Dark Elves 2500pts

[Advent]

Hey everyone. Still new to BoLS forums, so I want all and any advice, criticism, and comments.

Well, this list was the result of several attempts at making a hard hitting army. I have won with two massacres with the previous list which had a few variations. Now to explainsome bits about this list. My version of the Death Star unit is my CoK unit. It Contains the BSB Master and the Dreadlord. The unit is well protected and deals massive amounts of damage on the turn it charges. Its a major point sink, but it is capable of wiping a large chunk of a army from the table. During my first game, the unit took out about 85% of my opponents HE army.

The sorceress will sit in the Repeater Crossbows with the lore of Metal on the Lvl 4 and either Dark, Fire or death on the lvl 2.

The warriors will work with the War Hydras as a Hammer and Anvil. I figured I would toss in the Executioners for the extra bunch along with Killing Blow.

-Dreadlord- 279pts
Sword of Bloodlust, Ring of Darkness
Shield, Heavy Armor, Sea Dragon Cloak
Cold One

-Supreme Sorceress- Lvl 4- 281pts
Pendant of Kaeleth

-Master- BSB- 214pts
Hydra Banner
Lance, Shield, Heavy Armor, Sea Dragon Cloak
Cold One

-Sorceress- Lvl 2- 170pts
Tome of Furion

-Repeater Crossbowmen- 19- 224pts
Standard, Muso
Shields

-Warriors- 40- 295pts
Full Command
Shields

-Warriors- 40- 295pts
Full Command
Shields

-Executioners- 15- 210pts
Full Command

-Cold One Knights- 11- 362pts
Full Command
Ring of Hotek

War Hydra- 175pts

War Hydra- 175pts

[Nikephoros]

I like the list except for the executioners; executioners suck and have no good qualities. They are out of place. If you are going to commit to the CoK deathstar you should commit full and make them 15 strong. If you aren't going to use the sacrificial dagger on your sorceress, I would put her on a dark pegasus AND/OR give her the focus familiar so you don't get screwed on the range of your magic.

Also, with the nerf to the Ring of Hotek you may be better off giving the hero the magic lance that gives +3 strength.

[Advent]

The ring of Hotek in the CoK Death Star is my magic deterant. Once the first shot of magic hit them, the enemy spellcaster was hit with the S10 Large Blast on the miscast and was removed from the table. his remaining two caster stopped casting in the CoK's direction. If you are reffering to putting the +3 Strength on the Master, I wouldnt be able to. BSB's are not allowed to have any other magic items on themselves. On the Dreadlord, I would rather have the Giant Blade which is a hand weapon and gives +3 Strength. Although, I am considering the chillblade for challenges and giving him the Dragon helm.

Currently thinking on removing the executioners. Would replacing them with a Cauldron of Blood or an extra 7 Cok's and a extra Repeater Crossbowmen.

[Nikephoros]

1. In the FAQ the Ring of Hotek only protects you when the caster himself is within 12" of you. Thats not going to happen too often when you consider that your average charge distance is 14". So there should be very few circumstances where its actually going to do anything. If I had a wizard who was 12" away from you, I'd move his unit backwards 1" during the movement phase and then magic the hell out of you. It's not a deterrent anymore.

2. I'm suggesting giving the champ in the unit Caledor's Bane but it's too many points. I would give him Death Piercer instead.

3. I would replace the executioners like I said, but only add 4 CoK to make the unit 15, you don't need more than that. I would suggest again giving the sorceress a dark pegasus and focus familiar if you aren't going to use the extremely overpowered Sacrificial Dagger.

[cypher623]

Hey,

One observation. I have played dark elves many times as well as other units which have the stupidity special rule. They can really cost you the game. I played Sigvald at a tournament. He is solid, stubborn, and a total monster in hand to hand. In one game i was facing dwarves and had to run through ten shades of holy hell to get to within charge range only to fail the stupidity test on the last turn and lose the game. Suggestion, trade in your dreadknight for Malus Darkblade. He has leadership 10 when in daemon form and the cold ones ignore stupidity. In a tournament you can expect stupid units to fail at critical times and cost you the game.

Also, I don't agree executioners suck, they are very good when run in combination with a cauldron of blood and the bsb with asf banner, but I am not really sure that is the sort of combination you want.

I agree with nike that the ring of hotek is not good with that list. I also agree that you need to give your main caster the dagger it is just too good to pass up. Try to find some points to give your cold ones magic resistance, and rather than a unit of 10 run them a unit totalling 16 with heros included. You can run them three ranks deep if you want, but you can also spread them out eight wide when facing narrow frontage elites or cavalry or when trying to smack down a horde.

Finally, why no dark riders? They absolutely own other light cavalry with their repeater crossbows; and can keep up with the cold ones and stop them from getting stuck out too far ahead? Good luck

[Jwolf]

Anyone who wants to kill the unit with the Ring of Hotek will just cast at it. Miscasts are part of the game now, and they happen. That unit of cavalry is a big points sink that won't earn you good dividends.

As far as Stupidity goes, having the BSB and General with the unit makes you LD 10 rerollable - stupidity is statistically almost not worth considering. (.65% chance or so, should happen about once in 160 tries).

[aetios]

First off double check your points. Your total from what you gave = 2680, not 2500 by my calculation.

For the rest, these are my suggestions/opinions -

I agree with others, the Ring of Hotek just isn't worth it anymore. Drop that from your CoK and maybe add the standard of slaughter. This way even if something survives the charge you have a better chance of winning combat and breaking them. Also, why 11? Just seems like a random number of models. Drop to 10 and you still get 6 wide with the two characters.

Also, drop your lordlings from your warriors. Waste of points IMO. You don't want them in challenges, you want to use as many spears as possible.

I also agree about the Sacrificial Dagger. It's probably the most invaluable arcane item in the Dark Elf book. Either add that along with the tome to your Lvl. 2 or give it to the Lvl. 4. It depends on who you are running with the warriors. If neither are running with the warriors but are both sitting with the crossbows, then don't use it as you'll eat through them too quickly and they're much more expensive.

I would suggest giving it to the Lvl.2 with the tome (extra dice for the extra spell!) and run her with a unit of warriors. I would then say to drop the pendant from the lvl 4 and give her the talisman of preservation and the focus familiar. Stick her with the crossbows. The focus familiar will give you the extra range. The reason I say drop the pendant is that it is really most valuable if you already have a good armour save. She has no armour and is sitting in a group of those that only have a 5+ with the shield, 6+ without it. S3 weapons will chew through them and make her pendant save more difficult. Even enough lower strength attacks (spells, roar) will still chew through the smaller unit pretty quickly, and then the pendant becomes almost worthless. The talisman gives you a constant 4+. Not as valuable against high strength, but most people won't waste their higher strength units against crossbows.

For the dreadlord, I would say lose the sword of bloodshed and give him the Crimson Death. With so many people using Shadow magic now, it is a great defense vs. spells like enfeebling foe and it's cheaper. You lose your shield bonus in close combat but ensure a constant S6. I would also say to drop the heavy armour and give him either the armour of Destiny or the armour of Eternal Servitude, though only the latter will work with both the ring of darkness and the magic weapon combo. Just make sure you stay away from fire if you do it.:)

[HawaiiMatt]

i've had a lot of luck with executioners. i run 2 units of 18 (6 wide). With WS5, I usually lose 3 to 5 models when really mean things charge me. The 12 S6 killing blow attacks with re-rolls usually dishes out a lot more damage. Keep the executioners near the hydras to protect the hydras from enemy cav (which you cannot thunderstomp on).

If you're going to only run 15 of them, I'd go at least 7 wide. You're only going to be getting combat res from the killing, not from the ranks.

Where are the harpies?
For dirt cheap you can give your army hard cover from shooting for a turn or two. Well worth it.


I'm not a fan of cold ones, I've always lost them to lucky spells or warmachine hits. You're mileage may vary.

-Matt

[The Dave]

ZOMG I did not realize I was thread-necromancing. I didn't check the date of the last post. I apologize, please delete my post.