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

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This page is a WIP, the one doing it (Lotrfag) is new to creating pages. And I'm f*cking lazy too, seeing how I left this page in standy for 7 months.

Why Play Isengard

The Two Towers is your favorite movie and book of the series, and it's partly because of these guys. You like quality over quantity but don't want to play High Elves (Eregion & Rivendell). You want your basic troops to kill said armoured elves as if they were Wood Elves, and Wood Elves as if they were Hobbits, and Hobbits like... Well, you got my point.

Pros

• Uruk Hai warriors are one of the best infantry in the game.
• Crossbows.
• Good variety of elite troops (i.e. Berserkers)
• Possible armywide Strenght 4

Cons

• Probably the most common Evil army you can find.
• Defense 6 is not that tough, some other S4 armies are tougher than you (i.e. the new FW Dwarves)

Army Bonus

You Do Not Know Pain, You Do Not Know Fear: You don't take break tests until you've lost 66% of your force. Also Lurtz, Ugluk, Mauhur, Vrasku, Scout Captains and Scouts all gain Woodland Creature.

Unit Analysis

Heroes

• Saruman: A potent spellcaster and good army leader. He's a Hero of Legend, has 6 Will points and gets another one for free every turn. He has 2 aggressive spells, cast on a 5+ and 4+, so he's better at supporting your troops with Transfix/Compel. He can also, once per battle, automatically make you win priority; an ability that can, if it is used at the right time, turn the game over (read: save your ass). He also has a 12 inch Stand Fast, his Stand Fast can effect other heroes and he can reroll 1 cast/resist dice per turn.

• Grima Wormtongue: Can only be taken if Saruman is here. He deploys in the enemy's zone and forces heroes around him to spend 2 Might instead of one every time they used them. He cannot be shot or wounded as long as Saruman is on the battlefield, or until he charges or tries to wound someone. Very good against hero-heavy lists, not too bad otherwise. He seems unexpensive at only 25 points, but he cannot lead a troop and you need Saruman around, so that's 205 points (without horses).

• Lurtz: The guy from the end of the first movie. He is an Uruk Hai Captain with 3 Might. Having both an orc bow and a shield means he doesn't get +1 D, but he can still use it in combat. His Warband also doesn't need to roll to see where and when it shows up in scenarios that require you to roll such things, which isn't a lot, but it's not nothing.

• Ugluk: The successor of the guy above and, again, an Uruk Hai Captain with 3 Might. If your force is broken, instead of testing Courage, he can kill a friendly model in base contact. This makes him automatically pass the test and extends his standfast to 12". If you field him, also take an escort of cheap, expandable models (Orcs) to make sure he doesn't kill your precious Uruk Hai Warriors. He costs 10 points more than an Uruk-Hai Scout Captain for 1 point of might, but no options, so make sure you're taking him for his ability.

• Vraskû: Another Captain with 3 Might. Also has a crossbow that he is able to shoot twice every Shooting Phase with his 3+ Shooting value. A very good choice if you want to have a hero with your crossbowmen (crossbowuruks?).

• Mauhur: The fourth and last named Uruk Hai Captain. He only has 2 Might (like a regular captain) but he makes up for it by moving 8" and having 3 Attacks. THREE F5 S5 ATTACKS FOR ONLY 60 POINTS! This is enough to let him shred through infantry and skullfuck the occasional hero. Don't expect him to do much against major heroes or massed elite infantry though. He can upgrade your Uruk Hai Scouts to have 8 move for 1 point, but only in his Warband.

• Sharku: An Orc Captain with 3 might and a dagger that lets him stab enemy heroes whenever they fail to wound him, which is incidentally hilarious, for 10 points more than an Orc Captain. He can take a Warg for 10 points and Shield for 5, and you should probably go with both to give him a good chance of getting into combat and make you less likely to get wounded.

• Thrydan Wolfsbane:

• Dunlending Chieftan:

• Uruk Hai Captain: Your basic Uruk Hai hero. He is a stronger, tougher and braver Uruk, and he has 2 Might. There are quite a lot of options to equip him with, but you'll probably want to give hime heavy armour and either a shield or crossbow, depending on what he is going to do (lead from the front or babysit your crossbows). This guy can go up to Defense 7, which is better than your named Uruk heroes, and for the same price. Overall not a bad choice if you want someone that is cheap, tough and strong to get shit done.

Note that, similarly to all your Uruks, he cannot take a mount.

• Uruk Hai Shaman: A trickier hero for you to play, he is neither a good fighter like your Captains, nor is he a magical powerhouse like Saruman. But he is cheaper than them and he has a power that Saruman hasn't: frenzy. If you manage to cast it, it create a 6" bubble around that allows Uruk Hais to auto-pass Courage tests and that gives them some sort of 6+ FnP.

A good support hero than will give your battle line more staying power. Try not to get him into too dangerous fights though, as losing one will stop his Frenzy.

• Uruk Hai Drummer:

Troops

• Uruk Hai Scout:

• Uruk Hai Warrior:

• Uruk Hai Demolition Team:

• Uruk Hai Berserker:

• Feral Uruk Hai:

• Dunliending Warrior:

• Wild Man of Dunland:

Monsters

• Isenguard Troll:

Siege Weapons

• Isenguard Assault Ballista:

Allies

Historical Allies

Everyone keeps their army bonus

Convenient Allies

Everyone loses their army bonus

Impossible Allies

Everyone loses their army bonus and warriors can only benefit from Stand Fast and Heroic actions if they were called by a hero from the same list