The Lord of the Rings Strategy Battle Game/Tactics/Rivendell

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Why Play Rivendell

You like having knifed ears? Or maybe you like playing the aloof guys with minimal actual investment in Middle Earth? OR even maybe you wanna play as the guys who are kind-of-sort-of to blame for most of the bad things that happened in setting in one way or another? Or maybe even you just want to play one of the harder hitting armies in the game and don't mind the smell of elitism (in the movies) or being all around cool guys (in the books)

Pros

• One of the hardest hitting armies in the game, let alone for the Forces of Good.
• Multiple amazing heroes.
• Some of the coolest models made by GW.
• Undercosted infantry.
• It is good or neutral against other pure lists, so it does not have a real counter in the game unless you make a weird cheesy alliance.

Cons

• Low model count due to their high price. They're worth the price, but you're still going to be outnumbered against most armies.
• Killing power of infantry (heroes or troops), stuck at s3/s4 although two-handed weapons and spear support can help mitigate this issue reasonably well.
• Some of the most dated models made by GW (High Elf Warriors w/ swords and or bows).
• FAQs have been made in order to mitigate the huge buffs that some heroes provided to this list or its allies without any real penalties before. This means it could be subjected to more FAQs in the future.

Army Bonus

"Tangado haid, leithio i philinn!" - Translated it means “Hold positions, fire arrows!” If your archers are within 6" of the army leader and if they don't move, they get to reroll to hit. It's a subpar faction ability, and won't come up super often, but don't forget it if you've got it.

Unit Analysis

Elves as a whole have access to an improved version of normal hand weapons: the Elven blades. These not only count as either a normal weapon or a 2-handed weapon (only a normal weapon if you have a shield), but also cause you to win ties on a 3+ instead of a 4+. So, instead of costing at least +1 point for being a possible two-handed weapon and getting that useful 4+ rule, it is free to any troop available in the list because WHY NOT?

Heroes

• Gil-galad, High King of the Elves: At one time he was everyone's best friend, until Sauron gave him the world's hottest high-five to the face. Gil-galad is an absolute beast in combat, with Fight 9, aka the second highest Fight value in the game (and the highest on the side of Good), a spear that gives him +1 To Wound, and the Lord of the West rule (giving a single re-roll to the Duel roll and when he makes Strikes), Gil-galad is almost as capable of taking damage as he is at giving it. Make sure he has a shield to get him to Defence 8, and also get him a horse. Even if you don't intend to charge with it, Gil-galad's going to be a huge target and in the event you have him out in the open it'll take some shots for him, which is helpful since even though he'll be Defence 8, he only has one Fate Point and you don't want any possible wounds to stick before he's made his points back. This is especially important as his Stand Fast! affects Hero models and is 12", so with a war horn and clever placement your entire army will be Fearless. In addition, Terror will keep you save from a few charges so long as you're up against Orcs, and if you make sure to use your bows, you can charge Gil-galad into something, use your bows to snipe out the models around, and then use a Heroic Combat to send Gil-galad through to slaughter the enemy Leader since unless the enemy force is being led by something like the Balrog or Sauron, he should have nothing to worry about... in combat at least. Despite having one of the best profiles in the game he isn't invincible, and we'll go over a few of his weaknesses here:
  • Watch out for models with Immobilise/Transfix. If Gil-galad is a beast in combat, but that power will completely neuter him; not only will he be unable to strike back, but the channelled version will knock him down to Fight 5 and only 2 Attacks, making it even easier for your enemy to win the Duel and cause good damage against him. In addition, if you see a model capable of paralysing Gil-galad, kill it ASAP.
  • Watch out for Bat Swarms. If Gil-galad is in combat with them, his Fight will be knocked down to 4, and unfortunately there are models in the lists capable of taking Bat Swarms that can then not only outfight him, but actually manage to hurt him and with only one Fate Point, he won't last long against them. Either shoot them with your bows or get Gil-galad to support with his spear if the Bat Swarms ever get in range to charge him so that he isn't suddenly pounced upon by enemies and eaten.
  • Watch out for Monsters, especially those with Monstrous Charge. While Gil-galad is capable of beating them all in a Duel, there's always the possibility they roll a 6 and you don't. If that happens the Monster can just choose to use Rend, and every Monster in the game will find it easy To Wound against Gil-galad's Strength 4. Because of this you should not send Gil-galad out to fight Monsters on his own; at the minimum back him up with spears, or save a point of Might for Heroic Defence. Gil-galad can't refill his points without killing enemy Heroes (thanks to Blood & Glory) so trying to brute force your way through Trolls with your might is an iffy proposition. If you're absolutely certain that you're up against Monsters, then consider bringing along Elrond or Arwen (you won't usually care for your army bonus, so just throw it away) so that they can knock those Monsters prone. If they're prone and charged by Gil-galad, then they're already dead. Also try to keep other models around him if you're up against models with the Monstrous Charge rule, it's best if Warriors get knocked over instead of Gil-galad, which will knock him off his horse and prevent him from striking back.
    • WATCH OUT FOR WAR BEASTS. This cannot be stated enough, Gil-galad's stats and the Lord of the West rule are useless if they're allowed to walk over to him, so make sure to pin them with your Knights of Rivendell to make it less likely they'll step on him, because if they do, they can easily squish him like a bug.
  • We should also mention his buff on High Elf Warriors, and quite frankly, it's a no-brainer. Fight 6 High Elf Warriors are great since they'll tie against the strongest Infantry models (that aren't Elves or Elendil) and with their elven-made weapons they're more likely to win the tie as well. Any Hero model with Fight 5 that wants to beat them in a Duel roll is going to have to spend Might on Heroic Strike, and as soon as they're burning their Might to kill your Warriors, you've already made those points back.
  • Note that because Gil-galad lacks Heroic March, you're going to want a captain near him so that he and his Warriors can get in combat ASAP, as well as allowing them to corner groups who are trying to march away from them. Even if you don't use Heroic March, the Heroic Moves they can give will come in handy, as will the Heroic Combats to allow Gil-galad to fight more than once per turn and really rack up the kill count.
  • Also note that you can't take him with Arwen, Elladan and Elrohir, Lindir or Bilbo and keep your faction bonus... but fuck it, your faction bonus isn't that good anyway. It's not like Gil-galad is going to be making his points back by hanging by your bows and hoping they kill enough, so get those Heroes and use the points you save on the cheaper ones (especially Bilbo) to pay for upgrades, like upgrading more High Elf Warriors to King's Guard.

• Elrond, Master of Rivendell: Elrond is more like a side-grade to Gil-galad. Like the High King he has a very brutal stat line, but even though it's not quite on the same level as the Gil-galad he has additional tricks to make up for it. The first of these is 3 Fate Points instead of one, and combined with his ring to re-roll Fate points he's a lot tougher, especially when you give him his heavy armour, which you absolutely should. On top of this he does have Heroic Defence and Heroic Strike, but you should consider save his Might for his casting rolls, which is where things get really good. The two spells he has access to are Wrath of Bruinen and Renew, which are both great. Renew lets him heal himself and other models, whereas Wrath of Buinen allows him to knock models around him prone. Even if they're a troll he can knock them prone, then charge his Knights of Rivendell in for the kill, and/or he can go in himself especially since his Lord of the West rule (allowing him to re-roll a D6 on the Duel and To Wound rolls) makes him one of the best duelists in the game. This also makes him exceptional against Cavalry, since even though it's been FAQ'd to have a radius of only 3", that's still a radius that unseats everyone riding a mount within that area, and then you can charge your Knights of Rivendell in for the kill against all the prone models. Elrond's last trick is Foresight of the Eldar, which makes it easier for you to win Priority. With this in mind it's best if you use this when you can use Heroic Moves to run down the enemy after knocking them prone, since otherwise it's possible your opponent might recover before your devastating charge hits home. Unfortunately his Will is relatively low for a caster Hero, so spend your Might solely to help you get at least 2 spells off in the game, or get Lindir to give him free Will. You can also ally in Gandalf so that he can use Strengthen Will on Elrond, but don't try to go for both Lindir and Gandalf. That's way too many points you've sunk into your Heroes and your Warrior count will suffer as a result.
  • Like Gil-galad, try to make sure he's away from Monsters, unless he knocks them over first. Those Fate Points can vanish pretty quickly if they're allowed to use Rend against them. In addition, if you find yourself facing Monsters with Monstrous Charge, make sure to have models between them and Elrond. It's best if they're knocked over instead of Elrond since it makes him a lot more vulnerable and prevents him from striking back.
  • Do note that while Elrond's blade Hadhafang gives him +1 Strength when fighting Spirits, this does not help him at all when he's fighting against Nazgûl. They're Defence 8, and both Strength 4 and Strength 5 wound them on 6's. As such it'll only help him against Barrow Wights, Dead Marsh Spectres, or Gûlavhar. In other words, if you're not facing Angmar (or Dol Guldur) you won't be benefiting from it. [Edit: This is incorrect. Hadhafang gives +1 to wound spirit models, which is significantly better than +1 Strength. Elrond is a huge threat to any Nazgul).
  • Also note that Elrond prevents Rivendell Knights from counting towards your Bow Limit. This is a major factor since without it, you'd need to choose between fielding bows on foot or the Rivendell Knights. This also means that Elrond allows you to field a good core of great Cavalry while also backing them up with cheaper bows. Just be aware that you likely won't take more than you usually do, since otherwise your model count will be pretty low, and it's all but a guarantee you'll be outnumbered.

• Glorfindel, Lord of the West: Another side-grade to Gil-galad, but where Gil-galad is based around offence, Glorfindel is based around defence, even if it doesn't look like it at first. Glorfindel has stats that beat those of even the most dedicated of combat characters with the exceptions of Elendil and Gil-galad, so he's already incredibly good in a fight; he keeps the Lord of the West rule, he gets a special horse with 12" Movement, he can easily resist Magical Powers since he gets two free dice whenever he's targeted by a power, but his real Defence lies in the Armour of Gondolin, which you should always buy. While Elrond and Gil-galad can both be stomped down by Rend, the armour makes Glorfindel immune to being targeted by Brutal Power Attacks. This means he's not going to be slaughtered by Rend, or thrown away by Hurl, however do remember that while it prevents him from being targeted, he can still be affected. He cannot prevent a Monster from using Barge to force itself past him, he can still be hit by an Ent's Bludgeon (though he may not be selected as the bludgeon) and Sauron's Unstoppable! will still affect him normally. Just because he's effective against Monsters doesn't mean you should take them on at every opportunity; if a Troll Chieftain is in range of a banner then Glorfindel has even-odds on being able to beat it in a Duel Roll, and even odds on being able to kill it. Target any available Monsters that aren't Heroes (so they don't have Heroic Strike) before targeting the Monster Heroes, and in the meantime focus your efforts on elite Infantry/Cavalry, as well as those types of characters as Glorfindel can easily beat anyone who isn't an Elf.
  • Like Elrond and Gil-galad, make sure to buy him his horse and watch out for Monstrous Charge. The Armour of Gondolin doesn't block that rule, and if he's knocked over he first loses his horse, and secondly is unable to strike back when he wins the Duel. Make sure to have at least a few Warriors around him so that the enemy is forced to charge them and knock them over instead of Glorfindel.
  • Note that while Glorfindel can easily resist magic, the same is not true for those around him. If a model nearby him is hit by Sorcerous Blast for example, Glorfindel isn't able to make an attempt to resist it since he's not the target, and he will get knocked prone, which is an easy way to unhorse him from Asfaloth. Should you see an enemy with this ability, always be incredibly careful with your spacing, as while Glorfindel is still pretty good on foot, he's much better on his horse.

• Erestor: Erestor is the first 'normal' elf hero we have access to and he's... something. He's got the standard Captain stat line, except he has the Elf bonus to Fight and Courage, as well as Will and Fate. If you're worried about points efficiency, he actually costs exactly what a High Elf Captain does if they had an extra Will and Fate Point, which means he also gets +1 Defence for free, as well as throwing weapons and melee attacks that re-roll failed To Wound rolls (since he carries the same type of daggers as Merry and Pippin), plus the Terror rule. If you just want a Captain on foot and don't necessarily care about Heroic March (since you can usually win the ranged game) then you should absolutely get Erestor. His two attacks are easily countered by re-rolling To Wound rolls, ensuring he'll still be causing Wounds, and Heroic Strike plus his high Fight value make it unlikely he'll lose ties to Evil Heroes.
  • Despite all the praise for Erestor, just be aware that without Heroic March you will be unable to escape bad engagements, especially if there's some kind of Monster heading your way. The only real counter to this is to prevent them from getting to you in the first place, or to gamble with Erestor's Heroic Strike and hopefully win the Duel roll, but if you're not able to do that, then Erestor is probably dead.

• Arwen Undómiel: Arwen is one of the cheapest Elf Heroes available, and unfortunately it shows. with a mediocre stat line (she's only Strength and Defence 3 whereas others are Strength and Defence 4), she does still have good uses as a support Hero. On a horse (always get her one, preferably Asfolath if you're not getting Glorfindel) and with Wrath of Buinen she has the same utility as her father while costing 110 points less than he does (a huge investment) and you can get Arwen plus five Rivendell Knights for five points less than Elrond, and she keeps the ability to knock prone everyone within 3" of her for your Knights to finish off. Just make sure to move her up to the enemy on her horse, do not engage them in combat, and then knock everything over with Wrath of Bruinen. The only shame is that she won't normally be participating in combat herself unless it's against isolated Infantry, since her stats leave a lot to be desired. You can also skip getting the elven cloak, but that's more a personal preference; she'll normally be on a horse but if you want to hide her in the event she gets knocked off there's little harm in spending the 5 points on it.
  • Above all else, always keep models between Arwen and bows. With her Defence she's extremely vulnerable to them and you want to get as many In the Way rolls as you can. This is also a good idea against models with Monstrous Charge, have them block the charge for her since if you don't, she's going to die should she lose the Duel.
  • Highly consider saving Arwen's Might point for Wrath of Bruinen or Heroic Defence. She only gets one, and it can be a make-or-break moment in a tough situation.

• Elladan & Elrohir: Two High Elf Captains, with a special gimmick. Together their stats make them a fair price over the High Elf Captains, however there's downsides that come with that; they have access to Heroic Strike instead of Heroic March so they can't escape bad engagements (along with the troops they lead) and they can't get up to Defence 7 so they're vulnerable against Strength 4 Infantry, and their special rule Twin Elven Blades doesn't work if they're on a horse. That being said, they do have their uses. They're significantly better than two High Elf Captains on foot if you plan on taking a lot of High Elf Warriors, and with their higher Might, Will and Fate you'll definitely get more out of them than comparable Captains, especially with Heroic Strike. As for upgrades, feel free to get the heavy armour (if only to make sure they're Defence 5 when one brother dies), Elf bows and Elven Cloaks, but skip the horses. Their cost will boost up the brothers even more, and if one brother dies it becomes significantly harder to control the other one with the extra movement.
  • As mentioned before, Elladan & Elrohir cannot escape bad engagements a Captain could since they lack Heroic March. What this means is that it's very possible their group could be facing down a Monster they stand little to no chance of beating, and as soon as the first brother falls, the second one will be unable to escape. To help mitigate this, don't be afraid to leave behind a few High Elf Warriors here and there while they run away, especially if they're up against something like a Troll Chieftain that'll make very short work of both of them.
  • Always keep models between the twins and bows, even though the bows will likely be wounding on 6's. The reason why is because the second you lose one brother it's easy for your opponent to pull the other into an engagement he won't win, and in the unfortunate event your opponent passes the In the Way rolls and somehow kills one, the models around the other will help contain and control him until you close the distance and can unleash him against models he can stand a chance against (for a while anyway).

• Lindir of Rivendell: Your second 'cheap' Elf Hero, and he's another support Hero. Unlike the other Heroes on this list however, Lindir has only two uses; providing Resistant to Magic to every Rivendell model within 6", and sucking up to Elrond. While he's within Elrond, the Master of Rivendell can spend a point of Will each turn without depleting his store (even if he's out) which will let him get more healing and Wrath of Bruinen off. It's a bit of a shame that you need to pay 85 points for it (since you'll absolutely want to get him his heavy armour and his horse to keep up with Elrond) and he's terrible in a fight. While he's Fight 5 he only has one Attack, so he's less effective than a Captain while costing similarly. The general recommendation for him is get him if you're taking Elrond, or if you're up against a list with access to Sorcerous Blast, or skip him.
  • A special note in case you're up against Sorcerous Blast; to make Lindir worth it against those lists, you'll want to invest your bow limit into Knights of Rivendell, and have Lindir in the middle of them as they ride around the field. This will help prevent Sorcerous Blast from knocking them off their mounts and making them much less effective, but it's by no means a guarantee. In addition, always remember to keep the models spaced out; you only get one chance to resist a casting roll, and if you fail then the other models knocked prone will not be able to take advantage of their Resistant to Magic bonus. Furthermore, only get Lindir into fights against standard troops, if he's put up against Elites there's a chance he might lose the Duel, and if your opponent gets priority and he's exposed after a fight, you can all but guarantee he'll be engaged in a fight immediately and without his horse's charge bonus.

• Círdan: Círdan is an Elf wizard with solely buff spells and no real way to harm anyone in a duel due to him being unarmed. That being said, he's still a great caster on his own, though whether or not you use him is going to depend on what kind of list you focus on. Elrond Knight lists will not benefit much from Círdan, since the range of his buff spells will not reach them and he has no horse to keep up with them, however he absolutely shines (quite literally) in an Infantry list. All of his spells except for Aura of Dismay are great for buffing your Warriors and especially your Heroes, while also keeping them safe from distant harm. To make things better, he's a cheap Elf Hero (as far as they go anyway) which allows you to take 6 more Elves of your choice. A shame he can't be the Leader, otherwise he'd be an obvious choice and one who would always give you your Army Bonus.
  • For his spells, Blinding Light is likely the first one you're going to want to cast, and you will want to channel it. Círdan passes the roll on a 2+ and makes it nearly impossible for bows to shoot him or the models around him. This is especially important as with a Defence of only 4, he's very vulnerable to bow fire. If your opponent lacks bows or you can deal with them almost immediately, then you can channel Aura of Command. Not only does this make him give out a 12" Fearless bubble and prevent anyone from running off when you hit your Break Point, but it also means you auto-pass Terror tests, as well as more unique tests such as the Dead Marsh Spectres A Fell Light is in Them or Bilbo's test to remove the One Ring. Once you have those powers on, you can spend the rest of his time rolling for Enchanted Blades, which is a fantastic ability since re-rolling failed To Wound rolls is almost always better than giving those models a +1 To Wound on their rolls. Just be careful to not take him to 0 Will since his Exhaustion powers (AKA everything but Enchanted Blades) will shut off if he does. With one free Will Point per turn, which your opponent cannot shut off in any way, you have no excuse for going down to 0 Will unless it's literally the last turn of the game. As for his final power, skip Aura of Dismay unless you've already got Aura of Command and/or Blinding Light on Círdan, and aren't in a position to benefit from Enchanted Blades yet. It's too hard to cast while you can be casting one of the others and it's unlikely to prevent models from charging you anyway.

• Bilbo Baggins: Bilbo is a hilarious Hero in a Rivendell list. He's a Hero of Fortitude, and if you're playing a lower point list try and take him, and make him your Leader. Make sure to get the One Ring, and have him put it on. After that, sit him back with a core of Elf bows, and just shoot away. He'll be immune to enemy shooting attacks and will be cheap enough to justify holding back so your bows can get to use their Army Bonus (finally) and don't worry about the chance your opponent might be able to move him instead of you. His Might will let you pass one of these tests on a 2+ and his Will is going to guarantee you can take the One Ring off when all the enemy bows are dead. As for his upgrades, except for the One Ring you can skip them all, his Mithril Shirt won't be used since he's going to be invisible (and if you're caught in a Duel by something that ran down your bows he's dead anyway) and Sting only makes him Strength 3, which isn't worth it when you remember he's only Fight 3 with 1 Attack. In short, Bilbo's a very good and cheap Hero that makes the ideal Hero for making sure you get your Army Bonus, and he's incredibly hard to snipe out. Get him if you like the idea of getting bows on your Infantry, and aren't playing Contest of Champions where the game's won based on how many kills your Leader gets.
  • Do be aware that if he's wearing the One Ring, even though he cannot be targeted by Magical Powers he can still be affected by them. If a nearby model is hit by Sorcerous Blast for example, Bilbo will also take the extra hit that emanates from the target, so make sure to use his Heroic Resolve if you're worried this might happen. Fortunately your bows will outrange the models with this ability, so you'll have ample opportunity to snipe them before and/or after they get within range.

• Gildor Inglorion: Your last support character, and unfortunately Gildor is probably your worst. He has low Defence and low Fate, which means that he will get shot and he will die. You might think you can save him by placing Warriors between him and enemy bows, but unfortunately the Warriors he buffs that you'll normally be taking him for are Defence 3, with no option to buff their Defence which means they'll also go down to bows very quickly. Gildor's other advantages are few and far between, having no access to a horse (which would at least help him survive since you'd randomise the shot) but he does have a good list of Heroic Actions (shame about the fact he only has one Might Point), as well as the Immobilise spell. Even so, he's certainly not worth it at his points cost, and the models he gives you don't have particularly great synergy with your army, so give him a hard pass.
  • If for whatever reason you still want to use him, then let's go over a few things. First of all, keep Gildor in cover. His Defence and Fate will cause him to die very quickly, and despite his high Movement he's best at hiding until your bows take out the enemy ranged tools, and then popping out to use Immobilise to prevent enemy Monsters from crashing through your Warriors. This will allow you to safely engage with the likes of trolls without worry of them slaughtering a bunch of Elves if you lose the Duel roll, which you could consider worth it, just make sure Gildor himself doesn't get in combat unless it's against the weakest Warriors. Use Heroic March and his high Movement to escape bad engagements, or use Heroic Defence if you're caught before then. Don't use Heroic Channeling, your own Warriors and Heroes should not need the help to win the fights and there's better uses for their points, and if you really wanted Heroic Resolve you'd have gotten Lindir instead.
  • Wood Elf Warrior: These are Warriors that are unique to Gildor's warband in a Rivendell army, so we're going to go over them here. Wood Elf Warriors are costed very similarly to your own High Elf Warriors, however they're nowhere near as tough. They have no ability to upgrade their Defence either, and as such you should hide them with Gildor until your own bows have taken out the enemy bows. Do be aware that this can be accomplished with the Wood Elf Warriors themselves, since you can give them Elf bows, then partially place them behind cover to allow them to unleash a hail of fire while receiving none in return. After the enemy bows are dead, they can run out of cover to skirmish around the enemy, picking off vulnerable targets and grabbing objectives in the back, just make sure they never get engaged in combat against enemies you don't outnumber 2-1. The worst thing you can do is to lose a Duel roll, and if that happens your Wood Elf Warrior is very likely dead. With 8" Movement you have no excuse for them getting caught anyway.
    • While you're taking out the enemy bows from behind cover, consider standing an extra Hero by your Wood Elf Warriors. The reason why is because you're better off saving Gildor's Might for emergencies, and you can use the Might from a regular Captain (or other character) on Heroic Shoots to whittle down the enemy bows before they cause much harm.

• High Elf Captain: Like most of their counterparts, the High Elf Captain is versatile, and will probably end up being your most brought hero, as even though Elves are expensive, you'll want a few. Not only can they be kitted out for every situation, but they also offer Heroic March, which allows you to cross the board quickly or run away from a bad engagement should you make a poor decision. On top of this, they have the Elven advantages of superior Fight and Courage, making them more likely to win against their counterparts, but just be aware this comes at a higher cost. Unlike many of their counterparts, High Elf Captains are best selected for very specific roles. Yes they can do a bit of everything if you really want them to, but this isn't always the best way to use them. The reason why is that your army benefits a lot from their Might, but they'll never have enough for each action you might want them to take, so make sure your warband is kitted out appropriately.
  • To go a bit further into detail with how you want to build High Elf Captains, if you want Elf bows on your Infantry then you're going to want a High Elf Captain nearby to use Heroic Shoot so you can kill the enemy bows before they cause much harm. This also means that they'll lack Heroic Moves and Heroic Combats, so if they're upgraded to have a horse and a lance they'll be much less effective than a Captain who saved their points to run with Cavalry, and who can use their Heroic Moves and Heroic Combats to increase the effectiveness of your Knights. Even a High Elf Captain on foot with a shield is still useful since Heroic March will allow you to cross the board faster and/or run away from poor engagements. Just keep this in mind when you pick your Captain, and you'll probably find it best to select them and their upgrades last when you make an army. Tailor them for their role, and don't try to deviate from it.

• High Elf Stormcaller: A cheap elf caster with the ability to (on a 6 on any dice while casting) not spend any of his will. High Elf Stormcallers are very limited in their use, though they're not complete garbage; so we'll go over their uses here. The first and foremost use Call Winds, the spell they've obviously been named for, and this spell is basically a roadblock for enemy Monsters. Always make sure to save it for them or knocking a Cavalry Hero off of their mount, otherwise it's just a waste, even on Cavalry. Fortunately its range is pretty long, giving you plenty of time to knock over an enemy Monster which you can then finish off with your Knights/Heroes, or fill them with arrows from your bows. In general your Heroes stand up very poorly to Monsters so if you're scared that you'll be facing them you might want to bring along a Stormcaller just to push them over. The second use for a High Elf Stormcaller is bringing along 6 more Warriors, and that's it. They're relatively cheap at unlocking some more bows if you haven't hit your bow limit yet, so you might consider them worth it if you're already taking them for Monster insurance.
  • If you want to use Strengthen Will at all, get Stormcallers alongside somebody like Elrond or Arwen, and spend at least two Will Points into a channelled Strengthen Will so that they can continue using Wrath of Bruinen. It's much better at knocking prone enemy models than Call Winds (especially Cavalry), and there's always the chance you'll roll a 6 and be able to cast it again. If they're not boosting somebody with Wrath of Bruinen then it's not worth casting at all.
  • Make sure to keep models between them and enemy models. With a Defence of 4 they're twice as vulnerable to bows than most other Heroes, and with only 1 Fate Point they won't stick around for long if they're getting shot.

Warriors

• High Elf Warrior: These are your only Infantry available, and unless you take Elrond, they'll always be 66% of your force if not more. Fortunately they're also the only Warriors you'll need, sporting high Fight and Courage, as well as access to Elf bows and Elven-made hand-and-a-half swords by default, your troops will hit harder than most other armies in the game. To make matters better, their cost is shockingly low at only 9 points. This doesn't mean they're broken however, as while they're Defence 6 they're also only Strength 3 with no way to buff this. This in turn means that while they'll hold pretty well they're also going to kill very little, though thankfully you can help this a little by using the standard model of swords and shields in front, and spears in the back. Using your swords as two-handed weapons backed up by spears will allow you to get at least one dice not affected by the -1 modifier to your Duel roll, making it a little more likely you'll win and be able to kill whatever it is you're up against. Just be warned that if you do this and lose the Duel roll, you'll be much more likely to lose the Elf up front; you'll be down to Defence 5 (since you can't use the shield while two-handing a hand-and-a-half sword), but if you're in a grind it's well worth the risk. You won't usually have the numbers advantage on your side after all.
  • Highly consider getting a Captain with each group of Warriors, even if you take a named Hero. The only exception is if you're getting bows with a specific group, otherwise you're really going to wish you had Heroic Move/Heroic March if you ever get caught in a bad engagement, and with combined with the fact you're almost always going to be outnumbered, you do not want to lose a bunch of Warriors when you could've avoided this. In addition, Captains with your bows can use their Heroic Shoots to take out the enemy bows before they can cause much harm; the sooner the enemy has to deal with your higher Fight value, the sooner the game will be going your way.
  • Note that if you want to use High Elf Warriors with bows, you're likely going to sacrifice your ability to take Rivendell Knights. Both of these count towards your bow limit, and if you don't commit fully to Knights or High Elf Warriors with bows then it'll be much easier for your opponent to deal with either of them. Your Knights will be much easier to pick off, while your bows will struggle to deal enough damage and it'll be harder to effectively buff them both with the Heroic Actions of Captains.
  • A special mention should go to Gil-galad, since he buffs these guys to Fight 6, allowing them to take on most Heroes and win if they don't use Heroic Strike (and if they force out Heroic Strikes then the upgrade is already worth it) and they'll not only tie against Cave Trolls, but have a great chance of winning against them since they're using Elven-made weapons and the Cave Troll is not. If you're taking Gil-galad, getting Fight 6 for your spears is all but mandatory, since they can give their Fight value to other models even if you don't upgrade them as well.

• Rivendell Knight: Rivendell Knights are far and away the most elite of the Good Cavalry, and they have a points cost to match. Two of these get you a Captain in most other lists, but fortunately they can back up this cost with some serious punch. With lances and Elf Bows, they're a hard-hitting unit that can also skirmish, and with Expert Rider and shields, they're Defence 6 which will help them shrug off arrows and attacks from most Infantry in the game. This is on top of the fact that they're Fight 5, the highest value any Warrior Cavalry unit can reach, and so they should win any Duel roll they tie against other Warriors. Unfortunately they're held back by more than just their price: they come with bows as standard, and as such they count towards your bow limit. This means that you'll normally have to choose between Rivendell Knights and High Elf Warriors with bows, since at your points costs you will not likely have enough points to get an adequate amount of both. Even if you can afford to split between the two however, you shouldn't. If you try you'll find it's easier for your opponent to overwhelm and deal with your Knights, while your own bows will not be causing as much damage as a result. It also makes it harder for individual Captains to buff them and get as much value from it with their Heroic Actions. Now this all being said, don't go overboard on Rivendell Knights, getting small groups (5-6) will usually be more than enough to run over their targets while your Warriors provide support.
  • Heavily consider supporting the Rivendell Knights with a model that can cast either the Wrath of Bruinen or Call Winds. Wrath of Bruinen lets them massacre enemy Cavalry since you can move a character like Arwen up to an enemy formation, cast the spell, and then run down all the now prone models suddenly lacking their mounts, and Call Winds can also do the same thing if you already have Arwen and/or are more worried about Monsters. Push them over with the wind, run them down with your Cavalry, and watch them massacre it.
  • If you want to take these guys as your main force, you absolutely should get Elrond. Not only does he make them no longer count towards your Bow Limit (so you can make elite Cavalry lists if you want) but you can also back them up with some bows on your Infantry to give you long-range support while you skirmish around them before charging into good engagements. Just be aware that going with elite Cavalry like this will usually make it harder to win; it'll be harder to take and hold objectives, it'll be harder to deal with enemy bows/hordes/War Beasts, and it'll be easier to hit your Break Point, as well as the 75% casualty limit which causes most scenarios to end. Elite Knight lists are very fun, but they're generally not competitive and it's easy to sink too many points into your Knights that the rest of your army suffers for it, especially since Rivendell's real strength lies in its Heroes.

Allies

Historical Allies

Númenor

Lothlorien

The Fellowship

Convenient Allies

Arnor

Minas Tirith

The Dead of Dunharrow

Rohan

The Kingdom of Khazad-Dum

The Fiefdoms

The Shire

The Misty Mountains

The Wanderers in the Wild

Fangorn

Thorin's Company

Radagast's Alliance

Army of Thror

Garrison of Dale

The White Council

Thranduil's Hall

Army of Laketown

Survivors of Laketown

Iron Hills Dwarves

Erebor Reclaimed

Tactics

I mean, do you really need help here? They're Elves. They shoot well and have quick reflexes. In terms of troops you have the top of the line- good defense that makes them durable to missile fire and stand well to anything sub S4, universal F5 with Elvish blades means there's almost no situation that a 6 on the duel roll doesn't mean you win, and with hand-and-a-half swords plus S3 Elvish shooting you can hit harder than most if you need to double down on it. Be sure to bring banners though- your stats may keep you safe from courage tests and most attacks, but you can bet you're gonna be outnumbered, and if you don't have anything to save from a bad duel roll, bodies can pile up quickly. Your shooting isn't quite as potent as it once was (with volley fire being erased), but it nonetheless makes a dent, especially against the multitude of D5 skirmish troops, so it's usually worth it to max out your bow limit.

The big variety you'll see comes from your heroes, and man do they bring some tricks; Gil-galad is a murder machine that can kill pretty much anything single-handedly and also can bring some nice buffs to your troops, if you feel the need to re-awaken the oath and spill some blood quickly, he's your man. Conversely, if you want someone that can bring almost as much heat but take ten times more themselves, Glorfindel is your man. It truly would not be an exaggeration to say that he could take on all nine Ringwraiths and come out on top, his special rules making him a perfect missile to shoot straight at enemy Monsters and commanders. be a little cautious as he isn't going to bring huge buffs to the rest of the army, but in fairness when you can solo the witch-king and then dab on a cave troll right after, do you need anything else? The twins, Elladan and Elrohir, bring the most versatile option, giving you six(!) might, 6 attacks (with potential to more than double that on horseback), and four wounds and fate between them. Even alone they're powerful duelists, but if it comes to a fight against the toughest foes, you'll want them together, and with backup. Lastly, lord Elrond has a stat-bar to fit the description "noble and fair as an elf-lord, as strong as a warrior, as wise as a wizard, as venerable as a king of dwarves, and as kind as summer." with a laundry list of special rules and gear, it's arguable he's the least combat-centric of the lot, but not the least useful. take a host of knights and rain some Eldar pain, or just grab Lindir for endless healing and Wrath of Bruinen trolling.

After you've chosen your big hero, the obvious question is what little heroes to bring in tow. While you can always just double up and take two of the above, it may leave you a little short on points, especially in smaller games. Barring anything else, Cirdan brings FANTASTIC buffs to your army (making your battle-line of Elves nigh unshootable, fearless, and causing terror. When that's done, why not enchant some blades too?) and Erestor is a nice all-around warrior that can take care of cave trolls with little fear. Lindir should only be there if Elrond is, but the tactic of putting your whole army on horseback, baiting with bow fire, then punching anything to the ground with infinite Wrath of Bruinen is pretty great.

The last choice to consider is Iorveth- I mean, Gildor. If you're looking to shake up your playbook, he brings some interesting tools; he and his men are about as durable as paper, but they're damn sneaky and pack a mean punch if you know how to use them right, not to mention being able to keep pace with Cavalry. Wood elf spears will provide them with a little more durability, but make no mistake: these are always, always glass cannons. With throwing weapons they can make for great kiting, but don't put them in a situation where they can't retreat or get heavily armoured help to back them up.