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I have been reading some old Dakka posts about this guy, and I am wondering why people think that he sucks.

Base he is 285 points, with the following gear
* Being a Lvl 2 wizard is 135 points. (A hat gives this but also gives stupidity)
* His weapon is worth 40 points (Ignore armor saves)
* His weapon is +2 str on the charge - yet has not comparable price
* He has a 5+ ward save, which is worth 25 points
* He has +1 armor save, which is worth 5 points

Added together thats 205 points worth of magic items, making the base cost of him 80 points -- for stats that are better than a noble.

So in a 2k game where you don't want to bring Teclis (I want to keep my friends), why does this guy suck?

Edit : Given the lack of responce, I am going to assume that Eltharion is not all that bad.

He's ok, I think that he isn't terrible, just not great.

He's a jack of all trades, master of none. Combat wise he only has a 4+/5++ which is ok, but not great. his pip on WS and I are really not a big issue. You can make a better combat guy for less or a better mage for less.

The fact that he's a mage/fighter dude with medium protection is the issue, and he will get jacked in CC.

However at higher point values being a 2rd lord in games with a lvl 4 I think is a good idea. Additionally I do know someone is planning on running him on his mount for a while in the next few tourneys.

Because everyone liked his older version where he was a kick ass blind master swordsman!

Probably because with lord level wizards if they are not at least level three, your opponent's wizards will just laugh him off the table.

Those are all excellent thoughts and points. Thanks for the input.

furbyballer wrote:
Because everyone liked his older version where he was a kick ass blind master swordsman!

I prefer the original version where he is what he is now. The retcon to blind swordmaster just kinda killed him for me, I'm glad they changed him back.

I like Eltharion, and use him occasionally. Give him Lore of Beast, and he gets really really nasty. Just gotta watch out for those cannon balls, though the 5++ he gives Stormwing is better then most monsters get.

Played a guy that put him on death for the Ld 10 Spirit Leech. Pretty nifty...

 Red_Zeke wrote:
Played a guy that put him on death for the Ld 10 Spirit Leech. Pretty nifty...

Yup. that is going to a popular thing in 2013 me thinks. When I played elves I used beasts on him just went for the face rippage.

Death is the new shadow.

 Jubear wrote:
Death is the new shadow.

At least until the new random FAQ redefinition of unmodified leadership.

Arkhan is still a 9.

Yeah, I was looking through the Army Book, and I have to agree, I think he's pretty good. If you had to include a Special Character for your Lord who's name doesn't rhyme with Meclis, I'd go with him.

Like you say, his Magic Weapon and excellent Statline give him a nasty punch in Close Combat, though, naturally, you'd have to give him support. And his armour makes him fairly robust. Also, he gets all the benefits of a mage being able to do well in CC. He can use Death Magic's short range spells effectively, without having to worry about being too close to the enemy, and can buff himself up with lores like Light and Beasts.

So, in summary, he's pretty good and I would like to try him out in a game one day. I think the main reason he's never really used is that a Lvl 4 Archmage (or a certain someone whose name rhymes with Meclis) is a far superior choice for a Lord.

He's amazing but the main thing with high elves is cost. You have to take the points from some where, Since hes only level 2 and not severely choppy, most people take a lvl 4 then a face smashing character.