Today I will discuss my favourite army in Middle-earth, something I loved when first reading the books and now on the tabletop- the Grey Company. A Legendary Legion list from Gondor at War, this list is very low on models but packs a big punch, and it's super thematic and fun. It isn't the most powerful in terms of tournament competitiveness- it's tricky to play right and I am by no means an expert player- but it definitely is rewarding when you succeed.
Army Rules
The army has much the same benefits and options as the regular Rangers list in the LotR Army Book, but with a few small changes. First, you have to take Aragorn in order to play this list, and he must take Anduril (which he gets for free). But let's be real, you were going to do this anyway and Anduril is insanely good, making Aragorn a very reliable killer. The difference in list options here is that you don't have the option of Arathorn or Dunedain and gain Legolas, Gimli, Elladan and Elrohir instead, although no one can take mount options. This means any Ranger of the North you take gets a guaranteed 2 attacks care of the army bonus (and everyone gets Woodland Creature) and all those Rangers are affected by anyone else's Stand Fast! which is helpful for when you break (you're a low model count army with low defence, you will very likely break). All in all they're good bonuses without sacrificing huge things for the army (although horses are nice)
Models
Aragorn (Strider)- The big dog of the army, you have to take him but I would always take him anyway. Aragorn is such a hugely impressive piece in how the army functions and offensively that he needs to be protected a lot, but he has what it takes to terrify an opponent and act as the lynchpin the Grey Company revolve around. His free Might every turn from Mighty Hero is a great way to start the game with some Heroic Marches to get into position quicker, and once combat starts he will easily find a place for it between most commonly declaring Move, Combat and Strike depending on board state. It also allows you to reliably out-Might other armies especially with the stacks in the rest of the army which can also determine games if used well. At defence 5 (6 with armour) he isn't the hardest to wound, but with his toolkit (Fight 6, free might, Anduril) he can quite easily win fights and then follow up with kills. Wounding anything on the game on a 4+ (or 3+ if 2-handed) is huge and makes him the most reliable killer in the army and lets him chew through heroes or monsters almost as quickly as he does cheap hordes. Bringing 3 Might, Will and Fate is also the highest count of all these stats in the army which is good to have on such an important piece. He does have the option of taking a bow or Elven Cloak which are ok (the Cloak especially because it protects him) and when you can spare points for them I would definitely do so, but armour goes on first.
Halbarad- Outside of Aragorn, this is where I start my more competitive-minded lists every time. Giving a 6" banner means he will almost always affect the entire army, and also giving them Fearless is a huge bonus against Terror armies, especially with Harbinger of Evil. The potential of failing Terror checks is hugely damaging in such a low model count army, but if you just auto-pass that's not a worry. I say this also inferring that buying the banner is worth doing every single time, because it is for the cost and is a huge force multiplier. Halbarad is obviously a huge target because of what he gives, especially in scenarios where banners need to survive, and with the lowest defensive stats of any of the named heroes in the army (Fight 5 vs everyone else at 6 means he's more likely to lose fights, and defence 5 with 1 fate is significantly more fragile than the rest) he needs to be protected at all costs. For this purpose I always make sure to screen him with other models to soak charges, and if/when he does make it into combat he tends to have a spear Ranger hanging around for extra dice.
Elladan and Elrohir (hereby referred to as "The Twins")- The next additions after Halbarad if points allow, The Twins are your second and third combat heroes after Aragorn. With raw stats that sit between Aragorn and Legolas, they have a few special rules that tune them up into being absolute machines in combat and pretty great shots as well. Access to more Elf Bows is very welcome because S3 shooting is infinitely better than S2, Heavy Armour for D6 is very much wanted for the cost (and should really always be taken- they're not marching to Pelennor without it) and Elven Cloaks are a nice, but situational upgrade (I'd take another Ranger over massing cloaks, and it goes on Legolas and Aragorn first if points fit). They aren't "quad 3s" heroes (that being Attacks, Might, Will and Fate) but with 2s in all but Might they are still pretty effective for their budget cost (80 points each base). In combat they can choose to be 2-handed at 2 attacks, 3 attacks with no other bonus or shield for 4 dice which lets them decide the tempo of battle pretty well (especially when combined with Halbarad's banner and their own Elven-made weapons) and win most combats comfortably. Adding to this they are S4 with 3 Might so they can carve up lesser-armoured foes and reliably combat heavier targets as well, albeit not at the raw power of Gimli or Aragorn but still very effective. Their last bonus is a fluffy rule for if one of them dies, giving the other one a boost to S5 (but -1 defence) and a vendetta against the model that killed his brother, forcing the remaining Twin to charge as close as possible to that model and if it gets there he is able to declare Heroic Challenges for free provided that model is a hero. Free Heroics are always good, and Challenge has the potential to lock out an enemy hero from assisting the rest of the battle while they are in combat with an angry elf that is trying its hardest to cut them down. It does become harder to manage banner range with Halbarad if this happens, but given the importance of the banner to the army it is likely Halbarad will be dead by this stage anyway so it isn't a huge issue.
Legolas- Here you have a more utility piece in a different way to Halbarad, as he is a sniper first and foremost rather than a buff piece for your own army. The way he does this is through Deadly Shot, which lets him shoot either 3 times normally (3+ or if he moves half speed 4+) or make a single shot hitting on 2+, ignoring all In The Way tests and being able to choose mount or rider if on a mounted model. Being able to pick out enemy support, banners or knock heroes off their mounts is a really nice bonus to the army, especially when things need horses to keep up or get their biggest offensive bonuses (looking at you Theoden). His shooting at S3 is high enough to threaten all mounts too so he's a great piece to have in the army, but more and more I find myself reaching for the other characters in lower points games because they're more inherently reliable to me. Once in combat he still has 2 attacks with his Elven-made daggers which is definitely respectable at Fight 6, but he is not overly better than any of the Rangers in a fight other than his higher Fight value. Where possible I like to keep him nearby the army but out of combat, preferably with an Elven Cloak and Armour upgrades, and use him to pick out key pieces in the opponent's army to boost your own chances of success.
Gimli- The other melee bruiser of the list, Gimli the dwarf is a little machine when he hits combat. D8 and Fight 6 keeps him alive very well, and he has a similar special rule to the Twins with regards to his attacks. Although he can't shield, he can use a 2-handed Master-forged axe with 2 attacks (useful to punch through high defence) or 2 axes at 3 attacks. Both are valid options, but with the other 3 attack models in the list he will most likely be going after heavy targets with his 2-handed axe to take them out of the equation while the others clear chaff. He also has Throwing Axes which are very useful on the charge, as it's another S3 ranged attack and can help him clear out more enemies when lines clash. His Will and Fate, like the Twins, isn't fantastic but for their cost is perfectly justifiable. All in all I've found Gimli will always pull his weight in a list and opponents tend to underestimate him a bit compared to some of the others.
"The Competition"- Gimli and Legolas kill count
One of the most entertaining rules in the army, and quite thematic, this gives whoever has less kills at the time of checking a slight bonus to their offence. If Legolas has less kills than Gimli (likely to be later game once Gimli is in combat) he gets +1 to his Shoot value making him 2+, although he will probably be in combat at this time so it isn't massive and 3+ is already great (or just Deadly Shot). Gimli's on the other hand is far easier to trigger given Legolas' role as a sniper, and a further +1 to his wound rolls makes him really terrifying to high-defence targets. When 6s to wound become 4+ using his 2-handed axe (or even 3+) he carves through anything he likes provided he wins fights, which realistically he can against things like Mumaks, Great Beasts, other Dwarves or Warriors of the Dead which are all lower or equal fight value.
Rangers of the North- The troop equivalent of the army (even though they are 30 point heroes), the RotN aren't that great and serve mainly just to fill points in the Grey Company list. At their points cost 1-3 of them fill lists at different points levels when one of the more expensive characters can't be afforded, but where a 4th Ranger would fit it's better to simply take a named hero instead (120 points buys you Halbarad with Banner, Legolas or Gimli fully kitted and every one of these gives points spare). The army bonus giving an extra attack is huge because at fight 4 defence 5 they will be torn apart by any of the strength 4 armies or anything with bonuses to wound and any extra chance to win the fight is very welcome. This is also the reason spears are almost mandatory for them, as at 1 point it doesn't cut into the model count much (if at all, ever) and gives them the option of not only supporting each other, but also the big heroes. Aragorn or the Twins with support from spears become absolute blenders and terrifying for enemy troops to face.
Below are some lists using the thoughts I have mentioned above and the ways I play Grey Company. These tend to be the absolute lowest model counts possible but they also pack the hardest punch and have more survivability than the higher model lists in Grey Company.
400-
400 points is the absolute minimum I would run this army, because any lower and it gets super restrictive with what you can take. There are 2 options I would suggest for this points level, both being fluff based lists that are still good
Three Hunters
Aragorn- Strider
-Anduril
-Bow
Legolas
-Armour
Gimli
Ranger of the North
This list has the Ranger in it purely to bump up a 370 point list to 400 honestly. For a themed Three Hunters list at this points level reflecting their travels from Amon Hen to Edoras, simply replace the Ranger with Elven Cloaks on everyone else- this will lead to 15 points unspent, but is still themed towards the books (alternatively, take this in Fellowship and instead of Anduril and a cloak, mount Aragorn and Legolas)
Halbarad and the Rangers
Aragorn- Strider
-Anduril
-Bow
Halbarad
-Banner of Arwen Evenstar
Ranger of the North
-Spear
Ranger of the North
-Spear
Ranger of the North
-Spear
Ranger of the North
-Spear
This list is themed after Pelennor as most of my Grey Company lists are (if the Banner is there, it's Pelennor) but focuses much more on the Rangers. It is far more fragile and risky to play, but still thematic and will look good on the table.
The Twins
Aragorn- Strider
-Anduril
-Bow
Elladan and Elrohir
-Heavy Armour
-Elf Bows
Ranger of the North
Ranger of the North
This is probably the most well-rounded of the lot despite not having the banner as it has 3 heroes who are very strong in combat and it has a lot of good shooting and movement potential. The Rangers exist purely to support where needed with extra dice and to shoot in the earlier turns of engagement, but they fill a gap so are still useful.
500-
Grey Company as a list starts to really come into its own at this points level as you can start to pack in a lot more of the valuable characters together and work on their synergies. This is where I begin to get a bit more static with what I take, and the combinations begin to blend together (Three Hunters or Halbarad/Twins).
Three Hunters
Aragorn- Strider
-Anduril
-Bow
Legolas
-Armour
-Elven Cloak
Gimli
Ranger of the North
-Spear
Ranger of the North
-Spear
Ranger of the North
-Spear
Ranger of the North
-Spear
The same idea as the 400 point list, just with more Rangers to fill it out. This is where it becomes definite "Grey Company" and not "Fellowship but somewhere different" which is why 500 points is where this list begins to gain its own identity.
Halbarad/Twins
Aragorn- Strider
-Anduril
-Bow
-Elven Cloak
Elladan and Elrohir
-Heavy Armour
-Elf Bows
-Elven Cloaks
Halbarad
-Banner of Arwen Evenstar
Ranger of the North
Lower model count, but it packs a punch which is ultimately the point of how I play Grey Company. This is the beginnings of a combat block where everything stays within range of Halbarad for the bonuses and it puts out hurt whenever it can.
750
The last points level I will discuss and this list will not change. At 750 you can fit all of the named characters with a little bit of Ranger support, and this I feel is the place where Grey Company shines both thematically and mechanically.
The Grey Company
Aragorn- Strider
-Anduril
Legolas
-Armour
Gimli
Elladan and Elrohir
-Heavy Armour
-Elf Bows
Halbarad
-Banner of Arwen Evenstar
Ranger of the North
-Spear
Ranger of the North
-Spear
Ranger of the North
-Spear
9 models, lots of impact. Shooting is good enough to hopefully soften up a bit before combat, but once it hits the list just dances around killing any chaff in the way. Heroes are a bit more thought, but most warriors will crumble against them.
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