Hello all, Phat J here with my weekly article, the Old World Almanac. Your source for MY opinion on what I feel is good and bad about MY favorite game, Warhammer The Old World.
Last week I went over what I believe to be the five BEST units in the current High Elf army. You can catch up on your reading here.
This week I’m ‘flipping the script’, as the professionals say. What professionals you ask? How about you mind your business, you slob. Anyways, this week I want to go over what I feel are the worst options available to High Elf players. As I said in the last article, a big problem with the High Elves are that they are point costed for a previous edition of the game, when they had more universal special rules such as Fights First. What we have in The Old World is an army filled with expensive, semi-elite units that are lightly armored and extremely fragile. The universal Fights First rule at least let them strike first, and with no step-up in melee it made going toe to toe with their elite infantry units a tough call for opponents. The elves famed expertise in bow weapons is also largely lackluster. Yes, their longbowmen are BS4, but that means your are still hitting on 4’s for the most part and they have no innate ability to make them better such as re-roll 1’s or the like. I mean, for supposed expert warriors that are hundreds of years old at the very least make them BS5 or have some rules to give them re-rolls on the hit or the wounds. For the point costs they just are not worth it. Anyways, that is enough wailing and gnashing of teeth. Here are, in MY opinion, the WORST units in the High Elf army.
5. Silver Helms
Ok I get it, Silver Helms are an ICONIC unit for the High Elves. They are also one of a few core choices available to you. That being said, for a T3 / 1W / 1A / 3+ save model, 24 points is a steep price to pay for such a fragile unit. Yes, being an elf makes them fast, at I5 or I6 if charged due to Elven Reflexes (can’t use their lances). Let’s compare them to their counterparts in the Forces of Fantasy arm book, the Empire Knights (22 pts) and Bretonnian Mounted Knights of the Realm (24 pts). Both of these units are also Core choices for their respective armies. The GLARING issue is that unlike the Empire or Bretonnian Knights, Silver Helms do not have the Counter Charge special rule. This rule is extremely important in that it would let the S3 elves get their lance bonus when charged instead of using their hand weapons. I honestly don’t know if it was an oversight on the rules writer’s part or if they thought the elves being I5 was too good to include Counter Charge? MAKE IT MAKE SENSE. The Empire Knights have the ability to have the Drilled and Stubborn special rule for an additional 3 pts per model, meaning for just 1 more point per model you have a unit that increase their amount of attacks on a charge by changing their front rank numbers as well as making them able to lose a combat without fleeing due to a loss in combat. Their Bretonnian counterparts have the innate ability to re-roll 1’s on the charge, flee or pursuit roll due to the Finest Warhorses special rule as well as a 6+/5+ ward save from the Blessings of the Lady.
What do the Silver Helms need to make them a better option for High Elf generals? A better weapon skill to start, as is the issue with most of the elf units. Coming in at WS5 would be a huge help with their low strength and attack profile. Giving them Counter Charge would certainly help as well.
4. High Elf Spearmen
This one pains me, but the basic core infantry for the High Elves are just not worth their point cost. The Ulthuan Militia consists of two choices, the Spearman and the Archer. Spearmen come in at 9 points per model and for that cost you get a WS4 / S3 / T3 / 1A / 1W model with Light Armor and Shields. There is an option to upgrade them with the Veteran and the Shieldwall special rule for an additional point cost. I guess the big bonus for this unit is they have a couple of bonus initiative rules from Elven Reflexes (+1 I for first round of combat) and Thrusting Spears (+1 I when charged), which makes them strike at I6 in melee if charged. That would be great if they had a higher Weapon Skill or Strength Characteristic. Again, if we are going to pay higher point costs for basic infantry then we need to have some kind of bonus to our attack capability. Let’s look at the humble Empire State Trooper for comparison. A basic State Trooper with just Light Armor and a Hand Weapon comes in at 5 points per model. Give him the classic Halberd and Shield combo and we’re up to 7 points per model, however we now have the same save characteristic as the Elven Spearman (against shooting) and we have S4 AP -1 Melee attacks. Thanks to the Errata the Empire State Troops now have the Horde special rule, gaining them an extra point of Combat Resolution. For a 10 man unit comparison you would be looking at 20 less points per unit without any additional upgrades.
3. High Elf Archers
The Elven Archers are an even worse bang for your buck. Clocking in at 10 points per model without any upgrades, you get a BS 4 Elf with a Longbow. They have almost no upgrade option other than Light Armor for an additional point per model. Yes, they are BS 4, but is hitting 50% of the time (long range) worth the cost? Their counterparts in the Empire come with Crossbows at BS 3. While they are hitting on 5’s, they are S4 with Armor Bane (2). They are also 3 points cheaper per model. The Elves desperately need SOMETHING to make them stand out on the tabletop. Some kind of innate ability to re-roll 1’s to hit or a higher Ballistic Skill would go a long way to make these models stand out as elite Core troops.
2. Shadow Warriors
Ok, there isn’t necessarily anything TERRIBLE with this unit, its just that there also isn’t really anything GOOD about it. For a whopping 14 points per model without upgrades you have an Elf with Light Armor and a Longbow that has BS 5. Hey, you got your Evasive, Move Through Cover, Fire and Flee, Scouts and Veteran rules all stacked in that point cost. What you don’t have? Anything that makes them more than an Elf with a Longbow hitting on 2’s or 3’s with S3 attacks. Again, I like to compare this unit to a counterpart, and in this case we can look at the Bretonnian Squires. You have a man with a BS 3 Longbow. You can kit them out with almost the exact same special rules as the Shadow Warriors for 9 points per model. Yes, they are hitting considerably less often than their elven counterparts but they are coming in at 5 points LESS per model. Just another example of paying a High Elf point tax for a less than elite profile. Tell me the last time you saw any High Elf player seriously taking Shadow Warriors
1. Eagle-Claw Bolt Thrower
This one pains me to list, but it’s at the top of my list, because it’s just a bad choice. I love the concept of the Bolt Thrower, and it was one of the first metal High Elf models I ever purchased back in the late 90’s. Really the only thing wrong with it is that it just costs WAY too many points. It’s 80 points. I get it, it’s a Repeater Bolt Thrower so you get the Rapid Fire special rule, which makes it more versatile than say the Dwarf Bolt Thrower, which is around 50 points. BUT, it has two wounds. TWO WOUNDS. For a model that is hitting 50% of the time (at half range) and with only two wounds, I would expect it to be significantly less points.
So there you have it, Phat J’s TOP 5 STINKER units in my High Elf lists. What do you think? Am I right or right?
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