Witch-king

* Portrait
* Mounted
* Dismounted
* Armoured
* Armoured (mounted)
* Fellbeast

"The Black Rider flung back his hood, and behold! he had a kingly crown; and yet upon no head visible was it set. The red fires shone between it and the mantled shoulders vast and dark. From a mouth unseen there came a deadly laughter.
 'Old fool!' he said. 'Old fool! This is my hour. Do you not know Death when you see it? Die now and curse in vain!' And with that he lifted high his sword and flames ran down the blade"
—The Siege of Gondor, The Return of the King

The **Witch-king** was once a great Númenórean lord. One of the great Kings of Men gifted Rings of Power by Sauron, he was enslaved by its influence, his former identity erased, remembered only a servant of evil.

Bound to the will of Sauron, the Witch-king became the Lord of the Nazgûl and his deadliest minion. In the Third Age, he founded the realm of Angmar and orchestrated gruesome campaign against the Kingdom of Arnor, successfully destroying it and weakening the North. Forced to flee by the arrival of Glorfindel, the Witch-king challenged King Eärnur for a duel, from which the latter did not return, effectively breaking the line of Anárion. In the War of the Ring, he was tasked by Sauron to hunt for the One Ring and later direct the siege of Minas Tirith. During the battle he managed to mortally wound King Théoden before falling to Éowyn and Merry, fulfilling the ancient prophecy spoken of him many centuries ago, that not by the blade of a man would he perish.

*For the Adventure: Angmar version of the Witch-king, see the Witch-king (Adventure: Angmar) page.*

## Abilities

On Foot/Horseback

**Chief of the Nine (W)** - As more Nazgûl gather, their strength grows. +10% damage and +10% armour per every Nazgûl nearby. Passive ability. Modifier Type: Passive Debuff. Nearby enemy units suffer -25% damage and -25% armour. Nullifies enemy leaderships. Passive ability. Left click to switch between mounted and on foot.

**Level 2: Chill of Angmar (R)** - The Witch-king reflects 10% of all damage dealt to him by nearby enemies. Passive ability. When activated, the Witch-king is surrounded by a storm of hail and frost for 30 seconds, damaging nearby enemy units, more the closer they are to him. At Level 5, deals increased damage. At level 8, nearby enemy units are terrified. Left click to activate.

**Level 4: Morgul Blade (T)** - Targeted enemy takes poison damage over time for 10 seconds, and becomes a wight upon death. Target enemy hero is stunned for 10 seconds and their ability timers are set to just used. Left click icon then left click on target.

**Level 6: Open in the Name of Mordor (C)** - Deals damage to target enemy structure and disables it for 20 seconds. Enemy units nearby the targeted structure take damage over time and turn into a Wight when killed. Automatically opens targeted gate. Left click then left click target enemy structure.

**Level 10: This Is My Hour! (V)** - Blasts back and damages enemies in a wide radius surrounding the Witch King. Can only be used when dismounted. Left click to activate.

On Fellbeast

**Chief of the Nine (W)** - As more Nazgûl gather, their strength grows. +10% damage and +10% armour per every Nazgûl nearby. Passive ability. Modifier Type: Passive Debuff. Nearby enemy units suffer -25% damage and -25% armour. Nullifies enemy leaderships. Passive ability. Left click to switch between mounted and on foot

**Level 2: Chill of Angmar (R)** - The Witch-king reflects 10% of all damage dealt to him by nearby enemies. Passive ability. When activated, the Witch-king is surrounded by a storm of hail and frost for 30 seconds, damaging nearby enemy units, more the closer they are to him. At Level 5, deals increased damage. At level 8, nearby enemy units are terrified. Can only be used dismounted. Left click to activate.

**Level 4: Black Dart (T)** - Targeted enemy takes poison damage over time for 10 seconds, and becomes a wight upon death. Target enemy hero is stunned for 10 seconds and their ability timers are set to just used. Left click icon then left click on target.

**Level 6: Open in the Name of Mordor (C)** - Deals damage to target enemy structure and disables it for 20 seconds. Enemy units nearby the targeted structure take damage over time and turn into a Wight when killed. Automatically opens targeted gate. Left click then left click target enemy structure.

**Level 10: This Is My Hour! (V)** - Blasts back and damages enemies in a wide radius surrounding the Witch King. Can only be used when dismounted. Left click to activate.

## Strategy

The Witch-King is Mordor's faction leader and most powerful hero. He initially starts on horseback with equal trample and deceleration stats to regular Nazgûl but with the advantage of significantly better health, armour, a stronger debuff to enemy units and being able to reflect damage to nearby enemies. This allows him to accumulate experience per kill quickly so that his armour increases further per level. A Mordor cavalry force led by the Witch-king and Morgul Vanguard are effective base harassers and enemy heroes must take care not to be caught alone by this group. His mounted form's disadvantage is that his melee attacks do not deal splash damage as they do on foot, although the Witch-king can temporarily mitigate this by casting **Chill of Angmar** to damage all surrounding enemies over time whilst the Witch-king fights single targets, such as heroes, in melee. **Morgul Blade** (and **Black Dart**) are designed to isolate heroes - stunning and dealing damage over time for 10 seconds, enough time for the Witch-king and Mordor's units to quickly kill them in combat; if they survive, their effectiveness is reduced due to the reset of their ability timers. **Open in the Name of Mordor** deals excellent damage to unit recruitment structures as well as temporarily disables their production; defending enemies should be wary of clumping their units and fighting nearby the target structure as otherwise they may see their army turn to wights due to the spell's damage over time. **This is My Hour!** functions the same as Gandalf the White's You Shall Not Pass!, a destructive crowd control ability that can kill a great number of enemy units per use.

The Witch-king can be mounted on his Fellbeast once the Fortress' **First of the Nine** ability has been used. Whilst mounted on his Fellbeast, the Witch-king can only be attacked by ranged units and heroes - forcing the enemy to invest more in archers to defend their army and structures. Mobility is greatly improved as the Witch-king is able to fly over impassable terrain - allowing him to harass different sides of the map in quick succession or quickly escape from harm. Mordor has access to a full air force composed of the Witch-king, two recruitable Nazgûl and two summoned Nazgûl via the spellbook. If the Witch-king is slain, he will be revived back on horseback and **First of the Nine** must be cast again to grant him his Fellbeast.