Warhammer/Tactics/6th Edition/High Elves

Why play high elves?

Because you like elves and you like a challenge. High elven units in 6th edition have high stats in most categories but are very pricey and easy to kill. So you opponents will almost always outnumber you and you do not have dwarf-like heavy infantry who can easily soak up the damage. However, HE are still one of the most mobile armies in the game and boost an array of interesting units to chose from. ===

Army Special Rules

• Immune against panic when fighting Dark Elves: Keeps your units from flying in panic and given the high LD of your army it makes them really reliable against Dark Elves.
• Intrigue at the court: Your general gets (somewhat) randomly chosen. Not such a big issue as always stated due to high moral around the board and in smaller battles a good 50% chance at least that the right candidate is chosen but still a very fluffy rule but with only drawbacks

Units Analysis

Lords & Heroes

• Prince: The embodiment of the whole issue with the army. Pricey, easy to kill (for a general) but still somewhat deadly when he gets the change to shine. His LD10 is not that important due to the court intrigues not guaranteeing him to the be general so you have to think twice if you actually bring one. If you do so there are several good options and one bad one. Never bring him (or any general other than dwarfs for that matter) on foot. He is an interesting choice on a steed with a 2+ safe and two handed weapon but if you want to go big get him a griffon, a golden shield or armor of protection and a great weapon. Alternatively the quick gold blade (+3 A) to make him a light infantry killer or the bow of the seafarer to get a flying spear thrower that hits on 2+ most of the time - truly nasty. A dragon is o f course the most powerful option but usually not worth sinking in even 120points more.
• Archmage: For most lists around 2000 points probably the better choice, the archmage packs a serious magic punch for 255 points (lv4) which is pricey but certainly better than the alternative of 260 points for 2 lvl 2 mages. White magic is not half bad but most of the time you will want to bring lore of the heavens for rerolls and some truly powerful indirect damage spells. both his mounts are great. Lots of good gear to kit him out, just make sure you have a high chance to get the spells you want and some additional dice or bound spells to get at least one spell each round through.
• Noble: Nobles are a crucial addition to your army. Since most of your units lack the killing power of their own, your nobles will have to do some of the heavy lifting. Greatweapons or at least a lance when mounted are crucial here for additional strength 6 attacks for your units. Best used on a steed supporting your cavalry and with a 2+ save but it also pays off to have one on a great eagle for easy flanking or war machine hunting.
• Mages: pricey and on their own will not win a match for you. I recommend bringing one with scrolls or just go with an archmage and never look back. If you want to try magic spam then bring two and an archmage or otherwise you might not have the dice or spells to dominate. Lore of heavens is great as always but white magic or fire magic might also be viable. Depending on the lore get a steed or hide one in a forest out of sight or least preferred option an infantry block but usually you will not have a spare unit for protection.

Core Units

• Bowmen: Here is the first black sheep of the army. For 12(13) points you get strength 3 shots at BS 4... not great in an army already grasping for any spare points for more useful units. They are not completely useless though and on a hill they can be somewhat effective. They do have two times when they can truly shine though - against goblin fanatics (or the slayer equivalents) and if you fight an enemy with a lot of light cavalry they can guarantee that your mobility domination is somewhat secure. Still, overall not an essential unit that will not win you battles and very overpriced for what they can do.
• Spearmen: Unless your enemy brings high toughness or high save armies the spearmen are your best infantry unit. potentially 16 attacks if 5 wide in 6th edition is huge and they can take potentially a magic banner (probably better for your silver helms though). M5 also means they are likely to get the charge against enemy infantry. As most units they are very easy to kill though and 11 points are not cheap but you should still bring at least 20 to get rank bonus. Since not a lot of enemies will be able to reliably take them on 1:1 they are a great tool to force your enemy to do something about them or avoid them.
• Lothern Sea Guard: No. 4-5 points more expensive than spearmen for a measly bow. I love the fluff and the concept but they are not worth it. Other than that refer to the Spearmen and Bowmen entry.
• Silver Helms: The star of the army list. 19(21,23) points for very good M8 heavy cavalry in core. This is a big deal and ensures you can deliver heavy blows against most enemies where you want to. One unit of 5 probably will not kill a lot due to strength 3 so I prefer using several of them supporting each other or supported by other fast units. Give one unit a battle banner and embed some nobles for killing power and silver helmets will ensure your enemy will regret any opening in his battle line you can exploit.

Special Units

• Ellyrian Reavers: Excellent companions for your silver helms. Never take a bow unless you coincidentally have some point left in your list though but armed with spears and as fast cavalry with M9 reavers are your best cavalry for quick warmachine or shooting unit hunting. Take a banner and musician only or just go without for "just" 90 points which is really a steal in this army. Essential special choice and the best redirecter you have.
• Dragon Princes: Weapon skill 5, M9 and good against fire attacks for 3 points more than a silver helm. Not bad but also not a big update over silver helms in most cases. Also 50pts for a magic banner and 25pts for a magic item for the champion. Against Bretonnians they become essential with a noble in them so that you have heavy cavalry that gets the charge in first but otherwise not essential. The magic banner can give some nice possibilities but due to their looks and elite status they will already attract a lot of enemy shenanigans so you have to do a risk assessment if you want to make the unit even more expensive.
• Swordmasters: Possibly your best elite infantry but very squishy. Still for 2 points more than spearmen you get strength 5 attacks that often attack first. In a direct comparison the spearmen would defeat the Swordmasters probably but if your enemy brings heavy infantry or stuff like ogres the Swordmasters will perform well.
• Shadow Warriors: Even more expensive than Bowmen the shadow warriors are highly situational. Their shooting is nothing great, they are too expensive for skirmisher baiting and in melee they are abysmal (no banner or musician and a useless champion). For me a hard pass but in some situations they can be effective in distracting your enemy in difficult terrain like woods.
• Tiranoc Chariot: 2 for one elite slot and can be used by your heroes. Not bad since you get guaranteed strength 5 impact hits on a M9 chariot and 2 elves with spears but the lack of scythes and a save throw of 5+1 hurt its effectiveness a bit. Not bad to support your cavalry charges though. Only use characters in them if you know you are not going to face strength 7 attacks but even then better not rely on them as a character carrier even if the model looks amazing.

Rare Units

• Phoenix Guard: At 15 points way too expensive for what they do which is a shame since the unit looks amazing. Only situation they will be useful is against undead armies but otherwise they are a luxury if you take them over Swordmasters and waste a rare slot on them.
• Repeater Bolt Thrower: Must-have essential unit. Bring at least one or better two of them. They are your best source of shooting. Dont forget the regular bolt option if you fire at monsters and focus their fire. At 2000 points it is not a bad idea of thinking about 4 of them. They are amazing because they are good against basically any target and deal well against enemies that the high elves are otherwise not great against - high toughness and save throw units / characters / monsters.
• White Lions: Good against some enemies and very reasonably priced. Strength 6 attacks and good defense against shooting is great for an elven unit. Overall they suffer from being in the rare slot though and if attacked they will become a point grave pretty quickly.
• Giant Eagles: 1-2 as one rare slot. The other great rare unit that every elven army should consider. For 50 points they are great at warmachine hunting, great for flanking and harassing and with 3 wounds they can take some hits. If you dont bring 4 repeater bolt throwers at 2000 points get yourself 1-2 eagles.

Tactics

Know your weaknesses and know your strengths

High elves are very easy to kill, High elves have small armies and high elves do not fare well 1 on 1. This bitter reality means that your army does not like getting shot at and does not like long combats of attrition or static combat resolution. It is important that you have some hard strikers with support but you can also not put too many points in individual units or otherwise you will easily be flanked or your units cherry picked by focus fire. Mobility is your big advantage so use it and shooting / magic will help taking care of hard enemy targets. In most cases you will also have to make a decision where to attack and where to sacrifice units to slow down / diver the enemy - you cannot afford to strike everywhere at once. Reavers and eagles are the perfect bait or sacrifice for strong enemy units. Also every enemy war machine taken out on turn 1 (Repeater Bolt Throwers, magic) or turn 2 (cavalry charges or eagles / griffon lord) is a win. Strong enemy shooting can take out your best units easily by turn 2 - 4 if you dont look out.

As stated prior, the other big weakness of high elves are their costs. It means your armies must be thoroughly thought through and you cannot afford slack. Every unit needs to fulfill a purpose and fit the play style strategically and tactically (aka the need to use them right in battle)

Army compositions

• Fire and Flames: One way of winning with the high elves is pure ranged damage. The high elves cannot create a large gun line but they can mutually support repeater bolt throwers and strong magic. Key is to maximize fire and focus. Curse of arrow attraction and repeater bolt throwers and the bow of the seafarer or hunting bow are an extremely powerful combination. However, going 1 archmage, 2 mages with a combination of lore of heaven, white magic and lore of fire and 4 bolt throwers will set you back at least 1000 points so the more interesting aspect is the rest of the army. Make sure you get the arrow curse and rerolls and your lvl 4 archmage should protect himself against miscasts.

How can you survive with so few points for units left? You will have to invest in redirectors and slowing enemies down by sacrificing some cheap units and high elves do not have a lot of them. Ellyrian reavers are a key unit here. Bring at least 2 units of 5 and think about investing in a noble on a giant eagle for further disturbing the enemy. Otherwise, create a big block of stubborn spearmen with your noble in them to hold the line in one spot. Offensive striking units like silver helms or chariots are probably wasted points here and be prepared to win by throwing all your melee units under the bus if the enemy is aggressively pushing you.