I find my elf troops being predominately strength 3 lack the ability to break high defence units and to this end I'm trying to find some allied units that can provide this much need clout and act as shock troops. Sadly I can't decide which ones I want to take

1) Guardians of Caras Galadhon: the only strength 4 unit in the entire elven list, Rumil is good (F7, R2, C6, M3), Orcbane is good against Orc obviously but unneccasary otherwise. However Stalwart is pretty useless and they cost.....wait for it......125 points and then 70 points a company they are way to expensive and are only defence 5 so aren't even that resilient

2)Citadel Guards: at 35 points these guys are cheap for S4, they may not have any special rules and only be Defence 5 but for half the price of the Guardians and a common formation I think these guys might be viable

3) FKODA: these are more expensive but S4 and For Dol Amroth! make them ideal shock troops and elves also lack good defence so D7 w/shields is also nice, the mounted version are also a possibility.

4)Osgiliath Vets: I love these guys S4 D7 and Bold Beyond Belief have bows as well so are versatile, only 35 points per company and Cirion is a solid Captain. Sadly they start at 120 points without any companies which might make them to expensive for allies.

5) Sons of Eorl: I think my army needs some cavalry and I was originally tempted by Erkenbrands Riders but then thought actually The Sons of Eorl with Erkenbrand as an Epic hero would only be a few points more and have some nice special rules. They have +1D and cause Terror on the turn that they charge, and thanks to Erkenbrand (who can move to another formation if I need him to) they won't fail Terror test and can do an Epic Charge, he is also a capable hero who I can see being a good captain killer thank to The Red Shield

All dwarves are strength 4 so I could list every single one of there formations but two in particular caught me eye.

6)Khazad Guard: S5!!! D7 need I say more, well yes actually 50 points is quite a lot but I definitely thinks these guys are worth it as 50 isn't that much more and S5!!!!!!!!

7)Murin's Guard: These guys are just dwarf warriors (who are a possible choice as well) but have one massive advantage Lock Shields! Defence 10 in a flimsy elf army will be invaluable

8 )Wardens of the Carrock: these guys may only be D4 but they more than make up for it S4 and Blessing of the Bear make them ideal shock troops, add this to ambusher and you have a formation that will be able to decimate any archers and then cause serious problems with Rear Charges also at starting price of 60 which is not that bad and Grimbeorn has R4 so should be able to handle himself

I would go with FKODA (or mounted version if you want cavalry) because of the potential extra hitting power of For Dol Amroth. If your after shock troops these would be perfect. Also love the models!

The Khazad Guard for me, maybe (if you have a lot of points) with Gimli. You can also get yourself and Epic Rage-ing hero, put him into some Wood Elves, and unleash hell. Very reminiscent of Uruk-Hai Berserkers.

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"... Telchar wrought it in the deeps of time."
-On Andùril, The Lord of the Rings

I was thinking either Khazad becasue they are so powerful S5, two handed weapon and D7 so resilient as well or Osgiliath Veterans because of there cost and versatility

How would you rate Osgiliath Veterans bearing in mind elves are quite expensive so cheap is especially good?

You could use the Three Hunters for your Strength 4 unit and at the start of any phase, if need be, have Elrond heal them. I'd rather load up on WoMT (1000 point army, ally in 8 companies).

Vets are good but to to use them as intended (as Strength 4 close-combat) you'd be better off with Dwarfs w/Shields.

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

Elrond? You mean Gandalf or Galadriel, right?

Otherwise you have some good suggestions.

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"... Telchar wrought it in the deeps of time."
-On Andùril, The Lord of the Rings

No he means Elrond, Blessing of the Valar only works on the formation you are in and the Three Hunters have We Stand Alone only Elronds Epic Restoration can heal other formations so you would need him

and it;s a good idea but neither Elrond nor the Three Hunters is very points efficient in my opinion.

They have We Stand Alone? Blast. But still, buying Elrond wouldn't be worth it for just that trick.

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"... Telchar wrought it in the deeps of time."
-On Andùril, The Lord of the Rings

Yeah sadly Elrond is another example where GW weren't thinking properly when they wrote the rules, I think they wonted to make him both a Supporting hero (Epic Renewal and Restoration) but also a fighting hero (F8 lots of might and Wilderness Spells) but managed to make him fall somewhere in between meaning he is bad at both, if they gave him Epic Strike, Lord of Rivendell (entire formation uses his fight) counsellor and touched by destiny but he cost 250 points he would be worth it in big games.

I have however limited myself to either Osgiliath Veterans or Khazad Guards but can't decide

You are right about Elrond.

I'd go for Khazad Guard, as they are the most hard-hitting troops of the game and only as expensive as your base troops (Galadhrim with shields). The only problem is they are Rare, so if you want a lot of High Elf Cohorts then you might want to use Veterans.

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"... Telchar wrought it in the deeps of time."
-On Andùril, The Lord of the Rings

I need to take Cohorts for there high defence (D7) as my elves lack defence but Khazad have D7 anyway so I don't mine losing a cohort for them

But you'd rather loose some Galadhrim, I suppose.

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"... Telchar wrought it in the deeps of time."
-On Andùril, The Lord of the Rings

Yeah obviously that is why the choice is difficult Khazad are great but the Vets offer the same defence, are cheaper and more versatile which I think my elf army will need and are not Rare so are easy to fit in

Then go for the Veterans

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"... Telchar wrought it in the deeps of time."
-On Andùril, The Lord of the Rings

I think I will but think up a more lore friendly reason why a group of men would be fighting with elves, sadly lore isn't my thing any ideas who I could use

Men are more likely to be fighting alongside Elves than Dwarves are. They could easily be a company of Rangers (hence bows) led by an 'unnamed', well-known Elf-friend, who have adorned heavy armour specifically for that battle.

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"I am the Flying Spagetti Monster. Thou shall have no other monsters before me"
-FSM.

Thanks for the info but are there any particular groups of men that were particularly close to the elves as I said lore isn't my thing but my gaming group is quite open with conversions and individual back stories and that sort of thing so I would have no problem with it. I quite like the ideas of buying some WOMT and the actual Veteran models and then converting some models, thinking up a back story and giving them a distinctive paint job.

having just looked at a map of middle earth do any groups live between the Misty Mountains and Mirkwood (Gladden Fields) because that would be perfect

Dale has sent a unit of their best warriors to help the Elves defeat the evil's in Rhovanion (those cover every faction in WOTR evil), and voila, you have a theme

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"... Telchar wrought it in the deeps of time."
-On Andùril, The Lord of the Rings

thanks as I said lore isn't my thing but looking forward to researching paint schemes and doing some conversions