A good player could use pretty much any faction and do well. A bad player could use the best faction and do terribly. I don't see any point in doing this, as it is not so much what faction is being used, but all the choices the player using it makes. There is a large selection of heroes and troops for pretty much all armies, so it is not so simple as to say that some are good and some are bad

I agree it would be a good idea, my experience is not that extensive otherwise I would give it a go.

My advice is always the same when starting armies however, always go for the models that you think look the coolest !

When speaking of Tiers, one tends to mean how powerful a force is, not how easy it would be for a beginner - as those are not the same. While it would make sense that a strong list would suit somebody just starting out, while only an experienced player should try to do well with a weaker one, some of the strongest forces only reach the top tables in the hands of a good player, where other armies can do well in the hands of a new player, but aren't quite impressive enough to win tournaments regardless of who uses them. Although I don't subscribe to the idea that the list used is much less important than the player's skill, overall quality is a complicated combination of the two, in addition to which some armies would much better fit a particular person's playstyle.

As for your particular situation, I would normally just choose the army of which you like the look and theme, then ask for advice on the exact things to get as some heroes or troops may be easier to get to grips with. High Elven infantry is very solid (high Fight and Defence), but in terms of models not the easiest to start with (expensive Finecast rank and file), while the cavalry is more difficult to use but very strong as well. Mirkwood's in a somewhat similar boat, where the best troops to have many of are Finecast, as you'll want Palace Guard only in limited numbers while the Rangers are again more difficult to use well. Hunter Orcs could be a good place to start, providing a horde of strong melee fighters, but with optional decent archery, cavalry and later on a chance to learn to use strong but expensive heroes. Over time, you can choose to expand into Azog's Legions with armoured troops and monsters, at which point you can also use bits of both for a Dol Guldur force.

Thanks for giving it a go Wan Shi Tong. I realize there are lots of variables but I think model availability, monetary cost and learning curve are best to take into consideration for new players like me.