Extending the Angmar List with Missing Profiles - Legendary Formations [Part 13b/13]

Next in the queue are the profiles from the Angmar List that have become Legendary Formations:

• Azog, the Pale Orc astride the White Warg
• Fimbul's Hunters
• William (Bill) the Troll
• Tom the Troll
• Bert the Troll

These new profiles add one new Cavalry and four new Monsters to the List.


NEW LEGENDARY FORMATIONS FOR ANGMAR

1. Azog, the Pale Orc astride the White Warg
2. Fimbul's Hunters
3. William (Bill) the Troll
4. Tom the Troll
5. Bert the Troll

1) AZOG, THE PALE ORC ASTRIDE THE WHITE WARG
For your entirely monster list, the leader of choice would of course be Azog's legendary monster Formation. Imagine it ... Azog on his white warg, a swarm of common Mirkwood Spiders and a winged Nazgul with the Witch King and the Necromancer allied in from the Mordor list just for good measure? That'd be so much fun - and think about it ... it would look almost like an SBG Army fighting in War of the Ring!

2-3) FIMBUL'S HUNTERS AND WILLIAM (BILL) THE TROLL
Fimbul's hunters are an advanced version of the Hunter Orcs profile that we saw earlier. They get Advanced Fell Sight as well as the ability to be upgraded with Bows - to take full advantage of their Expert Rider special rule.

As for Bill the Troll - here is a powerhouse that can cause significant damage to any wary formation. He has Very Hard to Kill, which alone makes him a Hero that could be around for a very long time in the game and other special rules that will easily change the flow of each phase. Cool thought - play all 3 of the Trolls against some Hobbits or some Dwarves ... that'd be a blast!

[Note that only the first page of each of the profiles is actually shown above - there is a second page for each that includes the Epic Actions that these two formations can perform.]

4) TOM THE TROLL
Continuing with Tom, we have a very strong troll that can last against any other formation. He also has the special rules to paralyze - which could change a Fight Phase very easily.

5) BERT THE TROLL
Bert follows suit with the other two Hobbit Trolls. While not as "powerful" he still is a match for an other troll within any other list.

So, there we have it - the updates for the Legendary formations within the Angmar list. Go grab a copy below, and start playing with the updated and extended profiles, today!

To download and unlock the PDF for Angmar, click the button below! The PDF will be delivered to your email address that you provide during checkout.

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Sale price is ending on October 31, 2016!

SEE MORE ON THE DOWNLOADS PAGE!

LINKS TO OTHER PARTS OF THE SBG TO WOTR CONVERSION SERIES

1. Describing the Process [Part 1/13]
2. Creating the Full List of Needed Profiles and Assigning WotR Armies [Part 2/13]
1. Status Update for Progress on Profile Creation and Army List Document Writing - Good Armies [Part 2a/13]
2. Status Update for Progress on Profile Creation and Army List Document Writing - Evil Armies [Part 2b/13]
3. Extending the Gondor & Arnor List [Part 3/13]
4. Extending The Kingdom of Rohan List [Part 4/13]
5. Extending The Elven Kingdoms List [Part 5/13]
6. Extending The Dwarf Holds List [Part 6/13]
1. Sneak Peak at the Profiles for Thorin [Part 6a/13]
2. Common Formations [Part 6b/13]
3. Legendary Formations [Part 6c/13]
4. Epic Heroes [Part 6d/13]
7. Creating The City of Dale List [Part 7/13]
8. Extending The Forgotten Kingdoms List [Part 8/13]
9. Extending the Mordor List [Part 9/13]
10. Extending The Fortress of Isengard List [Part 10/13]
11. Extending The Misty Mountains (Moria) List [Part 11/13]
12. Extending The Fallen Realms List [Part 12/13]
13. Extending the Angmar List [Part 13/13]
1. Common and Rare Formations [Part 13a/13]
2. Legendary Formations [Part 13b/13]
3. Epic Heroes [Part 13c/13]

Updates and Extensions to the Rules for Fortunes - Mithril Coat, Untainted Palantir, Banner of the Free People, & Desperate Heroics [Part 6/24]

The next set of Fortunes, once again, contain nothing "new" but only some clarifications and edits to the Special Rules associated to them. The biggest change is for the Desperate Heroics Fortune, where the value was changed from returning all starting Might Points to returning a maximum of +4 - up to the starting value. Likewise, the Untained Palintir has is ability to adjust priority rolls to include adjusting the roll up or down, now - this allows it to have its fully intended function of helping to determine "who wins priority for the round". After all, always winning the priority roll may not always be the most strategic desired outcome of the roll. The remaining edits are fairly small and provide clarification.

So, there we have it ... we are definitely making some good head-way through the list of Fortunes. Let me know what you think?!?































LINKS TO OTHER FORTUNE UPDATES AND EXTENSIONS

1. Athelas, Indomnitable Defiance, & Seat of Ancient Power [Part 1/24]
2. Orcbane Weapons, Manbane Weapons, Goblinbane Weapons, & Elfbane Weapons [Part 2/24]
3. Spiritbane Weapons, Hobbitbane Weapons, Dwarfbane Weapons, & Trollbane Weapons [Part 3/24]
4. Dragonbane Weapons, Wargbane Weapons, Cavalrybane Weapons, & Monsterbane Weapons [Part 4/24]
5. Steeds of Pure Blood, Fate Smiles Upon You, Galadhrim Longbows, & Hero of the Hour [Part 5/24]
6. Mithril Coat, Untainted Palantir, Banner of the Free People, & Desperate Heroics [Part 6/24]
7. Inner Glory, Song of Elbereth, The Blessing of Galadriel, & Wise Counsel [Part 7/24]
8. Ancient Lore, Counter Spell, Forgotten Fortifications, Dragonslayer & Monsterslayer [Part 8/24]
9. Magical Resistance & Blessed Grove [Part 9/24]

LINKS TO OTHER FATE UPDATES AND EXTENSIONS

1. Morgul Blades, Dark Shrine, & Entslayer [Part 10/24]
2. Greed for Glory, Cursed Armor of Udun, Tainted Palantir, & Banner of Barad-dur [Part 11/24]
3. Faltering Nerve, Sigil of the Fallen Kings, The Crown of Carn Dum & There Will be no Dawn [Part 12/24]
4. There Will be no Dawn, Evil Reputation, Tormented Steeds, & Balefire Arrows [Part 13/24]
5. Black-hearted Trees, Curse of Morgoth, Tokens of Terror, & Haunted Wasteland [Part 14/24]
6. Infestation, Watcher in the Shadows, & Ignore Pain [Part 15/24]
7. TBD [Part 16/24]

LINKS TO OTHER ARTIFACT AND RELICS EXTENSIONS

1. Weapon Cache: Bows and Weapon Cache: Pikes [Part 21/24]
2. TBD [Part 22/24]

Extending the Dwarf Holds with Missing Profiles - Legendary Formations [Part 6c/13]

As mentioned in the previous posts, this third part of Missing Profiles for the Dwarf Holds will consist of the new Legendary Formations for the army list.

Here are the subset of the profiles from the Dwarf Holds that have become Legendary Formations:

• Thorin's Company
• The King's Herald
• Thrain the Broken

These new profiles add two new Monsters and a company of Heroes. This nicely fills the gap in the Army list; especially with the inexpensive Monster, Thrain the Broken, adding a little bit of a random element as well (similar to Denethor - but with more "concern" due to his Special Rules: Hard to Kill and Striking Order (Monster)).

NEW LEGENDARY FORMATIONS FOR DWARVES

1. Thorin's Company
2. The King's Herald
3. Thrain the Broken

1) THORIN'S COMPANY

Following suit with other Legendary Formations that are contained within other lists (i.e., The Fellowship, The White Council, The Nine are Abroad, etc …) we now introduce the formation of Heroes for the Dwarf Holds - Thorin's Company. This represents the Dwarves as they embark on their journey to reclaim Erebor.

(There is actually another page with the rest of Gandalf's Spells on it - but I've left that out of the image...)

2) THE KING'S HERALD

Here is a cool Monster Hero … This model is a Dwarf Monster and an Army Banner (which there are not very many of these within any Army List in the game). He is a natural tank just due alone to his stat line, but combining him with one or more of the King's Champions, and they become a force in-and-of-themselves to be reckoned with!

3) THRAIN THE BROKEN

We made Thrain a Monster (even though he doesn't have the larger base) so that we could give him the Special Rule Shattered Spirit. This special rule allows the opposing player to control Thrain, so he had to be his own formation for that mechanic to work properly.

His Shattered Spirit Special Rule means that if he rolls double 1's, double 2's or double 3's when taking his Courage Test then he will be controlled by the opposing player. Let's go through the probability of this happening:

Count of possible dice roll combinations [C(n)]:

• C(2) = 1
• This means there is only one possible combination to get the total of a 2 on two dice:
• Rolling a 1 on die 1 and rolling a 1 on die 2.
• C(3) = 2 
• This means there are two possible combinations to get the total of a 3 on two dice: 
• Rolling a 1 on die 1 and rolling a 2 on die 2 or
• Rolling a 2 on die 1 and rolling a 1 on die 1.
• C(4) = 3 
• This means there are three possible combination to get the total of a 4 on two dice:
• Rolling a 1 on die 1 and rolling a 3 on die 2 or
• Rolling a 2 on die 1 and rolling a 2 on die 2 or
• Rolling a 3 on die 1 and rolling a 1 on die 2.
• C(5) = 4
• This means there are four possible combinations to get the total of a 5 on two dice:
• Rolling a 1 on die 1 and rolling a 4 on die 2 or
• Rolling a 2 on die 1 and rolling a 3 on die 2 or
• Rolling a 3 on die 1 and rolling a 2 on die 2 or 
• Rolling a 4 on die 1 and rolling a 1 on die 2.
• C(6) = 5
• This means there are five possible combinations to get the total of a 6 on two dice:
• Rolling a 1 on die 1 and rolling a 5 on die 2 or
• Rolling a 2 on die 1 and rolling a 4 on die 2 or
• Rolling a 3 on die 1 and rolling a 3 on die 2 or 
• Rolling a 4 on die 1 and rolling a 2 on die 2 or
• Rolling a 5 on die 1 and rolling a 1 on die 2.
• C(7) = 6
• This means there are six possible combinations to get the total of a 7 on two dice (ironically the most commonly rolled value on two-dice … of course):
• Rolling a 1 on die 1 and rolling a 6 on die 2 or
• Rolling a 2 on die 1 and rolling a 5 on die 2 or
• Rolling a 3 on die 1 and rolling a 4 on die 2 or
• Rolling a 4 on die 1 and rolling a 3 on die 2 or
• Rolling a 5 on die 1 and rolling a 2 on die 2 or
• Rolling a 6 on die 1 and rolling a 1 on die 2.
• C(8) = 5
• C(9) = 4
• C(10) = 3
• C(11) = 2
• C(12) = 1

Total number of possible combinations is the sum of all the individual combinations: 

• 1+2+3+4+5+6+5+4+3+2+1 = 36

The Probability of getting a given roll on the dice is the count of combinations for that given roll divided by the total number of all possible combinations. For example, the probability of rolling an 11 on two dice is:

• P(11) = C(11)/C(Total) = 2/36 = 0.055555 = 5.56% of the time.

The Probability for rolling a 7 on two dice, is:

• P(7) = C(7)/C(Total) = 6/36 = 1/6 = 0.16667 = 16.67% of the time.

The Probability of rolling either a 7 or an 11 on two dice is found by adding the two respective probabilities together to get the total probability:

• P(7) or P(11) = C(7)/C(Total) + C(11)/C(Total) = 6/36 + 2/36 = 8/36 = 0.22222 = 22.22% of the time (which is almost a 1 in 4 chance), and cool - now we understand how the game of Craps works!

Let's get back to looking at the probability for Thrain getting controlled by the opposing player via his Special Rule Shattered Spirit, again:

The four possible conditions that could occur (from best case scenario to worst case scenario) for Thrain via his Special Rule are:

1) Thrain passes his courage test by rolling doubles and gains the bonuses to Fight, Strength, Attack and Courage for the Round.

• With a Courage Value of 3, in order to pass his Courage Test, Thrain would have to roll a value of 7 or more on two dice.
• If he has to roll doubles to get the benefit of this case, that means he would have to roll double 4's (a value of 8), double 5's (a value of 10), or double 6's (a value of 12).
• The number of possible combinations for a value of 12 via rolling a 4 on die 1 and rolling a 4 on die 2 (double 4's) is 1, likewise for double 5's and double 6's.
• The Probability of rolling this case is then:
• P(dbl 4's) + P(dbl 5's) + P(dbl 6's) = 1/36 + 1/36 + 1/36 = 3/36 = 1/12 = 0.08333 = 8.33%

2) Thrain passes his courage test on anything but rolling doubles and can behave normally with no bonuses.

• Again, this means that Thrain would have to roll a 7, 8, 9, 10, or 11 on two dice (baring the double rolls for an 8 or a 10).
• The Probability of rolling this case is then:
• P(7) + P(8) - P(dbl 4's) + P(9) + P(10) - P(dbl 5's) + P(11) = 6/36 + 5/36 - 1/36 + 4/36 + 3/36 - 1/36 + 2/36 = 18/36 = 0.5000 = 50%

3) Thrain fails his courage test on anything but rolling doubles and cannot move or act for the round.

• This means tat Thrain would have to roll a 6, 5, 4, or 3 on two dice (baring the double rolls for a 6 or a 4).
• The Probability of rolling this case is then:
• P(6) - P(dbl 3's) + P(5) + P(4) - P(dbl 2's) + P(3) = 5/36 - 1/36 + 4/36 + 3/36 - 1/36 + 2/36 = 12/36 = 0.33333 = 33.33%

4) Thrain fails his courage test by rolling doubles and is controlled by the opposing player.

• With a Courage Value of 3, in order to fail his Courage Test, Thrain would have to roll a value of 6 or less on two dice.
• If he has to roll double to get this case, that means he would have to roll double 3's, double 2's or double 1's.
• The number of possible combinations for a double 3's is 1, likewise for double 2's and double 1's.
• The Probability of rolling this case is then:
• P(dbl 1's) + P(dbl 2's) + P(dbl 3's) = 1/36 + 1/36 + 1/36 = 3/36 = 1/12 = 0.08333 = 8.33%

Notice that the sum of the probabilities for all 4 cases adds up to 100% (as we would expect that it would).

So, there is just over an 8% chance that Thrain will either get his bonuses to his stat line or will be controlled by the other player and then a 50% chance that he will behave normally, and a 33% chance that he will not be able to move. Also, notice that this means that just under 60% of the time the controlling player will roll case 1 or 2 … and just over 40% of the time he will roll case 3 or 4. Now we see why he is pointed at 50 points, as well … because approximately half of the time you won't be able to use him as a monster, and one-twelveth of the time he will be used against you! With most Trolls costing around 100 Points, this makes even more sense, in the fact that just over 40% of the time you can't use him, and he costs 1/2 the points of a Troll (of course with a smaller contact base, as well). Nice!










LINKS TO OTHER PARTS OF THE SBG TO WOTR CONVERSION SERIES

1. Describing the Process [Part 1/13]
2. Creating the Full List of Needed Profiles and Assigning WotR Armies [Part 2/13]
1. Status Update for Progress on Profile Creation and Army List Document Writing - Good Armies [Part 2a/13]
2. Status Update for Progress on Profile Creation and Army List Document Writing - Evil Armies [Part 2b/13]
3. Extending the Gondor & Arnor List [Part 3/13]
4. Extending The Kingdom of Rohan List [Part 4/13]
5. Extending The Elven Kingdoms List [Part 5/13]
6. Extending The Dwarf Holds List [Part 6/13]
1. Sneak Peak at the Profiles for Thorin [Part 6a/13]
2. Common Formations [Part 6b/13]
3. Legendary Formations [Part 6c/13]
4. Epic Heroes [Part 6d/13]
7. Creating The City of Dale List [Part 7/13]
8. Extending The Forgotten Kingdoms List [Part 8/13]
9. Extending the Mordor List [Part 9/13]
10. Extending The Fortress of Isengard List [Part 10/13]
11. Extending The Misty Mountains (Moria) List [Part 11/13]
12. Extending The Fallen Realms List [Part 12/13]
13. Extending the Angmar List [Part 13/13]
1. Common and Rare Formations [Part 13a/13]
2. Legendary Formations [Part 13b/13]
3. Epic Heroes [Part 13c/13]

Extending the Mordor List with Missing Profiles [Part 9/13]

The next Army List to be extended is Mordor. Recall from Part 2/12 that the set of missing profiles for the Mordor Army List included the following:

• Guritz
• Great Beast of Gorgoroth
• Black-Hearted Trees
• Shagrat, Warleader of Cirith Ungol
• Gollum the Murderer

Each of the SBG profiles were considered carefully and determined the best means by which they would be integrated into the WotR list. It was finally decided that there would be 2 new rare formations, 2 new epic heroes and an updated epic hero from the list above. Also, to "tie up loose ends" there are also updates for the Orc Tracker Warband, the Mordor Battering Ram and The Necromancer of Dol Guldur.

UPDATED COMMON FORMATIONS FOR MORDOR

1. Orc Tracker Warband

The Orc Tracker Warband did not have any of the options for upgrading their command company. Since there is nothing particularly distinct about them as a formation, they should have the option to include the standard set of upgrades:

• Banner
• Drummer
• Taskmaster

They still do not have a distinct Command Hero in the form of a Captain, but that should be ok since there are plenty of Epic Heroes within Mordor to choose from. The cost of the three upgrades follows the standard cost for them:

UPDATED RARE FORMATIONS FOR MORDOR

1. Mordor Battering Ram

As for the Mordor Battering Ram ... We never really knew how to treat this model ... Is it an Infantry model with 4 warriors? If so, shouldn't it have the special rule Indomitable? Or is it an Artillery Warmachine model? But then it would have 0" move and would be rather un-useful...

We finally decided to leave it a Monster and thus let it be treaded just like a Troll. So we adjusted the Move Value down, and gave it a unique ability to be more effective against Artillery (so now it has an actual purpose within an army instead of just a "light troll"), with the Disarmament Special Rule. Likewise, since it is literally a Monster profile, now - we gave it the Striking Order (Monster) Special Rule - now this is actually a more useful model to include with an Army of Mordor!

NEW RARE FORMATIONS FOR MORDOR

1. Great Beast of Gorgoroth
2. Black-hearted Trees

1) GREAT BEAST OF GORGOROTH

Up to this point, the only behemoth WarMachine has been the Mumak in the Fallen Realms Army List. Recall that we made quite a few changes to its profile wording and description in THIS POST.

It makes sense that the Great Beast follow the model of the Mumak, however we wanted it to be a more predicable model and not have the random element that the Mumak possesses.

I'm actually quite pleased with the way that this profile turned out ... I'm anxious to see it in action and watch it yield the destruction that it warrants!

2) BLACK-HEARTED TREES

These are the "fallen Ents" that have turned to support the dark plans of Sauron. This profile provides a fun new way for the Evil Armies to get in on the tree war. They have been created as Infantry (in lieu of being Monsters - since Mordor already has enough Monsters already). Ooh ... should I create a Mordor Ambusher Army?? Shelob, Grishnakh's Trackers, Orc Trackers, Morgul Stalkers, and Black-hearted Trees?? Yes, I should!

UPDATED LEGENDARY FORMATIONS FOR MORDOR

1. The Necromancer of Dol Guldur

The Necromancer is a model that I was surprised not to have seen more of in games. For the Vanilla Cost of 300 Points, he was a total steal! I think it was the broken mechanic of the Hard to Kill Special Rule that was initially prohibitive ... Remember that we fixed that problem in THIS POST. So, to make him more worthy of being the Dark Lord we have upgraded his Hard to Kill to be Very Hard to Kill. He has the Epic Ability of Epic Ruination right out of the gate, as well ... we decided to give him the option of upgrading to include 2 additional Epic Abilities that will effect spell efficiency, as well:

• Epic Distress
• Epic Shadow

There will be a post very soon that will be dedicated strictly to these new upgrades (and additionally Epic Direction and Epic Naturalization).

I think that the Necromancer wins the award for the longest profile, too ... 4 pages long! That alone should show you how awesome he really is!

UPDATED EPIC HEROES FOR MORDOR

1. Gollum the Murderer

The existing profile for Gollum is a little lack-luster. Also, once Gandalf, Aragorn or Elrond were included within the opposing Army ... he was pretty much a sitting duck. He has been given the new Special Rule Instill Terror and has had his Strangling Horror Special Rule updated. Also, he has a new Epic Ability: Epic Debilitation - this will allow him to have more impact on the opposing army and will put the precious heroes of Gandalf, Aragorn, and Elrond in harm's way to attempt to "discover" him.

NEW EPIC HEROES FOR MORDOR

1. Guritz
2. Shagrat, Warleader of Cirith Ungol

1) GURITZ

This Epic Hero is the anti-Gondor master! Just as he shows up on the pillage of Osgiliath in the films, he can wreck havoc on destroying the new Faramir profile and his precious little veterans! He fills the gap of Inspiring Leader for Mordor and provides some additional flair with his other Special Rules and Epic Abilities.

2) SHAGRAT, WARLEADER OF CIRITH UNGOL

It has always bothered me that Legendary Heroes (those heroes that are included within their Legendary Formations) could never leave the Legendary formation to aid support to other formations in the Army. I guess that's why the Epic Heroes are so much more expensive - their ability to jump around the battlefield to provide the support where they are most needed. Now Shagrat can do that, too! He provides an amazing Defense Value boost to even the most feeble of Orc Warriors ... this can make him useful in that right alone!

Well, there we have it for Mordor! Any thoughts? I know I still need to get the Status Update for Evil together and posted ... but just to pique your curiosity, yes - Mordor is also 100% complete and just needs to be put up on the Download Page!!

LINKS TO OTHER PARTS OF THE SBG TO WOTR CONVERSION SERIES

1. Describing the Process [Part 1/13]
2. Creating the Full List of Needed Profiles and Assigning WotR Armies [Part 2/13]
1. Status Update for Progress on Profile Creation and Army List Document Writing - Good Armies [Part 2a/13]
2. Status Update for Progress on Profile Creation and Army List Document Writing - Evil Armies [Part 2b/13]
3. Extending the Gondor & Arnor List [Part 3/13]
4. Extending The Kingdom of Rohan List [Part 4/13]
5. Extending The Elven Kingdoms List [Part 5/13]
6. Extending The Dwarf Holds List [Part 6/13]
1. Sneak Peak at the Profiles for Thorin [Part 6a/13]
2. Common Formations [Part 6b/13]
3. Legendary Formations [Part 6c/13]
4. Epic Heroes [Part 6d/13]
7. Creating The City of Dale List [Part 7/13]
8. Extending The Forgotten Kingdoms List [Part 8/13]
9. Extending the Mordor List [Part 9/13]
10. Extending The Fortress of Isengard List [Part 10/13]
11. Extending The Misty Mountains (Moria) List [Part 11/13]
12. Extending The Fallen Realms List [Part 12/13]
13. Extending the Angmar List [Part 13/13]
1. Common and Rare Formations [Part 13a/13]
2. Legendary Formations [Part 13b/13]
3. Epic Heroes [Part 13c/13]

The Dwarf Holds Unit Cost Analysis

The final good army to be analyzed is The Dwarf Holds. It wasn't intentional to save them for last - and I am fairly sure that a lot of people are probably interested in how we are going to handle the Epic Rampage rule for Gimli. In fact, I still remember my formation of Minas Tirith Warriors with Aragorn and Gimli running head first into the rear end of a formation of Urukhai Pikemen - calling the Epic Rampage for the first time - with +2 to hit from Aragorn's Sword - just wiping out company after company of Uruks … It felt good … It felt like cheating … It kind of was for only expending a single Might Point.

Well - let's get right to it, no sense in waiting.

DWARVEN WARRIORS

• (R) [A] Dwarf Ballista - Underpriced by 25%
• (L) [I] Drar's Hunters - Underpriced by 13%
• (C) [I] Dwarf Archer Kinband - Accurately Priced (0% deviation)
• (C) [I] Dwarf Ranger Kinband - Accurately Priced (0% deviation)
• (R) [I] Moria Expeditionaries - Accurately Priced (0% deviation)
• (L) [I] Murin's Guard - Accurately Priced (0% deviation)
• (L) [I] Durin's Guard - Accurately Priced (0% deviation)
• (R) [I] Iron Guard Kinband - Overpriced by 11%
• (R) [I] Vault Warden Kinband - Overpriced by 17%
• (C) [I] Iron Guard Ancients - Overpriced by 20%
• (R) [I] Khazad Guard Kinband - Overpriced by 25%
• (C) [I] Dwarf Warrior Kinband - Overpriced by 33%
• (R) [MH] King's Champion - Overpriced by 35%
• (R) [I] Ered Luin Rangers - Overpriced by 50%

Sorting the Dwarf Warriors under the template from cheapest (weakest stat-wise) to most expensive (most powerful) gives:

• 30 Points per Company:
• (C) [I] Dwarf Warrior Kinband
• 35 Points per Company:
• (C) [I] Dwarf Archer Kinband
• (C) [I] Dwarf Ranger Kinband
• 40 Points per Company:
• (R) [I] Khazad Guard Kinband
• (R) [I] Ered Luin Rangers
• (L) [I] Murin's Guard
• (L) [I] Drar's Hunters
• 45 Points per Company:
• (R) [I] Iron Guard Kinband
• (R) [I] Moria Expeditionaries 
• 50 Points per Company:
• (C) [I] Iron Guard Ancients
• (L) [I] Durin's Guard
• 60 Points per Company:
• (R) [I] Vault Warden Kinband
• 80 Points per Company:
• (R) [A] Dwarf Ballista
• 130 Points per Company:
• (R) [MH] King's Champion

DWARVEN HEROES

• (C) Shieldbearer IGA - Underpriced by 67%
• (C) Shieldbearer ME - Underpriced by 58%
• (C) Ironhelm Ancient IGA - Underpriced by 52%
• (L) Mardin - Underpriced by 45%
• (C) Shieldbearer IGK - Underpriced by 44%
• (C) Shieldbearer DAK - Underpriced by 38%
• (C) Shieldbearer KGK - Underpriced by 38%
• (C) Expedition Master ME - Underpriced by 38%
• (C) Ered Luin Captain - Underpriced by 41%
• (E) Balin, Lord of Moria - Underpriced by 35%
• (C) Ironhelm IGK - Underpriced by 33%
• (L) Durin - Underpriced by 30%
• (C) Shieldbearer DWK - Underpriced by 29%
• (C) Dwarf Ranger Captain DRK - Underpriced by 29%
• (C) Captain of the Guard KGK - Underpriced by 23%
• (C) Dwarf Captain DAK - Underpriced by 17%
• (L) Murin - Underpriced by 17%
• (C) Dwarf Captain DWK - Underpriced by 9%
• (L) Drar - Underpriced by 5%
• (E) Floi Stonehand - Accurately Priced (0% deviation)
• (E) Dain Ironfoot, King Under the Mountain - Overpriced by 5%
• (E) Gimli, Son of Gloin - Overpriced by 6%

It is interesting how many underpriced Heroes are in the Dwarf list ... and even those that are technically "overpriced" are only off by a 5-10 Points. It seems like this list is probably one of the more bargain Hero lists (at least with respect to the command heroes in the formations). Sorting by the cost calculated by the template from cheapest (weakest stat-wise) to most expensive (most powerful):

• Heroes that should cost 35 Points:
• (C) Shieldbearer DWK
• Heroes that should cost 40 Points:
• (C) Shieldbearer DAK
• (C) Shieldbearer KGK
• Heroes that should cost 45 Points:
• (C) Shieldbearer IGK
• Heroes that should cost 55 Points:
• (C) Dwarf Captain DWK
• Heroes that should cost 60 Points:
• (C) Dwarf Captain DAK
• (C) Shieldbearer ME
• Heroes that should cost 65 Points:
• (C) Captain of the Guard KGK
• Heroes that should cost 70 Points:
• (C) Dwarf Ranger Captain DRK
• Heroes that should cost 75 Points:
• (C) Ironhelm IGK
• (C) Shieldbearer IGA
• Heroes that should cost 80 Points:
• (C) Expedition Master ME
• (C) Ered Luin Captain
• Heroes that should cost 90 Points:
• (L) Murin
• (E) Floi Stonehand
• Heroes that should cost 100 Points:
• (L) Drar
• (L) Mardin
• Heroes that should cost 105 Points:
• (C) Ironhelm Ancient IGA
• Heroes that should cost 135 Points:
• (L) Durin
• Heroes that should cost 155 Points:
• (E) Balin, Lord of Moria
• Heroes that should cost 165 Points:
• (E) Gimli, Son of Gloin
• Heroes that should cost 190 Points:
• (E) Dain Ironfoot, King Under the Mountain

Similar to what we did the Elven Heroes, the Dwarf Heroes have some special rules that should have the "Bestow" pre-appended to them to explicitly indicate that the special rule is applied to the Epic Hero's company or formation.

EPIC RAMPAGE

Notice that the rule has been pretty substantially made "less effective"; yet I think that this does the job of brining it in line with other Epic special rules. In fact, this almost has the same effect of Crippling Strike on Monsters (which reduces Resilience by 1) - so it's not completely out of the realm of what this now accomplishes. Hopefully this will bring the rule more in line - and not provide such a game breaking mechanic as it used to.

LINKS TO OTHER UNIT COST ANALYSIS POSTS

1. Gondor & Arnor Warriors
2. Gondor & Arnor Heroes
3. The Kingdom of Rohan Unit Cost Analysis
4. The Elven Kingdoms Unit Cost Analysis
5. The Dwarf Holds Unit Cost Analysis
6. The Forgotten Kingdoms Unit Cost Analysis
7. Mordor Unit Cost Analysis
8. The Fortress of Isengard Unit Cost Analysis
9. The Misty Mountains (Moria) Unit Cost Analysis
10. The Fallen Realms Unit Cost Analysis
11. Angmar Unit Cost Analysis

Angmar Unit Cost Analysis

Angmar is a very interesting army. It almost seems like an afterthought to Mordor and is intended to be a fluff army in order to use models that are already created but didn't fit thematically into the other Evil army lists. I think the equivalent on the Good side would be The Forgotten Kingdoms - but that has a lot more uniqueness to that army - separate from the other Good Armies. In fact, it is curious that 60% of the common formations are basically copies of other army's formations ... and 100% of the Epic Heroes are from Mordor.

• (C) [I] Ghostly Legion = Warriors of the Dead (Gondor & Arnor)
• (C) [H] Ghostly Riders =  Riders of the Dead (Gondor & Arnor)
• (C) [I] Spectral Host [Unique to Angmar]
• (C) [I] Carn Dum Warband = Dunlending Huscarls (The Fortress of Isengard [Not identical but very similar])
• (C) [I] Angmar Orc Warband = Mordor Orc Warband = Isengard Orc Warband
• (C) [I] Court of Fallen Kings [Unique to Angmar]

Also, why is the Necromancer not part of the Angmar army? Another thing is … almost all the formations have the We Stand Alone special rule - so the Epic Heroes cannot join but only 3/7 formation types! It just seems like a lot is missing a lot. I guess the only option is to use them as an Ally Army (as called out for The Forgotten Kingdoms on pages 85 & 86) for other Evil armies. Enough musing - let's get on with it!

ANGMAR WARRIORS

Keys:

(C) = Common Formation, (R) = Rare Formation, (L) = Legendary Formation

[I] = Infantry, [H] = Cavalry, [A] = Artillery, [M] = Monster, [MH] = Monster Hero

• (L) [MH] Buhrdur - Underpriced by 29%
• (C) [I] Carn Dum Warband - Underpriced by 25%
• (L) [MH] Gulavhar, the Terror of Arnor - Underpriced by 2%
• (C) [I] Ghostly Legion - Overpriced by 20%
• (C) [H] Ghostly Riders - Overpriced by 20%
• (C) [I] Angmar Orc Warband - Overpriced by 50%
• (R) [M] Shade - Overpriced by 54%
• (C) [I] Spectral Host - Overpriced by 78%
• (R) [I] Court of Fallen Kings - Overpriced by 85%
• (R) [I] Werewolf Pack - Overpriced by 85%

Applying the template from cheapest (weakest stat-wise) to most expensive (most powerful) gives the following. Of course, the Legendary Monster Heroes are at the bottom where they should be.

• 10 Points per Company:
• (C) [I] Angmar Orc Warband
• 40 Points per Company:
• (C) [I] Carn Dum Warband
• 45 Points per Company:
• (C) [I] Spectral Host
• 50 Points per Company:
• (C) [I] Ghostly Legion
• (C) [H] Ghostly Riders
• 65 Points per Company:
• (R) [I] Court of Fallen Kings
• (R) [M] Shade
• (R) [I] Werewolf Pack
• 175 Points:
• (L) [MH] Buhrdur
• 205 Points:
• (L) [MH] Gulavhar, the Terror of Arnor

GULAVHAR'S SWOOP ATTACK FOR BEING A FLYING MONSTER HERO

Just as we talked about the Eagle in the Forgotten Kingdoms army list - it makes sense for any Flying Monster to have the Swoop Attack Special Rule. I have included this in the profile cost for Gulavhar provided above.

BUHRDUR'S EPIC STRENGTH SPECIAL RULE

Similar to the Epic Strike special rule that several Epic Heroes have, Buhrdur has the special rule for Epic Strength. As we have shown in previous posts when doing the analysis for Hero profiles:

• Strength = +/- 5 points per value point
• Special Rules = +/- 10 points per spell, special rule, or epic action 

Using these two point values logically together:

Epic Strength = Special Rule = +10 Points = 2*(+5 Points) = 2* (+1 Strength)

There we have it ... Epic Strength is a 10 point special rule, so the equivalent Strength Value boost for that would be an increase of 2 Strength Value Points.

Epic Strength will increase the Strength Value of a Hero by +2 to a maximum of 10. Furthermore, if there are other special rules that have taken effect (even after Epic Strength has been applied) the minimum that a Epic Hero's Strength Value with Epic Strength applied can be reduced to is 2 (0 + 2).

ANGMAR HEROES



Key: (C) = Command Hero, (L) = Legendary Hero, (E) = Epic Hero

• (C) Ghostly Captain GL - Underpriced by 41%
• (C) Ghostly Captain GR - Underpriced by 41%
• (E) The Dwimmerlaik - Underpriced by 40%
• (E) The Tainted - Underpriced by 40%
• (E) The Witch-king - Underpriced by 15%
• (C) Barbarian Chieftain - Accurately Priced (0% deviation)
• (C) Angmar Shaman - Overpriced by 33%
• (C) Orc Captain - Overpriced by 43%

Sorting by the cost calculated by the template from cheapest (weakest stat-wise) to most expensive (most powerful):

• Heroes that should cost 35 Points:
• (C) Orc Captain
• Heroes that should cost 50 Points:
• (C) Barbarian Chieftain
• Heroes that should cost 75 Points:
• (C) Angmar Shaman
• Heroes that should cost 85 Points:
• (C) Ghostly Captain GL
• (C) Ghostly Captain GR
• Heroes that should cost 210 Points:
• (E) The Dwimmerlaik
• (E) The Tainted
• Heroes that should cost 235 Points:
• (E) The Witch-King

LINKS TO OTHER UNIT COST ANALYSIS POSTS

1. Gondor & Arnor Warriors
2. Gondor & Arnor Heroes
3. The Kingdom of Rohan Unit Cost Analysis
4. The Elven Kingdoms Unit Cost Analysis
5. The Dwarf Holds Unit Cost Analysis
6. The Forgotten Kingdoms Unit Cost Analysis
7. Mordor Unit Cost Analysis
8. The Fortress of Isengard Unit Cost Analysis
9. The Misty Mountains (Moria) Unit Cost Analysis
10. The Fallen Realms Unit Cost Analysis
11. Angmar Unit Cost Analysis

Very Hard to Kill Should be More than -1 to Roll … [Part 3/5: Analyzing the "Very Hard to Kill" Special Rule]

** PART 3/5 in the Hard to Kill Analysis Series **

The next rule up in the queue for the Hard to Kill series is the "Very Hard to Kill!" special rule. Under the basic rule set this one takes the "Hard to Kill!" rule and deducts 1 from the dice roll on the Hard to Kill table. This means that you could effectively never roll a natural 6 on turn one resulting in an insta-kill and rolling a 1 or 2 would result in effectively No Effect on the table. Ironically, this doesn't really increase the difficulty of killing the monster by very much. In fact, the average number of rounds to kill a "Very Hard to Kill!" monster over multiple runs using the simulator provided 3.6 rounds. Again, not very impressive for a monster that should be very hard to kill.

From part 2/5 of this series of posts, we found that a monster with the "Hard to Kill!" rule should need about 5-6 rounds to be killed. That would mean that the target for the "Very Hard to Kill!" should take more rounds than that … maybe something like 8 rounds would be about right. We updated the rule as follows and re-ran the simulator with these values:

The simulator provides 8.6 rounds for the average of this new table. That seems a lot better.

Now, the next question is … should this new version of the "Very Hard to Kill!" rule cost more than the base 10 points for a special rule? And if "yes", how much more exactly? Let's face off a monster with the "Very Hard to Kill!" rule against a large formation of infantry again to see how they both fare. I suggest a fight between Treebeard (230 Points) and two formations of 4 companies of Uruk-hai Warband (35 points per company = 280 Points).

STEP-BY-STEP EXAMPLE OF THE FIGHT

Round 1:

Priority Phase

Treebeard rolls a 1 and Isengard rolls a 2. Isengard Wins Priority for the Round.

Move Phase

Isengard stays where they are for the Move Phase, as does Treebeard.

Charge Phase

Isengard decides they want to charge, and takes their Courage Tests for Treebeard's Terror special rule. The first formation rolls a 2 and a 2. Adding their Courage Value (3) it totals 7, so the test is failed and the charge is stalled for Formation 1. The second formation rolls a 5 and a 6. Adding their Courage Value (3) it totals 14, so the test is passed.

Since the first Isengard formation failed its courage test, it cannot charge ... the charge is stalled!

The second Isengard formation rolls for their charge and rolls a 3, so the charge is successful.

Fight Phase

Treebeard gets to attack first (even though he doesn't have priority because of Striking Order [pg 46] and he is Type: Monster). He rolls 3 dice for his Attack Value and 5 additional dice for his Battle Skill bonus (Treebeard's Fight - Uruk-hai's Fight = 9-4 = 5). He needs 3+'s To Hit (S:9 vs D:7 - 66% chance To Hit) and since the warriors have only 1 Resilience, each hit ends up wounding a warrior. This means he gets 8 dice to roll: 1, 6, 4, 4, 2, 4, 5, & 3. This kills 6 Isengard Warriors.

Isengard now gets to attack. Formation #1 stalled and they are out of range. Formation #2, they roll 8 dice for the direct company and then 3 more dice for the three supporting companies and then they get a extra die for Charging. They need 6/2+'s To Hit (S:4 vs D:10). Rolling their 12 dice, they get: 4, 1, 6, 6, 3, 2, 2, 5, 6, 3, 5, & 1. Since they need 6/2's they pick up the three 6's that they rolled and re-roll them needing 2+'s, they get: 3, 2, & 1. So that means 2 hits (6/2's). Since Treebeard has 2 Resilience, these 2 hits are reduced to a single wound on Treebeard - This means one roll on the Very Hard to Kill table.

Rolling on the Very Hard to Kill table, Isengard Formation #2 rolls a 5. This adds one counters to Treebeard.

Fight Results

[** Recall that we modified the Determine Victor Rule back in Part 2/5 **] Treebeard inflicted 6 wounds. Isengard added 1 counter. This means that Treebeard wins the fight and Isengard Formation #2 has to fall back 1" and take a Panic Test. Formation #2 rolls a 6 and they remain Steadfast.

Round 2:

Priority Phase

Treebeard rolls a 5 and Isengard rolls a 4. Treebeard wins Priority for Round 2.

Move Phase

Treebeard stays where he is for the Move Phase, as do the Isengard Formations.

Charge Phase

Treebeard decides he want to charge, and rolls to charge Formation #2. He rolls a 3 - good. Formation #2 takes their Courage Test for Treebeard's Terror special rule. They roll a 1 and a 3. Adding their Courage Value (3) it totals 7, so the test is failed - this means that their Fight Value is reduced to 0 for Round 2.

Isengard Formation #1 is going to attempt to charge Treebeard, again. They take their Courage Test for Treebeard's Terror special rule, rolling: 5 & 5. Adding their Courage Value (3) it totals 13, so they pass - then they roll for their charge distance: 5, so it's good - both formations are in the fray this time!

Fight Phase

Treebeard gets to attack first (he has priority and Striking Order). He decides he is going to continue to attack Formation #2 (they are Fight 0 for the round … so, of course) - so he rolls 3 dice for his Attack Value, an additional die for Charging, and 9 additional dice for his Battle Skill bonus (Treebeard's Fight - Uruk-hai's Fight = 9-0 = 9). He still needs 3+'s To Hit. This means he gets 13 dice to roll: 5, 1, 2, 3, 5, 2, 5, 1, 3, 3, 5, 4, & 2. This kills 8 Isengard Warriors - there goes the first company and only 2 remaining in the second supporting company.

Isengard now gets to attack. Formation #1 rolls 8 dice for the direct company and 3 more for the three supporting companies and then they get a extra die for Charging. They need 6/2+'s To Hit (S:4 vs D:10). Rolling their 12 dice, they get: 4, 3, 3, 2, 1, 4, 3, 5, 4, 6, 3, & 3. Since they need 6/2's they pick up the one 6 that they rolled and re-roll them needing 2+, they get: 4. So that means 1 hit (so far). Formation #2 rolls 8 dice for the direct company and 2 more for the two remaining support companies. Rolling their 10 dice, they get: 6, 5, 1, 2, 2, 4, 6, 6, 3, & 1. They pick up the three 6's they rolled and re-rolling them needing 2+'s, they get 3, 6, & 2. So 3 more hits. That means that Isengard got 4 total hits on Treebeard - and due to his Resilience of 2 they get to roll twice on the Very Hard to Kill table.

Rolling on the Very Hard to Kill table for the first wound, Isengard rolls a 6! Adding the one counter that is already on Treebeard means that they score an attack value of 7 on the table … this adds two more wound counters to Treebeard (now he has 3) - and since they rolled a 6, they get to re-roll!! They roll a 3 … adding the 3 counters on Treebeard give an attack value of 6 on the table … this adds one more wound counter to Treebeard (now he has 4). Now, for the second wound, the roll … ANOTHER 6 - wow! OK, adding the 4 wound counters - they have an attack value of 10 on the table … two more wound counters (now he has 6). They get to re-roll for the natural 6 … and they roll a 1. Again, adding the existing counters gives an attack value of 7 on the table … this adds two more counters to Treebeard - so he ends up with 8 counters on him at the end of Round 2.

Nice job Isengard dice rollers! [Just as a note … Under the old Very Hard to Kill rule - Treebeard would have already been dead …]

Fight Results

Well, that was a pretty bloody Round … Treebeard inflicted 8 wounds. Isengard added 7 counters. This means that Treebeard wins the fight (barely) and both Isengard Formations have to fall back 1" and take a Panic Test. Formation #1 rolls a 6 for their Panic Test and they remain Steadfast. Formation #2 rolls a 4 for their Panic Test - so all 3 companies in Formation #2 become Disordered. They then take their Courage Test to determine if they take additional casualties … they roll a 6 and a 6. Adding their Courage Value (3) they get a 15 … so the test is passed and no additional casualties.

Round 3:

Priority Phase

Treebeard rolls a 4 and Isengard rolls a 2. Treebeard wins Priority for Round 3.

Move Phase

Treebeard stays where he is for the Move Phase.

Isengard Formation #2 is Disordered, so they need to pass a Courage Test (with -1 since Treebeard is within 6" [pg 35]) in order to move, shoot, charge and get more than a single die per company for the Fight Phase. They roll a 3 & 6 - adding 3 for their Courage Value and subtracting 1 for Treebeard within 6", giving 11; (barely a pass) so Isengard Formation #2's companies are no longer Disordered. They choose to stay where they are for the Move Phase.

Charge Phase

Treebeard decides he want to charge, and rolls to charge Formation #2. He rolls a 4 - so good to go. Formation #2 takes their Courage Test for Treebeard's Terror special rule. They roll a 4 and a 6. Adding their Courage Value (3) it totals 13, so the test is passed.

Isengard Formation #1 is going to attempt to charge Treebeard, again. They take their Courage Test for Treebeard's Terror special rule, rolling: 2 & 6. Adding their Courage Value (3) it totals 11, so they pass - then they roll for their charge distance: 6, Unstoppable Charge!

Fight Phase

Treebeard gets to attack first (he has priority and Striking Order). He decides he is going to continue to attack Formation #2 - so he rolls 3 dice for his Attack Value, an additional die for Charging, and 5 additional dice for his Battle Skill bonus. He still needs 3+'s To Hit. This means he gets 9 dice to roll: 3, 5, 4, 4, 6, 6, 2, 4, & 5. This kills 8 Isengard Warriors - there goes the second company and only 2 remaining in the third supporting company - six more wounds and Formation #2 is done for.

Isengard now gets to attack. Formation #1 rolls 8 dice for the direct company and 3 more for the three supporting companies and then they get a 1+D3 extra die for Charging with an Unstoppable Charge (1 for Charging and D3 for Unstoppable). They roll a 2 for the Unstoppable charge - meaning they get one additional die for the charge. They need 6/2+'s To Hit (S:4 vs D:10). Rolling their 13 dice, they get: 1, 6, 3, 1, 5, 5, 1, 5, 3, 1, 1, 3, & 1. Since they need 6/2's they pick up the one 6 that they rolled and re-roll them needing 2+, they get: 3. So that means 1 hit (so far). Formation #2 rolls 8 dice for the direct company and 1 more for the remaining support company. Rolling their 9 dice, they get: 5, 5, 6, 1, 6, 3, 3, 4, & 6. They pick up the three 6's they rolled and re-rolling them needing 2+'s, they get 5, 5, & 1. So 2 more hits. That means that Isengard got 3 total hits on Treebeard - and due to his Resilience of 2 they get to roll once on the Very Hard to Kill table.

Rolling on the Very Hard to Kill table, Isengard rolls a 4! Adding the one counter that is already on Treebeard means that they score an attack value of 12 on the table … this adds three more wound counters to Treebeard (now he has 11 at the end of Round 3). This means that the next time that Isengard rolls on the Very Hard to Kill table, they need a 3 or more to get the required 14 to kill Treebeard … that's a 66.7% chance that he will die on the next table roll.

Fight Results

Treebeard inflicted 8 wounds. Isengard added 3 counters. This means that Treebeard wins the fight, again, and both Isengard Formations have to fall back 1" and take a Panic Test. Formation #1 rolls a 1 for their Panic Test and the experience an Onset of Dismay! [a banner would have been really useful right now …]. However, they have not taken any casualties yet, so they don't run away but simply become Disordered. They then take their Courage Test to determine if they take additional casualties … they roll a 1 and a 2. Adding their Courage Value (3) they get a 6 - meaning that they lose 4 warriors. Formation #2 rolls a 2 for their Panic Test and they become Disordered. They then take their Courage Test to determine if they take additional casualties … they roll a 6 and a 3. Adding their Courage Value (3) they get a 12 - meaning no more additional casualties for Formation #2 … that's good, they could not afford to lose anymore, really.

Round 4:

Priority Phase

Treebeard rolls a 6 and Isengard rolls a 6. Draw, so they need to re-roll. Treebeard rolls a 3 and Isengard rolls a 2. Treebeard wins Priority for Round 4.

Move Phase

Treebeard stays where he is for the Move Phase.

Both Isengard Formations are Disordered, so they need to pass a Courage Test (with -1 since Treebeard is within 6") in order to move, shoot, charge and get more than a single die per company for the Fight Phase. Isengard Formation #1 rolls a 4 & 6 - adding 3 for their Courage Value and subtracting 1 for Treebeard within 6", giving 12 - so they are no longer Disordered; Isengard Formation #2 rolls a 3 & 2 - adding 3 for their Courage Value and subtracting 1 for Treebeard within 6", giving 7 - so the two companies in Formation #2 remain Disordered - and they cannot move, shoot, or charge - and they will only get 2 dice total during the Fight Phase if engaged in hand-to-hand. Isengard Formation #1 chooses to stay where they are for the Move Phase and Formation #2 can't move since they are Disordered.

Charge Phase

Treebeard decides he want to charge, and rolls to charge Formation #2. He rolls a 5 - good. Formation #2 takes their Courage Test for Treebeard's Terror special rule. They roll a 4 and a 1. Adding their Courage Value (3) it totals 8, so the test is failed - this means that their Fight Value is reduced to 0 for Round 2. It looks like Formation #2 is in for it this round.

Isengard Formation #1 is going to attempt to charge Treebeard, again. They take their Courage Test for Treebeard's Terror special rule, rolling: 4 & 4. Adding their Courage Value (3) it totals 11, so they pass - then they roll for their charge distance: 1, STALLED CHARGE! I can hear Treebeard virtually laughing!

Fight Phase

Treebeard gets to attack first (he has priority and Striking Order). He lays into Formation #2 - so he rolls 3 dice for his Attack Value, an additional die for Charging, and 9 additional dice for his Battle Skill bonus. He still needs 3+'s To Hit. This means he gets 13 dice to roll: 5, 3, 4, 2, 4, 2, 3, 4, 5, 2, 5, 1, & 1. This kills 8 Isengard Warriors - there goes Formation #2 … the remaining 2 warriors run for the hills!

Isengard has no one in contact with Treebeard, now, so there is no retaliation!

Fight Results

Treebeard wins - no need to check for Fight Results.

Round 5:

Priority Phase

Treebeard rolls a 3 and Isengard rolls a 3. Draw, so they need to re-roll. Treebeard rolls a 2 and Isengard rolls a 5. Isengard wins Priority for Round 5.

Move Phase

Isengard stays where they are for the Move Phase, as does Treebeard.

Charge Phase

Isengard decides they want to charge, and takes their Courage Tests for Treebeard's Terror special rule. The first formation rolls a 1 and a 1. Adding their Courage Value (3) it totals 5, so the test is failed and the charge is stalled for Formation 1. (LOL! - My Gondor Bias is chuckling at the random number generator … ha ha ha!) Stalled charge.

Treebeard charges, and rolls to charge Formation #1. He rolls a 4 - good. Formation #1 takes their Courage Test for Treebeard's Terror special rule. They roll a 3 and a 4. Adding their Courage Value (3) it totals 10, so the test is passed (again barely).

Fight Phase

Treebeard gets to attack first (even though he does not have priority - due to Striking Order). He rolls 3 dice for his Attack Value, an additional die for Charging, and 5 additional dice for his Battle Skill bonus. He needs 3+'s To Hit. This means he gets 9 dice to roll: 3, 3, 4, 3, 5, 3, 1, 5, & 5. This kills 8 Isengard Warriors - there goes the first company from Formation #1.

Isengard now gets to attack. Formation #1 rolls 8 dice for the direct company and only 2 more for the two remaining supporting companies (since Striking Order claimed its casualties already). They need 6/2+'s To Hit (S:4 vs D:10). Rolling their 10 dice, they get: 2, 2, 1, 6, 2, 6, 2, 1, 6, & 1. Since they need 6/2's they pick up the three 6's that they rolled and re-roll them needing 2+, they get:  6, 6, & 1. So 2 hits. That means due to Treebeard's Resilience of 2 they get to roll once on the Very Hard to Kill table.

Rolling on the Very Hard to Kill table, Isengard rolls a 6! Adding the 11 counters that are already on Treebeard means that Treebeard is slain on Round 5!!

Fight Results

Isengard wins - no need to check for Fight Results.

POST MORTEM ANALYSIS

Isengard is left with 105 Points worth of models after the fight (that is one formation comprised of three companies). And it looks like they good really lucky with their rolls on the Very Hard to Kill table (getting multiple 6's giving them the extra re-rolls). Looking at Treebeard's run … he was killing an entire company's worth of models each round … so he really only needed 2.5 more rounds to win … and if the extra rolls on the Very Hard to Kill table weren't there - or weren't as good - that could totally have panned out that way! Treebeard got to dish out 175 Points worth of damage before he was killed … still not too bad. As I mentioned above, if we had used the old version of the Very Hard to Kill Table, during Round 1 Isengard would have rolled their 5 … making it a 4 … giving Treebeard 2 counters right out the gate. Then on Round 2, Isengard would have rolled their 6 … making it a 5 … adding the 2 existing counter would be enough to kill Treebeard - and he would have only killed 14 warriors (only a single company from Formation #2) - effectively dealing only 35 Points worth of damage before he was killed.

It looks to me like we've got a pretty good balance with this new variation of the Very Hard to Kill Rule. What does everyone else think?


LINKS TO OTHER PARTS OF THE HARD TO KILL SERIES

1. Overview of the Problem [Part 1/5]
2. Hard to Kill! Rule [Part 2/5]
3. Very Hard to Kill! Rule [Part 3/5]
4. Extremely Hard to Kill! Rule [Part 4/5]
5. Ridiculously Hard to Kill! Rule [Part 5/5]

What About Banners and Hornblowers in Profiles?

For Gondor & Arnor we have covered in detail the warrior adjustment costs and hero adjustment costs - and the only remaining profile issue that remains for them is simply the cost of upgrading the Command Company to include Hornblowers/Drummers and Banners.

HORNBLOWERS/DRUMMERS COMMAND UPGRADE

"Many armies use musicians as a swift method of communication and to drive the troops ever faster into the fray. A warband marching to the beat of a drum or the winding of a  horn will reach its destination all the faster. A formation with a Hornblower or Drummer adds 1 to its Move value."  

- WotR Rule Book pg 60

Based upon the analyses that were done for Warrior Profiles (since Heroes inherit their Move Value from the formation in which they are residing), a profile line increase of 1 for the Move Value costs +2.5 points [0.5*+5 points].

Based purely off of assumption, I think the rationale by GW for the point cost of 15 points for the Hornblower/Drummer upgrade was based upon the rule of Formation Size Limit - i.e., that the majority of companies have a Formation Size Limit of 1-6 companies, and they simply took the "average worst case scenario for an average Formation" (2.5 points/company * 6 maximum companies) = 15 points for the upgrade - and then just plastered it across all the companies that can support such a command model.

So, what I am suggesting is that the Hornblower/Drummer upgrade should be based upon the number of companies within a formation - and not just a flat rate upgrade point cost, thus it would be as if simply upping the Move Value by 1 of the companies within the formation:

1-2 Company in Formation = 5 Points
3-4 Companies in Formation = 10 Points
5-6 Companies in Formation = 15 Points
7-8 Companies in Formation = 20 Points
8+ Companies in Formation = 25 Points (This would apply to the Mordor Orc Warband)

BANNER COMMAND UPGRADE

"As one might expect, Banner Bearers carry the formation's banner into battle. Banners provide a point for the whole formation to rally around, whether they are charging into combat or simply advancing across the battlefield. If the Banner Bearer advances, the whole formation will advance; but if the Banner Bearer flees, the whole company will surely follow him.

When charging, a formation with a Banner Bearer is allowed to re-roll the dice to determine how far it moves. In addition, a formation with a Banner Bearer is allowed to re-roll its Panic tests."

- WotR Rule Book pg 60

Similarly, the point value given to banner upgrades is 35 Points, since it allows 2 re-rolls - one for charging and another for failed Courage tests due to Panic (not any generic terror or courage test). [Point of Note: A "Panic Test" is a very specific Courage Test that is taken by the formation that loses a fight during the Fight Phase. This doesn't mean that the Banner allows ALL Courage tests to be re-rolled, only those that are due to losing a fight. (See pg 50 of the book)]

SO, LONG STORY SHORT: A BANNER ONLY IMPACTS THE CHARGE PHASE AND FIGHT PHASE RESOLUTION FOR A FORMATION.

Another note about re-rolls from the call-out on page 27:

"In some situations the rules allow you a 're-roll' of the dice. This is exactly as it sounds - pick up the dice you wish to re-roll and roll them again. The second score counts, even if it means a worse result than the first, and no single dice can be re-rolled more than once regardless of the source of the re-roll. if you re-roll a 2D6 or 3D6 roll, you must re-roll all of the dice and not just some of them, unless the rule granting you the re-roll explicitly specifies otherwise."

A banner is only good for preventing a "Stalled Charge" (page 43) during the Charge Phase or preventing an "Onset of Dismay" (page 50) during the Fight Phase; and just because you re-roll the dice doesn't mean that fate will not frown on you again ...

Wow, 35 Points suddenly seems very expensive for such a minor game changing upgrade. Preventing a stalled charge could be pretty useful ... maybe 10 points useful. Preventing an onset of dismay could be very useful if your formation has already lost more than 50% of its starting company count - but there again, that formation already has "one foot in the grave" at that point ...really worth 25 additional points? No, maybe 10-15 at the most ...

So, I am suggesting that a Banner Bearer Command upgrade cost 25 flat points - regardless of formation size.

So there we have it ... Perhaps I will do a little more looking into other upgrades for Gondor & Arnor before attempting to hit other conversations ... Stay Tuned!






LINKS TO OTHER RANDOM POSTS

1. GW WotR Unit Cost Controversy
2. What About Banners and Hornblowers in Profiles?
3. Legendary Formations and Their Point Costs
4. The "About Face!" Errata - More Game Changing than Expected
5. What Would a WotR Blog be without a Discussion of Epic Strike?!?
6. Blog Introduction
7. WotR Army Roster Sheet - Available for Download 
8. WotR Army Roster Example 1000 Point Gondor Army
9. Ideas for iPad Simulator of WotR