The High Elves of Ulthuan are an ancient and proud race whose mastery over the world’s oceans is absolute. Forced to abandon their colonies on the mainland following their wars with the Dwarves, the Asur nonetheless maintain a strong presence upon the many islands which litter the coastlines of the Old World. It is from these island strongholds that the High Elves seek to impart their influence upon the other races of the Old World.

In this review we’ll take a close look at the new Arcane Journal which includes new lore, background and of course some exciting new units and army lists.

Thank you to Games Workshop for providing Sprues and Brews with a review copy of the new Arcane Journal to review. If you want to support the site why not order your Arcane Journal High Elf Realms through our affiliate Element Games and save yourself some money too?

If you’re looking for information about any of the other Arcane Journals we have reviews of all of these on our site, most recently the Arcane Journal Empire of Man!

Arcane Journal High Elf Realms Review

The Arcane Journal High Elf Realms clocks in at just shy of 50 pages and contains new lore, miniature galleries and of course some brand new army lists, units, special characters and magic items. The book opens with an overview of the history of the High Elves and the Old World. It details the creation of the High Elf colonies and their friendship and alliance with the ancient Dwarves prior to the coming of Chaos. We’re also reintroduced to Aenarion, the first Phoenix King, and learn of his part in rallying the Elves of Ulthuan against the forces of Chaos. The War of the Beard is covered briefly and we learn of how the Elves conceded to defeat to the Dwarves and retreated from the Old World to their island strongholds. This is an interesting lore development and I am sure many a Dwarf player will be rejoicing to learn that they did in fact win the War of Vengeance after all!

At the present time then we learn that the Elves remain a power within the Old World albeit this power is exerted from their many island fortresses and absolute mastery of the world’s oceans. We get a really nice description of the various strongholds and Elven enclaves and some details about the various Elven armies and regiments.

The Chracian Warhost

The first new army list presented in the book is the Chracian Warhost which allows you to build an army hailing from the Ulthuan realm of Chrace, home to the famous White Lions of Chrace. As you would expect this army list has a strong focus on the White Lions themselves, with some new ‘White Lion’ themed character options and some interesting new units.

On the Army rules side we first have Chracian Pride which limits the choice of Elven Honours to just Shadow Stalker, Chracian Hunter and Pure of Heart, I guess this is a purely a thematic thing. Hidden Trails allows 0-1 units of Spearmen or Archers (per 1000 points) to gain the Move through Cover special rule for a small points cost. In addition the player gains a once per game bonus to single reserves role when checking to see if a unit of Ambushers have arrived. Lastly we get a Warriors of Chrace rule which allows you to sprinkle those lovely Lion Cloaks across your Spearmen and Archer units for a small points cost.

The army itself may be lead by a Prince or Archmage and can also include 0-1 Chracian Chieftains or Storm Weavers per 1000 points. A Chracian Cheiftain is a nice three wound character model with decent characteristics, weaponry and abilities. Equipped with heavy armour and the iconic Chracian Great Blade you’re able to supplement this load out with up to 75 points of magic items – a great basis for a capable melee character. He of course has Strikes First, Lion Cloak, Move through Cover and Valour of Ages and also possesses Furious Charge too meaning he’ll be making 4 x S6 AP-3 attacks at Weapon Skill 6 and Initiative 5 in combat! The Chracian Chieftain also has an option to be carried into battle upon a Chieftain’s Chariot, a new Heavy Chariot option pulled by Chracian Lions. It’s not a cheap option but it certainly packs a punch on the battlefield.

The Storm Weaver is another new character option, a new level 1-3 Mage available in any High Elves army. The Storm Weaver has access to Dark Magic, Elementalism and Illusion on top of the usual Lore of Saphery. This really opens up the magic phase for High Elf Generals adding plenty of interesting spell options and potential synergies. The Storm Weaver is able to take a Unicorn as a mount and has a 75 point magic items allowance.

In the Core slot we get the usual allowance for Elven Spearmen and Archers in addition to the option for 0-1 units of White Lions per 1000 points. On top of this we get unrestricted access to a new unit, the Chracian Woodsmen. These are in essence a ‘light’ version of the White Lions. They lose a pip of WS and a few special rules such as Kings Guard, Stubborn and Open Order instead gaining Vanguard and Skirmishers and a small points decrease. They also have the ability to take warbows and can be given Scouts or Ambushers in place of Vanguard should you wish. They synergise quite well with the Hidden Trails army rule above.

In the Special slot you can again take White Lions (unrestricted) in addition to Lion Chariots (again unrestricted) as well as units of War Lions themselves (these restricted to 0-1 per 1000 points). War Lions can also be included as a 0-1 Rare choice in other High Elf armies provided the army includes at least one unit of White Lions. War Lions are single wound War Beasts with a decent WS of 5 and S+T of 4. They can be taken in units of 2-6 and have a variety of special rules such as Fear, Move through Cover, Swiftstride, Open Order and Vanguard. They also have the Cleaving Blow special rule which is really cool, any wound roll of a 6 permits no armour or Regeneration save when targeting regular, heavy or light infantry, heavy or light cavalry and war beasts.

Finally in the Rare slot you’re able to include Shadow Warriors, Sisters of Avelorn, Great Eagles and Eagle-claw Bolt Throwers – all with some restrictions. In addition you can include a single unit of Lion Guard, another new unit introduced in the Arcane Journal. The Lion Guard are elite heavy infantry with a great WS6, S4, I5 and Furious Charge to boot. They are equipped with Chracian great blades and Lion Cloaks and also benefit from the Stubborn and Veteran rules. On top of this they have the Champions of Chrace special rule which allows them to accept challenges on behalf of any character that has joined the unit. These look like a really nice unit and fill the gap left by Swordmasters of Hoeth nicely.

Sea Guard Garrison

The Lothern Sea Guard themed Sea Guard Garrison are presented as the second army list variant in the Arcane Journal. This is a really nice list that mixes Lothern Seaguard, Skycutters and Eagle-claw Bolt Throwers and the new (or returning should I say) Merwyrms alongside some lighter supporting units of Shadow Warriors and Ellyrian Reavers.

On the Army rules front we first get the Armies of Sea Lord which again restrict the Elven Honours list to ensure it fits the theme, this time to just Shadow Stalker, Pure of Heart and Sea Guard. From the Mists is a really nice rule which allows you to really gain an advantage over your opponent in the deployment phase. After all units have been deployed but before Scout and Vanguard moves you can redeploy a single unit anywhere within your deployment zone. This is a very powerful ability allowing you to exploit any weaknesses in your opponent’s deployment. From the Storm Clouds is a fun rule which allows 0-1 Lothern Skycutters (including those carrying characters) to gain the Ambushers special rule for a small points cost. Old World Rangers grants a bit of flexibility to the player, allowing your Shadow Warriors to benefit from the Ambushers special rule for free when taken in a unit strength of 10 or less. Finally Pride of the Fleet really hammers home the fighting prowess of the Lothern Sea Guard, allowing 0-1 units of Lothern Sea Guard per 1000 points to benefit from the Drilled rule for free (which synergises quite well with their Naval Discipline rule).

In the Characters slot we get restricted options for Dragon Mages, High Elf Nobles and High Elf Mages in addition to some new options in the form of the Sea Guard Garrison Commanders and Storm Weavers. Storm Weavers we’ve already covered so lets look at the Commanders. These are Noble level characters which benefit from an improved BS characteristic and have access to some nice mount options in the form of Griffons, Great Eagles and of course the Lothern Skycutter. They are a great force multiplier with their Accomplished Archers special rule which grants them and their unit the Evasive and Fire and Flee special rules (provided he is not mounted on a Lothern Skycutter).

In the Core slot we get access to unlimited units of Lothern Sea Guard and Ship’s Company alongside restricted access to Shadow Warriors. Ship’s Company are in effect a special Militia unit that come as standard equipped with hand weapons and warbows with the option to swap that out with thrusting spears and shields. Light armour can be purchased and they can even be given Skirmishers or Veteran if desired. They have two different champion upgrades as well which is interesting, one more melee focused and one with improved BS characteristic. This unit also benefits from the Detachment special rule which allows them to work really well alongside your core units of Lothern Seaguard.

In the Special slot we get unlimited access to the Lothern Skycutters and some restricted access to Great Eagles and Eagle-claw Bolt Throwers. It’s actually possible to include up to six Eagle-claw units in a 2000 point army which means the Sea Guard Garrison list can pack a lot or ranged firepower should you wish to lean into that play style.

In the Rare slot we have unlimited access to Ellyrian Reavers alongside 0-1 of either Phoenix variant per 1000 points. We also get unlimited access to the Merwyrms! These are a Behemoth unit with 6’s across the board with exception of Initiative, Attacks and Ld which are 3, 4 and 8 respectively. The Merwyrm has some great ranged protection, inflicting a -2 to hit modifier at range which should allow it to get into close range with little trouble. Once there it has access to some potent ranged attacks itself, Briny Breath is a low strengh, AP-2 breath weapon which inflicts a -1 Initiative penalty on wounded units. This synergises really well with its Enfeebling Cold rule which inflicts -1 strength penalty on models in base contact. When in combat the Merwyrm attacks with its Lashing Talons and Serpentine Tail. The former is an AP -1 Armour Bane (1) profile while the latter is significantly stronger albeit with Strikes Last. It is also possible to include a Merwyrm as a 0-1 Rare choice in any High Elf army so long as the army contains one unit of Lothern Sea Guard.

Korhil Lionmane, Captain of the White Lions

Korhil returns to the Old World with a new set of rules. He can be included in any High Elf army that also includes a unit of White Lions and is basically an improved (albeit more expensive) version of the Chracian Cheiftain. He has an excellent profile, on par with a High Elf Lord (although not quite as good a shot) and comes equipped with Chayal, an absolute brute of a weapon that, despite ‘only’ striking at base initiative 6 (or 7 with Elven Reflexes), packs a right wallop at S+2, AP-3, Killing Blow and an inbuilt re-roll hit rolls of 1 ability! Wow! His Pelt of Charandis is in effect an improved Lion Cloak, granting a better armour value bonus and also Regeneration (5+). He has the Mighty Constitution special rule which grants him some protection against Poisoned Attacks and an additional strength bonus on the charge! Finally you’re able to mount Korhil on a Chieftain’s Chariot should you wish – this creates a very strong and mobile attack piece with which to engage the opponent’s army!

Ishaya Vess, Sentinel of the Silent Isle

Ishaya Vess is a brand new character (with a brand new miniature as well) who can be taken in any army that includes at least one unit of Lothern Sea Guard. She again is a Lord level character albeit with 3 rather than 4 attacks. She has a nice magical weapon, Mathlann’s Ire, which forces an opponent to re-roll a single successful to hit roll when making attacks against her. She is also a great force multiplier, her Commanding Voice ability extends her Command Range to 12″, or 15″ if she is your General and her Precision Strikes rule improves the AP value of a Lothern Sea Guard unit’s weapons whilst she leads them. I’m not sure these abilities alone warranty the high cost in points outside of a Sea Guard Garrison army however.

High Elf Realms Magic Items

Towards the end of the Arcane Journal we are given a slew of new Magic Items, available for use in any High Elf army although certainly inspired by the two lists presented in the book and High Elves Army Books of old. I’ll pick out a selection of my favourites here starting with the Bow of the Seafarer, a 30″ S5 AP-3 ‘counts as’ Bow of Avelorn with the Multiple Wounds (D3) and Through & Through rules. This is a great pick for Lothern Sea Guard character on a Skycutter to compliment an Eagle-eye bolt thrower. The Golden Shield forces opposing models to re-roll any successful to hit rolls of 6 when targeting the bearer in combat. I really like the Banner of Lothern, for 55 points this allows a third rank or file to make supporting attacks. A cheaper option is the Banner of Confidence which allows the unit to make Stand and Shoot reactions without suffering the usual -1 to hit penalty.

Summary

Overall I really enjoyed reading through the new Arcane Journal High Elf Realms book and found the lore, stories and background very cool. The two new variant armies presented in the book both look interesting and I’m quite excited to put together a Sea Guard Garrison list myself. As ever with these sub-lists it’s all about compromise and the lack of access to High Elf staples such as Swordmasters and Dragons might give you reason to pause initially. I think both lists encourage two different play styles, be it the elite, mobile and hard hitting style of the Chracian Warhost verses the more tactical, ‘tricksy’ and ranged focus of the Sea Guard Garrison force. I’m not sure they sit at the same power level as a vanilla High Elf army (it’s hard to deny the strength of multiple Dragons after all) but I certainly think there is a lot of enjoyment to be had from playing with these lists.

The Arcane Journal High Elf Realms is available to pre-order today, Saturday 15th of February.

Games Workshop provided Sprues & Brews with a free copy for review purposes

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