(im not sure if this should be in the beginner section so i dont get ripped on, but who cares)

So im thinking of starting a Grey company force for SBG, but the only problem is... i dont know where to start and thats why i came here. I dont own a copy of LoME so that might be part of the problem, but what i would like you guys to tell me is what models to get first (and if its all possible give an example list) any restrictions a grey company may have, and the pros and cons of the army.

the models i have so far are Aragorn/strider (whom i wish to possibly lead the company) and a box of rangers

your expertise is greatly appreaciated

thanks.

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The enemy? His sense of duty was no less than yours, I deem. - Faramir

Though I love the GC theme, I think you'll find quickly that GC armies aren't that fun to play or play against especially in to-the-death games. They're great as allies, but an all GC army pretty much has only one tactic: shoot and retreat. Using some of the LoME scenarios can help make it more enjoyable for both sides.

The skinny on GC is in the Ruins of Arnor sourcebook. The big deal with GC is that if you configure your army properly you can have a 100% bow limit. To do this you need to take 1 Ranger of the North or Dunedain per 4 Rangers of Arnor. RotN and Dunedain are minor heroes costing about as much as a WE Sentinel. This means you suffer a bit in numbers, but theoretically make it up in shooting. If you do this configuration you don't need any major heroes at all, though Halbarad or even Arathorn are decent leaders. I kind of like it especially in thick terrain because you end up with several squads suitable for holding gaps or tying up enemy units, each squad having a chance at a heroic action.

If you don't go with this configuration you're back to the standard 33% bow limit.

Aragorn is probably too expensive unless you're over 600 points. Also, the sons of Elrond (aka the monkey twins) make great allies. You might want these guys even as Wood Elf allies. Their rules are also in the Ruins of Arnor book.

Edit: for some reason on the GW website, the GC (I'm assuming these are "Dunedain") and Rangers of the North models are in the "Warriors" section, but they are actually heroes in the rules.

ahh thanks for clearing this up whafrog!
that was the reason why i wanted a GC army in the first place, i loved the theme of them, wandering the wilds and protecting the unknowing free people, not to mention i love the sculpts of the RotN!

The 100% bow limit does seem like an interesting facet of this force, but as you said, the tactics dont seem like they are veried. I thought i read somewhere that the dunadain or one of them chould be equipt with horses (correct me if im wrong). would that help with changing up the tactics? though that would cost more points..

i dont want to play an army that isnt fun for me or my opponant so maybe ill just pick up a couple of the RotN and the elf twins and ally them with my WE

thanks for the help

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The enemy? His sense of duty was no less than yours, I deem. - Faramir

Yes, both Rangers of the North and Dunedain can buy a horse; I think it costs 6pts.

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"There are few left in Middle Earth like Aragorn, son of Arathorn." - Gandalf, Many Meetings

Well, I was probably too negative...they can be fun if you are committed to playing in a thematic and fair way, but sometimes if you're losing it's very tempting to back up and shoot. Also, just MHO, but the ranger profiles seem incomplete to me. They should have some kind of hiding/ambush ability, and a woodcraft rule. But then you'd have to add points, so they'd be expensive.

I think my favourite game with them was taking a Gondor list with no bows, allied with a 100% bow GC list. In a 600 point army I spent about 200 on GC, which means 33% of points spent on bows. Seemed fair, and it was a fun battle.

Yea.. it does seem like it would be frustrating if your enemy was there just beyond your grasp and constantly unleashing a barrage aggainst you!

adding a 100% bow GC to gondor does seem like a fun idea, hope you dont mind if i steal it Gondorian worriors were the first models i painted so it would give me a chance to play with them

btw what scenario were you playing with that army? my cousin is just getting into the game so i want to find some interesting scenarios to play.. tho i might stick to some 350pt just to have some quick games.. got to hold his attention span!

thanks alot!

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The enemy? His sense of duty was no less than yours, I deem. - Faramir

It was just a "to the death" scenario in that case, though all my rangers had to start in one corner (they were just arriving from the north) and my gondor in another corner (not opposites). My son used his wargs and spiders to try and keep us apart.

Scenarios in LoME are great. If your cousin is just learning, smaller games with one hero are better. Get the mechanics down, with a taste of the odd heroic action, and build up from there.

Yes, we played some games before but just getting the hang of using might to adjust dice
soon gonna teach him heroic actions, and might even dabble in some magic as well

i dont own LoME cause i never really saw the need for it, i wonder if you can download the scenarios some where cause thats all i would want from it

i got my hands on a copy of Ruin of Arnor the other day so im having a look in it the sample armies look nice and it gives some good examples of terrain (though not how to build them..)

i might try one of the scenarios featured there.. it seems interesting
ill have my first try at a GC army build done soon so ill have that up

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The enemy? His sense of duty was no less than yours, I deem. - Faramir

ok.. back to the topic.
ive made a 350 point list. either to play in games or to ally to another list

Grey Company

Halbarad, w/spear - 66 pts

5 rangers of the north - 125 pts
20 rangers of arnor - 160 pts

351 total points, 26 models, 8 might, and 26 shots

tell me what you think, if itll be any fun to play on its own or allied. Im not overly competitive so i dont want to worry about that too much
your comments are welcome!

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The enemy? His sense of duty was no less than yours, I deem. - Faramir

You might find some spears handy for tactical flexibility. You could drop one RoA and give 8 guys spears.

Agree with whafrog add some spear otherwise you get ripped in combat

And for this amry I prefer Arathorn he is a little better in close combat somethin that your army lacks.

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"There are only 4 things you need in life: Lasagna, beer, a girlfriend and of course a gondor army."

ah yes.. the spears.. i forgot about those .. a deadly mistake i dare not make again

ive made 2 allied lists here, both 600 pts.. tell which you think is better.. and how to improve.

list 1
Grey Company-
Aragorn w/horse - 185 pts

3 RotN - 75 pts
12 RoA (6 w/spear) - 102 pts

Tower of Ecthelion -

CoG w/shield - 55 points

4 KoMT - 76 pts
10 WoMT (9 w/shield) - 79 pts
3 WoMT w/spear and shield - 27 pts

35 men, 599 points, 5+1 might, 15 shots

List number 2.. similar yet different..

Grey Company -
Aragorn - 175 pts

3 RotN - 75 pts
12 RoA (6 w/spear) - 102 pts

ToE -
CoG w/shield - 55 pts

15 WoMT w/shield - 117 pts
8 WoMT w/spear and shield - 72 pts

40 men, 599 pts, 5+1 might, 15 shots

In the second list I dropped the cavalry for more units, but is having the extra punch of aragorn on horse with 6 lance wielding KoMT worth it? I know aragorn is pricy but i like him.
thanks for the help!

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The enemy? His sense of duty was no less than yours, I deem. - Faramir

First a general note, that the army examples provided by GW are pretty poor. The only way to have a decent competitive game with them is if both players agree to overspend on heroes.

In your case, unless your opponent spends that much on heroes you're going to be vastly outnumbered. The game definitely favours quantity over quality, and WoMT are pretty average. At 600 points, goblins or orcs can easily hit the 75 model limit, with heroes and a wraith to support them. Morannons fight the same as you, cost the same, but wound better.

This means it's really hard to justify using Aragorn, except in big games, or in scenarios specifically designed for him. At the very least, you need to give him armour (D6) for 5 more points, so he takes 1/2 wounds from S3 warriors. Aragorn on a horse is going to make a tempting target even for those lousy evil bowmen, and even if they only have 20 there's a good chance they'll do something.

Since you don't need a hero to lead the CG group (the RotN are heroes), you might consider a couple other options. First, if you want an uber-hero, replace your CoG with Boromir. He costs about the same as Aragorn and packs plenty of punch, but by moving him to the ToE list you've saved 55 points, which is 6 more warriors or most of another squad of rangers. Or better yet (imho), replace the CoG with Faramir on a horse (+ heavy armour, lance, etc), round up to 6 Knights, add another squad of Rangers, and fill in the rest with warriors. This should give you plenty of numbers, a nice shield wall, lots of bow fire and spear support, and a nice hammer with the knights.

soo somethin more like this..

Grey Company -

4 RotN - 100 pts
16 RoA (11 w/spear) 139 pts

ToE

Faramir w/horse, heavy armour, lance - 90 pts

6 KoMT - 72 pts
16 WoMT (15 w/shield) - 124 pts
9 WoMT w/spear, shield - 75 pts

600 points total, 52 models, 20 shots, 7 might

thanks for the advice. I chose aragorn in the other lists for the sake of theme, and because he is one of my favorites after boromir and legolas ofcourse. how does this list seem? i pretty much did exactly what you said to improve it, anything else i should know?
your help is greatly appreciated, i dont know any other SBG im my area that would know this much.. but i guess thats what the site it for eh?

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The enemy? His sense of duty was no less than yours, I deem. - Faramir

I like the list, can't think of any way to improve it.

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"There are few left in Middle Earth like Aragorn, son of Arathorn." - Gandalf, Many Meetings

I think your cost on the Knights is low. 13 * 6 = 78, but you really need to give the Knights some shields. No point losing them so easily to some S3 orcs. So 14 * 6 = 84. If you just have the main rulebook the Knights don't have a shield option, but the Gondor in Flames sourcebook allows it.

so for 70 points you can take 5 knights with shield that are enough riders for 600 points games but the army list looks nice.

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"There are only 4 things you need in life: Lasagna, beer, a girlfriend and of course a gondor army."

Thanks a lot guys!
now i just need to pick up a box of WoMT, faramir on horse, and some RoTN... then i can practice some tactics and get used to playing the army!

thanks for the help !

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The enemy? His sense of duty was no less than yours, I deem. - Faramir