The New Age Is Begun: the Survivors of Lake-town Army List

Good morning gamers,

We're kicking off the last month of the year for digging through the army lists in the game and we'll be building up to the Battle of Five Armies by the end of the month! We're starting off with the least exciting of the armies we have yet to cover and that's the Survivors of Lake-town. This list differs greatly from the Army of Lake-town that we covered earlier in the year - and while it used to be a more common choice last edition (not as common as the Army of Lake-town, but some people played it), it's fallen from favor in its current iteration. Let's see why - and what there is to like about it still this edition . . .

Survivors of Lake-town: Changes for 2025

Profile Selection

Our profiles are the same ones we had last edition: we have Bard and his kids, Alfrid, Hilda-Bianca, Percy, and Lake-town Captains/Militia for the Lake-town contingent and we have Gandalf the Grey and "mega Bilbo" as our side characters. Unlike the Army of Lake-town, we didn't get any of the other people that show up with these guys (no Legolas, Tauriel, or other Mirkwood characters - and definitely no Dwarves). Is this enough to work with? Maybe, but surely we're going to get rules to make our guys awesome, right?

Army List Bonuses

This list has four special rules, besides the requirement to take Bard as your General every game. Two of our rules are Bard-centric (as is fitting): first, he gains Mighty Hero and Fearlessvia the Heir of Dale rule, which means he'll never run from a fight, he'll be able to charge whatever nasty your opponent has automatically (unless the Crown of Morgul is involved), and he gets a free Might point each turn for calling a Heroic Action, boosting a roll, or just sitting and wasting away (because unlike Aragorn, this fella doesn't have Heroic March). Bard also gets a rule (Saviour of Lake-town) where other friendly Lake-town models within 6" of Bard (not Alfrid) get +1 Fight Value and treat Bard as a banner with a range of 6" - this gives a nice boost to an otherwise untrained rabble of troops, but it isn't going to save the day on its own.

The Lake-town Militia in this list get a bonus from the Hold the Streets rule, which gives them the ability to reroll 1s To Wound while within range of an Objective Marker, so if they're sitting on an objective in Domination or Hold Ground, they'll deal slightly more damage than before. Obviously, this doesn't apply in all scenarios, but it does apply in a lot of them.

Finally, if you take Bilbo, he can take an enemy-held Objective Marker on a 2+ by moving through them while invisible via the Master Burglar rule. This gives you an ice in the pocket in scenarios where carried objectives are a thing, but it is only available to you if you actually have Bilbo in your list.

Profile Adjustments

We don't have a lot of profiles in the list, but almost all of them are new to us in this series:

• Bard the Bowman is a hefty 150pts in this list with the armor/horse combo instead of his greatbow. In this list, he's also a 6" banner and 6" Fight Buff to "other friendly Lake-town models that are not Alfrid" (so that's Hilda-Bianca, Captains, Percy, the kids, Captains, and Militia - all of whom are F2-4 with the buff). Bard picks up Mighty Hero and Fearless for free, but does so on a chassis that is a lot worse than the other Mighty Hero characters we have in the game (F5-6/S4/3A/3 Might and no bonuses To Wound with D5/3 Wounds/3 Fate is not great). While Bard picks up all of these rules, he also effectively loses all of the rules from his profile (he doesn't need Sworn Protector (Kids), Sharpshooter, Rapid Fire, Windlance Trained, or the Black Arrow because he gains Fearless and doesn't have any of his shooting weapons). I know this might not be a popular opinion, but I kind of wish that "Bard the Bowman" and "Bard, King of Dale" were two different profiles - one that has shooting options and his bow/windlance gear options and one that's more combat oriented. Both would be better if they got a points drop.
• Bard's Family has been through a lot this edition - they are now purchased for 60pts altogether and you get 3 models from it (taken as Independent Heroes in Bard's warband). Sigrid and Tilda gained the Fearful rule (Courage Test to charge at the start of its move) and still give +1 FV to Bard while he's within 6" of either of them (and a banner-like reroll as well if he's within 6" of both of them). They still give Bard a free Heroic Combat to rescue them if he's within 6", but as in the last edition, Bard has to get into their fight (or get as close as possible to them) with his movement from the Heroic Combat. Bain is locked in a F3 and can't call free Heroic Combats for being near his sisters like he could last edition, but while within 3" of at least one of his sisters, he gets 2 Attacks instead of 1 and gets a +1 to any Courage Test he has to take (and he's base Courage 6+). Altogether, they're pretty cheap heroes who provide a Courage 8+, Courage 7+, or Courage 6+ (5+?) Stand Fast and might give extra stuff to Bard (but since you also have to take Bard in your list, they're going to come in at a whopping 210pts for four models.
• Alfrid is in a really weird spot in this list - as we discussed in the Army of Lake-town review, he used to be able to dump 2-3 Might points into a friendly Lake-town hero at the start of the game (or during the game) by spending Will points to create Might points. His Dubious Counsel rule was really good in the last edition because it was predictable - spend a Will point, get a not-1, and the target Lake-town hero (like Bard or one of his daughters) gets a Might point. If you do get a 1, the target loses a Might point (hence why targeting a daughter who doesn't start with Might was a thing) and Alfrid gets a Might point. With the revamp, Alfrid has a Might point to start with, but his Dubious Counsel bonuses are far more varied (and often less useful than a Might point). Half of the bonuses help combat heroes - on a 3, the target rerolls 1s (which is really for Bard/combat guys who are not near the Master), on a 4 you get Fearless (not needed in this list on Bard), and on a 5 you get +1 Fight Value. The result of a 6 is universally useful (getting a Might point back is always good - assuming you've spent a Might point already) and the result of a 2 is much less useful in this list than it is in the Army of Lake-town (as you don't need to get Will back to trigger any rules on your Lake-town heroes). A 1 still does a Might-point-trade, but I think that's fine. I will note that Alfrid can modify the roll by spending Will . . . and if you're willing to cast Strengthen Will on him with Gandalf the Grey, one could think that he's able to give a Might point back to someone or give +1 Fight Value to someone on a 4+ . . . in this list, I might consider taking him for that alone (and for half the cost of Bard's Family, he might be worth taking in place of them). While you could take Alfrid or leave him at home, at higher points levels, I think you always want to take . . .
• Gandalf the Grey got an extra Attack this edition and a greatly adjusted Spell suite - he lost Command, gained Foil Magic (5+), got a reduced difficulty on Protection of the Valar (3+), got an increased difficulty on basically everything else (Terrifying Aura on a 3+, Blinding Light on a 4+, Transfix on a 4+), got increased range on Collapse Rocks (12" range instead of 6" range), and still casts Strengthen Will on a 4+/Sorcerous Blast on a 5+ (though Strengthen Will has done the pendulum swing again and can't be used to give you more Will than you started with - it changes with each edition, it would seem). Without an increase in cost, the boost to 2 Attacks is a really good change and the adjusted spell suite still looks good - he's still going to be starting with Terrifying Aura, doing Transfix for the most part once battle is joined, occasionally doing Blinding Light now that it isn't permanent, and on very select occasions, he might throw a Sorcerous Blast out there (Heroic Channelling, anyone?). I'm happy with the change and think he's the only thing that will keep Bard alive (both with protective magic and Transfix on whoever Bard is fighting). He's expensive (190pts on a horse), but the two of them together can lead 33 warriors. You probably want to take one other hero besides the two, if you can fit him in . . .
• Lake-town Militia Captains have always been good heroes for one reason: they're cheap March Captains. For 50pts, you could certainly do better than them - but with the F4/banner boost near Bard, these guys are excellent with F3-4/S4/D6 stats and 2-Might-and-March wherever they are. With 10 warriors in the warband, this is a cheap 110pt drop (remember this for later in the month). At lower points levels, one of these guys and Bard gives you a decent starting point for getting your infantry moving early in the game and sustained Heroic Moves/Combats later in the game.
• Hilda-Bianca has always had one claim to fame above generic Captains: she's a cheaper Hero of Fortitude. For only 35pts, she's not going to wow anyone with her combat performance (F3-4/S3/1A/1 Might), but if she charges into Combat, then Lake-town Militia within 3" of her get +1 To Wound when making Strikes, which is a nice bonus to a S3 battle line. While I think Hilda's bonus needs to be much bigger to be truly impactful, she operates in much the same realm that Frida Tallspear does - except she does so for a fraction of the cost and isn't giving boosts to wounding mounts only. If you have the points, take her.
• Percy looks like a good take at first glance - for 50pts, he gives you a 3+ Shoot Value with a standard bow and allows nearby friends who can see him (6" and line of sight) and himself (because he's within 6" and line of sight of himself) the ability to reroll 1s To Hit when shooting . . . which is good, but also doesn't move the needle very far on how many shots you need to make to kill D5-6 models because S2 bows are . . . not great. Still, if your points limit is soaring, there might be an argument for taking him over a generic Captain . . . but I'd be looking into a second (and maybe a third) Captain before I take Percy.
• Bilbo Baggins, Master Burglar has come down some points and is now 75pts base. He's got 2 Attacks base and still has 3M/3W/3F, so he's pretty tanky with a high likelihood of having the One Ring (and he ignores the bit where your opponent can take control of the Ringbearer). He's got Sting and the Mithril Coat baked into his profile (S3/D6, Elven-made and reroll Fate saves of 1), so there's a lot going on in this profile. Unfortunately, he's also an Independent Hero, so he's a 75pt drop that isn't leading anyone . . . and if you're already taking 150pts in Bard and possibly 190pts in Gandalf, I don't know that you can fit Bilbo in.
• Lake-town Militia are . . . not great. They're also the only warrior units you have and unlike Goblins (who are not great - any type), they're not that cheap. With F2-3/S3/1A on offense, D3 with light armor (and option for a light shield? Really?) and 1 Wound on defense, and Courage 7+/Intelligence 8+, you're really looking at taking bows or spears on everyone - and I don't think this is the kind of list that can get away with hero-hammering, so you're taking these guys. You're taking a LOT of these guys. I mean, however many guys you think you're taking, you're probably taking more than that. And no matter how many you take, you're probably going to wish that the light armor was normal armor, that the light shield option was a normal shield option, or both . . . because they were both normal versions of those last edition and they became real bad this edition. Oh well . . .

I don't want this section to be a downer, but there isn't a lot of well-costed, "good stuff" in this line-up - there just isn't. Still, this is a TMAT article, so let's get our hipster list building mindset in gear and see what we can salvage from this . . .

Survivors of Lake-town: Strengths and Weaknesses

I think the best thing you can say about this list is that it's a horde list - and while its "horde units" aren't very good, most horde lists don't have good units in them. This is particularly true when the points level is low (350-500pts), where you can have a decently punchy hero in Bard who can lead a lot of cheap troops and be supported by a Captain with even more angry fishermen. All told, this is a proven list idea at low points levels.

Unfortunately, this list has serious issues with scaling at higher points levels. Normally, you're looking at having a properly big hero that feels strong at any points level, but Bard is fragile enough that at high points levels, he really needs another aggro threat to keep the fire off of him. Gandalf is certainly the closest thing you have to another aggro hero in the list, but I don't know that this version of Gandalf is scary enough to turn your opponent's focus towards him instead of Bard. If Bard goes down, you're in a heap of trouble, so I think this list really only has legs when the points level is low.

This list does, however, have the three most essential horde list elements: Heroic March on cheap heroes, spears on cheap warriors, and bows on cheap warriors. It also helps that their Courage is fine-not-terrible at 7+, so if they run into Terror units, they might pass their tests . . . maybe. If you can get at least 30 warriors on the table, you can have 20 spears and 10 bows, which gives you a chance when you stand and shoot of killing someone each turn (hitting on a 4+ and probably wounding on a 6+ puts you just below 1 wound/turn, but it's still high enough that it might work) and if you can start with a model count advantage, you're in a really good place.

While it has the elements of a good horde list, it doesn't have that many other tricks - their heroes are all very light and have profiles not much better than Hobbit Heroes. They're cheap as a result (good for horde lists), but they won't kill much in any way, shape, or form. Even Bard and Gandalf can be blunted if your opponent brought high Defense models (and by that, I mean D7+). Gandalf brings some magic to the table, but if you've tried casting magic with him this edition, you need to understand that he's mostly going to cast 3-5 spells for you and most of them will be augmenting your own troops, not neutralizing enemy units (more on this later).

I will end this one on a high note, though: if you can fit him into your lists, Bilbo gives you some very interesting options. He's the only Ringbearer who can put the Ring on and you will always have control over him and with F3 and Heroic Strike, it's quite likely that he can best the Fight Value of anyone who can't Strike (keep in mind that this edition, Heroic Strike is resolved AFTER negative modifiers, so a F7 hero who calls a Strike will be reduced to F4 and then go up by D3). He's also got Heroic Defense with D6/2 Wounds/3 Fate, which makes him pretty tanky against someone big. Alternatively, if Gandalf can use Transfix to keep the enemy from Striking, it's possible that Bilbo could get up and over the enemy Fight Value, get a good roll (not guaranteed with 2 Attacks, no spear-support, and no banner), and keep someone who really needs to be killing stuff do nothing for the turn. For 75pts, he's not a bad inclusion - but I think it's a hard inclusion unless you have the points for a Captain/Hilda-Bianca and a few models (because I think your model count is far more important than whatever utility Bilbo is giving you).

Survivors of Lake-town: Strategies for the Tabletop

We need to start with Bard: in my humble opinion, Bard is not a grenade hero and needs to have his combats managed very, very well. He provides a banner reroll (the only one this list has), he gets a free Might point each turn, and he's your only 3A hero. It's clear that he needs to be fighting, but he needs to be fighting with everyone else - and ideally in a way that prevents him from being trapped. F5 base isn't great (and being F6 is conditional on his kids being brought in your army (which they may or may not be) or Alfrid getting a 5 on his Dubious Counsel roll (which he can do on a 3+ if he spends 1 Will and has 2 more Will in reserve to adjust his roll). Even if he gets to F6, that's kind of like being F5 in the previous edition - it's probably good enough to beat troops, but it's not going to be enough to rival the other big heroes that are probably on the table. Stick to chopping through troops, use your numbers (and maybe Gandalf/Bilbo if you have them) to stall out enemy heroes, and manage Bard's fights well.

While it's true that this is a horde list, you should remember that this is a horde that doesn't really want to engage with your opponent right away. Just like Wild Men of Dunland/Hill Tribesmen and Goblin-town Warriors need to be careful about their engagements (because D3 units with fine-to-bad Fight Value should assume that they're dead if they lose any fights), so also these guys (who are base F2/D3 and MIGHT be F3/D3) need to be extra careful about engaging. In a way, having light armor (D4 vs. shooting) might encourage them in matchups against S3 archery to sit back and avoid pitched battle if your opponent only brought a few honesty bows (or just Legolas). Maneuvering your troops so that you can engage part of the enemy force is the ideal, but more likely, your best chance of bringing your melee strength to bear will be to engage both flanks of an enemy battle line while avoiding the center entirely. One could make the argument that taking a few of the light shield models to charge into the center ranks and tie down two files while your other troops wrap around the sides is a good strategy, but that strategy would be a lot stronger if this was an army of Corsairs that could shoot into the backs of their own men to keep them from being used for Heroic Combats.

Okay, let's talk about Alfrid. I think Alfrid is good to take if you already have Gandalf and a Captain in your list. Alfrid's rule is a lot less reliable than it used to be, but you just have to wait for Bard to have spent a real Might point and he's queued up and ready to go. As a cheap hero that you can try to protect, I think Alfrid is fine - D3 with 1 Wound/1 Fate isn't great, but once he's done his thing, you don't need him anymore. So long as Bard is 6" away from him, he can restore a Might point on Bard on a 4+ or give Bard F6 (which is also good) on a 3+. If you get absolutely abominable result of a 1, you can boost to a 3 and give Bard rerolling 1s To Wound (which is better than nothing and certainly better than giving Bard back a Will point (unless he needs it, I guess) or taking one of Bard's Might points (assuming he has one). The only result you will have absolutely no use for on Bard is a 4, since Bard already has Fearless. Here's a quick guide for what you're looking for:

• On a 1, boost with 2 Will to a 3 (rerolling 1s To Wound)
• On a 2, keep it (if you have spent at least one Will point) or boost with 1 Will to a 3 (rerolling 1s To Wound)
• On a 3, keep it (if you don't need F6) or boost with 2 Will to a 5 (F6)
• On a 4, boost with 1 Will to a 5 (F6) or boost with 2 Will to a 6 (if you don't need F6 and have spent at least one Might point)
• On a 5, keep it (F6) or boost with 1 Will to a 6 (if you don't need F6 and have spent at least one Might point)
• On a 6, consider downgrading with 1 Will to a 5 (F6) or keep it (if you don't need F6 and have at least one Might point)

As you can see, half the time you should be able to spend 0-1 extra Will to get something you can use, and the other half of the time, you're looking at spending 0-2 Will to get what you want. Because the "keep it" options exist on two-thirds of the results (not 1 and 4) and one of the "keep it" results is only a viable option if you need to regain Will, you need to be sure to use this when you have at least one Might point to restore and Bard is going to be fighting this turn. Once Alfrid has made a Dubious Counsel roll, Gandalf should use his free Will point only to cast Strengthen Will on him so that he has a Will point to use on a later turn. If Alfrid had to burn all of his Will to turn a 1 into a 3, a 3 into a 5, or a 4 into a 6, you might consider having Gandalf cast Strengthen Will successfully twice on Alfrid (which might take two to four turns to do).

Speaking of Gandalf, let's talk about Gandalf's spells. As was mentioned above, there are 3-5 spells that you want to think about casting with Gandalf - and they're very much dependent on what your opponent brings to the table. The three spells you want to consider casting in any game are a) Terrifying Aura (3+) on your free Will point starting on Turn 1, b) Transfix (4+) with your free Will point + 1 Will point once your opponent has a killing piece within 12" of Gandalf, and c) Strengthen Will (4+) on your free Will point only to restore Will to Gandalf himself or Alfrid. These allow Gandalf to do two critical things: they can keep your units doing what they want to do (Terror on Gandalf and Will on Gandalf/Alfrid) and they keep expensive enemy pieces from doing what they want to do. No matter what your opponent brings to the fight, these are useful tools in your arsenal.

If your opponent brings certain things in his list, you might consider casting two other spells: a) Blinding Light (4+) either on your free Will point + 1 Will point OR channelled with your free Will point + 1 Might point if it's really critical and b) Protection of the Valar (3+) on your free Will point. Protection of the Valar prevents magical powers/special rules from hurting Bard and also applies a -1 penalty to shooting rolls against him, which is sort of like a Blinding Light bonus. Blinding Light can potentially reduce shooting more, but most models will have a 4+ Shoot Value and a -1 penalty for moving-and-shooting, so applying a -1 penalty with Protection of the Valar can be functionally the same as Blinding Light (just for one model instead of everyone within 6" of the caster). I don't think I'd channel these spells by default, but you certainly might do so if your opponent has a lot of shooting and you don't have a lot of terrain to screen your army from their attacks. Blinding Light is a powerful tool for taking away enemy shooting prowess (while not affecting your own counter-archery) - which is good for your horde army.

Gandalf does have three other spells that one could argue have value - you can channel Sorcerous Blast (on your free Will point + 1 Might point) to deal damage to someone, but the S5 hit and Prone needs to be really worth that Might point that you're spending. Collapse Rocks is a more situational cast, but turns into a S7 hit, so if you're thinking about channelling Sorcerous Blast, you might consider channelling Collapse Rocks instead. Foil Magic requires your opponent to have an Exhaustion spell up, is cast on a 5+, can be resisted, and generally means you're taking down something like Fury, Aura of Dismay, or Fog of Disarray . . . I have yet to cast it this edition, but if you're fighting an Orc horde list that's relying on Fury to stick around, you might channel to turn it off.

Okay, let's look at some lists!

Sample Lists

At 500 points, you can get to the mid-40s with Bard and two Lake-town Militia Captains (you could get Percy instead of the second Captain if you wanted to - I opted for the second Captain over Hilda-Bianca because otherwise I'd leave more points on the table):

At 650pts, we can keep our model count in the mid-40s and turn one of the Lake-town Militia Captains into Gandalf on horse (and trade a few models to get Alfrid):

At 750pts, we can get into the mid-50s with Bard, Alfrid, Gandalf, a Captain, and Hilda-Bianca with a pile of warriors to help us out:

I am a bit sad that I didn't get Bilbo into any lists - you can fit him into a 700pt list, but you can't fit him into any of the lists above without playing with a handicap or dropping a ton of models. I don't like that very much, but that is what it is.

Conclusion

I honestly don't know if this list is any good above 500pts, but I think there are options for those who are able to play in a cagey way with their horde. I'm no stranger to fielding D3 armies, but these guys need to wait to engage until they have a major numerical advantage because they will die REALLY quick if the numbers are nearly equal. Still, you do have some flexible pieces and if you manage Bard's engagements, I think you can do just fine.

Next time, we're turning from a big horde of bad models to a small fighting force of elite models. Yes, we're tackling the amazing Assault on Ravenhill list - one of the all-hero lists that feels good on the table (but can also be hard to win with). Let's see what we can do when we have some of the finest heroes in the Battle of Five Armies at our command - and who you leave at home when you're not playing at 650pts - next time. Until then, happy hobbying!