The Erlking and the High Elven Host

After a bit of a hiatus whilst I readied the orcs for battle, the elfin folk are now ready to take the field against them. Where the orcs are dark and grim, my elves wear burnished mail with bright banners flying and glittering spears held high. Whereas orcs are generally considered all-round evil-doers, I don't necessarily think of elves as being the good guys. I see them as aloof and removed, caring only about otherworldly concerns and their own elfish schemes. More like the elves depicted by Poul Anderson in The Broken Sword rather than the common Tolkienesque view. 

I had a few little elements to complete for this army and I'm still not 100% finished, I'm still working on the chariots and I have one more eagle that isn't based and I'm looking for another so that I can make a second eagle base (for a future big, big battle!).

I'll start on the right flank. This should really be the place of honour for the King and his guard but instead there are some chariots, light infantry javelineers, Swan Knights and The Guard of The Tower of The Sun. There are also some skirmish archers at the front but this army doesn't have many skirmishers and relies on formed archers backed by solid phalanxes of spears. They are lead by the shieldmaiden Ælfgifu at the moment as I'm a bit light of heroic male elf figures. But this is a striking figure that fits the role well... And so she may remain.

Eagles, the King's Guard (in blue) and The Rose Knight mounted on her steed: the war dragon Blue Fang. I'm of two minds whether to include the Rose Knight in this army or to put her in my army of Forrest Folk. She can fit in either army and I want her in one or the other as I do like to theme my armies and don't like to swap models between them.

The Erlking - High King of the Elfin Folk standing before the Royal Guard (in blue). These troops were originally made to be a large 36 figure phalanx but they have now been organised into three 12 figure units. I think I might have to create a 4th unit to balance the whole regiment. Beside the king is a she-elf spell caster and a low level hero which, in the past, I've usually used as the captain of the guard.

This regiment is the largest, having 6 units. They are organised differently to all the others in that they're mixed bow and spear. This can potentially make them pretty lethal on the battlefield. They are lead by The Prince In The Scarlet Robe.

Next in line, on the left wing, are some lighter troops. These are medium infantry warriors with sword and shield. I'm not exactly sure how to represent them in Midgard at this stage. With them are another two units of javelineers - light infantry skirmishers - straight out of the rule book but with some extra fighting ability. This wing also has a couple of bases of standard, bow armed skirmishers.

Knights of the Three Keeps - Heavy Riders (Knights). I've made them knights because they're virtually cataphracts which gives them a nice archaic aesthetic. Here' they are on the extreme flank although they could just as easily deploy in the centre as they are a hard hitting strike force. Their proper role is to charge the enemy with full force. They're not really suited to working around the flanks to harry the enemy.

Another shot of the Rose Knight and Blue Fang.

The whole host deployed for battle.

A close up of the javelin bases. I originally created these as you see in two 12 figure units and although the sabot bases they are on are 8mm wider than the standard bases I'm using (11.2 cm) they are close enough to use together (I'm not fussed over a few millimetres). Using these sabot bases also gives me the option to keep some of my elves on single round bases for other possible rules sets.

Scorpions - Just like with my orcs, these are from the WizKids range. A little modification and they work great. Again I'll say: A set of 2 for about $10/$12 and you can't beat them.

Another shot of my javelins, medium infantry and skirmishers. The sabot bases work well for the lighter troops and I have the option to keep a bunch of single base figures.

Another angle.

And, once again, The Erlking - High King of the Elven Folk.

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So that's it. One thing I'm working on is this: I actually have three chariot models and I'm looking at putting each chariot on it's own base with a few chariot runners armed with bows. This will create an independent, strong chariot force of three units for fast skirmishing and flank attacks. A good match for the orcs and their warg riders.