500 Under 50: The Last Alliance

Today's installment of 500 Under 50 will be a thematic one! Who doesn't love the scene in the Fellowship of the Ring where all the Elves are lined up and swing their swords one after the other. I get goosebumps every time!

For this you will need to purchase the following:
Elendil and Isildur £12
Elrond and Gil-Galad £18
Warriors of the Last Alliance £26

Total £56 (though it should be noted that you can get the characters from eBay or the trade groups for cheaper; a very quick look found me all 4 for £22).

Though this only gives you 28 Models you already have 879 points worth of army straight out of the box! This gives us lots of options for our lists, depending on how conversion happy you want to get. There are some super easy conversions you can do for next to nothing. Since there is a distinct lack of Spears in these kits you can easily make some by simply sticking some cut down cocktail sticks to the back of your Elves! I know this might sound a little silly but it is actually really effective, and once you have painted them up you can't tell on the table.

The back rank of Jonny Wright's Elves here simply have cocktail sticks as spears. You wouldn't know on the tabletop!

If you want your Numenorians to have spears then you will likely need to get some brass rods and drill holes through their sword hand. This is obviously a more advanced skill. If you really want to get technical then there are some lovely conversions of Elves who have had their arms repositioned. If you have done this yourself we'd love to see pictures! Finally, you can mount all 4 of your Heroes on Horses but this will require you to get another pack of each and also some horses to put them on (plus a whole bunch of Green Stuff!). Again we would love to see pictures if you have done this!

Jonny Wright's mounted Gil-Galad is on the left.

List 1: The Kings

Elendil
8 Warriors of Numenor

Gil-Galad
3 High Elf Warriors with Spears, Bows and King's Guard Upgrade
2 High Elf Warriors with Spears and King's Guard Upgrade
2 High Elf Warriors with King's Guard Upgrade

17 Models, 6 Might

This list is conversion light (you just need the cocktail sticks!) and contains 2 big heroes that can chop through basically anything! Elendil is such a beat stick at F7, a Master Forged Hand-and-a-Half sword (for effective S7!) and a free Heroic Combat every turn. Gil-Galad is F9 (😱), has a free reroll to hit and to wound and has +1 to wound! Insane. Why even bother bringing the troops? Well I guess because between them they can form a F6, S4 line! They will only be D5 but they have to have some weakness!

List 2: The Understudies

Isildur with The Ring
8 Warriors of Numenor

Elrond with Heavy Armour
5 High Elf Warriors with Bow and Spear
4 High Elf Warriors with Spear
4 High Elf Warriors

23 Models, 6 Might

This list has more shenanigans and a higher model count but less punchy characters and lower Fight in its Warriors. In exchange you get access to Magic from Elrond and The Ring from Isildur. You also get more Bows to take advantage of Rivendell's Army Bonus. Isildur and Elrond are still fearsome fighters in their own right, especially at 500 points! There is scope here to drop a couple of warriors and mount your heroes but that will require some extra conversions.

List 3: Hero Happy

Gil-Galad on Horse
Elrond With Heavy Armour and Horse
Isildur on Horse

3 Models, 9 Might

You've spent a lot of money on big heroes so why not use them? Well, because this list is almost certainly terrible but it could be good fun! Elrond's Renew can keep the other 2 in the fight for longer than you would expect, and the horses keep everyone mobile. Of course this is a heavy conversion list so it might not be beginner friendly but would likely make a fun project!