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

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Why Play The Easterlings?

Because you like samurai and Persia being combined, because you like the greek phalanx being thrown in there and because you really wished that the warriors of minas tirith would turn evil.

Pros:

• Most disciplined force on the side of Mordor with the best pikemen in the game. Better option than the cavalry for sure.
• You get the only Ringwraith to still have his own name, and other esoteric heroes capable of surprising feats. Very fragile heroes on foot, if you lose a combat, your killing machines easily go down. Mount them.
• Very good heavy cavalry (just not very hard hitting but very survivable with a potential D7). Only used to get def 7 for Amdur and 6 for steeds due to gleaming horde rule and to gain mobility, but struggles a lot to kill something with high def.

Cons:

• High points cost (for evil forces) means that every casualty is more painful than with orcs, life isn’t cheap here
• Limited warrior options, you aren’t exactly spoiled for choice for your footsoldiers. Not to worry, they'll get new profiles in the future, if Dunland got them, anyone can...maybe?
• Troops with lame killing power, sorry, all heavy lifting goes to the heroes in the list.

Army Bonus

No Quarter Was Asked...: When the army is broken, Easterlings models all get +1 to their courage. In games where a dice roll decides when a game ends you may choose for the result to be re-rolled if the game ends before you want it to. This can only be done once and only if you have at least one Easterling hero alive on the field.

• Note that you can further boost your Courage by allying in a Black Númenórean with a war horn (you will keep the bonus since Mordor and the Easterlings are Historical Allies), which will further boost the Courage of everyone by 1, making your Heroes have a base Courage of 6, while Khamûl enjoys a sweet Courage of 8, meaning he's effectively Fearless and provides this Fearless bubble to everyone within 6" of him.

Unit Analysis

Heroes

• 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. Khamûl 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.

• Amdûr, Lord of Blades: Meant to be the premier duelist of the force, Amdûr fills that role out by having some of the best stats a human could have. Fight 6 (one of only 5 humans in the game with Fight 6), 3 Attacks, 3 Wounds, and 3 Might, not to mention he can avoid being knocked down on a 4+, he regains Might with every good Hero he kills, and he's treated as a banner (yes he benefits from this effect himself). In addition, if an enemy Hero declares Heroic Strike against him he can do the same for free, so you can spend your Might Points on your Duel rolls rather than saving them to Heroic Strike out your opponents. Try to get him in combat with the enemy Leader if you can, unless they're a monster Hero or Aragorn (two models he loses against, whereas most others he wins against). The sooner you kill them the sooner you get a his banner effect boosted to 6", but don't make risky plays to do it. Amdûr costs a lot and the last thing you need is for him to be caught unawares and brought down by a countercharge you could've avoided.
  • Always put Amdûr on his horse. It never hurts to have him gain an extra Attack for charging, and if you have an ally shoot out the horse of an enemy Hero, Amdûr is likely to butcher them in the ensuing combat. Even if he's shot off his horse Amdûr has a chance of landing on his feet thanks to Unyielding Combat Stance.
  • Despite seeming good against mostly Infantry and Heroes, Amdûr can also do well against monsters so long as you buff him with a War Priest's Bladewrath ability, especially if you channel it. Four attacks (so long as he charges on his horse) will deal a lot of damage to an enemy monster, just make sure to keep him away from monsters that have significantly higher Fight values and Heroic Strike (such as Troll Chieftains).

• Easterling Dragon Knight: An unusual choice, Dragon Knights are like weaker (and much cheaper) Amdûr's. They have an extra Attack over regular Captains, but with no Might or Fate they are not good Heroes to rely on to keep your force around when it breaks, especially with their increased cost. That being said, they are great at killing other models, on the charge they'll shred even the heaviest of cavalry, and they'll do much worse to Infantry. They'll also butcher enemy Heroes, not only because they possess Heroic Strike and will almost always win Duel rolls against most Heroes, but they also get to regain Might when they kill enemy Heroes so that they can do it again and again.
  • Always field them on a horse. Not only will they gain an extra Attack, they'll knock over Infantry and even if their horse dies, they have a chance to land on their feet thanks to Unyielding Combat Stance. Just keep in mind that they're not leaders, as emphasized by being Minor Leaders and needing Easterling models to be upgraded to Black Dragons (Easterlings with Fight and Courage 4). If they're not getting in combat then you're going to wish they were a Captain instead, at the very least a Captain will be cheaper, have higher Defence, have Heroic March and both Will and Fate.
  • Like Amdûr, the Dragon Knights can also do well against monsters so long as you buff him with a War Priest's Bladewrath ability, especially if you channel it. Four attacks (so long as he charges on his horse) will deal a lot of damage to an enemy monster, just make sure to keep him away from monsters that have significantly higher Fight values and Heroic Strike (such as Troll Chieftains).
  • Don't forget that they still have access to the Shielding rule, despite not having shields. This won't normally come up, but in a few instances (if they're surrounded and completely trapped for instance) it can come in handy.

• Easterling Captain: The guy you go to when you want a support Hero instead of Amdûr or a Dragon Knight. For 50 points Easterling Captains are a relatively cheap choice, and they have more options than anyone else in the army. Give them a shield, it's practically mandatory since their only real advantage over Dragon Knights (aside from being able to be the Leader) is their durability. Defence 7 makes it so that Strength 3 and 4 both need 6's To Wound, which is the vast majority of Good armies. Don't give them a bow, it's a complete waste, as is swapping their glaive for an armoured horse and sword. Get a Dragon Knight if you want to kill stuff, the Easterling Captains are better at keeping your Infantry in the fight.
  • Note that since Khamûl, Amdûr and Dragon Knights all lack Heroic March, you'll probably want a few Easterling Captains even if you want deadlier Heroes. Most of the core of Easterling armies resides in their Pike Phalanxes, and it's best to get them into position as soon possible.

• Easterling War Priest: The Easterling equivalent of an Orc Shaman, the War Priest is well worth the 60 points charged for him. His spear means he can hide out in the centre of a phalanx of pikes and still reach everyone in 14cm with ‘Fury’. He can also cast Bladewrath to increase his own attacks to strength 6, but you really shouldn’t be getting him in combat, his best role is as a support to others and using Bladewrath on them, as well as Fury on your own troops to prevent them from running off when your force is broken.
  • The war priest's Bladewrath does have great synergy with the Dragon Knight. While a bit of a hail Mary, a channeled Bladewrath used on a charging Dragon Knight gives it four Strength 10 attacks on a cavalry or a monster, and a whopping eight S10 attacks on a knocked down infantry hero. The only problem is with the Dragon Knights F5, but apparently most people just tend to use Fury on their war priests and as such an unsuspecting opponent will rarely expect the charge of doom. Combine with a heroic strike from the Dragon Knight for extra extra killing power.
  • If you don't plan on using Bladewrath on an Easterling Dragon Knight on his horse, then you absolutely should channel Fury and put two Will points into it. Easterling Phalanxes are big blobs, and any Warrior you save is one less gap in your Phalanx.
  • Note that you're not hindered all that badly in an Easterling force if you intend to only use Bladewrath on the War Priests, especially if it's on Dragon Knights. You can get around your lack of Fury with a war horn from an allied Black Númenórean and your Army Bonus (Mordor and Easterlings are Historical Allies so you won't lose it). This makes most of your characters Courage 6 which is excellent, and Khamûl become Courage 8, effectively Fearless, so save your Will for buffing up Strength instead.

Warriors

• Easterling Warriors: Highly effective foot troops with options for bows, shields and pikes. They can wield both a pike and a shield without losing the +1 Defence point and their heavy armour lends them a survivability unparalleled amongst the servants of Sauron for their points cost. Line them up in a phalanx and march them towards the enemy while even Elven bows will struggle to make an impression on your heavily armoured troops. Upgrading some of them to Black Dragons is okay, but it raises the points to 9 per model before upgrades, meaning you get even fewer. In a Phalanx bring a back row of Black Dragon's with pikes as the Fight of 4 will affect the whole combat, and it will save your ass against elites from other factions. The additional Courage with the army bonuses will make them courage 5 which can be really helpful in the end game and should be looked at for just this reason as it really is a hidden gem, especially if your regular Warriors die first and the enemy focuses down your Heroes.
  • We urge you to highly consider allies instead of getting bows for the Easterlings. Orc Trackers for example shoot just as good, they cost 3 points less (buying two Easterling Warriors with bows could instead get you three Orc Trackers) and They won't take away your Army Bonus either since Easterlings and Mordor are Historical Allies.

• Easterling Kataphracts: The wealthy ones among the Easterling army, Kataphracts can be used to hunt down less armoured characters, bowmen or can pin your opponents infantry against the infantry phalanx, trapping them and allowing you to get 6 attacks on your opponents. Funnily enough, they get Shieldwall despite being mounted, whilst your infantry phalanxes don’t - it is an odd rule, but use it to your advantage; these guys play best as a tightly packed wedge to drive through the heart of the enemy lines, or to take far less damage from enemy weapons (especially crossbows) while they approach. Don't expect them to kill much however, they apparently couldn't afford lances and are not as good as Morgul Knights (the best cavalry available to evil). They are cheaper, but to give them comparable stats you'll need to upgrade them to Black Dragons, and then Morgul Knights are only two points more. Because of this, heavily consider allying in Morgul Knights instead. Mordor and the Easterlings are Historical allies so you keep your Army Bonus, and you'll find their performance is far better than your Kataphracts.
  • If you're using these guys, get the war drum. This will allow you to get your cavalry in position much faster and you could also keep them around your Infantry (or even dismount) if you want your Infantry to benefit from it instead. As mentioned under the Captain entry, the issue with your Infantry Phalanxes is their movement, and this helps fix that.

• Easterling Dragon Cult Acolyte: For 11 points you get a model with 2A and throwing daggers, hampered by a low Defence of 4 and normal Strength 3, though Fight 4 is very helpful. Their special rules make it harder to knock them down and make it easy for them to move around the battlefield: +2 to Jump, Leap, and Climb tests, and auto pass In the Way tests against models defending doorways or barriers. While Easterling Warriors shine in open for set piece battles, Dragon Cult Acolytes are the complete opposite. Never use them out in the open because they will get shot off the table almost immediately, but a few hidden behind your own Warriors or Terrain wouldn't go amiss in case you come across models defending an obstacle or a doorway, which are much harder to kill through normal means.

Allies

Historical Allies

Variags of Khand Get them for the strength 4 axe's they are sorely needed. Having access to chariots are also a great boon in your army. Get at least 1 chieftain on chariot in any Easterling list they will smash through anything lower then D7

Mordor They pretty much do everything Easterlings Can't. Get Khamul as he is a leader of valour get some Morranon orcs and a troll and watch as people cry as your enemy breaks on your pike wall and dies on the swords. Getting another ringwraith and having a him lead 5 Black guard and 5 Morranons will allow you break through even the toughest dwarf shield wall.

Convenient Allies

The Serpent Horde

Far Harad

Corsairs of Umbar

Isengard

Moria

Impossible Allies

Angmar

Sharkey's Rogues

The Nazgul of Dol Guldur

Azog's Hunters

Azog's Legion

Goblin Town

The Trolls

Smaug