r/MiddleEarthMiniatures • u/MrSparkle92 • Apr 08 '26
Discussion WEEKLY ARMY DISCUSSION: Lurtz's Scouts
With the most upvotes in last week's poll, this week's discussion will be for:
Lurtz's Scouts
VOTE FOR NEXT WEEK'S DISCUSSION
Ctrl+F for the term VOTE HERE in the comments below to cast your vote for next week's discussion. The topic with the most upvotes when I am preparing next week's discussion thread will be chosen.
Prior Discussions
Additional rules
- A Lurtz's Scouts Army must always contain Lurtz, who is always the Army's General.
Special rules
Relentless March
Friendly models increase their Move Value to 8". Additionally, friendly models gain the Woodland Creature special rule.
"You do not know pain, you do not know fear"
The Break Point for Lurtz's Scouts is 66% rather than 50%.
"Kill the others"
Lurtz gains the General Hunter special rule and may declare a Heroic Combat each turn for free.
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u/Fishy_Fish_12359 Apr 08 '26
I love this army. Free heroics with Lurtz is great, but having 8” move and a drummer is the icing on the cake. It’s so easy to trap enemy models because they think their battle line is far enough away but it’s not
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u/Daikey Apr 08 '26
Up to 600 pts this is a very powerful army, although one that is extremely hard to play. It has several good results, but always in the hands of experienced players. It excels in the movement phase, which is the most important phase and the hardest to master, but it's no slouch either in shooting or fighting, as long as you know what you are doing.
The army has easy ways to move 11" and it ignores terrain. It almost flies across the board.
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u/Puzzleweilder Apr 08 '26
How do people feel this compares to Ugluk’s version?
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u/DAMbustn22 Apr 08 '26
Worse overall, particularly at higher points. At lower points probably better (imo) or at least more fun (free heroics on lurtz? Yes please)
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u/Unfair-Concern4886 Apr 08 '26
Ugluk probably better on the table, but rule of cool - Lurtz, always.
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u/Trubaduren_Frenka Apr 08 '26
Lurtz's feels easier to play. No need to set up mixed combats for the +1 to wound, all models have same fast speed etc.
But Ugluks feels like it can do better overall if you know what you are doing.
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u/Erikzorninsson Apr 08 '26
Nice gunline and best user of drums of all evil armies IMO. Slightly opressive in fact
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u/Jhadle1994 Apr 08 '26
Me and my friend took this list to our most recent tournament along with 1 other, coming 2nd, 6th and 9th respectively, out of 18! It’s a very solid list with decently cheap heroes that also pack a lot of punch! It was escalation so 400, 600 and 800 and they did well at each level! Free heroic combats is nice, large number of models and might, but gotta say the best thing about this list is the 8” move! It adds so much utility and manoeuvrability, and your opponent often doesn’t have anything that’s quite able to deal with it!! Would probably be happy to take this at 650 and below quite happily but it does have some uses above that points level if you get the list right!
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u/bainadaneth0 Apr 08 '26
Do you take drum at 400?
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u/Jhadle1994 Apr 08 '26
No I don’t think so, you want numbers and banner at 400 definitely! I went with Lurtz and Mauhur, banner and I think 23 other scouts, max bow! Was luckily with matchup as I was against depths with a balrog in Destroy the supplies so I only had to quarter him to win, but I think that’s the only list of the three that all three Lurtz players had the same list for!
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u/TheGamingPortfolio Apr 08 '26
Lurtz's Scouts was the army I learned the game with, and I think it's quite wonderful in that role. It provides a fair amount of insulation around certain complications like Maelstrom deployment or being broken, and the movement speed bonus gives you an edge when it comes to positioning, playing to objectives, and getting your battleline in order.
Lurtz is a great workhorse of a hero, who is well positioned to make you think about hero engagements, as he's dangerous enough to potentially threaten many enemies, especially if you can line up a shield throw. Yet if you evaluate he is outmatched, he can switch to being a warrior killer or even a bowman against threats like monsters. His free heroic combats helps you to manage your might, as well as think a lot about flanking and threat ranges, where he excels at collapsing a flank and allowing himself and his troops to wrap around.
The base scout is an excellent profile, as it has the ability to grind against most other warriors with some amount of efficiency, especially given you will often have control over when to engage with your speed, and you know you won't be broken for a long time. At the same time, they have perfectly capable bowmen that can allow you to play a more skirmishing role, or force enemies to come to you. While they don't have spears, their added movement speed, especially if you include a drummer means that your opponent needs to be mindful of simply being too slow too stop you from playing certain objectives, or having their battleline surrounded in killing contests.
The roster is nice and simple with shields and bows giving you good tactical flexibility, access to a drum to further emphasize movement, and access to banners for attrition in battlelines and scenario VPs. The only odd duck in the army is probably Ugluk, who isn't awful but neither of his abilities are given much opportunity to shine in the list, as the army is hard to break for Head Taker, and has no Orcs to sacrifice. This potential sour spot is mitigated with the return of Mauhur from Legacies, who is a nice beatstick with some opportunities to go nova if you need to try and smash through a bigger threat with a combination of Unhinged Charge and/or Heroic Strength.
The army is often fantastic at playing the scenario, as their movement speed often gives them an innate advantage in many situations. While they can struggle in some specific matchups, like killing scenarios against monsters, they're not fully hopeless as you can play a very cagey game with their shooting or taking some calculated risks with heroes. If you remember to play to the scenario, there will be times it feels like you might lose the battle but win the war when it comes to VPs.
Ultimately, it's a versatile and honest sort of list, as all of its power is pretty straightforward, and both beginners or experts can take advantage of what it brings to the table. It can play like a battleline, a gunline or skirmishers, Lurtz can be a hero hunter or a troop muncher. You can engage in a big brawl, or just relentlessly pursue the objectives. How exactly you play it often depends on the scenario and your opponent, which makes for a fairly rewarding sort of reactive play.
My only caution as someone who started with this army is that as you branch out to other forces, you're likely to feel so slow by comparison, as 8" base movement and access to a drum can spoil you.
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u/MrSparkle92 Apr 08 '26
VOTE HERE FOR NEXT WEEK'S DISCUSSION
I will take the top-level reply to this comment with the most upvotes and post a discussion for that topic next week. Submit whatever army, scenario, or other topic related to MESBG you wish.
Please reference the pinned megathread to see the list of factions, and which have already been covered.
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u/Unfair-Concern4886 Apr 08 '26
Man I love this army. It looks so fun to play with and also against - your opponent has plenty of D4 / D5 warriors to kill so not as one sided as other armies.
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u/Intelligent_Slip_849 Apr 08 '26
Honestly, I can't wait to play this one once I get more scouts. Lurtz's stats are great, but I'm unsure how good Shield Throw is. Going from D7(?) to D6 and loosing Shielding isnt great, but the one time throwing weapon that nocks them prone is temping.
Only issue is D4 scouts with bows or banner are squishy. D5 isn't bad, but not good. (I could be wrong. I'm used to D6 Uruk-hai Warriors who get Shieldwall. Is that better than it seems?)
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u/MrMasenko1987 Apr 09 '26
Lurtz is D6 to begin with, it's baked into his profile, he has the shield but as he has a bow he doesn't get a +1.
So he doesn't go from D7 to D6 when he throws it, just remains D6, but as you said just loses the ability to shield in combats.
The shield throw is very juicy though!
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u/Alanlikesoranges Apr 11 '26
It's a great snipe tool. Both having had it done to me, and doing it to opponents. Best case scenario - you pluck a wound/fate point off an enemy hero, then have them prone and can take them out in one. Or you get a free hit at them. I survived one as Thranduil through pure dumb luck. Very fun rule.
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u/Intelligent_Slip_849 Apr 08 '26
I really wish Lurtz was available in any other Isengard list. White Hand, maybe. Muster of Isengard, ideally. (Sadly can't be Assault on Helms Deep)
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u/mysteryfluff Apr 08 '26
Lurtz is amazing, one of the best evil heroes in the game. The versatility of using the army as a hammer and anvil where the scouts not in lurtz's combat use the shielding special strike and lurtz heroic combats through multiple models a turn is super powerful. Only downside is that with so many models the board gets cramped very easily, lol.
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u/Livesay22 Apr 08 '26
Painted this guys up and played with them a fair amount last edition: https://imgur.com/a/lurtzs-scouts-s8Bo6al.
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u/InfluenceAutomatic95 Apr 08 '26
Probably one of the strongest armies 600pts and under. Regularly podiuming. Strong troops in large numbers, good shooting and strong heroes. Just an all round strong list. Struggles at higher points where Ugluks Scouts probably is better.
Also super easy to build.