AOS- Order - Swifthawk/Mixed Aelf /Order

[Soupster18]

Hi All

I have acquired 2 sets of the Swifthawks from  Spire of Dawn and love the idea of a mixed Order force that are defenders of a small isle in Hysh

Below is what I have t but would love some ideas from folks, I mm not uber competitive but would like it to be able to hold its own a little bit

My thinking was its a small islet that has the Aelves guarding a tower (ala spire of dawn) I thought could maybe incorporate some Idoneth/Phoenix's/Aetherwings, thinking that the defenders of this islet come from land sea and air

2 x High Warden

2 x Archmage

20 x Spiregaurd

20 x Swordmasters

15 x Reavers

 What else would play well with these guys thematically , totally open to suggestions so please  wade in

 

Cheers
 

[chord]

You could fill out the rest of the swifthawk allegiance with Shadow Warriors and Skycutter.  A frost phoenix would give you a tanky unit and would look pretty good with them. 

 

[Thundercake]

Right now you only have 2 battlline units. At 2000 points you would need 3. Luckily you have that covered in your Reavers. I would split them into 3 groups of 5. Makes it easier for them to harass an grab objectives while filling your battleline.  I also agree with @chord, get a phoenix!

[Charlo]

Side note... Where is the warscroll for Reavers?

[Soupster18]

They are in the AOS App under Swifthawk Agents

[Soupster18]

Aye I planned to run 3 x 5 for fast objective grabbers

[Soupster18]

Lore wise I like the Flamespyre Phoenix, is the Frosty better play wise

[Charlo]

3 minutes ago, Soupster18 said:

They are in the AOS App under Swifthawk Agents

Thanks! 3 Shooting attacks isn't bad eh?

[Soupster18]

Yeah pretty tidy and the 2D6movement in the shooting phase is tasty

[Tiger]

- Another 10 of Spireguard. 30 strong units tend to hold on to their bonuses for a bit longer.

- Knight Azyros (re-roll ones to hit, fast and mobile support)

- Phoenix (durable, de-buff)

- 20 Phoenix Guard (something for the opponent too chew on)

- Evocators (drop Sword Masters in this case)

- Warden with the totem on a skycutter. 

Got bruised a bit too many times with my SHA, lack of mortal wound generators hurts quite a bit. Evocators solve that problem rather nicely. I wouldn't reach towards the Idoneth, basically, whatever SHA can do they can do better in my view. Except looking cool.

[AlphaKennyThing]

A Loremaster - their ability is potent as hell. I can also confirm Reavers are fantastic harrassing units! Rode circles around my Ironjawz.

Phoenix Guard are also nigh on impossible to kill. Once they're on an objective, it takes a chunk of your opponent's army to move them off it.

[Soupster18]

Cheers folks, chuffed at the suggestions

[Cerlin]

I have a similar army and I love it. 

Mine is:

Dragon Lord

Frostheart Phoenix

High Warden

Loremaster

3x Archmages

Anointed

30 Spireguard

30 Swordmasters

10 Reavers

10 Dragon Knights

----------

I normally run Freeguild for my 3rd battleline in 2k games. Ill buy glade guard eventually to have themed battle line.

This is my most powerful non-battletome army. The phoenix and dragon backed by various combos of the above dominate. The only weakness would be low wounds, but the monsters help counter that. This army only has gotten better with endless spells, realm items, and realm spells. Now you can have multiple archmages who can do spells.

[Thundercake]

@Cerlin, aren't you already at 2.5k points? with only the reavers for battle line?

[Cerlin]

25 minutes ago, Thundercake said:

@Cerlin, aren't you already at 2.5k points? with only the reavers for battle line?

It is not strictly my list. It is the units I regularly play with. As I said. I use free guild to supplement. Some of my best lists include 60 Freeguild Guard.

[Thundercake]

 @Cerlin, ah, my bad. misbrained "army" as "list"

[divineauthority]

What's the general opinion on the Swifthawk Battalion? There's no points in GHB18 but I've seen people using the FAQ example of the Stormcast Errant Questor to say that it's still legitimate to use. At 40 points (less than just buying a command point), it doesn't seem right to me.

[Cerlin]

25 minutes ago, divineauthority said:

What's the general opinion on the Swifthawk Battalion? There's no points in GHB18 but I've seen people using the FAQ example of the Stormcast Errant Questor to say that it's still legitimate to use. At 40 points (less than just buying a command point), it doesn't seem right to me.

Talk to your opponent. 

I would offer to add 50 to compensate, at the very minimum. 150 feels fair too me. That is cheap for a modern battalion, and it is a pretty good one.

[flowerpot_chimp]

20 hours ago, divineauthority said:

What's the general opinion on the Swifthawk Battalion? There's no points in GHB18 but I've seen people using the FAQ example of the Stormcast Errant Questor to say that it's still legitimate to use. At 40 points (less than just buying a command point), it doesn't seem right to me.

Whilst the battalion is very, very good I don't think you are going to get away with using it. It's not in the app anymore, it hasn't had points in the last two GHBs and so can only be found in a pamphlet included in a box GW doesn't actually sell any more.

[Lavieth]

I am working on a couple lists for SHA and mixed order with SHA focus that are more thematic I feel. I do not get to play often so the competative scene would probably destroy either of them. 

With the announcement of Beasts of Chaos, I wonder if they plan on releasing a Free Cities Aelf Battletome. 

Swifthawk Agents Lions Rangers 2k.pdf

Swifthawk Agents 2K.pdf

[Frowny]

I'm thinking of getting into Age of sigmar and Aelf cavalry seem most like what I'm interested in playing. People mention 'reaver's a lot but they don't seem to be on GW's website anywhere. Is there anywhere I'd find rules and points for them? What kind of army do they fit in besides mixed order? Also relatedly, are there any Aelf related allegiance abilities to bring them all together?

Thanks for any help,

 

[Charlo]

On 9/9/2018 at 4:39 AM, Frowny said:

I'm thinking of getting into Age of sigmar and Aelf cavalry seem most like what I'm interested in playing. People mention 'reaver's a lot but they don't seem to be on GW's website anywhere. Is there anywhere I'd find rules and points for them? What kind of army do they fit in besides mixed order? Also relatedly, are there any Aelf related allegiance abilities to bring them all together?

Thanks for any help,

 

Basically the models are no longer sold for Reavers, but they still have legal rules that are rather good.

They are battleline in Grand Alliance Order OR Swifthawk Agents.

Sadly, one of the main drawbacks of High (A)Elves is that they lack a single unifying faction and are instead split across the following:

• Eldritch Council - Mages + Sword Masters
• Order Draconis - Dragons and Dragon Knights
• Phoenix Temple - Phoenix' + Phoenix Guard
• Swifthawk Agents - Reavers, flying chariots, shadow warriors
• Lion Rangers - White Lions + Chariots

However, there are such things as Free Cities rules, which are basically a more restrictive Grand Alliance Order that grant you a bonus to rules. Most of these are very High Elf friendly depending on what faction you want. If you want to play Reavers (ala Swifthawk Agents) then I recommend the Tempest's Eye Free City rules:

During the first battle round your units gain +2" movement (+4" if they can fly) and +1 to their save rolls.

You get the above on top of the "re-roll Battleshock" of Grand Alliance Order (plus their relics and command traits etc)

This would also let you take the following factions as part of the army: Stromcast, Free People, Khardron Overlords, Swifthawk Agents, Eldrich Council, Dispossessed, Ironweld Arsenal.

[flOw]

Hi all,

I just attended my first tournament (albeit it being a 6-man local store event and hence maybe not a “real” tournament) and wanted to share my experience with you guys. I usually game with my decade old friends from high school days. Sadly they aren’t all that much into AoS so I had to start looking for other options and thought tournaments might be a way to meet like-minded people and get some games in.

For the record I live in Germany and the largest AoS tournament out here is 36 players (at least that is the largest I have seen on the German tournament website). Before attending this event I had zero games in AoS 2.0 und 3 in AoS 1.0 (about 1 every 6 months).

As I assume it is for everyone I was very nervous about losing my tournament virginity. I was afraid of getting steam rolled, rules lawyered or confronted with highly unsociable people/freaks/kids.

I am happy to report that none of the above happened. I had three fun games with nice opponents who were willing to talk through all of our moves.

The event was one day, three games at 1000 points and all games would be played in Aqshy with all realm rules in effect. All games were played on 4x4 tables to better accommodate the smaller point level.

Here is the army i brought:

 The Glittering Host
Allegiance: Swifthawk Agents

Leaders
High Warden (220)
- General
- Trait: Legendary Fighter
- Artefact: Obstinate Blade
High Warden (220) 

Battleline
5 x Reavers (140)
5 x Reavers (140)
5 x Reavers (140)
5 x Reavers (140)

Total: 1000 / 1000
Extra Command Points: 0
Allies: 0 / 200
Wounds: 60

As you can see I took Swifthawk Agents, fully expecting to get my face pushed in in every game.

 

Game 1
Scenario: Scorched Earth
Realm effect: You receive mortal wound when a flying unit moves more that 6” (both of my Wardens took more that 6 wounds each from this over the game)

In my first game we played Scorched Earth and I faced Idoneth Deepkin:

 Allegiance: Idoneth Deepkin
- Enclave: Fuethan

Leaders

Isharann Soulscryer (100)
- General
- Trait: Lord of Storm and Sea
- Artefact: Lliandra's Last Lament
Lotann, Warden of the Soul Ledgers (100) 

Battleline
10 x Namarti Reavers (140)
10 x Namarti Reavers (140) 

Units
1 x Akhelian Allopexes (140)
3 x Akhelian Morrsarr Guard (160)
3 x Akhelian Morrsarr Guard (160) 

Total: 940 / 1000
Extra Command Points: 1
Allies: 0 / 200
Wounds: 62

My first opponent in my very first tournament game was experienced tournament player from Canada rocking the Deepkin. Colour me surprised that I went and attended a small town event and my first game would be against an experienced international player with one of the boogey man armies. There were so many rules in his army that I gave up trying to remember all of them. Basically he had two units of eels coming in from off board with one of the characters. One unit of the killy ones and one of the tanky ones. My basic strategy for every game was to move in with my Reavers, shoot and scoot back. The Wardens were always deployed in tandem and on one of the flanks. The would go into the same target and try to smash it off the table in one round. Luckily most of the Deepkin have terrible saves and my mobility allowed me to ignore his shoot closest rule (I just moved closer). I won the game 11-9 after 5 turns - much to my surprise. He had bad luck with his objective burning rolls and my mobility allowed me to get on all of his by turn 2. I just tried to ignore the eels. The tanky ones were basically invulnerable for me and the killy ones too far away to get a decent amount of shots in.

 

Game 2
Scenario: Knife to the Heart
Realm effect: additional -1 rend to missile weapons (I was hoping for this one!)

 The Wooden Hammer
Allegiance: Sylvaneth

Leaders
Branchwych (80)
- General
- Deepwood Spell: Verdant Blessing
Branchwraith (80)
- Artefact: The Silverwood Circlet
- Deepwood Spell: Regrowth 

Battleline
5 x Tree-Revenants (80)
5 x Tree-Revenants (80) 

Units
3 x Kurnoth Hunters (200)
- Greatbows
3 x Kurnoth Hunters (200)
- Scythes

Behemoths
Treelord (240)

Total: 960 / 1000
Extra Command Points: 0
Allies: 0 / 200
Wounds: 62

All I knew about Sylvaneth was that they had woods and Kurnoth Hunters are terrifying. He deployed his woods around one objective during setup, being very much hindered by the existing terrain on the table. I then decided to set up on the side with his woods, having counted the drops I knew that I was going first. He confided to me that I was the first one to ever setup on the side with the woods. I deployed in a way that one unit Reavers would cover both of his woods in a 9” bubble so that he couldn’t bring in more units out of the woods. He set up his Treelord in reserves. We called the game after two turns, as he was nearly tabled and I had both objectives. His Treelord never made it to the table. If it weren’t for the extra rend on my bows this game would have lasted much longer.

 

Game 3
Scenario: Duality of Death
Realm effect: none - rolled a one.

Allegiance: Stormcast Eternals
- Stormhost: Astral Templars
Mortal Realm: Aqshy

Leaders
Knight-Incantor (140)
- Spell: Speed of Lightning
Lord-Castellant (100)
Lord-Aquilor (200)
- General
- Trait: Dauntless Hunters
- Artefact: Godbeast Plate
- Mount Trait: Savage Loyalty

Battleline
5 x Vanguard-Hunters (120)
- Boltstorm Pistols and Storm Sabres
5 x Vanguard-Hunters (120)
- Boltstorm Pistols and Shock Handaxes
5 x Vanguard-Hunters (120)
- Boltstorm Pistols and Shock Handaxes 

Units
5 x Evocators (200)
- Lore of Invigoration: Celestial Blades

Total: 1000 / 1000
Extra Command Points: 0
Allies: 0 / 200
Wounds: 63

This game I found out the one true weakness of the army: armour. I think I killed 5 or 6 of his models during the entire game. He could match me for mobility with his Hunters and the Lord-Aquilor setting disappearing and coming back in from board edges all the time. I went into the Evocators with both Wardens hoping to wipe them quickly and then snipe his characters. I went in, fluffed most of my rolls and killed one Evocator. They hit back and after all hits and lightning I had lost a Warden and the other was heavily wounded. I managed to kill the Evocators, but was promptly tabled. The Lord Castellant and his damage 2 halberd killed 2-3 Reavers a turn.

To summarize, I had a great time with a 2-1 win-loss record after three games. Winning two games was totally surprising to me. The lack of mortal wounds the army can deal really hurt me against the Stormcast. The re-roll for bravery test due to being Order allegiance saved me more than once. When upping the army to 2000 points I plan to add phoenixes and a wizard.

 

[Charlo]

Glad you had a good time and some excellent sounding games. Your army is quite the wildcard and not something anyone would expect to be faced with.

I'm quite interested in Reavers, how did you find them overall? Any tips? The fact they are GA: Order Battlelines is super cool.

[flOw]

I found out about the Reavers being battleline after the event. I thought they were only battleline in Swifthawk Agents.

Reaver generally are amazing due to their mobility. The special move in the shooting phase is really annoying for the opponent and provides you with insane reach. The damage potential however is really not that great. I am constantly annoyed that my (A)Elves hit on 4+ while every Stormcast grunt hits on a 3+.

I would never take more than 5 in a unit. They are here to grab objectives or screen the enemy and AoS being an objective game they did quite well for me. For actually dealing damage to opponents you have to look elsewhere. 15 shots per unit, at 4+/4+ for hitting and wounding means 3,75 wounds per unit and no rend means less than 2 wounds to even the most basic Stormcast units. I always concentrated fire, meaning at least 3 units shot at the same enemy, which really helped in my first two games.

For my 2000 points army I plan on using 6x5 Reavers. Most likely not optimal, but an all cavalry army looks pretty cool to me.