The Lord of the Rings Strategy Battle Game/Tactics/Corsairs of Umbar

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Corsairs of Umbar

Why Play Corsairs of Umbar?

"You are a Pirate!" or at least the closest thing to a pirate. your troops may appear very basic but where Umbar shines is with their range power. Throwing weapons, bows and crossbows, you will have plenty of options. Easy access to fight 4, two attack models is also a massive boon.

Pros

• Crossbowmen galore
• Solid unnamed heroes
• Fight 4 for everyone!

Cons

• Low defence all round
• Expensive and situational heroes

Army Bonus

The Corsairs are upon us! It is the last Stroke of Doom!: All your dudes gain Backstabber, a plus one to wound against trapped units. Backstabbers stacks with other wound modifiers.

Unit Analysis

Heroes

• The Knight of Umbar: One of the more powerful combat oriented Ringwriths, two might points and the ability to keep his will, should he win a fight. He can also elect to use the base Fights, strength or attack values (or any combination of these)of his opponent instead of his own, though this will cost him a will. On the other hand, he is tied with Khamul for the lowest Will of any of the named Ringwraiths. His casting is also notably worse than most other 'Wraiths. Still, he's a steal for 120 points.

• Dalamyr, Fleetmaster of Umbar: 10 points more than a Hasharin for an extra point of might, will and smoke bombs instead of a blowpipe. Can be useful to suddenly stun an important hero and carve them up, but needs to be used carefully, as he's quite expensive and low defence. His status as a hero of legend helps bring an embarrassing number of warriors and the Last Stand special rule is especially useful to keep the low-courage Corsairs on the table. It's a good idea to take him with a large warband consisting mostly of normal Corsairs with spear and shield. His lack of heroic march makes quickly getting them to the fight a little scary, so In The Way tests are your best friend. In conclusion, Dalamyr ain't half bad and it's well worth upgrading a Hasharin you were already taking to this guy if you have the points spare.

• Delgamar, Gatemaster of Umbar: Significant upgrade on a Corsair Captain (higher shoot, defense, attack, might, comes with a whip) for 25 points more, plus an interesting ability where he can give Corsair Warriors a reroll to their duel roll when they're within 3 inches of him, but if they still fail to win the duel, they take a Strength 2 hit. His primary use over a Bo'Sun (who has a similar rule) is that he's better at wading in and getting into the fight, and his ability isn't that much of a downside, since if you lose the fight, you're probably losing the guy anyway (unless they were shielding). Just don't use him against armies that have higher Fight than your guys.

• Corsair Captain: Another captain of men, but with three crucial differences. D4 sucks, especially with only one fate point, but a fight of 5 will allow him to win virtually any fight he gets into, and they have glorious glorious crossbows. Can camp out in the backfield and blast away while picking off anything that gets too close in close combat. A worthy addition.

• Corsair Bo’Sun: Another crossbow toting corsair hero (modelled after Peter Jackson who was the guy Legolas shot in the film) he’s useful for another crossbow shot, but his total lack of might means that hes actually more useful in a fight with his two attacks and ability to function as a banner. Pair with revers for extra lulz.

• Black Numenorean Marshal: Very high defense for a Corsairs army, with 2 wounds and 1 point of fate, he's a pretty generic human captain. Best used as a front line Captain, since he's got fight value 5 and can probably win most fights, but also won't instantly die if he loses one.

• Hasharin: 80 points for 3 Fight Value 5 attacks, with throwing daggers, a blowpipe, reroll failed rolls to wound, the ability to never be trapped and never be shot at if there's something in the way. Only 2 wounds, but 3 fate will keep him alive a lot longer than you're expecting. He can carve up lesser heroes and troopers like they're not even there. Very useful under the right circumstances

Troops

• Corsair of Umbar: Good warrior for the points. Fight 4 is enough to beat most other men armies as well as orcs . Taking them as spear support for Reavers help increase their damage output but be warned, given reavers' low defence, they're likely to die to bows and leave your poor spear bois alone - assuming you aren't careful. Bows generally aren't worth it given you have access to Arblasters but if you have the points spare, they aren't too atrocious. Good troop choice overall, just keep them covered from bows.

• Corsair Reavers: A wonderful choice for the army. Two attacks at fight 4 for 9 points is a steal. Even elves are going to struggle in combat with these lads. Their lack of armour and inability to take a shield is a problem, but they are deadly in the midst of the fight. Be careful though, if they're too far from a Bo'sun, you can lose control of them, which could lead them to get baited into a bad fight.

• Corsair Arbalester: The reason you shouldn’t have bow armed corsairs. A 10 point model, but they possess the (perhaps dubious) record of being the only unit in the game that is better at shooting than in combat. Crossbows hitting on 4+ is okay but their pavise giving them +3 defence against shooting meaning that these guys are the ultimate back field objective holders. Don’t let them be charged as they are pretty poor in combat, but can be gamechangers at range.

• Black Numenorian: 9 points for very high defense and not much else. They do however; cause terror, which can be useful against low courage armies and can take war gear options like banners and War Horns, unlike other Corsair models. Given Corsairs overall aren't bravest of souls, a War Horn can be a good buy. The War Horn is also going to help stop your reavers failing their checks at inopportune moments. The banner isn't quite worth the points, as your Corsairs are already getting a reroll off their Bo'suns' special rule. Black Numenorians really shine when it comes to soaking up damage from bows though and a thin line advancing around your reavers can keep them protected till they get within stabbing range. Totally worth taking a few if you find your guys dying before they reach the front.

Allies

Historical Allies

The Serpent Horde

Convenient Allies

Far Harad

Isengard

Variags of Khand

Mordor

Moria

The Eastern Kingdoms

Impossible Allies

Angmar

Sharkey's Rogues

The Nazgul of Dol Guldur

Azog's Hunters

Azog's Legion

Goblin Town

The Trolls

Smaug