I want to build a light-armoured raiding party based on the scene in The Two Towers where Merry and Pippin are separated from the Fellowship. This could also be used for Points Match adaptations of the Scouring of the Westfold/Wrath of Rohan Scenario in The Two Towers Journeybook.

Please let me know your thoughts!

Warband 1 - 155pts
Uglúk
7 x Uruk-hai Scouts (shield)
4 x Uruk-hai Scouts

Warband 2 - 140pts
Vraskû
4 x Wild Men of Dunland
2 x Wild Men of Dunland (two-handed weapon)
4 x Uruk-hai Scouts (orc bow)
2 x Orc Warrior (orc bow)

Warband 3 - 117pts
Grishnákh
6 x Orc Warrior (two-handed weapon)
6 x Orc Warrior (orc bow)

Warband 4 - 87pts
Orc Captain (shield)
3 x Orc Warrior (shield)
4 x Orc Warrior (spear)

Total points: 499
Head count: 46
Might: 11
Warriors' bow ratio: 24%


On a side note, I'm proposing an Orc Captain and three Orc Warriors with hand weapons in Warband 4. The Orc Captain will be the OOP model with a club, which will allow me to Stun opposing heroes. I'm not sure whether swords or picks would be better for the Warriors...

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Honba

Hmm, I'd swap out the last warband for Mauhur and upgrade every scout to one of Mauhur's raiders. 8" move comes in handy more often than you'd think

My advice would be to take 4 Orc bows away from the Orcs and give them to your 4 scouts in warband 1 as they are far superior archers

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JamesR makes a good point. Also if you take Mauhur and his raiders then you have something that sets you apart from superior armoured uruks.

Thanks for the comments. JamesR, I think I'll lose a Wild Man and upgrade the 4 Scouts in Warband 1 to have bows; I have the bow allocation to fill and the Wild Men are only there for Uglúk's Head Taker rule!

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Honba

Although 3 Attack is tempting, I wonder if the Orcs will get left behind...

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Honba

I've been painting up a scouting Isengard force for next years tournaments and heres what Ive come up with:

Lurtz
6 Orcs w/ shield
6 Orcs w/ spear

Ugluk
6 Orcs w/ shield
6 Orcs w/ spear

Sharku w/ shield & warg
6 Warg Riders w/ shield

I've found evil shooting does NOTHING. If you do want bows, definitely put them on the uruks and max it out. Its the final 100 points at 500pts I'm struggling with:

Thyrdan on horse (for shade/monster/hero hunting)
6 Berserkers (some unsubtle smashing)
Orcs Captain with shield with 8 orcs w/ spear & shield
Sharkey & Worm with 7 Ruffians w/bow

Loads of might, orcs are as hardy as uruk scouts and can overwhelm because of pure numbers. The warg riders are really just there to harrass and jump on lone models / captains.

I wouldnt personally upgrade scouts to raiders, its just piling points onto expensive models but would be useful in certain scenarios I guess. Vraskus useful but Id put him with crossbowmen rather than bowmen or warriors. One drawback to this type of list is the low defence of heroes so you have to be careful you dont extend them too much!

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“Advice is a dangerous gift, even from the wise to the wise, all courses may run ill.”

I'm starting to think that crossbows might be better (if it's worth using shooters at all).

Depending on the table, upgrading to Marauders as suggested by Mars and engaging in combat ASAP might just remove the need for bows at all...

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Honba

Upgrading also means the enemy cannot pull out of kombat. Also means you can wrap around the enemy way quicker and easier once lines meet

There no doubt that uruk warriors with crossbows are vastly better than scouts with bows but you lose your theme if you start including the heavily armoured warriors.

If you want to add a bit of punch then throw in a few Ferals, arguably the best troops in the game and and their fluff is that they're part of scout/reading parties.

Also, if you're going for fluff you should definitely include Mauhur as in the film he's one of the orcs who's in that raiding party that Eomer slaughters (I actually seem to remember that it's his head on the spike).

Have fun, you don't see enough scout Uruk forces, lovely fluff and nice models - good luck!

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^This. Scouts are fine and all but the Marauder upgrade is absolute gold and gives you in edge in literally every mission type.

Xbows are absolutely amazing but yeah, it'll chip away at your fluff a little bit. I've found Orc bows to be virtually worthless (I find archery is best used for area denial or harassing, and considering the frighteningly short range I find a Marauder with a shield to come in handier)

If you choose to drop the ranged entirely, maybe pack on a couple of Wargs in their stead? More Marauders would be cool but wargs can give enemy archers something to worry about (Rather than chipping away at your scoots)

EDIT: Blast, I thought I had a raiding party list of my own at 500 points but I only main with scouts up to 300

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Army Lists
Isengard - 750
Mordor - 500
Haradrim - 300

OK, so here we have it. Lost 3 head count and 1 Might, but this looks stronger now. Opted out of Wargs to maintain head count.
Warband 4 is my hero-killer; I'll use the Orc Captain with a club for the Stun rule, which will make those 6 two-handers quite a handful.
I'll try and get some pics/battle reports up once they're painted. Working on a fluffy 500 point "Westfold defence" Rohan army too!

Many thanks for all your advice.

Warband 1 - 132pts
Uglúk [Leader]
4 x Wild Men of Dunland
2 x Wild Men of Dunland (two-handed weapon)
4 x Marauders (orc bow)

Warband 2 - 166pts
Mauhúr
7 x Marauders (shield)
4 x Marauders

Warband 3 - 117pts
Grishnákh
6 x Orc Warrior (shield)
6 x Orc Warrior (spear)

Warband 4 - 81pts
Orc Captain (shield)
6 x Orc Warrior (two-handed weapon)


Total points: 496
Head count: 43
Might: 10
Warriors' bow ratio: 10%

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Honba