Chapter I: Know your army
I) LORDS
HIGH ELF PRINCES
These are the ones I usually take as a general. They have high WS (7), reasnoble BS (6), high Initiative (8), and outstanding LD (10). They are the best fighters the army can have, but you dont want to always have them charging in and taking on the entire opposing army by themselves. If you do want them to be the fighter then the armour of protection would be a good magic armour, and a magic sword of some kind would be ideal. A cunning plan would be to mount them on a particualy fierce monster, such as a griffon or even a dragon. The disadvantage with flying mounnts is they tend to go off into the air, leaving your army out of leadership range. Elven steeds are usually the most popular mounts for an elf prince, as he can lead powerful regiments such as silver helms or dragon princes and still stay in leadership range of his army (usually). I have been experimenting with chariots and I find them a very effective mount if you want to add some variety to your army. Another way to use an elf prince is to take advantage of his high leadership and have him as a leader. In the 5th edition there were lots of ideal magic items for a leader general such as the crown of command or personal favourite of mine, the horn of urgok. However in the 6th edition elf princes usually fare better as fighters. Leader generals fight best on foot, in a large formation of sea gurad or white lions. Never, never, never accept challenges with a leader general. Never have a leader general in a chariot, always spend the valuable points for a fighter prince in a chariot.
ARCHMAGES
I have not yet tried these guys, but from what I see there are a few things i can tell you. You have two options, have them on a steed (so they can quickly move into a wood for protection from flyers and cover), or put them in a large infantry regiment, white lions being the ideal choice. Never have an archmage on foot on his own, he is an easy target for war macines (no look out sir) and flyers. Never, never, never, never, NEVER accept challenges with an archmage, however tooled up he may be. He has poor fighting characteristics and a toughness of only 3. He will be slain straight, away, the overkill rule will meen his white lions will flee, and, the general being dead, half the rest of your army will flee. Stick with the cowardly anti-heroism approach.
II) HEROES
COMMANDERS
In 2000 or more battles, only have him for the banner. In less than 1000 point battles have a mage as the general instead. In 1000 to 1999 point battles have him as the fighter general (tooled up with some nice protective items to make up for his pathetic toughness). A sword of might is a nice cheap, effective weapon. Mount him on an elven steed, give him heavy armour, barding, and the enchanted sheild. If you have the points give him a talisman of protection. He will now be a powerful fighter with a 1+ armour save. If you are having him as the banner bearer, make sure he has loads of protective items (an amulet of fire, a talisman of protection, or the golden crown of atrazar). In 2500 point battles, you might want to bring him back as a fighter, while 2000 point battles he will do best as the banner bearer if you have him at all.
MAGES
Never leave the shores of Ulthuan without at least 1 of these guys. In 2000 points or over take 2, in really small battles take one as your general. The same advice applies as it does for Archmages. Never accept challenges, leave him on his own etc. I can give you some advice for what magic items to give him and what lore he should follow. Give him at least one dispel scroll. Maybe a power stone, for those difficult to cast spells. If your feeling beardy give him the war crown of saphery, but not if you want your army to stay in character. If you want to cause max damage, have him follow the lore of fire. For a dark, sinister mage have him follow the lore of death or shadow. For a very high elfy one choose the lore of life. Never choose the lore of fire, its too out of characater for high elves.
III)CORE UNITS
SPEARMEN
In most other armies these are just for filling in gaps. However for the High Elves spearmen are an essential core for the army. They use the brilliant Citizen Levy rule. This allows them to fight in 2 ranks when charging, and 3 ranks when stationary, making them very effective indeed. I find 25 the perfect number, deployed in 5 ranks of 5. Any more and it would be a wate of points, any less and they are always overwhelmed. A regiment of 25 allows a great rank bonus, usually outnumber, and the spearman's WS of 4 means they can tackle most foes. However they will prove usless against Chaos Warriors, or large regiments of knights. Against goblins and skaven they usually come up trumps, unless they are outnumbered. They are excellent against empire, orc, dwarf, bretonian, or wood elf units on foot of the same size. Never buy the heavy armour, its a waste of valuble points. Always always always get a standard bearer, champion, and musician. You might even want to have them led by a commander on foot or maybe even the elf prince himself, and a small unit will form an ideal bodyguard for your vunerable mage.
ARCHERS
These are essential unless fighting chaos warriors, but then you should still take a unit or 2. Always leave out the light armour. It is very rare for archers to get into combat, so armour would be a waste of points. The same goes for musicians and standard bearers. The champion would be good if you have the points, as +1 BS can be very handy. A good number is 12. 2 units of 12 archers, both with champions, and no armour or command group can never let you down (unless they are charged by juggernaut riding bloodletters of khorne, or a regiment of halflings at that matter).
SEA GUARD
In large battles (2000 points plus) these guys are great. They combine the shooting ability of archers with the combat ability of spearmen. But they come at 15 points per piece, so in smaller battles they are a waste. However you could take them to replace your spearmen, and against wood elves they can be very handy. Like spearmen, standard bearer, champion, and musician are essential, and should be bought in chunks of about 15 (their high points costs disallows you to field larger units usually). Sea guard are very tricky to use effectively though. Let them sit back and shoot, why not take archers? Force them to charge into combat, spearmen would be more cunning. I find it best if they find some hill to shoot the enemy from while your silver helms and swordmasters charge into combat, then when your combat units are in trouble, they charge down the hill and become another unit of spearmen.
SILVER HELMS
Silver helms are the basic High Elf cavalry. They are very flexible as far as cavalry goes. They start off lightly armoured, making them swift and light. Like this they are ideal for flank attacks and picking off enemy infantry regiments such as goblins. You have the choice of giving them heavy armour, barding, and shields. Never give them all 3 upgrades, otherwise they will be just like dragon princes but can't take the magic banner for half price and the standard for free. Give them 2 of the upgrades, and they can deal with things like orcs and dwarfs, but not high strength units such as halberdiers, stormvermin, or tomb guard (tomb king elites). If silver helms never get to charge their as good as dead, as their strength of 3 will prove useless. If they cannot break the enemy on their charge, they're in trouble. Get a big unit of spearmen to back them up if things get messy. A heavily armoured regiment of Silver Helms led by an elf prince with the blade of Sea Gold can prove to be very destructive, and silver helms being core units just makes it better.
IV) SPECIAL UNITS
PHOENIX GUARD
Now I've got a problem with these guys. People who have seen the secrets of life and have taken a magical vow of silence have got to have some special rules havn'e they? But no. In the 5th edition I was expecting something to change about them in the 6th editon. But no. They stayed the same except their points cost (which is now a bargin compared to other elves). Maybe they should be immune to phycology, or be stubborn. Maybe even cause fear. But no. We will have to put up with the Phoenix guard having no special rules. Maybe when the new High Elf army book comes out they will change. Let's just hope that they do. Anyway, more to the point. I would only ever field these in 2000 point plus battles (the fact is I never field them as I have no Pjoenix guard models). But they are cheap, so regiemtns can be quite large, say 12 - 15 models. If you like to stick with the character of your army, never have Phoenix guard without a standard beaer. Their plus one strength can be very effective. Finally we can have some strong guys in the High Elven army. But compared to White lions, they are weaklings. Only one rank can be a let down. Never ever think about using Phoenix guard as a sheild. Never. If you decide you do want to have some of these warriors, then the only tactic would be march, march, march, kill lots of gobbos and skaven with large axes mounted on spear shafts. I would just leave Phoenix guard to bigger battles, but how you use them is up to you.
SWORDMASTERS OF HOETH
The swordmasters have always been a very popular troop type. In the 5th edition they were brilliant, charging in regardless of arrows, and chopping all the little goblins to peices. However they were terribly expensive. In the new edition they are only 12 points a piece. A good unit of about 15 is now allowed, which is usually the best number. They do rather well led by a commander or maybe even the Elf Prince himself. Their special abilities with the sword are represented very well in the form of a brilliant special rules. First, they get to strike first when charging, and initiative order any other time despite their double-handed weapons. Swordmasters are one of the strongest troops in the High Elf army, so use them well, and try to use as much cover as possible, as the biggest disaster would be to use all your swordmasters from shooting.
ELLYRIAN REAVERS
Now I just love fast cavalry. They speed ahead of your army, harrasing enemy skirmishers and charging the foe in the flank, causing mass confusion. Fast cavalry are usually poor combat troops, and often come armed with bows. Ellyian reavers are a perfect example of fast cavalry. Their march rate of 18" makes them the fastest troops in the High Elf army, and are ideal for flank attacks. Standard bearers are reccomended as they are not too powerful in combat. Musicians are always usefull if they flee, as they can rally easily. Reavers have two weapons options, spears or bows. In large battles you may want to take both, though in smaller battles then stick to just one of them. Spears are cheap, so it allows you to field large units. This will be extremely usefull. Let your silver helms charge the main combat units, then when combat is joined your spear armed reavers charge the flank, casuing the enemy to panic. This tactic is especially usefull when fighting low leadership enemies such as goblins. However small units of spear armed reavers can easily deal with war machine crews and human, goblin, skink, and orc wizards. The other way to fight with your reavers is with bows. Bows are more expensive than spears, so you are usually restricted to units of five or six with no command. If you do choose to but any command for bow-reavers, I reccomend the musician. Bow reavers can harras the flanks, take cover in woods and pick off war machine crews and wizards, and slow down advancing knights. I never go to war without a unit of reavers.
NOTE: The new fast cavalry rules allow them to reform with now restriction, even when marching. What this allows you to do is deploy your reavers in a snaking formation between your infantry regiments, then when the battle starts they can dash out and reform into ranks straight away. This is good when you are pressed with space to deploy in.
SHADOW WARRIORS
Shadow Warriors are the scouts and skirmishers of the High Elves. In larger battles I usually try to include a unit of them, but in smaller battles they usually don't find it onto my roster sheet. Not that they're bad, they're brilliant if you use them right, its just they don't fit in to the background of my army. So how do you use them right? Well like all other units, they work well in certain numbers, and for shadow warriors the sacred number is 9. This unit won't cost you too many points, can hold in combat for a couple of turns, provide enough fire power to weaken the enemy ranks and completly destroy war mahine crews, and they can use cover effectivly. The other thing you have to think about when using shadow warriors is deployment. Set them up in a wood or ruin near your opponents flank. If his war machines are open to attack, shoot them full of arrows. If not, charge his flanks when the combat is joined, causing confusion and panic. If he has heavy cavalry, charge them with your shadow warriors and hope they can hold until your silver helms and chariots get to charge in. When fighting knight goblins, lure out fanatics so your cavalry and shock troops are safe. Overall, shadow warriors can perform a wide variety of tasks, and are deadly (or frustraing) if you use the right.
TIRANOC CHARIOTS
Now my army comes from Tiranoc, so I have alot of experience with chariots. Here is my advice. Try to take one in small battles if you can, in 200 points and above, take at least one, two if you can. If you want to add character to your army, have your elf prince riding one. There are several ways to use chariots. First is to charge in with your cavalry and hope to break the opponents units. Second is to use them as your core attack units, with infantry on both sides to protect your flanks, and led by the elf prince, let them charge straight in to crush the opponent. The third is essential in a defensive battle. Chariots, denfensive? Well if you use them propably, yes. Set up all your archers and bolt throwers on a hill, with spearmen, sea guard, sword masters, and white lions in front. Then hide your chariots behind a hill or wood beside your main battleline. Take some great eagles to stop any nasty flyers destroying your chariots. Let the enemy charge you, then when combat is joined, the chariots rush out, catching the enemy in a swift pincer movement. He will have to take a panic test, and hopefully flee. Then, if the enemy is infantry based, your chariots will have no trouble running them down. This tactic will be explained in more detail later on this page.
DRAGON PRINCES
In the old edition they were just fully armoured silver helms which could take a magic banner at half cost. But now they have leadership 9, which reflects their noble and warlike background. However I just leaver these to really big battles, but when i play with them, they play in style. In 3000 points, take a unit of 6+ Dragon Princes with the banner of Caledor led by a mounted elf prince armed with the dragon blade lance. Take a large unit of silver helms (7+) led by a commander (for his LD value equal to the dragon princes), and throw in a couple of chariots. This force will by hard to master, but if your an experienced veteran you will have no trouble. They all charge at once. The chariots will cause most of the damage now, with the dragons and silvers killing anything else. The Prince will also play a major role, as hitting automaticly can be very usefull against high WS armies. The silver helms will have LD9 (commander) and the dragon princes have LD10 (prince) so hopefully wont break. If used well this is the best way to use dragon princes. This tactic is ideal for fighting dwarfs as you nearly always get the charge and the dragon blade lance and high WS troops will serve you well against an army with WS4 war machine crews!
(V)RARE UNITS
WHITE LIONS
If your general is on foot, these guys are essential, and even if he's not, you should think about getting them in large battles. They are very expensive (15 points per model), but are the only High Elves excpet commanders and princes which have strength 4. Also each wound they inflict causes D3 wounds instead of 1. And if that isn't enough, they are stubborn if they are led by the general. These troops are certainly not something to be messed with. Their only let-down is that they strike last in combat, so it is usually important that they get the charge. They are best when fighting troops such as beastmen with more than one wound and a low initiative, and their S6 will serve them well against dwarfs and other high toughness troops. I once had a white lion commander leading a unit of 25 spearmen, and he broke the enemy saurus unit when he charged even before his spearmen could attack.
HANDMAIDENS OF THE EVERQUEEN
These troops are ideal if you are looking for some character in your army, but I only reccomend you field them in large battles as they cost 18 points per model! However, when you do get the chance to field them, they work best in a defensive battle. Use them with the rest of your infantry to sit back and wait for the enemy to charge, keeping them pinned down with arrows,. When the enemy does charge, the handmaidens WS5 and three ranks attacking will be more than a match for most enemies, and they work perfectly with sea guard.
REPEATER BOLT THROWERS
Never leave the shores of Ulthuan without at least one of these, and try to take two if you can. In 2000 point battles you can have up to four of them, but I usually find two is enough. But the biggest question is do you shoot a salvo or a single shot. When at long range, always shoot a salvo. 6 S4 missiles hitting on 4+ with -2 armour save should be able to cause enough damage to weaken the ranks. At short range, use a single shot. It will hit on 3+, cause a S6 hit with no armour saves which will cause a further D3 wounds, and then peirce ranks too! This is ideal when facing massed ranks of enemies such as goblins, skaven, or skinks. When shooting monsters, always shoot a salvo, as you want as many as possible to hit, and it couldn't peirce ranks anyway. But if your target has a toughness of 6 or more, such as a dragon, then go for the S6 D3 wounds no armour save single shot option.
GREAT EAGLES
I usually take these as my second rare choice, and in 3000 points + battles always take them. I have a very cunning plan with how to use these, but that will be explained later in the "Commanding the High Elves" section of the book of tactics. Eagles have no armour save and a toughness of only 4, so must be backed up with silver helms or spearmen usually as they are not hard to kill. The main good thing about them is their speed (well actually I usually take them because I love the models so much). There are three ways to use them. SUPPORT for your combat units, FLANKING UNITS like reavers, or to PICK OFF war machine crews and enemy wizards.