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

Back to the list

Númenórean forces fight Sauron's army, during the Siege of Barad-dûr.

Why Play Númenor

Remember how enraptured you were by those first few minutes of the fellowship? If so, Númenor may be the list for you. If not? Well, maybe you like LotR history or want to play as the guy who fucked everything up, or against him.

Pros

• Great heroes that really pull their own weight.
• Cool models, if you can find most of them.

Cons

• Tiny number of units and heroes and Anárion is mentioned as a character for the game, but he does not have a profile (Not having a model is understandable see below why)**
• They NEED allies to have any chance
• If you use the plastic Númenor Warriors from the Last Alliance box, then they look hilariously tiny next to the near-28mm scale of Elendil and Isildur, which is extra hilarious when you realize these guys were supposed to be taller and stronger than regular humans
• Troops are from 2001 and heroes are from 2002 without any other sculpts made for them. YES THESE MODELS HAVE BEEN AVAILABLE FOR NEARLY 20 YEARS. They have aged badly.
  • Unless GW gets the license for the Amazon's TV series, which comprises basically second age (THE LAST ALLIANCE BATTLES), forget Anárion or any chance to expand this list. If GW gets it...OH BOY BE PREPARED FOR A HUGE ARMY LIST AND MONEY INVESTMENT
  • Interesting alternative can be these models from Davale Games

Army Bonus

All units increase their courage by +1.

Unit Analysis

Heroes

• Elendil, High King of Gondor and Arnor: That cool dude who managed to get on Sauron's nerves enough to get personally killed by him. Elendil, much like his buddy Gil-galad, is an amazing combatant. He shares the honour of having highest Fight value of any Infantry except Gil-galad, he can go up to Defence 8 with a shield, which might as well be mandatory, his hand-and-a-half sword takes no penalty from being wielded in two hands and at Strength 5 Elendil will carve his way through most Warriors with the same ease as Aragorn. This is on top of him having excellent magical resistance and being able to call a Heroic Combat each turn without expending might, which means that on his horse, Elendil is a 200 point wrecking ball that will smash into the enemy's line and leave a trail of bodies in his wake. In any Númenor list he is an auto-include and you can almost always get your value back, just watch out for his single Fate Point. If Elendil gets in combat with a real powerhouse like a Troll Chieftain or Sauron, history will repeat itself and you'll find him dead on the ground before long.
  • Try to save his Might for Heroic Defence, especially if you're going to be fighting the two Monsters mentioned above. Against anyone else Elendil can usually grind them down in a protracted fight and unless you're incredibly unlucky, losing a few Duel rolls isn't going to be the end of the world.
  • Given how Warriors of Númenor don't know how to ride horses for some reason, if you want Elendil to move more than 6" per turn it's highly recommended to ally in Rivendell. This is generally recommended anyway since they provide Fight 5 front troops while you provide Strength 4 spears, and aside from giving Elendil an escort of Rivendell Knights, they can give your force a war horn (rendering Isildur and Elendil Fearless with your Army Bonus) and they'll also provide you with much better bows.
  • If you're not getting Rivendell allies, always keep Elendil surrounded by Warriors of Númenor; they'll block charges from lances as well as Monsters with the Monstrous Charge rule, and you do not want Elendil knocked off his horse. It'll be a lot harder to run away from bad engagements, he won't do nearly as much damage (especially since he can't knock enemy Infantry prone) and it's easier to run away from him.

• Isildur: The local man who ruined everything. Much like his Dad, once you take the mandatory shield, Isildur is a stupidly hard to kill Hero (though he's even better at it since he has 2 Fate) who hits like a truck, especially when you factor in the One Ring. Given a horse, Isildur can beat most Infantry and Cavalry Heroes in the game, and those he can't beat he can still escape from if you want to use the One Ring. This makes him a shoe-in for the army, and if you want to play a majority Númenor army you'll be getting both him and Elendil, just remember that his hand-and-a-half sword isn't Master-forged like his dad's, so if you're about to get into an iffy engagement, consider dismounting and putting the One Ring on.
  • Try to save Isildur's Might Points for the One Ring. If he's ever in a combat being invisible will allow him to have a higher Fight value for free rather than using Heroic Strike (unless he's fighting the Witch-king, Sauron or the Balrog). Furthermore, always remember to get Isildur off his horse before you wear the One Ring or else it's entirely possible he'll be knocked prone when his mount throws him off (and 5/6 times he'll be unable to make Strikes anyway).
  • Don't forget about Isildur being Resistant to Magic, and passing this bonus off to the Warriors of Númenor around him. It likely won't save them that much, but if your opponent is trying to use Sorcerous Blast on a model nearby Isildur to knock him prone it will come in handy.
  • Given how Warriors of Númenor don't know how to ride horses for some reason, if you want Isildur to move more than 6" per turn it's highly recommended to ally in Rivendell. This is generally recommended anyway since they provide Fight 5 front troops while you provide Strength 4 spears, and aside from giving Isildur an escort of Rivendell Knights, they can give your force a war horn (rendering Isildur and Elendil Fearless with your Army Bonus) and they'll also provide you with much better bows.
  • If you're not getting Rivendell allies, always keep Isildur surrounded by Warriors of Númenor; they'll block charges from lances as well as Monsters with the Monstrous Charge rule, and you do not want Isildure to be knocked off his horse before you put on the One Ring. It'll be a lot harder to run away from bad engagements, he won't do nearly as much damage (especially since he can't knock enemy Infantry prone) and it's easier to run away from him.

• Captain of Númenor: Even the generic guys are better in the past! Don't be fooled by their relatively low cost however, you will want to at minimum buy them heavy armour and a shield, and possibly a horse and lance. This increases their cost to 75 points (making them 50% higher than the original cost) but they'll also be way tougher, they'll hit harder, and they'll be a solid Hero for moving your Warriors up the field. If you do want to save some points then you can skip out on the horse and lance, but just be aware your Warriors will struggle to kill elite Infantry in that case since you won't have anyone around who can knock them prone.
  • If you're going for a competitive list, give these guys a hard pass for some Rivendell Heroes. Those guys can provide a higher Fight for close Duels, they still have Heroic March, and both Elendil and Isildur should give you more than enough Warriors of Númenor.
  • If for whatever reason you want to play a 'pure' Númenor list, you're going to want at least two of these guys to ride around with Elendil and Isildur, since you have no other option and still need to protect them in some fashion from enemy Cavalry and Monsters with the Monstrous Charge rule. This is an expensive and very inefficient investment, but without them your named Heroes will be significantly more vulnerable, even if you field them on foot, so getting allies instead is highly recommended.

Warriors

• Warrior of Númenor: The weakest link. Unfortunately, Warriors of Númenor are kind of bad; for the standard price, you get a painfully low Defence human with access to the normal gear, these guys are only really here as body blockers for your named characters since a bunch of them around Elendil and Isildur will keep them safe from lances and Monsters with the Monstrous Charge rule, but otherwise you shouldn't get more than you absolutely need. They're mediocre fighters, and have problems taking a hit even from Orcs. In a competitive list their only real strength is their Strength 4 spears, so if at all possible, regular Warriors of Númenor should be avoided and same with those using bows or banners. To fill in these roles and remain competitive you should be allying in Rivendell, using them for frontline troops, their Elf bows and their banners (who if nothing else have higher Fight) while your Warriors of Númenor provide support with their Strength 4 spears.
  • If you're going for a 'pure' Númenor list, consider paying the point to give some of these guys axes so you can go up to Strength 5 with Piercing Strike. It'll help cut through Orcs, who otherwise need 5+ To Wound you just like you need 5+ To Wound them, and you normally will not have the same numbers. The models you take without axes should make liberal use of the shielding rule if they're escorting Elendil or Isildur; it's much more important for them to stay alive and make sure those two don't get overwhelmed than it is for them to risk themselves in fights.
    • Also consider giving some of your Warriors of Númenor maces. With their additional Strength they can use them to bash Orcs off of Wargs, and a lot of the time it'll be easier to do this than trying to Wound them. It'll also leave them vulnerable for a spear supporting the mace so you'll still get two attacks, and the model will be dismounted even if you fail.

Allies

Historical Allies

Rivendell

Convenient Allies

Fangorn

Lothlórien

The Misty Mountains

Thranduil's Hall

Impossible Allies

Arnor

Minas Tirith

The Dead of Dunharrow

Rohan

The Kingdom of Khazad-dûm

The Fellowship

The Fiefdoms

The Shire

The Wanderers in the Wild

The Rangers

Wildmen of Druádan

Thorin's Company

Radagast's Alliance

Army of Thrór

Garrison of Dale

The White Council

Army of Laketown

Survivors of Laketown

Iron Hills Dwarves

Erebor Reclaimed

Tactics

Elendil, Isildur and their Warriors.