Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

Inspired by the re-release of Boromir on Mount, i've decided to see if the legend of how killy he is in game, is true, and am making a Minas Tirith list. I had a question I couldn't find a good answer to in the last errata.

When out-numbered, Boromir can blow the horn of Gondor to force a courage test, and it says if the highest courage opponent fails, you strike blows. What if they pass? If they pass do you proceed with the original Fight as if the horn had not been blown?

If so... why would you ever skip blowing the horn?

Yeah, if they pass the C test then you fight as normal, if they fail then Boromir goes into seal-clubbing mode. I can't think of a case where you wouldn't want to do it, on that basis, you don't have to but there's no reason not to.

Tangentially, this means the best ways to take out Boromir is a) archery and b) heroes and monsters that can take him one on one. In the case of the latter, though, be careful, if he really wants to, he has enough Might to burn that he could feasibly kill most 3W Monsters and a fair few heroes in a single turn (though of course this would leave his Might severely depleted, really you want to be saving at least 3 of the 6 points for Heroic Moves/Fights).

The other thing to do is feed him sacrifices every turn, though remember he can still Heroic Fight to slingshot into another fight, so be careful there.

The only reason I mention this is because at first, if you don't know how to take him on, Boromir can and will just clean up against the unprepared enemy.

Yeah, Boromir is nasty, especially against low-courage troops - "seal-clubbing mode" is the best description I've heard of it!
I've seen him murder his way through huge numbers of goblins when his opponent is using the old "drag them down with overwhelming numbers" tactic, which really doesn't work on Boromir!

Even if the courage test is passed, he's not to be taken lightly - he can and will kill enemy heroes.
So yes, he is very, very killly, and as Paradigm so rightly says, one of the best (and most lore-appropriate) ways to take him down is with archery.

I'm definitely inspired to make room in lists for him, and I feel like it will be a fun exercise in playing the game differently than I normally would, in terms of positioning and what battles I would pick and choose for him.

Fully decked out, and with 6 Minas Tirith mounted knights, I can get that for around 350pts... still plenty of points for our usual 600pt games.

Are you giving Boromir the banner? If you are, then it might be worth investing in some Osgiliath Veterans, pair them with him and you've got F4 and a re-roll, so they make a great battle line against Orcs and other F3 enemies. Means you need to hold Boromir and the Knights back a bit, but it can work; absorb the enemy attack on the Vets, then swing Boromir and the Knights round the flanks to wreak havoc.

Failing that, Faramir, Cirion and Madril all bring a lot to the table, and for troops, you really can't go wrong with the Vets if you're taking Faramir, or WoMT and Rangers otherwise.

I actually already own a couple boxes of Gondor Rangers which I bought on deep discount, and never did anything with. Sounds like a good time to get them painted up. ;-)

Indeed! One good trick Gondor can do is combine Warriors and Rangers in a Warband. Stick the Warriors with shield up front front for D6, and Rangers with both Bows and Spears behind; gives to solid defence against shooting, F4 spear support and some formidable shooting back! Couple of Warbands like that and you've got a very solid battle line.

And it's very fluffy too - especially if you add some veterans of Osgilliath - if you watch the films, there are several scenes where "rangers" and armoured WOMT are fighting the orcs together, so there's a definite precedent for them to fight in mixed units.

 Dark Apostle 666 wrote:
And it's very fluffy too - especially if you add some veterans of Osgilliath - if you watch the films, there are several scenes where "rangers" and armoured WOMT are fighting the orcs together, so there's a definite precedent for them to fight in mixed units.

Plus the Veterans of Osgiliath are some of the best sculpts in the game !

The only time I can think of not to use the Horn is maybe fighting a Nazgul. I think it's more likely for Boomer to roll a 6 than it is for the Wraith to fail his courage test. Having said that, if an Evil player let's his Nazgul get into btb with an un-transfixed Boromir then you simply thank him and strike the Wraith down!

The thing is though, you still get the chance to roll that 6 if the Horn fails, hence there being no reason not to use the Horn if you can.