Armies of Middle-Earth SBG: Rivendell in the Middle-Earth Strategy Battle Game

Photo Credit: Council of Elrond

After tackling the unholy, vile, tortured, and mutilated Uruk-Hai last time, it's time for their holier, purer brethren to enjoy their day in the sun: elves. We begin, of course, with the purest of pure elves from Rivendell (unless you're partial to Galahdrim). Rivendell is both a diverse and monotone list; there are a ton of variations on Rivendell lists, and yet if you've fought one of them, you sort of feel like you've fought them all. And it's almost always a painful experience...

If Rivendell is your jam, I'd highly recommend you listen to the Green Dragon Podcast's Ep. 55: Rivendell, which discusses the ins and outs of the factions in the Armies of the Lord of the Rings rule book, in two hours of glorious goodness. Then, if you still have a fix, you can see what we have to say...

Army Quick(ish) Hits

• Strength: Winning fights. A lot of these strengths and weaknesses are going to be true of all elven factions, and this one certainly applies. It's not just the insanely high base Fight value of 5 for even your most basic troops--it's pairing those insanely high base Fight values with army-wide elven-made weapons (swords mostly--occasionally other things, though not shields...). Worst-case scenario, you're winning duel roll-offs on a 4+ every time; best-case scenario, if your opponent somehow has Fight 5 (which usually means you're fighting a much more expensive hero), you typically win on a 3+ because you have an elven-made weapon and they don't (plus High Elves are so pure of heart that you're virtually guaranteed to roll on the "good" side of any heroic roll-off). It turns out that if you win most of your fights, you tend to win games--your models don't die, you don't cede important ground or objectives, and your models actually get wherever you want on the board (or off it). So yeah... this is good.
• Strength: Dependable troops. There's not a lot of variation when it comes to Rivendell's troops (more on that in a minute), but the packages you get have almost all the options you'd want, and are all good- to very-good troop choices. Let's start off with your basic High Elf Warrior: in addition to Fight 5, you have a 3+ shoot value, Strength 3, Defense 5, 1 Attack, 1 Wound, and Courage 5 (4 even if your opponent has Harbinger or Ancient Evil; up to 6 if you have a War Horn active), with heavy armor and that aforementioned hyper-hyphenated weapon (an elven-made hand-and-a-half sword). Even before you look at their wargear options (they have 5 of them), this is a good stat-line. Fight 5 and Courage 5 are both top-notch, and (but for elves) unthinkable on just a 9 point warrior. Strength 3 isn't great in a vacuum, but you do have those hand-and-a-half swords in case you need to crack something Strength 6 or above. That just leaves your own Defense value of 5, which you can boost to that all-important Defense 6 if you take a shield (plus having the ability to Shield with a Fight 5 model, at just 10 points, is great value). With your high Fight and Defense, you're hard to eliminate (even when outnumbered), with your hand-and-a-half weapons you always have the option to get a +1 to-wound in combat, and Courage 5 will make opponents think twice about trying to move you with spectres (and makes you able to charge Terror-causing armies fairly consistently). Oh, and you have Woodland Creature, too, to move through woods faster than other conventional armies can. That's a great place to start an army.
• Strength: Top-tier archery. Then there's that 3+ shoot value, which is good in itself. Pair it with a Strength 3 elf-bow, and it becomes phenomenal. Also pair it with the army bonus (reroll all failed to-hit rolls if you stayed stationary within 6" of your army leader) and it can become downright lethal. The army bonus itself I could live with or without (it's not my favorite bonus, and certainly is not always useful), but if you build an army to take advantage of it for a turn or two it can be devastating. Don't forget you also have a sneaky way to get a warband of Wood Elves from Lothlorien into the army (via Gildor Inglorion), so you could potentially have cheaper elf-bows (or throwing weapons, or both) in your force. Though those Wood Elves won't benefit from the army bonus (being that they're not Rivendell models), but you probably want them moving anyway since they can go 8" in a single turn (or 11" with a Heroic March). 
• Strength: Versatile heavy cavalry. Last, you also have the option for cavalry archers if you run Rivendell Knights, by far the most complete mounted profile in the game. Their raw stats are phenomenal (Fight 5, Defense 6, Courage 5), they have good keywords (Expert Rider whilst mounted, Woodland Creature for when they get dismounted), and they have not only a ranged attack (a Strength 3 elf bow) but two sources of +1 to-wound (a lance, or a hand-and-a-half elven-made sword which, of course, gives you that duel roll-off advantage in a pinch). And you also have the option for banners or war horns, because why not? If Elrond is in your force, they don't count towards your bow limit, either. They're expensive as anything (both in real cash and points on the table), but they can be very tricky to engage, and a pain to remove if you do catch them.
• Strength: Courage. Courage 5 (6 with a War Horn) is usually good enough, but in those rare circumstances when it's not (or if you'd just rather not mess with dice) Rivendell also has access to the good version of Fury: no, not Bodyguard--Aura of Command, which Cirdan can cast on an absurd 2+. That's a 6" auto-pass (no 6+ save, though--can't let the Elves have all the toys), in case you really want to make sure you get wherever it is you need to go. 
• Strength: Big heroes... like, reeeeally big heroes... We've already casually name-dropped three Rivendell heroes into these observations (did you spot all 3?), and haven't hit many of their "biggest" (itself a testament to how diverse this list is--at least at the top-end). There are three who stand out among the rest--both for their points cost, and because their stat profiles are incredibly beefy, even for elves. Elrond is probably the most well-rounded, Gil-Galad is the obvious beat-stick, and Glorfindel is the underrated survivor (especially against the dreaded "Ms"--magic and monsters). All three are Lords of the West (free reroll to win the fight and to wound), all 3 can get to at least Defense 7, and all three can be mounted. Any one of them could be the centerpiece of your army, and if your army can squeeze two of them in, your opponent may not have enough stuff in his force to stop them.
• Strength: Good selection of mid-tier and niche heroes. Not everyone wants to take a really "big" hero (or multiple of them), so naturally Rivendell has a good selection of mid-tier heroes who cost about the same amount of points as your opponent's mid-tier heroes, but have significantly better stats. The twins (Elladan & Elrohir), Erestor, and High Elf Captains are all relatively cheap combat heroes with F6, Strength 4, 2 Attacks / Wounds, and at least 2 Might with elven-made weapons. Erestor and the Twins have access to Heroic Strike (from Fight 6 with elven-made weapons), and of course the twins have the option to go up to three attacks (though only on foot--not whilst mounted...). Not to be outdone, Erestor gets free to-wound rerolls when making strikes with his Noldorin daggers or throwing them (with his 3+ shoot value), and of course the twins can also take elf bows (and horses and heavy armor, and even elven cloaks). Arwen and Gildor can be niche combat models in a pinch (Fight 6 on both with1 Might and the option to Heroic Defense), although both are better put to use as casters--Arwen with 3 Will to cast Wrath of Bruinen (4+), while Gildor has 4 Will to cast a cheeky Immobilize (3+) with a 12" range. Lindir is a fairly cheap Fight 5 Hero of Fortitude (even if mounted) who not only gives Elrond that free Will point each turn, but also makes all Rivendell models within 6" of him Resistant to Magic. And while they're not what they used to be, High Elf Stormcallers can still Call Winds (3+) to try and keep an important combat model (or a banner) away from combat, or Strengthen Will (4+) if Elrond, Arwen, Gildor, or any of your other heroes are running low on Will.
• Strength: Magic and magic defense. Most armies would be very happy to have just the option for multiple 3 Will heroes, or just a couple of heroes who can try to counter-cast an enemy wizard with offensive spells of their own, or the ability to make their generic troops Resistant to Magic. Rivendell, of course, can do all three (and without taking dedicated magic buff/defense models, either, as almost all of these heroes are multi-purpose models). And that's before we get to the ultimate "the grass is greener over here" piece: Cirdan, who is decidedly not a combat model (Fight 5, unarmed) but more than makes up for it with the other ways he contributes to your army. Need to counter Terror? Check. Want to boost Gil-Galad's already tremendous damage potential? He's your man. Want to bathe your 3+ shoot archers in a glow of Blinding Light? He can do that, too. Want to be completely obnoxious and make your high elf shields cause Terror? It goes on and on (and on).
• Weakness: Numbers. If Rivendell has a "weakness" it is the same weakness all elite armies share: their fabulous troops and good heroes--even mid-tier ones--cost points, and the more of their wonderful toys you take, the more those points add up, which means you have fewer models you can cram under the points limit for matched play games. You can't really spam High Elves, and once you start packing in elf bows, a few cavalry models, and at least one banner (which High Elves really want--always take the freakin' banner), your numbers are going to be down. The good news is that because your troops are more resilient, they can survive being outnumbered better than most: not only are you higher Fight with elven-made weapons and the ability to shield, but Woodland Creature means you have more flexibility when setting up in terrain to mitigate the enemy's numbers, you have powerful shooting to thin enemy ranks before they reach you, and when all else fails, you can get Terror up to buy time with your warriors so your heroes can cut through the enemy ranks. You may have to play smart to get the most out of the tools you have, but by golly do you have a lot of tools you can leverage.
• Weakness: Uniqueness (or lack thereof). While Rivendell offers a lot of customization when it comes to hero choices, the same is not true of its warriors. Yes, you can get the four basic troop arch-types: heavy infantry (warriors with shields), supporting infantry (warriors with spears), archers (warriors with bows), and cavalry (Rivendell Knights), but unless you're packing Gildor and some Wood Elves, the core of your army is going to look the same as the core of any other Rivendell army, which means the way you differentiate yourself is primarily going to be through your hero choices. And while there's a lot of diversity in those choices, the reality is that some heroes (or hero combos) are just too good to pass up. You don't see many Rivendell lists without Cirdan these days; if you see Elrond, you usually see Lindir unless you're going for a Last Alliance-type theme (in which case you always see Gil-Galad, and vice-versa); you may see the twins, but you'll rarely see Gildor, or Erestor, or Stormcallers. There are lots of armies that have a similar situation (my beloved Iron Hills are basically in the same boat), so that's not a knock. But if being able to build variations on the same army is important to you, Rivendell won't capture that in the same way or to the same extent that Minas Tirith, Isengard, Mordor, or even the Serpent Horde will.
• Weakness: Army bonus (usually). As mentioned above, this is a great bonus in certain situations: rerolling to-hit rolls with a 3+ shoot value on multiple elf bows will absolutely shred certain armies. But there are some limitations with it. First and foremost, as a good army, you cannot shoot into combat, which means that your bonus will do little for you once battle actually begins, unless you've had the very good fortune to set-up on an elevated portion of the battlefield where you can see the enemy's unengaged spear supports. Second, because the army bonus only kicks in when your archers are stationary, it can be more difficult to take advantage of Centaur's primary maxim for archery: archers are swordsmen. This is especially true of High Elf archers (again... Fight 5 with elven-made hand-and-a-half swords), but if those swordsmen have stayed stationary for 2-3 turns in order to shoot, while the rest of your army advances, the enemy may be able to defeat the rest of your force in detail during the 2-3 turns it will take your archers-turned-swordsmen to rejoin the fray. Third, remember that the bonus only kicks in if those stationary archers are also within 6" of your army leader. If you took someone like, say, Cirdan as your army leader, this may not be an issue (though you will definitely struggle with Contest of Champions). But if your leader is a centerpiece like Elrond or Gil-Galad or Glorfindel, or even one of the twins, your combat beatstick may also be 2-3 turns away from combat when the need of your army is greatest. Again, it's a good army bonus if the scenario, deployment, and conditions are right. But if you play to the army bonus the same way, every time, it will not only prove useless on occasion: it may also cost you some games.
• Strength: Alliances. One of the great things about being elves (and thus being thousands of years old) is that there is literally not a single alliance you don't like. In addition to four very strong Green alliance choices (the Fellowship, Lothlorien, the White Council, and of course Numenor), you have yellow alliances with every other good faction in the game (both Lord of the Rings and Hobbit-era). As mentioned above, while your army bonus is situationally useful, it's not the sort of bonus where (I, at least) feel you always have to take it, which means you can explore those yellow alliances in cases where you either don't care about the army bonus: Minas Tirith's +1 Courage is nice, but not necessary if you're allying in Cirdan and his Aura of Command (2+). While the Green alliances are fun from a thematic point of view, there's a ton of "what-if" thematic potential with Rivendell as well, which can be just as much fun (if not more so).
• Weakness: Start-up cost. Last is our obligatory comment on how cheap (or not) a given force is to collect. Rivendell's is... worse than others. While you can get High Elf swordsmen and archers in plastic, they come with warriors of Numenor--not bad if you're interested in a Last Alliance-themed force, of course, but it also means you have to buy more boxes than you'd like to flesh out just the core of your elf army. The high elf spearmen also come only in metal, so that will add up, too (or push you to do conversions). Rivendell Knights are decently priced for the quality of their plastic kit, but an army of 30 of them led by Elrond and Lindir will cost you most of what you'd spend on Smaug. And then there are the hero kits which, being hero kits, cost more than what you spend on generic warriors. There are also several models who can be mounted, like Glorfindel, Gil-Galad, and Lindir, who don't have official mounted models. If you're looking for an official solution, the Rivendell Knight kit is probably your best option if you're up for doing some conversion work. None of this is bad, of course, just pricey. 

Named Hero Profiles

Photo Credit: Magali Vileneuve

• Gil-Galad. Way back when, before the Middle-Earth rebranding and ForgeWorld resin and Heroic Strike, there was the Balrog, Sauron, and Gil-Galad who ruled over all. At Fight 9 (with an elven-made spear that does +1 to-wound), Gil-Galad remains one of the toughest outs in the game. Strength 4 (effective Strength 6 with Aiglos), Defense 7 (8 with Shield), 3 Attacks, 3 Wounds, and Courage 7 with 3/3/1 Heroic Stats are about as beefy as a non-Monster hero will get, and he has plenty of excellent Heroic Actions to choose from (Resolve, Strike, Strength, Defense, and Challenge). In addition to his combat prowess, he's got no shortage of special rules that push him from the realm of the very great to the realm of the greatest. Terror and Woodland Creature are staples of the high elf lords and can pose a real problem for certain enemy forces. Then there's Blood and Glory, allowing Gil-Galad to restore a Might point each time he defeats an enemy hero or monster in combat (which he's tailor-made to do). Add the option for a horse, and a free die reroll for duels and wounds (Lord of the West), plus that +1 from Aiglos, and you have a combat monster. As a Hero of Legend with Courage 7, he'll hold your army together if your force is broken, and has a 12" Stand Fast! to reach your far-flung troops. Oh, and those troops? Up to 18 High Elf Warriors in his warband can be upgraded to Fight 6 for just 1 point. And that's Fight 6 permanently--no "within so many inches of Gil-Galad" restrictions apply. High Elves are already incredibly dependable in combat; but if you want to relive their glory days and make life really miserable for your opponent, Gil-Galad is your man (er... elf).
• Elrond. Another Hero of Legend, Elrond is less of a combat beat-stick than Gil-Galad (although in fairness, no other elf is Gil-Galad's match in a straight-up brawl), but a more well-rounded profile overall. Underestimate him in combat at your peril, though: Fight 6, Strength 4, Defense 5-7 (though you almost always want the heavy armor), 3 Attacks / Wounds, and a whopping Courage 7 (8 with a War Horn) is nothing to sneeze at, especially when paired with 3/3/3 heroic stats, rerollable fate (courtesy of Vilya), and Heroic Resolve, Strike, and Defense. Where he excels (even above Gil-Galad) is in magic and counter-magic. In addition to resisting spells, he can spend his 3 Will points to cast Renew (3+) if his allies need a boost (healing wounds on multi-wound allies is always good), or to put the pressure on enemies with Wrath of Bruinen (4+) which, while not what it used to be now that's been reduced to a 3" radius, can still be devastating if timed correctly against the right army (like, any cavalry army ever). He really benefits from being near Lindir (gets a free Will point per turn to cast and Resistant to Magic), who's a nice (and relatively cheap) body-guard to keep near Elrond in case you have to peel off some combats. Then there's Hadhafang--an elven-made hand-and-a-half sword (of course) that also gets a +1 to-wound bonus against Spirit models. Yes, that's a +2 to-wound if using it two-handed against things like, say, Ringwraiths, who absolutely hate fighting against High Elves for a whole bunch of reasons. Playing against magic casters can be frustrating, but if you have a big hero with a replenishing Will pool, the ability to cast Heroic Resolve when you need it, who can knock enemy casters off their mounts, and cut through their defenses in a hurry, you have more anti-magic options than most armies do. Last are those annoying foresight points--up to D6 points to modify your priority rolls (up or down) over the course of the game. Yes, a D6 is swingy, but even a single Foresight point could make the difference, especially if you hold it until the end-game when your opponent is out of Might. 
• Glorfindel. The almost-member of the Fellowship who was one of the more unfortunate omissions from the film series, Glorfindel makes his triumphant return to Middle-Earth as one of the scariest combat models in the game. Combat effectiveness improves based on several factors--how many attacks you can generate, duel and wound bonuses, mobility, resilience in combat, and your ability to shrug off debilitating magic. Glorfindel is a top-tier model--good or evil--in almost all of those categories. Like Gil-Galad and Elrond, he augments his 3 base Attacks with a free duel reroll and wound reroll (Lord of the West) plus the ability to mount a horse (and not just any horse... more on that in a minute). While Gil-Galad has the higher Fight Value (9), Glorfindel pairs his own less-good-but-still-very-serviceable Fight 7 with that sweet elven-made hand-and-a-half sword, the option to Heroic Strike, and up to two rerolls if you have a banner nearby, all of which will win a lot of fights. He's got a ton of tricks for staying alive in combat, too. Facing off against an enemy horde? Like Gil-Galad and Elrond, Glorfindel has Terror to force annoying terror checks. Find yourself locked in combat with a Troll Chieftain or Sauron? The Armor of Gondolin not only boosts your defense to 7, but also prevents Monster models from targeting Glorfindel with brutal power attacks. Squaring off against Saruman or the Witch-King? Neither Elrond nor Gil-Galad have anything approaching Unbending Resolve when it comes to magic defense: two free dice to resist spells, all the time, regardless of the state of his 3 Will store. And then there's your combat mobility, which is nearly unrivaled if you mount Asfaloth, a 12" move horse with the ultra-rare (unless you run Galahdrim Knights) Fleetfoot special rule that allows you to treat wooded areas as if they were open ground (plus Woodland Creature for when he's on foot). Add the 5" move bonus from a Heroic March, and Glorfindel can cover up to 17" in a single turn, through open, wooded, or shallow water terrain, and even has Horse Lord to shrug off incoming missiles that target Asfaloth. Oh, and he has Expert Rider, too, so he can pick up the prize and make off with it. Because why not? If there is a wart in his profile, it's that he can only get +1 to-wound if he two-hands with his elven blade (which means he incurs the -1 penalty to his duel roll)… but at that point, we're really quibbling, aren't we?
• Erestor. Erestor is a bit of a let-down after the big-three heroes in Rivendell, but don't let that fool you: he's still an incredibly effective combat model. 2 Attacks and 2 Wounds are underwhelming, but Fight 6, Strength 4, Defense 7, and Courage 6 are excellent, as are 2/2/2 heroic stats with the option to Heroic Strike. In addition to Terror and Woodland Creature, he also fights with Noldorin Daggers: elven-made daggers that can be used as throwing weapons (3+ shoot) and when striking. Either way, you get to reroll any failed to-wound rolls, which is pretty crazy. Because elves are so expensive he tends to be overshadowed in this particular list, which has so many great profiles to choose from. But there are tons of other lists (*cough* Rohan *cough*) that would do anything to have an under-100 point Hero of Fortitude, who can strike with an elven-made weapon from Fight 6. He's probably your third-option in most Rivendell lists, and probably overqualified for that role.
• Arwen Undomiel. An even cheaper Hero of Fortitude who can (for movie-continuity reasons) also take Asfaloth (*gasp*). As a combat model she's clearly a cut below Erestor: she's only Strength 3 and Defense 3 which aren't great, and only has a single Attack, 2 Wounds, and 1 Fate. But she is Fight 6 with an elven-made sword, and has Heroic Defense (in addition to Resolve and Channel) if you're in a tight spot. Her 1/4/1 heroic stats aren't mind-blowing either, until you notice the Wrath of Bruinen (4+) that she can channel in a pinch. She has Expert Rider and Woodland Creature (plus Fleetfoot from Asfaloth if she's mounted on him), so if you're careful with her (and the enemy doesn't have any marksmen archers) you can keep her safe, and if you take her on foot you can also give her an elven cloak. But her main strength is a really cheap drop who can bring 12 High Elf Warriors. In a list like Rivendell that has expensive heroes and expensive troops, having an option like that to bulk out your numbers is always valuable. The fact that your "cheap filler" hero is also Fight 6 with an elven-made weapon, and can threaten a very dangerous spell? Even more valuable.
• Elrohir and Elladan. Speaking of value, these guys are nuts. 160 points buys you both of them (although realistically you're probably paying close to 200 for the whole kit), and yes you can only take 11 troops with them because of the way one of them fills the first warband slot, but holy cow... 6 Might (all of which can be spent to Strike if you need), Fight 6, elven-made swords, Defense 5-6, 2 Wounds and 2 Fate apiece, and the option to have 3 attacks on foot or shield in a pinch with their base 2 Attacks (or fight on horseback, maybe with elven bows and a 3+ shoot value, or with elven cloaks). They're good enough individually that they can capably handle other 80-100 point enemies on their own, and if you keep them together their tag-team will have a pretty good go at 200+ point models. Just make sure they're not holding any important relics or objectives, in case one of them dies (triggering Unbreakable Bond)...
• Lindir. Lindir borrows a page from Arwen's book, in that he's clearly a second-tier combat model (in the Rivendell list, at least). Fight 5 is about as low as elves go, 1 Attack and 2 Wounds is pretty poor, and Strength 4 / Defense 4 isn't going to turn any heads (though you can get to Defense 6 if you take the heavy armor upgrade). Like Arwen, Lindir is primarily in the list to give you another cheap-ish hero option (he's a sub-80 point Hero of Fortitude if you take either the mount or the heavy armor), who also happens to give some nice buffs: in this case, Resistant to Magic for all friendly Rivendell models within 6" of Lindir (which is pretty nice in general, and can be crazy on Glorfindel who would then get 3 free dice to resist spells) and a free Will point each turn for Elrond if he's within 6" (allowing Elrond to cast and re-cast Wrath of Bruinen, unless you can force him to defend against spells instead). 
• Cirdan. As we mentioned above, Cirdan is decidedly not a combat model: Fight 5 is poor for elven heroes, and Unarmed means he gets a -1 to both his duel and to-wound rolls. Having said that, Cirdan more than makes up for his lack of combat prowess with the other ways he contributes to your army. In addition to Aura of Command (2+) (which, as good as it is, is probably the spell of his you'll use the least consistently), he's got the incredible Blinding Light (2+) (because a 3+ shoot value, on a Strength 3 bow, with the potential to reroll all failed to-hit rolls, wasn't powerful enough...), Enchanted Blades (4+) (in case Lord of the West with Aiglos or Hadhafang on the charge doesn't quite cut it...), and the ultimate annoyance: Aura of Dismay (5+) (because what's worse than trying to move Fight 5, Defense 6 elves with high courage who can shield off an objective? Fight 5, Defense 6 elves with high courage who cause Terror...). Oh yeah, and he gets a free Will per turn like he's Saruman or Gandalf, except you can't shatter his source of free Will (so more like he's Galadriel or Sauron). For just 80 points--and 12 warrior spots in his warband to boot--he's... very good. Like everything else in this list.
• Gildor Inglorion. Gildor is an elf wanderer (he doesn't have the Rivendell keyword, and thus doesn't benefit from Lindir's Resistant to Magic buff), and yet another multi-purpose cheap Her of Fortitude. In addition to Heroic March (an extremely rare heroic action in Rivendell), Defense, Resolve, and Channel, he's Fight 6 (with that elven-made sword, though not a hand-and-a-half one) with 4 Strength / Defense, 2 Attacks / Wounds. Courage 6, 1/4/1 heroic stats, and a 3+ Immobilize which can be kind of cheeky. His chief use is his ability to import up to 12 Noldorin Exiles (Wood Elf Warriors with 8" Move), which while fragile at only Defense 3 are a fair bit cheaper than their high elf brethren and can bring throwing weapons (in addition to elf bows). Gildor moves 8", too, which means the entire warband could move 13" in a single turn via a well-timed Heroic March... and then chuck throwing weapons if they brought them. [Edit: As Tiberius points out in the comments, Wood Elves actually aren't any cheaper base than High Elves, and certainly aren't cheaper if they're packing throwing weapons or elf bows. But the movement bonus is still cool!]
• Bilbo Baggins. He's easy to miss in this army list (I only remembered him after Tiberius pointed out his omission in the comments, below) and only counts as an Independent Hero in this list. His base profile is pretty meh (Fight 3, 3+ shoot, Strength 2, Defense 2, 1 Attack, 2 Wounds, Courage 6, with 1/3/3 heroic stats, Resistant to Magic, Throw Stones, and access to Heroic Resolve). But you can get him to Defense 5 with the Mithril Coat (if Fellowship Frodo isn't in your force and/or doesn't have it), Strength 3 with Sting (same as above), and the One Ring (same), which is really what you want it for. You can't take Bilbo with Gil-Galad (unless you're okay with losing your army bonus and being impossible allies with anyone else), but Glorfindel and Elrond still have high enough fight value to beat anyone in the game (except the Dark Lord Sauron, obviously) if you have Bilbo in their combat.

Unnamed Hero Profiles

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• High Elf Captain. Like your standard generic captains, they have Heroic March (good) but no Heroic Strike (sometimes fine, sometimes not). Unlike your standard generic captains, they're base Fight 6 with an elven-made hand-and-a-half sword, so if you're squaring off with another Fight 6 hero without Heroic Strike you're in pretty good shape. Add Expert Rider, Woodland Creature, the option to take a horse, elf bow, lance, and shield, and you have a pretty good captain profile. Need to tank? Check. Need to kill something? Ditto.
• High Elf Stormcaller. Unnamed magic casters generally got some nerfs in the new edition, but the Stormcaller seems to have suffered more than most. He's a minor hero now (6 models max in his warband) and like Cirdan and Lindir is only Fight 5 with 1 Attack and 2 Wounds, so he's not good in a combat role. He has 1/3/1 heroic stats with the option for Heroic Channel, and two spells: Call Winds (3+) and Strengthen Will (4+). The spells themselves are fairly good (though the loss of Nature's Wrath, while warranted and appreciated from a game balance perspective, hurts as well). Call Winds doesn't knock models back 2D6 inches anymore, but even D6 inches of knock-back (plus prone) can blunt a big enemy hero (or a banner) for a couple of turns. Strengthen Will is a great option in any list for the magic defense it offers, and is even better in a list like Rivendell, which also has multiple heroes who can cast spells (Elrond, Arwen, Cirdan, Gildor, plus the Stormcaller himself if you feel like playing the odds). Having said that, while most generic shamans are hard-capped at 3 Will (and thus a maximum of 3 spells cast per game), the Stormcaller has an outside chance of more if he can roll a 6 while casting (in which case he gets all Will that was just spent back--the only model in the game I believe who can regain Will on a natural 6 whilst casting spells). If you roll a single D6 each turn you have a 16.7% chance of rolling a "6," so the odds aren't great. If you roll 3D6, those odds of at least one "6" jump up to 42%. So make of that what you will, I guess...

Warrior Profiles


Photo Credit: Lintamande.tumbler.com

• High elf warriors. Relatively cheap for elite troops, with a very good stat line. Apart from Strength 3, everything else is fantastic: Fight 5, 3+ shoot, Defense 6 with a shield, Courage 5, and the option to take spears, Strength 3 bows, banners, and war horns, plus Woodland Creature because elves. All of them come with an elven-made sword that can be used one- or two-handed, for free. So if you need more damage output, you can get it. Don't forget about their synergy with Gil-Galad, either; the Fight 6 upgrade for 1 point may be the best troop stat upgrade in the game (though Thror's Guardians of the King might have something to say about that...).
• Rivendell Knights. An uber-elite cavalry option that can do virtually anything (except climb ladders). Fight 5, Strength 3 bows with a 3+ shoot value, Strength 3 with lances and hand-and-a-half swords, Courage 5, Defense 6 if you take the shield, Expert Rider, Woodland Creature, and the option for banners and shields are all great. Three important reminders: first, because they come with bows, they do count towards your bow limit, so if you want a full army of Rivendell Knights be sure to take Elrond (who removes them from your bow limit). Second, Woodland Creature isn't Fleetfoot--the former only works on foot, the latter is the option for horses--so even though they are elves you don't want them traversing wooded terrain. Third, you can't shield on horseback, so even if you take a full mounted contingent of them, investing in another 3 Might hero (or better yet, the twins mounted for 6 Might between them) will really help you get that first-move to charge. Plus definitely take Elrond, because Foresight Points...

Concluding Thoughts

Well, that's a wrap on Rivendell. We'll be heading to the woodland elves next (intentional ambiguity there), but in the meantime, check out the community resources below and don't forget to let us know what you think in the comments section or over on the TMAT Facebook page. 

Plus we have a special surprise in store for this weekend--stay tuned for that...

More from the TMAT Team

• Using/Fighting Spellcasters, Revisited: Unlimited Casters (Cirdan), Combat Mages (Elrond, Gildor), and Auxiliary Mages (Arwen, Stormcaller) (July-August 2019)
• The Last Alliance: Concept and Strategy, Revisited (July 2019)
• Workbench Update: Rivendell (July 2019)
• A Pocket Full of Power, Revisited (Glorfindel, the Twins, Cirdan) (July 2019)
• New Rules, Part VIII: The Free Peoples, Part I (December 2018)
• The Last Alliance: Concept and Strategy (February 2016, *Pre-MESBG)
• Shields Up! and Sneak Peek: Vanguard of Rivendell (February 2012, Hobbying)

Support your Hobby

• Rivendell Model Range (Games Workshop)

Recommended Resources

• PODCAST: Ep. 55: Rivendell, Ep. 60: Themed List Challenge, Ep. 62: FAQs (August 2019), and Ep. 67: Underused Models (The Green Dragon Podcast, 2019)
• IN PRINT: Fog of War, Part 1: Rivendell (Veni Vini Double, September 2018)
• MEDIA: Army Review: Rivendell (STF Wargaming, September 2018)
• IN PRINT: A Light in the Dark (Michael Hann's Plastic Crack)
• IN PRINT: Middle-Earth SBG: An Extended Elven Family (Wyrd Stones & Tackle Zones)
• PODCAST: Know Thine Enemy: Gil-Galad and Elrond; Mustering an Army: Rivendell (The Green Dragon Podcast, *Pre-MESBG)
• MEDIA: How to Play and Buy High Elves (DC Hobbit League, *Pre-MESBG)
• MEDIA: Heroes and Warriors of Rivendell (GBHL, *Pre-MESBG)
• MEDIA: Tactics Talk: Elrond's Household (The LTR SBG Team, *Pre-MESBG)
• IN PRINT: A Guide to Playing Rivendell Knights (The Grey Company, *Pre-MESBG)
• BATTLE REPORT: Rivendell vs. Iron Hills / Army of Thror (The LOTR SBG Team, May 2019)
• BATTLE REPORT: Rivendell vs. Mordor (Blackfyre Productions, September 2018)
• BATTLE REPORT: Rivendell vs. Moria (Wargames Guru, May 2019)
• HOBBYING: Building Middle-Earth: Rivendell Hall (ToME Tabletop Gaming)
• HOBBYING: 10-Minute Tutorial: High Elf Gold Armor (V1989)
• HOBBYING: How to Paint a High Elf (GirlPainting), High Elf Painting Tutorial (Daniel Knott), Painting High Elves - King's Guard (James's Miniature Space)
• HOBBYING: Rivendell Army Showcase and Review (HobbySpotNZ, July 2015)
• HOBBYING: Contrast - Jay's Rivendell Elves (Warhammer Community)