High elves are generally glass hammers - the elite infantry (white lions & swordmasters) are lethal in hand to hand against unbuffed lizards since they have high S, WS and re-roll misses to hit thanks to army wide ASF but they have low armour saves and toughness 3. Their core troops are likely to be missile troops that are much easier to beat in close combat since they are only S3/T3 and at best have a 5+ save. The two approaches are to try and buff your own troops and get into combat (life or light) or to damage their elites from a distance (fire, light). Sallies are the most effective unit in the lizzie army and your casting should be used to support them in attacking the elite blocks (a couple templates on a horde will dramatically reduce their effectiveness and numbers).
Empire - most Empire players are going the all cav version these days since their infantry is garbage IMHO - about the equivalent of clan rats although halberds/great weapons are available. Against their infantry, saurus and TG will do extremely well even when not buffed at all. The cavalry is another matter since it is all 1+ save and the monstrous cav is very effective in grinding thanks to the mount. Throw in the mobile & unbreakable cannon/chariot called a stank (10 wounds) and you have a very fast and hard hitting army that will be charging on turn 2 at the latest. The challenge is getting through the 1+ save in hand to hand - saurus can hold them up after a charge with steadfast but won't inflict many wounds since they are relying on the knights rolling 1s on the armour saves. TG are more effective, especially when armed with the AP banner but will still get hurt unless buffed. While metal may seem an obvious choice, it is quite limited and I would likely go with light or life again although shadow can work well (3 great hexes, two direct damage are good and the augment removes the need to be worried about armour saves with S8/9). The general strategy is to try and keep your own troops alive and winning combat with magic rather than inflicting damage and to win by static combat resolution and running down the cavalry when it breaks.
