|
Home » Great Library at Hoeth » Book of Warfare » General » High Elves - General Tactics (6th Ed HE)
| High Elves - General Tactics (6th Ed HE) |
| By Bladestorm |
Hello fellow Asur.
I am looking to expand the number of tactics articles on our glorious site to hopefully create a more complete resource for our members although I do tip my hat to all others that have posted here, especially Ryo. As marks my first foray into the realm of tactics pages, you may have to bear with me. This particular page is focussed on the High Elves in general and details their strengths and weaknesses. Needless to say this will be of little use to the many veterans out there, but I hope it will be useful to some.
Also please note that this is based upon 6th ed HE and may not apply with the release of the new book. I will however, update it once I’ve got to grips with the new book.
High Elves : General Overview
The High Elves are an army for tacticians, who look for a challenge when playing Warhammer. They are best typified as ‘Fast but Fragile’. Their troops are reliable and swift, yet physically weak. This weakness is the main hurdle players face when using them, but the benefits outweigh this drawback.
Many people complain about all Elves being T3. However most armies are T3, apart from maybe characters, so this is not as much of a drawback as it would seem. Yet it does mean that High Elf infantry don’t last very long when under heavy attack. But be clever, and it won’t matter that much. Remember, were Elves, we think instead of just standing in a line behind our shields and pointing and shooting.
Movement
High Elves are the undisputed masters of movement in Warhammer, and are the fastest army in the game. Other armies may have faster basic units (Ogres spring to mind) but the HE mixture of fast basic infantry and even faster cavalry means they are the swiftest as a whole. M5 doesn’t look fantastic on paper, but on the table it is of infinite use. Unit-to-unit, HE can get the drop on enemies due to having a 2inch longer charge range, sitting outside an enemy’s reach whilst still threatening a charge. It also means HE armies can be where they want to be, thereby forcing the enemy to react to its moves and run rings around most defences.
In a game where movement is where the skill lies, HE have the advantage, and this is the HE army’s main strength, the ability to dictate the flow of play and thus control how the battle develops.
Shooting
Although overpriced and under-powered, HE shooting is not to be underestimated. Yes Archers are expensive, but they can reap their way through most basic T3 infantry with ease. They effectively hit on 4s (long range) whereas most other races hit on 5s, meaning statistically more kills. Although unlikely to cause great amounts of damage themselves, they are very useful for softening up enemies for an assault.
Both Throwers, although again overpriced, are the most reliable war machine in the game. Whereas other war machines will be hampered by loss of crew, BTs will keep churning out the shots until both crew are dead. The multiple shot option also makes it very versatile, and well able to take down cavalry as well as massed infantry. Two tips, Use the multi shot option unless taking down big creatures, your much more likely to cause wounds, also always take two, one will make little impact.
Magic
The general rule of magic is that you need to invest a lot of points for it to be effective. This is also true of the HE but you will be rewarded more if you do pay the price. As a member of the ‘Big 3’ (HE, Empire and Lizardmen) HE mages can choose any Lore of magic, allowing them to choose the best for the situation. It is therefore worth writing out a summary sheet for each spell list to allow you to choose better for each battle.
They also get their own Lore: High Magic. A more versatile spell list you will not find. It is mainly damage and magic disruption, with Drain Magic being fantastic (The look on an opponents face when their super-expensive wizard cant get a spell off is priceless). Flames of the Phoenix and Vaul’s Unmaking are also game-winners. Yet this does come with a downside. Versatility means that typically, when you need damage spells, you’ll get Walk Between Worlds and Fortune is Fickle. This is offset slightly by the Seer honour, so it is a good idea to take it if you can spare the points.
Finally, the +1 to Dispel does look that much on paper, but it will save your hide sooo many times. Trust me.
Combat
Ah. Yeah…. Here we reach a sticking point. Under the current version of the rules, HE have a hard time in combat. With the plethora of WS and T4 troops in use, HE lose their main advantages in combat. HE rely on the To Hit chart for their strength, hitting most troops on 3s. This theoretically allows them to kill enough enemies to protect their T3 selves from return attack, but it rarely works out, unless your playing Empire or Goblins.
The sad fact is that most HE infantry have a 5+ save, even their elites, meaning they can’t take much punishment. Therefore attempts must be made to kill as many as possible before they can return attacks. Characters help this process immensely. The fact the HE usually strike first in combat also helps. HE spearmen with their 3 ranks have enough attacks to generally see you through, whereas their elites have the strength to do the business.
General Tactics
Bearing this in mind we can see a certain slant taking form. High Elves are fast with good shooing and magic support, yet suffer slightly in combat. Therefore the clever HE general will identify his target, use his magic and shooting to soften up the enemy, then following this up with a rapid assault against weakened units.
This makes the identification of the target of great importance. Most armies will deploy in a battle line, due to the restrictive size of deployment zones. So before you start, identify the weak point in the opponent’s line. Then use your fast units to get them into position, use your extra movement to force the opponent to split his forces and reveal flanks for attack. Use your powerful magic and shooting to make the opponent player panic and wildly lash out with his units to attempt to avoid the magical barrage. When he’s split and in disarray, you have him. As already stated, this is the true power of the HE, the ability to decide the critical point of decision, and the skill to see their attack through.
Top Tips
If using cavalry, consider using multiple units of 5. This gives you more options, and also means one bad panic check won’t be as disastrous. Yet they will be more fragile and easier to destroy in this form.
Eagles are awesome, they are fantastically valuable in the plan mentioned above. Just watch out for guns. They don’t like guns.
Always try to have a two on one combat. HE are fragile in combat so stack the odds in your favour. You have the movement to get those flank charges.
The banner of Ellyrion on a unit of cavalry, combined with White Lions allows you to go largely where you want whilst being screened from enemy fire. Just make sure you have a model poking out the side so you can see and charge you opponents.
Army Builds
Two of the more competitive builds that are available to the HE are the Magic-heavy and All-Cav lists. Whilst these set-ups have the advantage of specialisation and strength in one area, they will suffer in others. The former has the risk of a large amount of points blowing up in you face, in the latter, if the attack stalls then its pretty much over for them. They are also slightly cheesy, and I personally prefer a balanced list.
However use them if you want, and they may work very well for you. And if someone moans that your being a nasty Elf and not playing fair, tell the Chaos player not to take Chosen, tell the Goblin player to field 10-man units, and tell Dwarves to come to battle without any ranged weapons. That should shut them up.
All the best on the field of battle, and remember, use your head.
Bladestorm
|
|
|
|
