Wicklow Skirmish

I was recently asked by the organizer of a small local tournament to serve as an independent person to gather and publish the players army lists. This tournament is a 450 point event with the restrictions that the armies had to have a minimum of 4 models, no more than 50% of points spent on heroes and not every model could have the Monster keyword.

Firstly, a little general analysis. The 1st thing that jumps out to me is that there are no allied armies despite there being no restrictions on alliances, all the lists are either Legendary Legions (3 of) or pure armies (5 of). The Good/Evil split is fairly even, with a slight leaning towards Good of 5 to 3. Also interesting to note is that there are no duplicated heroes across all 8 players lists.

So without further ado, lets jump into the armies.

First up we have a Rivendell list led by Arwen and Cirdan. These two should provide plenty of magic support to back up the decent amount of Elven infantry and the small cavalry contingent provide mobility for objectives.

Matt Hamill
Rivendell

Warband 1
Arwen (Leader)
3 Elves swords
3 elves bows and spears
2 elves spear and shield
1 elf Spear shield and banner
Warband 2
Cirdan
3 elves swords
3 elves spear and shield
Warband 3
High Elf Captain, horse
2 Rivendell Knights

Next we have a Black Gate legion force led by a Troll Chieftain and the Mouth of Sauron. At these low points the Troll will prove a fearsome opponent due to the lack of big heroes.

Dave Murphy
Black Gate Legion

Warband 1
Troll Chieftain (Leader)
8 Morannons with shield
7 Orc Warriors with spear and shield
Warband 2
Mouth of Sauron on armoured horse
7 Morannons with shield
8 Orc Warriors with spear and shield

Shooting, shooting and more shooting. This force of Faramir's rangers pack in 35 bows and with smaller armies at 450 points every casualty they inflict at range will be crucial.

Gary Doyle
Faramirs Rangers

Warband 1
Faramir with Bow and Horse (Leader)
6 Rangers of Gondor
8 Rangers of Gondor with spear
Warband 2
Madril
5 Rangers of Gondor
7 Rangers of Gondor with spear
Warband 3
Damrod
2 Rangers of Gondor
4 Rangers of Gondor with spear

Next up is one of the new Legendary Legions from the War in Rohan book. This army is the most mobile of all the lists here due to the free upgrade to move 8 from Mauhur and the drum which will allow the Uruks in this army to outrun anyone.

Paddy McCormick
Ugluk’s Scouts

Warband 1
Ugluk (Leader)
4 Scouts with Uruk Bow
4 Scouts with shield
2 Scouts no upgrade
1 scout with drum
Warband 2
Mauhur
4 Scouts with Uruk Bow
3 Scouts with shield
3 Scouts no upgrade
Warband 3
Grishnakh with shield
10 orcs with shield

As I said in previous post, Hobbit era armies are not a strong point of mine, but I'll try to assess this Thranduil's Halls list. Thranduil and Tauriel are 2 solid combat heroes that are ably backed up by a decent block of armoured elves and the Sentinel will provide a bit of trickery with their songs.

Ivan Sheehan
Thranduil's Halls

Warband 1
Thranduil with crown heavy armour and bow (Leader)
4 Warriors, shield
1 Warrior, banner and glaive
3 Palace Guard, spear and shield
1 Sentinel
Warband 2
Tauriel
3 Warriors, shield
4 Warriors with glaive and bow.
  

Army of the Dead have proven to be my nemesis over the last year or so. The combination of high defence, Terror and Blades of the Dead make for a quality battle line and the King poses a threat to any multi-wound model and buffs everyone else in the force with his Harbinger of Evil.

Martin Metcalfe
Army of the Dead

Warband 1.
King of the Dead (Leader)
1 warrior of the dead, shield and banner
5 warriors of the dead, shields
2 warriors of the dead, spear and shield
Warband 2
Herald of the dead, shield
2 riders of the dead
3 warriors of the dead, shields
2 warriors of the dead, spear and shields

It's hammer time (sorry, couldn't resist). Thror is a very dependable Leader here with a high defence and the Arkenstone making him hard to take down. The Guardians of the King give a S4 (or S5 with Thorin's To Arms) front line and the Erebor warriors are able to spear support, improving the chances of winning fights.

Dave Coleman
Army of Thror.

Warband 1
Thror (Leader)
12 Grim Hammers, Guardians of the King Upgrade
Warband 2
Young Thorin, Oakenshield
8 Warriors of Erebor, Spears and Shields.

And finally we have an Angmar army led by the Tainted and a Barrow Wight. These 2 give a very menacing magical threat, as well as making the orcs in the list cause Terror, while a Cave Troll gives the list some punch.

Dan Ahern.
Angmar.

Warband 1
The Tainted, horse (Leader)
4 orcs, shield
4 orcs, spear
1 orc, banner
2 warg riders
1 dead march spectre
1 troll with hammer
Warband 2
Barrow Wight
4 orcs, shield
4 orcs, spear
2 orcs, 2 hander
1 dead march spectre

So there's all the lists, who wins and walks away with the trophy we'll find out on Sunday.