A few weeks ago, the eagerly anticipated High Elves 7th Edition hit the GW shelves....except for me where it hit my letterbox a few days before it hit the shelves. Nevertheless, whether it hit the shelves, your letterbox, the door or any other part of a building that involves postage delivery, the HE book did not disappoint.
Rumours that HE would be the next armybook released after the Empire were afloat as early as January this year. Had the expansion Mighty Empires not been released we'd likely have seen the HE hitting the shelves back in June. Regardless, it was worth the wait. The book comes in at a whopping 104 pages, the largest army book in both ranges. It's not only filled with the standard army list and painting guides, it also boasts a huge background section, detailing the tales of the Elves from the first Phoenix King Aenarion, right up to the present day Finubar aswell as describing the heroics of the previously minatureless Alith Anar and the revival of the 5th Edition character Eltharion the Grim.
Whether you're a Warhammer buff or not, if you're a fantasy fan this book is certainly worth the read, if only for the history section. I would even suggest that the Warhammer world is a "more truthful" fantasy than LoTR could ever be. The distinction between High Elves, Wood Elves and Dark Elves is made more clearer than ever in this edition, both in the history and the armylist. The fabled "War of the Beard" (the war between the High Elves and Dwarfs) takes a minor role in this edition, and instead, the authors put more emphasis on the continued fighting between the High Elves and their bitter cousins the Dark Elves.
Keeping in mind that Warhammer is a game the developers went about pressing home the ruleset of the HE, truly making them a distinct army and yet keeping them faithful to the background. The first key area this arises in is the controversial Speed of Asuryan rule, which grants every HE unit the "Always Strikes First" special rule. This basically renders the advantage of an opposing army making the charge against the HE useless, as they will strike first against you anyway. The best visual analysis to justify the idea comes from the opening scene of the Fellowship of the Ring. True the HE in the LoTR are nothing like the ones of the Warhammer world, but the idea of the High Elves being an elite exceptionally trained martial force is pressed home time and time again in the background, and the developers justifiably incorporated this into the rules. This was further boosted by the HE being allowed to take 0-6 Special choices at 2000 points, aswell as moving White Lions, Silver Helms and Phoenix Guard to special choices aswell.
Despite Speed of Asuryan, the famous HE units also received upgrades. Swordmasters and Dragon Princes now have 2 attacks, White Lions have heavy armour, Phoenix Guard have a 4+ Ward save and Shadow Warriors have WS5. However, to balance this out most units rose in points cost, and Itihilmar barding was lost from the wargear completely.
Aswell as the upgrades, the HE received new units in the form of the Dragon Mages and Lion Chariot. Like the idea of the "elite army", Dragons played a key role in the history of the HE, and the developers introduced dragons back into the list. Both Princes and Archmages can now ride dragons for instance. The Lion Chariot is arguably the most original thing GW has ever done. Rather than have the classical chariot pulled by horses, they thought "Hey, let's do something different". The result was a chariot being pulled by white lions, and yes there is a connection to the White Lions mentioned for people unfamiliar to the game.
If I had to find one disappointment in the book it would be the inclusion of Eltharion the Grim. In 6th Edition, Eltharions rules had been rewritten as Eltharion the Swordmaster, who's background and history had been developed following the transition from 5th to 6th Edition. This character was far more interesting and to use the improper adjective: "more characterful". It was disappointing to see GW wipe his 6th Edition incarnation off the map, and forever lock him in history as Eltharion the Grim.
The range can be found here:
http://uk.games-workshop.com/storefront/store.uk?do=List_Models&code=300988&orignav=13
Truely GW have outdone themselves with this latest edition of the HE, and one would hope that the standard will be maintained for future releases next year and thereafter.
~The Damo
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
5 comments:
good day everyone. I'm actually into shoes and I was looking for the sake of that exact make. The prices due to the fact that the shoes were about 210 pounds on every page. But definitively I set this area selling them for the benefit of half price. I really want those [url=http://www.shoesempire.com]prada sneakers[/url]. I will probably buy those. what is your opinion?
Hello. And Bye.
good evening fellas. I'm actually into shoes and I have been searching as far as something that meticulous make. The prices due to the fact that the shoes were approximately 330 dollars on every page. But completely I set this location selling them for half price. I absolutely love those [url=http://www.shoesempire.com]gucci sneakers[/url]. I will probably purchase those. what do you think?
hi there friends. I'm honestly into shoes and I have been searching allowing for regarding that exact brand. The prices for the velcros were about 330 dollars on every page. But definitively I found this location selling them for the benefit of half price. I absolutely love these [url=http://www.shoesempire.com]gucci sneakers[/url]. I will definetly order them. what do you think?
hello ppl. I'm honestly into shoes and I was searching for that meticulous model. The prices for the shoes are approximately 230 dollars everwhere. But completely I bring about this locate selling them for the benefit of half price. I in reality love those [url=http://www.shoesempire.com]gucci sneakers[/url]. I will probably buy them. what can you say about it?
Post a Comment