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

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The Rangers of the North roaming in the wilds of Eriador.

Why Play The Rangers

The ranger is your favourite class in D&D and you want to keep the legacy of Arnor alive. You loved the scene during the books where the Grey Company came to help Aragorn during the battle of Pelennor Fields. You also want to run a more elite army that requires more finesse and tactics rather than some other elite armies. Not only that you are one of the easiest armies to collect and paint.

Pros

• Ranged: Your entire army can field bows since heroes do not count towards the bow limit. Not only that you have accurate shooting as well.
• Reconnaissance: Since the majority of your army is Independent Heroes that leads to a lot of one drops where you can see what your opponent is placing first before you deploy your larger warbands
• Heroes: While your Rangers of the North and Dúnedain can fight independently your real strength is your heroes with access to Aragorn, Halbarad, and Arathorn as well as one of the best banners in the game
• Might, Will, and Fate: Since you are an all hero force you have lots of might, will, and fate
• Good Allies: Your historical allies are The Shire and The Dead of Dunharrow which are armies that can cover your weaknesses excellently

Cons

• Numbers: Since you are an army made up of entirely heroes, while not Thorin's Company, Fellowship, or White Council level of elite you will be outnumbered in games against cheaper factions. In particular, you struggle against horde armies
• Models: Most of your models with exception of Aragorn are old metal models, but there is a way around this. It will be covered in army building
• Durability: Even though your army is entirely heroes your Rangers of the North and Dúnedain are quite squishy for their point cost with only one might, fate, and will each. So be careful when spending those points
• No Magic: Other than your allies you yourself can not field magic

Army Bonus

• The army bonus provides Woodland Creature to all models in this army, Rangers of the North and Dúnedain benefit from the stand fast of Arathorn, Halbarad, and Aragorn, and all Rangers/Dúnedain get 2 attacks having the infantry keyword.

Unit Analysis

Heroes

• Aragorn - Strider: Much like his other version, Aragorn is as great as ever. Arguably, he is THE BEST man-sized Good Hero in the entire game, and he's easily the best Good combat Hero. Armour boosts him to a respectable Defence 6 (it's basically mandatory), Aragorn's high base cost is pretty much a premium for his Mighty Hero rule, and Andúril, Flame of the West. Buying it is also mandatory as it makes him far more dangerous, however, he will be extremely expensive. At his current cost, he shouldn't really be brought to any fight lower than 700 points, and even then you have some cheaper options rolling around. To use him effectively, always get him his horse, and don't be afraid to use his Fate to protect it; it's way easier to make Aragorn his points back if you're able to boost his movement and give him an extra Attack (against possibly prone/trapped models) in the process. Do be aware that because Aragorn costs so much and is so deadly he'll be a massive target for the enemy, so always get him an escort of some kind. Rangers of the North are ideal for this role, but even if you can't get them then have him and his horse trot near some Dúnedain so that you can dictate which enemies can engage with him and which ones can't.
  • If you're wondering how best to use his Mighty Hero rule, saving the point for modifying a dice is usually the worst way to spend it; unless Aragorn is completely surrounded and will be Trapped if strikes are resolved against him (in which case you need that 6). Otherwise using it for Heroic Moves/Heroic Combats is typically best; enemies are going to want to run away from him so jumping on them before they can move is a good idea, as is being able to fight with him more than once in a turn. Generally, Aragorn will not need his other Heroic Actions, Heroic March is only useful for moving around the battlefield and you'll stop using it the second combat starts; Heroic Strike won't usually be needed since it's rare to find other Heroes with Fight 6 (although it will come in handy if you do); Heroic Strength is near-useless since Andúril already covers that issue, and Heroic Defence is only useful if Aragorn is put in a bad combat against a Monster. Speaking of which...
  • Watch out for Monsters. While Aragorn is powerful, he's not invincible, and just like in the movie, he can be stepped on by something like a Troll Chieftain. He's also vulnerable to Monsters with the Knock to the Ground rule (Shelob, Cave Drakes, and the like) since they automatically unhorse him, and since his Strength is only 4 they can use Rend to bypass his Defence. This is where you might want to use Heroic Defence, however, it'll mainly keep him alive until he can run away (make sure to call a Heroic move as soon as he's clear). If you must take on Monsters, then weaken them first. So long as the Troll Chieftain has lost a wound and its Fate point he'll statistically kill it if he charges on his horse, and otherwise, he's more likely to lose than win.
    • Do remember you can counter the Knock to the Ground rule by having Rangers of the North ride with Aragorn; so long as they are spaced right, he can charge out from a group of them while enemy Monsters cannot charge in. This will keep him on his horse and go a long way to making his points back, although it will also be expensive.
  • Watch out for models with Heroic Defence. Andúril can only wound them on a 6 (as per the FAQ) despite Andúril saying it "never" requires more than 4+ to Wound. It's a bad idea for Aragorn to get locked down in combat if he's not killing things since he represents so much of your army, so save those roadblocks for your other Heroes or just try to avoid them altogether until the very late game.
  • If you're not taking Aragorn's horse for whatever reason, then always get him his Elven Cloak and a bow. Not only does this allow him to gain some value on far-away enemies, but so long as he's partially concealed by terrain he cannot be targeted by Magical Powers or charged by Cavalry. Considering how one of the best ways to kill him is charging him with Cavalry to knock him over, this is vital to keeping him alive. Just remember that if Cavalry does get close enough to see him, they'll also be close enough to be charged by Aragorn.

• Arathorn: Arathorn is a great choice in lower point games where you can't afford Aragorn, or as a means to maximise your numbers. Arathorn has relatively low Defence and 1 Fate, so don't expect him to move mountains. He does have Heroic Strike, 3 Attacks, and 3 Might, however, so he's ideal for taking on any lesser Heroes, or he can save the Attacks for frontline troops while using his Heroic Accuracy in the middle of bows to take out enemy banners. Regardless of what you use him for, just remember that his main purpose is to give you a decent amount of Might and he does well enough at that.
  • Do watch out for Cavalry and monsters with the Monstrous Charge rule. If Cavalry comes towards you, go hop in some and force your opponent to wade through the much that you can run through. If you're attacked by Monsters, on the other hand, get some Dúnedain in the way to take the charge for Arathorn, then counter-charge and use Heroic Strike. If you don't, it'll be much harder for your Rangers and Dúnedain to win on their own, but as always don't expect miracles. As a Rangers force you win 9/10 games by playing the objectives rather than killing the enemy army, so don't be disheartened if your force can't be reasonably expected to take on everything your enemy brings.

• Halbarad: An excellent choice and an auto-include in a Rangers army once you buy him the Banner of Arwen Evenstar. Never take him without it, Arathorn is five points more and much better at everything if you go that route (or if you already have Arathorn you'll get more use out of two Rangers of the North). With the banner, Halbarad is the centerpiece of your army, and for good reason; Stand Fast! does not work in your army since everyone is a Hero, which means that once you hit your Break Point, Halbarad is the only real effective model you have for keeping your Rangers and Dúnedain on the field. This is especially concerning if there are Nazgúl about, and with your relatively low Defence, a poor Duel roll means your Rangers of the North and Dúnedain are probably dead, so never forget that re-roll. You can put him on a horse if you want, it will provide bonus protection if he's in the open since shots will have to be randomised between the two, but in this list you likely won't be able to use it effectively. At only Defence 5 and 1 Fate Halbarad really does not want to be in combat, so only have him engage against the weaker troops while your other models buffed by him do the heavy lifting.
  • Make sure to keep Rangers of the North and Dúnedain in front of Halbarad; his banner makes him a very obvious target, especially since without it, your force cannot benefit from any Stand Fast! auras since you're an army of Heroes. To this end, the models in front of him will not only prevent Halbarad from getting shot thanks to In the Way rolls, but they'll also prevent Halbarad from being knocked prone by Cavalry charges or Monsters with the Monstrous Charge rule.
  • Note that Halbarad's banner does not affect models only in a Ranger force, but all friendly models within 6". This means if you don't care about your army bonus and want Fearless in another army, Halbarad is a prime choice to use as an ally, especially since he suffers no penalty for carrying it, and he also gives you 3 Might to use.

• Rangers of the North: Your "Warriors", they're Independent Heroes with one point of Might/Will/Fate, and they pay out the nose for the "privilege". Since they're going to be one of your two generic units and you'll have to decide which to go with, Rangers are almost always worth the extra points over Dúnedain. The +1 Defence means they are being wounded by Strength 2 bows on 6's instead of 5's and they are being wounded by Strength 4 on 5+ instead of 4+. There are a lot of Strength 2 bows in the game and there are a lot of strength 4 Warriors in the game, so keep this in mind. You can give them a horse as an upgrade to increase mobility and punching power, but the trade-off is that you lose the infantry keyword and lose that extra attack the army bonus gives you until the horse dies. So long as you keep charging this isn't a problem, but it also means that one bad engagement, one lost Priority roll, and you'll find them getting charged and losing a Duel that will claim their life.
  • In the middle of your Rangers of the North, always have a model that saves its point of Might for a Heroic Move. If you lose Priority you will get charged, and Heroic Move can help you remain clear of the really bad engagements. With how many Heroes you're fielding you frankly have no excuse if you run out of Might.
  • Rangers of the North can also be given horses to escort Aragorn around, and if you choose to go this route, save their Might for Heroic Moves so that Aragorn can save his Mighty Hero rule for the combats you get into. This isn't nearly as effective as getting regular Cavalry to escort him around, but in your army you don't exactly have any other options, especially if you want to protect him from charges by Monsters with the Monstrous Charge rule.

• Dúnedain: Dúnedain are identical to Rangers of the North, making them your other "Warriors". Like the Rangers, they're Independent Heroes with one point of Might/Will/Fate, but they cost five points less since they don't have armour. Normally this is a very bad tradeoff since it makes them twice as vulnerable to bows, however, if you're really trying to min/max your force and you don't care about allies, these guys are the better models to field if you expect to be up against mostly Orcs. Just make sure to get them spears and hide them behind some of your Rangers of the North and you'll usually get good utility out of them. This is likely something you'll only really take advantage of in the smaller point games, as once the points start going up you can expect to be up against more bows and Strength 4 enemies, which means you'll find yourself dropping them in favour of the Rangers of the North.
  • In the middle of your Dúnedain, always have a model that saves its point of Might for a Heroic Move. If you lose Priority you will get charged, and Heroic Move can help you remain clear of the really bad engagements. With how many Heroes you're fielding you frankly have no excuse if you run out of Might.

Building your Army

Before you start building your force you must decide whether or not you are willing to put up with an entirely metal finecast army for your heroes and both kinds of rangers. They do have nice poses, but they are showing their age. If you are okay with that then go ahead. If you are looking to build and paint your force quicker, then you good sir have to do one thing. BUY THE PLASTIC RANGERS OF MIDDLE EARTH KIT this will make building your force way easier and the models come with the same wargear on their models as do your own models, also comes with the maximum amount of models you will ever need in a game. It is cheaper and faster this way. You can use the old models to add diversity to your list.

Allies

Historical Allies

• The Shire: Where you have a low amount of models, these guys can bring more bodies at a cheaper cost. Gandalf (Hero of Valour) is brilliant for his ability to cast blinding light to prevent your squishy Rangers/Dúnedain from being massacred by armies with moderate numbers of bow-wielding models. If you have Aragorn, Protection of the Valar will be useful to keep Aragorn from being shut down by enemy magic, transfix can help shut down powerful enemy heroes, compel can help set up multi charges on key targets, and sorcerous blast will send enemy heroes off their mounts to reduce their damage output. Also, Farmer Maggot for scenarios that require movement (e.g., Reconnoiter), the three hounds with 8" movement can be very useful, especially since mounting your Rangers of the North comes at the expense of the +1 attack from the army bonus.
• Dead of Dunharrow: You can only ally them if you have Aragorn in your army. These ghosts have a higher defence than you and can do more damage due to Blades of the Dead, causing terror, and they can form a nice defensive line to protect your other units. If you can bring along King of the Dead since you need him as well to ally The Rangers. He and Aragorn will be the most deadly of all of your heroes in the army due to Aragorn being Aragorn and the King of the Dead being an absolute monster in melee combat.

Convenient Allies

Fangorn

Lothlórien

Minas Tirith

Radagast's Alliance

Rivendell

Rohan

The Fellowship

The Fiefdoms

The Misty Mountains

The White Council

Thranduil's Hall

Wildmen of Druádan

Impossible Allies

Arnor

Númenor

The Dead of Dunharrow

The Kingdom of Khazad-dûm

The Wanderers in the Wild

Thorin's Company

Army of Thrór

Garrison of Dale

Army of Laketown

Survivors of Laketown

Iron Hills Dwarves

Erebor Reclaimed

Tactics

Key Tactics

Arathorn, Halbarad, and Halbarad without the banner (yes they're both him, don't question it) are walking through the ruins of their former realm.

• The army bonus is strong and you need to retain it. That leaves three ways of playing this army: a) Pure, b) allied with The Shire, or c) allied with Dead of Dunharrow, who are historical allies. The latter does limit your list building since you must take the King of the Dead and Aragorn.

• Heroic Accuracy: All of the models in this list have heroic accuracy. This can be used to snipe enemy characters. It’s best used on Aragorn with his free point of might. Otherwise, use on Arathorn/Halbarad. The Rangers and Dúnedain will desperately need their might while in combat and you should generally refrain from spending their might on shooting.

• Heroic Combats: Because all models in this army list have might, you are able to stack heroic combats to increase your killing potential and gain extra movement for key positioning during the fight phase. This is how you will prevent yourself from being surrounded.

• Rangers and Dúnedain, being your "troops" enjoy an excellent profile at the cost of fragility. Altough cost-wise the Dúnedain may seem better, at such a high cost providing D5 to your 1W mini-heroes is always a good option, specially against arrows and S4. Try to think of them as the equivalent of 2 or 3 enemy warriors, and always keep them in teams of 2 or 3. Give them spears if you can, and try to stay in range of Halbarads' banner to ensure you win combats. If you lose combats they will start dying REALLY fast.

• Mounted Rangers are your only option of cavalry besides mounting Aragorn and Halbarad. Not only do they lose their two attacks for some reason, but they are very fragile. If you must, take at most one or two, since at 40p. a piece they aren't cheap, and use them to capture faraway points. Aragorn's free March and Woodland Creature will often help mitigate your mobility issues, but you must still calculate carefully your moves, and plan them to have Rangers at objectives in the last turns.

Example Army Lists

200pts

• Arathorn (Leader)
• 4 Dúnedain, no spears
• 1 Independent Dúnedain, no spear

400pts

• Arathorn (Leader)
• Arathorn Warband: 3 Rangers of the North, no spears
• Halbarad with Banner of Arwen Evenstar
• Halbarad Warband: 3 Dúnedain, no spears
• 2 Independent Dúnedain, no spears

Comes to 400pts exact

• Halbarad, Horse, Banner of Arwen Evenstar
• 7 Rangers of the North
• 1 Dúnedain
• Farmer Maggot & Hounds

Halbarad provides the needed 6-inch banner & fearless. He also provides strike for those who fight 6 enemies. His horse increases his punching power. Farmer maggot provides his 3 hounds for grabbing objectives. At this point level, I don't think spears are very useful.

800pts

• Aragorn-Strider (Leader) with armour, elven cloak, bow, and Andúril upgrades
• Aragorn Warband: 7 Rangers of the North, 2 with spears
• Halbarad with Banner of Arwen Evenstar
• Halbarad Warband: 6 Rangers of the North, 2 armed with spears
• 3 Independent Dúnedain, 1 armed with spear

Comes to 795pts

1000pts

• Aragorn-Strider (Leader) with armour, elven cloak, bow, and Andúril upgrades
• Aragorn Warband: 9 Rangers of the North, 2 armed with spears
• Halbarad with Banner of Arwen Evenstar
• Halbarad Warband: 10 Rangers of the North, 3 armed with spears
• 4 Independent Dúnedain, with no spears

Comes to 1000pts even

Legendary Legion

The Grey Company

The Grey Company Legion consists of:

• Aragorn-Strider with all upgrades except horse
• Halbarad with Banner of Arwen Evenstar upgrade
• Legolas Greenleaf with armour and elven cloak upgrades
• Gimli with elven cloak upgrade
• Elladan and Elrohir with elven bows, cloak, and heavy armour upgrades for both
• Ranger of the North with just the spear upgrade

Any unlisted upgrade means you can't take those upgrades in order to run this legion which means no horses, and all upgrades listed are optional for those characters

This legion benefits from extremely killy heroes and a high concentration of Might at a fair price. There is a priority in which you should take characters, if the point size allows:

1. Aragorn (obviously)
2. Halbarad with Banner
3. The Twins
4. Legolas
5. Gimli
6. And finally Rangers, to fill the points limit.

Aragorn is the glue that keeps the army together. Give him armor and cloak, if you can. He'll chew through everything you want and more, and by the end of the battle, once the enemy has ran out of Might, his Mighty Hero will allow you to keep ruling engagements and Heroic Combats.

Halbarad is a complete must, his banner is way too good to not take in this army (and you should never take him without the banner). Getting rerolls is absolutely essential for winning combats, and can specially be felt in 1v1 with your Rangers, but your combat heroes (Aragorn, Twins and Gimli) will also perform much better with a reroll. Halbarad should never be in the frontline, and should always be protected by rangers and other heroes. If the enemy manages to get to him he performs well at F5 with a reroll and no penalty, and two attacks, but he only has 1 Fate and two Wounds so he is still fragile. Keep his 3 Might as a reserve for late game, when you need to perform heroic moves and Aragorn needs his free point of Might to Heroic Strike/Heroic Defence.

The Twins are the perfect budget killers, having a profile on the same level as Gimli and Legolas, and with Combat 6, 3 2 2, two Wounds, two attacks (with the option of three), shielding, heavy armor and two-handed elven weapons they will rarely disappoint. Even better, if one gets killed, the other becomes even more dangerous.

Legolas and Gimli are the same old duo, if you take one you should take both since they benefit greatly from their special count rule, and try to rack kills in early game with Legolas asap. Once the melee fighters get to work, Legolas can have a retinue of Rangers accompany him to defend points, kill enemy targets or just practice archery with enemy spears and artillery crewmen. He benefits from more attacks (having two), and the rangers benefit from his combat 6. Don't be afraid to spend his Might early on to ensure a critical kill, the Rangers can provide a battery of Might for him in combat once he runs out.

Rangers serve as your point holders and screening for when Aragorn is in a 1v1 against the enemy leader and you don't him to get surrounded. They are not there to kill other heroes, but they can be very effective against troopers, specially orcs and similar warriors. Always keep them in groups of 2-3 and abuse heroic combats if you can, and use the movement of the combats to relaunch them towards objectives, or put pressure in the enemy's backline. Give them all spears if you can, the cost is negligible and they can add Might to a roll in a combat, using a named Hero's fight value once he has ran out of Might.

Additional Rules

• A Grey Company force must have Aragorn-Strider in the army and as leader
• Regardless of the number of models you must deploy as a single warband with Aragorn being that warband's captain

Special Rules

• Passing of the Grey Company: The Rangers army bonus is retained and applied to the whole warband and the Rangers of the North also benefit from the Stand Fast! of Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli, Halbarad, Elladan, and Elrohir. The Rangers of the North also get the 2 attacks for being infantry.
• The Heir of Isildur: The Andúril, Flame of the West upgrade for Aragorn is free