Eschewing the temptation of High Magic, and even Fire magic in partnership with the Sunfire Gem, I chose heavens for two reasons. The first being that Heavens is a great utility lore that benefits High Elves a great deal more than others. The second is for reasons of theme. My army is based strongly around a naval force, traversing the high seas of the Old World and protecting their shores against interlopers. The High Elf Prince, that shall fill the role of Admiral in my fleet, has called upon the services of Caelithir and his attuned connection to heavens magic, in order to manipulate the weather, directing his fleet with powerful winds, and ravaging enemy ships using destructive storms! I feel this fits splendidly to my theme.
I'm really excited for this army. The more I read the background, and collect models for this rapid expansion, I get keener to paint and play this army. The Mage above was a little painful to paint, being a very dynamic model with plenty of flowing robes. But of the models in my first 500 points, he is by far the most difficult, and that fills me with optimism. Speaking of five hundred points, I see it as only fitting to share with you my first stage of painting.
Caelithir, level two Mage of Heavens
14 Archers with a banner
5 Swordmasters of Hoeth with a musician
5 Dragon Princes with a musician
My favourite thing about this list is that it is legal and well rounded. I am keeping my Mage simple, choosing no magic items to represent his inexperience in war. However, as the army grows, so will his arcane power and arsenal of items. The archers provide a convenient bunker for Caelithir, add some long ranged fire support, and would doubtless be a common sight on the ocean and in landing parties. The Swordmasters act as a hard hitting counter-charging unit to threaten any unit that ventures too close to my fragile archers (I mean, more fragile than the rest of my fragile units). And lastly, I included five Dragon Knights, which I think are fantastic shock cavalry, and add some significant hitting power to my army. Cavalry on boats? I hear you say...
While most military naval forces have little use for horses, I have included them because I imagine there would be a few on board for when they launch landing parties. I am keeping horses to a minimum, but reserved a unit of Dragon Princes and a Prince to use as my Admiral and his bodyguard, who pose a significant threat in battle. Also, I really love the Dragon Prince models! As far as cavalry go, they are fantastic models.
Onto other content now, as I dwell too long upon my own efforts once again. In the wake of last weeks showcase of characters, each with their own themes, motivations and dreams of glory, a new host of characters join the fray!
Ryan: Legions of Chaos
As if to throw a filth-encrusted gauntlet directly onto the deck of my flagship, Gutrot Spume enters the fray at the front of his rotting fleet, shattering coastline cities and corrupting the shores with his decaying horde of destruction.
Ryan has executed the paint job on Spume incredibly well, accentuating the true disgust of this model. His base and accompanying Nurgling only add to the hideous visage. I feel a grudge match coming on...
Quentin: Legions of Chaos
This sorcerer of Nurgle has split from Gutrot's main crusade in order to build a kingdom of corruption within the broken borders of Drakwald Forest. Drawing the malicious creatures of the woods to him, he hopes to establish his own empire deep in the woods.
Quentin shows how a simple head and hand swap can completely shift the focus of a fantastic model!
Jeremy: Dwarfs
This dwarf lord, Frank (strange name for a dwarf...), is an already famed warrior and leader, who's full title I shall not repeat due to some expletives within, the terrible slaughter of his kin has driven him to a point of madness, leading his remaining throng on a path to certain death and unimagined glory, intent on bringing the hordes of Ratmen to their knees before slaying them before they could stand again.
I'm so glad that we have a dwarf player in our midst, as they always add character and theme to anything they are involved in. Jeremy has given a glow to their eyes, giving them an otherworldly fire, desiring only the defeat of their verminous foes.
And lastly, Jamie: Empire
Focusing on the survivors of Marienburg, this grizzled captain, Lars leads the shattered remains of a once-powerful battalion of Empire troops. His horse was one of only a few surviving beasts, and a disturbingly attentive crow has chosen Lars as an unwilling companion.
Jamie snuck this chap in with literally twenty minutes to spare before I wrote this article, and how glad I am that he did. This guy has so much charm, and I'm very excited to see where he goes with the range available to him.
I'd like to close out this post with some big news. I have been putting a lot of thought and planning into this blog, and I'm always thinking of what I can do to make it better. And so I present you with my biggest challenge yet. At the end of our journey through Border Wars, with so many players painting and building, we will be celebrating our completion with the very first tournament facilitated by the blog, The Rune Axe Winter Warfare tournament! This is in the very early (and I mean, very early) stages of planning, and will be after the last stage of our challenge (meaning we'll all hopefully be bringing fully painted armies) but I have no doubt that with your support, we can make it happen!
Sorry for being a day late, my dear reader! Thank you for reading, as always.
Gabriel
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