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As the title states really.

Ive read up on the fluff and its come down to deciding between either the High Elves or Empire. I like the prospect of a having a massive dragon lead my army, but ive heard that HE isnt very good shooting wise (which is kinda funny, considering Elves are amongst the best marksman in the warhammer world).

The prospect of have a massive Gun line with cannons and stuff is also very tempting, but ive heard Empire infantry arent very tough.

Would love to hear some more opinions. Specifically on the armies strenghts and weaknesses. Anything will be appreciated

Thanks!

Unfortunately, the very thing that attracts you in Empire (Cannons) are the reason why the thing that attracts you in High Elves (a Dragon Lord) doesn't work in competitive environments. Empire infantry aren't very tough, but they are probably tougher than High Elf infantry (survivability wise).

As for specific Strengths of both armies:
High Elves are mainly good in the Magic Phase (Teclis or a Book of Hoeth Archmage can almost guarantee that game changing spell to be cast without being dispelled). They also have 3 types of Special infantry that are good in close combat. As you have already seem to have picked up, don't expect to be doing a lot of damage in the Shooting Phase with High Elves. Empire, on the other hand, have great Warmachines. Ballistic Skill based shooting (the only type of shooting High Elves have) is subpar under the current rules set, so expect most of the damage in the Shooting Phase to come from your Warmachines. Empire, like High Elves, have access to all the main Lores of Magic, but their Arcane Items (Magical Items that boost Wizard powers) are not as game changing as the High Elves' Arcane Items are. The Empire Magic Phase is still fairly good though. In combat, Empire basic infantry will deal less damage than High Elves do and will die almost equally fast. However, you can field a lot more Empire infantry models for the same points as you can High Elves. Empire infantry units are more like a horde style army than the High Elves are.