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

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Why Play Rohan

there's 2 real reasons: You like the visuals of a mounted anglo-saxon force charging into the gross hordes of evil, and if you gotta go fast. The entire army can (and should) be mostly mounted on horses, lots of decent archers, and a nice selection of models on GW's web store, they are a good starting point for a man-based good army.

Pros

• Lots of Cavalry, meaning lots of prone enemy models and a stupidly high movement across the army
• the 'expert rider' trait on all of their mounted units makes them hard to slow down and hard to throw off their mounts.
• They have one of the better army bonuses if used correctly

Cons

• You have a tendency to be outnumbered by a fair margin due to the point cost of a bunch of mounted warriors
• while you have lots of throwing weapons, those will rarely be hitting on better than a 5, so don't rely on them
• A lot of our heroes tend to be standard at best, if not worse

Army Bonus

"Ride for Ruin and the World's Ending!" - All of your cavalry gets +1 Strength when they charge. Given how important Strength is in Middle-Earth, you'd better hold onto this faction ability. Also, Riders of Rohan don't count towards the army Bow Limit.

Unit Analysis

Heroes

• Theoden, King of Rohan: Theoden, like a lot of the Rohirrim characters, is cheap and versatile. With access to armoured horses and a respectable Defense of 7, Theoden makes for a solid choice of first hero. His only downside, however, is his average stat line, but his low point cost balances that out. The fact he can take up to 18 followers is a plus, his sword , herugrim, allows him to feint even if his enemy's fight value is higher than his. He also has a 12" inch stand fast, but only a single fate point, so he can become quite vulnerable to hard hitting enemies. But his real value is the fact that he boosts the Fight Value of a lot of your stuff (Captains of Rohan, Riders of Rohan and Rohan Royal Guard) if they charge within 12 inches of him, which could be the fight winner against a lot of human armies. Should probably be the core of your army.

• Theodred, Heir of Rohan: Much like his Father, Theodred is a prime example of Rohan's characters. Standard stat line, relatively low cost, and multiple upgrades. A hero of valour, he no longer has access to a bow, but can still take throwing spears. Like his father he only has one fate point, but due to his reckless charge rule he must always charge, so take at your own peril.

• Hama, Captain of Rohan: Hama is, interesting, to say the least. For a normal hero price you get a bog standard hero with no frills. He has no fate so wants to avoid enemy heroes, has a low fight value, and standard hero courage. What makes him interesting (and not trash) is his "King's man" ability, which lets him auto pass all courage tests if Theoden is on the board. What makes this good is his 2 might let him 'stand fast' more than once, meaning that this body guard is more of a support than an actual body guard. If you use him right, however, he can be a game changer once terror or break tests come into play.

• Eomer, Marshal of the Riddermark: Beast in close combat, with 3 attacks, 3 wounds, Fight Value 5, S4, D7 (with a shield) and 3 points of Might, Will and Fate. Also has a special rule where he goes crazy if Theoden or Eowyn die. He's not cheap though, running 125 points with Shield, Armored Horse and Throwing Spears, and doesn't give the bonus to Riders of Rohan Theoden does. Should be considered carefully.

• Eowyn, Shield Maiden of Rohan: Now you too can play with your "macbeth plot twist" but in high fantasy! at 30 points base she's one of your cheapest 'effective' heroes (more on that later), though with no base armour and only a hand weapon to speak of, she's more realistically priced at a 40 point minimum with access to throwing spears and horse. with okay M/W/F and an all around terrible stat line, she's best used as a key to unlock 6 more troop models.
  • Dernhelm: From the Gondor at War book, Dernhelm is literally just Merry and Eowyn on the same model, but costs less than the two of them put together with that equipment would. Gives Eowyn an extra attack and if things go bad you can have Merry hop off to be his own model, so if you're thinking of taking Merry and Eowyn, very much worth a look.

• Meriadoc, Knight of the Mark: Unlike his cousin in Minas Tirith, Merry may actually have the occasional use in a list. Like Peregrin, he's a cheap 25 points base, but unlike Peregrin he has access to a shield for a nice Defense 5 and the Horn of the Riddermark, which increases the courage of all Hobbits (friend or foe) by 1. while he's nice for a hobbit list, 50 points for a hobbit hero is not cheap, so think carefully before fielding him all nice and kitted out. Just like his Cousin, he's an independent hero, so he doesn't unlock any troops.

• Gamling, Captain of Rohan: With a stat line that is nothing to write home about and no real upgrades beyond a horse, Gamling should only be brought for one reason: the Royal Standard of Rohan. At the cost of doubling your point value, you get the ability to regenerate might on all heroes near Gamling, which can be a game changer in the final fourth of a match.

• Erkenbrand, Captain of Rohan: With the ability to make your riders better fighters, a suped up warhorn, and a solid fighter stat line, Erkengrand is one of the better names heroes Rohan has access to. Fast, tough, hard hitting, AND a solid support hero, he does it all for a fair price at that.

• Elfhelm, Captain of Rohan: A Captain of Rohan with Shield and Throwing Spears, for 10 points more than a Captain of Rohan. For those 10 points he gets an extra point of Might, a 3+ to hit while shooting and a neat ability where he can reroll hit, wound and In the Way while using his Throwing Spear and never gets a -1 to hit with it for moving and shooting. Those 10 points might be worth it to have him cut his way through lightly armored infantry quickly (consistently killing 1 with his throwing spear and then moving on). Be careful though, he doesn't have the Arise Riders of Theoden rule.

• Deorwine, Chief of the King's Knights: Captain of Rohan with Heavy Armor and Shield, an extra point of Might, 1 higher Fight and the Bodyguard rule, plus an ability to call a free heroic fight if he's within 12 of Theoden in a fight (and then has to move closer to Theoden), for 20 points more than a Captain of Rohan. Useful if you keep him near Theoden, but otherwise don't bother.

• Captain of Rohan: You standard captain with access to a little bit of everything for maximum variety. Funnily enough one of your better options when you look at the point total: 75 points for a hero that can and will rival most of your named men (and woman)

• King's Huntsman: An interesting choice. with a standard archer statline and an elf bow base for that glorious strength 3, the huntsman is already a solid hero, but he only gets better. the 'master archer' rule makes him pass any 'in the way' roll on a 2+ and gives him the ability to restore all his might whenever he shoots at a hero or monster. factor in his cheap price, and you have a solid hero for making your enemy sweat. Like a few similar characters, he's an minor hero so he only unlocks 6 troop slots in his warband.

• Eorl the Young: The founder of Rohan with a faster-than-average horse and a solid hero stat line. what really makes him different from the other Rohirrim characters is his ability to be a mini-Aragorn and not spend a might on a 4+, giving him on average, 5 might instead of 3, more if you're lucky. Note that if you take him, you can't take any other named heroes and can't ally with any other factions other than Minas Tirith (also with no named heroes).

Troops

• Rohan Outrider: better at shooting but more spooked by close combat, outriders are Rohan's ranger equivalent. They have access to horses, and get to benefit from 'stand fasts' even if they are out of range for it. They do suffer from the same problem as riders in that the bow limit severely hinders how many you could opt to bring.

• Rohan Royal Guard: passable defense, a standard stat line, access to horses, throwing spears, and the bodyguard special rule Royal guard will end up being one of, if not the most common unit in your army, though they come at the downside of being incredibly expensive fully kitted out.

• Warrior of Rohan: your cheapest, but most unfortunate troop. A 'standard' human stat line, though with a lower defense these guys are intended to be your normal unit, but even at their cheap point value they are greatly out performed by most other units. They are solid if you're wanting to try and swarm your enemy or are playing a certain themed battle (because helms deep is cool), otherwise go for your other troops.

Cavalry

• Rider of Rohan: Your bread and butter unit. with access to throwing spears, and a bow and horse base, riders make for an interesting core choice, and since the faction ability of Rohan makes Riders of Rohan immune to the bow limit, you can take as many as you want.

• Son of Eorl: For six points more than a Rider of Rohan, you lose the bow, and access to Throwing Spears (and Horns/Banners, if that's important to you) but gain a point of Fight, Strength, Defense, Courage and get armor for their horse. They also lose the ability to get +1 Fight when charging near Theoden, but get +1 attack at all times when close to Eorl. They certainly fight harder, and S5 on the charge is nothing to sneeze at, but it's up to you if the increase in points is worth it.

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.

• The Riders of Theoden:
  • Bonuses:
    • "Ride for Ruin and the World's Ending!" - All of your cavalry gets +1 Strength when they charge and Riders of Rohan don't count towards your bow limit, same as the normal Rohan army, although quite useful as the army literally does not allow you to take infantry.
    • "Death!" Once per game Theoden can choose to use this ability. If he does, all Rohan Heroes within 12 of him (including him, obviously) can declare a free Heroic Combat or Heroic Strike. Can be utterly devastating if used at the right moment.
  • Army List: You must take Theoden no matter what, and if you like Dernhelm can be part of Elfhelm's Warband.
    • Theoden with Shield, Heavy Armor and Armored Horse
    • Eomer with Shield and Armored Horse (can take Throwing Spears)
    • Dernhelm
    • Deorwine with Horse
    • Gamling with Horse (can take Royal Standard of Rohan)
    • Elfhelm with Horse
    • Captain of Rohan with Horse (can take Bow, Heavy Armor, Shield and Throwing Spears)
    • Riders of Rohan (can War Horns, Banners or Throwing Spears)
    • Rohan Royal Guard on Horse (can take Banners or Throwing Spears)

Allies

Historical Allies

Lothlorien: Lothlorien have powerful infantry and great casters, but their cavalry is a little overpriced. Rohan have excellent cavalry but no casting and their infantry is pretty lacking, so they might make good allies.

Minas Tirith Gandalf the white can support your troops by casting blinding light to protect them from shooting. Good for keeping all your horsemen alive before your first charge. Gandalf also gives Rohan what they lack the most, magic resistance!

The Fiefdoms

Wildmen of Druadan

Convenient Allies

The Fellowship

The Dead of Dunharrow

Rivendell

Fanghorn

Halls of Thranduil

The Misty Mountains

The Rangers

The Shire

The White Council

Impossible Allies

Arnor

Numenor

The Kingdom of Khazad-Dum

The Wanderers in the Wild

Thorin's Company

Radagast's Alliance

Army of Thror

Garrison of Dale

Army of Laketown

Survivors of Laketown

Iron Hills Dwarves

Erebor Reclaimed

Tactics

General Rule

-Delay, delay, delay
-We are way faster than just about any army that outnumbers us, and any army that is as fast as us, doesn't outnumber us. This means you can choose where you engage almost every time, and if you can't choose where to engage you < should at least be on fair footing against them.

Might

-Kite with heroic moves, avoid using other heroic abilities unless it saves the life of your hero or if the late game has already set in and heroic moves are no longer necessary.
-Improve chances of successful heroic moves and use less might by taking out opponents characters at range first, this has the double effect of not allowing them to combat your heroics when they have priority and means you don't need to use might to retreat when you have priority

Charges

-While royal guard are very good on the charge, as soon as they get swarmed they are going to be eaten alive
-Use multiple waves of riders to ensure even counter chargers get charged and therefore pulled out of combat with the first wave (heroic moves can help with this, heroic charge followed up by non-heroics)
-Avoid fights where you have a high chance of getting swarmed, one Cavalry charging 2 infantry isn't horrible but you no longer hold a direct advantage

Shooting

-There is a priority in who you shoot first
1. Ranged units (especially those with decent strength) (generally easier to kill due to lack of shields)
2. Heros (1 and 2 are interchangeable in some situations, especially if the heroes have lots of might)
3. Models that can easily keep up with your feinted retreats
4. Models that provide some form of buff (Banners, horns, drums, etc.)
5. Basic warriors
-Don't waste shots on things that you can't possibly kill in one round of shooting unless there are no other targets
-If you have a target that you're prioritizing but other models are in the way that fall lower on the list, that's okay. Shooting with no minus to hit is better than moving to avoid that in the way check, worst case you hit a basic warrior you would have wanted to hit eventually anyway, which may clear your lines of fire for other models.

Monsters

-To be determined...
-Likely going to involve baiting those big guys out, plunging as many shots as possible into it, then charge when you have the priority