Warhammer/Tactics/8th Edition/Host of the Eternity King

The Host of the Eternity King is an army composed of three kinds of Elven forces: High Elves, Dark Elves, and Wood Elves. United by the recently appointed (and second rightful) Phoenix King Malekith. They stand together against the encroaching evil of Chaos and Nagash as they bring about the The End Times.

Interestingly there are three variants of this list: the more complete Host of the Eternity King (after Malekith becomes the Eternity King), the Host of the Phoenix King (after Malekith becomes the Pheonix King but before he becomes the Eternity King) and the Aestyrion which are the forces of the Tyrion, who becomes the Avatar of Khaine. See the links below for the tactics relating to these other branches.

Warhammer/Tactics/8th Edition/Host of the Phoenix King

Warhammer/Tactics/8th Edition/Aestyrion

Why play Host of the Eternity King

Because you fucking love Elves and you think that Malekith was screwed out of his birthright. Or maybe you just like winning.

This army combines everything people know and love about the different elf factions (minus several special characters).

Army Special Rules

• Arrows of Isha: Shooting attacks are Magical Attacks, -1 Armour Save for the Forces of Destruction.
• Blessings of the Ancients: +1 to casting while in a forest.
• Eternal Hatred: You have hatred in every round of combat, not just the first.
• Forest Spirit: Forest Strider and all attacks are Magical Attacks, if it's not a mount it has Immune to Psychology and a 6+ ward save.
• Fireborn: 2+ ward save against wounds by Flaming Attacks.
• Hatred (Elves): Replaces Hatred (High Elves).
• Hekarti's Blessing: +1 to casting Dark Magic spells.
• Lileath's Blessing: +1 to casting High Magic spells.
• Martial Prowess: Supporting attacks can be made with one extra rank, Volley Fire can be done with one extra rank. Both are cumulative with everything else.
• Murderous Prowess: Re-roll all To Wound rolls of 1.
• Valour of Ages: If the opponent has at least one unit of Elves you get re-rolls to Panic, Fear and Terror.

Note, every unit with the rule 'Martial Prowess' gains 'Murderous Prowess' as well, while every unit with 'Murderous Prowess' has 'Martial Prowess' added.

Unit Analysis

Lords and Heroes

Named Characters

• Malekith, the Eternity King: Okay, first of all, Malekith in this format is basically supposed to be Nagash's counterpart for the Lore of Shadow, so you're paying 1000 points for him right off the bat. Malekith used to be aimed at being straight-up killy, and he's still pretty good at it (WS8, S6 and 10 Attacks at Initiative 8, plus Seraphon's Noxious Breath, plus his attacks doing D3+1 Wounds per hit and don't forget thanks to Eternal Hatred and Eternity King Malekith re-rolls EVERYTHING ALL THE TIME). However, he's also aimed at being something of a support guy, what with his level 5 Lore of Shadow casting, ability to re-roll miscasts, boosting up anyone with Murderous or Martial Prowess in 12", and giving a free "turn one unit Ethereal and give 'em Movement 20 for the Remaining Moves subphase" type boost. He can fuck shit like nobody's business, and gives most of your crunchy guys a nice ol' buff, but he will attract cannonballs, spells and worse like a goddamned magnet. Virtually immune to being killed unless he gets focused or he's up against Daemons (or Organ Guns) because he still has the 2+ ward against all non magical attacks as well as ignoring multiple wounds and heroic killing blow. Run around and murder stuff like the obnoxious spoiled brat of a special snowflake you are. He does comparably well against nearly every other monstrous special character (watch out for Glottkin that have buffed themselves up as he'll be lucky to scratch them). In a straight up 1 v 1 fight with Tyrion Avatar of Khaine, both will probably end up killing each other Malekith should easily win, since he's immune to Widowmaker's multi-wound deathyness, and Malekith just needs two or three of his ten attacks (which will be rerolling to hit and to wound) to get past Tyrion's 1+/4+ and Heart of Avellorn (note that Asuryath Reforged loses the Flaming rule, so Tyrion's Fireborn is useless). Use magic correctly to ensure it is not a straight fight though.
• Imrik, Crown Prince of Caledor: Cheaper than Malekith at only 810, but just as badass - more so, in fact, since he's got +1 Strength AND Toughness on Malekith! A flying monster who specialises in killing other monsters, has a nifty rule that means all enemy monsters suffer -1 to hit him in combat (For Example, most of the big dangerous end times characters). You want to charge him into battle every chance you get, since he carries the Star Lance and it only works on the turn you charge. Definitely worth considering if you're going to take a bunch of other monsters, since he can give any Monster within 12" (and himself) Stubborn for a single turn per game. Problem with Imrik is he is an expensive beatstick who loses out against the other big monstrous characters. He destroys everything else, but lets face it, so does the rest of your army. Having to buy a level 4 wizard to go with him makes him not worth it compared to big daddy Malekith, since he isn't THAT much better of a fighter than the Eternity King. While both of them will easily get stuck in to basically every army's core choices, Malekith is better against big multi-wound units like Ogres, while Imrik is better at dealing with monsters and units with decent armour saves. However Imrik lacks both the magic as well as the survivability of Malekith. (3+ armour 5+ ward is very mediocre, even with T7 W10 he will go down to cannons) Against other End Times Characters he can hold his own against all but the most powerful combat ones (Tyrion, Malekith, Karl Franz Ascendant etc)
• Alarielle, Incarnate of Life: 540 points for pretty much the best damn healer the Elfs have. Auto-healing 1 wound to herself and every friendly model within 12", able to restore a single wound to a friendly character on top of that, granting a 6+ Ward Save and Regeneration to any allies within that 12" bubble, a level 5 Lore of Life caster who gets to reroll miscast results, you certainly can't do too bad by taking her. She's actually not a bad fighter, especially against Forces of Disorder (wounds on a 2+, rerolls due to Murderous Prowess, and multi-wound D6) but you probably want to rely on her casting spells first and foremost; use other characters for chopping things up. The fundamentally PERFECT Lord-level caster. Seriously perfect. Note that she loses the "Anathema to Chaos" and "Blessings of Isha" special rules in her Incarnate of Life version, which means she no longer auto-wounds daemons and she doesn't nullify Fear & Terror.
• Crone Hellebron: There are certainly worse characters to get choppy with, especially if you're taking a bunch of Witch Elves anyway. With all the Witch Elf upgrades, doing S10 hits, able to dish out automatic S4 hits on attackers who roll a 1 to hit, and boosting dispel attempts when enemy casters try to target her or the unit she's with, Hellebron can make mincemeat out of just about anything you throw her at.
• Alith Anar: Oh so squishy, and he's a scout, but the Moonbow makes him a monster-slaying fiend. Able to launch a D3 Wound-inflicting, Armor-ignoring S7 shot 36" across the battlefield, Alith Anar could be a lifesaver if going up against especially nasty characters and monsters in your enemy's army. With Deepwood Scouts and Waywatchers he now has some non-awful buddies to hang out with.
• Durthu: Definitely consider who you're fighting carefully before including this guy. With Large Target and Flammable, those 6s for Toughness and Wounds and his 3+ Scaly Skin save won't stop him from going down. On the other hand, he's fairly decent at killing things, between his 6 S6 attacks and his 2D6 S2 Killing Blow shooting attacks, to say nothing of the fact he's a level 1 Beasts caster. Still, not the best use of your points.
• Araloth: A glorified Glade Lord made for fighting on his own, in an edition where that's practically suicide. Skaryn's potential to drop an enemy character or monster's Initiative and Weapon Skill by -5 could be a lifesaver, but it's far from something you want to rely upon. Probably not worth it.
• Shadowblade: The nastiest assassin that the Dark Elves have to offer. What more needs to be said? It's hard to hold up anyone better suited to hunting down and killing off opposing characters.
• Caradryan: A suped-up Phoenix Guard who can potentially ride a Frostheart Phoenix. Definitely worth considering.
• Drycha: A rippy little infantry character who can "sneak" D3 Forest Spirit units onto the battlefield if it includes trees, as well as getting +2 Attacks for each Wound she loses and being a level 2 Shadow caster. Not a bad character, but kind of niche.
• Naestra & Arahan:

Generic Characters

• Dreadlord:

The generic Lord choice, him and the prince are essentially the same. The choice comes down to what kind of mount you want and which armory you want to use, as far as being killy all the time these guys are machines. The dreadlord has access to the Sea Dragon Cloak, meaning it's very easy to get a 1+ or 2+ armor save (for example, a Cold One mount, Heavy armor and SDC = 1+ save).

• Supreme Sorceress:

Pretty much exactly the same as the Archmage, except with access to slightly different magic items and the Lore of Dark Magic.

• High Beastmaster:

Wasn't really worth fielding in the Dark Elf still, and HOTEK doesn't really change that. He's ok if you really, really want to field a Manticore with a few free extra attacks.

• Black Ark Fleetmaster:

Like the Beastmaster, wasn't that great before, and that hasn't changed. Only really worth fielding if you are fielding a fluffy army.

• Prince:

The Harbinger of blood soaked justice, this guy is basically the poster child of 8th edition High Elves. Throw his ass on a mount or quit the game, and take Dragon armor. If you put him on a horse make sure you take Ithilmar Barding. He's quite a bit cheaper than Imrik, and can be decked out to be almost as killy. Having access to the High Elf Amory you can make him either shooty or a tank. Don't take Armor of Caledor, take Dragon Armor and the Shield of Merwyrm. Its 15 points cheaper and gives you a better ward save; also saves room for more magic items.

• Archmage:

Still pretty amazing, make sure you upgrade him to level 4. Take his hero counterpart (mage) if you're running Alarielle to save on points.

• Anoited of Asuryan:

• Loremaster of Hoeth:

Got a huge boost out of the new Khaine magic rules, since he now knows 56 spells (all spells from all 8 standard Lores- he's actually the example the new rules use). That alone makes him pretty tempting to field.

• Glade Lord:

Has access to the Wood Elf archery stuff, so if you desperately want to field a pretty good shooty Lord who isn't named Alith Anar, then go for it.

• Spellweaver:

If the battlefield has a forest (sadly, you are no longer guaranteed one, unless you take the Acorn) she is essentially a level 5 wizard, and can take a bow on top of that. Pretty strong option.

• Treeman Ancient:

• Sorceress:

This sexy lady is 5 points cheaper than her High Elf counterpart and she has access to all eight Lores and Dark Magic, so take her unless you want to use High Magic.

• Death Hag:
• Khanite Assassin:

He's got poisoned attacks, hidden, and weapon skill 9. You can deck him out to be a dualist or a champ slayer. His use in the Army is really dependent on your need for him. Look closely at his potential when you are making your army list.

• Master:

Pretty much just a Hero version of the Dreadlord. Can be the BSB, and not a bad choice for it- give him a 1+ (see Dreadlord for how) and the Talisman of Preservation to keep him alive, and you can still have both hands free for a weapon that requires two hands, such as a halberd. Since you can take Banner of World Dragon in an elite unit like White Lions, Swordmasters, and Phoenix Guard, it's not necessary to have it carried by the BSB- and, in fact, you can have him join that unit and still get the 2+ ward, saving yourself the 45 points for the talisman (not to mention making it incredibly hard for that a bad roll for Dwellers to kill your BOTWD).

• Noble:

The BSB coice for High Elves. He's the same price as the Master, but he can take Dragon armor for 10. The choice between the two would be easy but the Noble cannot take The Banner of Avelorn if your playing as HOTEK. Take him and a Banner of the world Dragon if you're playing against Daemons of Chaos.

• Mage:

Really the only reason left to take this guy is for the High Elf Lore (and even then, that lore is better on an Archmage), after the first one you should really be taking Sorceresses.

• Dragon Mage of Caledor:
• Lothern Sea Helm:
• Handmaiden of the Everqueen:
• Glade Captain:
• Spellsinger:

Compared to Dark/High counterparts hasn't got access to Dark/High magic, but can take a snazzy bow and is basically level 3 while staying in a forest. Also, five points cheaper than Mage. Very good option.

• Shadowdancer:
• Waystalker:
• Branchwraith:

Core Units

With all the elves united, some core choices are simply better than others. Dark Elves have the strongest core while High Elves have the weakest.

• Dreadspears:

The second strongest of the three spearelves units thanks to Hatred (Elves), they would be quite solid if Elves were in need of more low strength attacks that hit first and accurately.

• Bleakswords:

Bleakswords are a better choice now with Martial Prowess, and make a rather useful bunker/sacrificial dagger fodder unit of 15. However, if you're looking for strength 3 Elf attacks, you're better off elsewhere.

• Darkshards:

Darkshards are your go to small arms fire unit, heavily benefiting from the addition of Martial Prowess. Units of 15-21 in three ranks with shields make for a solid, versatile ranged choice.

• Black Ark Corsairs:

A solid choice, they function as much more survivable but offensively weaker Witch Elves unit. Make solid small roadblock units. The 4+ Save is great on Infantry.

• Dark Riders:

Every bit as good as ever, Dark Riders are your premier Fast Cavalry choice in core, easily beating out Ellyrian Reavers and being a better deal the Glade Riders.

• Witch Elves:

Everyone's favourite (or least favourite) crazy ladies are back and better than ever in the Eternity King list. Although they have the defences of wet paper, they tear anything with low armour to shreds thanks to 3 poisoned attacks each, and in large numbers have been known to take down just about anything. They make a solid flanking unit, or alternatively a scary death star if you give them a Cauldron of Blood.

• Spearmen:

Since Hatred (Elves) is a slightly better rule than Valour of Ages, and the fact that their models are terribly outdated, there's no reason to take these guys.

• Archers:

Inferior to both Glade Guard and Darkshards, leave these at home unless you really want cheap bows.

• Lothern Sea Guard:

Already a marginal unit in High Elves, Sea Guard find themselves the master of nothing in the Eternity King list. Unless you can't live without their unique Bow/Spear combination, you're better off elsewhere.

• Ellyrian Reavers:

Although these guys are still a solid Cavalry choice, with Dark riders as an option there isn't really any reason to take them.

• Silver Helms:

Definitely the strongest core choice for High Elves, Silver Helms are still the only heavy cavalry core choice between the three armies and thus have a strong niche. They make a solid bus unit for powerful characters but should not be counted on for their offensive ability, especially off charge.

• Glade Guard:

Armed with Trueflight Arrows or Hagbane Tips, these are some of the best archers in the game with the addition of Martial Prowess. Use them in your backfield to soften targets or even take down war-machines if they have Hagbane Tips. Leave Swiftshiver Shards at home as they make them an inferior version of Darkshards.

• Dryads:

Most Wood Elf players still mourn the nerfing of Forest Spirits, and these guys got hit the hardest. They are even worse in an Eternity King army list as they do not gain Martial/Muderous Prowess like their Wood Elf allies.

• Glade Riders:

Take these guys instead of Dark Riders if you love enchanted arrows and/or the Ambushers special rule. Otherwise, Dark Riders are better thanks to their 4+ armour save.

• Eternal Guard:

The best of the spear wielding core choices thanks to a better statline, armour piercing and stubborn, these are your best anvil choice in core. They heavily benefit from the addition of Martial/Muderous Prowess, and should always be taken in at least 4 ranks to fully take advantage of their rules and equipment.

Special Units

• Cold One Knights:
• Black Guard of Naggarond:
• Shades: if you're looking for scouts, these guys can get the job done with aplomb. Probably not as awesome as Waywatchers, but if you don't have the points to spare for all the other rare choices, Shades are a solid stand-in.
• Cold One chariot:
• Han Ganeth Executioners:
• Reaper Bolt Thrower: Range 48", causes d3 wounds at strength 6 that ignores armor saves, and has an option to fire 6 shots at strength 4 and armor piercing, you can use up to 4 in a small army and 8 in a grand(3000pts) but now you can actually bring 8 bolth throwers in a small army using them with 4 of the high elves version since they are rare and this are special.
• Harpies:
• Scourgerunner Chariot:
• War Hydra:
• Lion Chariot of Chrace:
• White Lions of Chrace:
• Swordmasters of Hoeth:
• Shadow Warriors:
• Phoenix Guard: They used to be the best unit in the High Elf army, probably in the top 3 best units of the game. Now with Murderous Prowess, they will make your enemies scream as you can put a lot more pain on them.
• Dragon Princes of Caledor:
• Lothern Skycutter:
• Tiranoc Chariot:
• Wildwood Rangers:
• Wardancers:
• Tree Kind:
• Deepwood Scouts:
• Warhawk Riders:
• Sisters of the Thorn:
• Wild Riders:

Rare Units

• Doomfire Warlocks: Used to be one of the best units in the game, now warlocks are massively hampered by the new magic rules. Spamming doombolt is no longer guaranteed with them (as one failed casting attempt ruins the ability to cast it from ANY other unit that turn) boosted doombolt is no longer an option with them (due to random available casting dice). Since warlocks now have access to the full lore of death with the new magic rules, it is worth taking one unit of 5 for character sniping, and flank charging in combined combat. They can take their ward save against miscasts but not Slaaneshi units. If it helps these are rare while the Sisters of the Thorn are special.
• Bloodwrack Medusa: Don't bother. It's bad with a purely Dark Elf army; in a Host of the Eternity King there is always a better place to spend those points. Unless it's a fluffy battle, never take this unit.
• Kharibdyss: The Glass cannon of monster-killers was welcome in the Dark Elves and it is just as welcome here. Not the best rare choice for any elf force, but always among the top four at worst. If you're up against monsters or heavily armed opponents this is a welcome addition, especially with an escort of Sisters of the Thorn for life-healing goodness.
• Bloodwrack Shrine:
• Sisters of Slaughter:
• Eagle Claw Bolt Thrower:
• Flamespyre Phoenix: Recommended as a mount for an Anointed of Asuryan or against undead armies.
• Frostheart Phoenix: The only reason you won't take one of these is if you can't spare the points.
• Sisters of Avelorn:
• Great Eagles: As redundant in this army list as the Bloodwrack Medusa. Don't bother taking any of these.
• Waywatchers:
• Treeman:

Building Your Army

Army Composition

The first thing you got to remember is that which of the three "United Elf Forces" you're fielding, that determines what units you can use. For the Host of the Phoenix/Eternity King, that's not much problem; it's a noted list of special characters (the most powerful versions of Malekith and Alarielle can only be fielded in the Eternity King Host) and basically every High/Dark/Wood Elf unit you want (Host of the Phoenix King allows no Dark Elf Rare units and maybe half of the special units). The Aestyrion force, on the other hand, has a more restricted list of characters and units that it can use, as it's a very specific array of High/Dark Elves.