In the Mind: Why Unnamed Captains are STILL Worth Taking and Here is Why.

 Unnamed Captains:

Captains. The lowly captains... Today in the Minds of Moria we will be discussing the use for Captains and why they are so good while looking quite just meh. Now this is quite open ended and some captains such as Rivendell captains, Arnor captains, Angmar captains, and Moria captains etc. are commonly seen. Something about these captains though is that they are taken because there aren't many other options for either might or simply other heroes. So today rather then focusing on these common captains that we see I want to shift our focus to Captains in lists where the small named heroes seem to always knock the captains out of lists. Specifically I would like to look at the Captain of Gondor as our primary example then work on throwing in some others to build. 

Why Take Them?

Simply put, they are cheap utility pieces. They really can do just about everything. All of these captains we will talk about today have a few things in common. In fact it is what makes them so valuable to me. They are set apart from all models that fit in the same price bracket (with the exception of dwarf kings). For example let us look at the Captain of Gondor (our focus) If you take him on foot he is just like Irolas, Ingold and Madril just with one less might and no special rules. BUT you can mount this guy. Taking a captain of Minas Tirith for 70 points give you a hitter that while not having excellent fight value has all the punch needed to take things down. Pair this with a Cirion or such and you get the combined hitting power of the big bads. more hitting power then a Boromir for half the cost. A bit less then the hitting power behind Aragorn but for almost 3 times less... Best part of all is their combination of heroic march and their cost effectiveness. Captains are IDEAL for taking up space. they can get your models where they need to be efficiently then can easily hold up much bigger heroes for a few turns by first making the enemy realize the horse is a priority (because of the lance) then you can simply shield and you can just stall a hero for easily 3 sometimes 4 turns with this tactic before then mince you. And these are bigger heroes such as bolgs and other strength 5 or modified monstrosities. If you can get these guys into Glorfindel's and such then it will take even more time or resources to take these guys out. And importantly... they are expendable meaning you dont care if they die this way as long as they take the tempo and resources out of your opponents heroes. Yes they may not kill their points worth but that is totally fine if you can just buy time for you own heroes and troops to cut through theirs. Now if you are caught on a flank then you can do the simple tactic of killing 1-2 guys a turn with absolute ease and just apply pressure to weak points in enemy lines. In the case of Gondor no other hero can do anything relatively close to this for the points value. In fact a hybrid of Irolas and Hurin is the only way to get close and thats exactly what this captain is. A hybrid between 2 named heroes and he provides a AMAZING utility to your army. Taking a captain with simply about 3-4 knights works like a charm while letting other heroes lead blocks of troops. I will portray two different types of lists with these thoughts incorporated.

The First List: Farimir's Charge!

Farimir (leader) Heavy Armor Shield Lance Horse 105
4 Knights of Minas Tirith with shields 56
1 Knight with banner and shield 39
1 Citadel Guard Horse Longbow 17

Hurin the Tall Horse 90
4 Knights of Minas Tirith Shield 56
1 Knight of Minas Tirith Banner Shield 39
1 Citadel Guard Horse Longbow 17

Captain of Minas Tirith Horse Shield Lance 70
2 Knights of Minas Tirith Shield 28
1 Cit Guard Horse Longbow 17

Captain of Minas Tirith Shield Lance Horse 70
2 Knights of Minas Tirith Shield 28
1 Cit Guard Horse Longbow 17

649pts 22 models 10 might 4 bows

This list encompasses the charge of Farimir as shown through the films. Since Hurin was already a made up character and he can be mounted it would make sense that he would go to protect Farimir as his rules showcase thus I through him in. This is a classic standard points but is quite a themey and very specific army list build and is already restrictive in cav and while being an EXCELLENT list and has performed very very well for me, the next list will showcase the captains in a much more standard list. 

The Second List: The Good One

Aragorn Elessar Armored Horse 240 

5 WoMT Shield 45

3 WoMT Spear Shield 27
1 WoMT Bow 8

2 WoMT Bow Spear 18

1 Citadel Guard Longbow 10
2 Knights of Minas Tirith Shields 28

Ingold 65
6 WoMT Shield 48
6 WoMT Spear Shield 54

Captain of Minas Tirith Horse, Lance, Shield 70
3 Knights of Minas Tirith 42

650 points 32 models 7 Bows 8 might (plus free)

This list is a beautiful working machine. Having the captain tag team with his knights along with Aragorn's squad of cavalry means you have a decent hammer with cavalry to beat between your unmoving infantry anvil. The captain absolutely shines in this list as he lends much to the success. Aragorn can win games by himself but sometimes he lets down on his own combat and then its up to his banner effect to aid his other hero's and troops so they can pull the weight. The true way these captains shine is through their flexibility. when there are hero killers such as troll chieftains or Buhdurs or Azog's or not so killy heroes as described above in any situation the Captain always makes up his points worth. When there are heroes that can take him out with ease then you throw him onto their flank and just chew a few models a turn and then the opposing heroes have a choice. Stay and kill some troops and eventually face a Aragorn or they can run to the flank to take on your captain which then means you can simply use that captain as bait and keep pulling that hero further and further away until they are well out of position for the future of the game. Then if someone manages to pull the incredible feat of taking out an Aragorn then you have the Ingold strike/captain hitting power tag team to take out enemy heroes when you have taken out a solid number of troops. these two are also excellent and wiping out trolls in one turn with absolute ease. The Captains flexibility is nearly unparalleled. Gondor has everything and the Captain is one of the things that makes the list have everything. I would argue any day that a captain provides more to your list then Irolas who fills a similar role to a captain. 

Other Captains:

Just like the Gondor captain, Mordor orc captains fill a VERY similar role. They do something that nothing else in Mordor has. The flexibility of these units is incredible. While I mentioned the Rivendell Captain as one of the more used i felt people tend to go towards Erestor over him all the time (big mistake). Captains are some of the only models i truly enjoy mounting onto horses because for them the flexibility is endless. As a note. When (if) you face enemy captains remember these things and shoot out their horses first. Big hero's on horses are not to hard to deal with their bases mean a lot of guys can get into them and you always want those heroes doing a lot of work so they wont go and skirmish on flanks unhindered and so you always have ways to deal with them while the captains often times have free range. Galadrihm captains are practically a necessity unless you are running them with Boromir allied in. The Rohan captain is by far the most controversial one as they have many small heroes that already have the exact playstyle that captains tend to use but I do really rate Rohan captains simply because of how useful i have found them in lists with Eorl and helm. They are still useful and while the likes of Elfhelm and Deorwine and Dernhelm do tend to make these captains especially outliers they are still a good solid choice with excellent defense and better then most of the other options. 

Veto System:

With the introduction of the veto system many people have tended to leave the captains behind and veto anything that they would have needed the captain for. I would argue that they are still excellent even in veto. One it again provides more flexibility and can give you advantages in terms of what you want to veto. Additionally the march is almost always a really good utility in almost any scenario. It also can force your opponent into vetoing certain scenarios. All of these combine to mean you gain advantages by taking captains in veto if something more then in non veto events. 

Conclusion:

I love the lowly generic captains and love when others bring them to the table when there are other options that seem more enticing. I find many benefits to bringing the captains and i hope yall have enjoyed the read and now want to take out more generic captains. For now this has been the Minds of Moria, check in soon to read about my thoughts on terror and courage. Thanks Again!