Top 10 Most Improved Evil Profiles from the Armies of the Lord of the Rings

Hey Reader!

We're back with another Top 10 post, today looking at the top ten most improved profiles in the Armies of the Lord of the Rings book from the Forces of Evil. Now that we know all the armies that someone can be fielded in, potential models that they can pair with, and special rules, we're set to rank the top ten most improved models for the Forces of Evil in the Armies of the Lord of the Rings book.

As we did in the last post talking about the top ten most improved profiles for the Forces of Good, a few caveats before we look at the list: 

• We're ranking the most improved profiles in The Armies of the Lord of the Rings book: we will be reviewing profiles for the Armies of the Hobbit, Armies of Middle Earth, and the Legacy PDF in separate posts, but that means they don't count toward this ranking.
• We're ranking the top ten most improved profiles for the Forces of Evil in the book, so only evil profiles will be considered here.
• We're ranking the most improved profiles, not the strongest profiles: Sauron is still really powerful (more on him later in our Honorable Mentions category), but we're looking at the people who jumped up the most from last edition, not the most powerful profiles in the book.
• The "Most Improved" means that the profile had to exist last edition, so the new War of the Rohirrim profiles were not reviewed. I know, we love snow trolls (boy do I love snow trolls! Super cheap F7 with 4 Attacks if you can keep them charging!), but we're skipping them in this review.
• There were more profiles than this list can hold, so yes, I couldn't include all of the ones that I thought were interesting/useful. There will be some honorable mentions, but suffice it to say, if you really thought that someone should have made the list and didn't, there's a good chance that they were considered and just didn't break the top ten.

And so with that, let's look at some cool profiles!

Honorable Mention: The Dark Lord Sauron

While most spellcaster saw an increase in their difficulty to cast spells, Sauron basically stayed the same, while still picking up useful spells like Fog of Disarray and Foil Magic. In most respects he stayed the same, but he picked up a few really useful abilities this edition.

First off, he gained Dominant 10, which means you have to wound him to allow his army to break, but you also kind of do need to remove him if you want to control an objective near him.

Second, he added a new Brutal Power Attack. In addition to Unstoppable from last edition (which he still has, and while all monsters have a smaller version of this, Sauron's is still better since he gets a guaranteed strike against all spearmen, not just a strike against those supporting the models he slays in close combat), he also gained Flames of Evil, and this ability allows him to, instead of performing strikes normally, allows him to choose a single model in the combat: it suffers a S10 hit, and if they survive, they are knocked Prone and Set Ablaze.

Now this is a niche ability: most of the time you want to use your 4 Attacks, or 1 Attack against everyone. But if you know that you need to wound a D9-10 model, and if you don't finish them off you'll at least be keeping them on the ground for a bit, Flames of Evil will do the job.

Also a small thing, but he's one of the few monsters that is still on a 40mm base, so getting a monster into fights is far easier to do with Sauron than it is with most monsters nowadays, which is not nothing.

Not a major change over last edition, but he's seen some improvement, and we should probably note the guy whose title is in the name of the original source book and the Armies of book that we're studying, so here's the big man himself, :P 

Honorable Mention: Saruman the Colorful

Saruman was good last edition, but suffered from one primary issue: he only had 1 Attack, and that means that at 170pts he was very expensive for his non-magical / non-support abilities. So when Gandalf the Grey picked up an extra attack for no added cost, I thought for sure Saruman would as well.

Well he didn't, but he did get a few other upgrades. First Flameburst now has a 12" range, which is really nice, so you don't need to get right up into the mix like before to use it (not that anyone outside of me ever used it, but I wrote an article on why you should use it, and I stand by everything in that article, though naturally the change in heroic channelling has changed the argument a bit - an updated article may be coming in the future if you're interested!). 

In addition, he now has a new ability: at the start of the game he can nominate an enemy hero: when that hero attempts to resist his magic, they suffer a -1 to their roll. This is fantastic for two reasons: first it means that it's harder in general to resist your spells, and there's a higher chance that they'll need to burn Might Points if they want the resist attempt to work. But more than that, it means that a channeled spell (since it always counts as being cast with a 6) has to use Might Points to resist, which is really, really good.

Again, he's mostly the same as last edition, but he has had some nice changes, so we mention him here.

Honorable Mention: The Mouth of Sauron

First off, the Mouth of Sauron starts at only 75pts on foot (100pts mounted, admittedly), which is not bad at all for what you get. He's gone up to 2 Might Points this edition, which is really nice, and with his 4 Will Points his spell suite has mostly stayed the same in terms of casting difficulty, which is nice! And perhaps most importantly, he still has Heroic March, which is a big boon to your other heroes.

He also has a new special rule that prevents enemies from rerolling 1s on their duel rolls within 6" of him, even if they have a special rule that allows them to (like Farmer Cotton's rule for hobbits, or a banner's ability to pick any dice in the roll). This is big: 1s are the dice that most people pick up and reroll when they lose a fight, and while they probably do a have a 2-4 in there somewhere, this means that a warrior and his spear support that rolls a 1 and another result will have to reroll the other result, which is really, really nice.

It's niche, which is why he didn't make the list, but he fills a useful niche, especially for the list he's in.

#10: Ugluk

My boy! The first evil hero I ever owned! And somehow he always outperforms Lurtz in everything (I am half tempted to sell my Lurtz model because he clearly doesn't want to work for me), but that's beside the point. Lurtz retained everything from last edition (he still has 3 Might, which is nice! He didn't get the "captain treatment" that a lot of other 3 Might evil heroes got), and he picked up another special rule with his iconic line, "Looks Like Meat's Back on the Menu Boys": when he kills a friendly orc within 2" of himself he can make all uruks within 6" of him both Fearless and +1 to wound. So your uruks are effectively S6-7 for the turn (effective S9 for uruk scout captains! S5 with +2 to wound!), and they automatically pass Courage Tests, which has long been an issue with uruk legions.

Related to this: if you kill an orc with this rule, it also counts for Head Taker, so he can save your men from running when you break, and you also can make your uruks more powerful. Really solid (more so in the Ugluk's Scouts list than the Lurtz's Scouts list, as you don't get orcs in that list), good utility, very powerful, but not something you want to use 7+ times per game probably.

#9: Wild Man of Dunland

The Wild Man of Dunland used to just be the cheaper (and worse) version of the Dunlending Warrior, but with the new release of the War of the Rohirrim models this profile really came into their own. With access now to flaming brands (giving you Terror v. cavalry and Dominant 2), spears, and bows, you can get super cheap spear support, cheap "honesty bows" to keep the enemy from just sitting back and shooting at you (and a 4+ Shoot Value isn't bad for Forces of Evil), and support abilities that will help you win objective missions, all for very cheap.

Not much to say here, but it is improved from last edition, giving Wild Men a much wider range of options and roles for you, which is awesome.

#8: Uruk-Hai Warrior

The Uruk-Hai Warrior got a boost this edition: a lot of armies saw a rise in F4 in their armies, and this makes them keep pace with the elite level of uruks. So the Uruk-Hai Warrior, to keep ahead of the curve by at least keeping the lines tidy when they clash, got Shieldwall for free. No extra points, no added cost, they just get Shieldwall for free.

Now of course pikemen and crossbowmen can't take advantage of this, but having a F4 S4 D7 shieldwall is really nice, keeping you ahead of the other S4 armies out there (both because you're probably wounding them more easily than they wound you, and because a lot of S4 armies don't get up to F4 against uruks), and this makes them highly effective at preventing S2 archery wounds (and heck, S4 archery, as they are wounding on 6s now instead of 5s).

And again, all of this is free. No extra points for this. Fantastic all around.

#7: Watcher in the Water

Not only is this model much improved from last edition, I think this is a dominant force to be reckoned with this edition. No pun intended, with Dominant 6 this places him above the likes of Bill the Troll and the core of ent armies for objective control, which is high, and sticks with the whole theme of "we like the number 6" for his profile (and thus why we rank him here as well; it was close between him and the Uruk-Hai Warrior, so I gave it to the Watcher for theme).

The Watcher got a good clarification on how the shooting attacks pulling people into base contact with it doesn't also pull them into combat with friendly models (so no free ride for Bat Swarms to get into Terror models), and that's a step back (or at least a gray zone) from last edition, but on the whole I think that's healthy. I like when core rules remain and aren't ignored with shenanigans.

But in addition the Watcher adds a new brutal power attack, Dragged to the Depths: this allows it to roll a D6: on a 2+ the model suffers a wound, and if they're alive and didn't prevent the wound the model is dragged to the depths (removed as a casualty, the Watcher disappears, and has a chance to come back the following turn using its pop-up ability).

This is a great way to get rid of trolls (and other monsters that don't have Fate Points - note that the rule doesn't have a size/base requirement, so technically you can pull Sauron under if he fails his Ring Save, which is unlikely but crazy), it's a good way to get rid of captain models, and it's a great way to redeploy and reposition to another part of the battlefield where you're needed. I had not planned on going the Watcher in the Water route, but I'm having trouble not thinking about it now!

#6: The Balrog of Moria

I didn't expect a lot of changes to the Balrog this edition, and on paper a quick glance would tell you that he mostly stayed the same: statline is basically the same, special rules look the same - so why is he on this list?

Because a few small changes really add up.

First and foremost, he's got an 8" move now, which makes him harder to stay away from, especially with the Fiery Lash distance added to it, and still having cheap (albeit not quite as cheap) access to captains to Heroic March / Heroic Move him (11" move + 8" lash - that might reach you on Turn 1!), he's a beast to handle now.

Additionally, you used to be able to just throw 4-5 guys at an objective, shield every turn, and buy time against the Balrog, relying on sheer numbers. But now that he's Dominant 10, it's really hard to actually contest an objective against him with just numbers: you need a real plan.

And this is not to say that there's no downsides from last edition: Large Target means you can't hide him behind goblins to keep the archery off of him, and they clarified the Fiery Lash much like the Watcher in the Water tentacles, noting that you can't pull people into base contact with other units of yours. But at the same time the biggest issues with the Balrog (not being able to catch enemies and not being able to chew through enough numbers to contest something) have been taken down several notches, and stopping this guy is going to be hard (especially since you only hit him on a 5+ with shooting until he sets someone on fire, he's got Resistant to Magic and 10 Will Points to resist magic, and he's very hard to beat in close combat now that getting to F10 is harder now than it was last edition).

#5: Lurtz

Lurtz jumped up to 100pts this edition, but he's gotten more than 10pts worth of added value. First he's up to 3 Will Points now, so his magic defense is better than ever (and roughly 10pts in value, so everything after this is effectively free). 

He's also better in the shooting department: Sharpshooter makes him more likely to hit his intended target, and with F6 with Heroic Strike, he's no slouch in close combat either (and again, free upgrade for Fight Value basically).

Oh but it gets better: back in the old edition he got a Shield Throw ability in the Lurtz's Scouts legendary legion, but now he gets it as part of his base profile: every version of Lurtz in every list gets this benefit, which is awesome. Add onto this a 6+ Oblivious to Pain save against all wounds, and he's not likely to take much more than the 3 Wounds + 1 Fate he has, but hey: a chance at a save is better than no chance at a save (assuming you believe a 6+ Save is a save - more on that maybe in a future post).

So he's more durable, more defensible against more threats, better in close combat, and better at shooting. Great improvements.

#4: War Mumak of Far Harad

I've always loved a good mumak, and this edition mumaks got a sweet upgrade all around. At Dominant 10 they can actually take and hold objectives, they start at F4 (with an option for the Beastmaster Chieftain at F5) and couple 4 Attacks with 3-4 trample hits, so offensively they're still really good.

But they've added additional support benefits: included in their 250pt base cost (that's right: price reduction of 25pts! So the old Serpent Horde Mumak is the same cost as a F5 Beastmaster Chieftain Mumak this edition!) they are now 6" banners to friendly units, measured from the base of the war mumak. So you're effectively getting a super banner too (25-40pts) for free that you didn't get last edition, on top of the other things mentioned.

And that's to say nothing about their other support abilities (like Harbinger of Evil within 12" in the army list), or the ability once per game for their hero to call a Heroic Combat for free. So for everyone who has always loved mumaks but didn't think they're competitive: maybe they aren't, but maybe they will be, and it's worth testing! Lots of added value for these guys this edition.

#3: Mordor Troll Chieftain / Mordor Troll

To start off, each of these guys got a 10pt reduction in cost, which is crazy good, considering that monsters across the board got several boons this edition. Not only do they get a chance to wound spear supports for the guys they kill in close combat, they picked up Dominant 4 (3 for the Mordor Troll), 4 Wounds instead of 3, and in the case of the Mordor Troll Chieftain he's now Fight 8 (with Strike, so 66% chance of getting up to F10).

And with the lists you can take them in, you can get reasonable support as well, so it's not like these trolls are the only tools you have going for you: with proper banner support, heroes nearby to call heroic actions, and in the case of the Mordor Troll Chieftain a 6+ Intelligence Score (allowing him to more reliably perform some of the monster Brutal Power Attacks) these guys are set to perform in the new edition. And for cheaper than ever before!

#2: Sharku

Not gonna lie, this was a profile that I used like only once last edition, and I hated every moment of it: F4 wasn't enough to cut it in combat even against rank-and-file troops, he wasn't very survivable, and even in his legendary legion (which struggled competitively since its appearance in War in Rohan) since he couldn't call Heroic Strike he struggled a lot.

Not this edition though (well, actually, he might - we'll see, but probably not as much as he did last edition): at 70pts including the warg he's actually basically the same cost as last edition (since mounts cost +10pts over last edition), and in exchange he's still kept the dagger special rule, but he's added a new special rule that allows him to add +1 Fight Value and +1 Attack when charging. So that brings him to F5 with 4 Attacks v. infantry or cavalry in the Wolves of Isengard list, alongside free heroic combats), which is phenomenal.

And since he added Heroic Strike, he may not be the best at striking up, but at least he has the option. From a profile that was often passed over in Isengard, Sharku offers more than he did before in his list.

#1: The Mumak War Leader

At 400pts he's the same cost as last edition, and yet like the other mumaks in this edition he's got quite a few boosts. The 6" banner bonus, Dominant 10, free Heroic Combat once per game, 12" Harbinger of Evil - all of that he has.

But beyond this he also got a free bump to Fight 6, still with access to Heroic Strike, so now you have a F6 (up to F9) war beast (so you can't trap him) with a free banner reroll, that can cancel the first Heroic Move within 12" of him on a 4+, who has access to a 4-Attack S9 trample. And S10 with those 4 Attacks, so wounding most everything in the game on 3s if he wins the fight.

And while the Harad army list doesn't have access to cavalry, being able to Heroic March up mumaks, potentially trample along the way, and then stake objectives with that Dominant 10 plus the people in the Howdah? This guy is crazy: hard to hold down, hard to remove, and nifty tricks. And now he's harder to beat in combat than ever.

Conclusion

Like with the Forces of Good, there are some models I don't know what to do with now; Shelob got some nice improvements, but she also can't benefit from friendly heroic actions, and she has no Might, so she never gets to participate in heroic actions, so I'm not sure where that puts her compared to last edition. Similarly the Dead Marsh Spectre got a nice bump up to D6 for no extra cost, but their Fell Light Is in Them ability now requires you to move the model directly toward the spectre, which is situationally useful, especially if you can wrap around the enemy and pull spears/banners away from the main line, but that's harder to do than it was last edition. So are they better? Are they worse? I'm not sure.

Are there others that you feel should have been higher on this list? Are there some that I'm showing a clear bias toward? Let us know down below!

Watching the stars,

Centaur

"Sybil Trelawney may have Seen, I do not know...but she wastes her time, in the main, on the self-flattering nonsense human beings call fortune-telling.  I, however, am here to explain the wisdom of centaurs, which is impersonal and impartial." ~ Firenze, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix