- "There was a dull clang. The gates of Minas Morgul had closed. The last rank of spears had vanished down the road. The tower still grinned across the valley, but the light was fading in it. The whole city was falling back into a dark brooding shade, and silence. Yet still it was filled with watchfulness. "
- —The Two Towers
The Morgul Pikemen come from the Tower of Sorcery, a sub-faction of Mordor, and they are heavily armored with a strong resistance to fear. They can only be trained at the Minas Morgul Outpost, which can be purchased for 2500 at an outpost plot. They are a late game substitute for regular Orc Pikemen but are mass produced slower due to the limit of outposts that can be built. As they are more resistant to damage due to their increased armor and are also more effective thanks to the fearless status, they are more resistant to Unit Interferer Heroes. However, they are still very weak to Mass Slayer Heroes.
Abilities[]
Porcupine Formation - The Morgul Pikemen set up in a circle and extend their pikes, becoming immobile but extremely deadly to cavalry.
Bloodthirst - The battalion destroys a nearby friendly troop of Orc Warriors and gains some experience.
Soldiers of the Dead City - The orcs of Minas Morgul wear heavy armor and are fearless. (Passive ability)
Crack the Whip - grants them a double damage bonus against cavalry units, slowing them down twice as much, but this also reduces their armor by 25%. (requires Orc Overseer)
Flank Defence - Pikemen are used to defending from all sides when battling against monsters and cavalry. As a result, they cannot be flanked. They take no extra damage from being flanked and deal full revenge damage regardless of the direction they get trampled from.
Minas Morgul Pikemen, distinct from the other orc pikemen because of their armor (especially helmets), prepare for the charge of the Rohirrim at the Battle of the Pelennor Fields in the film The Return of the King
Upgrades[]
The Morgul Pikemen have access to the following upgrades:
Banner Carrier - This upgrade can only be given to a level 1 battalion and will promote it to level 2. At level 2 the battalion can regenerate units when out of combat. Cost: 200.
Orc Overseer - If paired with an orc overseer this battalion will gain +50% damage and +25% armor and the ability Crack the Whip
Strategy[]
The Morgul Pikemen are simply an upgraded version of the standard pikemen and therefore can be better utilized. However, they are present on a short supply since they are limited by the number of outposts. If joined with standard pikemen they can prove to be very deadly. Apart from that, the advice stays the same, during the extreme-late game stage they can be paired with the other Morgul units and overseers to form a deadly force once well micro-managed. They are still on the same level as pikemen, they just have slightly better stats, so therefore they have the same weaknesses (apart from fear) and the same strength in their numbers.
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