I'm having a hard time understanding what a good player would take Denethor for in his force. Aside from a solid stat line for his points cost, but with no might or fate to really back it up. Could someone shed some light on this for me?

Alright, personally I would only take him if I could think of absolutely nothing else to include but if I ever did this would be why:

very very very cheap with reasonable stats . This is because of broken mind so basically you have to just hope that he passes his tests. I think without this rule he would be 50+pts so if he passes his tests your over the moon . With Denethor it's all about luck.

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"One does not just simply walk into Mordor. Its gates are guarded by more than just orcs."

Boromir, The council of Elrond

Well really, I can't think why someone wouldn't take him, okay, so he has Broken mind, but to counter that he has a courage of 5, and also he has 3 will, you just need to keep him away from bow fire and try to help him win all his combats.

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I'm back guys

Also you can replenish his will points by strenghten will of will of iron spells- Gandalf

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I am the Mouth of Sauron, here him speak'

at C5 he will fail 1 in 6 tests. with 3 will this means that in a 24 turn game he will fail his test about 2 times. i'd if you're unlucky this cost you like 1 WOMT so i'd say hes good value for his points

Another reason you might want to include Denethor is not just that he's good for points.. but also because he's very themed in a Tower of Ecthelion army. If you really want to capture the theme Denethor is always a nice and easy buy.

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"By the blood of my people are your lands kept safe" - Boromir, Lord of the Rings

He really isn't a liability as Phantom_Lord mentioned...I personally have used him and support him with a Fountain Guard w/shield...never lost a Fountain Guard to his madness either. For 30 Points he is worth it.

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No one feels as helpless as the owner of a sick goldfish.

Aside from the fact that this cookie tastes great, why would I want to eat it?

Ah, good points. Especially about the cookie . I guess I'm just trying to figure everything out still being new to the game and all. Thanks for the help on this one guys.

I used him a lot, as well. He's a good, cheap hero to use to ally in Tower of Ecthelion, too. Surround him by Fountain Guard with shields and your chances of killing your own models are slim.

However, against a smart opponent with a Nazgul, he's another story. Drain courage on a 2+ on top of Harbinger of Evil will send him to the loony bin faster than you'd like.

Still, I've never been disappointed using him.

This is almost an advantage! I WANT my opponent bringing his Nazgul close to my GotFC and using up its' precious Will on dropping a 30 point character!

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Gondor: 2339pts
Rohan: 1318pts
Dwarves: 2482pts
Elves: 1091pts
Mordor: 2305pts
Isengard: 1762pts
Moria: 1463pts
Evil Men: 381pts

Emm A Nazgyl (probably) on horse? Will never risk in this way, he'll just sit within 24 cm and do his spells... and as General Haar noted -"Smart opponent" .

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I am the Mouth of Sauron, here him speak'

Well, with Harbinger of Evil, he's down to four, and then one drain courage puts him at three. Maybe another one for good measure, or perhaps sap will to start out with. Then you have that 30 point model with the awesome stats sitting there attacking your own men most of the time, which is really a nuisance if the lines haven't met, since he'll slow things down. And that's one more model fighting for your opponent and one less for you.

Still, I see what you're saying. I'd love to see one focus on Denethor and leave someone like Faramir or Boromir to kill some orcs.

yes but with al those spells used on him, that's a Nazgul costing like 80+ points spending 2 turns of magic on him and leaving other more expensive heroes safe to bash you opponent...

and if there is no nazgul around he might even kill some enemies

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Elves, the first?
No way, we Dwarves were there long before!

interesting thread so far, i must say i am a ver y unlucky player, so i have only taken him a couple of times and both times managed to lose at least 2 GOTFC with sheild, however a close friend has used him in many battels, and he has often been a thorn in my side, able to take out most evial captains with spear support, and then beating away troops,

but a vital point is his courage of 5, standfasts from this gent often means another group of men sticking around.

i do with we had rules for a denathor before the broken mind, as that would be a pretty good hero.

beaner

Denethor would be one of my favourite models, but for Ringwraiths. Given their prevalence, you probably won't be in a battle without risking harbinger of evil, sap will, and drain courage. Yes, that means the Nazgul is focusing on your 30 point hero instead of, say, the Faramir you brought. But realize that with a Ringwraith on board, your Denethor with be controlled more often by the evil side than by you. All the Ringwraith has to do is remain within 28 cm of Mr. Steward, and cast one drain courage, and he's a model that's half on the enemy's side, half on yours. A couple more Will points, and they've "recruited" Denethor. This takes very few turns, and then the Ringwraith is off to kill Faramir. Evil barely has to exert themself to make your 2 attack economy hero turn on those fountain guards. And at that point, Denethor is invincible. Good models aren't allowed to kill Denethor. You could try to immobilize him, but that requires Gandalf, or an army of GotFC, and if you've lost both them (as their full attention is required for defending against Denethor) and Denethor, just because the enemy brought a Ringwraith, you've probably lost the fight. Your only hope is to somehow get him to pass the courage test even through his courage and will drains, and hope the evil player was stupid enough to leave a hero that could kill Denethor (2 wounds, five defense) within moving distance. Your only hope is to get the evil player to kill him for you, which isn't likely.

So would I trade a couple of my Ringwraith's turns to recruit myself an invincible combat hero? Regardless of whether or not Boromir is on the field, the answer is yes.