The Lord of the Rings Strategy Battle Game/Tactics/The Trolls
Why Play The Trolls
Evil Players have only ever had the option of using the Nazgul as full Hero army list, Well now you've got another one. admittedly not as impressive as The Nazgul but they shine in their own way, after all trolls are nothing to be laughed at. They can smash most enemies aside and are tough enough to take a few hard hits, they even have unique way of winning most of their fights.
Pros
- An all troll hero army.
- Each troll has a defining special rule.
- One box purchase and your army is complete.
Cons
- No historical allies so no bonuses.
- Best used for narrative games.
Army Bonus
You get the campfire for free and you can use it as a Banner.
Unit Analysis
Each model is, as you might've noticed, a giant hulking troll, so expect high stats across the board. The trolls can each throw stones (S8, 12", but only hitting on 5+) and all have the Save 'em for Later special rule which allows them to take a single man-sized model (so no nabbing ponies, ironically) and stuff them into a bag instead of making strikes or a brutal power attack. When stuffed into said bag, the target model counts as being under the effect of the paralyze magical power and so is in serious danger if they don't have friends (or wizards) to stop them from just being eaten next turn.
The Campfire: Bill can take a 15 point campfire which you place anywhere outside of the enemy deployment area after forces are deployed. While within 6", the trolls get +1 courage (handy since they're low courage base) and, ironically, resistant to magic (well, I guess confusing stupid trolls with whispering isn't exactly magic). Either way, the army bonus makes it free and also count as a banner, very handy to place near an objective or key area of the battlefield to give your trolls the extra punch.
Heroes
- William (Bill) The Troll: Biggest and toughest of the trolls, he's the first one you take and for good reason; fight, strength, and defense of 7, wounds, attacks, and might of 3, with heroic strike and strength. His special rule, Mince 'em Fine, is a brutal power attack (insert your smug Glorfindel picture here) that, instead of rolling wounds normally, has Bill and the target model roll a D6 and add their strength values, with the target suffering a number of wounds equal to the difference. On a model with strength 7, this is an absolutely brutal move that can slaughter most heroes outright. I'd rather just wait 'til dawn and let the sun do the work too.
- Bert The Troll: The cook of the group, Bert has ever so slightly worse stats than Bill (2 might, and trades heroic strike for defense) and has the unique brutal power attack Roast 'em Slowly to set a single model ablaze if he wins the fight. While not as outright powerful as Bill mincing an enemy model into hamburger, it nonetheless has a lot of utility and function. For one, it gets around heroic defense, and for two, can really mess up a monster or cavalry model by dealing them a good amount of damage and forcing them crawl around or just keep burning. Against models with exceptional mounts (Dain, Gandalf the White, Thranduil) it's a great option to deal the hero a significant amount of damage and deal with their steeds in a single move. On top of that, forcing an enemy to crawl gets them out of your face if you want to disengage (at that point, though, you don't) or just kick 'em while they're down. While not quite a duelist on par with Bill, Bert is an excellent option to slice through troops and crack those models which can't be effectively bagged or minced.
- Tom The Troll: The weakest of the trolls by far (fight, strength, defense 6, and only 1 might) but Tom has a few rules that make him very worth considering; Lingering Cold lets him spend a will point to sneeze on a single model by spending a point of will, which halves their fight value. Combined with his 3 will points and otherwise troll-level stats, this makes Tom a surprisingly powerful opponent, as he can shut down even the highest fight models, use his high number of attacks and F6 to make sure he wins the duel, then save 'em for later to totally shut the model down. And since he uses this ability after heroics are called, it enables you to be very clever about when and how you use his sneezes, especially strong against armies that hinge one only one or two big heroes that he can take down- but be wary of armies that can match or beat his F6 with a number of characters or warriors (cough cough elves) since they'll severely reduce the utility of this rule. Oh, and he has Squash 'em to Jelly where he hits every model involved in the fight for a single S6 hit which knocks them prone if they survive. Very useful if he's getting mobbed up by a ton of chaff or cavalry, but that's mostly it. Overall the most complex of the three profiles, and the least obviously good, but with enough tricks and tools to actually be a fantastic fighter that can ruin the day of most beatstick heroes. Just make sure to deal with the horse first.
Allies
Convenient Allies
Moria
The Nazgul of Dol Guldur
Azog's Hunters
Smaug
Impossible Allies
Angmar
The Serpent Horde
Far Harad
Corsairs of Umbar
Isengard
Sharkey's Rogues
Variags of Khand
Mordor
The Eastern Kingdoms
Building your Army
Tactics
- Can we cook 'im? We can try!: Playing this army should very much be thematic and simple. Kidnap an enemy model, eat them raw, and then sneeze on anyone dumb enough to try and reclaim their friend.