Preferred Enemies - High Elves, the White Lions of Chrace
This installment of
Preferred Enemies will deal with the Special choice for the High Elf army, the White
Lions of Chrace. They serve as the
vaunted bodyguard of the Phoenix King and their Woodman’s Axes carve up their
enemies with little difficulty. Garbed
in a lion’s pelt that the White Lion hunted and slew himself, this Lion’s pelt
provides the warrior with additional protection and prestige. A White Lion’s cloak excels at deflecting
arrows and his axe slices through wood as easily as it would bone. The White Lions are truly a fearsome opponent
for the Wood Elves to face.
Let us evaluate the unit
and its abilities. The White Lions of
Chrace are what I consider to both a hammer and an anvil unit. They are clad in Heavy armor and wear a Lion
cloak which affords them an additional +2 to their armor save against shooting
attacks. Their Woodman’s Axe is
considered a great weapon so they are granted a +2 bonus to their Strength in
close combat. In addition to being
Stubborn, the unit also has the Speed of Asuryan which provides every High Elf
with the Always Strike First special rule.
| M | WS | BS | S | T | W | I | A | LD | |
| White Lion | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 8 |
So right off the bat we are facing an enemy with a Weapon Skill equal to or higher than most of the Wood Elf units and an initiative that also is just as fast so against most of the Wood Elf units, White Lions will be granted a reroll to their missed strikes. The unit has a base Strength of 4 which becomes Strength 6 when in close combat. So against even the Treeman this unit would hit on 4’s and wound on 4’s which is not a favorable situation for a Wood Elf general.
The unit is generally fielded in one of two ways; either the High elf player will field a unit of 20-25run them 5x4 or the High Elf general fields 40 and deploys them in horde formation with a flaming banner. For the most part this unit will slaughter whatever they run into when horded out. This unit functions as an exceptionally good Monster Hunter and Monstrous Cavalry/Infantry slaying unit. When this unit is horded out, it can reasonably put out 31 attacks at WS5 and Str6. With the Speed of Asuryan, this unit is also more than likely rerolling their misses which only adds to their already high combat effectiveness. Monstrous Infantry like Treekin is suddenly being hit on 3’s and wounded on 3’s with only their 5+ ward save to rely on.
Things are looking rather grim for Wood Elves…
With enemies that strike before we do with strength high enough to cancel out most of our armor saves, not to mention special rules that make them more difficult to wound with an arrow, how exactly are Wood Elves expected to be successful?
1.
Blacken the sky
with arrows – While the White Lions of Chrace do gain a 3+ armor save against
shooting, the unit is still only Toughness 3.
If you mass firing at the unit at short range the unit will be hit on 3’s
and wounded on 3’s. You will also reduce
that 3+ to a 4+ armor save which never hurts.
If the unit is horded out, this will then require several rounds to
whittle down to a size that they may be successfully engaged.
2.
Death from below –
Dweller’s Below is still probably one of the best options for capsizing a unit
such as the White Lions. Their base
strength is 4 which means that you have a good chance of crippling the unit
with a successful casting.
3.
Strangling
Annoyance – If you tend to use Treemen in your lists, it never hurts to
position one of two of them to the flank of the unit and strangleroot attack
them. Granted they still receive a 4+
armor save but it will still inflict casualties.
4.
Axes! You dare! –
The axes that the White Lions wield are not magical therefore they do not negate
the Forest Spirit Ward Save so engaging with units like Dryads is not a bad
idea since this negates the White Lion rerolls on misses and the Ward Save is a
5+ regardless of the Strength of the attack.
5.
Petrified Forest –
While the White Lion’s may be Strength 6, augmenting the Wood Elf close combat
units like the Dryads, Treekin and Treemen with Flesh to Stone and increasing
their Toughness by +2 or +4 will require the White Lions to need 6’s to
wound. While any wounds that get through
will negate an armor save, the Ward Save is still there and functional.
6.
Dragonflame! –
The Forest Dragon Breath Weapon in close combat and ranged is strangely effective
against White Lions. It is not however
recommended to change into combat against White Lions without augmenting your
Forest Dragon with Flesh to Stone.
7.
Misdirection and
Redirection – this is a difficult approach to pull off with White Lions due to
their high combat effectiveness and high leadership. It is very useful if you are able to draw the
unit away from the front lines but you don’t want to engage the unit with a
chaff roadbump and negate a round of shooting at the unit.
The standard
configurations you will see for the White Lions of Chrace are as follows:
1.
20-25 White Lions
fielded 5x5 or 5x4. This is a mobile and
effective bunker for a hero or lord that allows the High elf player to maneuver
and position his hard hitting unit easily.
Options 1,2 and 3 work very well against this smaller unit while Options
6 and 7 do not.
2.
40 White Lions
fielded 10x4. This horde formation is an
effective blender for the High Elf army.
Anything it runs into dies unless lucky, and the sheer number of attacks
this unit can unload makes front charges on this unit extremely unwise. The best method to handle this unit is Option
1 and 2. If you are to engage this unit
in close combat is must absolutely be either in the flank or rear in order to
minimize the number of attacks coming back at you. So if resorting to close combat against this Cuisinart,
use option 4, 5 or 6. It is recommended
that if you are exercising Option 4 or 5, Treeman and Dryads are the best
option since Dryads negate their ASF rerolls and Treeman will be able to
Thunderstomp and will require them to hit on 4’s rather than 3’s.
3.
2 units of 20-25
fielded 5x5 or 5x4. When your opponent
fields 2 White Lion units, you are going to have a tough time ahead of
you. You will need to make the decision
to either:
a. focus fire on one unit until it is destroyed or fled
a. focus fire on one unit until it is destroyed or fled
b.
split fire where one unit eats up all your arrow fire while the second unit
suffers Dweller’s below.
1. Glade Guard – short range Glade Guard will generate so many wounds upon the Toughness 3 White Lions that you will force casualties upon them. But you must maintain proper range and charge arc movement.
2. Treeman
– I recommend the Treeman because he is able to not only use Strangleroot but
also handle himself quite well in close combat – provided he is augmented with Flesh to Stone. He will cause many wounds against the White
Lions and more importantly reduce their combat effectiveness.
3. Dryads
– normally Dryads I use for defense to protect my archers, however in this
instance I would be using them to flank charge and tie up the White Lions. I chose Dryads over Treekin because Treekin
will garner too many wounds unless augmented and will be hit on 3’s.
4. Waywatchers
– their Lethal Shot going off on a 6 to wound is amazing and will drop White
Lions without the benefit of a save.
5. Spellweavers
w/ Lore of Life – Dweller’s Below. Sup
Treekin, Wild Riders,
Eternal Guard and Great Eagles will garner too many wounds in order to make
them effective against the White Lions of Chrace. It is not recommended to engage the White
Lions with those units.
I hope this Preferred Enemies edition provides
helpful advice and an accurate and effective method of handling and dealing
with the Special selection from the High Elf army book, the White Lions of
Chrace.
