Post by Morglum on Dec 21, 2008 12:26:18 GMT -5
High elf prince
The high elf prince is the most commonly used lord in high elf armies having a huge amount of options, and an amazing stat line.
In this guide I will be covering all the options and mounts of the prince and some sample princes.
Mounts
Elven steed: Very fast moving, but with an almost useless statline, they are best used when you want to out your prince in a squad of reavers (I wouldn’t advise this, as they will lose their fast cavalry bonuses) or silverhelms (but barded (see below) is usually better when joining a prince to a squad of these).
Barded Elven steed: Fast moving (albeit not as fast as the normal elven steed), and gives a better bonus to your princes armour save, they are good for when you want to join silverhelms (only go for these if you don’t have the points for dragon princes) or dragon princes (the best unit to join, as he will give them even more kick on the charge, and because of their amazing armour saves, they’ll last a long time, for more, and longer protection). Once again, the stat line is not too good, but hey, who cares?
Great eagle: Great for fielding a ‘lone hunter’ lord, who will go round the back of the enemy and attacks their weak units (gunlines etc.). They are fast moving enough to do this, and have a decent statline themselves, just watch out for those cannons. Its usually better to field a noble on one of these, as they will do around the same amount of damage for a lot less points.
Griffon: A fairly powerful creature, also good as a ‘lone hunter’, and if you field a prince on one of these, give him the bow of the seafarer, as he can easily fly round the flank of expensive units and wipe out half a squad. Another use of it is to charge units with a low leadership and make them flee into a unit behind. As they are cheaper then dragons, if you need a flying mount for your prince, the griffons your beast. Once again, beware the cannon, as although they have toughness 5 and 4 wounds, the prince sitting on them dosen’t.
Sun dragon: The smallest and weakest of the dragons, sorry did I say weak, it amazing, cheap and very powerful, for 30 pts more then a griffon, you get more wounds, better toughness, an armour save, and a breath attack (not a very strong one sadly). Although they may look like a cheap option for a prince, if you can spare the points, get one of the 2 more powerful ones. Dragon mages are more suited to this dragon.
Moon dragon: The balance between cost and power the moon dragon has all its stats higher then the sun dragon, bar initiative, which is lower to represent its age (although that matters little, as its just so d**ned hard). You get an improved breath attacks, which should massacre empire and other elves. Once again, they are a good choice for princes, but arch mages will benefit more from them.
Star dragon: The most powerful dragon, if you have the points, then get it, once again, it is better then the moon dragon in everyway, apart from its initiative, but who cares about that when you have toughness 6 and 7 wounds, this is truly the ultimate mount for a prince.
Non magical weapons
Lance: Really good on the charge, but sadly only on the charge, but its completely worth it as the extra 2 strength will easily recoup its tiny points cost, even against skaven!
Spear: Completely and absolutely useless, not as good as a lance when mounted, and when is your prince going to be in the second rank of a unit?
Great weapon: the best non magical weapon princes can take, strength 6 striking first, yes please, if you are mounted, it’s still useful, as when your mount dies, it gets even better! If you are on a dragon, and you’re absolutely sure that it won’t be killed, see below.
Halberd: The best weapon for those that are sure their mount won’t die, it gives the same bonus as a great weapon (for mounted princes), but for half the price.
Additional hand weapon: not the best weapon you can get, but useful against hordes, but if your against hordes, why are you fielding a prince, get a cheaper hero and more troops.
Non magical armour
Light armour: Why the heck are you even contemplating using this, sure its 3 pts less then heavy armour, but that better armour save is priceless, the only reason why you’d want to take light armour would be if it were magical.
Heavy armour: The best armour when your are fighting armies with no fire at all, and when combined with a shield and barded steed, gives you a nice armour save.
Dragon armour: Against armies that use a lot of breath and fire attacks, this is the armour for you, immunity against fire is priceless against fire wizards and dragons. Also it gives the same save as heavy armour, so everybody wins (apart from your opponent)
Non magical extra equipment
Shield: always take this unless you are using a 2 handed weapon, as the +1 to your save is priceless.
Longbow: If you have a lord that is not mounted, by all means give him one, as the few arrows he’ll manage to shoot before he gets killing stuff might kill or soften up a few targets.
Magical weapons
Blade of leaping gold: This is the bane of anything with toughness 4 or below, with an additional hand weapon, your prince will be pumping out an amazing 8 attacks per turn, perfect for expensive core choices and/or weak specials. If you have a prince equipped with this, he should seek out the average toughness elite units that many armies field (chosen etc.) and he will easily recoup his point cost, but if you use an extra weapon, buy the armour of caledor, as you will not be able to get such a good save any other way.
Bow of the seafarer: The most powerful bow that high elves can take, its most effective uses are to give it to a fast moving prince, who can flank units (big expensive units, like knights), or to have him join a squad of archers and hang back, so when the enemy gets close, he can protect them (give him a great weapon).
Sword of hoeth: The bane of anything with really high toughness, ogres etc. and will let your prince go toe to toe with the toughest out there, including dragons and giants etc. but be ware, the fact that you only attack with a maximum of 5 attacks (with extra hand weapon) will mean that you need good armour so not to be killed outright by high strength monsters.
Star lance: The fact that it will give your prince strength 7 that ignores armour saves is very valuable against tough/ low armour save armies, but you must make the hard decision of whether or not you will be charging enough to make it worth it.
Reaver bow: Not the best choice for a prince, and more suited to a noble, it can still be effective, if you are fielding a static army, and you would rather have a prince then a mage (which would be far more useful) then it’s the cheapest magical bow you can get with high elves.
The white sword: Pretty much a complete waste of points, unless you are going to use your prince to go hero seeking, the fact that it has killing blow makes it lethal against man sized heros, but don’t forget that you will only get 4 attacks with it, and with my luck, that’s never enough to let me roll a 6.
Blade of sea gold: Great against dwarves and other armies with good armour saves, its best to seek out elite units if using this, and if you join him to a small squad of silverhelms or dragon princes, he will survive a lot longer, and the squad will have little trouble taking out a front rank on their charge.
Foe bane: When fighting ogres or going hero seeking, this weapon is the best balance of pts to power, as you will almost always wound. If you want to keep your prince cheap, or if you want a ranged prince, this is the weapon for you, although its better suited to combat princes.
Magic armour
Armour of protection: If you don’t mind having a worse armour save then with heavy armour, and you really need a ward save, this is the armour for you, it does almost the same as vambraces of defence, only for 10 pts less, truth be told though, you’re better off with the vambraces.
Golden shield: When fighting most units, you don’t really need the enemy to re roll, they won’t hit, wound, and get passed your armour save enough for it to be worth it, but when fighting armies with high weapon skills (elves, chaos etc.), or when hero seeking, it can be really useful.
Armour of stars: It can be useful, if you are fighting units that outmatch your prince, and have charged you, but if you’re letting yourself be charged by uber units, your playing the wrong army.
Armour of heroes: Quite useful, especially against armies that have poor leadership, but to a lot of armies it won’t make a difference, truth be told, I’d save myself the points, and get some items that allow re rolls and stuff like that.
Temakadors gauntlets: They can be really useful against armies that have a lot of high strength units, especially warriors of chaos, as most of their attacks are strength 4 or more, also really useful against cannon lines, but then again, you should be in cover against them.
Shadow armour: Useful in small games or when you are fighting armies that like to shoot, as you will get a second turn charge for sure, maybe first, I’ll have to check. The point is he’ll hit your enemy like a ton of bricks that just turned up in a swamp after being fired through a nova cannon.
Armour of caledor: truly amazing armour this is, the fact that you can get a 2+ armour save no matter if you have a shield or not, or if you are mounted or not, and all for a quarter of your princes points limit.
Helm of fortune: Really useful for mounted heros (if they are not mounted, the armour save if terrible), re rolls are always good, but when you’re re rolling armour saves as good as high elves can get…. Need I say more.
Dragonscale shield: The ward save can be useful, but I’d never be able to roll a 6 for a save of any type, so if you think you can roll a lot of 6’s, then this armours for you.
Mask of the merlord: If you play on a board with a lot of water features (marsh and stuff like that) this mask will let you run about shooting you enemy whislt they slog about trying to get to you.
Talismans
Vambraces of defence: expensive, but when you are fighting armies that like to ignore armour, or reduce your armour save, this will be your saviour, not only will your (possible poor) amour save be re rolled, but you will get a ward save that will be almost as good as what your armour save was to begin with.
Golden crown of Atrazar: Really useful against dwarf or empire armies that field a lot of cannons, as it will keep your prince alive long enough to get to them, but otherwise, it pretty useless.
Loremaster cloak: A truly amazing piece of kit against those stupidly heavy armies, and will stop most spells from harming you.
Talisman of saphery: If you are hero seeking, you should take this if you know that the enemies going to be fielding a lot of magical or arcane items.
Sacred incense: Against gunlines or shooty armies, this is invaluable, as a lot less shots will be hitting you.
Guardian phoenix: The ward save like all ward saves is extremely useful, but what you must ask yourself, before paying those points, is how much will I need one.
Amulet of fire: Agaisnt magic heavy armies, this is extremely useful, especially those that rely on the lore of fire, as nothing they do will hurt you!
Enchanted items
Null stone: If you are facing a magic heavy army, or one that uses a lot of magic weaponry, this is the for you, nothing magical within 6 inches works, priceless.
Healing potion: Really useful if you are going to go up against stuff that you know your wounds won’t last for, drink it when you are on one wound.
Radiant gem of Hoeth: It is a bit pointless really, unless you are going to use it on a noble that in your army to protect shooty units, but I wouldn’t use it on a lord as its just a waste of points, and you would be far better of buying a mage.
Folariath’s Robe: If you are fighting an army with little or no magic, give this to your standard bearer, as he will never die, and just keep supporting your units, also really good if you are playing a last man standing game with your friends…
Ring of fury: this is best used on mages or ranged princes, but close combat princes will also benefit from being able to kill from turn 1.
Cloak of beards: Obviously only useful against dwarfs, and really good for hero seekers, as they will lose on of their runic items every turn.
Pendant of vengeance: Once again only usable against dwarves, and in this case only against anvils of doom, but they are more likely to get a miscast, and it will do more damage when they do.
Dragonhorn: When fighting fear causing armies (vampires etc.) this will keep any units at breaking point in the game for a turn longer.
Skeinsilver: If you really want first turn (which you will most of the time) this will really help you to get it.
The amulet of Light: When fighting daemons, this amulet will let you overpower most units with ease.
Gem of courage: not really that useful on a prince, as his leadership is so high anyway you won’t need it, and a sturdy weapon would serve you better.
Talisman of loec: When you are in challenges or fighting really tough stuff, this weapon will give you the advantage, although you will lose a wound in return.
If theres anything you think i should add, or you feel that i am a complete idiot and have got it all wrong, don't hesitate to say.
The high elf prince is the most commonly used lord in high elf armies having a huge amount of options, and an amazing stat line.
In this guide I will be covering all the options and mounts of the prince and some sample princes.
Mounts
Elven steed: Very fast moving, but with an almost useless statline, they are best used when you want to out your prince in a squad of reavers (I wouldn’t advise this, as they will lose their fast cavalry bonuses) or silverhelms (but barded (see below) is usually better when joining a prince to a squad of these).
Barded Elven steed: Fast moving (albeit not as fast as the normal elven steed), and gives a better bonus to your princes armour save, they are good for when you want to join silverhelms (only go for these if you don’t have the points for dragon princes) or dragon princes (the best unit to join, as he will give them even more kick on the charge, and because of their amazing armour saves, they’ll last a long time, for more, and longer protection). Once again, the stat line is not too good, but hey, who cares?
Great eagle: Great for fielding a ‘lone hunter’ lord, who will go round the back of the enemy and attacks their weak units (gunlines etc.). They are fast moving enough to do this, and have a decent statline themselves, just watch out for those cannons. Its usually better to field a noble on one of these, as they will do around the same amount of damage for a lot less points.
Griffon: A fairly powerful creature, also good as a ‘lone hunter’, and if you field a prince on one of these, give him the bow of the seafarer, as he can easily fly round the flank of expensive units and wipe out half a squad. Another use of it is to charge units with a low leadership and make them flee into a unit behind. As they are cheaper then dragons, if you need a flying mount for your prince, the griffons your beast. Once again, beware the cannon, as although they have toughness 5 and 4 wounds, the prince sitting on them dosen’t.
Sun dragon: The smallest and weakest of the dragons, sorry did I say weak, it amazing, cheap and very powerful, for 30 pts more then a griffon, you get more wounds, better toughness, an armour save, and a breath attack (not a very strong one sadly). Although they may look like a cheap option for a prince, if you can spare the points, get one of the 2 more powerful ones. Dragon mages are more suited to this dragon.
Moon dragon: The balance between cost and power the moon dragon has all its stats higher then the sun dragon, bar initiative, which is lower to represent its age (although that matters little, as its just so d**ned hard). You get an improved breath attacks, which should massacre empire and other elves. Once again, they are a good choice for princes, but arch mages will benefit more from them.
Star dragon: The most powerful dragon, if you have the points, then get it, once again, it is better then the moon dragon in everyway, apart from its initiative, but who cares about that when you have toughness 6 and 7 wounds, this is truly the ultimate mount for a prince.
Non magical weapons
Lance: Really good on the charge, but sadly only on the charge, but its completely worth it as the extra 2 strength will easily recoup its tiny points cost, even against skaven!
Spear: Completely and absolutely useless, not as good as a lance when mounted, and when is your prince going to be in the second rank of a unit?
Great weapon: the best non magical weapon princes can take, strength 6 striking first, yes please, if you are mounted, it’s still useful, as when your mount dies, it gets even better! If you are on a dragon, and you’re absolutely sure that it won’t be killed, see below.
Halberd: The best weapon for those that are sure their mount won’t die, it gives the same bonus as a great weapon (for mounted princes), but for half the price.
Additional hand weapon: not the best weapon you can get, but useful against hordes, but if your against hordes, why are you fielding a prince, get a cheaper hero and more troops.
Non magical armour
Light armour: Why the heck are you even contemplating using this, sure its 3 pts less then heavy armour, but that better armour save is priceless, the only reason why you’d want to take light armour would be if it were magical.
Heavy armour: The best armour when your are fighting armies with no fire at all, and when combined with a shield and barded steed, gives you a nice armour save.
Dragon armour: Against armies that use a lot of breath and fire attacks, this is the armour for you, immunity against fire is priceless against fire wizards and dragons. Also it gives the same save as heavy armour, so everybody wins (apart from your opponent)
Non magical extra equipment
Shield: always take this unless you are using a 2 handed weapon, as the +1 to your save is priceless.
Longbow: If you have a lord that is not mounted, by all means give him one, as the few arrows he’ll manage to shoot before he gets killing stuff might kill or soften up a few targets.
Magical weapons
Blade of leaping gold: This is the bane of anything with toughness 4 or below, with an additional hand weapon, your prince will be pumping out an amazing 8 attacks per turn, perfect for expensive core choices and/or weak specials. If you have a prince equipped with this, he should seek out the average toughness elite units that many armies field (chosen etc.) and he will easily recoup his point cost, but if you use an extra weapon, buy the armour of caledor, as you will not be able to get such a good save any other way.
Bow of the seafarer: The most powerful bow that high elves can take, its most effective uses are to give it to a fast moving prince, who can flank units (big expensive units, like knights), or to have him join a squad of archers and hang back, so when the enemy gets close, he can protect them (give him a great weapon).
Sword of hoeth: The bane of anything with really high toughness, ogres etc. and will let your prince go toe to toe with the toughest out there, including dragons and giants etc. but be ware, the fact that you only attack with a maximum of 5 attacks (with extra hand weapon) will mean that you need good armour so not to be killed outright by high strength monsters.
Star lance: The fact that it will give your prince strength 7 that ignores armour saves is very valuable against tough/ low armour save armies, but you must make the hard decision of whether or not you will be charging enough to make it worth it.
Reaver bow: Not the best choice for a prince, and more suited to a noble, it can still be effective, if you are fielding a static army, and you would rather have a prince then a mage (which would be far more useful) then it’s the cheapest magical bow you can get with high elves.
The white sword: Pretty much a complete waste of points, unless you are going to use your prince to go hero seeking, the fact that it has killing blow makes it lethal against man sized heros, but don’t forget that you will only get 4 attacks with it, and with my luck, that’s never enough to let me roll a 6.
Blade of sea gold: Great against dwarves and other armies with good armour saves, its best to seek out elite units if using this, and if you join him to a small squad of silverhelms or dragon princes, he will survive a lot longer, and the squad will have little trouble taking out a front rank on their charge.
Foe bane: When fighting ogres or going hero seeking, this weapon is the best balance of pts to power, as you will almost always wound. If you want to keep your prince cheap, or if you want a ranged prince, this is the weapon for you, although its better suited to combat princes.
Magic armour
Armour of protection: If you don’t mind having a worse armour save then with heavy armour, and you really need a ward save, this is the armour for you, it does almost the same as vambraces of defence, only for 10 pts less, truth be told though, you’re better off with the vambraces.
Golden shield: When fighting most units, you don’t really need the enemy to re roll, they won’t hit, wound, and get passed your armour save enough for it to be worth it, but when fighting armies with high weapon skills (elves, chaos etc.), or when hero seeking, it can be really useful.
Armour of stars: It can be useful, if you are fighting units that outmatch your prince, and have charged you, but if you’re letting yourself be charged by uber units, your playing the wrong army.
Armour of heroes: Quite useful, especially against armies that have poor leadership, but to a lot of armies it won’t make a difference, truth be told, I’d save myself the points, and get some items that allow re rolls and stuff like that.
Temakadors gauntlets: They can be really useful against armies that have a lot of high strength units, especially warriors of chaos, as most of their attacks are strength 4 or more, also really useful against cannon lines, but then again, you should be in cover against them.
Shadow armour: Useful in small games or when you are fighting armies that like to shoot, as you will get a second turn charge for sure, maybe first, I’ll have to check. The point is he’ll hit your enemy like a ton of bricks that just turned up in a swamp after being fired through a nova cannon.
Armour of caledor: truly amazing armour this is, the fact that you can get a 2+ armour save no matter if you have a shield or not, or if you are mounted or not, and all for a quarter of your princes points limit.
Helm of fortune: Really useful for mounted heros (if they are not mounted, the armour save if terrible), re rolls are always good, but when you’re re rolling armour saves as good as high elves can get…. Need I say more.
Dragonscale shield: The ward save can be useful, but I’d never be able to roll a 6 for a save of any type, so if you think you can roll a lot of 6’s, then this armours for you.
Mask of the merlord: If you play on a board with a lot of water features (marsh and stuff like that) this mask will let you run about shooting you enemy whislt they slog about trying to get to you.
Talismans
Vambraces of defence: expensive, but when you are fighting armies that like to ignore armour, or reduce your armour save, this will be your saviour, not only will your (possible poor) amour save be re rolled, but you will get a ward save that will be almost as good as what your armour save was to begin with.
Golden crown of Atrazar: Really useful against dwarf or empire armies that field a lot of cannons, as it will keep your prince alive long enough to get to them, but otherwise, it pretty useless.
Loremaster cloak: A truly amazing piece of kit against those stupidly heavy armies, and will stop most spells from harming you.
Talisman of saphery: If you are hero seeking, you should take this if you know that the enemies going to be fielding a lot of magical or arcane items.
Sacred incense: Against gunlines or shooty armies, this is invaluable, as a lot less shots will be hitting you.
Guardian phoenix: The ward save like all ward saves is extremely useful, but what you must ask yourself, before paying those points, is how much will I need one.
Amulet of fire: Agaisnt magic heavy armies, this is extremely useful, especially those that rely on the lore of fire, as nothing they do will hurt you!
Enchanted items
Null stone: If you are facing a magic heavy army, or one that uses a lot of magic weaponry, this is the for you, nothing magical within 6 inches works, priceless.
Healing potion: Really useful if you are going to go up against stuff that you know your wounds won’t last for, drink it when you are on one wound.
Radiant gem of Hoeth: It is a bit pointless really, unless you are going to use it on a noble that in your army to protect shooty units, but I wouldn’t use it on a lord as its just a waste of points, and you would be far better of buying a mage.
Folariath’s Robe: If you are fighting an army with little or no magic, give this to your standard bearer, as he will never die, and just keep supporting your units, also really good if you are playing a last man standing game with your friends…
Ring of fury: this is best used on mages or ranged princes, but close combat princes will also benefit from being able to kill from turn 1.
Cloak of beards: Obviously only useful against dwarfs, and really good for hero seekers, as they will lose on of their runic items every turn.
Pendant of vengeance: Once again only usable against dwarves, and in this case only against anvils of doom, but they are more likely to get a miscast, and it will do more damage when they do.
Dragonhorn: When fighting fear causing armies (vampires etc.) this will keep any units at breaking point in the game for a turn longer.
Skeinsilver: If you really want first turn (which you will most of the time) this will really help you to get it.
The amulet of Light: When fighting daemons, this amulet will let you overpower most units with ease.
Gem of courage: not really that useful on a prince, as his leadership is so high anyway you won’t need it, and a sturdy weapon would serve you better.
Talisman of loec: When you are in challenges or fighting really tough stuff, this weapon will give you the advantage, although you will lose a wound in return.
If theres anything you think i should add, or you feel that i am a complete idiot and have got it all wrong, don't hesitate to say.