In Defense Of: Galadriel

Good morning gamers,

Today we're beginning a new series, where we look at models who have been critiqued in the community in one way or another, examine what it is about these models that generates the critique, and then walk through ways you can build a list or think about using the models to mitigate these concerns. It's important to note that most of the models we're going to view in this series aren't "bad" - in fact, some players really like them (as I or my colleagues here do). However, the critiques come up frequently and so we're going to address them here.

"The quest stands on the edge of a knife . . ."

Our first hero is one of my oldest and dearest models: Galadriel from Lothlorien. Galadriel has been an auto-include for me in almost every Lothlorien list I've ever built - and once you're at 500+ points, I can't imagine running Lothlorien without her. However, there are critiques that are commonly made against Galadriel from Lothlorien - let's see what they are.

Why NOT To Take Galadriel

When I got started playing the game, I gravitated to the Lothlorien version of Galadriel because a) I was running D3 Wood Elf Warriors, b) she provided Blinding Light to keep them from getting shot to death, c) this was during the Legions of Middle-Earth era/pre-Hobbit SBG era where shooting was incredibly powerful and one hero could lead 50+ warriors by themselves, and d) because Immobilize/Command were MUCH more powerful.

With the new edition, heroes are more plentiful, resisting magic has gotten easier, shooting isn't necessary for all factions, and Immobilize/Command can keep someone from dealing damage, but doesn't innately make the target worse at fighting. Having Immobilize, Command, and Blinding Light in the current edition is useful, but isn't AS useful as they were before (and Blinding Light is more costly now that it needs to be channelled).

Galadriel's spell selection/effectiveness aside, Galadriel is also critiqued for being the only Hero of Legend in Lothlorien, so if you're running pure Lothlorien, Galadriel is going to be your army leader. While this is generally fine, there have been recent documented frustrations with Galadriel when you get Contest of Champions and have to try to kill models with an unarmed, 1 Attack hero. Yes, you may not have to worry about this mission, but if you do get it, it can be really frustrating.

Third, Lothlorien-version Galadriel would probably look better if it weren't for the easy allying of Galadriel, Lady of Light from the White Council list. This version of Galadriel, a Hero of Valor with 3 Attacks and the ability to not count as being unarmed, is much better in combat, has a special rule that reduces archery effectiveness without channelling a spell, and has access to Banishment (damage spell), Instill Fear (scattering spell), and Fortify Spirit (anti-magic spell). For the same cost, the Lady of Light only has the downside of not being able to lead troops. Frankly, you can make it work.

So . . . is Galadriel from Lothlorien worth taking? Or should you just abandon her in favor of her darker side? I think she's worth taking - and here's why.

Why TO Take Galadriel

Galadriel is one of the best casters in the game - she's got 6 Will points and a free Will point each turn that can't be turned off by breaking a Staff of Power. With her Will, she can target enemy models with Immobilize or Command and since these are easy to cast (3+ and 4+ respectively), she can keep an enemy hero or monster out of the action. Yes, this doesn't work as well as it used to, but it also gives you answers to certain heroes and monsters that the Lady of Light doesn't want to deal with. Oh, and she can also give your own heroes (including herself) Fate points back and protect the models near her from being shot to death with Blinding Light.

Sometimes, Lothlorien Galadriel's spell suite is exactly what you need - and Galadriel, Lady of Light's isn't. Take Mumaks or Great Beasts of Gorgoroth: these aren't spirit models, so Banishment does nothing. Instill Fear won't affect the drivers (who are the ones that need to be affected by magical powers) since they auto-pass Courage tests, and magical protection does nothing either. Sure, archery protection is good - but you'd rather have the ability to keep these things from going anywhere while being able to stay outside of their charge range. Lothlorien Galadriel can, White Council Galadriel can't.

Let's take another example: most big monsters in the game (and Trolls in particular) have limited Will stores and are immune to Banishment (the Vanquishers LL excluded), but are heavily susceptible to Immobilize or Command. These spells may not make killing Trolls easier, but it can make them archery pincushions or just keep them out of the action while you rail against everything around them. While Galadriel can only neutralize one Troll at a time, if you "wag" your army towards the neutralized monster and clear out what's on his side of the battle line, you can simultaneously reduce the effectiveness of other monsters who are further away.

Galadriel being your army leader can be a bit of a problem, though with Immobilize and heroes who are hard to kill (like Celeborn or Rumil in the Lothlorien list, or allying in Aragorn or Boromir from the Fellowship), you can lock down an enemy army leader in Contest of Champions if you need to. I have only played Contest of Champions once with Galadriel, but thanks to Immobilize, traps from friendly models, and having lots of shooting (in addition to some horrible rolling from my opponent), I was able to get more kills than Gil-Galad (2-1).

Alternatively, you can ally in another Hero of Legend into your list - a hero who would benefit greatly from having an Immobilize hero who can lead 18 troops. If you want to keep your army bonus, Theoden or Elrond would be excellent choices. If you're okay losing your army bonus and taking a Convenient Ally, Gwaihir from the Misty Mountains list or Treebeard from Fangorn can be powerful allies. Three of these heroes (not Theoden) benefit greatly from the Mirror of Galadriel too, by the way, and can be horrible models to fight.

It's important to note that Galadriel CAN be a perfectly good army leader - and in most scenarios, keeping her out of harm's way will actually save you from giving up victory points. Specifically for Contest of Champions, allying in a Hero of Legend to do the killing is probably the better play, but if you know Contest of Champions isn't on the table (either because the scenario list is pre-published or because the veto system/pool system is being used and you know it isn't available or can be vetoed), then Galadriel may be one of the best choices for army leader in the game. A fighter she is not, but survivable she certainly is (especially if you can keep her from getting swarmed).

Making It Work

Galadriel can lead 18 Elves, ranging from skirmish cavalry to very elite infantry. This makes her very versatile for list building, able to supplement the needs of your army whether it's purely from Lothlorien or allied with something else. Here are some ~200pt contingents that can be run with Galadriel to supplement her weaknesses:

• Because Lothlorien is historical allies with the Fellowship, you can ally in Boromir of Gondor on horse with a shield for 110pts and get a F6/3A hero with 6 Might and Heroic March (for only 15pts more than a Galadhrim Captain). For an additional 105pts, you can take Legolas with armor (optionally with horse or Elven cloak) as well - which will give you INCREDIBLE shooting potential, especially if you've got Haldir in your Lothlorien contingent.
• Monster heroes like Treebeard or Gwaihir cost 150-200pts and can be solo-drops into a Lothlorien army as well (lists that include Gwaihir and Galadriel with her mirror are commonly referred to as "bird bath" lists). Whatever Lothlorien models you would have run with Boromir and Legolas, you can also run with these guys.
• Lothlorien has great spear/pike models and can be allied with Rohan to get "better" cavalry models (better here certainly meaning cheaper, if not ACTUALLY better). Theoden and 6 Rohan Royal Guards on horses with throwing spears will cost you 202pts and will punch at about the same strength as Galadhrim Cavalry and Galadhrim Captains on armored horses. There are benefits to Galadhrim Knights, but you can add this in easily to whatever you've been running.
• You can, of course, just run more Lothlorien models, relying on either a Galadhrim Captain with a nearly-full warband to March your troops around, Rumil with a nearly-full warband to tie down enemy heroes, or add Celeborn and a handful of guys to get more offensive power. These are spam-approaches instead of adding a few powerful heroes to the line-up. Galadriel will be your leader, but with any of these guys, you're kind of thinking, "it doesn't matter - I'm good with that."

Conclusion

Galadriel is a fantastic hero and I love using her. While it's certainly tempting to critique her (and I think it would be BRILLIANT if you could have her shape-shift from one Galadriel form to another, like Beorn can shift from man form to bear form), I think she provides tricks that other heroes simply do not have and can do those tricks all game long (while most heroes taper out as their Will store runs out).

In our next post, we'll be covering another divisive army leader: Denethor. As the game's cheapest Hero of Valor and your defacto army leader if you take him, Denethor has . . . well, a rather lack-luster combat profile and suffers from critiques very similar to what Galadriel gets. With no magic or auric capabilities, you might think this guy is a must-not-have. Well, join us next time for an exposé on the ruling steward of Gondor, and until then, happy hobbying!