Armies of Middle-Earth SBG: Thranduil's Halls in the Middle-Earth Strategy Battle Game

I generally try to start these off with a cool graphic that shows off a key character from the force we're talking about, and also subtly hints at the flavor and tone of the army (and the write-up). Sometimes this is hard to do. 

Today is not one of those times.

Photo Credit: tumbler.com

So yeah... we're talking about Thranduil today. He's kind of a diva, so this makes him happy.

(And yes, there's other things in the list, too).

Army Quick(ish) Hits

• Strength: Fantastic hero choices. All three named heroes are great in their own right: in addition to having your normal elf-hero stats (F6+, 3 Might) and buffs (elven made weapons), two of the three are very cheap (Legolas and Tauriel), the third can be if you want him to be (Thranduil), two of the three can be mounted (Thranduil and Legolas), and all three can take S3 elf bows for just 5 points a pop. The three unnamed heroes aren't cheap (70+ points per), but again have those top-tier hero elf stats (F6+, elven made weapons) plus some neat tricks that other elf captain's don't (3+ attack potential on the Ranger Captain, F7 potential on the Palace Guard Captain, and the option for an elven-made Glaive on the Mirkwood Captain). Oh, and Thranduil and Tauriel could have 8+ attacks if they're sufficiently surrounded (from F7 and F6, respectively, with elven-made weapons).

Do you like my fancy reverse grip?
Photo Credit: theonering.net

• Strength: Versatile troops. Not to be outdone, Mirkwood's troops also have a lot of versatility. If you have an army arch-type in mind (heavy infantry, fast skirmishers, mixed arms), chances are Mirkwood has what you need, with its D6, Bodyguard Palace Guards, F5 Mirkwood Elves with glaives and elf bows (who can shield, fight one-handed, fight two-handed, spear-support, or contribute ranged fire), sneak-and-shoot Mirkwood Rangers with their elf cloaks, or Mirkwood Cavalry, who are surprisingly well-costed for elf cavalry (17 points for a F5, D6, C5 rider who can take a banner).
• Strength: Potential for top-tier fight value, attacks, and damage across your entire force. While all of the above is pretty standard for elf infantry (the Glaives and Bodyguard being the key exceptions... for some reason, elves just don't have that many Bodyguard troops), Mirkwood troops can go up another level, especially if Thranduil is in the mix. For starters, your Palace Guard and Palace Guard Captains have a built-in +1 Fight value buff when they're within 3" of Thranduil. Mirkwood Rangers and the Ranger Captains can gain up to 3 bonus attacks if they're sufficiently surrounded. Mirkwood Cavalry count as being in range of a banner if they're within 6" of Thranduil. Last but not least, if you keep your army bonus, all Mirkwood Elves / Cavalry / Captains and Palace Guard / Guard Captains get +1 to-wound within 3" of Thranduil (and many of them also have hand-and-a-half weapons, so a +2 to-wound could be in play). Any and all of these are great to have, and one of the things that really makes this list stand out. Having said that...
• Strength / Weakness: Very buff-oriented / -reliant / -centric. There's nothing wrong with having an army built around buffs (as anyone who's ever found themselves on the business end of a Fiefdoms army will tell you), but it can pose some dangers. One is the risk of telegraphing: because your army relies on X model(s) for maximum effectiveness, the enemy can usually get a pretty good idea of where your army is going to do based on where you send (or don't send) that model (if banner Boromir is advancing in a straight line towards my left flank, the odds are that at least a significant portion of his army is going towards that flank as well). The other is that if your buff model(s) is (are) eliminated, the effectiveness of a list that has been built around that buff is likely to go down significantly. 
• Weakness: Surprisingly expensive, even for elves. Let's start with Thranduil, for two reasons. First, while 100 points for a 3 / 3 / 3 F6 elf hero is a nice bargain, he comes with so many great upgrade options (the elk, the additional elven-made sword, the circlet, a bow, heavy armor, a horse) that the chances you see a 'nekked Thranduil are probably pretty low. Load him up, and you're paying about the same points you'd fork over for the elitest of elite elf combat heroes (Elrond, Gil-Galad, Glorfindel). A fully-kitted out Thranduil absolutely belongs in their company, but he's not cheap. Then there's the "Thrandy tax" on Palace Guards: great models in their own right (F5, D6, Bodyguard), but at 12 points for just armor and a sword (14 points if you add spear and shield), they're extremely expensive for S3, 1 Attack models (Iron Guard cost just 1 point more than a Palace Guard fully-kitted out). Now if you take them with Thranduil, they may well be worth it (there are a lot of armies whose heroes will struggle getting around F6 with elven-made weapons). But if you're not taking Thranduil, it's hard to justify taking them just for the Bodyguard alone (a Courage 5 Mirkwood Elf with shield costs just 3 points less than a Palace Guard with a shield, which is a significant price bump). Rangers are just as expensive, and while their F5, elven cloaks, and Knife Fighter makes them more resilient in practice than they appear on paper, they're also not cheap (and very liable to be shot out if you're playing on a sparse board). And while Mirkwood Cavalry are cheap for elf cavalry, paying 16-17 points for a single rider on a D4 mount is still an expense. The best bang for your (points) buck are the regular Mirkwood Elves, but purchasing them will put a huge dent in your wallet. Which leads me to...
• Weakness: Extremely expensive to collect. Ah... money. The good news is that at least you can buy all the models in this army. Thranduil is definitely the priciest--depending on how you plan to run him (one sword, two, on foot, on horse, on elk...) you may need to purchase at least four models (and that's not counting the "yoga pose" variant that, as of this writing at least, you have to find via secondary markets). Legolas is everywhere, and you can pick up Tauriel and Legolas together for what you'd pay for most hero sets (there are two sets, one of which includes a mounted Legolas model). Ironically, the palace guards and Mirkwood rangers--the most expensive models in the list points-wise--are the cheapest to get a hand on, as you can get 20 of them in a reasonably-priced plastic kit. The Mirkwood infantry cost $65 USD for a pack of twelve, and armored cavalry come in sets of two for $30 USD. They're beautiful models, don't get me wrong, but when you compare them to, say, the cost of Galadhrim Knights or Rivendell Knights, they're significantly more pricey.
• Strength: Awesome allies. The Hobbit armies on the whole have very good alliance options (even most of the evil ones... pour one out for the Dark Denizens of Mirkwood, though). Thranduil's Halls is no exception. In addition to being convenient allies or better with everyone (yay elves), you have historic alliances with the Iron Hills, Survivors of Lake-Town, and Erebor Reclaimed. The dwarves offer some very nice staying power (and potentially strength, and even siege weapons if you run with Iron Hills), while Lake-Town allows you to pad your numbers with cheap troops (who can then be backed up by elves). You bring the high-fight (F5-F7), the mobility (10" move cavalry), and a nice cadre of heroes. Everybody wins (except your opponent, hopefully).

I'm too fast for mortal bows...
Photo Credit: gfycat.com

Named Hero Profiles

• Thranduil, King of the Woodland Realm. Ah, Thranduil--how do I love thee? Shall I count the ways? There are lots of them: vanilla (very cheap 3/3/3 Hero of Legend), caster-lite (base + circlet), caster-archer (+bow), caster-heavy (+armor), caster-mobile (+horse), caster-beatstick (+twin blades), caster-harbinger (+elk). Basically, he can be anything you want in your army. Need a pretty cheap 3-Might with 18 warrior slots? Fight 6 or Fight 7? Two attacks or three? Want all your models to cause Terror? How about a free Nature's Wrath? Want a 2+ shoot elf-bow? All that customization is good, because you lose a lot of buffs if you don't field Thranduil in some form or fashion: in addition to losing a 3" +1 to wound bubble (plus a 6" banner effect for Mirkwood cavalry), your Palace Guards drop from F6 to F5 if Thranduil isn't there. Don't get me wrong: Bodyguard F5/D6 troops are great, but at 13-14 points a pop (depending on whether you go with just the shield/spear, or pick up both) they're a tad pricey for warriors with just one attack if they don't get the bump to F6.
• Legolas Greenleaf, Prince of Mirkwood. Everyone's favorite elf (or at least the most photogenic). Now that he's no longer Fight 7 with 3 Attacks (RIP Mego-las), his base profile is exactly the same as his Fellowship variant (except he gets the heavy armor standard), with the option to take a horse and elven cloak. He loses his "Final Count" special rule (because he hasn't met Gimli yet, I guess), but picks up access to Orcrist (usually). Orcrist is great--hand-and-a-half elven-made weapon that does some other nasty things to orcs, goblins, and uruk-hai--but since Legolas already comes with elven-made weapons it's not quite the upgrade it is on Thorin. The toughest thing with Legolas is always figuring out how long to focus on shooting and when to commit him to combat. Used passably, he's annoying; used well, he's incredibly versatile and dangerous.
• Tauriel. Stat-wise, she's almost literally a carbon-copy of Legolas: Fight 6, 3+ Shoot, Strength 4, Defense 5, 2 Wounds, Courage 6, and 3/2/3 heroic stats with elven-made daggers. Unlike Legolas, she picks up at least  1 extra attack (base Attack 3), and potentially more thanks to Blade Mistress (+1 attack for every enemy model she is in base combat with after the first). Unlike Mirkwood Ranger Captains and Mirkwood Rangers, there's no cap on the number of bonus attacks she can pick up, which means it's possible to roll 9 attack dice total with her if she's completely surrounded. The odds of that happening are poor, but if you move first you can generally get +1 attack reliably by charging into two enemy models, which is good enough to boost your chance of getting at least one "6" from 42% to 52%. You can take her with an elf-bow as well, for some added ranged firepower--but unlike Legolas, you want her in combat as soon as is safely possible.

What? You were expecting someone else?
Photo Credit: lotr.fandom.com

Unnamed Hero Profiles

• Palace Guard Captains. The only generic heroes (other than the Troll Chieftain... and dragons, too, I suppose) who can get to Fight 7, provided you keep them near Thranduil. They're not cheap, but their cost is comparable for what you'd pay for a High-Elf Captain (on foot, of course--not horse). Fight 7, Defense 7, and a shield (or elven-made weapon) can be a surprising roadblock for a much more expensive enemy hero. Don't sleep on their Bodyguard, either: that's an auto-pass on your Stand Fast! in the late-game should you be broken (or to charge Terror models).
• Mirkwood Captains. They don't have the glamour rules that the other two generic heroes have, but they do get glaives for free, which is awesome. Elven-made swords are always handy; a front line of Iron Hills dwarves loves being backed up by elven-made spears; and you'll have a great chance of staying alive or holding up a much larger enemy weapon if you can shield with an elven-made weapon. Well, thanks to glaives, you can!
• Mirkwood Ranger Captains. Let's get the obvious out of the way first: a non-upgradable Defense 4 on a hero isn't great. But you do have a bow, and elven cloaks, so as long as you're not fighting in a desert with no terrain you can get around being shot-out (all Mirkwood elves have Woodland Creature, but these guys probably need it the most). Once you close, Knife Fighters allows you to get up to 5 attacks (if you're in base-contact with 4 or more enemy models), although as with Tauriel 3 attacks is probably the most realistic outcome. That's plenty good on a Fight 6 model with an elven-made weapon.

The only thing more beautiful than my army... is me
Photo Credit: thranduilfanblog.com

Warrior Profiles

• Palace Guard. Elves have no shortage of excellent troops, and these guys may be the best of the bunch (although Rivendell Knights, Kingsguard, and Guards of the Galadhrim Court would probably contest that). Fight 5-6, Defense 6, shields, and Bodyguard make them rock-solid and very difficult to move (no Wood-elf Sentinel or Dead Marsh Spectre shennanigans). Courage 5 (or 6 if you upgrade one with a War Horn) is also high enough to demand 5s to wound from Blades of the Dead, even if your opponent has Harbinger of Evil active. In addition to shields and war horns, you can also take spears and banners, making them extremely well-rounded. Don't forget about their potential +2 to-wound, either, if your army bonus is active (if they two-hand with their hand-and-a-half swords): they become effectively Strength 7.
• Mirkwood Elves. While Palace Guard are more dependable, they're not exactly cheap (especially if you kit them out with swords and shields). Standard Mirkwood Elves are much easier on your points cap (if not your wallet), and while they don't have Bodyguard their Courage 5 will be good enough against most armies. Defense 5 base becomes Defense 6 with a shield, and you can also take a banner (but not a war horn). Their primary upgrades are elf-bows and glaives, which cost two points each. They can also take both at the same time now (which is cool). This makes them incredibly versatile: they can one-hand, two-hand, spear-support, and shield--all with elven-made weapons--plus shoot elf-bows. They're pretty expensive if you run them that way, though.
• Mirkwood Cavalry. These are elf heavy-cav (F5, S3, D5-6, C5, with hand-and-a-half swords) for a pretty decent price. They pick up two nice bonuses: first, they count as being in range of a banner if they're within 6" of Thranduil, which you never turn down. Second, they benefit from Thranduil's 3" +1 to-wound if you keep your army bonus active (so, again, that's effective Strength 7 potential if you're two-handing in that 3" bubble). It's not quite a lance (because you have that -1 duel roll penalty), but it's not a shabby replacement.
• Mirkwood Rangers. Again, the obvious out of the way: Defense 3 models look bad, and Defense 3 models that cost 14 points a pop look even worse. I strongly recommend you practice with them first before you take them to a competition. Since you're so fragile, you have to be more creative with how you approach and capture enemy objectives. The good news is that if there's terrain on the board you can make yourself immune from bow-fire until the enemy is within 6" of you--at which point you can charge them. Be wary of getting too infatuated with Knife Fighters, too--yes, 2 Attacks on your basic infantry models is awesome, especially if those models cost 14 points each. But to get that second Attack you have to charge at least 2 models... and chances are that if you lose a fight to two models, you will die. They love being backed up by friendly spears, though. And banners, of course. (ALWAYS BRING BANNERS!!!)
• Wood Elf Sentinels. Yes, you can take these guys, too, which is pretty sneaky. 2 Attacks with a 3+ shoot elf-bow give them some surprising damage potential, but the pseudo-spells are where it's at. Elves don't generally need the auto-pass courage test (The Hymn of Elbereth), but if you run allies from Lake-Town it can be very handy. Casting Terror on yourself could be handy as well if you're holding an important objective (The Lay of Gondolin). But most of the time, you probably want the Eldamar Madrigal (or at least the threat of the Eldamar Madrigal), because being able to play with low-courage enemy banners or heroes is always fun. And unlike a Compel, you can move models up to their full movement distance if you wish (which means 15" on a cavalry model who marched). They're not cheap, but having one lurking in your force somewhere can open up some fun tactical opportunities.
  

About those Legendary Legions

This is pretty simple--there aren't any. I'm holding out hope that we'll eventually get a War in the North sourcebook (because that would be pretty epic), but let's be honest: Thranduil's Halls is great as-is. It doesn't need any more help. But that doesn't deter their fearless and beautiful leader.

I hate dwarves anyway...
Photo Credit: pinterest.com

Concluding Thoughts

Well, this has been fun (despite the Thranduil photo-bombs). In all seriousness, Thranduil and his army are great fun to use, and deadly on the table-top. If you play Thranduil's Halls, let us know what you like to run, and what kind of adventures you've had with them. And don't forget to check out the recommended resources below for more on this faction!

More from the TMAT Team

• The Bare Necessities, Part XVIII: The Halls of Thranduil (May 2020)
• Armies of the Hobbit, Part V: The "Other" Armies of Good (March 2019)
• The King of the Woods: Thranduil (October 2012, *Pre-MESBG)

Support your Hobby

• Halls of Thranduil model range (Games Workshop)

Recommended Resources

• VIDEO: Review of the Armies of the Hobbit, Part 15: Thranduil's Halls (STF Wargaming)
• VIDEO: Shadow Reviews: Halls of Thranduil -- Are They Competitive? (Shadow Wraith)
• VIDEO: Tactics Talk: Thranduil's Halls (The LOTR SBG Team)
• READ: Playing Thranduil's Halls (Death Watch Studios)
• READ: 500 under 50: Halls of Thranduil (Drawn Combat)
• PODCAST: Mustering an Army: Thranduil's Halls (The Green Dragon Podcast, *Pre-MESBG)
• VIDEO: There and Back Again Review: Mirkwood/Lake-Town (DC Hobbit League, *Pre-MESBG)
• VIDEO: How to Play and Buy Mirkwood (DC Hobbit League, *Pre-MESBG)
• VIDEO: Warriors of Lothlorien and Mirkwood, Heroes of Lothlorien and Mirkwood (GBHL, *Pre-MESBG)
• BATTLE REPORT: Thranduil's Halls vs. Mordor (The D6 Fix)
• BATTLE REPORT: Thranduil's Halls vs. Azog's Legion (Top Table Gaming)
• BATTLE REPORT: Thranduil's Halls vs. Azog's Legion (Nashville MESBG Fellowship)
• ARMY SHOWCASE: Thranduil's Halls (HTL World)
• HOBBY: Middle-Earth Hobby Focus: Thranduil's Halls by David (Warhammer Community)
• HOBBY: GBHL Damien's Hobby Vlog, Palace Guard & Mirkwood Elves, Stage-by-stage Mirkwood Elf painting, Mirkwood Elves and Heroes, Mirkwood Elves and Thranduil (GBHL)
• HOBBY: Mirkwood Ranger Painting Tutorial, Mirkwood Captain Painting Tutorial (Valley Gaming)