Dragon Dice™ - Coral Elves

The Coral Elves

Heavy Melee	Light Melee	Missile	Cavalry	Magic
Fighter	Guard	Bowman	Horseman	Evoker
Trooper	Courier	Archer	Knight	Conjurer
Protector	Herald	Sharpshooter	Eagle Knight	Enchanter
Coral Giant	Gryphon	Sprite Swarm	Tako

Introduction

The Coral Elves, also known as the Selumari, were the first race created by Nature (she who is Mother of All). Crafted of air and water, the Selumari, were beings of splendor and light. They were a noble race, filled with wisdom and guided by joy and compassion. But the mercurial nature of Air and Water bred true in the Selumari, and after many generations the Coral Elves lost some of their dignity and virtue. They embraced warlike pursuits, and learned spells of destruction. They fell from grace as the favored First Race and were cast aside to make room for other Races.

Coral Elf special ability

As their only special ability, Coral Elf units count maneuvers as saves when rolling for saves in a Coastland terrain.

Coral Elf magic

Formed from the elements of air and water, Coral Elves may call upon any of the Blue and Green spells from the basic list, and in addition, they have access to the following spells that are unique to their race:

Blue Spells:

4 Blizzard

All armies at the target terrain have their melee results halved until the start of this player’s next turn. Multiple castings affect multiple terrains.

9 Degenerate Dragonkin

All dragonkin in the target army must roll an ID icon to save or shrink to the next lower health-size. One-health dragonkin dissipate and are buried. All dragonkin in the casting army are instantly dissipated and buried. If a dragonkin cannot be reduced to the next lower size, it is killed and buried. This spell cannot be multiplied.

Green Spells:

3 Bloat Corpses

Choose 1 health worth of any player’s dead units to be buried. Multiple castings can affect multiple units, larger units, or both.

5 Part Water

Removes the water (green) element from the target terrain for all but the caster’s units until the end of this player’s next turn. No green magic can be cast at this terrain by other players while the spell is in effect. Multiple castings affect multiple terrains.

The Coral Elves have access to several powerful spells:

Hailstorm is a nice, cheap spell that is ideal for picking off those annoying one-health armies that your opponent keeps around to advance a terrain die;
Breath of Life allows you to restore even multi-health units back to life, allowing you to hold your own in a war of attrition;
Bizzard is primarily a protection spell, if you’re in melee range against a superior force, and fleeing is not an option;
Wind Walk is frequently the key to victory when an Eighth Face is in contest;
Lightning Strike is one of the most effective offensive spells to target large units such as Rares and Monsters;
Watery Double is a useful, low-cost protection spell, that stays in effective for Dragon attacks the next round;
Use Bloat Corpses to bury powerful units killed by your Lightning Strike spells, especially Trolls wherever possible;
Wall of Ice generates a few quick saves (even if temporary ones), often helping your army survive an attack, only to better fortify their position next turn;
Wall of Fog is a useful protection spell, especially against missile-intensive armies;
Part Water can be useful especially against an annoying Swamp Stalker army that has been casting Mire spells, taking away their ability to do this;
Flash Flood, cast under the right circumstances, can change the flow of the game, especially when it successfully takes control of a terrain away from your opponent;
Dragon summoning is important as a means to whittle away your opponent’s forces, and both Blue and Green Dragon breath are very effective, especially against large armies; and
Finally, if your opponent gets off to a head-start on dragonkin summoning, hang back for a couple of turns, and then hit your opponent with Degenerate Dragonkin. It’s an expensive spell, but it’s worth the look on your opponent’s face when he or she loses most of their dragonkin in play. Then you can start bringing in your own dragonkin next turn with Summon Dragonkin spells, and take an important edge in the game.

Coral Elf SAIs

Entangle (Tako)

When rolled during melee, 4 health of your choice in the opposing army are paralyzed (cannot make any further rolls) until the beginning of your next turn. Killing the monster negates this effect.

Ferry (Gryphon)

When rolled during any action (except maneuvers), immediately move this monster to another terrain, if desired. It may stay there or immediately return with 4 health of six-sided units.

Coral Elf units

Commons…

Trooper [maneuver, missile, melee, melee, melee x2]

This is a good standard melee common. Unfortunately, it lacks any saves unless on a Coastland terrain.

Sentinel [maneuver, maneuver, melee, melee, missile x2]

This common has an equal split between melee, missile and maneuvers. On a Coastland terrain, it has good save potential; however, the even split between melee and missile renders this unit less than useful in a specialized army.

Bowman [maneuver, melee, missile, missile, missile x2]

The Bowman is a competent missile unit, and on a Coastland terrain it can produce a save result as well. The melee icon is unlikely to be very useful in a specialized missile army, but this unit does pack a strong punch.

Horseman [maneuver, maneuver x2, melee, melee, missile]

This is a fairly standard cavalry common, with the majority of its faces having either maneuver or melee icons. With all the maneuver icons, the best place for these units is at a Coastland terrain, where they also generate large numbers of saves. In general, the Coral Elves lack natural saves, so a few of these at the right terrain provide some much needed saves for the Coral Elves, in addition to a few protection spells.

Evoker [maneuver, melee, magic, magic, magic x2]

The Coral Elves have access to powerful Blue magic and protection-oriented Green magic, providing a nice selection of offensive, defensive, healing, and maneuvering spells. The Evoker is a standard common mage, with the primary focus on magic. A few of these can generate some powerful spells, but they are need of protection early in the game, lacking any natural saves.

Uncommons…

Hero [melee x3, melee x3, save x2, missile x2, maneuver x2]

As compared with the Trooper, the Hero sacrifices some melee icons in exchange for some natural saves. Thus, the Hero can add some much-needed protection in a Coral Elf army operating outside of the Coastlands.

Courier [maneuver x2, maneuver x3, melee x2, melee x2, missile x3]

The Courier has as many maneuvers as any Uncommon cavalry unit in the game. This makes it a very effective unit in the Coastlands, but the split in focus between melee and missile makes it difficult to find a place for this unit in a specialized army. This unit is more effective in balanced, jack-of-all-trades armies.

Archer [melee x2, maneuver x2, missile x2, missile x3, missile x3]

This is among the most focused of uncommon missile units, with 8 missile icons; a few of these are useful in any Coral Elf missile army.

Knight [maneuver x2, maneuver x3, melee x2, melee x3, save x2]

The Knight is similar to the Courier, replacing the missile icons with an additional melee icon and two save icons. At a Coastland terrain, the Knight has an impressive 7 saves, yet it also has some potential to operate at other terrain as well.

Conjurer [melee x2, maneuver x2, magic x2, magic x3, magic x3]

As with the Evoker, the Conjurer has access to a powerful combination of spells. The Conjurer differs little in icon distribution from the Evoker, with the same number of icons as a pair of Evokers. Thus, while the Conjurer may be more of a target for Lightning Strikes, it can be a useful addition in armies where the goal will be to capture a City terrain. That way, commons can be promoted back to Conjurers, boosting the magic strength of your army.

Rares…

Champion [melee x3, melee x4, missile x2, save x3, Smite x4]

This is a powerful melee unit, with 7 melee icons and 4 Smite SAIs. The main drawback is that it has no maneuver icons, and the 2 missile icons are unlikely to be useful very often.

Herald [maneuver x3, maneuver x3, melee x3, melee x3, Counter x4]

The Herald is one of the best Coral Elf units. At a Coastland, this unit is a melee machine that maneuvers and saves extremely well, and whose 4 Counter SAIs acts as a deterrent to opposing skirmish attacks. A few Herald units co-located at the same terrain can make an opponent think twice about sticking around.

Sharpshooter [missile x3, missile x4, melee x2, maneuver x3, Bullseye x4]

In general, the Coral Elves have more missile icons than most races, and the Sharpshooter is no exception. Its 7 missile icons and 4 Bullseye icons pack a useful punch in a missile attack, and the maneuver icons also help to round out the usefulness of this missile Rare.

Eagle Knight [Fly x3, Fly x3, melee x3, melee x4, missile x3]

The main benefit of this unit is that it is equally effective at any terrain, since its Fly SAIs always generate either maneuvers or saves as needed. However, it is generally preferable to go with some cavalry commons and uncommons instead, keeping them at a Coastland terrain, and taking advantage of the higher average number of icons (per health) on these lesser-health units.

Enchanter [save x2, melee x3, magic x3, magic x4, Cantrip x4]

The main attraction of the Enchanter is the Cantrip SAI, especially since the powerful Wind Walk spell only costs 4pts to cast. The downside is that the Enchanter is an inviting Lightning Strike target, and so it is important to find a way to protect these rare mages early in the game.

Monsters…

Coral Giant [Trample, Trample, Smite, Smite, save, save, maneuver, melee, Counter]

This monster is melee juggernaut, combining its lone melee icon, with Tramples, Smites and a Counter. Two or three of these monsters at a terrain will frequently drive away opposing armies, and it saves 70% at a Coastland terrain.

Gryphon [Ferry, Ferry, Fly, Fly, Fly, Rend, melee, melee, melee]

Few monsters have 3 Fly faces, rendering the Gryphon an effective part of almost any army. The Ferry SAI, while sometimes useful for bringing reinforcements into the fray, is more often used to save the Gryphon when the rest of the army is being wiped out by a superior force. The Gryphon then lives to fight another day

Sprite Swarm [Fly, Fly, magic, magic, magic, melee, missile, missile, missile]

This is a fun unit. While most monsters are geared primarily toward melee, the Sprite Swarm divides its focus between missile and power Coral Elf magic. In addition, its ID icon, when rolled, counts as 4pts of whatever is being rolled for, and is immediately rolled again. This can be especially effective during any magic action where ID magic can be doubled; the ID then counts for up to 8 magic points, and the Sprite Swarm then gets an opportunity to add to that impressive total.

Tako [Entangle, Entangle, save, save, maneuver, maneuver, melee, melee, melee]

While this monster packs some melee punch, there are better monsters to include in your army. The Entangle SAI is not as effective as most other melee-oriented SAIs, as it does not kill the targeted unit, and even disappears if the Tako is killed.

Strategies

The Coral Elves are typically most effective when at a Coastland terrain, where mages have access to their magic. Ideally this means using your cavalry units to capture an Eighth Face, although if the terrain face starts low, you might want to maneuver the terrain down to a 1, and start your magic actions there. Typically the Coral Elves have few natural saves, and Coral Elf mages are weak when left unprotected. For that reason, it is a good idea to summon dragonkin early in the game to protect them, keeping cavalry units around long enough until the mages can stand on their own against enemy attacks. Use Watery Double and Wall of Ice to protect your units, Wall of Fog to thwart your opponent’s missile strikes, Wind Walk to ensure successful maneuvers, and take the second Eighth Face. Along the way, cast Lightning Strikes to kill off opposing mages, Rares, and Monsters, and cast Breath of Life spells to heal up your own units, taking the end in a war of attrition.

Some sample armies to try…

Heralds x6
Conjurers x5
Evokers x8

Pull your mages back to the reserves, and use your Heralds to pack a strong melee punch, and clear the way to an Eighth Face City. Bring your mages to the captured Eighth Face, where they can begin to cast devastating magic strikes and heal up your forces. Fortify your position, then move your Heralds to a different terrain, and start the process all over again; this time your mages, now at a terrain, can also use their Lightning Strikes to cut apart your opponents along the way to your second captured terrain, and victory.

Conjurers x5
Evokers x8
Horsemen x18

Use your Horsemen to win the maneuver roll, and bring your mages into the reserves. Next turn, if your Horsemen are in a good position at a Coastland terrain, move your mages to join the Horsemen, where they will be protected. Move towards capturing an Eighth Face, then fortify your position and move your Horsemen to another terrain and work on capturing that as well, while your mages support your cavalry with protection spells and Wind Walks.

Coral Giants x3
Gryphon x1
Heralds x6
Speed Slippers x2

This army is a melee powerhouse, and needs to take advantage of Coastland terrains to be effective. Use your Coral Giants and Heralds to send your opponents running as you move through the melee faces towards one or two Eighth Faces. In the meantime, you can expect some offensive spells to come your way, so you need to be able to convert your maneuvers to saves. The Gryphon provides a bit of fighter cover to your forces, and can move back and forth between terrains as needed, when Ferry is rolled.

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