One of the players at my store plays High Elves and a lot of the time he will include a Dragon Mage in his army in smaller games (1000-1500 points). And lately I’ve been having trouble beating it…
He used to just blindly throw it into combats and I would have an easy time killing it, but now he sees how easy it dies in combat and he now just flies away if I get to close and throws spells at me with like 5 power dice which is really hard to dispel.
So my question is, how am I supposed to fight this menace in under 2000 points? Are there some units that would work really well?
I am with Da Crusha on this bolt throwers will do the job well, also an earthshaker to slow it down so you can pin it and get it in combat then smash its brains out with a big hammer
ummmmm, point out that he’s a level 2 wizard so can only cast on three dice not five, and then, blast him with your own mages as he’s a 350 point character (and two slots too) stuck with the lore of fire who dosen’t even qualify the high elf army for it’s customary +1 to dispell, so see how he likes eating fireballs
ummmmm, point out that he's a level 2 wizard so can only cast on three dice not five
Actually, he can...the dragon mage has the reckless rule which lets him use an extra die to cast and he's taking a magic item on top of that that's letting him use a fifth die...
Thanks for the quick responses everyone :) I had somehow completely forgotten our ability to take bolt throwers.
He turns up with 1 mage, you turn up with 2-3. Shoot back from the safety of a unit, let the fireballs through (with T4 and 4+ saves, you can take it) and dispel any nastier spells. And shoot him with bolt throwers, as mentioned.
Tbh he doesn’t even have a decent chance in melee against proper units.
Or take lots of hobgobs with bows and pepper him, he’s a T3 elf with no armour riding a large target.
ummmmm, point out that he's a level 2 wizard so can only cast on three dice not five
Actually, he can...the dragon mage has the reckless rule which lets him use an extra die to cast and he's taking a magic item on top of that that's letting him use a fifth die...
Shorel
As far as I know, no such item exists anymore for the High Elves.
As far as I know, no such item exists anymore for the High Elves.
Renufus
It just so happens that I have my High Elf book with me.
See page 102 of the current High Elf book
Arcane Items:
Jewel of Dusk 15points:
The jewel gives the mage +1 power dice in each of his own magic phases.
He gets 2 dice for the army, two for a level 2, and 1 for the jewel. 2+2+1=5.
He could have as many as 5 dice in the pool. The reckless rule adds a die to each attemp he makes. So as a level two he can use 3 normal and the reckless rule will add another making it 4. He could then have two pool dice left and another from reckless for a total of 3 for the second spell. But you are right he can not use 5 on a single spell. That could still be tough if he is good at keeping that dragon hidden from bolt throwers.
Sounds like the jewel of dusk gives him an extra dice each turn, but doesn’t allow him to use an extra one each spell, so pick him up on that. Earthshakers need to be decided if it affects flying or not (look at the thread somebody linked to earlier) and they still do a lot of damage (D6 wounds if memory serves, which could kill the dragon in one) and some bolt throwers (hitting on 3+ shold be smple enough and they are very cheap). Then, play the rest of your army as usual. The brilliance is, these tactics are just as effective agains his other units Brilliant.
Earthshakers need to be decided if it affects flying or not .
Hashut's Blessing
According to the Direwolf FAQ the Earthshaker does effect flying creatures. The FAQ states that if halves all units movement even flyers. They state clearly that flyers are reduced to a fly move of 10 inches.
Plus he's hiding from your Bolt Throwers and Magic Casters he probably won't have line of sight to cast spells.
BilboBaggins
He won�?Tt need it if he gets conflagration of doom. With all those dice that could be bad news for Chaos Dwarfs in a small game. Is it getting hot in here? :o
Conflagration of Doom is a hard spell to get off consistently so worrying about it before the game is really unnecessary. Plus when I’ve gotten it cast my average hits are only about 6 (highest was 11). Considering if they are playing a 1500 point game with a dragon there won’t be much magic on that side and max dice a level 2 can roll at once is 3 dice (unless those HE have some magical item that allows more that I’m forgetting). Also Dragon Mages DO NOT get a +1 to dispel like other HE mages. HE do have to roll for spells don’t they? I rarely see them.
Bolt Thowers are good against Dragons, even better than the Earth Shaker and Death Rocket due to their scattering. Hitting on 4+ at worse and S6 and D3 wounds with no armour saves, yes please. Earth Shakers can, slow them down even if you don’t hit them directly, just get close.
Conflagration of Doom is a hard spell to get off consistently so worrying about it before the game is really unnecessary. Plus when I've gotten it cast my average hits are only about 6 (highest was 11). Considering if they are playing a 1500 point game with a dragon there won't be much magic on that side and max dice a level 2 can roll at once is 3 dice
BilboBaggins
Not a dragon mage, as a level 2 mage he can throw 3 dice. The reckless rule adds a die to each of his casting attempts for free. So he can throw 4. The reckless rule specifically states that it allows him to use more dice then normally. With 4 dice he should be able to get it off at least a few times a game. He can also take "The Seerstaff of Saphery" for 30 points that will allow him to pick his spells, so he can be sure of getting it. Plus he will have 20 points left for a dispel scroll (only 20pts for high elfs) to stop some stunty magic. :o
This guy could be a big problem in a small game. Hmmmmm�?� I might try this tactic now that I have thought of it.
I forgot about the reckless rule, but throwing 4 dice increases his ability to MISCAST also.
So if he is hiding the Dragon isn’t doing it’s job of terrorizing units. If he pops up you have a nice big target for BT’s, Earth Shaker. Hobgoblin Archers to shoot at.
I faced one with my Chaos Dwarf army at 1500 points, it didn’t do anything all game. Earth Shaker hit the mage on the head on turn 4, and shook the earth a few turns and the HE player just left him standing even though he could have done a 1/2 movement.
Plus his army was so small in troops that even the hobgoblin archers killed a unit of elves, OK it took a few turns.
Plus his army was so small in troops that even the hobgoblin archers killed a unit of elves, OK it took a few turns. :D
BilboBaggins
It would have to be used in the hands of a player that knew what he was doing. The key would be to use the terrain to screen the dragon for 3-4 turns. With his 20-inch fly it would be easy. The whole time hitting the opponent with conflagration of doom each turn, watch out for miscasts they hurt, then once you have an open shot charge something good in the flank, rear or kill war machines. You could also flame breath something and hit it with conflagration of doom, ouch too hot to handle. To many people use dragons wrong, they think they are flying steam tanks, but in the hands of an experienced player they are devastating.
According to the Direwolf FAQ the Earthshaker does effect flying creatures. The FAQ states that if halves all units movement even flyers. They state clearly that flyers are reduced to a fly move of 10 inches.
The Brain
I've always agreed with that as well, however, the Direwolf FAQ sn't official and so it's safest to get someone impartial to decide in front of the pair of you and then play it that way to avoid arguments.
Also, I'm not sure how he could be "hiding" his dragon, since it's a large target and can be seen over other units ;)
Put simply, get out some bolt throwers (one to two special choices worth) and an earthshaker, then just play the game and watch it fall. If he complains, say it was a fair army and it still wasn't a fair fight against a dragon in that small of a points game ;)
Brilliant.