Three shots every round, hitting on 2+, able to shoot in and out of combat, he's a name most MESBG players dread when facing him.
I'm a huge fan of the Halls of Thranduil list, I like the balance of general infantry, cavalry with Expert Rider, mixed in with a sentinel or two for the manipulation of the enemy frontline, and well, Legolas is an option, so it's a no-brainer to include him, right?
Legolas' Fire Power #
If we look at the raw numbers, Legolas isn't necessarily as lethal as he may seem. Firing 3 x shots into a line of D4 or D5 Mordor Orcs for example, he is only getting 0.84 kills per round. That also assumed no in-the-way tests too. So, Legolas' strength isn't in killing mass numbers with his bow.
If you want to play with the simulator yourself, you can do so here.
Now, where Legolas really does come into power is two-fold:
- Sharpshooter: Targetting those three shots at a single target is his main threat. The 0.84 chance of a wound against a D4/D5 horse, for example, means mounted heroes probably fear Legolas the most. Being able to dismount an enemy hero early can swing a game significantly.
- Combat Shooting: This ability is strong, he can shoot into his own combat, or target that lone warrior holding an objective to steal the game, even when he is tied down in a fight. Alternatively, he can fire a single "Pinpoint Shot" into a combat too, meaning that oppositions can't just shield their main heroes in a combat to hide away from him.
One of the biggest difference Legolas makes is the impact that he has on your opponent's movement. They have to move accounting for the Legolas threat, entirely because he could cause serious damage.
The Awkwardness of Legolas #
Legolas is fragile in combat. Whilst he is F6 with Strike, he only has two attacks and is D5. Though he has 2 x Wounds and 3 x Fate, it doesn't take many fumbled combats to see Legolas taken off the board, especially in a list like Halls with no Banners.
On a personal level, much like I've mentioned above on how it influences your opponents movement, I find Legolas massively influences the way I play myself. I feel the need to hold him back because of the 3" move limitation so that I can still shoot. It can often leave him exposed, or with a huddle of support that aren't with the main action, meaning I can be outnumbered in either location.
It only takes for him to get trapped once by a few Orc Warriors, and he can be in deep trouble. On average taking 2 x wounds in a single fight if he loses the Duel roll.
The Alternative Options #
Tauriel #
The most obvious alternative in Halls to Legolas is Tauriel. She still has Sharpshooter and gets 2 x shots each round, albeit she hits on a 3+ and still suffers the half-move penalty. At 500 points where you're only taking Thranduil and one other hero, why would you take her?
Tauriel's differentiator is Knife Fighters. This gives her a much better advantage than Legolas when it comes to combats.
If we consider that example of being trapped against 3 x Orc Warriors, Tauriel is causing 3.75x more wounds per round than Legolas, winning the Duel nearly 80% of the time vs. Legolas at 53%. I find my overall army movement is less tailored to a single model when I'm using Tauriel, and thay means I can keep as many models in that +1 To Wound bubble of Thranduil as possible, whilst Tauriel dances around munching the flanks.
Palace Guard Captain #
I introduce to you my favourite profile to include in a Thranduil list - Palace Guard Captain.
At 85 points (with a shield, and this matters) he is 25 points cheaper than Legolas, meaning you also get a Wood Elf Sentinel for your money (and boy do I love a Sentinel).
There are three huge influences the Palace Guard has on the game:
- Heroic March: The march getting you 3 inches closer to where you need to be can swing a game. If you're coming up against Dwarves that can March 8" and get into an objective first, you're going to struggle to break them down.
- Fight Value: With a base Fight Value of 6, the Palace Guard captain can be used to tie down many enemy heroes and give them the awkward "to Strike, or not to Strike" decision each time they're engaged in a combat with him. Even better is when you're within 3" of Thranduil, the Palace Guard Captain goes up to Fight 7.
- Defence: Taking the Captain with a Shield means he becomes Defence 7. With most enemy heroes at Strength 4, they're needing 6's to Wound. Sure they can use Might to increase their odds, but that's a good thing, drain that from them so that Thranduil and Tauriel can sweep up with theirs.
Pinning enemy heroes is where I've found the Palace Guard Captain to be most influential, using him alongside some F6 Palace Guard Shields & Spears means you can be a real nuisance to the enemy and tie their heroes down most rounds. Draining their Might for a couple of turns. With the Warriors getting +1's to Wound in that bubble around Thranduil, most player's aren't going to want to risk losing that Duel without a fight. This, paired alongside some early-game Heroic Marches to get better board positions or grab some early Artefacts and Heirlooms, for me, makes the Palace Guard Captain (and a spare 25 points) a much more compelling choice than Legolas.
Does it Work? #
First Competition #
I first tried this out in the summer at the British Team Championships. This was my first team event and the format here was that each team chose 4 x 600 point lists and 2 x 700 point doubles lists. I ended up getting to use Halls in all three games, and managed to come away with three wins. The game of note in particular was my last match up, Hold Ground against another Halls of Thranduil list, and you guessed it, it contained the dreaded Legolas.
It wasn't the friendliest of starts, where my opponent was jumping with joy at the matchup and telling his team mates how easy a game it would be, specifically because I didn't have Legolas, but I went in with a game plan.
The Palace Guard Captain and Palace Guards (with their F6 from the Thranduil Bubble) kept Legolas tied down, whilst Thranduil and my warriors swept up around him. I had drained his Might and by Round 4, I'd trapped him and taken him off the table. Then I needed to rush to the middle. I'd broken him too early and didn't have the numbers in the middle of the board. Heroic March came in clutch and I got lucky that we didn't see a 1 or 2 to end the game.
The game finished 17-2. I'd killed everything but Thranduil and a lone Mirkwood Warrior, and each side scored 2 points for neither of us having a banner. Beating a mirror army with Legolas in the list reinforced that I might be on to something. This was the last game of the day and our team actually finished in second place for the event, and I achieved my first ever podium, albeit in a foursome.
Back and Forth #
After that, and I don't really know why, I resorted back to my old ways, with Legolas returning for Lemon Cup and some GBHL80s, but something just felt off again. I did okay, won more than I lost, but just found myself falling back into the same patterns of Legolas trailing behind.
Then came Shadows in the New Forest, a GBHL90 with two games at 500 and another two at 700 points, I thought this could be a chance to try the Palace Guard Captain approach again.
I did a single warm up game against FlaccidAmigo, who fielded Host of the Dragon Emperor in a game of Convergence. My Palace Guard Captain did his job, tying up the Emporer after I spent the Captain's Might initially getting Thranduil and his warband to an objective and close to the middle of the board, he even took 9 x strikes and survived for a round, but my plan fell apart because of the Phalanx and +1's to Wound in their front line.
I just lost too many combats, and didn't have the numbers to compete in the middle, especially when the Dragon Emperor managed to get close enough to the middle. The game ended in a 6-8 loss.
My Latest Event #
Fast forward a few days from the friendly, and it was time for Shadows in the New Forest. The Palace Guard Captain featured only in my 700 point list (Game 3 & 4), but he made the difference.
In Game 3, against Kingdom of Khazad Dum, he gave me that vital extra move to grab an objective in Seize the Prizes, and help surround the leading Warrior to protect him. He then tied up a Dwarf King and Durin for a few rounds each and triggered important Might to be burn. The march also helped my cavalry get to a second objective, though unfortunately my attempt at a Dismount to take that objective was met with a failed Intelligence check, and I was caught in the following round.
In Game 4 against Lurtz's Scouts the Captain was very effective at tying up the enemy heroes, burning Lurtz's Might and just being a nuisance. I managed to get Tauriel into my target on Round 4 using a Heroic Combat, and I managed to roll more 6s than should be mathematically plausible to hold out for the rest of the game, killing Lurtz, breaking my opponent and taking the 20-0 win.
The end result? I went four wins from four games, and I managed to get my first ever singles podium with a second-place finish. I was over the moon. I went 4-0, with three incredibly tight games, winning my first 3 by a single VP. My Legolas-less Halls list had paid off.
When is Legolas Worthwhile? #
Looking forward, anything in that 600-750 points region, I can't see my taking anything other than the Palace Guard Captain. For smaller lists, I think I favour Tauriel for her effective combat skills.
Things get trickier once you get to 800 points, Legolas' extra Might point comes in handy as you're facing against armies generally with more than 8 Might points. There could be an argument to include both the Captain and Legolas, but it really limits your model count by going with four heroes. I also just don't own enough Warriors to make hit the 45+ model count required to fill that 700 to 800 gap - maybe I'll just have to buy more plastic/resin.
I do have an 800-point Doubles tournament coming up in the middle of November, and Halls will feature, but I haven't quite managed to find that sweet spot combination at that 800 point limit just yet.
Let me know what you think, are you running Legolas in Halls, and does it work for you? What are your 800 point recommendations?
