Hi guys, I'm working out a Mordor and Angmar list and wanted to hear some opinions before I throw money at it. I've only played Good before (mostly dwarves) so evil and magic is something a bit new.

This is my 800 points list, I'm hoping it will scale nicely to higher or lower points by adding or removing warriors

Warband 1 - Hammer (Mordor)
Shadow Lord on armoured fell beast
8 Morgul knights, 1 with a banner

Warband 2 - Anvil (Mordor)
Mordor troll chieftain
8 Black Numenoreans

Warband 3 - Anvil support (Angmar)
Shade
5 spectres
6 orc warriors with spears

Total - 30 models at 798 points

My first thought is that the numbers look very low for 800 points.

My first suggestion would be to take no more than 6 Morgul Knights. I'd probably also drop to 3 Spectres and add more Orcs.

Removing two knights and two shades means I can get 12 more orcs in for 38 total. Or I could go Morannon orcs but only get 9 more in. Which would be more important for evil armies - numbers or strength?

Agreed, personally I would want to take more troops and increase your numbers.

_________________
Soon Master Elf, you will enjoy the fabled hospitality of the Dwarves! Roaring fires, malt beer, red meat off the bone!

I have two fears here. First is, as the others have said, you don't have enough numbers. If you're in the 20-30 range at that points level, your army had better be really tough (like, Vault Warden level). Black Numenoreans supported by a Shade are tough, but I don't think tough enough to make up for the lack of numbers.

My other worry is that your anvil is very short. If you want me to attack your Shieldwall so you can wrap your hammer around and flank me, I think you need a longer Shieldwall.

Here's a quick modification I just wrote up, see if it suits what you're trying to do or not:

Warband 1:
Shadow Lord on Fell Beast
6 Morgul Knights

Warband 2:
Troll Chieftain
12 Black Numenoreans

Warband 3:
Shade
12 Orcs with Spears


That comes out to 710 points, 90 points to play with if you want a banner or Spectres (or both), maybe an extra hero, or beef up the numbers a bit more. It's still only at 33 models. Personally, I wouldn't even bother with the banner, you already have a Shade, the banner is just overkill at this point.

Visualize yourself using the army and think about how you'd use it, from there see what models play into it. Just keep in mind that, at this points level, you're either facing massive armies or massive heroes (often both).

Full terror list huh? Sometimes this is incredibly good in some scenarios. Weak against elves though. So, in my opinion it is like taking the roll.

Apart from that, you questioned about buying. All the models listed except bl.Numenoreans and morgul knights are very competitive, so if you wonna play the competitive side of the game and you like the models, go on and spend money.

_________________
Conversation/Ideas over painting etc, can check here:
http://www.one-ring.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=50&t=29455

Cheers guys, all good ideas. Since there's so already much terror I like the idea of dropping the spectres to allow more black numenoreans and orcs. My other problem with the list is low might - shadow lord, troll chieftan and shade have total 4 might. I'm thinking if I drop the spectres I'd also have points to add in Grishnakh and Gorbag, hopefully that'll make the list more competitive against elves.

Any tips on how to play the Shadow Lord? I mainly got him to protect the shade from archery; other than that my only plan for him is to burn his will on black dart and counter enemy cavalry with the fell beast.

Personally, I don't think that the Shade needs protection from archery. At defence 8 and 3 wounds it'll take on average 72 S3 shots at 4s to hit to kill him, add in the fact that he will probably be behind a line of troops and the 'in the ways' will increase that further. Therefore, I don't think that the Shadow Lord is necessary, and you may be better off with a different Wraith.