The Lord of the Rings Strategy Battle Game/Tactics/The Dead of Dunharrow

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Why Play The Dead of Dunharrow

Pros

• Some of the toughest infantry this side of Dwarfs. Defense 8 base means that most stuff will struggle to wound you.
• Blades of the Dead. Rolling to wound against your opponents courage makes you brutal against a lot of armies that rely on high defense will crumble before you instantly
• Your entire army causes terror, making trying to charge you a daunting prospect for many opponents.

Cons

• Incredibly expensive. Your base troopers are 14 points (which is what Rohan pays for its basic cavalry and even out costs what other elite armies like Lothlorien and Fiefdoms pay for their infantry). You are likely to be outnumbered.
• Rolling to wound against courage is a double edged sword. Up against Moria Goblins? Awesome. Up against Wood Elves? Awful. War Horns are also the bane on your existence.
• Low fight value. Your troopers have fight value 3, meaning that Elves, elite Humans, Dwarfs, etc. all outclass you and even Moria Goblins can tie you if they can surround you.

Army Bonus

• The Dead Do Not Suffer The Living To Pass: The King of the Dead gains the Harbinger of Evil rule (-1 to enemy Courage within 12 of him). In addition, Warbands of 8 or more models don't need a hero and can use one of the Warriors to act as the Captain.

Unit Analysis

Heroes

• The King of the Dead: The Baddest motherfucker the good guys can bring. coming it at 100 points, you get a guy with stupidly high defense, some of the highest courage the good forces can bring to the table, 6(!) will and 3 fate, making him stupidly tough. He really shines when you look at how hard he hits: while he's only got standard strength he wounds against courage instead of defence, and ANY wound he causes instantly kills what he hurt, AND he has the terror rule, giving enemy models a chance at failing to charge him. For how cheap he is, he is arguably the single best Hero the forces of good can throw around.

• Herald of the Dead: Yes the Dead of Dunharrow got a generic hero in the Gondor at War book. Basically a Captain version of the Warrior of the Dead who has two special abilities that are noteworthy. First, it provides a 3 inch "Resistant to Magic" bubble to friendly Spirit models, and second, if any of them are within 3 inches of the King of the Dead, he can use their Will to declare Heroic Acts. They've got 3 points of Will and 2 of Fate (no Might though), so keep him near the King and other than that, use him as you would any other generic hero.

Troops

• Warrior of the Dead: Much like the other 2 dead units, their stat line is amazing. Defence 8 with a shield (because you want your battle line to be nearly as tough as balrogs), access to spears for supporting, and the typical '___ of the dead' special rules. At 15 points each they are a steal, and much like the rest of the army of the dead, one of the strongest 'good' units in the game.

Cavalry

• Rider of the Dead: Because the King of the dead would be lonely if he was the only terrifyingly deadly unit. Fast, Hero level Defense 8, and flat out AMAZING courage, with the army wide ability to wound against Courage. even at there steep point value they are down right amazing.

Legendary Legions

A new thing added by Gondor at War, basically a smaller army within the main army that gives you special bonuses but can't take an army bonus and can't ally with other armies. Allows you to put together armies from specific moments from the movie.

• The Return of the King:
  • Bonuses:
    • The Heir of Isildur: Aragorn gets Anduril for free. With this list, every point counts and the cost of Anduril is nearly 3 Warriors of the Dead so...I guess it helps?
    • The King of the Dead: King of the Dead gets Harbinger of Evil.
    • Fight For Us, and Regain Your Honor: Aragorn counts as a banner for Spirit models within 6.
  • Army List: You must take both Aragorn and The King of the Dead, and Aragorn must be the army leader.
    • Aragorn - Strider (can only take Elven Cloak)
    • Legolas Greenleaf (can only take Armor or an Elven Cloak)
    • Gimli, Son of Gloin
    • The King of the Dead
    • Herald of the Dead
    • Warrior of the Dead
    • Rider of the Dead

Allies

• Note: All allies are impossible allies unless you have Aragorn in your force.

Historical Allies

The Rangers

Minas Tirith

Convenient Allies

Rohan

Rivendell

Lothlorien

Thranduil's Hall

Impossible Allies

Arnor

Minas Tirith

Numenor

The Kingdom of Khazad-Dum

The Fellowship

The Fiefdoms

The Shire

The Misty Mountains

The Wanderers in the Wild

Fangorn

Thorin's Company

Army of Thror

Garrison of Dale

The White Council

Army of Laketown

Survivors of Laketown

Iron Hills Dwarves

Erebor Reclaimed