The Lord of the Rings Strategy Battle Game/Tactics/The Easterlings

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Why Play The Easterlings?

Because you like samurai and Persia being combined, because you like the greek phalanx being thrown in there and because you really wished that the warriors of minas tirith would turn evil.

Pros:

  • Most disciplined force on the side of Mordor with the best pikemen in the game. Better option than the Cavalry for sure.
  • You get the only Ringwraith to still have his own name, and other esoteric heroes capable of surprising feats. Very fragile heroes on foot, if you lose a combat, your killing machines easily go down. Mount them.
  • Very good heavy Cavalry (just not very hard hitting but very survivable with a potential D7). Only used to get def 7 for Amdur and 6 for steeds due to gleaming horde rule and to gain mobility, but struggles a lot to kill something with high def.

Cons:

  • High points cost (for evil forces) means that every casualty is more painful than with orcs, life isn’t cheap here
  • Limited warrior options, you aren’t exactly spoiled for choice for your footsoldiers. Not to worry, they'll get new profiles in the future, if Dunland got them, anyone can...maybe?
  • Troops with lame killing power, sorry, all heavy lifting goes to the heroes in the list.

Army Bonus

No Quarter Was Asked...: When the army is broken, Easterlings models all get +1 to their courage. In games where a dice roll decides when a game ends you may choose for the result to be re-rolled if the game ends before you want it to. This can only be done once and only if you have at least one Easterling hero alive on the field.

  • Note that you can further boost your Courage by allying in a Black Númenórean with a war horn (you will keep the bonus since Mordor and the Easterlings are Historical Allies), which will further boost the Courage of everyone by 1, making your Heroes have a base Courage of 6, while Khamûl enjoys a sweet Courage of 8, meaning he's effectively Fearless and provides this Fearless bubble to everyone within 6" of him.

Unit Analysis

Heroes

  • The Dragon Emperor of Rhûn: The ruler of the Easterlings from Defence of the North, and the only Hero of Legend the Easterlings have. The Dragon Emperor has some interesting rules involving his Palanquin. Basically, he has six black dragons carrying around and they count as a pseudo-mount, making it harder for him to be bullied while giving him an additional six attacks when he wins duels with his Fight 6, Feinting, Elven-made spear. The Dragon Emperor effectively costs 110 points, because 60 of his 170 points are for the 6 Black Dragons carrying him around, though we'll go into these more in a moment. His buff for +1 to a Warrior's Fight value is nice, it allows you to tie against the elites of most armies, however it only really comes to the fore when he's using it on Black Dragons, as the vast majority of models in the game have Fight 4 or less. You're going to beat anyone who isn't an Elf or a Hero, but unfortunately this is hard to use properly. He's already a costly model, and it can be hard for a roaming deathstar to catch those you want. He only has an Infantry's regular Movement, and despite the Black Dragons carrying him, he needs more to benefit from his buff, which means a good 25%-33% of your army is going to be in one place. Granted there are ways to use this, objective based games for instance lend themselves very well to his type of playstyle, and with the sheer amount of attacks he can pump out, he can even break down Shieldwalls, despite their higher Defence (on average, the Dragon Emperor will kill even a Defence 8 model, without anybody supporting himself, and not using Feint). This makes him more situational than most, if you're not playing an objective game and are up against a mobile Elf list, or worse yet, a Rohan list, the Dragon Emperor will find himself and his forces peppered down from afar. If you still want to use him in general lists, try to support him with bows to shoot out horses; you could find bows with allies (Mordor Trackers are cheaper for instance), or you can put them on your own troops, just make sure you have something so you can get elusive troops. Finally, it should go without saying a broken force should always test with him before anyone else, if you want the game to continue, since if he passes this test, everyone else passes, regardless of range, courtesy of his Emperor of the Easterlings rule. Should you want the game to end however, then test with the Emperor and his Palanquin troupe last so you pass the 25% end-the-game moment.
    • Note that above all, the Dragon Emperor is a force multiplier over a duellist. While he can certainly fight and is very good at it, Khamûl, Amdûr, and Rutabi are all better if you just want to have generic fighters thanks to various rules they have (Khamûl has a mount plus Ringwraith bullshit, Amdûr has a mount, Herald of Victory plus Lord of Blades, whereas Rutabi has Master of Battle (3+)), not to mention they're all cheaper than he is. His cost (and the other Black Dragons you're likely putting in his Warband) also makes it hard for you to have good Heroes in your force while still having a decent army, but you can get by with generic Captains and War Priests if you'd like. Because of this however, you can and should expect your opponent to make him a priority target; he might have Resistant to Magic and be hard to kill, if he starts getting hit with Drain Courage or Transfix, you might be surprised at how fast your army vanishes. Never forget that his Emperor of the Easterlings rule is an Active ability, so Transfix turns it (and his Stand Fast!) off, making your force far more likely to flee.
      • Do remember that as the Dragon Emperor lacks Heroic March, you will likely want some Captains to make you a little more mobile anyway.
    • Should the Palanquin dip down in Wounds, it does lose movement, but don't let that get you down. The Dragon Emperor projects a massive zone of control around himself, which depending on the battlefield, can be incredibly pertinent. Furthermore, even at just one Wound left, the Palanquin has a higher chance of tanking the hit, saving the Emperor from a potential Wound. Furthermore a 12" banner is nothing to sneeze at, so always think twice about dismounting the Emperor. When he's on foot you lose the +1 to your Warrior Fight value, you lose the 12" banner, and you lose the massive roadblock his zone of control places on the table. About the only times you should dismount him are exceptional circumstances like fitting through scenery, when you absolutely much catch an Infantry model when his Palanquin is on 2 Wounds or less, or there's an overwhelming threat such as Sauron or the Balrog barreling down on you (where you should sacrifice the Black Dragons carrying the Palanquin so the Emperor can live).
    • A special note about the Palanquin is that it cannot be barged or hurled, at all. It also cannot be knocked prone by anything but artillery, which makes the Dragon Emperor a decent enough counter to enemy monsters, especially with Heroic Strike and/or Bladewrath from a War Priest. You might also consider it worth it to use Heroic Strength, since he is the only model in the entire army to have it, and Heroic Strength plus Enchanted Blades from Brórgîr will max out the chance he actually wounds a monster. He gets the most out of Heroic Strength when his opponent has Defence greater than 6, so save Heroic Strength and/or Enchanted Blades for when he's fighting Monsters/Heroes with greater than Defence 6.
    • Do note that as of the FAQ, the 6 Black Dragons carrying the Emperor around DO NOT count towards increasing your Break Point, but they DO count towards reaching it. In short, that means a force consisting of 16 models, with one of those being the Emperor, only has a Break Point of 8 models, even though 22 models are on the field. This is only true the second the Emperor dismounts, so each Black Dragon with the Palanquin is ignored if it takes Wounds (further giving a reason to not dismount). You WILL reach your Break Point faster with him, though thankfully at Courage 7 (thanks to "No quarter was asked...") he'll only fail on snake-eyes (after using his Hero of Legend, and his Will). That being said, he has no Defence at all for the fact you will hit the 25% end-the-game moment much faster since he is a single model, and that moment uses your starting models to determine when the game ends (where the Dragon Emperor again only counts as 1 model). Because of this however, you can sacrifice the carriers of the Palanquin if you need to, assuming your force is either broken or about to break with no way of stopping it, if he has to step off the Palanquin. They will not count against you for the 25% end the game moment (again, that is determined by your starting models, which also means you can use them with an ally - Kardûsh is a Mordor Hero (a historical ally) who would love free models to drain in the very late game, and can provide cheap models with bows - but again, you should only do this if you have no other choice.
    • Watch the fuck out for the Palanquin getting trapped. Not only is this very possible thanks to its footprint, but even with Phalanx you might find it hard to free up enough movement for the Palanquin getting free if you have anyone around it (or a canny opponent moves cavalry in behind it). This is the downside with using it on terrain-heavy maps as well, while he makes for a great roadblock, it becomes harder to manoeuvre if he loses a duel, so if you're facing somebody practically guaranteed to kill him if they win they duel, consider dismounting him and protecting him with the Black Dragons. This is very pertinent if your opponent has Transfix; that ability turns off Phalanx, and so you will only be able to Make Way with one model instead of two (and with Easterling Pike formations, this is nearly a guarantee to get Trapped).
      • Also watch out for the Wither power. While he is Resistant to Magic, a single successful Wither will royally fuck up his Palanquin. Six Attacks at Strength 2 will struggle to wound Orcs, and thanks to the Defence of the North supplement, both Angmar and Mordor can Wither him. Thanks to the FAQ, if his Royal Palanquin is hit by Wither, then all 6 if his Black Dragons have the debuff for the rest of the game, even if he dismounts. Don't despair however, Wither only has 12" of range, so if a model with Wither comes close, highly consider dismounting him. Having 6 models suffer Wither for a single cast is BRUTAL.
      • Also thanks to the FAQ, if the Dragon Emperor is hit by Bladewrath, it affects both himself and his Palanquin. This lets him kill nearly everything in the game, but don't assume he's ready to beat down the Blarog. His Fight value is still 6, which means if (or when) he loses the duel roll he's going to die. Instead this gives him much a much better way if being a lawn mower that runs over the enemy army, especially if you're playing an objective based game, and it's the only way to temporarily fix his Palanquin if you get hit by Wither.
    • Note that RAW, when the Dragon Emperor is slain you follow the same rules for setting up the palanquin carriers as you do if he dismounts. These rules specify that he is set up alongside them. The fact this means he technically is resurrected hasn't been FAQed, sadly.
    • Highly consider running the Dragon Emperor in his own Legendary Legion. Black Dragon upgrades in that list are completely free and it makes it easier for your Heroes to win duels, so if you're not running allies (or Khamûl), and you want the Emperor, then taking the Legendary Legion has no real downsides at all.
  • Khamûl the Easterling: Second of the Nine, Khamûl is a combat oriented Ringwraith. Causes terror and has to spend 1 will per combat turn as per the others, but recovers one will for every unsaved wound he causes. Can also spend 1 will to increase his fight, strength or attacks for a fight. His spellcasting is actually pretty poor compared to the other wraiths, but he has a comparatively low point cost of 120 points. Khamûl needs to be used aggressively; always have him on a horse (or a Fell Beast) so that you can use his Will to increase his Attacks to two (then three with the charge) and charge him into grouped up enemy infantry so that he can continuously feed (he's a shoe-in against Gondor shield walls). Used right you can keep him topped up to 12 Will for the majority of the game.
    • Incidentally if you're wondering when to increase his Strength over his Attacks, The best time to do that is only if his opponent is Defence 7, and that's it. If you do the math you'll see that he's statistically just as likely to wound a Defence 6 enemy with Strength 4 as he is with Strength 5 (same with Defence 5 against his Strength 4), which covers both Gondor soldiers and Rohan soldiers (the two most common) and if he charges a shield wall he should be knocking them prone, knocking them back down to Defence 6. However he also gets to make more rolls on the duel roll if you boost his Attacks, so it's almost always going to be the better choice compared to boosting his strength. It's a complete waste of Will having him fight anyone higher than Defence 7, so don't do it. You're unlikely to Wound and are just causing Khamûl to leave faster once his Will runs out.
    • Do be aware too that Khamûl becomes a hell of a lot less threatening if his horse/Fell Beast dies since his magic is... subpar to say the least, so make sure to target bows first. They're unlikely to kill his horse, but it's best not to take chances.
  • Amdûr, Lord of Blades: Meant to be the premier duelist of the force, Amdûr fills that role out by having some of the best stats a human could have. Fight 6 (one of only 5 humans in the game with Fight 6), 3 Attacks, 3 Wounds, and 3 Might, not to mention he can avoid being knocked down on a 4+, he regains Might with every good Hero he kills, and he's treated as a banner (yes he benefits from this effect himself). In addition, if an enemy Hero declares Heroic Strike against him he can do the same for free, so you can spend your Might Points on your Duel rolls rather than saving them to Heroic Strike out your opponents. Try to get him in combat with the enemy Leader if you can, unless they're a Monster Hero or Aragorn (two models he loses against, whereas most others he wins against). The sooner you kill them the sooner you get a his banner effect boosted to 6", but don't make risky plays to do it. Amdûr costs a lot and the last thing you need is for him to be caught unawares and brought down by a countercharge you could've avoided.
    • Always put Amdûr on his horse. It never hurts to have him gain an extra Attack for charging, and if you have an ally shoot out the horse of an enemy Hero, Amdûr is likely to butcher them in the ensuing combat. Even if he's shot off his horse Amdûr has a chance of landing on his feet thanks to Unyielding Combat Stance.
    • Despite seeming good against mostly Infantry and Heroes, Amdûr can also do well against Monsters so long as you buff him with a War Priest's Bladewrath ability, especially if you channel it. Four attacks (so long as he charges on his horse) will deal a lot of damage to an enemy Monster, just make sure to keep him away from Monsters that have significantly higher Fight values and Heroic Strike (such as Troll Chieftains).
  • Rutabi, General of the Dragon Legion: The only model in the game with the Woman keyword, and incidentally the only woman in the game not weaker than their male counterparts. Rutabi is one of a very small group that has Master of Battle, which combined with her excellent stats, would normally make her a shoe-in for every list, but there's one notable but missing: she has no mount. This isn't necessarily a dealbreaker, Rutabi is meant to be a leader for your army, one who fights on the front with pike support to throw back and cut down everyone who opposes her (especially if you trap models so she benefits from her special rule), which she does very well, the only downside is if you need to deal with a cavalry Hero. Anyone in her weight class riding a horse is a serious threat, so get bows to shoot out their mounts. Unyielding Combat Stance only saves you 50% of the time, and if she's transfixed, she might just be fucked since both Unyielding Combat Stance and Phalanx are active abilities (so they both get shut off, leaving her Trapped by her own pike formations even if she isn't knocked prone). Provided you have the bows to deal with mounts, and are careful with your positioning so she isn't Trapped in the event she is transfixed, she can be a solid middle ground Between Amdûr's Duellist and the Dragon Emperor's force multiplier, offering a good chunk of both.
  • Brórgîr the Conjurer: Leader of the War Priests, Brórgîr is practically a shoe-in if you want a War Priest. He costs 33% more, however he gets 5 Will compared to their 3, the chance to regain Will, along with an extra point of Might and Fate. The increased cost is a great deal for the extra stats, even if you have no interest in using his extra powers. As far as his powers themselves go, he is best used as a War Priest: in the middle of a Phalanx blob, casting Channelled Fury and poking out with his spear. Bladewrath makes for great synergy on any of your combat heroes, of which you've now got 5 to choose from (including the Dragon Knight), which means he has a home in practically every list, even if you're just going mainly with hordes. His bonus powers are Enchanted Blades and Tremor, which are... there. Enchanted Blades is iffy to cast; Easterling Heroes usually lack Strength, but it could be worth it on the Dragon Emperor who is the only model in your force who has Heroic Strength, though save it for models who have a Defence greater than 6. As for Tremor, it is hard for him to cast, however it automatically knocks everything prone, so only use it if you're desperate. It's a high risk (as in you might burn all your Will for nothing), high reward power that forces you to get in close, so don't try it unless you need to get rid of a Fell Beast or a Troll Chieftain, or similar beasts.
  • Easterling Dragon Knight: An unusual choice, Dragon Knights are like weaker (and much cheaper) Amdûr's. They have an extra Attack over regular Captains, but with no Might or Fate they are not good Heroes to rely on to keep your force around when it breaks, especially with their increased cost. That being said, they are great at killing other models, on the charge they'll shred even the heaviest of Cavalry, and they'll do much worse to Infantry. They'll also butcher enemy Heroes, not only because they possess Heroic Strike and will almost always win Duel rolls against most Heroes, but they also get to regain Might when they kill enemy Heroes so that they can do it again and again.
    • Always field them on a horse. Not only will they gain an extra Attack, they'll knock over Infantry and even if their horse dies, they have a chance to land on their feet thanks to Unyielding Combat Stance. Just keep in mind that they're not leaders, as emphasized by being Minor Leaders and needing Easterling models to be upgraded to Black Dragons (Easterlings with Fight and Courage 4). If they're not getting in combat then you're going to wish they were a Captain instead, at the very least a Captain will be cheaper, have higher Defence, have Heroic March and both Will and Fate.
    • Like Amdûr, the Dragon Knights can also do well against Monsters so long as you buff him with a War Priest's Bladewrath ability, especially if you channel it. Four attacks (so long as he charges on his horse) will deal a lot of damage to an enemy Monster, just make sure to keep him away from Monsters that have significantly higher Fight values and Heroic Strike (such as Troll Chieftains).
    • Don't forget that they still have access to the Shielding rule, despite not having shields. This won't normally come up, but in a few instances (if they're surrounded and completely trapped for instance) it can come in handy.
  • Easterling Captain: The guy you go to when you want a support Hero instead of Amdûr or a Dragon Knight. For 50 points Easterling Captains are a relatively cheap choice, and they have more options than anyone else in the army. Give them a shield, it's practically mandatory since their only real advantage over Dragon Knights (aside from being able to be the Leader) is their durability. Defence 7 makes it so that Strength 3 and 4 both need 6's To Wound, which is the vast majority of Good armies. Don't give them a bow, it's a complete waste, as is swapping their glaive for an armoured horse and sword. Get a Dragon Knight if you want to kill stuff, the Easterling Captains are better at keeping your Infantry in the fight.
    • Note that since Khamûl, Amdûr and Dragon Knights all lack Heroic March, you'll probably want a few Easterling Captains even if you want deadlier Heroes. Most of the core of Easterling armies resides in their Pike Phalanxes, and it's best to get them into position as soon possible.
  • Easterling War Priest: The Easterling equivalent of an Orc Shaman, the War Priest is well worth the 60 points charged for him. His spear means he can hide out in the centre of a phalanx of pikes and still reach everyone in 14cm with ‘Fury’. He can also cast Bladewrath to increase his own attacks to strength 6, but you really shouldn’t be getting him in combat, his best role is as a support to others and using Bladewrath on them, as well as Fury on your own troops to prevent them from running off when your force is broken.
    • The War Priest's Bladewrath does have great synergy with the Dragon Knight. While a bit of a hail Mary, a channeled Bladewrath used on a charging Dragon Knight gives it four Strength 10 attacks on a Cavalry or a Monster, and a whopping eight S10 attacks on a knocked down infantry hero. The only problem is with the Dragon Knights F5, but apparently most people just tend to use Fury on their War Priests and as such an unsuspecting opponent will rarely expect the charge of doom. Combine with a Heroic Strike from the Dragon Knight for extra extra killing power.
    • If you don't plan on using Bladewrath on an Easterling Dragon Knight on his horse, then you absolutely should channel Fury and put two Will points into it. Easterling phalanxes are big blobs, and any Warrior you save is one less gap in your phalanx.
    • Note that you're not hindered all that badly in an Easterling force if you intend to only use Bladewrath on the War Priests, especially if it's on Dragon Knights. You can get around your lack of Fury with a war horn from an allied Black Númenórean and your Army Bonus (Mordor and Easterlings are Historical Allies so you won't lose it). This makes most of your characters Courage 6 which is excellent, and Khamûl become Courage 8, effectively Fearless, so save your Will for buffing up Strength instead.

Warriors

  • Easterling Warriors: Highly effective foot troops with options for bows, shields and pikes. They can wield both a pike and a shield without losing the +1 Defence point and their heavy armour lends them a survivability unparalleled amongst the servants of Sauron for their points cost. Line them up in a phalanx and march them towards the enemy while even Elven bows will struggle to make an impression on your heavily armoured troops. Upgrading some of them to Black Dragons is okay, but it raises the points to 9 per model before upgrades, meaning you get even fewer. In a Phalanx bring a back row of Black Dragon's with pikes as the Fight of 4 will affect the whole combat, and it will save your ass against elites from other factions. The additional Courage with the army bonuses will make them courage 5 which can be really helpful in the end game and should be looked at for just this reason as it really is a hidden gem, especially if your regular Warriors die first and the enemy focuses down your Heroes.
    • We urge you to highly consider allies instead of getting bows for the Easterlings. Orc Trackers for example shoot just as good, they cost 3 points less (buying two Easterling Warriors with bows could instead get you three Orc Trackers) and They won't take away your Army Bonus either since Easterlings and Mordor are Historical Allies.
  • Easterling Kataphracts: The wealthy ones among the Easterling army, Kataphracts can be used to hunt down less armoured characters, bowmen or can pin your opponents infantry against the infantry phalanx, trapping them and allowing you to get 6 attacks on your opponents. Funnily enough, they get Shieldwall despite being mounted, whilst your infantry phalanxes don’t - it is an odd rule, but use it to your advantage; these guys play best as a tightly packed wedge to drive through the heart of the enemy lines, or to take far less damage from enemy weapons (especially crossbows) while they approach. Don't expect them to kill much however, they apparently couldn't afford lances and are not as good as Morgul Knights (the best Cavalry available to evil). They are cheaper, but to give them comparable stats you'll need to upgrade them to Black Dragons, and then Morgul Knights are only two points more. Because of this, heavily consider allying in Morgul Knights instead. Mordor and the Easterlings are Historical allies so you keep your Army Bonus, and you'll find their performance is far better than your Kataphracts.
    • If you're using these guys, get the war drum. This will allow you to get your Cavalry in position much faster and you could also keep them around your Infantry (or even dismount) if you want your Infantry to benefit from it instead. As mentioned under the Captain entry, the issue with your Infantry Phalanxes is their movement, and this helps fix that.
  • Easterling Dragon Cult Acolyte: These guys are very situational. The Acolytes are meant to throw out low Strength Attacks and are meant to be counter terrain heavy boards, and this they can do well if your opponent doesn't have much armour, however they also die quickly. Other elites can beat them in duels, and at only Defence 4, Acolytes can die to Hobbits and practically every ranged weapon in the game. Because of this, you're better off using them on crowded boards where they can take full advantage of their +2 to Jump, Leap, and Climb tests, and auto pass In the Way tests against models defending doorways or barriers. If you still want them in general play, then hide them behind regular Warriors so your opponent needs In The Way rolls to shoot them, and creep them up until they can charge in.
    • Try to keep a banner around them. It won't always be possible, but at Defence 4 you really don't want them losing duels.
  • Rhûnish War Drake: The new Warriors available to the Easterlings, these are actual drakes that are meant to be used as shock troops. They cost double what your regular Warriors do but have 2 Wounds and 2 Attacks (so you're basically getting what you paid for), and coming in with a base Fight 4, they are already the equal of elite Warriors from every army not lead by an Elf. Strength 4 with Venom allows them to chomp through practically every other Warrior model, even Gondor Shieldwalls will take a wound in two rounds on average if they lose duel rolls against a Drake, and if you use Bladewrath on them while they're fighting a Trapped opponent, they will rip the shit out of whatever they're fighting. They make good supports for Heroes who have great Fight values but have poor To Wound rolls (so practically the entire Easterlings roster), just remember that their Defence is only 5 and they have Infantry movement, so they are vulnerable to S3 bows and throwing spears, even with 2 Wounds. Spears and the like are also more dangerous for them if they lose a duel, and many Heroes will butcher an unsupported Drake. As such, they're better used breaking more static armies and playing objective based games rather than chasing Rohan around the field. If you want to still use them in general lists, get bows to shoot the mounts so your drakes can feast on the riders.
    • Note they do not have the Easterling Keyword, so "No quarter was asked..." gives them no benefit, and neither does In the Name of the Dragon Emperor (you can't buff the Drakes to Fight 5 with him). This also means they cannot benefit from Fury.

Allies

Historical Allies

Variags of Khand

  • The strength 4 axes are a blessing for Easterlings. Having access to chariots is also a great boon in your army. A Chieftain on chariot in any Easterling list can smash through anything lower then D7.

Mordor

  • They pretty much do everything Easterlings can't. Get Khamul as he is a Hero of Valour, get some Morranon orcs and a troll and watch as people cry as your enemy breaks on your pike wall and dies on the swords. Getting another Ringwraith and having him lead 5 Black Guard and 5 Morranons will allow you break through even the toughest dwarf shield wall.

Convenient Allies

The Serpent Horde

Far Harad

Corsairs of Umbar

Isengard

Moria

Impossible Allies

Angmar

Sharkey's Rogues

The Nazgul of Dol Guldur

Azog's Hunters

Azog's Legion

Goblin Town

The Trolls

Smaug

Building your Army

Tactics

Middle Earth Strategy Battle Game Tactics
Forces of Good
Forces of Evil
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