Good morning gamers,
We're wrapping up the second-to-last Rise of Angmar Legendary Legion for the Stuff of Legends series (we've got two more Legions to do after this - watch for them later this year). Today we've got the Host of the Witch-King, which is basically "Angmar without Gulavhar and monsters" - and of all the Evil lists in the Rise of Angmar supplement, I gotta say this is the only one that immediately jumped off the page to me as "really good." While I've been pleasantly surprised by some of the features of the other Evil Legions (and VERY surprised with the Battle of Fornost Legion), this one sticks to doing most of what Angmar does normally - and then kicks it up a notch to do it better. Let's see what's new with this Legion . . .
Part 1: What Do You Need?
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| This is what the Legion is all about . . . but you don't have the buy the Crown Legion Tax: 70pts Photo Credit: Giphy |
The only unit you need to take is the Witch-King - and while he's base 70pts, you're probably fielding him for at least 100pts because you want a horse, all 3 Might points, and at least 1 Fate point. For reasons we'll see a bit later on, all of these are very useful for getting the most out of this guy - but at 100pts, that's a ridiculously low price to pay for a Hero of Legend who is a good combatant and a good caster.
What you ACTUALLY need is another supporting hero, of which there are a good number to choose from. If you want your probably-infantry-heavy list to move faster, you'll want an Orc Captain (blissfully cheap at 40pts base, can be given a shield and a Warg for 55pts total). If you want some really interesting boosts for your Ringwraiths (the Witch-King and possibly others) and your Orcs (Terror and Courage, anyone?), you want the Shade. If you want some devastating short-range magic, you want a Barrow-Wight or possibly the Shadow of Rhudaur. If you want to take an Orc Shaman or Nazthak . . . I mean, that's your call, I guess - but your guess is as good as mine for why they'd be in your list besides the giggles of thing (oh, and did you see what I did there?). :-)
You will also need a bucket of Orcs - and I mean a full bucket. If you bought the Mordor (read Angmar) Battle Host box, you already have 24 of these guys - that's a good start. Now get another box of Orcs so you have 48 and you're beginning to talk business (and if you want to have more than 6 Warg Riders, you may want to consider just buying a second Battle Host - this will give you a crown-wearing Witch-King and a non-crown-wearing Witch-King, both of which are useful). Orcs are cheap and for this Angmar list to function, you're going to need lots of cheap-but-average bodies to be able to hold ground, screen important heroes, and get traps - and Orcs are some of the best units in town to do that.
This Legion might be the best way to run Angmar at high points levels - there's an argument that it both is and isn't. Let's dig into what the trades are with this Legion, starting off with some bad news . . .
Weakness #1: No AWHOO or ROAR
In a normal Angmar list, you have access to all kinds of non-Orc, non-Spirit models - of particular note are Gulavhar (for his flying maneuverability, impressive Fight/Strength values, monster shenanigans, and general beastliness when fighting heroes who have been properly crippled by Angmar's typical magical array of tricks) and Wild Wargs (7pt faux cavalry are incredibly useful in a lot of scenarios - and for taking up space so you can hedge the enemy off from trapping your battle line) - though the list also includes Fell Beast mounts for your Ringwraiths, Buhrdur, Hill Trolls, Werewolves, and Wild Warg Chieftains. The "monster/animal" side of the list had some very clear players that were tactically useful, but others that provided more for the theme of Angmar being "where the wild things are." If you like these models . . . this list isn't for you.
You also don't get the "antler boyz" or Golfimbul . . . does this make some people sad? Perhaps. Does it make most people sad? I think not - which leads us nicely into our first advantage of taking this Legion . . .
Strength #1: You Have Basically Everything You Liked in Angmar - and Then Some
This list still has access to three (or four) of the most critical Angmar pieces - apart from Gulavhar, this list still retains the Witch-King, Barrow-Wights (for cheap Spirit heroes to trigger Terror and REALLY scare off heroes), Orc Captains ('cuz March for infantry-heavy D4-5 lists is always good to have - and these guys are cheap Might batteries even if you think March is horrible), and for some players, the Shade (which was a questionable choice before its profile revamp, but with the updates in Rise of Angmar, these guys provide an interesting-but-not-
Its warrior profiles got hacked in half, but they still retained two of the most important pieces - Angmar Orc Warriors (the "backbone" of basically every Angmar list) and Dead Marsh Spectres (who provide an interesting augmenting source of shenanigans to make big plays that don't involve magical powers). While Wild Wargs are out of the list, Angmar Warg Riders are still here (and for some players, these guys were essential as well), which means there's a nice mix of slow-and-steady units and fast units - which is good for any Legion to have.
But wait, there's more! Not only are the units good, but this Legion effectively gives the Witch-King the Crown of Morgul for free (25pts in savings - so your banner is free - but let's be honest, if you have ever used the Crown or fought against the crown, you know it's worth more than 25pts), he only loses Will for the Will of Evil special rule if he loses a fight (so if you're judicious with his combat use and manage his fights well, you can stretch your Will even farther than usual), and he gets a boost to F6 when fighting models with the Man keyword (which are mostly Forces of Good units, but will also work against Black Numenoreans, Easterlings, Haradrim, Corsairs, Dunlendings, Khandish dudes, Ruffians, and the new Carn Dum guys). These are all REALLY good buffs for the Witch-King!
If you field the Dwimmerlaik and/or the Tainted, you'll get a reroll on their casting/resisting rolls just like the Witch-King does, which is SUPER good at getting their spells to go off (especially the Dwimmerlaik who needs his Will for countering enemy heroic resources and doesn't have any Might points to boost a just-failed-to-work cast). While I think there's a case for running 2 Ringwraiths (with a Shade), even if you don't buy these guys, it's great that the rules for the Legion apply to them so you can run them if you want and not feel like they're hopelessly outclassed by other options in the list.
Additionally, the Angmar army bonus gives Terror to friendly Orcs within 3" of a friendly Spirit hero - in this Legion, that's extended to 6", which means you can have a handful of Spirit heroes that can cover your whole battle line (or you can have lots of Spirit heroes to cover an absolutely MASSIVE battle line, perhaps even with redundancy between them should one be flash-killed).
These are good boosts, but they're not panaceas for everything that Angmar has struggled with. In fact, there's an existing problem for Angmar lists that actually gets worse with this Legion . . .
Weakness #2: Soft Anvil, Almost No Hammer
While the units available to this list are good (certainly in the value-for-cost category, but also in the high-utility/shenanigans/
On top of that, the usual way that a "hammer" was used in a standard Angmar list is to have Gulavhar, a Witch-King on Fell Beast, a Troll spam, or for a few crazies (like myself) a Wild Warg Chieftain or two. These units are S6+ and F5+ (some of whom have access to Strike), which means you can tear through troops and occasionally heroes (Gulavhar does this better than the rest, though it's always a risky proposition if he's charging someone who isn't out of Might, has Heroic Strike/a good base Fight Value, and if the attempts to lock down that hero with magic have failed).
This list . . . has no anvil AND no hammer. Yes, the Witch-King got some really cool buffs. Yes, it's easier to keep your Terror up on your Orcs. But no, this list isn't "just better" than your traditional Angmar lists. I personally think this is a good place for a Legion to be in - there should be a trade. That said, there's a clear advantage to running this list because you don't have expensive hammer units . . .
Strength #2: UNLEASH THE MEGA HORDE!
So here's the thing: Orcs aren't great, but they're pretty average for below-average points. Since they're cheap, Barrow-Wights/Orc Captains are cheap, and the Witch-King is cheaper than before (both forcibly because his most expensive upgrades have been taken from him and functionally because of the "free" Crown of Morgul and the ability to not lose Will points after a duel if he can win his fight). Since you can run the Witch-King around 100pts, an Orc Captain for around 50pts, and a Barrow-Wight for 50pts, you can dump 200pts (or so) into heroes and then get ~15 Angmar Orc Warriors for every 100pts you dump into warriors. At 350 points (what seems to be the low-end of a reasonable points level), you can get 25 models with three heroes - and if you want a banner, you can definitely get close to 30 models at that points level. That's crazy!
As the points level gets higher, it gets even crazier, since a fully-manned Fortitude warband (12 warriors + 1 hero) can cost you around 125 points - and getting 1 model for every 10 points is an EXCELLENT conversion rate. Considering that all of these guys can have Terror as a free keyword . . . I mean, you've got options.
While Barrow-Wights and Orc Captains are your cheapest options, your other heroes aren't that expensive - Shades are 25pts more and provide a Courage boost (for less than you'd pay for a war horn - though you could get both, I guess), anti-archery protection, and it can boost casts from the Witch-King (and the Tainted/Dwimmerlaik if you brought them) by suffering a wound . . . yeah, that's super useful indeed.
But this highlights a final strength of the list . . .
Strength #3: Magic Like Few Other Lists
There are some lists that rely more heavily on magic than this one does (most notably the Vanquishers of the Necromancer and the Black Riders), but this list might even outclass those lists. Sure, you can run 9 Ringwraiths starting at 600 point, but the list is much better at 740 when your Might has been maxed out and everyone has a Fate point (and the Vanquishers of the Necromancer have some pretty nifty casting tricks, but you have to field them at 750 before you can get access to all five).
This list can pack in an astonishing number of casters at very LOW points levels. 750 is certainly a points level where your opponent might have an answer for magic (whether that's heroes who have enough Will/special rules that they can weather a magical storm OR they have tons of guys to screen/buy the hero time/win the game without the hero), but most armies can't deal with oppressive magic at, say, 500 points. As we'll talk about later in this post, getting 3-4 casters at 500 points is laughably easy - and if your best hero at that level only has 2-3 Will points, a single salvo of magic could see your hero rooted in place and unable to make strikes or worse - paralyzed and fighting a ton of Orcs. ICK!
This kind of magical dominance isn't new for Angmar, but it's VERY RARE to see it at low points levels - and even if it does show up in a normal Angmar list, this Legion has a few buffs that make the magical dominance better. As has already been highlighted, the Witch-King not only saves 25pts by not having to by his Crown (but getting all the boosts from it), but he also doesn't spend Will for fighting if he wins his duel (so slick). Additionally, he can cast from farther away if you have a Shade in his list (and the Shade can turn its wounds into free Might points for the Witch-King to boost his rolls, so getting that 6-high is a bit easier and failing to cast spells like Transfix are basically never gonna happen). Yes, you can get Shades in a normal Angmar list, but probably not when the points level is low if you've already dumped 130+ points in the Witch-King.
Furthermore, this list also makes the other wraiths far more potent as casters by giving them a reroll/get-boosted-rolls-from-
Part 3: Legendary Legion Improvements
There is only one change that I'd like to see in this Legion: since the Witch-King ruled from Carn Dum, I'd like to see the Carn Dum units in this list. Yes, I know they have their own Legion. Yes, I know they don't synergize with the rules that are in this Legion or with the units that are in this Legion. No, I don't think many competitive players would find a home for Warriors of Carn Dum, Captains of Carn Dum, or Fraecht. And no, none of these objections matter in the slightest to me.
The fact is it's the host of the Witch-King - and his "host" would certainly include men from his fortress. While most of the Carn Dum units wouldn't be that useful, I mentioned that you lost the "hammer" options that Angmar has and one of the more interesting hammer options available to them is Aldrac. Adding him to the list would provide a more expensive alternate hero option, but with free Heroic Combats, he's got a good chance of actually breaking through an enemy line. I'm just saying, if I were to make any changes to this list, I'd add them - particularly so I could get Aldrac.
Part 4: Army Strategies
Most of the strategies for using this list are going to be the same for using Angmar generally - for that overview, I highly recommend Rythbyrt's comprehensive article here (which came out before Rise of Angmar - apparently, he's working on an update to it, but it's release date is delayed because real-life). The short of it is that this list is about magic - and as we've already talked about, magic is a very asymmetric way of dealing with the biggest threat to spam armies: heroes and monsters who can just bludgeon tons of models a turn. Yes, elite hordes are a problem too - but the bonuses the Witch-King gets in this list does make him an interesting counter to most elite formations, assuming he can manage his matchups well.
If elite troops are on the field, Angmar's list of tricks gets a bit reduced, but don't panic right away: at 650 points, most elite hordes (like the Numenor-Lothlorien lists that have been doing well lately - but it would also apply to Last Alliance lists as well) will only be flirting with the 30-model mark. Arnor lists are about the nastiest you'll find that can flirt with the 40-model mark - and admittedly, they can be a nasty counter to Angmar - but their list can only play its game if Arvedui (the source of Fearless in the list) is still alive and if Malbeth is still keeping their army from taking wounds. Many other lists (like Theodred's Guard and Helm's Guard) are similarly dependent on a single hero doing their work for them - and this Legion excels at shutting those kinds of heroes down.
Unlike the other Evil Legions from Rise of Angmar (Carn Dum, Buhrdur's Horde, and the Wolf Pack of Angmar), I think this Legion plays well at both low points levels and high points levels. Part of this is that the Witch-King (without the required purchase of the Crown of Morgul) is a KILLER Hero of Legend for 105 points (just the horse, 3M/10W/2F). If you can field 18 units (possibly at 6pts each) for just over 100 points, you can have a CRAZY big list even at very small points levels. On the flip side, the heroes you have in your arsenal provide enough tricks that your army continues to get better as the points level gets higher. Once you're sitting at the 700+ level, you do ask the question of whether Gulavhar should be in your list - but honestly, if you're still having a conversation about it, then the Legion has to be pretty good.
The last thing I'll talk about here is the importance of Orcs. The Orcs in this list aren't going to kill THAT many people unless they can get traps, so the first thing to keep in mind is that unless your Orcs have bows, everyone should have a shield. Why? Because shields give you the flexibility to extend your battle line and to wrap around your opponent without providing units that might be easier to kill. A small squad of four Orcs with shields (perhaps two have spears) can do a lot to clog a hole if they want to. As I've recommended in a previous formations post, if you want to maximize the utility of these guys against charging heroes, don't Make Way for your front-line guys if they lose and can't move to the sides - since they're going to be Trapped anyway, there's no point in giving up ground to your opponent.
Orcs with shields are F3/D5, which is "just good enough" to make unsupported models with Swords scared to Feint (heroes included), which means your opponent will be stuck with what they're rolling and don't get a re-do on a super bad roll. Most heroes and warriors will also wound on 5s, which means that a 3 Attack hero who isn't mounted and on the charge will probably only kill one of them, absent some above-average dice-rolling, so two Orcs can reasonably hold down a hero that they charge. If they defend by shielding, you can probably out-dice the opposing hero (and if that hero only has 2 Attacks base, you're sitting pretty close to a 50% chance of winning the duel, even if the opposing hero is F4+).
Orcs are also SUPER cheap - and if you're fielding them for 6-7 points (+25pts for a banner on a guy or two), you can get tons of these really neat decent-for-cost units. I will say that I think they become a LOT more useful if they're near a Shade, since the Shade is providing a free +1 Courage and the Terror special rule . . . and possibly protection from archery, so at least consider bringing a Shade.
Okay, there's probably more we could say, but let's wrap this up and look at some lists!
Part 5: Army Showcase
Our first stop is a thought experiment on the double-Nazgul-with-Shade combo, which gives us good anti-archery protection, decent anti-Terror options, and two very powerful ringwraiths to hammer our opponent into submission:
- The Witch-King of Angmar on horse with 3M/10W/2F [ARMY LEADER]
- 3 Angmar Orc Warriors with shields
- 2 Angmar Orc Warriors with shields and spears
- 1 Angmar Orc Warrior with shield, spear, and banner
- 2 Angmar Orc Warriors with Orc bows
- The Dwimmerlaik on horse
- 3 Angmar Orc Warriors with shields
- 3 Angmar Orc Warriors with shields and spears
- 3 Angmar Orc Warriors with Orc bows
- Shade
- 3 Angmar Orc Warriors with shields
- 3 Angmar Orc Warriors with shields and spears
- 3 Angmar Orc Warriors with Orc bows
If you don't like the bows, skip the bows - take shields or spears instead. This list happens to hit 29 models at 500 points, but features two Nazgul and a Shade in it . . . golly, that's a lot of guys and a lot of magic for a reasonably small points level! The Dwimmerlaik was a strategic choice here - he not only makes it harder for enemy heroes to resist our magical powers by sapping away their heroic resources when they attempt to resist our spells, but he'll also make using Might a lot harder, which is likely to have some very serious effects at low points levels. He also wields a two-handed sword, which means we can deal some extra damage on the charge if we can just win. The Witch-King is a pretty cheap budget Hero of Legend (105pts) and to be honest, we could have REALLY pumped up our numbers if we'd passed on the Shade and just added 12 guys to our list.
Speaking of the Shade, the Shade gives us some nice boosts - C3 Orcs who cause Terror within 6" of him, a different vantage point for casting magic, potentially free Might to boost our casting (great for the Dwimmerlaik, since he doesn't have any Might), and a large base for clogging up holes. With 26 Orcs (including a banner) to protect these three guys, we have a very good chance of neutering our opponent's hero-smashing gaming while having enough guys to wrap-and-trap the enemy if he presents a good target. We also have good anti-archery options with some archery of our own (assuming you took the bows, as I have). No spectres in this list (or Warg Riders), but hey, something's gotta give to get these three heroes in the list!
Our next stop is a 47-model, 650-point list that features a budget Witch-King, a Shade, a Barrow-Wight, and an Orc Captain leading a BUNCH of Orcs (2 cavalry and 39 infantry) and a few Dead Marsh Spectres:
- The Witch-King of Angmar on horse with 3M/12W/2F [ARMY LEADER]
- 6 Angmar Orc Warriors with shields
- 5 Angmar Orc Warriors with shields and spears
- 1 Angmar Orc Warrior with shield, spear, and banner
- Barrow-Wight
- 4 Angmar Orc Warriors with shields
- 4 Angmar Orc Warriors with shields and spears
- 1 Angmar Orc Warrior with shield, spear, and banner
- 1 Dead Marsh Spectre
- Shade
- 5 Angmar Orc Warriors with shields
- 5 Angmar Orc Warriors with shields and spears
- 1 Dead Marsh Spectre
- Angmar Orc Captain on Warg
- 4 Angmar Orc Warriors with shields
- 4 Angmar Orc Warriors with shields and spears
- 2 Angmar Warg Riders with throwing spears and shields
As we said in the strengths/weaknesses section, this list has no hammer - but it's got a WIDE anvil (even if it's soft). 47 models at 650 is . . . quite the horde (and beating it up without one or more heroes to help you could be very, very tough). The Witch-King has gotten a few extra Will points, which you could turn into a Morgul Blade if you wanted the insurance, but since he might have to do more slaying than usual, I figured having a few more Will points would be worth it.
We also have the Shade (for good Courage, potential archery nerfing, courage boost, and another casting point for the Witch-King on a healthier chassis than a second Barrow-Wight), who I think is much less of a negative play experience for other players, as well as a provider of several tools that make things less of a negative play experience for Angmar players (the getting-shot-to-death thing and the courage-in-the-tank thing). I could have gotten some archers in this list - and honestly, if I were running it, I probably would drop in a bunch of archers - but since most people seem to think that Angmar archery is garbage, I've left it out.
The Warg Riders and Dead Marsh Spectres are there to handle objectives and mess with your opponent a bit. They're also very helpful in mirror-matches against other Angmar lists, since the banners, beasts, and random Orcs that you fight but don't want to charge can be drug against their will into vulnerable positions (or at least, less helpful positions).
Our second list tries to revamp something I tried at a tournament once (which was a 623-point list) and I think the cheaper Witch-King does make it a bit better than what I ran:
- The Witch-King of Angmar on horse with 3M/10W/2F
- 5 Angmar Orc Warriors with shields
- 4 Angmar Orc Warriors with shields and spears
- 1 Angmar Orc Warrior with shield, spear, and banner
- Barrow-Wight
- 5 Angmar Orc Warriors with shields
- 4 Angmar Orc Warriors with shields and spears
- 1 Angmar Orc Warrior with shield, spear, and banner
- Barrow-Wight
- 2 Angmar Orc Warriors with shields
- 2 Angmar Orc Warriors with shields and spears
- 3 Angmar Warg Riders with shields and throwing spears
- Barrow-Wight
- 6 Angmar Orc Warriors with Orc bows
- Barrow-Wight
- 5 Angmar Orc Warriors with Orc bows
- 1 Angmar Orc Warriors with Orc bow and spear
This is a 44-model list that runs the quad-barrow-wights that I ran at THRO two years ago - that list was a 47-model list that had a Wild Warg Chieftain instead of the Witch-King . . . and golly was I missing the Witch-King in that list! Five casters is . . . a lot . . . possibly even overkill, but if you're facing most 3-Will heroes (and even more so if you're facing a spam of 1-Will heroes), you're going to be able to burn through their Will if they get anywhere close to you. The flexibility of the Witch-King adds a new dimension to the 6" range kill-bubble of the Barrow-Wights, as well as providing Harbinger of Evil to make the Terror on your Orcs stronger.
If this list doesn't appeal to you, know that you could drop 3 Barrow-Wights to get a Shade and an Orc Captain (if you want to be more like the first list) or you could get a Shade and the Shadow of Rhudaur if you like what he does more. If you're one of those humor-driven people who wants to tell epic stories of your games by taking Nazthak . . . well, he's a one-for-one swap with a Barrow-Wight. Whatever you're play-style, altering this list isn't particularly hard (and yes, if you don't want all those bows, you can drop them - but 12 bows is pretty handy if you want yet another option for dealing with a stubborn enemy).
Army Summary
2025 is almost here - and with it, a HOST of new content we have to write (both updates to previous-edition articles AND plenty of new stuff). Stick with us as we plunge into this brave new world (that still feels surprisingly like the old one in many ways). Until next time, happy hobbying!
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