Small factions going big - a good idea? - 01. Numenor

We are at the first entry of this new series and we will start with - what a surprise^^ - Numenor! It is the one I thought of and like the most as you might have guessed by now ;)

Current status

Numenor currently has two named heroes, one unnamed hero and one warrior choice. The two named heroes are among the best, human factions can muster and the unnamed hero and the warrior have a lot of equipment options. The army bonus is ok (as are their alliance options), everyone near named heroes, receives magic resistance and the warriors feature F 4 and S 4. And while there are better options in alliance partners, Captains of Numenor are really good at what they do.

This, combined with the big choice of equipment options, gives this faction more flexibility than you might think on first glance.

Drawbacks as a small faction

The first drawbacks result from the miniatures themselves. They are among the oldest ones being around in the system and that shows. The heroes are ok but have no official mounted/shielded versions. The Captain has no official model at all. Same goes for the banner bearer. 

The warriors are only available in metal blisters (with three miniatures) or as part of a Last Alliance box, where they form only a third of the containing models.  Even worse, their scale does not match together with the heroes and even less with the rest of the system. 

The other drawbacks are in game. The factions equipment options give them flexibility  but nonetheless they are very limited. The only fast units are mounted heroes and while the warriors are exceptional good fighters for humans, they are kinda squishy for their cost. Which is another negative point - you pay an elite price for D 5 troops, that die easily, while at the same time, you do not get the model count you would like.

Numenor also does not scale too well into higher point games. You require at least your green ally - Rivendell - to be competitive. And even then the zenith of this combo is reached at 800 points. At some point, you can only add more warriors and Captains, where other factions can choose from a multitude of heroes, war machines, cavalry, monsters, elite troops etc.

Does the limitation fit in with the lore?

NO - definitely not.

Numenor was the biggest and most powerful human kingdom to ever exist in Middle-earth. They defeated Sauron at the height of his power with ease. And even in their weakened state after the destruction of Numenor, - now the realms in exile under Elendil - they defeated Sauron (together with the High Elves) with sheer power of arms and armies.

Numenor was the most technological advanced civilization, had an unmatched navy and even though we know nothing explicit from Tolkien, it can be easily assumed that their status was reflected in their army.

It is true, that this faction is based on Numenor in the Last Alliance, as shown in the first PJ movie. Therefore we only got, what was shown there. But this limitation is not set in stone and GW could expand on what they have.

Is there a good design reason behind the current status?

Since starting with this faction, I encountered and played basically two strategies:

1. Let the heroes do the important work and use the warriors only as bodies to back them up and buy enough time to make the heroes power count.
2. Ally with Rivendell to mitigate the lack of heroes, shooting and support magic. It also offers the possibility to mix the high fight value of elves, with the improved strength of Numenor. 

And well, you cannot ignore that these points are valid strategies. Surely not as much as mainstream factions like Mordor etc but still more than others have. And at least the second one, is also very effective and a lot of opponents showed great respect when they faced it.

It also offers a comparison between an High Elve warrior and a Numenor one. Without any equipment, the two have one point difference in cost. The more expensive high elve, gains  +1 to FV, courage and heavy armour. So he is good at winning and surviving. His Numenor colleague can have a good courage value through the army bonus and hits harder with better strength. 

Should the faction be expanded?

A big yes. And not just because I am a fan ;)

The lore allows for a big range of new heroes, warriors etc. And the topic of the Last Alliance is tailor made for an expansion. One that is actually talked of since the start of the current game version. Please release poor Anarion from his limbo xD

Also the miniatures deserve an update with new box sets etc. And I think there is a big interest in them. Ah and don't forget to add new miniatures for High Elve warriors ;P

A cavalry option + some small and mid-tier heroes would already greatly improve the faction. But still consider a war machine and elite warrior choices ;)

Conclusion

Well and here we finished the first part and the first faction. I hope you like this new format. 

The Castellan keeps his watch and happy hobbying until the next time =)