The Lord of the Rings Strategy Battle Game/Tactics/Rangers of Ithilien

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Why Play Rangers of Ithilien?

You are the sneaky dude that hides like a rat and avoids close combat to spam shooting like no tomorrow in videogames...CONGRATULATIONS this is the army for you

Pros:

• Cheap heroes that can fill a metric ton of bows OH YEAH
• Madril can make this list a HUGE TERROR in Maelstrom scenarios, this list is POWERFUL at 500 pts or below
• Solid combat value for troops (see below why*)
• You can even include Frodo, Sam and Sméagol.
• If you are a psycho you are gonna love to see the depressed face of your opponent when he takes 30%-50% of his/her models before combat starts. Remember that a full spam of rangers models list at 500 points means 33-35 shoot attacks each turn...I warned you...Try to have fun with that.

Cons

• Low defense and killing power in close combat (if you are forced to engage in fights you will struggle to kill and to survive) s3 and def 4 for troops is very weak.
• At 700 points or above this list spams a storm of arrows but other lists can bring the toys to counter it (BLINDING LIGHT)
• Bows, no elven bows or rerolls like poisoned arrows.
• No mobility (only Faramir can use horse, and the poor Captain of Minas Tirith that no one should ever include in this list)
• Sadly this list includes models that are useless, (*all veterans and Minas Tirith dudes) with the recent addition of the new ranger heroes you are encouraged to spam 100% bows, when that was not the original idea of this LL. This was planned to have a mix of archers and solid infantry. Maybe they'll make a GARRISON OF OSGILIATH LL with Boromir and Faramir and warriors of Minas Tirith and veterans to fix this
• Playing against this list is one of the TOP 10 WORST EXPERIENCES in this game...Other nightmares are against Iron Hills with ballista, against Elrond and Knights of Rivendell spam, against Moria LL, against Riders of Theoden LL (before that nerf to the banner) and against Angmar etc...

My thoughts about fixing (nerf please) this legion and its most pressumed insane shooting power is making Frodo mandatory and Sam and Sméagol can be included for free. They must be in Faramir's warband and Frodo cannot use the ring (in the movie Sam tells him to use it but he refuses, fearing that it is controlling him). Frodo should count as a banner (Vp in matched play as a real banner cause he is the ringbearer) for Frodo himself, Sam, Sméagol and Faramir (he should be fearless if Frodo or Sam are alive in the table). Mablung and Anborn should have been independent heroes that can only be included in Faramir's warband to buff him or troops around. And thus, reducing the number of warbands with rangers with no bow limit.

Unit Analysis

Heroes

• Faramir, captain of Gondor: Gets armour and bow, nothing more. It can only be equipped with a horse.
• Madril, captain of Ithilien: Second choice after Faramir.
• Anborn, ranger of Ithilien: Exact same profile as Damrod but with a nice special rule that allows him to expend a free a point of might for his to hit, in the way or to wound roll. Just for only one of these not for each one.
• Mablung, ranger of Ithilien: Exact same profile as Damrod but with a sneaky situational rule that allows him and other ranger models in the list (heroes or troops) within 6" to gain stalk unseen rule. Also Mablung and the ranger models in this 6" area can shoot enemy models, even if the enemy models have the stalk unseen rule. (Huge against "The breaking of the fellowship" LL)
• Damrod, ranger of Gondor: Least useful hero in the list, he only serves to get more rangers.