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.

Ok, I wanted to do High Elves in the last edition, but due to the redux I waited it out to see if I could still take my very special Mage.

This is an attempt at a balanced 2000pt list, designed to play in all phases but attempt to dominate in the Combat phase.

Please can you give me some feedback on the list, as I am still trying to find my way around Elves in general, let alone the brand new High Elves we have.

The theme is a "Sundered Kindred" hunting Dark Elves across the Old World on a mysterious chase... (don't ask, it's too long to explain) - essentially they are isolated from the courts of Ulthan, and have to support themselves in the field...and are mistrusted by many other elves.

The Archmage was found in the forests of the Empire, and is slightly feral from centuries of isolation...and rides around in a gore-soaked Chariot she found crashing through the forest (the previous riders having been slain by an ambush of Beastmen).


++EDIT++


New list in my next post. Left this post for brief background referencing.

Can't help you much at the moment. I only got the army book yesterday, so hav'e worked on things or played against them yet and don't know the 'dynamic'.

Here is the mage in a new iteration, with a little more protection from the nasty things that want to hurt it:

Archmage: Level 4, Hand Weapon, Seerstaff of Saphery, Ring of Fury, Guardian Phoenix & Tiranoc Chariot.
440 (had to lose an Ellyrian Reaver to do this)

Mage: Level 1, Hand Weapon & Dispel Scroll.
120

Noble: Hand Weapon, Great Weapon, Heavy Armour, Dragonscale Shield & Amulet of Fire.
137

Core

Spearmen: 20 Elves, Musician & Standard Bearer.
195

Spearmen: 20 Elves, Musician & Standard Bearer.
195

Special

5 Ellyrian Reavers: Spears & Bows.
105


17 Phoenix Guard: Full Command & Banner of Sorcery.
330

5 Shadow Warriors.
80

Tiranoc Chariot.
85

Tiranoc Chariot.
85

Rare

Repeater Bolt Thrower.
100

Repeater Bolt Thrower.
100

1977 (23)

[note, still have 23 points that could get me another Dispel scroll or similar - but will it be needed, with the plan detailed below? Annoying that it isn't quite enough to bump the Mage up a level. Could take Ring of Corin to be REALLY annoying?]

Level 1's sole use is to use the Dispel Scroll first off against the nastiest thing coming my way, then cast Drain Magic to keep the worst of the enemy's magic at bay (obviously this is after the Archmage has done funky stuff) - if the enemy holds back dice to dispel Drain Magic, then more of the Archmage's attacks go through. If not, then it's harder for them to cast spells next turn. Does this make him more useful to the list?

Archmage is less hitty now, at first glance, but is a good deal more survivable, and I do intend to stay out of combat as much as possible (Chariot model is just cool, and it's a little extra power when I'm trapped) - would even screen with the regular chariots to protect this investment. Decided to keep Ring of Fury to have one of the best spells (IMO) from the HE list in addition to whichever lore is chosen. And it won't use power dice, which is always nice, even though I should have enough to go around (to be honest the Powerstone was just brutal overkill, but fun). Can take Lore of Fire (Flaming sword of Rhuin) to boost combat survival more. TBH, the magic I chose will vary depending on the opponent (doon't thin kyou have to declare on the army list what magic you use, don't you choose after deployment?)

Still not sure where to put my Lvl 1 though. At the moment he'll be floating around on his own in my backfield. Mind you, backed up by the Cavalry, this could be fairly safe, especially if the enemy decided to focus on the RBTs and Archmage.


Is it a good idea to bump the Ellyrian Reavers up to Silverhelms, solely to hunt enemy Fast Cav? It would be a lot of punch (and same cost w/o shields), just no shooting. Are cavalry a good idea to guard War Machines anyway? I'm thinking they would cut through Dark Riders, Warhounds and similar units with ease. Their role is to take on anything that can threaten the Lvl1mage/Warmachines - so I guess Ellyrians's won't cut it, since when facing, say, 5 Dark Riders, there won't be much in my advantage in terms of contact statistics. Silverhelms, on the other hand...
So what do you think?


Many thanks for anyone who takes the time to read this and help out a new player.

Just keep your chariots safe (esp. Archmage's) until you deal with Cannons.

Yup, the free points are probably best spent on the 2nd scroll. Also, the gear on the hero looks a bit suboptimal. I'd either lose the gw and talisman to give him sword of might, or lose the armor and his current magic items and give him armor of caledor. In either case you get some extra points free (maybe enough to get extra level for the small mage and/or musician for the reavers). I really think that a eagle or 2 would benefit the list a lot, as these guys sure don't like cannons.

Stil ltrying to fix the noble's gear.

The general opinion is that the best set up is armour of Caledor and Guardian Phoenix, with Great Weapon (Str6 people!)

Of course I have already used the Guardian Phoenix, so that puts the above option right out, and I am trying to find a combination that provides a fiarly good armour save and a ward save within the magical item allowance - and this is harder than it sounds!

till not sure on Reavers vs Siverhelms - Reavers are faster, but the Helms will cut up enemy fast cav like anything - and against opponents without Cav, I can always use them to hunt War machines (which will be distracted by the chariots)

Also, I am wondering if my magic is potent enough:

Do I have enough power dice?

My thinking is this:

If I split my basic pool evenly between the 2 Mages each turn, and assign all the Banner dice to the Archmage then I get :

6-8 Power Dice.

Assuming a roll of 7 on 2 dice, and going by Lord of Fire, this means I can cast either:

1 top level spell (11/12+) and 1-2 low level spells (4/5+) reliably [depends on Banner roll],

or 2 mid level spells reliably (8+) and perhaps 1 low level spell [depends on banner roll].

Other 2 dice (1 form pool, 1 generated) go to my Level 1 to get off Shield of Saphery/Drain Magic etc


Doesn't seem exactly game breaking, especially when the opponent will have around 5 dispel dice (seems to be tournament average).

Obviously I can get more spells off using Lores of Beasts and Life, but these seem to be less powerful lores generally.

Am I missing something magic-wise here? Is this an argument for trying to fit the Powerstones back in (although I want to keep the Guardian Phoenix, because challenging Teclis and winning [Sword of Rhuin] is a laugh)?


Also,

Do I have enough shooting for 2,000 points with just 2 RBT?

It would appear there are a lot of 2x Dragon lists appearing, and lots of Swordmaster lists, and there will always be the Empire Gunline armies to face.

Will 2x RBT be able to cope? I am beginning to feel like they won't, as Dragons can fly, meaning they will be upon me in 2 turns, and it would take 2 turns of shooting the RBT at best to kill the strongest Dragons out there (and that is rolling all 3s to wound).

Should I try to fit more Archers into my force then?

I could lose a Chariot and 3 Phoenix Guard to fit in a unit of 10 Archers. But, will this compromise my flank too much? The lack of impact hits does suggest so, but with the Archers "guarding" my RBT I can move the Silver Helms to support the (now) pair of Chariots.

Or, I could lose a Chariot for another unit of 5 Shadow Warriors, enabling me to clear the back field around the Dragons more easily, as I can target multiple war machines at once. Then they can turn around and aid their bowfire to take on the monsters behind them (but the likely hood is that the Dragons will now be in combat, thus untargetable.).


Or am I underestimating what RBTs can do? I know that they strip infantry ranks well with their "Volley" shots, and I could easily deal with a single Dragon with them, I just worry about pairs of monsters.

Do I need archer support? If yes, what would be the best thing to lose to gain the extra firepower?

If you can find seven more points I would give your lvl 1 the tricksters pendant, but thats just me.

I like watching my oppositions magic phase for the game go poof with one bad roll.

If your looking for more points you might want to consider dropping the shadow warriors for an eagle, and that would give you another 30 points to play with while still giving you something to harass war machines with and allow you to foul up marching orders with.

Just a thought...

Here's a new list, gone through quite a re-development.

Lords

Prince: Foe Bane, Dragon Armour, Enchanted Shield, Vambraces of Defence & Talisman of Loec.
259

Heroes

Mage: Level 2, Hand Weapon, Ring of Fury, Silver Wand & Chariot.
270

Mage: Level 2, Hand Weapon & Annulian Crystal.
175

Core

12 Archers.
132

20 Spearmen: Musician & Standard Bearer.
195

19 Spearmen: Musician & Standard Bearer.
186

Special

12 Phoenix Guard: Standard Bearer & Banner of Sorcery
254

5 Silver Helms: Shield & Musician.
123

5 Dragon Princes: Standard Bearer.
170

5 Shadow Warriors.
80

5 Shadow Warriors.
80

1 Tiranoc Chariot.
85

1997 (3)


The Prince is purely because I had gone to see Beowulf, and with no Bolt Throwers, I felt I needed something that can handle a Monster. Surprisingly, the Prince CAN.

Tactics are simple - Spears and Phoenix Guard form a mutually-supporting phalanx, with Cavalry on one flank and Chariots on the other. Shadow Warriors hunt war machines and mages. I took Phoenix Guard over White Lions, as the survivability tends to balance out the reduction in killing power (they are MORE effective against Chariots than WL are).

Archers form a flat line and pick on enemy missile troops (ie Handgunners/Thunderers) from outside their range. Move up in support of the army once these viable threats have been dealt with.


Could swap Annulian Crystal for 2x Dispel Scrolls, in fact I am quite likely to do it.

Not too sure on the Standard Bearer in the Princes - took him as I can get more combat res., and don't want a Drakemaster as he is likely to be challenged, making it harder to kill characters/mages etc. Could drop it to free up points though (as even with it, I am likely to loose to a ranked-up block, where Characters tend to hide)

Could swap 2 Archers for a Warbanner on the Spearmen - but I don't like having more than 1 Magic Banner in the army (feels wrong to me, for some reason)


Thoughts on this new list?

Why aren't you taking White Lions? Is there a 'theme' reason to it? To me it seems that the core for every High Elf army should be two large units of Spearmen and two small units of White Lions. I'd also take a look at some of the named characters. They've all been tournament legal ever since GW started publishing them in the normal heroes section.