NotLegolasJustTipsy wrote:
Could you describe to me in a little more detail Baldrick how to play 4 ringwraiths on fell beasts. I feel that I would get trounced if I played them. I usually play against Gondor Arnor type armies, with plenty of bow fire and high defence pieces. Would you spread them out across the battlefield or would you keep them together? Would you charge into his models or hang back casting magic? What magic is best to use? Thanx x
Hmm... I'll do my best, but bear in mind I'm using out-dated rules, and only have a few battles under my belt
Ok here we go...
1) ALWAYS take the shadowlord if your enemy brings shooting of any kind. Fell beasts don't actually have that many wounds and, at least under the old rules, if the enemy hits the model, then the majority of times (on the roll of a 1-4) they will hit the beast, rather than the rider, with most human bows requiring a 6 to wound. It's not very likely that they will wound, having had to roll usually a 4+, then a 1-4, and then a 6 to do it, but with the Shadowlord's rule it makes the likelihood of any shots getting through to him or anything within 6' much much less likely, so its a must have in my view. Whenever you're advancing toward the enemy, always stick all the wraiths into a blob with at the most 6' between them all, with the shadowlord in the centre, so that they are all shrouded by him, and so are all equally difficult to hit.
2) Play aggressively, but pick your fights carefully. You'd be surprised at how many guys 4 fell beasts can take on and win against (as I was and am...) but they can only do so if they take on multiple enemies at once, and use their high number of attacks combined with knock-down (even of other horse mounted cavalry) and a high-fight value to absolutely make sure that the thing they charged is dead.
- Further to that point, you need to keep an eye on your might, and know when to use it properly. The key to victory is always getting the charge with the fell beasts, so if you're finding yourself in a tight spot surrounded by enemies, and they win priority, be prepared to use your might to call a heroic move and either charge them, or get the hell out of there.
Positioning is also key, if it doesn't look like a fell beast can take on all the stuff that could charge it (or if it gets counter-charged), then back it up with another fell beast.
A good fighting wraith or two are also recommended here I think, particularly ones which can conserve their will reserves provided they win a fight, such as the Knight of Umbar or Khamul the Easterling. They've both got their ups and downs, and Khamul is probably going to be better at killing stuff than The Knight, but equally, if you're not careful you can burn through his will faster too if you use it up to increase his stats, the Knight is probably better for beginners, because he can mimic combat stats of his enemies, and equally doesn't lose will if he wins a fight either.
Lastly, a note on heroes and banners - depending on how nasty it is, you may want to compel or transfix them to kill them. If it's a regular joe hero like a captain, you may be able to get away with only one or two wraiths charging them without compel or transifx and just let superior attacks and strength get the job done (but make sure you use your fighty wraiths to do it), but if it's a heavy-weight like aragorn, boromir or their ilk, then absolutely 100% of the time compel, transfix, then charge with enough force (perhaps even all 4 wraiths) to make sure that it dies no matter what happens. Banners I'd treat in the same way as regular joes though, no compel required essentially, but always be sure to get rid of them if you can, because remember you always need to charge - good guys need to roll a courage test at -1 to try and charge the wraiths due to their evilness + terror, and anything which helps them out is a threat, so destroy it!
3) Lastly, a note on magic - remember that your army runs on will, so over-use of it, or poor use of it, WILL lose you your game. NEVER commit to using it either through combat, or magic, unless the pay-off is going to be worth it. If you imagine the scenario that your wraiths are facing off against a regular captain and a bunch of soldiers for example, it might be better to just charge everyone in and have done with it, because your charge and attacks if you've committed enough wraiths are probably enough to get the job done, but in a second scenario, where it's say Aragorn + a bunch of warriors, then it's probably better to transifx/compel him before charging to ensure that he isn't his usual power-house self - the point is that it's not worth the risk otherwise. As a general rule, I don't use any magic at all unless its absolutely necessary.
4) Finally a note on tactics - it is possible to divide your opponents army if you split up your wraiths into groups, break your 4 man group into 2 groups of 2, then send one to the opposite flank of the enemy - they then have to make a decision - risk a flank charge, or try to chase you away/reinforce the line, in the first case, fine, you can then choose to flank or not, but in the second, you've forced them to move troops to deal with the new threat, or better yet, they're chasing you and you can lead them on a merry dance while your other wraiths mop up the rest (just be sure to always stay more than 10' away...) , or alternatively, to put another wraith in between their lines to give you the chance to break the lines up further.
Think that's everything I've learnt so far
- How many points are you playing, and against what army? How does your opponent usually play, and what do they usually use?
Hope I helped
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- the sheer cost in £... but hey, when was this hobby ever cheap? 
