Good evening everyone! I'm writing this post because me and a couple of friends have just recently got back in the game after some years hiatus.
DISCLAIMER: our lists are not strictly bound to the official ones; for example, in my army i have Gondor, Arnor and some Dead warriors troops. Our idea (at the moment) is just to have fun using not-improbable lists (such as elves and harad,lol) is to represent the various contigents that a faction can field.
So, going back to the main topic; in a few weeks time i'm going to fight against my most dreaded foe, a friend of mine who fields and impressive army of Isengard with some Mordor contingents (Named nazguls, morgul cavalry ecc). Four days ago i decided to try an extravagant list with an equally extravagant tactic....that turned out to work just finrìe! Me and a friend of mine who uses Harad-Umbar-Easterlings fought a "to the death" match, where my tactic proved successful. I'll now explain you how things went, my list and ask for your advices on how i could improve it against my oncoming foe!
(sorry for the long post) First thing first, this is my list:
HEROES
-Boromir captain of the White tower (with Minas Tirith banner)
-Gandalf the Grey on foot
-Dol Amroth Captain on horse
WARRIORS
-13 Dol Amroth men at arms
-12 Guards of the fountain
-1 Citadel guard
-6 warriors of the dead
-6 warriors of Arnor
-4 Knights of Dol Amroth on foot
-7 Knights of Dol Amroth mounted and with lance
My tactic is based on a solid central phalanx with Boromir in the middle (with his +1F value for the warriors near him), with 4 KoDa on foot guarding the flanks. The left flank is composed of 12 Gondor rangers with bows and Gandalf, and the cavalry (at the beginning) is at the back of the army. The right wing, you may ask? It doesn't exist!
Let me explain my idea (which kinda worked in my last match); while my big phalanx and solid left flank keep the enemy at bay, my opponent (noticing that i don't have a right flank) could do two things:
1) Try to flank me, to which i'd react by counter-flanking with my cavalry that i had left behind
2)Keep his cold blood and mantain still his left flank, to which i'd react by brutally charging with my cavalry (7 KoDa+captain) trying to break trough and wreak havoc or just to keep it busy until my phalanx has won.
Here are some pics from my last game on Saturday; my opponent, using the East, decided to counter my plans by keeping a small group of heroes and easterlings at the rear of his army, but a well-timed Heroic move was enough to outflank him and completely rout his force after a fierce fight in the center and in the left wing:
My deployment
His reaction: deploying forces on the rear and not on the flank to avoid my charge
The battlefield at the end; despite the heavy fighting, the victory is mine!
So, summing up: do you think that i would stand a chance using this army/tactic against a large Isengard force? What could i change/improve? From my point of view:
PROS
The bulk of the army is extremely solid, with most models having F4-5 thanks to Boromir. The warrios of the dead (supported) will punch a hole through his C3 uruks, and if everything goes smoothly his not-very-agile force (pikeblocks) willl be surrounded
CONS
very reduced mobility, if one of my flanks were not to hold i would be surrounded and butchered in a blink, therefore the need to be utterly aggressive with this army. Also, the left flank made of rangers could be heavily damaged by crossbow fire (even if i always use "Blinding light" with Gandalf).
Sorry for the massive post, all comments will be greatley appreciated!! Yours, Shap