First Impressions: The Kingdoms of Men, Part IV

Good morning gamers,

Tiberius: Red Jacket is back with a review of his beloved Rohan heroes. There will be one point of cross-over with my post on the new War of the Rohirrim heroes, but this should cover all of the previous Rohan heroes who didn't make their way into the undying lands of the Legacies document and the not-so-undying-lands of the greatly-anticipated Armies of Middle-Earth supplement. Forth Eorlingas!

* * *

Red Jacket: Today we are going to examine the profile updates for some of the new edition’s Rohan faction.  Specifically, we are looking at the profiles that carried over from the 2018 Edition Armies book and supplements. This article does not review the new profiles introduced in the 2024 edition… as if there weren’t enough Rohan heroes already. Nor will it comment on the tragi… I mean… “necessary” removal of some of the heroes that weren’t featured in the film. (Even though at least one of them was.) (Yes I know there is another book coming.)

Despite that angsty intro, I like most of the actual changes made to the profiles. I have just a couple more housekeeping things to comment on before diving in.

First, as you are no doubt aware, all profiles had an intelligence stat added in the new edition. I won’t be commenting on it much, since this is a compare and contrast article. Second, all profiles switched to hand weapons, and removed special strikes. I will only be commenting on this in as much as I feel it truly impacts how the model regularly interacts with the game on the tabletop. Finally, in the case of heroes, I will not be commenting on heroic tiers. While in the old edition, they were fixed (more or less) and were a significant aspect of the profile and hero choice in list building, that is not the case in the new edition, with tier being dependent upon the list they are taken in.

So without further ado, let’s take a look at these new profiles.

 

Theoden, King of Rohan

Stats:

FV	SV	S	D	A	W	C	I	Might	Will	Fate
5	4+	4	5	2	2	5+	5+	3	3	1

No stat changes here, which I agree with. I felt like this was pretty much what I was looking for from Theoden. He is past his prime, but still a force to be reckoned with.

Wargear:

Armor and Herugrim.

This is our first significant change, and it’s a buff in my opinion. Herugrim now allows Theoden to win drawn duel rolls. (i.e. duels with the same die result and tied fight value). 2018 allowed him to use the no longer existent “Feint” special strike even if his fight value was lower than his opponent. If one feinted, you took a D3 penalty to your fight value for the dual, and were then able to re-roll 1s to wound should you win the fight.  Previously, it was nice, because you could potentially increase your chance to wound without impacting your chance to win the fight. But this was a very niche rule and only came into play in two situations.

1. When you were in a fight with another friendly hero, so you could afford to tank Theoden’s fight value. In that situation, however, you hopefully aren’t that short on firepower. So the chance to re-roll 1s is only marginal beneficial.
2. Theoden is already losing fight value, which really isn’t a good place for him to be, and the odds of him winning in this fight are not great, so between the odds of you winning, and then getting 1s to re-roll… This rule really was underwhelming.

Now however, Theoden is actually able to go up against elite troops and mid-level heroes.  He beats your elven warriors, instead of getting stuck at a disadvantaged roll-off. He forces your mid-level heroes to burn might, if they can, to strike instead of using a tie as insurance. This was a positive change.

Heroic Actions:

He still has the same list of heroics, and I think these encapsulate him well. The only change is they finally started listing them in alphabetical order… which, not going to lie… is a huge improvement.  In 2018, they didn’t even keep the order actions were listed consistent from profile to profile!

• Challenge
• March
• Strike

While the list stays the same, there are some big changes to these heroic actions.

Photo Credit: Red Jacket on
Grey Havens Painting!

Heroic Challenge was majorly changed. I feel like the change almost deserves its own entire post. I’m certainly not going to take the time to outline the nuances here.  However, if used strategically, it could be an excellent way to boost Theoden’s stats and make him much more powerful. Having said that… I believe challenge will remain niche, if slightly less niche than its virtually non-existent use in the previous edition.

Heroic Strike was nerfed (probably in a good way) from a D6 to a D3. When this is combined with an expanded fight value range in the 2024 edition, it does amount to a substantive hit to the profile. While I approve of the change to the heroic action, it will definitely limit what Theoden can competitively be thrown against.

Options:

Options stayed the same, while not staying the same at all and the changes are very exciting. The options are basically the same in that they are still:

• Armored Horse (Snowmane)
• Horse (Snowmane)
• Exchange armor for heavy armor
• Shield

The costs for the heavy armor and shield didn’t change, but the horse is where the fun begins.  This edition introduced more unique mounts with their own profiles.  They also increased the cost of mounts for heroes from 10 points to 20 points. I think the cost increase is quite reasonable from a game balancing perspective. The bonuses of a horse will allow you to do more than 20 points of damage to your opponents with relative ease.

The unique profiles are the fun part however. In general, these profiles are not overwhelming. But they do offer nice flavor, and some benefits that can be advantageous.  In the case of Theoden, his horse is Snowmane.

Snowmane is a standard horse, except he gets the option to be armored, and one additional special rule. Faithful Servant allows Theoden to re-roll failed courage tests to charge an enemy model with the Terror special rule while he is mounted on Snowmane. With a courage of 5+, Theoden shouldn’t fail that often, but it definitely does happen, and the last thing you want is an immobile mounted hero (or to be burning limited Will just so he can do his job). I don’t know that this is a significant buff… but it’s a buff you will love having when you need it.

Special Rules:

Theoden still gets the standard Rohan hero suite of Expert Rider and Horse Lord, but the new edition has buffed Horse Lord to include a free 6+ save whenever the mount takes a wound.  A six up save isn’t really a save… but it’s better than nothing.

A new special rule which some may find annoying, but I actually appreciate is the Leader special rule - in this case, Leader (Rohan Royal Guard). This is only a change on paper for Theoden because it doesn’t impact what he can do. They new Leader special rule is basically a designator allowing this hero to take a certain type of warrior unit in their warband. That type of unit may only be taken by heroes with the Leader (X) special rule. This is thematic, and I think it works (even if it is a little frustrating in a few select circumstances from a list building perspective).

Finally, his two unique special rules, Forth, and Fear No Darkness, and The Will of Men is easily corrupted remain functionally unchanged.

I lied about the finally.  Technically, this is where Theoden’s special rules end, but not in practice. That is because in the 2018 edition, Rohan Captains, Riders of Rohan, and Rohan Royal Guard all had the Arise, Riders of Theoden special rule. This rule was only in effect while within 12” of Theoden.  This rule has been changed in the new edition to Arise, Riders of Rohan with the effect that units with the special rule can benefit regardless of what model is the General (Army Leader). Obviously, this isn’t a nerf on paper. It is actually a buff for the faction as a whole. But in practice, when everyone is super, no-one is. Simply put, this does eliminate some of the pressure to include Theoden in your list.

Now… is he a required include for all but 2 of the army lists he is eligible to be in… Yes.  But this still feels like a relative nerf for him, if not for the faction.

Cost: 75 Points

I’m fine with them leaving his cost the same. I think that they may have made him marginally less appealing a take with the Arise rule change, and the nerf to strike makes him less flexible in combat. However, I always felt he was bargain priced in the 2018 edition. So this strikes me as appropriate given the buffs to Herugrim and Snowmane.

 

Theodred, Prince of Rohan (formerly Heir of Rohan)

2024 Edition

FV	SV	S	D	A	W	C	I	Might	Will	Fate
6	4+	4	6	3	2	5+	6+	3	3	1

The only stat change you see here is the boost to Fight 6. This is in line with the fight value expansion that they stated as a major goal of this edition, and I think for the role that this profile is designed to play, it would be hard to not have included this bump.

Photo Credit: Red Jacket again!

Wargear:

No throwing spears, but otherwise no functional change.

Heroic Actions:

No functional change other than that previously noted about Challenge and Strike above.

Options:

He still has the option to take a shield for the same cost, and the option to buy Brego, a unique mount for 20 points.

Brego does not have a standard horse’s stat line. He has 6+ Courage and Intelligence instead of 7+. This is interesting, in that it adds additional defense against things like Blades of the Dead, and possibly some other magic, rules, and special abilities in the game (no… I do not yet have, nor will I likely ever have encyclopedic knowledge of everything in this entire edition. If you want that… talk to Tiberius). Furthermore, Brego is a Sure-footed steed meaning that should he and the rider suffer an effect that would knock them prone, and the effect fails to kill either of them, then you can roll one die that can be affected by might. On a final result of 6, Brego and his rider are not knocked prone, and the rider stays mounted.

Special Rules:

Same Rohan Hero suite, plus Leader (Rohan Royal Guard). His Reckless Charge special rule is largely the same, except for the subtle difference that he now MUST re-roll all failed to wound rolls, rather than the “may re-roll” language from the 2018 edition.

Cost: 85 Points

This is a 5 point bump from the previous edition which is consistent with his increased fight value. I think that this is a reasonable price.  I have not run Theodred much because I prefer to retain control of my models, and I don’t love how squishy he somehow always seems to be with only 1 fate. But for a F6 beatstick hero with 3 might points, you get a lot of bang for your buck. Even if the bang is him going out in a blaze of glory.

 

Eomer, Marshall of the Riddermark

2024 Edition

FV	SV	S	D	A	W	C	I	Might	Will	Fate
6	4+	4	6	3	3	4+	5+	3	3	3

Eomer experienced two stat bumps. He goes from fight 5 to 6, which is only appropriate in my opinion. He has deserved to be Fight 6 for a long time. He also received a +1 to his courage. I don’t really care about this.  I don’t really think we see him being unusually courageous… as in, more than the other heroes. But he is supposed to be epic. So, whatever.

Wargear:

• Heavy armor
• Guthwine

Photo Credit: Red Jacket

The heavy armor stays the same, but he does get an upgrade with a unique hand weapon (this hand weapon thing is getting annoying. I get it, but seriously… it’s a sword). Guthwine turns natural 6s to wound into additional strikes against the same target.  This is a nice rule, and I think the idea here along with the courage bump is to set Eomer up as Rohan’s primary response to monsters (or terror causing heroes). Updates to heroic actions similarly make this case.

Heroic Actions:

Eomer’s heroic actions remain the same with Strength and Strike. We have already discussed Strike. Now we must look at Heroic Strength. 

Unlike the 2018 edition, where you simply add a D3, now you double your strength stat until the end phase. That is…. quite frankly insane. I’m very curious to see why they felt the need to buff this heroic action so much. I do think that Heroic Strength has been underutilized, so presumably a minimal buff wasn’t enough for people to think it worth burning might. I believe this new version is an over-reaction. But hey, it will probably get used now. Whatever the reason, it further builds the point that Eomer is who you send in this army to deal with high defense, multi-wound targets. 

Options:

As with the previous two profiles, the options stay the same except that the horse related options are now 10 points more, and are connected to a unique mount.

Firefoot is a horse with 12” of movement instead of 10. This feels thematically appropriate… I mean… Firefoot just sounds like a fast horse. I love this whole unique mount thing, so I love everything they are doing with it.

Special Rules:

As one would expect, he retains the standard Rohan hero suite, and adds Leader (Rohan Royal Guard). The substantive change is to his unique special rule, The Price of Grief. Whereas in 2018, if either Theoden or Eowyn have fallen, Eomer added a +1 to all his to wound rolls when making strikes, now, he must re-roll all failed to wound rolls when making strikes.

I ran the odds on this from D3-D8, and this rule is a buff, particularly on the charge - if only a buff that you benefit from very occasionally:

2018				2024
Defense	Strength 4 +1	Strength 5 +1		Defense	Strength 4	Strength 5
3	66%	74%		3	75%	89%
4	66%	66%		4	75%	75%
5	50%	66%		5	55%	75%
6	50%	50%		6	55%	55%
7	33%	50%		7	30%	55%
8	33%	33%		8	30%	30%
Average	50%	57%		Average	53%	63.17%

I do find it interesting that it does (very slightly) undermine my theory of him being set up as a monster buster. This rule does slightly decrease the odds of wounding at higher defense values. However… it is clearly a buff, should you find yourself in the situation of having lost one of those two royal family members.

Cost: 110 Points

This is a 10 point bump, ostensibly from the 2 stat increases. I actually think they threw in the extra courage to help justify a 5 point increase for Guthwine. To be honest… I think this is a bit of a bummer. With the increase in mount costs, and the very situational benefits of the buffs from Guthwine and Prince of Grief, plus the relative de-buff of heroic strike… I think this is a perfectly fine price.  I don’t think it’s unreasonable. But my instincts tell me that on the whole, this is a slight nerf.

Eowyn, Shieldmaiden of Rohan (+Dernhelm)

This one is going to be a bit of a mess. I am going to ignore Dernhelm essentially, except in as much as the “Merry” option comes into play in the options section.  

2024 Edition

FV	SV	S	D	A	W	C	I	Might	Will	Fate
5	4+	4	4	2	2	4+	5+	2	2	3

There are four significant stat changes here.

First, Eowyn moves from Strength 3 to 4. I approve of this change.  I think it keeps things consistent, with heroes (or at least combat heroes) +1 strength over average warriors. The truth is, fighting with a weapon is about training, technique, and skill. No one believes Eowyn benches the same as Eomer.  But when strength is the stat that symbolizes your effectiveness and accuracy of your weapon handling, it works.

Second, her base Defense is now 4.  I also agree with this change.  Eowyn is being taken in an army. Again, it’s about consistency. Heroes have a higher defense than the average warrior. Why? Because of skill and training (and they have to be better for the purposes of the game functioning). Let’s keep it consistent. 

Third, she gets a +1 to her courage stat, which I believe is the change that is by far the best and most thematic, for pretty obvious reasons.

Finally, she gains a third fate point, which is reasonable given the fact that she survives killing the Witch King.

Photo Credit: More Grey
Havens Painting, of course!

Wargear:

No change.

Heroic Actions:

• Heroic Defense
• Heroic Resolve
• Heroic Strike

There are some significant changes here, mostly for the better in my opinion. First, and most notably, they swapped out Heroic Defense in place of Strength. I approve this change.  Strength never quite felt in character. I suppose it’s supposed to help her do damage to D8 Wraiths when she was previously Strength 3, but with the stat bump, heroic strength definitely wasn’t on theme, or even highly useful.

Next, Heroic Resolve has gotten a significant buff in this edition. Whereas before, you could forfeit your hero’s movement to grant a 6” radius buff of 1 free die to resist magic, Now, you can do so without forfeiting your movement, and you automatically pass courage tests required for being broken, allowing your hero to call standfasts, even if they are engaged in combat before their move (unless they can’t activate at all due to magic, etc.). This is significantly more powerful. When you are a model who’s climactic moment is taking down a dark sorcerer, yes, you should be able to buff your magic resistance.

Strike of course also has the previously outlined update.

Options:

The options are all the same with two notable exceptions, and one point of interest, which we will start with.

The point of interest is that, with her base defense value bumped, and the ability to add armor and a shield, she can now reach defense 6, rather than capping out at defense 5. This is a very important threshold in my opinion.  Less so now that Strength 4 has become more prevalent, but still, quite significant.

The first notable change is that her horse, as with all hero mounts this edition, is now 20 points. She does not get a unique mount.

The second, is the Merry option.  This isn’t really much of a mechanical change in the grand scheme of things. This is just the option that cleans up the differences between the Eowyn and Dernhelm profiles of the 2018 edition. One important difference compared to the 2018 Dernhelm profile is that in this edition, Eowyn spends Merry’s might, will, and fate, whereas in 2018, he spent only his might it to modify her rolls. This means that Merry’s fate can now be used with the horse lord special rule, whereas previously, it could not be. As you will see when we look at Merry’s profile, this model therefore has remarkable resilience.

Another interesting difference is that the abilities the Merry option brings to bear are now a “passive rule.” I feel like 99% of the time, this is not going to be important. However the fact that this is now a passive rule means that it is something that a model that can manipulate special rules can now affect (such as Floi the loremaster in the 2018 edition). Does this new edition have any models with abilities like this?  I don’t know. I refer you to the note above about encyclopedic knowledge (Ed. Floi could manipulate Passive rules before - but Transfix is a common spell still and can remove Active special rules. ~Encyclopedia Tiberius).  

Special Rules:

She gets the Rohan Suite, but notably does not get Leader (Rohan Royal Guard) which I find disappointing.  I understand that when we see her fight in the movies she was not acting as a member of the royal house, but this profile is not seeking to only represent that moment.  As a minor hero in the Kingdom of Rohan list, Merry isn’t an option, and she is clearly functioning as a member of the royal family. It seems more likely that Royal Guard would be the only troops she would be leading. But… here we are.

Finally, we have her unique special rule, which received a significant buff. In the 2018 edition, I shall kill you if you touch him stated that if Theoden was slain, Eowyn had to move directly towards the spot he was slain, and then could not move further than 3” from that spot for the rest of the game. She received the fearless special rule (out of necessity to make the rule work), and had to re-roll all failed to wound rolls. She also got a +1 to wound when making strikes against the model that killed Theoden. Basically, it was a great rule for getting her trapped someplace, and shot to death.  Best case scenario, Theoden dies directly on top of an objective and takes her somewhere useful.

In the new edition, Eowyn gains a buff simply by being within 3” of Theoden when he is alive, allowing her to re-roll all natural 1s when making strikes. If Theoden dies, she then gains the fearless special rule still, but doesn’t get stuck in one spot, and must re-roll all failed to wound rolls when making strikes against the model that killed him.

While what she gains is more potent in the 2018 version, the fact that she gets a benefit while Theoden is alive now is huge, and the risk of getting stuck in previous editions was a massive downside that has now been eliminated. On balance, I consider this special rule change to be a significant buff because it removes a major liability. Especially since 2 of the 3 lists she is available to be taken in require Theoden to be the army leader, so the chances of her having the death portion come into effect are fairly high.

Cost: 60 points

I think this is the right price. I wouldn’t say that this is a bargain, but the profile has become so much more usable and competitive. In the 2018 edition, Eowyn was not someone you brought, not because the price was bad (40 points), but because the profile just didn’t offer enough to be useful.  Dernhelm was a bargain, and that was clearly reflected in the wide adoption and use. 

I think that the profile has been buffed significantly, and the price has been buffed accordingly. Many people will have sticker shock trying to recreate a 75 point Dernhelm which now costs 115.  But I think that this is a much more competitive profile with the stat bumps, and even at the increased price I think that you will always have to seriously consider including her in your army, whether with, or without the Merry option.

 

Meriadoc Brandybuck, Esquire of Rohan (formerly Knight of the Mark)

2024 Edition

FV	SV	S	D	A	W	C	I	Might	Will	Fate
3	3+	2	4	1	2	5+	6+	1	1	2

Merry gets a significant stat buff as well, receiving an additional wound and +1 courage. All of this feels very thematically appropriate, given the fact that he survived the falling Mumak, then the fight with the Witch King.

Photo Credit: Do You Have To
Ask? It's Red Jacket . . .

Wargear:

No substantive change.

Heroic Actions:

No change other than the noted changes to heroic strike.

Options:

He loses the option for the pony, which I find a little sad.  However, given the fact that I would almost certainly never run him as an independent unit in my army, and the fact that they never made the model (at least with him in his Rohan armor), it’s more of a theoretical disappointment than an actual criticism. 

Special Rules:

No Change

Cost: 25 points. 

This is a HUGE buff.  Very rarely will Merry be taken independently, and even if he is, I believe 25 points is probably reasonable for what you get from him. BUT…when you consider the fact that for 25 points, Eowyn can gain an additional attack, might, will, 2 fate, and he will stick around longer and not accidentally be sniped off the horse by a single lucky bow shot because now he has 2 wounds… That’s a massive benefit. He gained what should have been 15 points worth of buffs, and his cost didn’t go up at all.  Mostly, this is because he was pretty insanely over-costed before. But now, he is a bargain as an option for Eowyn.

 

Photo Credit: The TMAT Blog . . . and also Grey Havens Painting

Erkenbrand, Captain of Rohan

…should be here. RIP.  Check out my old post for the reasons why he was awesome in the 2018 edition. I will patiently wait for the coming of dawn on the metaphorical third day.  From the east there will come a book that saves the day. I’m sure of it (If you don’t get this… shame on you. Read the books.).

 

Gamling, Captain of Rohan

2024 Edition

FV	SV	S	D	A	W	C	I	Might	Will	Fate
5	4+	4	6	2	2	6+	5+	2	1	1

There are two significant changes here. He gets his fight bumped up to 5 which makes him much more useful in my opinion.  One of his biggest drawbacks was a hero tying fight value with the ever-increasing F4 amongst average units. He also gets his might dropped by 1, which is a pretty big nerf in my opinion.  It’s much more painful than staying at fight 4, since there are uses for might that don’t require him to fight in combat, and you honestly don’t want him in combat anyway for the most part, given his Royal Standard option (which is virtually the only reason you would ever bother to take him… but more on that later.).

Photo Credit: Grey Havens
Painting - get a load of that banner!

Wargear:

No change.

Heroic Actions:

Functionally no change. Heroic march was expanded to clarify some situational questions, but the core mechanics remain the same.

Options:

• Royal Standard of Rohan
• Horse

The horse of course, went up to the new standard price.  The Royal standard however dropped in price from 50, to 40 points… and for very good reason.

The Royal Standard of Rohan has a long history, both in lore, and in the previous edition. The previous edition’s history is mostly one of being nerfed and they decided to carry on the tradition into 2024. To be fair… they did buff the banner for consistency.  It is now a 6” banner, which is hugely helpful. It was a travesty in the 2018 edition that it was only 3”. Originally, it could restore a might point to any Rohan heroes who were out of might and within range. It was then erratad to be 1 friendly Rohan hero per turn. NOW it’s a 16% chance that any might point from any friendly Rohan hero might not be spent (similar to how resisting magic with Will works).

Obviously, one could get lucky and have multiple might replenished. But statistically, you will save 1 might in 6. Meaning that you need 2-3 heroes to spend all of their might within range of the banner to gain any benefit from this rule. While the range is now greater than previously… a 6” radius is still not very far… especially on horseback. I’m not sure you really want that many heroes in that close a space most of the time, particularly with the number of objective based scenarios that there are.

This bonus, compared to the previous edition’s is a substantial nerf in my opinion. It is also too expensive when compared to equivalently priced unique banners from the previous edition. Even when comparing to the Banner of Minis Tirith from 2024, I still believe that this is over-priced.  Both bonuses are conditional and may never actually be used.  And one could argue that a 6” banner is worth 40 points by itself, when a 3” banner is (well worth) 25 points. However, the Banner of Minas Tirith has the potential for up to 13” of front line to benefit from the special rule every single round of combat. With the Royal Standard, a 3 might hero has only a 42% chance of benefiting, and a 2 might hero only 30%.

Your mileage may very. If you are good at rolling 6s, then maybe consider taking the banner (and this is definitely the game for you). But in general, I find this to be quite disappointing. I can definitely see a role in the Defenders of Helms Deep list since 6” covers a lot more ground when you are dealing with infantry, but that’s honestly about it.  

Special Rules:

No change, other than the addition Leader, (Rohan Royal Guard), which is functionally not a change.

Cost: 55 Points

This might be a hot take, but they nerfed him into near oblivion in my opinion. The only two reasons to take Gamling were for the extra might point over a regular captain and the banner. The banner has been seriously downgraded as described above, and they took away the third might.  They kept the same price for him, by adding the fight value.  That’s helpful… but not a trade I’d have made. With the number of named heroes that Rohan has to offer, I really struggle to see him finding his way into any list other than Defenders. Especially if it’s all or mostly mounted.

 

Hama, Captain of Rohan

2024 Edition

FV	SV	S	D	A	W	C	I	Might	Will	Fate
5	4+	4	6	2	2	6+	6+	2	1	1

Similar changes here: + 1 Fight value, -1 Might point. Don’t love losing the might point, but I do love the Fight 5 even more here. For reasons that will be obvious later, unlike Gamling, you will most likely want Hama in the thick of it where that Fight 5 will really help.

Wargear:

No Change

Heroic Actions:

No Change

Options:

No options, which is a change. Hama used to have the option to have a horse and a shield. This is a perfect example of GW stupidity in my opinion.  I understand that they stated they wouldn’t release profiles for models they never made. But they also said that they were only putting units from the movies in this book. Hama literally has a horse in the movies. They have proved for decades that they don’t have to produce models for specific options to still have them. This is a hobby. Let the modelers model.

Hama is the new Grimbold of 2024… except Grimbold will almost certainly still be Grimbold, for the same dumb reasons.

Special Rules:

He loses the Expert Rider and Horse Lord, which makes sense, once you buy into the idea that him not having a horse makes sense. He gains Leader (Rohan Royal Guard) special rule, which is important. But the biggest and most interesting change is his unique special rule, Doorward of Meduseld. This special rule says that if Theoden is alive and on the battlefield, then Hama and any Royal guard within 6” of him gain the Dominant (2) special rule. If you aren’t familiar, this is a special rule that essentially says for the purposes of scoring objectives, a model can count as (X) number of models. This makes him fantastic as an objective grabber. Suddenly, one of the most irrelevant 2018 edition heroes has a useful gimmick.

I’m actually very excited about this special rule, but it is sadly tempered by two facts.

1: Hama can only be taken in two lists. This is of necessity, since he dies before any of the other lists are thematically supposed to happen.  But it means that his options to be taken are somewhat limited.

2:  In one of the two lists, he is literally the only model who doesn’t have a horse.  The only one. All other models in the Road to Helms Deep are required by the list to be on horseback. They had to include him… because it is the list built around the battle in which he dies, but they apparently can’t give him a horse in his profile. They even had to make a special rule for their list to allow him to get a horse WHICH COMPLETELY DEFEATS THE PURPOSE OF NOT LETTING HIM HAVE A HORSE OPTION! Again… the rule extends to all heroes and helps keep your heroes mounted. So that’s a cool list rule. But seriously… just give the guy a horse, GW. You are just making yourself look dumb.

Cost: 60 Points.

I think this is a fair cost. I think the profile on the whole has improved, because there is a reason to take him now, whereas before he was pretty pointless. Again though, without the horse option, I think you are probably going to struggle to find a place for him in Kingdom of Rohan. Having said that, I may actually have to pick the model up and play a few practice games with him and find out what I think in game, rather than on paper.

 

Haleth, Son of Hama

2024 Edition

FV	SV	S	D	A	W	C	I	Might	Will	Fate
3	4+	3	4	1	2	6+	7+	1	1	2

The only stat change here is a -1 courage, which appears mostly to be for the purposes of making a special rule relevant. (See more commentary in that section.)

Wargear:

No Change

Heroic Actions:

No Change

Options:

No Change

Special Rules:

The two unique special rules remain unchanged, but he does “gain” a de-buff. The profile now has the Fearful special rule which says that in order for a model to charge, it must first pass a courage test. If it fails, it cannot move, but otherwise acts normally.  This rule, combined with -1 courage, make for a relatively substantial nerf of the profile. I like it thematically. He was a scared kid fighting for his life. I dislike it extremely from a game perspective. This may be a playstyle thing… but when it comes to low level heroes, I often find it hard to justify the points. The fight value bonus is not insignificant. So I in no way intend to communicate that the model has lost its reason to exist. But… in a world where 30 points can get you 4 models, I’m just not sure that it was an obvious take before the nerf. Now, with the increased likelihood that he stays out of combat and therefore his bonus becomes less effective, I think that he is even harder to justify.

Cost: 30 Points

Again, this represents a serious nerf.  Now, full disclosure, I have never used this model, so maybe it was a steal before. I never felt like it was on paper. I therefore can’t tell you whether or not this is well priced. But what I can say is, you’re paying the same points for a significantly de-buffed profile.

 

Aldor, Rohan Archer

2024 Edition

FV	SV	S	D	A	W	C	I	Might	Will	Fate
3	5+	3	4	1	1	7+	8+	1	1	1

He also has a -1 to his courage.

Wargear:

No Change

Heroic Actions:

He has the same heroic actions, but Heroic Accuracy has gotten an update in the new edition. It does all the same things that it did in the 2018 edition, but now it grants the hero the Shaprshooter special rule for the duration of the turn. Sharpshooter allows models that target cavalry models to choose whether to target the mount or the rider, and on a hit, to hit the specified target without rolling the “horse or rider” in the way. Finally, the new rules clarify that models benefiting from the “take aim” can re-roll in the way rolls related to hitting mount or rider when targeting cavalry models.  This is clearly an upgrade.

Options:

No Change

Special Rules:

Aldor also “gains” the Fearful special rule in addition to his -1 courage. His Lucky Shot special rule remains functionally unchanged. However, the Unsteady Nerves has an additional clause added which prevents Aldor for declaring Heroic Shoot. This is an interesting addition, and I assume it was to address some shenanigans.

Cost: 20 Points

Again, I can’t say I’ve ever used him. Fun thematically, but when I learned to play this game, the maxim that was pounded into my head by Centaur was, “When you see an archer, think swordsman with bow.” Rivendell is my favorite faction. Arguably some of the best archery in the game. This rule is true for them, and it’s definitely true for men. I just don’t know why I would pay 20 points for a model that will statistically kill 1 model every 4 rounds (on average) with a bow and will fail to charge terrifying enemies 50% of the time in melee.

 

Helm Hammerhand, King of Rohan

2024 Edition

FV	SV	S	D	A	W	C	I	Might	Will	Fate
6	4+	5	7	3	3	4+	5+	3	3	3

The only stat change in the profile is that now he has 3 fate instead of 1.

Wargear:

There are two basic changes. First this edition adds hand weapons on top of his two-handed weapon. Most significantly however, is the Horn of Hammerhand. Previously, it was a war horn that also gave Helm the Terror special rule on turns in which he charged. Now, it is a war horn with a once per game ability causing all enemies within 24” to suffer a -1 penalty to all courage tests they make until the end phase of the turn.

I find this to be interesting. This is obviously designed to be a game ending move, since Rohan doesn’t cause terror. But I’m not honestly sure that it ultimately is a buff. As a hero who is supposed to be mounted, it’s nice to make people think twice before charging you with extra cavalry. I’d much rather have the Terror and forgo the chance to make people run.  

Heroic Actions:

• Heroic Challenge
• Heroic Strength
• Heroic Strike

This list had several removed from it. In the 2018 edition, he also had Defense and Resolve.  However, I don’t mind these removals. I don’t know that they really added much to the profile and heroic action spamming was a bit of a problem on big heroes. 

Options:

The options have a minor change. Now the mount option is an armored horse, instead of just a horse.

Special Rules:

There are a lot of changes here. First, Leader (Rohan Royal Guard) has been added, which is to be expected.

The Hammerhand stays the same other than stripping out the extraneous text that is no longer relevant like special strikes and list restrictions.

Inspiring Presence however, is completely substituted for the new rule, Into the Fray. This special rule says that Helm may declare a heroic combat for free every turn, but has an additional element similar to Theodred’s Reckless Charge. Once Helm has slain an enemy model, he must charge an enemy model if possible.

I really don’t prefer this change.  Obviously, in many ways this is a huge buff over the previous edition profile. However, I don’t like models that are forced to behave in certain ways. Of course he is a big power hero.  Of course you want him to be killing things.  But maybe you want him to move from one objective to another, and it’s going to take two turns. That could be a problem. Furthermore, in the 2018 edition, you pretty much never took him apart from his legendary legion. So from an actual game-play perspective, this is a fairly dramatic de-buff because he used to get a free point of might every turn. Not just a free heroic combat. 

It also doesn’t seem very thematic. While this is somewhat outside the scope of the article, this is basically the diminished version of the Wraith of the Hornburg profile.  Not the general who calls the retreat to fall back on Edoras and then the retreat again to take refuge in Helms Deep while his sons fight a rear-guard action. While technically a buff, I consider this special rule to have a bit of a barb in it.

Cost: 160 Points

This is a 5 point reduction in cost over the original profile.  This may surprise some people given the additional 3 fate and the free heroic combat every turn this profile boasts. I agree that a reduction was warranted however, and I’m glad that the game designers recognized the reality of the hits that this profile took. With the changes to the Horn, the loss of a fight value bubble, and the functional loss of a free un-allocated might point, instead having a
 “free” allocated might point and the restriction on unit autonomy. In many ways, the 2018 profile was probably underpriced. This one is certainly not underpriced any more. I personally believe it is overpriced, but I don’t think it’s terrible at 160 points.  Either way… This profile took a huge hit, and the game designers know it. 

Captain of Rohan

2024 Edition

FV	SV	S	D	A	W	C	I	Might	Will	Fate
4	4+	4	5	2	2	6+	6+	2	1	1

No Changes

Photo Credit: More Red Jacket!

Wargear:

No functional change. There is the potential for a minor hit to damage output now that all weapons are equal and the option for an ax and the piercing strike option has been removed.

Heroic Actions:

No change.  

Options:

• Horse
• Exchange armor for heavy armor
• Shield

There are a couple things to note here. First, the cost of a horse has gone up per this edition. Second but more notably, there is no longer the option for a bow, or throwing spears. This is another example of GW eliminating choice because they can’t conceive of someone…you know… hobbying.

Special Rules:

This profile retains its standard Rohan hero suite, but loses Arise, Riders of Theoden. This is a substantial nerf for this F4 hero profile. Particularly with the new expanded fight values in this edition, meaning that many regular troops will tie on fight value.

Cost: 45 points.

The efficacy of the Captain of Rohan profile was pretty questionable, even in the previous edition. Now, with the loss of the “Arise” special rule, I think that Rohan Captains are pretty much exclusively a desperation take when you find yourself in an awkward points spot when list building. But more likely, you will simply opt for the many named Rohan heroes and move on.  This profile is basically a formality at this point.

 

Warrior of Rohan

2024 Edition

FV	SV	S	D	A	W	C	I
3	4+	3	4	2	1	7+	6+

No changes.

Wargear:

No change other than the loss of weapon special strikes.

Options:

One change to the new edition that comes into play with regular warriors and war gear. Unlike previous editions, where you could mix and match options to load out your troops as you see fit, now you may only choose one war gear option for warriors. If the combination isn’t listed, then it’s not legal.  This is unfortunate for all of us who modified all our models with custom loadouts because last edition, GW COULD conceive us hobbyists hobbying. There aren’t changes to the options available for warriors, only the combinations. They are as follows:

• War horn, shield and throwing spears
• Banner
• Shield and throwing spears
• Bow
• Shield

Warriors must take one option.

Special Rules:

This model gains the Spear Mastery special rule. The concept of this rule debuted in a few of the legendary legions from the 2018 edition supplements. It essentially says that if you do not use the throwing spear in the move or shoot phase, then you can use it to support in combat in the fight phase. 

Irrationally, this makes me sad. It feels like it takes away one of the distinctives of Rohan.  Objectively, this is an awesome upgrade. It will help the faction potentially be worth trying on foot.

Cost: 6 points

While not technically a change, this actually is a change given that you are required to take an option the minimum of which will cost 1 additional point. Having said that, I’m not sure why you would ever not take at least one of the options… so I guess I’ve come full circle to the fact that it isn’t really a change.  

I think they are the right price.  Sure, Spear Mastery is a nice upgrade, but I’m not sure it’s really a cost bump given the fact that throwing spears cost 2 points, instead of 1 like a normal spear.

Rider of Rohan

2024 Edition

FV	SV	S	D	A	W	C	I
3	4+	3	5	1	1	7+	6+

No Change

Photo Credit: ibid

Wargear:

No change. Ditto on the Axe thing.

It is worth noting however, that in this edition, war gear that cannot be carried in combination by a Warrior of Rohan must be dropped upon a Rider  dismounting, or being dismounted.  Gone are the days of swip-swapping shield, spear, bow, and banner, all on the same model.

Options:

Riders lose the option for a war horn, while only being able to choose one of either banner of throwing spears.  In their case however, they may choose an option but are not required to like the warrior profile.

Special Rules:

The only change here is the change from Arise, Rider’s of Theoden to Arise, Riders of Rohan. This is a notable upgrade for these models, as is outlined in the Theoden commentary.

Cost: 14 points

I think the no points change is appropriate. Even if the profile is buffed by the special rule change. In this edition with its expanded fight value, and with the likes of warriors of Minis Tirith now being Fight 4 before any buffs, it makes sense to me that Rohan would be equally competent when fighting in their element.

 

Rohan Royal Guard

2024 Edition

FV	SV	S	D	A	W	C	I
4	4+	3	6	1	1	7+	6+

No change.

Photo Credit: the last of Red
Jacket's work for today

Wargear:

No change.

Options:

Royal Guard lose the option to carry a banner, but otherwise options remain unchanged. I think the loss of banner carrying Royal Guard is fine.  I think that a D6 banner carrier would be nice, but I don’t think that works with the new edition because to get to D6 they require a shield. I also mostly don’t want my Royal Guard hiding in the back. I may have to rethink how that works with the addition of Spear Mastery (spoiler) depending on the strength of the army I’m facing, but in general, I feel like it would be a waste to have the Royal Guard not front-lining.

Special Rules:

They retain all their old rules, with the addition of Spear Mastery, and the rule buff of Arise, Riders of Rohan.

Cost: 11 points

This is one point more than previously. I hate to see it, but I agree with it. With Bodyguard, the addition of Spear Mastery, and the expansion of Arise, I do think that this is a very fair and reasonable price.

Conclusion

On the whole, I think that the changes to the profiles that made it from the previous edition into the 2024 Edition, Armies of the Lord of the Rings book are acceptable, leaning towards good changes.  I don’t like to see nerfs to anything in my second favorite faction, but game balance is important, and I understand that something has to give.

I am saddened by the continued impotence and irrelevance of the basic Rohan Captain, but honestly, not surprised, and with the plethora of heroes Rohan has, there was really no point to make the profile interesting. I really like the way they found to make Hama worth a second look, even though I think he ultimately will remain a second-class citizen.  The one serious disappointment for me was the Royal Standard of Rohan.  I didn’t freehand that freaking thing just to look at it on my shelf! Unfortunately, that’s pretty much were I anticipate that it will be staying at this point. But… maybe you all will be able to convince me otherwise in the comments.  What did I miss, where did I err? I typed virtually all of this in my evenings after putting my three children under 5 to bed, and finally getting my 4 month old German Shepherd puppy to settle down, so… please be sure to fact check.

If you have made it this far, then you are a better man (or woman) than I.  My fingers are broken. I go to my bed, in whose soft company I will not now be ashamed.

~Red Jacket