The Lord of the Rings Strategy Battle Game/Tactics/Far Harad

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Far Harad

Why Play Far Harad?

If your favourite movie is Zulu then you may very well like this army, like the serpent horde you get giant elephants but you also get a whole lot of other stuff, for one you get shields and access to the blowpipe, the ranged weapon that doesn't take up any bow limit.

Pros

• Mumaks
• Blowpipes
• High Strength across the board (S4 is the baseline)

Cons

• Mediocre defence for most units
• Very low courage for everything that isn't the Mahud King

Army Bonus

When your units are within 6 of a Mahud Hero who is engaged in combat your units automtically pass all courage tests.

Unit Analysis

Heroes

• Mahûd King: The royal beatsticks, Mahûd Kings excel in fights not only because of their Fight 5 and 3 Attacks, but also their Strength 5 and the fact that on War Camels they inflict a Strength 4 hit on impact. Always make sure to get them a Shield, it'll prevent Strength 3 Warriors and spears from wounding them on 5+ (along with giving them additional protection from Strength 3 ranged tools). Don't field them on foot if you can help it. Kings are best if they're used to crush the opposition (especially since your Army Bonus requires this) and they do this best if they're getting an extra attack on the charge, and can also knock over Infantry lucky enough to survive being impaled. Only dismount if you absolutely have to hide them somewhere and still need their Courage for upcoming Stand Fast! rolls. To this end a war spear is an upgrade well worth it since not only is it a lance, but it's also a spear, allowing them to contribute their Fight 5 to Duels once their camel dies or they get wounded and need to hide. To this end, you can use a Mahûd King alongside either Warriors or Raiders, although using them alongside Raiders first is ideal, and then moving over to assist the Warriors later in the game once you start reaching your Break Point since more of them will be affected by your Stand Fast!
  • Always make sure to get more than one Mahûd King. Your army has very low Courage and Mahûd Kings are one of the best ways to alleviate this.
  • Make sure to save your Might for Heroic Strikes. Not only do they help you win in combat against enemy Heroes, but they also prevent the Mahûd King from taking damage in the process. Seeing as how your opponent will be trying to eliminate the Mahûd Kings in your army through any means necessary, it's very important you don't get them in fights they can't win unless you want your army to run away the second you hit your Break Point.
  • Always keep models inbetween you and enemy ranged weapons. While the Mahûd Kings have good Defence, they're massive linchpins in your army, and if they're ever sniped out you drop two Courage points if a Tribesmaster is nearby to pick up the slack, or three if they're not. In addition you lose their 2 Will Points, and so most of the Warriors with them will end up running away the second your Break Point is hit, which can cause the game to end very soon if this leads to getting 75% casualties faster (in applicable Scenarios). Never assume their Defence is enough to keep them on the field if your opponent is allowed to keep their bows pointed at your King and he is in the open.

• Mahûd Tribesmaster: The ‘captain’ of the Mahûd. He’s okay, but he really has nothing on the King in terms of combat and Courage. That being said, depending on the size of the list, you may already have at least two Kings, especially if you're not going to a Mûmak, and in these instances instead of a third King a Tribesmaster can be more useful as they have Heroic March. As Far Harad lack any shooting beyond 12”, it must move to fight any opponent list with a good amount of bows as quickly as possible, and for this reason you're going to want at least one or two Tribesmasters at minimum running around with your Warriors or your Raiders. A Tribesmaster leading Raiders for example could move them all up to 15” in one turn, closing the gap as fast as possible and potentially saving more models for close combat.
  • Even if you don't intend to take the war camel, make sure to get the Mahûd Tribesmaster a war spear. If nothing else it will help him contribute his Fight 4 to Duels that might need it while keeping him relatively safe.

• War Mûmak of Far Harad: Everyone’s favourite semi-feral herbivore, the Mûmak will kill literally everything that it comes across, but at 300 points before upgrades (it always has a Beastmaster Chieftain), it really is something to be saved for larger games. Used right they'll run shop over the enemy, especially Cavalry (which is of no surprise to anyone who saw the movies) but do be aware that they are rather unwieldy in their movement. If a model is hiding behind a pillar then the Mûmak is going to be unable to trample it, and likely unable to even fight it since they have to move their full distance every time. Because of this a clever opponent will make sure their models are not lined up in a way that allows the Mûmak to gain that many points back per turn, so aim it at either Heroes who can't get away (use an allied Ringwraith's Transfix if you have the points and really need to hold them there) or objectives your opponent has to sit on and can't afford to lose. Keep in mind too that the Mûmak is a siege target, meaning siege engines do not roll for scatter, however it's rather tanky against them, and can almost always get to them and destroy them before they take it out unless they're somehow hiding behind a huge wall. Above all else however: save your Might for Heroic Moves. The last thing you want is for somebody to charge the Mûmak, which will pin it in place and render it unable to Trample, and worse yet, with a Fight of only 4 it's possible the Mûmak might lose the fight and be unable to even inflict any damage for a turn. Also make absolutely sure to get a banner on one of the Mahûd Warriors in the Howdah to prevent it from rolling poorly if it ends up getting locked down with chaff.
  • As for the upgrades: Gnarled Hide is an upgrade that's of dubious use. It costs a lot, and while it does make it harder for Strength 2 and 3 to wound the Mûmak, it does nothing to Strength 4, so whether or not you consider it worth it will depend a lot on the army you're up against. If you can expect to be hit from all sides by Strength 3 Warriors and ranged attacks then you might want to go for it, since it'll double the amount of attacks needed to inflict even a single wound on the beast. The Rocks is another easy pick, since models in the howdah don't count as moving unless they're literally moving around in the howdah. this means that they can always get a Strength 6 shooting attack at models the Mûmak either just trampled or which dodged the trample, which is fantastic. Tusk Weapons are arguably overkill, and are really only useful against enemy Heroes and Monsters since you're almost never going to find anything that can survive 3 Strength 9 hits and don't really need another hit on top of that, and even if you do, you could just drop rocks on them or Trample them again later. Unfortunately not all the options are great, Rappelling Lines should be avoided if you can, their only real use is if your driver is compromised and it seems like you have nearly even odds of failing your Stampede test. Even then however, it's dubious how much the models in the howdah will help you in the battle since they'll be out of position and easy prey for whatever's harassing's your Mûmak. Finally, do not get the Foul Temperament option (we can't even call it an upgrade). It increases the Mûmak's attacks to 4, but not the Trample damage, and with a Fight of 4 the Mûmak wasn't using a Duel to kill powerful Heroes anyway, it was doing that by stepping on them.
  • A special mention goes out to models with the ability to Drain Courage, such as enemy Ringwraiths. If they cast it a few times on the driver, you're going to notice the Mûmak struggling to stay under your control. Sigils of Defiance greatly help in this regard, as does the Mahûd Beastmaster, so if you think you're going to be up against Drain Magic shenanigans, you absolutely should get both. In addition watch out if you're up against Angmar, not only can all of their Ringrwaiths easily use Drain Courage on you, but one of their Spirits can take control of the Mûmak if it fails its Courage test, and they can force a lot of these tests on it in a turn. Because of this, you might want to leave the Mûmak on the shelf for those games (especially since the Dwimmerlaik can cancel your Might/Will/Fate points, making it significantly harder to get your Heroic moves and keep your drivers alive), or at absolute minimum get a Mahûd Beastmaster and Sigils of Defiance. This is also the one time Rappelling Lines might actually come in handy, since a Mûmak not under your control is one you should not be in, and you can guarantee your opponent will be running it off the field sooner rather than later. At least if they leave the howdah your Warriors can try to fight or hold an objective somewhere.
  • Also watch out for models with a pull effect, such as the Balrog and the Watcher in the Water. Both of these models can yank your driver right off the Mûmak and then it's left testing on a lower Courage of 2, or 1 if the new driver (likely a Mahûd Warrior) is within range of a Courage lowering ability, making it more likely than not that your opponent will be able to control it if it suffers a wound.
  • The final point we'll bring up in regards to the Mûmak is that it's always going to be expensive. Not only are all of its upgrades costly, but you need to pay separately for the Mahûd Warriors who ride in its howdah, and because of this you should limit your upgrades to what you absolutely need. If more than half your army is invested in the Mûmak, then there's going to be a lot more damage focused on it and a very real possibility that you could hit the 75% casualty marker if your opponent focuses down the rest of your army, which will end the game in many scenarios. In other words, if you spend too much on the Mûmak, your opponent can win simply by ignoring it, especially since it gives you fewer bodies to hold objectives and the game isn't just about who can kill the most. Keep the upgrades to what you're certain you'll need for your game, and leave what "sounds nice" off of it.
  • Finally watch out for Uruk-hai Demolition Teams. You might see them against Isengard, especially since all that needs to be near them for them to be detonated is a Mûmak, and even if you're ten inches away, Saruman can power through your Sigils of Defiance to Command the driver to move the Mûmak closer, then run the bombs in to blow you up. One unfortunate blast could cripple the Mûmak (and those on it) so either make sure to keep a buffer between them and you, or make sure to run them down with your Raiders since as soon as you get your blowpipes in range, the bombs can hit you.

• The Mûmak War Leader: The greatest warrior and leader of Far Harad... and also that Mûmak driver Éomer killed with a throwing spear in the third movie. He's a Jacked Beastmaster Chieftain riding the one and only Royal War Mûmak. It has Gnarled Hide (+1 Defence, making it Defence 8), Sigils of Defiance (Resistant to Magic for the Mûmak and everyone onboard) and Tusk Weapons (it inflicts four Strength 9 impact hits when it runs into something), plus a Leader with a 12" Stand Fast!, the ability to take Haradrim Warriors as part of his warband (allowing you to fill the thing up with bows so you can shoot further than 12") oh, and a little ability where he cancels the first Heroic Move done within 12" inches of him on a 4+. You know, one of the few things that people can use to try and stop the Mumak. All this for 400 points (although after the Haradrim it should be 539 for 12 bows, 1 war horn and 1 banner). Yeah, this guy is incredibly broken even if he's only usable in larger games, and if you can fit him and an even reasonably solid warband into your army, you 100% should. Oh and he's a Hero of Legend and unlike normal Mûmak, you can deploy models from his Warband outside of his Mûmak, and since his Mûmak has a transport capacity of 12 (not including himself) you'll take advantage of this one you've filled up the howdah with bow-armed Haradrim Warriors. Everything we said about regular Mûmaks applies to him as well (except the options obviously) so to prevent us from repeating ourselves, the Mûmak War Leader is listed below the regular Mûmak, and anything that is different or needs extra emphasis will be listed below (and if we're repeating ourselves, that means you know you should 100% take notice of what we're warning you about).
  • Always get a war horn on one of the Haradrim in the Howdah. Not only does he help prevent the Royal War Mûmak from suffering a Stampede, but he also helps deal with your army-wide issue of low Courage. He's practically mandatory if you're getting the Mûmak War Leader at all.
  • Note that the Mûmak War Leader has Heroic Strike, and any Heroic Actions he calls also affect the Mûmak itself. This is incredibly helpful in allowing the Royal War Mûmak finish off whoever it's fighting, and prevent from getting locked down if they roll higher than it since not only is the Royal War Mûmak Fight 5 base (instead of Fight 4 like a regular Mûmak) but it has a good chance of using Heroic Strike to gain a higher fight value than opponents who also call a Heroic Strike, and nearly every Hero that takes three Strength 9 attacks is a dead Hero. This combined with Heroic Combat will really help prevent the Mûmak from getting stunlocked by opponents who get priority and keep using Heroic Moves to get the Mûmak locked in place with either Fight 5 Heroes or chaff.
  • Note too that the Mûmak War Leader has Heroic Challenge, although this is far more situational. You can use it to turn off the Stand Fast! of infantry/Cavalry Heroes and Treebeard (as well as the bubble effect of any Heroic Actions they call), since they're going to decline, however you should not use it if you're going up against the Balrog, Sauron or Smaug. You will lose that fight, they have a might higher Fight value, great Attacks to make sure they don't roll lower than you, and the Strength to cause serious harm to the Royal War Mûmak when they win the fight. You don't want to get into Heroic Challenges against them since even with your impact hits, you might not win. You can't guarantee you'll always be the one getting the charge (especially if a magic user powers through your Sigils of Defiance to Transfix the Mûmak War Leader, preventing him from getting the charge) and in combat against one of those three you're more likely to lose than you are to Win.
    • Speaking of the Balrog, keep him away from the Mûmak War Leader at all costs, and the same goes for the Watcher in the Water. The reason why is because both of them can yank the Mûmak War Leader right off of his Royal War Mûmak which leaves you controlling it with a Haradrim's base Courage of 3 (so it's going to Stampede since both the Watcher in the Water and the Balrog lower them to Courage 2, and before you ask yes they can yank your war horn off as well) and in combat they'll absolutely butcher the Mûmak War Leader. Even Sauron and the Nazgûl are dangerous foes to be near, since Chill Soul (from Sauron) and Black Dart (from both) hit you automatically, and Black Dart causes D3 wounds if channelled, possibly killing the Mûmak War Leader outright if he's out of Fate (or if the Dwimmerlaik prevents him from using it).
  • Finally watch out for Uruk-hai Demolition Teams. You might see them against Isengard, especially since all that needs to be near them for them to be detonated is a Mûmak, and even if you're ten inches away, Saruman can power through your Sigils of Defiance to Command the Mûmak War Leader to move the Mûmak closer, then run the bombs in to blow you up. One unfortunate blast could cripple the Royal War Mûmak (and those on it) so either make sure to keep a buffer between them and you, or make sure to shoot them ASAP with your Haradrim bows.

Warriors

• Mahûd Warrior: These guys are great, cheap strength 4 is good, Defence 5 keeps them around when your enemy uses bows against them and a blowpipe does not count towards your bow limit, so these guys are very handy. Like every other army you want to get shields and clubs up front with a secondary line of spears, and since their shots hit on a 3+ you won't even mind moving your blowpipes around as you spit poison at the enemy. Their greatest issue is their pitiful Courage of 2, which is a big problem so keep these guys around a hero or they will run the moment that your army is broken. To help with this, strongly consider allying in some Haradrim, since their Warriors can take a War Horn, and having that War Horn on the field can and will save your Mahûd Warriors, especially if your Mahûd King was sniped out earlier in the battle. This will also help them deal with Terror causing models, since without it (or a Hero charging in before them) your Mahûd Warriors can find themselves stopped by Black Númenóreans without a great way of proceeding besides shooting them with darts and praying for 6's.
  • Consider paying the point to give some Mahûd Warriors axes. In rare circumstances you'll be up against Defence 7 models, especially if it's a Gondor Shieldwall, and Strength 5 will wound those much easier than Strength 4 will, and it's usually worth it to risk Piercing Strike to do it. If you're not a fan of that strategy, then consider getting Half Trolls to deal with them instead.
  • Try to get a Mahûd Tribesmaster to go along with blobs of Warriors, even if it already has a King with it. His Heroic March helps them get into position a lot sooner, and since you lack shooting beyond 12" (aside from one character) you're going to want to close the distance as soon as possible.
  • A special note is that if you take the Mûmak War Leader then you're going to want a lot of these guys so that his Haradrim Warriors can fit within your bow limit.

• Mahûd Raider: What’s better than a Strength 4 warrior? A Strength 4 warrior riding a bad tempered dromedary, that’s what. Mahûd Raiders do the job that the Haradrim Raiders don’t and stack up against the best Cavalry of the evil side. Impact hits cause casualties from the moment of the charge, their war spears, which you should always buy, work like lances which combine with their Strength 4 to deal devastating blows, and the fun is unlikely to stop there. Note that their impact hits aren't limited to once per movement, giving the potential to run through multiple models in one turn. They will also use this ability from a movement after a Heroic Combat. One of their biggest selling points is that these are a rare type of Cavalry that are perhaps best used against other Cavalry. The impact hit is automatically inflicted on both the rider and the mount, and it has a 50% chance to kill the opponent's mount (or 33% chance if they're armoured) before the fight takes place. Once again though, beware the low courage.
  • Their low Courage will royally screw them if you need them to get into engagements against Terror causing units such as Morgul Knights, even a frontline of Black Númenóreans can stymy them, and if a Ringwraith is on the field (especially if they're with either of the aforementioned units), keep them away. With a Courage of 1 (thanks to Harbinger of Evil) they're unlikely to be able to charge him at all, which is much worse if it's one of the combat focused Nazgûl like Khamûl or the Knight of Umbar, who can either recover will points by killing them or prevent themselves from losing will by winning fights against them. If you absolutely need to deal with the above scenario or something similar, always get either a King and charge with him first. So long as he's in combat within 6" of them, they'll automatically pass their Courage tests, however a smart opponent will keep their Cavalry just far enough away that most of your Raiders won't be able to benefit from your Army Bonus.
  • While it won't come up often, a Mahûd Raider can deal with Gríma Wormtongue since he's not immune to the Strength 4 hit they inflict if they charge him, so consider using some of them on him if he's whispering into your King's ear.

• Half Trolls: Your hardest hitting units aside from your Kings, and with a price to match. 23 points is a big investment but for that you get a stat line that beats those of most captains, and you get Terror. An extra point buys you a two-handed weapon If you want it, but its not necessary. These guys will kill anything they get into base contact with, and they're also the ones you want winning your Duels since they're Fight 5, so make sure you back them up with spears, and dot them sparingly throughout your force. A warband doesn't need more than three of them to be effective, just watch out for Heroic Strike since they can lose to that, and as with the rest of the Mahûd, the courage is the big issue. Make sure there's a King nearby to keep them on the field, and if you have to charge them into Terror causing units, absolutely make sure you charge in a character so that you can get your Army Bonus and automatically pass any Terror tests you have to make.
  • While Terror is nice, you probably won't notice it having much of an impact unless you ally in a Ringwraith and use Drain Courage on enemy models. This is a rather sound plan if your opponent has a strong Hero or actual Monsters, since once you cast it enough you'll be able to prevent them from charging into your Half Trolls, which will also let you decide which fights the Half Trolls get into.

Legendary Legions

A new thing added by Gondor at War, basically a smaller army within the main army that gives you special bonuses but can't take an army bonus and can't ally with other armies. Allows you to put together armies from specific moments from the movie.

• Grand Army of the South

This is a composite army, combining with Harad for maximum ELEPHANT.

• • Bonuses:
    • Hail of Poisoned Arrows: Up to half your army can have bows.
    • The Making of a King: If you leader is in combat with your opponent's leader he may use a free heroic action. If your leader is the Mumak War Leader the Mumak counts as using the heroic action.
    • War Beasts for the South: All Mamluks gain Harbinger of Evil
    • Warrior Pride: Mahûd Warrior models that are within 6" of a friendly Mahûd Hero model that is engaged in combat automatically pass all courage tests they are required to make.
  • Army List:

You MUST take either the Serpent Lord or the Mumak War Leader, half your army must have the Haradrim keyword, and you must take at least one Mumak.

• • • Suladan the Serpent lord:
    • Hasharin:
    • Haradrim King:
    • Haradrim Chieftain:
    • War Mumak of Harad:
    • Haradrim Taskmaster:
    • Haradrim Warrior
    • Haradrim Warrior
    • Haradrim raiders
    • On top of these guys, you can take anything from this list

Allies

Historical Allies

The Serpent Horde

Convenient Allies

Corsairs of Umbar

The Eastern Kingdoms

Variags of Khand

Mordor

Moria

Isengard

Impossible Allies

Angmar

Sharkey's Rogues

The Nazgul of Dol Guldur

Azog's Hunters

Azog's Legion

Goblin Town

The Trolls

Smaug