The New Age Is Begun: the Defenders of Helm's Deep Army List

Good morning gamers,

We're pivoting for the next few weeks to look at some Rohan lists and we're kicking things off with one of the Legendary Legions that I enjoyed playing last edition (though I never took it to an event - I was close, but I didn't): the Defenders of Helm's Deep. This list is one of the few Rohan lists that can't take horses, but golly does it have a lot of options available to it! Let's see how this list has changed, for changes have happened (though things feel pretty much the same as they always were).

The Defenders of Helm's Deep: Changes for 2025

Profile Selection

Compared to the old Legendary Legion, the only change to the profiles available to you is that you have to be playing with Legacies in order to use the King's Huntsmen. Other than that, things haven't changed. I'm going to be honest, though, I had hopes that we'd get a Deeping Wall force and a book-accurate option that gives you Eomer and access to horses and drops the Elves (kind of like how you can build an Eagle/non-Eagle Men of the West list now). Still, not losing profiles is good - happy enough.

Army List Bonuses

The army list bonuses are basically unchanged as well. You still get a boost to your Courage after you break for models near Theoden (Warriors get +1 Courage and reroll failed Courage tests while within 6" of Theoden), you still get +6" to the range of your bows/Elf bows when you stand still and shoot (which is only a 1.5-3" gain over what you'd have by moving and shooting, but also retains your base Shoot Value), and the army is limited to 33% of its force having the Lothlorien keyword (more on this later). In addition to this, a rule that used to be on Haldir's profile got moved to the army list rules: while within 6" of Aragorn and/or Theoden, he treats them as a banner, he passes all of his Courage tests, and also gets to reroll failed To Wound rolls. As I said above, things feel pretty much the same - not a bad thing, just a thing.

Profile Adjustments

There were a lot of small changes to the profiles (one profile got a MAJOR face-lift, another got a pretty good face-lift) in this list that come out to a slightly net-positive, I think, overall. 

• Theoden, King of Rohan hasn't changed in price, but he's lost a lot of his previous weight thanks to the Arise, Riders of Rohan rule transferring to any Rohan General (which, I'll go on record to say, was a good change). Herugrim got better (it auto-wins ties when the combat is drawn instead of rerolling 1s even when the Fight Value of Theoden is lower than his foe), he can lead Rohan Royal Guards (which is good in this list), and he still has a 12" Stand Fast. All in all, he's still a decent take . . . but not stellar when he's not mounted.
• Aragorn saw . . . a lot of changes. First and foremost, I asked TWICE (and many times via email) for Aragorn's sword to become a hand-and-a-half sword and by golly they did it. :) Aragorn also got the boost to F7, has the Ring of Barahir now for some added magical resiliency, added Resistant to Magic for even MORE magical resiliency to his already impressive set of special rules, and (wait for it) didn't increase in price at all . . . take Aragorn, everyone, take Aragorn . . . unless you don't have the points, of course. Also, Heroic Strength is even better now for Aragorn in this list and makes up for not having access to Anduril.
• Legolas got a 2+ shoot value (so he's gonna be hitting a lot - as usual), he ignores the moving-and-shooting penalty while he's got the Infantry keyword (that's . . . really cool), he can shoot while Engaged in Combat (up to three times - including shooting at the guys that he's Engaged with . . . also very cool), and his Final Count rule got changed to boosting his To Wound roll while Gimli is ahead on the kill count, which is WAY better than boosting his To Hit roll in the previous edition. It's arguable that his Pinpoint Shot is less powerful than it used to be, since he doesn't Hit on a 2+ into Blinding Light anymore (but will still pass any in-the-way tests he needs to take if he passes the To Hit roll). This applies to a single-shot only, not to his usual three shots . . . thank goodness. Take Legolas, everyone, take Legolas . . .
• Gimli is basically unchanged, but got a third Fate point (which is helpful) and still boasts a very strong profile. Like Legolas, he avoided a price-hike, which is also really good. He's the hard-hitting melee tank that we know and love . . . but at the same time, with all of the improvements to Aragorn, Boromir, Legolas, and Gandalf (to say nothing of Sam), having basically the same Gimli profile does feel a bit like someone got left behind . . . must be his short legs or something. Still, a third Fate point on a high-Defense model in an era where Piercing Strike isn't a thing is most welcome.
• Haldir is more or less the same, though he picked up an epithet (Haldir, Galadhrim Captain), has Sharpshooter with Expert Shot (so like Legolas, he can pick his "target" while shooting multiple times), moved his treat-Theoden-and-Aragorn-like-a-12"-banner rule to this list (which is worse in that now it's a 6" banner radius, but also got better because he also rerolls failed To Wound rolls in melee!), and kept his One Final Blow rule as a consolation prize for his demise in melee, all without an increase in cost. All in all, a pretty good Hero of Valour.
• Captains of Rohan are basically the same as they always were - they can't take bows or throwing spears anymore, but they're still cheap fortitude heroes who can be D7 with heavy armor and shields. Without horses in this list, they're a bit underpowered - and without Arise, Riders of Theoden/Rohan, we'll definitely see some blowback in other lists in this series. Still, they're cheap Heroic March heroes, so if you need to move infantry blocks around, they're not TERRIBLE choices, but I'd probably just take . . .
• Galadhrim Captains are basically the same as they were in the last edition, but are 75pts when equipped with an Elf bow and have Sharpshooter now (which is good in a list that can't get cavalry for sniping out horses from under big heroes OR getting a clutch hit on a mounted banner/objective carrier). With so many named heroes in the list (and a 33% limit on your Lothlorien models), I don't know if you'll see these guys on the table, but they're a decent hero option in the list.
• Gamling, Captain of Rohan got the reduction from 3 Might to 2 Might reduction that a lot of heroes experienced this edition, his banner now has a larger radius (6", which is great) but also restores Might on the roll of a 6 when they're used instead of regenerating 1 Might point each turn. This . . . makes the Might restoration a lot less reliable, but potentially can restore Might before a hero is out and can restore more than 1 Might point each turn . . . potentially. He still remains a difficult banner hero to kill (especially in this list) who has access to Heroic March (as does Theoden), so he might still be worth taking in lists.
• King's Huntsmen went up in price by 5pts and didn't change much - they gained Sharpshooter and otherwise do exactly what they used to do . . . so I'm not taking them, but if you like them, take them.
• Aldor, Rohan Archer has changed very little - he's still an Independent hero that brings a shoots-before-everything-else bow for 20pts. He's less courageous than before (Courage 7+ with Fearful instead of effectively Courage 6+) and he can't generate a Might point each turn automatically with Gamling's banner . . . so he's probably a bit worse than before, but he's still a cheap bow hero.
• Haleth, Son of Hama is similarly unchanged - he's picked up Fearful and Courage 6+ instead of effectively Courage 5+, but he still buffs Aragorn's Fight Value if he's nearby - and since Aragorn is base F7 now, that means he can now be F8 without declaring a Heroic Strike! Haleth's ability to tank for a long time is much harder, though, because he (like Aldor) can't auto-regenerate his Might point for Heroic Defense each turn just by standing near Gamling. If you're taking Aragorn, you're probably putting Haleth in his warband.
• Warriors of Rohan are basically unchanged from their Legendary Legion form in this edition (Spear Mastery is new, but was previously given to them in the Legendary Legion special rules in the last edition), which means they are still blissfully cheap at 7-9pts with the standard equipment (and 31pts with a banner!) and because of the 33% Lothlorien limit, it's quite likely that they'll make up a good portion of your list. Near Haleth, they can get to F4, but they're probably best run as cheap units in front of F4 Rohan Royal Guard with throwing spears OR behind F4 Rohan Royal Guards when equipped with shields and throwing spears (it's 20pts per pair of models either way). While not as good at shooting as Galadhrim Warriors (lower Strength might matter, lower Shoot Value usually matters), they're also nearly half the cost of Galadhrim Warriors with Elf bows, so you might choose to take these guys as archers as well if you want slightly higher numbers.
• Rohan Royal Guards went up by 1pt and didn't get anything from it besides the Spear Mastery special rule. They can only be fielded by Theoden and Gamling, which means you won't have many of them, but if you're using Galadhrim Warriors as front-line troops, you may not need many of these guys. In many ways, Galadhrim Warriors with shields do the same job as these guys . . . but they can do it more cheaply and with F5 all the time (instead of only when Haleth is Engaged nearby). Take these guys if you want to (or if you don't plan to run Galadhrim with shields) or leave them at home - I think both are perfectly fine, depending on how you build your list.
• Galadhrim Warriors are capped in this list, which is a shame in my book as I was hoping there'd be a way to do a Deeping Wall version of the list (Galadhrim Warriors could only be led by Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli, and Lothlorien Hero models). Heck, I was kind of hoping that you could pay 2pts/model to make them not count towards your bow limit too - but we can't have everything we want, right? As it is, there are a lot of ways these guys can fit into your army and anyone can lead them - though I think four of them are better options than the others:
• While not a popular choice, you can pay 9pts/model (same as last edition) to take them "vanilla" and not give them any extra gear at all. While 9pts/model for a D5 unit can be a problem, the harder this list leans into elite Heroes and Warriors, the lower your numbers are going to be. If you land a few points shy of where you'd like to be, you could take some of these guys without the gear you wanted to tack on and take more Rohan models (who are 7-9pts/model with D4-5 - the vanilla Elves are actually not horribly costed in comparison!);
• You can pay 10pts/model (same as last edition) to give them shields and have them in your front rank (backed by 9pt Rohan spearmen, probably covered by 7pt Rohan bowmen);
• You can pay 10pts/model (same as last edition) to give them Elven spears only and have them support your front rank (probably of 7pt Rohan shield guys, probably covered by 7pt Rohan bowmen);
• You can pay 11pts/model (same as last edition) to give them Elven spears and shields, which makes them a more flexible back-line (see our post on extending your shieldwalls from a former era - but that is still very much applicable to the game), can make them harder to kill, and also makes them a bit more expensive;
• You can pay 34pts/model (same as last edition - but without the option for additional gear choices) to give them banners, which seems a bit excessive to me, but it's an option, I guess; and
• You can pay 11pts/model (same as last edition) to give them Elf bows, which makes them solid archers that will benefit from additional range in this list with reliable Shoot Values and good Strength values on their bows.

Besides not having an option for a book-accurate version of the list (with Hama, Eomer, no Lothlorien models, and options for horses - which I think would be really interesting!) and not allowing us to do the Deeping Wall only, I think this list is pretty decent . . . and surprisingly unchanged from last edition. Let's see what makes this list good and where it falls behind a bit . . .

The Defenders of Helm's Deep: Strengths and Weaknesses

This list, like the Lurtz's Scouts list from last week, is a powerful shooting list. While the Uruks in Lurtz's Scouts are faster than the guys in this list, getting 12" more range than the Scouts makes the archers in this list even more dangerous at long distances and while Lurtz can be a shooting hero, the likes of Legolas and Haldir in the list (to say nothing of the other heroes with bows in the list) can make the archery output of this list truly terrifying.

The primary downside to this list is that it doesn't have any fast units in it. Theoden has Heroic March and he's a required choice, but Marching infantry up the board won't get you anywhere quickly (and your archers may want to be standing still - more on this later, though), so the list is going to feel slow. That said, if you have Gamling (Heroic March with potential Might regeneration on himself and Theoden) and/or Aragorn (Heroic March with Mighty Hero), you can keep the speed on better than a lot of other lists.

Another strength of this list is that getting a mix of cheap Rohan units and Elite Warriors/Heroes can mean that you get very healthy numbers, even at low points levels. Theoden doesn't break any records for his killing ability, but 85pts for a D7 Hero of Legend that can fill out his warband for less than 170pts is pretty great at getting you good numbers. Haldir and Legolas are pretty cheap Heroes of Valor and while Aragorn and his little buddy Haleth are an expensive pair, they also hit really hard. Either pairing of heroes will only set you back 200pts, so you're looking at quite a few guys at 700pts.

The healthy numbers does come with a tax: low to average Defense with little to protect them from retributive archery. I don't know if this list will punish the likes of the Garrison of Ithilien or Harad with their 50% bow limits, but even against normal lists, having D4-5 archers requires some guarding. You might outshoot the enemy, but if you don't, you could see that numbers advantage dwindle fast.

Finally, this list scales well and is very forgiving. Lots of models, lots of hero options, strong archery with good melee units, improved Courage near your general if the tide begins to turn - all of these are great for new and veteran players. You may not always win, but you have options for dealing with a lot of things with the tools in this list.

The Defenders of Helm's Deep: Strategies for the Tabletop

Like with any shooting list that isn't very fast, you need to know the scenario victory point conditions and focus on those - even if it means you don't get a lot of shooting. Shooting can win you certain scenarios, but it might also mean that you start at a heavy disadvantage and give you no opportunity to claw your way back (even if you break your opponent's force without being broken yourself.

If you're able to shoot some, don't be afraid to move and shoot. I know there's a special rule that gives you 30" range on your bows if you stand and shoot - and if you're playing a scenario where you can stand and shoot and still win, do that - but moving half-speed will give you an effective range of 27" - and moving with Heroic March gives you an effective range of 28.5". 30" is great (as is unmodified Shoot Values), but it's only marginally better range than moving and shooting.

You should also decide if the Elves in your force (and I think you want to take as many as you can) are going to be embedded in your battle line or operating on their own with bows. You can embed bowmen into your ranks - and with your files of Warriors of Rohan and Galadhrim Warriors costing 16-19pts/file, you can do this pretty affordably and in whatever warband you like. Ironically, because of the interaction between Haleth and Rohan Warrior models, you can actually get those files for 16pts in Aragorn's warband to get F4 warriors instead of F5 ones. This does offset the cost of Haleth a bit and slightly drops the cost of Aragorn - but it's going to be a more expensive warband overall.

Speaking of Aragorn and Haleth, you'll need to decide when to take Aragorn and Haleth, as taking them makes it harder to horde out and simultaneously reduces your archery. While Theoden's full warband can be fielded for less than 250pts (if it doesn't have a banner), Aragorn and Haleth with 2 Warriors of Rohan with shields and throwing spears, 1 Warrior of Rohan with banner, and 1 Warrior of Rohan with shield or bow will be 251 points - and while you gain two heroes and 4 warriors, you could have gained a good 10 more models by not taking Aragorn and Haleth and getting Legolas instead (more on this in the next section). At 650, however, you could upgrade that banner guy to Gamling OR get a second warrior banner and 7-10 more guys - now we're cooking! Personally, I think Aragorn and Haleth don't see the light of the fifth day in this list until you're playing at or above 650pts, but even then, I don't know if including them is better than taking Haldir and Legolas or Gamling and Legolas . . . or, you know, Gimli and Legolas.

Finally, I really don't know if Gimli is worth taking in the list. Taken with Legolas at high points levels, things might get interesting, but with Theoden as a required inclusion and access to a F8 Aragorn with free Heroic Combats, a F6 Legolas who can still shoot while he's Engaged, Haldir who shoots twice and wounds reliably (and is cheaper), I don't know if Gimli is good enough . . . a free Heroic Combat once per game would be great in this list to keep him competitive with the shooting hero options, but alas, this isn't the list with his dad.

Sample Lists

Our first list tries to run the cheapest D6 frontline we can with the maximum models possible - so obviously, we're pairing Theoden with Legolas and we got a whopping 35 models with a frontline of Galadhrim Warriors (and Legolas), a supporting line of Warriors of Rohan with throwing spears and shields, and a third of our army is Warriors of Rohan with bows. All in all, it's a proper horde of 35 models at 500pts, it has plenty of elite troops in the front, and it's got a decent amount of support from the heroes:

As we scale up to 650pts, we can pivot from shooting heroes (we'll get back to them in a moment) and focus on getting the offensive monstrocity pairing of Aragorn with Haleth - and in pursuit of a stronger melee hero corps, we have dropped our model count a bit:

At 700pts, we could have added some models to the Aragorn/Haleth list, but I wanted to show off this 48-model, double banner list with Theoden, Legolas and Haldir (17-19 bow shots a turn and 15 throwing spears as the enemy closes in!):

I left out the shields on 10 Galadhrim - if you want to drop 2 Warriors of Rohan with bows, you can do that and waste 4pts. Frankly, I like having the bows and throwing weapons more, so I would keep it as is. Alternatively, you could drop 5 throwing spears to get 5 shields and 5 spears for your Galadhrim, some of whom will now be in the second rank. However you choose to do it, there is a heap of models in this list and it's going to be hard to crack!

Conclusion

So that it for this list! If you've given this list a spin, let us know how it's gone for you (and if there are any cool combos I haven't explored). We're sticking around the battle ground of Helm's Deep, because next week we'll be turning to the Riders of Eomer - a list I was a huge fan of last edition and that some people have come around to now that Eomer functions better as the general in the list. Find out some cool things you can do next time - and until then, happy hobbying!