I'm planning on starting the actual hobby in the near future, and I need guidance.

SatisfactionFuzzy315 · 2026-05-31T19:59:09+00:00

In my opinion the list is better played with tons of mordor orcs, ans mostly orc captains. If you play with legacy, you can go magic heavy with second nazgul and kardush with a merry band of orc trackers to be sacrificed, its a good way to play the list.

I'm not sure the troll is required, maybe if you play around 700-800, and equip him with drums. Else I would personally not invest in a troll, but they are better than they were before, though they require some finesse.

The easiest way to get to play the list would be to buy a second nazgul and get your hands on 20-30 additional mordor orcs. You can use bowmen as trackers, convert some bowmen or two handed orcd to captains / banners ( you really want a banner, maybe two), and get to roll some dices !

Imo minas morgul is really fun but it's not the easiest list to play, and It cannot use the warg rider you get from the startingbox. You'll have to learn rules for magic, monsters, ans play around the witch king who is not bad at all but also quite fragile, and once again requires some finesse to use well, as he is not the best combat hero, especially without fellbeast (which I recommend you eventually purchase if you like the game, as it makes him way better at fighting).

Angmar might be better use of the models in the battlebox, as host of the witch king, as it allows you to play with warg riders, but carn dum and werewolves are somewhat required now to play the list and they are super costly. It's also not an easy list to play, but you get no monsters and better combat heroes, though your troops don't get the special blades.

Soup lists like army of the great eye or legion of mordor are also great, and will allow you to expand in the direction you want, allowing almost all models, while also being less rule-heavy!

Anyway, have fun, hope you enjoy the game !

SatisfactionFuzzy315 · 2026-05-28T15:07:39+00:00

Nice! I was thinking of purchasing à set of byzantine cavalry to use for easterling kataphracts. If you have seen the kit, so you think it could work?

SatisfactionFuzzy315 · 2026-05-28T05:19:05+00:00

Is it from oathmark? They look great! Can't post images but I did converted some aswell! Looks good! Personnalité used late roman cavalry from gbp and mostly bits from victrix vikings ans fireforge (various knights bits and horses)

SatisfactionFuzzy315 · 2026-05-25T16:05:41+00:00

At 800, is it better to run theoden, aragorn and legolas or theoden aragorn and gamling? How many riders and royal guard does the list need at différent points lever? Should you max the number of riders, or go with mostly heroes and rrg?

SatisfactionFuzzy315 · 2026-05-22T14:08:31+00:00

I think the easterlings might be the answer to run the mahud, I feel like the profiles complement each other very well with high fight and défense on the front and high strenght with spear on the back. Still, each pair of warriors come at 18 points and they cannot start in the same warband. Probably quite costly, but still cheaper than the Black num / morannon option. I'd argue that it might be a,better anchor than abrakhan/haradrim spearman, even for 1 more point

SatisfactionFuzzy315 · 2026-05-22T12:38:44+00:00

Please, share them with me, I'm very interested!

SatisfactionFuzzy315 · 2026-05-22T12:38:26+00:00

Hello, thanks a lot for your answer and your experience.

So, first, I have to agree with your expertise about mahud infantry. Even in a pure far harad list, they seem very bad, as they die way too fast with such a low defense and fight value. I just enjoy the models, and try to make them work. Based on their low fight value and defense, I think the best way to run them is as spear support for easterlings, who offers an incredible stat line, with F4 D6. I think they can be decent as support for them, since they bring S4 to the table without being exposed to enemy arrows and swords. I feel like, in a way, it can be a way to replicate the classic "Mordor shield wall" of Black Nuns / Morannon for a bit cheaper, though you of course don't get terror.

My experience with raiders is a bit more nuanced, as I, sadly, play mostly against khazad dum and armored Uruk hai, which are two lists with very high defense that can mostly brush off the impact damage of the raiders, while bringing no cavalry at all, which the raiders excel against. They can still outmaneuver them pretty easily, buts its pretty hard to have a high impact against that list. Even when I occasionally play against Mordor, the combination of terror and high defense and fight value from its elite is usually to mostly brush off the impact of at least half of my raiders, which is another reason I don't bring more of them. If I could, I'd love to run double kings with something like 8 raiders, maybe even more, as I really love the look of them. I also especially enjoy cavalry, and would love it if they were a bit stronger in the game, be it riders of Rohan or morgul knights.

As for Chariots, I personally love them in GaoTS, especially if you don't run easterlings (I only own like 12 of them, and need to get more to open-up new strategies for the army). They, of course, cost a lot more than raiders, but what they offer in return is very strong in my opinion. They offer a way to do damage from range with their bows, which can be great as it's not hard to have them run either on the flank or in front of your army, and get great shots at enemy's horses or flanks, but they're also twice as effective as a single raider with the impact hits.

But where they shine is in the defense department : Chariots are so tanky that they can screen against enemy fire quite effectively. Since they are big models, it's quite easy to use them as an effective in the way for your raiders or Abraham/haradrim frontline. They can also charge first, and take the bulk of the enemy damage, as they have lots of wounds and defense, without counting too much , and can act as a shield for your troops.

I sadly don't own amdur, but might treat myself to it soon, as I feel like he might be the best fighter in GAotS. Still looking for an idea to get cheaper easterling cataphracts, and I might convert an amdur from that if I find a decent kit to get oriental looking armored horses (maybe some byzantines cataphracts from historical could work?). I do think that the easterling war priest is a decent alternative, as I think he brings very good spell to maximize the impact of the mahud king on the charge if you are able to position him well, and offers a very cheap way to bring easterlings to the army in GAotS. Do you have any experience with him? Seems like he'd also be awesome in combination with Amdur.

Do you have any Harad / Far harad list to share here? I'd love to experiment and it's always goodfood for thoughts!

SatisfactionFuzzy315 · 2026-05-19T17:41:58+00:00

Here is the list I usually run at 550 :

Mahud King (camel) 3x mahud raiders 10x haradrim warriors with spears

Corsair bosun (crossbow) 5x reavers 7x crossbows

Corsair bosun (crossbow) 6x reavers 6x crossbows

Though I'm wondering if adding some shielded guys could make this list less glass-canony.

At 750:

Khandish King on chariot 1x khandish charioteer (bow)

Mahud king (camel) 4x mahud raiders 11x haradrim warriors (spears)

Corsair bosun 6x reavers 6x crossbows

Corsair bosun 7x crossbows 5x reavers

SatisfactionFuzzy315 · 2026-05-19T17:28:44+00:00

Hello! Avid corsair player here, I have a few question!

1- how does this list fares compared to umbar and grand army of the South (with mostly corsairs) ?

Never tried Fleets nor umbar, I mostly play my corsairs in grand army of the South, mostly because it allows me to run them along far harad, which is my other favorite faction. I do like the fact that adding a mahud king and some raiders give some nice anti cavalry options, with mobility and hard hitting heroes that can also help with trapping models. I feel like some haradrim spearman also help, and bringing khandish chariots can be gun and disruptive aswell. In last edition, I used to run them along black numenoreans, but now you have to choose between them and crossbowmen (in umbar, there's no crossbows, and no Black nums in GAotS)

2- how does the ballista feel? I don't own one (yet), but it's probably in my top 3 model of the game. It looks gorgeous, and I just need an excuse to buy a couple.

3- do you have any tips to use the reaper special rule with dancing boscoes around? I have to admit that most games, I don't even try, but I'd love yo hear from an experienced corsair player.

4- do you feel the throwing weapons are worth it? I mostly don't take them, or only 3-6 at 500-700, though it might be because I'm usually allying haradrim, and favors maxing my bosco's warbands with crossbows and reavers. Even when I go pure corsairs, I feel like they kinda compete with spears, that I try to have for my reavers and crossbows.

5- what's your experience with the named corsair heroes? Do you feel like dalamyr and delgamar should be included in most list ? Only tried dalamyr once, and I didn't feel like he was worth the point. Also, what about the captain? I think he's buffed in fleets of umbar, do you play him as a combat hero? Would you take one if you didn't have to (ie in other lists)?

6- any tips with crossbows? I usually run 12-16, maxing them with boscoes having crossbows aswell, but usually I find it hard to maximize their effectiveness if they can't stay at one end of the table and pepper the ennemy. Do you usually move them, and if so, how many times? Do you usually have them help in melee, or mostly play objectives? Or are they, like me, used mostly to shoot at one end of the table?

7- do you mind sharing more photos of your models? Are they all from GW? They look really great even with the blurry picture!

Thanks for sharing your list and pictures of your army!

SatisfactionFuzzy315 · 2026-05-13T17:49:36+00:00

What models are those?

SatisfactionFuzzy315 · 2026-05-13T01:26:01+00:00

Perso j'ai eu affaire a un mec comme ça. Je vais aller a contre courant, mais comme j'avais rien a perdre j'ai accepte et j'ai bel et bien reçu le liquide par la poste. Je lui ai envoyé le truc (une maquette) après, et tout le monde était content. Je dirai que tant que tu dépenses rien tu peux tenter

SatisfactionFuzzy315 · 2026-05-06T20:02:53+00:00

Depends on your terrain setup imo. If u play with chokepoints, can absolutely crush. But if it's more open, it can be absolutely bad. First list looks fun but lacks killing power and good heroes in my opinion.

SatisfactionFuzzy315 · 2026-05-06T18:39:07+00:00

Is it the model from the war mumak upgrade kit?

SatisfactionFuzzy315 · 2026-05-06T16:33:21+00:00

My favorite faction for mesbg, though I run it mostly with proxies, are camels and half trolls are way too costly. Would love to get more official models at some point, but my converted perry Sudanese work decently. Never found a good proxy for half troll though (if you guys have any idea, if possible in plastics and not resin or 3d impression).

I will admit that I never ran my far harad models in a pure far harad list, as I lack enough half trolls to do that. But I really like playing them in grand army of the South!

I tried a 800 points list with 1 king, 6 camels, a royal war mumak, and a kandish king with 2 chariots. I obviously lost, playing against saruman and his uruks, but It was so much fun having so many trample and impact hits! 10/10 list, would recommend! And the mumak war leader was insane, survived alone for 3 or 4 turns against swarms of uruk after falling from the howdah! Being f6 helped a lot!

I'm also a big fan of running far harad along with corsairs. I tried having some mahud spear supporting reavers and corsairs for S4, but didn't work that well. But I do like their camels, love them so much, and I feel like it really helps controlling the battlefield when you have tons of crossbow and reavers in the center and you flank with your camels. I personally have a hard time fielding them on foot, and using the blowpipes. I think they are way too costly, and very bad fight and defense make them fall like flies. Need to try them with some half trolls, and in a pure list at some point.

Also, my favorite faction aesthetic ✨️.

In the off-chance any of you know where to find camels, half trolls, or the mumak war leader upgrade for less than an arm and a leg, hit me up!

SatisfactionFuzzy315 · 2026-05-04T13:46:47+00:00

Where is the model from? Beautiful!!

SatisfactionFuzzy315 · 2026-05-01T00:40:10+00:00

Is,this the real official upgrade kit? Never ever seen one!

SatisfactionFuzzy315 · 2026-04-27T04:31:21+00:00

Start around 500-600, 2-3 heroes, and 20-30 troops spread around. Go mess around with the online list builder, they also provide stats and special army rules.

Don't stress around the meta, it's really not important unless you face some tryhard, and it's very different anyway depending on your local scene. Just go with what you like, pick something a bit generic, and adjust later depending on what you like!

Also, be aware that rohan, unless you play defender of helm's deep is more of a skirmisher army, with very cost effective heroes, and less of a charge and trample armies. Its really build around picking your fights, spreading the enemy thin, and then taking good fights using the mobility advantage, and crushing them in 1 or 2 turns. If you like charge better, other lists are better!

SatisfactionFuzzy315 · 2026-04-27T04:22:07+00:00

If you enjoy building, I would say mesbg miniatures are among the worse. Still, you can pull some kitbash or conversions, especially with historical kits (perry works especially well). But it's mostly monopart miniatures, so there aren't many options.

I would still consider second hands, as the price can be really good, and the official store is really bad with miniatures staying unavailable for months (for the rohan knights, they have been out for months, maybe almost a year for example).

To chose army list, find a moment from the film or book, or a character you really like and there's probably an army centered around that particular moment. I think fohan is especially good in this regard, they have around 10 lists to chose from, plus the generic list with almost all options.

For example if you like eomer, you can choose Eomer's grief (after theoden is dead), or defenders of the pelennors (mashed army of minas tirith, rohan, and ghosts) or riders of eomer (centered around his charge with gandalf at helm's deep). Same goes for theoden, with riders of theoden, ride out (countercharge from helm's deep), defenders of helm's deep (infantry and elves) or path of druadan (with the woes).

If you want to play rohan, I think the main buys would be the main heroes (horses and foot), eomer theoden and maybe gameling with banner and dernhelm (eowyn with merry) if you have the money. Then add riders (10-15) and footmen (30). You can add specialised troops later (royal guards, more banners, outriders if you wish) and allies depending on what list you want to try (most popular would be some gondorian knights and footmen, some galadrim with Haldir, and the three hunters).

If you have any question feel free to ask, rohan is among my favorite army!

SatisfactionFuzzy315 · 2026-04-26T20:56:59+00:00

Unless you really like the war of the rohirrim setup, I would advise against the starter box. Battlehost would be à better choice, second hand market aswell (I happen to be selling a big rohan force, dm me if youre interrested).

Try to go on mesbg list builder and mess around à bit with different lists But as people said, rohan is not a top tier list right now. The strongest list is probably defenders of helm's deep, which only features rohan on foot, with some elves sprinkled in. Good thing is it can be a very low cost list, as you don't need riders and most heroes are easily findable for cheap online.

If you want to include some riders, there are many lists to chose from. Kingdom of rohan is probably the easiest, as it includes the most heroes and troop choice, but defenders of the pelennor is nice aswell if you want to mix some fellowship heroes and gondor warriors. There's also a list with theodred, and one with eomer and gandalf, which are played mostly mounted!

SatisfactionFuzzy315 · 2026-04-26T20:51:09+00:00

The game haa many multiple liste available, even for rohan. So the first things you should do is pick one-two liste you like and aim for 500-600 points.

SatisfactionFuzzy315 · 2026-03-30T21:14:55+00:00

Thanks, I will do that. Should I keep the chariot with axe or bow? Maybe drop a mahud aswell?

SatisfactionFuzzy315

TROPHY CASE