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

2021-06-16T04:37:28Z

2404:4402:1702:C200:45E0:74D3:7859:A6C7: /* Cons */

[[The_Lord_of_the_Rings_Strategy_Battle_Game|Back to the list]]
==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, [[White Scars|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 you 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
*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.

===Army Bonus===
'''"Ride for Ruin and the World's Ending!"''' - All of your cavalry gets +1 Strength when they charge. Given how important Strength is in Middle-Earth, you'd better hold onto this faction ability. Also, Riders of Rohan don't count towards the army Bow Limit.

==Unit Analysis==

===Heroes===
*'''Theoden, King of Rohan:''' Theoden, like a lot of the Rohirrim characters, is cheap and versatile. With access to armoured horses and a respectable Defense of 7, Theoden makes for a solid choice of first hero. His only downside, however, is his average stat line, but his low point cost balances that out. The fact he can take up to 18 followers is a plus, his sword , herugrim, allows him to feint even if his enemy's fight value is higher than his. He also has a 12" inch stand fast, but only a single fate point, so he can become quite vulnerable to [[Nazgûl|hard hitting enemies]]. But his real value is the fact that he boosts the Fight Value of a lot of your stuff (Captains of Rohan, Riders of Rohan and Rohan Royal Guard) if they charge within 12 inches of him, which could be the fight winner against a lot of human armies. Should probably be the core of your army, but save hero hunting for Eomer

*'''Theodred, Heir of Rohan:''' Much like his Father, Theodred is a prime example of Rohan's characters. Standard stat line, relatively low cost, and multiple upgrades. A hero of valour, he no longer has access to a bow, but can still take throwing spears. Like his father he only has one fate point, but due to his reckless charge rule he must always charge, so take at your own peril. The good side of this rule is that he can reroll any failed to wound rolls if he has charged that turn, so if he is on horse and this guy wins the fight he can hit very hard.

*'''Hama, Captain of Rohan:''' Five points more than a captain of Rohan, he trades "Arise, Riders of Theoden!" for 1 might and "Sworn Protector (Theoden), an ability which lets him auto pass all courage tests if Theoden is on the board. What makes this good is it allows him to 'stand fast' more than once, meaning that this body guard is more of a support than an actual body guard. If you use him right, he can be a game changer once terror or break tests come into play.

*'''Eomer, Marshal of the Riddermark:''' Beast in close combat, with 3 attacks, 3 wounds, Fight Value 5, S4, D7 (with a shield) and 3 points of Might, Will and Fate. Also has a special rule where he goes crazy if Theoden or Eowyn die. He's not cheap though, running 125 points with Shield, Armored Horse (He is a horse lord so it is nearly mandatory) and Throwing Spears, and doesn't give the bonus to Riders of Rohan Theoden does. Should be considered carefully.

*'''Eowyn, Shield Maiden of Rohan:''' Now you too can play with your "macbeth plot twist" but in high fantasy! at 30 points base she's one of your cheapest 'effective' heroes (more on that later), though with no base armour and only a hand weapon to speak of, she's more realistically priced at a 40 point minimum with access to throwing spears and horse. with okay M/W/F and an all around terrible stat line, she's best used as a key to unlock 6 more troop models.
**'''Dernhelm:''' From the Gondor at War book, Dernhelm is literally just Eowyn with Horse, Armor and Shield, plus Merry with Shield on the same model for only 75 points. This has the effect of giving Eowyn an extra attack, access to Merry's Might and Merry's Resistant to Magic special ability, turning Eowyn into a damn effective hero, and if she gets killed, Merry dismounts and has to go be dealt with on his own, which can frustrate people. A very cheap and effective hero and very worth a look.

*'''Meriadoc, Knight of the Mark:''' 25 points for Merry with Armor and Dagger, and the option to get a Shield for 5 points. On his own, Merry is basically nothing, but he might see use now as part of the Dernhelm combo with Eowyn. Still, take him alongside Eowyn as Dernhelm, or not at all.

*'''Gamling, Captain of Rohan:''' With a stat line that is nothing to write home about and no real upgrades beyond a horse, Gamling should only be brought for one reason: the Royal Standard of Rohan. At the cost of doubling your point value, you get the ability to regenerate might on all heroes near Gamling, which can be a game changer in the final fourth of a match. DON'T OVERLOOK THIS. Gamling himself may not be a legendary fighter on his own, but that free might is an insane prospect; infinite heroic moves should be enough to sell you on always taking this guy in your army. UPDATE: The August 2020 errata update changes Gamling’s banner significantly: it now only provides a free might to ONE hero per turn, and that hero still has to be within 3 inches and out of might. While this is a big nerf, the banner is still a valuable and interesting piece of wargear, and makes Gamling a cool option rather than an auto-include.

*'''Erkenbrand, Captain of Rohan:''' With the ability to act as a banner to Riders from his warband, a suped up warhorn (adds +2 courage rather than +1, but only to friendly Rohan models), and a solid fighter stat line, Erkengrand is one of the better named heroes Rohan has access to. Fast, tough, hard hitting, AND a solid support hero, he does it all for a fair price at that.

*'''Elfhelm, Captain of Rohan:''' A Captain of Rohan with Shield and Throwing Spears, for 10 points more than a Captain of Rohan. For those 10 points he gets an extra point of Might, a 3+ to hit while shooting and a neat ability where he can reroll hit, wound and In the Way while using his Throwing Spear and never gets a -1 to hit with it for moving and shooting. Those 10 points might be worth it to have him cut his way through lightly armored infantry quickly (consistently killing 1 with his throwing spear and then moving on). Be careful though, he doesn't have the Arise Riders of Theoden rule.

*'''Deorwine, Chief of the King's Knights:''' Captain of Rohan with Heavy Armor and Shield, an extra point of Might, 1 higher Fight and the Bodyguard rule, plus an ability to call a free heroic fight if he's within 12 of Theoden in a fight (and then has to move closer to Theoden), for 20 points more than a Captain of Rohan. Useful if you keep him near Theoden, but otherwise don't bother.

*'''Haleth son of Hama''': That kid that Aragorn gives a pep talk to. Barely qualifies as a hero: can't take a warband, has basic equipment with no options, and a statline not much higher than a basic troop. He does have 2 fate though, and gets +1 attack while within 6" of Aragorn. Finally, if he's engaged in combat other Rohan models and Aragorn get +1 fight while he's alive.

*'''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 actions and rerolls to hit and to wound when doing so. Other than that he's just a basic archer with heroic stats. Honestly not very good, but in an infantry heavy list, why not? He's only 20 points. Merry costs more than him.

*'''Eorl the Young:''' The founder of Rohan with a faster-than-average horse and a solid hero stat line. what really makes him different from the other Rohirrim characters is his ability to be a mini-Aragorn and not spend a might on a 4+, giving him on average, 5 might instead of 3, more if you're lucky. Note that if you take him, you can't take any other named heroes and can't ally with any other factions other than Minas Tirith (also with no named heroes). Seriously consider taking Sons of Eorl with this guy, since the points you save from not having any named heroes help pay for their slightly extravagant price, and their damage output is straight up doubled if they stay near him. Plus it makes for a cool, fluffy, strength 5 battering ram to smash your luckless foe asunder.

*'''Helm Hammerhand:''' Another old-time hero who locks you out of allies and other named heroes. Has a brutal combat statline (3 attacks, S5, a two-handed sword, Burly), a War Horn that makes him cause Terror when he charges and he boosts the Fight Value of all Rohan Warriors within 6 inches of him. He is also by a pretty wide margin the most expensive hero Rohan has access to (175 points with Horse, if you give him a horse he's 50 more points than a fully tricked out Eomer) with only 1 point of Fate. In order for him to be worth that, he really needs to be taken in the Helm's Guard Legendary Legion, which gives him Mighty Hero and a free Heroic Combat every turn, turning him from a brutal close combat hero into an Aragorn level monster.

*'''Captain of Rohan:''' You standard captain with access to a little bit of everything for maximum variety. Funnily enough one of your better options when you look at the point total: 75 points for a hero that can and will rival most of your named men (and woman)

*'''King's Huntsman:''' An interesting choice. with a standard archer statline and an elf bow base for that glorious strength 3, the huntsman is already a solid hero, but he only gets better. the 'master archer' rule makes him pass any 'in the way' roll on a 2+ and gives him the ability to restore all his might whenever he shoots at a hero or monster. factor in his cheap price, and you have a solid hero for making your enemy sweat. Like a few similar characters, he's an minor hero so he only unlocks 6 troop slots in his warband.

====Troops====

*'''Rohan Outrider:''' better at shooting but more spooked by close combat, outriders are Rohan's ranger equivalent. They have access to horses, and get to benefit from 'stand fasts' even if they are out of range for it. Despite first impressions, these guys are in fact welcome in most lists, if not entirely competitive - have 10 or so on foot behind your cavalry and consistently pepper your enemy with shooting that may not be hard hitting but is at least accurate. Since they don’t need a hero to babysit them you can commit a few extra points to your charge, and as Riders don’t count towards bow limit, they shouldn’t cause any organisational problems.

*'''Rohan Royal Guard:''' passable defense, a standard stat line, access to horses, throwing spears, and the bodyguard special rule Royal guard will end up being one of, if not the most common unit in your army, though they come at the downside of being incredibly expensive fully kitted out.

*'''Warrior of Rohan:''' Your cheapest, but most unfortunate troop. A 'standard' human stat line, though with a lower defense 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 (because helms deep is cool), otherwise go for your other troops.
** They do have one thing going for them and that is access to throwing spears. Since they have an 8" range (vs 6" for regular throwing weapons) you can sometimes get a volley off before the initial charge. Be aware you do take the -1 to hit if you moved and throwing the spears, but only if they aren't throwing them as part of a charge.
** If you're dead-set on an infantry-based Rohan army, take the Helms Deep legendary legion, which allows them to use their throwing spears as normal spears so long as they didn't throw them that turn. Better than it first looks, it gives you an 8" bubble in front of your infantry line where your opponent cannot stop without taking a volley of Str 3 spears.

===Cavalry===

*'''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 since the faction ability of Rohan makes Riders of Rohan immune to the bow limit, you can take as many as you want.
**These guys are extremely flexible, having the option of getting in the thick of it or sitting back and peppering the enemies with arrows.

*'''Son of Eorl:''' For six points more than a Rider of Rohan, you lose the bow, and access to Throwing Spears (and Horns/Banners, if that's important to you) but gain a point of Fight, Strength, Defense, Courage and get armor for their horse. They also lose the ability to get +1 Fight when charging near Theoden, but get +1 attack at all times when close to Eorl. They certainly fight harder, and S5 on the charge is nothing to sneeze at, but it's up to you if the increase in points is worth it.
**Definitely not worth it if you're not taking Eorl

*'''Rohan Outrider with Horse:''' Slightly more worthwhile on horse than on foot, as it'll let you avoid getting pinned down and you might actually get to use their Stand Fast ability. Unfortunately they do count towards your bow limit, unlike Riders of Rohan and they don't gel well with Rohan tactics, so they're probably a skip.

*'''Rohan Royal Guard with Horse:''' An extra point of Defense and Fight for 1 point more than a Rider of Rohan (although you lose the Bow) plus the Bodyguard rule. While Riders of Rohan will probably make up the majority of your force, but these guys can make a solid center of your cavalry charge to smash into the enemy's lines. An extremely offensive choice around Theoden, specially if armed with throwing spears becoming pseudo elves on horse while charging.

==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 eachother 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 Elfhelm shenannigans. The list is still a strong list, but should be built with lots of micro-heroes to benefit from the DEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAATH charge.

==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'''

==Building your Army==

==Tactics==

[[Category:The Lord of the Rings]]

=== 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. Heros (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

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

2021-06-16T04:36:28Z

2404:4402:1702:C200:45E0:74D3:7859:A6C7: /* Dunland Warriors */

[[The_Lord_of_the_Rings_Strategy_Battle_Game#Tactics_pages|Back to the list]]

This page is a WIP, the one doing it (Lotrfag) is new to creating pages.
And I'm f*cking lazy too, seeing how I left this page in standy for 7 months.

==Why Play Isengard==
The Two Towers is your favorite movie and book of the series, and it's partly because of these guys.
You like quality over quantity but don't want to play High Elves (Eregion & Rivendell). You want your basic troops to kill said armoured elves as if they were Wood Elves, and Wood Elves as if they were Hobbits, and Hobbits like... Well, you got my point.
Basically, you want to lead an army worthy of Mordor - and kick Mordor's ass in the process

===Pros===
* Uruk Hai warriors are one of the best infantry in the game.
* Crossbows.
* Good variety of elite troops (i.e. Berserkers) which can cut swathes through the enemy army if they are not careful
* Armywide Strength 4 and Fight 4, meaning your basic warrior will almost always wound on a 5+ and will tie at worst against most armies
* Good selection of heroes with some hilarious special rules.
* Straight-forward gameplan

===Cons===
* Probably the most common Evil army you can find (this is actually a pro as it means more second hand models)
* Some models you want a lot of are very expensive (crossbow Uruks)
* Your basic warrior is very expensive compared to other armies, expect to be outnumbered by everybody except other elite armies.
* Defense 6 is not that tough, some other S4 armies are tougher than you (i.e. the new FW Dwarves)
* Lacks army multipliers outside of a basic banner and a rage bubble from the Shaman
* Lacks any high-tier combat heroes - any combat monster is going to be difficult to stop outside of grouping your heroes and burning might for Lurtz's heroic strike.
* If you take him, Saruman will always be your army leader. While he himself is a good model, his combat stats are subpar, so for scenarios involving your army leader scoring wounds you're going to struggle (maybe you can get away with it if you burn all your Will casting sorcerous blasts and fireballs)

===Army Bonus===
'''You Do Not Know Pain, You Do Not Know Fear''': You don't take break tests until you've lost 66% of your force. Also Lurtz, Ugluk, Mauhur, Vrasku, Scout Captains and Scouts all gain Woodland Creature.

*Is this still current?

==Unit Analysis==

===Isengard Heroes===
* '''Saruman:''' A potent spellcaster and good army leader. He's a Hero of Legend, has 6 Will points and gets another one for free every turn. He has 2 aggressive spells, cast on a 5+ and 4+, so he's better at supporting your troops with Transfix/Compel. He can also, once per battle, automatically make you win priority; an ability that can, if it is used at the right time, turn the game over (read: save your ass). He also has a 12 inch Stand Fast, his Stand Fast can effect other heroes and he can reroll 1 cast/resist dice per turn. Despite his relatively small list of spells (no blinding light... grrrr), he's one of the best casters in the game thanks to his reroll, even better than Gandalf. With his MASSIVE 12 inch Stand Fast and his large stock of will (+1 free point each turn), your army will NEVER run away as long as Saruman is alive. Protect him at all costs!
**Also worth considering, he very silently got a huge bonus in the way of his new model; it has him ''on horse''. While that doesn't sound like much by itself, consider his only real weaknesses; one, that D5 isn't exactly heavy armor, and even with 3 W/F he can still get bludgeoned pretty easily. And two, that he only has a single attack on foot. On a horse, the mobility and charge capability make him exponentially more durable against all kinds of opponents, and on top of this boosting up to 10" movement gives a very nice range for his fireballs and sorcerous blasts.
**Saruman can be one of the best support casters in the game, both by disrupting your opponent's battle line with command (watch your opponents seeth in frustration as their combat monsters walks in the opposite direction of your battle line), and by yeeting enemy models with Sorcerous blast - remember, he gets one re-roll to cast per turn, so his odds of casting the spell is better than the 4+ displayed on his profile. Consider channeling Terrifying Aura to make it difficult for your opponent to charge him - being repeatedly locked in combat is one of the worst things that can happen to Saruman, his power lies in his spells, and if he's constantly getting charged then a significant chunk of your army is going to be locked down.

* '''Grima Wormtongue:''' Can only be taken if Saruman is here. He deploys in the enemy's zone and forces heroes around him to spend 2 Might instead of one every time they used them (fuck you Aragorn). He cannot be shot or wounded as long as Saruman is on the battlefield, or until he charges or tries to wound someone. Very good against hero-heavy lists, not too bad otherwise. He seems unexpensive at only 25 points, but he cannot lead a troop and you need Saruman around, so that's 205 points (without horses).
** Note, he still keeps his area of control. This can be extremely good if you position him correctly, meaning you keep him in front of your valuable troops and your opponent will have to charge him with at least one model to get past him. This sounds okay at first, until you realize he can cock-block monsters on his own AND THEY CAN'T EVEN SWING AT HIM. Imagine Grima just chilling and then the Balrog comes up to him, beats him in combat, but just has to gently push him backwards because he hasn't been revealed as a traitor yet. He can be incredibly frustrating if used correctly.

* '''Lurtz:''' The guy from the end of the first movie. He is an Uruk Hai Captain with 3 Might, 3 Attacks and 3 wounds (finally). Having both Uruk-Hai bow and a shield means he doesn't get +1 D, but he can still use it in combat. Having the bow is a bit of a downside, you'd rather the +1 Defence, but he can roll with your bow-scouts because of it. His Warband also doesn't need to roll to see where and when it shows up in scenarios that require you to roll such things, which isn't a lot, but it's not nothing. He possess a wide range of choices for heroic actions at a reasonable cost.
**GW GIVE US A A NEW MODEL PLEASE, HIS CURRENT MODEL IS FROM 2001. YES I AM NOT JOKING. Maybe a new pose for Lurtz and his scout heroes friends or a new Lurtz vs Boromir, Merry and Pippin pack but GIVE US A NEW MODEL. He has his own legendary legion so I gave Gw lots of reasons to do it (2001 model, has a LL, he is a beast and an important secondary character in The fellowship of the ring movie, ask Boromir, oh no, you can't).

* '''Ugluk:''' The successor of the guy above and, again, an Uruk Hai Captain with 3 Might. [[Commissar|If your force is broken, instead of testing Courage, he can kill a friendly model in base contact.]] This makes him automatically pass the test and extends his standfast to 12". If you field him, also take an escort of [[Conscript|cheap, expandable models]] (Orcs) to make sure he doesn't [[Blam|kill]] your precious Uruk Hai Warriors. He costs 10 points more than an Uruk-Hai Scout Captain for 1 point of might, but no options, so make sure you're taking him for his ability, which can be game winning if you're in a tight spot.

* '''Vraskû:''' Another Captain with 3 Might. Also has a crossbow that he is able to shoot twice every Shooting Phase with his 3+ Shooting value. A very good choice if you want to have a hero with your crossbowmen (crossbowuruks?). He costs EXACTLY THE SAME amount of points as a Captain with a crossbow, and he can shoot twice, more accurately. Why the hell would you ever take a crossbow captain to babysit your crossbowuruks when you have this guy?

* '''Mauhur:''' The fourth and last named Uruk Hai Captain. He only has 2 Might (like a regular captain) but he makes up for it by moving 8" and having 3 Attacks. THREE F5 S5 ATTACKS FOR ONLY 60 POINTS! This is enough to let him shred through infantry and skullfuck the occasional hero. Don't expect him to do much against major heroes or massed elite infantry though. He can upgrade your Uruk Hai Scouts to have 8 move for 1 point, but only in his Warband. Still fun to Nascar around the table with and makes your opponent wary of getting to close.

* '''Sharku:''' An Orc Captain with 3 might and a dagger that lets him stab enemy heroes whenever they fail to wound him, which is incidentally hilarious, for 10 points more than an Orc Captain. He can take a Warg for 10 points and Shield for 5, and you should probably go with both to give him a good chance of getting into combat and make you less likely to get wounded. You probably want him leading a warband of wargs, because if you're not taking Mauhur+drummer this list suffers from a lack of mobility.

* '''Uruk Hai Captain:''' Your basic Uruk Hai hero. He is a stronger, tougher and braver Uruk, and he has 2 Might. There are quite a lot of options to equip him with, but you'll probably want to give a shield, which takes this guy up to Defense 7, which is better than your named Uruk heroes. Overall not a bad choice if you want someone that is cheap, tough, and strong to get shit done. Note that, similarly to all your Uruks, he cannot take a mount. You *can* take a crossbow on him, but you may as well take Vraskû if you want a captain with a crossbow.

*'''Uruk Hai Scout Captain:''' Same as above, except he can take a bow instead of a crossbow. The bow is wasted on him (he is Str 5 so you want him in your battle line) and he has less defence than a regular captain, but he's slightly cheaper and benefits from the army special rule that gives him woodland creature.

* '''Uruk Hai Shaman:''' A trickier hero for you to play, he is neither a good fighter like your Captains, nor is he a magical powerhouse like Saruman. But he is cheaper than them and he has a power that Saruman hasn't: frenzy. If you manage to cast it, it create a 6" bubble around that allows Uruk Hais to auto-pass Courage tests and that gives them some sort of 6+ FnP (if you channel it, which you will). A good support hero than will give your battle line more staying power. Try not to get him into too dangerous fights though, as losing one will stop his Frenzy. Keep him behind your shield/pike battleline and he should be golden.

* '''Uruk Hai Drummer:''' Always a good option to get your Uruk-hai into combat faster, if you really want to be mean take a drummer alongside Mauhur's warband and make sure you upgrade them all to move 8, that way with the drummer your Uruk-hai scouts are moving 11 that's faster than most cavalry! Sadly you can't charge while moving at that speed, but it's still fun.

*'''Orc Captain:''' If you -really- want, you can bring one as a cheap hero to unlock more troops, but that's their only redeeming feature when you can instead take Defence 7 Uruk Hai captains. Only take them if you're on a budget.

===Dunland Heroes===

* '''Thrydan Wolfsbane:''' A strong character with Mighty Blow, for 85 points you get the leader of the Dunleding who can and will hack some damned Rohirrim to pieces. If you are playing straight Dunland he is a near autotake due to the Legendary Legion. Also has a 12" Stand Fast. Otherwise is very similar to the Captain with additional Might, Will, and Fate. Heroic Strike and Heroic Strength; expect to use Strike against real combat heroes. His biggest play is in the Legendary Legion, where he can give an aura of +1 to wound for a round to Dunland models.

* '''Dunlending Chieftain:''' Comes stock with a two handed axe but you have the option to give him a bow or trade the big axe for a smaller axe and shield, though he is best served keeping his two-handed axe. S5 base gives you a world of options with what to do with a two-handed axe, potentially allowing him to threaten anything on the field. A decent fight value won't see him beat real combat heroes and his low(ish) defense of 5 means he can and will be torn up by the stronger enemies, but like much of Dunland he can hit very, very hard. Heroic March can see him leading a surprisingly swift force. Like all other Dunland Heroes he has Courage 4, which is rather low for heroes.

* '''Gorulf Ironskin:''' Continues the Dunland hero tradition of S5 and a good Hero-line of 3-1-1, though he lacks a two-handed option. Has more heroic actions (Strike, Strength, Defense) than the others. An additional attack over Thrydan gives him a beefy profile, though he lacks Mighty Blow. The Dunland Hero Defense of 5 is mitigated when he is in combat with an enemy Hero model, as he can declare a Heroic Defense for free.

* '''Frida Tallspear:''' Lower S than other Dunland Heroes (S4) but a higher Defense (D6), with Heroic Defense and Heroic Strength and a Hero-line of 3 Might, 1 Will, 1 Fate. Her primary use is countering enemy cavalry. Readied Stance negates cavalry special rules in a fight against her or ina fight she is supporting, and she gives off an aura of 3" of re-rolling wounds against mounts in the fight phase.

===Isengard Troops===
* '''Uruk Hai Scout:''' at 8 points you have a strength 4, fight and shot value of 4, Defence 4 and courage 3 warrior, theyre exactly as Saruman made them to be, superior to orcs in every way. they have the options to bring a shield to up their defence and a banner to help them out in a fight, they can also bring an Uruk-hai bow

* '''Uruk Hai Warrior:''' The same stats as the scout, but with +1 defence, these are your front line and back line troops (ill explain further on). Give them a shield to make them defence 6 and watch them shrug of arrows, or return the favour and equip them with Crossbows to make even Elves cry. Of course they have the option to bring a banner but what all isengard players bring are Pikes! these things are wonderful you can have a three row column of Uruk-hai and have them all fighting. These are a must if you are playing Isengard.
**Be careful with massed pike formations, you can get your front-line warriors trapped as only one model can make way for him. It is possible to stagger your pike formations so that there's always room for the first pike to back off, but it may mean some of your Uruks will have to be satisfied with one pike, not two.

*'''Orc Warrior:''' Literally the same Orcs mordor gets, however, there are plenty of ways to mitigate their low courage in this list.
**These guys shouldn't be dismissed off-hand. One of the biggest problems with a Uruk-hai list is you're going to be outnumbered a lot of the time due to how expensive your basic troop choice is. It is important that you keep your formation intact to make the most of those sweet sweet pikes, but since you're outnumbered, it's not uncommon to simply be overwhelmed and have your flanks crumble. A few orcs with shields is a cheap, effective way at guarding your flanks, and you can always back them up with Uruk-Hai pikes to increase their fight value. Seriously, 10 of these guys with shields are cheaper than your basic captain and will secure your flanks.

* '''Uruk Hai Demolition Team:''' Used to be very good until an army with these guys beat the rules designer and they got FAQ nerfed. Still okay but not the terrifying bubble of death they used to be.

* '''Uruk Hai Berserker:''' Super Killy but doesn't play well with others, the berzerker is a good option to wreak some havoc against an opponent who likes to groups his units together, with his berserker blade (which is a hand-and-a-half-sword) you can either make strikes normally or hit every model he is engaged in combat with at strength 4 +1 to hit, sadly this includes your own guys supporting or in base contact so make sure they keep their distance. He has two special rules both making him harder to kill, the first is Oblivious to pain allowing to roll one D6 after receiving a wound if the result is a 6 then the wound is ignored. His second rule is Impervious to Bow-fire (bet you cant guess what this does) when enemy models are shooting at him they have to treat his defence characteristic as 6 and even if they do wound you then have the first special rule to make it even harder to kill them.
**Don't feel pressured to use the weapon as two handed, as just using them as a 2 attack beast on their own is terrifying enough
**Orcs are actually a pretty decent backup for these guys, as they're cheap enough for you not to care if you use the "hit every model engaged in combat" thing.

*'''Feral Uruk Hai:''' A subpar Berserker with two swords instead of one big one. They get two attack but only has the oblivious to pain special rule, 3 less courage, and defence 4. At 13 points you might as well take a berserker for two more points

====Isengard Cavalry====
*'''Warg Rider:''' Evil cavalry extraordinaire, the Wargs are brutal, hard hitting and versatile. Low courage and rider defence is bad, but again they are cheaper than their good side equivalents, but remember their low courage is remedied by your army bonus. These are a very good buy with throwing spears and shields, coming to 13 points in total. This paired with the changes to thrown weapons and charges, really makes them quite nasty. Have Sharku lead a warband full of these guys.
**They are very cheap for what they are. Even if the orc riding them dies the Warg might stick around to kick more ass (make sure you magnetize your Orcs so you can simply remove them rather than needing a separate Warg model)

====Isengard Monsters====
* '''Isengard Troll:''' Same stats as the Mordor troll but he comes with a sword and a shield Making him Defence 8! He can't take a hammer or club but can trade his sword for a spear or swap both his weapons out to take drums (both are a waste), he has the terror rule and he can throw big as rocks that his at strength 8 (also a waste of his time). worth taking one to use as a wound absorber, [[Distraction Carnifex| your opponent will waste most of their arrows shooting at this guy]]

====Isengard Siege Weapons====
* '''Isenguard Assault Ballista:'''

===Dunland Warriors===
* '''Dunliending Warrior:''' Strong and with poor defense and otherwise unremarkable, for 7 points they will out a list and will not disappoint. They can hit exceptionally hard for warriors but don't expect much else out of them if you give them the two-handed axe, or you can give them a shield and have somewhat better defense at the cost of that +1 to wound. You can give them a bow but why? A mediocre fight and courage, coupled with the lack of a spear, means they are likely best suited to going two-handed. When you win duels, you want them to count.

* '''Wild Man of Dunland:''' Worse than the Dunlending Warriors in every way except they have Hatred (Rohan). Cheap way to fill out your army, but expect less of them as a result. If you want an army-filler, you may as well go for orcs who can at least take shields.

* '''Dunlending Horseman:''' Rohan at War gave Dunlend access to more units! These guys are just Dunlending Warriors but on a horse, with all the benefits that brings. At 12 points/model they are fairly cheap for Cavalry, but most importantly they have a special rule that allows them to re-roll to wound vs mounts. Anti-cavalry cavalry!

*'''Dunlending Huscarl:''' Another unit added by Rohan at War, Dunland gets access to elite warriors! Their weapon can be used as a two-handed axe or spear, giving them great versatility, and if they support a fight within 3" of a hero model they gain +1 to their fight value, which is... okay except Uruk-Hai with pikes do the same thing but better and for one point cheaper. Use them for their versatility or if you don't have access to Uruk-Hai with pikes (like if you're using the Dunland legionary legion shown below).

*'''Crebain:''' the last unit added by Rohan at War, Crebain are the crows that flew over the fellowship in the first movie. At 20 points/model they're pricey, but have 2 attacks, 4(!!) wounds, can fly, and are only hit by shooting on the roll of a 6.

==Allies==

===Convenient Allies===

'''Variags of Khand'''

'''Mordor'''

'''Moria'''

'''The Eastern Kingdoms'''

'''The Serpent Horde'''

'''Far Harad'''

'''Corsairs of Umbar'''

===Impossible Allies===
'''Angmar'''

'''Sharkey's Rogues'''

'''The Nazgul of Dol Guldur'''

'''Azog's Hunters'''

'''Azog's Legion'''

'''Goblin Town'''

'''The Trolls'''

'''Smaug'''

==Building your Army==

Sample List

WARBAND #1

Lurtz - Army/Warband leader

6x Uruk-Hai Warriors with Shields

9x Uruk-Hai Warriors with Pikes

Warband total: 240 points

WARBAND #2

Mauhur

6x Uruk-Hai Warriors with Shields

6x Uruk-Hai Berserkers

Warband Total: 210 points

Uruk-Hai Shaman - Minor Hero

Army Total: 500 points

30 models total

The list is simple - it is designed to have a solid front line with plenty of pikes support, with your Shaman channeling his rage power to keep them in the fight longer. The beserkers are there to drive into the flanks of your opponent's battle line to take advantage of their extra attacks. The warbands are designed to work together with the Uruk-Hai Shaman, so in a scenario where they deploy randomly, deploy Mauhur's first and then use Lurtz's special ability to keep him close

Both your heroes are beatsticks who can demolish regular infantry and captains, but against combat monsters like Elrond or Aragon you will need to team them up otherwise they'll get their shit pushed in - SAVE LURTZ'S MIGHT FOR HEROIC STRIKES IF YOUR OPPONENT HAS A HERO WITH A HIGHER FIGHT VALUE THAN HIM. Mauhur can be the one to call heroic moves if this is the case.

==Tactics==

[[Category:The Lord of the Rings]]

What is there to say? This army is straightforward - Elite Troops, excellent range power thanks to crossbows, the only downside is it lacks a counter to real combat masters

==Legendary Legions==

Almost every Legendary Legion is worth looking at for LOTR SBR in general, and Isengard's are no exception

'''Ugluk's Scouts:'''

Limitations:
*The only heroes you can take are (Surprise!) Ugluk (who is mandatory), Mauhur, Grishnakh, Snaga, generic Uruk-Hai Scout Captains, Drummers, and generic Orc Captains.
*The only warriors you can take are Uruk-Hai Scouts and Orc Warriors.
*Only Orcs can lead Orcs and only Uruks can lead Uruks, to represent the divide in loyalties between Isengard and Mordor (the Uruks are loyal to Saruman, whilst the Orcs tend towards Sauron)

However, in return for these limitations, you gain the following advantages:
*All Uruk-Hai scouts can be upgraded to Marauders for free. Ugluk, Scout Captains, and Drummers also benefit from this, meaning all your Uruks move at 8".
*Friendly models gain the woodland creature special rule
*Your Uruks and Orcs gain +1 to wound if they're involved in the same fight as one another, to represent each trying to upstage the other

Summary:

You lose access to almost all units of Isengard except for Uruk Scouts and Orc Warriors. However in return your Uruks are super speedy, won't be hampered by trees, and have an absolutely insane bonus of +1 to wound if involved in a fight with Orcs (and vice versa). You're probably going to want to take plenty of Orcs with two handed weapons, because if they're in a fight with Uruks backing them up, the -1 to duel won't matter too much, and will get an absolutely insane +2 to wound if they hit.

This legion is strong, fast, and the only thing it cannot do is deal with magic due to losing access to Saruman. At low point values it absolutely demolishes opponents but struggles at higher point values due to the low defence of it's models and no access to Saruman or Trolls - you're going to have to rely on sheer numbers to get shit done, which if you can abuse the +1 to wound with mixed combats isn't actually as bad as it seems.

'''Wolves of Isengard:'''

Limitations:
*The only heroes you can take are Sharku (mandatory), Orc Shamans on Wargs, and generic Orc Captains on Wargs.
*The only warriors you can take are Warg Riders and wild wargs

However, in return for these limitations, you gain the following advantages:
*Sharku is upgraded to a hero of Valour
*All models gain the Isengard keyword and Shaman's fury changes to (Isengard) instead of (Mordor)
*Sharku can declare a heroic combat for free
*In Maelstrom, you choose whether to win or lose priority. You also get to charge the same turn you entre the board.
*Before the game starts, you get free movement with d6 warriors, and can shoot with them afterwards, but not charge.

Summary:

You lose access to almost all units of Isengard except for Warg Riders but gain the ability to take wild Wargs and Orc Shamans. This list revolves around Sharku and his free heroic combat - the other stuff is nice, and can win mission-based games, but if Sharku dies the point of this Legionary Legion dies with him. Abuse the fuck out of his heroic combats. This legion shines at low point values but dies off at higher values - "more wargs" can only get you so far.

'''Assault on Helm's Deep:'''

Limitations:
*The only heroes you can take are Uruk-Hai Captains and Shamans. No named heroes can be taken.
*The only warriors you can take are Uruk-Hai Warriors, Isengard Trolls, Beserkers, Demolition Teams, and Assault Balista

However, in return for these limitations, you gain the following advantages:
*You do not break until 66% of your force is dead
*Your Uruk-Hai captain leading the army is buffed to 3 Attacks and 3 Wounds for free - this makes him better than most of your named heroes thanks to him being a 3A/S5 3W/D7 monster. Sadly you only get one of him.
*Your heroes gain +6 to their Warband sizes - Captains can lead bands of 18 Uruks, Shamans can lead 12.
*Your assault Ballista reroll to hit and scatter rolls in the shoot phase.
*Your demolition charges roll 2 dice rather than 1 and pick either result if detonated.

Summary:

You lose access to named heroes, Wargs, and Dunland folk. However you get a souped up Captain as your leader, and the ability to take huge hordes of Uruk-Hai. The buffs to the assault Ballista and Demolition charges are also nice. This legion is fine at all point values as it gets a free hero buff for low point ratings and scales well into high point ratings thanks to buffs to the Ballista and charges. It's up to you to decide if you think losing access to Saruman and other named heroes is worth it though.

'''Army of Dunland:'''

Limitations:
*The only heroes you can take are Dunland Heroes
*The only warriors you can take are Dunland warriors

However, in return for these limitations, you gain the following advantages:
*Thrydan Wolfsbane is upgraded to a hero of valour
*Friendly Dunlending models gain Hatred (Rohan)
*Banners range is increased to 6"
*Once per game, Thrydan can unleash a Dunlending war cry, giving all Dunlending models within 12" of him +1 to wound

Summary:

You lose access to all units except Dunland models, however you have a nicer choice of warriors due to the supplement having Duneland Huscarls and Horseman you can access so it's not as big of a deal as it seems. The buff to banner is absolutely brilliant, one banner should be able to cover most combats if you place it right. Thrydan's warcry is absolutely game-winning if used at the right time and Rohan players will cry if they see this legion.

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

2021-06-16T04:29:16Z

2404:4402:1702:C200:45E0:74D3:7859:A6C7: /* Legendary Legions */

[[The_Lord_of_the_Rings_Strategy_Battle_Game#Tactics_pages|Back to the list]]

This page is a WIP, the one doing it (Lotrfag) is new to creating pages.
And I'm f*cking lazy too, seeing how I left this page in standy for 7 months.

==Why Play Isengard==
The Two Towers is your favorite movie and book of the series, and it's partly because of these guys.
You like quality over quantity but don't want to play High Elves (Eregion & Rivendell). You want your basic troops to kill said armoured elves as if they were Wood Elves, and Wood Elves as if they were Hobbits, and Hobbits like... Well, you got my point.
Basically, you want to lead an army worthy of Mordor - and kick Mordor's ass in the process

===Pros===
* Uruk Hai warriors are one of the best infantry in the game.
* Crossbows.
* Good variety of elite troops (i.e. Berserkers) which can cut swathes through the enemy army if they are not careful
* Armywide Strength 4 and Fight 4, meaning your basic warrior will almost always wound on a 5+ and will tie at worst against most armies
* Good selection of heroes with some hilarious special rules.
* Straight-forward gameplan

===Cons===
* Probably the most common Evil army you can find (this is actually a pro as it means more second hand models)
* Some models you want a lot of are very expensive (crossbow Uruks)
* Your basic warrior is very expensive compared to other armies, expect to be outnumbered by everybody except other elite armies.
* Defense 6 is not that tough, some other S4 armies are tougher than you (i.e. the new FW Dwarves)
* Lacks army multipliers outside of a basic banner and a rage bubble from the Shaman
* Lacks any high-tier combat heroes - any combat monster is going to be difficult to stop outside of grouping your heroes and burning might for Lurtz's heroic strike.
* If you take him, Saruman will always be your army leader. While he himself is a good model, his combat stats are subpar, so for scenarios involving your army leader scoring wounds you're going to struggle (maybe you can get away with it if you burn all your Will casting sorcerous blasts and fireballs)

===Army Bonus===
'''You Do Not Know Pain, You Do Not Know Fear''': You don't take break tests until you've lost 66% of your force. Also Lurtz, Ugluk, Mauhur, Vrasku, Scout Captains and Scouts all gain Woodland Creature.

*Is this still current?

==Unit Analysis==

===Isengard Heroes===
* '''Saruman:''' A potent spellcaster and good army leader. He's a Hero of Legend, has 6 Will points and gets another one for free every turn. He has 2 aggressive spells, cast on a 5+ and 4+, so he's better at supporting your troops with Transfix/Compel. He can also, once per battle, automatically make you win priority; an ability that can, if it is used at the right time, turn the game over (read: save your ass). He also has a 12 inch Stand Fast, his Stand Fast can effect other heroes and he can reroll 1 cast/resist dice per turn. Despite his relatively small list of spells (no blinding light... grrrr), he's one of the best casters in the game thanks to his reroll, even better than Gandalf. With his MASSIVE 12 inch Stand Fast and his large stock of will (+1 free point each turn), your army will NEVER run away as long as Saruman is alive. Protect him at all costs!
**Also worth considering, he very silently got a huge bonus in the way of his new model; it has him ''on horse''. While that doesn't sound like much by itself, consider his only real weaknesses; one, that D5 isn't exactly heavy armor, and even with 3 W/F he can still get bludgeoned pretty easily. And two, that he only has a single attack on foot. On a horse, the mobility and charge capability make him exponentially more durable against all kinds of opponents, and on top of this boosting up to 10" movement gives a very nice range for his fireballs and sorcerous blasts.
**Saruman can be one of the best support casters in the game, both by disrupting your opponent's battle line with command (watch your opponents seeth in frustration as their combat monsters walks in the opposite direction of your battle line), and by yeeting enemy models with Sorcerous blast - remember, he gets one re-roll to cast per turn, so his odds of casting the spell is better than the 4+ displayed on his profile. Consider channeling Terrifying Aura to make it difficult for your opponent to charge him - being repeatedly locked in combat is one of the worst things that can happen to Saruman, his power lies in his spells, and if he's constantly getting charged then a significant chunk of your army is going to be locked down.

* '''Grima Wormtongue:''' Can only be taken if Saruman is here. He deploys in the enemy's zone and forces heroes around him to spend 2 Might instead of one every time they used them (fuck you Aragorn). He cannot be shot or wounded as long as Saruman is on the battlefield, or until he charges or tries to wound someone. Very good against hero-heavy lists, not too bad otherwise. He seems unexpensive at only 25 points, but he cannot lead a troop and you need Saruman around, so that's 205 points (without horses).
** Note, he still keeps his area of control. This can be extremely good if you position him correctly, meaning you keep him in front of your valuable troops and your opponent will have to charge him with at least one model to get past him. This sounds okay at first, until you realize he can cock-block monsters on his own AND THEY CAN'T EVEN SWING AT HIM. Imagine Grima just chilling and then the Balrog comes up to him, beats him in combat, but just has to gently push him backwards because he hasn't been revealed as a traitor yet. He can be incredibly frustrating if used correctly.

* '''Lurtz:''' The guy from the end of the first movie. He is an Uruk Hai Captain with 3 Might, 3 Attacks and 3 wounds (finally). Having both Uruk-Hai bow and a shield means he doesn't get +1 D, but he can still use it in combat. Having the bow is a bit of a downside, you'd rather the +1 Defence, but he can roll with your bow-scouts because of it. His Warband also doesn't need to roll to see where and when it shows up in scenarios that require you to roll such things, which isn't a lot, but it's not nothing. He possess a wide range of choices for heroic actions at a reasonable cost.
**GW GIVE US A A NEW MODEL PLEASE, HIS CURRENT MODEL IS FROM 2001. YES I AM NOT JOKING. Maybe a new pose for Lurtz and his scout heroes friends or a new Lurtz vs Boromir, Merry and Pippin pack but GIVE US A NEW MODEL. He has his own legendary legion so I gave Gw lots of reasons to do it (2001 model, has a LL, he is a beast and an important secondary character in The fellowship of the ring movie, ask Boromir, oh no, you can't).

* '''Ugluk:''' The successor of the guy above and, again, an Uruk Hai Captain with 3 Might. [[Commissar|If your force is broken, instead of testing Courage, he can kill a friendly model in base contact.]] This makes him automatically pass the test and extends his standfast to 12". If you field him, also take an escort of [[Conscript|cheap, expandable models]] (Orcs) to make sure he doesn't [[Blam|kill]] your precious Uruk Hai Warriors. He costs 10 points more than an Uruk-Hai Scout Captain for 1 point of might, but no options, so make sure you're taking him for his ability, which can be game winning if you're in a tight spot.

* '''Vraskû:''' Another Captain with 3 Might. Also has a crossbow that he is able to shoot twice every Shooting Phase with his 3+ Shooting value. A very good choice if you want to have a hero with your crossbowmen (crossbowuruks?). He costs EXACTLY THE SAME amount of points as a Captain with a crossbow, and he can shoot twice, more accurately. Why the hell would you ever take a crossbow captain to babysit your crossbowuruks when you have this guy?

* '''Mauhur:''' The fourth and last named Uruk Hai Captain. He only has 2 Might (like a regular captain) but he makes up for it by moving 8" and having 3 Attacks. THREE F5 S5 ATTACKS FOR ONLY 60 POINTS! This is enough to let him shred through infantry and skullfuck the occasional hero. Don't expect him to do much against major heroes or massed elite infantry though. He can upgrade your Uruk Hai Scouts to have 8 move for 1 point, but only in his Warband. Still fun to Nascar around the table with and makes your opponent wary of getting to close.

* '''Sharku:''' An Orc Captain with 3 might and a dagger that lets him stab enemy heroes whenever they fail to wound him, which is incidentally hilarious, for 10 points more than an Orc Captain. He can take a Warg for 10 points and Shield for 5, and you should probably go with both to give him a good chance of getting into combat and make you less likely to get wounded. You probably want him leading a warband of wargs, because if you're not taking Mauhur+drummer this list suffers from a lack of mobility.

* '''Uruk Hai Captain:''' Your basic Uruk Hai hero. He is a stronger, tougher and braver Uruk, and he has 2 Might. There are quite a lot of options to equip him with, but you'll probably want to give a shield, which takes this guy up to Defense 7, which is better than your named Uruk heroes. Overall not a bad choice if you want someone that is cheap, tough, and strong to get shit done. Note that, similarly to all your Uruks, he cannot take a mount. You *can* take a crossbow on him, but you may as well take Vraskû if you want a captain with a crossbow.

*'''Uruk Hai Scout Captain:''' Same as above, except he can take a bow instead of a crossbow. The bow is wasted on him (he is Str 5 so you want him in your battle line) and he has less defence than a regular captain, but he's slightly cheaper and benefits from the army special rule that gives him woodland creature.

* '''Uruk Hai Shaman:''' A trickier hero for you to play, he is neither a good fighter like your Captains, nor is he a magical powerhouse like Saruman. But he is cheaper than them and he has a power that Saruman hasn't: frenzy. If you manage to cast it, it create a 6" bubble around that allows Uruk Hais to auto-pass Courage tests and that gives them some sort of 6+ FnP (if you channel it, which you will). A good support hero than will give your battle line more staying power. Try not to get him into too dangerous fights though, as losing one will stop his Frenzy. Keep him behind your shield/pike battleline and he should be golden.

* '''Uruk Hai Drummer:''' Always a good option to get your Uruk-hai into combat faster, if you really want to be mean take a drummer alongside Mauhur's warband and make sure you upgrade them all to move 8, that way with the drummer your Uruk-hai scouts are moving 11 that's faster than most cavalry! Sadly you can't charge while moving at that speed, but it's still fun.

*'''Orc Captain:''' If you -really- want, you can bring one as a cheap hero to unlock more troops, but that's their only redeeming feature when you can instead take Defence 7 Uruk Hai captains. Only take them if you're on a budget.

===Dunland Heroes===

* '''Thrydan Wolfsbane:''' A strong character with Mighty Blow, for 85 points you get the leader of the Dunleding who can and will hack some damned Rohirrim to pieces. If you are playing straight Dunland he is a near autotake due to the Legendary Legion. Also has a 12" Stand Fast. Otherwise is very similar to the Captain with additional Might, Will, and Fate. Heroic Strike and Heroic Strength; expect to use Strike against real combat heroes. His biggest play is in the Legendary Legion, where he can give an aura of +1 to wound for a round to Dunland models.

* '''Dunlending Chieftain:''' Comes stock with a two handed axe but you have the option to give him a bow or trade the big axe for a smaller axe and shield, though he is best served keeping his two-handed axe. S5 base gives you a world of options with what to do with a two-handed axe, potentially allowing him to threaten anything on the field. A decent fight value won't see him beat real combat heroes and his low(ish) defense of 5 means he can and will be torn up by the stronger enemies, but like much of Dunland he can hit very, very hard. Heroic March can see him leading a surprisingly swift force. Like all other Dunland Heroes he has Courage 4, which is rather low for heroes.

* '''Gorulf Ironskin:''' Continues the Dunland hero tradition of S5 and a good Hero-line of 3-1-1, though he lacks a two-handed option. Has more heroic actions (Strike, Strength, Defense) than the others. An additional attack over Thrydan gives him a beefy profile, though he lacks Mighty Blow. The Dunland Hero Defense of 5 is mitigated when he is in combat with an enemy Hero model, as he can declare a Heroic Defense for free.

* '''Frida Tallspear:''' Lower S than other Dunland Heroes (S4) but a higher Defense (D6), with Heroic Defense and Heroic Strength and a Hero-line of 3 Might, 1 Will, 1 Fate. Her primary use is countering enemy cavalry. Readied Stance negates cavalry special rules in a fight against her or ina fight she is supporting, and she gives off an aura of 3" of re-rolling wounds against mounts in the fight phase.

===Isengard Troops===
* '''Uruk Hai Scout:''' at 8 points you have a strength 4, fight and shot value of 4, Defence 4 and courage 3 warrior, theyre exactly as Saruman made them to be, superior to orcs in every way. they have the options to bring a shield to up their defence and a banner to help them out in a fight, they can also bring an Uruk-hai bow

* '''Uruk Hai Warrior:''' The same stats as the scout, but with +1 defence, these are your front line and back line troops (ill explain further on). Give them a shield to make them defence 6 and watch them shrug of arrows, or return the favour and equip them with Crossbows to make even Elves cry. Of course they have the option to bring a banner but what all isengard players bring are Pikes! these things are wonderful you can have a three row column of Uruk-hai and have them all fighting. These are a must if you are playing Isengard.
**Be careful with massed pike formations, you can get your front-line warriors trapped as only one model can make way for him. It is possible to stagger your pike formations so that there's always room for the first pike to back off, but it may mean some of your Uruks will have to be satisfied with one pike, not two.

*'''Orc Warrior:''' Literally the same Orcs mordor gets, however, there are plenty of ways to mitigate their low courage in this list.
**These guys shouldn't be dismissed off-hand. One of the biggest problems with a Uruk-hai list is you're going to be outnumbered a lot of the time due to how expensive your basic troop choice is. It is important that you keep your formation intact to make the most of those sweet sweet pikes, but since you're outnumbered, it's not uncommon to simply be overwhelmed and have your flanks crumble. A few orcs with shields is a cheap, effective way at guarding your flanks, and you can always back them up with Uruk-Hai pikes to increase their fight value. Seriously, 10 of these guys with shields are cheaper than your basic captain and will secure your flanks.

* '''Uruk Hai Demolition Team:''' Used to be very good until an army with these guys beat the rules designer and they got FAQ nerfed. Still okay but not the terrifying bubble of death they used to be.

* '''Uruk Hai Berserker:''' Super Killy but doesn't play well with others, the berzerker is a good option to wreak some havoc against an opponent who likes to groups his units together, with his berserker blade (which is a hand-and-a-half-sword) you can either make strikes normally or hit every model he is engaged in combat with at strength 4 +1 to hit, sadly this includes your own guys supporting or in base contact so make sure they keep their distance. He has two special rules both making him harder to kill, the first is Oblivious to pain allowing to roll one D6 after receiving a wound if the result is a 6 then the wound is ignored. His second rule is Impervious to Bow-fire (bet you cant guess what this does) when enemy models are shooting at him they have to treat his defence characteristic as 6 and even if they do wound you then have the first special rule to make it even harder to kill them.
**Don't feel pressured to use the weapon as two handed, as just using them as a 2 attack beast on their own is terrifying enough
**Orcs are actually a pretty decent backup for these guys, as they're cheap enough for you not to care if you use the "hit every model engaged in combat" thing.

*'''Feral Uruk Hai:''' A subpar Berserker with two swords instead of one big one. They get two attack but only has the oblivious to pain special rule, 3 less courage, and defence 4. At 13 points you might as well take a berserker for two more points

====Isengard Cavalry====
*'''Warg Rider:''' Evil cavalry extraordinaire, the Wargs are brutal, hard hitting and versatile. Low courage and rider defence is bad, but again they are cheaper than their good side equivalents, but remember their low courage is remedied by your army bonus. These are a very good buy with throwing spears and shields, coming to 13 points in total. This paired with the changes to thrown weapons and charges, really makes them quite nasty. Have Sharku lead a warband full of these guys.
**They are very cheap for what they are. Even if the orc riding them dies the Warg might stick around to kick more ass (make sure you magnetize your Orcs so you can simply remove them rather than needing a separate Warg model)

====Isengard Monsters====
* '''Isengard Troll:''' Same stats as the Mordor troll but he comes with a sword and a shield Making him Defence 8! He can't take a hammer or club but can trade his sword for a spear or swap both his weapons out to take drums (both are a waste), he has the terror rule and he can throw big as rocks that his at strength 8 (also a waste of his time). worth taking one to use as a wound absorber, [[Distraction Carnifex| your opponent will waste most of their arrows shooting at this guy]]

====Isengard Siege Weapons====
* '''Isenguard Assault Ballista:'''

===Dunland Warriors===
* '''Dunliending Warrior:''' Strong and with poor defense and otherwise unremarkable, for 7 points they will out a list and will not disappoint. They can hit exceptionally hard for warriors but don't expect much else out of them if you give them the two-handed axe, or you can give them a shield and have somewhat better defense at the cost of that +1 to wound. You can give them a bow but why? A mediocre fight and courage, coupled with the lack of a spear, means they are likely best suited to going two-handed. When you win duels, you want them to count.

* '''Wild Man of Dunland:''' Worse than the Dunlending Warriors in every way except they have Hatred (Rohan). Cheap way to fill out your army, but expect less of them as a result. If you want an army-filler, you may as well go for orcs who can at least take shields.

==Allies==

===Convenient Allies===

'''Variags of Khand'''

'''Mordor'''

'''Moria'''

'''The Eastern Kingdoms'''

'''The Serpent Horde'''

'''Far Harad'''

'''Corsairs of Umbar'''

===Impossible Allies===
'''Angmar'''

'''Sharkey's Rogues'''

'''The Nazgul of Dol Guldur'''

'''Azog's Hunters'''

'''Azog's Legion'''

'''Goblin Town'''

'''The Trolls'''

'''Smaug'''

==Building your Army==

Sample List

WARBAND #1

Lurtz - Army/Warband leader

6x Uruk-Hai Warriors with Shields

9x Uruk-Hai Warriors with Pikes

Warband total: 240 points

WARBAND #2

Mauhur

6x Uruk-Hai Warriors with Shields

6x Uruk-Hai Berserkers

Warband Total: 210 points

Uruk-Hai Shaman - Minor Hero

Army Total: 500 points

30 models total

The list is simple - it is designed to have a solid front line with plenty of pikes support, with your Shaman channeling his rage power to keep them in the fight longer. The beserkers are there to drive into the flanks of your opponent's battle line to take advantage of their extra attacks. The warbands are designed to work together with the Uruk-Hai Shaman, so in a scenario where they deploy randomly, deploy Mauhur's first and then use Lurtz's special ability to keep him close

Both your heroes are beatsticks who can demolish regular infantry and captains, but against combat monsters like Elrond or Aragon you will need to team them up otherwise they'll get their shit pushed in - SAVE LURTZ'S MIGHT FOR HEROIC STRIKES IF YOUR OPPONENT HAS A HERO WITH A HIGHER FIGHT VALUE THAN HIM. Mauhur can be the one to call heroic moves if this is the case.

==Tactics==

[[Category:The Lord of the Rings]]

What is there to say? This army is straightforward - Elite Troops, excellent range power thanks to crossbows, the only downside is it lacks a counter to real combat masters

==Legendary Legions==

Almost every Legendary Legion is worth looking at for LOTR SBR in general, and Isengard's are no exception

'''Ugluk's Scouts:'''

Limitations:
*The only heroes you can take are (Surprise!) Ugluk (who is mandatory), Mauhur, Grishnakh, Snaga, generic Uruk-Hai Scout Captains, Drummers, and generic Orc Captains.
*The only warriors you can take are Uruk-Hai Scouts and Orc Warriors.
*Only Orcs can lead Orcs and only Uruks can lead Uruks, to represent the divide in loyalties between Isengard and Mordor (the Uruks are loyal to Saruman, whilst the Orcs tend towards Sauron)

However, in return for these limitations, you gain the following advantages:
*All Uruk-Hai scouts can be upgraded to Marauders for free. Ugluk, Scout Captains, and Drummers also benefit from this, meaning all your Uruks move at 8".
*Friendly models gain the woodland creature special rule
*Your Uruks and Orcs gain +1 to wound if they're involved in the same fight as one another, to represent each trying to upstage the other

Summary:

You lose access to almost all units of Isengard except for Uruk Scouts and Orc Warriors. However in return your Uruks are super speedy, won't be hampered by trees, and have an absolutely insane bonus of +1 to wound if involved in a fight with Orcs (and vice versa). You're probably going to want to take plenty of Orcs with two handed weapons, because if they're in a fight with Uruks backing them up, the -1 to duel won't matter too much, and will get an absolutely insane +2 to wound if they hit.

This legion is strong, fast, and the only thing it cannot do is deal with magic due to losing access to Saruman. At low point values it absolutely demolishes opponents but struggles at higher point values due to the low defence of it's models and no access to Saruman or Trolls - you're going to have to rely on sheer numbers to get shit done, which if you can abuse the +1 to wound with mixed combats isn't actually as bad as it seems.

'''Wolves of Isengard:'''

Limitations:
*The only heroes you can take are Sharku (mandatory), Orc Shamans on Wargs, and generic Orc Captains on Wargs.
*The only warriors you can take are Warg Riders and wild wargs

However, in return for these limitations, you gain the following advantages:
*Sharku is upgraded to a hero of Valour
*All models gain the Isengard keyword and Shaman's fury changes to (Isengard) instead of (Mordor)
*Sharku can declare a heroic combat for free
*In Maelstrom, you choose whether to win or lose priority. You also get to charge the same turn you entre the board.
*Before the game starts, you get free movement with d6 warriors, and can shoot with them afterwards, but not charge.

Summary:

You lose access to almost all units of Isengard except for Warg Riders but gain the ability to take wild Wargs and Orc Shamans. This list revolves around Sharku and his free heroic combat - the other stuff is nice, and can win mission-based games, but if Sharku dies the point of this Legionary Legion dies with him. Abuse the fuck out of his heroic combats. This legion shines at low point values but dies off at higher values - "more wargs" can only get you so far.

'''Assault on Helm's Deep:'''

Limitations:
*The only heroes you can take are Uruk-Hai Captains and Shamans. No named heroes can be taken.
*The only warriors you can take are Uruk-Hai Warriors, Isengard Trolls, Beserkers, Demolition Teams, and Assault Balista

However, in return for these limitations, you gain the following advantages:
*You do not break until 66% of your force is dead
*Your Uruk-Hai captain leading the army is buffed to 3 Attacks and 3 Wounds for free - this makes him better than most of your named heroes thanks to him being a 3A/S5 3W/D7 monster. Sadly you only get one of him.
*Your heroes gain +6 to their Warband sizes - Captains can lead bands of 18 Uruks, Shamans can lead 12.
*Your assault Ballista reroll to hit and scatter rolls in the shoot phase.
*Your demolition charges roll 2 dice rather than 1 and pick either result if detonated.

Summary:

You lose access to named heroes, Wargs, and Dunland folk. However you get a souped up Captain as your leader, and the ability to take huge hordes of Uruk-Hai. The buffs to the assault Ballista and Demolition charges are also nice. This legion is fine at all point values as it gets a free hero buff for low point ratings and scales well into high point ratings thanks to buffs to the Ballista and charges. It's up to you to decide if you think losing access to Saruman and other named heroes is worth it though.

'''Army of Dunland:'''

Limitations:
*The only heroes you can take are Dunland Heroes
*The only warriors you can take are Dunland warriors

However, in return for these limitations, you gain the following advantages:
*Thrydan Wolfsbane is upgraded to a hero of valour
*Friendly Dunlending models gain Hatred (Rohan)
*Banners range is increased to 6"
*Once per game, Thrydan can unleash a Dunlending war cry, giving all Dunlending models within 12" of him +1 to wound

Summary:

You lose access to all units except Dunland models, however you have a nicer choice of warriors due to the supplement having Duneland Huscarls and Horseman you can access so it's not as big of a deal as it seems. The buff to banner is absolutely brilliant, one banner should be able to cover most combats if you place it right. Thrydan's warcry is absolutely game-winning if used at the right time and Rohan players will cry if they see this legion.