earlier, Mordor has lots of ways to get F4+, S4+, and D6 on its infantry - but there's only one option that gives you all three (Black Guard of Barad-Dur, who give you F4, S5, D6, and C3 for 12pts/model . . . that's steep). Most players want D6 in the front rank, so 8-point Morannon Orcs or 9-point Black Numenoreans are the default choices, with Morannon Orcs in the second rank to provide S4 on a stick (since your only other option is to have S3 on a stick from an Orc Warrior). If you have a S4 front-line guy who's D4-5, you're just asking for death faster.

I don't think these guys are just awesome from an aesthetics point of view - I actually think they fill a really niche role in the Mordor list (as I've discussed before): that of an archer who's good in melee. Yes, Orc Trackers are much cheaper than these guys but running over Orc Trackers really isn't hard - charging head-first into a group of Mordor Uruk-Hai . . . that's a very different story. So how do we make these guys more appealing? Simple: we change the Orc bow that they can take to an Uruk-Hai bow. I don't know WHY this change didn't happen when Uruk-Hai Scouts in Isengard got access to Uruk-Hai bows - they're both Uruk-Hai! If Mordor Uruk-Hai could have S3 ranged weapons, the fact that they're more expensive than Orc Trackers would matter a lot less because they'd have an easier time wounding odd-Defense models - and what's more, the disparity between their melee Strength and their ranged Strength would be less (and sometimes make no difference at all), so we'd be more okay with them shooting! I'm just saying, there's a clear reason to take these guys as part of your infantry block if they're both good archers and have beastly combat profile (and if you have the Shadow Lord nearby to keep them alive . . . yeah, it can work).

I've been running these guys for a while now and I LOVE them - they're so great! But as much as I love these guys, I'm always like, "I wish those bows were S3." So if I could change them . . . that's what I'd change. I'd also apply the change to Mordor Uruk-Hai Captains for consistency. Now for another model that I love - and once again, I'm going to cheat a little and talk about two models . . . and technically four models . . .

Profile #5: Mordor Troll Chieftains (and Mordor Trolls . . . and Isengard Trolls)

I'm pretty sure I've written more positive words about Mordor Trolls and Mordor Troll Chieftains than anyone else on the internet - I love these guys and I think they're really great. However, the competitive community would like me to tell you (and I can confirm that this is absolutely true) that maneuvering these guys and getting them where you want them is nigh impossible. Their bases are huge, their speed is slow, and if they can't get where they want to, their very impressive combat profiles will be utterly wasted on 1-2 grunts a turn while the enemy beat-sticks they want to tie up (or eat up - either one) get to crash through your ranks laughing and cackling. It's terrible.

I think the profiles and point costs for these models are all fine - the only thing that really needs fixing to make these guys more appealing as monster options in Mordor lists is their maneuverability. For that, there's a very simple fix:

Relentless Advance ACTIVE - When a model with this special rule charges into combat, they can pass "through" friendly Orcs, Men, and Uruk-Hai models when they move and each model that they pass through suffers a Strength 3 hit. A model that they end their move on is automatically removed as a casualty. A model with this special rule cannot be Compelled/Commanded over friendly models if it is forced to Charge as part of that magical power.

This is actually the third version of this rule, since both the Goblin King and Gundabad Ogres have a rule with this name, but the text of what kinds of units it can move through differs. Honestly, they should just have a single rule that allows them to move through friendly non-monster Infantry models, since that's all that's covered under the explicit race types, but whatever. 

Relentless Advance is a great rule for a monster with a large base to have for several reasons. First and foremost, it allows the monster to hang back if they are moving second to get towards the enemy hero that they want instead of having to wade through the enemy to try to catch that hero. Second, Relentless Advance comes with a cost - any friendly models you end on are instantly killed and any friendly model you pass through might be killed. Your Troll might get the target he wants, but it will come at a price.

It's also very thematic - at the battle at the Black Gate, we see the Mordor Troll Chieftain fleeing for its life right before Sauron explodes and he's not scooching between the Orc ranks to do it. Nope, he's just going and everyone else can get out of his way or end their miserable lives. It's a great rule - and honestly, the less-maneuverable monsters should have it.

This change would apply to Mordor Troll Chieftains, Mordor Trolls (both the warriors you can buy on their own and the Mordor Trolls that are attached to Mordor War Catapults), and Isengard Trolls (because they're just like Mordor Trolls - and suffer from similar maneuverability issues). These changes should probably also be applied to units like Gundabad Trolls and Catapult Trolls, though it's unclear to me if that would encroach on the "unicorn space" of Gundabad Ogres too much.

I don't think this rule should be applied to Cave Trolls though - I could see it being applied to Evil monsters in general, but Cave Trolls have smaller bases than these other guys we're looking at and that makes them more maneuverable already. While it would certainly be thematic for a Cave Troll to just stomp all over everyone to get where it wants to go, I'm not sure that they're suing for it as hard as their larger Troll cousins. I could be convinced, though . . .

Conclusion

Mordor has a lot to offer - and I think small changes to the lesser-loved units in their roster could change a lot of list building decisions. While analysis paralysis is already high if you turn to the Mordor sections of the Armies of the Lord of the Rings book (since you really have to look at the Barad-Dur and Angmar profiles as well to get your full roster), I think a little more attention to the lesser-loved models would be really good.

Next time, we're wrapping up this series (for now - we may come back after we see what the new edition holds) to cover one last beloved army: the Fellowship of the Ring. This is the OG good guys - and it's also one of the easiest ways to get started in MESBG for less than $100. But there are some very simple changes that could elevate some of the profiles in that book from bad/decent to awesome. Find out what those are next time - and until then, happy hobbying!