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Pros: Only dragons in <2,000 point games (I think)
The mage can grab the sword of rhuin, and as such, be a beast
Free power dice (on every attempt?)

Cons: More than a third of a 1,000 point army, coming in at 350 point, unpimped
The mage may get the magic sword, but he's still a very squishy elf (could solve this with magic armor, obviously)
It's a sun dragon, not a star dragon, there's a fair possiblilty that more elite units will be able to cope with it.

Is this a dumb question, or is there no general consensus on Dragon Mages? It seems to me that it's not a particularly good or bad chioce, you're just sort of commiting yourself with 350+ points.

I like dragons, don't care who rides them

The Dragon Mage tends to shine in games <1500pts merely because the options that other armies have to taking it down are so limited. Yes, he's quite pricey, but, remember that at lower points games, your opponent will also be quite limited in their options to deal with it.

If you give him the Silver Wand and Level 2, he can spam A LOT of fire power in the magic phase while still having the mobility to keep him safe for the most part.

In short, yes, definitely worth it, but more so in smaller games than in bigger games.

How are you giving magic armour to a model with no options for armour?

[basing this off chaos being only armour mages]

Flying terror causer in <1500 points is nasty, as options such as cannon etc are more limited. it gets unbalanced at that point in its favour. Silver wand for 3 spells means you get to cast 3 spells with at least 2 dice each (with your free dice) which is roughly level 4 casting in terms of raw power (just not levels of power) with less dispel capability on your opponents side (apart from Orks)

nosferatu1001 wrote:How are you giving magic armour to a model with no options for armour?

[basing this off chaos being only armour mages]

This is a good point. A frequently seen Dragon Mage is a Level 2 with Silver Wand + Guardian Phoenix. That 5+ Ward isn't great, per se, but it'll keep him alive for a little longer than sending him in naked.

If you want a REALLY aggressive Dragon Mage, give him Silver Wand + Ring of Fury. Your opponent will really struggle to repel that much fire-power (effectively 8 power die by himself - 2 base, 2 for level 2, 3 for Reckless + 3 spells, 1 effective from Ring of Fury)

I almost always run one in 2000 pts. I give him the silver want and 2x scroll.

Pros
Causes terror - In an army that has only a couple answers to fear this is important.
US6 - He breaks ranks so if he charges in on a flank he can win combat (the dragon isnt a pushover and is init 4). Add with the above and he can hold up most units in most armies (no chars though). This incluldes such as kornate hounds and skeletons.
Monster ammount of dice - This guy will throw out 7 dice if you give him the pool dice. Its crazy at times.
Flaming sword of rune - With this as the default he will always be able to cast it and put it to use.

Cons
Large target and no armor - this is a bad combo. Anything that hits the mage will wound him usually and he wont last long. Shooting is not your friend.
Weak mage - even with guardian phenix your mage goes down to a swift breeze, this guy will roll over and die if your target lives. This means dont attack things with armor such as enemy chars or multiple knights (flanks are ok).
Predictable - Everyone knows when you will want flaming sword to go off and will hold dice to stop it. This means he has to have a backup mage, preferably an archmage or he will never get the cool spell off.


In general he is a support unit, much like all other units in the army. He has a few unique attributes such as terror that give him a nice niche to fill in the high elves. If you can consistently get the sword off (only doable with a very strong magic phase) then he can become a real terror among units with his speed and flanking power. Just remember, anything that lives can and will wound the mage and massed shooting/magic is your enemy (the dragon will absorve some but not all of it)

Would these points be better spent on there support units though? The mage is undeniably kickarse, but you really need to stick it in combat for the dragon to be worth it. So, if combat is necessary, would it not be better to replace those points with a mage and a couple of chariots or something?

I've seen them best used out on flanks, hidden from warmachines and massed missile fire for the first couple turns, and smash enemy flankers with magic and terror, then turn 3 or so terror bomb the enemy main line, flame and magic their units and/or warmachines. By turn 3 the enemy will be faced with him and the rest of your army and will have to decide which is better to kill.

Just be careful if he does get to combat as fire magic has alot of magic missiiles