Kings of War/Tactics/Elves

Why Play Elves

Perhaps you like killing an army from across the board with magic and arrows. Maybe you like dragons, ponies, being super close to nature (hippy). Perhaps you've always wanted to collect an army of creatures that look as androgynous and stunning as David Bowie. If you play Elves, you probably like all these things. Elves are a fast glass hammer army that benefits from a commander that can use their maneuverability for maximum advantage. Overall, it Is a very fulfilling army that can look stunning on the table when painted right. Seriously you could fill an entire army of dragons or a well organized phalanx, both stunning sights on the battlefield.

For the wood elf theme list, see the Sylvan Kin

Army Special Rules

• Battle Hardened: Units have Elite in their main form of weaponry by default, granting a re-roll to all to hit rolls of 1. Because this is now split into Melee and Ranged flavours, your ranged troops won't be getting re-rolls in melee, which makes sense

• Elven Sabre-Toothed Hunting Cat: This grants the special rule Duelist, allowing you to double your attacks against enemy individuals

3rd edition

Infantry

• Kindred Tallspears: Mostly what they say on the tin. Like most elves they have solid nerve and speed 6, and they do have more attacks than their non-spear-wielding compatriots. However, they lack any CS, and they lack the staying power of your other infantry options while coming in only slightly cheaper. Also, they are no longer your only horde options. Unless you really, REALLY need the phalanx, you're gonna want to take Palace guard instead.

• Shield Watch Elves? With good defence? Surely an error? In all seriousness, the staying power on these is tempting. That said, hitting on 4s makes them not particularly deadly, and, ultimately, inferior to Palace guard. You might find a use if you're facing an army that lacks any real CS, or want a more conservative battleplan (if you do, why are you playing the games fasted army list though?). They'll also sit on objectives well even if you come under enemy fire.

• Forest Guard Pathfinder is... nice, but beyond that you're paying slightly more for a Palace Guard alternative that doesn't come in hordes and trades CS for TC, so although the regiments aren't objectively bad, you are literally never going to use them. Troops could be useful chaff in a list that is (somewhat) short of it.

• Palace Guard This is an excellent unit. Like all elves they are a little short of staying power, but they are solid and will churn out the damage. At least one horde will likely form the core of your army, and will one shot most all regiments.

Heavy Infantry

• Hunters of the Wild In the last edition they were an interesting choice from left-field. Not so anymore. Irregular? Check! As expensive as Palace Guard? Check! Loses Elite? Check! They have an attractive statline, but they are slower than the rest of your army, have no CS, and are just all-round look pretty ineffectual

Ranged Infantry

• Kindred archers Thematically, I hate this. Militarily, I'm more ambivalent. They are nothing like the elven archers of old, but they also are your cheapest unit, and they can still put out a bit of damage. But don't get it twisted - they are no longer a deadly machine that you can build an army around. You'll probably end up using them anyway, but the affront to the elves of having the canonically best archers in Pannithor field bowmen that are only mildly better than skeleton archers is infuriating to say the least.

• Kindred Gladestalkers They're irregular, which means you won't be taking lots of these. Luckily, you probably won't want to. Steady aim is nice, as is pathfinder, and they are your most accurate ranged option, but at 130pts a pop for troops (and more for regiments) their defence is abysmal. Unless you really need that combo of pathfinder and steady aim, these are, at least in my opinion, not great

• Therennian Sea Guard I really want to like these, and I somewhat do. A reasonable number of attacks and they hit on the same score as archers. However, that lack of ranged elite is likely gonna hurt, and the lack of CS makes them merely passable in melee. Useful, but a bit overpriced for a jack-of-all-trades, master of none unit

Cavalry

• Stormwind Cavalry* This is a pretty solid cavalry option. They hit hard, they move fast, and they have a reasonable amount of sticking power. Make sure you don't get them bogged down in melee, and consider bringing someone to bane-chant them if you're facing high defence enemies. They'll never be as good as Drakon riders, but this is an excellent, and very elven, unit, and it comes with invaluable unlocks.

• Silverbreeze Cavalry* I've seen some people suggest that you could use these as an effective gun line, and while I haven't had a chance to try that out, that seems a promising option. They put out a reasonable number of pretty accurate attacks, and they are very quick. And, while they are hardly indestructable, they are reasonably hard to kill, and not too shabby in melee at a pinch (especially if you use their maneuverability to get yourself some flank and rear charges). Their one flaw is that, in an army with a lot of irregular units, they are yet another one, so they won't be forming the core of your army.

Swarms

• Battlecats* Not sure what to make of these. They will die at the drop of a hat, and they won't provide much cover at Ht 1. They could be useful as general chaff, but at 80pts they are probably too expensive, without providing any real threat since literally anything can oneshot them. They'll annoy your enemy, but unless you have a specific plan for them, they're probably not worth it. They're irregular too, so no cheap unlock spamming.

Large Infantry

• Forest shamblers* They're quite tough, not overly expensive, ignore terrain, and will deal some damage. The problem is the shambling. Unless you're bringing a Tree Herder (which, to be fair, you might be), you'll find them infuriatingly slow in a fast-paced elven battleline, as literally no-one else has surge. That said, they'll sit on objectives nicely, and with scout and pathfinder they're not as bad as they look on the maneuvering front. If you have a use for them, great. If you don't and just want a unit that's a bit tougher, you'll do better with Shield Watch.

Chariots

• War Chariots* Slighly Silverbreeze. They lose the stand-out pace, the nimble, the bows are pretty poor, and they aren't good enough in melee to justify an inclusion. Also they are still irregular. They could be a nice option to harass the flanks, but likely, in spite of the beautiful models, they'll be staying on the shelf.

Large Cavalry

• Drakon Riders Speed 10, fly, CS1 and TC1. These are some pretty deadly hammers. They'll dart around the board, wreaking havoc and spreading terror. They're not tough, but a horde will break things. Shame they're irregular, but still one of the best weapons in your arsenal.

War Engines

• Bolt Thrower Since Archers are... ya know... bad now, these will be a more common sight. I personally love a war engine anyway. They're pretty reliable, and they have enough piercing and blast to do a bit of damage. They aren't gonna set the world alight, but they're a solid pick.

• Dragon Breath It's a flamethrower war engine. Most lists come with one, and the elves are no exception. Either you like them or you don't. Elite on the dragon breath is nice.

Heroes

• Tree Herder Now weirdly a hero, this is a nice bit of kit. It packs some surge for any Forest Shamblers you might be bringing, and is one of the two non-unique units in the main factions to come with Radiance of Life. Stick him in the middle of your melee line and he'll kick some ass, and his nerve and defence means your enemy will have trouble bringing him down while you bash their high defence crack troops. He'll also keep the rest of your army in the fight with Inspiring and the aforementioned Radiance of Life. Not cheap by any means, but a nice inclusion.

• Elven King Has mighty, so he can tie up his enemies, but he won't turn out a whole lot of damage is more killable than most comparable units. You may well find some theoretical use for him, especially since the Prince lacks inspiring, but since this is a list that is short on unlocks and long on good heroes and irregulars, he's probably superfluous on foot, if cheap. Kit him out with a horse and some items and he could make a good character hunter.

• Lord on Drakon The little brother of the dragon lord, he's clearly a lot less good, but also wayyyy cheaper. With only 5 attacks, but fly and nimble, you'll mostly be using him for flank charges, but that's a fair reason to take him. Also could make a good distraction against shooting-light armies - it can dart around and can roll with a couple of punches, while presenting a big-ass model and the permanent threat of flank charges.

• Elven Archmage With lightning bolt, heal, or bane chant she'll be a very nice support for you, or a nuisance in her own right. Master of Magic is also pretty nice, and this unit as a whole sits well with elven fluff, so I like her.

• Elven Prince A non-inspiring, pretty mediocre, hero. Some armies might bring his equivalent, but the elves are well stocked in the hero department. Not objectively bad, just never going to be the right hero for you to take.

• Army Standard Bearer Everyone has one. Stick him behind your line and get those rerolls. Or don't. Who cares.

• Dragon Kindred Lord This unit is an absolute weapon. Expensive as hell, but comes fully equipped to cut through your enemy. Just be aware that he's not actually a god, and if you lose your 315pts of Death Star early on you will be in trouble.

• Noble War Chariot Would be alright if it were a unit, but instead it takes up a hero slot and lacks inspiring. He'll chip away nicely at the flanks, but he's probably not worth bringing

Unique Units

• Madriga the Elf [1] Your enemy will find it difficult to lay a finger on her. Unfortunately, she also won't be doing much damage to them. A nice concept, and Trick Shot looks cool, but with no inspiring and limited damage output she's probably not worth it.

• Argus Rodinar Somewhat pointless character, but in a list that struggles for inspiring he might be useful now that he can move. Also his ability to cast his inspiring is something I feel you could make use of for some clever tactical maneuver (although I haven't managed to yet).

• Tydarion, Dragon Lord A somewhat more impressive (and more expensive) version of the Dragon Lord. The extra CS and inspiring range could be useful, but he drops nimble. Quite cool, but unless you're facing horde upon horde of defence 6 enemies this is probably not worth it.

2nd Edition

Hero

• Argus Rodinar: A unique hero that can't move, fight or damage the enemy in any way. He has a special spell which can inspire a single unit anywhere on the battlefield, which is very useful if you've got a unit out of range of any of your inspiring heroes. Stick him right in the corner of your deployment zone, or somewhere he's virtually impossible to reach.

• Army Standard Bearer: Your basic Inspiring hero. Can take a horse. A good source of Inspiring as this one is even cheaper than a prince, although it cannot take a Sabre-Toothed Pussycat if you were hoping for one. Stick him behind your lines and get that re-roll.

• Dragon Kindred Lord: Your big stompy flying monster, the Dragon is a highly effective. It's kinda pricey at 310 points, but if used in the right way its totally worth it. With 3+ melee, 10 attacks and Crushing Strength (3) it's pretty good in combat, but don't just charge it at the first available target, because it will get everything thrown at it, and NO unit in this game will stand up to sustained, focused attack. Don't ever let your dragon get pinned down, because its probably going to die. Instead, use it's speed and agility to fly around the battlefield and threaten your enemy, maybe shoot off its breath attack if the opportunity is there, and fly away somewhere else next turn. It may sound like an inefficient way to spend 300+ points, but remember your opponent will fear that dragon, having it land on a flank, behind the battle line or near his/her war engines (and possibly breathing fire on things) will force them to rethink their battle plan and commit forces to dealing with it, only for it to fly away out of reach in the next turn! In terms of magical artifacts, go for something that makes it more survivable such as Ensorcelled Armour, Medallion of Life or The Fog.

• Drakon Rider Lord: If you don't have the points for a Dragon Kindred Lord, the Drakon Rider Lord can fulfill a similar role for half the points (in which case try giving it The Boomstick or Diadem of Dragonkind as it it has no basic ranged attack). Alternatively, it can be used to lead a charge of cavalry and/or drakon riders, using its Inspiring to bolster other units and making a decent contribution to combat.

• Elven King: An upgraded version of a prince. For double the points of a prince you gain Inspiring. You get the same options as prince, but given that you're paying double the cost for a small upgrade you're better served just getting a prince.

• Elven Mage: The Elven bare bones caster. Comes standard with Heal (3), but can buy any spell currently in the game (except Sugre, you'll need a Tree Herder for that). Can be mounted on a horse like most of your heroes. Can also take a Sabre-Toothed Pussycat, if the spells aren't enough bang for your buck. With the customisation options with regards to spell choice, mages are a routine choice for the army. 'Naked' mages aren't really worth the 75 points they cost you, and mages with loads of spells are a waste of points (you can only use one spell a turn), so think carefully about what role you want your mage to fulfill when choosing spells. If you want them to defend against flyers and generally post a 'keep off the grass' notice, take Fireball (10). If you want to get rid of enemy heroes, take Lightning Bolt (5) and consider the Fenulian Amulet. If you want them to make other units better, go for Bane Chant (2) (and perhaps the Amulet of the Fire-Heart for the chance to heal as well as buff in the same turn). If you do just want a healer, then give a mage the Inspiring Talisman as this will also give you an extra source of inspiring, but bear in mind you can do exactly the same for 25 points less by giving an Army Standard the Healing Charm.

• Elven Prince: Your basic hero. A prince has Crushing Strength (1) and can be upgraded to take a Sabre-Toothed Pussycat and/or put on a horse. Not spectacular by any means, but cheap if you need a hero.

• Forest Warden: A smaller Tree Herder, being large infantry and having vanguard and nimble can help him have an impact in the game if he can pull a flank. If not then you are better served with a lord on chariot for a budget combat hero.

• Master Hunter: A guerrilla like elf hero perfect for your Legolas or Alith Anar fantasies, with good ranged(and piercing) and melee stats he will hit most of the time, and reroll half of his failures thanks to elite. Combined with decent survivability thanks to individual and stealthy despite his terrible defensive stats. Use him as a sniper, tanking advantage of his decent ranged stats and vanguard to get into cover and star popping shots like it's nobody's business. Overall, he is no Legolas or Alith Anar but he can fill those roles if needed. Keep in mind that he only has 3 shots(which can mean 2 wounds per shooting phase thanks to his stats), so make them count

• Noble War Chariot: The budget combat hero in case you are to poor to afford a drakon lord(let alone a dragon lord), unimpressive, but only costs 90 points and has 4 attacks, which combined with his bow and decent shooting ability can help him dent some units. Thunderous charge (2), being large cav and good Melee stats can help him be a serious threat if he can get a flank charge. Overall a decent support combat hero with ranged capabilities for only 90 points. Beware though, he has no inspiring.

• The Green Lady: This Living Legend unit has the highest Heal value in the game (8 dice with Elite). She also has 6+ defense, Regeneration (5+) is a source of Inspiring AND has Fly. On the downside, she's literally no good for anything else, you can't add magic items and she has no melee value or offensive spells. For 200 points you get a unit which is extremely hard to kill and provides excellent support to your troops. Also, if you're into your fluff she is Mother Nature, literally a god of Mantica, the only one of the Celestians who managed to hold their shit together and not be split into a Good and Evil aspect, and you've just got to take your hat off to that really.

• Tree Herder: A very solid hero/monster choice, good in combat and tough to kill. The herder is the only unit in the army that has Surge and it also has Vanguard, so if you're going down the Forest Shambler/Hunters of the Wild/Gladestalker route its a good idea to take this thing as well. If you want a combo that's virtually impossible to kill, take the Tree Herder, give it the Medallion of Life and throw in the Green Lady for good measure.

Infantry

• Hunters of the Wild: An oddball infantry choice. They have Pathfinder and Vanguard, but lose the army special rule of Elite. They only hit on a 4+, but have 20 attacks in a troop. This makes them hard hitters, but for some reason their attack increase doesn't scale decently at larger sizes. Take them in troops and use them to pursue more elite enemy units. A good use for those Wood Elf Dryads that were collecting dust.

• Kindred Archers: Your bow unit. They hit on 4+ at range, but only on a 5+ in melee. They can be taken in a horde if you need to fill a slot and are a solid choice for that purpose. Take two hordes and go second, remember to focus fire, get ready to drink tears.

• Kindred Gladestalkers: The elite version of archers. At a slight point increase you gain Pathfinder and Vanguard. Solid ranged choice, although they cannot be taken in a horde. Stick with archers unless you have a plan for vanguard.

• Kindred Tallspears: Your elf spear unit. Has Phalanx, as one might expect, but nothing else outside your army rules. They hit in melee on a 4+, which is slightly worse then Palace Guard. They are negligibly cheaper as well, but so little so that they don't really make the cut for utility while if you need a horde unit you're probably better served by Kindred Archers.

• Palace Guard: Your more generic elite infantry unit. They hit in melee on a 3+, a point better then Kindred Tallspears, and have a point better nerve. Comes standard with Crushing Strength (1) for the extra 'umph. They cannot be taken in a horde, unfortunately, but are otherwise better then Kindred Tallspears in every way, except survivability(Tallspears have phalanx, which helps against cavalry charges), though being both units elves that is not saying much.

• Therennian Sea Guard: A jack of all trades unit. They hit on a 4+ in melee, but also come with bows and the Phalanx special rule. Their nerve is also higher then usual, but unfortunately they are more expensive then any other infantry unit in the army. They also cannot be taken in a horde, meaning you'd be using them in another slot. Not terrible as they have some versatility, although only hitting on a 5+ at range is not terribly reliable. Giving them a Brew of Keen-Eyeness (+1 to Hit with Ranged Attacks) is usually a good idea tho it will make for a very expensive unit if taken in anything less than a Horde.

Large Infantry

• Forest Shamblers: Big treeman. These are not Elite, but they do have Crushing Strength (1), Pathfinder, Shambling, and Vanguard. Their Vanguard move is 12" and couples with Pathfinder, making them quite mobile for large infantry.

Cavalry

• Silverbreeze Cavalry: Shooty cav that can only be taken in troops. Nimble, so you can keep them safely out of harms way and get them where you need them to be.

• Stormwind Cavalry: The Elf list hurts for cheap heavy hitters. Stormwind have Thunderous Charge 2, so if you've not got room for more Drakon Riders, they fit the bill nicely.

Large Cavalry

• Drakon Riders: Every Elf list has Drakon riders, and was likely a reason why Fliers were nerfed a little in the Clash of Kings book. Even if you don't end up charging with them till late game, their 20 inch threat projection on some sweet sweet stats makes many a general do the peepee in the pants.

• War Chariots: A Horde of these is the same price as a Regiment of Stormwind Cav for the nearly the same statline with a slight bump to Nerve, and some bows. A Horde of Chariot's footprint is as large as Canada, however, so expect being flanked by everything on the table.

War Engines

• Bolt Thrower: Your only war engine. This one has Blast (D3) with Piercing (2) and the standard reload rules. Not spectacular by any means, but it is your only available option on this front. Both gladestalkers and archers can fill a similar role if you deploy them right, although this is cheaper and easier to reliably use.

• Dragon Breath: 15 Breath Attacks on a 90 point unit is nothing to shake a stick at. Cheaper than a troop of kindred archers, same nerve value, but with more attacks, hitting on 4+. However, unlike kindred archers, anything charging it triples their attacks as it's a warmachine, so will be evaporated the second anything gives them a sideways stink eye.

Tactics

Well, drawing comparison to the dead game, this elves try to combine aspects of wood and high elves, having access to monstrous infantry and abundant source of archers like the former, and elite cavalry and dragons like the latter. The one thing they lack is magic.Though this is more of a feature of kings of war as a whole. Yes, you have mages but these are strictly support units.

An elven army relies on 2 things: 1. The best ranged units in the game, your archer hordes will wreck havoc on anything that is foolish enough to stand without cover in front of them, making on average 5 wounds a turn to medium infantry or cavalry, and 3 wounds to heavy infantry or cavalry. Granted that might not look like a lot, until you realize that this is just one unit, and an army should have at least 2 archer hordes and 3 bolt throwers. So the number grows exponentially, meaning you can rout your opponents big beefy units before they even make it to melee. You will probably only have 2 turns of shooting, so focus fire and make them count. Also remember your mages, well mages with bane chant are a must if you run a gun-line in order to help turn the bows intro crossbows and make anything with armor fear you. Failing that give them fireballs or the circlet of blood(for blood boil). When the time comes to fix bayonets and receive a charge, then it is time for the elves other thing to make an appearance.

2. Strong cavalry and fast units, elves are murder machines when it comes to melee, granted, the lack of crushing strength in many of their units is baffling, but when you hit with a lot of attacks, the sheer volume will still dent any armor. Also their average speed for infantry is 6, which makes pulling charges and repositioning very easy. On the other hand their cavalry, particularly their monstrous cavalry, the Drakons is terrifying(and their models are terrible), lacking the traditional elves frailty while also packing quite a punch. So you can run your melee units as a counter-charge when your gunline gets compromised or go chase 2nd turn charges when after your ranged units have softened the enemy. Beware most of your units are glass canons though, so never ever get charged first.

The elven army is a mixed arms army that excels in having excellent specialized units(like every single other elf army in every single other game). Focus on letting each unit fulfill it's specific role at its fullest and for the love of Khaine make sure your army ALWAYS hits first or had decent countermeasures.