Hi

I've been playing 40k for a long time and have been convinced by a friend to try LoTRs with him. I like the idea of models moving and firing individually and the smaller scope of the game.

I've bought the Hobbit rule book but I'm not sure which army book to get. I've decided to be Evil but I'm torn between Mordor and Isengard.

Basically I know very little about the stats, but I love the following models:

Isengard
[*]Saruman
[*]Uruk-hai Warriors
[*]Uruk-hai Scouts
[*]Uruk-hai Berserkers

But I would also really like:

Mordor
[*]Black Guard of Barad-dûr

I read somewhere you can ally with different forces. So could I add the Black Guard to an Isengard army? Or is that not possible?

Also, I'm presuming Saruman probably costs too many points for a small (250-500 pts) game. I know you can't tell me his actual point cost but is he more suited to larger games?

General advice would be really welcome for starting an Isengard army with those models

Cheers,

Steve

Heya Steve!
Welcome the One Ring and the wonderful world of LoTR!

Armies consist of warbands. Each warband consists of 1 hero leading up to 12 warriors (all of which must be from the same faction (ie Faramir leading 12 Knights of minas tirith would be a legit warband))

So, in answer to your question, yes.
you could have a warband of those Barad-dur dudes (led by a mordor hero)
and then you could ally in a warband of isengard too

hope this helps

_________________
'Though my memory's fading, I remember two things very clearly: I am a great sinner and Christ is a great Savior'
-John Newton

Yes, you can ally any bad guys with other bad guys and any good guys with other good guys.
Yes, in a 250 point game, Saruman would take up over half your points. In an 800 points game, Saruman would be an expensive hero, but still a very good choice if selected with the right troops and played in the right way.

You need captains or other uruk and mordor heroes, as you can't have more than 12 warriors per hero (a warband).

Yes, you can ally any evil faction. The minimum unit is a "warband", which is 1 hero leading up to 12 warriors from the same list. So you could have an uruk-hai captain leading uruk-hai warriors, allied with a black guard captain leading black guard warriors.

Yes, Saruman is more suited to larger games. For Isengard, the models you've chosen work well. A couple of boxes of the plastic warriors, a set of berzerkers, and a command set, and you should have a good start on a small army. Later you'll want to add some named heroes, like Ugluk and Vrasku, and Mauhur if you take scouts.

That's great news, thank you for the advice. I'll probably pick up the book with Isengard in it first and then get the other one later.

Actually, you can safely field Sharkey and Worm, who are weaker versions of Saruman and Grima, in a 250pts game. They cost equal points to an uruk hai captain who has been kitted up, and you can use the same models as regular Saruman and Grima. For their points they are pretty good

Yesssss, One of my club mates has given in to the lure of Middle Earth.
Damian: 1, SBG apathy: 0.

I'm hoping your wise decision was due to my infectious enthusiasm for SBG and my epic powers of persuasion and not just a cunning ploy to avoid the destructive power of my mighty Twin-Cyclone Termies.
This is a great game system and I think you're really going to like it, plus it's LoTR and you get to play with Saruman, Gandalf, The Witch King, etc etc. This is a great site too, lots of friendly, helpful people and no trolling.

_________________
Titans Wargames Club

http://s10.zetaboards.com/The_Titans/index/

No trolling apart from the actual Cave Trolls, I hope.

I rooted through my cupboards of old stuff and found loads of boxes I hadn't opened yet, so I've just traded them for Isengard goodies.

It's only just dawned on me that you don't need to make squads that are full of the same things, do you? I could have 10 Warriors and 2 Berserkers in the same Warband, for example. That's epic.

If anyone's interested, and because I'm excited and feel like showing off, this is what I got:

[*]Fallen realms book
[*]Isengard Commanders
[*]Ugluk and Vrasku
[*]Mauhur
[*]Uruk-hai Warriors x2
[*]Uruk-hai Scouts
[*]Uruk-hai Crossbows x2
[*]Isengard Troll

I realise there are a lot of heroes but I'm planning on mixing it up and buying more Warriors/Berserkers anyway. Considering this lot cost me £1.30 after the trade-in I'm pretty chuffed!

Yes, you can mix troop inside warbands

Looks like a really nice, well rounded isengard force you've got there

_________________
'Though my memory's fading, I remember two things very clearly: I am a great sinner and Christ is a great Savior'
-John Newton

One thing I'd like to point out for you is the bow limit in armies. Normally up to 33% of your army can have bows as you most likely know, but it becomes slightly trickier when you start including allied warbands.

Instead of 33% of the whole army, the 33% limit will count per allied force. So if you have 9 uruk-hai and 9 mordor orcs, 3 uruk-hai and 3 morder orcs could use bows. You can't carry over the bow limit from the morder force to the isengard force if you don't intend to give the mordor units bows.


Just something I figured I'd mention because I saw uruk-hai crossbows listed on your list. =)