Good morning gamers,
We're back in Isengard today and we're going to cover the rest of the faction after covering the Uruk-Hai last time. We've got mostly men (or Istari, who are like men) today, though there are some Orcs, Wolves, and birds in the discussion as well. There's also a smattering of four different army lists today, so lots of context for the units we're viewing.
Isengard Non-Uruk Profiles: How Have They "Changed?"
If you're interested in learning about the changes to the Uruk-Hai profiles for the Isengard faction, you should check out the previous article in this series. Today, we're looking at the other units in the Isengard faction, which will have some overlap with the discussion next time of the Hill Tribe units.
We need to start our discussion of Isengard with the big man himself: Saruman. There are two army lists with access to Saruman: the Army of the White Hand list (where he isn't required, but all of the army list bonuses only work if he's on the board) and the Muster of Isengard (where he is required, but oddly enough has no army special rules tied to him being in the list). From a stat perspective, Saruman is basically unchanged - same numbers, Courage/Intelligence value of 3+, nothing special.
Saruman still has the Palantir, which now forces a roll-off with the likes of the Azog Ambush rule (awesome, since it used to be overridden and wasted) and is still a very valuable reason for taking Saruman. He picked up a new rule, Saruman's Deceit, which allows him to apply a -1 penalty on a single enemy hero's attempts to resist magical powers cast by Saruman against the hero (though a natural 6 remains a 6). If you think two-handing with the penalty is bad (I don't, but many people do), then this is like applying the new rules for two-handing to your resist tests . . . chew on that for a minute.
Finally, Saruman's spell suite got expanded - he still has Compel and Transfix (both still have an 18" range, but both are now cast on a 3+), he still has Terrifying Aura (cast on a 3+ now), Flameburst went up in difficulty but also up in casting range (12", 5+), and Sorcerous Blast is still mostly its same old self, but harder to cast (12" range, 5+ difficulty). Given that magical powers in general increased in their difficulty to cast, the fact that Transfix/Compel are still easily gotten off with his free die is a good thing - and when Sorcerous Blast goes off (cast with actual dice looking for a 5+ or heroically channelled on an auto-6 with his free die only), it's gonna be hard for one hero in particular to resist.
Saruman also got some new spells, though - he got Curse (12" range, 4+ difficulty - great way to make sure those low-Fate heroes have no resistance to your assaults), Foil Magic (another 18" range spell, 4+ difficulty - great way to turn off those permanent spells your opponent has put on you - or has buffed on himself), and Aura of Dismay (cast on himself on a 5+, so-so way to augment your Terrifying Aura or make a broken army run away if he's in their midst . . . so not a great spell on him). I think most of these spells are situationally good to have, but most of the workhorse casting that he's gonna do is still gonna be his old stuff. Still, it's nice to get some benefit - and he's still only 170 points base (190 with the horse). Not bad, Saruman, not bad.
What's absent from this list is the reroll of the casting/resisting die that he used to have - not having that is gonna bite. All told, though, I think he's a net-positive improvement, if for no other reason than that magic got harder to resist across the board (the usual ways of fighting it got weaker and the new ways to fight it are more finnicky), one hero's ability to resist magical powers cast by Saruman in particular will be reduced, and Saruman has nearly unparalleled range for casting several of his spells AND the weather-related spells he gets in the Army of the White Hand list.
Next, we have Grima Wormtongue - who has an unchanged stat line as well (6+ Intelligence stat is new, but it's new for everyone). His rules are basically the same - his A Traitor Within special rule allows him to deploy in one of your warbands or in one of your opponent's warbands - but the new text prevents enemy models from charging him (which previously they could do to root him in place while their beloved heroes ran for the hills - such was the fear and trembling that Grima instilled in his "friends"). In all seriousness, this is a really good change - and Grima picked up a rule that says that if he's treated as a friendly model by enemy units, he can move through them (and their control zones) as if they weren't there. In a word, there is no escaping the Grima - be very afraid.
At least, most of the time you should be very afraid. You can still cast magic against Grima if used this way, and since Grima still only has 1 Wound/0 Fate, Sauron is NOT the best person to stand next to. Additionally, Grima will lose these protections if he does the usual things that used to turn it off like charging/wounding an enemy model or if Saruman dies, but it will also trigger if he destroys a siege engine (totally worth it - also "I didn't MEAN to trip on that super important piece of rope that was holding the whole thing together!?!?!?!?!") or if he interacts with an Objective Marker (such as destroying a supply token in Destroy the Supplies - also totally worth it to be up a few VPs at the start of the game).
The other big change is that Grima doesn't need Saruman to be in the list in order to be fielded, but you probably want him in the list because otherwise you lose the ability to insert him into the enemy ranks and be treated as a friendly model for a time - so still take Saruman. Also, Grima being near front-line enemy heroes makes the Palantir turn much, MUCH more punishing since most Heroic Moves aren't going to be free.
Sharku is basically as he was - at least at first glance - in the old edition. He's still a F4 hero but now has access to Strike (even though it does less now than it did before) and free Heroic Combats in the Wolves of Isengard list (the only list you can take him in). His Riding Dagger still threatens to wound heroes who fail to wound him (which is nice), but he picked up a new rule that gives him +1 Fight Value and +1 Attack on a turn in which he Charges. This, paired with having Strike, makes him a lot better than he was, but nothing that will break the game.
The Wolves of Isengard army bonuses also give him the Extra Attack (but not Knock Down) rule that cavalry get against infantry whenever he (and friendly cavalry models) charge enemy cavalry models. This is really great and makes them a very interesting anti-cavalry army - albeit with a predominantly F3 list. He's pricier than he was at 70pts (just the overall cost increase of having Wargs) and he doesn't have the option to be D6 with a shield anymore, but he's still a fine hero for under 100pts - and he's basically all you have in the Wolves of Isengard army list besides lots of fast bodies.
We also have the Orc tag-team of Grishnakh and Snaga, who are only available in the Ugluk's Scouts list. Grishnakh lost the option for a shield, traded 1 Might for 1 Will (um . . . that's unfortunate), and picked up a new special rule (Let's Put a Maggot Hole in Your Belly!) which allows him roll a D6 and knock an Engaged enemy model on a 25mm base prone before he makes Strikes if he can get a 4+. This is . . . good, since he has Backstabbers and all, but it also requires that he have no help in the fight (other Engaged models or supporting models - but there's nothing against being in banner range, so have a banner for goodness sake). This rule is only good to take if you're not wrapping-and-trapping already (since a trapped model doesn't become MORE trapped if he's also knocked Prone) and is particularly fine to leave at home if the reason you've trapped him is because you got an Uruk-Hai model in the same fight (which will trigger a +1 To Wound from Backstabbers and another +1 To Wound from Animosity). This rule is one of those "bathroom rules" that Centaur likes to talk about - you won't need it all the time, but when you need it, it's nice to have it on hand.
Snaga is . . . yeah, we're going to leave it there. :) He's got the same profile he had before, still has Challenge as his only heroic action (which isn't as bad as it was before, since you can Challenge someone who you aren't Engaged with, but there's not living way they don't ACCEPT said Challenge and you have literally nothing to back the Challenge up), and he's also down to 2 Might instead of 3. His Cunning Mind rule changed slightly in that when a friendly Heroic Action would benefit Snaga, you can roll a D6 and on a 5+ regain a Might Point spent earlier. This is good if he's calling Heroic Moves and then jumps into someone else's Heroic Combat (or you have another hero alternating calling Heroic Moves with him), but you're hoping to get Might back just so you can call more Heroic Moves/Combats for other people . . . and that's fine, but not great. After three rounds of benefitting from another friendly hero, you might have the 3 Might points that you had in the previous edition . . . big gronk on this guy in my opinion. Since he can only be taken in the Ugluk's Scouts army list, take an Orc Captain over this guy any day of the week.
The other named Isengard Hero we have on the docket for today is the Wild Man Oathmaker, who only appears in the Army of the White Hand list and was the only named Dunland hero to not enter the Legacy void. His stats are all the same - which is to say he's "fine" in the way that F4/S4/2A heroes are fine and in the way that D4/2 Wounds/1 Fate heroes are fine . . . fine with friends around him to keep him out of danger.
He still gives Fearless to Wild Men of Dunland within 6" of himself, but his We Will Die for Saruman rule got changed from giving Wild Men of Dunland the Isengard keyword (which made them not test for breaking until they hit 66% losses) for a battlefield-wide rerolling of 1s To Wound on Strikes for all Dunland models in your force . . . which is not nothing when you have S3 units and is pretty decent on a turn in which the Wild Man Oathmaker declares a Heroic Strength and becomes S8 (because rerolling 1s is more and more useful as your wounding difficulty drops). All in all, not a bad take - and still very affordable (and unlike some named heroes from the last edition, he's a cheap way to get 3 Might in your list).
Isengard Orc Captains - available as cheap March heroes in the Army of the White Hand army list, cheap March heroes in the Ugluk's Scouts army list, and as your only generic hero option in the Wolves of Isengard list (the only time they get access to a Warg) - are still their same old selves, except that their picks don't allow them to get to S5 anymore and for the most part, they don't get access to Wargs. They also have to take shields now, so if you liked shield-less Captains, you can't take those anymore.
They've still got all of the efficiencies of an Orc profile - don't pay extra for Courage that only makes you so-so at passing Courage tests - but this lower Courage value is mitigated somewhat by getting +1 Courage when they can draw line of sight to Saruman in the Army of the White Hand army list, sticking around after being Broken if Ugluk uses his Head Taker special rule in the Ugluk's Scouts army list, and not having to take Terror tests if he charges on the first turn of a maelstrom mission in the Wolves of Isengard army list. Other than that . . . he's an Orc Captain. Any questions?
Similarly, Isengard Orc Warriors are only available in the same three army lists and function exactly as they used to - as cheap spearmen behind Uruk-Hai Scouts or as dismounts for Warg Riders in the Wolves of Isengard army list (where they technically don't exist). There's probably a place for them to wield two-handed weapons in the Ugluk's Scouts list (and heck, maybe in the Army of the White Hand list), but for the most part, they're 6-point spearmen. They can't take a shield and a spear anymore (or a bow and spear - but did anyone besides me ever think to do that?), but otherwise they fill the cheaper-than-Uruk-Pikeman supporting role pretty nicely (though there's competition for that slot - more on that later).
Their kin, Isengard Warg Riders, are similarly unchanged except in their required war gear allotments. If you ran upgradeless Warg Riders, you'll need to shell out some points for shields, throwing spears, or both (and Orc Bows if you like those - in the Wolves of Isengard list, you may not have a choice but to like them).
We got a new unit for Isengard in this edition - the Isengard Warg! Yes, if you liked Wild Wargs in Moria/Mirkwood lists, you can now get them as "stray wargs" in the Wolves of Isengard list. Yes, they're beasts now so they can't interact with objectives the way they used to, but they're still cheap, take up a lot of space, and can fill various useful holes that your army may need to compete against other lists (but more on that probably in a future formation post).
We're wrapping up this post with three Dunland profiles - all of which show up under different names in the War of the Rohirrim evil profiles (more on them next time). Wild Man Chieftains were a thing before the 2018 MESBG revamp - they were basically lower-Defense, higher-Courage Orc Captains - and disappeared entirely from the game during the 2018-2024 "golden age" of SBG. Now, they're back - and they're basically Orc Captains with -2 Defense (but access to light shields that give them the Shielding rule but not the defense boost - don't take these), better Courage (by 1), Hatred (Rohan) (situationally useful - but mostly not), and come in at the same cost if they're given a light shield (so 5pts cheaper without it - and you should skip it). If you want a two-handed weapon with one of these guys, do it - it's fine, no matter what other people say.
The Army of the White Hand can also take Wild Men of Dunland, who are basically Orc Warriors for -1pt each and they lose 1 Defense and gain 1 Courage and have a 4+ Shoot Value instead of a 5+ Shoot Value. One of the biggest things they have over Isengard Orc Warriors is that they don't have to take any war gear, but you probably want to take something. There are seven equipment options that these guys have - some of which are better than others:
- No extra gear - perfectly fine for 5pts/model if you're okay with a D3 model that can't support someone else, but only do this if you're running short of points somewhere and dropping a gearless guy would force you to take light shields on someone;
- Light shield and flaming brand - not great for 7pts/model and I'd avoid it in favor of the flaming brand without the light shield;
- Bow - great option at 6pts/model, since these guys cost the same as Orcs with Orc bows but have a 4+ shoot value with a 24" range, with their D3 being their only downside;
- Flaming Brand - this is Gorgoroth's "top choice" for war gear. The Flaming Brand not only makes them cause Terror against mounted units and beasts, but also gives them Dominant (2), which is awesome if they're falling in behind other units. For 6pts/model, this one's a steal!
- Light shield - don't. Just don't. The shields look good and the models equipped with them are cool, but golly taking a light shield so you can defend by shielding on a F3/D3 model is just not worth it.
- Spear - 6pt spearmen just like Orcs means that you can run these guys if you value the Courage (and potentially the Hatred against Rohan models) more than the Orc D4. I think these guys are good - take some.
- Two-handed weapon - like salt, it's good to have a few of these larking about so you can lend extra damage where you need it, but even I won't encourage you to take a whole front-line of these guys.
If you wanted to run a horde of Wild Men, you could run 33% bows, 33% spears to back them up, and 33% flaming brands/two-handed weapons for wrapping/trapping and holding objectives. At 6pts/model across the board, you could field 30 of these guys with Saruman on horse, the Oathmaker, and Grima (in an enemy warband) for 450 points! At 600 points, you can have Saruman (on horse), Grima, the Oathmaker, and a Wild Man Chieftain with 14 Uruk-Hai Scouts (your choice of Uruk-Hai bows or shields), 16 Wild Men of Dunland with spears, 8 Wild Men of Dunland with flaming brands, and 4 Wild Men of Dunland with nothing - a 46 model army (Grima has to be in an enemy warband) at only 600 points!
Yeah, Wild Men be wild, I know. Their only real downside is that despite having a TON of war gear choices, if you want a banner in your list, you need to take an Orc. So . . . maybe the occasional Orc or three is a good idea.
Finally, we have Crebain, who didn't change in cost (like pretty much everything else in the Isengard list) and still have the same flappy goodness they had before. Their stats didn't change except that their Courage dropped to an 8+ (-1 Courage from before) and they picked up the Beast keyword, which means they can't swoop in and pick up objectives. Still, you can only hit them with arrows on a natural 6 and they can remove Stalk Unseen from enemy units within 12" just as they did before.
They also picked up the "Swarm" keyword, which prevents them from being trapped - which is AWESOME if you're surrounded or if you were going to be run over by cavalry. I like this change - and I think it makes them really good as alpha-strikers when head-hunting objectives that need to be held instead of carried/removed. Furthermore, in the Army of the White Hand list (the only Isengard list they can be fielded in - more on their Dunland options next time), they can be used as line-of-sight sources for Saruman, which is AWESOME. In many ways, paying 20pts for a Crebain is probably better than paying 20pts for a horse for Saruman in the Army of the White Hand list . . . something to think about.
Conclusion
So that's Isengard - lots of great models, lots of army lists you can run, lots of really interesting synergies. Do I have any clue what mix you should take of Dunlendings, Orcs, and Uruks in the Army of the White Hand yet? Absolutely not. Is the Muster of Isengard stronger than the Army of the White Hand? Debatable. Is Ugluk's Scouts just better than everything else? Possibly. There's a lot of ground to explore in Isengard and a lot of it looks like it might be good - time will tell how this goes.
We'll be covering the War of the Rohirrim Hill Tribesmen next time - some of which shares space with Isengard, some of which does not. We'll see how a different brand of heroes brings life to what Dunland looks like now (as well as getting in all those lovely compare and contrasts with the Legacy'd Dunland profiles). It'll be interesting - check back here next week for more on that. Until then, happy hobbying!
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