Spearmen

What Has Changed?

You pay more for a musician now, and they are the only Core unit that can carry a magical banner.

Thoughts

Well, I was really hoping that the spearmen would be a point cheaper, but they are still decent. They still represent the cheapest way for a High Elf player to put bodies on the table. They can still put out a large amount of attacks, attacking in 4 ranks, or 5 if in Horde formation. Unfortunately, the low Strength and low Armour Save mean that they can’t kill much and die easily if they are not boosted by magic. Put Wildform on Mindrazor on these guys, and they look much scarier.

Archers

What Has Changed?

They are now 1 point cheaper! They also lost the ability to carry a magic banner, so no more flaming arrows for these guys.

Thoughts

Archers have benefited more from changes than the spearmen have. Becoming a point cheaper and being able to fire (and fight) in 3 ranks is really nice. You could run a unit of 15 at 5×3 or a unit of 10 at 3×3. In all reality, they aren’t much worse than the spearmen in hand-to-hand. Sure, they don’t have an armour save, but most things negate the spearmen’s armour save anyway. At least with these guys, they can fire 30″ for a couple of turns before they get locked in to combat.

I don’t think that the loss of the ability to take magic banners is a huge deal, since the High Elves do have other ways to deal with Regeneration, but it was a nice option to have.

Lothern Sea Guard

What Has Changed?

The Sea Guard have also become a point cheaper.

Thoughts

I know that some people really like these guys, but they just don’t work for me. For one more point than an archer, you get a spear and light armour. For another point, you can add a shield. Sure, they also carry a bow, but the 24″ range on it seems (to me) to be a big drawback.

The armour doesn’t do much in combat, and now that the archers can fight in 3 ranks, they seem to be a better deal than a Sea Guard. If you are looking for bodies, then the Spearmen provide the same resilience (ha!) for fewer points.

Silver Helms

What Has Changed?

They have moved from Special to Core and the cost for the command has changed. Other than that, their Ithilmar Barding makes them Movement 9 now and the riders can fight in 3 ranks, due to Martial Prowess.

Thoughts

Well, it is kind of a big deal with them moving to Core. Before, there wasn’t much reason to take these guys, when you could just take Dragon Princes instead. Dragon Princes are still better value (I think), but these guys can fill up the required Core points.

Since they can fight in 3 ranks I could see these guys being run similar to the Bretonnian lance formations (3 wide). Sure, the horses don’t get to attack in the back ranks, but it decreases the frontage of the unit. Small units of 6 or large units of 9 could possibly be effective.

I’m not a massive fan of cavalry, since they tend to get stuck into combat for round 2. Still, they provide a decent armour save in an army that struggles to get better than 5+ on non-characters.

Ellyrian Reavers

What Has Changed?

Like the Silver Helms, they have moved from Special to Core and had the command group points cost adjusted. Also, they are 1 point cheaper and it is 1 point cheaper for them to carry bows.

Thoughts

The reavers moving to Core provides yet another way to fill up your Core points with a mounted unit. However, I don’t think that the reavers will be as effective in large blocks. Since the High Elves can only take 2 Eagles now, the reavers can help come in to run interference and get in the way of enemy units, and possibly being sacrificed for “the greater good”, so you will most likely want to keep them cheap.

Personally, I haven’t been able to get my fast cavalry to earn their points back (or using them to help keep other units alive), so I might try them out from time to time, but I usually end up opting for more infantry.

This concludes the look at the Core selections for the High Elf army. It is very refreshing to have some more choices in the Core. Having the option for cavalry is a really nice change.

Lord

Archmage, Level 4 (Heavens), Book of Hoeth, Khaine’s Ring of Fury

Well, here is general of the army and what has determined the rest of the build. I initially gave him the 4+ Ward, but thought that it might be just as good to drop it and put him in with the Banner of the World Dragon. The spells that I am hoping for here are the augments/hexes, although Comet is still nice. Harmonic Convergence can give the White Lions some re-rolls, which should make them a little more deadly in combat. Otherwise Curse of the Midnight Wind and/or Iceshard Blizzard should help in the combats, too.

Hero

Noble (BSB), Sword of Might, Shield of the Merwyrm, Golden Crown of Atrazar, Ironcurse Icon, Dragon Armour

The BSB comes in with Strength 5, and a 4+ Parry save. The Dragon Armour gives him the 2+ vs Fire, and a 6+ Ward save, with the Crown giving him a 2+ Ward vs the first wound. He is mainly build for survivability. I could have gone with the Armour of Caledor, but I thought the 4+ Parry would be better, since the most risk will be encountered during combat.

Core

28 Spearmen, Full Command

This unit is mainly to provide ranks and hold up enemy. Spears are only effective against low Toughness and lightly armoured troops, which I rarely end up against.

15 Archers, Musician

15 Archers, Musician

Now that the archers can fire in 3 ranks, they have been expanded to 15 per unit. They are mainly to pick off enemy redirectors (and to fill out the core). I thought about dropping a unit of archers to fill out the spears to 46. I’m not sure which way to go. I don’t think that the 28 spears will hold stuff up for too long.

Special

29 White Lions, Full Command, Banner of the World Dragon

29 White Lions, Full Command, Banner of Eternal Flame

Here is the main combat power of the army. White Lions no longer get their re-rolls, but hopefully with the augments/buffs from Heavens, it can help to counter that. Banner of the World Dragon keeps them safe from magic.

Rare

Eagle Claw Bolt Thrower

Eagle Claw Bolt Thrower

The bolt throwers provide some ranged support for the combat blocks. I love how versatile they are, too with the single shot or the 6 bolts.

Great Eagle

Great Eagle

The eagles will be used for redirecting and holding stuff up.

Flamespyre Phoenix

I know that many people love the Frostheart, but for me, Phoenixes are supposed to be fire. Ideally, the phoenix can help to thin out some hordes before they get to my lines, or do some war machine hunting, if he needs to. Sure, they will be shooting at it, but hopefully the ward save can keep it alive.

Provide comments and suggestions below.

Just for a quick summary, the Loremaster is a Level 2 Wizard with access to all 8 Signature Spells from the Warhammer rulebook.

I tried various ways to represent the casting for these, but finally settled on breaking it up by the boosted and non-boosted versions of the spells. In looking at the tables below, it seems to be that it’s probably best to steer clear of the boosted versions of many of these spells, for the most part.

As you can see from the table, the Loremaster has a good chance of casting 6 of his 8 spells using only 2 dice, with 3 dice helping considerably. Successfully casting lots of spells, even at lower values helps to get more through. The lower dice count also has the advantage of having less chance of miscasting.

Now, here are the chances for the boosted versions of the spells:

Out of the spells listed, the 2d6 Fireball and Miasma are still viable with only 3 dice. The other boosted versions will be needing 5 or 6 dice to reliably cast them. I can see situations where you might want to risk it, but I would probably tend to play it safe in most circumstances.

One thing that I have not factored in is the Book of Hoeth. The Book can drastically adjust these numbers, but I haven’t messed with the formula for figuring that out yet. The re-roll is fairly easy to figure out at the lower dice counts, but could be a little more tricky with more dice.

Noble

What Has Changed?

The Noble is cheaper now, and most of his mundane equipment (not the Dragon Armour) has become cheaper also. The other change is that they can now ride Griffons, if you so desire…

Thoughts

My guess is that you will most commonly see Nobles fulfilling one role, the BSB. Otherwise, they might show up filling out a cavalry focused list. Unfortunately, due to the changes to the Magic Items in this version of the book, the BSB has become more vulnerable than before.

I have traditionally equipped my BSB for survivability giving him a 2+ Armour Save and 5+ Ward for the foot version of the model or a 1+ re-rollable Armour Save and 5+ Ward for the mounted version. That will have to change now.

Sample Builds

BSB, Sword of Might, Shield of the Merwyrm, Sword of Might, Dragon Armour - So, the first configuration for the BSB has a 4+ Armour Save and a 4+ Parry Save. It’s nothing fantastic, but this allows an extra 15 points of other magic items to be added, like the Ironcurse Icon.

BSB, Armour of Caledor, Great Weapon - This gives him a 2+ Armour Save and a 6+ Ward. I am a little leery of relying solely on an Armour Save, since high Strength quickly negates it. Unfortunately, the Armour of Caledor eats up the entire magical allowance, so that is all that he gets. It’s unfortunate that with the Great Weapon, he won’t get his re-rolls To Hit, but he should still do alright at WS 6.

BSB, Barded Elven Steed, Sword of Might, Enchanted Shield, Dawnstone, Dragon Armour - A 1+ re-rollable Armour Save and a 6+ Ward provides him some of the best protection. He’s mounted, so he can fit into a unit of Silver Helms or Dragon Princes, and would fit nicely in a cavalry heavy list.

Mage

What Has Changed?

Well, they are 15 points cheaper than before and now get a +1 to cast High Magic spells (instead of the +1 to Dispel).

Thoughts

Well, the points cost reduction is really nice, but I think that the Mage suffers more from the loss of the Arcane Items than the Archmage does. The Book of Hoeth is too expensive for him, so you only have access to the ‘generic’ ones in the Warhammer rulebook. If you see one of these guys, he will most likely be holding a Dispel Scroll.

The +1 to cast High Magic makes it nice, since you are effectively casting as a Level 3. This helps to make High Magic a nice fit on this support caster, especially since a Level 2 can always default to the two High Magic signature spells, which are solid spells.

Unfortunately, if he is sharing the Power dice with a Level 4, there might not be enough dice to go around, even if the Level 4 is toting the Book of Hoeth, unless you are doing lots of 1 or 2 dice casting, which the Book does help with.

Sample Builds

Level 2, Dispel Scroll - The Magic Items will probably be fairly light on these guys. Maybe he might pick up the Ring of Khaine’s Fury or Ruby Ring to supplement his magic also.

Dragon Mage of Caledor

What Has Changed?

Unlike many of the other models, I think that the Dragon Mage has receive quite a few changes. So, the Sun Dragon has been improved, which I talked about in my post about the Lords. Along with that, the Dragon Mage can now take Dragon Armour. His Special Rules have changed, so he no longer gets a free dice when casting, but now adds +2 to casting attempts (still only on Lore of Fire). He also has to take Flaming Sword as his first spell. And the final change is that he no longer receives any bonus to dispel.

Thoughts

Well, it’s nice that the confusion around the Dragon Mage being able to take the Fireball spell has been cleared up. Now, you cannot have it as a Level 1, and can swap to it if you are a Level 2.

So, there are some nice things now about the Dragon Mage. The Sun Dragon is more survivable now. The Dragon Mage can wear Dragon Armour, which now allows him to wear Magical Armour. That can help to increase his survivability. Also, he now casts as a Level 3 or 4 with the 1 or 2 spells that he has.

However, gaining a +2 to cast is not nearly as nice as the old free power dice. Also, even with the improved survivability, the Dragon Mage rarely threatens units. He is only Strength 3 with 2 Attacks. If he’s not in combat, he can launch Fireballs at people, but can’t an 85 point mage accomplish the same?

Sample Builds

Level 2, Armour of Caledor - Using his new-found ability to wear armour, the Dragon Mage now packs a 2+ Armour Save and a 6+ Ward. This also fits nicely with the Dragon Mage/Caledor theme.

Level 2, Charmed Shield, Golden Crown, Ruby Ring, Dragon Armour - This build provides more protection from cannon fire, with the double 2+ saves. He ends up with a 3+ Armour Save and a 4+ Ward. The Ruby Ring gives him another Magic Missile and aids his Fireball with the Lore Attribute. I guess that you could swap that out for the Ring of Khaine’s Fury for the 2D6 hit after he breaks regen with his Fireball, and to increase his ward save. Hmm, that might be better…

Interesting Thought

Despite it not being an optimal build, I can really see myself running a double dragon list. Prince on Dragon with a Dragon Mage. Maybe throw in a couple of Phoenixes to round out the monster-heavy list…

Lothern Sea Helm

What Has Changed?

He’s fresh off the boat.

Thoughts

So, the Sea Helm has almost the exactly same stat line as a Noble, with the only exception being that he only has 2 Attacks. He also costs 30 points more. So, what does he bring that is worth 30 points? Apparently his Spear, Shield and Special Rules.

The Naval Discipline allows the unit that he is in to do a combat reform after charges have been completed (but only if the unit Holds). I am not sure what real advantage this is supposed to provide. The logical (and thematic) thought (to me) would be that you could Stand and Shoot and then reform, but that is not how it is written. Maybe if you plan on getting flank or rear charged, it could be useful?

His other Special Rule, Windrider, only applies when he is in a Skycutter Chariot. It grants the chariot and him a 4+ Ward and the ability to re-roll Dangerous Terrain tests. I’ve never really used chariots, but the 4+ Ward seems nice. I think that this is the way to go, if you want one in your army. I am guessing that this guy will only show up in lists that are Sea Guard themed, or highly mobile armies.

Oh yeah, he can be your BSB, but I think that would probably fit better on the cheaper Noble.

Sample Builds

Lothern Skycutter, The Reaver Bow, Charmed Shield, Golden Crown, Potion of Foolhardiness - This guy comes in right around 250 points. With his reduced amount of attacks, I opted for him to fly around shooting people with the Reaver Bow, and giving him the Potion for when he is needing to charge. The Shield and Crown might be better fitted on other characters, but they tend to be my staple for characters that are likely to be shot by war machines.

The Reaver Bow, Shield of the Merwyrm - 100 points less than the version above in the Skycutter. This would be more of a themed setup, with him sitting in a unit of Sea Guard. He is very easy to kill with only a 5+ Armour Save and a 4+ Parry Save, though.

Handmaiden of the Everqueen

What Has Changed?

She’s the new girl in town.

Thoughts

In this edition, the Everqueen and her court have decided to join the war. The Handmaidens represent the best of the best of the best (with honors)  of the ladies of Avelorn. Their stats are fairly similar to a Noble’s, with a slightly better BS and 1 less Attack. Like the Sea Helm, they are also more expensive than the Noble.

She is packing the new Bow of Avelorn (24″, Strength 4, Magical, Flaming shots), which is impressive, but I can see her often being equipped with the Reaver Bow to take advantage of her high BS. Her other benefit is that she grants a unit of Sisters of Avelorn the Quick to Fire Special Rule. So, if you are buying her, you will most likely be buying a unit of sisters to go with her.

Sample Builds

The Reaver Bow, Potion of Strength - The Reaver Bow gives her 3 Strength 5 shots per round, and extends her range to 30″. When she drinks the Potion of Strength, she can hit at Strength 8 for a round, which could really punch through some armour. If she doesn’t have the Reaver Bow, I could see her being taken without any Magic Items at all.

Interesting Thought

According to the background information, there are always 100 Handmaidens and it makes mention that if they are all present, then you can expect that dire times at hand. Just for the curious people out there, to recreate this on the tabletop, you would need to be playing a 38,000+ point game to fit them into the Hero allowance…

This concludes my look at the Heroes of the High Elves. For obvious reasons, the BSB will probably be the most frequently used Hero followed by the Mage. I think that thee Handmaiden will show up less frequently followed by the Sea Helm. I still see the Dragon Mage being a rare sight on the battlefield. In many cases, the High Elves get more use out of buying our rank-and-file than by filling out with characters.

Prince

What Has Changed?

Slightly cheaper than before. Otherwise, the only changes are the Magic Items available and the points costs for the mundane equipment (Dragon Armour went up considerably). I guess that another thing to consider is that he no longer receives re-rolls with a Great Weapon. He can also take a Lion Cloak, but that only helps if he is on his own and can’t be combined with Dragon Armour, so I don’t really see it being much use.

Thoughts

The Prince is still the only way to get Leadership 10 in the army. Unfortunately, he’s not really better than before. He can be fielded in various ways due to being a combat hero, but I don’t really think that he’s going to be better for you than an Archmage. You could load up on mounted Princes and Nobles to make an all cavalry army, but Elves really seem to suffer during subsequent rounds of combat, being only Strength 3.

Sample Builds

Shield of the Merwyrm, Golden Crown of Atrazar, Dragon Armour – Only a 4+ Armour Save, but a 4+ Parry Save, and a 2+ Ward vs. the first wound. It’s nothing special, but he is a cheap General, around 185 points. You could throw a magic weapon on him to boost his Strength if you desire.

Barded Elven Steed, Star Lance, Dawnstone, Potion of Strength, Dragon Armour, Great Weapon – For the mounted army, this guy fits right in to a cavalry bus. Strength 7 on the charge, re-rollable 3+ Armour Save. He also carries a Great Weapon and the Potion of Strength for when the unit gets stuck fighting a 2nd round of combat. He’s kind of expensive, around 260 points, though.

Moon Dragon, Star Lance, Charmed Shield, Golden Crown of Atrazar, Potion of Strength,  Halberd, Dragon Armour – With the Star Dragon going up in cost, you can’t fit much on a Prince if you are going for a 2400 point list, so I opted for the Moon Dragon. He has the Shield and Crown to survive on the way in. Unfortunately, he only has a 4+ Armour Save and a 6+ Ward Save from the Dragon Armour. The Star Lance gives him nice impact on the charge, and the halberd with the Potion of Strength helps in subsequent rounds.

Archmage

What Has Changed?

The Archmage is cheaper than he was in the previous edition. He loses his +1 to dispel and gains +1 to cast High Magic. Many of the old ‘regulars’ for Arcane Items have been lost, and the Book of Hoeth has been significantly changed. He can now ride a Star Dragon… It seems unlikely that we will see that very often…

Thoughts

The Archmage is still a solid choice and I think that he will probably show up in most lists due to his casting/dispel power. The Lore of magic that you choose still has a massive effect on how your army is played.

Originally, I had thought to give him the 4+ Ward, but after thinking about it a little bit, I might move away from this. Here is my reasoning: You don’t generally want an Archmage in combat. So, where will most of his wounds come from? It will most likely be a miscast or hostile magic. For 5 more points than the 4+ Ward, you can buy the Banner of the World Dragon, which will protect him (and his unit) from both much better, with the 2+ Ward vs magic. He does have to hang out in your block of elite troops for this to work, but that might actually be the safest place for him. Also, if you take High Magic on him, casting spells can increase his Ward save, and the 4+ Ward doesn’t give it much chance of improving (maxing out at 3+).

Sample Builds

Book of Hoeth, Golden Crown of Atrazar – Although changed, the Book of Hoeth is still really good. Re-rolling a single die for a casting or dispel attempt can make a big difference. This combination only takes 65 points, leaving an extra 35 for other options, which can buy you an Enchanted Item, like Khaine’s Ring of Fury or the Ruby Ring.

Book of Hoeth, Talisman of Preservation – 4+ Ward with the casting power of the book. This build might still have some mileage on it.

Lore of Fire, Sun Dragon, Golden Crown of Atrazar, Gem of Sunfire, Book of Hoeth- OK. So, this isn’t very realistic, but maybe I might give it a run sometime just for fun. This is the best way that I could think of to get the Gem of Sunfire on a character. For one round, he has the potential to be very devastating with is Fire magic. Throw in the Sun Dragon’s Strength 4 breath, and it might be interesting for a round.

Interesting Thought

If a Phoenix is a magical being, and archmages are so good at magic, wouldn’t it only make sense that an Archmage could ride a Phoenix? It would help to make the Dragon Mage a little more special if the other Mages couldn’t ride dragons.

Anointed of Asuryan

What Has Changed?

Him! The first new offering to the Lords section of the book.

Thoughts

So, what does he bring? He has 1 BS (irrelevant), Attack, and Leadership less than a Prince. However, he has a built in 4+ Ward, Fear, Magic Resistance (2) and he grants a 6+ Ward and Immune to Psychology to the unit that he is in. Obviously, all of that has to come at a price, so he is 70 points more than the Prince.

I kind of like this guy. Sure, he is only Leadership 9, but I tend to run an Archmage as my general anyway. Also, I generally like to protect my characters (especially the general), so I will usually be paying for a 4+ Ward on them anyway. The 6+ Ward conferred to his unit, combined with the MR(2) means that he gives his unit a 4+ Ward save against Magic Missiles, which can be handy for Elves, since Magic Missiles rip us up. It would seem that an Anointed of Asuryan would hang out with Phoenix Guard, but if you put him in there, you waste the 6+ Ward that he grants to the unit, so maybe a big block of Spearmen or White Lions?

Oh yeah, he can ride a Phoenix, too. He gives the Flamespyre a better chance of returning to life, but if you put this guy on the back of a Pheoenix, it will probably be the Frostheart, since it is more likely to be in combat. I think that with his rules, he is probably better placed in a block, though.

The Immune to Psychology could be good or bad, but I really envision this guy being in a unit that wants to be stuck into combat, and not fleeing from it, so I don’t see it as big of a problem as it could be.

Sample Builds

Armour of Silvered Steel, Dawnstone - For ultimate survivability, he has a 2+ re-rollable armour save to go with is 4+ Ward. He only puts out 3 Strength 5 Attacks, but will be fairly hard to bring down.

Sword of Strife, Armour of Silvered Steel – Gives him 5 Strength 4 Attacks and a 2+ Armour Save (along with his 4+ Ward) and still gives you 15 points to play with. It might be more helpful for him to have high Strength (since the elves struggle with that), but could be helpful if he is in a group of Mindrazored Spearmen.

Frostheart Phoenix, Armour of Silvered Steel, Golden Crown of Atrazar, Crown of Command – 2+ Armour Save, 4+ Ward and Stubborn. He has his 3 Strength 5 Attacks combined with the Phoenix’s 4 Strength 6 Attacks, and lowers the opponent’s Strength by 1. Obviously, he can’t take on just anything, but he should hold his own fairly well, until his Phoenix dies… Maybe he’s a bit expensive for what he does, coming in at almost 550 points.

Interesting Thought

So, this guy can be your general, but he can’t speak (due to the fluff about Phoenix Guards). I guess no rousing speeches before the big battle, eh? Lead by example…

Loremaster of Hoeth

What Has Changed?

New kid in class #2.

Thoughts

Well, this guy has received a lot of hype since he was first revealed. So, what is the big deal? He’s a hybrid fighter-mage. A level 2 Wizard that knows all 8 Signature Spells, and 3 Attacks to go along with it. Oh yeah, he also gets a 6+ Ward against non-magical, non-template missiles. Don’t forget that

The signature spells  are pretty decent, giving him amazing versatility, and he should always have a spell that applies to the situation. Probably the biggest trick with this guy is what to give him for magic items. You can’t really afford to give him a good weapon, protection, and magical support. I will probably opt for keeping him safer, since his basic weapon gives him decent Strength, even though he doesn’t get re-rolls.

Sample Builds

Sword of Might, Shield of the Merwyrm, Golden Crown of Atrazar, Book of Hoeth  – This has a mix of everything. 4+ Armour Save, 4+ Parry in close combat, with the Book thrown in to boost the magic phase. I think that the book is exceptionally good for the Loremaster since you will probably want to only throw 2 dice at a spell. Re-rolling 1 out of 2 dice can be a big difference.

Armour of Caledor, Dawnstone, Dispel Scroll  – Purely defensive focused. 2+ re-rollable armour save, 6+ Ward, and a dispel scroll to help in the magic phase. He still has his 3 Strength 6 Attacks, but doesn’t get his re-rolls To Hit.

Interesting Thought

How is it that in the entire Tower of Hoeth, one of the greatest magical centers in the world, that there is only one artifact worthy of taking to battle? Does Teclis keep all of the cool stuff for himself?

Character Mounts

I thought that I might include a short little note about some of the character mounts, since there have been some changes there.

Dragons

What Has Changed?

I think that the biggest change is that all of the dragons now have a 3+ Armour Save and a Strength 4 Breath Weapon. I think that this might lead to the ‘lesser’ dragons being taken over the Star Dragon. Before, the lower Strength breath weapons were pretty useless.

Thoughts

Well, the Star Dragon is the big loser from the changes. His cost went up and the other dragons were improved. He still is the only one that is assured of surviving one cannonball, and has a point higher stats than the Moon Dragon, but I don’t think that he will be the favorite anymore.

The Moon Dragon seems to be a solid choice and has a statline of mostly 6s. I can see him being used, since he is tougher than the Sun Dragon. Is the extra 65 points worth it?

The Sun Dragon is the big winner, gaining the most from the changes, and actually becoming cheaper. Sure, his statline is mostly 5s, but he is Initiative 4, which will put him attacking fairly early and his new Strength 4 Breath Weapon can actually do something now.

Interesting Thought

Now that all of the dragons share special rules (Breath Weapon Strength and Armour Save), do you think that you will see more of the ‘lesser’ dragons than before? The Star Dragon still is the only one guaranteed to survive 1 cannonball, but is the points spend really worth it?

Griffon

What Has Changed?

Griffons are now 50 points cheaper. They also include the option of a couple of upgrades (Armour Piercing and +1 Attack and Strength when charging).

Thoughts

The statline of the Griffon is very close to the statline of the Sun Dragon. My biggest problems with the Griffons are that they don’t have Armour or Ward Saves. It kind of makes it difficult for me to include them in a list if I think that they will easily be shot down (not that dragons can’t be shot down). Maybe you just need to build a list with lots of flying creatures so that there are too many targets?

The upgrades are interesting, but pretty expensive, especially for one of them only being on the round that you charged.

Interesting Thought

I found it kind of funny how the Swooping Strike upgrade was written. It grants +1 Strength and Devastating Charge when charging. Wouldn’t it just have been easier to say +1 Strength and +1 Attack when charging? Maybe it was written that way so that they could update it with a main rules update?

Great Eagle

What Has Changed?

The only thing that has really changed with the Eagles is that they can now pick up some upgrades.

Thoughts

The benefits that I see of the Eagle over the Griffon are that it is much cheaper, and since it is a Monstrous Cavalry model, you don’t have to worry about the mount being shot out from under you. The character could have a decent Armour Save and be a great war machine or chaff hunter.

Also, with the Eagle, you can buy the Armour Piercing and/or Always Strikes First upgrades for it. I think that the Armour Piercing one would be good, but the ASF seems a bit pricey for the eagle only having 2 Attacks.

If you put a guy on an Eagle, you might want to give him the Reaver Bow since he won’t be a combat powerhouse, and 3 Strength 5 shots could do some damage. He could still help with the occasional flank charge, but can’t really hold up anything significant on his own.

Interesting Thought

It really is too bad that you can’t have a character mounted on an Eagle join a unit of Eagles. It would be a ‘just for fun’ choice probably, but could help protect your character.

Well, that’s all that I have for now. Thanks for making it through my massive ramblings. I am sure that there are more varied, and efficient builds out there, but these are what I came up with. I think that I see myself mostly using the Archmage (since I like magic) and/or the Anointed. The Loremaster seems like a fun idea, but I am anticipating his dual role causing him to be not as effective as the dedicated models are at either task. Of course, there are options with multiple Lords and such, but that would be a lot to get into. Add your comments!

The book contains some interesting extensions of the High Elf background. It contains 95 different elven runes. While runes had been included in old versions of the army books, they were absent from the 8th edition book. However, the 95 represent a huge extension of the previous set. Also, included toward the end of the book is a Pantheonic Mandala, which shows symbols (and names) for all 22 of the High Elf deities.

The bulk of the book contains lots of pictures for the 10 different kingdoms of Ulthuan and the 5 Gates (Phoenix, Eagle, etc). Various blurbs of background info are splattered amongst the pictures. It was interesting (for the purists) to finally get some ‘official’ guidelines for what kingdoms would include in their heraldry. Each section shows various different uniform patterns, along with shield and banner designs. There are also some Famous Regiments of Ulthuan that are interspersed amongst the kingdoms.

Overall, it is a nice little book to have for High Elf fans and a good source of inspiration. I feel that the asking price for the book is a bit steep for what you get, but maybe I am a bit cheap. I was a little disappointed that it didn’t have any pictures of real models in it (i.e. painted models). It was mostly just basic spearmen, archer, shields, or banners that had been colored in. That being said, some of the shield and banner designs are very detailed. I can understand taking extra time to paint a really cool banner, but trying to reproduce a complex shield design on an army-wide scale would definitely need to be a labor of love. Maybe that is why they released the transfer kits, to help people achieve more easily achieve the highly detailed shields? It’s too bad that they are so expensive.

Also, I just noticed that even though I haven’t looked through the book very much, the binding is coming undone. Maybe I could get a replacement…

Lord

Loremaster, Sword of Might, Shield of the Merwyrm, Dragonbane Gem, Ironcurse Icon, Book of Hoeth

The Loremaster is the only character in this army. He ends up with a 5+ armour save, 4+ parry save in close combat, and Strength 5 attacks. The armour save is weak, but I thought that adding the 4+ parry save was more important, since it protects against high Strength attacks. The Book of Hoeth is to help power through more spells, hopefully with only 2 dice each. I will most likely need to keep my army compact, so that the signature spells can reach the target that most needs the help, and I don’t want to have to be using the boosted version just for the range.

Edit: Added the Ironcurse Icon with the extra points to give some small protection against war machines

Core

15 Archers, Musician

15 Archers, Musician

Now that the archers can fire in 3 ranks, they have been expanded to 15 per unit. Combine with the Bolt Throwers, they can hopefully thin out the enemy’s ranks before they approach. I opted for the archers over the spearmen, since I can get 30 of them for around the same points and the 5+ armour on the spears rarely does anything.

5 Ellyrian Reavers, Musician, Bows

The reavers will help the Eagles in redirecting enemy units. I didn’t have enough points, so I had to drop the bows from them. That means that they will be used almost exclusively for redirecting, but might occasionally do a flank charge. Edit: I found the points to give them bows, so now they can redirect and still shoot, too. I’m not sure how effective 5 Strength 3 shots will be each turn, but I will give it a try.

Special

22 Sword Masters, Standard, Musician, Banner of Eternal Flame

21 Sword Masters, Standard, Musician, Gleaming Pennant

Here is the main combat power of the army. It really is unfortunate that the Sword Masters no longer receive re-rolls. I think that Sword Masters are possibly the weaker of the elite infantry units, but I do like the models and I have some of these painted. Also, they make sense to be in an army with a Loremaster. If I take a step back and think about it, 2 Attacks at WS 6, Strength 5, and Initiative 5, isn’t that shabby, right?

Edit: The units don’t have champions. I swapped the Standard of Discipline for the Gleaming Pennant and with the extra points, added another Sword Master.

Rare

Great Eagle

Great Eagle

The eagles will be used for redirecting and holding stuff up.

Bolt Thrower

Bolt Thrower

As much as I wanted to use one of the new Phoenix models, I just can’t justify the points, especially in this list. I was thinking about it over the weekend. Is a Phoenix really better than 3 Bolt Throwers? Maybe it is, but for the lower points, I opted to go with the long distance option.

I’m sure that this isn’t the most optimal list. A more competitive choice would most likely be to swap out the Sword Masters for some White Lions or Phoenix Guard. This list is very susceptible to enemy shooting. Also, I didn’t fit in the Banner of the World Dragon. Maybe I will add it after I play some more so that miscasts don’t put big holes in my units.

Provide comments and suggestions below.

Lord

Archmage, Level 4 (Shadow), Book of Hoeth, Talisman of Preservation

I think that most people know what the level 4 Shadow mages do. He is here to add combat buffs/debuffs and tips the scales in favor of the High Elves. In this build he is not my general, due to the following character.

Anointed of Asuryan, Sword of Strife, Armour of Caledor

I think that most people view him as overpriced. He seems worth a try, to me (and supports my theme). He ends up with a 4+ ward, 2+ armour save, and 5 Strength 4 attacks. The idea is that he goes into the big spear block to give them the 6+ ward, MR(2) and Immune to Psych. This unit is the main target for Mindrazor, kicking out some serious damage if it goes off. I thought about giving him the Ogre Blade instead, but with only 3 attacks, I thought that adding attacks might be a better option than more Strength.

Hero

Noble (BSB), Sword of Might, Shield of the Merwyrm, Dragon Armour

The BSB comes in with Strength 5, and a 4+ Parry save. The Dragon Armour gives him the 2+ vs Fire, and a 6+ Ward save. Edit: Removed the magical banner, since I missed the line in the book. I thought that restriction had been lifted. Bumped up the Phoenix Guard with the extra points.

Core

52 Spearmen, Full Command, Standard of Discipline

The unit receives the 6+ ward from the Anointed, and the Standard of Discipline gives the unit Leadership 10. There is the potential for all of the spears to get to attack against an enemy in horde formation. It’s not that impressive at Strength 3, but kind of scary if they are Strength 8, or if the opponent’s Toughness has been lowered by Shadow magic.

11 Archers, Musician

The archers are present, mainly to fill out the Core choices, and provide a little ranged support to hopefully clear out redirectors. I thought that they might be a little more useful and safer than a unit of Reavers.

Special

7 Sword Masters
7 Sword Masters

Maybe these are a poor choice, and should be used to fill out the Phoenix Guard unit some more or build another one. The thought is that they will run 7 wide so that the Sword Masters can get their full attacks, and be used as a flanking unit. They are easy to shoot, though, so maybe they will turn out to be easy points for my opponent.

28 Phoenix Guard, Full Command, Banner of Eternal Flame

The Phoenix Guard have the 4+ ward and are Strength 4 with their halberds. They’re missing the higher Strength attacks of the White Lions or Sword Masters, but still receive re-rolls and are harder to kill.

Rare

Repeater Bolt Thrower

Repeater Bolt Thrower

Now that the bolt throwers are cheaper, I thought that I might give them a chance. They should be able to put out more damage than the equivalent points spent in archers, and have a longer range.

Great Eagle

Great Eagle

The eagles will be used for redirecting and holding stuff up.

Flamespyre Phoenix

I know that many people love the Frostheart, but for me, Phoenixes are supposed to be fire. Ideally, the phoenix can help to thin out some hordes before they get to my lines, or do some war machine hunting, if he needs to. Sure, they will be shooting at it, but hopefully the ward save can keep it alive.

With the 2 lords, the Lord allowance is maxed out, while the Core is at a bare minimum. Maybe it is a bit character heavy, but I really want to have a Level 4 in most of my lists. Should I replace the Bolt Throwers with something else (maybe Maidens since they have the Flaming Attacks)? What about the Sword Masters, are they just free points for the opponent? Am I relying on magic too much?

Provide comments and suggestions below.

As the astute reader will be able to determine, I am a huge High Elf fan, with it being my only Warhammer army. I don’t get a chance to play as much as I would like, so I am also quite a bit into the High Elves history (but far from a Loremaster of it).

Presentation

This is the first of the hard-backed books that I have owned. I have to admit that it is a beautiful book, but I guess that it probably should be for $50, right? Most of the artwork is new and there is lots of it. While it is not really my preferred style, it is nicely done. The book also seems to be free of all the spelling errors that the previous High Elf books have had. Overall, the book looks great. It is too bad that I couldn’t secure the limited edition version, but this one will suffice (and not be as big of a deal if something were to happen to it).

Background/Fluff

As I mentioned before, I am a bit of a fan of the High Elf background. For me, this book was a both good and bad. Overall, it was well presented, and contains enough information for a new High Elf general (if they even care about this part of the book).

First, the good parts:

• An updated map, with more locations on it. Sure, none of them seem to have been referenced anywhere else, but it is nice to see some more stuff on the island of Ulthuan
• Expanded background information for some of the regions; Cothique seems to come to mind
• Expanded information about events Finubar’s (the current Phoenix King) reign
• They managed to the Phoenixes into the background, albeit slightly

Now for the bad parts:

• The older books had stories that told about battles. None of those are present, which really cheats Tyrion & Teclis of their significance. Maybe they are relying on the Black Library trilogy to carry their story
• It seems that the unit entries are very abbreviated in this edition, some only containing a couple of paragraphs
• I’m not a big fan of them making the Everqueen more martial than previously. Wars are supposed to be handled by the Phoenix King, and the Everqueen provides the spiritual ‘heart’ for the High Elves. Making her more warlike just doesn’t work for me.
• I don’t recall seeing the Skycutters worked into the background anywhere. With the new background that they added, it seems like that would have been easy to throw a couple of references in.

Rules

Well, the rules are probably what most people are concerned with. From my very inexperienced perspective, I don’t think that anybody needs to fear the High Elves as being overpowered or broken with the release of this book. They seem pretty middle-of-the-road to me. We are still expensive, lightly-armoured, Toughness 3 (and mostly Strength 3) Elves.

While it is sad to see the White Lions and Sword Masters lose their re-rolls, I’m sure that non-High Elf players won’t be shedding any tears. Between the Martial Prowess extending to all High Elves and the loss of re-rolls, there will probably be far fewer Sword Masters on the table. Also, it seems that the High Elf magic phase has been severely weakened (Teclis & Book of Hoeth changes along with Banner of Sorcery, Seerstaff, and Silver Wand being removed).

Overall, I feel like there have haven’t really been major rule or point changes to the army, but lots and lots of slight tweaks, so it might take longer to see the overall effects of these changes. I am sad to see the change to the Special champions being able to carry only magic weapons now (instead of Magic Items). It was handy to be able to give them the Ironcurse icon or something else that was cheap. At least people should see more varied armies with an extended Core selection in this book. I am a bit disappointed that I bought 2 more Eagles before the book came out, since I can only run 2 ‘units’ of them now, and I don’t really see myself running more than a single eagle per unit.

It will be interesting to see how the minor changes affect the play. I have been writing some lists, but haven’t really settled on one. I will probably be putting one or two of the lists up soon.

More In Depth Review

I will be writing a more in depth review of the characters and units as I get time. Any of the reviews that have been completed can be found below:

Lords

Heroes

Core

After going through the book, I thought that it might be a good time to say goodbye to some old friends from the previous book. I know that the new approach for magic items is to reduce the number of magic items per army book, but I was really hoping that since High Elves have Vaul’s Anvil, there might be an exception. So, I will say a fond farewell to the following:

• Helm of Fortune
• Vambraces of Defense
• Guardian Phoenix
• Sigil of Asuryan
• Silver Wand
• Seerstaff of Saphery
• The Amulet of Light
• Banner of Sorcery
• Banner of Ellyrion

These were all items that I liked to take in the previous version, and don’t have readily available replacements. I guess that we should probably look items in the new book

The Blade of Leaping Gold – You probably won’t see this one much. If I was going to spend this kind of points layout for a weapon, it would probably be for +3 Strength instead. It just seems to me that +3 Strength will cause more wounds in the long run.

Star Lance – This might be an option for a mounted character, but since this is only used on the charge, you have to spring for another weapon for when you haven’t charged. Maybe spend an extra 10 points to always have +2 Strength instead (without having to use a Great Weapon and striking in Initiative order)?

The Reaver Bow – This is much cheaper now, and you can actually fit it on a unit champion, which is nice. It seems like it might fit on a Shadow-walker or High Sister, although for the price that you pay, ti might just be best to add more models. A Handmaiden might be a better fit and she can even fit the Potion of Strength for one turn of Strength 8 shots.

Armour of Caledor – This will probably show up in most High Elf lists. It is unfortunate that the old setup of Armour of Caledor + Guardian Phoenix was actually better for the same points cost, but maybe those were undercosted before. Still, it is a solid choice. The advantage to the previous setup is that it only takes up your armour slot.

Shadow Armour – This might find its way into a Shadow Warrior themed force, but otherwise, I doubt that this will be used much. At least the armour save for it is better than last edition

Shield of the Merwyrm – I kind of like this item. It is cheap and the parry can still be used with a magic weapon. I generally find a 6+ ward/parry as worthless, since you can’t really rely on it, but at 4+, it is much better.

Golden Crown of Atrazar – This is a pretty nice item, especially for how cheap it is. I fully expect any character riding a monster to be taking this, and possibly the Charmed Shield for double protection. Unfortunately, the cannons can still take out the mount, but at least the rider has a good chance of surviving.

Moranion’s Wayshard – This will probably be a niche item. Maybe it will show up in a Shadow Warrior themed army. Scouts + Ambushing could be an interesting combo, but probably more of a “just for fun” idea.

Khaine’s Ring of Fury – A nice bound item, and due to the lore attribute, it can add improve your unit’s ward save. Unfortunately, this can no longer be taken by a unit champion and also won’t help out your units engaged in combat (when they will most likely need the ward save), since it’s a magic missile.

Gem of the Sunfire – I haven’t really come up with a way to make this all that useful. It would seem that to get the full effect of this, you need your Dragon Mage to cast Flaming Sword on himself before using it. Kind of expensive for it being that conditional and only 1 turn.

Cloak of Beards – Could be useful if you know that you are playing Dwarfs, I guess. More of a fluff item, it would seem.

Book of Hoeth – Get used to this one. It’s not as overpowered as its old version, but still very effective. I would expect most Archmages and possibly Loremasters to be hauling this around. Re-rolling a die per cast/dispel is pretty good.

Banner of the World Dragon – This is another magic item that will probably be a regular. A 2+ Ward against magic spells/attacks is just too good to pass up, especially since it will fit on the banner bearer of a Special unit. Daemons beware…

There are a couple of items specific to when Alarielle is present in the army, too. The Banner of Avelorn looks good, but the Horn of Isha seems overpriced, to me. 50 points for +1 To Hit for one turn just seems a bit much. Maybe you’re just supposed to have a massive unit of Sisters of Avelorn, and then it might pay off?

Some of the magic items are good, but I am really disappointed that we only ended up with only one Arcane Item. For a race that is historically steeped in magic, it seems a bit odd to me. We’ve lost all ability to add dice to our magic phase, so we are much more dependent upon the Winds of Magic roll. Does this mean that the Dark Elves and Lizardmen need to enjoy their extra dice while they last?

Previously, I had mostly taken items from the High Elf book. I am going to have to become much more familiar with the magic items from the Warhammer rule book now…