Battle for Middle Earth 2

Isengard versus Dwarves is considered to be one of the easier match ups in Battle For Middle Earth II. Isengard's excellent sight powers and spam make it extremely hard for Dwarves to harass properly. Their heroes are also very effective against Dwarves. If Isengard plays correctly, they should find themselves with a major advantage while going into middle game.

Early Game

Starting Build Orders

Build Order 1: Uruk Spam
This is the best start to destroy forward mines and get creep steals, while getting a good economy.

2Furnaces - Uruk Pit - Furnace - Warriors - Uruk Pit - 3Warriors - Furnace



Standard Strategy:
Start by building your furnaces on opposite sides of your fortress. Next, build an Uruk Pit and a Furnace. Get a battalion of Warriors after the Uruk Pit is finished building and then build another Uruk Pit. Two early Uruk Pits is important against Dwarves to get you a large army to destroy forward mines and fight Guardians. Use your power point, either crebain or palantir, to see where they are creeping first. I prefer crebain to palantir against Dwarves. Dwarves are strong, so having a debuff is extremely helpful. Send your first Warriors to wherever they are creeping. If everything works out, you should be able to creep steal them. After creep stealing, you should attack their Mines. Try to destroy as many Mines as possible during early game. This is very important to keep them weak and to minimize their command points.

Description:
The key factors in this match up are taking out the Dwarves’ forward mines, and trying to steal their creeps. Dwarves are a very slow faction, so they need forward mines to put pressure on you. Taking out their mines will cripple their attack, helping you get a good economy. Uruks are faster Dwarves are, so you should spam uruks early game. You should not creep early because you will need to send your uruks all over the map to check for the Dwarves’ forward mines. You should not need your own creep money anyway, since you should be able to creeps steal creeps if you harass right. Dwarves don't usually start out with a great economy, so stealing their creeps will delay any further units or heroes they want to get and also delay their forward mine production.

Build Order 2: Uruk Rush
This is the fastest way to rush your opponent and get quick creep steals.

Furnace - Uruk Pit - Furnace - 3Warriors - Furnace - Crossbows - Furnace - Pikes - Uruk Pit



Standard Strategy:
Build your Furnace and Uruk Pit without moving your builders when you use this build order. Make them close together so that they build as quickly as possible. Once your Furnace is completed, build another Furnace on the other side of your fortress. Use your power point, either crebain or palantir, to see where they are creeping first. Then go try to steal a creep. This build order is good because you will have an Uruk at the creep much sooner and have a better chance of creep stealing. I prefer making three Warriors rather than creeping, against Dwarves. You should not need to creep, because you should be getting creep steals and if you do not get any creep steals, you should be able to get your opponent's economy very weak anyway since you did a fast rush. You can either send your second Warrior with the first or else go try to destroy the Mine by the Dwarves' base. If you can destroy it, this will help you a lot. The opponent will have to run a few Guardians to your base to harass. This will buy you a lot of time to get a good economy built.

Description:
The key factors in this match up are taking out the Dwarves’ forward mines, and trying to steal their creeps. Dwarves are a very slow faction, so they need forward mines to put pressure on you. Taking out their mines will cripple their attack, helping you get a good economy. Uruks are faster Dwarves are, so you should spam uruks early game. You should not creep early because you will need to send your uruks all over the map to check for the Dwarves’ forward mines. You should not need your own creep money anyway, since you should be able to creeps steal creeps if you harass right. Dwarves do not usually start out with a great economy, so stealing their creeps will delay any further units or heroes they want to get and also delay their forward mine production.

Build Order 3: 2Furnaces - Creep
This strategy is good for getting a strong economy with less spam.

3Furnaces - Uruk Pit - Pikes - Warriors - Furnace - Uruk Pit - 2Warriors - Crossbows



Standard Strategy:
Build your first two furnaces on opposite sides of your Fortress. Then, build another Furnace with the builder that finishes first and an Uruk Pit with your other builder. I like getting the Furnace before the Uruk Pit, since you will have to wait a few seconds for your Pikes anyway. You should try to creep where you do not think your opponent is creeping. Get Warriors right after your Pikes and send them toward where the opponent was creeping. Do not fight Guardians with your Warriors. Instead, you should be running from them and looking for Mines to destroy. Watch out for level two Guardians, so that they do not destroy your Warrior while it is attacking a Mine. After your first Warrior, build a Furnace and then an Uruk Pit and Warriors with your creep money. You should make two more Furnaces with your second creep and then start spamming Berserker's. Make another battalion of Warriors after this one and then Crossbows. Crossbows are very helpful for fighting Guardians better.

Description:
With this build order, you are trying to get Berserker's as soon as possible. You get a quick Pikemen battalion for creeping, to boost your economy. You build a couple Furnaces with the creep money, and then get Berserker's with the resources from them. This build order is very strong against a passive Dwarf player, since you will get a stronger economy and fast Berserker's. Berserker's are important because their speed and splash damage can destroy mines very efficiently. They are also great for destroying clumps of Guardians and Phalanx. However, if they get a quick forward mine, you are in serious trouble. This build does not get you a second Uruk Pit as quick as other build orders and you will not have a Warrior out until later on. You will have to harass extra hard when you do get Berserker's, to make up for your weak early game harassment.

Build Order 4: Four Furnaces Start
This is the fastest way you can unit mix as Isengard.

4Furnaces - Warg Pit - Uruk Pit - Wargs - Warriors - Wargs - Warriors - Furnace



Standard Strategy:
Start by building two Furnaces by your base. Then, build your next Furnace behind your Fortress and the other Furnace to the side. Build your Warg Pit near the back of your Fortress and then your Uruk Pit in the front. You will have to destroy any forward mines, before they are finished building, during early game. If you fail, you will have a hard with defending, since you will not have as many Uruk's as you would with a double Uruk Pit start. Get Warg's and then Warriors as your first battalions. Send your Warg's out to destroy any Mines that you find. Your Warriors can try to creep steal or else defend. You might need your Warg's to crush Guardians right away, if they rush you. You should get another group of Warg's and Warriors, after your first ones. Then get another Furnace. It will help a lot if you can destroy your opponent's first Mine, by his base, with your two Warg battalions.

Description:
I do not like this strategy at all against Dwarves. The main reason is that you usually need two quick uruk pits to stop a fast Guardian and Phalanx rush. You will also have a much better chance at getting creep steals if you have several Warriors rather than Wargs. I also prefer Crossbows to Warg's for killing Dwarves. They are cheaper and tear Guardians apart rather quickly if you have two or three. Make sure that you always have a meat shield though, or leveled up Guardians will own them. I also do not think that it is a viable option to start with four furnaces and then get two uruk pits either. It is much better to rush and then get an economy, unless you are striving for a fast unit mix. Dwarves can also own a four-furnaces start by doing the unexpected forward mine rush, rather than a creep start. This is not very uncommon though, because Isengard is weak against this strategy, due to Guardians beating Warriors so you cannot counter them right away.

Initial Powerpoint: Crebain