I am just starting SBG and was wondering if Radagast would be a good hero to use but I'm not sure how you get him to lead a warband as he isn't part of the army list all my elves come from.

If his rules haven't changed from those that he had in FoTN he seems like quite a simple to use hero just keep him behind your troops and use his Master of Birds rule to cast spells from behind them so he stays out of combat

He's a good choice if your opponent fields a lot of cavalry. Also is Bird Eye view means he can cast Renew on a Hero through a hill/building/etc.

His weakness is that he's not very combat oriented. He's more of a neutralizer. Immobilize, the Aura, Panic Steed, and his Renew are all very useful to sustain his allies and keep them in the fight..not to mention he counts as wearing a Elven Cloak at all times.

He would have to be a single Hero/Warband, unless you add in other members of the White Council. -

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Yes, he can only lead the other WC members, but he is VERY good at taking out Fell Beasts. Keep him as far away from it as possible, then cast Panic Steed. Either the Nazgul has to spend will to resist it, reducing it's magical power, or he'll lose his mount, wasting 50 pts. The perfect hero if you struggle with FBs.

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Out of all the wizards he is probably the lest powerful, but that also makes him the least popular so if you work out how to use him well counters won't be obvious knowledge. However he is a 100pt model whose main skill is being able to nullify enemy models, nullifying is useful but it won't kill any enemy models and it will soak up your will, meaning his skills will become less and less effective and will likely not have payed his points off in a direct manner. Saruman and Gandalf can do sorcerous blast/blinding light which makes them much more useful, in the long run blinding light is probably more use than renew in protecting your men. Aura of dismay is nice but tbh most players will just opt to shoot at your men or just not fight the turn you cast it.

I do like Radagast though, and i wouldn't discourage using him, but he needs a solid list behind him. I guess with the new rules he will have more heroes to be healing than before. If he is his own mounted unit then you might want to mount him. I once did a game with all three wizards and a tiny dwarf force before the rules change, Radagasts ability to save other heroes fate points is pretty useful, especially when you have two 150+pts models with only 3 fate each. My advice would be that if your fielding him in a big game, take him with gandalf and just go mad with your will points, Gandalf can restore Radagasts will once it is low, making them a better team than Gandalf+Saruman. If your taking him in a smaller game, make sure you have another hero that is worth keeping alive and hope your opponent fields cavalry.

well I'm creating a smallish force with Glorfindel, Haldir and Rumil in it so I think he will be useful especially with Glorfindel. I have only just started playing and this is going to sound like a stupid question but do your 3-4 Warbands usually operate separately or do they unite as one force once there of the battlefield or is it situational and dependant on the scenario

I have never played with warbands but by the sound of it it IS situational and dependant on the scenario, just make sure to deploy your trump card (glorf) last. Radagast will probably be seen as an easy target compared to the rest of them so be aware of that. Also ringwraiths are pretty common enemies who, unlike in wotr, are totally focused on nullifying and have little killing power, which is very dangerous against hero heavy armies. I know i said 'radagast isn't that great, he is only a nullfier' but in an evil army being a nullifer is much more powerful because good heroes are better than evil heroes, generally speaking. Having an immobilised aragorn is much more devastating than having an immobilized orc captain, for example. The good thing about wizards is they can wear a ringwraiths will points down by making them resist spells, although ringwraiths can do the same to wizards the difference being that A: wizards do not die when they reach zero will unlike ringwraiths, and B: a wizard gets a free point of will every turn, unlike a wraith. The witch king has a spell to remove your free will points though, so watch out!