Predicting the Future: My Wishlist for the Fall of the Necromancer Legendary Legions

 

I know this isn't the War in the North we were all expecting, but I'm still extremely excited

At this point, I’m sure we’ve all heard the exciting news about the upcoming Fall of the Necromancer supplement. From what we’ve been told by Warhammer Community, we know that there will be four Legendary Legions: the Rangers of Mirkwood, Vanquishers of the Necromancer, Pits of Dol Guldur and Rise of the Necromancer. We’ve had a little bit spoiled about what these will contain, including one or two hints about their rules, but I thought before we found out too much I’d throw in my two cents about what I’d like from them. Because what’s a hobby blog without a bit of hopeless wishlisting, right?

 

Rangers of Mirkwood

Say what you will about The Hobbit armies, some of these Ranger models are really awesome

There are two difficulties with designing this Legion. First, it’s an all-shooting list. As we saw with the Rangers of Ithilien Legion, balancing such lists can be… difficult. Second, it’s already a proven competitive list. People win tournaments using Legolas, Tauriel and a bunch of Rangers, so restricting them to just these models is unlikely to do much to limit the army. As such, we can’t give them too many bonuses or they risk becoming overwhelming. My best crack at balancing all this is as follows:

Participants

Legolas, Prince of Mirkwood with Elven Cloak      100

Tauriel with Elf bow              90

Mirkwood Ranger Captain           75

Mirkwood Rangers               14

Wood Elf Sentinel                     25

 

Additional Rules

Mirkwood Rangers and Wood Elf Sentinels in this list do not count against the army’s Bow Limit.

Legolas must be included in this list and must be the Army Leader.

 

Special Rules

Protect Our Borders

All models in this Legion add +2 to any Leap, Jump or Climb tests.

 

Fire on the Move

When a model from this Legion Charges an enemy, they may fire their Elf bow exactly as if it was a throwing weapon. Legolas may fire up to three times, including at other targets he charges if he kills his initial target. Alternatively, he may fire one shot which hits on a 2+ and ignores In the Way rolls, including when firing into combat. In any case, a model that uses this ability may not fire in the Shooting Phase that turn.

 

Aim for the Eyes

Models from this Legion within 3” of either Tauriel or Legolas gain +1 to Wound when making Strikes against enemy Spider models.

 

Designer's Notes

What I really wanted from these rules was to give Mirkwood Rangers a reason to engage their enemies instead of simply kiting them to death. I also wanted to reflect their capacity to fire on the run, as shown time and again whenever we see these models fight onscreen. To that end, allowing them to fire their bows as throwing weapons (with special allowance made for Legolas’ onscreen brilliance) should incentivise them to seek that decisive charge to shatter the enemy after wearing them down at range. It also presents an interesting dilemma between relying heavily on this or using Knife Fighters to get extra Attacks in close combat. Most importantly, it retains the fragility of the models: a single misplay or a charge gone wrong will still see you lose half your army, as it absolutely should.

Protect Our Borders is there to provide them with a small amount of mobility to make up for losing any access to cavalry, while Aim for the Eyes is pure fluff thrown in there for fun. Plus, I hate Spiders.

 

The Vanquishers of The Necromancer

Radagast does always look a little out of place in this gathering of serious folk (Credit: PM_ME_YOUR_POGS)

This Legion, on the other hand, is one with models which need all the help they can get. They are slow, expensive, fragile, and not even very good at killing things most of the time. This is paradoxically great from the perspective of designing a Legion for them, because it allows me to go really ham with the special rules!

Participants

Gandalf the Grey             170

Saruman the White              170

Radagast the Brown         150

Elrond, Master of Rivendell with heavy armour             180

Galadriel, Lady of Light           130

Additional Rules

If either Saruman or Gandalf are present, then the controlling player must choose one of those models as Army Leader.

All models in this Legion may be deployed or arrive as a single warband, with the Army Leader as the warband’s hero.

 

Special Rules

Are You in Need of Assistance?

All models in this Legion add +1 to the dice roll when attempting to Resist magic as long as there is another model from this Legion within 6”.

 

Magical Mastery

All models from this Legion may cast spells even while engaged in combat if they would otherwise be able to. These are cast when you would normally select this model to move.

 

Convergence of Power

Each member of this Legion receives a unique special rule:

               A Wizard is Never Late

If your army includes Gandalf the Grey, then once per game he may cast the Blinding Flash magic power. This power is cast automatically without using any Will and cannot be Resisted or Channelled. Immediately remove Gandalf and any other models of this Legion that are within 6” of him, then redeploy them anywhere within 12” of his initial position. They may move as normal and cast spells this turn if they have not already done so.

Unpredictable

After rolling for Priority each turn, Radagast and any other member of this Legion within 6" of him may move up to 3". Models moving in this way may not charge or cast spells while doing so, but are not affected by enemy control zones (although they are still affected by difficult terrain and may not move into base contact with an enemy model). They also may still move, charge and cast spells as normal in the Move Phase.  

Wise Counsel

At the start of each of your Move Phases, you may select a single member of this Legion within 6” of Saruman (including himself). This model may immediately call a Heroic Channelling without spending Might, even if they are engaged in combat. 

You Should Have Stayed Dead

Elrond, Master of Rivendell receives one free Will point per turn to spend on casting spells. Additionally, all members of this Legion receive the Lord of the West rule while they are within 6” of him.

Go Back to the Void from Whence You Came

Galadriel, Lady of Light may target non-Spirit models with her Banishment spell. Additionally, when she is deployed all members of this Legion count as having cast a Channelled Terrifying Aura on themselves for free. This automatic spell will end if Galadriel, Lady of Light is reduced to 0 Will.

 

Designer's Notes

As mentioned earlier, this is a list with a lot of inherent problems, so any Legendary Legion limiting you to these models is going to have to be very powerful. Perhaps most significant of these problems is the fact that everyone in the Legion relies to some extent on being able to cast spells, which they will be unable to do reliably without any warriors to body-block for them. To that end, Magical Mastery allows them to cast while in combat, letting them rely on their magical prowess to fend off waves of enemies.

I also wanted to create a real decision as to which of the 5 models you take, and to make all of them feel really unique while helping to close off one of the weaknesses of the Legion. To that end, Gandalf and Radagast both help resolve your mobility issues, with one giving you an extremely powerful once-per-game redeploy and the other making your group much more slippery and hard to pin down. Similarly, Elrond and Galadriel both give you different answers to the problem of being overwhelmed in combat, with Elrond powering up your combat abilities and Galadriel making you much scarier to charge. Finally, Saruman just lets you really amp up your spellcasting in a simple but powerful way. Whether that’s getting you an Exhaustion Blinding Light off Gandalf, or a truly devastating Wrath of Bruinen/Instil Fear, there are a lot of options here. All of these rules are really, really powerful, but you’ll only have access to three at 500 points, so you’ve got to choose which weaknesses you deal with and which you accept. And of course, while you’ll have a lot of magic and combat power in your little band, you still only have 3-5 models. That’s going to be a struggle to use at any points level.

 

Pits of Dol Guldur

Now imagine that they get to deploy within 6" of you. Tasty

This is a pretty standard setup for a Legion. Putting together two army lists at the expense of losing the more exciting elements of both, you deserve a good set of special rules but nothing too crazy.

Participants

Azog                   165 (+50 for White Warg)

The Keeper of The Dungeons       75

Hunter Orc Captain           45 (+5 for bow, +5 for two-handed weapon, +10 for Fell Warg)

Gundabad Orc Captain            55 (+5 for shield)

Gundabad Orc                8 (+1 for shield, +1 for spear, +25 for banner)

Hunter Orc                 8 (+1 for bow, +1 for two-handed weapon, +5 for Fell Warg, +25 for banner, +30 for war horn)

Fell Warg                      8

 

Additional Rules

Azog must be selected, and must be your Army Leader. He is a Hero of Legend. 

Hunter Orc Captains not lead Gundabad Orcs, nor may Gundabad Orcs lead Fell Wargs or Hunter Orcs.

 

Special Rules

Shroud of Darkness

When deploying, you may choose to deploy only Azog. Alternatively, in scenarios in which you must move onto the board, you may choose to only move on Azog. If you do so, your other models are hidden by the Shroud of Darkness and are kept off the board until revealed. They will remain so until either an enemy model moves within 12” of Azog or he moves within 12” of an enemy. As soon as this happens, the moving model will immediately stop. All models from this Legendary Legion will then immediately be deployed anywhere within 12” of Azog but outside 1” of the enemy. All models may then finish moving and charging as normal, including any models from this Legendary Legion who were deployed this turn.

 

We Are Legion

All heroes in this list increase their maximum warband size by six models. In addition, Azog gains the Master of Battle special rule.

 

Designer's Notes

This list is intended to reflect the moment when Gandalf pierces the shadows and unveils the lurking horde of Orcs and Wargs. They get a sneaky deployment method in which they can ambush an opponent and avoid their shooting, they maintain Azog’s Master of Battle, and they get to really horde out. In trade for this, they only have access to a single real threat, and one who doesn’t have all of his kit. Admittedly, Azog doesn’t need his Stone Flail or heavy armour to dominate enemy heroes, but he will suffer from being without any better backup than the Keeper. Overall, I imagine this Legion as being a bit like The Black Gate Opens, but with Azog instead of a super Troll Chieftain and some sneaky deployment shenanigans and increased warband sizes instead of a bonus for outnumbering.

Oh, and the cheaper Wargs for Hunter Orcs? That’s because 5 points is a fair price for them, not this ridiculous 8-point cost they have now. A Hunter Orc on Fell Warg is at best only two points better than a Warg Rider, so that’s what they cost in this Legion. Deal with it.

 

 

The Rise of the Necromancer

There are some intense directional lighting effects going on in this photo and I am here for it

This Legion has a fairly expensive tax in The Necromancer, and a really limited selection of models. It’s not as uncompetitive at base as the Vanquishers, but it’s still weak enough to justify some hefty buffs. In particular, while it has a lot of durability, it really can suffer from mobility issues and lack of numbers to play the objectives. To that end, I've given them an array of cool tricks keying off their Unholy Resurrection ability to let them move around the map, while still retaining the key drawback of reliance on the Necromancer.

Participants

The Necromancer of Dol Guldur                 250

The Nazgûl of Dol Guldur                             75

 

Additional Rules

The Necromancer of Dol Guldur must be in the list and must be its Army Leader. The entire army may be treated as a single warband led by the Necromancer.  

 

Special Rules

A Dark Power is Rising

The Necromancer of Dol Guldur may spend a Will point each turn without reducing his Will store. Additionally, he is unaffected by Difficult Terrain and gains +1 Attack. 

Relentless Assault

Nazgûl that are returned to the field using their Unholy Resurrection ability may return anywhere within 6" of the marker, within 12" of the Necromancer or within 3" of any other Nazgul (although they still may not be placed in base contact with enemy models). 

Additionally, once per game at the start of your Move phase, you may declare that the Necromancer is reanimating his fallen servants. When he does so, immediately place any Nazgûl not currently on the board (including those who failed Unholy Resurrection rolls) anywhere within 12” of the Necromancer but not touching enemy models. They are free to move and Charge as normal in the Move Phase, and any Might and Will previously expended remains lost.

Doomed to Die

All models from this Legion count as being within range of a banner if they are within 3" of a friendly model. 

Flight to Mordor

If the Necromancer is removed as a casualty, then the Nazgûl will automatically fail any subsequent Unholy Resurrection rolls.

Designer's Notes

There were two key aims with this Legion. First, I wanted the list to really feel like an unkillable wall of undead creations, ready to keep coming at you until you were ground down to nothing— at least as long as the Necromancer is still around. Once he’s gone it will start to crumble fast, but banishing him might be easier said than done if he's hidden behind a wall of nigh-unkillable Nazgûl. 

However, I also wanted the Legion to function well when spread out and not be stuck in a tight bubble around the Necromancer, so I tried to avoid special rules that keyed off proximity to him or that required them to clump together. Instead, they can leverage their ability to move around the map via Unholy Resurrection to pop up in unexpected places, striking from the shadows to overwhelm your enemies. A group of enemies prepared to put down one Nazgûl might find themselves suddenly facing three, all with banner rerolls, or out of position as the one they kill teleports away. This awesome manoeuverability is conditional on the Nazgûl dying again and again, however, and leaning into it opens up the Necromancer to being swamped and taken out. Once the Necromancer goes down, it's probably curtains for the list, so you really need to balance spreading out for flexibility with clumping up for durability. 

Hopefully this dilemma would make for an interesting minigame for both players. The Dol Guldur player wants to keep a few Nazgûl around the map to give lots of options for Resurrection teleporting, while their opponent needs to balance racing for the Necromancer and trying to avoid the nigh-unkillable Nazgûl without losing too models in the process. 

I thought this scene was cool in the movie, but Sauron's pose is very amusing in a still shot 

I hope you enjoyed reading this shameless bit of wishlisting. Obviously Games Workshop will probably do something totally different to all of these, but it’s fun to dream.

What do you want from these Legendary Legions? Let me know below, or in the comments section wherever you see this article.

Until next time, may your Nazgûl always resurrect!