Kry'el raged and ranted. Despite his best efforts he was thwarted still. No matter how he tried he could not triumph over his foes.
"Summon General Korban!" he thundered at his servants.
They scurried off to fulfil the order of the One Who Walks in Shadows. In minutes, General Korban appeared before the Lord of the Arhainii.
"You summoned me my lord," said Korban saluting his commander-in-chief.
"Why do we lose our battles general?" said Kry'el, his voice laced with venom.
"I don't know my lord," was his reply.
"Then get out of my sight!"
"Perhaps I can be of some assistance my Lord Kry'el." It was Lithar, High Priestess of Khaine. "Listen closely to what I have to say for I shall only say it once."
These Elves hit hard and they hit fast but can't take damage. When in sustained combats or under fire your Elves will simply die in droves but with your high mobility getting into winnable combats should be relatively simple. Infantry are the real strength of the Arhainii while their cavalry are more or less average and their war machines are non existent. I will discuss the units first and then the characters and the rest of the army. This is because it is the units which will win you the game and not the monsters or characters.
Bloodlust
Most of your units will suffer (or benefit) from Bloodlust. This allows you to add 1"
to pursuit moves making your army even deadlier. However it can cause problems if you
don't wish to pursue your opponents. A cunning player can use this rule against you by
drawing your units into traps. Watch out for this and beware. Beware especially for Glade
Riders whose Feign Flight may be a particularly nasty trap for an unsuspecting Arhainii
regiment.
Blood Warriors
The Blood Warriors are the créme-de-la-créme of the Arhainii army. With WS 5 S4 and
frenzy they are amongst the toughest combat units in the game. There move of 5 is also
very useful. You should be able to pick your opponents and dictate the battle. Bear in
mind that although Ignore Pain is a useful ability, it will only save 1 in 6 wounds
caused. Their lack of armour and Toughness of 3 means that every archer on the board
will probably be gunning for your Blood Warriors. My advice is to take lots of Blood
Warriors and to kill the Archers before they shoot you to pieces.
Shadow Dancers
These athletic warriors are useful in several roles. I usually use small units as screens
for the rest of my army. Not only does this shield my fragile units from missile fire, but
the Shadow Dancers will receive the charge protecting your vulnerable troops. As they hate
the enemy they are very unlikely to run away which would result in the enemy pursuing into
your main battle line. This allows you to counter-assault his units while he is stranded
in front of you.
Another use is to use a larger unit of Shadow Dancers to tie up powerful enemy regiments. As they have an unmodified save and hatred they should last a long time allowing you to destroy the rest of your opponents army.
Night Walkers
While other scouts tend to be expert shots, the Arhainii infiltrators are close combat
troops. Use them to blitz war machines and archers at the back of the enemy deployment
zone. Unfortunately Strike and Fade is not much help in such situations. To make use of
this ability place the Night Walkers in a wood placed close to the centre of the table.
Charge any troops that move too close and then fade away back into the woods. If and when
your foes decide to charge your Night Walkers, flee through the woods. This will leave the
enemy stranded as they will suffer from the difficult terrain. Used in this way the Night
Walkers can also prevent March moves and generally are a complete nuisance for your
opponents.
One final word. Most scouts you can get away with using very few. With Night Walkers I would suggest using up to 10 in a unit as they can be quite exposed and vulnerable to casualties from the combats they get into. Any more than that and the unit becomes inflexible and unwieldy.
Arhainii Warriors
These warriors are the mainstay of the Arhainii army. They are fast, flexible and
reliable. When using them offensively flails or additional swords are the tools to use. In
defence spears can work wonders. A unit of 20 inc standard and musician armed with spears,
light armour and shields carrying the Banner of Defiance or the Standard of Shielding is a
very good defensive unit. The Banner of Bloodlust in an offensive unit is very nasty. With
it you can potentially charge 16" and you pursue 3D6+1". Ouch!
Arhainii Archers
The only Elves in the game that can have a unit with S4 missiles. I would always use about
3 units of 10-15 Archers. I would place one centrally and army them with Crossbows or Wood
Elf Longbows. The two on the flanks I would give longbows. Between these units nothing
should be beyond the reach of your archery. Important targets include cavalry, that can
really make a mess of your infantry, and enemy archers.
Bloodwolves
Bloodwolves are fast and hard. One problem is whether to put the Wolfmaster in the front
so he can attack, or whether to put him at the back so he's out of harm's way. I would put
him at the back most of the time but whatever you decide, be careful as if he dies your
Bloodwolves will go berserk and may end up charging your own army. I find that Bloodwolves
are very good at terrifying your opponent. As they are on large, cavalry bases, a unit of
20 (cheap in points) looks absolutely monstrous and will cause your opponent to waste an
unreasonable amount of firepower on the unit.
Unfortunately, Bloodwolves suffer from not having a command group and not having any equipment options. My advice is to use Bloodwolves in support of the rest of the army and not as the main unit.
Javelin Throwers
These Elves have great potential as nuisances. Using their great speed it's possible to
get close to the enemy and start hurling javelins. If you annoy them enough they will
probably send some troops after you. You can lead them a merry chase and tie them up for
quite some time. Javelins are good weapons as they will almost never need more than 3+ to
hit but do suffer from having to be so close to the enemy. If you're afraid of your
precious Javelin Throwers dying then use them on the flanks of your army. They also make
cheap alternatives to Shadow Dancers as screening troops.
Shadow Riders
This cavalry unit can be armed in two main ways. They can be light cavalry armed with
missile weapons. This type of unit is most useful to hunt down skirmishers and other
annoying troops such as Goblin Fanatics, Squig Hoppers and Pump Wagons. On the whole I
would use them in several small units of 5 models each.
Alternatively, they can be armed to act as medium cavalry with lances, light armour and shields. In this role they can be a fast acting assault unit. Their low armour save can be a problem though and you should stick to cover to avoid being shot to bits. If you want your Shadow Riders to act in this way, you will need more models in the unit. About 12 is probably sufficient and they will need a full command group.
Dark Sylphs
Your army will have a hard time punching through armour and dealing with high toughness
troops. Dark Sylphs are the answer. Their attacks are at the same strength as their
victims and there is no armour save against their attacks. Even Stegadons can be killed by
Dark Sylphs. Although powerful, the Dark Sylphs have a few weaknesses. If you have Dark
Sylphs you must protect your Mages as their deaths will cause your Sylphs to melt away.
Beware of fighting massive units of cheap troops. Each enemy you kill could be the death
of your Sylphs so make sure you are fighting the right opponents. Go for the big expensive
units of Knights or large monsters such as Giants and Ogres. Unfortunately, the Dark
Sylphs will occasionally slip out of your control and will charge forwards regardless of
what you want. If this happens then all you can do is grin and bear it.
Lords and Heroes
These characters are the most powerful fighters in the Arhainii army. Personally I would
arm these guys for combat. Swords that increase strength are a good buy (the Ogre Blade
and the Knife of Khaine are very good) as your army may have a hard time dealing with
tough or well armoured troops.
A special save is almost essential for the general as he is not immortal and your enemy's attentions will be directed at him. The Armour of Fortune is very good value and is perhaps the best choice of Magic Armour. On the subject of Magic Items I feel it worth mentioning that I almost never use magic items of more than 50 points. They just aren't worth it. For that many points you can buy many more troops that are ultimately better value.
Battle Standard Bearers
Although they are very useful, allowing another magic standard as well as the reroll for
failed break tests, Battle Standard Bearers are very easy to kill. If you want to survive
then you may want to take some kind of ward but then you will be unable to use a magic
standard. Most of the time I don't use Battle Standards as I feel that the risks far
outweigh the gains.
Champions
Always have a champion for every combat unit if you can. With their extra WS, S and A they
will greatly increase your damage-dealing potential. When it comes to magic items I tend
to use items that will benefit the whole unit with my favourite choices being the Amulet
of Fire and the Potion of Kry'el. Not having some magical protection for your main unit is
asking for trouble.
Shadow Mages
Your spellcasters use a unique magic deck that blends the natural magic of the Wood Elves
with the sheer power of Dark magic. The deck contains a wide variety of spells but lacks
the really powerful offensive punch to destroy the enemy directly. Using the Spirit Path
your mage can become very mobile allowing him to pick on isolated troops as well as
positioning for the Wrath of Khaine. Spear of Darkness is essential for a Siege game as it
can be used to destroy the gate quite easily. Magic provides the best means (possibly) of
dealing with enemy war machines in the form of Spear of Darkness and especially the
Striking of Khaine. My favourite spell is Shadow Path as the ability to teleport a unit is
very useful.
Blood Heroes
Blood Heroes are very powerful warriors and it's very in character to use one to lead your
Blood Warriors. Armed with the Talisman of Blood they will never lose attacks making them
one of the best frenzied characters in the game. As with Blood Warriors these frenzied
warriors are very vulnerable to being killed before they have a chance to strike. If you
feel it necessary, the Sword of Swift Slaying will help counter this but then you are
likely to lose attacks. Decisions, decisions...
Raptors
These characters are useful. The ability to reposition one unit can be exploited if your
opponent deploys in what he assumes is a safe place only to have your hardest unit deploy
opposite. The flock of birds is most useful against lightly armoured troops and characters
walking around by themselves. Try to avoid being targeted by any form of attack. Even low
strength attacks can kill a Raptor as they have no armour.
Blood Willows
These powerful monsters are very hard and very expensive. They aren't as resilient as
Treemen however so don't expect them to withstand the same kind of damage. Be especially
careful of war machines and of fiery attacks. Warpfire throwers can kill your beloved
Blood Willow if you're not careful. Blood Willows are good at attacking anyone but beware
of attacking people with large numbers of ranks and standard without some support or you
may lose the combat on ranks alone. The cost of the Blood Willows and the fact that that
cost comes from the character section means that these powerful creatures are best left
for large battles.
Swarms
These are very useful for holding up units. You may wish to consider Spider Swarms as
there is no save allowed for their attacks and the Arhainii sometimes find armour a
problem.
Dark Pegasi
These are very cheap flying mounts for characters. Useful for Heroes wishing to attack
enemy war machines and other vulnerable units. Also useful for Shadow Mages allowing them
to get in the right spot for their spells. Beware of getting shot as large numbers of any
kind of missile fire can easily kill a Dark Pegasus and its rider.
Griffons
If you need a monster with a bit more punch than a Dark Pegasus than I would heartily
recommend a Griffon. These must be ridden as they are Bound Monsters but otherwise they
should be used in the same way as a Dark Pegasus. Griffons cause Terror and this gives the
option of flying around the table making your enemy take terror tests. This can be quite
effective against low leadership armies like Skaven and Goblins as well as Orcs and Humans
but is of less use against armies like Dwarfs. Remember that each enemy unit need only
take one Terror test the entire game so you must keep moving around.
Dragons
A word on Dragons. Dragons are very, very, very expensive. They will be the target of
every War machine and missile weapon that your opponent can bring to bear as well as
numerous magic spells. In short they aren't worth the large investment of points that they
represent. They will never make up their points in damage as they simply can't kill enough
in the limited time available. In general avoid Dragons and use Dark Pegasi and Griffons
instead.
I almost never use allies. If you must use allies then you will need your opponent's permission and to get it I suggest you tell him what army you intend to ally with and make sure that it isn't beardy. Special Characters are fun for the odd battle but get boring if used repeatedly.
The Arhainii work best at offensive strategies as they are not really designed as defenders.
Massed Charge
This is really simple stuff. Using your hardest units you go stomping. Blood Warriors and
Warriors should be the core of your assault but they should have at least some kind of
missile support. Dark Sylphs should also be used to counter any big, nasty, threats to
your lightly armoured troops. Night Walkers and flyers can be used to disorientate and
distract the enemy and to destroy any missile fire. When your main blocks see combat
nothing should stand in their way. This works against mainly defensive armies but beware
of troops that can stand up to your assault. Troops with thick armour and hto cause mass
confusion and carnage. Then your second wave of troops moves in. This wave should consist
mainly of infantry especially Warriors and Blood Warriors as well as Dark Sylphs. This
plan is again for use against a defensive opponent or an army based around infantry such
as Beastmen.
The Oblique Line
Attacking in an oblique line can be fun. Put your fastest and hardest troops on one flank
(the Storm Riders are good in this role) and roll down the flank. Your units should be
arranged so that your fa of cutting through their armour. Some Magic Weapons make very
good can openers. This plan will fail if your screening troops do not die and instead flee
back into your lines. Make sure that they are quite fragile to avoid this.
Attacking in Waves
This is a variation on the Massed Charge. Form the army into 2 waves. The first wave
should consist of all your flyers, Night Walkers, the Storm Riders (if you want to use
them) and combat-orientated Shadow Riders. These should all hit the enemy at the same time
to cause mass confusion and carnage. Then your second wave of troops moves in. This wave
should consist mainly of infantry especially Warriors and Blood Warriors as well as Dark
Sylphs. This plan is again for use against a defensive opponent or an army based around
infantry such as Beastmen.
The Oblique Line
Attacking in an oblique line can be fun. Put your fastest and hardest troops on one flank
(the Storm Riders are good in this role) and roll down the flank. Your units should be
arranged so that your fastest and hardest units are all on one flank. Archers should hold
the middle ground. The refused flank is perhaps the greatest weakness as it is lightly
defended and can be destroyed easily. To prevent this use Night Walkers and flyers to
prevent enemy march moves on that flank. Also a good defensive block of warriors may be
useful. Arm them with spears, armour and possibly the Banner of Defiance. This strategy
works well against horde armies such as Skaven and Orcs. It tends to be easy to destroy
each individual unit in such armies and they also tend to be more vulnerable to resulting
panic tests.
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