Hello all

What are the strongest armies now? I want to start collecting an army that will not yield to opponents. I have little experience, and such a list of top nowhere to be found, which will be described why these armies in the shooting Tier-1, what are their advantages

Well, there is a poll for what armies are nice. But here is the summary...
Gondor-decent defense, moderate size, many unit choices and artillery. Good shoot values, bad bows. Great magic.
Mordor-Low defense, large size, or can be the opposite if you want it to be.
Khazad-Dum-Decent point costs, cheap yet effective artillery, high defence, good fight value, have unit choices, good shoot values, good bows.
Isengard-Good defense, fight, courage, and strength, and customizable. Great magic.
Rangers-small army, but they are all mini heroes. Good shoot values. 2 attacks each. Low points cost per unit.
Rohan-Horsies, ok foot units, great cavalry options.
Obviously it is best to test for yourself. Everyone plays differently. See if you can borrow a friend's army to test it out.

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By all that you hold dear on this good Earth,
I bid you stand, men of the West!

What about Elves? (Rivendell, Lothlorien, Halls of Thranduil)
I see have all their warriors "3 Strength". Are any of these armies strong?

Most of the armies are playable, and Elves are certainly in the top tier. But you have to play to their tactical/strategic strengths, the strengths of the individual models has little to do with it.



That's more about how you play than the army you choose. You can win with Wood Elves, who have Def 3, but there better be terrain on the board, and you need to leverage it.
If you want an army that doesn't punish you as much for mistakes, having a high defense army like Dwarves can help, or with Gondor with Fountain Court Guard, or Warrior with the Shieldwall special rule (and Ingold to lead them).

I would consider Rivendell to be the strongest of the elves because of its high class heroes, solid warriors, support magic, and cavalry. Then Lorien for its weaker heroes but better magic and more varied warrior option. Finally Mirkwood with its powerful heroes but limited troop selection and lack of magic. All the elves have good shooting and capable mid costed heroes. All three elven armies have access to fight 6 troops but Mirkwood's are hands-down the weakest of the three because they are only fight 6 when within a short range of Thraindul. I would personally rank Rivendell as a tier 1 army along with Iron Hills, Azog's Legion, Isengard, and Mordor. Where Lorien and Mirkwood fall (in tier 1 or 2) will depend on how highly you rate Thraindul and the Mirkwood heroes and Lorein's magic. Where armies like Gondor, Rohan, Khazad-dum, and Harad fall into a tiered system depends on how much you value the things those armies can do well and how crippling you find their drawbacks. I have argued about tiering the armies before but that was after years of playing against everything in an older edition. Where everything falls now I'd have to base on paper rather than experience.

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

Actually, I suggest not taking Rivendell. In a smaller points match(500), you will be surrounded and trapped without any defendable locations. 1v2 you will win, but 1v8 is stretching it...
Drawbacks are definitely an important aspect. My play-style must change once I field a 3 spear Khazad Dum army... But my range will be good with a balista.
Point is, know what you are good at with your army. Cant 1v1 Aragorn? Shoot him(and fail regardless if you are me).

_________________
By all that you hold dear on this good Earth,
I bid you stand, men of the West!

I actually found an older tier I made before the present edition came out. Perhaps, this will give some incite into how the armies fair in the new edition too.

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

What is the criteria for army tiers?

_________________
By all that you hold dear on this good Earth,
I bid you stand, men of the West!

There aren't any. That's the problem. This is subjectively what one guy thinks are the best armies. In truth, most of the army lists can now field a competitive force, but how well these will do depends mostly on the player in question rather than the army. A good player with a poor army will trump a poor player with a good army any day

It's one of the great debates of wargaming really. Does the winning edge come from luck, pick, or skill.

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

I think skill is the most important, but if the other guy rolls only sixes and you get only ones, then you are doomed. But usually the odds take care of themselves.

_________________
By all that you hold dear on this good Earth,
I bid you stand, men of the West!