Teclis

Discuss your tactics for the 8th Ed army book here.

Moderators: The Heralds, The Loremasters

Post Reply
Message
Author
Mist
Posts: 58
Joined: Tue May 06, 2014 6:45 am

Teclis

#1 Post by Mist »

Lets look at what he has. S2 T2. Ld 10. No saves of any kind. Level 5 magic user. Gets one spell from each of the 8 laws or law master of high. Dispel scroll which can remove an enemy spell from the game, Staff which can remove one miscast or add a dice to each spell cast that turn. Sword, always W on a 2+ with no armor save.
So what is there not to love?

S2 and T2. This makes him one of the weakest models in our army. As he is not supposed to be in hand to hand his S2 is not a problem, T2 can be gotten around with being in a unit as the unit takes the hits for him from shooting and in hand to hand he gets look outs. But for the big spells like dwellers it leaves him vulnerable.

Ld 10. This is a bonus from the archmage. Our level 4 will normally be our general so Ld 10 over Ld 9 is a good boost.

No saves. Well that is his biggest problem.

Level 5, there are not a lot of them in the game now so this is handy but not all that game changing. For most we try not to leave it down to a roll of +1 to get a spell of or to dispel but it can make the opp use an extra dice to dispell. It can give you a good magic phase if you bring low casting level spells.

Spell choice, this the best thing about Teclis, the ability to chose one spell from each of the 8 laws means he can turn any army into a powerhouse. You no longer have to roll from one law and hope to get the spells you want (I know for a level 4 it was around a 90% chance to get the spells you want but 10% at a tournament is still 10%).
Law master from high is good but I don't think it is as good as the 8 spells from each law. This will make you a level 6 (when casting) and will also give you a save throw.

His dispel scroll, now on paper I thought, good, he costs about the same as a level 4 and a level 2 with a scroll so I am fine with this, but it is not that simple (will discuss in game play why this is so). The scroll has the chance to take one of your opp spells out of the game. First of all don't expect this to be a dwellers or another #6 spell, most people will be 6 dicing these spells in the hope of getting ultimate force, so you will not all ways get to use it, the best use is for thrown of vines or some other spell. The chance or removing that spell is about 40% as it is a dice off which you have to win to remove the spell from the game, you still dispel like normal.

The staff. Which way to use it. Well getting rid of a miscast is great. The ability to get add 1 dice to each spell while nice is not worth the cost of using the staff. When you use the staff you drop to S1 and T1, so you want to be doing it late game, unless it is for the miscast.

Sword, W on 2+ with no armor save, this is nice but like all high elf mages only has one attack, but the right spell choice can get more attacks so....

Game play.

The first thing we will be spell choice as it will effect what type of army you want to be taking.
If your army is going to be getting advantages from High then by all means go with the law master High. This will give you saves as well from the casting of each spell. (please note, I have not played any games with using high on Teclis so if anybody has any input please feel free). I have played all my games using one spell from each law, this allows you to build any army you want and buff the hell out of it. One thing I will say is don't just take all the number 6 spells, it will not work, take a few if they suit your army, eg mind razor and Ph Guard or spearmen, dwellers is normally a go to spell as it can change the game is a turn. The spells I find I get the most advantage from is anything which gives you a +1 to W or to hit, these make our armies go from hitting on 3 with re-rolls to 2 with re-rolls (against most armies), an W on 4+ against T4 for our basic troops. We need to be killing in hand to hand, our T is low and our armor on most of our units is non existent. You should be looking to fill any holes in your units with low casting level spells from Teclis.
At least one or 2 spells should be looking to buff Teclis himself, increase his S to protect from dwellers or his attacks to make his sword work for you.

Which spells do I chose?
Remember this is for my army but I will go over my reasons for these, and the dice used to cast is only a guide.
Beasts: The savage beasts of horros. +3S (Dwellers protection) +3 attacks (this is where the value of the spell comes in with Teclis. When cast on him you will be hitting on 4+ with rerolls, now with 4 attacks which W on 2+ giving no armor saves.) casting level 10 unless you bubble it so you need 2 dice to get it off.
Fire: Flaming Sword of Rhuin. +1 to W and magical flaming attacks. The magical and flaming is institutional, but the +1 to W with all the low St attacks we put our is great. Cast on a large unit of spears, archers or seaguard to make them do some damage or boost one of our elites to ensure they go through another unit in one turn. Casting value of 8 so can be one diced late in the phase or use 2 to make sure.
Metal: Enchanted Blades of Aiban. +1 to hit and magical armor piercing attacks. Again great on large unit of spears, archers or seaguard or one of our elites for the same reasons as flaming sword. Cast both on one unit for bows and watch them go to town. Casting level 9, so 2 dice this one.
Life: The Dwellers Below. This one is a game changer, get it off early on the right unit and watch the opp cry. Attribute gives you a W back on a character within 12". Always cast on 6 dice and hope for double 6.
Death: Spirit Leech. Character/monster Snipe spell which causes an opposed dice roll using ld as the base stat. With Ld 10 this one works well for Teclis, causes a W with no armor save for each point we win by, will normally be going for the more power full version of this spell as you want the 24" range but the cost is not that much higher (goes from a 7 to a 10) so if under 12" cast on one dice or 2 if not. Attribute: roll a dice for each W caused and get a W back for each 5/6 rolled.
Heavens: Urannon's Thunderbolt. Magic missile 24" range that causes D6 str 6 hits to a unit. 10 to cast but if you want the extra range (48") then goes to a 13 so not a big increase. Good monster killer or lone character. Even better if they are flying as the attribute causes more hits. Needs 2 to 3 dice to cast.
Light: Birona's Timewarp. +1 attacks (which unit cannot benefit from more attacks), Asf (not a big deal as we already have it but can help cav out), double movement. Double movement is great for cav, and will give normal units a much greater threat range. Send sword masters in with a larger number of attacks and then in the next turn make that long bomb charge seam like you were standing next to your target. 12 to cast so use 3 to 4 dice if you need the bubble just (24 to cast) just go all in.
Shadows: Okkam's Mindrazor. What can i say which has not already been said, for elves this it our spell, high ld on all units. Just point and delete. Cast with 6 dice if you have them.

What should you have in your army when you have Teclis?
I will not go into which units, as stated above Teclis can work with any army.

Back up caster?
I will always take one. Why? Well it is simple, the name Teclis has for many years produced such nerd rage and fear from the warhammer community (with good reason) that your opponent will be targeting him from the get go. You will lose him more times then you will have him left at the end of a game, so a back up caster is the only way to go, and a second dispel scroll will not hinder your game as well, as for law on him that is up to you but I think you cannot go to far wrong with high.

Banner of the word dragon?
While not a must have as he has a staff which allows you to avoid the first miscast (I will always use it if I miscast because you can still have him removed in one miscast with a bad roll) you can roll without it as the main reason to have it is to protect from miscasts on your wizard. I Would still have it in most High elf armies, even if Teclis is not in that unit, it can throw your opponent of as this is normally the first sign your opp will look for as to where your banner is.

Can Teclis go in a combat block or do you need to be bunkering him?
Well the simple answer to this is it all depends on spell choice, if you can protect him enough to have him in the front lines the go for it.
Last edited by Mist on Tue Aug 19, 2014 3:08 am, edited 4 times in total.
User avatar
Domine Nox
D3niROTCODht01
Posts: 1274
Joined: Thu Jun 27, 2013 1:09 pm
Location: Virginia

Re: Teclis

#2 Post by Domine Nox »

Interesting Analysis. Just a couple thoughts to add.
Mist wrote:As he is not supposed to be in hand to hand his S2 is not a problem
Also his sword always wounds on a 2+ so his Strength is irrelevant in close combat.
Mist wrote:Level 5, there are not a lot of them in the game now so this is handy but not all that game changing. For most we try not to leave it down to a roll of +1 to get a spell of or to dispel but it can make the opp use an extra dice to dispell.
There should never be a lot of level 5s, and that +1 true can be marginal, but he's effectively a +6 if he takes High Magic, which that lore in turn amends the 'no save' factor.

Food for thought.
[url=http://www.ulthuan.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=48766]Nox's Painting/Modelling Log[/url]

[url=http://www.ulthuan.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=51&t=60529]Nox's Battle Report Log[/url]
Mist
Posts: 58
Joined: Tue May 06, 2014 6:45 am

Re: Teclis

#3 Post by Mist »

Tks domine, have added some comments on that
Mist
Posts: 58
Joined: Tue May 06, 2014 6:45 am

Re: Teclis

#4 Post by Mist »

Game play and spell choices now added
Post Reply