The Lord of the Rings Strategy Battle Game/Tactics/Radagast's Alliance
Why Play Radagast's Alliance
Pros
- Nearly army wide flying speed
- one of the best spell casters in the game
- All models can cause Terror
- Beorn, who can potentially kill any enemy in a single turn of combat
Cons
- Low model count
- Inflexible army list
- Expensive points wise
Army Bonus
"The eagles are coming" - Eagles from this army list get a bonus of +1 to their strength when they charge into combat.
Unit Analysis
Heroes
Radagast The Brown: One of the 5 Wizards and also a massive pothead. Weed jokes aside, Radagast is pretty badass; He's got the usual Wizard free point of will every turn, a fantastic lineup of spells (only caster in the game with access to Panic Steed, plus he's also got Terrifying Aura, Nature's Wrath, Renew, Immobilize). He also always has line of sight on everything and has Fight 5, plus 3 points of Might and Fate (plus 6 Will for adding on to his free one). The only question is what mount to take him with; Horse and on foot are only really worthwhile if you're strapped for points. While the Eagle seems good, losing out on his free point of Will every turn is too much to give up, so the best choice is probably the Sleigh, giving Radagast movement 10, 4 attacks at S4, 5 on the charge, *6* with Sebastian. Just beware, he doesn't have Heroic Strike so be careful about high fight enemies, maybe keep Nature's Wrath or Immobilize on hand.
Beorn: At 200 points, Beorn is a melee powerhouse, probably one of the most brutal in the game. In human form he's painful enough, S5, 3 Might, Will, Fate, Attacks and Wounds and two-handed axe with no penalty. He also comes with Fight 6 and Heroic Strike, Strength and Defense. One he turns into a bear, he can't benefit from others models Heroic Actions but he gets S8 and T8, Fight 8 and becomes a monster, with all the perks that comes with (including a unique Brutal Power attack where he rolls a single S10 attack over and over until he wiffs or the target is dead). He does have to always charge in Bear Form (and comes with some other, minor downsides) but you always want him charging anyway. If you want a monster who can tear apart trolls without trying and put the fear of Iluvatar into Aragorn, Beorn is your man-bear.
Gwaihir: A Hero version of an Eagle, with Fight 8, 3 Might, Will and Fate, plus Heroic Strike, Strength and Defense, for 50 points more than a normal Eagle. Other than that, he's an Eagle; S6 (7 on the charge), D8, 3 Wounds, Fly, Monstrous Charge, Terror, all that good stuff. It's definitely worth paying those extra 50 points to get the bonuses and maybe bring along an eagle to join the Warband.
Troops
Great Eagle: It's an Eagle. Fly, Monstrous Charge, Terror, Fight 7, Strength 6 (7 on the charge), Defense 8, Brutal Power Attacks, etc. It's also your only troop, so you'll probably have several of them if you're running pure Radagast's Alliance, so have a good time with them and don't forget those Brutal Power Attacks.