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

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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.

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.
  • 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.

• 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. 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).

• 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. 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 cheap, expandable models (Orcs) to make sure he doesn't 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. He's useful if you decide to bring along allies, his special rule can help make up for losing the "you do not know fear" army bonus.

• 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?).

• 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 hime heavy armour and either a shield or crossbow, depending on what he is going to do (lead from the front or babysit your crossbows). This guy can go up to Defense 7, which is better than your named Uruk heroes, and for the same price. 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.

• 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. 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 some cavalry!

• 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.

• Orc Warrior: Literally the same Orcs mordor gets, however, one additional thing they get from being taken here is that the Army bonus helps compensate for their low courage. Use them as cheap army filler to pump up your army numbers, give them spears and bows to be your second line, and your force will never break. Don't take them as front-line troops - your Uruk Hai Warriors, with their higher strength, toughness, and fight values, should fill that role.

• Uruk Hai Demolition Team:

• 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.

• 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.

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. worth taking one to use as a wound absorber, 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

Army Breakpoint (factoring in Isengard Army bonus) - 10 models

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

What is there to say? This army is straightforward - Elite Troops, excellent range power thanks to crossbows, and you'll keep fighting longer than other armies thanks to it's army bonus.

Your win condition is a bit different from other armies. If your opponent loses 50% of their army, they're breaking. If you lose 50% of your army, they need to kill a bit more to break you. Therefore, as long as you're trading proportionately the same amount of models as your opponent, you're winning the game against all but the most courageous of armies.