After having not played for about 10 years, I went and did a few runs of my old reliable, gargoyle fighter, with a couple runs going to 5 runes before my discipline failed them. What are some fun new combos to try out? I used to enjoy high elves sword&sorcery but I see that this race is gone, anything that would fill that kind of fantasy?
I don't know what high elves were like, but it sounds like Tengus would be the closest replacement. I'd recommend starting with one of the wizardy backgrounds, as you'll quickly find a sword, but finding an appropriate beginner's spellbook can be a bit more challenging...
High elves had good magic and sword/bow learning speed, so you'd be able to start as say, a conjurer, and still become a competent melee and range fighter in the mid to late game iirc. Gave you a lot of options in how to approach fights and conserve mana rather than waste it on low danger enemies.
That still sounds like Tengus fit the bill, but if you want even more flexibility, then Gnolls are the way to go.
All of their skills always level simultaneously. So, if you're a sword fighter and you find a cool axe, you can just swap to it. Disadvantage is that they're kind of mid at everything.
In a way, you can also think of them as "What if DCSS didn't have a skill system?"