Angmar Faction Review - MESBG

Overview:
Welcome to our very first faction review on The Nazgul Times! Today we are going to take a look at my personal favorite faction in Middle Earth SBG which is Angmar.

Angmar is the realm of the Witch-king, a dark corrupt place filled with many undying spirits. This force has a very unique feel to it as it is considered to be "shut down" army that debuffs enemy forces with tricky spells and abilities.

This army also has a fair number of unique heroes and monsters that really give the army a lot of flavor and are very fun to play!

Each hero and warrior unit will be rated and their name will be highlighted in a particular color to show how useful the unit is for the army.
Green - Auto include in any Angmar Army
Blue - Very good choice
Grey - This is a decent choice, not the optimal choice but a good middle of the road choice
Yellow - Situational, may be a good choice depending on how you are building your force but may also be a bad choice in some armies
Red - Bad choice, I would not recommend taking these units, they have very limited uses


Pros:

• Lots of unique units to choose from including wraiths and monsters
• Variety of potential list builds
• Debuffs enemy forces in unique ways
• The Shade

Cons:

• Warrior choices are lacking when comparing to Mordor or other evil armies
• Low Might
• Low Courage troops

Army Bonus:
The army bonus for Angmar is one of the better bonuses in the game in my opinion as it boosts the survivability of the lowly orcs within an army.

Friendly "Angmar Orc" models within 3" of a hero spirit model gain the Terror special rule. This special rule is great since most of your heroes will be spirit models and will help your orcs survive longer as they are less prone to being charged by cavalry and will be able to charge on their own merit. The abundance of Harbinger of Evil choices within the army also helps to make the Army Bonus even stronger.

Allies:
Angmar is a red alliance with everyone except Smaug and Moria, who are both yellow alliances. I don't think it is worth it to ally in another army as Angmar is pretty good on its own and the yellow alliances do not really offer much in terms of abilities that will really push Angmar into a top tier list and I would stick with a pure Angmar force. Avoid any red alliances, and the stink eyes that would go along with a red alliance.

Hero Profiles:

The Witch King of Angmar:
The big boy himself, Mr. Do-It-All! The Witch-King is always a very solid choice in any army that he can be taken in. With Angmar he gets the bonus of being a Hero of Legend, which helps if you don't want to play too many heroes. You can kit him out any which way you want to be either a caster or a combat wraith.

If you are going for a caster you can choose an armored horse with the Crown of Morgul, which gives you more attacks but also a free re-roll on cast and resist tests which can be BIG. As a caster I would put him at 2/16/2 with the crown but you can bump his M/W/F up depending on your play style. He is the best caster out of the wraiths, as you would expect, and has the ability to cast "Your Staff is Broken" which is very strong when facing Gandalf or Saruman.

If you choose to use him as a combat character I would give him 3/16/3 (or 3/18/3 if you have the points) with the crown and either on an armored horse OR a fell beast depending on the points you have available but with him being a Hero of Legend you can spend those extra points you would have needed to spend on another hero for his fell-beast.

I would avoid the flail at all costs, it is just not good. The Morgul Blade is situational and you really need to have the Crown (and not be on a Fell Beast) to make it work since you need to use the Witch-Kings attack and strength values vs the Fell Beasts strength.

Overall a very strong and thematic choice for an Angmar army but I would not consider him an auto-include because there are some other heroes with some fantastic abilities.

The Tainted:
Personally for me the Tainted is the perfect wraith and really highlights what Angmar is as a whole. He has the standard stat array for a wraith and is a 2/14/2 with two really cool special rules. I would consider him a utility wraith as he has enough of a Will store to be able to survive a couple combats if he needs to, cast some spells and has 2 fate points for survivability.

His Miasmatic Presence is a potential late game finisher for when an enemy force is broken and you don't want the enemy heroes to get off that all important Stand Fast. I would lay 1 Will point aside for this.

Seeping Decay is a pretty good bonus special rule, especially since it doesn't cost the Tainted any Will to use it, outside of the Will he has to spend for being in combat. A 16% chance to wound every model in base contact can be a savior if you get charged by a number of enemies.

Drain Courage is a Tainted bread and butter, casting on a 2+, when you combine the army bonus with drain courage on the enemies it helps to boost the effectiveness of your army as a whole. I would stick him on a armoured horse or a fell beast if you want to get into a few more combats.

The Dwimmerlaik:
I was teetering on the edge of giving the Dwimmerlaik a "situational" rating but I landed on the "bad" category and it is mainly because of his Sap Fortitude special rule.
He is not a combat wraith since he carries a two-handed sword and has 0 Might points so you would really only want to get him into combat if he is on a fell beast but then you still have 0 Might points to influence your dice rolls so is not a good combat wraith.

He casts all spells at the same efficiency as the Tainted with 2 more Will points but he will most likely be using those extra points for his Sap Fortitude special rule, below.

Sap Fortitude allows the Dwimmerlaik to spend a point of Will every time a enemy hero within 6" spends a point of Might, Will or Fate, if the Dwimmerlaik does the enemy has to spend an additional point of the same type of resource or else they lose the resource they were going to use. The Dwimmerlaik can do this multiple times if the opponent is using say, one will points to resist a Paralyse, the Dwimmerlaik can use this ability and force the opponent to use two, or if the enemy doesn't have two will points they lose their will and are now paralyzed. Sounds good right?

Here is the catch: after spending the will to pop this ability the Dwimmerlaik has to roll a 4+ for it to even work and he has no might to influence the roll. If it was automatically cast or even on a 3+. The roll can't be influenced. So this ends up being a slightly modified Sap Will (that can effect Might, Will or Fate) but with half range. This ability definitely fits with the whole "shut down" aspect of Angmar but I don't believe that it is worth taking vs the Tainted or Witch-King which are far better wraiths. I would leave the Dwimmerlaik at home.

Gulavhar, The Terror of Arnor:
A vampire?! In Lord of the Rings?! Yes you read that right, Gulavhar is the biggest baddest scardy cat in that game!
I personally love Gulavhar, he is very Angmar and is a big scary model on the table that forces your opponent to move to counter him. Fly, Harbinger of Evil, Monstrous Charge with F7, S8 3 Might (in an army with very few might options) and the ability to regenerate wounds he is a BEAST.

His weakness though, is his defense value. At defense 5 he is very vulnerable to shooting which really eats into his effectiveness since his attack and courage values are equal to the number of wounds he has left, which is why he is a scary cat because he could go down to courage 1. This means you need to get him into combat as soon as possible and start munching through your enemies. If he gets shot at and suffers a few wounds before getting into combat he will be far less effective in combat.

The way around this is with his Immortal Hunger special rule. Gulavhar regains wounds every time he kills a model using Rend, which with Strength 8 is very likely. You need to get into combat asap with him though so you don't even need to use your regen abilities.

The other downside to Gulavhar is his cost...he is super expensive for a model that might be shot off the board very quickly. I am a big fan of him and use him quite a bit but his points cost and defense value really lower him from a very good choice to just a decent choice.


Buhrdur, Troll Chieftain:
Buhrdur is a very solid choice for any Angmar player. Buhrdur is a troll chieftain with the stats to match, the same stats as a normal cave troll but with 3 Might, 1 Will and a single Fate point at his disposal and carries a big ol' pick.

Outside of the Witch-King he is the only Angmar hero with Heroic Strike which is a great option for him since he can Heroic Strike and also use piercing strike with less of an issue to really crack some heroes or tough enemies.

His special rules gives him a 6" banner to orcs and trolls. So if we break down his points cost you are essentially paying 10 points for a 6" banner and 5 points for each point of M/W/F which makes him a very effective use of points.
His downside is that he is not a Spirit model so models around him do not get terror, this is somewhat not as big of an issue since he himself causes terror and any Cave Trolls around him also do so you can pair his warband up with another warband to create a pretty solid terror battle line.

Shade:
The dreaded shade, this is one of the main reasons people play Angmar is to include this model. Looking at its stat line it doesn't look at that great, fight 1, 1 attack, no might, no fate model doesn't seem great but then you look at his special rule "Chill Aura". The shade is a debuff machine! The Shade has to spend one of his 8 will to activate this ability and any enemy model with 6" of it suffers a -1 to its duel roll! It can essentially makes your fight value higher than any basic enemy without might or forces the enemy heroes to use Might to win combats against basic troops!

The way to use a Shade is to surround him with orcs to give them the terror bubble and then pop his ability every turn the orcs are in combat. This, in addition to the army bonus, makes your lowly orcs a lot stronger than their face value. Include the shade in any Angmar force you are building.

Barrow-wight:
The spirits of leaders of men, corrupted by the Witch-king. These are going to be your captain models in your army. They are spirits so will help your orcs gain terror, they have 0 might but 6 Will to cast one of the most powerful spells in the game, Paralyse. This is what they were born (resurrected?) to do, they should be casting Paralyse on some of the big bad heroes you might come up against, pair that with Sap Will and you got yourself a scary combo. They also have decent survivability at defense 7 with 2 wounds and high courage for those late game stand fasts when you inevitable break.

I really like to cast Paralyse after draining courage of your desired target, bringing in a dead marsh spectre with its Fell Light is Within Them rule to move the enemy into an open area and then casting Paralyse and running a cave troll into the combat with a few orcs for the extra bang. Another option is to cast Sap Will on the target with a wraith one turn and then the next cast Compel the following turn. Paralyse is really hard to get off a hero if they don't have any friends in base contact with them.

Barrow-wights are excellent and I auto-include at least one for every Angmar army list I write.

Angmar Orc Captain:
Sub-optimal choice for an Angmar force. Low courage so they are not useful for any stand fasts, aren't spirit models so doesn't impact the army bonus.
They aren't bad per say, but the only reason I would take one is to get Heroic March since it is your only option in the list for that heroic ability (that will effect everyone at least).

Angmar Orc Shaman:
The all-mighty shaman and the awesome Fury spell...oh wait. The Angmar Shamans are not like their Mordor brethren, they don't get the Fury spell and they instead get Wither. I believe they are the only model able to cast the Wither spell and it is very Angmar flavored. It reduces an models STR which is pretty interesting and has a solid 12" range which boosts its effectiveness. Channeling this spell is a solid idea which will eat your single will point but it does cast on a 3+.

The Angmar Shaman also gets Instil Fear which is pretty meh since it casts on a 5+ so you want to be rolling this on 2 dice.
He is an OK choice but Angmar has better casters and better heroes to choose from.

Wild Warg Chieftain:
Are you taking Wild Wargs in your list? Then this is your hero! The Wild Warg Chieftain is overlooked in a lot of Angmar forces because you have a lot of other monsters, spirits and wraiths to choose from but let me tell you this hero is a solid choice!

The chieftain has a very respectable stat line (strong and a good number of attack) and gives Angmar some much needed mobility. He is a solid choice with some good killing power. His only downside is that his heroic actions and stand fasts only effect warg models, this doesn't include warg riders, so if you are going to run him I would recommend you put him with a strafing unit of Wild Wargs.

Warrior Profiles:

Angmar Orc Warriors:
The lowly orc warrior, a staple in any Angmar force. These guys will form the main battle line of your army and it is best to throw a mix of sword and board orcs backed by spear orcs. I normally always take a banner in my force, most of the time it will be in the Shades warband. I would avoid orc bows at all costs, orc shooting is really bad 6+ if you move and only 18" range is bad and not worth it.
The army bonus helps these guys last a little longer as they won't get charged as often so keep them close to your hero spirits!

Angmar Warg Riders:
Angmar's cavalry option. They aren't an amazing choice but they can be used fairly effectively, 2 attacks on the charge with the Wargs S4 is good. You also have the option for throwing spears which are a bit of a gamble but a very small investment. Put shields on these guys every time and use them to grab objectives or flank enemy lines.

Cave Troll:
Cave Troll with a hand-and-a-half hammer is a go to choice in an Angmar army. They are Burly so don't suffer the penalty for using the hammer two-handed. I pair these guys up with 1-2 dead marsh spectres who use their Fell Light ability to draw enemies out and break enemy lines. I wouldn't bother with the troll chain but it isn't terrible.

I usually include 1-2 Cave Trolls in my lists. They are not overly expensive and provide something scary for your opponent to deal with while also being line breakers themselves.

Dead Marsh Spectre:
Spectres are a great unit and synergise with the other parts of the faction quite well. They essentially get a free 12" spell that costs them nothing to cast. It forces an opponent to take a courage test or else the Angmar player gets to move the model its full distance anywhere they want. Combine this with a wraiths Drain Courage and Harbinger of Evil and you should get this off fairly easily. The way to use these are to either break up enemy shield walls and charge in with a cave troll or other hard hitter or to block enemies from moving if you use it in a choke point or on front ranks or moving them off key objectives late game.

They are a touch expensive points wise so don't take more than 1-2 per warband.

Wild Warg:
Like I said earlier, if you are bringing a Wild Warg Chieftain bring Wild Wargs and vice versa. They are okay and give your army some more maneuverability and flanking threats but they will die pretty quickly so I generally use them as cheap objective grabbers late game.

Army Lists:
I have mentioned in the unit reviews some of the tactics that I use when playing an Angmar force and these are based on how I build my armies. when building an Angmar force you have to first decide if you are going to build a Low Might army or try and fit more Might into your army. My personal preference is to use a Low Might force.

You have a pretty wide range of options for heroes and building out a list for Angmar, you can go Monster heavy and use Gulavhar, Buhrdur and Wild Warg Chieftains or go all spirit heroes in the Shade, a wraith and Barrow-wights. Below are two forces you can try out to get a feel for how Angmar plays. I built these armies the way I play Angmar but you could try a higher might army using Witch-king, Buhrdur and a Wild Warg Chieftain to get 8+ might.

600 Point List
Warband #1
Tainted on Armored Horse (Leader)
3 Wild Wargs
5 Orcs with Shields
5 Orcs with Spears

Warband #2
Shade
4 Orcs with Shields
4 Orcs with Spears
1 Orc with Banner & Spear
1 Cave Troll with Hand-and-a-half-hammer
1 Dead Marsh Spectre

Warband #3
Barrow-wight
5 Orcs with Shields
5 Orcs with Spears

Might: 2
Models: 37
Break Point: 18 models left

This list is a pretty good start to Angmar since you get your named wraith, a scary troll, lots of orcs and some other objective grabbing models.
You can re-arrange the points a bit if you would like to use 1 Dead Marsh Spectres in Warband #2 but when you have the Harbinger of Evil with the Tainted and then a few Drain Courage casts you can use the Spectre to target a few key models pretty effectively. Combine that with the paralyse with the barrow-wight or popping the shades ability and your opponent will have a pretty hard time.

800 Point List
Warband #1
Tainted on Armored Horse (Leader)
1 Orc with Sword
5 Orcs with Shields
6 Orcs with Spears

Warband #2
Barrow-wight
5 Orcs with Shields
5 Orcs with Spears
1 Dead Marsh Spectre
1 Cave Troll with Hand-and-a-half-hammer

Warband #3
Barrow-wight
5 Orcs with Shields
5 Orcs with Spears

Warband #4
Shade
1 Orc with banner
4 Orcs with Shields
5 Orcs with Spears
1 Dead Marsh Spectre
1 Cave Troll with Hand-and-a-half-hammer

Might: 2
Models: 50
Break: 24 Models left

This force is a classic horde of orcs that will all be causing terror within 3" of any of the heroes. You have two cave trolls that the opponent will have to deal with and combined with the Barrow-wights abilities and Shade this will be a good strong force.

Alternatively, if you are not a fan of playing with the wraith you could go Shade, Barrow-wight, Buhrdur and a Wild Warg Chieftain with 2 cave trolls and fill the rest out with orcs and wild wargs for a medium Might force with more maneuverability but still having a few terror bubbles.