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How to make a Minas Tirith army competitive.
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Author:  Bartelomeus [ Thu Oct 04, 2012 3:31 pm ]
Post subject:  How to make a Minas Tirith army competitive.
So I got a stash of Gondor models and I love the look of a shiny Minas Tirith army.
I usually play Mordor and Uruk-Hai and those games go great, but when I play with Minas Tirith...I get crushed :x .
Those pesky orcs, goblins and trolls always get the best of my warriors.

Right now I got:
Aragorn on foot
Boromir, armored on foot, unarmored on foot, on foot with banner and mounted with banner.
Faramir, armored on foot & mounted, Faramir with bow
Beregond
Peregrin Took, Guard of the Citadel
Denethor
King of the Dead

2x Captain of Minas Tirith
1x WoMT with battle horn
3x WoMT with banner
Knight of Minas Tirith with banner

3x Guards of the Fountain Court
6x Osgiliath Veterans
24x Rangers of Gondor (8 bow, 8 spear, 8 hand weapon)
20x WoMT, bow
20x WoMT, shield
20x WoMT, shield & spear

So please some suggestions on what army to put together and how to use it :wink:
Author:  Valamir [ Thu Oct 04, 2012 3:56 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: How to make a Minas Tirith army competitive.
Alright, let's get to work...

Starting with heroes, make use of Beregond, Faramir, and Denethor at small game levels- they give you enough heroes to put a decent number of models on the table (which Minas Tirith needs) while also giving you some fighting power (Faramir and Denethor). In larger games make use of Boromir (Captain of the White Tower version- or make sure he's got an elven cloak) and Aragorn- either one will do, but keep the smaller heroes the same. Feel free to factor in a captain of Minas Tirith or two as you need to include them for more warriors.

As for warriors, my recommendation is as follows- in smaller games, use only the normal warriors of Minas Tirith with Rangers across the board for the archers (by the way, every one of your ranger models can use his bow, just in case that wasn't clear). Use as many of the warriors of Minas Tirith with spear and shield as you can, and when people get into combat, put the spearmen behind the rangers- the extra fight value will help you clear the lines. Focus on achieving one of two things with your shooting- either killing what you can't fight (trolls) or gaining a numerical advantage. Focus fire as much as you possibly can on targets of opportunity.

At higher games (where you include both Boromir and Faramir) make use of Boromir on foot with the banner, keep Faramir nearby, and make their personal guard be the Veterans. Make sure each veteran has a normal spearman and that Faramir has a spearman as well. You can use the Guard of the Fountain Court in that unit, too, just make sure they have normal spearmen, as you don't want a higher fight value model in the back if it isn't an army-wide thing.

Use the rangers as archers, and use a combination of normal swordsmen and spearmen as the anvil for the Boromir and Faramir group to hit. Tactics remain more or less the same- the shieldwall is your friend. Use it to maximum advantage.

And I completely sympathize about the thesis. ;) Good luck on all fronts!
Author:  Ardboe [ Thu Oct 04, 2012 6:33 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: How to make a Minas Tirith army competitive.
Yea sound advice there from valamir all I can add is if your having trouble with pesky trolls make them priority targets for your rangers so by the time it hits your lines you should have softened it up nicely enough for it to be quickly dispatched by boromir/faramir. Also if you've let your rangers hang back and shoot don't be afraid to get them stuck in there when CC starts especially if they have spears, because theyre quite squishy due to their low defence! Good luck!

Ps. Another good tactic is when you charge with boromir shout "For Gondor!!!" at your opponent! 8)
Author:  Valamir [ Fri Oct 05, 2012 9:19 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: How to make a Minas Tirith army competitive.
Also, don't forget to use Boromir's horn when using him- I regularly forget to do so.
Author:  Bartelomeus [ Sat Oct 06, 2012 12:00 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: How to make a Minas Tirith army competitive.
Thanks guys, i'll be using your tips in a 1000pt match (though theres no date set yet).
Been thinking about getting a warband of Army of the Dead led by the king to provide some hard hitting elites.
Author:  GothmogtheWerewolf [ Sat Oct 06, 2012 3:36 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: How to make a Minas Tirith army competitive.
If you take AotD make sure you give them all shields, and support them with cheap spearmen.
Author:  General Elessar [ Sun Oct 07, 2012 1:00 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: How to make a Minas Tirith army competitive.
Don't expect your Warriors of Minas Tirith to kill many enemy models in combat; their role is too defensive. It is the Heroes in a Gondor army who need to deal the damage in combat. Also, make sure you field as many bows as possible and use them accordingly.
Author:  Mothball [ Wed Dec 05, 2012 7:56 am ]
Post subject:  Re: How to make a Minas Tirith army competitive.
Valamir wrote:
Also, don't forget to use Boromir's horn when using him- I regularly forget to do so.


Haha same here, happens every time! :x
Author:  ResurrectedBones [ Mon Dec 10, 2012 5:40 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: How to make a Minas Tirith army competitive.
Ardboe wrote:
Ps. Another good tactic is when you charge with boromir shout "For Gondor!!!" at your opponent! 8)


This is basically the first thing that should ever happen when playing Gondor.
Author:  SouthernDunedain [ Mon Dec 10, 2012 6:37 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: How to make a Minas Tirith army competitive.
ResurrectedBones wrote:
Ardboe wrote:
Ps. Another good tactic is when you charge with boromir shout "For Gondor!!!" at your opponent! 8)


This is basically the first thing that should ever happen when playing Gondor.


I tend to quote his ogsiliath speach before the game to inspire my dice/ troops...doesnt seem to work though :lol:
Author:  RangerofTheNorth [ Sun Dec 30, 2012 6:21 am ]
Post subject:  Re: How to make a Minas Tirith army competitive.
The biggest help I found was shelling out for more spearmen and leaving the swordsmen at home, my infantry force of 750 pts is nothing but spears, rangers and some fiefdoms to shore up weak points. High fight value like Fountain Court with shields at the front and everyone has spears to back them up. The advantage is two fold, extra dice on the attack, AND it stays that way if you have enough, or if the game goes against you for a turn or two, low cost extra spearmen can carry the day. The only time my army has been snubbed is when a friend showed up with Black Uruks and Orc Spellcasters, coupled with nothing but morannon orcs, poor deployment due to the scenario allowed many of my WOMT spearmen to be killed early, leaving my elites un supported and heavily out numbered. I tied most fight values but his Uruks cut through even my Fountain Guard
Author:  SuicidalMarsbar [ Mon Dec 31, 2012 4:52 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: How to make a Minas Tirith army competitive.
Well, as has been said gondor's biggest strength lies in it's heavy hitters, which means magic will pwn you if you are not careful. Almost always mount your big heroes like Boromir and Aragorn, they become so much better at everything. If you can get some magic in without dropping too many point then do that. Unfortunately all the wizards are pretty expensive, Gandalf the Grey is probably the best one for his points, but stormcallers are pretty good too.
Author:  Captain Andruil [ Tue Jan 22, 2013 7:17 am ]
Post subject:  Re: How to make a Minas Tirith army competitive.
I never leave the White City without my trusty Guards of the Fountain Court. At least 8 of them. Give them all shields and suddenly the higher strength of Morannon Orcs and Uruk-Hai isn't quite so scary as they need the same dice rolls as their lowly Orc cousins to wound them. I've also converted some Citadel Guards with horses and Longbows to try out. Bow strength 3 and high movement creates great flanking opportunities.
I wouldn't use WoMT bowmen. Use rangers instead. Trading defence for shoot value always pays for itself in the early turns.
I have fallen out of love with the Knights of Minas Tirith. Maybe it's me, but whenever I use them, the result is the same as it was when they led the charge to re-take Osgiliath. Shot to pieces or surrounded and unhorsed. Also, I haven't given them shields. Perhaps that might help.
Citadel Guard with spears I only use against enemies that frequently use Terror causing enemies.
AotD is a good idea, because you need some troops that can hit back as hard as your regular troops can take it.
Author:  AdamB [ Wed Feb 13, 2013 4:02 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: How to make a Minas Tirith army competitive.
I'm building a Minas Tirith force now;

Some questions for fellow Gondorians

Are Avenger Bolt Throwers worth taking and if so how many crew? (in builds so far taking 2 with Swift reload and 2 extra crew)
Would you field a 12 x KoMT Warband? With a Captain? (Do you need more might?)
Osgiliath Vet models are expensive especially since unlikely to use Bowman - are warbands of WoMT good enough or do you NEED CG and FG? Looking at some of the reports from ToS 2103 it seems like a lot of monsters and not sure how normal warriors would cope.
Is Boromir or Gandalf too expensive for a 1000 point list?
Is the Knight of the White Tower a viable option. (got one in my Command Pack)
Author:  KnightyKnight [ Wed Feb 13, 2013 4:27 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: How to make a Minas Tirith army competitive.
A few things I found from my experience at ToS:

Citadel Guard are rather fragile. Don't be reckless with them. Don't let trolls use them as darts :P :oops:

My general army tactic was centered around lots of mid-range heroes and bulk troop numbers. At 500 points it was fantastic, but simply can't sustain itself at the higher levels. My low Fight value cost me terribly in every game, that was the real killer.

Boromir is definitely worth it. No question.

Guard of the Fountain Court are excellent if you give them shields, gives you a very sturdy shieldwall.

Rangers are a must. I took around twenty and they were consistently the top warbands ofthe match for me. Granted they're only strength 2, but twenty arrows hurling towards a target has a great psychological effect.
Author:  Gondorian Captain [ Wed Feb 13, 2013 9:17 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: How to make a Minas Tirith army competitive.
Have to say rangers were nasty all weekend to my army, put out a solid arrow storm in all games I faced them.

I am finding that while having mid level heroes is important, good seem to benefit from having at least one heavy hitter to lead the tip of the attack, for me this was Boromir who stormed through everything he came up against. More importantly he consistently helped my knights get through some tough situations.

The fight value 3 of the basic trooper is indeed a let down with gondor, to get round it you could try Boromir's banner, osgiliath vets, supporting citadel guard, or fountain court. The swan Knights who are only one point higher did very well this weekend, most solid warriors I fielded.
Author:  ste271276 [ Wed Feb 13, 2013 10:13 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: How to make a Minas Tirith army competitive.
Some great advice here. Learnt a lot myself.
Author:  ste271276 [ Thu Feb 14, 2013 12:57 am ]
Post subject:  Re: How to make a Minas Tirith army competitive.
Ive got a warband of axemen and another of clansmen... How do you guys rate the fifedoms?
Author:  Farmer Maggot [ Sat Feb 16, 2013 9:04 am ]
Post subject:  Re: How to make a Minas Tirith army competitive.
From my recent experience Minas Tirith do really well in the new rules. Spear support now use their own Fight value. This means you can take Warriors of Minas Tirith with swords and shields backed up by Citadel Guard with spears. The WoMT can feint while the Citadel Guard add their higher Fight.

I generally use around half WoMT with Citadel Guard support and around half Fountain Court Guard supported by WoMT. I also often take a warband of Knghts and one of Rangers.

Heroes like Beregond & Damrod are great for using Heroic Strikes against Trolls.

I don’t find Faramir very good value, I recently swapped him for Madril and mounted Pippen.
Author:  BoromirofIpswich [ Sun Feb 17, 2013 9:40 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: How to make a Minas Tirith army competitive.
An alternative to the Citadel Guard, Fountain Guard, 'heavy hitters' list would be the 'Minas Tirith Swarm'.

At 1000 points and using Denethor, Beregond, Damrod, Madril and two captains you can put around 25 Rangers and 50+ WoMt with a mix of swords and spears on the field along with a banner and war horn (to keep Denethor on your side).

I've had some success with this against Morannon's and the Shadowlord - I use the Rangers in combat as much as missile troops. The combination of F4 Rangers and numbers gives me a slight edge in hand to hand combat. The lack of 'heavy hitters' makes my opponent wonder what to do with spells each turn.
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