All I know at the moment is that I am determined to use the Loremaster in any list I run, as I am absolutely sold on him and love the concept.
With the Loremaster being my main caster I see the BoH as being essential on him in order to make the most out of the PD I have access to, which leaves me with 45pts to play arond with his build.
Without testing him first though I will just have to trial and error different builds for him and units to babysit him until I find a combination that works for me.
Build Ideas
A few ideas I have are:
1. BoH & Armour of Silvered steel.
Gives him a 2+ AS to keep him alive in combat, combined with 5+ regen from earthblood and recovering wounds from lifebloom I see this as the most tanky option for him.
2. BoH, Shield of the Merwrym, Sword of Might, Golden Crown
This drops him down to S5 but gives him rerolls to hit. It also gives him a cheap 4+ parry save in combat and a 2+ ward against his first wound suffered. Kind of a jack of all trades build, which is fitting for his role in an army.
3. Boh & Talisman of Preservation
More typically seen on an archmage. Not to sure if I am keen on it for the Loremaster though. It does offer him protection from deathsniping, but I aim to have him in combat a lot which will help, and I will be running a scroll caddy mage as well to help. It also doesn't work very well in conjunction with earthblood which I think is a spell he should be trying to cast every magic phase.
4. BoH, Cloak of Beards & Glittering Robes
A bit of a gimmicky Idea that stemmed from my recent ame against nurgle daemons. It isn't going to make him any tougher, but at WS6 with -1 to be hit and easy access to both Miasma and Iceshard blizzard, it can the opponent need 6's just to hit him. If the opponent fails their fear test they will also be hitting on 6's. Not being hit is the best way of not taking damage after all.
Spell Priority
Wow, 8 spells, I don't think I've ever had that many spells before, even when I ran a Silver wand archmage and a support caster. The incredible thing is that they are all on one caster. Which begs the question, which ones do I cast and when? lets assume an average magic phase of 7 dice. With the books ability to trickle cast We are looking at a few spells going off a turn, especially due to the low casting costs.
So lets look at what he has: ( note all dice for reliable casting attempts are for unboosted versions of spells)
Fireball. Cast on a 5+ (1 dice)
Easily one diceable with the book. Good range on the basic spell, and boostable. This spell should be used every magic phase in the early game to help clear out chaff so we can dictate movement using our own reavers and eagles.
Wyssans Wildform. Cast on a 10+ (3 dice)
Once combat this is priority number one. Turning our flimsy elves into a fighting machine. Early game it is near useless unless facing a lot of low Str shooting.
Searing Doom. Cast on a 10+ (3 dice)
Completely dependant on the opponents list and army to be honest. It also has quite a high casting cost for its damage output. Against Empire, WoC and DE Hydras it is a high priority early game, against other armies leave it on the bench.
Shem's burning gaze. Cast in a 5+ (1 dice)
The same as fireball in it's basic form. Has a nice affect against undead and daemons though. The boosted version also raises it to Str 6 which makes it good for shooting at monsters due to it's high Str and flaming attacks. Depending on which army you are against pick between this and Fireball early game... Or use both.
Earthblood. Cast on a 8+ (2-3 dice)
Very important. Being able to give your whole unit of White Lions and himself 5++ regen is fantastic, straight from the start of the game to the finish. In addition to this great buff the lore attribute lets him recover a wound he has suffered prior. This gives him a lot of staying power in combat. I would suggest trying to cast this spell most turns if the lore master is in a powerful combat unit such as White Lions.
Iceshard Blizzard. Cast on a 7+ (2 dice)
An absolutely excellent spell for the cost. It protects our troops from warmachine's and shooting early game, increases our survivability and our chances of breaking the opponent mid to late game. As far as I'm concerned this spell should be attempted every phase, unless your opponent has no shooting early game.
Miasma. Cast on a 5+ (1 dice)
Very diverse spell. Lets us take away movement and BS early game, and WS and I late game, ensuring that we are harder to hit and our GW elites will still strike first. There is no reason no to try one dice this in an attempt to draw out dispel dice every phase.
Spirit Leach. Cast on a 7+ (2 dice)
With the new FAQ it's not the best spell for picking off characters anymore, but still has it's uses against low LD armies such as OnG. It is also good for picking off monsters that wander out of their generals LD range such as a Chimera. It is quiet a specific spell with a low range, so for that reason I would save your dice for something better.
My current idea for a list is as follows but is subject to change:
Code: Select all
+++ 8th Edition High Elves (2498pts) +++
+++ 2500pt High Elves 8th Ed Roster (Standard)) ++
+ Lords + (330pts)
* Loremaster of Hoeth (330pts)
Great Weapon, Heavy Armor
* Magic Items
(AB) Book of Hoeth, (BRB) Armour of Silvered Steel
+ Heroes + (601pts)
* Mage (110pts)
Lore of Heavens
* Magic Items
(BRB) Dispel Scroll
* Noble (329pts)
Dragon Armor, Great Weapon
* Griffon
Swiftsense, Swooping Strike
* Magic Items
(AB) Golden Crown of Atrazar, (AB) Star Lance, (BRB) Enchanted Shield, (BRB) Potion of Foolhardiness
* Noble (162pts)
Battle Standard, Heavy Armor, Lance, Shield
* Elven Steed with Barding (Hero)
Ithilmar Barding
* Magic Items
(BRB) Dawnstone, (BRB) Dragonhelm, (BRB) Ironcurse Icon
+ Core + (644pts)
* Archers (220pts)
21x Archer, Longbow, Musician
* Ellyrian Reavers (105pts)
Elven Steed, Light Armor, Musician
* 5x Ellyrian Reaver
5x Spears and Bows
* Ellyrian Reavers (105pts)
Elven Steed, Light Armor, Musician
* 5x Ellyrian Reaver
5x Spears and Bows
* Silver Helms (214pts)
Elven Steed, Heavy Armor, High Helm, Ithilmar Barding, Lance, Musician, Standard Bearer
* 8x Silver Helm
8x Shield
+ Special + (683pts)
* Phoenix Guard (330pts)
Halberd, Heavy Armor, Keeper of the Flame, Musician, 20x Phoenix Guard, Standard Bearer
* White Lions of Chrace (353pts)
Great Weapon, Guardian, Heavy Armor, Lion Cloak, Musician, 21x White Lion
* Standard Bearer
(AB) Banner of the World Dragon
+ Rare + (240pts)
* Frostheart Phoenix (240pts)
Created with http://www.battlescribe.net. BattleScribe
I've opted to trial the tank build first as I think keeping him alive is more important than increasing his damage output. He will be running with the unit of Lions with the banner of you can't touch me to help add to his survivability.
This also gives me a chance to trial the cruise missile Griffon Noble. With the target saturation between him and the phoenix and access to 2 ice shard blizzards It a should help him to reach the combats he wants to.