SAURON

Of course, we can't talk about spellcasters without a nod to the prime Evil of Middle-earth: Sauron, The Lord of The Rings. The first thing people notice about Sauron is the fact that he's rather tough. While having Defence 10 and 5 Wounds often means that you don't have to say sorry to anyone, it isn't as impenetrable as you might think.

Once he gets surrounded, he's in trouble. For this reason, if no other, Sauron should be kept lurking at the back of your army doing what he does best, which is flexing his magical might.

As the supreme lord of darkness, Sauron can marshal all the powers that a Ringwraith can, not only more easily, but also at greater range. With a range of 18"/42cm on all his powers, Sauron has the best magical reach in the game, able to reach out and touch anyone from the same distance as an Orc bow.

Even better, Chill Soul is a whole step better than Black Dart, automatically causing a Wound if it is successful. Although it is tempting to Chill Soul the characters, it is sometimes better to zap normal warriors - all the better to outnumber the foe!

By teaming Sauron up with your archers while a Captain leads the main wave forward, you can really hurt the enemy. You can, of course, still move him into combat later if you wish, but it's wise to wait until after you've thinned out the enemy.

SARUMAN THE WHITE...

...or Saruman the Wise, or Saruman of Many Colours, or Saruman Ringmaker. There is no limit, it seems, to the self-imposed titles bestowed on the head of the wizardly order.

As an individual who has trodden the paths of both Good and Evil, Saruman has a fairly substantial repertoire of spells to inflict upon his foes. Those of you who own The Fellowship of The Ring or The Two Towers rules manuals will notice that Saruman's spell list has changed a little for The Return of The King.

Master of deception and dismay, Saruman can cast Immobilise and Command at the level of Gandalf the White, and with the palantir he can target anyone anywhere on the battlefield. When the foe gets close, Saruman can happily repel them with a few Sorcerous Blasts while sheltering behind his Terrifying Aura.

Though perhaps not as versatile as his fellow wizards, Saruman has one unparalleled ability - he can affect his enemy all the way across the battlefield. This is not a skill to be underestimated. After all, when it is combined with Immobilise cast on a 2+, you can be assailing Heroes' reserves of Will, or just delaying warriors, from a very safe distance indeed. Another plus is a purely comparative one. Even though Gandalf (for example) is not half as efficient in combat as many Good Heroes, such is the lack of skill displayed by Evil leaders that Saruman is the equal to many Evil Heroes and far better than some.

THE RINGWRAITHS

The most versatile spellcasters available to the Evil player, Nazgûl offer no end of tricks and nasty surprises to play on your opponent. Starting off with Transfix and Compel (the Evil versions of Immobilise and Command) the Nazgûl have all the basics for disrupting your enemies' strategy.

Their tricks don't end here though - Black Dart can pierce the toughest armour with ease, Sap Will can prevent the enemy resisting, or even drain enemy Wizards of their casting reserves. The key weapon in the arsenal of a Ringwraith is none of these.

As Ringwraiths rely on their Will, and worse lose it through combat, the best way to use these armoured spectres is from a distance.

The fact that they cause Terror will help immensely in this regard, but the trick to making it work is a handy spell named Drain Courage. A battery of Nazgûl can quickly get the Courage of even the bravest Hero down to a point where they have to roll ridiculously high to even charge a Ringwraith. Essentially, Ringwraiths are meant as support. Even though the new versions come with Might and Fate, don't be tempted to throw them into the fray needlessly - cautious is the way to play. It's always hard to resist the rising bloodlust and charge everything in as soon as you can. Fight it! It won't work.

The one and only to this is if your Nazgûl has a fell beast as transport. Speaking from experience, nothing attracts arrows quite like a fell beast and its sheer size means it cannot hide easily.

Once it is in combat, Good can no longer target it and with Strength 6 attacks coming in from the beast itself, your Nazgûl will be able to tear up an awful lot of foes in short order. If you don't get him into combat he's just one big target and, correspondingly, dead.

SHAMANS

Coming in Uruk-hai, Mordor Orc and Moria Goblin flavours, Shamans can be an essential part of any Evil force. Like most spellcasters they have an immobilisation spell - in their case Transfix. This isn't the core of their worth, however.

Not being very good at magic, their spell only succeeds on a 5+, not great odds. Transfix is therefore the backup ability the Shamans should rely on while their real worth comes into play with Fury.

Fury is an excellent support spell. Keep your Shamans close to your troops and watch as your hordes of Goblins and Uruk-hai suddenly pass all of their Courage tests, driven by the shamanic force of one Hero. Even better, enthused to the point of senselessness by the magical aura, 1 in 6 of your minions will shrug off otherwise fatal blows and live to fight another day! For only 45 or 50 points, Shamans are an ideal investment for an Evil player - they even come with a point of Might to let them do some heroic leadership.

BARROW-WIGHTS

Evil spirits housed in the corrupted flesh of kings long dead, the Barrow-wights are part of the legacy of Angmar, and the tyrannical reign of the Witch-king.

As you might expect, these soulless creatures are very similar to the Ringwraiths in form and aspect, giving them a very similar profile. With a Strength of 2 and only 1 Attack, Barrow-wights are not going to last long against enemy troops (although, as ever, terror will help them stay alive).

Why take a Barrow-wight? The answer is simple: Paralyse. Paralyse is one of the most powerful (and most vocally reviled) spell in the game. Does your opponent take powerful Heroes like Aragorn or Elrond? Paralyse will deal with them, knocking them out and leaving them vulnerable to your vengeful attacks.

A Ringwraith paired with a Barrow-wight is an incredibly powerful double-whammy. The Ringwraith casts Sap Will on the Hero who is then Paralysed. On this not-so-subtle cue, a dozen or so Orcs or Goblins rush forward and beat the offending Hero into a pulp while he can't fight back. This may not sound fair but then, nobody ever said that evil was fair.

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