This post takes a look at picking apart the various factions of Middle Earth Strategy Battle Game, and having a look at their strengths and weaknesses. Now, even though I can count the factions I've actually played on one hand, I've come up against almost all of them, and the others I've seen played in great detail so I feel fairly confident in what I'm reviewing, but as always this is purely my own opinion and what is right to me could be wrong to others!
For this first review, I thought I'd check out a faction I play more than any other and one I find to be one of my favourites. I am of course talking about Isengard!
So why do I like it? well from a "fluff" perspective Isengard has a lot that appeals to me. Brutish, thugs in heavy armour with broad blades and a taste for man flesh backed by cowardly orcs and hate-filled men from Dunland provide a decent amount of variety amongst your troop choices, and the film and books give a very good amount of choice for forces to theme your army on, from a small force of Dunland warriors attacking a Rohan village to of course, the legion of the white hand clad in steel, marching to Helm's Deep.
In game, as mentioned above, they have a large variety to choose from. Worth noting however is that only models with the "Uruk-hai" key word will benefit from their army bonus which is in my opinion, a very good bonus, requiring them to take courage tests for being broken only when losing 66% of models as opposed to 50%. The other bonus allows Lurtz, Ugluk, Mauhur, Scout captains and regular scouts to have the woodland creatures rule. They also have a very good stat line for the most part, with a few more options being a bit less useful, but still very good choices for theme.
And with that, lets take a look at what Isengard have on offer.
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Army Bonus
You do not know pain, you do not know fear!
All friendly models with the "Isengard" key word do not take courage tests for being broken until 66% or more of the army is removed as casualties. Named scout heroes, scout heroes and scouts also gain the woodland creatures special rule.
This is probably one of the better special rules depending on your army. A list full of armoured fighting uruk-hai will benefit from this more than a mix of uruks, orcs and men would as they do not contain the "Isengard" key word and therefore will test for being broken on 50% as usual. Note that the rule only changes the COURAGE TESTS. you are still BROKEN when you drop below 50%, and thus any effect from the scenario will happen on 50%.
Heroes
Heroes of legend:
Saruman:
A hero of legend, Saruman can lead up to 18 units in his warband. He comes with a few special rules that certainly gives you an edge should you choose to field him.
The first is The Palantir, which allows Saruman to use the Palantir to automatically win priority that turn, as long as it is declared before any dice are rolled. Used at the right time, this can either allow you to pull off some devastating charges, or save you from the enemy attempting the same.
Voice of Curunir is the next, giving him a Stand Fast! range of 12" that can also effect other heroes, and with a courage of 7 it's only some very bad luck with the dice that'll send Saruman running, and even then you have your other heroes with acceptable courage to keep others in check.
The last rule he has is the Lord of the Istari, allowing him to re-roll one dice when casting or resisting spells. Useful when trying to pull off some of his harder to cast spells, and goes together quite nicely with his one free point of will per turn.
His spells include:
Immobilise
Terrifying Aura
Command
Sorcerous Blast
Flameburst.
He has the standard wizard stat line and can purchase a horse, which in my opinion is a must if possible as it allows him to stay out of danger and line up good spells, and gives him an in the way save if targeted by archery. He is however, quite expensive. This will limit his usefulness in smaller point sized games, but still a solid choice in my opinion.
Grima Wormtongue:
Grima can only be fielded if taken with Saruman, cannot lead troops and must either deploy in his warband or in an enemies warband. If deployed in an enemy warband, models may attack him but may not strike blows if they win, nor may they shoot at him. He can however, be targeted by magical powers. When he's in 6" range of an enemy hero, that hero must spend two might points per heroic action instead of one.
This is a useful ability and can come in handy against "mighty" heroes such as Boromir, and even Aragorn will suffer as he can no longer reliably use his free might per turn to call heroic actions. There are however some down sides to this choice.
Saruman and Grima together cost over 200 points, and that's before any horses are considered. He also has a miserable stat line and courage value that will see him flee if he is revealed as a traitor (he strikes a blow on an enemy, or Saruman is slain). Another thing I'll mention is something I witnessed during a game between Rohan and Isengard. Two games were played and both times Grima achieved nothing. The first game, he didn't have a horse and therefore couldn't keep up with heroes to make his ability come into play. The second time, whilst he did have a horse, a lone rider of Rohan kept him pinned in duels for most of the game, and prevented him from using his ability more than once or twice.
So whilst he is a useful choice, you have to decide if you can deal with the points cost, and how you're going to keep close to your targets.
Lurtz:
A hero of valour that has seen a big upgrade from his profile in previous editions.
With a fight and strength of 5, defence of 6 and 3 attacks he is now quite a beast in combat. He can shield for 6 dice, and has a strength 3 bow hitting on 3+. He also has 3 might that allow him to save himself, or take out dangerous targets.
He also comes with a special rule, "Find the Halflings!" that allows him to choose when and where it arrives in scenarios that require a roll for deploying. This is sometimes very useful, others not at all. It's still a nice bonus to have, especially when that warband you wanted behind your lines deploys close to the enemy with no support.
Ugluk:
Ugluk gets a bit of a bad rep in my opinion. With 2 attacks and 5/5/5 F/S/D, 3 might and 1 fate does suggest he's fragile and many avoid using him unless it's to take advantage of his Head Taker special rule, allowing him to kill a nearby friendly model to instantly pass his (and all within his stand fast range) courage test for being broken.
But with 2 attacks at S5 and 3M to ensure some of those attacks hit, I think Ugluk is a solid choice. Sure, he'll go down fairly quickly to concentrated attacks, but with his bad reputation not many opponents will focus their fire on him unless you give them a reason to and this largely allows Ugluk to slip under the radar, as it were. Often my opponent has underestimated Ugluk and pinned his efforts on Lurtz or my troll and realised only too late that a hole has been punched in his battle like by Ugluk supported by spears or pikes (preferably orcs with spears, so you're not sacrificing a more useful uruk for his special rule if you should need it.)
Vrasku:
The ranged option of the named scout heroes. Vrasku is very popular, and rightly so. He has the same stats as Ugluk, but drops heroic strike and strength for heroic accuracy to go with his crossbow, hitting on 3+ with the Expert Shot rule. I've seen many people take him, and he is a solid choice. Me personally? I prefer a scout captain with bow, as it better fits the theme of the mobile scout force as opposed to Vrasku who has to move OR shoot. Kind of defeats the purpose of mobility right? but only from a theme point of view. If this doesn't bother you, he's a solid choice.
Mauhur:
The final option of the named scout heroes. a stat line similar to Ugluk but with an extra attack and 2" move at the cost of a point of might. He also allows any scouts in his warband to become marauders, giving them the same 8" move for an extra point. This has many uses such as flanking the opponents battle line, getting to objectives quickly or even moving 4" and firing with a bow. He is a bit fragile but with those attacks, and hopefully supported by orcs or pikes, he shouldn't be losing the fight. Be aware, he doesn't have heroic strike, so fight 5 is the highest you're getting with him.
Sharku:
The orc that almost killed Aragorn, Sharku comes with a stat line close to an orc captain, but with 3 might. He also has a special rule with his dagger, where any enemy hero in base contact that fails to wound him immediately takes a strength 4 hit from his dagger. Not terribly dangerous outright (except on certain low defence heroes, like wood elf captains) but definitely something your opponent will start to take into consideration after his hero cops a wound and suddenly is either a fate point or a wound closer to death.
NOTE he does have to buy his warg mount, and can also buy a shield. I fully recommend taking both, putting him at the same cost as Vrasku or Ugluk but giving him a much better chance of survival.
Thrydan Wolfsbane:
I love the warriors of Dunland, but have yet to play a game with them because the models are long OOP and cost an arm and a leg on Ebay. With Rohan at War, a new MESBG expansion set to drop soon, here's hoping they make a comeback!
Thrydan has an identical stat line to Ugluk, but with an added point of will and fate, giving him a bit more survivability. He comes with a sword and a two handed axe, which I believe he can swap between, and has the option to buy a horse. He also has a Stand Fast! of 12" thanks to his Lord of Dunland rule, and mighty blow allowing him to cause two wounds for every one inflicted! A good choice, especially if you want to theme your army for a Dunland raiding force, or a combined uruk, orc and Dunland force assaulting Helm's Deep! He is however pretty pricey, costing 20 points more than Ugluk, 30 with his horse. And remember, though his Stand Fast! is 12", he does only have 4 courage, and being a MAN, does not benefit from the special rule of Isengard.
Uruk-Hai Scout Captain:
5 points less than a regular captain, and one less point of defence. I am on the look out for one of these myself as I love the model, and it would fit nicely for a skirmish depicting a raid on a Rohan village, where the named heroes would not have been present (possibly Mauhur or Vrasku).
Only marginally cheaper, if you're interested in a hero better at surviving, take a regular captain. If you want a hero that can move and shoot however, this is your choice as captains cannot take bows, only crossbows.
Uruk-Hai Captain:
6 defence standard, 7 with a shield. These guys can anchor a position and defend it for a long time. An example from a recent game, my captain shielding with 4 dice, fight 5 managed to hold off the efforts of 3 Gondor rangers for 3 turns, allowing my orcs to move over and support, and remove the rangers, denying the objective. Definitely worth their points.
Dunlending Chieftain:
Same stats as Thrydan, minus a point of might, will, fate and the Stand Fast! and Mighty Blow rules. Comes with a dagger and a two-handed axe, and can swap that two-handed axe for a hand axe and shield for efree, or a bow for 5 points. A bow is a potentially wasted option but COULD come in handy in the right circumstances. When playing as evil, I play my archers aggressively, and use them as melee warriors the second the fight starts to tip against me, since they perform as well as their melee counterparts but without the shield. He will be stuck at defence 5 if you take the bow, but that's not too much of an issue. With strength 5 and two attacks, he'll make his presence felt in combat, especially if you elect to keep the two-handed axe, which is the best option for him in my opinion.
Uruk-Hai Shaman:
Used to be a lot more useful before Fury changed. Fight 4, strength and defence 4 and 1 fate point means he is not a front line fighter. He can support with his spear but I'd suggest using him to stay back and try and channel fury for a 6+ save on all uruk-hai when wounded. If you can get this off, I'd use my last will and might point to attempt to transfix a hero, allowing him to be cut down with ease. Makes for a nice themed force with a few beserkers or ferals.
Uruk-Hai Drummer:
These guys are cheap, but only come with a dagger and a drum, and no other choices. They do however confer a bonus 3" movement to other uruks around them, but not orcs or men of Dunland. This will stack with Mauhur and his marauder upgrade effectively giving the whole warband 11" move, which can outpace some cavalry, or allow a scout with bow to move 5.5" before and still fire! a deadly combination, but still useful for other units as well. Most of your army will benefit greatly from 9", allowing them to eventually catch up to pesky cavalry or other fast units that would harass you to death with spears or bows.
Warriors
Uruk-Hai Scout:
My favourite unit in the army. Most armies will only take one warband, unless they're playing to a theme, as they're more squishy than standard uruks. They benefit from the goodness of fight and strength 4, and courage 3 which is marginally better than an orc's. They only have defence 4 however, 5 with a shield, with renders them a bit less effective as a front line fighter in the eyes of many. I dispute this as my personal experience with my main army list (80% scouts, 20% orcs and trolls) has resulted in an a fair amount of wins, which is more than some would have you believe possible. They also have bows which are often overlooked for crossbows, which again is a mistake in my eyes. The bow is only one point of strength lower than a crossbow and has slightly less range, but makes up for it by allowing the scouts to stay close to the back of your warriors, whilst still firing. Yes it's only at 5+ if you move, but the dice will roll in your favour sometimes, and even if not, your strength 4 warrior isn't far behind your main force as opposed to sitting miles back. In no way do I think this is better than a crossbow, but both have their uses and restrictions, which a lot of players seem to fail to realise. Can also take a banner.
Uruk-Hai Warrior:
Your bread and butter unit. This guy can fill 3 rolls quite well. With a shield he will be defence 6, which can shrug off most armies strength 3 or 4 attacks. With a pike, two of them can support a sword and shield for 3 attacks (this does however leave you vulnerable to trapping yourself if you lose). Finally, with a crossbow they can pick off units from afar with strength 4 bolts, but this can leave them vulnerable or at times irrelevant when they fail to get line of sight to targets, and find themselves too far away to contribute to melee combat. Definitely a good choice, and can work well both for themed or competitive lists, another of my favourite units in the army. They can also take a banner.
Dunlending Warrior:
The usual human warrior profile, but taking a point of defence away and giving them a point of strength in return. They can buy shields, banners, two handed axes or bows. These guys should be used with two handed axes in my opinion, as a +1 to defence is nice but unless they are your front line fighters, you're likely to have uruks elsewhere that can better hold the line. Using their two handed weapon, they will be able to cut through units with ease when supported, and can even threaten a dwarf or other heavily armoured unit. Unless you're running pure Dunland I would suggest against taking bows, as the other options in this list can do the same for cheaper, or at a higher strength.
Wild Man of Dunland:
An odd profile. Worse defence than an orc but a slightly higher courage. They are cheap and can take two handed axes, which is their best option in my opinion, otherwise I'd get as many of them as cheaply as possible and use them to screen my approaching uruks. They also have hatred against Rohan, for what it's worth. They, like Dunlending warriors, fit very nicely into themed raiding force lists.
Isengard Orc Warrior:
the orc you know and love. Compared to uruks, their stats are awful. They are dirt cheap however, and can be used much like wild men to screen the approach of uruks. They can however bring more equipment and most importantly, support combats cheaply with a spear giving them a bit more use than wild men. I usually take a few spears to support my scouts, and I ALWAYS take at the most 3 with shield, to act as Ugluk's body guards/sacrifices for his special rule. You can also take an Orc Captain, which I'll cover in a later post. Briefly though, they're slightly stronger orcs with access to might, will, fate and heroic actions including march.
Beserker:
A fantastic unit. 2 attacks, high strength and respectable defence. Insane courage. These guys will hit hard and with a bit of luck, can survive the retaliation thanks to their special rules. One lets them ignore wounds on the roll of a 6, and the other increases their defence against shooting attacks. They are best used as a hard hitting unit supported by others so that they don't get overwhelmed and brought down by cheap infantry models, especially when you factor in the cost of a beserker.
Feral Uruk:
The poor mans beserker. Only marginally cheaper but nowhere near as good, in my opinion. They lack the defence against archery and have poor defence in general. They can still make their presence felt and deal damage but for 2 points more, you may as well take a beserker unless you want them for theme, or you just want to use them in general in which case, good on yer'!
Warg Rider:
The obvious choice if taking Sharku on warg. These guys are standard orcs but use the strength of the warg, which is the same as a standard uruk, and obviously gain juicy charge bonuses. They can be upgraded with shields and throwing spears, or bows. Bows aren't overly worth it for me, as their low shoot skill combined with the fact they'll rarely be stationary means they're hitting on 6, at 18" with strength 2. The spears are much better. Some people will tell you not to take them as they don't benefit from the 66% break point rule. I disagree, as they can be your answer to enemy cavalry, can isolate and pick apart back line units with ease and they can get to objectives faster than most other units in the army (beaten only by marauders and drum combo).
Isengard Troll:
A beauty of a beast, but an expensive one. 3 attacks, 7 strength and can take a shield with his sword or spear, giving him 8 defence. Human archery is wounding him on 6 followed by 4. Elves on 6. Useful in a few ways, but here's how he usually performs when I use him:
Charges in, hurls, rends and barges his way through multiple units before finally fighting with, and depending on the hero, winning. Alternatively, the opponent focuses all archery on him and it takes a good few turns but he finally goes down. This is a shame, but still provided a useful distraction, and my entire battle line of uruks and orcs make it to the enemy with barely a wound between them. Protect his approach and he can do a lot of heavy lifting.
Uruk-Hai Demolition Team:
Not often seen but a fun choice, and excellent in a siege. Comes with two warriors with sword and a beserker with a flaming brand. There's a small chance the bomb will be a dud but getting it off at the right place at the right time can be catastrophic for all nearby, including your own units. If you can somehow get it off on cavalry it'll do 2d6 wounds instead of 1d6.
Isengard Assault Ballista:
Quite useful, has a long range and it's ability to inflict a strength 9 wound on a target, and then fling it 1D6" away as long as the target is below strength 6 is great, especially since every model hit by the flung model take a strength 6 hit. Not too expensive, and only scatters 3" instead of 6" due to it's accuracy. Very good in sieges, where it can raise ladders onto walls.
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From the above we can see that Isengard prefers to get stuck in up close. An aggressive army with many options for mobility, either by increase through upgrades or making use of the scouts woodland creature rule to exploit terrain. Make no mistake, they are a force to be reckoned with due to their high fight, strength and defence. Some of the weaker units will only see play in scenarios, or in the armies of those that prefer theme over efficiency, but this army really can cover a fair few play styles. Pure uruk warriors will be a tough nut to crack, and scouts can easily flank. A variety of heroes, all of which are good on the field, and access to magic through the shaman and Saruman all make the army even harder to overcome. All in all, I'd give Isengard a 9/10 and rate them as beginner friendly. Devastating if used in the right hands.
Onto lists! here are 3 lists I've thrown together, 1 "meta" and 2 themed lists.
List 1: Armoured Might.
Lurtz with shield - Leader
6 Uruk-Hai Warrior with shield
1 Uruk-Hai Warrior with banner
6 Uruk-Hai Warrior with pike
2 Uruk-Hai Beserker
Uruk-Hai Captain with shield
6 Uruk-Hai Warrior with shield
3 Uruk-Hai Warrior with pike
3 Uruk-Hai Beserker
Vrasku
11 Uruk-Hai warrior with Crossbow
1 Uruk-Hai Beserker
685, This list would be my choice at a 700 points tournament. How well would it do? I'm not sure. I've yet to play a tournament or many games that are truly competitive (we're a casual lot at the club, preferring games with lesser seen armies and combinations as opposed to cookie cutter "best army" lists). So this is purely speculation. However, Lurtz acts as the hammer, his warriors tying up and bogging down the enemy line whilst he and the beserkers attempt to flank, preferably with the beserkers from the other warbands. Vrasku and his crossbows can stand back and snipe, and if needs be, can rush to get into the action up close. The uruk captain brings more shields and pikes to the line, and beserkers to flank. With 7 defence and 6 dice when shielding, the captain will hold almost anybody in place for a while, and acts as the anchor in the lines.
You could mess around with the hero choices, perhaps adding in Ugluk or Mauhur or even a shaman for added protection on your main uruks. Consider a troll, if you want more heavy hitters, but beware spell casters that may try to magically subdue him. I did however leave 15 points spare, which a more seasoned player could probably work into the list somehow.
List 2: The Westfold Burns
Uruk-Hai Scout Captain with shield- Leader
6 Uruk-Hai Scout with shield
3 Uruk-Hai Scout with bow
3 Feral Uruk-Hai
Uruk-Hai Scout Captain with shield
6 Uruk-Hai Scout with shield
6 Orc Warrior with spear
Dunlending Chieftain with two-handed axe
12 Dunlending Warrior with two-handed axe
Dunlending Chieftain with axe and shield
4 Dunlending Warrior with bow
4 Dunlending Warrior with axe and shield
4 Wild men of Dunland with two-handed axe
At 597 points (for a 600 points game) this is themed on a joint raiding party from Isengard and Dunland. The scouts with shield lead a small force comprised mostly of shields to do the front line fighting, with a sprinkling of bows and spears here and there to support them. 3 ferals complete this warband, adding punch to the list and looking to expose any chink in the battle lines armour.
The Dunlendings serve three purposes. The chieftain with axe and shield leads 4 more shield bearers, and 4 wild men with two axes for hatred and theme. 4 warriors with bow can support their approach and act as fighters should they need to. The chieftain with two-handed axe, supported by 12 other two-handed axe warriors will put serious hurt on anything they can get in contact with, providing they have support.
Would it do well competitively? most likely not. But to most players, the sight of a list comprising Dunland and lesser used models like scout captains and wild men will be like a breath of fresh air. And of course, a win is always possible and will feel all the better when you manage to pull it off.
List 3: The Wolves of Isengard
Sharku on Warg with shield - leader
1 Warg rider with banner
11 Warg rider with shield and throwing spears
Isengard Orc Captain on Warg with shield
6 Warg rider with bow
6 Warg rider with shield and throwing spears
Isengard Orc Captain on Warg
499/500 points used, this small skirmish level list is not competitive in the slightest. It is however a lot of fun running pure cavalry. This is of course themed on the force that attacks Aragorn and co. en route to Helm's Deep. Sure, you get none of the army bonuses but you have an army capable of a lot of manoeuvrability and with throwing spears and a few bows, your warg riders are hopefully capable of thinning the numbers a bit before clashing. Of course, with only 27 models you've got to be very careful about when and where you commit your charges. In some scenarios, you'll need to swap a few warg riders for standard orcs to claim objectives, but in a straight up "kill stuff" game this isn't a problem. You could also swap the banner to give the lone captain a bit of company if you see fit.
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And hopefully that has given you a bit of insight into the Isengard faction, and a bit of help with what you can achieve with it. Please bare in mind, whilst I've watched the game played for many years (since the Return of the King rules book, so about 2003 or 4? Blimey I feel old) I only started playing this January. Whilst I feel like I have enough knowledge and competence to back what I'm saying, ultimately I do have a lack of experience of actually playing on the competitive scene, so in NO WAY is this the ultimate be all, end all guide.
With that being said, thanks for reading and again, I hope you enjoy and benefit from the review. The final important point I want to impress on you (and arguably the most important) is that there is NO wrong way to play this game. If you want a list that will top tournament tables then by all means go for it. If you want something that is less likely to win but looks great or fits to a themed army that you have a particular interest in from the books/films/video games then more power to you.
Join me next time (probably after Christmas, as university coursework piles on and my time for gaming is cut short barring 2-3 club days that are left in the year) as we review Lothlorien, and keep an eye out for two battle reports being uploaded in the next few weeks.
