The Lord of the Rings Strategy Battle Game/Tactics/Thranduil's Hall

Why Play Thranduil's Hall

Pros

• Loads of Bows
• Strong Heroes
• some of the best Plastic middle earth models to come out for a long time.

Cons

• Low defence troops
• Very expensive army in points

Army Bonus

All Mirkwood rangers do not count toward the bow limit...just let that sink in for a second. Thranduil gives all units (except Mirkwood rangers and Mirkwood ranger captains) +1 to their wound roll when making strikes.

Unit Analysis

Heroes

• Thranduil, King of the Woodland Realm : The King of smirk and sass, Thranduil is a combat monster against large hordes of foes, his fight value of 7 and 3 points of might, will and fate will help him win every fight you ge him in. while on foot he gets +1 attack to his stats and then gets one for every enemy he is in base contact with. He does have access to a an elf bow if you want to upgrade him but he as no special rules to make it any better aside from that fact his shoot value is 2 so you very likely hit your target. Now you could put him on horse to fight with his knights put i would strongly suggest taking the Elk for a few more points, this makes Thranduil's strikes strength 5 when charging into combat. Best of all he is your main source of buffing your army by either acting as a banner, improving units fight value or improving their to wound rolls. He's definitely worth taking.

• Legolas Greenleaf: While his core statline is nothing too amazing, Might and Fate of 3 paired with his special shooting rules make him a terrifying enemy to deal with. Legolas can either shoot 3 times per phase as normal, or he can make 1 shot that ALWAYS hits, no matter if the target is in close combat or has a bunch of "in the way" rolls between him and legolas. with an elf bow base, and the ability to buy a horse, cloak, and armour if you feel like running him to close to enemies, which of course isn't a bad idea now that you can give him Orcrist. Legolas is a great addition for a comparatively low point cost

• Tauriel: Your number two choice for leading a warband of rangers. Tauriel is one mean Elf, her special rule "Blade Mistress" gives her the same abilities as the mirkwood rangers, giving her extra attacks for every model she is in combat with. If you include Kili (the champion of erebor version) in your army and is killed Tauriel Increases her strength by +1 but reduces her Defence by -1. You can upgrade to have an elf bow which you will be doing because her shoot value is 3 and because its an elf bow. For just a few more points you have yourself a much better warband leader than the average Captain.

• Mirkwood Armoured Elf Captain: Improved stats and armed with a glaive, he follows the same rules as his underlings.

• Palace Guard Captain: Can be upgraded to carry a shield, making him the toughest captain you can field.

• Mirkwood Ranger Captain: Only bring him if you don't have Legolas or Tauriel... why wouldn't you have Legolas or Tauriel?

Troops

• Mirkwood Armoured Elves: Your Basic troops, they have a unique weapon option to bring a glaives which can be used as an elven blade, a spear and use the shielding rule. apart from that just the usual shield, elf bow and banner options.

• Palace Guards: Almost exactly the same as Mirkwood armoured elves, they don't have the options for glaives and are two points extra, but do get the options for a warhorn as well as the usual equipment and weapons. Where they become superior to their more common soldier is their kings guard rule, this gives you +1 to your fight value while within 3 inches of Thranduil. with this rule and the army bonus your palace guard can hit harder in combat than your average troops.

• Mirkwood Rangers: At a pricey 15 points you get a light armoured murder machine, coming equipped with elf bows, Two daggers and an elven cloak, they have no upgrades available.

• Wood Elf Sentinel: Wood Elves with an extra attack and the ability to sing a song which buffs/debuffs nearby models. While their rules are amazing, their incredibly high cost of 25 points makes them not auto includes in lower point levels, but a unit that should really be considered for high point games.

Cavalry

• Mirkwood Armoured Elf Cavalry: Basic cavalry that can be upgraded to have a shield or banner. Their special rule King's Knights treat Thranduil as a banner if they are within 6 of him, you will likely have Thranduil on a horse or elk so have save some points on that banner and just follow thranduil around.