Okay guys I would love some help with the great beast. What is the best way to maximise it's potential in an army? I normally run 2 at 600-750pts. It seems like a big points sink when it hits and loses combat constantly. Should I be taking a spellcaster for the sole purpose to immobilise whatever it hits? Should I be supporting it with a certain unit? Would find any help useful or links to similar discussions as I cannot find any help online that is outdated.

The boys at DC Hobbit League have addressed this topic in their Q&A videos. I'm not sure if you would consider that outdated. The key points I remember is that the Beast allows Mordor to have more bows than their limit actually allows; and that it only counts as 1 model for brokenness checks, even when it is dead and you have the extra archers. (I plan on painting mine differently for this reason.)

The boys at DCHL are also really great at answering e-mail questions, but they are swamped, so check the video first.

Hope this helps.

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"Diplomacy is the art of saying 'nice doggie' until you can find a rock." -Will Rogers

I usually support mine with some sort of caster. I find nazgul or spectres to be good for moving a model out in the open where you can shoot it down. Being on the platform gives a good line of sight for those 9 shots. Also, try to max out your bow limit with other units (I like trackers ).

As far as combat it usually isn't something you can just run into a whole warband alone and expect it to come out okay. Just give it some support whether that is troops or a combat hero is up to you. Obviously don't forget about the monster rules, a cheeky hurl down the spear line can change a game even if it doesn't kill anyone directly!

I've taken out Balin and a bunch of iron/khazad guard with a great beast and some trackers before so always believe in your orc shooting! Hope that helped and good luck.

Thanks for the input guys. The DCHL only lightly touched on the topic. I've had a look at the sourcebooks and come up with this as an idea for a 600pts list. I think it covers quite a few bases and may be quite solid, how could I improve?

Ringwraith, 1, 8, 1
Great beast of gorgoroth
5 orc warriors, shield
5 morannon orcs, spears and shields
1 warg rider, throwing spear and shield
=290pts

Mordor orc shaman
5 orc warriors, shields
5 morannon orcs, spears and shields
2 warg riders, throwing spears and shields
=155pts

Ringwraith, 1, 8, 1, horse
5 mordor orcs, shields
5 orc trackers
1 warg rider, throwing spear and shield
= 155pts

==600pts