Top 3... Mordor Heroes

Hi readers, I'm back with a new blog post after a short break (as a teacher, I've had a busy few weeks!). Today I give you the start of a 'Top 3...' series, with the first week focussing on Mordor heroes. Mordor is a faction blessed with a huge number of strong heroes, from your combat powerhouses to your budget support heroes. Rankings are made based on a value for points approach so any hero has the chance to reign supreme, apart from Gothmog's Enforcer (he's just rubbish)! 

Before the winners take their place on the podium, it's worth a few honourable mentions to those Orcish boys and girls who fell by the wayside in their quest for glory. Gorbag was very much in contention until falling at the final hurdle. A great value hero who is able to easily improve his FV and Attacks, Gorbag will rarely let you down. This time however he goes home with nothing but a participation certificate. The other noteworthy contender for the title of most fabulous leader of Sauron's hordes is the aesthetically challenged Gothmog. With his troop-improving rules, the fantastic Master of Battle rule and a solid stat-line, everyone's favourite trebuchet-avoiding orc is a little unfortunate to find himself as a bridesmaid in this contest. 

Anyway, enough with the medal-less Mordor leaders, let's get to the stars of the show:

Third Place - Kardush the Firecaller

Oh boy, what a start! Kardush is a real gem of a Mordor hero. Kardush is a named orc shaman and comes with a few extra tricks when compared to his nameless brethren. A rare shaman who is a Hero of Fortitude, Kardush provides the very handy Fury but adds in his mastery of hurling balls of flame at anyone who displeases him. Kardush the Flamecaller replaces the standard 5+ Transfix spell with the stupidly good Flameburst on a ridiculous 3+. This causes a S6 hit on the targeted model within 6" of Kardush. There is nothing more fun than barraging your opponent with fireball after fireball from behind your safe and secure shield wall. As mentioned in my Build Me an Army Worthy of... Mordor post, a favourite tactic of mine is to get a Ringwraith to compel a banner bearer so they are no longer in base contact with a friendly model and then get Kardush to light him up. If you succeed, Kardush has already paid for half his cost and your opponent has lost his important banner. In order to keep Kardush stocked up on resources for all of his fire-slinging, through his Heart of Darkness rule, Kardush can remove a friendly orc within 6" of him before priority to regain D3 Will points. Eat a few orcs over the course of the game and you've got all the fuel you need to keep the bonfire blazing. Kardush is criminally cheap, incredibly frustrating to play and a very worthy hero in anyone's Mordor army. Put him in your armies and start blaring The Prodigy, this orc is a firestarter!

Second Place - Shagrat

Edging out Kardush from second place, we have absolute unit that is Shagrat. Quite possibly the best value combat hero in the game, Shagrat will make mincemeat of enemy warriors and heroes alike. For the points you pay, you get 3s in all the right places (3 attacks, wounds, Might, Will and Fate). Shaggers is an offensive monster but has surprising durability for an Evil hero, all for an incredibly attractive points cost. With his shield of Cirith Ungol granting him the knockdown bonus when he charges as if he were cavalry and Blood and Glory to help Shagrat keep his Might train steaming ahead,  Shaggy-boy can hunt down your opponents low-mid tier heroes, Strike up to win the fight and then use his 6 S5 strikes to kill them and regain the Might he just spent. Very nice! You will not find a better front-line leader for your Mordor forces and Shagrat easily deserves his 2nd place spot among Mordor heroes.

1st Place - The Witch King of Angmar

Sitting comfortably in first place, we have big daddy Witch King. The Witch King provides immense versatility to any list and can be kitted out to fill a huge number of roles, He can be your support caster, your hero assassin, your troop muncher or your flying monster platform. The reason Angmar's original bad boy is so good is his flexible stat-line which allows you to kit him out to sort your needs and to fit the points you need. The Witch King can support your army from a distance, safely chucking out a few key transfixes and black darts with great reliability thanks to his pointy crown (an almost must-take for the magic re-roll and Attack boost). Alternatively, he can be mounted on his trusty flappy-boy fell beast to get up to 8 FV5, S6 strikes on the charge and access to a 12" Fly move and Brutal Power Attacks. The Witch King is a true Swiss army knife and is the best hero to lead your Mordor armies, as should be the case for Sauron's most trusted general!

Has your favourite Mordor hero missed the cut? Let me know who you think deserves a spot in Mordor's Top 3...

Thanks for reading,

Kieran