The New Age Is Begun: The Ravagers of the Shire Army List

Hey Reader!

Today we're discussing a shire-centric list!!! GET HYPED!!! It's the orcs led by Golfimbul to attack the Shire, but still: WE'RE BACK!!!

And after all my complaining about Buhrdur's Horde, good news for you: I'm actually positive on this list. I actually think I like it more, even though it lacks a power hero, but more on that below.

Ravagers of the Shire: Changes for 2025

Profile Selection

This list is pretty different from what we had last edition, mostly because we're dealing with two faction tags: Golfimbul and the Hill Trolls have the Angmar keyword, while the captains, shamans, and orcs of various kinds have the Mordor keyword. So just know upfront that there's going to be some juggling of keywords (and it matters for a few rules).

The New Age Is Begun: The Buhrdur's Horde Army List

Hey Reader!

Today we're discussing a list that I got excited about when I heard Rise of Angmar was going to include it, and that I really, really want to love because it has one of my favorite heroes in the game in it, and he's the centerpiece of what they do. So before we start the semi-hate-fest that this post is going to be (because man this list is really constrained, and hard to make work, and I say this as someone who has put in the reps with it all edition so far and boy has this been hard), I just want to say upfront:

I like Buhrdur, and I want him to succeed.

So everything I say next should be taken in the spirit of constructive criticism and finding ways to make tasty lemonade, because I really do want to see this army list work! But as it is, it has a lot of limitations, few answers to common problems, and relies on a whole lot of luck to bring in the wins.

Buhrdur's Horde: Changes for 2025

Profile Selection

The list of models in this army list hasn't changed from the previous edition: it's representative of the orcs and terrifying creatures common in the Third Age in the forests of Rhudaur and the mountains near Imladris, and is an Angmar army that has no undead in it (which is pretty unique, but also pretty cool). With a mix of orcs, wargs, and trolls, at the very least, you do have access to fast models, which not every army does.

Top 10 Items to Steal with Nazthak!

Hey Reader!

New day, new Top 10 post for you! Today we're going super niche, looking at the orc thief we know as Nazthak for Angmar, and what the best options are for items for him to loot. While finding points for this guy in your list can be a bit tricky (between the required Witch-King or Gulhavar, then probably 45pts for a March Captain, then probably 50pts for a Barrow Wight, and possibly 75pts for a Shade at the bare minimum), 

As a quick reminder before we begin, I'll post his rule so that you can see what the parameters are for things he can take:

So off the bat we notice a few things: 1) he can't take The One Ring (which is sad, because that was a prime contender for #1 on the list), 2) he can't take anything monster sized (so no mace from Sauron, either), 3) he can't take any armor (so no Dwarf Heavy Armor, which is also sad), and 4) he can't take a mount or living creature (so Sebastian and a Mumak are out). I'm also assuming that slaying someone "in combat" also requires you to be in base contact with them, so spear supporting doesn't count (and thus some excellent spear options have not been included). But beyond that, pretty much anything goes!

Also keep in mind that he needs to be able to slay the model, so...just keep in mind that an item might place high on this list, but getting Nazthak to actually get it might be a bit tricky (without a lot of Paralyze well-placed in the list). So with that, let's take a look at some equipment!

Honorable Mention: Any Old 3" Banner (Held By: Lots of Warriors)

On the one hand, a 3" banner that you otherwise didn't have is really nice, so it ran the chance of making this list. The biggest issue is that 1) you don't have issues getting banners of your own, and 2) and more than that, once you pick up this banner you're inflicting a -1 to your own duel rolls, making it harder for you to win more fights, get in more wounds, and take more stuff. So while yes, you can technically take one of these, I don't think it helps you get other scavenged equipment, and if that's all you do for the game, I don't think he's worth the investment. So an honorable mention - it does help you, and I like banners - but I'm not sure it's a good option to take.

Honorable Mention: Any Old Shield (Held By: Even More People)

Technically I don't think a shield counts as "armor" for the purposes of wargear, so I think he can take this: literally any shield will bring his Defence up to 6 (which is useful), and it gives him access to the Shielding special rule, which might just save his life. It doesn't do much to help him get new scavenged equipment, but it does help him survive a bit longer, which I think is worth it. Not as great as things that made the list, but hey, in case you're having issues tearing through a line, just grab a shield!

#10: Ring of Barahir (Held By: Aragorn)

On the plus side, this is free Resistant to Magic on Nazthak, which will keep him doing what you need him to do, which is good! It's pretty niche, especially since most casters don't actually have spells that he hates all that much, but hey: an extra dice to resist magic isn't nothing.

Personally I don't think it's worth the risk of trying to use Nazthak to kill Aragorn to get this, but if you're looking for useful equipment, there aren't many ways to get access to magic defense, and if you are fighting Aragorn there's a non-zero chance you're also fighting Gandalf, so it could be useful. If you fancy a slightly easier opponent, perhaps the Dragon Emperor's crown might be a better target (depending on what changes we see in the new edition to the crown).

#9: Palantir (Held By: Saruman)

Now this one ranks a bit lower for two reasons: 1) it's a one-time use item, so you can't maximize it as much as other options, but also 2) I'm not sure whether you can use it after Saruman has used it, since Nazthak counts as the model that bore it for the purposes of special rules, so you might just be stealing a rock. I don't know how that works; I look forward to seeing the FAQ on this, :P

But if it does work (either because Saruman hadn't used it yet, or because you do get to use it once per game as well), this is super useful: just seize priority on a turn of your choice. It's a simple bonus, it's easy to remember, and it's really good. The only thing that keeps it from going up is that it's once per game, and you might not even get the benefit of it.

#8: An Elven Ring (Held By: Gandalf, Galadriel, Elrond)

Elven rings all do the same thing: you can reroll failed Fate Point saves. Now while Nazthak doesn't have a lot of Fate, he does have two, and having those be rerollable makes him far more survivable than your average orc captain. Now ideally you get this off of Galadriel (because slaing Gandalf or Elrond is going to be HARD), but technically there are quite a few lists that have access to one of these three heroes, which is nice.

#7: The Horn of Gondor (Held By: Boromir)

This is situationally useful, but you can 1) do it every turn, and 2) it could be a great way to get an item that you need. When a combat involving the bearer starts, you can blow on the horn: the enemy in the fight with the highest Courage performs a Courage Test, and if they fail, the fight is automatically won by Nazthak, and he can perform strikes.

Now there are two issues: first, you have to be fighting 2+ models, which means if you fail to win the fight you...could be gone, :P It also means there are ways to evade your use of the horn by simply being charged by one guy instead of two. But on the whole this is pretty reliable, and when combined with guaranteed access to Harbinger of Evil, you can make this even more reliable than Boromir can.

#6: Sting (or Glamdring - same benefit) (Held By: Frodo Baggins, Bilbo Baggins, or Gandalf)

Sting (or Glamdring; they both have the same benefit, but it's way easier to slay Frodo, so we're going with Sting for this one) has a simple rule: it is an elven-made weapon that adds +1 to your Strength when wielding it. So in this case, if Nazthak scavenges it, he's sitting on Strength 5, which is pretty good!

Now, in practical terms, there's a lot of cases where this doesn't actually change anything, which is why it rates in the bottom half. If you're fighting an odd-numbered Defence target then it helps, but if you're fighting an even-numbered Defence target (of which there are a lot of D4 and D6 models that you'd feel comfortable fighting, mind you), then this doesn't change anything beyond giving you an elven-made weapon (which is nothing to sneeze at).

#5: The Crown of Morgul (Held By: The Witch-King of Angmar) - EDITED

That's right: if you're fighting an enemy Witch-King of Angmar, and you're willing to throw Nazthak against him, and you sneak in a single wound, you could take the Crown of Morgul from his head! With the changes to the Crown, taking the Crown of Morgul from the Witch-King would force enemy models within 6" of Nazthack to pass Courage tests for sticking around after being broken or to charge Nazthack/other Terror models without the use of special rules (assuming Nazthack has Terror by being near a friendly Spirit model). 

Assuming the Witch-King hasn't used the Crown's one-time ability before you off him, Nazthack would be able to Set Ablaze any model he wounds on a single turn. This might make getting another piece of war gear possible - or it could just clear a stubborn piece off the board.

#4: Narsil (Held By: Elendil, High King of Numenor)

Now of course, this target assumes that you can remove Elendil, and that's going to be a hard ask any which way you cut it. But assuming you can get Narsil, you get access to a master-crafted two-handed weapon, so that's effectively a free +1 to wound on your damage rolls without suffering a penalty to the dueling roll. That's really good!

More than that, you gain the ability to declare Heroic Combats for free each turn; how useful this will be is up for debate, but if you're just cleaving through grunts to get in position for a future attack, being able to Heroic Combat against F3 or lower troops, and then wound them with effective S6, that's not horrible. At the least, he's likely to provide good value for you that game, which is not bad.

#3: The Oakenshield (Held By: Thorin Oakenshield)

The Oakenshield is a shield (so once again: does it count as armor? I don't think it does, and I want to include more unique equipment from The Hobbit side of the house, so I'm including it here, but it's a question), and when you use the Shielding special rule, you get to perform a single S4 hit against an enemy. So now, effectively, you can turn Nazthak into a 4-Attack model (by shielding), and if you win you still get a chance to remove a model, thus giving you a chance to scavenge after defending yourself! Really cool idea, really useful not being as easy to defeat, all of this is good. You have to slay Thorin, but there it is.

#2: Anduril, Flame of the West (Held By: Aragorn/Strider, King Elessar)

Let's be real: defeating Aragorn with Nazthak is not easy to do, but if you do...there's a gem come the end! Anduril, Flame of the West, would allow Nazthak to wound anything in the game on a 4+, and could be used two-handed, so you could wound anything in the game on a 3+. This makes it much easier to wound things, and since it counts as an elven-made weapon, he can win ties more easily (assuming you're fighting a F4 model).

This would effectively guarantee him a free wound each turn he wins (assuming he's still at 2 Attacks), which is really good. But believe it or not, I contend that this is not the best bonus for our thief...

#1: The Banner of Arwen Evenstar

This covers oh so many bases for Angmar: it's a 6" banner, which is very useful for a predominately F3 army (and a F4 thief), helps things like werewolves who are already sitting on F5 and you don't want them rolling low, but also it grants Fearless to models within its radius, which is HUGE for Angmar. Courage is one of the big banes of this army, and being able to turn the orcs around him into steadfast chargers and non-runners when you're camping objectives is really, really useful.

And what is more, since the banner is held by someone who is only 2 Attacks, D5, with 2 Wounds and 1 Fate (Halbarad), this kind of target is actually someone that Nazthak can reliably slay. So not only is it a good piece of equipment for him, it's possible to actually attain it, which is awesome!

Conclusion

Even after looking at all the juicy things you can steal with Nazthak, I'm not sure about his place in the list. On the one hand, he's a way to add some much-needed utility to your list, and could provide great value over a game. But when you think about it, it's not like he's stealing the item from the enemy camp before the fight (aka, you start with the item): you have to 1) slay the model, 2) you have to use Nazthak (so he has to get to the right place on the battlefield in time to slay the model, and 3) then you have however much of the game left to try to maximize the benefit of the item you take. So realistically how much of the game will you get to play with the Crown of Morgul, the Banner of the Evenstar, etc.?

I'm probably still in the camp of, "Take another barrow wight, if you're going to take another hero," as they are generally easier to use, Paralyze is now off on a 3+, and they're providing that Terror bonus to orcs in the same list, all of which is useful.

Is there something that I missed? Any items that you think should be looted? I did consider the Rohan weapons like Guthwine and Herugrim (just didn't seem as reliable/useful as some of the others), and if the effects of the Ring of Barahir did more I would have included that as well, but it was an interesting thought exercise, and a good way for me to visualize what you could actually get from the hero. If you have thoughts, let us know down below!

Watching the stars,

Centaur

"Centaurs are concerned with what has been foretold!  It is not our business to run around like donkeys after stray humans in our forest!" ~ Bane, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

First Impressions: Angmar

Hey Reader!

Welcome back! We're back reviewing more of the armies from the new edition, and today we're looking at the profiles for Angmar in the Get You By PDF. These feature some old favorites (like Gulhavar), some newer profiles (like Hill Trolls), and some revamped profiles in the recent past (like Shades), so fun all around!

Leader Overview: How Have Gulhavar, Buhrdur, and Aldrac Changed?

So with the knowledge that the Witch-King of Angmar is in the new Armies of the Lord of the Rings book (so we won't be reviewing him here), we lead off with Gulhavar: a true monster in his own right. He is virtually unchanged in the new edition: Move 6" when not flying (so not bad), (which is pretty bad, but also at least he gets to use his wings #BalrogMove8NoFly), still F7 with no Heroic Strike (though with Strike now being a D3 roll, it's arguably less of an issue now to not have it when you're F7 base unless you're going against one of those heroes that got a Fight Value bump), and still S8 with up to 4 Attacks base (5 with Monstrous Charge). And with an Intelligence of 4+ (which is really high generally for a monster), he's likely to get full control over his Brutal Power Attacks.

He is still 4 Wounds with Attacks equal to his remaining wounds, and he's still D5, so he can lose wounds pretty quickly (though in his legion he gets Stalk Unseen, which should help him stick around a bit longer against archery if you can keep him at least partially obscured by terrain). And while he has Heroic Defence to help him shed would-be wounds in close combat, that doesn't protect him from archery or magic, so be mindful of those. He does have Resistant to Magic, so that helps a bit, but in an edition where channelling a spell means the defender is headhunting a 6, one free dice is, well, dicey.

The Stuff of Legends: The Host of the Witch-King

Good morning gamers,

We're wrapping up the second-to-last Rise of Angmar Legendary Legion for the Stuff of Legends series (we've got two more Legions to do after this - watch for them later this year). Today we've got the Host of the Witch-King, which is basically "Angmar without Gulavhar and monsters" - and of all the Evil lists in the Rise of Angmar supplement, I gotta say this is the only one that immediately jumped off the page to me as "really good." While I've been pleasantly surprised by some of the features of the other Evil Legions (and VERY surprised with the Battle of Fornost Legion), this one sticks to doing most of what Angmar does normally - and then kicks it up a notch to do it better. Let's see what's new with this Legion . . .

Part 1: What Do You Need?

This is what the Legion is all about . . . but you don't have the buy the Crown
Legion Tax: 70pts
Photo Credit: Giphy

The only unit you need to take is the Witch-King - and while he's base 70pts, you're probably fielding him for at least 100pts because you want a horse, all 3 Might points, and at least 1 Fate point. For reasons we'll see a bit later on, all of these are very useful for getting the most out of this guy - but at 100pts, that's a ridiculously low price to pay for a Hero of Legend who is a good combatant and a good caster.

What you ACTUALLY need is another supporting hero, of which there are a good number to choose from. If you want your probably-infantry-heavy list to move faster, you'll want an Orc Captain (blissfully cheap at 40pts base, can be given a shield and a Warg for 55pts total). If you want some really interesting boosts for your Ringwraiths (the Witch-King and possibly others) and your Orcs (Terror and Courage, anyone?), you want the Shade. If you want some devastating short-range magic, you want a Barrow-Wight or possibly the Shadow of Rhudaur. If you want to take an Orc Shaman or Nazthak . . . I mean, that's your call, I guess - but your guess is as good as mine for why they'd be in your list besides the giggles of thing (oh, and did you see what I did there?). :-)

You will also need a bucket of Orcs - and I mean a full bucket. If you bought the Mordor (read Angmar) Battle Host box, you already have 24 of these guys - that's a good start. Now get another box of Orcs so you have 48 and you're beginning to talk business (and if you want to have more than 6 Warg Riders, you may want to consider just buying a second Battle Host - this will give you a crown-wearing Witch-King and a non-crown-wearing Witch-King, both of which are useful). Orcs are cheap and for this Angmar list to function, you're going to need lots of cheap-but-average bodies to be able to hold ground, screen important heroes, and get traps - and Orcs are some of the best units in town to do that.

The Stuff of Legends: Buhrdur's Horde

Hey Reader!

We're back, looking at more legendary legions, and today we're looking at Buhrdur's Horde from the Rise of Angmar supplement. This is one of those flavorful "creature legions" from the Rise of Angmar book, and while Tiberius did a great job of looking at the wolves/wargs list, today we're looking at the trolls/wargs version, led by none other but the big man himself (and my personal favorite leader for Angmar): Buhrdur!

Part 1: What Do You Need?

The Legion requires you to take Buhrdur, Troll Chieftain, which is 110pts. This is not a bad tax: it's right about what you'd expect from a legendary legion, and for most points levels you can use the legion with some level of effectiveness.

Of course, if you want to maximize the effectiveness of Buhrdur, you should also take at least one Hill Troll, as that gives him the reroll of a dueling dice as long as he's only fighting infantry (and no monsters), so your effective tax is 185pts. But truth be told, that's pretty low for a legendary legion, especially since you're getting two F6 monsters out of the deal.

Part 2: What Do You Get?

Legion Bonuses

Buhrdur's Horde has three special rules, and they're all really good (if a bit situational at times). The first is Masters of Terrain, I love because it's simple and all-inclusive: "Friendly models gain the Woodland Creature and Mountain Dweller special rules."

This is awesome for two reasons. First, they remembered that Mountain Dweller is a thing! That makes it easier to run through rocky terrain, so it's more all-encompassing of difficult terrain than just Woodland Creature, but also because it allows you to reroll failed Jump, Leap, and Climb tests, and while those may not come up very often, you'd be surprised how many low stone walls, edges of ruins, and fallen trees are on boards. It's always nice when you get a chance at a reroll to get your guys where they need to be, and I love that this legion's theme of exceptional bushcraft is so easily woven in.

The Stuff of Legends: The Wolf Pack of Angmar

Good morning gamers,

AAAAAAAAAWWWWWWWWWWHHHHHHHHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!

Yep, today we're tackling the Wolf Pack of Angmar Legendary Legion - and boy has this been the golden boy of the Rise of Angmar sourcebook. No, it's not the strongest of the Legions - but it's definitely got the most flavor and I think a lot of players were looking forward to being able to throw together a pack of wargs and actually have a chance of winning games (well, games that weren't heavily skewed to fast armies already).

While I haven't been playing with this Legion, my son Gorgoroth has been intrigued by it, so I've seen it mostly in the context of doubles games and I can tell you, there are strengths to this list . . . and definite drawbacks. So let's hash through this very popular, fun Legendary Legion and see what there is to like about it.

Part 1: What Do You Need?

Legion Tax: 80pts

This Legion only requires you to take a single model: a Wild Warg Chieftain. This guy gets buffed up to an "Uber Warg Chieftain," who has 3 Might, 3 Will, 2 Fate instead of the usual 2 Might, 2 Will, 1 Fate of a Warg Chieftain. Unlike the "Uber Troll Chieftain" of the Black Gate Opens LL, this guy gets no special rules to make him better, but like the Uber Troll, he gets improved to a Hero of Valour.

Nemesis: How to Fight Against the Witch-King of Angmar

Good morning gamers,

I wasn't planning on writing this article this year, but a reader asked if we could do an article on the Witch-King of Angmar. Instead of waiting until next year to do that, I decided to write this one early and delay some content I had planned instead - so if you have questions or thoughts on articles we should write, take this as your cue to tell us in the comments. :)

Photo Credit: Warhammer Community

The Witch-King of Angmar is a really powerful piece - and he's probably the most flexible hero you can take in the game with lots of options for his mount, war gear, and his heroic resources (Might, Will, and Fate). With several builds that have been deemed competitive options over the years and an ever-emerging meta surrounding this guy, it makes sense that we'd want to talk about how to beat him. So join in as we pile on my favorite Ringwraith and learn how to fight this fearsome foe!

What Makes The Witch-King of Angmar So Hated?

I have to start off by pointing out that we had an in-depth article on how to beat Ringwraiths at a high level already in this series - many of the principles we talked about at length in that article apply to the Witch-King, but since releasing the article, we've had some FAQs that directly affect him and some build styles that used to be very common have gone out of vogue. As a result . . . go read the previous article if you haven't already, then come back to this one . . . I'll wait.

Dum, dum, carn-dum-dum-dum . . . bam-bam . . . ba-da-bam-bam . . . random screech . . . flappity-flap-flappy-flap . . . crownity-crown-crown . . . dramatic pause​​​ . . . KNIFE! . . . another dramatic pause​ . . . Oh, you're back? Great - let's talk about the Witch-King. :)

Top 10 Ringwraith Profile Rankings - Centaur Edition

Hey Reader!

As I was looking at army lists for this year's TMAT Grand Tournament, I took some time to just look over the named wraith profiles again (as it's been a little while since I've looked at any beyond the Witch-King), and I realized that there are some that I really like, and some that I really, really don't like. So as I sat on my couch, and having not used wraiths nearly as much as the rest of the admins, I thought, "Why not: how about we rank these for the fun of it, and see how off we are from he real wraith players," :P

So here you go! I've named this "Centaur Edition" because the other admins may disagree (again: out of all the admins, by far I run these the least), but as a quick note before we begin, here's what I'm ranking them on:

• We are not ranking Dol Goldur Ringwraiths, mostly because 1) none of them can be mounted, so I feel like there are dramatic disadvantages from a combat perspective for these wraiths that are hard to overcome, and 2) because the whole, "We have 2 wounds, but we might come back from the dead" side of things complicates calculations for resilience, so I figure we can do a separate ranking for those in the future if you're interested (as my favorite of those is probably last on most people's lists).
• We will consider the typical considerations (resilience, combat effectiveness, casting capabilities), but we will also look at efficiency: does the wraith offer options that are an effective/efficient use of their resources? Does their ability synergize well with what they are built to do? Because wraiths can look good on paper, but then find they are only good for 3-4 turns because they burn through Will Points too quickly.
• We will not be looking at cost - they are all more or less the same cost, and inasmuch as they are not, it just means more investment if you want the benefits. So yes, that probably gives the Witch-King the biggest boost, but that's fine for this ranking.

And before you tell me, "Centaur, (fill in the blank) wraith is actually great because I played them once and won a match because (insert ability that totally worked and did good stuff for you)," yes: that does happen. That is valid, and I'm glad it worked for you! But I'm judging these based on how likely I think they will be in general to provide you with success, not on one-off exceptional performances. 

And with that, let's get to the rankings!

Top 5 Predictions (Hopes?) for the Arnor Supplement

Hey Reader!

As you probably know, there's a new supplement coming out for the Middle Earth Strategy Battle Game, and it's going to center around Arnor (and likely Angmar, considering the history), so of course we have to do a quick talk on what we anticipate will be in the new supplement! So after a few weeks of pulling together thoughts and ideas, here's my predictions (or probably hopes, to be honest) of what we'd love to see in the new book.

It's worth noting before we begin that I'm the resident Arnor player (and one of the resident Angmar players) in our group, and I've always been a bigger fan of the northern kingdom than the southern kingdom. So I'm pumped that we're getting a new supplement, and want it to be the best one they've ever made (though surpassing Scouring of the Shire is going to be hard).

So with no further ado, our top 5 hopes for the new book!

#5: New Scenarios Tied to Arnor's History

In the Ruin of Arnor supplement from back in the day, there were 6 scenarios, spanning the initial invasion of Arnor through to the death of Arathorn and the rise of Aragorn as chief of the Dunedain. And these scenarios were fine - like many of the old scenarios they are pretty sparse, but good on them for integrating more than just the Angmar and the Arnor models into the mix: you get Dunlendings, Dwarves, and Hobbits as well, all of which is great.

I'd love to see this expanded to include a scenario where the Great Plague is spreading to Arnor, the first incursion of Angmar against Arnor which sacks Amon Sul and causes all of Rhudaur to fall into the hands of Angmar, another scenario with the sacking of Fornost and the driving of Arvedui toward Forochel while his son and most of his people flee west of the Lune, and then the arrival of Earnur from Gondor with reinforcements to aid Arnor and Cirdan of the Grey Havens in pushing deep into Angmar to crush the Witch-King and his minions.

I'd also love to see a scenario showing Aragorn (and possibly also Arathorn) holding the thin line against the forces of evil, showing the desperate plight of those that held to the honorable task of protecting the ancient kingdom of evil things. This would make for a very interesting and exciting set of narrative scenarios that would be awesome for a game day and possibly an intro to the game for new players (which we absolutely love).

Armies of Middle-Earth SBG: Countering Angmar, Part 4 -- Avoiding (Avoidable) Mistakes on the Table

What?!?! Back for more tricks?!?!

Photo Credit: Hint--I'm a creature of habit (it's me again)

Editor's Note: This article is part of a larger series on dealing with Angmar. Click the links for Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4.

* * *

The semester's over, so I'm back baby! (Raise your hand if you had an article from me on your bingo card for today ;-P )

As some of you may recall, over the Summer we explored strategies to counter Angmar (if you missed it, or need a refresher, you can check out the previous articles on dealing with Terror, maintaining control over our own pieces, and weathering magic spells by clicking the links). In terms of list-building, these are the primary tactical issues that we'll want to make sure we address, or at least think about. And as we discussed at length, most armies have at least some tools available to counter these tactics (or at least make things harder for the Angmar player).

What I want to talk about in this fourth and final discussion, however, is something that often gets lost in all the tactics: mental overload. I touched on this some in my write-up of the Angmar faction proper, but playing with and against Angmar lists (especially optimized Angmar lists of the magic-heavy variety) is a taxing thing for both sides. And in taxing situations, it's easy to forget things that should be obvious, scrap our game plan because we think we see "ghosts,"* and make mistakes. So here's the big-picture idea:

Whenever Angmar has a lot of nasty debuff pieces, you want to make their job harder (not easier) by planning ahead, avoiding simple mistakes that play into their hands, and pressing on. 

Admittedly, that's easier said than done, especially against an experienced Angmar player. But here's a few "meta-tactics" (plus a few practical tactical tactics) that can help us accomplish that primary goal.

* Although when playing against Angmar, you may in fact be seeing actual ghosts...

Reminder 1: Playing Angmar does typically make risk-taking more dangerous, so plan accordingly. We've all done them--those risky, "Hail Mary" plays that put all our chips on the table. A hero calls a heroic combat in a fight where the opponent has one more model than we'd prefer; we do a cavalry charge knowing that everything will come down to the 50-50 roll-off next turn; we march 15" into the line of fire, knowing that if we can just weather this turn of shooting, we'll catch them in the open next turn; we call 4-10 heroic combats in a singe fight phase, hoping to evaporate the enemy's battle line. We'd like to think that every game can be won with planning, precision, and patience. But we know there's games that come down to daring, guts, and dumb luck.

The reality is that Angmar has lots of ways to muck up those risky plays, and then to capitalize on any mistakes we made (especially if you're moving first and Angmar moves second). And an Angmar player wants us to think that because of that fact, we shouldn't take risks like we normally would. Just play it safe--conservative. Now there's certainly something to be said for conservative play against Angmar (if nothing else, that style tends to commit fewer of the "stupid" mistakes that Angmar can really capitalize on, which we'll talk about at the end). But you can certainly take risks against Angmar--you just need to take Edna Mode's advice, and have a plan in place should the risky play fail.

Sage advice, that.

Photo credit: pinterest.com (not me this time... I'm not this creative)

So how do we do this? Here's a couple of practical questions to ask ourselves at the start of the game (and periodically as the game progresses):

What's my target priority this round and next round (at least)? One of the best tips for combatting mental fatigue is taking the initiative (i.e., taking control of things you can control), and pressing your advantages. Think of it as being active/positive-minded ("What am I going to make happen?") instead of passive/negative-minded ("What nasty thing is going to happen to me next?"). After all, we are a participant in the game (not just a passive observer), same as the Angmar player. So we should participate.

Threat assessment is an important part of any game, and games against Angmar are no exception. But Angmar armies often have more threats than we're used to dealing with at once, so we need to be constantly assessing and re-assessing what's the most dangerous thing to us, as well as what weakness(es) we're going to exploit to buy us some breathing space. If it's Gulavhar, am I going to avoid him? Try to bait him over to a far flank? Pour every available shot into him, and try to scare him off? Or am I going to ignore him because he'll have trouble causing my Terror-causing Black Numenoreans (or because my big hero can deal with him later, as long as I can eliminate his supporting Barrow-Wight in the first two turns)?

Now again--this kind of in-game calculus feels like it takes on added significance in a match-up with Angmar (because the threats are more varied, and in some ways more subtle). But the calculus itself isn't any different from what you would typically do against any other opponent. And that's sort of comforting, if you think about it long enough. 

MESBG Christmas Lists, List #3: Angmar

Good morning gamers,

Tiberius: Our Christmas list today is from long-time friend of the blog and Aussie-tournament-winning phenomenon Sharbie from the Against All Odds blog (watch for updates from him in the side-bar or just follow his blog). Sharbie's been playing with a lot of nasty things on the table over the past year (mostly of the big, high-powered monster variety) and today he brings us a list featuring Angmar and the dreaded glass-cannon Gûlavhar - whatcha got for us today, Sharbie?

• The Witch-King of Angmar on horse with the Crown of Morgul and 3M/12W/2F [AL]
• 6 Angmar Orc Warriors with shields
• 6 Angmar Orc Warriors with spears
• 1 Angmar Orc Warrior with Orc bow
• 1 Dead Marsh Spectre
• 1 Wild Warg
• Gûlavhar, the Terror of Arnor
• 6 Angmar Orc Warriors with shields
• 5 Angmar Orc Warriors with spears
• 1 Angmar Orc Warrior with spear and banner
• 1 Angmar Warg Rider with throwing spears
• 1 Dead Marsh Spectre
• Barrow-Wight
• 5 Angmar Orc Warriors with shields
• 5 Angmar Orc Warriors with spears
• 1 Wild Warg
• Orc Captain on Warg
• 1 Wild Warg
• 1 Angmar Warg Rider with shield

750 points, 46 models, 1 Orc bow hitting on a 5+ AND 1 throwing spear hitting on a 5+, 2 D6+ models, 4 cavalry + 1 flyer + 3 fast infantry, 8 Might

Check out Sharbie's articles on Gûlavhar at the end of the post!

Sharbie: This list is hardly unique or original: variants of it have won many a tournament, and it's mostly a particular spin on a standard recipe. However, I wanted to showcase it anyway for three reasons. First, it's been easily my most successful tournament list. I've won a lot of games and several events with variants of it, and it deserves some credit for those.

Nemesis: How To Fight Against Ringwraiths

Good morning gamers,

So far in this series, we've looked at specific monster models (that usually show up in a single list, maybe two) or specific Legendary Legions that everyone seems to hate fighting. Today, we're turning to a model type that's pretty ubiquitous across the forces of Evil and units that don't look all that dangerous until they're neutralizing your heroes and chewing them up. Yep, it's time to turn to the Witch-King of Angmar and all his Ringwraith friends! I love these models (and have written quite a bit about them), so let's go in-depth today (fair warning, this post is LONG) and look at all the grisly bits about Ringwraiths, shall we?

What Makes Ringwraiths So Hated

Photo Credit: Warhammer Community

Part 1: An Overly Pedantic Study of Ringwraiths

You can't start talking about Ringwraiths without going over a brief taxonomy of the ten Ringwraith profiles that we have and how they're usually fielded. Despite there being nine Ringwraiths in total, the generic "Ringwraith" profile (which you can actually take nine of - you don't have to run the Witch-King!) provides a nice "blank slate" version of a Ringwraith for you to customize to your liking. These guys have decent-not-good combat stats (F5/S4/1A with 0-2 Might) and decent-not-good defense stats (D8/1 Wound/0-2 Fate). As far as Heroes of Fortitude for Evil go, they are great for keeping your army in the field should you break with Courage 6 and with 7-14 Will points, they have the potential to cast magic and/or fight for a long time (but don't think this means they have a lot of Will - read my post on Multi-Purpose Will Casters for more information on this). Though they look fragile, the Terror-Harbinger-of-Evil combo (something we've talked about before) can make charging them particularly difficult.

Besides the Might/Will/Fate on these guys, you can also take mounts for your Ringwraiths in the form of horses (10 points - a good cheap option for increased speed, slightly increased damage when you charge, and an easier time getting the casting direction/look-angle you want on a target), Fell Beasts (50 points - slightly more speed with more maneuverability options, greatly increased damage when you charge, and opportunities to get casting directions/look-angles that are not present when you're on a horse), and Armored Fell Beasts (70 points, which just seems like too much to pay for +1 Defense on your Fell Beast . . .). While you "can" field these guys for 55 points each, I think it would be unwise to leave home without adding 2 Might points, at least 1 Fate point, and a horse (which brings these guys up to 80 points). Personally, I normally throw in 2 extra Will points (9 total) for a tidy 90 points, but 7 Will can be just fine (it just means you're casting for one fewer turns).

When you compare these basic Ringwraiths to the "named" Ringwraiths, there are some differences. First and foremost, each of the named Ringwraiths is a Hero of Valour (or Hero of Legend in the case of the Witch-King in the Mordor/Angmar army lists, as well as in the Black Riders Legendary Legion). While generic Ringwraiths have both Heroic March and Heroic Channelling for their specialized Heroic Actions, most of the named Ringwraiths just have Heroic Channelling. The Witch-King and Khamul are exceptions to this - both have Heroic Strike, and the Witch-King also has Heroic Resolve, Heroic Strength, and Heroic Challenge. For most players . . . yeah, you're probably sticking to Heroic Strike/March and the occasional Channel.

Nemesis: How To Fight Gulavhar

Good morning gamers,

Last time, we looked at the Balrog and various approaches you could use to deal with him. Today, we're looking at another feared Evil monster: Gulavhar, the Terror of Arnor. Gulavhar is like the Balrog in many respects - but he's also unlike anything else in MESBG. As a staple unit in a long of competitive Angmar builds, there's a decent chance that you'll see him at a competitive event - so let's see what's up with this guy and how we can build our lists to be able to counter him.

To help me with this venture, I asked for some input from Angmar aficionado and Gulavhar fan-club-member Evan Iverson from the Unexpected Podcast team to add thoughts on the article and provide emphasis on things that needed more help. He also pointed out what wouldn't scare a Gulavhar player, which was even more useful.

What Makes Gulavhar So Hated?

Photo Credit: Warhammer Community 

Like the Balrog, Gulavhar has good offensive stats - he's F7/S8 on offense and has Attacks equal to his remaining wounds (which starts off at 4 - same as the Balrog then). Unlike the Balrog, however, Gulavhar has Monstrous Charge, so not only can he get to 5 Attacks on the charge (more than the Balrog), but he also knocks down models that are S7 and below . . . which is pretty much anything. I'm not sure that most players would do this, but Gulavhar does have access to Heroic Strength, which would allow him to knock down other things that are on the cusp of not-being-knocked over (Treebeard is S8 and will be knocked over regardless of what Gulavhar gets, the Balrog is S9 and will be knocked over on a 3+), but these models are often at/above F7 innately, so doing so is a risk for sure.

Gulavhar's defensive stats aren't great (more on that later), but with 3 Might and access to Heroic Defense instead of Heroic Strike, it's pretty common to see Gulavhar players ask the question, "Do I feel worried about this fight?" If yes, they call Heroic Defense; if no, they don't. Pair this with the ability to regain wounds by killing enemy models (so a scratch here and there are easily cured if you can pounce on a lone warrior or two) and boy does his defensive profile not look nearly as condemning.

Finally, Gulavhar has Fly (for that oh-so-important-positioning), the Terror-Harbinger of Evil combo (have to test for Courage to charge him and he applies a -1 penalty to enemy Courage values within 12" of him), 3 Will and Resistant to Magic to put up some resistance to enemy spells, and the Spirit keyword to give Terror to nearby friendly Orc models if you kept your army bonus and boy is this guy where it's at. He's a monster among monsters and one of the most feared models in the game. But he's also one of the biggest glass cannons in the game - so let's talk about how to beat him.

Armies of Middle-Earth SBG: Countering Angmar, Part 3 -- Weathering Overwhelming Magic

Ooooo... spooky!

Photo Credit: Me

Editor's Note: This article is part of a larger series on dealing with Angmar. Click the links for Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4.

We left off last time talking about how list-building is only part of the picture when it comes to countering what Angmar can do: there are definitely list-building choices that help (and some that decidedly don't), but at the end of the day this is a game that is (usually) decided on the tabletop, by tactics and movement (and, of course, dice). 

As we transition to dealing with the third of Angmar's core strengths (magic), there will still be important list-building decisions for us to think through. But we'll be talking more and more about those list-building decisions in the context of how they are likely to play out (and even affect what happens) on the tabletop. That's important, because as we'll see (1) not every list has equal list-building counters to magic, and (2) almost no list has a fool-proof answer to magic on the scale to which Angmar can (and usually does) marshal it. 

The raw output of Angmar's magic attack is overwhelming, and its potency is debilitating.

Before delving into the potential solutions, let's have a quick refresher about the way magic works. If you're new to the Middle-Earth Strategy Battle Game, played under the old rule-set and want a quick summary of what's changed, or if you've been playing for a bit but magic is not common in your area, I recommend that you push "Pause" here and check out Tiberius's primer post on Revisiting Magic. While Tiberius and I don't agree on all aspects of MESBG, he's thought about magic a lot more than I have, and his knowledge of how it works (and, by extension, how to counter it) is, at best, second to only a very few. Plus, your reading his article saves me a lot of typing.

Armies of Middle-Earth SBG: Countering Angmar, Part 2 -- Repelling the Shut-Down

Still evil! Still spooky! Still mine!

Photo Credit: The author, himself

Editor's Note: This article is part of a larger series on dealing with Angmar. Click the links for Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4.

If you're just joining us, this is an ongoing series about how to build forces that would feel reasonably comfortable countering Angmar. While there are definitely certain lists that have advantages against Angmar (more to come on that score in parts 5-8), my goal with this particular series is to help identify the tools that every faction (or at least almost every faction) has to deal with Angmar. Some have more tools than others, certainly; but when you dig in and drill down, it's surprising how many factions actually have multiple tools they can draw upon.

In Part 1, we talked about how to get around the Terror that Angmar generally brings to the table (as it turns out, there are a lot of strategies we could try). This time, we're turning to what may be the most oppressive aspect of an Angmar list: it's ability to shut down or take out your army's key pieces. We're focusing primarily on the non-magic ways Angmar does this, but don't worry: we still have plenty to talk about (plus, countering the magic is coming next time, so I've got you).

If you have a model that's essential to your army, Angmar can probably affect it, shut it down, or take it out before it does what you need it to do.

One of the many practical problems that players face when facing Angmar (especially if it's your first time playing against Angmar) is that if you have something essential to your army, Angmar can probably take it out (and usually quickly). Exactly how it does this takes many different forms (depending on what exactly is in Angmar's list, and how many of a given profile are in it), but here's some of the many ways Angmar can mitigate / take out / depower your key models: 

• Terror front line / Harbinger of Evil / Drain Courage against low-courage heroes (so they cannot charge without burning Might or Will);
• Magical spells like Transfix / Paralyze to incapacitate a hero;
• Compel / Spectres to pull targets out of position / into dangerous positions; 
• Monsters (often flying monsters) to challenge enemy heroes, deal huge damage, and / or disrupt the opponent's battle lines; and
• Heroes who either neuter your heroic actions (the Tainted) or drain your resources (the Dwimmerlaik, Shades, and Barrow Wights)

Fortunately, Angmar can't take all of these things in a single list unless you're playing at absurdly high points levels. But Angmar can take most of these things at most points levels, and therein lies the problem. Most army lists have some sort of way to avoid, incapacitate, or assassinate at least one priority target in the opponent's army (even if that way is "Strike and hope"). If Angmar can take this model out of the equation through one (or multiple) of these mitigation tactics, however, your force may not be able to deal with everything else that Angmar has.

In the same vein, if you over-build your force to address one particular problem posed by Angmar, you may not have enough in your force to address other problems Angmar poses. By way of example, Terror is the primary problem that most opponents need to solve against Angmar. But if your entire game-plan is keyed around charging Terror models (especially if your solution rests on a single model sticking around), you may not have the tools you need to keep Angmar from assassinating that target (thereby depriving you of the tools you need). By the same token, most armies' solution to dealing with big enemy heroes is to have their own big hero deal with them. But if Angmar can tie up your own big hero with one or two of their smaller ones (i.e., a couple of Barrow Wights spend four turns casting two Paralyze spells a turn at your Aragorn), you may find yourself without any answers to Angmar's own big heroes (and there are some big heroes in Angmar which, left unchecked, will wreak havoc on most opponents).

Armies of Middle-Earth SBG: Countering Angmar, Part 1 -- Dealing with Terror

Photo Credit: ME!!!! (Thanks, me!)

Editor's Note: This article is part of a larger series on dealing with Angmar. Click the links for Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4.

It's still summer (which means I still have time to write :-P), so I'm back with another Armies of Middle-Earth! 

As you probably gleaned from the title, this one's a little special: instead of doing our usual blow-by-blow of a particular faction (there are a couple more of those in the pipeline that I think I'll get out before I start teaching again in the fall), this series will zero-in on how to counter a particular faction that seems to cause an inordinate amount of headaches for many players: Angmar.

If you're not familiar with Angmar (unlikely since you're reading this article, but still...), I'll be referring throughout to concepts that I discuss in our write-up on Angmar proper. If you need a refresher on the faction (and have an hour or so that you can devote to reading), I'd at least recommend looking at the discussion of strengths and weaknesses at the start (although the list of recommended community resources at the end may prove useful if you're interested in learning more about the faction). 

Finally, while this series will be keyed towards countering Angmar specifically, a lot of the list-building concepts and ideas we'll discuss will have applications beyond Angmar. So I hope it helps to get your creative juices flowing.

• Part 1: Dealing with Terror (July 2023)
• Part 2: Repelling the Shut-Down (July 2023)
• Part 3: Weathering Overwhelming Magic (July 2023)
• Part 4: Avoiding (Avoidable) Mistakes (March 2024)

Attacking the Weak, Avoiding the Strong

One of Sun Tzu's great principles in The Art of War is to attack where the opponent is weak, and to avoid where the opponent is strong. I often think about this principle when I'm thinking through list-building ideas for competitive play: is there anything I can throw into this list that will be able to exploit at least one weaknesses in common, competitive armies while perhaps blunting something that they typically excel in? Since Angmar is an army with a lot of strengths and weaknesses, I think this approach gives us a good chance of identifying both army lists and in-game tactics that can give us a competitive edge against most Angmar forces.

Over the course of these write-ups, we'll be working our way through several strengths that Angmar brings to the table. Using our original Armies post as a starting-point, and assuming that most Angmar lists you'll face will be what I will call "typical" Angmar lists (i.e., a pure force with the Army Bonus, at least one Ringwraith, 1-3 Barrow Wights, 1-2 Monsters, some Specters, and a decent chunk of Orcs who cause Terror -- as opposed to something weird like, say, Buhrdur with ten Cave Trolls), here's the strengths we'll be targeting:

• TERROR: There will likely be a lot of Terror (probably buffed by Harbinger of Evil). 
• SEEK, CONTROL, DESTROY: If you have a model that's essential to your army, Angmar can probably affect it, shut it down, or take it out before it does what you need it to do.
• MAGIC: The volume and potency of Angmar's magic attack is overwhelming and debilitating.
• MENTAL MISTAKES: Angmar has so many tools at its disposal, that it's easy to feel "oppressed" or "frustrated," resulting in avoidable mental mistakes.

We'll cover all of these strengths in upcoming articles (along with some articles on a taxonomy of heroes and the best factions for good/evil to combat Angmar), but I wanted to start the discussion today with Terror because it's the most obvious aspect (and, in some ways, the aspect that's easiest to deal with) of what makes Angmar such a hard match-up for many armies. 

Cavalry Charge: The Wag and the Battle of Val-es-Dunes

Good morning gamers,

Last month, we looked at some of the basic principles for using cavalry in MESBG and today we're going to look at one of the most common tricks a cavalry army has up its sleeves: the "wag". The term is used regularly here by Centaur and showcases how a cavalry force (usually down-handed in the model count comparison to other armies) can utilize the mounts they've paid so much for when faced with overwhelming odds. To see this, though, we're going to look at a battle fought by William the Conqueror in the Eleventh Century which showcased Duke William's great command of cavalry and strategic battlefield control. Let's take a look.

The Battle of Val-es-Dunes

You can learn more about this battle here and you can view two different visuals of this here and here. Almost 20 years before the battle of Hastings in 1066, Duke William of Normandy (later to be known as William the Conqueror) found some of his vassal nobles preparing to revolt and petitioned the King of France (Henry I) to support him in suppressing the rebellion. Henry would support William in this conflict, though would later fight against William before he departed for England. William and the King managed to rally about 10,000 men to fight the rebel nobles, who had amassed for themselves about 25,000 men - this didn't look good. William and Henry advanced to Caen and began to engage the rebels (though at least one noble changed sides from the rebels to the crown's forces before the battle began and launched a treacherous surprise attack).

William had his cavalry engage in small fights with the enemy, maneuvering and coordinating his forces to fight in one area, then retreat to break another division of the enemy army. With this hit-and-run method, the royal forces were able to rout the rebels and they pursued their retreat to kill many more. The victory was attributed to both the tactical acumen of William and the skill of the King's knights and secured William's holdings in Normandy in the immediate future (though he'd be putting down rebellions and invasions of Normandy for many years).

In MESBG, we pay a lot of points for our cavalry models and if we're not careful with them, we'll miss out on the most important benefit of these models: their increased speed. Let's take a look at how we can use our increased speed to our greatest advantage - and we'll do this by showing off "the wag."

The Scouring of the Shire Inspired Lists: Angmar Revisited

Good morning gamers,

This is our last post in this series of taking your Scouring of the Shire scenario collection and using them in Matched Play - and today we're focusing on a faction that only makes an appearance in three scenarios in the appendix of the sourcebook. Angmar is one of the most competitive factions in SBG and has been dominant certainly since the MESBG rules were issued a few years ago. But the Scouring of the Shire scenarios include a rather generic set of models from Angmar that you can take - and depending on how you make your purchases, you may have some extra models lying around that you can use. Here's the list:

• Golfimbul;
• 1 Wild Warg Chieftain;
• The Witch-King on foot and mounted on a horse (if you purchased the Battle Host as recommended);
  
• 12 Warg Riders (4 shields, 4 shields and throwing spears, 4 Orc bows);
• 8 Wild Wargs (actually 12 Wild Wargs because they come in packs of 6); and
  
• 12 Orc Warriors (but we actually need 48 Orcs because we need 6 bowmen and there are 4 in each box of 24 models)
  

If we have 12 Warg Riders, 12 Wargs, and 48 Orcs . . . that's plenty to work with! Where we'd run into trouble is with the heroes, but that's easily solved by picking up the Mordor Battle Host to get a "free" Witch-King model for the same cost as a box of Orcs and Warg Riders. As such, our hero corps is pretty simple: one big caster, one big wolf, and one fat, fat Orc!