Now that I’ve finally gotten the chance to read through War of the Ring, on top of actually playing around with the minis (’cause it’s all about the toys), I’ve done some more thinking about what I’m going to try to do for War of the Ring.

I’m not sure how much I’m going to want to buy into the game, so the fewer sets and metal models the better. Although I love Far Harad (Mahud and Half-trolls = awesome!), $45-$60 a company is just too damn much.

I get 3 company’s worth of Haradrim in each box (1.5 companies with spears and 1.5 companies with bows). This is kind of annoying, because it means I’ve got to keep the number of my stabby Haradrim about equal to my shooty Haradrim. I’d rather not end up with a box of unpainted archers.

A friend of mine found a really good deal on some Serpent Riders on eBay: $1 for a box of six and something like twelve hours left on the auction. Still waiting to see if that comes through, but for now I’ll assume it did (otherwise, I’ll replace the Serpent Riders with Haradrim Raiders).

Also, I’m kind of excited about turning a Troll into a Troll from Harad. It seems reasonable to try to have a monster but I don’t really want to rock a Mumak. Plus I kind of like the idea of localizing any of the allied units I might want to run.

So, that gets me:

Suladan, the Serpent Lord
Abrakhan Guard – Hornblower
Haradrim Warband x3 – Hasharin, Taskmaster, Banner, Hornblower
Haradrim Warband x3 – Bows
Haradrim Warband x3 – Bows
Serpent Rider Warband x3 – Chieftan, Banner, Hornblower
Mordor Troll

I’m sure there’s a lot of room for improvement, but it’s a relatively inexpensive start for me.