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I started out 40k just recently, having fallen in love with the Orks and the conversion madness they bring. I am now somewhat interested in WHFB as well, seeing that a) It's picking up steam again here in malaysia, and b) the new chaos lord on Juggernaut told me to. I love the whole Warriors of Chaos line of models (well, the ones that matter anyways), but quickly noticed that it had an inherrent 'theme' that echoes across all the armies I have collected so far. Orks for 40k, Khador for Warmachine, and Trollbloods for Hordes. They are all beat-stick armies. Lacking finesse (whatever finesse there is, it's real subtle). That, and a real lack of ranged options for WoC.

This revelation made me look at other armies for WHFB, so in the end, I ended up with 1 other choice. HE, because it's a departure from the norm for me, both in playstyle & painting. And the models rock imo. After much deliberation, I hesistantly decided that playing Elves for once would be a nice change. (Not that I didn't prefer the High Elves, but the WoC models rocked so much face! And I found a brilliant model for a Slaaneshi Sorceress... )

So the next logical step was to do what I have learnt the hard way after collecting Khador, and that is to plan an army from the ground up. I didn't want to buy models I would have no use for, except for the occasional hero swap. I picked up this habit buying into trollbloods for hordes, and am doing it for Orks as well (building towards 3000 points).

So the plan is to start out with a 500 point army, build upon that to 1000, then 1500, then 2000, then finally 2250, after which I'll retire from collecting the army and focus on another one. (Or when new stuff comes out, or when the Army book changes the fundamental of the army)

I would also like to set aside characters for a moment, at least until I reach the 2k pt mark

Planning both fluff and theme for my army. Looking at the models, I decided on bulding an army being a warhost for my hero, which would be a Mage

Next would be the core units, of which I think the easy choice would be to get the battleforce, but I don't dig the silver helms much.

The base points would already be between 400-700 at this point, making it an ideal sweet spot to fill out on magic items and upgrades.

So after all the endless rambling, I've got a few questions, and this is where I need help:

1) After the mage and battleforce, where should I go from there to fill out to 1k pts? Should I get another bolt thrower? more spearmen/archers? more silver helms?

2) Fluff-wise, is it likely for a Mage to be accompanied by a retinue of Sword masters or Phoenix guard?

3) What is/are good magic items for the mage, especially considering the build?

Thanks for comments & criticisms.

I don't know about the fluff but Swordmaster and Phoenix Guard are awesome. My wife plays HE and those units kick my VC nuts all the time. The Lion Chariot is also sweet to look at as well as being a powerhouse. She doesn't have any white lions or the skirmishing archers but most of the special slots are good picks. Bolt throwers are good but at 100pts a pop they are spendy.

1. Actually, I would suggest you try to get a hold of the Army Box instead. It's just under 2x the price of the Battalion, but easily makes up for it with better than 2x the contents. Also, it'll pretty much set you up for up to about 1500 points.

NEVER buy Silver Helms direct - I can assure you that there're plenty of people who have excess Silver Helms for trade/sale for cheap(they're one of the weaker units in the army currently).

2. Depends on what kind of theme you go with, really. If you decide to make a Saphery-themed list, Swordmasters would be more likely, but theoretically, Phoenix Guard just go wherever needed/fated, so are not unreasonable to see. Personally, I prefer PG as a mage-bunker since they tend to be a bit more resilient to shooting and Fear helps keep some of the rabble away from them.

3. The Silver Wand, Jewel of Dusk and Seerstaff are all very good items for mages. Ring of Fury is also a nice Bound Item to give to a mage for extra magic missile spam.

Get Eagles. I think they're like 50pts or something. Use them for one thing only: March blocking. Drop them behind your opponent and march block them. This allows you to manouever your stuff into position and frustrates the hell out of them. I know. A regular opponent of mine did this all the time and I hated it. I'll probably never game in Malaysia, so feel free to do it all the time

thanks for the replies.

@slk28850: That price is about the only reason I can think of for not getting another eagle claw. But it is nice to get a compliment piece for the first one

@Jin: I'm shying away from the Army box because it tends to get pricy here. It's an excellent deal, no doubt.
I think I'll pass on extra silver helms as well. Thinking of picking up the phoenix guard first since they are hardier elves afterall

@Khornholio: I like the look of the eagles (and I think model eagles are pretty easy to find too). I'll give them a twirl, exchanging them with eagle claws to see which one suits me better.

Another question:

What's a good lore for the mage? Is high magic better than the rest of the lores? fire and metal look nice, as well as heaven and light. I'm leaning towards high magic, since it's got a good selection of offensive and defensive spells, and with the silver wand my mage would have access to four spells.