So I often think about the different ways to play a certain faction, such as my plan to one day play a shooty Mordor army. Here, I want to talk about Lothlorien: it's an army with a fair bit of variety in the ways it could play, and one that I play rarely enough for this to be an educational opportunity for me.

With that said, let's fire off how you like to build and play your Lothlorien armies. Whatever points values you most commonly play or that you feel are worth talking about. Post a sample army list and talk about how you play it, talk about other people's armies, just talk.

I'll start with the build that I've had in mind lately, just waiting for a chance to try it:

Rumil
5 Wood Elves - Throwing Daggers
5 Wood Elves - Throwing Daggers + Spears
1 Galadhrim Banner

Stormcaller
5 Wood Elves - Throwing Daggers
5 Wood Elves - Throwing Daggers + Spears

Stormcaller
9 Wood Elves - Bows
1 Sentinel

Galadriel Lady of Light

It's just under 650, which is probably the most common game size in my community. The idea isn't necessarily to be as shooty as possible, though this is close to my ideal shooting build (with a fair number of archers and Blinding Light). Instead, I'm aiming for a mid-range army. Shoot, weaken opponent, hope to get another turn or two of bows and daggers, then the Stormcallers set off their Nature's Wrath bombs and everyone charges. It's got two badass combat heroes and a Banner to assist from there.

I've always been drawn to the idea of Wood Elves in combat. I don't know why, they're squishy (I strictly mean the D3 Elves, none of this Galadhrim with armour nonsense), but I like them a lot. The idea behind this army is to give them the best platform I know how to give them so they can get stuck in without dying (and while being able to kill).

Which Galadriel profile do you refer too? Poinst wise you are over 650. I get 667 points.

Ha I wrote it down wrong. Should be 649 now, thanks for the heads up!
This is the latest Galadriel profile, the Banishment version.

I use Wood Elves a lot and I agree with a lot of your thoughts. But I'd make a few suggestions for changes...

- If you're going pure Lothlorien, I recommend using old LOTR Galadriel profile. I know everyone is in love with Lady of Light, but the old Galadriel profile is fantastic, Immobilise and Command are two super useful spells, and of course, she can channel Blinding Light as well. Plus, Lady of Light is White Council, and if you're going theme, then you should really use one of two old profiles instead. If you're not going pure theme, then you should drop a Stormcaller and put in old Thranduil instead, as his Nature's Wrath is more a sure thing, and he does so much more than a Stormcaller.

- I think you've got too many throwing daggers and not enough spears and blades. Remember, once you get into contact, you'll only get to use the throwing daggers on turns that you get priority and get to charge. On all the other turns, they are basically wasted 2 points. I'd drop at least 5 of them and use those points to give every Wood Elf a spear and also give Elven Blades to some others. Plus, you should definitely give spears to your Archers, so that they can support once the lines meet.

- Lastly, Stormcallers are good, but I'd consider dropping one of them for Haldir. Haldir is really underrated, he has Expert Shot, has 3 Might, and is a solid mid-level hero. And by choosing him instead of the more desirable Legolas or Thranduil, you stay pure themed Lothlorien.

Hope this helps....

_________________
T'was in the darkest depths of Mordor, I met a girl so fair..
But Gollum, and the evil one crept up and slipped away with her..

I actually rather like the list, and have been toying with similar ideas myself (well, the idea being Light Galadriel with a Wood Elf army). In the Nazgûl heavy state of the game, she's invaluable, and especially nicely complements the rest of the army. The big issue with Stormcallers is their tendency to just get their Will sapped, so Fortify Spirit is a massive help there. Even so, I'd prefer to keep two of them in the army just to ensure the various spells get cast when you want them. Thranduil's obviously a fantastic profile, but wouldn't take him for thematic reasons (I don't see having a different Galadriel as opposing the theme, just because GW decided she completely changes her magical abilities when residing in Lothlórien doesn't mean she should).

Throwing weapons are a different story, dependant on playstyle and preferences. Losing a bunch just means having one or two additional models, but they can easily take out as many just in a single volley - and having the continued threat whenever you charge even when the front rank died isn't bad. Do realise that Galadriel's Blinding Light-esque ability hampers all shooting within 6"...

That's one big reason why I wanted to start this thread: the general idea behind this list (with some modifications, maybe one day I decide to bring Celeborn and Magic Galadriel, maybe I want to give all the archers Elven Cloaks, etc) is my take on Lothlorien. My experience with Lothlorien has been hit & miss thus far, so I'm really interested in other people's input on how you choose to play the faction. Nothing about my list is fixed, I won't be taking this to an upcoming tournament or anything. I'm more interested in a discussion about Lothlorien in general and what you like to do with it.

The main idea with what I put up is that I want them getting in combat (because that's where the game is most fun for me), so I had to give them all the tools that I think they need to succeed in combat. The version of Galadriel I picked is a strong combat hero with the perk of countering the most dominant hero-hunters around. Good point about her Blinding Light hurting my throwing daggers, I didn't catch that...

Haldir is another one of those that will see a lot of playing time, he just didn't make this particular list.
If I had my converting shoes on, I would certainly give all my Archers spears, I will likely do that as a future project, but until then they unfortunately have to be played as supplied.


(sorry, I just answered both your replies in one go)