View source for OLD:Deep-Sea Elves Tactics

{{OPR-Faction
|Faction=Deep-Sea Elves
|Image = Deep-sea-elves.webp
|Setting=Age of Fantasy
|Games=[[Age of Fantasy]],<br>[[Age of Fantasy Skirmish|Age of Fantasy: Skirmish]],<br>[[Age of Fantasy Regiments|Age of Fantasy: Regiments]]
|Species=Elf
|Version=2.50
}}
''Note: as v2.50 is in constant development the following might not be accurate.''

== Why Play Deep-Sea Elves ==

'''Pros'''

* Plenty of Strider to deal with terrain

'''Cons'''

* Pretty poor defenses
* A lot of heroes can't hold up in a fight

== Special Rules ==

* '''Constrict''': When an enemy rolls a 1 to block this attack, they suffer an extra hit.
* '''Distortion Drummer:''' Once per activation, two friendly units within 6” get Stealth next time they are shot at.
* '''Divine Navigator:''' The hero and its unit get the Ambush special rule.
* '''Ethereal:''' Counts as having Stealth, Strider, as well as Regeneration against non-spell attacks. Note that this stacks with the actual Regeneration rule.
* '''Lantern of Souls:''' The hero and its unit get the Constrict special rule.
* '''Quick Shot:''' This model may shoot even after using Rush actions.
* '''Soul Collector:''' Once per activation, two friendly units within 12” get +1 to their next morale test.
* '''Tide Master:''' The hero and its unit get +1 to hit rolls in melee.

== Magic Spells ==

* '''Power Tide (4+):''' Two friendly units within 12" improves the AP of their melee attacks by +1 for the next turn.
* '''Sea Storm (4+):''' Enemy unit within 12" takes five hits. Not much, but it can dent a herd.
* '''Darkest Abyss (5+):''' Two enemy units within 12" takes -1 the next time they shoot. This can help confound gunlines or hamper some artillery.
* '''Erode Soul (5+):''' Enemy model within 12" takes an AP(4) hit. It's pretty much a guaranteed hit, enough to fell a hero on their last legs.
* '''Crushing Pressure (6+):''' Two enemy units within 6" take six AP(1) hits - giving them an edge over armored infantry.
* '''High Tide (6+):''' Two friendly units within 6" gain Flying for their next activation, letting them ignore terrain for the next charge.

== Unit Analysis ==

=== Heroes ===

* '''Sea Master:''' With a 4+ quality and defense, this is the best hero to take a hit and throw one back. With a native AP(1) on their Hand Weapon, you can rest assured that you can take down plenty of foes, but the weapon selections available help provide you some better versatility.
** ''Personal Upgrades:'' Taking Army Standard Bearer gives Fear to break enemies. High Monarch gives Tide Master, and thus gives you the most effective way to improve a squad's chances to hit. Spirit Ledger grants Soul Collector, which can help keep some weaker squads from getting pinned. Light Render provides Lantern of Souls and grants Constrict to help capitalize on unfortunate enemies.
** ''Mounts:'' The Sea Master's got the most mounts available. The closest you have to a horse is the War-Eel, which not only has Fast but also Stealth for some protection. The Sea-Wyrm gives extra Tough as well as some extra attacks with Poison, making this a better combat mount. The Deep-Sea Dragon provides your massive price hike in a steed, boosting defense and Tough as well as serious power but no boost in mobility.

* '''Scholar:''' Your cheaper hero, though this comes at only a 5+ to quality and defense. That said, they have a decent set of weapons to select from as well as the option for a Beast Companion for some extra Rending attacks. Unlike the Sea Master, the Scholar only has a single mount that's quite impressive - the Great Beast has a boost of Tough and defense as well as its own extra Poison attacks.
** ''Personal Upgrades:'' Sea Caster provides Wizard to allow you some measure of casting. Spirit Ledger gives Soul Collector, which works better for a backfield or midfield combatant like the Scholar. Depth Scryer gives Divine Navigator, thus giving Ambush to help surprise enemies.

=== Infantry ===

* '''Sea Guard:''' Your basest squad of infantry. Thankfully, Scout and Strider give you ways to reach the enemy first and each one also has a Javelin for a ranged attack.
* '''Octopus Hybrids:''' Slightly better guarded Stealth, which with Strider helps keep them alive. Though unable to shoot like the Sea Guard, you have just as many attacks in melee at half the size.
* '''Elf Thralls:''' Elite guards with 4+ quality and a 5+ defense, based mainly in melee with Furious and AP(2) Great Weapons to carve up whoever they charge.
* '''Elf Reavers:''' The archer version of the Elf Thralls. Each one comes with a bow for long-ranged firing, which is made even more versatile thanks to Quick Shot letting them Rush and Shoot on the same activation. If you need more punch on that shot, you can buy Crossbows for Rending.
* '''Depth Horrors:''' Slightly better defense than the Elf Thralls and they get Tough(3), Constrict and AP(1) Hand Weapons. Unfortunately, their weapon options are quite costly in exchange for their effectiveness on a unit that's already pretty strong.
* '''Giant Crabs:''' Not exactly the biggest enemy crabs you'll ever face, but that 3+ defense makes them a pain to deal with. Ambush also makes them a good surprise to crush monsters or enemy artillery, especially when boosted by a Sea Master with High Monarch or Light Render.
* '''Water Elementals:''' A more direct sort of wall. While the crabs can arrive in a bad angle, the elementals march forward, protected by Tough(3), a 4+ defense and Ethereal protecting them.

=== Cavalry ===

* '''War-Eel Riders:''' The eel makes for an impressive mount, providing Fast, Strider and Rending on the Rending Sabres you can instead replace with Lances if you want to capitalize on the Impact power. In addition, their upgrades can give them some special functions, with Electric Barrier granting Stealth for some extra protection and Electric Blast giving Constrict.
* '''Sea-Wyrm Riders:''' Far more aggressive cavalry with Lances and Poison attacks on the mounts right off the bat. That said, this is all they will be able to provide since their setup is entirely static.

=== Monsters ===

* '''War-Shark Riders:''' A bunch of elves riding on a shark, though it's better to treat this unit as a monster. The pack's protected by a welcome 3+ defense, while the shark provides some serious pain with Fear and some AP(1) attacks. On top of this, it also acts as a monstrous artillery platform with its Net Launcher to cover crowds or Harpoon Launcher to destroy other monsters.
* '''Great Water Elemental:''' A larger elemental, made to drown crowds in a deluge of attacks. Though it lacks any shooting, a 3+ save with Ethereal means it can tank plenty of aggression with little difficulty. What you should beware is the enemy throwing anything with a good defense as even with Furious, your attacks lack any AP to help out.
* '''Giant Kraken:''' A large pile of wounds and attacks. The kraken is a simple beast that works best when dealing with hordes, though it can probably put up a fight against enemy monsters. Constrict especially makes it useful to take down an enemy that rolls poorly, but it won't compensate for the limited amount of AP(1) attacks you get.
* '''Giant War-Turtle:''' The turtle is destructive. It comes packing Furious and an array of attacks that can cut through any armor. Distortion Drummer also makes it a support monster, as it provides Stealth to your more exposed units like the Elf Thralls. On top of all this, you have a Harpoon Launcher, allowing it to take on monsters whether up close or from afar.

=== Artillery ===

* '''Great Harpoon Launcher:''' The big draw of this is that it's able to shoot down monsters from across the board with its incredible range. By default, it fires Mini-Harpoons to cut through any mobs you see, but you can instead buy a Great Harpoon to make it take down bigger monsters.

== List Building & Tactics ==

=== General Advice ===
''Note: This section needs more content. You can help the wiki by expanding it.''

=== Tactics ===
''Note: This section needs more content. You can help the wiki by expanding it.''

== See Also ==

*[[Deep-Sea Elves]]
*[[Deep-Sea Elves Quickplay Armies]]
*[[Age of Fantasy]]

{{Faction-Links
|Faction = Deep-Sea Elves
|Links =  [[Deep-Sea Elves|Overview]] - [[Deep-Sea Elves Tactics|Tactics]] - [[Deep-Sea Elves Skirmish Tactics|Skirmish Tactics]] - [[Deep-Sea Elves Miniatures|Miniatures]] - [[Deep-Sea Elves Quickplay Armies|Quickplay Armies]] - [[Deep-Sea Elves Skirmish Quickplay Armies|Skirmish Quickplay Armies]]
}}
{{AoF-Tactics}}

[[Category:Age of Fantasy Tactics]]
[[Category:Deep-Sea Elves]]