The Bare Necessities, Part XVIII: The Halls of Thranduil

Good morning gamers,

In this series, we've already looked at 13 armies and how you can build them to be balanced to take advantage of victory points in any scenario you have to play. In Volume I, we looked at the five basic elements for scoring victory points, while Volumes II and III looked at armies I've been collecting for a while and how they can either easily (Vol. 2) or not so easily (Vol. 3) set themselves up for success. This post begins Volume IV, where I look at factions I've barely begun to collect and how I plan to use these five basic principles to shape my army collection. Today we begin with the last of the Elven factions to be reviewed: the Halls of Thranduil.

Halls of Thranduil: To Thanduil or Not To Thranduil (And How Much Thranduil)?

In the Middle-Earth Strategy Battle Game, we have six major Elven combat heroes (3 Attacks and 3 Wounds): Rivendell has the most with Elrond, Gil-Galad, and Glorfindel; Lothlorien has Celeborn; The Halls of Thranduil have Thranduil himself; and the White Council has Galadriel, Lady of Light (as well as Elrond, Glorfindel, and Celeborn - so technically they have the most I guess). These heroes are really powerful, but often suffer from a big problem: they're really expensive.

Thranduil, when fully kitted out is very expensive: weighing in at 190 points with his Elk, heavy armor, extra sword, Elf bow, and Circlet of Kings, he's as expensive as Elrond with all his toys and more expensive than all of the other Elven hero options. But Thranduil has one major advantage over these other heroes: he has a base cost of 100 points. With 90 points of potential customizability, Thranduil is very flexible as a hero - perfectly capable of being run as a cheap Hero of Legend to bring more warriors to a fight or as a bulked-out combat hero who is capable of slaying lots and lots of things.

If you run a pure Halls of Thranduil list, you're encouraged to get him, as he can provide some much-needed damage output from your armored troops. If you choose to ally with someone who isn't the Survivors of Lake-town or the Iron Hills, you could bring the Halls of Thranduil without Thranduil, relying on some of your other heroes (Tauriel and Legolas, probably in that order) to carry the day. Personally, I like the Halls of Thranduil army bonus, so for me, Thranduil is an auto-include (the question is just how big do you want him to be).

As I mentioned above, I intend to purchase the components of this army and my current Thranduil's Halls army list includes the following:

• Thranduil (old model on-foot);
• Legolas (old model on-foot);
• 3 Wood Elf Sentinels; and
• 1 box of Mirkwood Rangers.

As a result, this list takes into account what I need to purchase in order to get this army. With that in mind, let’s look at the list.

The List

• Thranduil, King of the Woodland Realm on Elk with Elf bow, Additional Elven-made sword, Circlet of Kings, and heavy armor [Army Leader]
• 3 Mirkwood Cavalry with shields
• 6 Palace Guards with shields
• 5 Palace Guards with shields and spears
• 1 Palace Guard with shield, spear, and banner
• 1 Mirkwood Ranger
• Tauriel with Elf bow
• 12 Mirkwood Rangers

30 models, 14 Elf bows hitting on a 3+ and 1 Elf bow hitting on a 2+, 16 D6+ models, 4 cavalry, 6 Might points

The purchases required to get these units are as follows:

• I already own Thranduil on foot, so getting Thranduil on the Elk means for $66, I get a power-house mounted model. If you don't have the old Thranduil model, I highly recommend getting the $50 Games Workshop kit that has Thranduil on a horse and two versions of him on foot - the horse is a worse deal than the Elk, but not a bad mount option.
• I own Legolas, but I'm running Tauriel. The cost of Tauriel and 1 Mirkwood Cavalry is basically the same cost as running Legolas on a horse - so feel free to swap out if you already own a foot-and-mounted Legolas. For me, getting a mounted Legolas would be unnecessarily expensive (though Tauriel and Legolas together are $35).
• I've added 3 Mirkwood Cavalry, who you can get in a two-pack for $30 from Games Workshop, though I plan on doing body-swaps with Palace Guards and Galadhrim Knights ($35 for 6). I may have to get some Riders of Rohan instead, since the mounts aren't quite right, but we'll see.
• I've used roughly half of a box of Mirkwood Rangers - these guys are vulnerable if your opponent gets to choose how to charge them (multi-attack models that get spear-supports against a single Mirkwood Ranger are really bad news), but if you have priority, you can get lots of mileage out of their anti-spam special rules. They also do lots of shooting, which I happen to find super useful (15 shots/turn with this team means you can dictate how the game is played in most scenarios against most armies).
• I've also added roughly half of a box of Palace Guards (full box is $50). While I've faced a gun-line of Mirkwood Rangers before, I think you do well to have some heavy infantry to hold a position (especially if you've got Thranduil around). Know that you could trade 1 Palace Guard with shield and spear for 1 Mirkwood Ranger (same cost) if you wanted to.

If you were to buy all of this from scratch (choosing the horse-Thranduil over Elk-Thranduil), you'd be paying $220 for this army - on the pricey end to be sure. Still, I've avoided a few things:

• I own 3 Wood Elf Sentinels, but ran out of points in this list. I think if you were running a smaller version of Thranduil, you'd be able to include more of these guys. I just barely made 30 models, 4 cavalry, and 1 banner, so I'm opting to leave these guys at home.
• I didn't get any Mirkwood Elves - the glaives will be missed. For those on a budget, you can get nearly twice as many Mirkwood Rangers or Palace Guards for the cost of Mirkwood Elves, so for me, they're a no-go. That said, Mirkwood Elves with Glaives and Elf bows are really, REALLY good, capable of lending an Elven-made weapon on a supporting attack AND having Elf bows that actually contribute to your bow limit. I'm thinking about trying to make some of these out of Palace Guards at some point, but we'll see if/when that happens.

With that prologue, let’s look at each warband and see what they’re intended to do.

Warband #1: The Woodland King

Thranduil is maxed-out: he's fast, he has lots of attacks, is decently resilient (D6), and can shoot his bow really well. He's also got access to two great spells that he can cast once each per game. Your first turn will probably see you popping Aura of Dismay automatically on your models, while the first turn of combat will likely see you casting Nature's Wrath. As I talked about ages ago with Thranduil (before he was epic), this is particularly useful to either a) protect your army on a turn when it was charged, or b) allow your archers to skirmish for 1-2 more turns when your opponent gets close to you but hasn't engaged you. These are really useful spells, but the timing for Nature's Wrath is important.

Escorting Thranduil is a small contingent of heavily-armored models - mostly to keep him from getting overwhelmed and make sure the banner doesn't get sniped early in the game. He also has three mounted companions, who not only get +1 To Wound when near Thranduil, but also treat him as a banner. Finally, you have a Mirkwood Ranger, who you can use to stand on nearby objectives, charge into flanking troops, or just whittle down enemy models as they approach.

Warband #2: The Scouting Party

I love Legolas (and almost took him), but I chose Tauriel instead (which I think is a common choice). We've seen Tauriel allied by herself with Rivendell quite a bit here at TMAT, and like the Mirkwood Rangers she accompanies in this list, she's really good when she can charge multiple models.

Her warband has 12 Mirkwood Rangers in it - which is not only a scary warband to arrive in a Maelstrom scenario, but can be a dangerous warband when they begin on/near an objective marker. While Mirkwood Rangers are really powerful in the Shoot phase, be careful of this warband when receiving enemy archery in open ground or when they're charged by enemy models (as a supporting model won't trigger their anti-spam rules).

Scenario Overview

Let’s take a look at each of the available scenarios and see some thoughts/considerations for using this list:

• Domination: Your Mirkwood Rangers are great for holding/guarding objectives, but as much as possible, get them to objectives that have terrain they can hide behind. Having Tauriel and Thranduil floating near some of these squads can make sure that they don't get overwhelmed. Thranduil and his guards (Mirkwood Cavalry and Palace Guards) should move towards wherever your opponent's force is concentrated to get the greatest benefit of their melee damage output (using some of your bows to whittle down their numbers).
• Capture and Control: Your Mirkwood Cavalry are great for running from objective to objective and tagging them (though you probably want Thranduil wherever the action is). Even without Thranduil, Mirkwood Cavalry are dangerous (especially if Thranduil is just barely within 6" of them - banner benefits for the win!). Deploying on the center line is tempting so you can get your battle line into combat quickly - though you'll want our Mirkwood Rangers outside of charge range so they don't get into one-on-one fights if your opponent wins priority.
• Hold Ground: Getting to the center is going to be difficult for most of your army, since you don't have March (besides Rivendell, this is the only army I've presented that doesn't have March in it). Still, getting Thranduil and his three guards into the center is good - they can hold the center and delay an enemy squad from arriving pretty effectively. The infantry will follow behind, providing a heavy anvil to relieve Thranduil and his cavalry.
• Seize the Prize: Similar to Hold Ground, Thranduil and his escorts can race to the center and try to get the prize quickly. Yu want one of the Mirkwood Cavalry to try to pick up the prize and then hand it off to Thranduil. The rest of the army needs to arrive as quickly as possible to protect Thranduil and help him get across the board. Your Mirkwood Rangers are great once you have the Prize, as they can shoot at models as they move slowly across the board and then charge into multiple models to slow them down.
• To The Death: You kill things in this scenario, so kill things! Your army can be broken fairly easily if you leave your Mirkwood Rangers exposed, so make sure they skirmish for as long as they can and fight in melee when they have numerical advantages against their opponents. With a 12-man shield-wall and 4 cavalry (one being an Elk) to support them), your main line will be hard to tackle.
• Lords of Battle: Keep Tauriel and Thranduil safe as they start killing things - with lots of Fate and Wounds, they can cough up a lot of points, if you're not careful. Your models should be able to kill effectively - the +1 To Wound on both the Palace Guards and Mirkwood Cavalry when near Thranduil is great and the shooting capability of the Mirkwood Rangers is really good too.
• Contest of Champions: Thranduil is well kitted out to kill lots of enemy models. Protecting him from an enemy spell-caster (especially someone who can cast Immobilize/Transfix for most/all of the game). If facing such a foe, be sure to go smashing through enemy models quickly on the first and second turns, using your Mirkwood Cavalry to threaten the enemy spell-caster early (with Mirkwood Rangers harassing the spell-caster later if the Mirkwood Cavalry fail). While not being broken is good in this scenario, making sure Thranduil gets lots of kills is critical. If possible, kill the enemy army leader early (Tauriel is a good option, should your opponent avoid Thranduil).
• Reconnoitre: You've got four fast models in this list - get the three Mirkwood Cavalry across the board as quickly as possible, keeping Thranduil nearby to escort them (and get off the board if you don't need him later). Your other troops can spread across the board, making sure your opponent doesn't get too many models across the board himself. 
• Storm the Camp: Thranduil and his cavalry are certainly fast enough to get to the enemy camp with relative ease (even if they have to go out of their way to get there). Tying these models down is also difficult, considering how well they can kill things (Thranduil has 4 Attacks on the charge at F7/S5 and possibly knock-down, while his escorts each have 2 Attacks on the charge at F5/S3 with +1 To Wound and possibly knock-down). Tauriel and the main shield-wall can stall most of the enemy army very well and your Mirkwood Rangers are well-equipped to both protect your flanks and head-hunt enemy models that are racing for your camp. 
• Heirlooms of Ages Past: Maelstrom fights are always a gamble, but less so with this list. If you arrive second, Tauriel's warband is a nasty surprise, as you can move onto the board 3" with almost everyone (not sure you will all fit - test this out a few times before you play a real game) and then fire a devastating volley into one of your opponent's warbands. Thranduil's squad is very hard to tackle as well, with a few fast models supplemented by heavy infantry. If you arrive first, you can still move Tauriel's warband onto the board 3", since enemy models can't charge you on the first turn (except for the Wolves of Isengard Legendary Legion). If they move onto the board and stop 1" away from you, you shoot into them and hope you get to engage them first. Tackling this group early will likely be costly for your opponent - especially if only one enemy warband is involved. Get the Heirloom with anyone but Thranduil.
• Fog of War: Your opponent will have to pick Tauriel to kill and you will have to keep her alive. So keep her alive at all costs. When looking for a hero to kill, look for someone that Thranduil will be able to reach quickly and slay quickly (you could also look for someone you can shoot to death with your Mirkwood Rangers or run over with your Mirkwood Cavalry). For terrain, pick a piece that's near the center of the board so Thranduil and his heavily-armored cohort (both foot and mounted) can secure it and hold it against all comers.
• Clash By Moonlight: A great scenario for you, as you have good bows and Elven cloaks on many of your models. Unlike both Rivendell and Lothlorien, you don't have access to Blinding Light in this list, so be careful with your melee troops as they will not have impunity to enemy archery (which will be more devastating than in normal games once your opponent gets within 12" of you). Get Thranduil into combat as quickly as is safely possible (at D6, he's quite vulnerable to enemy archery).

Modifications

While I’ve already addressed some of this, let’s just recap on the modifications I wouldn’t be surprised to see:

• Take Legolas – I own a Legolas, I feel like I should have Legolas in this list, but what can I say - I picked Tauriel. :-) Legolas is great at shooting - so if you bring him, you should make shooting an important part of your list. More Mirkwood Rangers are probably in order, and while I think that mounting Legolas on a horse grants him greater maneuverability/positioning and greater melee damage output, those on a budget could give him Orcrist instead and keep him on foot (you'll want to get 3 Mirkwood Cavalry and Thranduil on some kind of mount to preserve the 4 mounted models paradigm). A list might look like this (note that I've demoted Thranduil to riding a horse - find 10 points to drop if you want him on an Elk):
• Thranduil, King of the Woodland Realm on horse with Elf bow, Additional Elven-made sword, Circlet of Kings, and heavy armor [Army Leader]
• 2 Mirkwood Cavalry with shields
• 3 Palace Guards with shields
• 6 Palace Guards with shields and spears
• 1 Palace Guard with shield, spear, and banner
• 1 Mirkwood Ranger
• Legolas Greenleaf, Prince of Mirkwood* on horse
• 15 Mirkwood Rangers
• Take a Leaner Thranduil – In my mind, the leanest version of Thranduil has an Elf bow and Heavy Armor - this 115-point Thranduil isn't a spell-caster, isn't that great in combat (2 Attacks at Fight 6 vs 3+ Attacks at Fight 7), but retains the ability to shoot well alongside other infantry archers. If you're going to use this sub-standard Thranduil, you want to do so in order to get all three of the named heroes (Thranduil, Legolas, and Tauriel). I'm not convinced this is a great way to run Thranduil, but here's a list anyway that features all three named heroes (and four cavalry):
• Thranduil, King of the Woodland Realm with Elf bow and heavy armor [Army Leader]
• 4 Mirkwood Cavalry with shields
• 1 Palace Guard with shield
• 6 Palace Guards with shields and spears
• 1 Palace Guard with shield, spear, and banner
• Legolas Greenleaf, Prince of Mirkwood
• 7 Mirkwood Rangers
• Tauriel with Elf bow
• 7 Mirkwood Rangers
• Take Wood Elf Sentinels and Mirkwood Elves – If you look at Mirkwood Rangers, they cost 11 points less than a Wood Elf Sentinel and are very similar. The wargear and statline are the same, except that a Wood Elf Sentinel has 2 Attacks base vs. 1 Attack with the potential for +3 Attacks on the Mirkwood Ranger. What makes Wood Elf Sentinels valuable is the pseudo-magical powers they have in the form of songs. Whether it's making an Elven model auto-pass a Courage test, making the Wood Elf Sentinel cause Terror, or making a low-Courage enemy model move somewhere else, Wood Elf Sentinels are really powerful. While I generally like Mirkwood Rangers more, Sentinels are harder for enemy models to kill unless they spam models against them. Even then, Wood Elf Sentinels have a good chance of winning fights that they're in (especially if they're spear-supported or if they're near a banner). I own three, but I've only added two of them (they're kind of expensive - in doing this, I've relied on getting Mirkwood Elves to get us to 29 models - and note the inclusion of Elf bows and Elven Glaives):
• Thranduil, King of the Woodland Realm on Elfk with Elf bow, Additional Elven-made sword, Circlet of Kings, and heavy armor [Army Leader]
• 3 Mirkwood Cavalry with shields
• 7 Palace Guards with shields
• 3 Mirkwood Elves with Elf bows and Elven Glaives
• 1 Mirkwood Elf with Elf bow, Elven Glaive, and banner
• 1 Mirkwood Elf with Elven Glaive
• Tauriel with Elf bow
• 10 Mirkwood Rangers
• 2 Wood Elf Sentinels

This is the third and last of the Elven factions for us to review - and I'm excited to start collecting these models! I've gotten the Mirkwood Rangers and need to get my hands of Palace Guards, some Galadhrim Knights for converting into Mirkwood Cavalry, and mounted versions of Thranduil and Legolas.

Our next post in this series looks at an army that I've barely begun collecting: the Dark Powers of Dol Guldur. I currently own Azog, so I'm looking for a Historical Alliance between the Dark Powers list and either Azog's Hunters or Azog's Legion (or maybe both?) Check in next time to see what we do. Until then, happy hobbying!