Dark Elf Tactics for Rookies
by Casper Stokhuyzen
I’ve played Dark Elves for over three years
now, and in that time I have combated almost every army. The ones
I haven’t are Orcs&Goblins (who I’ll play soon), Skaven, and Chaos
Dwarves, and no-one sane plays Chaos Dwarves. I could be very specific
by giving advice geared towards each race separately, but that wouldn’t
help anyone trying to start Warhammer. So here are the fruits of
my limited wisdom. I hope they prove useful.
Dark Elves are an evil race, who torture and
pillage for sheer pleasure. When building an army, it is vital to
stick to the ‘feeling’ of the army. For this you will need an army
book, which contains all the troop information and history. If you
don’t have one, get one.
War Machines
Elves in general are lithe and steer away from
crude gunpowder weapons, which means that they have almost no war machines
to speak of. Their only strength when it comes to artillery is the
wonderful Repeater Bolt Thrower. This, as the army book will tell
you, has great range and good options. Perfect for dealing with blocks
of low toughness creatures such as elves, humans and goblins. To
start out, get two. This means that you have more money to buy troops
and will let you use them even in a small army. As you progress,
buy some more, because in a 2,000 point battle you can field up to five
of them! This means that the enemy war machine crews will end up
as kebabs while you still have firepower left over to kill a character
(or two). Always deploy them on hills if you can, and keep them at
your flanks. This makes it harder for enemies to reach you and doesn’t
justify using large war machines on them. If you put them in the
middle, a cannon ball can take out your Bolt Thrower and a group infantry
in one shot. The flank position also lets your RBTs lay down a field
of fire that trashes any frontal assault on your troops.
The Cauldron of Blood is a good idea if you
plan on using lots of Witch Elves. If you only want 5-12 Witch Elves,
don’t bother spending cash or points on it.
Missile Troops
Dark Elves are notorious for their repeater crossbows.
At least, that’s what the books say. They fire a “hail” of “barbed
darts” at their foes. Yeah, right. I don’t see how two bolts
form a hail of darts. This weapon is all right, but useless unless
you have at least ten of them. The good thing about elves is their
high WS and BS. This means that a Dark Elf can fire two bolts with
the same to hit roll as a human archer. The really annoying thing
is their short range. Wood Elves slaughtered my army because of their
excellent range compared to mine. A longbow can fire 6 inches further
at the same strength and to hit roll (if fired by an elf) as a 24 inch
repeater crossbow. Don’t let this discourage you. Eventually
his troop have to get close, or your Repeater Bolt Throwers will eat up
his expensive units. When he does, fire everything. In the
first few turns, consider maneuvering your crossbowmen so that you can
deal with an attack better. The guy who owns this homepage calculated
that you have better odds of hitting things if you fire dual-fire.
These weapons are useless against cavalry in small amounts because of their
low strength, so target infantry if you can.
Scouts sound great, and the truth is I’ve
never used any. GW discontinued them along with Executioners.
You can probably still order them, but I haven’t bothered yet. My
experience with Wood Elf Waywatcher (their equivalent) is that six is and
ideal number. Large units go against the spirit of the game and will
give you trouble hiding them. If anyone has used either Scouts or
Executioners, let me know how they did.
Shock Troops
Ask anyone to describe an elf and you’ll be told
they’re pansies. Which is true. This means that they have a
disadvantage when it comes to shock troops. Low strength and toughness
means that they are vulnerable to bowfire and cavalry. The best shock
troops, in my opinion, are Cold One Knights. Armed with lances, these
guys are all right on a charge (S5), but once in real hand-to-hand they
rely on their monstrous steeds, the Cold Ones, to really kick ass.
These have S4 and 2 attacks. They kill knights much better than horses
do. Give your knights a Blood Banner and you’re ready to stomp all
over enemy cavalry. Field at least six, including a champion and
standard bearer. If you really want to be a bastard, use the Standard
of Shielding. This, in combination with their armour, gives them
a 1+ save (immune to S3 or lower). These are lovely troops.
Witch Elves are good, but they have two weaknesses:
bad armour and low toughness. This makes them easy targets for missile
fire, so field at least twelve. They have S4 and 3 attacks (with
an extra hand weapon) and WS4, so they really chew up enemy infantry and
even cavalry. Only give them the armour if you’re facing someone
with lots of bows, because a 6+ save really isn’t useful otherwise.
Black Guard. What can I say about Black
Guard? Well, to put it crudely, they suck. They’re elves with
halberds. A ridiculous luxury, with a +1 strength modifier.
Not worth it.
Executioners, like I said, are unfamiliar
to me. One thing that seems nice is the fact that they do D3 wounds.
This really helps when only a few manage to wound. I’d rather use
them than Black Guard.
Infantry
Dark Elves have some good infantry. They
have the same strength and toughness as humans but with a high WS and leadership.
High initiative makes them good for dealing with slower races such as humans
and Dwarves. My favourite infantry is the Black Ark Corsairs.
They have the option of extra hand weapons and they have 5+ unmodifiable
save. This helps them against strong foes. I field twelve for
the ranks and so that they can take damage and keep fighting. These
guys can take plenty of missile fire, especially because of their save.
Spearmen are pretty useless, but if you have
a lot, they can take a lot of punishment. Combined with the high
movement of elves, they can block cavalry units that threaten your core
units. They also serve to defend your RBTs and crossbowmen.
City guard are just the best way to defend
your crossbowmen. They’re not really very special, but combine stand-and-shoot
with lots of attacks in hand-to-hand. If you plan to play defensively,
get some.
Special Units
Firstly, Dark Riders. I recently assembled
a regiment of eleven. They have huge movement and excellent skills.
Give them spears and repeater crossbows. They can move a whopping
18 inches before the battle, giving you the chance to flank or at last
distract the enemy. They are a good deal in points and cash, so you
might want to get some. Their fire and flee is most effective when
you have more of them.
Harpies are a must. They gobble up war
machine crews and move on to the next on. You should take one round
of artillery fire before your harpies can come down from flying high.
Usually, mine become prime targets after slaughtering only one war machine
crew. This is great, because it means that he wastes fire on high
toughness, multiple-wound troops. Once, I killed an Imperial Great
Cannon crew with 5 harpies, and he fired his Helblaster at them.
His first tube misfired, so he automatically had to fire every tube.
He did a 36-wound overkill but it meant that for 75 points I had knocked
out two powerful machines.
Characters
The Dark Elf lord is very good. He has a
high weapon skill, so he wields magic weapons with a large chance of hitting
his foes with them. He has a relatively low toughness and strength,
so consider giving him something to increase those. My “Golden Combo”
for an all-round good general is a lord on a Cold One with the Armour of
Protection, a Venom Blade and Amulet of Fire. He is well-protected,
has a good weapon and good protection from magic. He’s also quite
cheap at just over 300 points. Always get him a Cold One. This
means he can support units with his leadership better and he can flank
units easier. If you want a kick-ass general, plant him on a dragon.
Champions. These are good in units that
will see combat, such as COKs and WEs. Nothing really special, Dark
Elf champs. Best save yourself the points and money.
Assassins. I love these guys.
They always strike first, have a ridiculously high WS and have good S and
T. Consider giving them an Ogre Blade, Heart of Woe or, if you feel
like spending lots of points, a Frostblade. Get one or two, but make
sure to put them in a unit that will see combat or he’s wasted points.
Mages are necessary in a Dark Elf army.
I suggest a level 4 mage and maybe a level 1 or 2 to back him up and give
you more spells. If your mage lord is killed, then you always have
the backup. What you do with them is your business, but I recommend
the following items for them: Book of Ashur, Destroy Magic Scroll,
Potion of Knowledge, Amulet of Fire and the Black Amulet. Another
one I use often is the Cloak of Mists and Shadows, the best armour you
can get for a mage, and it lets him get close enough to cast short range
spells.
Getting a Battle Standard Bearer is useless,
as Dark Elves have high leadership, and you should play a defensive game
anyway, meaning you general can sit near them and give them extra Ld.
They are also expensive and good targets, and generally a good way of giving
away VP.
Special Characters
Only a few of these are out, and I’ve only used
two of them: Shadowblade and Rakarth. Shadowblade is excellent.
He’s fast, strong, does D3 wounds and he can hide in enemy units.
Just use an assassin model for him.
Rakarth is not very good. Rakarth himself
is useless, especially since his low strength makes the Whip of Agony useless.
You’d do better to just get a dragon. It’s cheaper and more effective.
His model can also be used as a normal hero or lord an a dragon.
This is better since you can put together your own magic item combos.
That’s about it for Dark Elf tactics.
Please don’t consider these as rules or especially good advice-this is
only what I have found thanks to my experiences against certain armies.
Your opponents might use their armies differently, completely screwing
up your army if you follow my advice rigidly. Just see what works
for you. Remember: One day the Druchii shall rule, and the world
will cry out in pain and despair.
Any questions or comments?
mail me at [email protected]
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