The Lord of the Rings Strategy Battle Game/Tactics/Far Harad
Far Harad
Why Play Far Harad?
If your favourite movie is Zulu then you may very well like this army, like the serpent horde you get giant elephants but you also get a whole lot of other stuff, for one you get shields and access to the blowpipe, the ranged weapon that doesn't take up any bow limit.
Pros
- Mumaks
- Blowpipes
- High Strength across the board (S4 is the baseline)
Cons
- Mediocre defence for most units
- Very low courage for everything that isn't the Mahud King
Army Bonus
When your units are within 6 of a Mahud Hero who is enagged in combat your units automtically pass all courage tests.
Unit Analysis
Heroes
- The Mumak War Leader: A War Mumak of Far Harad with Gnarled Hide, Sigils of Defiance and Tusk Weapons, plus a Leader with a 12 inch Stand Fast, the ability to take Haradrim Warriors as part of his warband (allowing you to fill the thing up with Bow armed Haradrim Warriors instead of Mahud Warriors who should be on the ground getting stuck in) oh and a little ability where he cancels the first Heroic Move done within 12 inches of him on a 4+. You know, one of the few things that people can use to try and stop the Mumak. All this for 400 points. Yeah, this guy is incredibly broken and if you can fit him and an even reasonably solid warband into your army, you 100% should. Oh and he's a Hero of Legend and unlike normal Mumaks, you can deploy models from his Warband outside of his Mumak.
- War Mumak of Far Harad: Everyone’s favourite semi-feral herbivore, the Mumak will kill literally everything that it comes across, but at 300 points before upgrades, it really is something to be saved for larger games. A canny opponent will also use magic and wounds to force a stampede so be wary of keeping it too close to your own troops. That being said, it will kill everything, anywhere and at any time, and also can transport 12 Mahud (available separately).
- Mahud King: One of the few times when a King/chieftain argument comes down on the side of the royalty. The +1 fight makes a big difference between 4/5 is a big one and the extra point of will is handy for those pesky courage tests and magic resistance. S5 is always wonderful and Courage 5 will help you hold on after being broken.
- Mahud Tribesmaster: The ‘captain’ of the Mahud. He’s okay and if you cant afford a king then choose him. But go for the king if you can, he’s just better.
Troops
- Mahud Warrior – Cheap strength 4 is good, and a blowpipe does not add towards the number of bows in the force, so these guys are very handy. Lowest courage in the army is, however, a big problem so keep these guys around a hero or they will run the moment that your army is broken.
- Half Troll of far Harad – 23 points a piece is a big investment, but for that you get a stat line that beats those of most captains (including one of the only Two Wound Warriors who isn't a full on Monster in the game) and terror. An extra point buys you a two handed weapon If you want it, but its not necessary. These guys will kill anything they get into base contact with, but as with the rest of the Mahud, the courage is the big let down on the profile.
- Haradrim Warriors: Can be taken as part of The Mumak War Leader's warband while retaining your faction ability. They're very cheap, only 6 points (7 with bow) but they're not great fighters except in large numbers, and they don't synergize well with the Mahud Warriors. Take enough so that you can fill up the Mumak War Leader's Howdah with bowmen, and then just get back down to taking Mahud. Do notice these guys can bring a war horn to help with the army's low courage.
Cavalry
- Mahud Raider – what’s better than a S4 warrior? A s4 warrior riding a bad tempered dromedary, that’s what. Does the job that the Haradrim Raiders don’t and stack up against the best cavalry of the evil side. Impact hits cause casualties from the moment of the charge and the fun is unlikely to stop there. Once again though, beware the low courage.
Allies
Historical Allies
The Serpent Horde
Convenient Allies
Corsairs of Umbar
The Eastern Kingdoms
Variags of Khand
Mordor
Moria
Isengard
Impossible Allies
Angmar
Sharkey's Rogues
The Nazgul of Dol Guldur
Azog's Hunters
Azog's Legion
Goblin Town
The Trolls
Smaug