New to HE: Just Learning List 1500pt

[Brother_Kendo]

Hey guys. I just recently started playing HE and will be playing a couple games here soon. I am totally new to making Fantasy Lists so I wanted to cross check my points and make sure I didnt do anything illegal. Also I would like some input as to how you think the list could fair in battle. Keep in mind I will be playing fun games, not expecting a tournament or any hard core gaming.

If you have any ideas as to how I can make the list better by all means please do so. That includes saying, "Dont run the list you wrote, this list will be better!" You should know what I have to work with Model first though and that is:

Prince on Griffon x2 (IOB
Mages x2 (IOB
Archers x20
Spearman x20
Sea Guard x20 (IOB
Reavers x10 (IOB
Swordmasters x30 (IOB
White Lion Charion
Bolt Thrower

So Here is the list that I came up with last night:

Archmage: 325
+annulion crystal +sigil of asuryan +silver wand +tailsman of protection

Archers x13: 168
+full command
Sea Guard x14: 207
+shields +full command

Swordmasters x14: 280
_full command +sword of battle +war banner
Swordmasters x14: 280
+full command +sword of battle +war banner

White Lion Chariot: 140

Bolt Thrower: 100

Total = 1500

Let the replies begin!

[ailysara_the_mage]

I haven't got my Codex here so can't check out what all your magic tems do but:

I wouldn't put FC on the archers. Their job is to sit at the back so they don't need the banner or champion. Some take the muso to enable swift reform to redirect attacks though I don't bother.

[ailysara_the_mage]

Also I wouldn't change the Swordmaster's basic weapon - they're awesome as they are.

[BallsOfSteel]

ailysara_the_mage is correct: Sword of Battle is pointless on a Sword Master champion. Sure the champion now has 4 attacks, but you're striking at S3 instead of S5. Even against a T3 opponent, you're wounding on 4s instead of 2s (that means you have a 50% chance of wounding instead of 83%, and you lose the -2 to their armor saves). Just stick with the default Great Weapon and save yourself the points.

No model may take more than one Magic Item from any category: a fighter cannot take multiple Magic Armors or Magic Weapons, and wizards may not take multiple Arcane Items. So your Archmage is extremely illegal, lol. I would play around with your Archmage and decide what role you would like him to play. If you want him to simply shut down the magic phase, then you can go High Magic and take Annulian Crystal, and cast Drain Magic (make sure to cast it last so it doesn't make your spells harder to cast!!!). Being level 4 (for a +5 to Dispel totals) with Annulian Crystal will compound with Drain Magic to force your opponent to hope for Irresistible Force. Or, you could go with the Lore of Life or the Lore of Shadow. Life will help keep your troops alive and counter your army-wide weakness of being T3 elves; Shadow has Miasma, Withering, Pit and Mindrazor, making it one of the best Lores in the game.

Also keep in mind that you cannot have two War Banners. As the BRB says, you may only have one of any Magic Item. Yes, the High Elves have a 20-point War Banner in their army book, but that simply means it costs us 15 points less to take the 35-point War Banner; it doesn't give us the ability to field two War Banners for 55 points.

Now, as for improving your army list... the first thing to point out is that your unit of 14 Lothern Sea Guard might as well not exist. At T3 and only a 5+ Armor Save, your Sea Guard will simply crumble to much stronger or much cheaper Core units. The High Elves' Core is best used in big blocks to support your Special choices. So the first thing I would do is decide if you want your Archers or your Spears/LSG. With your models, I would recommend going 40 Spears (feel free to use your LSG models as Spearmen; just make sure you let your opponent know that they're Spears). 40 Spearmen with full command will be 385 points, which fills up your Core requirement. In case you're wondering, I almost never take LSG because you're literally paying 4 points per model for bows... bows that you'll use half as often as Archers will.

Since you don't have Great Eagles (you will want Great Eagles soon!!), I would recommend playing with your Ellyrian Reavers for now. While they are an expensive choice for redirector/artillery-hunting, it will help give you practice for using Great Eagles appropriately. Alternatively, you can use them to "simul-charge" enemy units. Getting +1 for flank or +2 for rear charges will work wonders.

This is the list I would recommend playing with for now:

Archmage, level 4 (270)
- Silver Wand
- Lore of Life

40x Spearmen (385)
- full command

5x Ellyrian Reavers (105)
- Musician
- Bows + Spears

1x Lion Chariot of Chrace

14x Sword Masters of Hoeth (250)
- full command
- Banner of Eternal Flame

14x Sword Masters of Hoeth (240)
- full command

1x Repeater Bolt Thrower

Total: 1,497 points

This is a very combat-heavy list. Just make sure you decide on roles for each of your units as you and your opponent are deploying. If they have dangerous artillery, use your Reavers to hunt them down and wipe them out. If not, you can use your Reavers to force your opponent to charge out of position, opening them up for a flank charge. As for your Sword Masters, you can either take one big horde of them (which makes them attack in 3 ranks instead of 2), or two units of 14 for the same point cost. Play around with both and see which one works better for you! Just remember that Sword Masters are heavy-hitting but fragile, so if you take the two smaller units, make sure to back them up!! Same goes for your Lion Chariot. Get him into a flank, but never throw him into combat unsupported!!

Also note, I always take the Banner of Eternal Flame in my army, usually on my Sword Masters. The Flaming Attacks makes them Cause Fear against all cavalry, chariots and war beasts, which makes it EXTREMELY useful against the heavily-armored knights you will undoubtedly face. The simple failing of a Fear check will make even Bretonnian knights WS1 and essentially useless!