All lists presented are at 2500 points.
Warriors of Chaos
- Daemon Prince w/ Level 4, Wings, Chaos Armor, Fire Breathing, Chaos Familiar, Scaly Skin, Soul Feeder, Dragonbane Gem, Charmed Shield, Lore of Death
- Exalted Hero w/ BSB, Mark of Nurgle, Charmed Shield
- Sorcerer w/ Level 2, Dispel Scroll, Lore of Shadow
- 20 Warriors of Chaos w/ Full Command, Mark of Nurgle, Shields
- 18 Warriors of Chaos w/ Full Command, Mark of Khorne, Halberds, Banner of Eternal Flame
- 3x 5 Chaos Warhounds w/ Vanguard
- 5 Chaos Knights w/ Full Command
- 2x Chimera w/ Flame Breath, Regenerating Flesh
The idea behind this list revolves around the fast moving units charging across the field and softening up the forces while the warriors of Chaos maneuver into position. This works out as effectively two waves of attacks with the first wave comprising the Daemon Prince, 2x Chimeras, Chaos Knights, and Warhounds. The second wave comprises the infantry blocks and remaining characters.
In the vanguard each unit serves a vital purpose. The warhounds are the obvious chaff/redirect units but can seriously threaten the chaff of other armies. They can also hold up units, march block, and allow for some ability to deal with scouts should they deploy too close or behind my lines. The Chaos Knights are perfect for holding up large units of sub-par infantry like slaves, state-troops, etc as well as supporting charges against units locked in combat with other units in the army. The chimeras are sheer beasts as they have durability, killing power, and maneuverability all rolled into a single model. Ideally they fly across the board, breath on a ranked unit, and then charge into battle on a flank. With up to 9 attacks per round at decent WS and S (plus thunderstomps) they can really dish out the pain on the average infantry unit. The daemon prince is the ultimate hunter. He can fly, has a 2+ armor save and a 5+ ward and with mark of Nurgle, most opponents will need 5's or 6's to hit. He also has a breath attack but can also heal himself in close combat with soul feeder. Against war machines he has the charmed shield to protect him from the first war machine shot in his direction and the dragonbane gem to completely negate daemon cannons and the ubiquitous dwarven cannons with the flaming rune. This may sound like very temporary and situational protection but he really should be stuck in combat after the first turn.
Wave two forms the backbone of the army. Wave one essentially causes as much devastation as possible and forces my opponent into a reactionary mindset and then the real damage dealers roll in. Two solid blocks of heavy infantry can ruin anyone's day. The mark of nurgle unit is the character bunker and attrition unit. It does damage and keeps units locked in combat based solely on it's ability to withstand damage in close combat. It will usually form the center of my battleline or the cornerstone for denied flank deployment. The Khorne unit deals with high armor and other monsters with WS5, S5, I5 A2 + Frenzy meaning it can carve a deadly swathe through anything foolish enough to meet them in combat. The BSB provides much needed leadership support as the Daemon Prince may not be around if my opponent finds a way to harrass my ranked units and I can't run them across the board quick enough.
For magic the Daemon Prince provides most of the support with Death magic while the sorcerer provides a little solid utility with the tried-and-true Shadow magic. Ideally the daemon prince will have all three major spells for the lore (Spirit Leech, Caress of Laniph, and Fate of Bjuna). He will use those to snipe important characters out of units (general, BSB, hierophant, etc) or against weak units to try and cause some panic when combined with Doom and Darkness (if present). He should also add a few dice to the magic pool that allow the shadow sorcerer to cast whatever he needs to. The shadow mage is there to debuff enemy units with miasma always being taken and my preference of remaining spell going for either Enfeebling or Withering with Pit of Shades/Okkam's Mindrazor being next of the list.
Yes, this list is very similar to the one that crushed me at Adepticon. I had been looking at a list similar to this before the tournament though and all that did was make me want to run this list even more. So I changed it to make it work for my playstyle. I saved points moving from the super-cheese Tzeentch BSB on mount to a cheap infantry BSB, swapping Festus for a generic shadow mage, and moving from bloodcrushers to knights, as well as dropping a unit of non-vanguard warhounds, to purchase an additional unit of warriors with halberds. So I have the exact same number of drops but I have more models in the army.
High Elf Light Council
- Alarielle w/ Lore of Light (3), High Magic (1)
- Noble w/ BSB, Banner of Avelorn, Heavy Armor, Shield
- Mage w/ Level 2, Dispel Scroll, Lore of Light
- Mage w/ Lore of Light
- 25 Spearmen w/ Full Command, Banner of Eternal Flame
- 15 Archers w/ Musician
- 15 Archers w/ Musician
- 30 White Lions w/ Full Command, Banner of the World Dragon
- Lothern Sky-Cutter
- Giant Eagle
- Giant Eagle
- 10 Sisters of Avelorn
- Flamespyre Phoenix
This list is focused almost entirely on magic. So it can be a very fickle list depending on the Winds of Magic. That being said, several units in this list function just fine outside of the magic phase, but overall this list is geared to completely dominate the magic phase while performing acceptably in all other phases.
Since it is an important part of the list, let's cover magic first this time. There is a lot involved in controlling the magic phase though, so put on the thinking caps and follow along. First up, this is based on using Alarielle, a BSB with the banner of Avelorn, two mages, and a unit of infantry that can take the Banner of the World Dragon (in this case white lions). For magic make up the best mix is Alarielle with 3 light spells and 1 high magic spell while the standard mages both take lore of light. Alarielle adds a lot to this mix that you don't get from a standard archmage. First, she allows the BSB to take the Banner of Avelorn that gives +4 to cast on Life and Light spells on the unit with the banner. Secondly she gives the entire unit she is with (and herself) a 5+ ward save. Lastly, she can attempt to recast a spell she previously attempted in the phase once per game (whether it was successful or not). The Banner of Avelorn is the single largest component of this as it gives a hefty advantage to casting spells. Opponents have to make real decisions of do they let the small stuff through that requires hefty dispel dice or do they wait for the big banishment they know is coming late in the magic phase. What the elf army ends up with is a magic phase where Alarielle receives a +8 to cast her light spells, the mages receive a +5 to their spells, the entire unit has a 5+ ward save, and the banner of the world dragon protects the casters from the unlikely miscasts with a 2+ ward save.
So how does one get the most of this setup? Well hopefully Alarielle will receive Banishment in her Light selection and Hand of Glory for her High magic spell. The level 1 should roll on the table. If he doesn't get Pha's protection or The Speed of Light then default to Shem's Burning Gaze. The level 2 can either go with what he rolls or take Burning Gaze plus the best of the two spells rolled. Advance with the White Lions cautiously and let loose in the magic phase. Most spells shouldn't require more than 2 dice, using 3 only if absolutely necessary. The high magic spell can either be cast last or first. Cast it first to draw out dispel dice if protection for the white lions isn't a huge deal while casting last should be reserved if it is vital for the protection of the unit or the Everqueen. Most of the High magic spells should be castable (or attemptable) on a single die. If a spell is absolutely vital, don't be afraid to throw more dice at it to get he miscast. A 2+ ward will protect pretty much everything that could be affected by the miscast table unless the caster is sucked into the warp. On the turn before the White Lions charge, drop ALL of the characters out of the unit and have them join up with the Sisters of Avelorn who should be following shortly behind the White Lions.
The rest of the list is pretty standard High Elf army building. The Spearmen form a nice protective unit that receives a boatload of attacks from Martial Prowess. The archers are there to remove chaff, scouts, fast cavalry, and take off the stray wounds on larger monsters and units if nothing else is in range. The Sisters act as both a late-game bunker for the characters as well as an anti-regen ranged unit while the Phoenix should either aim to perform fly-over attacks on units with deep ranks (skavenslaves) or go after war machines. The great eagles do what they do best, redirect, bait, and eat other chaff.
The sky-cutter and lion chariot are both placeholders. I had wanted to use cavalry but the points don't allow me to use the unit I really wanted and really, after the charge elven cavalry just doesn't have the teeth I'd really like. I like the lion chariot due to stubborn and I think it will perform at least as good as 5 cavalry of any type (maybe not on the charge, but certainly afterword). The Sky-cutter is both because I like the model and think a flying chariot is a cool concept as well as the ability to hunt war machines. I may actually try dropping the lion chariot for another sky-cutter and taking the bolt throwers on both.
So those are my current Fantasy lists for each of my side projects (Skaven are a full-time job). Next time I'm hoping to make a little progress on the Screaming Bell Landship.