The Lord of the Rings Strategy Battle Game/Tactics/Thorin's Company

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Why Play Thorin's Company

Because you like the Fellowship but wished they had more dwarf members. Well here you can have Thirteen of them and you can have Gandalf and Bilbo too. Most of the Dwarves are pretty good fighters and those that are lacking in that department make up for it with their special rules on supporting other units or helping you get an advantage on your turn.

Pros

• A good selection of mixed heroes, all specialising in certain skills to support the rest of the company.
• Everyone can take a Pony or Horse In Gandalf's case.
• Very Strong Fighters.
• No downsides on bringing the one ring.

Cons

• Every unit is a hero so you will be badly outnumbered by most armies you face.

Army Bonus

"I would take each and every one of these Dwarves over an army from the Iron Hills, for when i called upon them, they answered" - while within 3 of Thorin every hero from this list can re-roll to wound rolls of 1. Also, according to the Errata, every hero in the army gains heroic march.

Unit Analysis

Heroes

• Thorin Oakenshield: The leader of the dwarfs and the most expensive of them. Strangely, he is the only one without any upgrades if he doesn't buy any upgrades but fortunately his stats are great. Always buy the Oakenshield, but Orcrist is less auto. It's amazing against orcs, goblins and Uruk-hais, but otherwise it's just an elven-made hand-and-a-half sword for 10 points.

• Gandalf the Grey:

• Bilbo: The expert burglar, Bilbo is pretty weak and cant move all that fast. however he can take sting for 5 points which gives him +1 strength but he can also take the one Rings for absolutely no cost and with no penalties that other ring bearers might suffers since he has the special rule it has not yet awoken. he can also throw stones for all that's worth.

• Fili: A cheap but decent fighter that comes with throwing axes and the bodyguard rule to protect Thorin, he also has "Combatant synergy" this allows him to switch positions with his brother Kili at any start of a phase so long as they're in base contact with each other. This ability can help if one of them takes a wound and needs to get out of fight quickly.

• Kili: Exactly like his brother in stats but instead of throwing weapons he brings a Dwarf bow, with a shoot value of 3+ a bow is not a bad thing to have. He also has "Combatant synergy" so he can support his brother when he gets into trouble.

• Dwalin: The second most expensive Dwarf to bring, Dwalin is one of your best fighters, he has Burly and fearless but also has weapons master which takes away the -1 penalty for using a two handed weapon (which is a two handed hammer by the way), it also mean he's never considered unarmed. At Defence 6 and with a fight value of 6 he can take on most things thrown at him.

• Balin: Much cheaper in points than his brother, Balin's stats aren't anything too special but he does come with a unique weapon the sword-mace, this gives him the option to use either feint or bash special stikes. where he comes in worth taking is his special rule Longbeard, this allows him to spend a will point to give his side a re-roll for priority, this is very good for ruining your opponents plan on getting first into combat or nabbing an objective before you could get to it first.

• Bifur: Your only Dwarf with A spear... well a boar spear, which allows him to use it as a spear or a two handed axe so at least he has options. Bifur has an unusually good shoot value of a +3 but sadly can only throw stones. His Special rule Embedded Axe-blade allows him to make a single strike should he win combat. If the strike wounds his opponent then Bifur can call a free heroic move each turn for the rest of the game.

• Bofur: This guy is your counter to magic, Bofur is armed with a mattock and has the special rule steadfast which allows him to try and ignore the effects on magic by rolling a D6, if it's a 2+ then the effects do not take affect and the result can be modified by might if you rolled a +1. You can still attempt to resist magic but you must do this first before using Bofur's Steadfast rule.

• Bombur: He maybe fat but at least that gives him an Extra wound, he's also good at helping other hero's regain will points they have spent, as long as he's in base contact he can roll a D6 and if its a 4+ then that hero reagins a point of Will. He can also use the Bash special when fighting use this to knock an opponent prone and then let one of the better fighters finish them off.

• Oin: Like any good party of adventurers on a quest you should never leave without a healer, that's where Oin comes in. His stats don't say much and he comes equipped with a two handed staff, but has a whopping 4 Will points, this is where his special rule Prognostication comes in handy, he can spend one point of will to enable a friendly model within 3 of him to re-roll a single dice in a fight. as previously mentioned he's also the healer so when hes in base contact with a friendly unit he can attempt to heal them by rolling a D6, on a 1-3 nothing happens, 4-5 the model regains a wound and on a 6 they regain all their wounds. The downside is that you can't move when you do this so if you can get your injured model to Oin so he can heal them instead of Oin trying to get to him.

• Gloin: Gimli's Dad is a pretty decent fighter with second best defence in the company at 7, he comes with axes and throwing axes (you can never have to many axes). He's definitely one of your front line fighters, stick him with Dwalin and watch them cut down most things sent at them, or Have his brother Oin stay close and heal every time your opponent manages to wound him, it sure to drive them mad.

• Ori: The runt of the Company, Ori is not much of a fighter and while this makes him cheap to bring he does have two abailites that make him helpful for the other members of the company. Ori's first special rule Chronicler allows him to restore any memember of thorins company a point of Might, Will or Fate if they slay an enemy hero or monster and are within 3 of him. His second rule Deadeye means that if you roll a 6 to hit then he automatically passes in the way tests and the target automaticlly suffers a single wound, it likely wont happen often but this could be hilrarious when aiming at trolls, fell beasts, other heroes (if they fail their fate roll) and even Mumakil. Remember he can shoot twice if he doesn't move.

• Nori: A decent fighter with a two handed mace, dagger and armour, Nori has the same special rule as Dwalin, Weapon Master meaning he wont be given the -1 to his roll when he fights. aside from that nothing much else mkes Nori stand out.

• Dori: Compared to his brother above, he swaps the two-handed weapon for +1 attack, making him a very good fighter for his cost. Also, his special rule A Good Sort Really allows Bilbo to use Dori's Might, Will and Fate as if it was his own if he is within 3, so Dori is worth taking in that regard.

Allies

Historical Allies

Army of Laketown

The Misty Mountains

Convenient Allies

Iron Hills Dwarves

Rivendell

Lothlorien

Thranduil's Hall

Impossible Allies

Arnor

Minas Tirith

The Dead of Dunharrow

Numenor

Rohan

The Kingdom of Khazad-Dum

The Fellowship

The Fiefdoms

The Shire

The Wanderers in the Wild

Fangorn

Radagast's Alliance

Army of Thror

Garrison of Dale

The White Council

Survivors of Laketown

Erebor Reclaimed