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by Ken Kennedy
 Powerful
spells, unbeatable special characters, and unique Honours are great,
but the real magical advantage of the High Elves is their bargain
basement magic items. All items produced by the Anvils of Vaul (including
the common magic items) are discounted by 20-30% to allow your High
Elf army to field more items as befits these magical warriors. Not
only are these items less expensive, but some of the High Elf-only
items are really cool! Here are a few of my favourites from each
category:
Magic Weapons
As a Wood Elf player of old and a fantasy fan in general, I love
magic bows. Well, the High Elves have two great ones! The Bow of
the Seafarer turns its wielder into a bolt thrower while the Reaver
Bow gives the bearer the ability to shoot three times per Shooting
phase at S 5. Combined with the fabled archery skills of an Elf,
these weapons are killers!
Another weapon that I really like is the Foe Bane. This blade wounds
all targets with 3 or more starting wounds on a roll of 2+. This
is a monster killer if there ever was one. Not strong enough to
get through that thick Fenbeast hide? A hit with the Foe Bane is
almost an automatic wound!
Magic Armour
While the High Elves have some very interesting armour, I personally
like the Golden Shield. It is a standard shield that gives your
attackers a -1 to hit penalty in close combat. This is a very useful
item for a character with a high Weapon Skill, forcing most opponents
to roll a 5 or better to hit the bearer of the Golden Shield. Hard
to hit, but nowhere near as cheesy as a WS10 Blood Dragon Vampire
toting around the Cursed Book (-1 to enemy hits) on the back of
his pet Zombie Dragon (also -1 to enemy hits).
Talismans
For a mere 55 points you can get a 4+ Ward save and a re-roll of
your failed armour save. That is, if you pick up the Vambraces of
Defence. Another interesting item is the Talisman of Saphery that
negates magic weapons in base contact with the holder. Disabling
their magic weapons can really throw a monkey wrench into the plans
of your opponents. Use Vaul's Unmaking to destroy the enemy's magic
armour and you're set!
 Arcane
Items
All the usual items are here; items that add spells, Power dice,
add 1 to casting, and give immunity to the Mage's first miscast.
The benefit is, of course, that they are all discounted by 20-30%
(33% off in the case of the Silver Wand!).
Enchanted Items
One of the scariest things about the High Elves is their ability
to field Princes and Commanders with magic casting ability using
the Honour Loremaster. Well, for only 5 more points the Radiant
Gem of Hoeth makes its wearer a Level 1 Wizard that CAN wear armour!
The bound spell items, Ring of Corin (Vaul's Unmaking) and Ring
of Fury (Fury of Khaine), are also quite desirable.
Magic Banners
Want to finally win a close combat engagement? Well, the Battle
Banner can make that a reality. Adding an incredible D6 to combat
resolution has a way of doing that! True, you could roll a one but
you won't; you never do! I also like the Banner of Sorcery that
adds D3 Power dice during your Magic phase.
It can be argued that some races have Wizards as powerful as those
of the High Elves, and some Armies books list items more powerful
than those found in Vaul's Forge. It could also be true that some
race-specific Lores might have more potent spells. However, for
a true magic aficionado, no other army has such a powerful combination
of Mages, spells, items, abilities and characters. The High Elves
are truly the most magically powerful race in the Warhammer world.
Find
Part 1 Here!
Ken Mignogna (Kennedy) is the lone
Canadian on the US Web Team and fields Dwarfs and Dark Elves on
the Warhammer pitch. His other favourite games are Mighty Empires,
Bloodbowl, Hockey, and Sasquatch-in-the-Middle.
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