The Long Rider is the second most popular DS nation after the Cloud Lord. This position is NOT recommended for new players. If played properly there is enormous scope though, it is regularly one of the most powerful DS nations and regularly places in the top three. Unlike most of the DS positions, you can be aggressive right from the start, your characters are reasonably good, you have nice artefacts and a reasonable army with good special abilities. This position is usually one of the first to be taken when a new game is announced. However, things can go very badly for you if you are not careful. The opening strategy of moving your agents to the Northmen capital doesn't always work. The Dwarves and Northmen combined (with the Eothraim) can quite easily defeat your armies. Your starting navy could be sunk by the superior Sinda or Northmen fleets.
Strategy guide by Brian Mason
Strategy Guide by Tom Walton
Comment by Dave Rossell
Comments by Sam Freeman
The Long Rider Starting Information
Strategy & Tactics: The Long Rider
From Brian Mason
Coming rather close on the heels of the article on the Cloud Lord is another fun and exciting position which tends to be rather character based: the Long Rider.
Basic Data
How does the nation of the Long Rider compare to other nations? At the start of the game they rank as follows (Allegiance Comparison Tables, Tom Walton, "The Mouth," #3):
among all
among Dark Servants
Total Tax Base
tied for 21st
tied for 7th
Resource Base
tied for 15th
tied for 3rd
Combat Strength
7th
1st
Character points
10th
6th
Artefacts
tied for 6th
5th
The Long Rider has pretty poor production. Expected production (Population Centre Development, Brian Mason, "The Mouth," #2) which has not been adjusted for climate for the nation of the Long Rider would be as follows:
le
br
st
mi
fo
ti
mo
go
production
1089
436
175
20
3414
0
234
2538
Among the Dark Servants, the Long Rider wins more often than any other position except that of the CLoud Lord (Winners & Losers in Middle-earth, Tom Walton, "The Mouth," #8).
The Long Rider start the game in a very interesting position. Because of the command skill rank of Uvatha, the ability to create 40 commanders, the ability to summon mounts, the starting training rank of 20 for troops, and the impressive array of starting forces, this is potentially a very powerful position for armies. However, the Long Rider is in a rather unenviable position in two ways, one, the armies are scattered all over the east side of the map, and the only location suitable for recruiting at start (Tol Buruth) must ferry troops to get them in play, and doing that runs the risk of running into two navies (the Sinda and Northmen) which are superior to your own. On the other hand, you start the game with two of the best agents (due to Long Rider artefacts). So, there might be a desire to run a character game. How you decide to play the position might have a great deal to do with what characters you develop.
For example, if it is possible to get your troops from Tol Buruth to one of the Major Towns on the Sea of Rhun and to take it (without encountering enemy navies en route) then it will be much easier to get into a military game, and you may then have the need to create good commanders and commander/agents to act as army commanders and back up commanders. If, on the other hand, you are unable to secure a recruiting base, you might be better served adopting a character based strategy. While the army you have starting at 4324 can engage in aggressive action around the Sea of Rhun, in my opinion, you are still forced into a character strategy if you cannot move troops from Tol Buruth to the mainland freely. The only way to do that is by destroying the Sinda and Northmen navy, and the only way to do that is through the 4324 army winning an engagement along the coast or through direct agent action assassinating or kidnapping all commanders. So, the fundamental decision of how you might play the position depends a great deal on how the first few turns go.
Accordingly, it is very difficult to plan strategy for character creation.
The Character Situation
However, in this area one thing is obvious. The Long Rider lacks decent emissaries. One should be named on turn one and he should name another, although you might want to leave the other two character slots open depending on how you want to play the position.
To make your two new emissaries offensively effective you need to get their skill ranks above 50. To do this by InfYour would take eight turns (More Character and Skill Improvement, Tom Walton, "The Mouth," #3), however, if you can do it by CreCmp it could be done in only five turns (ibid), the problems of doing this are twofold: one, you have limited gold, two, you have few places you can do it safely. Because of the volatility of the Rhovanion region, creating camps anywhere on your starting map outside of Mordor invites their destruction. Even those you make in Mordor will be especially vulnerable. I would therefore recommend the far north (rows 01-03 all across). It does not appear on any maps of the Free Peoples, and if these are not discovered accidentally, they will form nice population centres to be improved later in the game. From these locations after turn 20 you can come down upon Arthedain or the Northmen from an unexpected location.
What you do with Lomelinde and Din Ohtar is very important. These two characters can effectively lay siege to the Northmen capital. Move them on turn one and scout for characters. Assassinate or kidnap whoever shows up, and if no one shows up then have one of them scout for characters while the other steals gold, sabotages fortifications, etc. While these two excellent agents are present the Northmen will be unable to name new characters, raise his taxes, or use one of his primary recruiting locations.
Your mages will take some time before they can train to a sufficient level to get into the artefact hunting business, so keep improving them, and have them cast offensive/defensive spells in your armies. Goldwine Frec is a puppy. It will take him quite a while to become an effective anything (6 turns to have any skill reach 30 rank), so keep him safe. He can, through time, become a very effective agent/emissary to be used to StlGld and InfOthr at enemy population centres and/or as a company commander. Use him for this later in the game.
The Economic Situation
You are hurting. Raising taxes much at all threatens the loss of camps through loyalty drops. Captured population centres will be very hard to keep, and your troops are very expensive. The best way to improve your economy is to capture population centres with fortifications (which will help protect them), destroy unfortified population centres (these will be very difficult to hold). Taking these actions will also lose troops, which will also improve the economy. Actions must be taken fast. Sells will probably be necessary to keep things going early in the game.
The Military Situation
The armies are spread out all over the map and will be dealt with individually.
The Mordor force is weak compared to armies in the region, however,if the primary Dark Servant forces in Mordor (Fire King, Ice King, et al.) can keep the Gondors occupied, opportunities exist to take 3028 and 3026.
The Rhovanion force is very vulnerable to attacks by the Eothraim. It simply is not big enough to hold up. There are, however, many population centres surrounding the Sea of Rhun which make viable targets.
The Toll Burgh army should try to reach the mainland, if only to be lost. The only exception to this would be if Uvatha commands it. If so, troops should be retired to cut costs and the Sea should be avoided. The chances of loss on the open sea (and thereby the death of Uvatha) are too great.
Future Development of the position and final points
The position has many opportunities, but how it handles the economic crisis early on will determine many things. Can the Long Rider develop population centres in the far North? Can Din Ohtar and Uvatha keep the Northmen from executing capital orders (thus weakening this position considerably)? Can the armies capture a few population centres and destroy the rest? All these questions are difficult ones to answer, and the success (or failure) of the Long Rider depends a great deal on them.
There remains then the problem of Olbamarl. The tendency is to get complacent with this population centre. There is a rumour, still unconfirmed, that it is possible to get to Olbamarl through an encounter, however, even if this rumour is disallowed, keep in mind that very aggressive emissary action by the Northmen, Noldo, or a blitz by some other nation could take this place. It might be worthwhile to keep an army of 100 Men-at-Arms here just to require them to assassinate the commander and delay the InfOthrs by one turn. Watch out for aggressive action in this area! Keep in mind that it will take you two turns to get agents from Northmen territory to Olbamarl. This might give your opponents enough time to take the place.
Strategy & Tactics: The Long Rider
From Tom Walton
Considering that Brian has never played the Long Rider, he did a remarkable job in covering all the critical points. Rather than repeat his comments, I'll just add a few of my own:
For camp development, I suggest the Northern Wastes and the Grey Mountains. Both are off-map, both within reach of the Northmen. Both areas also have lousy production, but what you're looking for here is extra revenue. Putting the pop centres close to the primary targets is a good way to provide future recruitment sites as well.
I'd suggest building a new mage right away as well. With three mages in the stable, all can learn 'Conjure Mounts' while prenticing, adding to your stores each and every turn. If you're doing great economically, you can use these mounts for more cav. If not, you can sell them for additional revenue. Three 50-point mages will conjure 750 mounts a turn, a not inconsiderable figure.
Of initial characters, I'd also opt to retire Goldwine Frec and replace him with a 30-point agent. You can hand the new agent an artefact and make him effective right away. With Din Ohtar and Lomelinde, your team can go forth and steal gold to give the economy an added boost.
Of the armies, I'd send the Mordor cav force into 3028 right away and try to take it. If successful, move on to 3026 and repeat, then disband the cav and wait for the Gondors to repossess their property. The added gold is worth it in the early game, and the army isn't quite large enough to do anything else in the region. In the Rhun area, the cav force should hit the Northmen right away. Again, this army isn't capable of standing up to the Free, but with so many available targets you should be able to burn a few towns right off, hurting the enemy in future campaigns. At the least it'll prepare the way for other Dark Servants (e.g., Blind Sorcerer).
For the naval force, I'm a bit more cautious. Sailing in the limited area of the Sea of Rhun is dangerous, and can result in the death of your characters if you get caught in the open. Unless your enemy doesn't know what he's doing, I'd suggest sitting tight and disbanding everything but the heavy infantry. Start recruiting more heavy infantry (until you hit your lift capacity), and wait for the opportunity to make a big strike. Don't worry, it'll come if the other Dark Servants are doing a proper job.
Acquiring/trading for another major town where you can actually recruit is a major concern. If your allies are recalcitrant, you may have to wait until you can create one of your own, relegating your nation to the character game for some time. If they're more friendly, you might be able to get a good one (trading the Dragon Lord backup for Olbamarl is a good choice).
If Uvatha starts in the capitol with Din Ohtar, consider having Uvatha transfer him an artefact and moving both him and Lomelinde to the Northmen capitol. Din Ohtar can challenge, and both agents can attempt a kidnap, taking out three Northmen characters on the second turn. This will cripple the Northmen right away (with thanks to Jeremy Richman for this neat little trick). It requires a bit of luck in character placement, but is well worth it if the cards fall your way.
the Long Rider position is one of the few that I favour a 'vanilla' approach for, i.e., a good mix of agents, emissaries, and mages. Unlike other DS positions, the Long Rider doesn't have access to a great character base, and his position often requires him to act without support from other Dark Servants. In playing this position, I'd say the most important rule is to act as if you won't get one whit of aid from any other Dark Servant - become self-sufficient early, and stay that way.
The Long Rider is one of the toughest DS positions to play, but also one of the most likely to win if the player is canny. I wouldn't recommend it for anyone new to the game - it's just too easy to get your nation killed.
From Dave Rossell
Comments on the Long Rider strategy y'all published a Mouth ago
(Strategy & Tactics: The Long Rider appeared in issue 16).
I think you and Tom are undervaluing Uvatha's navy and squandering a valuable resource by being predictable with it. The object with that navy is to get it onto dry land without bumping into any Northmen or Sinda. Why not just send the navy north to 4112? Neither Freep navy would have any reason to go there, and it's one turn away from that pesky Sinda town.
Even better, sail it all the way up the river to Esgaroth. The last thing the Northmen would expect is to start losing pop centres all the way up there, especially after he sent those western armies scurrying back east. Seeing the evil icon so close to their pop centres also should make the Sinda nervous, and maybe relieve the pressure on the Dragon Lord, while keeping Eothraim looking over its shoulder.
Brian's Comments: I've always seen the danger as running into either navy in the open water. As it is a battle you'd almost certainly lose, I'd hate to lose characters that way. If the Northmen and Sinda have their navies go on a long patrol every turn, running the blockade becomes a risky proposition.
Tom's note: I think pretty much the same way on this. The limited amount of damage the army can do isn't worth the disruption and character loss that'll follow a successful Free interception of your navy. Later in the game, when you have characters to spare, sure; but early I find the risk not to be worth the rewards. This, of course, is simply a personal perception, and probably a bit silly coming from my mouth (since my allies know I take stupid risks on a regular basis, just for kicks).
Comments on Long Rider strategy:
By Sam Freeman.
It seems to be a common tactic for the LR to destroy his harbour at Tol Buruth (4125) early on, if not on turn 1. This keeps the Northmen and Sinda from entering the hex with their navies. The LR can still keep his navy there and use it at will. The Sinda navy may sail up the river, abandon ships, and move the troops into the Mirkwood fray. The Northmen may be using their navy for other purposes once they realise that Tol Buruth is unassailable. So the LR could wait a few turns until the opposing navies are either busy or away and then use that opportunity to strike. The navy could be used to reinforce a pop centre that the cav army took, or it could be used to strike up the river if it is known that the Northmen navy is in the southern Rhun area. However, since the harbour is blown at Tol Buruth, this can be a one time strike only.