Kings of War 3rd Edition: Elves Army Review

This review has been updated for Clash of Kings 2024.

Your humble author (Keith Randall) has to admit that the original Third Edition version of this army review was written by the Spymaster Tom Annis (for some reason), and taken over for version 3.5 by me.  Looking back at the army review from 3.5, I can unequivocally state that I had no idea what I was doing, and Tom probably should have updated the army review again.

With a new Clash of Kings, I’m hoping to redeem myself with an entirely revamped army review.  Enjoy.  I’ve put in Red the entries that have changed the most.

The Elves are an elite army with plenty of long-range shooting options that also boast some of the best fast melee units in Kings of War. They have changed since the last edition of the game but are still a strong faction. Let’s see how their individual units stack up.

If you would like to see our other army reviews, you can find those here.

Tier Rankings: 

Trying to rank units in Kings of War is not a perfect science. By pure design, many units are meant to work in combination with other choices in the army and can be hard to judge on their own. For this exercise, it’s assumed the unit is being used to its utmost potential within the army. This is not just a math problem to determine the most cost-effective unit but to also see how they compare in scope, role, and impact across not just a single army but all Kings of War armies. For the most part, units will be treated as one entry; however, if an option or size drastically improves a unit it will be separately mentioned.

S Tier: Reserved for units that are widely acknowledged as either being significantly undercosted or having a combination of rules that perform well above units in similar roles. These units are often called “auto includes” as any list stands to be made better with their inclusion. Expect these units to be addressed in future CoK book updates.

A Tier: These units are some of the best the army has to offer. They excel in their specific roles and commonly help form the core of most competitive lists. While not auto include, they are great in almost any army they are taken in and will be seen frequently.

B Tier: These units have a mix of strengths and weaknesses that make them very playable but balanced. These units work great with specific roles in mind; however, their weaknesses mean they do not help every list. In a perfect world, all units would fit into this category.

C Tier: C tier units may still shine in niche lists and roles; however, they will feel underpowered when compared to similar units in other armies. Decidedly suboptimal, you could make them work but frequently will see other things that are just better. You will rarely see many lists take these units.

D Tier: Units that need some considerable love and attention. You will struggle to find any role for this unit that another unit couldn’t do better. Very often you will see these units labeled as “unplayable”.

Formation – Kal’ar’s Hunters
I was…wrong about the formation when I first read it years ago.  My exact words were “The formation is…fine.”  Facepalm.  The formation is borderline S Tier.  Hard to imagine a competitive elf list without it in the last year. 

The formation gives two regiments of Drakon Riders Nimble and Spellward, which allows these two units to flit around the board and harass your opponents’ army to an almost unprecedented degree.  And you get a Drakon Lord with Spellward and Rampage D3.  Would I prefer Slayer?  Sure, but then I wouldn’t get to shock opponents with flank and rear charges!  Don’t forget to put the Trickster’s Wand on your Drakon Lord in the new world of oppressive spellcasters!

Army-Wide Rules

Elite – and wowza is it good!  Good rolls become great rolls, bad rolls become average rolls, and everything is just so darn reliable!

Sabre-Tooth Hunting Cat – two whole (individual) units can take this unit (princes and kings)!  Ten points for duelist!  (Exclamation points for sarcasm).  I miss the throwing version of this item, which is essentially useless unless you really want to kit a king out as an individual hunter.

S Tier

The Elves have no S-tier units. But they might have sports scores now. [EDIT – Elves are back to getting no sports scores – combining some of the best shooting in the game with the best Alpha in the game means opponents sometimes just sit there and watch their army disappear] [The Elves still have no S Tier units – and still won’t get sports scores.] Normally I would edit this down, but honestly, I’m living for this tracking of Elf sports scores – Editor

A Tier:

In the new Clash of Kings, the elves have a shocking amount of A Tier units opening up a ton of new list archetypes.  Kudos all around.

Palace Guard –Defense 5+ option for Palace Guard – yes, please!  Defense 4+ Palace Guard with Crushing Strength 1 could put a hurt on enemies at the Horde size – but like every Horde, you were an easy multi-charge target and were vulnerable to shooting. 

Give them the option for Defense 5+ and suddenly elves have a reasonable anvil unit – that come with the “warhost” tag which is just a bonus.  I expect to see these new beefy elves at the Regiment level more than the Horde to maximize the warhost aura and provide an impressive amount of survivable US in a small footprint.  

Drakon Riders –Speed 10 flying hammers—I could stop there. Drakon Riders are one of the premiere hammer units in the game. Even without Nimble, they can easily complete any charge they need to without the extra pivot because of the Fly rule. And with CS1/TC1 they are going to hurt whatever they hit. One to two hordes with Strider/Pathfinder will likely be in every competitive list, and why wouldn’t you? The big downside of Drakons is their Height 4, 15/17 nerve vulnerability to war engines.

Sadly they did not get “warhost”, which is probably for the best.

Silverbreeze Cavalry – Probably the most over-hyped unit at the beginning of Third Edition, the smart Elf players were consistent in downplaying the effectiveness of Silverbreeze Regiment spam and they were correct.

But the truth that Silverbreeze are incredible units is undeniable. The Regiment size in particular can take advantage of their Nimble rule very well and, combined with its Speed 10 and ability to gain Thunderous Charge 1 from Hill charges, can become a real asset in combat in the right situations. Most Elf lists will have 2-3 units of them, with the size of the unit dependent on what you have points for—their role as nimble flankers/harassers is the same in either size.

I’m separating the [1] upgrade for Stormwind Cavalry to the Nimble and plus one Nerve Quicksilver option.  The Nimble option at 40 points less than a Drakon Horde is a bargain.  Non-flying Nimble units can cause people problems when they don’t lose Nimble after being disordered, and with the Nerve boost, you aren’t giving up as much when dropping down to Quicksilvers over Drakons.  

Dragon Kindred Lord –At CS3, the Dragon Kindred Lord is an important answer for the Elves to armies with lots of high Defense units, which can sometimes struggle with that archetype. The Dragon Kindred Lord pairs perfectly with your Drakon Riders to project an extreme amount of threat at 20 inches across the board. The only downside is the high cost in an already-elite army; if you take a Dragon, you likely aren’t bringing more than 11-12 drops even at higher points levels. It’s up to you to get the most out of this premium Hero choice.

They get US 2 now which may open up the possibility of swapping a dragon for a Drakon Horde or potentially taking multiples, but it will still be hard to get all of your points out of them.

Noble War Chariot – The newest (and only) addition to the Elven A-Tier.  In the new edition, the otherwise pedestrian Noble War Chariot gets Inspiring, an extra Attack, and an extra Nerve for only 15 points.  With the army previously suffering for Inspiring sources, I expect most elven armies to have at least one of these units rumbling across the battlefield. 

Add the warhost keyword and those 5 attacks become 8 – which can surprise.  And at some point (I clearly wasn’t paying attention) the Noble War Chariot changed to Crushing Strength 1/Thunderous Charge 1 from Thunderous Charge 2, which means these little buggers can even grind a little.  Taking three with a follow on Standard Bearer would not be amiss! 

B Tier:

Elven Archmage –Every Elf player needs to ask themselves if their current list could be made better by swapping out 125 points of whatever for an Elite, Lightning Bolt 8 Elven Archmage.

You just need to figure out how to get the Inspiring you need when you use Hero unlocks on them. With access to all of the Arcane Library spells, Archmages are borderline S tier – the only thing holding them back is the lack of US.

These magic users are still helpful and can be kitted out to do basically anything you need them to, but the change to Boots of Levitation makes the Alchemist Curse bullet no longer a thing, which is a sad day for all of us.

Tree Herder – In the Elf list, the Tree Herder is a solo artist as it doesn’t really support any other Elf units that well. But it is in contention for top 5 units in the entire game, so you won’t hurt yourself taking one and just causing havoc all by itself wherever it is deployed. Strongly consider putting Brew of Haste on it for those top-of-Turn 1 charges for even more fun (for you, not your opponent).

There may be an archetype with the new Defense 5 Palace Guard and cheaper Tallspears where this walking heal tank may be seen more often, but it doesn’t fit well in the army otherwise.

Stormwind Cavalry –Still inexplicably 14/16 (aka pretty much peasant) nerve, the Stormwind Cavalry drop down into B tier because the internal faction balance so heavily weighs toward Drakon Riders. However, if you are trying to play an alpha-strike Elf list, one to two regiments of the Speed 9 Stormwind is an important component of that style, providing slightly cheaper but fast enough combat units to compliment your Drakons and keep the pressure up. Also noteworthy is that Stormwind unlocks in a faction that can struggle doing so. 

Stormwind Cavalry now have an [1] upgrade that gives them 15/17 nerve, and nimble. With Drakons unlocking, if you are taking one unit of Stormwind with the upgrade, that is A tier – but without, solid B-tier. 

Kindred Gladestalkers – Everyone’s favorite shooting platform has to still be an A tier unit right – not anymore! Dropping back to Unit Strength 2 makes the per-US cost of the Gladestalkers one of the highest in the game, and 12 attacks are great, but without the Unit Strength bump, there are other shooting options to consider nowadays. 

Elven King – The Elven King is a very well-costed individual Hero that does everything you want out of this type of unit and nothing more. If only taking one, load it up with all the upgrades and put it on a Horse for a character-hunter that is almost impossible to escape from at Speed 9 and Height 3. Two Elven Kings on Horse can also give you the Inspiring you need on the flanks while contributing to multi-charges with 5 Crushing Strength 1, Elite attacks.

And now features a bow option, which is affected by Rampage and Slayer items. The King also has the Warhost keyword, so they can benefit from the Standard Bearer’s Rampage 3 aura.   The King is better than ever…and yet probably still B Tier.

Army Standard Bearer – Standard Bearers across all armies got some new love and this flag-waving fool getting Rampage 3 is intriguing.  Elves usually don’t have issues with units affected by Rampage, but adding 3 attacks to Warhost units is fascinating.  I suspect the best way to get value out of this aura is not at the Horde level, but rather at the Regiment and Troop levels.  The Lute of the Sacred Horn are good options.  I’m looking forward to seeing what shenanigans people get up to with this fascinating new option.

Kindred Tallspears –Although they are one step behind the truly standout Phalanx units that combine that rule with another defensive trait like Ensnare or Defense 5, the Kindred Tallspears are nevertheless a very competitive choice for the Elves. Their Elite special rule and a base of 30 attacks mean this unit can put out the hurt and is a good candidate for damage-boosting items and a great target for Bane-Chant. Just don’t think that Phalanx makes them invulnerable and don’t overinvest in them (I think putting Brew of Strength on them is a mistake—at that point, just take a Palace Guard horde). There is definitely something to be said for keeping them cheap (for an Elf army) and using them defensively while your other, more specialized units bring the pain.

In the latest rules, they got a massive price drop and the Warhost keyword.  That means 18 attacks at the regiment level for 130 points, which is a crazy value.  They are still fragile, but worth considering.

Kindred Archers – OK, we’re back to a 5+ shooting unit with defense 4 like we had at the start of third…but I don’t hate it.  If you want some extra shooting and the cheapest unlock in an army, you could do worse.  They get Warhost too! (For all the good it will do you…).

Dragon Breath – Running a few Dragon Breath in between your infantry line for early chaff clearance, late game cleanup, and emergency chaff has always been a valid tactic. The key to getting the most out of this unit is to realize that even though enemy units triple their attacks against the Dragon Breath, they don’t overrun after killing it which means this unit can be used effectively to block charges while contributing some shooting. They are a unique enough shooting option to not be wholly replaced by an Archmage and they just got dropped by 10 points, so spam away! Another overlooked benefit of both war machines is that they are unlocked by Hordes – Elves have no access to Monsters, so if you are taking a Horde of Infantry or Large Cavalry, unless you take a war machine you are wasting an unlock.

Bolt Thrower- Speaking of war machines, the Bolt Thrower is officially upgraded to B Tier.  It previously dropped 10 points and got Null Void Bolts which give Spellward to their targets.  With elves sometimes struggling against high defense/heal builds and some surging armies, being able to make spells less effective is a solid benefit.  If you go the Bolt Thrower route, you probably want to go with at least two to ensure the Spellward.

Forest Shamblers – Forest Shambler regiments have always been solid chaff in the Elf list. They combo very well with Drakon Riders who can see over them to multi-charge enemy units that get stuck on the Defense 5, -/14 Forest Shamblers. Hordes don’t have a real role in the standard Elf list since they don’t unlock.

Therennian Sea Guard – With the new points drop and the Steady Aim ability, Sea Guard are a solid choice for an unlock. Get some shooting but you couple it with the higher tier US. Good option as a regiment and as a horde.

We may see even more of these units with the US drop to Gladestalkers.  Sadly these specialists aren’t Warhost…

Nimue Waydancer — While not an auto-take, she can cause some serious problems for opponents with her ability to get behind their lines and drop Cloak of Death along with Fireball 10 (now with Shattering!). She is a great add-on to a shooting-heavy elf list, but at 150 points, not quite an auto-include. She does Inspire everyone now, which is a nice addition.

King’s Champion — Really intriguing unique entry (who looks like he was mostly created to sell some of the King with Spear elf models lying around). A solid number of attacks, and some great special rules that synergize with…some of the least useful Elf units. Have heard some discussion of success using one with a Mage to cast Host Shadowbeast on him, but at 145, they are just a bit too pricey to an auto-include.

He’s no longer Very-Inspiring and the Fury-Kindred aura doesn’t work on Palace Guard sadly.  You could consider a Tallspear heavy list with some rampage aura and the Champion for Fury…but I’m not sure a tooled-up King wouldn’t be better all around.

Argus Rodinar – Argus has a niche role in some lists that lack an unlock for another Inspiring character and need the 2-for-1 Inspiring package that Argus brings to the table (or altar).

Add in that he now has US(!) and his ability to let you reroll one to hit or to wound a turn and Argus is a boss.  However, with more relevant Inspiring choices (looking at you Noble Chariots), I suspect he will see limited use.

C Tier:

Lord on Drakon – The little brother of the Dragon Kindred Lord has never been a highly popular choice but I think the Lord on Drakon has new importance as a nimble flanker now that Drakon Riders aren’t filling that role by themselves. The bluff token scenarios also put a premium on fast units with Unit Strength that can turn on a dime and react to new information gained after a flip of the tokens. Use it to inspire your fast hammers before piling in to add a few wounds in a multi-charge. The Lord on Drakon is still missing something (one more nerve? another attack?) but is a legitimate Inspiring Hero choice midway between the Dragon Kindred Lord and the Elven King.

However, with the Noble Chariot buffs, I suspect you won’t see these often outside the formation (hence the downgrade to C Tier). 

Forest Guard – Palace Guard that trade their CS1 for TC1 and Pathfinder, the troops are quietly up there as some of the best chaff in the entire list as they can hide in difficult terrain to avoid getting shot off the board and then charge out unhindered. Regiments don’t really have a point in the standard Elf list as CS is infinitely better than TC on an infantry unit.

They did get a price drop and have Warhost, but I still think this unit needs something else to replace Palace Guard at the Regiment level.

Drakon Halfling Pack — Hey cool, another midspeed chaff unit, but it hits harder than Battlecats while costing almost 50 more. Could find a use for them, but I’m going to largely pass.

Battlecats – Battlecats have Nimble, and now they get Pathfinder. There is value in adding an 80-point pure chaff unit to some lists, but the Elves’ hammer units don’t combo as well with the Battlecats as they do with other chaff units, which means these kitties are going to be left on the shelf most of the time. You won’t ever see more than two units of these in a list, but only when you need to downgrade the higher-cost chaff units due to a points issue.

War Chariots – The legion size is interesting because of its 20 melee attacks and 20/22 nerve, but outside of certain niche lists (like Brad McKay’s current 3 Stormwind Cav/3 War Chariot legion/3 Dragon take of the list that got chariots nerfed in the first place) the Elves just have more effective units at every points level and in every role the War Chariots could hope to fill. Chariots as a whole need a re-think by Mantic and the Rules Committee and Elven War Chariots are not one of the exceptions.

They do get Brutal now and can be had cheaply without shooting attacks – but even when affected by the Rampage 3 aura I’m not sold on this unit.

Madriga the Elf – Madriga is a nice upgrade to the Master Hunter profile, but the fact she is Inspiring-Self only means she doesn’t have a place in most Elf lists that already struggle for Hero unlocks and Inspiring sources.

She does get to shoot her D6 blast attack every turn now…but that won’t earn her a promotion.

Kindred Warriors — Elves aren’t supposed to be mediocre, but this choice is just that. Cheap unlocks for Regiments and fairly cheap Hordes, but they won’t do much for you. Since the utility for Elves of the unlocks Hordes provide (again – no Monsters in the list at all) – is limited, I don’t really see the point of this unit at any size. Take archers for 20 more points, or just drop them entirely.

Take archers for the shots, or just drop them entirely.  They do get warhost…but who cares?

Tydarion Dragonlord – Thirty points more than a Dragon Kindred Lord, Tydarion Dragonlord gains Brutal, CS4, and Very Inspiring over its general counterpart. This actually isn’t a bad deal as far as points go, but those three rules are so situational that it’s not worth spending them to get Tydarion while also losing the ability to add an item to your Dragon. I think Tydarion needs to become more like he was in Second Edition, where he was only Speed 7 but with the same rules. This (along with the expected points drop from losing three-speed) would allow him to bring something unique to the table instead of being the overpriced super-dragon he is currently.

D Tier:

Hunters of the Wild – Hunters of the Wild have a deceivingly solid stat line at first glance. A higher-than-normal amount of attacks, defense 5, and semi-elite level nerve are all welcome attributes. But a closer look reveals their shortcomings: speed 5 means they are the slowest unit in an otherwise speed 6+ army (thus setting the pace in a negative sense), no native crush means they either need an item (Hammer of Measured Force) or further investment through bane-chant support, and their Heavy Infantry base size limits their ability to be the base for a corkscrew. The real killer though, and what bumps the unit to D tier, is the irregular tag. In Sylvan Kin, Hunters of the Wild have a niche role in certain Verdant-based lists, but the inability to unlock in Elves means the regiment size will never be seen and the troop size is outshone by other chaff options.

All this remains true…but they are cheaper now! Huzzah!

Elven Prince – An 80-point combat individual is a tried-and-true unit archetype in Kings of War and the Elven Prince can fill that role just fine if you want to go that route. It is in D-tier, however, because in reality there are just so many other better Heroes in the list that also provide critical Inspiring, which this unit does not.

Conclusions

This is where I would go first with my Elves, but I think the most successful Elf generals are going to be the ones that figure out how to maximize the new Rampage 3 aura to continue to annoy the crap out of their opponents.

Sample Elf List 

Palace Guard (Infantry) Regiment [160] 

Palace Guard (Infantry) Regiment [160] 

Kindred Gladestalkers (Infantry) Regiment [185] 

Kindred Gladestalkers (Infantry) Regiment [185] 

Silverbreeze Cavalry* (Cavalry) Regiment [180] 

Drakon Riders (Large Cavalry) Horde [290] 

   – Sir Jesse’s Boots of Striding [15]

Drakon Riders (Large Cavalry) Horde [280] 

   – Mace of Crushing [5]

Elf Army Standard Bearer (Hero (Infantry)) 1 [85] 

   – Lute of Insatiable Darkness [25] 

   – Bane Chant (2)

Noble War Chariot (Hero (Chariot)) 1 [115] 

Noble War Chariot (Hero (Chariot)) 1 [115] 

[F] The Swirling Tempests, Drakon Riders (Kal’ar’s Hunters) [1] (Large Cavalry) Regiment [180] 

[F] The Swirling Tempests, Drakon Riders (Kal’ar’s Hunters) [1] (Large Cavalry) Regiment [180] 

[F] Kal’ar Drakonkin, Lord on Drakon (Kal’ar’s Hunters) [1] (Hero (Large Cavalry)) 1 [185] 

   – Trickster’s Wand [15] 

   – Hex (2)

This list gives you the solid core of shooting and fast hammers every Elf needs to survive, but with the added bonus of an effective anvil (or two).  It also has 4 (Palace Guard and Noble War Chariots) units that take advantage of the Rampage Aura.  You can get a lot of value out of the Standard Bearer if you can get 2-3 units in range of the aura.  It is also shockingly choke-full of inspiring, which is new…