Profile Review: Rutabi & Brórgîr

Rutabi, General Of The Dragon Legion

Step aside Frída Tallspear, scuttle away Shelob; there is a new 'Queen' of Evil in town. With 3 Attacks (at Fight Value 6 no less) and Strength 4, Rutabi is formidable in combat. That said, without a Mount or Wound-modifiers, she may struggle to chew through multiple troops a turn. Whilst the Easterling Army wasn't short on models with Heroic Strike, another model with it is welcome in any List. Additionally, starting at Fight Value 6 means you will rarely be at a disadvantage in a Heroic Strike-off. Heroic Challenge is situational at best, but makes sense for the setting and background that Games Workshop have created for the Easterlings. The Show No Mercy Special Rule will be situational, but combined with some smart play (e.g. Trapping opponents), and being imbued by Blade Wrath, you can really turn Rutabi into a major threat to enemy Heroes. The Master Of Battle Special Rule (on a 3+), combined with her 3 Might, means that Rutabi's introduction goes a long way to helping solve the low Might issue that has plagued many Easterling Armies for so long. Most saliently for Easterling Armies is that Rutabi is a solid option for your Leader. With Defence 7, 3 Wounds, and 2 Fate, she is one of the most resilient Leaders available to the forces of Evil. This is something that Easterling players have been in desperate need of, as they have previously only had fairly vulnerable Leader options. Rutabi has a Courage Value of 5 and only 2 Fate, which on the face of it is a little worrying for your Leader (who may also be a likely target of your opponent's Magic). However, the Easterling Army Bonus does mean she will be Courage 6 when you have to take those crucial Break Tests. The Army also has Fury options as well. The combination of these factors means you shouldn’t have too much concern when it comes to taking Courage Tests. Another important part of the Profile for Easterling Armies is that they have often struggled for Warband space. An additional Hero of Valour is therefore welcome in order to slightly alleviate this issue (or even solve it in one go). Coming in at 110 Points, Rutabi is certainly affordable. Her cost seems appropriate, and will mean you can fit Rutabi and some of the other named Heroes in more comfortably. I certainly foresee a common List combination of Rutabi and Amdûr; between them they have a lot of potential synergy, acting as the Hammer and Anvil of the Easterling forces. Brórgîr The Conjurer

Easterling War Priests have always been an interesting Shaman-style model. With useful Spells in the form of Fury and Blade Wrath, and as a Hero of Fortitude, they were a little less one-note Courage-bubbles than their Uruk and Orc counterparts. Introduced to us as The Conjurer, Brórgîr seems intent on establishing that he's not just got all the tricks of the normal Easterling War Priest, he's got illusions too - these take the form of a couple of additional powerful Spells. Enchanted Blades is a useful situational Spell that can certainly boost the combat potential of your Heroes; if combined with an Easterling War Priest casting Blade Wrath on the same model, you suddenly have a very scary and potent prospect to utilise (or face). However, doing so may be overkill, and would require the presence of an Easterling War Priest as well (given what Brórgîr has to offer, it may well be unlikely that you'll take both). Casting on a 4+ isn’t prohibitive, but when you have access to Blade Wrath on a 2+ (which acts in a similar role), I think you will opt for the latter of these Spells most of the time. Brógîr’s additional unique Spell is Tremor; a great offensive Spell with the capability to mete out a lot of damage. By being able to knock models Prone, as well as have a high chance of Wounding, the Tremor Spell certainly bring a fresh element to Easterling Magic. It's worth bearing in mind that it does require careful positioning to make the most of it, and having no Mount option could make it hard for Brórgîr to get the most out of this whilst also avoiding danger. In addition, the Casting Value of 5+ means it is a far from reliable Spell to attempt. The Spell certainly is a nice alternative to have in your pocket, but it is not a Spell I would necessarily be using every game. One of the main downsides to the standard Easterling War Priest is that you don’t have enough Will to do everything you might want to. In contrast, not only does Brórgîr have 5 Will, but there is also the chance he won’t expend these if he rolls a natural 6. This means that you can more reliably attempt multiple Spells, rather than having to discriminatorily pick and choose. Nevertheless, even with these advantages, I would be looking to attempt as many Spells as possible on one die. Blade Wrath and Fury are both more than reliable enough to adopt this approach with, and neither run the risk of being Resisted (as both Spells target friendly models). With 2 Might, Brórgîr also allows you to bring a Shaman to your Easterling Army without handicapping yourself with a 1 Might Hero. The presence of the second Might Point gives you more freedom to compensate for the more unfavourable Casting Values, or dud rolls, e.g. when you roll a 1 for Blade Wrath on a Turn where you really need it. The extra might also makes herioc Channel a more viable option. Coming in at 80 Points, Brórgîr is a little more expensive than the basic Easterling War Priest, but I think the extra Might and Will makes him a worthwhile addition. The extra Spells he has are nice options to have that provide some welcome versatility, but they aren't necessarily a game-changer. Unlike Rutabi, this arguably isn’t a Profile that the Easterlings needed, but it certainly is a welcome addition; I foresee Brórgîr replacing the standard Easterling War Priest in most Lists (where the Points allow). A New Power Rising? Between these two Heroes and the Dragon Cult Acolytes, the Easterling Army has received an injection of life that may help it to become a more competitive force. They still may not dominate the competitive scene, but they are certainly now better-equipped to compete. You can quite easily build Armies with the range of options they now have. I quickly put together a List with Amdûr, Rutabi, and Brórgîr for an Army at 700 Points, and I was still able to take 38 models; I would be more than happy to bring it to a GBHL 100 event.

With the above additions and another Easterling Hero on the horizon (who I suspect will be their Hero of Legend - the Dragon Emperor himself), alongside the expected future bequeathment of an Easterling Legendary Legion (in the new Defence of the North supplement), it is certainly a good time to be an Easterling player.