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Hey all,

I've been playing Eldar in 40K since 2007 and a few friends who also do fantasy have persueded me over to Fantasy and I picked out high elves because I've always been a fan of elite specialist units and then of course there is Dragons (I'm thinking of putting a prince on one) But how good would they be as a first army?

I've worked out somthing which I think is 2000 points (I don't know yet as I don't have the army book)

Prince on Star Dragon
Mage

15 Spearmen
11 Archers

20 Swordmasters
20 Phoenix Gaurd
10 Silver Helms

2 Repeater Bolt Throwers

P.S. I say I'm a (sub)beginer becuse one of my friends let me use his Bretonians in a few games and he tryed to teach me the rules.

You'd do well to swap the silver helms for 2 units of dragon princes which are far better in the current armybook (the stat increases more than make up for the point increase). Also, swordmasters work ok in smaller units so you can try taking several units of, say, 5-7 instead of one big block.

Elf armies are generally rather unforgiving of mistakes. though for a a beginner High Elves are an exception, your army is still fragile, but manoeuver becomes a 'no brainer' because of ASF.

I'd say for a beginner they are one of the more unforgiving armies.

If you are starting out I'd recommend Empire as they are good in all phases of the game but don't stand out hugely in any so they become a 'take on all comer's list'.

However if you have your heart set on HE's they are much better now for beginners thanks to ASF. However T3 and tinfoil armour and expensive trooper cost = unforgiving of mistakes.

Yea, the toughness 3 no armor elves are very forgiving of mistakes.
They also tend to operate in small units that can be easily destroyed by a good charge so are unforgiving of some of the more foolish manouver mistakes.

as for your army,
drop the silver helms and take dragon princes.
two units > one unit
20 swordmasters is overkill
make that either 20 phenix guard or 2x10 white lions
or 1x14 swordmasters to get the points for the dragon princes.

phenix guard really need a command, spears benefit from one, nobody else has to have one but it doesnt hurt on swordmasters.

The upside to starting with an elf army is that the expensive unit cost in points results to a cheaper army in cash. Not a bad incentive when starting out.
Skaven and orc armies can cost two or three times as much as elf armies.

Orlanth wrote:The upside to starting with an elf army is that the expensive unit cost in points results to a cheaper army in cash. Not a bad incentive when starting out.
Skaven and orc armies can cost two or three times as much as elf armies.

That's somewhat offset by the expensive costs of their special and rare choices, almost all of which are metal and almost all of which the HE army is dependent on.

themandudeperson wrote:

Orlanth wrote:The upside to starting with an elf army is that the expensive unit cost in points results to a cheaper army in cash. Not a bad incentive when starting out.
Skaven and orc armies can cost two or three times as much as elf armies.

That's somewhat offset by the expensive costs of their special and rare choices, almost all of which are metal and almost all of which the HE army is dependent on.

I disagree. Spearelves are the best infantry they can get, you trade high strength or fancy powers for tripling up your base attacks. Take them in units of twenty one and you have a very effective line. Besides with Core being so restricted there isnt too much else to take. Silver Helms are still passable special choices.

You can invest in heavy infantry later. Still most armies elite infantry are metal miniatures, chosen and black orcs being the only notable exceptions. Furthermore you will probably need elite infantry from other armies in much larger quantities than you would for High Elves. 15 Stormvermin or greatswords wont go far, stormvermin normally run at a minimum of 24.