How ones you don't see these used that often?

WHAT

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BLACKHAWK 2010 2013 2015 DYNASTY

??

"How ones" does not relate to " you don't see these used that often" in a way that makes your sentence legible. What are you trying to say?

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"Draw your sword with a heavy heart, but swing it with a heavy hand"

The OP wants to know why you don't see these models played very often.

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"Diplomacy is the art of saying 'nice doggie' until you can find a rock." -Will Rogers

Bloody auto correct

I figured that was about it but did not want to assume.

As far as I know they are not, generally, considered to be worth the risk and the points in most situations. There is not a lot that can stop a Balrog but it is the majority of your army even in larger games and it is seldom able to work fast enough to counter act the weight of numbers from an a opponent. Dragons and drakes are cheaper and faster but they also suffer from a similar problem to the Balrog. The dragon is basically hamstrung because of its primal instinct rule. Even more now that more models can wound it thanks to special strikes and higher strength heroes. You need its will to save a bad courage role so few bother with magic or fire breath as they drain will. I have, however, seen exploitative players get very far with them against people who are not prepared to deal with it. While the reverse of that is also true. The drakes are probably the best of the three since they do not run after a wound and are fast. They used to be very good at killing heroes with the high fight value they have. Heroic strikes and their limited might reserves have made them less of an issue and their role is somewhat challenged by the Dwellers in the Dark who are a sight cheaper. They can be powerful and effective pieces under the right circumstances but, like most siege weapons, they can be turn out to be a point sink in more situations then they are a boon.

That said, dragons with fire breath might see some return to use in a limited fashion against the newer Hobbit armies that have targets worth commuting to burn.

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"Draw your sword with a heavy heart, but swing it with a heavy hand"

I've been looking into monsters recently, as I'm strongly considering taking Easterlings as my first Evil army and wanted to give them some more punch at 1k, and find it a bit of a shame that monsters end up being somewhat lacking.

The overall consensus seems to be that, although they're strong they're a lot of points and easily countered.

The general tactic seems to be to just feed them a model a turn to keep them distracted. That way you're neutering 300pts-ish of an army. That monster is then taken out and you find yourself in a situation where you're playing your opponent at effectively a 2:3 points disadvantage. This means your opponent will better be able to play the objectives and dictate the tempo/duration of the game.

Going back to the Easterling list I was considering, in writing this list I've basically talked myself out of taking a monster:

For the 350pts I'd spend on a Dragon (wings & toughened hide) I can get a Mordor Troll Chieftain and two Mordor Trolls, plus have 10pts left over. That gives me the same number of wounds, almost the same defense and over double the number of attacks. Although you lack the 12" Fly mobility you are able to spread this threat range across a wider area in support of your other warbands. They're far more likely to make an impact on your opponents strategy, won't run off following a bad dice roll and most importantly give you versatility.

In this day and age anything thats around 150+ points is risky and or might be stopped by a simple 3+ transfix/immobolise.

Especially once models get to 175, 200, 250 etc

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BLACKHAWK 2010 2013 2015 DYNASTY