PUTTING IT ALL INTO PRACTICE
So, now you’ve seen what the updates are, but how do they affect Dark Elves on the field of battle? We’ve asked Caillin Langmann, moderator from Druchii.net, to give us an insight on what these changes mean to Dark Elf lords.
Caillin: Most Dark Elf players prefer to play their armies in an agile and offensive style because expensive T3 troops cannot afford to constantly suffer attrition each round.
WARRIORS
When
considering the obvious advantages of each core troop type, Dark Riders
and Corsairs seemed to be the most effective choice whilst the Warrior
equipped with a shield, costing the same as a Corsair, never really seemed
to have a place. The Corsair, with two Attacks on the charge, a 5+ Armour
Save (4+ vs shooting) was clearly the most advantageous choice, even if
you thought that you might get charged.
Consider the army background. The Warrior is the mainstay of the Dark Elf army. Each Dark Elf citizen spends his or her life training for battle and thus even with a relatively smaller population than some of the other races, the Dark Elves can field a large contingent of well-trained Warriors. Knowing this, and being conniving and heartless, a Dark Elf general should not be afraid to sacrifice a unit of Warriors for the greater good of the race. Alas, in game terms, who would sacrifice a unit of Warriors when, for the same price, you could buy a Corsair unit to use for flanking?
Seven point Warriors fit the background and the game mechanics perfectly. Now each Core unit has a role. Warriors are a decent group of fighters (WS4), quick (I5) and effective in battle, yet more defensive in nature as expected from trained citizen militia. Warriors cover a broad diversity of roles from large blocks of rank boosting units to small units for feints and sacrifices on the battlefield. This also has beneficial effects on other units. Small units of Corsairs, resistant to being reduced by enemy shooting, can serve as rapid flankers when teamed up with larger units of Warriors. This also reflects the background as the Corsair is supposed to be rarer than the Warrior and more specialised for assault.
Here is a simple tactic to take out a more powerful unit that can be effectively employed with the Warrior unit. Prepare a bait unit of 10 Warriors for 70 points. Place them in front of another 10 to 15 Warriors with shields for 80 to 120 points. Add a third unit of 10 Corsairs with full command or 5 Dark Riders, or even a heavier hitting elite unit on the flank of the Warriors with shields. Our rapid movement can allow us to set up a flank charge on a more powerful enemy by marching our bait unit right up to the front of the enemy providing him with almost no choice but to charge the bait or get outmaneouvred. The bait unit will surely be run down, but if you have placed your shield Warriors correctly, he will overrun into them. Now it is your turn and you can charge in with the flanking unit of your choice, negating his ranks and gaining a flank bonus. This can usually be enough to win combat depending on which flankers you have chosen to use. If he holds after chasing off your bait, you should be able to charge in with the shield Warriors and flank in with your flanking unit provided you have moved properly.
Variations of this tactic can be employed using the now cheaper Warriors armed with repeater crossbows, Warriors that can be used as both your bait and to harass the enemy with shooting.
In the context of the Warrior, the other elite units get that much better. Nothing gives better frontal charge support than a Chariot. Combine the Chariot charge with that of a unit of Warriors, even repeater crossbow armed Warriors with shields, and you have a recipe for mayhem. Now that Chariots are a two for one Special choice, you can bring two into a game and reduce the effects of stupidity.
EXECUTIONERS
Executioners are an excellent flanking unit. They hit hard and are capable of bringing down even Knights. However they were very vulnerable (T3 and only a 6+ Armour Save). Now they have heavy armour, making them more resilient to those pesky S3 shooting or close combat attacks. Bring a small unit of 10 into battle and team them with Warriors and you have flankers that can damage even Chaos Warriors and will crush Dwarfs and other such rabble with certainty. Put the Banner of Murder on them and watch your enemy be stunned as they flank him when he thought he was out of range!
BEASTMASTERS
The
Hydra is capable of setting up flank charges now as well. This beast with
5 WS4 S5 attacks combined with 4 more WS4 S3 attacks is the perfect assault
unit. Now that the Apprentices can move as fast as the Hydra, your beast
with a 12" march and 6" move can be in the right place at the
right time, and the Apprentices can charge as far as the Hydra meaning
that they get into combat right away. With a large charge arc and mobility,
the Hydra can support more than one unit at a time.
Speaking of flanking, a Beastmaster on a Manticore is quite capable of getting behind enemy lines, causing terror and wheeling about to charge the enemy in the rear. However, the Beastmaster was quite vulnerable to shooting, and when he was killed the Manticore didn’t have the Unit Strength to negate ranks. Now with light armour and a Sea Dragon Cloak the Beastmaster has a 4+ Armour Save against shooting and magic missiles. Moreover he can carry a lance for a devastating two WS4 S5 attacks! Hitting most enemy units in the rear with this negates all his ranks, and likely causes enough wounds to break them! You can take him and a Highborn on a Manticore as well in a 2,000 points game causing terror and the collapse of the enemy early in the game. Evil.
COLD ONE KNIGHTS
How
frustrating is stupidity? Enough that the deadly Cold One Knight requires
constant babysitting by at least a Noble in order not to be rendered stupid
two turns in every game! Now your Cold One Knights have Leadership 9 and
do not require a Noble, meaning you can take more than one unit into a
game and use them to provide support. Smash through enemy units, such
as Empire detachments, to get behind the enemy and equip them with the
Banner of Murder so they can get the jump on most enemy knights in the
game. In terms of background, Cold One Knights have no sensation due to
the poison of the Cold One. Therefore feeling no wounds and being of noble
birth, fleeing from battle is beneath them. Ld9 reflects this well.
BLACK GUARD
To
many the Black Guard are the most beautiful man-sized models in the game.
Now they are even more potent in battle as well. When your Black Guard
are hit hard by knights, Eternal Hatred will allow them to re-roll all
misses on subsequent rounds meaning that you get the combined benefits
of hatred and stubborn instead of usually one or the other. Moreover Eternal
Hatred makes them more survivable since you tend to strike first, and
now cause more hits each round. Each kill means one less enemy to hit
back at you, which for T3 Elves makes all the difference. That’s
better than armour if you ask us! Eternal Hatred makes the Black Guard
deadly in the subtle and lithe way of Elves instead of the brute strength
of the other races, and we felt that was perfect.
CAULDRON OF BLOOD
The
Cauldron was rarely used, as all missile fire hit the Guardians, meaning
it could be taken out very easily by shooting. Add to that its limited
range of only 18" and you can see why Dark Elf generals left it at
home. Now with a 24" range and shooting randomised, you can place
this in the forefront of your army and expect to reap the rewards.
Re-rolling wounds with every unit can mean the difference between the enemy making or failing his Combat Resolution rolls.
ROUNDING OFF
Finally, let’s consider some of the more subtle changes. The Word of Pain spell can now be cast into combat. Previously, if you wanted to affect a close combat round, you had to cast the spell the turn before charging the enemy. Not good when they get three attempts to dispel it, two of which are at the basic casting value. Now you can charge with a unit and then cast Word of Pain into the combat causing the enemy to stumble in battle before you (you hit on 3s and they hit on 5s!).
Tired of enemy mages hiding in forests, beside units, or war machines? The Assassin can now be deployed behind enemy lines singly or in a unit of Shades (he cannot be hidden in Shades but can join that unit). With a charge of 12" the Assassin can outmanoeuvre any single character, chasing the wretch down. Also he can charge into a war machine crew and, with the help of some Shadow magic, maybe even on the first turn!
With some simple changes, the Dark Elf army becomes more deadly, subtle, and maneouvrable than ever before. We couldn’t ask for more than that.
DOWNLOAD THE UPDATE
All the changes made to the Dark Elf army book can be downloaded in PDF format from the Errata pages of the website.
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