Khand
Army Rules
A simple bonus, Charioteers and Horsemen don't count towards the bow limit. This means that the only thing that does is Khandish Warriors, and it also lets you take 100% bows as both your main force and in an allied group for Easterlings. Given that Khandish shooting via Horsemen is somewhat useful (on Chariots it sacrifices a lot of why you're taking them) it isn't a bad option, just better in pure Khand.
I will mention the Chariot here because it is a very important part of Khand's identity, and a really good mount option. The Chariot costs 30 points for a hero, or 30 for a Warrior version, and brings some huge hard-hitting bonuses for the models riding them. It's a special mount and thus makes them a Cavalry model, but is also a 3 wound defence 7 model so is very hardy and able to soak hits for the fragile riders, plus the rider is only hit by In The Ways on a 5+ instead of 4+, which also carries over into combat as well. Models on the Chariot can still shoot after moving their full distance which is great, but more important for the heroes who come with bows as standard (but isn't really worth it for warriors). Chariot movement is quite complicated, but the most important part is that they get Monstrous Charge (so can knock down weaker Cavalry models and Monsters) and deal 2 strength 4 hits to every model they contact during a move, which happens to both mount and rider on Cavalry models (and they can continue moving if they kill these models). This bonus is huge and in conjunction with Heroic Combat from Heroes to simply fight more can lead to reaching an opponent's break point far quicker than you thought might happen. They do function a lot better with Heroic Actions though to make sure they are moving as much as possible and especially charging, but are still very good normally.
I will mention the Chariot here because it is a very important part of Khand's identity, and a really good mount option. The Chariot costs 30 points for a hero, or 30 for a Warrior version, and brings some huge hard-hitting bonuses for the models riding them. It's a special mount and thus makes them a Cavalry model, but is also a 3 wound defence 7 model so is very hardy and able to soak hits for the fragile riders, plus the rider is only hit by In The Ways on a 5+ instead of 4+, which also carries over into combat as well. Models on the Chariot can still shoot after moving their full distance which is great, but more important for the heroes who come with bows as standard (but isn't really worth it for warriors). Chariot movement is quite complicated, but the most important part is that they get Monstrous Charge (so can knock down weaker Cavalry models and Monsters) and deal 2 strength 4 hits to every model they contact during a move, which happens to both mount and rider on Cavalry models (and they can continue moving if they kill these models). This bonus is huge and in conjunction with Heroic Combat from Heroes to simply fight more can lead to reaching an opponent's break point far quicker than you thought might happen. They do function a lot better with Heroic Actions though to make sure they are moving as much as possible and especially charging, but are still very good normally.
Models
Khandish King- The Khandish King is in my opinion one of the best generic heroes in the game, and on Chariot is a ridiculously efficient combat beatstick. Although his stats aren't fantastic compared to most combat heroes he is very cheap at 95 points (125 on Chariot). Fight 5 and 3 Attacks is amazing, and Strength 4 is fairly standard for a human hero so already is doing good amounts of damage. Add in the hand-and-a-half axe for Piercing Strike and impact hits off the Chariot and models will die very quickly from the King, and that is before factoring in his Heroic Actions. The standard are good, but he has Heroic March to make the army even faster and Heroic Resolve for potential anti-magic, but the big one is Heroic Strike to keep up with bigger heroes. In a pure Khandish army it is a godsend because it lets you compete with big heroes, but allied with Easterlings you can manage because of Amdur, Khamul and Dragon Knights. Bringing along a bow and being able to move full distance with it is pretty great too, if only to get extra shots for potential damage on the way into combat where he really shines. He also has a 6" Banner effect which massively boosts up the output of the rest of the army and on himself which is great, and on a chariot have a huge distance to cover the table.
Khandish Warrior- The basic Warrior profile of the army, they're ok but when you look at what else Khand have they kind of mostly exist as dismounts. They fold fairly quickly at D4 but they bring Fight 4 which is great, a hand-and-a-half axe (so a 2-handed axe at will for those super hits) and a kind of mediocre Courage of 3. Strength 3 is expected given their many ways at boosting wound rolls, and they have the option of becoming archers by replacing their axe with a bow, but the main use for them in my opinion is as a hard-hitting front line for Easterling Warriors as they can double up on pike support and you can Piercing Strike 2-handed without much of a downside as you still have the 2 supporting dice without a -1. Doing this you are at good odds to win a fight and even better odds to kill the enemy, and the biggest thing is you don't need to pay for Black Dragon upgrades because the Khandish Warrior is already Fight 4. It's a different type of Easterling army, and is awkward to use in Maelstrom deployment, but it does the job in most cases.
Khandish Horseman- The Warrior profile on a horse and with a bow for 5 points more, this is a very good trade. They lose either their axe or bow when dismounted but at that point they become a basic Warrior so you can't really complain much, and for 13 points they are excellent skirmish cavalry. They can become insanely good glass cannons as well through Piercing Strike and 2 handing their axe, with the only downside being if they lose the duel roll they are almost guaranteed to die but in return if they win they get +2 to wound and possible charge bonuses so they will tear through things very easily. I'd always be taking these to get into spots Chariots can't reach, and to act as objective grabbers and flankers.
Khandish Charioteer- Still the same profile as a Warrior for 30 points, but they have a Chariot. As I've mentioned above I love the Chariots because of how hard-hitting they are in combat, and the warrior versions are great to fit more into a list. I would always take a couple to buff out ranks when you are taking Khandish models because they really are amazing value. Everything I love about Horsemen plus impact hits and extra protection, although like Warriors they have to choose between bow and axe. They're ok bow platforms because they can still fire after moving their full distance, but that's not a major thing and they're far better as heavy linebreakers leaving the Horsemen to skirmish shooting.
Khandish Chieftain- A King but worse in almost every sense.
Courage, Defense, Attacks and Will are all 1 lower, plus they're a lower tier
of hero and lose the 6" banner effect as well as Heroic Resolve and the
way more important Heroic Strike so even though they're 40 points cheaper it is
still worth paying this just to get multiple kings on the table if you can fit
the cost in. Chieftains aren't bad Captain equivalents, the King is just better
for the price difference. If you have a King in your list already I would start
looking at Chieftains as a cheaper way to get more Might on the table and
especially more models.
Khandish Warrior- The basic Warrior profile of the army, they're ok but when you look at what else Khand have they kind of mostly exist as dismounts. They fold fairly quickly at D4 but they bring Fight 4 which is great, a hand-and-a-half axe (so a 2-handed axe at will for those super hits) and a kind of mediocre Courage of 3. Strength 3 is expected given their many ways at boosting wound rolls, and they have the option of becoming archers by replacing their axe with a bow, but the main use for them in my opinion is as a hard-hitting front line for Easterling Warriors as they can double up on pike support and you can Piercing Strike 2-handed without much of a downside as you still have the 2 supporting dice without a -1. Doing this you are at good odds to win a fight and even better odds to kill the enemy, and the biggest thing is you don't need to pay for Black Dragon upgrades because the Khandish Warrior is already Fight 4. It's a different type of Easterling army, and is awkward to use in Maelstrom deployment, but it does the job in most cases.
Khandish Horseman- The Warrior profile on a horse and with a bow for 5 points more, this is a very good trade. They lose either their axe or bow when dismounted but at that point they become a basic Warrior so you can't really complain much, and for 13 points they are excellent skirmish cavalry. They can become insanely good glass cannons as well through Piercing Strike and 2 handing their axe, with the only downside being if they lose the duel roll they are almost guaranteed to die but in return if they win they get +2 to wound and possible charge bonuses so they will tear through things very easily. I'd always be taking these to get into spots Chariots can't reach, and to act as objective grabbers and flankers.
Khandish Charioteer- Still the same profile as a Warrior for 30 points, but they have a Chariot. As I've mentioned above I love the Chariots because of how hard-hitting they are in combat, and the warrior versions are great to fit more into a list. I would always take a couple to buff out ranks when you are taking Khandish models because they really are amazing value. Everything I love about Horsemen plus impact hits and extra protection, although like Warriors they have to choose between bow and axe. They're ok bow platforms because they can still fire after moving their full distance, but that's not a major thing and they're far better as heavy linebreakers leaving the Horsemen to skirmish shooting.
Example Lists
Below are a couple of examples of Easterling lists with Khand allies, and a single example of a pure Khandish list that I would play. Both lists are 750 points to show the best examples of how I would play Khandish models in large games, and because this is the level that I play.
Easterling/Khand
Khandish King
-Chariot
Warband
2 Khandish Charioteers
5 Khandish Horsemen
8 Khandish Warriors
Amdur, Lord of Blades
-Armoured Horse
Warband
10 Easterling
Warriors
-Pike
-Shield
4 Easterling Warriors
-Shield
Easterling War Priest
-Armoured Horse
Warband
6 Easterling Warriors
-Pike
-Shield
4 Easterling Warriors
-Shield
This list is based around having a hard-hitting core
infantry block, which has a mix of Easterling and Khandish Warriors on the
frontline so you can put either higher damage output or durability where you
need to. It has one pike for each frontline warrior which lets you spread wide
and support everyone or to pick the fights you want to win and double rank
there (especially useful when you’re going all out on the Khandish Warriors).
It has 2 great combat heroes and magic to support your lines (although it won’t
affect the Khandish) and plenty of harassment from the Horsemen before lines
clash. When they do you have 3 Chariots on the table to smash through enemies
and open up holes in their lines to exploit, plus all the previously mentioned
tricks (and 2 separate banner effects on your characters, although they only
affect one part of the army)
Pure Khandish
Khandish King
-Chariot
Warband
2 Charioteers
9 Horsemen
Khandish Chieftain
-Chariot
Warband
2 Charioteers
6 Horsemen
Khandish Chieftain
-Chariot
Warband
2 Charioteers
6 Horsemen
This list is
basically Mongolian Rohan in how it plays, being a skirmish force that can then
hit really hard in combat. With 9 Chariots in the army and the rest cavalry it
really wants to be charging but when it does it will lead to very reliable
deaths on the opponent’s side as long as you manage to win fights. You have a
ton of decent shooting with the Horsemen as well, and everything having
hand-and-a-half axes means you have a lot of versatility about how much damage
you want to pull off at the expense of your own potential survivability. In general it seems to be a really fun army at the least because it is super-fast and hard-hitting, but it is made out of glass and can’t take a hit back.
Mordor
Army Rules
The Mordor army rules are quite good on their own, but as allies aren't as beneficial. When you have more models on the board than your opponent, all your Mordor Warriors can reroll 1s to wound and get +1 courage. If you're using Shamans for Fury the courage doesn't really matter (other than Blades of the Dead) but otherwise is pretty good with their mostly terrible courage, but the rerolls of 1s is the best part for Easterlings taking them as allies. Mordor is being allied in to get models that can more easily wound, and rerolling 1s goes a long way to fixing that problem and having reliable damage to smash through enemy lines.
Models
The Mordor roster is incredibly large and I won't be talking about it all here, rather the warrior options that I think are somewhat useful and/or interesting when allied with Easterlings. The captain equivalents of these models are all well worth consideration to actually lead them, as are the Orc Shaman models (Shamans and Kardush) or just Khamul.
Morannon Orcs, Mordor Uruk-Hai and Black Guard of Barad-Dur- In my opinion the 3 tiers of orc for allying to Easterlings, they all bring a few things to the table. First off is high strength, with them all having minimum Strength 4 and Black Guard having the insanely good Strength 5 (although without paying extra on top of their already high cost are stuck with swords) so they have the advantage above Easterling Warriors there and really this is why you want them. Morannon Orcs are Fight 3 so still tend to want Black Dragon support, but the others are fairly self-sufficient at Fight 4 so you can cut costs on Black Dragon upgrades. Uruk-Hai are fairly low Defence but they can take shields to get to Defence 5, the others being able to get to 6 with their shields (which Black Guard have as standard). Morannon Orcs have choices of sword, mace or axe while Uruks can take bows or two-handed maces (the made being the better option, although they are 4+ shoot the shooting isn't great and I'd take Khandish for that angle) with all of them being able to take banners (although I would go for a Kataphrakt banner still for the mobility). Overall Black Guard are by far the best option here, but on a budget any of them can do great work.
Black Numenoreans- These are the best of the best when it comes to Evil Man Warriors IMO, because for their cost they bring so much to the table. They don't have the higher strength of the Orcs but they do have good Defence, higher Courage and Fight 4 so they are great in a fight (especially when backed up by pikes). They lean into the defensive nature of Easterlings as well with Terror, so you can sit comfortably once you're in position and then wait for the opponent to come to you, which will be tough for them to achieve if they're failing Terror rolls and then you roll 3 dice against them.
Morgul Knights- Basically mounted Black Numenoreans, the Morgul Knights also come with lances so are really amazing (although very expensive at 18 points a pop) shock cavalry. They don't get the army bonus, but they can still smash through enemy lines with no issues against all but the toughest targets and themselves can take a decent beating.
Mordor Troll (and Chieftain)- Evil are known for having a lot of monsters, and the Troll is one of the easier ones to put in with Easterlings and maintain theme (a Dragon being more themed, but losing your army bonus). Fight 7, great Strength and Defence plus high attacks and wounds the troll is something to fear (of course they have Terror) and a great way to have extra linebreakers in your list and things to just smash up enemies. The Chieftain adds to this by being a hero with his own Might, Will and Fate, although he replaces the option of weaponry for a sword and +1 defence. He also has Heroic Strike which makes him quite a strong opponent and a really great choice for Easterling armies as an ally even if just by himself.
Morannon Orcs, Mordor Uruk-Hai and Black Guard of Barad-Dur- In my opinion the 3 tiers of orc for allying to Easterlings, they all bring a few things to the table. First off is high strength, with them all having minimum Strength 4 and Black Guard having the insanely good Strength 5 (although without paying extra on top of their already high cost are stuck with swords) so they have the advantage above Easterling Warriors there and really this is why you want them. Morannon Orcs are Fight 3 so still tend to want Black Dragon support, but the others are fairly self-sufficient at Fight 4 so you can cut costs on Black Dragon upgrades. Uruk-Hai are fairly low Defence but they can take shields to get to Defence 5, the others being able to get to 6 with their shields (which Black Guard have as standard). Morannon Orcs have choices of sword, mace or axe while Uruks can take bows or two-handed maces (the made being the better option, although they are 4+ shoot the shooting isn't great and I'd take Khandish for that angle) with all of them being able to take banners (although I would go for a Kataphrakt banner still for the mobility). Overall Black Guard are by far the best option here, but on a budget any of them can do great work.
Black Numenoreans- These are the best of the best when it comes to Evil Man Warriors IMO, because for their cost they bring so much to the table. They don't have the higher strength of the Orcs but they do have good Defence, higher Courage and Fight 4 so they are great in a fight (especially when backed up by pikes). They lean into the defensive nature of Easterlings as well with Terror, so you can sit comfortably once you're in position and then wait for the opponent to come to you, which will be tough for them to achieve if they're failing Terror rolls and then you roll 3 dice against them.
Morgul Knights- Basically mounted Black Numenoreans, the Morgul Knights also come with lances so are really amazing (although very expensive at 18 points a pop) shock cavalry. They don't get the army bonus, but they can still smash through enemy lines with no issues against all but the toughest targets and themselves can take a decent beating.
Mordor Troll (and Chieftain)- Evil are known for having a lot of monsters, and the Troll is one of the easier ones to put in with Easterlings and maintain theme (a Dragon being more themed, but losing your army bonus). Fight 7, great Strength and Defence plus high attacks and wounds the troll is something to fear (of course they have Terror) and a great way to have extra linebreakers in your list and things to just smash up enemies. The Chieftain adds to this by being a hero with his own Might, Will and Fate, although he replaces the option of weaponry for a sword and +1 defence. He also has Heroic Strike which makes him quite a strong opponent and a really great choice for Easterling armies as an ally even if just by himself.
Example Lists
I won't be putting lists here with every single option above, but I will put a couple of alternate options to show how I would use some specific things.
The Fallen Men
Black Numenorean Marshal
-Armoured Horse
-Lance
Warband
8 Black Numenoreans
4 Morgul Knights
Amdur, Lord of Blades
-Armoured Horse
Warband
8 Easterling Warriors
-Pike
-Shield
2 Easterling Warriors
-Shield
Easterling Kataphrakt
-Banner
Easterling Kataphrakt
-War Drum
2 Easterling Kataphrakts
Easterling War Priest
-Armoured Horse
Warband
2 Easterling Kataphrakts
6 Easterling Warriors
-Pike
-Shield
4 Easterling Warriors
-Shield
-Armoured Horse
-Lance
Warband
8 Black Numenoreans
4 Morgul Knights
Amdur, Lord of Blades
-Armoured Horse
Warband
8 Easterling Warriors
-Pike
-Shield
2 Easterling Warriors
-Shield
Easterling Kataphrakt
-Banner
Easterling Kataphrakt
-War Drum
2 Easterling Kataphrakts
Easterling War Priest
-Armoured Horse
Warband
2 Easterling Kataphrakts
6 Easterling Warriors
-Pike
-Shield
4 Easterling Warriors
-Shield
This list is very similar to the Easterling/Khand list above, but it trades Chariots for lance cavalry and the more reliable damage of Khandish Warriors for the hardiness of Black Numenoreans. Overall it's a straightforward list and a bit less outright damage but it has some tricks as well with mixing ranks and holding your battle line where you need it through Terror and the simple toughness of the troops.
Sauron's Elite
Troll Chieftain
Warband
8 Black Guard of Barad-dur
2 Morannon Orcs
-Shield
Khamul the Easterling
-Fell Beast
Warband
Easterling Kataphrakt
-Banner
Easterling Kataphrakt
War Drum
10 Easterling Warriors
-Pike
-Shield
Easterling War Priest
-Armoured Horse
Warband
10 Easterling Warriors
-Pike
-Shield
Warband
8 Black Guard of Barad-dur
2 Morannon Orcs
-Shield
Khamul the Easterling
-Fell Beast
Warband
Easterling Kataphrakt
-Banner
Easterling Kataphrakt
War Drum
10 Easterling Warriors
-Pike
-Shield
Easterling War Priest
-Armoured Horse
Warband
10 Easterling Warriors
-Pike
-Shield
This list is a bit different to the others in that it uses Khamul and is more focused on the magic, but it has a very tough wall at the front of it and a really great combat hero in the Troll Chieftain. The list is a little light on Might and Fate but you can make up for it with Magic and just in general reliable fights. Plus, who doesn't like the idea of a gleaming golden-armoured troll?
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