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

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Why Play Mordor?

Because you always enjoyed pulling the wings off flies as a child and some people just enjoy watching the world burn… Also flying ghosts.

Pros:

• Sensationally powerful heroes who can be taken in different combinations to fulfil virtually any tactical situation. Will always be a competitive choice.
• Orcs (and their lives) are cheap.
• Some of the best offensive magic in the game.
• Decent variety of monsters at your beck and call, some of which have Might to back up their brawn.

Cons

• Low courage for the majority of your army means that a broken Mordor force is usually a defeated Mordor force. There are ways to counter this, but they're all point-heavy.
• Those competitive heroes? Prepare to pay a fortune for them in points.

Army Bonus

Our enemy is ready, his full strength gathered: Whilst you have more models on the board than your opponent, friendly Mordor Warrior models gain +1 Courage and may re-roll 1s to Wound when making Strikes.

• As this is a conditional bonus, that can change every time something dies, this bonus really pushes you in the direction of the horde style of army to make sure you have more models in play. The +1 courage helps against terror and a few spells, but won't usually come into play for breaking. The re-roll is great on your trolls though.

Unit Analysis

Heroes

<tabs> <tab name="Nazgûl/Ringwraiths">

One of the most versatile units in the game, there is a Nazgul for every occasion. Each individual entry is covered here, but they all share common rules and features which will be covered first:

• All Nazgul cause terror, but despite their high defence, Ringwraiths are not durable, with only a single wound each, best to avoid contact and stock up on their fate points. All Ringwraiths must spend 1 point of will at the end of every fight phase that they are involved in, and disappear from the battlefield if their will reaches 0. Be very careful of this, as a canny opponent will likely maneuver your guys into protracted fights that will sap their usefulness and eventually kill them.
• Any model wearing the ring does not become invisible to the Ringwraiths as they do to others, and fighting against the ring bearer does not oblige the Ringwraith to spend will to fight (even if they don't direct their attacks at the Ringbearer).
• All Ringwraiths can choose a Horse, Armoured Horse, Fell Beast or Armoured Fell Beast for their mount. All are good choices, with the Fell Beast variants really boosting the combat potential of the wraiths. Do be careful though, taking them on Fell Beasts against a list that has a Strength 7 monster is a waste of points. They're going to get charged (or kept so far away from the monster that they'll be inefficient), they will be knocked off the Fell Beast, and it will flee the battlefield immediately, costing you 50 points (and leaving your Nazgûl vulnerable).
• All Ringwraiths are spellcasters and can seriously mess with an opponents force through incapacitating their enemies or causing direct damage with their Black Dart spell.

Now with all of that covered, the basic Nazgûl are very cheap for Heroes of their caliber, starting at only 55 points. The actual cost you want them starting at is 75 points however, as you'll want to buy them their full stock of Might and Fate before considering anything else. If you want them as a Commander who'll make sure your troops stay while debuffing the enemy with Harbinger of Evil and the occasional Transfix, then you're good to use them as they are immediately. If you want them casting some more however, then consider stocking up a bit more on Will, going up to 10 points at least. Try not to go higher than that however, as once you do, your cost is going to be more comparable to the named Ringwraiths, and not only do the majority of them have better Might, Will and Fate, but they also have unique rules to give you an edge on the Battlefield.

In short, if you want a generic Ringwraith and don't want to invest so heavily in one of the named options, keep them cheap, stick them behind your Orcs as you move them up, and use their abilities sparingly. Try not to ever let them get in combat, as you'll need your will and the named Nazgûl are far better fighters. </tab> <tab name="The Witch-king">

Leader of the Ringwraiths has by far the most number of options. Base cost of 70 points will buy you a potent spellcaster with a reserve of 10 will points, however his actual base cost is 125, since buying him the Crown of Morgul, as well as his Might and Fate points are essential. Afterwards you can buy him some more Will if you want him casting spells more often (aim for 15 Will, making him 150 points if you plan to be casting a bunch). Without Might, Fate and the Crown a single bad dice roll can mess you about horribly, and the Crown of Morgul also boosts his abilities as a spellcaster by allowing him to re-roll one casting or resist tests. The flail is a decent enough upgrade, it's situationally useful but you don't exactly need it. The Morgul Blade is also a good upgrade, but it's not essential. The Witch-king can kill most heroes without it (especially if his mount knocks them prone, giving him 8 attacks on his To Wound rolls against them), however you will find it useful if you know you're up against one of the heavy-hitting heroes like Aragorn or Ents. Make sure you Transfix them first though, you don't want to be losing the Witch-king if you lose the duel and they swing back. A thoroughly solid leader for Mordor, make sure to give him a mount, a good bodyguard unit (ideally Orcs on Wargs so they can keep up with either his horse of Fell Beast) and he'll do well.

• Considering how expensive the Witch-king is, consider bringing along Kardûsh. In long games the ability to sacrifice Kardûsh to restore Will to the Witch-king will make all the difference in the world.

</tab> <tab name="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. 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.

</tab> <tab name="The Dark Marshall">

A disjointed profile with a lot of notable abilities, but all of which are scattered in their uses and ultimately competing with each other for function. Fight 6 is nice, but Will of Evil means he's wasted killing troops and no Heroic Strike means he'll lose to most named/notable heroes. His special rule allows him to spend a Will point to make Warriors within 6" count as if they're in range of a banner, so now you're burning Will even faster. Great model and neat idea, but you're far better off with a generic Ringwraith and a banner or two that everyone benefits from and that don't hamper the wraith's other functions. </tab> <tab name="The Shadow lord">

Two more will points than a standard wraith and the ability to make shooting within 6" of him hit only on a 6. Makes the Shadow Lord another solid but unremarkable choice. If you don't want a Ringwraith on a mount for whatever reason, you're going to want the Shadow Lord, as he's by far the best unit buffer in the Mordor army, and he works much better at protecting your infantry troops and targeting the enemy with his magic than he does by getting into combat. He's a solid choice all things considered, and you'll almost never find a game where you won't benefit from his ability, just keep his cost in mind. It's wasted if you're just trying to protect regular Orcs, so if you're not using him to keep Uruk-hai, Morannon Orcs or Black Guard alive, then consider giving him a pass, since 120 points can also buy you 24 regular Orcs. </tab> <tab name="The Undying">

No fate, but 18 Will points make up for it quite nicely. Can spend those same points as Fate points and can spend a Will point to regain one Will point for every magical power cast within 6". The Undying is another good choice, he can be very effective but would be best used as accompanying another spellcaster or a few Orc Shamans so that he can regain more will than he uses. Don't invest too heavily in magic however, you still need bodies on the table and the only Shaman in your army who can cast more than three spells in a game is Kardûsh, so consider taking him as well as he and the Undying combo together very nicely. Kardûsh can keep feeding off Orcs to continue casting, while The Undying can keep feeding off his spells (and eventually Kardûsh himself once he runs out of Orcs). </tab> <tab name="The Knight of Umbar">

One of the more powerful combat oriented Ringwraiths, three might points and the ability to ignore the fight phase loss of will for every fight that he wins. He can also elect to use the base Fights, strength or attack values (or any combination) of his opponent instead of his own. Add in two more will points than standard and a decent array of spells and The Knight is a superb choice and a steal at 120 points. Make sure to put him on a horse to give him an extra Attack (he'll still get it even if he copies his opponent's Attacks, giving him a leg up on the fight) and don't be afraid to attempt to Transfix the tougher targets. There's no reason to fight fair, and fighting an opponent who can't strike you back is ideal. </tab> <tab name="The Betrayer">

Harad's Ringwraith comes with 2 extra will than a fully upgraded 'vanilla' wraith, can re-roll wounds in close combat and allows models with the 'poisoned' special rule to re-roll all failed To Wound rolls if they are within 6" of him. Unfortunately The Betrayer has terrible synergy in a Mordor army. You won't be able to effectively use his ability, and despite having Bane of Kings (re-rolling all failed To Wound rolls) he doesn't have a method to keep or restore his Will like The Knight of Umbar or Khamûl do, while also costing the same as them, so give him a hard pass in this list. </tab> <tab name="The Tainted">

If The Shadow Lord was the best unit buffer in the Mordor roster, the Tainted is the best unit debuffer. The Tainted's two gimmicks are first to cause non-Spirit models (friendly and enemy) in base contact to suffer a wound on a D6 roll of 6, which isn't very good, however his other ability is great, spending a will point to deny Stand Fast! and Heroic Actions to all Warrior models within 12" of him. This combines with his Harbinger of Evil rule to brutal effect, making it so that most soldiers have even odds of fleeing (or worse). Like The Shadow Lord, The Tainted is one of those Ringwraiths to consider if you want one going on foot, since his ability is a late-game one and in the meantime you can use him to support fights since he's got good a good casting roll for Transfix (needing only 3+ where some Ringwraiths need 4+).

• Do be aware that his ability does effect every Warrior model around him, including your own. It's something to keep in mind because you do not want your regular Orcs suffering a panic attack in the late game... normally anyway. If you're already ahead on Victory Points and you want to bring the game to an end immediately, you absolutely can use his ability around a bunch of Orcs, causing enough Orcs to flee that you pass the 25% threshold for ending the game.

</tab> <tab name="The Dwimmerlaik">

Another debuff Ringwraith, and the Ringwraith most hated in Rohan, The Dwimmerlaik comes with no might points to assist him in difficult situations but has a powerful ability to double the cost of every Might, Will and Fate point spent within 12" on the roll of a 4+. You don't have to stop with just one however, if you're feeling lucky and your opponent spends another point of Might/Will/Fate, you can then spend another Will point and do the same roll (and keep spending Will to keep trying to neutralize his opponent). This allows his side to successfully end Heroes who survived by passing Fate rolls, win fights by stopping Heroes from using Might to win, and prevent Heroes from staying on the table with Will when they're broken and roll badly. He's the second best debuffer next to The Tainted, but try to save his ability for when it really matters, or you'll notice his Will points vanishing quickly (despite starting with 16).

• Like some of the other Ringwraiths before him, consider taking Kardûsh alongside the Dwimmerlaik. You'll be spending a lot of Will, and the ability to sacrifice Kardûsh to gain some back is invaluable for him, especially when your enemy is broken and they're relying on Will to keep their Heroes on the field.

</tab> </tabs>

• Gothmog, Lieutenant of Sauron: The Orc equivalent of Aragorn, Gothmog lead the armies of Mordor after the Witch-Kings defeat. No idea why he has some good combat stats (he's heavily crippled so naturally moves 6" like Legolas, 3 attacks, Fight 5 and Heroic Strike, really?). A damn good choice to lead any Mordor faction, mounting him on a Warg and giving him a shield (lol doesn't he have a crippled arm?) will allow him to be even more effective. He's so good in game that he even gets his own legendary legion and, by the way, if your force is comprised entirely of Men (infantry especially) and you face Gothmog's legion just pray to get sixes.
  • His ability "The Time of Orc has come" is absolutely game winning if used correctly. Every single Orc within 12" of him gets to re-roll To Wound rolls when making Strikes, which if used when your force is engaged in combat can swing the game on it's own.

• The Mouth of Sauron: A pretty 'meh' lieutenant character with a Captain stat line, low Might and Fate, and a small collection of support magic spells. Can take an Armoured Horse, and fully upgraded comes in at 85pts. Good for a relatively cheap leader, but don't expect him to move mountains. Do note that being a Hero of Valour and having a good profile for his cost makes ideal to be the leader so you can choose a beatstick to send into combat. As an example, Shagrat can be the killing machine support and, being only a Hero of Fortitude, he does not make you lose Victory Points if he dies because he's not the leader.

• Guritz, Master of Reserves: Finally, skully has a model and a statline, and he ain't half bad. He has the exact same statline as a Morannon Orc Captain but comes with a two-handed pick and sword. He's the guy you want to bring if you have a reserve force. While on the field all your warbands in reserve can modify their reinforcement roll by +1 or -1. If Guritz and his warband is put in reserve then this bonus only affects his warband. In a Scenario to see where your warbands are deployed you can again modify the dice roll by +1 or -1.

• Gothmog’s Enforcer: Basic Morannon Captain profile (but with strength 4), and can bring as many troops, but you only want to bring him along if you are going to take Gothmog. While this guy is within 3 of his boss, Gothmog can use his Enforcer's Will Points to declare a Heroic Move instead of his own. A decent trade on saving Might Points for Gothmog to use for other things.

• Zagdush: Absolute dogshit. His rule makes him seem like he should be a good missile, launch him into combat and watch him rip, but he's then stuck at D4, and you could just have taken an Uruk-hai Captain instead who already is Strength 5 base, has access to Two-handed weapons, gets to keep his D5, has an additional Fight point, and costs exactly the same (when you buy him the Two-handed weapon) to boot. Skip.

• Goroth, Captain of the Morannon : Your hard hitting Captain equipped with a two handed mace. Being strength 5 and having the burly special rule he should make short work of even heavy armoured infantry. What makes Goroth really worth taking is his special rule Come here Maggot! This allows him to use a friendly Mordor Orc as shield on a +2 as long as they are within 1" from him. This makes him pretty survivable and justifies his much higher points cost (compared to generic Captains anyway), just make sure to bring meat shields with spears for him to use.

• Shagrat, Captain of Cirith Ungol: The champion of Mordor (who ran from Sam's shadow like a coward in the movie). A Mordor Uruk-hai with attitude, Shagrat is the premier Orc combatant for your force. 3 attacks, wounds, might, will and fate combined with a Strength and Defence of 5 (Defence of 8 when you buy his shield and heavy armour) and Wargear which knocks opponents to the ground (when he charges) make the war leader to be a formidable opponent for any good army. Well worth the points if you want to have somebody to rip apart good heroes and continually regain might points thanks to Heroic Challenge and Blood and Glory. His only weakness are Heroes that are higher than Heroes of Fortitude, since he should have no problem stomping nearly all good Heroes of Fortitude.

• Gorbag, Orc Captain: For fifteen points more than an orc captain you get three might, +1 courage and +1 fight and attack when outnumbered in a fight. Well worth considering, but don't expect to use it in every game. If you don't have priority then your opponent can choose to pair fights off in ways that prevent him from getting outnumbered in a fight, and that's if they allow him to get in that position in the first place.

• Grishnakh, Orc captain: The Orc Treebeard steps on in his introduction. Grishnakh offers only a single point of might and backstabber as an advantage over a standard Orc Captain. 10 points more than a regular Orc Captain, but you might still consider it worth it if you're planning on bringing Orcs with maces, as they can Bash an enemy Warrior to the ground, allowing Grishnakh to easily finish them off (and if you're up against Minas Tirith D6 you might find yourself appreciating this). Even if you don't plan on doing that, he still has one more point of Might and Heroic Strike, which on their own could be worth the 10 points.

• Kardûsh the Firecaller: A 60pt Orc shaman that can fire a strength 6 fireball instead of transfixing an enemy. Can also be sacrificed at the start of any priority phase to restore D6 will to a Ringwraith within 6". Natural accomplice to The Undying since Kardûsh can continuously sacrifice Orcs to regain will, cast spells to cause The Undying to regain will, and then be sacrificed himself to give the Undying more will if you really need to. He's one of the best casters in the force because of this, and can be relied to cast more than one Channeled spell in a game, unlike every other Evil-aligned spellcaster aside from the Ringwraiths and Saruman. Flameburst is also a great spell, and being able to cast it at 3+ is almost worth it on its own.

• Shelob: A cheap monstrous creature for the armies of Mordor, Shelob is a very situational creature. Charging as a monstrous mount, she can knock down cavalry models and gains an extra attack when charging, she also causes terror and can move her full distance whatever is in her way. However, her paltry 1 attack with no might and a chance to run away after every wound renders her a mediocre choice at best. Yes she gets a lot more attacks on the charge (2 after Monstrous Charge, 4 if attacking a prone model) but if your opponent is smart and charges her (despite her terror) this advantage is wasted. If your opponent isn't bringing cavalry for her to run down, if you can't keep your opponent from charging her, or if you know the board won't be filled with terrain, then give her a pass.
  • Incidentally if your opponent is playing another evil army, then do be aware that with her Strength of 7, she can Knock to the Ground most enemy models, with very few exceptions. She can even charge Ringwraiths on Fell Beasts, which will knock both models to the ground, and cause the Fell Beast to immediately run away, netting you an instant 50 points and possibly killing the Ringwraith (either in the fall or when she attacks). She can also Knock to the Ground Cave Trolls (although not Mordor Trolls), and possibly finish them off in the process.

• Orc Captain: Standard captain stat line but with low courage of 3, and is only going to be chosen if you're on a budget and/or you want a generic character on a Warg. There's not much else to say about them really, aside from try not to get them in combat against enemy characters. There are a lot of Good heroes they lose to, and if you have to choose, Orc Captains will serve you better as a Stand Fast bubble than as a duelist (especially with your army bonus and combined with a War Horn).
  • Because of their higher Fight and Strength, as well as their Might and lower cost, you could use these guys as linebreakers if you really wanted to. They have the ability to break down Shieldwalls better than regular Orcs and Uruk-hai do, not to mention the Might to boost their score, so if you're not investing in Black Guard or Uruk-hai for some reason then you can use them to as mediocre beatsticks.

• Orc Shaman: A 50pt wizard that seems tailor made to sort out the main weakness of the Mordor armies – low courage. Cast their signature 'Fury' spell and all Orcs within 6" pass courage tests automatically and ignore wounds on a 6+ if channeled. His spear also allows him to support Orcs from the middle of a phalanx. An extremely useful character, just make sure not to expend all his will unless you absolutely must try to use Transfix, as keeping your Orcs around is far more important for your force (and it'll let you keep your army bonus).

• Mordor Orc Taskmaster: Same stats as an ordinary Orc captain (minus one Might point), but comes equipped with a 2" range throwing weapon, his strength comes with his ability to grant free heroic actions to allied heroes within 6" on a 4+. Thankfully he's now only 10 points more than a regular Orc Captain, so if you were just going to take a normal Infantry Orc Captain, consider taking this guy instead as his special rule will occasionally come in handy.
  • If you use him, remember to play this at full volume.

• Orc Drummer: With most of your troops being Infantry he's one of the few ways to boost your movement. Sure you can't charge afterwards, but there's always going to be times in which you have to run around the board, either for objectives or just to close the distance, so if you bring one or two you'll usually find yourself using the extra movement they can give you, just save them for higher point games. An extra 30 points in a lower point game is still quite a few Orcs worth of bodies you can use to keep your army bonus a while longer.

• Back Númenórean Marshal: A captain of Minas Tirith (stat wise) that causes terror. He's okay, but there are better choices in the Mordor army. Seriously, if you want a Model with terror just use a Nazgul. This isn't to say you can't make him work, since he's one of the only models in your army with access to a Lance (and so he hits pretty fucking hard on the charge) but you can't just get him on his own, you pretty much have to buy him his horse and lance to make him worth it, and then you have to invest in other Cavalry to act as support (ideally Morgul Knights to act as a Shock Cav force), and then you're basically playing Evil Rohan. If that's what you like though, then go for it.

• Morannon Orc Captain: For 45 points at defence 6 and strength 5 is a worthwhile investment. Fewer options than an ordinary Orc captain, but a great combat choice. A shield is practically mandatory, and don't get him a Two-handed weapon. If you want a combat character just get Goroth, Shagrat, or an Uruk-hai Captain if you want something cheaper than those two.

• Captain of the Black Guard: Morannon Orcs on steroids and encased in really really good armour. Defence 7 as standard and Courage 6 as long as Sauron or a Ringwraith is alive makes him hard as nails and painful to fight. Not as cheap as other servants however, though the difference between D6 and D7 is huge (as nearly every good model in the game is S3 or S4, so he'll typically only be wounded on 6's) and so long as you have a Nazgúl and a War Horn in your force (which the Black Númenóreans can provide) he'll pass his Courage checks on 3's, and if you still outnumber your opponent, he'll be Courage 8, and so will always pass Courage tests (and basically function as a 6" Fearless bubble for your Orcs). In short, you want him if you are already taking a Nazgúl and want a commander who will make sure your Orcs stay in the fight, and that's pretty much it (in other words, he's for higher point games). Other Orc Captains have the same Strength and Two-handed weapons if you want to kill stuff, and if you want a cheaper and equally tough hero, just get a Morannon Orc Captain with a shield. He's 10 points cheaper and with the same statline (barring one point of Fight and Courage), or get a Mordor Uruk-hai Captain if you want to kill stuff (who's basically a Captain of the Black Guard but with one less Defence point).

• Black Guard Drummer: Should really be Defence 6 since every other Orc Hero has a base Defence of 4, and because of this there's practically no reason to take him over the regular Orc Drummer. Yes he has +1 point of Strength and Courage, but you don't rely on your Drummers to kill stuff, you rely on them to get your troops into position. Besides, base Black Guard have nearly the same statline (they actually are Defence 6 with their gear) so if you really want the Strength 5, get them instead, they're much cheaper and tougher.

• Mordor Uruk-Hai Captain: The Yin to Morannon Orcs' Yang, swapping a point of Defence for +1 Fight and Courage. If you want to be ripping apart the enemy with a hero then they're your go-to generic version, just buy them a Two-handed weapon, but if you want a hero that'll last a little longer then go for a Morannon Orc Captain instead. Don't give them shields, it's a complete waste (the gap between D5 and D6 is not very wide in how useful it is to you), at that point you should just pay the extra 5 points for a Captain of the Black Guard who's D7 so that nearly every good model in the game is wounding you on 6's at the least.

• Mordor troll Chieftain: Very dangerous terror causing monster with three S7 attacks and a high Defence. A steal at 140 points, begin your recruitment drive today. Do be careful if you're up against Ents though, they will knock over your Chieftan and then they will kill it, so keep regular Orcs around it to block potential charges.

• Great Beast of Gorgoroth: Also a steal in terms of points when you consider that the Orc warriors and commander are about 100 points by themselves, not to mention the Orcs in the Howdah do not count against your bow limit, you still get to use them when the Great Beast dies, and it serves to keep them alive as you march them around the field. There's practically no reason not to use it.

Warriors

• Orc Warrior: One of the worst Warriors in the game; low Courage, Fight and Defence means that these guys are not going to be around for very long, but that's not why you take them, you take them because they're cheap. One Orc Warrior costs as much as a shield for one of your Leaders, and the sheer number of dice that they can roll make them a dangerous threat. Buy them in blobs for holding positions, providing spear support, meatshields for your more expensive Orcs (march them in front so they soak up the arrows) and don't spend too much on them. Six Orcs are better than five Orcs with shields, so get enough to be reasonably sure you can keep your army bonus by outnumbering the enemy, and then make sure they support your actual fighters like Morannon Orcs, Uruk-hai or Black Guard. They can also be a surprisingly effective speed bump when a blob is paired with an Orc shaman.

• Orc Tracker: Worse in combat than other Orcs and with an extremely low Defence of 3, the Orc trackers are a slightly better shot with a 4+ value. These are some of the most cost effective shooting evil players have access to, and they also serve to help you buff up your model count so you keep your army bonus. Don't bother with normal Orcs with bows (unless you're using the Great Beast of Gorgoroth) or giving these Orcs Wargs, just sit them back and pick off a few things.

• Warg Rider: The reason why you don't want to take Wargs for Orc trackers are the Warg riders themselves. Evil cavalry extraordinaire, the Wargs are brutal, hard hitting and versatile. Low courage and rider Defence is bad, but again they are cheaper than their good side equivalents. These are a very good buy with throwing spears and shields, coming to 13 points in total. This paired with the changes to thrown weapons and charges, really makes them quite nasty. Pair up with Gothmog, a captain or a shaman mounted on a Warg.

• Black Númenórean: Costing 9pts apiece the men of Mordor are very limited in their uses. Their low strength and lack of options is a pretty bad feature; which means that their only real use is being the front of a line while being supported by Morannon Orc spears. This might sound familiar to the use of Mordor Uruk-hai, and indeed the Black Númenóreans are close to them in role, since they're also Fight 4 (except with a Courage of 4) however while the Uruk-hai do more damage the Black Númenóreans can take more damage, be it from bows or in combat. Terror also means you're less likely to be charged by an enemy unit, but this doesn't mean that you should take a lot of them. Generally the more Black Númenóreans you have the less useful they are, so if you're taking them, just use a few of them as a frontline support so that the Orcs behind them benefit from their Fight 4 and Defence 6.
  • Incidentally these guys are one of your only sources for a war horn, and you absolutely should get at least one and hide it somewhere. Courage is a huge issue for your force and anything that buffs it is a good thing. Skip the banner on these guys though, they cost too much and are too expensive with it.

• Morgul Knight: Another Gondor analogue, this time using the Knights of Dol Amroth. Their heavy armour and shields give them a good survivability and 18 points prices them competitively as well. Causing terror is a boon, and the ability to take a war horn is great as it makes your cowardly Orcs less likely to turn tail. On top of this, despite being S3 their Lances, Knock Down and Extra Attack on the charge mean they still hit very hard. Damn good and well worth the points.

• Morgul Stalker: A 10pt one wound Orc doesn't look good, but Stalk Unseen will keep the guy alive, and two attacks each at Strength 4 is enough to give pause. Situationally they can be good in terrain heavy maps, but don't count on them to win games, just get a few to hold far-off objective markers since they're not going to be shot off of them.

• Morannon Orc: Bigger, better, tougher Orcs. The extra Strength and heavy armour makes a big difference to their effectiveness and when paired with a suitable hero, these guys are the primary choice for a front line troop in your games, as they come in cheaper than Mordor Uruk-hai, and can support each other with spears. For a newcomer, there are plenty of these guys in the starter set, so they make an excellent choice considering money and usage in game (Gothmog I'm looking at you).
  • For those of you trying to get the most bang for your buck, buying a shield is great if you know you're up against majority Strength 3 armies (AKA nearly every Good army) but if you're up against Strength 4, the extra Defence point does not increase the To Wound score, so you can go without if you don't intend to use the Shielding rule.

• Black Guard of Barad Dur: A S5, D6 Uruk-hai with a higher than normal courage. Getting on for the cost of two fully equipped Orc warriors and their options are severely limited. Highly effective and the best bodyguard/escort unit that you have. Well worth the points cost, and if you do plan on getting some of these guys, consider paying the extra point and equipping some with axes, and some with maces. They can reliably bash down most opponents (be they Warriors or Heroes) which makes them significantly easier for your supporting elements to finish off, and if you bash down somebody in a Shieldwall, their allies immediately lose the extra Defence point, allowing a S6 axe-wielding Black Guard to wound Gondor Warriors on a 4+ (not to mention your S4 Morannon Orcs/Uruk-hai now wound them on 5's instead of 6's). Just be aware that if you get too many of these, your army is going to suffer since they'll soon be using up a lot of your points, and you'll find it'll be harder to keep your army bonus. As such try to limit these guys to a handful if you plan on using them, rather than filling out Warbands with them.

• Mordor Uruk-hai: Versatile and strong, Mordor Uruk Hai are a decent choice for a core force to hammer your enemy or a bodyguard for a hero. Reasonably versatile in their choices, but Orc bows are a waste of points on these guys as their higher Fight, Courage and Strength is wasted if they camp out in the back field shooting. Unfortunately they have no access to spears so you need to back them up with Morannon or regular orcs if you want support, which is a good idea anyway as while Morannon Orcs are just as strong and tougher, Uruk-hai have a higher Fight value.

• Mordor Troll: High Strength, high Defence, high Fight and three attacks. Now with a full compliment of different weapon upgrades, all hand-and-a-half weapons as well! You get to choose between a hammer, a club and a sword. The bonus from the sword is greatly diminished with the army bonus. Hammer would seem the best, as knocking the target prone is always good. Worth including at least one in every force, although don't bother with the drum upgrade. It's awful. The amount of points you pay is almost enough for an Orc Drummer, which if nothing else, is an extra body for your army bonus and an extra attack even if you never find a time to use the Drum (which is unlikely). Do be careful if you're up against Ents, they will knock over your Troll and then they will kill it, so keep regular Orcs around it to block potential charges.

• Mordor Siege Bow: A good source of high strength shots, but with vulnerable crew and less damage output than the catapult, the siege bow just doesn't cut the mustard. The 5+ shoot is what really kills it, as it's conceivable that some unlucky dice means that it could miss every single shot it has in the game and never cause a problem for your enemy, and 50 points before upgrades is a tad pricey for that.

• Mordor War Catapult: Everything the siege bow isn't. Very expensive and highly effective against everything on the battlefield. If the troll is in base contact with catapult, you can re-roll to hit and scatter rolls. With 4+ shoot and Str10 you'll most likely kill what you point it at.

Allies

Mordor Has some decent ally choices to fill up a few gaps in the army. As of ME:SBG, Alliances are based off history and the chronological order of things, rather than the sides they could have fought on. This is why Mordor and Barad-Dûr are impossible allies. The Siege of Barad-Dûr took place during the Last Alliance whilst the Mordor list presented in Armies of The Lord of the Rings represents Mordor as it was during the War of the Ring, about 3000 years apart.

Historical Allies

·The Easterlings – Some of the toughest cavalry in the game. At D7 thanks to shield wall, these are very hard to move if they maintain their formations.

·The Serpent Horde – ELEPHANTS

Convenient Allies

·Corsairs of Umbar –

·Dark Denizens of Mirkwood –

·Far Harad –

·Isengard –

·Moria –

·Variags of Khand –

Impossible Allies

·Angmar –

·Azog's Hunter –

·Azog's Legion –

·Barad-Dûr –

·Dark Powers of Dol Guldor –

·Desolator of the North –

·Goblin Town –

·Sharkey's Rogues –

·The Trolls –