Warhammer/Tactics/8th Edition/Dark Elves

Why Play Dark Elves

Do you want your Elves to take the next logical step in their belief of 'we're better than everyone' over to 'so we should be allowed to kill them?' Do you want to troll your enemy mercilessly and drink their tears? Then Dark Elves are for you.

In the long long ago, in the before time, in 6th edition, Dark Elves were a finicky and difficult army. Limited unit choices, overpriced and underpowered units and difficult to use tactics made them a favorite of smart and tactical players. Then came the 7th edition update and they rocketed up to being the 2nd best army in the game (behind Daemons) and while the 8th edition book has balanced things a bit, they remain a powerhouse army.

Dark Elves are not for people who expect all their units to have the staying power of Lizardmen or Dwarves, or the hitting power of Chaos Warriors or Ogres, or even the overall power of Daemons. Yes, the Dark Elves have units that like a ton of bricks (Hydra most notably) but they are the minority. Dark Elves excel at having cheap infantry with good stats and solid staying power. You will have to combine units, weaken enemy elites, whittle away at them and receive a lot of charges as Dark Elves. But don't mistake them for weak: Your enemy will do that and then they will LOSE.

Unit Analysis

NOTE: The rest of this guide is probably written by High Elf players. Follow the advice at your peril. '***Agreed. Much of this information was written by someone without much experience with Dark Elves***

Lords & Heroes

Named Characters

• Malekith, the Witch King: It's good to be the King. Malekith cost's 600 points vanilla (keeping him out of games under 2500) but you get your moneys worth for it. He's a Highborn with higher WS, S and T. He's also a level 4 Wizard (who has to use Dark Elves' special lore), magic armor that gives a 2+ ward against mundane attacks and makes him immune to multiple wounds and being killed outright, a magic weapon that lets him break enemy magic items (allowing him to get rid of those pesky magic weapons that can harm him), a shield that gives him Magic Resistance (2) and causes magic spells aimed at him that are dispelled to rebound for an S6 hit on the wizard per dice, a crown that gives him an extra power and dispel dice per phase and he makes all Dark Elves within 12 immune to Panic. And he still has hatred and comes with Immune to Psychology. Exhale. He costs a bucketload but can easily turn entire games around. His mount options include Cold One (mediocre), a Cold One Chariot with a 2+ save (quite good for smaller points games) and a Black Dragon (requires a game of 4000 points or more and you don't get ANY other Lords, but can wreck entire units on it's own). Malekith is an expensive powerhouse. The combination of killer stats, great special rules and magic items and being a powerful caster in his own right make him more than worth his rather expensive entry cost.

• Morathi, the Hag Sorceress: Morathi is a little schitzo about her role. Her abilities and stat increases seem to indicate that she's intended for combat, which is the exact opposite place from where you want her. She's also more expensive than a regular level 4 Sorceress and she doesn't get enough for it. If you're in a big points game and you want to have more than one Level 4 with the Dark Elf lore, then her ability to take all the spells in Dark Magic might be worth it, but you should really be taking Fire or Death in larger points games. Just take a regular Level 4 Supreme Sorceress. She also has the honor of being the only model who actually shows her tits. Actual, unobscured (aside from the boob-holders that look like they're straight from a Korean MMO) honest-to-god breasts, with nipple and all. If someone actually uses Morathi, there is a rought 95% chance they use her for this very reason. In all fairness, Dark Magic is a good damage lore, and Morathi has the mobility to use it. Also, getting 2 enchanted and/or arcane items with unlimited costs is great

• Crone Hellebron: Hellebron is a fundamentally ideal combat lord. Okay, she costs 100 points more than fully kitted out Highborn and comes with no protection. But she has I9, comes with 6+D3 S10 attacks (essentially guaranteed to wipe out an entire rank), forces the enemy to take an LD test or lose 1 WS, comes with Witchbrew (perfect for a unit of Witch Elves) and makes Witch Elves Core. Oh and she and any unit she's with auto-dispel the first spell cast at them EVERY phase on a 4+. Yeah. She can also take a Manticore but thats not something something you want her to do. Put her in a unit of Witch Elves and send them charging into the enemy.

• Malus Darkblade: You've read his books, now put him on the tabletop. He costs nearly 300 points and has a couple nifty abilities, but overall he's too expensive for his stuff. Using Tz'arkan makes him more powerful, but gives him a 50% chance of hacking his unit apart. Not worth it.

• Shadowblade: Ehh. Almost double what a properly kitted out Assassin would cost. His hiding in the enemy unit is fun for trolling, but situational and dangerous for him. Even if you get him to reveal himself when he needs to, where he needs to, if he gets killed he could just as easily damage your own unit, which keeps him from being set up like a regular Assassin. Take a regular Assassin, more bang for your buck.

• Lokhir Fellheart: An effective enough combat hero, if a bit on the pricy side. One of his abilities is something anyone can do now and he can get an absurd number of attacks, but the extra hundred points for no stat upgrades means he's kinda limited. A master is probably better. Will actually do incredibly with a big corsair unit and shadow magic buffs. Also, will comprehensively destroy any Skaven army with 10+ ranks.

Generic Characters

Note: While named characters are judged against their generic counterparts, generic characters are examined based on their role in your army.

NOTE: No Master or Highborn's Armor Save should EVER be below 4+. It costs less than 10 points to give them Heavy Armor and Sea Dragon Cloak which instantly gives them a leg up on 99 percent of most enemy heroes and lords.

• Dreadlord: Your workaday combat lord. He's cheap and effective and can be highly nasty when given the right equipment. A fun combination is Cold One, Armor of Living Death, Shield, Sea Dragon Cloak and Pendent of Khaeleth, which makes him nigh-unkillable (low S attacks will get repelled on the 1+ armor save, high strength will get knocked out by the silly-ward). There are many equipment options that will be covered in the equipment section. Overall, he's cheap with some good stats (WS7 and I8 is nothing to sneer at) and he can be quite effective in the right circumstances. Just don't put him in fights he can't win. The most ridiculous combination is Armor of Darkness, Pendent of Khaeleth, Crown of Command, great weapon, pegasus. Moves 20 inches a turn, 1+ armor + pendent, and stubborn on 10 inches. Run him into the biggest, most expensive enemy unit, and watch it sit there for the rest of the game.
• Supreme Sorceress: Supreme Sorceresses (and Sorceresses for that matter) excel at one thing: Blasting the almighty crap out of everything. You can fling absurd amounts of dice around if you're unafraid of miscasts and have access to some impressively destructive Lores. The Dark Elves signature Lore consists of almost nothing but ways to blast the shit out of people. Aside from that, Fire can be fun and Death is good for some targeted hero killing. Bringing a Level 4 Supreme Sorceress will almost always pay off. Sacrificial Dagger + Lore of Shadow is an instant comp hit in tournaments
• Sorceress: Sorceresses are cheap and effective. Level 1s can bring a small effective spell to the table (Notable Dark Magic's signature spell is one that shooting heavy armies HATE!) and bringing a level 2 could provide valuable support when things go tits up for your Supreme Sorceress. Not as powerful as a Supreme but well worth taking.
• Master: Masters are among the best cost for ability heroes in the game. He has no special abilities beyond Hatred, but his WS and I make him powerful for a hero and did we mention he's only 80 points and can ride a fucking MANTICORE? Yeah, this guy can hit 'em where it hurts for cheap. Also the better option for a BSB.
• Death Hag: Death Hags cost 10 points more than a master for 2 hand weapons, Frenzy, Poisoned Attacks aaaand...the loss of any kind of saves beyond a 5++ for 30 points. Not batting 1000 here. And the gifts of Khaine do not compare well to the Magic Items.
  • Cauldron of Blood: If you're taking a Death Hag for any other reason than to take this motherfucker, than you're an idiot. 110 points for a model that can wreck anyone's day within 24 inches and makes all Khaite models stubborn within 12. Perfect for a defensive army. Also the Cauldron as the BSB is awesome
• Assassin: Assassins are not heroes but there's no better place to put them, so deal with it. Assassins, when kitted out right, can end the life of any Hero and most Lords. Its frankly ABSURD WS and I mean that it can put the whammy on anyone dumb enough to get into close combat with it. And here's the kicker: because of the Hidden rule, people don't know if they're getting into combat with it. Very good in either your rank units (to help them hold up when a powerful unit tries to use them) or in your flank units (to up your kill count when you charge). We'll talk about setups later during the magic item discussion, just remember that Assassins often end up on suicide detail after a round of combat or two. Oh and don't forget to write down what unit it's in, or people will accuse you of cheating.

• • Mount Options:
    • Dark Steed: The cheapest option, but not really worth it. M9 will put him out away from the rest of the army, except for Dark Riders, but why would you want a character to join them?
    • Cold One: The traditional mount of a Highborn/Master and with good reason. M7 is quite reasonable, stupidity is unlikely to cause problems at LD9 and S4 and +2 to armor saves are always nice. If you want a mounted hero without shelling out for a big expensive mount, this is where to go.
    • Dark Pegasus: Pegasi are in an awkward position in this book. If you want a flying mount, there are better places to go that don't get killed whenever a unit of Longbow armed humans or up gets it in their head that that Dark Elf bearing down on them doesn't mean them any good. But with T4 and only 3 wounds, pretty much any concentrated shooting can take them out and they don't really have the power to make up for that. Since the recent FAQ Pegasi are an easy way to get T4 and three wounds on a master (they count as monstrous cavalry, read the rulebook and the FAQ).
    • Manticore: Don't have the points for a Black Dragon, but want something big and scary? Then come on down to Beastmaster's Manticore Emporium. The inbetween option and a damned good one at that. If you want people to cry cheese, try mounting your Master on one of these.
    • Black Dragon: A middle tier Dragon (better than Sun Dragons and Manticores but not as good as Star Dragons and Greater Daemons) who's effectiveness is often linked to how good the rider is. A powerful mount, perhaps a tiny bit overpriced, but worthwhile. We will cover what items to take and not take later, but a remember that your Dragon is huge and scary, so it will be getting shot at by everyone who doesn't want to see it crashing into their lines. Keep it out of sight of cannons.

Core Units

• Dark Elf Warriors: The mainstay core unit of any Dark Elf army. Lucky for you, they kick ass. A solid statline (high M, WS, BS, I and LD, average everything else) for 7 points (it's always 7 points, you ALWAYS give them shields, doubles their chances of surviving an S3 hit). Cheap command, access to a cheap magic banner. Take them in large units, these are the units you use for receiving charges, they'll need the extra ranks to absorb the hits.

• Dark Elf Repeater Crossbowmen: The other mainstay core unit, and again they kick ass. Between good range, armor piercing and multiple shots, these guys shred light to medium armored units like they're not even there. Have them concentrate fire with Bolt Throwers and Shades (if you have them) to damage your enemies important units. Again, you always give them shields, as they will be absorbing a lot of S3 and S4 return fire.

• Black Ark Corsairs: The updated army book kinda left Corsairs without a home. They cost 3 points more than a Warrior with Shield for no stat upgrades. Sea Dragon Cloaks and 2 hand weapons make a little more resistant to shooting and a little better on the charge, but rank-and-flank tactics means that your core units are going to be absorbing charges rather than charging. This also applies for the otherwise nifty Slaver special rule. Small units might work okay as flanking units, but Witch Elves do the same job better for the same points. They're not bad, by any means, but there are better options available to you.

• Dark Riders: Fast Cavalry got heavily nerfed under 8th Edition and therefore the otherwise useful Dark Riders don't work as well as they might. They're still good war machine hunters and great for filling out your Core Points (which the otherwise more useful Harpies don't do), but as with Corsairs, there are better choices.

• Harpies: Harpies are ideal War Machine/Lone Wizard hunters. Cheap? Check. High number of Attacks? Check. High Initiative? Check. Flying? Check. Don't cause Panic in other units? Big check. If there's even the slightest chance of you facing an army with some war machines, take these guys. And even if you're not, they're great at drawing units out of position (Frenzied units HATE these guys), disrupting enemy lines and even do an okay job at flanking and assisting in a big melee in a pinch (don't rely on them for this, there's a chance they could take their wounds in combat back). A very good choice under any circumstances.

Special Units

• Witch Elves: Witch Elves are the first in the series of nasty flanking units. They have an absurdly high volume of attacks (20 poisoned attacks for 2 ranks), high Initiative and cheap. Banner of Murder is tailor made for these guys and you can't go wrong with Witchbrew. Be careful with them though, they're about as hard to shoot to death as Goblins (more resistant to Panic though, thanks to Frenzy) and are easily led out of position. Use them by all means, but be careful.

• Shades: Lots of players have mixed opinion about Shades. While they might seem expensive they are really mobile with decent stats and scout rules (they can even march and shoot). In low point games they will pretty much win your battles for you. Shades should be used as machine and lone wizard hunters. After Shades have completed their hunting (or if enemy did not have anything to hunt) Shades are perfect unit for harassing enemy lines witch their march and shoot. Summing this all up Shades seem to be almost a steal taking 10 of them with 170 points.

• Executioners: Chaos Warriors getting you down? Brettonians resisting all your attempts to move them? Need someone with high Strength to knock out a monster? Then take Executioners. High Strength and Killing Blow make these guys a powerful flanking unit, just don't try to use them as a rank unit and if you want to take BSB (for Banner of Har Garneth for example?), remember it has to be a Death Hag.
  • Tullaris of Har Ganeth: One unit of Executioners can take him as a Champion. He costs 15 points more than a Master and has weaker stats. His weapon is nifty, if a little redundant and his abilities are okay, but the problem is his main ability only works when he kills someone in a challenge and with only 1 wound, a 5+ armor save and ASL, most heroes (and a solid percentage of unit champions) will probably be able to knock him out before he strikes. Skip him.

• Cold One Knights: A good enough flanking unit when the chips are down and can even charge smaller units head on in a pinch. Cheap Heavy Cavalry is always welcome, even if Heavy Cavalry took the hard end of the nerfstick in 8th edition. It helps that their models are GORGEOUS (they ride fucking DINOSAURS) and they have an exceptionally brutal statline, with LD9 more than making up for Stupidity. Worthwhile.

• Cold One Chariots: Quite good as far as Chariots go. It's highly resistant to damage and while, once in a while Stupidity will prevent you from making that charge you need to, it's low cost and high LD keep that from happening too often. Keep it someplace it can't be charged and use it to flank in a tight moment. Not precisely the Black Coach as far as Chariots go, but can be extremely useful.

• Black Guard: The only Rank choice that isn't a core choice. They're easy to damage unfortunately and their unit sizes are limited, but they hit hard (15 always rerollable S4 attacks for 2 ranks) and they. Do. Not. Break. For a 15 point magic banner from the main rulebook they can be LD10 Stubborn and there's nothing funnier than giving a Tower Master the Ruby Ring of Ruin. Highly recommended. Oh holy fuck are Black Guard amazing. Take a flaming banner on them and they WILL take off an abomination or a hydra on the charge. Running 3 units of 20 with Shadow magic support is a good way to get punched in the face, especially if you have double hydras and shield crossbows as core, and of course a cauldron buff
  • Kouran of the Black Guard: Like Tularis, one unit can take him as a Champion. Unlike Tularis, he's actually worth it. 5 points cheaper than a Master with all the Black Guard trimmings, 3 S6 attacks and he's harder to hit than Tularis. Oh and did we mention that he makes his unit of Black Guard fucking UNBREAKABLE? Definitely something you're going to want to help your Black Guard hold out.

Rare Units

• Reaper Bolt Thrower: Often gets ignored in favor of the more flashy and powerful other rare choice, but a solid choice in it's own right. As will all Bolt Throwers it's good at taking out Heavy Cavalry and low wound monsters. Unlike all other Bolt Throwers (except for High Elves, who have the same exact unit) it can also be pretty good at taking out infantry. Stick it next to your Repeater Crossbowmen and help them shred units one at a time.
• War Hydra: Any bitch-fest about Dark Elves will bring up these guys, usually 2 or 3 times. It's easily the best unit in the army and high in the running for the best cost-for-ability units in the goddamn GAME. 175 points. 7 attacks. 5 wounds. S and T 5. 7 attacks. Hatred. Thunderstomp. A breath weapon with S equal to it's remaining wounds. Did we mention 7 attacks? Also 2 S3 armor piercing guys with 3 attacks each, who literally CANNOT die until the Hydra's bought it. Oh and just so you're absolutely sure: The Hydra ITSELF has Hatred, so it too gets the Rerolls. This thing EATS. UNITS. Your ultimate flanking unit and you can take 2 in a 2000 point game if you want to drink your opponents tears. Any unit charged by this should roll for anal circumference.

Building Your Army

Army Composition

Dark Elf Warriors and Crossbowmen are the mainstay of your army. Treat them like it.

Black Guard and Warriors make great supporting Ranked units. Witch Elves and Executioners are great flanking infantry. 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. Harpies make great a disruption and drawing unit, as well as good war machine hunters. Crossbowmen and Bolt Throwers are great for softening up important enemy units.

Shades, Corsairs and Dark Riders are limited in usefulness and there are generally units that do the jobs they do better, but are still viable choices, especially in casual (just don't bring them to a tournament).

Build accordingly.

Magic Items

• Gifts of Khaine:

• • Rending Stars: You can't reveal an Assassin in response to a charge which means you can't stand and shoot with them when the unit they're hiding in is charged and are thus, not useful.

• • Dance of Doom: 5+ ward for 30 points? Yes please. Good for both Assassins and Death Hags.

• • Touch of Death: Very good for a defensive Assassin or an anti-hero suicide Assassin. Overall a good choice.

• • Rune of Khaine: Useful under any circumstances. One of the best choices.

• • Witchbrew: Again, one of the best choices. You should always give this a Hag in a Witch Elf unit of any size.

• • Hand of Khaine: Eh. Neither Death Hags not Assassins should ever be taking defensive abilities. Skip it.

• • Cry of War: Eh. With Assassin, -1 WS won't matter, and it's hardly more worth it for a Death Hag. If you've got 10 points and absolutely NUTHIN else to spend it on, go for it. Otherwise, skip it.

• • Manbane: Fun for a suicide Assassin who has to take out a high Toughness and high armor save opponent, but not the best 25 point option.

• • Black Lotus: Meh. Only rolls of 1? Skip it.

• • Dark Venom: Could be good but it's really not worth cutting into your allowance. Skip it.

• • Venom Sword: U Mad Bro? Anyone with a big scary monster or a tough hero is gonna HATE this. You need to dedicate an Assassin to it, but if you're fighting against Ogres or designing him to go after Lords, this is definitely a funny choice.

• • Cloak of Twilight: Very good for a Suicide Assassin. If you really wanna troll, use it to fling a nearby in-trouble wizard out of trouble.

• Magic Weapons:

• • Executioner's Axe: Big and expensive, but can be worth it against monster/monstrous infantry/monstrous cavalry heavy armies. For trolling options, put the bearer in a unit with Banner of Har Garneth.

• • Sword of Ruin: Generic 50 point armor save ignoring sword, generically mediocre, better options available.

• • Web of Shadows: Unhelpful. If it hit a unit, then we could work with it, but then it'd just be a breath weapon. Skip it.

• • Chillblade: Another trolling option. High Armor, low Toughness models (Bretonnia) will HATE this. Can be a generally useful item, especially since it ignores armor saves and multi-wound models can't strike. Not great, but worthwhile.

• • Heartseeker: A good choice if ever there was one. Cheap and effective, which is a good term for Dark Elves overall.

• • Hydra Blade: Not great in all situations, but good under a lot of circumstances, especially if you can combine with something else to give the bearer strength upgrades.

• • Caledor's Bane: For Dragon hunters. If you're making a tailor list for anti-Lizardmen, this is your best friend. Still okay if you're not facing either of the above.

• • Dagger of Hotek: Except against their High Elven cousins, DE don't usually need ASF under the current rules set. Skip it.

• • Lifetaker: Good for a shooting based hero. Can also be funny on a back-of-the-army Sorceress. An overall good choice

• • Crimson Death: Note that you can use this while mounted, making it good for, you guessed it, trolling. In all honesty, Whip of Agony is probably better, unless you already have access to a 2+ save and don't need the shield.

• • Deathpiercer: Need a cheap weapon for a mounted hero, and someone's already got Caledor's Bane? Take this. It's okay.

• • Whip of Agony: A personal favorite. Good for filling out the last 25 points of a kitted out Lord, or just giving a hero a better weapon. An excellent choice.

• • Soulrender: Why is a Great Weapon paying 10 points for AP? Skip it.

• Magic Armor:

• • Armor of Living Death: You know that Elven weakness of T3? Well fuck that, this armor gives you +1 T and +1 W. Oh and there's a 1 in 6 chance you might have stupidity. But on a lord with LD10, who gives a shit?

• • Armor of Eternal Servitude: Regen and Heavy Armor for 15 points less than most armies pay for Regen alone. Well worth it.

• • Cloak of Hag Graef: Might have been worth it for a lone hero, but your heroes shouldn't be running touchdowns alone. Also doesn't work on your mount. Skip it.

• • Armor of Darkness: 1+ armor for 25 points. Shit yes. Perfect for heroes.

• • Shield of Ghrond: Good for a character hunter or if your character already has a 1+ save from other stuff.

• • Blood Armor: There are too many cheap ways to get low armor saves in the current army books. Skip it.

• Talismans:

• • Black Amulet: A really funny item under a lot of circumstances. Maybe a tiny bit on the expensive side, but great for a Lord you expect to be on the receiving end of a lot of attacks (Dragon Mounted for example).

• • Ring of Darkness: Again, would be a lot better if essentially all Dark Elf characters are designed to be hiding inside units. Not really worth it.

• • Pendant of Khaelith: Often nicknamed the Talisman of Cheating. You want to watch a Bloodthirster or Vampire sit there unable to wound you once in close combat? This is the item for you. Gives you essentially a 2+ ward save against anything S5 or above. And it's cheap. An excellent item.

• • Seal of Ghrond: The day I'm unwilling to pay 30 points for an extra dispel dice...is the day I'm playing Dwarves. Still a great item though.

• • Pearl of Infinite Blackness: Would be better for an army with lower LD. Combined with the damage done to Fear and Terror in 8th, it's probably not worth it.

• • Ring of Hotek: Could be funny if you could give it to an Assassin, but you can't. Skip it.

• • Null Talisman: If you have the points to spare, this might be a good choice for Black Guard or Cold One Knight champion.

• Enchanted Items:

• • Deathmask: 50 points to cause Terror. No.

• • Hydra's Teeth: People look at these and get idea of sniping characters in of units with them. Which they could probably do, IF THEY DIDN'T HAVE RANGE 12! Skip it.

• • Crystal of Midnight: Extra lulzy, especially since under the current rules, each army can only have each spell once (with some exceptions). Not amazing, but good and fun for trolling magic heavy armies (Vampires HATE this one).

• • Black Dragon Egg: This one was shit last edition, but with the addition of the close combat rules for Breath Weapons, it could be worth a lark (remember, Breath Weapons can turn ENTIRE combats around).

• • Potion of Strength: Eh. Maybe last edition, when chariots could be taken out by an S7 shot, but now it's just worthless.

• • Gem of Nightmares: 25 points to cause Fear...oh I'm sorry, to cause Fear for ONE turn. No.

• • The Guiding Eye: If you have a shooting Noble with Lifetaker set up with your Repeater Crossbowmen, this one could be worth a lark.

• Arcane Items:

• • Black Staff: Could be useful if you have a Supreme Sorceress using something other than Lore of Dark Magic and you want her to know Power of Darkness. Other than that, skip it.

• • Focus Familiar: Another good trolling item. Drop your Sorceress behind a piece of scenery where no one can see her, have her Focus Familiar pop out and blast people and question your opponent if they are, in fact, mad. Not good for an in-unit Sorceress though.

• • Darkstar Cloak: Good for a high level Sorceress who's going to be casting high value spells. Even if it's on a Level 2 or 3, it could still be worth it just to keep from sucking up power dice.

• • Sacrificial Dagger: Might be worth it if they're in a huge unit of Warriors, but probably not. There are better items available, just kidding. Sometimes I don't realize what the fuck I'm writing. Looking for an easy way to suckle some tears!? Get this, blast your enemie into a magical coma and giggle till you wet yourself. Their is only one other item people will hate more then this, take that too! The option to stab your Spearmen in the face AFTER you roll your initial PD make this item amazing, a Lvl.4 can reliably drain your opponents dispel resources by trickle casting and can PoD with only one goddamn dice! What's better then this!? The look on the assholes face when you Break Concentration then announce "Oh, I'll be stabbing a 6point Elf in his forehead now" and BLAM your spell goes off all over his face.

Hate winning!? Leave this at home!

• • Tome of Furion: Wanna make sure you get that spell you need in Lore of Death? This is the way to do it.

• Magic Standards:

• • Banner of Nagarythe: 125 points for Unbreakable and all friendly units within 12 get +1 CR. If you want to drop points on a magic banner for your BSB, this is the one to do it. Put him in a horde of Warriors and get ready to be the center of attention, if your playing against a retard who assumes a Horde of Spearmen are your greates threat. If you do this I hate you for it.

• • Hydra Banner: This one is okay, especially on a unit of Cold One Knights, but it's let down by the fact that it's competing with the Banner of Nagarythe, which is infinitely better for 50 points. If you're short on points, this could be okay, but Banner of Nagarythe is better at keeping your units locked in protracted combats, which is what I want with my Dark Elves that's why I picked them over Dwarves or any other army that has T4 and Heavy Armor...

For fans of winning, take this if your going to be running a CoK bus, toss a Cauldron Buff on the unit and commence raping your opponent, great for lulz against those lard ass Ogres.

• • Dread Banner: No thank you. Too expensive and Fear sucks.

• • Standard of Slaughter: Great for a unit of Cold One Knights who absolutely HAVE to break that enemy on their charge. Only other unit that can take it is Black Guard and they won't be charging NEARLY as much.

• • Standard of Hag Graef: Not a bad banner by any means, but let down by the army's already high Initiative and the limited number of units who can take it (either Black Guard, Cold One Knights or a BSB). Could be worthwhile on a unit of Black Guard if you're worried about High Initiative enemies, but at I6, you don't usually have to worry about that. Not great. I said that to be a moron. 35 points for ASF, sounds like shit to jackasses who forgot that our other Special unit has Great Weapons, this is how you make shit good. It is fucking amazing on a Horde of Executioners, sure the topless. Itch stringing them about in a Frenzied rage could be problematic, but having a Horde of S6 attacks at I5 is great for a laugh

• • Sea Serpent Standard: If you're already taking Corsairs, there's no reasoning with you, but this could be good for a small unit of them being used as Flankers. DON'T use it on a ranked unit, no better way to get them out of their position and fuck up your lines.

• • Banner of Murder: Tailor made for Witch Elves. Even if you put on Warriors or Corsairs or *Edit* always put it on Black Guard, it's an excellent choice. Probably the best overall points-for-ability banner in the army.

• • Banner of Cold Blood: Could be worth it if you have a unit of Warriors that absolutely HAS to hold out this turn. Not a first choice, but not a bad one.

Magic

Dark Elf Sorceress have access to 5 Lores: Shadow, Fire, Metal, Death and their specific Lore, Dark Magic. Of those, Dark Magic and Fire are your best overall, as they allow for some brutal blasting magic. A good pair of wizards with Dark Magic and Fire can obliterate small weak lightly armored units all on their own, which as it turns out my Dark Elves always struggle with, most likely because I have never played Warhammer before. Death has a few nice spells for sniping characters in units.. Metal is good for taking out heavily armored targets, but since you have to choose pre-game, it's generally not the best choice (you end up against a lightly armored opponent, you'll probably be annoyed). Shadow has it's uses, but it doesn't fit as well with Dark Elf tactics as Dark Magic, Fire and Death. Dark Elf magic is most frequently geared toward blasting the crap out of the enemy, something Shadow doesn't do as well. Those three are the ones you'll want to concentrate on first before trying the other lores, but if you MUST have a 4th Lore, Shadow is the way to go.

Is the advice I would give to a person I hated. 

Shadow is for winning, all of our units benefit from everything it does. Don't believe me? Read the Spell Lores, I'll give you a minute... Can you see the synergies? No? Go back to playing fucking Checkers.

Metal is clearly a turd Lore as it destroys heavily armored foes, weakens armor, makes your troops harder to hit, makes them better at hitting (with armor piecing no less!) and can make your troops actually durable. Wait... Maybe it does serve a purpose after all...

Dark Magic is actually amazing, it has stood the test of time quite well and goes with Shadow like peanut butter and jelly. It is a toolbox Lore that manages Hordes well, debuff's Elites to below Zombie, shuts down shooting and all for preposterously low casting value. Combine with the Sacrificial Dagger and your Sorceress should be able to cast every spell for 1-2 dice + a spearman or 2.

Fire is shit, that's why no-one takes it. Unless you have some top secret plan to do something super sneaky this Lore is a Secondary Caster at best. It has 2 great spells buried within but you actually have to get them for it to matter. If you could somehow buff the strength of this Lore it may have been great as it stands...

Death is another great Lore as it has spells to Snipe enemy Mages further cementing your Magical Superiority, a way to Debuff Ld which is amazing and ever so helpful when it comes to breaking Steadfast, can debuff units (synergie with Dark!) and drop whole armies into a fucking hole. Seems mediocre at best.

Tactics

Say it with me: Rank. And. Flank. Draw your enemies onto your big ranked units (usually Warriors and Black Guard, though Corsairs and Executioners can work in a pinch), hold out for a turn and then charge them on the flanks with the big scary units. Dark Elves do this better than any other army in the game. Their Ranked units have high enough WS, I and LD to hold out for a little while and their flanking units hit brutally hard. They also have units that are exceptionally good at drawing enemy units out of position and just generally causing problems. (Harpies do this job exceptionally well, but Shades and Dark Riders do okay).

Your shooting units, combined with your magic users can often cause significant damage to enemy units, but it's best to have them concentrate fire on a single unit to try and devastate it, instead of trying to spread it around.

Also, and this is important, never, ever, EVER forget Hatred. NEVER. Hatred is your biggest lifesaver.