I've had an issue for awhile now that I've been trying to sort out, but I really can't seem to come to a decision, so I feel it is high time I come to the members of the One Ring for help.

With my Easterling army almost done, I am looking to collect a Good army for War of the Ring. The problem is I'm torn between Galadhrim and Minas Tirith. There are a few factors to take into consideration.

- Our group is only after returning to War of the Ring in the last few months and given that there are no WoTR tournaments over here, competitiveness isn't the greatest issue.

- I have been torn between Galadhrim and Minas Tirith for their own reason. For the Elves, I love the look of the army and the aesthetic, and importantly enough, nobody else plays them around here. However with Minas Tirith I can get an army together a bit quicker and cheaper (easier to find deals on ebay and a friend has some for sale cheap) and their paint scheme is more different to my Easterlings than the Galadhrim's would be. I also really like the list I wrote, getting to use both Aragorn and Gandalf, but the problem is, two of the guys at least have Minas Tirith armies (though they don't play them at the moment).

So I really can't decide. I would enjoy painting and playing both, but with the Elves my army would have a uniqueness in the group whereas the Gondor army would be cheaper and easier to attain.

So what do the people of the One Ring think?

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"Do not be naive enough to think a small group cannot change the world; indeed it is the only thing that ever has"

Ignore the price factor, better to pay more for something you'll enjoy than to cheap out and leave them behind after a couple of moths.

And If you want to paint the Galadhrim in silver check out the new scheme for the Rivendell knights, looks pretty spicky and different to easterlings. There is after all no rule about what colour to paint miniatures....except characters with the colour in their name, like gandalf THE WHITE.

Anyway, I'd go Galadhrim.

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QOTN: "Bronzed flesh is a terrible name, it should never be used for painting flesh or bronze" - at the local GW

I didn't think I gave any impression that I'd drop either army after a couple of months, in fact I think my last bit was how I would enjoy painting and playing with both.

And regards the colour, I'm aware that I can paint them how I like, but a lot of the appeal of the Galadhrim was the gold and blue colour scheme, and I'm just not sure I want to paint massed gold again. Time wil tell.

Lastly regarding price, I cannot ignore that, as I am not well off enough that I can afford to splash out as much as desired on this game. It is a serious factor.

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"Do not be naive enough to think a small group cannot change the world; indeed it is the only thing that ever has"

I think it's a good point that you could always use another colour scheme so you won't have two golden armies. It's really up to you what to do with it.

Pro's & Con's for Elves:
Diverse army and has lots of powerfull heroes. exspensive units so you won't be able to field a large army. Elves don't have any artillery gondor does.

Pro's en Con's for Gondor:
Diverse in themes(think of fiefdoms) more units available than elves. No magic unless you ally. cheap units so you can field more models

That's my opinion. About the price.. with an army of gondor you can field way more models than with elves so you still need to spend more money in comparison. (think of movement trays or special units and heroes)

Good to hear that some still play WOTR tough! Hope you have fun

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"His people were of great strength and stature, bold and steadfast, mighty among the Children of Ilúvatar."

My rule when thinking about starting to collect any army for any gaming system is simple. 1) Play the army you think looks the best and 2) you would enjoy painting/converting for hours on end.

Play style, rules, come and go but the aesthetic stays the same. I only have a Rohan army of suitable size for WotR, but have expanded to include a splash of Gondor, Galadhrim, and Fiefdoms. For me the models come first.

For a competitive gamer though my philosophy would appear a bit rubbish. It appears to me that your interest is more inclined toward Galadhrim as Gondor is more for economic reasons (which is a valid point as well). I would say Galadhrim.

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"Rohirrim! TO THE KING!"
See my WIP

Well the thing is I can get 86 Warriors of Minas Tirith from a mate for €60, so that's a saving of about €120.

Good points by all, thanks so far, and keep them coming.

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"Do not be naive enough to think a small group cannot change the world; indeed it is the only thing that ever has"

I know exactly how you feel, I had the same problem about half a year ago. I decided on Minas Tirith in the end and I have never repented anything so badly. Now I have a 1500 point army of Minas Tirith just lying around there while saving up for a Galadhrim force. Of course this is my opinion but I would say Galadhrim are the way to go!
And if you are still not sure ask your friend to save them for you or buy them anyway. They may not have been very useful to me in games but nobody can deny that a 86 man Minas Tirith army looks BAD ASS

So that's 4-0 to the Galadhrim so far.

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"Do not be naive enough to think a small group cannot change the world; indeed it is the only thing that ever has"

Well you're going to have your own table I assume, so I would think about what kind of terrain you could make to satisfy both your factions. You could also think in terms of SBG of what you'd like to play. Look into the Palantir... what do you see?

Gondor is the safer bet but it will play similar to your Easterling army. Since it is your second army and not your main, maybe Galadhrim would be best. It will be a change of pace from Shield walls of troops. Since you will be the lone elf player in your group, you will be adding to the overall feel to the game and likely receive all the Elf leftovers. If you play 2 vs 2 and ignore the allies rule (because people gots their own army), you'll provide some awesome Hero's and Longbows for the battle, which is the Elves strength.

Hope that helps.

If you're looking for army strengths, there is a ranking/army review thread somewhere here at OR.

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http://drinkingwotr.blogspot.com/ - Links to my CrAzY House Rules, Games and 'poor man's' terrain.