[2000] Aelves (the shady ones)

[Kaleun]

Hi guys,

I am going to have a game against Stormcast. We`ll have 2000 Points and I am thinking about a strong list to get the most out of a pure Dark Elve army. What do you think?

Heroes
Sorceress On Black Dragon (340)
- Witch Rod
- Artefact : Phoenix Stone
Dreadlord On Black Dragon (340)
- General
- Command Trait : Master of Defense
- Lance of Spite & Tyrant Shield
- Artefact : Quicksilver Potion

Units
10 x Dreadspears (80)
10 x Dreadspears (80)
10 x Dreadspears (80)
10 x Executioners (200)
10 x Drakespawn Knights (320)
5 x Dark Riders (140)

War Machines
Reaper Bolt Thrower (120)
Reaper Bolt Thrower (120)
Reaper Bolt Thrower (120)

Battalions
Exiled Warhost (60)

Total: 2000/ 2000

.) fast and strong Kav with the Dragons
.) RBT are one of the best artillery pieces in my opinion
.) Sorceress on Dragon might be inferior to the Dreadlord. I could swap her for the Lord (same Point cost) but she can buff the save of the Lord or put some Mortal wounds out (two on average means a dead Sigmarine)
.) Executioners have a good damage Output
.) would you Change the Equipment or Warlord Traits?
.) I think Exiled Warhost (=Dreadlord+3 Spears+Dark Rider+Knights) is the best battalion for the Druchii and unlocks a second artefact

 

[Kaleun]

40 views, but no opinions? Or is it good as it is?

[Mayple]

Looks alright. The exiled keyword thing is compendium though, so if you're okay with that, go nuts. Since you're in the compendium ballpark anyway, consider working shades into your list. Great units for ambushes, and objective/boardcontrol

[Kramer]

I think @Mayple is spot on. The choice of compendium is the first one. 

Secondly if your sorceress is there for support I would consider replacing her with two foot mounted ones. With the extra 180 points you get a lot of choices. 

Just some things from personal experience.

- 30 dreadspears with inspiring presence are extremely difficult to shift. Add a sorceress in support with mystical shield or the minus one to hit and they can hold an objective for the entire game. 

- for the above reason I prefer my sorceress as general (close to the spears) and it allows me to be a bit more reckless with the dread lord. 

- 10 man squads of executioners are great. Last two games I managed a long charge on my opponents giant and killed it in one go. So great power but suitably pricey and fragile

-DE miss synergy except for the daughters of khaine. A couldron of blood can gets the witches up to A3 to hit 3+ (re-roll 1's) to wound 3+ (re-roll 1's) piling in twice. Something to consider 

- dark riders and shades can win games for you through board control and delaying advances. 

So all in all it's still an elven army. You want power it's going to be a glass cannon. So a a lot of skill is required. I hope this helped and let me know how it won't and how the knights played. Haven't used them myself yet.  

[Mayple]

Alernatively, if you're still going with exiles compendium, and if you manage to free up the points, you could add a dreadlord on a cold one and have him be your general, freeing up the dragons to murder things, and making target prioritization difficult for your opponent. His command ability adds a punch to your cold one riders that will turn them into proper murder machines. This would make your army more flexible.

[Kaleun]

Hey,

battle is fought. Dark elve victory! Thank you for your comments.

I see some problems with the shades and especially the dark riders. The movement is great but the damage capability of both units is quite bad; especially against stormcast who can have a 2+ save on units of their chosing (Lord Castellant). However the battalion and the warmachines are both great. Also the dreadspears were excellent Units for Zoning and screening and really saved the day.

[Mayple]

5 hours ago, Kaleun said:

Hey,

battle is fought. Dark elve victory! Thank you for your comments.

I see some problems with the shades and especially the dark riders. The movement is great but the damage capability of both units is quite bad; especially against stormcast who can have a 2+ save on units of their chosing (Lord Castellant). However the battalion and the warmachines are both great. Also the dreadspears were excellent Units for Zoning and screening and really saved the day.

I agree with the dark riders. They're not high on the list of units I hold in good regard

As for the shades, it is important that you think of them as what they are, and not what they are not. They are not supposed to assassinate/blow up enemy units/heroes, but rather position themselves (due to the freedom of positioning themselves ANYWHERE on the board as long as it's outside of 9" from the enemy) in annoying positions that forces your opponent early on to make a decision of either going for the shades, or for the objective. It's a lose/lose scenario, as they'll either allow the shades to live, and get peppered from the rear throughout the rest of the match, or kill your shades, allowing you to seize the objective first. The shades' target prioritization should be the squishiest thing your enemy brings to the table, especially larger blobs of troops that get bonuses for having X amount of models, and work their way down from there. Essentially, they will wittle down your opponents army (if left untouched) so that the rest of your force can -break- them once the fight starts for real, or to put it differently; you use them to blunt your opponent's edge. 

Guerilla warfare, yo. 

Edit: Forgot to mention the obvious weakness --> If your opponent brings a strong gunline, your shades will get mowed down early on. You can use this matchup as an opportunity to deploy your army further up the board than you normally would, as that will force your opponent to make a decision of focusing his shooting on a big target in your army, or your shades, or split it up between the two. Either way, you get to put your opponent in a difficult mindspace. Continually force them to make hard decisions, and you'll tire them out mentally, and increase the chance that they will do a significant mistake later on that will decide the battle in your favor. 

If you are facing gunline-heavy lists, your shades target prioritization becomes gunline>squishy mage/hero>squishy horde>and so on.


Hope that helps

[Kramer]

4 hours ago, Mayple said:

As for the shades, it is important that you think of them as what they are, and not what they are not.

Same goes for the dark riders  I use them for the same goals and often more successfully. Movement + range ( 14+16=30) means I can threaten any 'squishy' targets even while hiding quite a distance away behind los blocking terrain. Also for 40pt more I get a 5+ Save re-rolling 1's instead of 6+ save. Double the wounds and 1 more attack in combat. Shooting is comparable due to the extra shot but highly to hit. You lose the set up rule but speed can cover this and the minus 1 to hit vs shooting which is quite good.

Not saying dark riders are better but depending on your opponent and skill they might do better for only forty points more. Just saying.