My wife and I are starting LotR SBG together and while I have a decent idea of a roadmap for my Dwarf army, she is unsure about her future Galadhrim force. Does anyone have advice of how to build a solid force at 300-500 points, with or without allies? Thanks!

I'm not too familiar with elves, but I would certainly get a box of Galadrihim warriors (or two) with the elf captains blister. That should make a pretty solid base, or maybe get a named hero. I really dont know anything about the named heroes, so lets hope someone else says something.

Kiliaan

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Isengard - 1500+
Gondor - 1000+
Imperial Guard - 1000+
Blood Angels - 850+

A very good start is 1) Galadhrim warriors box 2) Galadhrim knights box 3) Elf captain blister...or(if you want named hero) you can choose one from this:Haldir,Celeborn,Galadriell,Rumil...
Hope that helps...

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I am a ranger of the north.

I find Galadhrim work best with a mixed force of Galadhrim and Wood elves. The Galadhrim provide a decent front line, while the Wood Elves can use their special spears and throwing daggers to great effect. A box of each, plus a hero like Rumil, make a great inexpensive starting foundation. I would skip the command blister...the generic captain isn't as good as Rumil, and elves usually benefit more from numbers than banners, especially at lower point levels.

From there it's easy to expand: add some pikes, perhaps a stormcaller, or even Galadriel at higher points values. Celeborn is no slouch either. I haven't use the Galadhrim cavalry very much, they seem too expensive and none of the heroes have a mounted option. But if you're looking to ally in cavalry, Rohan is a good option.

Rumil is probably the best choice for a hero. Cavalry is recommended against dwarves, since the dwarves have no way to counter it, if you're going to ally in Rohan cavalry (who i agree are better than galadhrim cavalry) then Erkenbrand would be a good choice to lead the allies simply because of his horn ability can (for one turn) put everyone under the effect of a banner, meaning you get a useful hero and a banner when you most need it without spending an extra 30 points to give a flimsy wood elf one If he proves too many points, eowyn (or even merry) are nice cheap options to lead allied contingents.

At this points range allying in one of the wizards is not a good idea, elves cost alot of points as it is, and you can have galadriel lead the force, who is a spellcaster in her own right. However a stormcaller is a brilliant remedy to trolls and swarms, provided you're lucky with your spell rolls, but mainly a stormcaller is cheap. Be smart with hero selection, you can only have two 60-70 point heroes at most without being overwhelmed by you're foe and you will want to squeeze as much might into you're force as you can. On the other hand you could have galadriel or celeborn lead you're force, you get a better hero in all aspects but less might to get you're force outof sticky situations. Also make sure to not waste the 1pt on an elven blade if you never go 2 handed with it.

Elrond would be a good choise for allies hero althought so you have to ally elves with elves...
But he cost less than the wizards...

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I am a ranger of the north.

though tbh i do play WoTR, it is much better (in WOTR, though i reckon it would still transfer to SBG) )to have a regiment of Galadhrim archers than wood elves, as once the front line reaches them they have a bit of padding, if you are confident though that you will not be out-manouvered than stick with the clothies.

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Dave / Aurielia (game name)
Blog http://pippins-window.blogspot.com/
WoTR: Lothlorien Army. From the UK leeds; PM me for a game

A box of Galadhrim Warriors and Haldir or Rumil is just over 300pts, and a good way to start. I would recommend using that force for a while, and then adding whatever you need to suit your playing style.

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"There are few left in Middle Earth like Aragorn, son of Arathorn." - Gandalf, Many Meetings

You can play just wood elves successfully, so armour isn't critical. You just have to be more careful.

Well tbh 'im quite the mathmatician and i've derived a huge model (based on statistics).

Example Findings

I compared 3 army formations that would cost 500 pts without a leader and statisicly if fighting against black shields have improved odds in the following order:

With no leaders: Galadhrim Archers > Galadhrim Warriors w/ shields> Galadhrim Warriors w/ shields + wood elf archery support

With heroes (accounting for spells/might and other abilities):

-If you have Galadrial (protectress) you have better odds with Galadhrim Warriors w/ shields.
-With most other heroes you have better odds with Galadhrim Archers.

This model ofc is not completely exhausted but stil holds so far...

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Dave / Aurielia (game name)
Blog http://pippins-window.blogspot.com/
WoTR: Lothlorien Army. From the UK leeds; PM me for a game

That's nice, except a) we're talking about SBG and b) you're forgetting WE can shield with their spears. The game is about tactics and leveraging your advantages, not mashing two squads together and hoping the dice are with you. It doesn't take a mathematician to know that WE are more vulnerable 1:1, you're supposed to use tactics to mitigate the risk.

And the next guy who tosses out his "credentials" while giving an incomplete argument is gonna get one of these:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/On_the_Int ... u're_a_dog

Ha fair play i intended not to involve an complete argument (As a) i could probabily right a thesis on the model i developed, and b) i don't want to bore you with the theory )

I think you missunderstand, i know nothing works like "mashing two squads" together and tactics are very important and there are many historical events to confirm that tactics and skill win over numbers. My argument is tactics + 60% of the odds being with you is better than tactics + 30% of the odds being with you . i appreciate that tactics do win games, but the game is still about chance and statisticaly you can 'predict' the chances of a particular event occuring.

Anyway this is kinda getting off-topic... espically since i've jsut realised you can shield ha (just read that bit)... i'll go back to my WoTR hole... feel free to come and visit

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Dave / Aurielia (game name)
Blog http://pippins-window.blogspot.com/
WoTR: Lothlorien Army. From the UK leeds; PM me for a game

Absolutely agree. But if straight on odds were all the game was about, nobody would be able to consistently play and win with WE. Throwing daggers, shielding spears, having spears at all, woodland creature, terrain, etc all come into play. Judging the odds requires a much bigger and more complicated model.

Yeah, we're starting with pretty basic boxes for our armies. So do people recommend Spear/Bow Wood Elves or Bow Galadhrims? Do Elven Blade Galadhrim have a good place in army lists? For Rohan Cav allies, what do I do about bow limit? Also, why Rohan instead of MT Cav? Thanks for the help!

Oh, basically only the rohan riders with bows count as having bows, their points cost does not change, or you can include 2x as many warriors of rohan was you do riders and all the riders count as having bows. This could be a good choice as having lots of cheap rohan warriors with sheilds could be used as a distraction while you're elves are sneaky.

Anyway, with wood elves just make sure you have some "forest" terrain when you play with them so their woodland creature rule actually takes effect, its all very good thinking "they can move through woodland terrain so their worth it" but if you dont have enough woodland terrain wherever you play then you're ability to use good tactics is rather diminished. If you play in store then they will certainly have some. If you play with friends or in a social zone making trees is not difficult, there are plenty of articles all over the place (making dead trees is the easiest type of tree to make) Also make sure you have the chance to put the woodland area in a good part of the map, not just in you're deployment zone. If you cannot get hold of trees or dont have the time to make them then you may want to just use galadrhim warriors before branching out into wood elves.

However, wood elves can still be very good without the woodland terrain, throwing weapons on 3+ to hit are deadly provided you actually get to throw them and spears that can be used as shields are very useful for holding a front line. They are all fight value 5 so aslong as you make sure everyone has a spear supporting them the chances are you will win a fight. If you ally in erkenbrand (which i highly recomend) use his horn on your initial charge, if everyone has throwing weapons then you can kill up to 16 enemies with them and then in combat you will have 8 models with essentially 3 attacks to win the fight (the one attack from the model, one from the spear, and one from the re-roll) most evil captains cannot equal fight 5 so you should be fine. Even if the elves do not have good luck erkenbrands riders are still gonna be charging into the enemy with 3 attacks to win the fight (if you blow the horn that turn) and 4 dice to wound. Obviously this all relies on good timing so you can make sure the cavalry and the elves will get into combat at the same time. If his horn proves to do very little good then fear not, almost all elven heroes have a trick up their sleeves, rumil is nigh undefeatable in combat when properly supported, haldir can shoot twice/fights harder when around theoden/aragorn, elrond can alter your priority rolls, thanduil can make most of your troops cause terror at any point, etc etc.

As far as elven blades go just make sure you use them enough to be worth the extra point, i for one hardly ever use a two handed weapon so i dont bother paying the extra point for the weapon and just use them as having a hand weapon (which is legal).

D4 vs D3 helps Galadhrim against S3 warriors, but not against S2 bows or S4 uruks. WE spear+bow costs the same, supports your front line better, but can be more fragile later. Really the important thing is you can make either work, it just depends what flavour and aesthetic you want, and whether you can learn how best to use them.[/quote]



I like adding a few here and there, maybe half as many as the spear models. I find them particularly useful with heroes...let the hero win the fight, let the warriors do the chopping...but YMMV.

That's the tactic most people use...Anyway blades are very good... They look pretty awesome with blades, especially the old metalic ones...

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I am a ranger of the north.

This is what I am thinking for a 500pt list:

Rumil
10 Galadhrim Warriors with Spear/Shield
6 Galadhrim Warriors with Elven Blades
8 Wood Elf Warriors with Spears/Bows

Grimbold
10 Helmigas (S4 Rohan Warriors)
5 Riders with Bow/Shield

41 Models 13 Bows and 4 Might.

Nice army...
Em the wood elves betetr have bows or put them half bows half spears

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I am a ranger of the north.

They have both, at least, that's the way I interpret the list.

I'd say that's a good list. Good model count considering you have cavalry & elves, and S4 will really help crack D6 armour. The only thing to be careful about is cavalry: RoR are more a mobile bow platform...when you decide to charge in, make sure you have a hero nearby to get them out of trouble if necessary.