Total War: Warhammer 3 best High Elves units

Check out the best units the mighty High Elves can muster

Commanding their own island, countless overseas colonies, and a host of skilled mages and soldiers, the High Elves are one of the most powerful factions in Total War: Warhammer 3. As beings that do not age, High Elves often have practiced their craft for centuries, be it archery, melee combat, riding, or magic, giving them an edge over any mortal race in many situations.

They are also somewhat isolationist and defensively oriented, which further informs their identity as a faction and they use their capabilities on the battlefield.

There are exceptions to this rule, of course. Some High Elves factions have special units at their disposal, such as Avelorn’s Wood Elves units and Tor Yvresse’s special forces, which provide a unique spin on the usual make-up of their armies.

We won’t be talking about these exceptions in this article, as they would only make things more complicated, when the purpose of listing the best High Elves units in Total War: Warhammer 3 really is to simplify things for you and give you a general overview of which troops to prioritize.

Best High Elves units in Total War: Warhammer 3

Best High Elves melee infantry: Phoenix Guard

Creative Assembly

The Phoenix Guard protects the Shrine Asuryan and is the High Elves’ strongest answer to threats from large entities such as monsters or melee cavalry. Wielding halberds, they possess anti-large and armor-piercing capabilities as well as charge defense against all sources. With 100 armor and 90 leadership, these troops can hold their area of the field for a long time, though you should keep ranged units away from them as they don’t carry shields. If you’re fighting missile-heavy factions, look to the shielded Silverin Guard for a cost-effective alternative.

Best High Elves ranged infantry: Sisters of Avelorn

Creative Assembly

The Sisters of Avelorn are one of the most lethal archer units in the game. Their magical arrows ignore physical resistance, are armor-piercing, and deal additional damage to units with health regeneration thanks to their flame attribute. Thanks to their 82 leadership and decent melee stats, you can literally just build entire stacks of these ranged troops and dominate many enemy armies. Just keep playing the hit-and-run game using your superior range.

Best High Elves melee cavalry: Dragon Princes

Creative Assembly

Heavily armored and shielded, Dragon Princes are a durable shock cavalry unit that’s perfect for hunting down enemy missile troops and artillery, especially as they have fire resistance to help them out against flaming shots. While they’ll eventually lose an engagement to elite cavalry with anti-large capabilities, their high armor and physical resistance allows them to occupy the enemy for quite a while, buying you time to reinforce them or win the battle elsewhere.

Best High Elves ranged cavalry: Ellyrian Reaver Archers

Creative Assembly

Ellyrian Reaver Archers are the only choice for the High Elves in this particular troop class. They are useful in the early phase of the game, as they can harass the enemy or pick off archers, but you’ll find that they’re losing effectiveness quickly once higher tier units come into play. Vanguard Deployment is nice, though, allowing them to close with the enemy sooner or hit them from an unexpected direction.

Best High Elves chariot: Lion Chariots of Chrace

Creative Assembly

Having your war chariot moved by huge white lions is pretty badass, especially when those lions’ pelts repel magical and physical missile attacks on top of looking absolutely magnificent. With 80 armor, armor-piercing attacks, and an anti-infantry bonus, the Lion Chariots of Chrace are lethal line breakers that are difficult to stop. They require some attention and micro to be at their best, just like any other chariot unit, but once you’re plowing through the enemy formation it’ll be worth the effort.

Best High Elves warbeast: War Lions of Chrace

Creative Assembly

Unencumbered by war chariots, the War Lions of Chrace become a versatile shock unit that can hunt down all forms of infantry thanks to their anti-infantry bonuses and armor-piercing damage. Their pelts keep them well protected from all sorts of attacks, though you shouldn’t let them get swarmed by infantry or use them to combat heavy cavalry, as they’ll be overwhelmed in these scenarios.

Best High Elves monster: Star Dragon

Creative Assembly

Of all the dragons and phoenixes at the High Elves’ disposal, no creature is more terrifying than the Star Dragon – not even the majestic Arcane Phoenix. Their scales protect them from the bite of missile fire as they rain death from above with their breath attack. In melee combat, their powerful fangs and claws rip apart any armor. These monsters need only fear specialized anti-monster units such as Necrosphinxes or Terrorgheists, otherwise they rule the battlefield pretty much uncontested.

Best High Elves artillery: Eagle Claw Bolt Throwers

Creative Assembly

The High Elves’ only artillery unit, the Eagle Claw Bolt Throwers are trusty war machines with armor-piercing missiles and two different modes of fire: they can either throw singular bolts or shoot swarms of smaller missiles, which have less accuracy and power, but help reduce the numbers of infantry swarms. They are definitely not as powerful as other factions’ artillery, though, so they strictly fulfill a support role and can’t win artillery duels.

Best High Elves Regiment of Renown: The Fireborn

Creative Assembly

The Fireborn are a special regiment of Dragon Princes and possess all their qualities. On top of that, they gain the anti-large bonus, fire attacks, and even more fire resistance, which combined makes them into an elite cavalry unit with basically no weaknesses, as they can hold their own against monsters and other heavy cavalry.

For more Total War: Warhammer 3, check out best units lists for the Chaos Dwarfs, Dwarfs, Empire, and Vampire Counts as well. If you’re willing to indulge in some educated speculation regarding future DLCs, check out our predictions for Shadows of Change and Thrones of Decay.