The Lord of the Rings Strategy Battle Game/Tactics/Numenor
Why Play Númenor
Remember how enraptured you were by those first few minutes of the fellowship? If so, Númenor may be the list for you. If not? Well, maybe you like LotR history or want to play as the guy who fucked everything up, or against him.
Pros
- Great heroes that really pull their own weight.
- Cool models, if you can find most of them.
Cons
- Tiny number of units and heroes and Anárion is mentioned as a character for the game, but he does not have a profile (Not having a model is understandable see below why)**
- They NEED allies to have any chance
- If you use the plastic Númenor Warriors from the Last Alliance box, then they look hilariously tiny next to the near-28mm scale of Elendil and Isildur
- Troops are from 2001 and heroes are from 2002 without any other sculpts made for them. YES THESE MODELS HAVE BEEN AVAILABLE FOR NEARLY 20 YEARS. They have aged badly.
- Unless GW gets the license for the Amazon's TV series, which comprises basically second age (THE LAST ALLIANCE BATTLES), forget Anárion or any chance to expand this list. If GW gets it...OH BOY BE PREPARED FOR A HUGE ARMY LIST AND MONEY INVESTMENT
Army Bonus
All units increase their courage by +1.
Unit Analysis
Heroes
- Elendil, High King of Gondor and Arnor: That cool dude who managed to get on Sauron's nerves enough to get personally killed by him. With an AMAZING Defence value, a stupidly good fight value, and a fair number of wounds and might (though only 1 fate), Elendil is a solid hero choice with access to unlimited heroic combats. Though he is expensive, it will take something near Sauron levels to put him down.
- Isildur: The guy who fucked it all up. Much like his Dad, you get a stupidly hard to kill hero with a lot of attacks, a solid fight value, and access to 'the ring' because going invisible and failing your race is fun!
- Captain of Númenor: Even the generic guys are better in the past! With a base fight of 5, access to Defence 7, horses, and lances the Captain of Númenor is no joke. For standard captain price you get a guy who, when kitted out, can easily go toe-to-toe with some of the better named characters.
Troops
- Warrior of Númenor: The weakest link. Unfortunately, Warriors of Númenor are kind of bad. For the standard price, you get a painfully low defence human with access to the normal gear, these guys are only really here as body blockers for your named characters since you have better 2nd Age troops (if you want to remain fluffy) to choose from elsewhere. However, they do benefit greatly from standing near either Elendil or Isildur, gaining Resistant to Magic, and the army bonus makes them nearly as brave as elves. Also, strength 4 is not too shabby.
Allies
Historical Allies
Rivendell
Convenient Allies
Fangorn
Lothlórien
The Misty Mountains
Thranduil's Hall
Impossible Allies
Arnor
Minas Tirith
The Dead of Dunharrow
Rohan
The Kingdom of Khazad-dûm
The Fellowship
The Fiefdoms
The Shire
The Wanderers in the Wild
The Rangers
Thorin's Company
Radagast's Alliance
Army of Thrór
Garrison of Dale
The White Council
Army of Laketown
Survivors of Laketown
Iron Hills Dwarves
Erebor Reclaimed