This is probably a dumb question, but do elf bowman (high elf & galadhrim) also have blades on their profiles - despite not having them visible on the actual models ?

I'm asking because if they do not, then what do the bowman use for a weapon when the shooting is over and it's time for melee combat ? Are they forced to use their hands or a dagger ?

And if the blade is not a given, do you have to use a point to add a blade to each bowman ? And then what about WYSIWYG matches ? Do you need to glue blades onto their back or their hips ?

Sorry if this is beyond simple, but I'm quite new to this and a bit confused !

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I believe with the Hobbit rules, everyone comes with a hand weapon even if it is not stated otherwise. They are only unarmed if it is stated in their profile. But I would assume that for elves with bows, it would be a dagger of some sort. You could say that they have elven daggers/blades and probably get away with feinting, but if you want to have elven blades for 2-handed purposes and the 3+ roll off with duels, I think you would have to pay the 1 point for them. As far as WYSIWYG, I don't see any problem with people using bowmen as usual and letting your opponent know that you also paid for elven blades without having them on the model. But if you want to only have a certain portion of your army use elven blades with bows while others do not, I would recommend gluing some swords and blades to their sides/backs as you stated to differentiate between the two.

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WYSIWYG is more for wargear upgrades when you want shields or spears, it doesn't apply in this case.

The Hobbit rules do state that everyone comes with some form of weapon unless they are specified as unarmed, so we would assume that the archer carries a short blade of some kind. This means they do not suffer a -1 to win the fight (I think it is mostly just banners and 2H weapons which suffer this now).

Even though they are elves, they do not get an "elven blade", just a regular weapon, so they wouldn't receive any bonuses like those who pay for an elven blade - you'd think they made all their weapons the same, but no

Also, you can only use special strikes if they have that weapon modelled on.

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