Hey everyone! Your Favorite Chronicler here! Just wanted to give a shout out to Steve for setting my latest adventure into motion. Thanks Steve! Now on with the Guide!
Kaelrich’s Guide to Coral Elves: The Craftsmen of War
Nimbly cutting through wave and beach alike the Coral Elves, or Selumari, are first rate archers and masters of Air and Water magics.
Racials:
Coastal Dodge: When at a terrain containing Water (Green) Coral Elves convert maneuver results into save results.
This ability is prevalent amongst many of the races in one form or another. For the Selumari, it gives them the ability to rely on cavalry and light infantry to offer most of the maneuvering and saving potential, the result is a high mobility and high toughness army that can give as good as it gets in melee (light melee), ranged (missile/See below), and magic while burning through the terrain faces.
Defensive Volley: While in a terrain that contains Air (Blue) Coral Elf units may make a counter-attack action during a missile attack. Use the rules for a counter-attack but replace all uses of the term “Melee” with “Missile.”
This will make a frostwing army gulp a couple times before attacking in their normal fashion. It can be really powerful in favored terrain. Coastlands have more missile faces that most other major and special terrains, which is good for the Selumari because the Coastlands also give them full access to their racial abilities.
Blizzard: Coral Elves: 3: Blue
Target a terrain. Subtract 3 (Stacking) results from all army results at that terrain until the beginning of your next turn.
Half the cost and effect of dancing lights, in Air (Blue). You can’t really go wrong with this spell due to its ability to stop a rampaging Firewalker or Treefolk assault in its tracks. This one is a really good stall spell while you race to the Eighth, not to mention that this spell will help keep it there.
Deluge: Coral Elves: 5: Green
Target any terrain. Subtract 3 (Stacking) Maneuver and 3 (Stacking) Missile results from all army rolls at that terrain until the beginning of your next turn.
A Great Defensive spell but even better when the Coral Elves are in their own elements. Remember, all it takes is for the army in Air (Blue) terrain to be targeted by a missile attack to trigger the counter-attack. It’s also good for a foot race if you use Deluge and your cavalry to out run your opponent.
Units:
Heavy Melee:
Protector: Rare: 3 Health: 2 Missile, 4 Melee, 3 Melee, 3 Save, 4 Smite)
Trooper: Uncommon: 2 Health: 2 Save, 3 Melee, 3 Melee, 2 Maneuver, 2 Missile)
Fighter: Common: 1 Health: 1 Melee, 1 Missile, 1 Maneuver, 1 Melee, 2 Melee)
Let’s be clear. The Selumari are not melee specialists. They are archers and mages. Nearly every one of the dice for this race has a Missile face for this reason. Troopers and Fighters will serve well on expeditionary forces to quash uprisings in distant lands but they will need some kind of save generation to stay alive. They can fill this role but a coinflip for their health-worth in saves or melee can backfire more than you may want to attempt. Consider taking shieldbearers (Eldarim) or just plain shields (items) for these guys if you plan to run them alone.
Light Melee:
Herald: Rare: 3 Health: 3 Melee, 3 Maneuver, 3 Maneuver, 3 Melee, 4 Counter
Courier: Uncommon: 2 Health: 2 Melee, 3 Maneuver, 3 Maneuver, 3 Melee, 3 Missile
Guard: Common: 1 Health: 1 Melee, 1 Maneuver, 2 Maneuver, 1 Melee, 2 Missile
Light melee boast a good save chance in favorable terrain while also having good melee capability. These units will be your backbone for most armies and a good supplement to a melee force should you choose to deploy one.
Missile:
Sharpshooter: Rare: 3 Health: 3 Maneuver, 4 Missile, 3 Missile, 2 Maneuver, 2 Missile, 4 Bullseye
Archer: Uncommon: 2 Health: 2 Melee, 3 Missile, 3 Missile, 2 Maneuver, 2 Missile
Bowman: Common: 1 Health: 1 Missile,1 Melee, 1 Maneuver, 1 Missile, 2 Missile
These guys are your heavy hitters. In favorable terrain they get the possibility of 2 Missile attacks a turn and can really shred through the opposition. If you can, a Coastland tower to Capture they will work amazingly.
Cavalry:
Eagle Knight: Rare: 3 Health: 3 Fly, 3 Melee, 3 Fly, 4 Melee, 3 Missile
Knight: Uncommon: 2 Health: 2 Melee, 3 Maneuver, 2 Maneuver, 2 Melee, 2 Save
Horseman: Common: 1 Health: 1 Missile, 1 Melee, 1 Maneuver, 1 Missile, 2 Missile
Cavalry are, in favorable terrain, better at saves then Light Melee. They are also worse at attacking at any range. Use these guys to foot race and to keep more important units alive with their natural abilities.
Magic:
Enchanter: Rare: 3 Health: 3 Save, 4 Magic, 3 Magic, 3 Melee, 4 Cantrip
Conjurer: Uncommon: 2 Health: 2 Melee, 3 Magic, 3 Magic, 2 Maneuver, 2 Magic
Evoker: Common: 1 Health: 1 Magic, 1 Melee, 1 Maneuver, 1 Magic, 2 Magic
Most of the Selumari magics are counter-productive to a straight melee playstyle. They are amazing at causing enough melee deductions that your opponent has to roll incredibly well on an attack or counter-attack to get any results through. Although with the help of minor terrain and cavalry support there is little chance that your army would loose anyone due to the amount of maneuvers, then converted to saves, rolled.
Monsters:
All monsters have 4 health and give 4 results of the icon shown.
Coral Giant: Save, Smite, Trample, Melee, Smite, Save, Counter, Trample, Maneuver
An all around great monster for Melee, the Coral Giant has 6 faces that can contribute to a save roll in favored terrain and will usually roll a favorable result when attacking close up.
Griffon: Melee, Rend, Fly, Ferry, Fly, Melee, Ferry, Fly, Melee
Griffons are a mixed back of tricks. They are reliable in melee combat but can falter on save chances. Ferry can simply remove itself and 4 health-worth of allies from a battle by relocating to a different terrain.
Leviathan: Swallow, Maneuver, Tail, Fly, Wave, Save, Hypnotic Glare, Fly, Tail
Think of the Leviathan as the random box of melee goodness. If it rolls a tail it contributes 2 damage at the speed of an SAI and can be re-rolled, into possibly another tail, or into another of a good many useful SAIs. Not necessary for a selumari win, but fun none the less.
Sprite Swarm: Magic, Fly, Missile, Magic, Fly, Missile, Magic, Melee, Missile
The Swarming Sprites are the “Jack of all Trades” monster your fun side want sot bring but your competitive side screams obscenities at you for thinking about it. It’s a lot of 40% chances, both Magic and Missile, and don’t have a very good save chance either. If you plan on keeping the fight at long and medium range then this is one of the few monsters setup for that plan. Just don’t expect miracles from them. Sprites, like all fae, are fickle.
Tako: Entangle, Save, Maneuver, Melee, Save, Entangle, Melee, Maneuver, Melee
The giant squid is a solid melee unit. It can dish out and take a great deal of punishment in favoured terrain. Entangle is great a killing units right out while the rest of your melee force goes to work on the rest of the chaff.
Terrain:
Your choice of terrain is one of the most important choices you can make as a player. The Selumari require both water (Green) and Air (Blue) to make their racials active. For that reason Coastlands are your best friends. As the Coral Elves can counter-attack at range I suggest a tower to increase that range as your home terrain and a castle for your proposed minor. While the castle has less missile faces, you can use it to help protect your army with the many forms it can take.
Minor Terrains:
Minor Terrains are as important as the Major Terrains you bring. To that end you must look at your army composition and determine what best to bring as well as the coloration of the minors. Since you need Water (Green) to keep your maneuvers converting to saves, I suggest bringing 1 Coastlands, 1 Swampland, 1 Flatland, and 1 Faeland. When picking what kind of Minor to brink look at your army does. Villages are good for Brawling, Bridges are good for racing, Knolls are good for Shooting, and Forests are good for Saving.
Tactics:
There are multiple ways of running a Dragon Dice army. For the Selumari, I suggest always at least 10 Health-worth of Missile, with 5 to 7 health-worth of Light Melee or Cavalry. Their saves, with favourable terrain, combined with the counter-punch of the Missile can make an opponent weigh their options in combat, the Light Melee also give just enough maneuver to keep all but a focused maneuver army at bay. As a secondary force I suggest making use of 10 to 12 health-worth of Magic as well as 6 health-worth of Cavalry. When in Favourable terrain the Cavalry will provide a good buffer while the mages either go on the offensive using Air spells like Hailstorm, Lightning Bolt, and Wind Walk or defensive spells like Watery Double, Blizzard, and Deluge. Don’t forget about your terrain based spells that can set a terrain back a face. It may only be able to turn the Die back by 1 per turn but multiple castings will increase the difficulty of the maneuver result needed to stop it. It could send a bad position into an advantageous one and cost your opponent the game.
Remember that of the two racials the Coral Elves have the Water (Green) racial is more necessary. Getting that “activated” will allow your army to absorb so much more punishment then be able to keep fighting toward that coveted eighth face
