High Elven Tactics

Ok, here you have some High Elven tactics. These are tactics for fighting most armies. The most tactics have grown from a basis of fighting Chaos Warriors, so they should work on Gobbos too. ^_~

Characters

The General: The General shall always be given some sort of armour. If he“s on foot, give him the Armour of Meteoric Iron(+2 save). If he“s riding an Elven steed, give him Ithilmar armour, a barded steed and the Enchanted Shield(Thus giving him a save on +1). If you intend on having a General on foot, always have the White Lions as his bodyguard, as they will never flee and are immune to psychology as long as the General is alive. If he“s riding an Elven steed, amke sure he“s accompanied by a regiment of fully upgraded Silver Helms or Dragon Princes of Caledor. You should have a magical standard to help him and at least a Champion to lead the regiment he“s accompaying. The standard of Shielding is great and so is the Dread Banner.
When it comes to weaponry, give him a suitable magical weapon, but if he“s with White Lions (you can count him as White Lion then, if you want) You can give him a double-handed axe. It doesn“t really matter. He“s a formidable foe for anyone, anyhow.
And last but not least, the only time you should give him the Crown of Command, is when he“s mounted on something like a Gryphon or a Dragon. While wearing the Crown of Command and being mounted on one of these beasts, means that he can be able to fly around a bit and pick on weak enemy troops and bolster your own troops Leadership, at the same time.

Mages:I always try to include a Champion Mage with a Dispel Scroll. And the Jade Amulet. (+2 save against first wound inflicted gives any Mage some survivability if he“s charged) Another good option is to place him on a Barded Elven steed. That gives him a save on +5. That“s good for a Mage. You should also give him some sort of other protection. Wards are great for this work. As Elven Mages aren“t allowed any other weapons than swords, so just forget any strength boosting weapons like halbreds. And lastly, the best bodyguards for Mages are the Sword Masters of Hoeth. It just fits so good in with their history.

Heroes: Heroes sjould only be used in battles over 2,000 ponits, because High Elven Heroes are immensly expensive. And if you have the points, put him on a Great Eagle so he can fly around the battle field and harass weak enemy units, like skirmishers. And give the hero some sort of protection. This is VERY important. Because if he isn“t properly armoured and gets challanged by a Chaos Hero or something like that, he“ll last as long as a pogo-stick jumper does in a minefield.

Special Characters: Only take special characters when it calls for them. When facing Dark Elves, take Alith Anar. When facing Gobbos, take Eltharion. And when facing the unpure deamons of Chaos, that“s when the most powerful High elves comes into play; Alarielle, Tyrion, Teclis and Imrik. This is my advice.

Regiments

Dragon Princes of Caledor: They requier a banner to fight for you, the cost 43 points each, but they kick serious butt. The good sides are more than the bad. They get a Standard Bearer at the same cost as an ordinary Dragon Prince, they get magical banners at half cost, they have an armour saving throw of 2+, which can be improved by a very cheap magical banner, The Standard of Shielding. These guys are the heaviest unit in the High Elven army. Use them well.

Silver Helm Knights: These can be used in two ways:
1. As heavy cavalry.
2. Light cavalry.
I prefer to have a middle way. I give my Silver Helms Heavy Armour, Lance and Shield. Without the Barded Steeds, they have a move of 9" and still have pretty good protection; 3+ in save. But that“s a matter of taste. Oh, and take them in regiments of at least 10 warriors, with Standard and Musician. Preferably a Champion. Smaller regiments are useless. Mainly because if Silver Helms can“t break the enemy in the first round of h-t-h combat, they“re not gonna last long. They“re not like the Bretonnian Knights of the Realm, and therefore an elven player needs completly different tactics for his knights, right?

Ellyrian Reavers: These guys are perfect harassing troops. They are the perfect hit-and-run soldiers. I know, Dark Elves have their Dark Riders. So what? They are exactly the same. The tactics for using Reavers is to have them in regiments of 7 or so. Always equip them with bows and light armour. If you have the points, give them spears and shields too. This means they have some chance of killing weak enemies in h-t-h combat. But the main reason in taking Ellyrian Reavers is for their harassment value. Deployed in skirmish formation and armed with bows, they can get round the enemies easily and take out War Machines and small regiments from behind. Use them well, and don“t let anyone charge them. If some one does, scratch one Reaver regiment.

White Lions: There is nothing like these warriors. For only 16 points, you get a warrior with a strength of 6, an extra save against shooting, three special attacks and is bodyguard for the General if he“s with them on foot. The bodyguard rule is great. No Leadership test, no psychology tests. The Woodsman rule make them perfect Wood Elf killers. The three special attacks thanks to their Woodsman“s axe, makes them hideous opponents even for Chaos Warriors. And the strangth of 6 makes them the strongest troops in the High Elven army. If you take a regiment of these, always include a Standard Bearer and a Musician. Try to include Korhil too. He“s expensive, but great.

Phoenix Guard: Never used them. Don“t know so much about them.

Sword Masters: These guys are another great elite force in the High Elven army. They can knock arrows out of the air and are so quick they are second to none. This means they can deal out one strangth 5 attack each before the enemy if the Sword Masters charged. But beware of heavily armed enemies. The Sword Masters are quick, but not so quick that they can outrun cavalry. Their relatively low armour save; 5+, means that you“ll have to hope for much when they get hit.

Spearmen: Agreeably the best Spearmen in the game are the High Elven ones. They can have heavy armour (Ithilmar) and shields without being slowed down. They can fight in two ranks when moving and three when stationary. And most regiments are big and relatively cheap.
A quick tip: Always try to give them heavy armour and try to have the regiments on at least 20 warriors strong. Always include Standard, Musician and a Champion. They won“t survive too many rounds of combat without these extras.

Archers: The only archer that are better than the High Elven are the Wood Elven.But still, the High Elves survive longer than Wood Elves. High Elf Archers can be given light armour and they can fire in two ranks when stationary thanks to the Citizen Levy system. And always give them a Standard and a Musician. They are sure to be charged by enemy flying units, like Terradons and Harpies. Long Bow are also a must. They“re worthless without Long Bows.

Lothern Seaguard: Combine the tactics for Spearmen and Archers.

Shadow Warriors: High Elven equialent of Scouts. Use them in skirmish formation and "snipe" at the enemy. Give them light armour and, voilą! You have Archers with a save on 5+, can fire in two ranks when stationary, can work in skirmish formation and hate Dark Elves. And the thumbrule with all High Elven Archers is; Always, always Long Bows. Goes double on these warriors.

War Machines

Repeater Bolt Throwers: Always try to take at least two of these babies. They are devastating against heavily armed enemies with low toughness. It“s fun seeing the face of a Chaos Warrior player when he finds out that his Chaos Knights with save 1+, are picked down easily by the mutiple shot of a Bolt Thrower. Put them in batteries, without reach for the War Machines of the enemy, but within reach of the cavalry units of his/her army.

Tiranoc Chariots: Better than most other chariots in the game. It“s crew have a WS of 5, and with spears, they“re lethal. And don“t forget the bows. Always give the Chariot scythes (great impact) and never give the Steeds barding, it only slows them down. Charge as fast as the opportunity appears,a nd preferably it should be done against the same target as your heavy cavalry charges, and at the same time. Such a chrage makes short work even of Chaos Knights.

Dragons.

Dragons play an important roll in the High Elven history and never count out the fact that High Elven Lords are the most fearsome opponent anyone can meet if he“s mounted on a Dragon. Try to get the Lord on a Great Dragon. If you can get him on an Emperor Dragon, it“s even better.
When it comes to choosing color on your Dragon, choose a color that suits the mission. I prefer Ice(white) and Electrical(blue) Dragons. The Ice Dragons can freeze your enemies, and frozen enemies can“t fight back. A very tactical weapon. Electrical Dragons send an electrical discharge against the enemy and the electrical bolt can leap from enemy to enemy a long time, before it finally dissipates. In that time, many enemies have died.

And lastly, here“s my 2,000 point High Elven army

Lord Cerion the Deamon Slayer, General
Long Bow, Fire Arrows (+1 S), Blade of Sea Gold (-3 save), Armour of Meteoric Iron (2+ save)

Korhil, Hunter Captain of the White Lions
Bodyguard, Woodsman, Woodsman“s Axe, the Axe Chayal, the Pelt of Charandis

11 White Lions of Chrace with Standard and Musician
Woodsmen“s Axe, Woodsmen, Bodyguard, Lion Pelts, Shields.

9 Silver Helm Knights with Standard
Heavy armour, shields, lances, barded steeds, Standard of Shielding (1+ save)

Gwyndon the Champion Mage
Sword, Barded Elven Steed, Dipel Scroll, joins the Silver Helm Knights

17 Spearmen with Standard and Musician
Spears, heavy armour, shields, Citizen Levy
Moranion, the Spearman Champion
Spear,heavy armour, shield, Citizen Levy

17 Elven Archers with Standard and Musician
Light armour, long bows, swords, Fire Arrows (+1 S)

2 Repeater Bolt Throwers
The crew wears light armour, swords. Shoots single or mutiple shots.

Upgraded Arrows

For you out there who wants to use upgraded arrows, here are the rules:

Fire Arrows: May be used by any Archer in any army. Gives the arrow a strength of +1S and it does two wounds instead of one on easily burned creatures like mummies and treemen. Costs 2 points/model

Ice Arrows: May be used only by Kislevites, Dark Elves and Shadow Warriors in the High Elven army. Shoot as normaly. If you score a wound and do not kill the target, roll a dice. On a 4+, it freezes the opoonent solid and he can only escape on a 4+. Note: Frozen models may not fight back if attacked. Certain spells can unfreeze it; Fiery Convocation, Fire Ball, the two fires of Tzeentch, Scorch, and of course Fire Arrows. Take heed! The spell may harm the model frozen, so this is a risky tactic. Costs 2 ponts/model.

Light Arrows: May only be used by Generals in these armies: High Elves, Wood Elves, Empire and Bretonnia. They give +2 in strength to the bow, and gives no armour saving throw for deamons, what soever. Undead (ie vampires, skeletons, wraith“s etc..) suffer two wound instead of one if wounded. These arrows are not affected by the ethereal rule that applies to some Undead models. Costs 6 points.