First Impressions: Mordor, Part II

Good morning gamers,

We're continuing our deep-dive through Mordor today and we're looking in particular to the non-Orc, non-Uruk elements of the Mordor list. We lost a lot of the former profiles to the still-forthcoming Legacies document and the probably-more-quickly-forthcoming Armies of Middle-Earth supplement, but we've still got eleven profiles (really twelve) to view today. We're going to begin with one of the more gutted elements of the roster - one that dominated the previous meta . . .

Man Profiles: How Have They "Changed?"

Photo Credit: Imgur.com

If you came here for the run-down of the Black Numenoreans and Morgul Knights (redubbed for this new edition as Black Numenorean Knights or some such nonesense), you're out of luck - we'll get to them in Part 3 when the Armies of Middle-Earth book drops. In the meantime, the only "man" profile from the previous edition to survive the cut for the Armies of the Lord of the Rings is the Mouth of Sauron. This guy saw a small points increase (5pts base, 10pts more for his horse) and basically kept the same profile. While his stats didn't change, he picked up a 6" Harbinger of Evil rule (which is nice if he doesn't have a Ringwraith on a Fell Beast in his list) and he picked up a new special rule (Sense of Impending Doom) that prevents his opponents from rerolling 1s on their Dueling Rolls while within 6" of him . . . yaye? I feel like this rule puts the "h" in "nice".

Like many casters, he had some minor changes made to his spell array (he picked up Curse and lost Instill Fear) and his spells are generally average to cast/resist (Drain Courage on a 3+, Transfix/Curse on a 4+). While I think there will be situations where Curse will be good to cast, I think his bread and butter is still likely to be Transfix. The changes to Heroic Channelling will make him more likely to get 3 casts of Transfix of (two on 6s if he channels twice instead of calling Heroic March) and most of THOSE will stick - perfect for a support caster in a list with big, BIG monsters (of the Troll Chieftain and Fell Beast variety). While he can't play third-fiddle to Suladan and the Witch-King anymore, he can play third-fiddle to the Uber-Troll-Chieftain and a Ringwraith on Fell Beast, which is more expensive than the Witch-King/Suladan lists of yore, but will still be quite threatening, I think.

While we won't be covering "Black Nums" today, we will be looking at some surprise additions to the Mordor faction: the Easterlings. Yes, these guys are also going to get fleshed out in the Armies of Middle-Earth supplement, but for now, they're reduced to their two original profiles: Easterling Captains and Easterling Warriors.

Easterling Captains went up by 10pts in this edition (60pts now) and lost a lot of the configurability. Without access to horses/swords, shields, and bows, the Captain is wielding just a Halberd (which can be used as a pike or two-handed weapon). This actually opens up a few new uses for the fellow - he can stand in the front-rank and be double-pike-supported while two-handing to do extra damage OR he can stand in the third-rank and provide F5 with Might to back it up (albeit with only 1 Attack). Putting him in the front allows for more offensive-oriented Heroic Moves, but putting him in the back could allow you to perform very minor tactical redeployments backwards. I personally think putting him in the front is the right call - and putting him in the middle is the absolute wrong call - but to each their own.

Since the Captain can't take horse option anymore, he also lost the Gleaming Horde special rule, but in the Legions of Mordor list (the only place you can take them), he gets the ability to reroll natural 1s To Wound against enemy heroes . . . perhaps THIS is what puts the "h" in nice, but hey, if you find yourself against a big hero, perhaps you two-hand in order to get +1 To Wound and rerolling 1s? I don't know, you could do worse for 60pts than this guy, I think.

All told, the price increase I think is fine (perhaps 5pts too high) but he's a pretty good F5 March Captain and particularly in the Legions of Mordor army list (where he's really only competing with Guritz, who isn't F5 all the time). Who knows, I may have to pick up some Easterings. :)

Easterling Warriors went up by 1pt/model and are now F4 . . . like they probably should have always been. It'll be interesting to see what the Black Dragons are like when the Armies of Middle-Earth supplement drops (will they be 1pt more expensive and just get +1 Courage? Will they be 2pts more expensive with F5/C4?), but for now they're the same reliable infantry that they always were, but more so because Piercing Strike is gone. Being D6 is good enough again and with access to pikes that can make-way with two ranks, having some guys to protect their flanks will help them stay alive for a long time.

Spirit Profiles: How Have They "Changed?"

When I got started in the game back in 2010, I remember the PDF documents on the GW website that showed off the profiles for the named Ringwraith profiles - both the Witch-King and Khamul (named in the books) and seven GW-machinations to represent the potential origins of the other mysterious wraiths. Over the years, I've seen the potential in all of these profiles, but with the new version upon us, the Legacy document has subsumed all but two of the Wraith profiles (perhaps unfairly to Khamul - he should have been in the Armies of Middle-Earth document), but we've added a third that probably should have always had a Mordor analog in the first place.

We'll begin with the Witch-King. While this model was probably THE most customizable piece in MESBG last edition, his profile has been streamlined in a few ways this edition. For starters, he has functionally two profile types: a 120-point version that has 2 Attacks, 2 Might, 14 Will, and 2 Fate (not far off of the Crown of Morgul/3M/15W/2F that I was running last edition) and a 150-point version that has 3 Attacks, 3 Might, 18 Will, and 3 Fate (for +6 stats and +1 Attack for 30 points - a pretty good bargain, if you ask me). He technically has a third profile option that has 1 Attack, 1 Might, 10 Will, and 1 Fate, but it only appears in scenario play (specifically in the recently-released Weathertop scenario) - none of the Matched Play army lists have this profile . . . yaye.

In several lists, he's required to take a horse or a Fell Beast of some kind, so while 120/150pts is his technical starting cost, the more common starting cost is likely to be higher than that. With only a 10pt increase over what he cost last edition for similar stats, he not only picked up 1-2 Attacks, but he's also F6 now (he probably should have always been, as the Dark Marshal profile was F6 and the Witch-King should probably have been at least that high) and retained all of his old Heroic Actions (some heroes can't say the same).

The biggest changes can be seen in his war gear options and his magical powers. The Crown of Morgul was a must-have in the last edition, but it no longer does anything that it did before. Instead, it prevents nearby enemies from benefitting from special rules that help them to pass Courage tests besides Heroic Resolve and Stand Fasts according to a recent FAQ. The inability to reroll casting/resisting dice is a shame, but at least the Attacks boost is now just in his profile. Additionally, Morgul Blades used to be resolvable at the Strength of the mount (a S6 Fell Beast, for example) instead of the rider - now it's just the Rider's stat (S4, possibly S8 with Heroic Strength). That makes sense to me - but also, why does it still cost 10pts?!?!?!?

All Fell Beasts (normal and Armored) picked up the Dominant (3) keyword, which will be redundant on the Witch-King if he's your army leader, but is still nice to have, as it makes a big flappy monster more capable of holding objectives (or scoring you points if he flies off the board in Reconnoitre). Armored Fell Beasts cost 20pts more than their unarmored cousins and still only pick up +1 Defense . . . I really wish they lost the Feral rule or picked up a 6+ save bonus - they just don't seem worth it. Also, the Armored Fell Beast is a must-take in the Legions of Mordor list, but optional in the Wraiths on Wings list and the Minas Morgul list (which is good - I still don't think it's a good purchase).

On the casting front, the Witch-King traded Sap Will for Enchanted Blades (12" range, 4+), which could be really useful on a monster model or a medium-hitting hero. As was mentioned previously with the Mouth of Sauron, spells got harder to cast this edition, but there was some up-and-down done on the Witch-King's spells. Drain Courage got harder (4+), Compel got easier (3+ - it does less now than it used to), Black Dart got its range shortened to 6" (for everyone), and Instill Fear/Your Staff is Broken got harder to cast as well (5+). This is all to accommodate features of the new game - casting difficulties are higher, but getting them is easier if you Channel . . . and channel or not, if the spell goes off, it's a LOT harder to resist magic now (but also requires more resources to get them off).

All in all, I'm not sure that Witch-King is as obvious a take as he was in the last edition, mostly because the customizability doesn't allow for a 90-point 3M/10W/1F walking hero to lead 18 troops - and most of his incarnations require a Fell Beast - but he's still very strong and his mega-version isn't far off from the 3 Attack/3M/15W/2F build that I used to run and comes in at basically the same cost as he used to. It is sad that he has to take so much gear in the Legions of Mordor list . . . probably just sticking with a Ringwraith in that one. Speaking of Ringwraiths . . .

The Ringwraith profile also got technically-three-functionally-two options: a 90-point 2 Attack, 1 Might/10 Will/1 Fate option and a 120-point 2 Attack, 2 Might/14 Will/2 Fate profile. My previous preferred build of a 2 Might/9 Will/1 Fate Ringwraith for 75pts is no longer an option - and frankly paying 120pts plus the cost of a mount (usually a Fell Beast) is the new norm for these guys, so don't consider them as cheap heroes that you can run on foot. Like the Witch-King, there is technically a third profile (1 Attack with 0 Might/7 Will/0 Fate) that is only available in scenario play - yeesh, would it hurt to have 1 Might on those guys?

Like the Witch-King, these guys got a reshuffle of spells, losing Sap Will entirely, reducing the difficulty of Compel to a 3+, upping the difficulty of Drain Courage to a 4+, nerfing the range of Black Dart to 6", and upping the difficulty of Instill Fear to a 6+ - again, casting got harder and as a result, resisting got harder too.

Finally, these guys lost access to Heroic March - something I really liked in the previous edition and has set them solidly in the camp of "I cast spells, not move people around". Still, since these guys are mostly riding Fell Beasts in the lists that can lead troops, it's unlikely that you'd be turning to these guys for your March needs anyway (Barad-Dur and Minas Morgul have optional mounts, but you are assigned a mount in The Black Gate and The Legions of Mordor lists - and everyone is mounted in the Black Riders/Wraiths on Wings lists, so not having March isn't a big deal). All told, I think Ringwraiths took a bit a hit overall, but they're solidly in the camp of "combat casters" now, especially if they're sailing in on a Fell Beast. Worth the shake? Maybe.

Finally, we have Spectres - yes, these are FINALLY available in a Mordor list (you know, because the Dead Marshes are in Mordor and not Angmar). Back in the Legions of Middle-Earth days (when I got started), Spectres were D5 but then got upgraded to D6 with the "warband books." For a time, I ran them in front of Orcs backed by a Shade (for the -1 dueling penalty they applied to enemy models before the Rise of Angmar supplement was released) and the Dark Marshal (allied with Angmar to provide a 6" banner bubble/12" Harbinger bubble). In 2018 when the MESBG revamp occurred, these guys swung back to being D5, but now they're D6 again! Their 7+ Intelligence stat is pretty decent (not as good as their Courage stat, but better than Orcs), and they picked up Spectral Walk - something that Centaur and I felt would have been really good to have in Fantasy Fellowships.

Their biggest "changes" can be found in the wall of text from their A Fell Light is In Them special rule (the reason people took them in the first place). Here's a run-down of the changes:

• Previously, you could use the rule at any point in your move - now you have to use the special rule at the end of your move;
• Previously, you forced a single model within 12" and Line of Sight to pass a Courage test - now the target model has to pass an Intelligence Test; and
• Previously, you could move the model wherever you wanted - now the model moves directly towards the Spectre, with clarifications that you can't enter any enemy control zones except the Spectre's control zone, but you don't count as charging/can't be forced into combat with the Spectre/any other enemy model.

All three of these changes are nerfs to the ability from the previous edition - you can't pop-out, "cast" it, and pop back into hiding; if you choose to use this rule, you're going to be exposed to the model you're trying to target. Additionally, the model has to have reasonably bad Intelligence, which isn't THAT big of a limitation since the Courage stats and Intelligence stats of most models are the same or pretty close (ignoring models where there's 0-1pt of difference, you'll do much better against Berserkers, most Trolls, and Lobelia Sackville-Baggins with this ability than you would before, but worse against Grishnakh and Grima).

Finally, the dragging of models directly towards the Spectre is good thematically, but a REAL buzzkill for the tactical usage of the rule. If you want to lure a banner away from the action . . . you have to be behind it or an innocuous direction. If you want to draw a hero forward out of the ranks, yes, you'll be fine - but most of THOSE guys are going to have an even chance of passing an Intelligence test, even if they're Orc-kind. I like these guys (and I'm glad they got a defense boost), but I think their tactical play has been greatly complicated (and anti-yank formations just got a lot easier to make).

Of course, there's one more Spirit profile available to one particular Mordor army build, but he's also a Monster, so we'll use him as the gateway between the Spirit profiles and the . . .

Monster Profiles: How Have They "Changed?"

Since he is both a Spirit and a Monster model, I think it only right that we give Sauron his due at right about the middle of the post. Sauron still effectively has Ancient Evil (Harbinger of Evil with 18"), his old Dark Lord special rule (that forced him to be your army general), the same heroics, and the same stat line and heroic actions (other heroes from the Prologue of the Fellowship of the Ring film were not so lucky, #WeLoveYouGilGalad).

Like most models in the game, Sauron both gained new abilities, got some boosts to existing abilities, and lost some things. He picked up Dominant (10) - which is SUPER useful in his army list - and his Flames of Evil Brutal Power Attack deals a S10 hit and makes a model prone instead of dealing a S8 hit (it still applies Set Ablaze too, so that's 1 S10 + 1 S9 + 1 S5 each turn you don't put it out). While not strictly in his profile, the Barad-Dur army list has a bonus that while Sauron is alive and on the battlefield, Orcs get a +1 bonus to their Courage tests, which is a nice consolation prize for not being able to take a Shaman in any Evil list.

Like the Ringwraiths we just looked at, Sauron's magical powers selection and casting difficulties changed some. He lost Sap Will (double-check me on this, but no one has this spell anymore?) but picked up Fog of Disarray on a 3+ (which makes it harder to pass Intelligence tests near him . . . not sure how much that matters). Transfix got harder to cast (3+ instead of 2+), Drain Courage got harder to cast (4+ instead of 2+), Instill Fear got harder to cast (5+ instead of 4+), but Compel/Chill Soul are both at their previous casting difficulties (3+ and 4+ respectively), which is great. All in all, magic got harder to cast this edition - and with Chill Soul cast on a 4+ still, Sauron still probably has the best spell suite in the game.

Mordor's poster-girl "fast monster" (that isn't a Fell Beast) is Shelob - and she's not that different than she was in the Cirith Ungol Legendary Legion from the last edition. Unlike most monsters, Shelob has a great Intelligence stat (5+) and otherwise carries the same base profile. While she starts with 1 Attack, she still has Monstrous Charge (+1 Attack on a turn in which she charges) and she gets +1 Attack against Men, Elves, Dwarves, and Hobbits like she got in the Cirith Ungol Legion before. She's also still got Venom, but Venom gives her an off-chance of dealing an extra wound if she gets a natural 6 To Wound - this is great when it works, but is certainly not reliable and won't matter at all against models with a single wound.

Shelob got a few nerfs though - her Caught in a Web Brutal Power Attack deals a S8 hit that can Paralyze a model, but the target will automatically recover if she is removed as a casualty, leaves the board for any reason, or runs out of Will (good thing Sap Will ain't a thing anymore, right?). The Strength 8 hit makes this a good option if you were charged by something that isn't a Man, Elf, Dwarf, or Hobbit - and since the target might recover on their own, maybe this isn't that bad of a nerf. What is clearly a bigger nerf is that her Lone Hunter rule not only prevents her from deploying in a friendly warband (eh), but now she can't benefit from the Heroic Actions of other heroes . . . BOOOOO!!!!!! I mean, it makes sense, but that's a stiff blow.

To make up for this, Shelob did get a few buffs. Like all Monsters, Shelob picked up the Dominant keyword (Dominant (4) - which is pretty good but nothing out of the common way) and picked up two abilities to kill friendly models to do things. She got the old Cirith Ungol Legion rule baked into her profile - kill a friendly model at the start of her activation if she hasn't been charged to reroll a dueling die this round (nice to have) - but now in the Cirith Ungol army list, she can kill a friendly model to call a free Heroic Move without declaring With Me to benefit others. This is great for proc'ing Monstrous Charge, but it also means you need to bring a LOT of Orcs in your Cirith Ungol lists.

Next we have the Troll Chieftain, but we really need to talk about the Uber-Troll-Chieftain in the same breath. The "Uber-Troll-Chief" is the TMAT term for the Troll Chieftain who becomes your army's General in the Black Gate list - he's a Troll Chieftain with extra stuff, so he's not that different from the normal guy (and yet, those small changes can have HUGE impacts on his effectiveness and longevity). Troll Chieftains went up slightly in points (150pts instead of 140pts), but picked up Fight 8 and 4 Wounds (instead of F7 and 3 Wounds - yes please and thank you). Their Intelligence stat of 6+ is not terrible (better than most monsters, especially of the Troll variety) and they have Dominant (4) (like I said about Shelob before, this is good but not earth-shattering by any means). A higher base Fight Value and retaining access to Heroic Strike makes these guys a very daunting ask for many heroes - especially those who are F6 and can't reach F10 since these guys will reach F10 two-thirds of the time. Alternatively, a F8/D8/4 Wound hero who's fighting a F6 hero might choose to not Strike at all and count on the F6 hero not getting a 5+ on their Strike roll and risking getting a tied/lower Fight Value while being a Might point down. I'm pretty excited to run the Black Gate list this edition - mobility limitations of this profile aside, they're pretty beefy and can pose a serious threat to many heroes in the game.

The "Uber Chieftain" from the Black Gate list hasn't changed - this guy becomes a Hero of Valor, is your Army General (where the Dominant (3) is wasted because this guy has Dominant (4) already), and still gains +1 Might/Will/Fate, putting him in a good-but-fine statline of 3M/2W/2F. He's also still Fearless, which is awesome for a Monster model with a mediocre Courage stat. Since he can only be run in a Black Gate list, taking him is a given - however, given what ELSE you can run in that list, I think additional Troll Chieftains are very much an optional/maybe-not-optimal choice. Now that the list can get Ringwraiths on Fell Beasts (only slightly more expensive and WAY more maneuverable), I think additional Troll Chieftains fall to the wayside behind Fell Beasts and . . .

. . . the humble, ubiquitous Mordor Troll. Yes, two starter sets have given us these models and they're FINALLY scary on the table. For starters, they saw a 10-point DROP this edition (90pts instead of 100pts), they still have hand-and-a-half weapons (good for flexibility, though RIP special strikes making a difference), they have 4 Wounds now, have a pretty terrible Intelligence stat of 8+ (which is sadly not bad for most Monsters - but also not reliable at hurling into the model you want to), they have Dominant (3) now (SO GOOD!), and got a 5pt reduction on their war drum (25pts, 115pt model now) so you can call Heroic Marches that benefit all models with the Mordor keyword. Whether you're running a Black Gate list or a Barad-Dur list, I'd recommend you take a look at this model - especially if you're trying to do a single-hero list for Barad-Dur. I definitely think they're better than a March Captain (limited to Orc heroes in both lists) and they might be better than Mordor Troll Chieftains (except the obligatory Uber-Chieftain).

Our final profile for today is the Mordor War Catapult. The Catapult is either cheaper or more expensive depending on your view of the Severed Heads upgrade. The Catapult itself went down by 10pts to 150pts, but the Severed Heads upgrade went up by 15pts from 5pts to 20pts. So . . . It's basically the same cost as it used to be and still gives to an Orc Siege Veteran, 2 Orc Warriors, and a Mordor Troll. And a catapult. Severed Heads changed a bit, no longer dealing a S3 hit before the Courage test is taken, but the Courage test is still a thing and if you're facing an army that didn't plan on passing Courage tests reliably, it might be better than the splash damage. If you run into a high-Courage army . . . just shoot normally?!?!?!?

The attached Troll did change a little - he used to be the same as normal Mordor Trolls, but since this guy can't take the cosmetic armor, he's only D6 but also has a 4+ Shoot Value. In all other respects (including Dominant (3)), he's just like all the other Trolls in your army - which is to say a nightmare for a big hero to plow through if you can keep him from being trapped. I think this unit is still one of the best things you can take in the Army of Gothmog, but in any other list (like the Legions of Mordor), I'd definitely consider just taking a Mordor Troll or a Ringwraith on Fell Beast instead.

Conclusion

And after two posts, we've plowed through Mordor. :) There have been some big changes to the profiles, but I think most of them are for the better. I'm slowly working through the armies that I own (as an avid collector, there's a lot to work through), but the Mordor army lists look really interesting. The bones of the lists are still solid, though I'm not sure if they're splashy enough to win at the top tables. Time will tell - I feel like there's a lot of undiscovered territory in the Legions of Mordor list and Cirith Ungol, but we'll see how they play on the tabletop before I write up the reviews of those lists.

Next time, we're headed for the high seas to see what's become of the devastating Corsairs of Umbar. With a lot missing and a few new pieces added, we'll see if the low-Defense version of Assault Upon Helm's Deep is any good . . . and what we're hoping to see from the updated Corsair list in the Armies of Middle-Earth. Catch you next time - and until then happy hobbying!