[The Son of Horus]

With the Isle of Blood coming soon-ish, and the realization that because of my awesomeness, this army will only cost me about $30 to build, I thought I'd put together a High Elf army. I've always liked Swordmasters, so I thought I'd go with a theme around the White Tower of Hoeth. Thoughts?

[LORD]
Prince
-General, The White Sword, Armour of Caledor, Talisman of Saphery

[LORD]
Archmage
-Level 3 Lore of Life. Jewel of Dusk.

[HERO]
Noble
-Battle Standard Bearer, Dragon Armor, Great Weapon, Razor Banner

[CORE]
20 Lothern Sea Guard
-Full Command, Shields

[CORE]
10 Archers
-Musician

[CORE]
10 Archers
-Musician

[SPECIAL]
19 Swordmasters of Hoeth
-Full Command, Banner of Ellyrion

[SPECIAL]
19 Swordmasters of Hoeth
-Full Command, War Banner

[RARE]
Repeater Bolt Thrower

 

[Sethis]

I don't play High Elves (well, since 5th Ed) but I thought of a couple of things:

2 units of 10 archers? Seems a little random to me, have you considered one unit of 20 (so in emergencies they can join in in combat), or folding them into the Seaguard instead?

I'm not sure about costs, but how about 30 Swordmasters (in one unit) instead of two lots of 20, and buy a Level 2 mage/second Bolt Thrower with the spare points?

Basically, a lot of people are running 30+ strong units at the moment, and I'm not sure that even elite infantry like swordmasters will win out if they, say, lose a rank to shooting before being charged. Especially with the step-up rules.

Just my thoughts.

 

[Tim/Steve]

I know this may make you cry "Noooooo....." but have you thought about changing all those swordmasters into white lions? Same cost but while a unit of swordmasters have 16 S5 attacks a unit of white lions have 11 S6 attacks, stubborn and +2 save vs shooting- the few extra attacks doesnt really seem worth it to me (ok also lose some WS), not when its the shooting phase that will hurt a lot of HE armies (at least you can protect yourself from magic).

I would try to up the number of spells on your archmage too, 3 spells means its less likely you'll get flesh to stone, throne of vines and dwellers below... and Im assuming you'll want at least the first 2 of those. Upping him to be a Lv4 would be the best solution but I guess you cant fit that under the cap... but I would certainly take the silver wand to get that 4th spell (it may only be 1 extra spell but that massively increases the chance to get the spell you want: a 66% reduction in the chances of not having the 1 spell you most want).

I've been having real trouble thinking about how to protect my BSB in combat recently and I still havent really worked it out. I think that the armour of stars is probably the best option, especially if you are letting the enemy charge. Giving them a magical banner means you'll be incredibly vulnerable and most people will just direct some attacks his way since he isnt any harder then SM and killing him gets rid of your magic banner, 1SCR and your rerolls for fear and break tests. Armour of stars means you'll survive the combat even if the enemy decide to kill you (except for killing blow or multi-wound weapons) and even if you do teleport you should still be close enough for the unit to keep their break test reroll (if you lost- if you won it stops the enemy getting a consolation kill).

 

[VeronaKid]

I think that, for a themed Hoeth army, maybe swap the Prince for a 2nd level mage and get your Archmage up to Level 4. It might cost you a magic item or two to free up the points (the magical banner on your BSB would be the first thing I'd personally lose). I think that the Seerstaff is almost a must-have in 8th, since it lets you cherry pick your spells. Other than that, I love the list, especially the Seaguard/Archers combo. That is a very sizable shooting phase. I like the unit sizes, too; just because "a lot of people are running 30+ unit sizes" nowadays doesn't mean it's a good ideas for elves. Maneuverability is still our strength. Well, that plus ASF Swordmasters with re-rollable attacks, anyway. :victory:

Best of luck.

 

[Tim/Steve]

remember that if you take the seerstaff you must select your spells on your army list: if you dont roll for spells you must pick them before the game (before you know your opponent).

 

[Nurgle...nurfed]

Then you pick Throne of Vines, simple.

 

[Sethis]

I like the unit sizes, too; just because "a lot of people are running 30+ unit sizes" nowadays doesn't mean it's a good ideas for elves. Maneuverability is still our strength. Well, that plus ASF Swordmasters with re-rollable attacks, anyway. :victory:

It's more along the lines of:

Turns 1 and 2, your Swordmasters get shot/magicked a bit. Down to 15 from 20 (assuming they're spreading their fire like numpties). You get into combat with 40 basic infantry. You kill 8 or so (you're in ranks of 5/6 perhaps). They attack back and kill 10-12 depending on what they have (Add H Weapons, Frenzy, whatever). They have more ranks than you. You lose by 2 at least. You have 50/50 odds at best of breaking assuming they were smart enough to challenge/snipe your BSB or you're not in range.

I postulate that Elven strength right now is in abusing the ASF rule (and Teclis). Small units don't do that.

 

[The Son of Horus]

I've never been a competitive gamer, so I'm going to keep the Swordmasters around even though the White Lions are absolutely better. However, here are some revisions. I also think it'll be more practical to build to 3000-- the local leagues go up to 3000 points, and it allows a wider spread of the cool stuff.


LORD/
Prince
General; Great Weapon, Armor of Caledor, Vambraces of Defense

LORD/
Archmage
Lore of Life Level 4. Silver Wand.

HERO/
Noble
Battle Standard Bearer, Great Weapon, Dragon Armor, Razor Standard

HERO/
Mage
Level 2 Lore of Fire, Annulian Crystal

CORE/
40 Spearmen
Full Command

CORE/
40 Spearmen
Full Command


SPECIAL/
24 Swordmasters of Hoeth
-Full Command, Ellyrion Banner

SPECIAL/
24 Swordmasters of Hoeth
-Full Command, War Banner

SPECIAL/
5 Ellyrian Reavers
-Bows, Musician

SPECIAL/
5 Ellyrian Reavers
-Bows, Musician

RARE/
Repeater Bolt Thrower

RARE/
Repeater Bolt Thrower

RARE/
Repeater Bolt Thrower

RARE/
Great Eagle

 

[Sethis]

Quick question: What role do you see the Ellyrian Reavers playing?

 

[The Son of Horus]

Bait, war machine hunters, and flankers. A unit like that can sort of do whatever's needed in a support capacity since it's so maneuverable, I think.

 

[Zeromus316]

I agree. I was thinking of using Ellyrian Reavers for the exact same purposes. It is all that fast cavalry is good for anyways and it should prove very useful to tie down a unit or help charge a flank.