New Player: Bretonnia or High Elves

[Dreamshift]

I'm interested in building a WH army, but I have two things in mind: I want a Cavalry based army with few 'elite' units. I see that the Bretonnian army has a basic cavalry unit and seems to rely heavily on Cavalry but doesn't have the elite quality that the High Elves do (I mostly want this second quality because I want less models so that I can focus on improving my painting quality).

With the understanding that I want to focus my army on cavalry (and supporting that as needed) and I don't want a lot of models to play with, what does BOLS suggest?

Thank-you for your time.

Also, can you give me a breakdown of what to expect, strength and weakness wise, of what a cavalry based army will have?

[Drachenprinzen]

Bretonnians are an interesting race. They can have the blessing of the lady which gives every unit in the army a ward save and most of the units are cavalry but also can have spearmen and archers along with stonethrowers. The fun part for you would be painting the cavalry. Every model is technically a knight hailing from a different place so no one would be alike and they can have individualized armor, clothing, and colors allowing you to "go nuts!"

High elves are a great race. They are a dying race and call to arms all citizens of age. They are masters of magic and combat giving them always strike first even with great weapons! (rerolls allowed if their initiative is higher) They are a costly army though. Many foes will outnumber you and with weak armor saves and only 3 toughness, they are brittle. The scheme of most high elves is bright white, silver and gold with reds or blues or greens. They are fun to paint although you cannot personalize them like you can Brets!

I would go with Brets since there aren't as many people out there that play them as High Elves.

[Mazelf]

Well HE and Brettonia are two completely different armies...

If you want a "small" elite force you should probably try HE although a HE cavalry army will probably not be your best choice, HE cav choiceS arent great (reavers have awesome models but so-so rules, Dragon princes are great but are really expensive points-wise, and silver helms are meh at best) altho you have some great elite infantry choices which all excel at what they do.

Brettonia got hit pretty hard in 8th edition imho, the models are awesome for painting and looks but rules wise not so great, Brettonia is an army that heavily depended on breaking units on the charge, with the new rules (specially return attacks and steadfast) most infantry armies will simply overwhelm your cav units...

so, my recomendation would be a HE army with a couple of Dragon Princes units thrown in as flankers but focusing primarily on your elite infantry choices.

[Atrocity]

Depends on what you want them for. If you want to be competitive on any level, do not go with Brets! With the changes to combat rules, percentages, etc. They are just flat out busted. They need an updated army book in a major way.

If you love the models, fluff, etc. play what you like.

High elves are a competitive army, if that's something that matters to you (it does to many, myself included).

All tyat being said, you want awesome calv and an elite army? Try Warriors of Chaos. They have arguably the best calvalry in game at the moment and are definitely an elite army. Plus they have some awesome models (wish my Saurus' sculpts were half as good)

[Dreamshift]

I think I will take the High Elves on style, competitiveness, and small but elite units. I thank-you folks for helping make this decision easier. I thought a bit more on the cavalry and I would rather not define my army by one style and give myself the freedom of differing ideas. What kind of styles are they good at? I'm not familiar with Warhammer to know what they would excel at. I understand that magic is a big mechanic in the game, and I want to make sure the army I select is not lacking in that capability.

[Morgan Darkstar]

High Elves have access to some of the best magic in the game, you should have no problems there.

[Mazelf]

Yep, HE actually have one of the best wizards in game, Teclis! an archmage with book of hoeth is awesome as well, if you get Island of Blood, the mage that comes with that kit is just awesome looking!

[Dreamshift]

So is that Island of Blood a really good start for HE? It looks like it is, as I don't really want to buy a 75 dollar book to play warhammer, further having a little army to play with at just 50 bucks (should I go halvesies with someone) doesn't sound like a bad idea to me. So my idea is to purchase the Island of Blood, the High Elves rule book, and the Battalion to start me off. Better suggestions? I'd like to get the most for the least.

[Morgan Darkstar]

Nope that sounds like a sound plan

[Drachenprinzen]

Island of blood is a good start. The new seaguard is amazingly sculpted as are the new swordmasters. You will not be disappointed. The battalion box is, as you said, the next item on the list as the Island of Blood box set doesnt give you enough core to legally play a game. Once you have a good core army, you can move on and collect elite units like the dragon princes and white lions ( i still prefer the metal versions of these rather than the new plastic).