CJ's "More will come" Legions: The Defence of Minas Tirith

 “More will come”- CJ’s Legendary Legion wishlist.

Part 2: Defend the walls!

This is a Legion I know a lot were hoping for with Gondor at War providing surprisingly little for Gondor players, except the ignominy of providing the meta-ubiquitous Rangers of Ithilien Legion. Given that Rangers were going to be covered in Quest anyway, perhaps we might have had a Minas Tirith Legion or even the Reclaimers of Osgiliath instead (I’ll cover that soon too), both of which I know a lot of Gondor players wish had been covered. But we don’t know how far in advance these things get planned, and if you ever wanted a safe bet for a faction that will be visited again it would probably be Gondor.

Gondor has long had an issue with being fairly bland, lacking killing power, reliant on ranged weapons, not dying in combat, and Heroes to do the heavy lifting whilst providing buffs to the troops around them. WOMT got a tidy little bonus of Shieldwall in the new edition, but most of the time they just aren’t worth it next to GOTFC who have permanent D7 (you always take the shield), bodyguard, f4. There was a niche for bringing defence to a wood elves mix, or using cheap Gondor Heroes to spam troops, in the previous edition. But in this edition it does rely a bit on an allied LoL, or green Rohan or Fiefdoms, to round out the capabilities. With this in mind, I wanted to write a Gondor legion that stayed relatively true to their core playstyle, but with a bit more of a sting in the tail so they might be able to deal with more threats as a pure list. But let’s be honest, it’s one of the coolest scenes from all the films, and making this as fun to play and representative of the battle as possible was my core focus. Plus a little something unique in playstyle.

On rewatching the film, I’m jotting down countless quotes from Gandalf during the defence of Minas Tirith thinking “that’s a good name for a rule, and so is that, and that, and….that too…”. And in my group chat of hobby friends I actually mentioned how there’s no way I could write rules to represent everything without an insane power creep and rule oversaturation. So, it was actually a great suggestion from Will Poynter who said, “why not make it all about Gandalf commanding the army, like he’s got additional Heroics?”, that was the miracle shot idea I knew I just had to run with. And so I devised a new mechanic of Leadership Actions. Taking Gandalf’s commands as cues, I started to scribble ideas as to how you could make them into useful actions in-game...

Participants:

·         Gandalf the White on Shadowfax

·         Peregrin Took, Guard of the Citadel

·         Hurin the Tall

·         Ingold

·         COMT; Sh, Bow options

·         WOMT; Shield, Spear, Bow, Banner, Warhorn options

·         Trebuchet; Captain, Flaming ammo, Crew options

·         Avenger Bolt Thrower; Captain, Swift Reload, Crew options

Additional rules:

·         This Legion must include Gandalf the White, who is the Leader. Whilst Gandalf is alive on the board, all friendly models gain +1 to their courage.

·         Hurin’s “In Defence of the King” rule applies to Gandalf the White

Special Rules:

A chance for one of the Shire-Folk to prove their great worth

Pippin runs through the streets largely unnoticed by the men of Gondor, doing his best to achieve objectives only known to himself and Gandalf.

·         Peregrin Took, Guard of the Citadel, may move through, and be moved through by, friendly models. He may also move out of sequence of friendly Heroic Actions, and gains an Elven Cloak for free.

·         He may be deployed as a passenger on Shadowfax. Whilst part of this cavalry model, he conveys Resistant to Magic to the model, and may contribute one attack in combat at his Strength, but may not declare Heroic Actions.

The White Rider…
Gandalf has steeled himself for the great battle of our time, borne by the Lord of all horses who has been his friend through many dangers.

·         Gandalf gains the Horse Lord special rule. Additionally, if Gandalf is involuntarily dismounted, Shadowfax will not automatically flee, and may be remounted by Gandalf (and then Pippin) using a successful climb test. Whilst a single model, Shadowfax is an Independent Hero on a 40mm base with no Stand Fast!, who may not charge, but counts as having 1 attack if charged, ignores Heroic Actions not called by Gandalf or Pippin, and does not count as a model within range of objectives or escaping the board for VPs. Shadowfax must always move as fast as possible towards Gandalf.

·         Gandalf’s Exhaustion spells remain active as long as he is alive and has his Staff of Power. Finally, Gandalf may declare a Heroic Combat for free in order to reach a combat involving Peregrin Took, Guard of the Citadel.

…And the Black

At the Strike of Doom the Witch-King advances through the gates of Minas Tirith only to be faced down by the new White Wizard.

·         Gandalf may call a Heroic Challenge against the enemy Leader regardless of Heroic Tier, which cannot be declined. Additionally, if Gandalf slays the enemy Leader in Combat, he may call two Leadership Actions the following turn instead of one.

The board is set, the pieces are moving (ACTIVE)

In the absence of Denethor, the hope of Gondor lies with Mithrandir. Assuming command of the defences of Minas Tirith, Gandalf inspires the soldiers to defend their city against all odds.

To reflect his command of the defences during the siege of Minas Tirith, Gandalf the White may declare one Leadership Action per turn chosen from the following list. This is done at the start of the relevant Phase, before Heroic Actions, and each Leadership Action applies for as long as specified.

Move phase	Back to the gate! Friendly models within their deployment zones or in range of objectives do not have to take courage tests for being broken this turn.	Return to your posts! Gandalf may call a Heroic move for free but all affected models may not charge that turn, and all except Gandalf must end their movement in base contact with 2 friendly models or forgo their movement.	Do not give into fear! Gandalf counts as having cast Aura of Command for this turn and may cast another spell as normal. Negative courage modifiers affecting friendly models are negated until the end of the turn.
Shoot phase	Bring them down! Friendly models within 6” who are on terrain such that their entire model (including base) is 2” above the table level gain +1 to Wound with Shooting attacks against models who are at table level.	Aim for the trolls! Volley! Gandalf may declare a Heroic Shoot or Accuracy without spending Might. Re-roll unsuccessful bow or longbow wounds against Monsters as part of this Heroic Action.	Send these foul beasts into the abyss! Affects 1 friendly Siege Engine. A Bolt Thrower may roll one additional dice for determining the number of shots. A Trebuchet may roll 2 dice to hit, and to scatter. In each case, you may use the highest value rolled and use Might as normal.
Fight phase	Fight to the last man! If broken, friendly models may re-roll 1s in their Duel and Wound rolls this turn.	Drive them back! Enemy models that lose fights, as well as models that make way for them, must back away D3” instead of 1” this turn.	You will stand your ground! Ingold’s “Resolute Fighter” range is increased to 6” for this Fight phase.

 

Optional alternative: The Fiefdom Sortie

Prince Imrahil rallies the warriors of the Fiefdoms to aid in the defence of Minas Tirith. Upon their arrival, however, Pippin and Bergil observe a somewhat depleted sortie arrive through the gates, with much of the Fiefdom armies left to defend their lands.

In addition to the above:

Additional Rules:

·         This Legion may include Prince Imrahil, Forlong the Fat, and Duinhir. None may be mounted.

·         Imrahil’s “Dol Amroth for Gondor” applies to all unnamed Heroes and Warriors taken as part of this Legendary Legion. Additionally, Imrahil counts as a Hero of Valour, and may lead up to five warriors, which may include Knights of Dol Amroth on foot.

·         Forlong’s “The Lord of Lossarnach” applies to all Gondor models within range. Forlong may lead up to five warriors, which may include Axemen of Lossarnach.

·         Duinhir’s “Lord of the Blackroot Vale” applies to all Gondor models within range. Duinhir may lead up to four warriors, which may include Blackroot Vale Archers.

Special rules:

And with him went the Prince of Dol Amroth

Imrahil and Gandalf stride tirelessly across the city together bringing hope and leadership to the defenders of Minas Tirith.

Prince Imrahil may declare a Heroic Combat to reach a fight involving Gandalf the White each turn without spending Might. Additionally, whilst within 3” of each other, Gandalf and Imrahil count as within range of a banner.

Designer’s notes/commentary:

Gandalf the General appealed to me so much as a play mechanic I decided that the majority of the Legion's bonus worth should lie there. Perhaps for streamlining I could drop one option per phase so that there's less for the opponent to beware of, and this hasn't been playtested. But the general ideas of the comamnds would be to amp up the shooting of some very average WOMT with bows, maintain the shieldwall to outlast foes in combat, and assist the troops with courage issues.

In the move phase, to coincide with the idea of defending their keep, I loved the idea of having fearlessness within deployment zones. But not all scenarios have those, or in others you’re looking to defend an objective, so including that added consistency. Then, to help a mono-troop selection that focusses on Shieldwall, a heroic move that specifically is geared towards reforming a broken line. And finally, it absolutely astounds me that Gandalf doesn’t have Aura of Command given how, especially in the books, it is described that he lifts the fear of the Nazgul wherever he goes. As a nod to that, I added a line about negating fear modifiers, which may also help models outside of 6”.

For Shooting, there are a few favourite “shots” from the films to choose from. Under Gandalf’s guidance, the archers correct their targeting, and do some damage to the trolls attacking them. In the same scene, the firing down from a height is emphasised, and then again when the archers create a mountain of orc bodies around the gates. So a rule about archers on elevated terrain getting wounding bonuses seemed very thematic, whilst also having enough conditions attached that it would be quite hard to abuse. Finally, the trebuchets launching into the orc army is a great visual moment, and the main issue with a Trebuchet in SBG is reliability, so there’s the option to bolster that and a gentle encouragement to take one for the fluff.

Finally in combat, it would be all too tempting to finally allow WOMT to knock 8 bells out of their D6 nemeses the Morannon Orcs, but watch the films through and I honestly struggled to find any examples of WOMT actually killing…anything in combat. So for a more subtle and thematic approach, you can opt to extend the Ingold Shieldwall rule, or drive them back (as in the scene where the siege towers land) in such a way that it makes a mess of the enemy line, or just simply if broken the WOMT can get a re-roll 1s to Duel or Wound rolls. Nothing OP, but could make just that bit of difference. And Gondor does play in that way- death by many small cuts whilst outlasting the opponents.

As a final word on the Leadership Actions mechanic, there was a conscious decision to have these enacted before Heroics (some wouldn’t work otherwise!), as well as only having 1 per turn. The idea being that your opponent won’t know which of these options you’ll go for until right before it happens, opening the possibilities for mind games (if that’s your thing), reacting instantly to the battle as it unfolds, and a high skill ceiling in terms of the more familiar you are with playing this list, the greater advantage you’ll be able to make out of it. They are also ACTIVE which means you have the option to transfix Gandalf to block them being used (in which case the Legion player may opt to favour the Move phase Leadership Actions to at least get something from the mechanic), and if you have a paralysed Gandalf he won’t be ordering the battle from the floor!

But with Gandalf being the focus of this list, it seems only right that he get a bit of help to increase his durability and damage output. In the guise of the White Rider, he sees off the Nine on their Fell Beasts to rescue Faramir’s company, marmalises orcs atop the walls, and faces down the Witch-King in the gateway of Minas Tirith. To emphasise the new magical strength Gandalf displays in easily displacing Saruman as the Head of the Istari, and shattering his Staff, I decided to allow Exhaustion spells to essentially become permanent until Gandalf is slain or his Staff shattered. This allows Gandalf to use that extra Will point in his store, and negates the threat of the opponent “turning him off” by Sapping Will or similar.

This “wraith-proofing” is influenced by the above moments from the book, and lead to the short rule about the Black Rider. Heroic Challenge is a few tweaks away from being a really useful Heroic in general play and I’m sure it will get there eventually, but for this Legion it’s influenced by the arrogance of the Witch-King: the enemy leader may NOT decline a Heroic Challenge from Gandalf! Depending on the match-up, this may keep the enemy Leader hiding away and therefore not wrecking your infantry. And then after the Witch-King retreats, the men of Minas Tirith rally to Gandalf to march out of the gate, so one extra Leadership action. Shadowfax providing a 12” move gives this rule a long reach indeed.

I’ve never been sure why Gandalf doesn’t have Horse Lord, given the bond he shares with Shadowfax- perhaps it’s a balancing issue or he’d wind up being even more points than he already costs. But here, we can reflect the epicness that is Gandalf riding across the walls, running down a Troll, and racing to save Faramir. In the book and film alike, Gandalf dismisses and remounts Shadowfax at will during the Siege. Given how easy it is to dismount Heroes in the current game through Hurls and Magic, it seemed only fair to give a contingency for Gandalf remounting Shadowfax, who is no mere horse and does not flee even when being faced by a fell beast!

With the provision of such a lovely mounted Gandalf with Pippin model, and Dernhelm setting the precedent, it seemed a good opportunity to allow Pippin a passenger role. He can give his Resistant to Magic to Gandalf and Shadowfax whilst a passenger (so with Fortify Spirit in effect, you can have up to 3 free dice rolls to Resist Magic!), and can make a single Attack in the same way as Sebastian does for Radagast. This can make Gandalf mounted a force to be reckoned with in combat, and treble Pippin’s move value! And then to represent the moment in the film where Gandalf springs to Pippin’s assistance in combat, a rule to allow Gandalf to HCombat into Pippin’s fight. I had considered allowing Pippin to do vice versa, but Pippin’s kill is slightly opportunistic and he is more of an espionage character in this story than a combat monster.

To reflect Pippin ghosting around Minas Tirith with his little quests, he gets his Elven cloak to hide in terrain. He is almost entirely unnoticed by the men of Minas Tirith, squeezing through the retreating men and even being knocked down as they hurry past! So there is an option for Pippin to essentially gain invisibility applying only to friendly models, and he may move out of sequence to friendly Heroics, like Snaga. This should help Pippin to mitigate his short movement value somewhat, and dive in to save his friends after the normal movements. But the enemy can still see him and will probably wish to put a stop to the halfling’s meddling!

The final option was one I struggled with for a while: the fiefdoms are definitely there in the books, and then help defend the gate, and Imrahil goes around with Gandalf during the siege. But how do you basically stop it devolving into “The Fiefdoms” Legendary Legion? I took a cue from the passage in the book where Bergil and Pippin see the fiefs arrive and notice that it is a small sortie because many men had to stay behind to protect their lands. So as spice is the variety of life, I provided a provision for fiefs to be included without taking over the list: 1/3 warbands. Imrahil is still very good in this list, but by limiting the numbers they can lead and restricting fief troops to their leader’s warbands it hopefully makes their inclusion an embellishment rather than the core of troops. But to balance it back the other way a bit, the fief leader’s rules affect all Gondor troops, so there are lots of tasty combinations you can try out. Captains of Dol Amroth were a consideration to represent the many named fief characters that don’t yet have profiles, but I was concerned they would just overshadow the COMTs.

Finally, a note on the excluded: Beregond is a book-only character, and he never descends to the actual fighting, being stuck at his guard post until Pippin convinces him to play his part in the rescue of Faramir. Denethor, Iorlas, and the Citadel Guard are busy burning him. The GOTFC appear to have vanished altogether going by the films! So a decision was made that this should probably be one of those LLs that has a restricted Options List, but make up for it with the special rules. As a result, this is a time for the tin pot silver men to stand up and be counted whilst the Heroes provide the bonuses and extra killing power. Could you command the White City to victory over her enemies?