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!

In The Mind: How to Play Men of The West Legendary Legion MESBG Tactics Guide

 Men of the West Legendary Legion

Among Legendary Legions in the Middle Earth Strategy Battle Game, some instantly stand out as excellent. Legions such as Assault on Lothlorien which relies heavily upon the darkness of night to protect from shooting and using buffing spells and numbers to beat your opponent or the Host of the Dragon Emperor that gives you free extra points in match play look extraordinary on the battlefield. While legions such as these do seem incredibly appealing here at the Minds of Moria we enjoy playing lists that are much less seen and look much less competitive. My favorite Legendary Legion in the game may be the Defenders of the Shire, but today we look at the most climactic scene in the Return of the King. The Men of the West.

Army contents:
You are required to take Aragorn king Ellesar as your leader and only Gondor may lead Gondor troops and Rohan may lead Rohan. 

You then have the choice from Legolas, Gimli, Gandalf the White, the Twins, Imrahil, Beregond, Merry, Pippin, Eomer, Dol Amroth caps, Gondor caps, and Rohan caps.

Then you may take Warriors of Minas Tirith, Warriors of Rohan, and Knights of Dol Amroth as your troops.

Your list all gains fearless while Aragorn is alive and additionally once per game all models within 12 inches gain +1 fight value for a turn. 

As a whole, this legion is looked down upon as one of the worst legendary legions in the game. Recently I took this legion to our GT and placed 3rd with a 650 point variation of this stunning list. The list functions with a very very specific build. When we look at it we see no elite troops save the over costed knights of Dol Amroth. well that over costed knights of Dol Amroth is the key to making this army work. Having f4 with shielding means you can take a hero heavy list and have a good chance of shielding with your knights and winning everywhere else. The list i ended up taking is as follows: 

Leader: Aragorn 225
10 Knights of dol Amroth 110
8 WoMT Spear and Shield 72

Beregond 30
2 WoMT Bow 16
3 WoMT spear shield 27

Elladan and Elrohir with heavy Armor 170

650 points 10 might (plus free) 27 models

The list pulled off 4 wins and 1 minor loss at the event. The mobility of free marches meant i could outpace every army i faced and with three f6 hero's i could take on almost any force especially considering they all had elven blades and a one turn f7. Here i would like to take a moment to appreciate courage. It is so heavily underrated but after messing with this legion for the past half year i now take everything i can to up my courage. in standard Gondor armies taking it always pure and normally running Osgiliath vets for the extra courage is my latest example of this. Courage is so important in game play and not having to worry much about it is MASSIVE. Now back to the list. The army's biggest trick is the one turn glory of fight value. BUT it is so so powerful. heroic combats in this army are your best ally. getting in range of enemy heroes and combatting puts so much pressure on them as the rule "For Frodo" is declared after heroic actions. This is shown through all other similar rules specify "before heroic actions" such as Groblog's crown, Eanur, The Knight of Umbar etc.. This is the only rule that distinctly ignores that factor thus meaning it is indeed after heroic actions are declared. This pivotal fact means you can combat and if a hero doesn't strike you may then declare For Frodo and combat into a hero and easily take off 2 wounds with easy from Aragorn and one shot them if you can trap them. Sadly in the tournament i never even used this trick like i had in practice games as in almost all of my games i used it as a defensive maneuver. I declared it to stop a combatting Elendil from taking out a twin used it to cut through f6 elves without worrying about them and then in one match used it for my troops to gain the upper hand when they had a bunch of traps lined up. that is another note. the rule means your standard Knights of Dol Amroth become elves for a turn which is disgusting and pays back the points u paid for them to begin with. 

The best strategies are as follows with this list:
March is your friend it is free might after all.
Play grouped together as a death ball and spread out late. 
heroic combats make the numbers equal very fast. 
Beregond is your rearguard or your protection for objectives.

The list as a whole has many different builds but this is the most consistent one by far and can be adapted for nearly every points value by either dropping Beregond or upgrading him to a captain and filling out the warband and possibly at 750 or up adding a physical banner as well. 

Aragorn does the work even if transfixed. he is a passive banner so dont worry about magic you have 2 other heavy hitters to balance it out and resist in the one turn u can actually use Aragorn to influence the game heavily. 

The fact that you are all infantry helps you have maneuverability through both your own and your enemies lines thus making your combats much more effective and your heroes much harder to pinpoint and take out. 

Take this army out and try it. I have no doubt that if used by competent and skilled players it will work wonders as it has for me ever since I played my second game with the example list shown above. If you like seeing things die on your opponents side much faster then your own then this is the list for you. High defense and incredible damage output combines to make this list beautiful in any scenario. It has just enough models to compete in spreading out objective scenarios but not two much so that scenarios such as lords of battle and contest of champions are always in you favor. it has the mobility to have speed be its ally compared to lists that may have a few cavalry models in it. Then the staggering amounts of might means you get to control the board for the majority of the part combined with the combating shenanigans giving you a massive advantage on positioning and the tempo of the game through you loads of resources. 

Thanks for reading and look out for the next post in which we will delve into Minds of Moria to discover tactics and ways to run eagles competitively without a simple one drop Gwaihir into a list and rather a look at it pure or with one or two hero's from other lists. 

Until next time, TheMindzofMoria checking out.