So why HE? Well, HE are probably one of the easiest armies to play, that is, I believe you can field a variety of units, in different compositions, and still be pretty effective. The army is very forgiving, to say the least, and despite the fact that a High Elf takes a hit like a wet paper towel they have the ability to quickly smash face and inflict major casualties on their enemy which makes up for this lack of constitutional fortitude. Straight forward murder, something the other elf races, while being combat effective, require more finesse to accomplish.
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| Fact! |
So they are pretty forgiving and for the most part you can’t go wrong with many of their unit choices. Another element that I discussed with another player at our FLGS is that the HE can accommodate both a novice and expert tactical component. Basically, they are forgiving, easy to play and as you advance there is another level of tactical play that can potential make them very competitive in the right hands. I believe this, though my hands are not the right ones, there are individuals on the intertubes that have reached this level of competitiveness and I think this might add some longevity to your investment.
So to recap:
1. Forgiving… Check.
2. Novice and Expert tactical components… Check.
3. Straight forward face-smashing murder… CHECK!
All this is fine and dandy, but I would argue that you should probably pick an army that appeals to you in style, fluff, and then whether they will be fun for you to play. I mean if you like to shoot cannons and watching stuff blow up, or, if you are like Dave, and have some fetish for stunties, an aversion to magic, and just want to watch the world burn, then you probably don’t want to be rolling High Elves as your first investment. So what are some things that High Elves are good at and have fun with?
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| Hurray! Always Strike First Great Weapons! |
First, they kill things in close combat, excuse me, I mean they MURDER FACE in close combat. The majority of their elite infantry (basically the pneumatic power hammer of hammers and anvils) are at least all strength 4, striking first and re-rolling hits (most of the time), so you are going to pummel most of the units you touch. The trade off, is you’re a wet paper towel, but we knew that already. If you squeal with glee at the thought of removing fists full of your opponents models in one round of close combat and don’t really care that your guys fall over on a breezy day, you may have fun playing HE.
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| Miscast. No problem! |
Second, they have some kick ass magic, as well as, items that not only add to their potential magic, but give them some good magic defense options too. Now the Book of Hoeth might be cheesy (says the guy who likes to include Teclis in his lists, just for fun mind you, well for my fun, not sure about the other guy), but they have other options to make their magic potent and you should expect to add them to your army. High Magic is also a very, low cast value, useful magic lore. I will often take it on a level 2 mage just to spice things up (Shield of Saphery is a dispellable Cauldron of Blood blessing, but worth it on anything other than Phoenix Guard). While the HE do not have the ability to pull off an impressive recover from a bad winds of magic roll, like, say DE with a Sacrificial Dagger, they have items that can potentially make it less painful. If you like magic, defense and offense, you might have fun playing HE.
Third, their shooting is good enough. Now you won’t be making any HE gun-lines, but for the most part the HE archer is an effective tool to have in your tool box. Oddly enough, I run repeater bolt throwers in my DE list, but for some reason not in my HE list. I just can’t find room for them in my HE list with so many other goodies to take, whereas, the DE are much more cost effective, so I find taking two is worth it. Anyways, don’t get hooked on the bolt thrower, there are other things to take and your archers will do the shooty job just fine. So, if you think cannons are for cowards who don’t know how to fight you might have fun playing HE.
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| http://violinsane.deviantart.com/art/I-Love-Dragons-160281980 |
Finally, Beasts, Monsters, and Lions, oh my! HE have some pretty cool beasts/monsters (ummm Dragons, I rest my case) and they are all semi-useful. If chariots get your goat, you can’t go wrong with a White Lions Chariot, it’s at the very least comparable to any other armies chariot(s) and probably at the top tier of the list. Moving along, Eagles are a must for any list. Why you ask? Well, they are going to mess up those warmachines that you don’t have; and who are raining death on your troops; who apparently think light armor with toughness 3 is just fine. Now, there are other strategies for dealing with Warmachines, but I find the tried and true method (and one that gives you a great deal of flexibility) is to use Eagles. Next up, (and my favorite) Dragons come in different flavors, each with different point levels and stats. Pick one that fits your army, but you might as well pick one of the top two if you are sinking the points. Griffons and ridden Eagles are the poor man’s Dragon and serve a similar purpose, that is, get your character into combat or to harass something. Now the problem they are all going to have is they are all going to be a prime target for warmachines and most of the time you need to put a semi-expensive character on them which tends to make them less worth it in the end (i.e. multiple wound cannon shot + expensive mount and rider = infinite sadness, 4+ flat-out save anyone?). I’ll sometimes field a Dragon Rider or a Griffon Rider for fun, but my Bread-N-Butter HE list has neither (This also could be because my Meta is against Dwarfs). If you like the idea of Elves riding around on mythical monsters bringing pain and death to your enemy and don’t particularly care that most of them will die horrible deaths to lead poisoning (of the cannon-ball variety) then you might have fun playing HE.
High Elves are a ton of fun and I think my experience playing them has made me a better Dark Elf player. You will have to ultimately find the army that fits your style best, but if you are like me and crave close combat with an affinity for Dragons the HE are probably going to be hard to pass up. Just remember, don’t get discouraged when your troops start to die, it’s going to happen, you just need to remember to return the favor ten-fold when you get in close combat.
So there you go. Just a brief beginner’s introduction to HE. I didn’t get into specific units, you should be able to pick out the best ones and I find that most are acceptable if used properly, just don’t go crazy and get 5 units of 5 Ellyrian Reavers or anything. On a final note, I contemplated doing a DE beginner’s introduction as well, but realized it would be four sentences… War Hydra… Black Guard… Sacrificial Dagger… Cauldron of Blood… Ok, ok, it’s not that simple. I’ll maybe write something up later if I have time.
High Elves are a ton of fun and I think my experience playing them has made me a better Dark Elf player. You will have to ultimately find the army that fits your style best, but if you are like me and crave close combat with an affinity for Dragons the HE are probably going to be hard to pass up. Just remember, don’t get discouraged when your troops start to die, it’s going to happen, you just need to remember to return the favor ten-fold when you get in close combat.
So there you go. Just a brief beginner’s introduction to HE. I didn’t get into specific units, you should be able to pick out the best ones and I find that most are acceptable if used properly, just don’t go crazy and get 5 units of 5 Ellyrian Reavers or anything. On a final note, I contemplated doing a DE beginner’s introduction as well, but realized it would be four sentences… War Hydra… Black Guard… Sacrificial Dagger… Cauldron of Blood… Ok, ok, it’s not that simple. I’ll maybe write something up later if I have time.
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