A "Last Alliance" Expansion - Numenor Profile ideas

 Less then a week to go till the Warhammerfest, where MESBG officially has a slot for announcements! There were no whatsoever official clues what the news will be - if its the long awaited info about the next expansion or just some smaller stuff like non-connected miniature releases.

But I am hyped and motivated AND I think we will hear about the "Last Alliance" as the next expansion ;)

I already had some thoughts about the content of such an expansion and thought about a possible extension of the Numenor faction. But since then, I learned a lot and played even more often. I feel more experienced and a bit more grounded regarding new profiles. So I set down and worked on some profiles I would like to see + their values, costs and usage. Join me for a ride through possible new Numenor stuff =)

DISCLAIMER:

The source for my ideas here, came from a lot of thoughts and experience of playing the game. But I also drew from many discussions with other gamers. So I do not claim to having invented everything from the ground. And I of course have absolutely no official info. The following is just an imagination of a Numenor MESBG player, dreaming of possibilities ;)

Image source: GW

Hero Profiles

Anarion 

One cannot talk about a LA expansion, without mentioning Anarion. The "forgotten" profile, is more then overdue for a release. I designed his profile to reflect his great deed - defending Gondor, while his brother and father, forge the LA and prepare for war. So he is all about defence and holding the lines.

Anarion

Man, Numenor, Infantry, Hero

Valour

100 Points

Mv

F

S

D

A

W

C

M

W

F

6

5/4+

5

8

3

2

6

2

3

1

Wargear

Heavy Armour, Sword, Shield

Heroic Actions

Strike Defence

Options

None

Special Rules

Blood of Numenor

Same as Isildur

Defender of Gondor

ACTIVE When Anárion calls a Heroic Defence, roll a d6. On a 4+, he does not expend Might for it. Additionally, in a turn where he calls H-Defence,  models with keywords – Numenor, Infantry– which perform a shield block, add +1 to their defence value for this turn. This has range of 6 Inch.

Field-Medicus

This idea is already since a long time in my head. Numenor was not only very advanced in regards of architecture, sailing and war. Their reputation in the ways of healing is famed too. So I imagine that such a vast army,  would not only deploy good soldiers and equipment but also people who are able to help wounded comrades. My idea might seem quite OP on first glance. But due to the small radius, you have to keep the FM quite close to your battle line - maybe even in the second rank, instead of a spear. Also there is the drawback, that saved models stay on the ground and are still in danger if they do not get priority next turn.

Overall I think I found a nice balance.

Field-Medicus		Man, Numenor, Infantry, Hero				Independent		55 Points
Mv	F		S	D	A	W	C		M	W	F
6	4/+4		4	4	1	2	4		0	1	1
Wargear						Armour, Dagger
Heroic Actions						None
Options						None
Special Rules
Blood of Numenor						Same as Warriors of Numenor
Experienced Healer						ACTIVE Every model within 1 inch around the Field-Medicus, which would receive a deadly wound, can roll a d6. On a 5+, the wound is avoided. However, the model saved this way, counts as lying on the ground, till the next turn.

Paladin

I like the idea that horses were not that common in Numenor culture and that only the royal family has access to knights in their warbands. However there were also a few great nobleman who devoted their life to the royal family and proved their worth with great deeds in war. They were granted the title of a Paladin and the right to fight on horse. Their strength and skill allowed them to use two-handed weapons with ease, while at the same time making use of a shield. They take in worthy disciples from the ranks of knights and teach them their way of fighting.

I wanted to have a specialized small hero, being able to lead a fast strike force.

Paladin		Man, Numenor, Cavalry, Hero				Minor		65 Points
Mv	F		S	D	A	W	C		M	W	F
6	5/+4		4	7	2	2	4		2	1	1
Wargear						Heavy Armour, Shield, Two-handed weapon of choice, Armoured Horse
Heroic Actions						Strength Challenge
Options						None
Special Rules
Blood of Numenor						Same as Warriors of Numenor
Shieldwall
Expert Duelist						PASSIVE The Paladin reached such a skill and strength with his two-handed weapon, that he is able to wield a shield and gain its advantages.
Worthy Paladin Disciples						PASSIVE A Paladin can only lead Knights of Numenor and is an exception to their normal limitation. KoN in his warband, can be upgraded to P-D for 2 points. They equip a two-handed weapon of choice instead of their original equipment. They additionally gain the Shieldwall special rule.

Sharpshooter

What has always been missing from Numenor, were their famous steelbows. I wanted to portray them as a special weapon, that can only be handled by skilled bowmen. A Sharpshooter is exceptionally skilled and only his pupils are worthy of using the same weapon as their master.

Sharpshooter		Man, Numenor, Infantery, Hero				Minor		65 Points
Mv	F		S	D	A	W	C		M	W	F
6	4/+3		4	5	1	2	4		1	1	1
Wargear						Armour, Dagger, Steel Bow (a S3 bow)
Heroic Actions						Accuracy
Options						None
Special Rules
Blood of Numenor						Same as Warriors of Numenor
Sharp Eyes						When shooting, a Sharpshooter can re-roll failed to wound rolls of 1.
Apply what you learned!						A sharpshooter and S-Disciples within 6" around him, may re-roll 1s to Hit, if they did not move this turn.
Worthy Sharpshooter Disciples						A Sharpshooter can only lead Warriors of Numenor. WoN in his warband. They can be upgraded to Sharpshooter Disciples for 2 points. S-D equip a steel bow and dagger instead of their original equipment.

Warrior Profiles

Knights of Numenor

Horses are not a common thing among Numenor forces. Only a small selection of warriors who are unquestionably and proven loyal to the royal family, are allowed to ride one of the few original horse breed from their home island. These warriors are proud knights of Numenor. They equip heavy armour and shield and can fight just as good on the front ranks or on horse as heavy shock troops.

Knight of Numenor		Man, Numenor,  Infantry, Warrior						10 Points
Mv	F		S	D	A	W	C		-	-	-
6	4/+4		4	6	1	1	3		-	-	-
Wargear						Heavy Armour, Sword, Shield
Options						Lance - 1 Point Horse - 5 Points Banner - 25 Points
Special Rules
Blood of Numenor						Same as Warriors of Numenor
Worthy of a rare honour.						KoM can only be fielded in warbands of heroes of Valour or higher. Additionally, only a third of such a heroes warband, can be used to field KoM.

Army Theory

Anarion is easy - his history was a great influence and serves as a cheaper option to Isildur, which fills a different role.

The rest is all about adding interesting options/specializations while at the same time, not introducing a ton of new warrior profiles and staying true to the basic idea of the army - good fighters, good hitters, mostly infantry, strong heroes,  not much heavy armour and variation through deep options on profiles, instead of many different ones.

Numenor had a vast army and as such, would surely had to opportunity to have specialized troops. My choice was, that achieve that by adding small heroes, who offer special rules, with which they can influence the existing warrior profile.

The only new warrior profile is from the knights. Basically a normal warrior, with better armour and limited possibility to be fielded.

Conclusion

I am well aware that there is no way for that many new profiles to be released for Numenor. And that probably a new hero and one troop type is the best we can hope for. Nonetheless I wanted to prove, that there is still so much potential in our system for new stuff in general and especially for Numenor as a faction. 

It was really motivating to write down these profiles and find a balance between cool idea and not allowing it to become overpowered.

I hope you enjoyed reading through them, as much as I did when writing them =D 

Let me know in the comments what you think of my ideas and what YOU believe, should be released for Numenor in the case of a Last Alliance supplement ;)

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