Anduin Vale

Starting Situation
Starting with quite a few provinces and surrounded by natural defences on all sides (including the Misty Mountains, the Grey Mountains, and the Forest of Mirkwood) the Anduin Vale has a strong starting location.

Early Game
The above appraisal comes with a major drawback; the Valesmen are bordered on their southwestern side by the Goblin tribes of Moria. These Goblins conduct constant raids against the Vale and come with strength. Sadly, the situation does not get better to the southeast where the forces of Dol Guldur muster nor to the northwest where a new threat rises from the old mountain of Gundabad. The Valesmen's only glimmer of hope comes from the Woodland Realm to their northeast, who start as a neutral party but a potential ally. All of the Valesmen's early attention should be turned to Moria and Dol Guldur because if their attention is turned elsewhere, they run the risk of being overrun very early.

Military Overview
Though lacking heavy armour, the men of the Vale are capable fighters, and no strangers to skirmishers with Orcs from the Misty Mountains to the west and Mirkwood to the east. The mighty Beornings, secretive Woodmen, and the few remaining descendants of Rhovanion combined field a highly versatile force.

Special Features

 * Cannot build cities or Strongholds (Possible changes to be introduced through a mid-late game event in Version 5)
 * Ambush Specialists

Rare Units

 * Silvan Marchwardens (Dol Guldur)

Tips and Difficulty
The Anduin Vale has one of Divide and Conquer's easier campaigns. Despite facing three different major enemy Factions, a skilled Anduin Vale player will be able to manipulate a system of alliances and natural defences in order to keep most of their provinces off the frontline.

In order to make the campaign significantly easier from the very start, it is advisable to quickly capture Goblin Town from the Goblins of Moria. Whilst the Anduin Vale does not begin the game at war with Moria, conflict is almost inevitable, and seizing this settlement will bottleneck any Moria forces attempting to reach the eastern side of the Misty Mountains, given that Khazad-Dûm rarely, if ever, falls to attacks from Khazad-Dûm West. An early capture of Goblin Town, provided a strong garrison is maintained there, will all but eliminate the threat of Moria throughout the early and middle stages of the campaign.

As to other threatening Factions, it is difficult to avoid a two-front war with the Orcs of Gundabad in the north, and Dol Guldur in the south. Sacrificing Rhosgobel in the opening turns can help to create a buffer with Dol Guldur whilst your forces muster an Dwimburg, and if you are able to sell Rhosgobel to the Woodland Realm, it can be an easy way of distracting Dol Guldur by throwing them into war with the Elves. As to Gundabad; whilst they begin the game with a strong army, they will be unlikely to attack after the opening moves, as their forces will be largely dedicated to fighting the Dwarves of Erebor, with whom you should seek friendly diplomatic relations. Weathering early assaults from Gundabad by mustering a northern force will help to easily cripple them, as their low number of starting provinces limits their infrastructure for raising further armies.

Alliances with the Woodland Realm, Dwarves of Erebor, Kingdom of Dale, and Realm of Lothlórien will all help to tackle both Gundabad and Dol Guldur. However, a player who is making early gains against Dol Guldur should be wary of making advances into the Brown Lands too quickly, as this will likely drag them into a war with Mordor a long way from their core recruitment provinces.

The armies of the Anduin Vale have the capacity for strong combined-arms forces. They should be positioned on the campaign map in ambush zones, and on the battle map, almost any tactic is viable if a diverse army is deployed. An Anduin Vale player should ensure they improve the recruitment infrastructure in their provinces evenly in order to allow efficient training of infantry, missile, and cavalry troops. When on the battle map, Valesmen are often best suited to closing the distance quickly (with the exception of Woodmen units) as the low armour statistic on most Anduin Vale units will make them more susceptible to missile fire, and particularly concentrated archer fire, then their main rival Factions.

Unit Roster
Note: As Version 5 will be released sometime in the relatively near future, and the removal of the Barracks Event has been confirmed, this listing will not be divided into pre-Barracks and post-Barracks units.

Common Units

 * Stoor Shirrifs
 * Stoor Hunters
 * Valesmen
 * Woodmen Warriors
 * Vale Defenders
 * Beorning Warriors
 * Woodmen Trackers
 * Woodmen Wardens
 * Beorning Shieldbearers
 * Éothéod Longbowmen
 * Greenwood Foresters
 * Silvan Marchwardens
 * Éothéod Horse-Archers
 * Beorning Riders

Elite Units

 * Éothéod Cavalry
 * Éothéod Footmen
 * Carrock Guard
 * Skin-Changers (General Unit)