Hi guys,

I've decided to create two small forces for doubles games as allies for my existing armies. The good will be Lorien Elves for my Rohirrim but the evil I am not sure about. What allies allowed in LOME are effective when used as allies for Isengard (the White Hand list so fighting uruks.) I don't mean "most effective" as that's subject to fierce debate no doubt, just something that will stand a decent chance with some good play. The choice is between Nazgul, Khandish Mercs, Corsair Fleets, Isengard Raiders and Dunlendings. So as a 300pt force what would work well and complement the +/-'s of the White Hand army?

From my rather patchy analysis it would seem that the Uruks are great as the muscle of a doubles alliance, so parhaps the allies should add a strong magical element, like Nazgul? Or perhaps an Isengard Raiders force made up of scouts and warg riders as a more mobile flanking units supporting the main phalanx formations?

I'm pretty clueless as I'm more of a painter . Any help would be great,

Eorling.

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"If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world." - Thorin Oakenshield.

Sadly the elgions of white hand have to chose between Dunland, Isengard raiders, Khandish mercenaries, Corsair fleets,Nazgul...
So i suggest you Nazgul as magic really helps and Dunland but if you want to escape the usual take someNazgul with Corsairs...

Sounds like a good idea. Do the allies rules also apply for doubles tournaments? Not 100% if i'd go but it would be nice to have a decent force there, especially if I could get nominated for best painted army. I'd never win the actual tourney hehe, simply don't have the practice or interest .

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"If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world." - Thorin Oakenshield.

If the tournament your thinking about is the uk doubles gt then you can only ally one force, and unless you can get loads of uruks allying with the nazgul is a bad idea because you will be beaten on numbers, but if not it is important to have a wraith and since they can ally with all evil armies it doesn't matter which of the 4 other armies you choose, you still get a wraith. List up all the strong points of the legions of isengard and all the weak points like this:

Strong points:
high strength
high fight value
strong shooting (crossbows)
decent shoot value (4+)
orcs can be included without allying them in, so cheap infantry is available aswell as expenisve uruks
beserkers, shock troopers
Saruman, great for magic
high defence
pikes
shamans can cast fury
isengard trolls

Weak points:
No cheap named heroes like lurtz, ugluk or vrasku are available
no throwing weapons
almost every model is expensive, your standard soldier is about 10 points
can be outfought by elves
soliders have a comparatively lower mortality rate when not in a shield wall.

Ok and then evalutae each potential ally as such:

Dunland:
Thrydan wolfsbane is very powerful, capable of killing a 2 wound hero in a round of combat.
wildmen are cheap warriors, but you already have the orcs to cover that
dundeling warriors sit inbetween uruks and orcs, but arent really worth it

Isengard raiders:
You get cavalry
You get 4 named uruk heroes, all of which are very good
most of the models are already available to you in the legions of isengard

Khandish mercenaries:
Cheap models who maintain the high fight value but may not turn up, which is important considering you need numbers.

The corsair fleets:
You have access to dalamyr, a very capable assassin
every model has throwing weapons and atleast fight value 4
relatively cheap infantry, 8 points per model is very good for fight 4 and throwing weapons
they have access to crossbows, so you could pull off a strength 4 volley when allied with isengard without pushing the bow limit (choosing cheap warriors to get as many bows in as possible)
bo'sun act as banners and can lead the allies, meaning you dont pay extra for a banner.
low defence

I reckon you should go for the corsair fleets, they compliment all the weak points of isengard well. Replace your first rank of spearmen with corsairs with spears, that way you can throw daggers at the enemy before combat with them, meaning you're uruk hai with 3 attack can chop them up. The high fight value means you win or draw against almost anything besides elves. the throwing daggers on every model increases your ability to thin out the enemy before combat. If you want to use dalamyr he should be able to do a good job removing cheap heroes and your corsairs can be kept in line by the uruks. this could work:

Shaman 50pts
9 uruks with shield 90pts
8 uruks with pike 80pts
7 uruks with crossbows 77pts
corsair captain 50pts
10 corsairs with spear 80pts
10 corsairs with shield 80pts
9 corsair arbalesters 90pts

Total 600points,55 models, 3 might (all expendable), 16 shots (which can volley together at strength 4) and 22/32 throwing weapons (not sure if arbalesters have throwing weapons), a 5+ save on all wounds directed at the spearwall (provided you put the shaman in the spearwall and manage to cast fury)

This is an example i know so its not perfect but if you lead the uruks with a shaman and max out on numbers then ally in corsairs and do the same thing with a captain you will have a good sized force. You can easily cut your opponent down to size with crossbows and throwing weapons so by the time combat ensues your not too badly outnumbered.