Which High Elf Rare Units Deserve a Spot in Your List? The Old World High Elves Breakdown
In this post, we’re going to talk about the High Elf Rare Units in Warhammer: The Old World. But hey, if you don’t feel like reading the whole thing, I’ve got you covered—here’s the tier list right away. That way, you can save yourself a solid four minutes of your life.
But if you do have those four minutes, stick around—I’ll break down all the units with proper comparisons.
Remember when the only Rare Units you’d see in competitive High Elf lists were Repeater Bolt Throwers and the occasional Great Eagle? Well, things have changed a lot since then. Let me explain.
Which is Better for Support Fire: Repeater Bolt Thrower or Sisters of Avelorn?
One of the classic Rare Unit choices for High Elves is the Eagle Claw Repeater Bolt Thrower. It’s primarily used for long-range support fire, just like the Sisters of Avelorn, so in most cases, it comes down to personal preference.
Aside from minor differences—like the Bolt Thrower having 2 Wounds at Toughness 6 versus the Sisters’ 5 Wounds at Toughness 3—the Bolt Thrower fires at Strength 4 by default and has the option for a single Strength 6 shot, which forces monsters and heavy cavalry to be careful with their positioning (no one likes getting hit by a bolt in the flank). It has a major drawback: in this edition, it suffers a -1 penalty when using multiple shots, so you’ll be hitting on 4s or 5s initially.
On the other hand, the Sisters of Avelorn have several key advantages. They have greater Armor Bane (2 instead of 1), higher accuracy (hitting 3+ usually, cause they should be firing long range or moving to be short range), increased mobility, magical attacks, and the Evasive rule, which, when played at max range, can help them avoid incoming damage.
Great Eagle or Lothern Skycutter: Which One Fits Your Army Better?
Another option to consider is the Great Eagle of the Elven Realms, a fantastic redirector unit that excels at taking out weak support units, war machines, and disrupting enemy movement. However, there’s also the Lothern Skycutter, which serves a similar function but is more expensive and deals more damage.
The Great Eagle costs only 60 points and has a small base (50x50mm), allowing it to hide more easily on the battlefield. It fits into almost any list.
The Lothern Skycutter has better durability and damage output but costs 30 points more. Since chariots can now march, it moves just as fast as the Eagle.
It can also be equipped with a Repeater Bolt Thrower, but with a miserable Strength 5, and on top of that, if you want to shoot, it can’t march. For me, paying extra for this is not worth it. It turns the unit from a solid specialist into something that fails at doing two different roles at once.
Lion Chariot of Chrace: Is It Worth It?
Before we get into the Phoenixes, let’s talk about the Lion Chariot. Honestly, I wouldn’t take it. It feels like a bad choice compared to the other options we’ve discussed—and another one still to come.
Sure, it deals six attacks plus impact hits, but it has no scythed wheels, only Toughness 4 and a 4+ armor save. For 125 points, it just doesn’t make sense. I’d swap it out for two Great Eagles or even eight Sisters of Avelorn without hesitation.
Flamespyre Phoenix vs. Frostheart Phoenix: Only One Is Competitive
The Flamespyre Phoenix is, in short, a complete disappointment. It’s fragile, doesn’t hit hard, its stomp attack is pathetic, it only has Toughness 5, and its revive/explosion mechanics are barely relevant.
So, if you have one of these… Just field it as a Frostheart Phoenix.
The Frostheart Phoenix costs 35 more points, but it’s the only competitive choice. It hits harder, survives longer, and its ability to make enemies strike last can be useful against other Elves or key enemy characters. However, keep in mind that this mechanic loses some value within a High Elf army, since they almost always strike first thanks to their high Initiative and their +1 Initiative bonus on the first round of combat. That said, if you position it well, you can still get solid value from it. Still, it’s not a must-have—you can easily play a competitive list without it.
I also wrote a full breakdown of all the High Elf Core Units in The Old World, which will help you optimize your army even further. You can find it below.
