Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

Greetings to everyone! My friend and I decided to take a stab at Fantasy. Went in on the Island of Blood starter and i decided on High Elves as my army. Im still new to warhammer in general and would like some guidance. Besides the figs that come in the set, what would be some good recommendations to have a solid foundation for core units/special/rare units? Im located near the LA Bunker in California so if anyone would like to meet up!

There are loads of options within the High Elves book and the are all viable, especially with the right support from your mage, personally i'd think about the following.

You need to decide what core troops you will be using, i like a large block of spearmen, you also need a cople of the elite infantry units to dish out some hurt. As they come in the box set sword masters are a good choice for 1, then maybe White Lions or Phoenix Guard for the second, make sure you take enough to acomplish the task you are asking of them.

As far as rares go, gret eagles are a strong choice, then throw in some elite cavalry and your good to go (Dragon Princes are a good bet here).

A provisional shopping list for you. I think it better when working from scratch to look at the boxes on sale not the finished units.

1x Battalion boxset
2x White Lion boxset
1x Mage boxset
1x Dragon Prince boxset
2x Eagles
1x Hero/Prince boxset

Thats a good army there. It yields:

CHARACTERS
Hero on Griffon
Hero on Horse
Hero on foot
Mage on Horse
2x Mage on foot (or in fact slightly floating)

CORE
20 Archers
16 Sea Guard (you coukld have more or less at expense of spearelves)
30 Spearelves

SPECIAL
5 Reavers
10 Swordmasters
20 White Lions
5 Dragon Princes
1 Chariot

RARE
2 Eagles
1 Bolt Thrower

The above is not an army in itself before the minimaxers start whining. Its a template from which varied armies can be chosen from for competetive and casual play; and a base to which further units casn be added.

It is tempting to buy two Battalions straight off, but that means 40 archers, which can be wasteful. Better to have one battalion add a second box of 16 spearelves now (you can never really have too many) and hold back until later.

Decided to resurrect this thread, hope no one minds me not making a new one.

I like the advice above, and I'm wondering what the thoughts are on 2 IoB boxes. I have a Loremaster of Hoeth, and the way I figure it, putting him in with 20 sword masters, 20 sea guard, a mage, and 10 reavers comes to around 1000 points with no upgrades.


I'm considering this as a starter army just to get playing and learn the game. From there I would like to do the above- buy the battalion box and add on the variety based on my play style/meta.

Would anybody advise against the 2 IoB route and recommend an IoB and battalion purchase to go with the lore master?


On one hand I do want to take advantage of any savigs, but I also want to keep my model pile manageable as I have buried myself in 40k projects before and want to avoid this in fantasy.

VanHallan wrote:
Decided to resurrect this thread, hope no one minds me not making a new one.

I like the advice above, and I'm wondering what the thoughts are on 2 IoB boxes. I have a Loremaster of Hoeth, and the way I figure it, putting him in with 20 sword masters, 20 sea guard, a mage, and 10 reavers comes to around 1000 points with no upgrades.


I'm considering this as a starter army just to get playing and learn the game. From there I would like to do the above- buy the battalion box and add on the variety based on my play style/meta.

Would anybody advise against the 2 IoB route and recommend an IoB and battalion purchase to go with the lore master?


On one hand I do want to take advantage of any savigs, but I also want to keep my model pile manageable as I have buried myself in 40k projects before and want to avoid this in fantasy.

Generally people just make a new one instead of resurrecting a 2 year old thread but...
Oh well

Let's get this clarified. If

1.) I do a google search for the title of this thread, and

2.)the results come up with a thread on a board I already post on. And...

3.) The contents of the thread are pretty minimal, yet right along the lines of what I am looking for.


Should I

a.) Place my inquiry in a perfectly suited thread that already exists. or
b.) Waste time and bandwidth making my own thread that would, at best, regurgitate the exact same responses that were already in here.


So again, my question is, 1 IoB box and a battalion, or 2 IoB boxes. What is the better cornerstone for starting high elves?

Please refrain from scolding me on stupid gak. Thanks!

VanHallan wrote:
Let's get this clarified. If

1.) I do a google search for the title of this thread, and

2.)the results come up with a thread on a board I already post on. And...

3.) The contents of the thread are pretty minimal, yet right along the lines of what I am looking for.


Should I

a.) Place my inquiry in a perfectly suited thread that already exists. or
b.) Waste time and bandwidth making my own thread that would, at best, regurgitate the exact same responses that were already in here.


So again, my question is, 1 IoB box and a battalion, or 2 IoB boxes. What is the better cornerstone for starting high elves?

Please refrain from scolding me on stupid gak. Thanks!

You're not allowed to swear either

If it was me, I would pick up to IoB and battalion.
I chose this because, inside you net:
Lord on Griffon
Mage
Spearelves
Archers
Lother Sea Guard
Chariot (I prefer the white lion)
Silver helms
Ellyrian Reavers
Swordmasters

That to me is better than 2 IoB, that is just my opinion of course.

If your core is set, I personally would move away from the battalion/ IoB boxes as they just reinforce more and more core for the most part which is technically the weak point of HE armies

I would use said funds on getting a unit of specials ( Phoenix guard, White lions), or a mabye a bolt thrower or 3, or maybe a an actual Phoenix, etc

To be honest, unless you want the skaven, dont bother with IoB.

You can buy the elf army from ebay for £30.
Also, keep in mind the swords and sea guard both have command squads, so in effect, you only get 7 basic troops of each.
Thus, buying 2 sets only gives you a unit of 17 of each with a spare command for each.

Either way, 2 sets gives you 17, allowing you to run a character with each for 6x3 units or buy a 3rd set and do the same for 5x5 units.

While im not a huge high elf fan, the reavers are pretty useful and units of 5 are fairly steady.