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Hi all, thinking of starting a themed High Elf army, as I recently got hold of a bunch of Swordmasters for cheap, and I've been thinking of starting Fantasy for a while anyway. Anyway, what do you guys think:

Teclis
[475]

Noble
-Battle Standard Bearer
-Banner of The World Dragon
-Dragon Armour
-Halberd
[200]

20 Archers
-Champion
-Musician
-Standard Bearer
-Standard of Discipline
[260]

20 Archers
-Champion
-Musician
-Standard Bearer
[245]

20 Archers
-Champion
-Musician
-Standard Bearer
[245]

23 Phoenix Guard (5x5 with Teclis and BSB)
-Champion
-Musician
-Standard Bearer
-Banner of Sorcery
[425]

21 Swordmasters (7x3)
-Champion
-Amulet of Light
-Musician
-Standard Bearer
[360]

21 Swordmasters (7x3)
-Champion
-Musician
-Standard Bearer
[345]

21 Swordmasters (7x3)
-Champion
-Musician
-Standard Bearer
[345]

Great Eagle
[50]

Great Eagle
[50]

[3000]

Personally, when I use archers, I don't upgrade them with anything. Just take them as is with no command or magic banners. The standard spearman is a mean unit to contend with. I like large blocks of them. In a 3000 pt army I feel like I can justify taking Seaguard. I like to take a horde of 55 with full command and maybe the banner of eternal flame or whatever.

Are you planning on using the a hammer an anvil type tactic with the units? I'm not a big fan of sword masters to be honest, but I think I'm the odd man out. But since you have the models and you're going for theme then it works out nice (as well as the archers I'm sure).

Personally, I'd ditch the gear on your Noble and give him a BSB, Armor of destiny or the HE equivalent and a GW. It's been a solid combo for me.

I'd play some games and just see how it goes and see what you like.

Also, I love Teclis. I don't care what anyone says lol. I like using Shadow, Life, or Heavens.

I would give the Noble a GW instead of a Halberd.

Archers drop the standards and the champions.

Take a lv1 or 2 with High Magic, add a Seerstaff and get Curse of Arrows attrition, profit.

Grix wrote:I would give the Noble a GW instead of a Halberd.

Archers drop the standards and the champions.

Take a lv1 or 2 with High Magic, add a Seerstaff and get Curse of Arrows attrition, profit.

Edited my post, as if I drop the command on the Archers I will fall below the 25% minimum Core requirement, so sadly although it's a great idea, I can't do it :/

Could you add more archers instead?

Would come up to the same points value Only way I could get in another mage is to drop some non-Core. :(

I think you could use a little variety in your units... Perhaps lose an archer and swordmaster unit to add a spearman (elf?) and a dragonmage? You could funnel the remaining archer's full command points to the spearelves as well.
Both units could fit in your theme and they both fill roles your other units don't...
Just my two cents

Kiwidru wrote:I think you could use a little variety in your units... Perhaps lose an archer and swordmaster unit to add a spearman (elf?) and a dragonmage? You could funnel the remaining archer's full command points to the spearelves as well.
Both units could fit in your theme and they both fill roles your other units don't...
Just my two cents

Yeah you make a really valid point. More variety to paint, too. Lothern Seaguard are pretty, and are both ranged and stabby. And dragons are pretty awesome models!

I know its themed, but I would think really hard about running Teclis in anything but non comp tournies....

Depending on how hardcore the fantasy scene is in your area lots of people might pass on games if they know you are running Teclis, it is really not fun to be on the receiving end of him

I like Teclis. I play in non comp tourneys though. In friendly games a lvl 4 archmage with the book of hoeth will do just fine though.

Archers are unecassarily expensive - High Elves don't need shooting! Take hordes of Spearmen (50+), rather than Archers, and also increase the unit size of everything (so take less units in greater sizes). Upgrades aren't needed for Battle Standard Bearers, so I'd get rid of everything except BSB upgrade, and Banner of the World Dragon (so unfair for 60 pts!). For Teclis, take him with BSB in a unit of 40 Phoenix Guard. Teclis is immune to all miscasts if he's in a unit with this banner, as it counts as a spell effect (I checked with GW!) - although an Archmage certainly makes better use of this special rule, as Teclis is immune to the effects of his first miscast each turn already. Great Eagles are obsolete these days, now that everything can always attack back. This destroys their effectiveness. They could still take out enemy War Machines though, if you an get there. Oh, and if you decide to boost the army to 3500 points, take an Archmage with Book of Hoeth - it's so unfair when coupled with Teclis (Teclis with Lore of Shadow, Archmage with Lore of Life - "Hello unit of 100 Chaos Warriors, everyone take a Strength test at S1").

Guardian_Phoenix wrote:Archers are unecassarily expensive - High Elves don't need shooting! Take hordes of Spearmen (50+), rather than Archers, and also increase the unit size of everything (so take less units in greater sizes). Upgrades aren't needed for Battle Standard Bearers, so I'd get rid of everything except BSB upgrade, and Banner of the World Dragon (so unfair for 60 pts!). For Teclis, take him with BSB in a unit of 40 Phoenix Guard. Teclis is immune to all miscasts if he's in a unit with this banner, as it counts as a spell effect (I checked with GW!) - although an Archmage certainly makes better use of this special rule, as Teclis is immune to the effects of his first miscast each turn already.

I would take any verbal ruling by GW with a big grain of salt, especially since their FAQ seems to indicate the exact opposite:

Q: Is damage caused by a miscast counted as a spell? Can a model
with Magic Resistance add it to its ward save against it? Is any
damage caused counted as being caused by the Wizard? (p34)
A: No to all questions.

Guardian_Phoenix wrote:Great Eagles are obsolete these days, now that everything can always attack back. This destroys their effectiveness. They could still take out enemy War Machines though, if you an get there. Oh, and if you decide to boost the army to 3500 points, take an Archmage with Book of Hoeth - it's so unfair when coupled with Teclis (Teclis with Lore of Shadow, Archmage with Lore of Life - "Hello unit of 100 Chaos Warriors, everyone take a Strength test at S1").

I find my Great Eagles far from obsolete. They do a great job of going after War Machines. They also make a great unit for march denial when facing a low leadership army. You can sacrifice 50 VP by charging a hammer with them and tying them up for 1 turn. They can also give you a few extra points in CC when used to charge someone in the rear.

Guardian_Phoenix wrote:Upgrades aren't needed for Battle Standard Bearers, so I'd get rid of everything except BSB upgrade, and Banner of the World Dragon (so unfair for 60 pts!)

I'm not sure I understand - could you clarify? Are you saying I don't need the armour + halberd on the BSB?