What exactly do the High Elves do in Blood Bowl? Their designers tell all

It has been 10 years since Blood Bowl was relaunched to great fanfare. Since then we’ve released three editions of the game and a staggering 29 teams, replacing classic once-metal predecessors and adding some players that are entirely new to the setting. However, one classic team has left fans of Blood Bowl wondering when their time would come. One very Elvish team.

That time is now – the High Elves have arrived! They’re a rather special bunch, so to give us the lowdown on what this elite team can do, we enlisted the designers who brought them to life. 

Tom: High Elves have been a part of Blood Bowl since 1994, famous for their capable passing game and fancy outfits – and the latter has proven practical too, as it turns out that heavier armour is always in fashion! Updating both the miniatures and rules for the High Elves involved finding a balance between harking back to the design of previous High Elf models and retaining their current feel as a Teams of Legend team, whilst ensuring the team has its own unique space in the rules. 

Agility and swift movement are the traditional hallmarks of every Elf team – and High Elves are no exception. Every player has an AG of 2+, and they really don’t like getting hurt, so even the Linemen have an AV of 9+, making High Elves the most resilient of Elf teams. 

Phoenix Warriors 

It felt right to theme the positionals in this team around the regional warriors of Warhammer: The Old World, offering us a great opportunity to give this Elf team a unique niche. The Throwers were reimagined as Phoenix Warriors but have otherwise only seen a price drop compared to their Teams of Legend rules. With Cloud Burster, Pass, and Safe Pass, you can have confidence that the ball will get where you want it to. When the right moment comes, even Nuffle won’t stop you from sending that ball into the waiting arms of your Dragon Princes!* 

Dragon Princes 

The High Elf Blitzers from the Teams of Legend rules have hatched into Dragon Princes, a homage to the Dragon Warriors of old. With MA 8 and AG 2+, they’re amongst the fastest players in the game. Add in Block for protection and the new Steady Footing as a little extra failsafe and you’ve got the premium Touchdown-scorers of the High Elf team. Of course, their superlative skill and hereditary titles means they have an extremely high opinion of themselves. On the pitch, this comes in the form of My Ball – a Dragon Prince will never relinquish what they see as their birthright to score Touchdowns! Passing a ball to a Dragon Prince means committing to your play, for there’s no backing out if the carrier ends up in the wrong position! 

White Lions 

The significant team changes come with White Lions, which replace High Elf Catchers. They can still work as ball carriers if you wish, but they were designed to bring some strategic aggression to the High Elf team. Famed for fighting monstrous beasts and dressing in the skins of the creatures they are named after, White Lions come with Wrestle and Claws – they’re out for blood! These Elves are perfect for dealing with those heavily armoured foes that often give Elf teams trouble. That said, they’re still Elves and so favour strategic strikes and ball carrier hunting over prolonged conflicts. 

Why play high elves?

High Elves bring the expected Elven agility and fast gameplay but mix things up with the targeted aggression of the White Lions, who can use the Claws skill to pick off heavily armoured opposition players that might otherwise refuse to budge. For all that, High Elves are still Elves and an extended punch-up will not end in your favour. Instead, the best coaches will learn to be precise, applying pressure at key points then exploiting every opening created with their Dragon Princes. Do it right and you can return to Ulthuan in triumph! 

Thanks, guys! The High Elf Blood Bowl Team will be up for pre-order this Saturday, so make sure you brush up on your tactics and show the more savage teams how the graceful** game of Blood Bowl is really played.

*This is of course a joke. Nuffle will stop whatever he wants, expressing such desires in the form of a 1 re-rolled into a 1!

** Hah!