High Elf Teams

The Elven Kingdom sponsored High Elf teams, feature a dangerous passing game and some of the most arrogant players you will find. Rich beyond the dreams of most teams, the High Elves often feature many Princes and noble born Elves on the team and what they cannot beat, they’ll buy.

QTYPositionCostMASTAGPAAVSkills & TraitsPriSec
0-16Lineman70k632+4+9+AGPS
0-2Thrower100k632+2+9+Cloud Burster, Pass, Safe PassAGPS
0-4Catcher90k832+5+8+CatchAGS
0-2Blitzer100k732+4+9+BlockAGPS
0-8ReRolls50kApothecary: Yes
Special RulesElven Kingdoms League

High Elf Team Overview:

High Elf teams usually adopt a passing strategy as they posess one of the best Throwers in the game, certainly the safest with the lowest chance of interception. They are also as well armoured as the Dark Elves and Human teams. They have access to four strong and fast Catchers backed up by a couple of harder hitting Blitzers. This set up means you can usually get one receiver free to accept a pass when on offence, and the speed and strength of the team is great for harrassing the opposing team when on defence. Of the four elven teams, they are the joint second fastest, joint first resiliance and the most reasonable cost across all positions.

Their disadvantages to the other teams is that they aren’t as fast or manouverable as the Wood Elves, don’t have as much hitting power as the Dark Elves and don’t have the cheap Linemen and excellent Catchers of the standard Elf teams. I’d say the High Elves are the most average of the four but the combination of players they have all work well as a team.

I’d recommend them as the best Elf team for a beginner though, their average armour and blend of starting skills without the players getting as costly as the other Elf sides means they can be the most forgiving. You can quickly skill up the Thrower and the Catchers and have a very good passing offence that can be hard to stop and will let you spread the ball around the pitch very quickly. In conbination with the speed of the Catchers you can get the ball away from the opponent in one turn if needed, or you can sit back deep and then bypass the oncoming players of the opposing team.

High Elf Team Strengths:

  • High Agility
  • Fast but not fragile
  • Safe passing game

High Elf Team Weaknesses:

  • Higher than average player costs
  • Not much hitting power

34 thoughts on “High Elf Teams”

  1. High Elves are my personal faveourite of all the ELf teams but I will agree with you that they tend to be more suited to leagues than touraments. This is more down to the tournament rules that are being used than the team itself though.

    Having said that I do believe that High Elves won the Blood Bowl last year and that is with 1000TV teams.

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  2. If you can take a few skills, then Kick makes the High Elves very aggressive on defense at a tournament.  Its my first skill on a linemen in a league even before block/dodge

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  3. My feelings are balanced between High elves and Dark elves. In tournament High elves are really difficult to play, I need ti improve my passing game. Dark elves seem more suited for tournament because they can get 4 Blocks at the start, before choosing your 4 simples skills and your double. But i’ll will surely try to play again my high elves in tournament with a good choic of skillz with wil reinforce their passing game as Accurate on the thrower. But i Don’t now what to put on the receiver and the 2 dragons. Someone could help me? For example on a TR 110 tournament 4 simple skillz and 1 skillz on a double…

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  4. The key to doing well with the high elves is aggressive defense. This means getting as many blitzers and catchers into the backfield as possible before the enemy has a chance to get the ball properly protected. Then while they’re confused hit the ball carrier with one or both blitzers (shadowing is great for keeping ball carriers marked and having to dodge), and when the ball is on the ground, scoop it up with a catcher and score.

    This works equally well against bashy teams (who don’t have the move to properly guard against it) and dodgy teams (who don’t have the strength to take out the marking blitzers).

    It got me a 5-0 victory over an orc team, and my thrower only touched the ball on my turn to receive.

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  5. I’m having a lot of trouble with High Elves.
    I’m quite new to the game so i’m still playing vs easy computers however I really have trouble against any team that is more bashy than me and the best I can pull off is a 1-1 game due to the fact if he has the ball I just can’t get it back or slow him down enough. I played Orcs a lot (about 20 hours) but the running game got boring do I wanted to try something new.
    When I played orcs every time I was against an elf team I beat them into the ground and as elves I have the same problem.
    Any tips other than ‘slow down the orcs’ because when I do that I end up with a lot of my elves taking nap.

    Reply
    • Not really, I would suggest you stop playing against the AI though. Sign up on the forum and try and get some matches against some real opponents. There are many coaches there who will give you help and advice during a match as well. If you have all 11 players behind the ball and are only allowing the Orcs one blitz per turn, you should be able to stop them scoring with practice.

      I assume you’ve read the Cage Breaking article but it’s hard to give any more specific advice without seeing how you play.

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      • So I’ve done quite a few online games new and am still struggling but for different reasons. I can score fairly confidently against most teams now it seems however I suffer ALOT of casualties. My first game I went vs Lizardmen and won 3-0 but suffered 3 deaths and 2 injuries in order to do so.
        Can you give any general tips on staying alive?

        Reply
        • You want to try and minimise the number of blocks you take, which means staying out of opposing tackle zones. Load up on Dodge which makes you harder to knock down and easier for you to get away and also look where you can get easy 2 dice blocks yourself to at least push opposing players away.

          If you need any more help please ask on the forum.

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  6. I would like to ask a question. I find that having a Catcher first off,opens up my options a bit more,as if I can get past the enemy line,it opens up all kinds of passing options,which is which I went with the 7 linesmen,1 thrower,1 catcher and 2 blitzers selection,with 3 rerolls. What do you think of this line-up?

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    • It’s a perfectly good starting option, though you need to skill your Catcher as quick as possible as they will be a target. It is pretty easy to get them their first skill though with their high movement and agility. You also need to be careful that the Catcher doesn’t ending up hogging all your SPP and the rest of the team doesn’t end up with any skills. This is why I recommend not starting with one as it forces you to use your other players for the first few games. Then when you start adding Catchers the rest of the team has some skills which will make them better for supporting the Catchers.

      There is no reason that you can’t be successful starting with one, just be aware of the above.

      Reply
  7. Thanks for that. I’ve been experimenting vs the AI and my blitzers and linemen,as least there have a no-so great history of fumbling the ball at crucial moments. The catch skill gives me a better chance of catching the ball,at least in my view,once my linemen and Blitzers open a hole for the catcher,with his high movement speed. I do try to use them as much as possible,but just having the option of a catcher may enable me to freak out my opponent somewhat,as they know what he’s capable of as well.

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    • Just keep in mind the fewer catchers you have, the more trouble high MA teams will be. If their entire team can get to your “Deep in the pitch” catcher, then it might be a better idea to have more.

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      • I don’t really think that is a concern. One extra movement over your Blitzers doesn’t really make much difference. Also the further you move them the further you may have to throw to them.

        Positioning the whole team is what matters, screening a player off, marking up the defence etc. Also a team defending well should be able to get back enough players to cover even the fastest of players anyway. The only reason I would really say matters to a starting team is having someone with Catch can be useful.

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        • I’m talking about speed differences between enemies. Catchers can stay relatively safe from nurgle, but when playing skaven they will get surrounded by 50 people.

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  8. I have a young High Elf team (4 improvements) and one of my linemen got a doubles. I am going to give him Guard but am wondering where he should line up on defense? On the line to force my opponent to commit more to the line (but that puts him at risk) or behind the line to protect him for blitzing (at least initially)?

    Reply
    • While Elven players are pretty easy to move around even if they get marked, I’d still keep him in a position behind the line. Giving the other team a free hit on one of your more useful players in a young team isn’t a good idea most of the time!

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  9. I’m about to go into a league where almost everyone is playing a very bashy team. Would a High Elf team be a clever choice to play a passing game in such a place? Or am I better heading for a team with Regenerate? I don’t imagine going low-AV is an option considering how almost every team seems headed to be a wall of Mighty Blow.

    I’m thinking of going High Elves and emphasising getting Fend, Sidestep, Dodge, and other slippery abilities to neuter their bash-heaviness.

    Reply
    • I’d be tempted with taking High Elves (my fave Elf team) your players will be able to skill up quicker and get Dodge. This will make them harder to knock over and let you move around the pitch a lot easier. Dodging away from their players will also mean you can limit the amount of hits they can make whilst also making them harder to knock over. Both of which will make Mighty Blow that bit less useful and perhaps force them into getting Tackle instead. Good Luck!

      Reply
  10. While it is true they lack core skills early High elves seem to be vastly underestimated in the blood bowl community. they are usually considered a near trash team for a reason that i cannot comprehend. As a counter example they did “surprisingly” well in the last world cup. do you have any input, idea or personnal comment on the matter ?

    Personnaly i believe it is due to the fact that people just can’t imagine not playing them like dark elves or pro elves. While it is true they got a bit from both people never assume this mix of skills can, and do, combine well into a somewhat specifi style of play.

    Reply
    • High Elves are my preferred elf team, I think they just aren’t that popular from a fluff point of view. It doesn’t help that there aren’t really any great miniatures for them and that they look like Warhammer soldiers in the computer game.

      Reply
  11. Coach – I’m in a 10-game-length season in my local league, and am bringing the High Elves. The commissioner has rules in place for starting any three players off with an additional normal skill. My question: would you put block on some linemen for more defensive power? Dodge on the blitzers to make them more mobile/harder to hit? Or block or dodge on the catchers to make them more survivable/better at evasion? Or something else? I have always loved your site, thanks in advance!

    Reply
    • I would certainly not bother with skills on the Linemen, just get them a completion if they randomly get an MVP. They are your cheapest players so getting some extra protection on the more expensive players makes more sense to me. Also Block + Dodge Players are tricky to deal with for low end teams. It also depends on if there is a Dwarf team in the league or not who can negate Dodge a lot easier than other teams. In which case I would look at Block or Wrestle on some Catchers. Good luck and well done choosing the best (but least popular) Elf team!

      Reply
        • Frenzy as a first skill on a Catcher is certainly risky. You don’t have either Block or Wrestle to make doing single die blocks safer. They also have the lowest armour on your team meaning failure on a block will carry a greater risk of injury. These factors mean that you may not use them for a block or blitz if you can’t safely get the right assists in place.

          However Kick on a Lineman first off is a solid choice in my opinion if no one else on the team yet has it. You have fast and agile players to contest a deep kick against a slow team.

          Reply
      • Hey, just as a follow up – I totally spiked dice with my free level-up on my catcher and he’s now strength 4!!! After some games he leveled up again to have block as well … he’s a beast for sure! So I have 8 linemen, 2 catchers (doubles on the other lineman and he has guard), and a thrower who spiked dice and is agility 5 (and, with another doubles, took Strong Arm). Three rerolls, apothecary. Yeah, I’m the team to beat at the moment.

        Reply
  12. I absolutely cannot fathom why they put that “Tier 2” label on High Elves.

    Like playing High Elves is as tricky as playing Slann, Vampires, Khemri or Undeworld.

    The additional armor on High Elf players makes them a seriously durable team that’s very capable of passing the ball about.

    I mean “durable” in contrast to Wood Elves, Union Elves and possibly even Dark Elves. They’re still elves at the end of the day.

    Reply
  13. Hi Coach!

    With the High Elves, would you put 4 receivers on the pitch at once or do you feel that makes the team too brittle?

    Reply
    • Hey Fint, it really depends on the environment you are playing in. I’m not even convinced you need 4 on the roster. The Linemen have the same skill access, have better armour and are cheaper.

      If I did have four on the roster, then I think it depends on the opposing team on a match by match basis. Against slower bash teams then the extra armour could be more useful than extra speed. However ultimately it depends what skills you have on the players.

      So in answer to your question, maybe…

      Reply

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