Khandish King on chariot

KINGS OF THE ROAD

Variags have one thing that makes them very special in The Lord of The Rings game: huge great chariots! Chariots are a brand new addition and will be welcomed with open arms by Evil players who are sick of their infantrymen being ridden down.

Chariots count as Monstrous Mounts and Stable Platforms, and move a lightning 10"/24 cm per turn. Thus, you can shoot with your Chariots as they close in on the enemy. When they hit home, they can knock over and potentially ride down not only enemy infantry but also enemy cavalry. "Chariots have the same Defence as normal mounts, but they have three times as many Wounds. Thus, it is very difficult to neutralise a Chariot before it gets into combat, especially with a Khandish King around to facilitate a heroic move." Kings, you say? Kings? "Yes, the Khandish Kings act not only as powerful heroes but also as banners, allowing the troops vital re-rolls that can force a devastating charge home." Mental note: buy Khandish King for Evil force.

IT'S NOT ALL BAD

One of Mat's favourite aspects of the book is the inclusion of none other than Eorl the Young, founder of Rohan, as one of the five characters for Good armies included in the book.

"Eorl the Young is the first King of Rohan," relates Mat. "His valourous actions against the Easterlings resulted in Gondor awarding him the lands that later become Rohan as we know it. It would have been wrong not to include him." All well and good – provided he keeps his horse away from the Khandish Chariots, of course.

Eorl the Young

Khandish cavalry

VIOLENT VARIAGS

Mat explains, "The Variags of Khand feature briefly in Tolkien's works. There are a couple of lines in The Return of The King, when Tolkien is describing the Evil forces massing for war." From this seed of information, Mat and the team have created, not only a new troop type, but a new army altogether. "If anything, the Variags have more choice and flexibility than the Easterlings," explains Mat. "They have a wider spread of characters. They have Chieftains, Chariots, and Kings – plus mercenary versions of each of the main troop types. The mercenaries are better fighters but may desert you."

"We took the original line about the Variags, decided they'd look good with axes, and set the Perrys (the miniatures designers responsible for most of The Lord of The Rings range) loose on them. The Perrys used what information we had as a springboard and combined it with the historical archetype of Far Eastern Mongol horseman to come up with a look that has resonance both with history and with the imagery of J. R. R. Tolkien's work."