TOW - 3.000 Point vs High Elves

[MorathisWrath]

Hello everyone,

I'm new here and now have my first big battle TOW (after some smaller and other opponents) against the high elves. It's supposed to be an epic battle, which is why you'll also find a Black Dragon in the list. I still have to get used to the new army rules / Book, but I think I have built a base and am now asking for your input:

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Morathis Wrath [2997 Pkte.]
Warhammer: The Old World, Dark Elves
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++ Character [1297 Pkte.] ++

Supreme Sorceress [265 Pkte.]
- Hand weapon
- Level 4 Wizard
- On foot
- Black Staff
- Focus Familiar
- Dispel Scroll
- Dark Magic
Special: Elven Reflexes, Eternal Hatred, Hatred (High Elves), Hekarti's Blessing, Lore of Naggaroth, Murderous

Dark Elf Dreadlord [511 Pkte.]
- Additional hand weapon
- Full plate armour
- Shield
- Brace of Repeater handbows
- General
- Black dragon
- Dragon Slaying Sword
- Talisman of Protection
Special: Eternal Hatred, Hatred (High Elves)*, Murderous, Strike First*

Death Hag [305 Pkte.]
- Two hand weapons
- Cauldron of Blood
- Witchbrew
- Ogre Blade
Special: Eternal Hatred, Frenzy, Hatred (all enemies), Loner, Murderous, Poisoned Attacks, Strike First, Gifts Of Khaine

High Beastmaster [216 Pkte.]
- Cavalry spear
- Heavy armour
- Shield
- Sea Dragon Cloak
- Manticore
Special: Eternal Hatred, Goad Beast, Hatred (High Elves)*, Murderous, Strike First* (*Note that these special rules do not apply to this model's mount.)

++ Core [753 Pkte.] ++

5 Dark Riders [112 Pkte.]
- Hand weapons
- Cavalry spears
- and Repeater crossbows
- Light armour
- Shields
- Scouts
- Herald (champion)
- Standard bearer
Special: Elven Reflexes, Fast Cavalry, Hatred (High Elves), Open Order, Skirmishers, Swiftstride

30 Witch Elves [391 Pkte.]
- Two hand weapons
- Hag (champion)
- Standard bearer [Razor Standard]
- Musician
Special: Close Order, Elven Reflexes, Frenzy, Hatred (High Elves), Horde, Loner, Murderous, Poisoned Attacks

10 Repeater Crossbowmen [125 Pkte.]
- Hand weapons
- Repeater crossbows
- Light armour
- Shields
- Standard bearer
Special: Close Order, Elven Reflexes, Hatred (High Elves), Martial Prowess

10 Repeater Crossbowmen [125 Pkte.]
- Hand weapons
- Repeater crossbows
- Light armour
- Shields
- Standard bearer
Special: Close Order, Elven Reflexes, Hatred (High Elves), Martial Prowess

++ Elite [671 Pkte.] ++

War Hydra [200 Pkte.]
- Wicked claws
- Serrated maws
- Fiery breath
- Hand weapons
- Whips
- 5+
Sepcial: Close Order, Extra Attacks (+remaining Wounds), Immune To Psychology, Large Target, Monster Handlers, Regeneration (5+), Stomp Attacks (D3), Terror

30 Black Guard of Naggarond [471 Pkte.]
- Hand weapons
- Dread halberds
- Full plate armour
- Tower Master (champion)
- Standard bearer
- Musician
Special: Close Order, Elven Reflexes, Eternal Hatred, Hatred (High Elves), Immune To Psychology, Martial Prowess, Stubborn

++ Rare [276 Pkte.] ++

5 Doomfire Warlocks [116 Pkte.]
- Hand weapon
- Master (champion)
Specal: Cursed Coven, Dark Runes, Elven Reflexes, Fast Cavalry, Hatred (High Elves), Open Order, Poisoned Attacks, Swiftstride

Reaper Bolt Thrower [80 Pkte.]
- Repeater bolt thrower and hand weapons
- Light armour
Special: Elven Reflexes, Hatred (High Elves), Skirmishers

Reaper Bolt Thrower [80 Pkte.]
- Repeater bolt thrower and hand weapons
- Light armour
Special: Elven Reflexes, Hatred (High Elves), Skirmishers

I choose to take Standard bearer for both untis of RC, because I gave them shields to be ready for close combat. The Beastmaster with Manticore is there, the be able to play the War Hdyra and give the Hydra some needed support (with attacks special rule). The Dreadlord needs in my opinion something to slay an enemy mount (like dragon or phoenix), so that is why I gave him the dragon slayer sword (interesting would be the sword of ruin (no armour. ward and/or regenerative save; even the executioners axe seems to be interesting....).
On top I like the idea of an lvl 4 sorceress with Black Staff / Focus Familiar / Dispel Scroll and Dark Magic and Lore of Naggaroth/Black Horror. With the Focus you can directly play it near your enemy, with the black staff it is nearly 100% sure that it will go off.

What do you think, I have nearly all Modells / Units (no charriots) and I can change the list/units, if you think it would make sense.

Thanks for any input!

[Daeron]

Unfortunately, I don't have enough experience yet to give it an accurate assessment. I see "everything" in this list: mobility, combat power, shooting, magic, a dragon. It looks good.
The only thing I'm missing is a heavy flanker or charge support from cold one knights or chariots. But this would come at a cost. Right now the list has a lot of bodies on the table and that is a strength by itself.

Entirely optional change:
I haven't been impressed by the Warlocks in this edition, but I wouldn't go without a second fast cav unit. If you want a mild variation, you could try to replace the Warlocks with Dark Riders, and drop one of the Crossbow units for a unit of shades. I also would give the dark riders musicians so they have an easier time rallying out of command range.
This puts 1 more unit in the front, and give more stuff to annoy your enemy with or hunt warmachines, while your combat troops march forward.

[MorathisWrath]

Thanks a lot for your Input Daeron! You're right, the warlocks are not even close how good they were @ the 8th edition but I personally still like just the idea of these deamonish riders, I would go with then with the demonology signature spell the summoning. Still with toughness only 3 and a ward save af 5+ they have lost their punch. I will go ahead with your idea. For the shades you got a very good point. I would have enough points to exchange the repears with 8 shades in total with a champion inside. Iw as wondering if I even go further (in the 8th edition I loved this kind of combo) and give them wether great weapons or an additional handweapon, so the could even do some damage in close combat. Thanks a lot again, I will give some I insights when the battle is over.

[Daeron]

If you can stretch the budget to 9 Shades, you add a tad more resilience to panic. Otherwise, 6 or 7 are good enough.
Great weapons are powerful, without a doubt, but I'd be very wary of losing the initiative. It really depends on who your opponent is, but generally I would favour the safety of striking first against light enemies like war machine crew. Here are two scenarios:


Dwarf Warmachine
If you attack a Dwarf warmachine, you should be able to get 4 models in (frontage 50mm).

This is the damage with dual hand weapons:

This is with great weapons:

However, the Dwarfs strike first with this profile:

So you'd have close to 60% chance to lose a model.
The return damage would then sink slightly below dual hand weapons



Human Warmachine
Against a human warmachine, the odds go further in favour of the dual hand weapons.
Dual hand weapon attacks

Great Weapons: