Slann
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I’ve played my Lizardmen versus High Elves and I’ve played High Elves versus Lizardmen. I thought about collecting HEs myelf and I pondered their book thoroughly. That being said I haven’t seen every unit in action and I certainly haven’t seen every possible LM unit match up against every HE unit.
Part One: High Elves versus Lizardmen
The Basics: All non-character High Elves have roughly the same stats.
M5 WS4 or 5 BS4 S3 or 4 T3 W1 I5 or 6 A1* Ld8 or 9
*Only Sword Masters have two attacks.
All High Elves have Always Strike First, even with great weapons. With their high initiative they nearly always get the reroll against LM barring magical items or spells that counteract that. Combined with their high WS, they hit most of the time. Their low Toughness score means we wound them pretty easily. HE Infantry have Armor Save 5+ or 6+, so unless you are planning to send your reptiles at their cavalry or characters, you don’t every need anything about Strength 5 to bring down pointy ears.
HEs have a lot of redundant units. Two Core unit archers , two Core unit Spearmen options, two great weapon elite infantry, two heavy cavalry options, and two chariot options. That’s of little tactical import, but I find it mildly amusing.
The Ulthuan forum has a Tactics index which makes me weep with jealousy you can go for all the HE elf information you long for,
http://www.ulthuan.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=66&t=36153
High Elf army lists are often built around large blocks of elite infantry, large number of cavalry, and/or large numbers of shooters. Most lists are more balanced and have mix of the basic types.
Core
Most HE collectors dream wistfully of their upcoming 8th edition rule book when their Core will be revamped. It’s largely viewed as overpriced and a little flat, especially in comparison to their elite infantry (which are awesome). Most HE lists strive to keep their Core expenditure as close to 25% as possible.
Spearmen: High Elf spearmen get an extra rank of supporting attacks versus the spearmen of other races. This means lots of attacks. ASF means lots of hits. The hits are S3 so they don’t score a lot of wounds, particular against units with good saves. If you are fighting these guys try to support any unit fighting them if you can, but they are on the whole probably a minor threat related to the rest of the units on the list. Toughness 3, AS 5, they die fairly easily against most things north of a skink.
Archers: Basic elf stat line with long bows, light armor option. Missile fire is less threatening in 8th edition than in previous editions. With the right spells for support they can be dangerous. There shooting can’t be ignored in any case as LM are likely to field small squishy units of skirmishers. I’ve seen them kill more in close combat than with shooting. They still have high WS and ASF, so they can fight about as well as spearmen. When you are so concerned with the elite infantry it’s easy to let the archers you’ve been ignoring all game get a flank charge on one of your engaged units. Usually HE lists take a mix of spearmen and archers, but every once in a while you see someone taking archers for all of their Core. In which case you can either expect to be spammed with units of ten or be facing blocks of 20-40 that start up in wide lines to shoot and then close up into ranks when you get into charge distance.
Lothern Sea Guard: Are spearmen and archers too dull for you? Try a hybrid! These guys have spears and bows! Sea Guard are viewed as a subpar Core choice. Archers are cheaper and shoot slightly farther (long bows versus bows). Spearmen are cheaper and don’t have to buy the shield as an add-on. When you do see them, they tend to be deployed as archers who can fight rather than as spearmen who can shoot. Usually in groups of 20 lined 10 wide, they’ll shoot at you as much as they can, then condensing into four ranks of five as enemies come within charge range.
Special, Cavalry
Ellyrian Reavers: Fast cavalry. Can have spears, bows or spears with bows. I haven’t seen them in play much being viewed as one of the weaker HE Special units. They are viewed as inferior at running interference versus Great Eagles and inferior to the other cavalry at killing things. That being said, Ellyrian Reavers are greater threat to us than most other armies. Fast Cavalry is always a threat to skirmishers and we have a lot of them.
Silver Helms: Pretty vanilla. 2+ AS (though shields are theoretically optional making them 3+ under a cheap skate general), M9, S3 (5 on a charge). Like any other cavalry if you can deny them the charge they are a lot less threatening. Because of their high armor save and low toughness they are tempting target for Salamanders, but keep in mind that Elves are fast. If your Salamanders get charged they will probably die.
Dragon Princes of Caledor: The same as Silver Helms in most respects with a few bonuses. They have a +2 Ward Save versus flaming attacks, +1 I vs. Silver Helms, a +2 Ward Save versus flaming attacks, +1 Ld, and a +2 Ward Save versus flaming attacks. Given that they have a +2 Ward save versus flaming attacks, any HE player who realizes just how nasty Salamanders are will point them at your Salamanders. Given the +2 Ward save versus flaming attacks, you need to be careful sending your Temple Guard against them if you are like me and like to give them the Banner of Eternal Flame. Dragon Princes can take magic standards and the HEs have a banner that grants Strider for only 15 points, many players choose to take said standard so not to lose 30 points per failed roll on dangerous terrain tests. EDIT: It’s worth pointing out the riders have two attacks each.
Tiranoc Chariot: Vanilla chariot. M9 like all elven horsey units. One of the few things on the HE list with T4. Like most chariots, when it’s not charging it’s not a threat. At 85 points a piece, a HE player can theoretically spam you with them Chariots, but most want to spend their Special points on some elite infantry.
Lion Chariots: White Lion chariots are like Tiranoc Chariots only they have M8 instead of 9 and Cause Fear. Both the riders and the mounts hit at higher Strength though the impact hits are the same. Even on the receiving end of the charge, these units aren’t pushovers.
Special, Infantry
The Special choice infantry are the MVPs of the current army book. Unless the army is relying heavily on cavalry, most armies will have 2-3 blocks of elite infantry. All three of the top choices below can take magical standards.
Sword Masters of Hoeth: They are priority one to bring down with LM shooting . They have ASF depite their great weapon and they have two attacks, that many S5 attacks are hard to overcome in close combat. At toughness 3, AS 5 they drop pretty easily to Salamanders and poison shooting. Since they outclass every unit on the LM unit in close combat you need to shoot them down to a manageable size before they reach your infantry blocks or dinos.
White Lions of Chrace: White Lions are nearly as dangerous in close combat as Sword Masters. They only get one attack, but their one attack is at S6. They are also Stubborn and have Forest Strider. Most important for a LM player’s view, their lion pelts plus their heavy armor gives them an armor save of 3+ versus shooting attacks so they laugh at skink fire and even get a 6+ save versus Salamanders. They are thus harder to whittle down via shooting than Sword Masters. Forest Strider means our skirmishers have to work harder to force them to take dangerous terrain tests. Thin them out with spells if you can, unlike their DE equivalents, their fancy pelts don’t give them a bonus save versus magic.
Pheonix Guard: Pheonix Guard hit at S4 (thanks to their Halberds), have a 5+ AS and WS 5 like the two elite infantry units proceeding them. What sets them apart is that they cause Fear and have a 4+ Ward save. The ultimate anvil, they are very hard to kill. When equipped with a Razor Standard their killing power is pretty good and they become an omni-unit capable of dominating offense and defense.
Shadow Warriors: HEs archers with Scout. Not a popular choice on most HE lists. They have bows and fight with WS 5, but they still hit at S3 like most other elves. Since we don’t have a lot of war machines or other units particularly vulnerable to scouts, they aren’t a serious threat to LM armies. Chamo skinks are cheaper than Shadow Warriors by a fair bit, and will beat Shadow Warriors in a shooting contest as their foes lack poison and the camouflage. Shadow Warriors outclass regular skinks on a model per model basis (what doesn’t?), but regular skink skirmishers outclass them in shooting by far on a point for point basis. If you can prevent them from charging your skirmishers you can probably afford to ignore them entirely if you choose.
Rare
Great Eagle: High Elves are an elite army so they can take twice as many Rares or Specials as normal. High Elf units are so expensive the only unit you are likely to see HE generals doubling up on is Eagles. They are as useful for High Elf players as Salamanders are for us (though they do they fill completely different niches). They aren’t just for hunting war machines. To go over all the nasty things Great Eagles would do could fill a Tactica threat by itself….and here it is! Many of these same tricks work for Terradon riders, so it’s worth boning up on.
http://www.ulthuan.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=66&t=33028
Fortunately we have a very easy counter for Eagle based mischief. With three wounds and no AS, Eagles fall prey to poisoned shooting fairly easily. They also are vulnerable to Lore of Heavens casters due to the Lore attribute and we have lots of those. EDIT: From a LM perspective, make sure they don’t make a suicide run on a Skink Priest with an EOTG.
Repeater Bolt Thrower: Some HE players like these, some don’t. RBT have different ways they can fire. First one functions like a BRB bolt thrower with a 48 inch range. The second mode shoots six S4 shots with -2 to armor saves, also at 48 inch range. Either relies on the BS 4 of the shooters and can be boosted with the Curse of Arrow Attraction. Like most war machines, they can be killed by Terradons and Chamo Skinks fairly easily.
Characters
Prince: A naked Prince is quite unremarkable. Like all elves they have T3. They have Ld 10 and WS 7 though with a base strength of 4, they need a great weapon or a magic weapon to have a decent chance to wound. Princes have eight different mount options. The HEs have a huge variety of magical item options, so a Prince can fill almost any niche. The most common role they play is a heavy hitter riding with a large block of cavalry. The most unusual role is fighting wizard. They can take a 45 point item to cast spells as a level one High wizard leaving them 55 points to take other magic items making it superior to the Wizarding Hat.
Noble: Basic mini-me of the Prince. They can do most things a Prince can do (except ride a dragon or griffon). They are also the HE’s sole BSB option. Most BSBs take the Armor of Caledor, 25 points for a 2+ save that can’t be improved along with a great weapon and a protective talisman of some kind.
Archmage, Mage: High Elves are one of the few armies besides ours that can use all eight BRB lores, so you can expect about anything. High Elf armies get +1 to dispel attempts as long as they have at least one wizard alive. Both mages can ride horses or in chariots. Archmages can ride dragons or eagles too.
HEs have one of the widest selections of useful arcane items and wizard friendly Enchanted items of all the armies with 7th ed army books. With the right item, HE wizards can choose their spells instead of rolling, take an extra spell, convert an enemy power die into one of their dispel die, gain a free power die (only once per turn though), manipulate miscast rolls of their enemies, ignore their first miscast, and/or make the wearer immune to non-magical attacks (but be able to attack themselves).
High Elves also have their own unique Lore, High Magic. Generally it’s viewed as being less powerful than the more popular BRB lores but I’m summarizing it because it’s still a popular choice for HE players.
Being a holdover from 7th edition, they don’t have the same mechanics for signature spells. Every caster of High Magic gets Drain Magic for free. They can swap their rolled spells for Shield of Saphery.
Drain Magic, 7+: Raises the casting level of all spells (including HE spells) are +3 casting till the start of the HE’s next magic phase. It’s common to save one or two dice to cast this spell as the last spell every phase. Low magic lists lean heavily on this spell to nerf enemy caster phases slightly.
Shield of Saphery, 5+: Buff spell grants one friendly unit within a 5+ Ward Save.
Curse of Arrow Attraction, 6+: Hex that lets enemies reroll to-hit rolls on the target unit with BS based shooting. Not to be underestimated. With enough hits even S3 shooting will add up.
Courage of Aenarion, 8+: Friendly units within 12” are stubborn.
Fury of Khaine, 8+: Generic magical missile, 2d6 S4 hits.
Flame of the Phoenix, 11+: Remains in Play, each target model in the unit takes a S3 hit, then next magic phase (EDIT the damage only happens on the HE turn) they take a S4 hit, then S5 on the HEs next phase. And so on and so forth until you are wise enough to dispel the nasty thing or the unit dies. This spell is basically High Magic’s answer to Dwellers and Final Transformation and should prioritized accordingly with your dispel dice.
Vauls Unmaking 12+: Very situational in its usefulness, this is a Hex that nullifies magic items in a unit.
Dragon Mage of Caledor: A level one or level two Lore of Fire mage that rides a dragon. They get a free power die when casting spells just like the Slann, but they don’t add +1 to dispel rolls like regular mages. You don’t take this guy for the spells though, you take him if you like dragons. When you see these guys take the field, odds are that the HEs lord (be he Prince or Archmage) is also riding a dragon. That’s why I got interested in collecting HEs in the first place, I have a fondness for giant reptiles and would love to field two dragons in a 2000-2500 point game.
Special Characters: The High Elves have several special characters. The only one worthy of getting concerned about is Teclis. There are stores out there that prohibit Teclis and don’t restrict anything else from official books. I never played vs. Teclis myself, but I know Teclis is a better wizard than a discipline loaded Slann. Teclis gets lore master (in any of the nine lores), +d3 power dice and dispel dice every turn, achieves irrestiable force on any double, ignores one miscast per turn, and has a dispel scroll item that erases the spell it stops from the mind of an enemy caster for the whole game. He also has a sword that lets him wound on 2s and ignore AS for his one attack, but that’s not really important. if Teclis is in close combat he’s in trouble. You are directing every possible attack against him, right?
He’s got two weak points (besides barely fighting better than HE archer in close combat) and that is S2 and T2. Anything that forces a strength or toughness test will cause Teclis a lot of problems. Hence the Blood Statuette of Spite is sometimes thought of as a Teclis killer. Becalming Cognition is naturally standard issue for fighting Teclis, but that will only get you so far.
Part One: High Elves versus Lizardmen
The Basics: All non-character High Elves have roughly the same stats.
M5 WS4 or 5 BS4 S3 or 4 T3 W1 I5 or 6 A1* Ld8 or 9
*Only Sword Masters have two attacks.
All High Elves have Always Strike First, even with great weapons. With their high initiative they nearly always get the reroll against LM barring magical items or spells that counteract that. Combined with their high WS, they hit most of the time. Their low Toughness score means we wound them pretty easily. HE Infantry have Armor Save 5+ or 6+, so unless you are planning to send your reptiles at their cavalry or characters, you don’t every need anything about Strength 5 to bring down pointy ears.
HEs have a lot of redundant units. Two Core unit archers , two Core unit Spearmen options, two great weapon elite infantry, two heavy cavalry options, and two chariot options. That’s of little tactical import, but I find it mildly amusing.
The Ulthuan forum has a Tactics index which makes me weep with jealousy you can go for all the HE elf information you long for,
http://www.ulthuan.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=66&t=36153
High Elf army lists are often built around large blocks of elite infantry, large number of cavalry, and/or large numbers of shooters. Most lists are more balanced and have mix of the basic types.
Core
Most HE collectors dream wistfully of their upcoming 8th edition rule book when their Core will be revamped. It’s largely viewed as overpriced and a little flat, especially in comparison to their elite infantry (which are awesome). Most HE lists strive to keep their Core expenditure as close to 25% as possible.
Spearmen: High Elf spearmen get an extra rank of supporting attacks versus the spearmen of other races. This means lots of attacks. ASF means lots of hits. The hits are S3 so they don’t score a lot of wounds, particular against units with good saves. If you are fighting these guys try to support any unit fighting them if you can, but they are on the whole probably a minor threat related to the rest of the units on the list. Toughness 3, AS 5, they die fairly easily against most things north of a skink.
Archers: Basic elf stat line with long bows, light armor option. Missile fire is less threatening in 8th edition than in previous editions. With the right spells for support they can be dangerous. There shooting can’t be ignored in any case as LM are likely to field small squishy units of skirmishers. I’ve seen them kill more in close combat than with shooting. They still have high WS and ASF, so they can fight about as well as spearmen. When you are so concerned with the elite infantry it’s easy to let the archers you’ve been ignoring all game get a flank charge on one of your engaged units. Usually HE lists take a mix of spearmen and archers, but every once in a while you see someone taking archers for all of their Core. In which case you can either expect to be spammed with units of ten or be facing blocks of 20-40 that start up in wide lines to shoot and then close up into ranks when you get into charge distance.
Lothern Sea Guard: Are spearmen and archers too dull for you? Try a hybrid! These guys have spears and bows! Sea Guard are viewed as a subpar Core choice. Archers are cheaper and shoot slightly farther (long bows versus bows). Spearmen are cheaper and don’t have to buy the shield as an add-on. When you do see them, they tend to be deployed as archers who can fight rather than as spearmen who can shoot. Usually in groups of 20 lined 10 wide, they’ll shoot at you as much as they can, then condensing into four ranks of five as enemies come within charge range.
Special, Cavalry
Ellyrian Reavers: Fast cavalry. Can have spears, bows or spears with bows. I haven’t seen them in play much being viewed as one of the weaker HE Special units. They are viewed as inferior at running interference versus Great Eagles and inferior to the other cavalry at killing things. That being said, Ellyrian Reavers are greater threat to us than most other armies. Fast Cavalry is always a threat to skirmishers and we have a lot of them.
Silver Helms: Pretty vanilla. 2+ AS (though shields are theoretically optional making them 3+ under a cheap skate general), M9, S3 (5 on a charge). Like any other cavalry if you can deny them the charge they are a lot less threatening. Because of their high armor save and low toughness they are tempting target for Salamanders, but keep in mind that Elves are fast. If your Salamanders get charged they will probably die.
Dragon Princes of Caledor: The same as Silver Helms in most respects with a few bonuses. They have a +2 Ward Save versus flaming attacks, +1 I vs. Silver Helms, a +2 Ward Save versus flaming attacks, +1 Ld, and a +2 Ward Save versus flaming attacks. Given that they have a +2 Ward save versus flaming attacks, any HE player who realizes just how nasty Salamanders are will point them at your Salamanders. Given the +2 Ward save versus flaming attacks, you need to be careful sending your Temple Guard against them if you are like me and like to give them the Banner of Eternal Flame. Dragon Princes can take magic standards and the HEs have a banner that grants Strider for only 15 points, many players choose to take said standard so not to lose 30 points per failed roll on dangerous terrain tests. EDIT: It’s worth pointing out the riders have two attacks each.
Tiranoc Chariot: Vanilla chariot. M9 like all elven horsey units. One of the few things on the HE list with T4. Like most chariots, when it’s not charging it’s not a threat. At 85 points a piece, a HE player can theoretically spam you with them Chariots, but most want to spend their Special points on some elite infantry.
Lion Chariots: White Lion chariots are like Tiranoc Chariots only they have M8 instead of 9 and Cause Fear. Both the riders and the mounts hit at higher Strength though the impact hits are the same. Even on the receiving end of the charge, these units aren’t pushovers.
Special, Infantry
The Special choice infantry are the MVPs of the current army book. Unless the army is relying heavily on cavalry, most armies will have 2-3 blocks of elite infantry. All three of the top choices below can take magical standards.
Sword Masters of Hoeth: They are priority one to bring down with LM shooting . They have ASF depite their great weapon and they have two attacks, that many S5 attacks are hard to overcome in close combat. At toughness 3, AS 5 they drop pretty easily to Salamanders and poison shooting. Since they outclass every unit on the LM unit in close combat you need to shoot them down to a manageable size before they reach your infantry blocks or dinos.
White Lions of Chrace: White Lions are nearly as dangerous in close combat as Sword Masters. They only get one attack, but their one attack is at S6. They are also Stubborn and have Forest Strider. Most important for a LM player’s view, their lion pelts plus their heavy armor gives them an armor save of 3+ versus shooting attacks so they laugh at skink fire and even get a 6+ save versus Salamanders. They are thus harder to whittle down via shooting than Sword Masters. Forest Strider means our skirmishers have to work harder to force them to take dangerous terrain tests. Thin them out with spells if you can, unlike their DE equivalents, their fancy pelts don’t give them a bonus save versus magic.
Pheonix Guard: Pheonix Guard hit at S4 (thanks to their Halberds), have a 5+ AS and WS 5 like the two elite infantry units proceeding them. What sets them apart is that they cause Fear and have a 4+ Ward save. The ultimate anvil, they are very hard to kill. When equipped with a Razor Standard their killing power is pretty good and they become an omni-unit capable of dominating offense and defense.
Shadow Warriors: HEs archers with Scout. Not a popular choice on most HE lists. They have bows and fight with WS 5, but they still hit at S3 like most other elves. Since we don’t have a lot of war machines or other units particularly vulnerable to scouts, they aren’t a serious threat to LM armies. Chamo skinks are cheaper than Shadow Warriors by a fair bit, and will beat Shadow Warriors in a shooting contest as their foes lack poison and the camouflage. Shadow Warriors outclass regular skinks on a model per model basis (what doesn’t?), but regular skink skirmishers outclass them in shooting by far on a point for point basis. If you can prevent them from charging your skirmishers you can probably afford to ignore them entirely if you choose.
Rare
Great Eagle: High Elves are an elite army so they can take twice as many Rares or Specials as normal. High Elf units are so expensive the only unit you are likely to see HE generals doubling up on is Eagles. They are as useful for High Elf players as Salamanders are for us (though they do they fill completely different niches). They aren’t just for hunting war machines. To go over all the nasty things Great Eagles would do could fill a Tactica threat by itself….and here it is! Many of these same tricks work for Terradon riders, so it’s worth boning up on.
http://www.ulthuan.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=66&t=33028
Fortunately we have a very easy counter for Eagle based mischief. With three wounds and no AS, Eagles fall prey to poisoned shooting fairly easily. They also are vulnerable to Lore of Heavens casters due to the Lore attribute and we have lots of those. EDIT: From a LM perspective, make sure they don’t make a suicide run on a Skink Priest with an EOTG.
Repeater Bolt Thrower: Some HE players like these, some don’t. RBT have different ways they can fire. First one functions like a BRB bolt thrower with a 48 inch range. The second mode shoots six S4 shots with -2 to armor saves, also at 48 inch range. Either relies on the BS 4 of the shooters and can be boosted with the Curse of Arrow Attraction. Like most war machines, they can be killed by Terradons and Chamo Skinks fairly easily.
Characters
Prince: A naked Prince is quite unremarkable. Like all elves they have T3. They have Ld 10 and WS 7 though with a base strength of 4, they need a great weapon or a magic weapon to have a decent chance to wound. Princes have eight different mount options. The HEs have a huge variety of magical item options, so a Prince can fill almost any niche. The most common role they play is a heavy hitter riding with a large block of cavalry. The most unusual role is fighting wizard. They can take a 45 point item to cast spells as a level one High wizard leaving them 55 points to take other magic items making it superior to the Wizarding Hat.
Noble: Basic mini-me of the Prince. They can do most things a Prince can do (except ride a dragon or griffon). They are also the HE’s sole BSB option. Most BSBs take the Armor of Caledor, 25 points for a 2+ save that can’t be improved along with a great weapon and a protective talisman of some kind.
Archmage, Mage: High Elves are one of the few armies besides ours that can use all eight BRB lores, so you can expect about anything. High Elf armies get +1 to dispel attempts as long as they have at least one wizard alive. Both mages can ride horses or in chariots. Archmages can ride dragons or eagles too.
HEs have one of the widest selections of useful arcane items and wizard friendly Enchanted items of all the armies with 7th ed army books. With the right item, HE wizards can choose their spells instead of rolling, take an extra spell, convert an enemy power die into one of their dispel die, gain a free power die (only once per turn though), manipulate miscast rolls of their enemies, ignore their first miscast, and/or make the wearer immune to non-magical attacks (but be able to attack themselves).
High Elves also have their own unique Lore, High Magic. Generally it’s viewed as being less powerful than the more popular BRB lores but I’m summarizing it because it’s still a popular choice for HE players.
Being a holdover from 7th edition, they don’t have the same mechanics for signature spells. Every caster of High Magic gets Drain Magic for free. They can swap their rolled spells for Shield of Saphery.
Drain Magic, 7+: Raises the casting level of all spells (including HE spells) are +3 casting till the start of the HE’s next magic phase. It’s common to save one or two dice to cast this spell as the last spell every phase. Low magic lists lean heavily on this spell to nerf enemy caster phases slightly.
Shield of Saphery, 5+: Buff spell grants one friendly unit within a 5+ Ward Save.
Curse of Arrow Attraction, 6+: Hex that lets enemies reroll to-hit rolls on the target unit with BS based shooting. Not to be underestimated. With enough hits even S3 shooting will add up.
Courage of Aenarion, 8+: Friendly units within 12” are stubborn.
Fury of Khaine, 8+: Generic magical missile, 2d6 S4 hits.
Flame of the Phoenix, 11+: Remains in Play, each target model in the unit takes a S3 hit, then next magic phase (EDIT the damage only happens on the HE turn) they take a S4 hit, then S5 on the HEs next phase. And so on and so forth until you are wise enough to dispel the nasty thing or the unit dies. This spell is basically High Magic’s answer to Dwellers and Final Transformation and should prioritized accordingly with your dispel dice.
Vauls Unmaking 12+: Very situational in its usefulness, this is a Hex that nullifies magic items in a unit.
Dragon Mage of Caledor: A level one or level two Lore of Fire mage that rides a dragon. They get a free power die when casting spells just like the Slann, but they don’t add +1 to dispel rolls like regular mages. You don’t take this guy for the spells though, you take him if you like dragons. When you see these guys take the field, odds are that the HEs lord (be he Prince or Archmage) is also riding a dragon. That’s why I got interested in collecting HEs in the first place, I have a fondness for giant reptiles and would love to field two dragons in a 2000-2500 point game.
Special Characters: The High Elves have several special characters. The only one worthy of getting concerned about is Teclis. There are stores out there that prohibit Teclis and don’t restrict anything else from official books. I never played vs. Teclis myself, but I know Teclis is a better wizard than a discipline loaded Slann. Teclis gets lore master (in any of the nine lores), +d3 power dice and dispel dice every turn, achieves irrestiable force on any double, ignores one miscast per turn, and has a dispel scroll item that erases the spell it stops from the mind of an enemy caster for the whole game. He also has a sword that lets him wound on 2s and ignore AS for his one attack, but that’s not really important. if Teclis is in close combat he’s in trouble. You are directing every possible attack against him, right?
He’s got two weak points (besides barely fighting better than HE archer in close combat) and that is S2 and T2. Anything that forces a strength or toughness test will cause Teclis a lot of problems. Hence the Blood Statuette of Spite is sometimes thought of as a Teclis killer. Becalming Cognition is naturally standard issue for fighting Teclis, but that will only get you so far.