Place the table face down, then position the leg bracket, using a pen to mark the drill holes.
Note: The Bolts I used were slightly to large for the bracket holes. I drilled out the original holes to increase their circumference.
Step 10
Rivendell Knights and Cavalry
By Matt Paterson
A Look at how we play and deal with Calvary tactics.
BREAK DOWN !
Query -
About-
Finale -
Usually when you play or are playing Rivendell knights you get responses like “UGGGH not Knights” or “Filthy Elves” which made me often wonder where this elven hatred stems from.
In this Blog I will be divulging and de-bunking the common myth’s and perceptions of the Rivendell Knight. I will also dive into some of my own experiences as big fan of the Elven realms.
Finally we will truly understand what it takes to be an Elven player.
Pack Contents
This multi part kit contains 54 bits and 6x 400mm round bases.
There are enough parts to make 6x knights and 1 with Banner.
Noble Knights of Elrond’s house.
An elite band of warriors formed of the nobles in Elrond’s house, the Knights of Rivendell are formidable cavalrymen. Their devastating charges leave shield walls in tatters, whilst their nimble steeds can weave and dodge through even dense woodland with ease.
Common Myths about Knights.
When we look at a Knights profile it has A LOT going for it Lances, shields, Elven blades, horses and of coarse bows. This means that this is one of the only units in the game that has practically every thing you need. The high fight, the moderate defense, and the ability to get +1 attack and to wound on the charge is incredible.
If it goes right that it. Knights often
suffer from 2 things. Firstly they are hit or miss units. Basically that means that either by bow fire or by charging they will either do extremely well or fail miserably. Secondly they suffer from the choice of a shooting army or a combat army. This can blur your objectives at critical decision making moments.
For example choosing when to spend might on heroic charges and counter chargers. “Why are Knights so good?” well they aren’t really it is dependent on the player and as always your luck of the dice.
Judging your list type.
Identifying what your list type is the first step in achieving a good Rivendell knight list. Is your list a scoot and shoot army or a flight and fight combat force. More on those later.
When creating lists I like to make a theme and then optimize the list from there. Sometimes ill base it off a single character like Elrond or
Gilgalad. Its ok to ally in but remember that you may loose theme points along the way the more allies you have.
Don’t be left like this image above in your battle lines.
A good formation to have in combo with blinding light.
Tactics and Plans
Knowing the right time to strike.
There are two main types of play style which lend themselves better when playing Riv Knights. How you play those tactics and how your dice roll’s turn out is entirely up to you.
The “Shoot and Scoot” tactic.
This is an easy play style to learn but hard to master. The trick to this list is maximizing numbers and have the space to maneuver around. A big part of this play style is taking an army down by whittling numbers OR taking out one big unit that will tip the battle in your odds.
Shooting tends to be a let down, your expectations will be warbands falling before your walls of arrows. This wont be the case in fact if you manage to kill 2-3 models in a shoot phase you are winning.
In some instances you will have an epic phase and get some good kills but its best to remember that every model you take down is less to deal with in the long run. Alternatively you can focus all your shots on one target maybe a troll or a sharman. That can also swing a game in a big way any points down is a good thing.
For example choosing when to spend might on heroic charges and counter chargers. “Why are Knights so good?” well they aren’t really it is dependent on the player and as always your luck of the dice. Some good tips for list building is looking at who can help your shooting abilities. Maybe consider Gandalf the Grey with his blinding light spell, being able to be hidden from enemies whilst having the freedom to shoot back is a plus. Perhaps Legolas could offer something with his “Auto
hit”, taking out import targets or just use his 3 extra shots. Whoever you have allied make sure they are mounted, there is no point having a tag along.
Whoever you have allied make sure they are mounted, there is no point having a tag along.
Lastly mange the table top effectively. Pick the crowded deployment areas so your opponent cannot get the cover they need. Also leave some space behind you so that you can run backwards or away from the enemy. Undoubtedly the enemy will use heroic marches to gain ground this can be useful for a counter charges. Just make sure that you can commit all you force.
The overall idea is to take down a few numbers or big units before you hit that charge and hit with everything you have.
The “Flight and Fight” tactic.
The flight and fight tactic works in much the same way as the last tactic works, the army backs away and you counter strike with a one of charge. Like I mentioned earlier the enemy will see your bow force and worry, which usually means heroic marches. This is good as they are using precious might to get closer.
This tactic is like a Glass hammer which refers to the big hit but shatters afterwards. When the enemy commits there force to marching they cannot charge. So for this army you want to lose priorities so you can anticipate the opponent’s plans. Now you cant lose on purpose obviously, you will win dice roll s but you can play in such a way where is doesn’t matter-
what the outcome is. We do this by positioning by keeping 8” away from the enemy. Why 8” you ask, because of two factors, (1) your enemy will most likely be able to move 6” and (2) if your 10” away not all your Cav will be able to charge at once with their 2” base size. This is tricky to manage and even trickier to bait your opponent into thinking you’re a shooting army.
Back away and split your force like the image below this will help segregate the opposite force. Once in position you can counter charge hit with every model you have. Heroic combat with heros and use those lances on the Knights. Hopefully in this first turn of charging you will do a lot of damage to even the odds.
Is the Banner worth it?
Personally I think the banner is not useful in a all mounted force mainly for the fact that it has 3” range so it will only affect 2 maybe 3 Combats max not worth it in my opinion.
However it might be critical when playing To the Death or other scenarios.
The twins and Elrond are good choices to have for this force as they can punch with heaps of might an handy spells. Elrond’s best spell is actually Renew in a mounted force. Natures wrath is a good spell but even if it goes off it offers no benefits when your horses are charging. The spell would be better used as a counter charge tactic.
The idea with Natures wrath is to target as many troops as you can without hitting any of the opponents heros. Natures wrath has a 6” bubble affect so when moving Elrond or Arwen keep that into consideration. The Twins offer great potential too with their 3 might each and they can be mounted. Having the high fight will help with enemy monsters or heros who are causing a bit of damage. Lets not forget about the Ol classic captain, great fight , good defense and a couple of might to throw around he/she is not to be taken lightly. Make sure when charging your hero targets enemy captains or heros with lower fight if he strikes you strike.
Playing terrain can be tricky there can be a lot of obstacles which wont help you. Such as building and trees will provide places where you wont be able to charge nicely. If possible keep most of you force together and keep your formation tidy. There will be certain times when the formation needs to be broken for example spreading out when a trebuchet or a dragon is around with its nasty breath fire.
You may find charging more difficult than you think often in a shield wall formation if means one horsemen will have to engage upto two models with supports. That is why its important to get your men around the back of those formations.
Conclusion.
As you can see Knights are no walk in the park but often very rewarding when things do go right. A lot of people see them as a war machine which will rip through anything, but like I have explained a few good counter charges and wayward arrows can really dwindle a Rivendell army. Having low numbers and relatively expensive models means you force will have 15-20 models maxed out which can be broken very fast. Some games you will dominate and others you can be tabled in turn 3. I hope that this have given you some insight into my favourite way to play and inspires you to play something different.
Just have fun and play something different.
Next Issue we will take a look at the Great Beast of Gorgoroth.