(1) Now that you have the starter set, you have everything you need to play through the included scenarios. If you want to try your hand at Matched Play, you will need some more miniatures. Matched Play is where you build a force consisting of Heroes and Warriors. Generally, your force will have 12 Warriors for each Hero (although some Heroes can bring more or less Warriors). You'll need the Armies Book for Matched Play. You should also think about getting some terrain - Dark Age houses, trees, the Osgiliath Ruins kit sould by GW, etc.
(2) The Great British Hobbit League Facebook Group is very good. Also check out www.one-ring.co.uk.
(3) Before last week, everything was direct-only. As GW repackeges stuff, some of it will be available through local game stores and online retailers. Shop around online to see what the best prices are for you, taking into account shipping to your location.
(4) Go with whatever faction/figures you like the most.
(5) It is mostly a matter of what figures you need. Some are made of plastic, some of metal, and some of resin. Metal and resin figures cost a lot more than plastic. Another question is, how many figures: Mordor and Minas Tirith lists can take a lot of miniatures. Those same factions, however, can also take fewer, more elite figures - although they tend to be metal and resin ones. A good combination of elite units available in plastic (so least number of figs need PLUS available in the least expensive material) is Lothlorien.
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