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
• More ranged weapons than you might initially guess - if done right then every model in your army can have throwing spears or a bow to chuck around, helping to soften up the enemy before that glorious strength 4 charge
• Good army to start with: Théoden box, Dernhelm box or Éomer box, 4 riders of Rohan boxes (RIP money), 1 box of warriors of Rohan for dismounted riders and there it goes the core of your army (ALL IN PLASTIC YEAH). Royal guard and Gamling when you get more experience and you want to expand the army. Ignore the command set (bannerman can be converted with a spearman form the infantry box, king's huntsman is useless, war horn dudes redundant and captains...Well better to get Dernhelm than a captain full kitted out)
• Pelennor Fields starter kit is ridiculously good value for money and gives you a great basis for both this army and a mordor army. If you can find a friend who is willing to swap the Rohan stuff for the Mordor stuff, even better.
• Possibly the coolest good army in the game

Cons

• You have a tendency to be outnumbered by a fair margin due to the point cost of a bunch of mounted warriors
• If Théoden dies then the list tends to crumble
• While you have lots of throwing weapons, those will rarely be hitting on better than a 4 (Throwing Weapons don't take the -1 to hit when charging), so don't rely on them
• While you have a lot of bows, they're strength 2 and will struggle against anything higher than Defence 6
• A lot of our heroes tend to be standard at best, if not worse
• For an all-Cavalry list, you have a disappointing lack of lances - this is more unfortunate than it appears, since strength 3 with +1 to wound will outperform strength 4 nearly every time. Yeah but forget that s4 is like a semi lance which costs 2 pòints and Cavalry troops get it at +1 point (OH WAIT ROYAL GUARD AND OUTRIDERS DO NOT INCREASE ITS BASIC COST, JUST RIDERS OF ROHAN) + Theoden's rule so it is balanced in terms of point efficiency. And heroes on horse have s5 on charge without any increased cost in their profiles. Other s5 dudes or with lances pay for them.
• Bad infantry if you're not taking them as part of the 'Defenders of Helm's Deep' Legionary Legion.
• No Magic Defence - if you run into someone with Sorcerous Blast, you are completely and utterly fucked as your heroes and warriors will get blasted off their horses

Army Bonus

"Ride for Ruin and the World's Ending!" - All of your Cavalry get +1 Strength when they charge. Given how important Strength is in Middle-Earth, you'd better hold onto this faction ability.

• Note too that while Riders of Rohan don't count towards the army Bow Limit, this is included above the Army Bonus rather than inside it, so even if you use convenient allies you'll still get it.

Unit Analysis

Heroes

• Théoden, King of Rohan: Théoden, like a lot of the Rohirrim characters, is cheap, versatile, and makes for a solid choice of first hero. Generally you want to spend every point on him you can; always get him the armoured horse, the shield and the heavy armour. This'll make him Defence 7, allowing you to shrug off everything weaker than Strength 5, and his horse absolutely should be armoured or else it'll be hard for it to resist arrows. While Théoden isn't useless on foot, he's a lot less effective and if his horse gets shot out from under him it becomes a lot harder to use his buffs for Cavalry. Even fully upgraded however, Théoden is only 100 points, can take a ton of Warriors, offers a 12" Stand Fast! and buffs up many of your Cavalry. His only downside, however, is his average stat line; he's an older man and won't be winning Duels against combat focused Heroes, so either get Théodred or Éomer to take them on for him. That being said, the core of Rohan armies tends to be based around Théoden since the buffs he offers is so substantial (he's the only way to get your Warriors to Fight 4/5 depending on which you go with), he keeps a lot of your Heroes on the field, and his Courage of 5 (plus 3 Will) is going to help ensure your Warriors stay, especially if you buy Erkenbrand to boost it to 7. Something interesting too is his sword, Herugrim. If you're up against a Fight 6 (or higher) enemy then there's literally no downside to re-rolling those ones. Also remember to keep Riders of Rohan or Rohan Royal Guard in between him and bows so that he's further protected by In the Way rolls.
  • Consider saving Théoden's Might Points for Heroic March. You're going to have a lot of Cavalry and it's generally better to be able to move into position or away from bad engagements than it is to risk Théoden in fights that you'll need those Might Points to win. This isn't helped by his 1 Fate either, and since you want to keep Théoden mounted you might even spend this on his horse, so try to keep him out of all but the safest combats. Most of Rohan's engagements are throwing spears at the enemy until you can fight them in one-on-one engagements anyway so he's going to be sitting back for a while as your Warriors whittle down your opponents.
  • Always make sure to keep Théoden away from enemies with the Monstrous Charge rule. If you've seen the movies you know exactly how it'll end if he's charged by a Nazgûl on a Fell Beast, but even if he survives he'll be stuck on foot while the Cavalry around him struggle to protect him. Since he's a Hero of Legend he's going to be your Leader, and you can't leave him to die which is going to cause you to lose more and more Cavalry in a sad attempt to protect him. To prevent this from happening, always keep Riders of Rohan or Rohan Royal Guard close by to escort him and take those kinds of charges for him, and in the rare scenario that your opponent's Monster has higher movement, use Heroic Move/March to keep your distance if you're not in a good position to charge and kill it.
  • Watch out for Gríma Wormtongue; with him nearby Théoden acts his age, though he's still not useless if you can't figure out a way to get rid of Gríma. Théoden still provides a huge Stand Fast! aura, and you can still use his Might for his Fate points. In the event you can't get rid of Gríma, move Théoden away from other Heroes so that he's the only one affected by Gríma's debuff, and just put up with it.

• Théodred, Heir of Rohan: Much like his Father, Théodred is a prime example of Rohan's characters. Standard stat line, relatively low cost, and multiple upgrades. He should be given every upgrade except for throwing spears, but unlike his father he's fantastic in combat. Théodred is one of the hardest hitting characters in the game on the charge, even against Defence 6/7 Théodred deals 2 Wounds on average if he's attacking a Monster or Cavalry, and he deals 4 Wounds if they're Infantry. If he's up against Defence 5 models (such as Orcs) he'll absolutely shred them, dealing 3 Wounds against Cavalry (so even if a Shaman gets his Fate Point and stops a wound he'll still die) and 6 Wounds against Infantry on average. He deals almost as much as Aragorn while costing less than half as much, but unfortunately there's a good reason for that. If Théodred can charge an enemy model, he absolutely must. This means he'll be unable to stand still and use his throwing spears, since his charge range is longer than the range of his spear, but you can play around it. There's no chance you'll be running him without an escort and they can babysit the prince by blocking his charges (so that he doesn't head straight for that Troll Chieftain your opponent is baiting him with) and providing In the Way rolls for your enemy until you're in a position of strength, and then spread out to let him wreak havoc. Just make sure to get a different Hero to be your Leader if possible, since with only 2 Wounds and 1 Fate your opponent will be doing whatever they can to kill him, especially if they can get extra Victory Points for it.
  • Of all the Heroic Actions, Théodred benefits the most from Heroic Combat, followed by Heroic Challenge. If at all possible, save one point for the Challenge and spend the others on Combats so you can keep charging over and over again.
  • Make sure to keep Théodred away from models with the Monstrous Charge until he's ready to kill it. Like his father he's much better on his horse, and if he's attacking a Troll for example, Théodred is capable of killing it on average when it suffers one Wound from your throwing spears, or he can kill it immediately you manage to trap it (which is the one time he should be using Heroic Strike).
  • Théodred combos well with Gamling, since if he runs out of Might (which will happen sooner than later) you can use Gamling to give him some, and in that way continue to get multiple charges per turn to really rack up his body count.
  • Because Théodred is a huge target with how much damage he can cause, consider getting a Captain to either travel with him or stand by him since they can use Heroic March to get him in an ideal position to charge, or they can use it to run him and his escort away from danger.

• Éomer, Marshal of the Riddermark: Éomer is a beast in close combat, with 3 Attacks, 3 Wounds, Fight 5 (which can be boosted with Heroic Strike), Strength 5 (on the charge), Defence 7 (with a shield) and 3 points of Might, Will and Fate. If Théoden is the guy you take to buff the rest of the army, and you think Théodred is too risky, then Éomer is the guy you take to rack up the kill count. Like Théoden you want to get him the armoured horse so he's less vulnerable to arrows, then get him his shield and throwing spears, as well as an escort. Riders of Rohan are ideal for this, and he's also ideal if you intend to bring Éowyn. She's not very survivable, but at least if she dies Éomer will get another attack, even if he now suffers from the fact he has to continuously charge if he's able to for the rest of the game. Just remember that he's 125 points geared out, and if that makes you wince since you're already putting points into Théoden and want a stronger core of Warriors, then consider giving him a pass. While he can easily make his points back by Hero hunting, you can still win the game by investing in more Riders of Rohan and focusing on killing the enemy Warriors until they hit their Break Point and/or the 75% casualty mark, which brings an end to the majority of scenarios in the game.
  • Like other Rohan Heroes, make sure to keep Éomer away from models with the Monstrous Charge rule, and place your Riders of Rohan escorting him in a way that they'll block those charges against him. If Éomer and his Riders can charge then they have a good chance of killing whatever it is (especially if Éomer uses Heroic Strike) but as soon as Éomer is unhorsed he becomes a lot weaker. He'll lose an attack on the charge, as well as the +1 Strength from the Army Bonus. For this reason, you absolutely should use his Fate to save his horse if it's shot.
  • Because Éomer is a huge target with how much damage he can cause, consider getting a Captain to either travel with him or stand by him since they can use Heroic March to get him in an ideal position to charge, or they can use it to run him and his escort away from danger.

• Éowyn, Shield Maiden of Rohan: Now you too can play with your "Macbeth plot twist" but in fantasy! Éowyn is one of your cheapest Heroes, and is Strength and Defence 3, for some reason. Unfortunately she isn't really worth the points, after buying her a horse, armour, shield and throwing spears she costs 65 points, which is the same cost as Gamling/Háma on a horse, and both of them are far, far better than Éowyn in a fight while having access to more useful Heroic Actions like Heroic March and Heroic Defence. The only advantages she has over them is Heroic Resolve, which can be pretty useful if you're up against magic since Sorcerous Blast is the bane of your army, not to mention she has Courage 5, which is higher than average and combines with a war horn to Courage 6 making it incredibly unlikely she and the Warriors around her will run, and she has an extra Fate Point to use on her horse when it gets shot since it's not armoured. You absolutely can use her if you need to, just be aware that it's going to be significantly harder to make your points back, and since she's a Minor Hero she'll only be able to get a small escort without using another Hero's Warriors.
  • If you're using her alongside Théoden, then try to get Théoden to stay near an objective when he gets injured so that if he dies, Éowyn can at least guard an objective when she runs to his body. She'll also pass this Fearless bonus to any of the Warriors around her, making sure that no matter what happens you'll at least keep models on the board until either Éowyn dies or the game ends.

• Meriadoc, Knight of the Mark: Absolutely not, Théoden and Éomer were right, Merry does not belong in a Rohan army, he's just dead weight. Heroic Strike is pretty garbage with only 1 Might and Fight 3, and you still need to pay the points for his pony, shield and elven cloak. He's not even the cheapest Hero in this army, which further cements him as a joke for Gamling to laugh at. Give him a very hard pass.
  • If for whatever reason you still intend to use Merry, then buy him a pony and shield, but skip the elven cloak. He likely won't be needing it and it'll interfere in his ideal use, which is standing in the middle of a group of Warriors and offering a cheap Courage 5 (with a war horn) Stand Fast! and/or providing Heroic Strike to help your distant Warriors get a leg up on whatever they're fighting. Just be aware that even with 2 Fate Merry probably won't be around much if he's allowed to be focused down, so make sure you have Warriors in between him and enemy bows so that they provide In the Way rolls for him.

• Dernhelm: Dernhelm is literally Éowyn with a horse, armor and shield, plus Merry with shield on the same model for only 75 points, and even crazier, Dernhelm is actually really good. Buying them this gear separately will cost you 90 points, so now they're costed fairly, they both keep all of their Heroic Actions, and in addition Éowyn gains Merry's Resistant to Magic rule (making it much harder for Sorcerous Blast to knock her off her steed), she also gets an extra Attack (making her charge now something to be feared) and access to Merry's Might. To top it off, if she gets killed, Merry dismounts and has to go be dealt with on his own, which can frustrate people. If you're taking Théoden and are worried he'll die then you absolutely should consider Dernhelm, although oddly even if he dies, Éowyn won't be forced to run over to him until either she or Merry dismounts (or Merry dies) since Dernhelm doesn't have her special rule.
  • Despite having a much improved profile, do try to avoid fighting other Heroes if you can. It's rather easy for anyone to kill the horse, which causes Dernhelm to split into Éowyn and Merry, and that's the last thing you want. You can make the points back for Dernhelm easily enough by targeting elite troops and using Heroic Strength if you really need to (you shouldn't unless they're Defence 7). For that matter, make sure to keep Riders of Rohan between Dernhelm and bows because they're quite vulnerable to bow fire and the In the Way rolls will prevent Éowyn and Merry from splitting up, and the Riders can also be used to block models with the Monstrous Charge rule from knocking Éowyn and Merry off their horse.

• Erkenbrand, Captain of Rohan: Erkenbrand is the greatest support Hero in your army. Not only does he fulfill the same role as a Captain by providing Heroic March, he also provides the role of being a banner to models in his warband that you upgrade (it will usually be much cheaper than buying a banner) and he comes with the Horn of the Hammerhand, giving +2 Courage to everyone in your force except your allies. It goes without saying that these are fantastic buffs, and if you can spend the extra points, you absolutely should. He's 20 points more than a similarly armed Captain, but when you factor in the banner buff, even if you were to upgrade everyone in his warband, he's really only 7 points more, and he's well worth the cost.
  • Because he's such a great support Hero, you can practically guarantee your opponent will be trying to kill him, especially after your army hits its Break Point. Because of this you should highly consider saving Erkenbrand's points for Heroic March, so that he and his escort can escape unfortunate situations. In addition make sure to keep Riders between him and enemy bows, even though it's hard to wound Erkenbrand, you don't want to take chances when your force is broken and In the Way rolls will help cover for his sole Fate Point.

• Gamling, Captain of Rohan: Gamling is a Captain of Rohan with heavy armour and an extra point of Might. That might be disappointing if it wasn't for one of his upgrades: the Royal Standard of Rohan. At the cost of nearly doubling your point value, you get the ability to regenerate Might on one Hero (thanks FAQ) near Gamling if they run out, which is an absolute game changer. Running out of Might is the only thing preventing your Heroes from declaring Heroic Moves and Heroic Combats all over the place, and now you have next to no reason to hold back. To make it even better, he benefits from this himself and has Heroic March, allowing him to spend Heroic Defence one turn, and even if that makes him run out of Might he can use Heroic March to run him and everyone nearby away from a dangerous situation. If you plan on taking any combat focused Heroes such as Théodred or Éomer, then highly consider bringing Gamling. He's useful for infinite Heroic Moves/Combats even without them, but with them you'll run shop on the enemy army.
  • It is highly recommended to save at least one of Gamling's own points for Heroic Defence. With his ability to give out Might and serve as a banner, he's going to be a massive target for your opponent, especially since he can't pass the banner on if he dies since only Warriors can do that. Because of this, if he does not have any Might, consider using the Banner on himself so that he can use another Heroic Defence. The longer he stays alive, the better. Also always place Riders of Rohan between him and enemy bows to benefit from In the Way rolls. It's hard to snipe him out, but the less chance that happens the better.
  • If for whatever reason you don't want to use Gamling's banner, get him anyway if you were going to get a Captain of Rohan. He's costed exactly as a Captain with heavy armour and +1 Might should be, and you'll find uses not only for the extra Heroic March, but also the Heroic Defence if you need it. This is on top of the fact that he's Fearless so long as Théoden is alive, and it's not like you weren't bringing Théoden anyway.

• Háma, Captain of Rohan: Unlike Gamling, Háma is a bit more of an unfortunate case. While he's also priced exactly like how he should be, costing exactly as a Captain of Rohan with heavy armour and +1 Might, he loses Heroic March and this might be a dealbreaker. Rohan uses Heroic March to escape from bad situations or to quickly run towards vulnerable targets, and not having access to it hurts Háma a lot. He also lacks "Arise, Riders of Théoden!" which he trades for Sworn Protector (Théoden) and he has no option for throwing spears, which is unfortunate. The ideal way to play Rohan is to toss spears at the enemy while staying out of range of their charges until they're weak enough to run in and finish them off, which means that for most of the game's turns, Háma will be riding around with his Riders doing nothing.
  • If you still want to use Háma, get him for your Infantry, if you plan on taking some for whatever reason. Gamling is a much better pick for your Cavalry even if you don't take his banner, and Háma will keep your Infantry on the board when you hit your Break Point, and together they'll stay on backfield objectives, denying them to your opponent and ideally providing some support from afar with their bows. This will cut down on the amount of Rohan Royal Guard or Outriders you'll field (thanks to the bow limit), but you can still make it work provided you're only interested in taking Riders of Rohan alongside them.

• Grimbold of Grimslade: Grimbold is one of the most unfortunate Heroes in the entire army, and it's sad because he's so close to being great. Mighty Blow would be devastating if he had a horse, or if your force had a wizard to use Sorcerous Blast on things to knock them prone for him, but this isn't the case. Grimbold also lacks Heroic Strike, so anyone he might want to use Heroic Strength against he'll have a hard time winning the Duel against since he only has 2 Attacks (which isn't helped at all by the -1 his two-handed weapon gives his Duel rolls), and let's face it, with an axe plus your Army Bonus, your Captains of Rohan can hit at Strength 6, getting for free what Grimbold needs an average Heroic Strength roll to attain. To make matters worse, Grimbold only buffs up Infantry and Rohan's best strength is in its Cavalry, using their throwing spears to weaken the enemy before charging in for the kill and Grimbold only hampers this playstyle. Give him a hard pass.
  • If you want to take Grimbold anyway because you're fielding an Infantry-heavy force, probably because you want to play Rohan on hard mode, then consider getting Gamling with the Royal Standard, King's Huntsmen and Captains of Rohan as your other Heroes and going for a horde-style list (this does mean you'll be skipping Théoden). Heroic March will let you close the gap so that you can rip into the enemy as soon as possible, and you're going to want to spend as few turns getting shot as you can so that you can use your Strength 4 Warriors to hack the enemies apart. In addition, make sure all your Warriors are equipped with axes so that Piercing Strike can upgrade them to Strength 5, allowing you to wound most Infantry on 4's and get some bows to shoot enemy Cavalry so that they can't keep running away from you. To this end feel free to get whatever allies you want since you won't be using that Army Bonus anyway. If you do this you'll basically be playing as Good Mordor, but if that appeals to you for whatever reason you can do it, it'll just be harder to win games.
  • Grimbold can also do decently well as an ally to Minas Tirith (or other factions since you're not getting your Army Bonus anyway), since he can provide them with Strength 4 Warriors at a relatively cheap cost.
    • Note that Grimbold's upgrade isn't tied to his warband, so you can literally upgrade everyone in your force if you want.

• Elfhelm, Captain of Rohan: A Captain of Rohan with shield, throwing spears, and a different rule. Elfhelm isn't so much of an upgrade on traditional Captains so much as he is a side-grade, since he can't buy heavy armour and lacks the Fight bonus for being near Théoden, which makes him worse at combat. He's still a pick worth consideration however, since he hits with his throwing spears on a 3+, doesn't take the negative modifier from moving and shooting, instead of 4+ and gets re-rolls on everything when he throws it. Considering how Rohan loves riding around the enemy, chucking spears into them until they're ready to fight against a weakened force, Elfhelm can do some real damage by sniping out supporting elements like war horns, Shamans or even models with specific wargear (such as spears and/or axes that might make Uruk-hai Strength 5) which will allow you to get more ideal engagements later. He's fun and he does his job, just make sure you don't put him in combat against Strength 4 targets since they'll have a much easier time killing him than ordinary Captains.
  • Elfhelm has a real hidden strength in Heroic Accuracy. You'll be running him along with plenty of Riders of Rohan, and with 3 Might Points you should have no problems using Heroic Accuracy to snipe out supporting elements in an enemy group, such as banners (make sure to kill those in base contact first so they can't pass it on) and/or Shamans, to go into two examples. Your throwing spears wound most things on 5+ and for plenty of armies, In the Way is the only thing that allows them to defend their more vulnerable pieces/Heroes, and Elfhelm lets you bypass that.
  • Do remember that Elfhelm lacks Heroic March, and he's not exactly worth it to bodyguard with a Captain of Rohan, so just play with him more cautiously than you normally would. You won't have the extra movement to escape a bad situation if you get caught, so take care not to get in that position in the first place. Not only can this be accomplished by just staying at range and using the throwing spears of himself and his Riders, but also by taking more appetizing targets. Théoden, Théodred, Éomer and Gamling are all targets your opponent will likely go after first, which gives Elfhelm and his Riders more breathing room to keep tossing their spears at the enemy.

• Déorwine, Chief of the King's Knights: The chief of the King's bodyguard, Déorwine is basically a super-Captain. Not only does he have extra Might, Fight and Heroic Strike, Déorwine gets to call free Heroic Combats when he's within 12" of Théoden, although he must always charge into Théoden's combat or move as close to him as possible afterwards. This is great because it allows you to spend most of your points on Heroic March, allowing him and his Riders to keep up with Théoden regardless of whether or not they're heading towards the enemy or fleeing from a superior force, and then still being able to get a lot of fights in by charging with his horse and deleting two models a turn across separate combats (ideally). Even if he loses his horse, 12" is a long range and so Déorwine will still be able to gain the Heroic Combats from Théoden so long as you're careful.
  • Because he gets constant free Heroic Combats so long as he's within 12" of Théoden, consider always stacking up models or even other characters near Déorwine. While he must always move closer to Théoden, your other models are under no such restriction, and have free rein to engage any other targets they wish. This will allow you to get more combats and kills on average than if you were to just split everyone off into their own Duels in the beginning, and you can keep doing this as much as you want so long as Théoden is alive and nearby.
  • Déorwine isn't entirely useless if you take him without Théoden since he does still have Bodyguard and will ensure your nearby Warriors stick around, but he will be much more ineffective because of it.

• Aldor, Rohan Archer: That old fuck that gets a luck shot at an Uruk-Hai at the start of the battle of Helm's Deep, this is reflected in the crunch as he ALWAYS shoots first in a round, even before Heroic Shoots and rerolls To Hit and To Wound rolls when doing so. This makes him a fun pick, but not a truly effective one; he'll hit and wound more often than regular archers (despite hitting only on 5+) but at 20 points he's easily worth his cost, especially since he is still technically a Hero. This means that he does still gain Stand Fast! for everyone around him (with a Will Point to help out), he gets Heroic Accuracy in case you wanted to take a few bows for backfield objectives, just make sure one of them has a war horn and you'll get some good use out of him. Just be aware that he conflicts with the usual Rohan playstyle since he lacks a mount, and this is why he's not a truly effective pick. Without many other bows around him he's very vulnerable, and his Courage plus his Heroic Accuracy is wasted.
  • If you're taking a Grimbold Infantry list for whatever reason, the Aldor is an auto-include. He costs less than Merry at 20 points, and is significantly more useful. You'll pretty much always have a group of bows he can bunker down with, just make sure to spend his Heroic Accuracy shooting something vulnerable to them, even if it's Defence 4 spears rather than something like a Defence 7 Leader.

• Haleth son of Háma: That kid that Aragorn gives a pep talk to shortly after his dad's killed by a Warg. Haleth barely qualifies as a Hero: he can't take a warband, he has basic equipment with no options, and a statline not much higher than a basic troop. He does have 2 Fate and 2 Wounds though, and he gets +1 Attack while within 6" of Aragorn, while . Finally, if he's engaged in combat, other Rohan Infantry and Aragorn get +1 Fight while he's alive. Unfortunately Rohan isn't big on Infantry and so there isn't much of a home for Haleth, especially since he doesn't have access to a horse himself. He can still be used as an ally however, if you wanted to take a small Rohan list as an ally to another force you might as well bring Haleth, for his Courage if nothing else, and definitely consider it if you're allying him in with a list that has Aragorn in it. At Fight 7 Aragorn will find it much easier to defeat other Heroes and/or Monsters in combat, while not needing to spend the point on Heroic Strike/Defence in the event his opponent is out of Might or can't use Heroic Strike.
  • Like Aldor, Haleth really comes into his own in a Grimbold Infantry list. He buffs your Fight, and with Grimbold's Strength 4 Warriors you'll find plenty of use for him helping your Warriors to win their Duels so that they can use their axes with Piercing Strike to hit the enemy at Strength 5. His Courage will also ensure he and the Warriors around them stick around, especially since he has a Will Point, and with Heroic Defence he'll be hard enough to remove. Make sure to get Gamling and stick him with his banner near Haleth so that Haleth can keep using Heroic Defence, and so continue giving your Warriors the extra Fight point.

• Helm Hammerhand: The man Helm's Deep was named after, Helm Hammerhand is like Théoden and Éomer combined, and with a cost to match. He's incredibly strong, not just because he's Strength 5 but because he also carries a two-handed weapon with the Burly rule (so say goodbye to the Duel penalty) while remaining at Defence 7, letting him carve up the toughest enemies while taking very little damage in return. This is further boosted by the sheer amount of Heroic Actions he has, allowing him to deal with virtually every target, and he provides a Fight buff to everyone around him. Always give him a horse and follow the rules for other Rohan Heroes: keep models between him and bows to make sure he benefits from In the Way rolls to prevent his mount from getting shot out from under him, and if it gets wounded use his Fate point on it. While he's not weak without it, Helm is so much stronger with the horse, especially with the Army Bonus. His horn will also prove useful, given the general low Courage in enemy armies it might prevent a number of enemy models from counter-charging him. Unfortunately the cost is in more than his points; Helm Hammerhand prevents you from taking any other named Heroes (naturally) but he also makes every alliance Impossible Allies, even though Rohan and Gondor were still great allies even back then. This is a big blow, and it means your opponent will be focusing pretty much everything they can on Helm, and in return you should focus your entire build around him since he's pretty much all you have.
  • Because Helm lacks Heroic March, always keep a Captain of Rohan near him. They'll help move him into position if he really needs to, and they can use it to help him run away from enemy threats in the event they get in a bad engagement (especially if Helm loses his horse). He can't win the game on his own, so if he and his escort are going to be in serious danger, consider pulling back to continue using your spears. Throwing spears to first weaken the enemy and then charging in to finish them off is still the recommended way to play, even if you're taking a beatstick like Helm.
  • Something interesting about Helm is that he can choose to use the Bash rule instead of attacking with his sword, and if he does so, any Strength bonus from Heroic Strength will add to the Bash roll. This won't normally come up, since if you have access to Heroic Strength you're better off just cutting your opponent in half, but there are times where it'll be a better idea to Bash instead of slash. If he's up against a Ringwraith on a Fell Beast for example, it's much smarter to punch them off their mount, causing it to fly away, and at Defence 8 with full Fate you weren't likely to kill them anyway.

• Eorl the Young: The founder of Rohan, Eorl is a Legendary Hero, but not a Hero of Legend. Eorl has an Éomer level stat line while actually costing 10 points less (and with more Heroic Actions available to him), Eorl seems like an auto-include for a melee Hero, especially when you factor in his Legendary Hero rule. The first time he spends a Might in each turn, roll a D6, and on a 4+ the point of Might is free and doesn't decrease his store. Unfortunately this stops functioning when he hits 0 Might, but until then you should be able to get more Heroic Actions and modifiers from his Might. Combined with most of the combat Heroic Actions and an armoured horse with a Move of 12", and you have to wonder... what's the catch? Unfortunately it's the same as Helm Hammerhand: you can't take other named Heroes (without losing your Army Bonus) and every alliance will be Impossible Allies, with the exception of Minas Tirith so long as it also contains no named Heroes. This is a major blow, since he'd be a prime candidate for Gamling's Might refill, you won't be able to get the bonus fight for your Riders of Rohan, your Rohan Royal Guards and your Captains of Rohan, and this could cause you to lose Duels with them that you would've won with Théoden. This being said, you do still get a new benefit to the Sons of Eorl, making them into Captain-level fighters. This means that you'll be playing a more combat focused force rather than the skirmish style play that Rohan is normally used for, but if you like the thought of huge Cavalry charges that run over your foes then Eorl can definitely make that thought a reality. Just be aware you'll be playing a more elite list and will have much fewer bodies on the table.
  • If you want to use Eorl, consider either allying him to (or bringing allies from) Minas Tirith. Kings of Men are great Heroes from that list and their stats can also let them keep up with Eorl and his Sons in combat, and since you're not allowed to take any named heroes with the King there's no downside to taking them alongside Eorl, especially since they have Heroic March which he lacks. They can also bring the Infantry for holding down objectives and/or providing the anvil (especially with Guards of the Fountain Court) for your Cavalry hammer.

• King's Huntsman: Huntsmen are interesting choices only held back by their cost. While most of Rohan loves their horses and chooses to base their identity around it, these guys chose to be snipers. Coming in with Strength 3 longbows that only fail In the Way rolls of 1, Huntsmen are ideally used in pairs, and are best at sniping out war horns, banners, spears and supporting Heroes that are at Defence 5 and/or on mounts. A few shots from these guys will put down Shamans and lower Defence Heroes (especially those at Defence 5), leaving the Orcs they lead to crumble once they hit their Break Point. Unfortunately King's Huntsmen have issues in standard Rohan lists. They don't have horses so they have to be left on their own, and they are very vulnerable in combat, being little better than regular Warriors in the role. If a few enemy Cavalry manage to slip by it can be very easy for them to catch and kill your Hunstmen. Because of this you might want to consider focusing down Cavalry hard to prevent this from happening before you focus on supporting elements. Don't worry about spending Might to kill Cavalry faster, since if you manage to kill an enemy Hero they'll get their Might back.
  • If you're going into a Grimbold's Infantry list, highly consider bringing along King's Huntsmen. They're great at sniping out Cavalry as well as supporting elements, and you'll have bows in the back for them to use their Heroic Accuracy on.

• Captain of Rohan: Your standard Captain with access to a little bit of everything for maximum variety. Captains of Rohan are a very solid choice for your army, and they offer everything you could want in terms of being a great supporting Hero. Most Rohan lists involve running around the enemy, pelting them with spears before charging in for the kill, and with the ability to take throwing spears themselves, as well as providing Heroic March, they lend themselves to this role very well. Heroic March not only lets you get into position quickly if you're far away from where you need to be, but it also allows you to run away from bad engagements. If you want points efficient Heroes who can almost always give you good value, then get some Captains, give them a horse, heavy armour, a shield and throwing spears, and you're good to go. Also make sure to keep an escort around them so that bows fired at them will take In the Way rolls, and models with the Monstrous Charge rule will be unable to get square engagements against them. A Captain on foot is a much weaker force than a Captain on a horse, so do everything you need to in order to make sure they're not unhorsed.
  • Always get the axe over the Sword. Piercing Strike will make much more of a difference than Feint/Stab, and combined with your army bonus will allow you to wound even Defence 6 models on 4+. Given how the elites in nearly every army in the game (except for Gondor and Dwarves) are Defence 6 and lower, this will allow them to really rip through whatever they hit.
  • Note that while they do get a Fight bonus by being near Théoden, your Captains do not need to stay by him to be useful in a fight. You have other options if you want a combat Hero anyway, and your Captains are better off being kept alive rather than risking them in an engagement they might lose. If you find yourself in that situation, continue to run them back with their escort and continue tossing your spears until you're sure that you will win the ensuing fight.

Warriors

• Warrior of Rohan: Your cheapest, but most unfortunate troop. A 'standard' human stat line, these guys are intended to be your bread and butter 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 (especially if you wanted to recreate the battle of Helm's Deep), otherwise just get one for a war horn (hide him somewhere far in the back), and maybe a few others for their bows if you want to sit them on a backfield objective.
  • If you're dead-set on an infantry-based Rohan army, then consider taking a Grimbold horde. For one point per model you can make everyone Strength 4, then make sure to give everyone axes instead of swords. With this upgrade you've got the human equivalent to Uruk-hai, except while they all get swords by default you have axes, and can go up to Strength 5 and wound Orcs and Mordor Uruk-hai (as well as lesser enemy Heroes) on 4+. Getting throwing spears for a second line is also a good idea; they add to your bow limit so you won't be able to take too many, but the extra Strength over the bows is definitely going to be noticed seeing as how the most numerous foes are Defence 5. The Warriors are further backed up by two King's Hunstmen and a Captain or two to get them in position or run them away from bad engagements, and you can also use Haleth to get your Fight value boosted (giving you true Uruk-hai stats). Just be warned that while you can make this work, it's going to be harder than a Cavalry-centric force.
    • Infantry armies are even better in Legendary Legions, but they'll be covered more in those sections.

• Rider of Rohan: Your real bread and butter unit. With access to throwing spears, and a bow and horse base, riders make for an interesting core choice, and to make it even better, Riders of Rohan don't count towards the bow limit. Throwing spears are a very worthwhile upgrade and are seen in most lists, and if you wonder why, it's because the 8" range lets you toss them at Infantry without being counter-charged, while the extra Strength allows them to wound twice as often as bows, since most enemies are Defence 5. You can shoot with your bows at a distance and then throw with your spears when you get close, all while remaining at a relatively safe distance. This is the prime playstyle of most Rohan lists, weakening the enemy through skirmish play before finally charging in beside Théoden to finish them off when you're in a position of strength. Just make sure that there's always a Captain of Rohan or Théoden within range so that they can use Heroic March to pull the Riders out of a bad situation if they need to, such as if they're being lined up for a lance charge from enemy Cavalry or are too close to a Monster with the Monstrous Charge rule.
  • While you're riding up to your enemy, always shoot at the enemy Cavalry with your bows. The sooner you can take out the enemy mobility the sooner you can dominate the battlefield, and your Riders will tend to lose against enemy shock Cavalry in a fair fight, and they'll lose even harder if they get charged. After the enemy Cavalry is dealt with, you can focus down enemy bows, followed by using your spears on enemy Infantry.
  • Always give them the axe over the sword; Piercing Strike is much more useful than Feint/Stab, especially since it'll take your Riders to Strength 5 on the charge, allowing them to butcher most enemy troops since the most common Defence is 5. Also make sure to get a war horn, even if you keep them in the back of the group. In the event you hit your Break Point you'll be thankful you had it, and getting at least one banner per warband so that you can win the Duel to make your Strength 5 attacks is obvious.

• Rohan Royal Guard: Sporting great Defence and a higher Fight value, the Rohan Royal Guard are your fighting elite. You won't field as many of them as you will the Riders of Rohan, but that's mainly because they actually do count towards your bow limit, whereas the Riders do not. Their use is more or less the same, you always want them on a horse and tossing spears at the enemy before charging in for the killing blow, but with the addition of the Bodyguard rule, as well as the higher stats you should always take them if you can. They're only a point more than Riders, and against anything higher than Strength 3 (or Fight 3) you'll notice a much better performance out of them than your regular Riders. Just be aware that they do not have the bow to shoot at enemy Cavalry while they ride up, and they also do not have axes for Strength 5 on the charge.
  • Note that even if you don't bring Théoden, the Rohan Royal Guard are still good units. The Bodyguard rule means you can send them away from your Heroes without them running away once you hit their Break Point, and if they get their horses shot out from under them they remain at Defence 6 instead of going down to Defence 4.
  • Also note that Rohan Royal Guard do not count towards the Bow Limit since under the current rules, thrown weapons (including throwing spears) are exempt from the limit. This means you could get more of them to ride with your characters, but if you do they're not likely to be much more likely than getting a few more Riders, and it'll be less efficient than diversifying your list.

• Rohan Outrider: Outriders are better at shooting but are more spooked by close combat; they still have access to horses, and get to benefit from Stand Fast! even if they are out of range for it, so always test with the highest Courage Hero first to get them to benefit from it. Outriders may not be hard hitting but they are at least accurate. Since they don’t need a hero to babysit them you can commit those Heroes to backing up other engagements, though unfortunately your Rohan Outriders do count towards your bow limit, so they'll be more limited. Also be aware that if you use them how they're intended, away from your Heroes, you won't have Heroic March to run away from bad situations should the Outriders get caught in a bad engagement. They're also significantly worse than your regular Riders at charging into combat once you've weakened the foe, since they don't get Théoden's bonus, and at Defence 4 they're also twice as vulnerable to bows than your regular Riders. This is why they're not normally considered to be competitive, but you can still use them against lists such as the Serpent Horde for example. You can give them horses if you want, it'll help them live longer and give them more mobility, but they generally won't be using the combat advantages of them to full effect.
  • To make one thing clear, you either want to use Outriders to fill your bow limit or you do not want to use them. They aren't very good in small numbers and it becomes much easier for your opponent to eliminate them by pointing a few bows their way and shooting either the Outriders and/or their horses before you've dealt with them in return.

• Son of Eorl: These are your shock Cavalry, and they are dubious at best. They cost a ton of points, they have no options, and they conflict with the Rohan playstyle since Rohan doesn't usually try to break the enemy in a massive charge right out the gate. Their only saving grace is the Riders of Eorl rule, where they get a +1 bonus to their Attack while within 6" of Eorl the Young, which turns them into cheap 1 Wound Captains. Unfortunately you're still not likely to take more than 6 because it's harder to fit more within Eorl's 6" bubble, and having them outside of it, or taking them on their own feels like you're wasting points. Without Eorl they're not competitive by any means, and you should give them a skip in any serious list.
  • While the Sons of Eorl are not competitive, that doesn't mean they're entirely useless. They have great Defence, good Fight and Strength, and when they use Piercing Strike they hit at Strength 6 on the charge, meaning they crush not only heavily armoured infantry from every faction besides Gondor, but they also crush enemy Cavalry. Morgul Knights for example cost very similarly to Sons of Eorl, and they do not stand up to a charge from the Sons at all. Unfortunately the opposite is also true, though to a lesser degree since the Morgul Knights come with lances. This puts you in a very dangerous spot where winning or losing could come down to a single charge, so if you're going to be using them at all without Eorl, then take them alongside Théoden and Déorwine so that Déorwine can continuously use his free Heroic Combats to get the Sons of Eorl charging twice in a turn, and both Heroes can use Heroic Moves to allow them to move first and nail the enemy before they're hit in return (though based on who has Priority you might be out of luck on that).

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 (can take Throwing Spears)
    • 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)

If you're gonna take this, the natural choice should be to go with Theoden plus Gamling (with royal standard) and add in either Deorwine or Eomer in larger games. Sitting Theoden and Gamling next to each other will give you shocking killing power, as your infinite might for both means free heroic combats every turn, letting you smash through enemy lines with impunity. For those larger games where you can get a third hero in, Eomer or Deorwine (possibly Dernhelm as well) make for great choices. Eomer is a beast that can slaughter ranks on his own time, and Deorwine opens up the very, very interesting tactic of starting a turn next to theoden/gamling and getting his free might welfare, only to move out and charge something causing a problem a little ways away, get his free heroic combat within 12" of theoden, use his might point to ensure that combat goes deadly, and then charge back toward the king to rinse and repeat. While normally Rohan's biggest problem is they don't quite have heroes on the same par as other armies, theoden/eomer/deorwine all having heroic strike with near limitless might (keep gamling using his for heroic defense, don't want to lose that banner) means they can duel on par with the greatest fighters of the age, and have the S4 riders come in to do the rest.

With the Gamling nerf, the above strategy doesn't work anymore outside of Dernhelm shenanigans. The list is still a strong list, but should be built with lots of micro-heroes to benefit from the DEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAATH charge.

Rohan at War added more Legionary Legions!

• Defenders of Helm's Deep:

Limitations:

• You lose access to most named Rohan heroes except Théoden (mandatory), Gamling, Aldor, and Haleth
• No Cavalry :(

However, in return for these limitations, you gain the following advantages:

• You gain access to more heroes! You can take Aragorn (Strider, no Anduril), Legolas, Gimli, Haldir, and Galadhrim Captains
• You gain access to more warrior models - you can take Galadhrim warriors, though only 33% of your force can be from Lorien
• Your Rohan Infantry can use their throwing spears as normal spears on turns they don't throw them
• Longbows and Elf Bows increase their range to 30" if their users don't move
• When the force is broken, all warriors gain +1 to courage and may re-roll failed morale checks while within 6" of Théoden (seems redundant until you realize this can apply to terror checks)

Summary:

You lose access to Cavalry but in return you can take the three hunters, Haldir, and Galadhrim, plus your infantry can actually provide spear support, which makes throwing spears in this list extremely good. This list is best used when you make a battle line from cheap Rohan warriors, put a line of throwing spear models behind them (to give an 8" bubble where the opponent cannot enter without taking a volley of spears), and you actually get decent archers in the form of Galadhrim warriors. You don't take this list because you want to play Rohan infantry, you take it because you want to buff Galadhrim archers and want as many of them as possible without paying out the ass for expensive frontline infantry.

• Théodred's Guard:

Limitations:

• You lose access to most named Rohan heroes except Théodred (mandatory), Elfhelm, and Grimbold- you also lose access to King's Huntsmen

However, in return for these limitations, you gain the following advantages:

• All models in this LL gain the sworn protector (Théodred) special rule
• Captains of Rohan, Riders of Rohan, and Royal Guard treat Théodred as if he was Théoden for the purposes of their special rule
• Your Rohan Infantry can use their throwing spears as normal spears on turns they don't throw them

Summary:

This list is okay. Losing almost all your named heroes is rough, but your models receive slight buffs in return. You can run Rohan Infantry lines as well. Honestly unless you have a hard-on for Théodred for some reason, give this list a pass.

• Riders of Éomer:

Limitations:

• You lose access to most named Rohan heroes except Éomer (mandatory) and Erkenbrand - you also lose access to King's Huntsman
• Your only choice of warriors are Riders of Rohan
• All models must be Cavalry models

However, in return for these limitations, you gain the following advantages:

• Riders of Rohan do not count towards the army bow limit
• You gain access to Gandalf the White (on Shadowfax)
• Friendly Rohan Cavalry models within 12" of Éomer gain +1 strength when they charge (the normal army bonus except only around Éomer)
• Once per battle, Gandalf can use the "look to the Sun" ability at the start of a friendly move phase. Until the end of the turn, all enemy models engaged with (or supporting models engaged with) friendly Cavalry models suffer -1 to their duel roll.

Summary:

So first and foremost, Gandalf is practically mandatory for this list, meaning you're going to be spending at least 350 points on heroes alone - save this bad boy for large point battles. However, "look to the Sun" is even more devastating than Théoden's "Death" ability in his legionary legion, you should be looking to land a knock-out blow the turn you use that ability. Save it for a turn you win priority, and be prepared to blow might calling heroic moves as undoubtedly your opponent will want to prevent as many charges as possible in this turn.

If Éomer dies you lose your +1 to strength on the charge, so make sure Gandalf is supporting him and keeping him safe with blinding light.

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! Warriors of Minas Tirith are also very welcome, making up for Rohan’s shitty infantry with a reliable, high-defence shieldwall.

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

-If you're feeling fancy, Dernhelm and Gamling can be combined for an infinite Might loop. See, Merry can use his single point of Might to do things for Eowyn, and when a Rohan hero is out of Might near Gamling with the Royal Standard of Rohan, they get a free point of Might, allowing Merry to declare a Heroic action every turn and then regain the point at the start of the next turn, so long as they're near Gamling.

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

-Rohan is one of the factions where, between throwing spears and bows on your Riders of Rohan, every single model can have a shooting attack, so using them well is key to victory.

-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. Heroes (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