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

Why Play Thranduil's Hall

Because you want an entire army of just bows, that and you want another Elf army for your collection. Mirkwood Elves are just as deadly as they're made out to be and where many armies may struggle to take on hordes these guys love the challenge.

Pros

Loads of Bows (Or Potentially an entire army of Bows, pretty expensive in points though)
Strong Heroes (OP in combat against hordes, which makes sense as seen in the movies, but Legolas>Bolg not possible here boys this game FUCKS ESTABLISHED LOGIC sometimes)
some of the best Plastic middle earth models to come out for a long time.

Cons

Low defence troops
Very expensive army in points
Awkward packaging. No seriously, their base warriors are finecast so cost four times as much as other elf armies. On the other hand their elites come in plastic sets of twenty for only £30 which might seem great until you realise your going to be using about eight of them in your army, so your stuck with twenty four elites your not using, wishing bitterly they were basic Mirkwood warriors. CASH CASH CASH GW WANTS CASH, SO PAY OR...choose other army that is better balanced in terms of rules and not so expensive (Minas Tirith, Rohan, Isengard, Mordor, Azog's hunters,Thorin's company, The fellowship, The dead of Dunharrow...) If you see someone using an entire finecast army of these dudes in the next tournament, a Ferrari must parked nearby so...FLY, YOU FOOLS!

Army Bonus

"The Elves of Mirkwood are not like their kin. They are less wise and more dangerous" - 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. But if your making Thranduil useful you have to take him on a shopping spree first. You have your usual equipment bonuses like heavy armour and an elf bow but then they're some special ones. For 30 points you can give him an additional elven sword that gives him and extra attack while on foot and unlocks the Bladelord special rule giving him an extra attack for every enemy he is in base contact with. You can also take the Circlet of Kings for 25 points that allow Thranduil to auto cast Nature's Wrath and Aura of Dismay once per a game. He can also buy a horse to fight with his knights but for only a few more points you can get him an Elk instead, making Thranduil's strikes strength 5 when charging into combat. Even without all these upgrades Thranduil is your main source of buffing your army by either acting as a banner, improving units fight value or improving their to wound rolls. The armies named after him for a reason.

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 hits on a 2+, 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, then 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 or spear but you can 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. But is it worth the extra two points? You decide.

Mirkwood Rangers: At a pricey 14 points you get a ~~light armoured~~ unarmoured murder machine that gain extra attacks for being in combat with more enemies (to a max of 3). Come equipped with elf bows, Two daggers and an elven cloak, they have no upgrades available except from a warhorn.

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 save some points on that banner and just follow thranduil around.