Building Battlehosts - Evil

 A couple of days ago the preorders for the new Battlehost boxes began at Games Workshop. These each offer a good way to start a new army or are an excellent entry point to the game. But what about when you want to move beyond the contents of each box. In my last article I looked at the forces of Good (check it out here if you missed it), with the help of some other members of the Irish SBG community, so it seems only fair to dive into the forces of Shadow this time. Same rules apply as before, build an army based upon a Battlehost box plus a maximum of £60 of additional purchases. And joining me this time are Micheal Bradford commanding the orcs of Mordor and Patrick McCormick the Legions of Isengard.

Mordor
Micheal Bradford

So, you've just seen the Witch-King/Orcs/Warg Riders Battlehost Box huh?


Chances are that it's appealing to you as the basis for a Mordor Army - and don't get me wrong, with a welcome range of potential alliances, synergies, and a large variety of characters & units, Mordor is one of the most diverse and fun armies to build. 


However, I want to spin you the idea of appreciating the duality that this Battlehost offers, in that the units included can also form the backbone of an Angmar army.


Celebrating the Witch-King of Angmar at the height of his Northern dominion, this faction provides a range of ghostly synergies that can combine to make it one of the most potent armies in the game.

Witch-King by Alan Lee 

If the thought of this evil spirit army intrigues you, here are some suggestions as to the next few purchases you could make to supplement this Battlehost box, along with a lower-points list idea tailored to meet the models you'll have to hand once purchased.


Hill Troll Chieftain Buhrdur - £22 - A key strength of an Angmar force is incapacitating the enemy. To capitalise on this, it's important to build in units that can deal damage. Enter Buhrdur. A mighty cave troll hero, his ability to kill will certainly come in handy against tough opposition units and enemy heroes. Furthermore, his banner effect upon dispatching such is a welcome effect to increase the potency of your force.


Dead Marsh Spectres - £10 - These guys aren't heroes, but as a warrior unit they offer fantastic versatility. Their strength lies in a special ability that allows them to compel an enemy model into taking a courage test. Should the target model fail the test, they can be moved anywhere (within certain parameters). Want to get rid of a pesky banner or spear support? These guys can do that. Want to move a model within charge range to allow for further combat shenanigans? Look no further. And the great thing is, this special ability costs no Will points, allowing you to mess around with the enemy formation on a whim, whilst your magic caster conserve Will for the high priority targets.


Barrow Wights - £10 - Speaking of magic casters, Angmar has access to some of the most frightening in the game. Barrow Wights have access to a spell called paralyse. An enemy unit that fails to resist this spell will find itself incapacitated - it will automatically lose fights (unless supported), meaning the orc chaff that will form the meat of your force can suddenly simply roll to wound, without having to try and win the fight. And imagine if you'd a beastly killer in position to jump the downed target? They'll be lucky to survive that round of combat. Paralyse is a very hard spell to recover from, but in addition the arguably low points cost of the Barrow Wights, their ability to strike against opponent's courage value instead of their defence, and their contribution as heroes towards the terror-causing army bonus, makes them a frequently seen staple unit and potent member of any Angmar army.


Mordor Orc Commanders - £26 - Trying to give you an idea of what further purchases you could make to the Battlehost box with a budget of under £70, it was a toss-up between these guys and another box of Mordor orcs (remember, these guys can easily double up as Angmar troops and heroes [for the most part]). Based on the (admittedly lower numbers) list I've cobbled together based on these specific purchases, I've opted for this set (although I'd definitely be advising another box of Mordor Orc warriors when you reach the next payday). Angmar is an odd faction, in that it can often be a force that prefers to react, and move second. Your heroes should be behind orc lines, therefore safe to cast magic, whilst your terror-causing ranks should limit how many opposition models charge you. Therefore, reacting to the enemy allows you to swarm isolated threats, whilst targeting specific high priority models with your big hitters. An Orc Captain can be a decent killer in your army, especially when mounted, but they also bring a resource that is lacking (although not necessarily missed due to the strength of reactive play) - Might. They can act as a Might-caddy for a timely Heroic Move or Heroic Combat, or even a Heroic March if you need to get up the board swiftly - allowing for your main heroes like the Witch-King to conserve their Might for important situations. Additionally, this set provides a banner bearer. Not only can banners provide VPs in certain scenarios, but they saliently provide that dice reroll in combat, which will be particularly useful when it comes to winning fights.

 


So with those sets overviewed, here is a sample 600 Point list based on what you have available:


Warband 1 - 

(Leader) Witch-King (3/15/3) on horse, with Morgul Crown

Dead Marsh Spectre

Orc with Banner

4 Orcs with Shield

4 Orcs with Spear

2 Warg Riders with Shield and Throwing Spear


Warband 2 - 

Buhrdur

Dead Marsh Spectre

2 Orcs with Shield

2 Orcs with Spear

3 Warg Riders with Shield


Warband 3 -

Barrow Wight

Orc with Shield

Orc with Spear

Orc with 2-Handed Weapon


Warband 4 -

Barrow Wight

Orc with Shield

Orc with Spear

Orc with 2-Handed Weapon


= 600 Points


At 30 models, this army is on the lower side of what you'd want to field numerically. At higher Points, you'll want to cram in a bunch more orcs, before adding more Will and maybe a Fell Beast to the Witch-King, and looking at playing around with heroes/monsters (e.g. an Orc Captain, Cave Troll, Wild Warg Chietain, Gulavhar, more wraiths etc.). That said, this army has the tools to incapacitate the opposition through a fair amount of casting power, whilst your Warg cavalry and Buhrdur can provide the punch as your orc chaff hold the lines. The Witch-King himself has the ability to fight when needed thanks to the Crown, but with the Crown's reroll for casting and 15 Will, he may be best placed to sit behind the lines and shut down enemy units.


Rob

Following on from Micheal's suggestions, I too am not going to stick to the Mordor army list. As before I am attempting to other very thematic options from the movies (or books) and that didn't jump out at me within the Mordor list with this box. By the time we see the armies of Mordor marching forth in the films the Witch-King has ditched his horse in exchange for a Fell Beast and the majority of the Orcs would be better represented with the Morannon Orc set by this point(so maybe the Battle of Osgiliath box would be a better starting point). Luckily, the models in this box are suitable for multiple armies in the game.

And what scene could be more iconic than the opening of The Fellowship of the Ring with the forces of the Last Alliance taking on the hordes of Sauron. We already have a rabble of orcs as well as some Warg Riders and the Witch-King (who, although wasn't featured in the film at this point is part of the list and would conceivably have been there in the lore). Obviously we are going to need to add the big boss himself, Sauron. This gives us a major focal point for the army who is pretty much able to tackle most targets, either with magic or in combat. One of his advantages is that he is able to led a Warband of 24, instead of the usual 18 for a Hero of Legend, which gives the feeling of that horde of orcs that assailed the Free Peoples. But for our horde we're going to need a few more, so I'll add another box of Mordor Orc warriors to the army, giving us a solid 48 to utilise (minus 6 that we will need for dismounts of the Warg Riders). All told this gives us a list looking something like this:

Barad-Dûr
800 points

Sauron
8 Orcs with shields
8 Orcs with spears
4 Orcs with bows
4 Orcs with 2 Handers

Witch-King on horse with Crown of Morgul, 3 Might, 3 Fate and 6 Extra Will
2 Warg Riders with shield
2 Warg Riders with bow
2 Warg Riders with shield and throwing spear
2 Orcs with spear



Isengard 

Patrick McCormick 

A new power is rising in Isengard, containing a plethora of warriors at your disposal to march across the lands and stain them with the blood of Rohan. The leader of the box set is none other than Saruman the White; one of the best wizards to use in the game. His ability to cast magic at will and rally the Uruk-hai warriors into battle makes for the perfect general to start you on your journey. Modelled on horse allows for Saruman to gain more board control by controlling his armies from the back lines and dictating were weaknesses can be found. Lurking not far behind the former head of the White Council is Grima Wormtongue. Unbefitting, Grima is a man of Rohan who betrayed his country in order to be rewarded with wealth and power from Saruman. Not selected in army lists for his ability in combat, Grima is often chosen for his ability to corrupt enemy heroes, making their capabilities to perform acts of heroism more difficult. Also included in the set is an unusual miniature; the Palantir. The lost seeing stone allows the user to see events happening across Arda, whether in the past or the future. The Palantir’s features are reflected in the game – allowing the forces of Isengard to win priority automatically. This special rule can be crucial in latter stages of a game; to take true advantage of certain scenarios or denying your opponent with the upper hand.

24 Uruk-hai Scouts and 20 Uruk-hai warriors are packed into this box set. The balance this set offers a new player is the capacity to build the army in many different directions. Adding a couple more heroes to the list is a must; but certain additions will allow the army to be built into Legendary Legions. The Isengard Battle force can be the starting point to introducing any of the 3 Legendary Legions; Assault on Helms Deep, Lurtz’s Scouts or Ugluk’s Scouts. From a gaming perspective, these build ups have been showcased on the top tables at many tournaments, which can be a good selling point for new players delving into the game (because who obviously doesn’t want to win all their games).

Moreover, the troops are easier to paint than other options being released. The dark skin of the Uruk-hai, the many shades of brown leather on the scouts and shadowy reflection on the armour offers excellent starting points for first time hobbyists. The Uruk-hai were my first army that I collected as I wanted something easy for me to paint based on how they were reflected in the movies.

 

I was asked after buying this battle force, what extras I would include to make the force better. I was given an extra £50 to make this work. Obviously, with so many warriors in the set, you will have to include heroes. The apparent choice would be to include Lurtz and Ugluk. Many will remember the former from the movies; almost beheading Aragorn during the Ambush at Amon Hen. This tough Uruk leader was instructed by Saruman to search for the halflings in order to retrieve a weapon which alter his dominance in Middle-Earth. Ugluk was also found in the next movie; proving that restaurants were offered in Isengard and “putting meat back on the menu”. These two heroes are necessary for the two scout legions mentioned above. They will be the army leaders in this case and will need some more back up. Mauhur and Vrasku, the next purchase for the new player. Mauhur offers something very special in both these legions; making the Uruk-hai scouts able to run 8”. This is pivotal in games, often allowing controlling players to have board control with objectives or by getting to the enemy much quicker. Finally, I would add the Scout Command pack. The banner and captain are musts in this legion as the scouts will need assistance in some cases to ensure they win the fights. The captain allows for more troops to be taken once warbands have been filled. The extra points of might come in handy too for Heroic Moves, which allow Lurtz and Ugluk to keep their Might store fresh when they come face to face with bigger heroes.

Rob

For my recommendations on each of the Battlehosts I've tried to pick fairly iconic scenes from the movies to base an army upon. However, with the Isengard one I struggled, primarily because Saruman the White never leads his Uruk-Hai into battle but also because the 2 halves of this box (Uruk-Hai Warriors and Uruk-Hai Scouts) are also separate entities that don't appear together on screen. Having seen the suggestions above taking a more Scout based approach with the various Scout Heroes I decided eventually that I wanted to focus primarily on the fighting Uruk-Hai. And once I'd decided on that there was really only 1 scene I could choose, the moment that Saruman unveils his vast legion of 10000 Uruk-Hai from a top Orthanc (I'd just have to built a scale tower for the scenic bases of Saruman and Grima).

Firstly, I knew I'd some extra heroes and only non-scout option here is the Fighting Uruk-Hai Command pack. This gives us access to a Captain, a Shaman and a Banner bearer, all pretty good additions to forces of the White Hand. At this point I had a couple of options on what else to get. Option one was another box of Uruk-Hai warriors to really bulk out the army and get a little closer to that 10000 or option two was to get some more elite units in the form of a pack each of Berserkers and Uruk-Hai Crossbows. In the end I opted for the elite options which is sufficient for this 650 point list:

Saruman 

Grima

1 Uruk-Hai Warrior with banner

6 Uruk-Hai Warriors with shield 

6 Uruk-Hai Warriors with Pike

2 Uruk-Hai Warriors with Crossbow

Uruk-Hai Captain with Shield

3 Berserkers

2 Uruk-Hai Warriors with shield 

2 Uruk-Hai Warriors with Pike

2 Uruk-Hai Warriors with Crossbow

Uruk-Hai Shaman 

2 Uruk-Hai Warriors with shield 

2 Uruk-Hai Warriors with Pike

So there's our suggestions, what would you consider adding to each of the Battlehosts?

Once again, thank you to Michael Bradford and Patrick McCormick for contributing to this article and offering their insights.