How do you make Rohan not suck for less than $600?

[Spanky Harrison]

So what to do with Rohan?

They have some decent units, but they are all metal. (Royal Knights and Royal Guard are the big ones)

While oathsworn are actually pretty decent, seeing as how they are 'ok' and are actually points efficient, but the only other Rohan plastic kit is the Rider box, and Riders suck.

A lot.

To be fair, in small games, they are OK, as their ability to move full speed and still shoot allows them to run around and plink at things, and can pretty much guarantee a win against an army with weak shooting. However, in larger games there just isn't room for that kind of maneuver, and any advantage they have there is vastly overwhelmed by their crappy defense and pathetic hitting power.

All this, and they cost 30 points a company!

So heres the question: How do we build a Rohan army that is better than mediocre without spending a huge amount of money on metal models? (and I'm talking about making a ROHAN army. Taking stuff from forgotten kingdoms and stuff like that is fine, but if the thing that makes the army work is a core unit from another list, we might as well just use the other list)

[Jwolf]

Legendary formations, such as Erkenbrand's Riders, Elfhelm's Riders, and Grimbold's Helmingas help. Sons of Eorl look like they can be made from Riders kits, and Royal Knights are not impossible to greystuff Riders into, with some scratchbuilt Lances and helm modifications. Not simple, but cheaper.

[davetaylor]

Perhaps another idea would be to play on a larger table when playing bigger games. One of the great joys of War of the Ring is the maneuver aspect which does, as you say, get lost at larger point games. There'll be a point where you lose the feeling your army can maneuver. That's the point when you should think about adding an extra 2' to the length and/or 1' to the width of the table.

Cheers
Dave

[Spanky Harrison]

As far as kitbashing guys goes, I dont know how realistic an option that really is.

I mean, I could theoretically do it, but the models are actually fairly distinct, and it would be obvious that I was using kitbashed riders, rather than actual royal knights or son's of eorl. (The Sons are especially different because they have different horses and VERY different shields)

The Legendary formations are kind of cool, and I have been using them. The problem is that they arent really that much better, and are a lot more expensive point wise.

Erkenbrand's riders are only better in that they are str 4. Which is better, but not really by much. Most of the time, the difference between Str 3 and 4 is pretty immaterial. Plus, I can get erkenbrand and nine companies of regular riders for about the same cost as the full legendary formation.

Elf helm's riders are actually pretty cool, though also expensive. They have a better shoot value, are 2 inches faster, and have pathfinder(master). Thats pretty sweet, as they are almost effective at shooting, and maintain their mobility better. But, they still have sucky defense, and are still half as good at shooting per company as an infantry unit with shoot 5 :P. Not to mention that they cant fight their way out of a paper bag.

Playing on a bigger board could be fun, but thats not something I can really count on.

For now, I am going to start experimenting with taking a few huge blocks of riders, and see how that goes. I already have the models, I may as well see if theres something I can do with them :P

[Lord Sandwich]

Have you at all worked with Green Stuff? Kitbashing might not work, but a little GS can help make the armor look more like that of the Sons of Eorl. Or the RRG. Or really upon whomever you set your mind.

[Dragon Knight Of Rhun]

Have you at all worked with Green Stuff? Kitbashing might not work, but a little GS can help make the armor look more like that of the Sons of Eorl. Or the RRG. Or really upon whomever you set your mind.

Yea that's what one of my friends were planning on doing. To get around the whole metal factor. Then he went Elves....


Its still good idea if your good with green stuff.

[Ithmaril]

Have you at all worked with Green Stuff? Kitbashing might not work, but a little GS can help make the armor look more like that of the Sons of Eorl. Or the RRG. Or really upon whomever you set your mind.

I second that, and that's what I did with my Sons of Eorl. I got 4 blisters, added in Eorl the Young as a captain model, and converted 3 more plastic riders into Sons by adding capes, chainmail, different weapons, and horse gear. A banner and a horn, too. If you'd like to see the result, I've posted it here: [URL="http://www.lounge.belloflostsouls.net/showthread.php?p=2686#post2686"]http://www.lounge.belloflostsouls.net/showthread.php?p=2686#post2686[/URL]
I can also provide WIP pics if you're interested, it wasn't too difficult of a conversion, and I'm getting lots of praise from my gaming buddies for the unit. So it seems to work.

That's most likely the way I'll also approach my royal guard: buy some original models and adequately convert the rest. Hope that helps.

[davetaylor]

I've been thinking some more about this and another way (that goes well with the last three posters' suggestions) is to use color schemes to help differentiate the types of units. An example could be:
Riders - green cloaks, white designs on their shields, Royal Guard - red cloaks (or green with gold trim), gold designs on the shields, Sons of Eorl - white cloaks, white or gold shield designs.

This would be very distinctive on the battlefield and, when combined with the ideas from Ithmaril, Dragon Knight, and Lord Sandwich, could give you a great looking army for not a ton of cash.

Cheers
Dave

[Spanky Harrison]

Good suggestions all, (and yes, I am quite familiar with green stuff, and grey stuff, and brown stuff but not entirely what Im looking for.

For one, while I could definitely save money by converting up some riders, It would honestly take more time than I really want to spend on it. In addition, Im not really looking for a way to cheat my local store and/or GW out of money.

There are plenty of other people who have shelled out for full units of metal models so that they will have the right stuff, and its not fair to them for me to do anything but the same.

What Im really looking for is "How can I make a valid army, without needing to buy or convert a large number of metal models?

Is it even possible to play effective Rohan without multiple units of Royal Knights or Son's? Is there some strategy or tactic that I can use that will allow the majority of my army to be Oathsworn and Riders, and be at least mediocre?

Right now, I have a few different ideas. One is to take two full sized formations of Riders, a full formation of Knights, and then a large (8 companies) formation of militia. These are accompanied (across the army) by Erkenbrand, Theoden, Deorwine, Gandalf, and Radagast. (and maybe Eomer, I dont remember off the top of my head)

The plan is to deploy with the infantry in the center, and then the knights and rider formations on one flank. Then to use heroic moves and such on the first turn to sort of swing my line across one half of the field like a big fist, with the militia forming the shoulder, and the riders forming the fist. Ideally, all charges will be preceded with a blinding light, or spirit sundering and deorwine (or Inner Glory) to make sure that my target is Fight 0 for the ensuing battle. Since any hero's will also be reduced to fight 0, The Bearer of the Red Shield will have a major advantage in any Duels, and I wont necessarily need to worry about gandalf and radagast getting stuck in. In addition, epic Tranquility allows me some insurance against people Iron Willing Blinding light. The knights will act as flank security, and wait for the right moment to strike. Most likely accompanied by Theoden, for awesome Fight 7 lances.

Another thought is to take a smaller formation of riders with no upgrades, along with gandalf the white, and use overlord to have them heroic move right into my enemies face on the first turn. Thus slowing him down and disrupting his movement.

Anyway, Thoughts?

[iamaddj]

Hummm, have you thought about taking a large unit of Riders with Radagast, heroic moving them on the first turn (hopefully you would have priority), heroic moving them right into the enemy lines, then use epic tranquility to block their army in a for a turn, give you more time to move around? Don't know if that makes sense.