Speaking of the island, on it there are 4 settlements which I'm just gonna call the gates of wrath for simplicities sake. It took me over turns to capture all of Ulthuan and I was trying from the start. Though uniting the whole island is not as easy as you think, quite like the Empire link in the card most High Elf factions like to in-fight with each other so becoming friends with all of them is quite a difficult process and can delay your unification until much later in the game. The only way to go is to build your relationships with your fellow High Elves whilst evicting any Dark Elf Heretics and taking their lands for yourself. Expansion is an easy choice seeing as half of Ulthuan is filled with High Elves and the other half is filled with Dark Elves. That trade is just the start of the advantages due to starting on an island filled with your own race. Want to get the lay of the land before a later invasion? Just want to see threats coming your way through the buffer of your allies? Just want to reveal the map to decide where to go on your next holiday with the boys? Not only do they receive more money for every trade deal but they also get sight into the trade partners territory which is useful no matter how you use it. This is due to many factors, such as being surrounded by factions of the same race and by default the potential for massive amounts of trade. The High Elves are most similar to the Empire from Warhammer 1.
Nagarythe can build the Aesanar camp which allows the recruitment of shadow walkers and warriors and stalking replaces default stance allowing armies to move and ambush at the same time. Averlorn can build the world root entrance which allows recruitment of some wood elf units as well as having the option to build the Handmaidens gallery in size 3 settlements. A guide for the High Elves that aims to cover everything from campaign strategy to individual unit overviews.