This is a listing of the High Elf army. The types of troops, their statistics, a brief description of how I rate them, and tactics. The business end of wargaming is painting all the little sods just so you can play! I generally don't bother putting all that much effort into rank and file troops. But occasionally a nice figure, or idea, will grab me.
Updated : High Elves Armies, 6th ed book.
All comparisons on statistics are against the Warhammer averages, so if I say something like "low strength" and the value is 4, this means it is low comparative to what the other races have.
So the new book, you're obviously wondering whats good? Well from 5th -> RH -> 6th High Elves have become slightlyy cheaper, but not proportinately as much as the other races, so you can be very badly outnumbered now. Cavalry is more effective than infantry, and HtH is much better than shooting. Magic items are toned down, but they are cheaper than other armies for the same effect, most are utility items a few ok swords. We also get "Honours" now, basically magic items that give abilities and cant be negated. One big change is the new "Intrigue at Court" rule which randomisies your armies general. This really sucks big dogs bollacks, as it makes actually planning tactics in advance quite difficult.
I dont think you'll see many shooting orientated armies now, HE magic can be quite good, and with the Intrigue rule it makes it hard to depend on a strategy for a defensive army (leadership 8 mage as your general). Most people are either going all-cav, a magic heavy and shooty, magic and infantry counter-attack type armies.
The 6th ed book puts HE at the lower end of the power-scale. Skaven are currently probably the nastiest, then Vampires or Chaos, Empire and downwards. It wouldnt be so bad but for the random general rule, but its really only an update on RH and rather bland at that.
Oh well, where's 7th coming out again...?
Characters - 
Expensive for what you get, low Toughness and Strength means you will get spanked in a stand-up fight, and you will need items to wound enemies. Champions slightly more cost effective, especially since Hero's only have 3 Toughness now! You find you will want the extra magic banner the Battle Standard offers, but he too dies very easily. We used to have a house rule that another rank and file trooper could pick up the standard if he dies, making sure those banner points are not wasted (subject to normal banner lose rules). Mages are still very expensive, and now they suck in melee too. You can get some nice combos and toys, but it makes the whole character real expensive, and you really have to wonder if more troops would be better. A Hero with Great Weapon adds a lots of combat power for a reasonible amount of points though. Magci heavy armies are popular at the mo.
| Profile | Points | M | WS | BS | S | T | W | I | A | Ld |
| Elven Prince | 125 | 5 | 7 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 8 | 4 | 10 |
| Commander | 70 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 7 | 3 | 9 |
Equipment - Plus all Elven upgrades.
Specials - Allowed magic items, May ride Elven steeds, or in chariots. Princes may ride monsters.
| Archmage | 220 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 9 |
| Mage | 95 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 8 |
Equipment - Only get to use a basic sword.
Specials - Allowed magic items, May ride Elven steeds, or in chariots. Archmage can be on an eagle.
0-1 Dragon Princes of Caledor - 26 points per
model 
Good armour save, good speed, but low strength and toughness mean they will get butchered if combat goes on for more than one round. Either use a small unit as support troops which always attack the flanks to help win on rank bonus, or make them tough enough to fight by themselves. They are expensive for a small points game, but can still be useful if you only have 5. They do attract enemy fire, so sometimes it is worth trying to lure the enemy into a trap baited them your Dragon Princes.
| Profile | M | WS | BS | S | T | W | I | A | Ld |
| Dragon Prince | 5 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 9 |
| Elven Steed | 9 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 5 |
Equipment - Dragon armour (immune to dragon breath and fire attacks), shield, lance, riding barded steeds.
Specials - Can have a magic standard.
Silver Helms - 19 points per model, 23pts with heavy armour and shield.
Can equip them as heavy cav or as support cavalry. They suffer (like all elves) from low S and T. You are outclassed compared to similar cost Savage Orc Boar-Boyz, and Bretonnian Knights, so make sure you are the one charging, you only have a few inches over them, so make it count. As infantry is a bit crap now Silver Helms compare very favourably in terms of damage absorbtion (armour vs number of wounds) and have speed and more hitting power. Depends on what you like, but apart from rank bonus there's little to recommend Spearelves over Silver Helms.
| Profile | M | WS | BS | S | T | W | I | A | Ld |
| Silver Helm | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 8 |
| Elven Steed | 9 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 5 |
Equipment - Light armour, lance, barded horse. Plus some upgrades.
Ellyrian Reavers - 18 points per model 
Lost a lot of their desirability, as they no longer skirmish, and that makes them quite expensive as a screen. Dragon Princes have the same charge range with massivly more combat potential, and silver helms are almost as cheap and last better too. They don't give out damage, and are best used purely for harassment. The reavers best aspect is definitely their movement, they are the only fast cavalry High elves get now.
| Profile | M | WS | BS | S | T | W | I | A | Ld |
| Reaver | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 8 |
| Elven Steed | 9 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 5 |
Equipment - Light armour, spear. Plus some upgrades.
Specials - Fast cavalry.
0-1 White Lions of Chrace - 13 points per
model 
Less good than 5th edition. Great for your general as they are stubborn if the general is with them, but with the randomness of Intrigue you cant plan properly around this. Not much else to say, elves going last with S6 hits and light armour...
| Profile | M | WS | BS | S | T | W | I | A | Ld |
| White Lion | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 8 |
Equipment - Light armour, lion pelt, 2-H Axe, hand weapon.
Specials - Can have a magic banner, Woodsmen, Bodyguard.
0-1 Phoenix Guard - 15 points per model 
The worst of the "elite" troops, I only take them now in big point games where I need another magic standard. Spearmen, on average, actually do more damage in combat. You need huge units to make fear useful, and as they are expensive it isnt that great, ok vs demons or undead.
| Profile | M | WS | BS | S | T | W | I | A | Ld |
| Phoenix Guard | 5 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 8 |
Equipment - Heavy armour, Halberd, hand weapon.
Specials - Cause Fear. Can have a magic standard.
0-1 Sword Masters of Hoeth - 13 points per
model 
The best infantry for a stand-up fight against other elites, weapon skill 6, initiative 5, and strength 5 means they should kill most troops opposing them. Even so I prefer to take a small unit of 10, and just use them for flank attacks. Afterall, only the first rank gets to hit, so its better to get your rank bonus from spear-armed troops which should have charged simultaneously.
| Profile | M | WS | BS | S | T | W | I | A | Ld |
| Sword Master | 5 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 8 |
Equipment - Heavy armour, 2-H Sword, hand weapon.
Specials - Swordmasters, Magic standard.
0-1 Lothern Seaguard - 15 points per model 
What to do now with these? They seem much more expensive unnecessarily. Only real benefit is being able to both shoot and use spears. It's almost always better to take normal spearelves and archers, as you get longer range, plus the benefit of having a second unit to do a flank charge. I only really use Seaguard in small battles where their dual-role is more effective, or when wanting lots of shooting.
They really are crap, and are probably the least used troops apart from Phoenix Guard.
| Profile | M | WS | BS | S | T | W | I | A | Ld |
| Seaguard | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 8 |
Equipment - Light armour, shield, bow. Plus can get shields.
Specials - Citizen Levy.
Elven Spearmen - 11 points per model 
The most basic troops, only good points are the 2/3 ranks for attacking with. They will do well against other basic enemy troops, but don't expect much vs anything tougher. You will probably always take one unit now, as they are the best way to get rank bonus, and large unit strength. Always try to hit each enemy unit with an elite unit as well, this will hopefully reduce your casualties, and allow you to overwhelm it before next unit arrives.
| Profile | M | WS | BS | S | T | W | I | A | Ld |
| Spearman | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 8 |
Equipment - Light armour, shield, spear.
Specials - Citizen Levy.
Shadow Warriors - 15 points per model 
Your only skirmishers, they can deploy after everyone else has set up, and they hate Dark Elves. If you can manage it, get behind enemy infantry. You can manoeuvre easier than them to not get charged, you will stop them travel marching (while shooting them in the backs). Without their shields they suck in HtH, and makes them worse for march-blocking too. A new size limitation of 5-15 means you cant even use them in big blocks vs Dark Elves like you used to. Eagles are generally better for blocking roles.
| Profile | M | WS | BS | S | T | W | I | A | Ld |
| Shadow Warrior | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 8 |
Equipment - Long Bow, light armour.
Specials - Skirmish, Scouts, Hate Dark Elves.
Elven Archers - 12 points per model
Supposedly the mainstay of the elf army. You will get pummelled in combat, and are still expensive compared to other armies archers. Repeater bolt throwers are more effective than 10 archers, and Seaguard can fight as well as shoot. Either use them in small units so if one gets attacked you don't care, or use them in big units (30+) so your "stand and shoot" response is more useful. It can be worthwhile having at least one unit of archers if only to cover things like shooting, or even drawing out fanatics, and also it's the easiest way to knock an enemies infantry block down one rank for better combat odds before HtH is joined.
But really shooting is so ineffective now-a-days that archers are also rarely seen now.
| Profile | M | WS | BS | S | T | W | I | A | Ld |
| Archer | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 8 |
Equipment - Long Bow.
Specials - Citizen Levy.
Repeater Bolt Thrower - 100 points per model
Now double the price, with additional restrictions on how many you can have. In practice this doesn't have much effect in 3000 point games, but under that and you find yourself pushing the limits quickly. Sure maybe they were too cheap before, but I don't believe they are as effective as a cannon. Still it is the only non strength 3 missile weapon you have... Using a number of these and Archmage/mages makes a reasonibly effective but annoying army.
| Profile | M | WS | BS | S | T | W | I | A | Ld |
| Crew (2) | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 8 |
| Machine | 7 | 3 |
Equipment - None, they lost their Light armour!
Tiranoc Chariots - 85 points per model 
Now using the new chariot rules, so should be interesting. You can also get 2 for one Special Choice. I often take one just for the missile attraction they can cause (saving your other troops from being shot), and as they are the hardest hitting thing the elves can field (well you can make your general better, but it is really going to cost you some serious magic items, and even then you will not be much better). They do seem to keep getting weaker and more expensive though. Never charge unsupported, adding a character makes them US5 and therefore rank-negating.
| Profile | M | WS | BS | S | T | W | I | A | Ld |
| Charioteer | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 8 | |||
| Elven Steed | 9 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 1 | ||||
| Chariot | 5 | 4 | 4 |
Equipment - Spear, bows. Can have extra horses.
Griffons - 200 points per model 
50 points more expensive then 5th edition, and a whole load of stats are lower. Still they are much closer to Dragons now, and you can get US5 to remove ranks, so an ok option. Generally better just to use a horse though.
| Profile | M | WS | BS | S | T | W | I | A | Ld |
| Griffin | 6 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 7 |
Specials - Fly, Terror.
Giant Eagles - 50 points per model 
Can you say "march-blocking"! Cost effective, but comparatively vulnerable. Good for a cheap flying mount, or for hassling warmachines. I often field two as with the weakening of both Reavers and Shadow Warriors these look more attractive.
| Profile | M | WS | BS | S | T | W | I | A | Ld |
| Giant Eagle | 2 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 8 |
Specials - Fly.
Dragons - 320 points
Expensive, but can be good in larger point battles. Gives some serious combat potential to a lord, using the White Lion honour makes them both Stubborn which is good. Very useful against infantry as you no longer have to charge the front automatically, so flying up a flank, then using Terror and flank charges can work a wonder.
| Profile | M | WS | BS | S | T | W | I | A | Ld |
| dragon | 6 | 6 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 3 | 5 | 8 |
Specials - Fly, Terror, Large, Breathe Fire, 3+ save.
Unicorns - gone from the HE armoury :-( 