Editing Warhammer/Tactics/8th Edition/Dark Elves (section)

==Building Your Army==
===Buying Your Army===
The army is expensive as fuck.  If you buy a Cauldron of Blood/Bloodwrack Shrine, always make the Cauldron of Blood.  You get Hellebrone (a special character), the Death Hag (a Hero), the Bloodwrack Medusa (a monstrous beast) and the Cauldron.  Spearmen and Crossbowmen got dearer, so be careful with core units.  Also, Witch Elves, Executioners and Black Guard became WAY overpriced because of the excuse that it's a double kit, since they're plastic models that cost as much as they did when made of metal.  

Cold One Knights are still fairly reasonably priced, and the  Hydra got cheaper while also gaining the option of making the Kharibdyss.  Bolt Throwers are as expensive as they ever were, but still a good unit.

To save money with a Dark Elves army, you'll have to get creative.  

Buy some basic High Elf models from GW (or Mantic--but only if you like owning ugly ass minis), remove their more High Elven bits and replace them with Dark Elf bits or spikes.  Then paint them in Dark Elf colors and in the fluff pass them off as defectors from Ulthuan (or Athel Loren) gone over to Naggaroth (For example; Spearmen become Dreadspears, Glade Riders become Dark Riders).

Corsairs are good for conversions and can be used to make other units.  
* For example, take a box of Corsairs (using Aus prices that's $55).  Take two away and use them to buff an existing Corsair unit.  As for the remaining 8, take 5 Corsairs and with some modeling putty and tools convert 5 of them into Shades.  Take the Standard Bearer and give him the same treatment, he becomes a BSB Master.  Another Corsair can become either a Master on foot, a Dreadlord on foot or a Fleetmaster.  The final Corsair, with the same method, can be converted into an Assassin.  Buying GW's Shades, two Masters and an Assassin model would cost $125, but with this idea you save $70!  (NOTE: IF you're already into conversions you won't have to worry about buying modeling putty or tools, and get them from crafting stores, not GW).  Since Warhammer is more expensive with Aus prices, imagine how much cheaper this method would be for gamers in the US or UK (prices in other parts of the world vary but fall between these price ranges).

Alternate take, buy some dark eldar. They are currently one of the cheapest armies of 40k and they have great kits that you can convert with relative ease.

===Army Composition===
*Dark Elf Warriors and Crossbowmen are a mainstay of the army.  Whenever possible, give your Crossbowmen shields, for that better armor and parry.  With Dark Riders as a Core Unit, a fast army is once again an option for Dark Elves.    
*Black Guard and Warriors make great supporting Ranked units, and Black Guard make good flank protectors being hard to shift.  Witch Elves and Executioners are great flanking infantry, to be used against Hordes and armored elites respectively. Cold One Chariots and Cavalry are good too and are generally cheaper, but they don't generate as much static CR.
*War Hydras are brutal, under any circumstances but are best charging on the flanks.  The Kharibdyss is a good flank charger as well, especially against hordes where it can use its Abyssal Roar to good effect.  It also makes a decent monster hunter in a pinch.   
*If you want to take advantage of the fact that Dark elves are a fast and maneuverable army, fill core with dark riders, crossbow men and small units of Witch Elves OR a large unit Witch Elves supported by dark riders (always take dark riders).  Don't bother filling up on spearmen and sword men as they are expensive in points and real life money, and are pretty weak compared to the suggested units. 
*For special take Executioners, they are effective both in small units (15-20) or in large hoards (30+) they combine high strength initiative 5 attack with killing blow and can mash through most units before they can even strike, it is useful to attach a Master/Dreadlord for some added punch, give him a magic weapon to avoid ethereal bullshit holding you up the entire game. Also almost every army will benefit from having between 2-4 repeater bolt throwers, use these to remove small units that will try and redirect your frenzied units. Cold one Knights and cold one chariots are a similar unit, good for a flank charge, not fully reliable due to stupidity but that is somewhat mitigated by their high leadership. Hydras are almost an auto-include (cheap powerful monster who can grow back its wounds). Lastly shades with great weapons are excellent war machine and wizard hunters, being able to deliver highly accurate shots on turn 1 before hitting hard with I5 S5 attacks.
*For your rare choices Doomfire Warlocks we debatably the best fast cav in the game.  The combination of a 4+ ward save and 2 S4 poisoned attacks for the cheap cheap price of 25 points is incredible, not to mention the fact that each unit is a LVL 2 wizard with 2 very effective offensive spells (don't forget you can channel with these units for some extra magic phase rape).
*For your Lords and Heroes always take a LVL 4 Sorceress and a mounted Master with BSB.  Stick the Sorcerers on a horse and put her in a unit of fast cav and do the same thing with your BSB (in a different unit that is). 
**For your general you can possibly add a Dreadlord (always mount him with lance and sea dragon cloak) or you can just use the sorceress Lord as your general (though given that most of your army's Ld9 she won't add much)(Then again, most of your army's Ld9 she won't need to add much).
**Lastly the Death Hag can be equipped with the cauldron of blood, if you need a Death Star that can chew through almost any unit in the game: mount a Death Hag on cauldron of blood, give her fencers blades (for added protection) and put her in a unit of 30 Witch Elves in a 30 x 10 formation. This unit can put out a stunning 50 ASF, initiative 6, poisoned attacks (60 if you use the cauldrons bound spell for ultra frenzy) combined with the death hags 5 attacks and the 6 attacks from the witchelves on the caouldren AND the D6 impact hits from the cauldron on the charge. FOR A POTENTIAL TOTAL OF 77 ATTACKS TOTAL. 71 of which re-roll to hit and re-roll to wound.  That. Is. Brutal.

===Magic Items===

* '''Magic Weapons:'''

'''Hydra Blade'''  Now adds +D6 attacks.  In addition, causes a leadership test with a -2 modifier.  If passed nothing happens.  If failed, the wielder has -5 to their weapon skill (to a minimum of 1) but gains the Heroic Killing Blow rule until the end of the round.  At 100 points, it takes your full magic item allowance and isn't worth it.  Mathwise it's only marginally better than the Sword of Bloodshed and it doesn't fix the main problem most Elves have, they don't have too little attacks, they have too little strength (not to mention HKB isn't likely to happen even at the Ld8 you'll be testing at, and isn't worth it when it does).  If you take it, make sure someone in the army has the Lore of Light (for the spell Speed of Light) or Lore of Shadow (for Mindrazor), which would make this a viable option for a offensive lord and the BANE of Ogre Kingdoms armies.

'''Chillblade'''  Now wounds automatically.  Any unsaved wounds cause a toughness check which, if failed, cause -3 to the attacks characteristic of the model.  Costs the same.  Better against high toughness opponents than the previous version, but worse against low toughness opponents. It is, in theory, a very versatile weapon and could be incredibly useful because one of your key weaknesses is strength, and if they are a low toughness highly offensive character, then there's a good chance that they will completely lose offensive power, and generally you will be going first so you can just DOMINATE.

* '''Talismans:'''

'''The Black Amulet'''  Same as the previous version, except it only rebounds wounds in a challenge and costs 60 points.  Use only on a character intended for challenges.  

'''Ring of Hotek'''  Now costs 50 points.  Grants Magic Resistance (3), makes any enemy wizard casting spells at the wearer or a unit within 6' miscast on a double 1 as well as a double 6 without making the double 1 Irresistible force.  Surprisingly not as cheesy or prone to backfiring as the previous version.  Worth taking if you can spare the points.

* '''Enchanted Items:'''

'''Black Dragon Egg'''  Similar to the previous version, except it's 50 points, now grants S6 as well and the breath weapon is S2 with no armor saves.  Still good, but pricey.

'''Cloak of Twilight'''  3+ ward save against shooting attacks and spells.  Gives the wearer Killing Blow and Multiple wounds (D3) in the first round of any close combat.  For 50 points, a good item, but make sure it's used to its fullest potential on a combat character, preferably a Dreadlord or an Assassin.  Putting it on a model with the Chillblade is downright cruel, and capable of killing a Dragon in one turn as even though you won't be using Killing Blow, auto-wounding at D3 Wounds is pretty much guaranteed to kill the opponent anyway.

* '''Arcane Items:'''

'''The Gem of Spite'''  Inflicts a S6 hit on every enemy wizard in 12 when the bearer miscasts.  Any wounds can be mitigated but your opponent must sacrifice a dispel dice for each wound.  A good item for a close-range Sorceress, especially a Supreme Sorceress.

'''The Sacrificial Dagger'''  Now only grants 1 extra power dice on a 4+ which must be rolled if successful and then proceedes into the dispel attempts and spell resolution, but if failed can be attempted again with another sacrifice of the unit in which the sorceress is part of ''(and as many times as wished until she is the last one standing - she can't sacrifice herself now can she)''. Same points cost and quite a nice boost to help pimpslap the enemy with dark magic ''(not to mention more chance of the dark magic lore attribute kicking in)'', just be careful you don't go overboard on sacrifices and hamper the unit's effectiveness. For max use have a sorceress in a large squad - this will provide plenty of corpses and will also help keep her even more safe from harm.  The previous version was slightly better as that extra dice kicked in automatically instead of on a 4+, though you could still do multiple sacrifices.

'''Tome of Furion'''  The Seerstaff left the High Elves and migrated to the Dark Elves.  For 25 points, a wizard can choose one of their spells instead of rolling for them if they're using the Lore of Dark Magic.  If you're taking a wizard who's using Dark Magic, don't leave Naggaroth without it.

* '''Magic Standards:'''

'''Banner of Nagarythe''' Makes all models in the unit with it and any Shadow Warriors (including Alith) within 12' unbreakable.  Now costs only 100 points, though the previous version was still better.

===Rulebook Items===

*'''Magic Weapons:''' 

'''Giant Blade:''' 60 points is a lot, but +3 Strength is something great for a Dark Elf damage dealer, though honestly it's completely outdone by the Chillblade (still might be worth it if you've already bought the Chillblade for somebody else). Note that despite it sounding like a slow weapon that would negate your ASF, it doesn't. 

'''Sword of Bloodshed:''' Too expensive for what it does.  While it can put the hurt on hordes, a Dreadlord should not be fighting chaff and it lacks the punch to hurt the rare hordes of elites.

'''Obsidian Blade:''' 50 points to ignore armour, great for tailoring your list but for an all-comers list you intend to stick to through thick and thin you don't want it. 

'''Ogre Blade:''' +2 Strength, 40 points. Take if it you already took the Chillblade, Giant Blade or if you needed the 20 points you'd spend on the Giant Blade for something else.
 
'''Sword of Strife:''' +2 attacks, 40 points. Once again, you don't need more attacks you need stronger ones. 

'''Fencer's Blades:''' WS 10 and an extra attack for 35 points. The Dreadlord already has WS7, and thus this isn't that great when you could bump up his Strength or even his Attacks.  If you still want them then the swords work well for defensive Dark Elves as they can still have a 2+ armour save and the swords, and they’re especially useful against High Elves; hitting even Tyrion on 3’s.  A Master can take them, though they’re better on a Dreadlord.   

'''Sword of Anti-Heroes:'''  +1 STR and +1 Attack for each character in base contact with the bearer and his unit. Could be good, could be great in a tailored list. 

'''Spellthieving Sword:''' For each wound a caster receives from this weapon, they lose a random spell. Generally speaking facing a wizard in close combat means a dead wizard.  It can really shine on an Assassin if they can take it.  Otherwise, not really worth it. 

'''Sword of Swift Slaying:''' Grants Always Strikes First.  Ever since the 8th edition Dark Elves army book this is useless.

'''Sword of Battle:''' +1 Attack for 20 points, keep scrolling. 

'''Berserker Sword:''' Bearer has Frenzy and cannot lose it.  Dark Elves do not need this as psychology can be mitigated with Death Hags or fear/terror causing mounts.

'''Sword of Might:''' +1 Strength close combat for 20 points and you can use a shield, it's nice. 

'''Gold Sigil Sword:''' Makes your attacks 10 Initiative in close combat.  Maybe for a cheap buff if you have the points to spare. 

'''Sword of Striking:''' +1 to hit. Fairly nice, with ASF that means you're usually getting 2+ to hit with re-rolls, though since the 3+ to hit and re-rolls isn't that much worse getting more Strength is still better. 

'''Biting Blade:''' Armor piercing. 10 points. Inferior to Strength, not bad though. 

'''Relic Sword:''' Attacks with it always wound on a 5+ unless the result needed was lower. Not worth your time. 

'''Shrieking Blade:''' Bearer causes Fear.  Unnecessary as characters can just take a fear-causing mount, and most would need a weapon to help them kill things.  Sorceresses and the lord version can get some mileage from this if they have to be on foot. 

'''Tormentor Sword:''' Grants Stupidity to a monster or character hit by it. Only really useful against armies loaded up on those options, so it's a tailoring list option that's questionable otherwise. 5 points to spend if you've got it though. 

'''Warrior Bane:''' Whatever gets hit by it loses an Attack to a minimum of one. 5 points, great for tailoring against other Elves. 

*'''Magic Armour:''' 

'''Armour of Destiny:''' Heavy Armor with 4+ Ward Save.  Not a bad selection and a cheaper way to get heavy armour with a nice benefit.
  
'''Trickster's Helm:''' +1 Armor, and any wound made against the bearer has to be rerolled. Just no, you're Toughness 3, nobody has problems wounding you, focus on armour and wards, not whatever the hell you think you can pull off, and it costs 50 points. Just no. no.

'''Armour of Silvered Steel:''' 2+ Armor Save, cannot be improved by any means. 40 points.  Redundant when any Dark Elf character who needs it can get the same from mundane means for much less points.

'''Armour of Fortune:''' Heavy Armor with a 5+ Ward Save. 15 points cheaper than the Armour of Destiny.  A good all-comers choice. 

'''Helm of Discord:''' +1 Armor, and any enemy character in base contact must pass a Leadership roll or be stunned and is automatically hit.  Your character will dominate challenges. Nice if that's your plan (or if challenges are your fear). 

'''Glittering Scales:''' Light Armor, causes -1 to hit the wearer in close combat. Surprisingly good. 

'''Shield of Ptolos:''' +1 Save against being shot. Pair it with the Sea Dragon Cloak and you have nothing to fear from ranged combat. Not bad if you think you'll face it. 

'''Spellshield:''' Magic Resistance (1). Nifty. Not 20 points nifty, but not terrible. 

'''Gambler's Armor:''' Heavy Armor with 6+ Ward Save. 20 points.  Combines well with a Sea Dragon Cloak and good for Masters.

'''Dragonhelm:''' +1 Armor, +2 Ward against Flaming attacks.  A welcome choice.

'''Enchanted Shield:''' It's a shield, it grants 2 armor instead of the 1 armor a normal shield gives. 5 points. It's a great option. 

'''Charmed Shield:''' One use, first hit you take can be discounted on a 2+. Not bad, not great. 

*'''Talismans:''' 

'''Talisman of Preservation:''' 4+ Ward Save. Very nice option, but it limits your offensive choices due to its 45 point cost.  Need the protection and can’t afford the Black Amulet, take this. 

'''Obsidian Lodestone:''' Magic Resistance (3). For when the Ring of Hotek isn’t enough.  Pricry, though it has potential.
 
'''Talisman of Endurance:''' 5+ Ward Save. Still okay.
 
'''Obsidian Amulet:''' Magic Resistance (2). Viable. 
 
'''Dawnstone:''' Re-roll failed Armor Saves.  Worth it, as Dreadlords and Masters can have 1+ armour saves without magic items. 

'''Opal Amulet:''' One time 4+ Ward Save. Not really worth it. 

'''Obsidian Trinket:''' Magic Resistance (1). Still not bad, still not good.
 
'''Talisman of Protection:''' 6+ Ward Save. Not bad as a way of finishing off those last 15 points. 

'''Seed of Rebirth:''' Grants Regeneration 6+. Again, not a bad way of using up those last points on survivability. Otherwise, no go. 

'''Dragonbane Gem:''' 2+ Ward against Flaming Attacks. Useful as a 5 point choice, especially if you’re facing lore of metal.
 
'''Pidgeon Plucker Pendant:''' Misspelled name, odd item. 5+ Ward Save from Flying enemies. Tailored lists only really. 

'''Luckstone:''' Reroll a single failed Armor Save. 5 points, not a bad place to spend them either. 

*'''Magic Standards:''' 

'''Rampager's Standard:''' Reroll your charge distance dice if you want. Stick it on cavalry, especially as the Battle Standard in Cold One Knights, since the BSB makes them re-roll failed Stupidity or you ignore it if Malus and Spite also in the unit.
 
'''Wailing Banner:''' Unit causes Terror.  Pretty shitty thanks to the massive debuff to Terror in 8th edition.  There's better standards for you. 

'''Ranger's Standard:''' Grants Strider. Ignore dangerous terrain. March your horde wall of death across the map with impunity. A nice choice.
 
'''Razor Standard:''' Grants Armor Piercing. Put it on Special choices.  Executioners in close combat under this will cut through any armour, though they’re good enough this is only recommended against the heaviest of foes such as WoC and Dwarfs. 

'''War Banner:''' +1 Combat Resolution. Normally you want to avoid getting stuck in a fight all game, and this'll help improve your chances of winning in all rounds of combat. 

'''Banner of Swiftness:''' +1 Movement. There's better choices, really if you want movement you should be rolling Lore of Shadow or Light.  Can be nice to surprise the enemy with Witch Elves or Cold One Knights.

'''Lichborne Pennant:''' Magic Resistance (1). Decent for a unit joined by a sorceress. 

'''Standard of Discipline:''' +1 Leadership, but disregard the General's Inspiring Presence. Leadership 10 will ensure the Black Guard never leave and it's fairly useful for preventing Frenzied units from charging, or if you're going to have a unit outside the General's Inspiring Presence bubble anyway. 

'''Banner of Eternal Flame:''' Just like most armies, feel free to take this and stick it wherever you want.

'''Gleaming Pennant:''' One use, re-roll failed Leadership test. Why are you failing Leadership? Maybe tailored against an undead army, otherwise no. 

'''Scarecrow Banner:''' Causes Fear on Flying enemies. 5 points, not bad. Tailored list only and even then don't expect too much as most units that can take it weren't going to charge/be charged by fliers anyway.

*'''Arcane Items:''' 

'''Book of Ashur:''' 70 points for +1 to cast and dispel rolls. If you were playing a VERY large game and your entire strategy was magic and stalling for magic to work, you might use this.  It's decent though overpriced. 

'''Feedback Scroll:''' Instead of a dispel attempt, you can use this one-use item to roll a dice for each power dice used to cast it. Each one that's a 5+ causes a wound that can't be saved. Great for a tailored list, and worth considering otherwise to take out an opponent's only caster and let you work the winds unopposed. 

'''Scroll of Leeching:''' Instead of a dispel use this one-use to add dispel dice equal to the number used to cast the spell. Great against armies with LOTS of casters (like High Elf armies). Not a standard gear choice however. Feedback scroll is more useful in many scenarios. 

'''Sivejir's Hex Scroll:''' One use, replaces dispel. Enemy wizard rolls a d6, must get their level or lower (so a level 1 mage needs a 1 to resist, a 3 mage needs a 1-3 to resist, Teclis only suffers a 6 roll) or they turn into a frog. They can't cast spells as a frog, all magic items stop working, all stats except wounds become 1. Each turn roll a d6, roll of a 4-6 and the mage becomes a biped again. VERY fun item, and a surprising thing for such a thing is that it's actually pretty good if you save it for when you can kill that mage in close combat.  The image of turning a mage into a frog then an Assassin just walking up and (literally) stomping on them is pretty lulzy.

'''Power Scroll:''' According to FAQ it now halves the casting value of one spell, no boosting allowed. Could be fun when you two-dice dwellers or purple sun if the winds are low or your opponent didn't think those last two dices were dangerous. 

'''Wand of Jet:''' One use, increases a casting result by d6 after you're done rolling. This can help cause a IF and miscast too. It's an extra magic dice in the bank for when you need it, and not bad but there's better options for getting more magic juice. 

'''Forbidden Rod:''' One use, add d6 more dice to your magic at the beginning of your magic phase, but the user takes d3 wounds with no armour saves.  It can be useful.

'''Staff of Sorcery:''' Hidden away in the FAQ. 35 points, gives +1 to dispel. Is alright.
  
'''Trickster's Shard:''' One use, start of magic phase. If an enemy mage tries to dispel a spell, you roll a d6 and on a 5 or 6 they take one wound. Not great really. It can be useful sort of if you're rolling a lot of augments at once.  At 25 points though, it's kind of a waste. 

'''Earthing Rod:''' One use, reroll the result on the miscast table once.  Not bad if you're gonna be blasting away with your Supreme Sorceress. 

'''Dispel Scroll:''' 25 points, auto dispel the enemy spell unless it's an Irresistible Force spell.  Always welcome. 

'''Power Stone:''' One use. Used prior to casting a spell, adds two more bonus dice out of thin air to the attempt.  Redundant if any wizards in the army are using Dark Magic. 

'''Sceptre of Stability:''' One use item to increase a dispel result by d6 after you've rolled. Pretty neat for 15 points against another big magic army.

'''Channeling Staff:''' Bearer adds +1 to every channeling attempt. Can net you more power dice, but not a big use item, especially if the Dark Magic lore is being used.  Still, 15 points isn't much to spend for that kind of thing. 

'''Scroll of Shielding:''' One use, replaces dispel to grant a single target a 4+ Ward Save against wounds caused by the spell. Great for protecting something high priority like a Supreme Sorceress or a Dreadlord on a Dragon.  Hellebron will thank you if she’s in the army. 


*'''Enchanted Items:''' 

'''Wizarding Hat:''' Wearer becomes a level 2 Wizard who can use a random spell lore. They also have stupidity. This is great for armies with crap magic options, but for us you want to split the magic/killing roles between two characters and at the cost for the hat you could just take a level 2 mage.  Don’t bother. 

'''Fozzrik's Fold Fortress:''' 100 points, so your entire magic item allotment for a Lord. After deployment zones are agreed but before armies are deployed you can put a Watchtower (or similar building agreed upon by both players as appropriate, but must be the same basic size as the Watchtower) in your deployment zone.  Not great but in games with objectives, you might be able to argue your opponent into letting you count this as an objective from turn one. Take it if you base your strategy around it. 

'''Arabyan Carpet:''' Infantry or monstrous infantry (no you can't let your horse ride). Has the Fly rule, cannot join units. At 50 points you may as well just mount up on a Dark Pegasus or Manticore. 

'''Crown of Command :''' 35 points to grant Stubborn and thus grant it to a unit the wearer joins.  Not bad and very good on a Dreadlord general.  

'''Healing Potion:''' One use to drink at the start of your turn, recover d6 wounds. Since you have very few characters with enough wounds to make it useful, you should rely on the Lore of Life attribute to heal instead. 

'''Featherfoe Torc:''' Flying creatures and riders must reroll to hit you and your unit in close combat. Take it in a tailored list against the likes of Malekith (if you’re planning to turn against him) or High Elves. 

'''Ruby Ring of Ruin:''' Bound spell with Fireball.  Decent and it’s a nice surprise from a non-mage character. 

'''Terrifying Mask of EEE!:''' Wearer causes Terror, but nobody can use their leadership. Since most Dark Elves have almost max LD and some characters have the same, there's no downside. Not worth it at 25 points though unless you want the unit the character's in immune to Fear.

'''Potion of Strength:''' One use, used at the start of any players turn. +3 Strength for the turn, great for a BRUTAL combat phase. Take on a Dreadlord or Master.
 
'''Potion of Toughness:''' One use, start of any player's turn to grant +3 Toughness. This is more for an Supreme Sorceress or Sorceress stuck in close combat, or a Dreadlord who's going into a suicide charge. 

'''The Other Trickster's Shard:''' All successful Ward Saves by models in base contact have to be re-rolled, that means both friend and foe. Since Ward Saves are common to us, it can be a detriment. Still good if you don't have one.  Combines well with a character on a Manticore, as now enemies have to re-roll Ward Saves against its Killing Blow attacks.

'''Ironcurse Icon:''' 5 points for 6+ Ward against war machines for the bearer and their unit. Not great, but it's only 5 points so there's no real threat to taking it and it CAN come in handy.
 
'''Potion of Foolhardiness:''' One use, start of turn. Gets Immune to Psychology and Devastating Charge for a turn. 5 points for a very fucking hard charge, this has potential in a cavalry list. 

'''Potion of Speed:''' One use, start of turn. +3 Initiative. Cheap, but WHEN THE FUCK WILL YOU NEED A HIGHER INITIATIVE?

===Magic===
Dark Elf Sorceress have access to all 8 lores and their specific Lore, Dark Magic.  While every lore has its use, some are particularly good.  These are; 

* Life: Cheesy as it is in a Dark Elf army, this Lore could only be more awesome if it shat rainbows and was on fire. Throne of Vines lets you ignore all miscasts from Life wizards on a 2+ (this includes a miscast from casting ToV itself, so go for broke) and beefs up the rest of your spells, Regrowth brings back dead models, Flesh to Stone will make your T3 Elves less fragile (especially good for Witch Elves), Shield of Thorns is a welcome buff, and The Dwellers Below makes all models in a targeted unit make a Strength test or die with no saves allowed (perfect to get the drop on the [[High Elves|Dark Elves wussy cousins]]). And every time you successfully cast, you heal a wound, which can be on any model within 12". Seriously, take this Lore, and take it for the highest-level wizard you have.  
 
* Metal: A good choice, it really comes into its own against enemies with high armor values (Warriors of Chaos, Bretonnians and so on). Glittering Scales gives one unit a +2 scaly skin armour save buff, making most Dark Infantry (except corsairs who already have scaly skin saves) have a 3+ or 4+ armour save (or 5+ for Witch Elves), while Chariots become 1+. The souped up version gives all friendly units within a 12" bubble the same effect, so if cast by a sorceress in the middle of your army it can be fantastic - High Elf archers cry when confronted by 3+ armour saving Dark Elf infantry hordes. Final Transmutation is great for thinning hordes and dealing with foes that have silly ward saves, and its stupidity rule can stop entire low leadership armies in their tracks. Enchanted Blades of Aiban - which gives +1 to hit rolls, AP and magic weapons - will now be very handy for Executioners, now that they have lost their first round to hit re-rolls. Plague of Rust is as useful against foes with a 5+ or 6+ save as it is against those with lower saves, and Transmutation of Lead is an all round debuffer. The two anti-armour spells - Searing Doom and Golden Hounds of Ghenna - can be used against the one or two high armour saving throw enemies that most armies have, including monsters with scaly skin saves (also meaning Lizardmen, or somehow treemen..., aren't safe from this lore). 

* Light: Not a priority choice but it gives you some of very nice buffs (Speed of Light) and debuffs (particularly Net of Amyntok).  Due to the nearly army-wide Always Strike First, Speed of Light is preferred to Bjona's Timewarp.  Yet Bjona's Timewarp can be useful for those few units that don't have ASF (Such as the Kharibdyss; You get an extra attack, but when you get re-rolls to hit, it increases your chances of all attacks hitting, making a Feast of Bones more likely against enemy monsters.  Combine with Speed of Light for extra cheese), and don't forget it doubles your base movement, so your charge range just got even better.  A very good lore, especially considering the fact that it's statistically the easiest lore to cast and Dark Elves can gain extra power dice. Very good against Undead and Daemons, not only because of the Lore attribute but due to all of them having nasty combat units you want to Net and Light of Battle helping you deal with Fear. 
 
* Death: A good choice, with buffs and debuffs, though you've got to be pretty close to an enemy for the latter.  Doom and Darkness synergizes well with your Fear and Terror causing units, especially the Kharibdyss, while Aspect of the Dreadknight is good for Cold One Knights/Chariots.  Purple Sun of Xereus is great due to the Dark Elves high initiatives meaning your elves have only a 1 in 6 chance of dying from this if it goes astray, except your monsters so be careful with them.  In addition, the lore attribute synergizes well with the Dark Elves ability to gain extra power dice. 

* Shadow: Has a lot of very good debuffs and can make one guy a flier, the latter being great for Sorceresses on foot and assassins.  It also comes with a semi-cannon ball initiative test spell sand a blast initiative test spell which can destroy your enemy's tougher units.  The best spell in this Lore is Okkam's Mindrazor, which replaces a unit's Strength score with its Leadership when rolling to wound, which means that the unit you cast it on will essentially have at least 8 Strength (except for Harpies and some monsters) in close combat.  The best choice for this spell is Black Guard; Black Guard with Okkam's Mindrazor EAT UNITS!  They become STRENGTH 9, with ALWAYS STRIKES FIRST, RE-ROLL ALL FAILED ROLLS TO HIT (ETERNAL HATRED/WARRIOR ELITE), WOUNDING MOST THINGS ON TWOS AND RE-ROLLING ONES WITH MURDEROUS PROWESS!  As of the most recent BRB errata, this applies to armor saves as well.

* Heavens: Mixed, I wouldn't blind pick it. Lore attribute is mostly useless, but the signature spell is a great debuff against anything you don't want hitting you (read: Cannons). Also, it stops anything that doesn't roll to hit on a 4, meaning you can walk into flame cannons and have half a chance of waltzing right up to it (don't rely on this though, because half the time you will get cooked). Harmonic Convergence is bad, you usually reroll anyway due to ASF, you rerolls wound on more or less everything, rerolling saves is good but a lot of things can take them off. Good on a Hydra though, as it throws out lots of attacks, and will likely take a lot of saves due to how much people will try and kill it, and it also gets the rerolls it doesn't get as it lacking MP. Wind Blast is situational, but might save you from a charge, but don't rely on it. Curse of the Midnight Wind is fun, a good 'fuck you' button to an elite unit, but I recommend using it on something you're charging Witch Elves into, as it help your elves get through it's armour save, and Witch Elves getting hit and wounded less is fantastic. Urannon's Thunderbolt is great for killing war machines and chipping down monsters. Comet is unreliable, but holy hell if you get an overcast comet between multiple enemy units, they're in fucking trouble. Do not rely on this though, as enemies can move out of it. Also, it hits your own units. If a bunch of people charge a tarpit, feel free though. As for Chain Lightening, it's good against multiple units of elite units, but does too little hits to kill hordes. Basically, take this lore if you want fun hexes or a small number of high strength hits.

* Beasts: It's good, but overshadowed by some other choices. Wildheart is situational and not great even then, but a decent boost. Wyssan's is always useful, Flock of Doom can chip artillery nicely and for nothing, Pann's is great if you're running a combat lord, same with Savage Beast. Curse of Anraheir will fuck up anything with low initiative and is also nice for the -1 to hit. Transformation of Kadon will get you a free hydra, or a manticore (use against cavalry, it has killing blow) or a Horned Dragon, which is a discount Black Dragon, but still a dragon. If you overcast it, you can get a Mountain Chimera or a Great Fire Dragon, both of which are amazing. Don't ever use the base version of the spell, overcast it, especially as wounds are carried over, the two overcast monsters have 8 and 10 wounds respectively, meaning even if you're on your last life, you'll probably have 6 and 8 wounds on a giant fucking monster. Both of which will shred more or less anything. However, don't ever cast this early, get some spells out and cast if your wizard is injured. It's a waste to take a wizard and cast 0 spells. Just to bring it back up, +1S +1T is a great signature spell!

* Fire: Fireball is always useful, Fire Cloak is meh but cheap, Flaming Sword is pretty good, especially against anything with Flammable or Regen, Burning Head is good if you can flank an enemy line, but its best in high point games and against massive hordes. Piercing Bolts is usually a worse fireball, unless against large hordes. Flame Cage is also good against hordes, auto strength 4 hits or you don't move is great against anyone trying to tarpit your Kharibdyss. As with every vortex, Flame Storm has the potential to do massive damage, it's a good alternative against hordes, its better than Dwellers Below against low strength units but Fire doesn't have the flexibility of Life, and its better than Purple Sun against Elves or Humans or Goblin or Skinks or Skaven, but not against Dwarves, Chaos, Orcs, Undead or Saurus, or anything with multiple wounds

Dark Magic remains a popular choice, due to its technique of blasting the crap out of things. Fire is less popular, but its low casting values means that it works well on a Level 1-2 Sorceress (don't bother putting it on a Level 4 though). Death is a solid lore, with a lot of damaging spells and ways of slicing heroes of out units. Shadow is a powerhouse lore under a lot of circumstances, but it has very little synergy with the other Lores and unlike Death, Fire or Dark Magic requires you to devote a Level 4 to it to operate at peak efficiency (as most of it's powerful spells would require silly numbers of dice for a Level 2 to cast reliably). But if you've only got 1 Level 4 Wizard, it can work well on it's own. Metal is only useful against a handful of enemies and is not even exceptionally useful against them. 
*A pair of Sorceresses with Dark Magic and Fire/Death can knock out small enemy units that would normally get in the way of things, allowing you to focus your shooting on more important targets, and a single Supreme Sorceress with Shadow can boost your center quite a lot, which are the two primary setups for a tournament level list.  If for whatever reason you want to play a defensive list, Lore of Life will save the day, and Lore of Light will wipe the smiles off the faces of undead or daemon armies. 

====Dark Magic====
It's your Lore and by no means a bad one. It's the dark cousin of the High Elf pussy Lore, but meaner and more direct in blasting the crap out of anything.
It's sometimes difficult to cast but some really good spells are affordable with a 12 or less, so even a lvl 2 sorceress can get a lot out of it.  Still though the Lore is not easy to use, since many spells have a small range or rely on buffing the unit the sorceress is in, so it would e best if the sorceress would be near the frontlines, even if that is not generally advised. But give The Black Amulet to a lvl 4 and take a few challenges with a bit of luck it can be great, and remember if you did right you will only have one round of combat anyway.

'''Attribute'''
Your attribute makes more damage every time you target an enemy unit and roll doubles or triples, you hit them with 2d6/3d6 S1 armor piercing hits. Read carefully the damage of the Lore Attribute is taken after the actual spell, this don't seem important but it is. Imagine Teclis running with a unit of 15 archers. Imagine further you cast the great version of your second signature Spell on this unit. Now imagine all high elves dead (anyone get a warm feeling by this words?) but of course Teclis is still standing because he can't be hit by your spell.  But now the archers are dead the Lore Attribute kicks and kicks Teclis right out of game with a bit of Luck, so never forget the Lore attribute.

'''Spells'''

*'''Spell 0 - Power of Darkness'''
Your first Signature Spell and an old friend to any Dark Elf player. It was awesome before and now it remains awesome, but in another way. First the whole unit the Sorceress is in gets +1 strength. For Elves this is a very very good thing. And like last edition you get extra power dice (d3, but you take a wound on 3). As such, always equip your sorceress with a ward save. For a single lvl 2 it's probably not worth it, but if you have 2 Sorceresses with this spell you will be dominating the magic phase no matter the winds.

*'''Spell 0.2 - DOOMBOLT'''
DOOMFUCKINGBOLT is your second Signature Spell is the big brother of the High Elf Soul Quench (with 2 exceptions). With S5 and a higher casting value, this spell can wreck whole units by itself. It's a giant dark lightning bolt of FUCKING DOOM, always take it when you can.

*'''Spell 1 - Chillwind'''
Your old signature Spell nerfed pretty bad, making 2d6 S2 hits with -1BS when you kill something. Still against enemies with high toughness, in combo with the Lore Attribute, probably still worth it.  Fortunately an easy spell to cast, good against low toughness units and will help you against shooting armies (especially Wood Elves, who don't like winter). 

*'''Spell 2 - Word of Pain'''
Now this Spell's gone from good to great. At first it doesn't look so, but look at the greater version of it (never ever cast the lesser one) it lowers the WS,BS,I AND S of an unit per D3. So in this single spell you get the Miasma and the Enfeeble in one spell (and perhaps a bit of damage) for a laughable 12, and it can lower the WS/BS to 0 meaning the unit cannot shoot, cannot fight in combat and gets automatically hit as well. Always take this.

*'''Spell 3 - Bladewind'''
Going from anti Warmachine to anti Horde, a good spell especially when used in conjunction with Word of Pain.  Watch your opponent cry as his WS4 T3 infantry gets dropped to WS1 and then slapped in the face.

*'''Spell 4 - Shroud of Despair'''
The new spell in this edition and boy it's a good one. A Hexspell targeting every enemy in 12 inches making them unable to use Inspiring Presence or Hold Your Ground!, and even lowering their leadership if one of the units miss a morale check. Great combos are possible with the warcry of Khaine, the Kharibdyss and even the Bloodwrack Shrine.  Unless you're playing against Undead or Daemons this spell is always worth considering, as it can break a few units at once.

*'''Spell 5 - Soul Stealer'''
Getting weaker but therefore getting a higher range this spell is still good against anything with high armor, especially if you remember that your Sorceress will be on the frontline and can make a use of a few wounds she gets with this spell.  On a lvl 4 this is always a good idea, it combines well with Power of Darkness, getting extra dice and restoring wounds.

*'''Spell 6 - Arnizipal's Black Horror'''
Your magic Black hole, identical to the purple Sun, but with strength tests instead of Initiative. So its best used against hordes of weak opponents but also good in combination with your second spell. Be wary of the 1 in 6 chance of rolling a misfire, because this drops the template on top of your sorceress's  head, after which it scatters randomly. Given that Strength tests are the worst nightmare for most Dark Elf units, it can be worth making sure your sorceress is casting from a little way away from the rest of your army and cast power of darkness first if you are going to give this spell a go.  Good fun and a nightmare for hordes and low strength armies.