AoS 2 - Idoneth Deepkin Discussion

[Yoshiya]

1 hour ago, Hankster said:

What is the meta you usually play against?

I live in Japan which has a major issue with only Stormcast and Nighthaunt armies having translated rules this far. As such, people normally just make armies of what they think are cool and just read through the rules when they can (sometimes they even read the rules for the first time mid game!).

Some of the people who understand English better have slightly stronger armies but it still leans to cool > rules.

As for the actual armies, it's a lot of daemons as many people want to play the more popular 40k as well since models are so expensive here (two Daemon khorne armies and one Nurgle in a group of about 8 people).

It's not a normal meta but at the same time I don't think your average casual metas will be that different outside of people knowing their armies a bit better.

[mmimzie]

Is the spell mirror worth while as the only real weakness many of our units have is signifigant spell damage and -1 to hit from something like magothkin?? I guess most spells in the current meta are buffing spells and not so much direct damage spells

Also could you use something like sword of judgement on say the schoals of either of the aspects?? IF that were the case you could get an extra d6 mortal wound out of those attacks. Though it seems foggy as all be if it count as a mount or not. 

Edited September 14, 2018 by mmimzie

[DantePQ]

I don't like Spellmirror much tried in few games with my DoK and it's quite average, even worse with Deepkins I guess as you won't be in range often. 

I think you can use sword of judgement on schoals but I think Ethereal Amulet is amazing on Aspect of the Stom - have been using it in my build and it's quite amazing with reliable damage output. 

[DocKeule]

On 9/14/2018 at 3:56 AM, Hankster said:

A kharibdyss, eh? That is a cool idea. Personally, i hope the Deepkin get a Kraken unit or even a Kraken spell model at some point. That would be uber cool. 

For now I think I'll seen how what I have plays, but it'll be hard not to get a leviadon and try to make it work since the model is so cool. 

What is the meta you usually play against?

I have very little hope that we will be getting additions any time soon. Apart from the SCE pretty much no faction got new unit and the battletome is only a few month old, Best I would hope for is some tweaks with the points in the next GHB so the now less appealing choices might become more of an option. 

I played another tournament today and ran the following:

Volturnos
2 Soulscryer
Eidalon Sea

30 Thralls
20 Reavers
6 Ishlaen Guar
3 Ishlaen Guard

2 Wrecks

It went OK. First match was against SCE and kind of even for a while until my opponent shocked in 2 Ballistas and 20 Evocaters. The mortal wound from the evovaters alone are just silly for that pointcosts. (2 dices per model and on a 4+ a mortal wound every round for 200 point per five models). Second game was against Nighthount and again mortal wound was a big factor. The other one was the debuffs that that only the glass-part from my glass-cannons ? 
I won the third match against a Moonclan heavy mixed Destruction but the list was for from being maxed and the player pretty unexperineced so I don't consider that much of an accomplishment.

For the future I think the Eidalon will have to go for two Tidecasters (at least for cempetetive play). I will play the thralls in blocks of ten to get more into close combat and lose fewer in battleshock. Reavers did not do terrible. I think I will try a setup with 3x10 Thralls and 2x10 Reavers with Lotann in the center, I think that might have some value. And I guess I will have to get some more eels.

[march10k]

On 9/11/2018 at 10:13 AM, whispersofblood said:

Honestly unless you are buying endless spells I don't feel IDK magic is really that frightening. 

Pressure of the deep.  It rarely does much, but it gets in the opponent's head and makes him obsessive about making sure that a single casualty doesn't cost him 10 more models.  That's money.  If he's thinking about that, he's not thinking about more important things.  And mystic on Ishaelans in cover.  Two very nice spells.  Not worthy of the points cost of an eidolon, though.  A tidecaster will do.

On 9/13/2018 at 5:17 PM, Yoshiya said:

only Stormcast and Nighthaunt armies having translated rules this far.

zannen deshita.  Yeah, I'm too lazy to install the character set.

[Hankster]

On 9/15/2018 at 4:54 PM, DocKeule said:

I played another tournament today and ran the following:

Volturnos
2 Soulscryer
Eidalon Sea

30 Thralls
20 Reavers
6 Ishlaen Guar
3 Ishlaen Guard

2 Wrecks

I have yet to take my Deepkin into a tournament. But I find the eels really strong.
A 6 model unit of Morrsars can do 10-15 wounds if you get their charge off. Add a few more if you use your bioshock blast and more again you get your charge on the high tide and have a king close by. 

For objective games the Ishlean's are even better. If you can get their charges in or support them you can sit and tank a lot of damage. In one game I managed to hold up nearly 1k of beast claw raiders with my Ishleans and then charge down the line repeatedly with my Morrsars over a couple of turns to pretty much delete the army. 

I'm planning to try adding a Leviadon to the army and basically run a hammer squad and a anvil squad.  Since you have such good movement and can often run and charge or retreat and charge you can avoid combat with your Morrsars and King and either hold the key objective or pin the enemy's main force with Ishleans and the Leviadon. 

I'll let you know if my theory crafting actually works on the board. If it does, it'll be as satisfying as smashing armies with dragon princes used to be.  

How do your find your Reavers? Everyone I talk to about them seems down on them.

Edited September 17, 2018 by Hankster

[DocKeule]

The Reavers were not terrible but they are one of the weaker spots in the roster. 10 Reavers in more than 9" on 4+ 4+ is 2-3 wounds on averrage. After the save you are lucky to cause more than one wound. Under 9" they become somewhat better but then it becomes pretty hard to keep them out of close combat because there they break pretty quickly. 
The block of 20 did OK against Moonclan grots and I think against other mass-units like Clanrats , Plaguemonks or older units like Dwarf Warriors. But anything with a better save then sy 4+ does not really need to fear them. 

 

I will go for more eels too at least for competetive events. I ordered another nine and a second tidecaster. 

[Unter]

On 9/13/2018 at 9:02 PM, Hankster said:

Hey @Unter what sort of list do you run? I'm still building my army, and right now I'm focused on Akhelians. I'd be intersested to hear everyone's thoughts.

Currently I have:

Voltrunos / Akhelian king (not sure if I should build Voltrunos or the King - Thoughts?)

Soulscryer 

Tidecaster

6 - Morrsarr 

6 - Ishlaen

2 - Allopexes

I'm planning on adding more eels and either an Eidlon (probably storm) or a leviadon. 

I plan to get an Akhelian focused army up and running as it's easier and the eels and sharks are cool models. Plus I like the idea of having a very fast army to grab objectives and get charges in. Down the line I may make a second Namarti focused army. 

Would it make sense to get the Leviadon so I can take the Akhelian battalion? Does it really make that much of a difference to have a two drop army? I'm really tempted by the Eidlon since it looks so cool and the Leviadon seems a to have really high point cost in AoS2. 

Any thoughts on if Voltrunos or the King is a better choice? The anti-magic shield sounds pretty cool, but I don't really like the eye patch. 

Last question, any thoughts on fighting Beastclaw, other than stay away and focus on objectives? 

Hey, I did pretty well (3 major wins, one minor loss, one major loss to the tournament winner) at a recent 40 player event with the following list:

Akhelian King - Cloud of Midnight

Tidecaster

Scryer

 

10 Thralls

10 Thralls

10 Thralls

9 Morsarr

9 Morsarr

5 Khinerai Heartrenders

5 Khinerai Heartrenders



Very few armies can handle that many eels, who are after all reasonably tanky with 4 wounds each. I lost to Nurgle on killpoints for the minor defeat, and to a Tzangor spam to pretty decent opponents, but I took out Nighthaunt, Sylvaneth and Khorne in relatively straightforward games.

 

Next tournament I'm looking to ally in some Witch Aelves to get more bodies on the board. Considering the following:

Leaders
Hag Queen (60)
Eidolon of Mathlann, Aspect of the Storm (400) - Cloud/Ethereal Amulet
Isharann Soulscryer (100)
Isharann Tidecaster (100) - General

Battleline
30 x Witch Aelves (270)
- Pairs of Sacrificial Knives
10 x Namarti Thralls (140)
10 x Namarti Thralls (140)
10 x Namarti Thralls (140)

Units
6 x Akhelian Morrsarr Guard (320)
6 x Akhelian Morrsarr Guard (320)

Total: 1990 / 2000
Extra Command Points: 0
Allies: 0 / 400
Wounds: 135

 

I'd consider dropping to a single unit of 9 eels, or switching Eidolon for more eels/King. A cloud/ethereal character seems too powerful to drop

[Hankster]

15 hours ago, Unter said:

9 Morsarr

So you use only Morsarr eels? You don't find the Ishlaens useful for holding objectives? Their ignore rend seems pretty awesome to me. 

Have you tried a Laviadon? In my mind Ishleans supported by a Laviadon seems like it should be insanely tough. And the perfect anvil to hold up enemies on or sit on objectives. But maybe it would be too vulnerable to mortal wounds...

[wanderingrogue]

it's also a lot of points to sit on objectives in an edition where you don't actually have to sit on objectives at all.  objevtives now are claimed and for the most part you can then move on and still hold the objectives. spending 500 plus points on something with not as many teeth just seems sub par

[Unter]

7 hours ago, Hankster said:

So you use only Morsarr eels? You don't find the Ishlaens useful for holding objectives? Their ignore rend seems pretty awesome to me. 

Have you tried a Laviadon? In my mind Ishleans supported by a Laviadon seems like it should be insanely tough. And the perfect anvil to hold up enemies on or sit on objectives. But maybe it would be too vulnerable to mortal wounds...

But remember they are only sitting on a 4+ save, unless they charge. Like, sure they can tie stuff up, but you still need to kill your opponent, and they won't do it.

As you say, mortal wounds will mess them up, but so will volume of attacks unless they get in cover.

If you want to take the Leviadon  and a big group of Ishlaen you are then investing about c.700 points in an 'anvil' unit that will be a damp squib in combat.

You have to play to Deepkin's strengths, which to my mind are force maximisation, enabled by our mobility. 

We can bring all of our damage to bear practically wherever we want on the table, at a time of our choosing. Very few armies can do that, and I think if we spend our time compensating for what we aren't good at (long, grinding combats), we will dilute what we are good at - long range, reliable damage output.
 

[Hankster]

That's fair. It is a lot of points to hold objectives or sit in combat. Maybe I need to focus even more on mobility if I'm going to have a Akhaleian focused army.

I take it you guys think the aspect of the storm is a better use of 440pts than the leviadon? 

I assume you are using the heartrenders to sit on objectives when you need to. 

[Unter]

1 hour ago, Hankster said:

That's fair. It is a lot of points to hold objectives or sit in combat. Maybe I need to focus even more on mobility if I'm going to have a Akhaleian focused army.

I take it you guys think the aspect of the storm is a better use of 440pts than the leviadon? 

I assume you are using the heartrenders to sit on objectives when you need to. 

As the above poster said, with AoS2 you just need to capture an objective by tagging it, then you hold it even when you move off.

I've spent very little time camping objectives unless I'm waiting for an opponent to deep strike and contest it. In that case I've used heartrenders, but thralls you can leave if you really need to. 

Games tend to be decided by a few crucial combats, rather than disparate melees across the field, so if you've too many points tied down on far flung objectives unable to join the fight, you'll get outnumbered where the enemy concentrates their force better.

The biggest single strength we have is we can get quickly to where we need to be, and bring big damage when we do.

Leviadon I don't know. He's a lot of points for not very much, and we don't tend to play enough infantry to really get the most out of his cover. Remember, the Leviadon doesn't benefit from his own cover as he's a monster, so he isn't the tankiest thing ever.

Aspect of the Storm in a bad list is worse than eels, but with adequate support I think he is decent.

[wanderingrogue]

which not to say leviadons are  BAD... thier alright... just not a good as other choices. but on the right day leviadons can and have been in lists that finnish well in events (if that what your looking for)

 

if your playing for the crack then it doesn't mater what you take.

 

and if your playing on hard mode and want all the kudos points you take lotaan and reavers ?

[Orsino]

Currently in the process of kit-bashing eels with terradons to turn them into dragons. Actually seems to work pretty well, with a bit of shaping the sockets for the eel's fins can easily accomodate wings. Anyone else tried any weird conversions with their Idoneth?

[Hankster]

Thanks for your thoughts guys. I think I'll add a couple more units of Morsarrs and try lists with a Liviadon and E of the storm and see what I like better.

So far the speed and hitting power has been great fun to use. It's been a great place to start with AoS.

[swarmofseals]

I haven't seen this discussed since the old Idoneth thread, so I'd like to drop some thoughts on allies in an at least competitive-ish Idoneth force. This thinking was at least partly prompted by @Unter's post above with the Witch Aelves and Hag Queen package as allies. 

As a DoK player, I well know how nasty Witch Aelves are. That said, I wonder a bit about using them as a source of bodies. Their offense is great, but their defensive efficiency drops off quite a bit without the DoK allegiance package and temple abilities. When compared with 30 Namarti Thralls you are getting roughly equivalent offense at baseline (WA are better against some targets while NT are better against others), but I'd probably give a slight edge to WA there. You also get slightly better mobility, but you lose out on any kinds of deepkin synergies.  In terms of defensive efficiency it's a bit of a wash.

All that being said, it seems to me that deepkin are pretty rich with sources of rendy damage, so high efficiency no rend damage does fill a bit of a gap in the roster. I can see taking the Witch Aelves + Hag Queen package and could honestly see a case for bringing a second Hag Queen along for the ride just to make sure you don't lose Witchbrew.

I took a peek at the deepkin allies list while pondering this further, and I noticed another possible candidate: Eternal Guard. Don't get me wrong -- EG aren't even close to being in the same league on offense, but if you are looking for bodies they are defensively very efficient. The Witch Aelf package is costing you about 7.59/9.17/9.42/9.42 points per effective wound against rend 0/1/2/mortal damage. Eternal Guard have  a lot of variation in their effectiveness, but it's always better than this:

Note: for the following numbers when I say "in cover" I am only factoring in the effect on the EG shields, NOT +1 save from cover

Moving, no cover: 4.28/5.64/7/7

Moving, cover: 3.89/5.48/7/7

Not moving, no cover: 2.92/4.28/5.64/7

Not moving, cover: 2.33/3.89/5.48/7

Comparing with the Witch Aelves, Eternal Guard are just far more defensively efficient. If you want bodies that will hold the line, I'd consider some of these.

 

That also got me thinking again about Sisters of the Thorn. They certainly combine well with Eternal Guard, but they really combine well with Ishalen Guard. I'm sure most of you know how easy getting a turn 1 charge is with eels, particularly if you boost the charge distance. Combine the +1 to save on the charge with the first turn guaranteed cover and the fact that units must fight if able, and a unit of eels charging on turn 1 are going to bounce horrific damage back. They will be sporting a 2+ unrendable, rerollable save that kicks back a mortal on 4+. Depending on your setup and the opponent, it's not entirely unrealistic to keep the Sisters of the Thorn outside of unbinding range and still reach your eels, who themselves are close enough for a first turn charge. After that, the Sisters are fast enough to keep up with the rest of your army and should still have some decent targets. 

I could see 20 Eternal Guard (either 2x10 or 1x20) and 5 Sisters of the Thorn making a potent allies package.

[Ronga]

On a side note, has anyone seen a good tutorial for doing deep water effects on the eel bases. I can't think of anything sturdy enough to put around the base for the water effects to dry that is oblong shaped.

[newsun]

Sisters + storm + ethereal.

[Unter]

6 hours ago, newsun said:

Sisters + storm + ethereal.

Spicy, but that's a hell of a lot of points.
 

7 hours ago, swarmofseals said:

I haven't seen this discussed since the old Idoneth thread, so I'd like to drop some thoughts on allies in an at least competitive-ish Idoneth force. This thinking was at least partly prompted by @Unter's post above with the Witch Aelves and Hag Queen package as allies. 

As a DoK player, I well know how nasty Witch Aelves are. That said, I wonder a bit about using them as a source of bodies. Their offense is great, but their defensive efficiency drops off quite a bit without the DoK allegiance package and temple abilities. When compared with 30 Namarti Thralls you are getting roughly equivalent offense at baseline (WA are better against some targets while NT are better against others), but I'd probably give a slight edge to WA there. You also get slightly better mobility, but you lose out on any kinds of deepkin synergies.  In terms of defensive efficiency it's a bit of a wash.

All that being said, it seems to me that deepkin are pretty rich with sources of rendy damage, so high efficiency no rend damage does fill a bit of a gap in the roster. I can see taking the Witch Aelves + Hag Queen package and could honestly see a case for bringing a second Hag Queen along for the ride just to make sure you don't lose Witchbrew.

I took a peek at the deepkin allies list while pondering this further, and I noticed another possible candidate: Eternal Guard. Don't get me wrong -- EG aren't even close to being in the same league on offense, but if you are looking for bodies they are defensively very efficient. The Witch Aelf package is costing you about 7.59/9.17/9.42/9.42 points per effective wound against rend 0/1/2/mortal damage. Eternal Guard have  a lot of variation in their effectiveness, but it's always better than this:

Note: for the following numbers when I say "in cover" I am only factoring in the effect on the EG shields, NOT +1 save from cover

Moving, no cover: 4.28/5.64/7/7

Moving, cover: 3.89/5.48/7/7

Not moving, no cover: 2.92/4.28/5.64/7

Not moving, cover: 2.33/3.89/5.48/7

Comparing with the Witch Aelves, Eternal Guard are just far more defensively efficient. If you want bodies that will hold the line, I'd consider some of these.

 

That also got me thinking again about Sisters of the Thorn. They certainly combine well with Eternal Guard, but they really combine well with Ishalen Guard. I'm sure most of you know how easy getting a turn 1 charge is with eels, particularly if you boost the charge distance. Combine the +1 to save on the charge with the first turn guaranteed cover and the fact that units must fight if able, and a unit of eels charging on turn 1 are going to bounce horrific damage back. They will be sporting a 2+ unrendable, rerollable save that kicks back a mortal on 4+. Depending on your setup and the opponent, it's not entirely unrealistic to keep the Sisters of the Thorn outside of unbinding range and still reach your eels, who themselves are close enough for a first turn charge. After that, the Sisters are fast enough to keep up with the rest of your army and should still have some decent targets. 

I could see 20 Eternal Guard (either 2x10 or 1x20) and 5 Sisters of the Thorn making a potent allies package.

Interesting points in there. I think the reason I'd favour the Witch Aelves is not bodies necessarily in a defensive sense, but another scary block that has to be dealt with. I think its sometimes overestimated how much utility a purely defensive unit has, and I'm a big believer in units needing to carry ‘threat’ in AoS.  Nevertheless, compelling and I’ll give it some thought for sure.

Agree also to your point about a lot of the Waelves scariness fading without 5+ rerollable save etc.

Sisters I’ve looked at a few times but I’m put off by their points cost and the unreliability of their spell. You should get a 6 to cast their spell off, but you’ll fail about a quarter of them, even if you can keep them out of dispel. I think they'd be worth consideration at 180 points or so. Given that turns 1/2/3 are the ones that decide the game, it wouldn't be ridiculous for you to fail the cast on t1, then be within dispel range by 3. Maybe Ionrach could help here? Don't think the allegiance ability would help them though

Besides, once your Ishlaen are in combat, they aren't getting another charge any time soon and their cover will dissapear on t2, also you don't get cover when you charge right? Leaving them on a 4+ rerollable, kicking wounds on a 6+. Not sure if this is "220pts good", compared to the output of Morsarr.

Again, food for thought, but it's gonna feel hella bad to not get the cast off
 

Edited September 21, 2018 by Unter

[Hankster]

6 hours ago, Unter said:

Besides, once your Ishlaen are in combat, they aren't getting another charge any time soon and their cover will dissapear on t2, also you don't get cover when you charge right? Leaving them on a 4+ rerollable, kicking wounds on a 6+. Not sure if this is "220pts good", compared to the output of Morsarr.
 

Don't forget you get a shock blast with the Morsarr! I forgot about it in my first game, but man is it handy if you have a large unit of eels and need to take down a specific unit to free you up for another charge or to take the sting out of an attack if you get charged. Now that I remember to use that ability, I think it puts them over the Ishlaens every time.

If you are worried about surviveability take Nautlar and use your  tidecaster to give your Morsarr's the electric shield for a -1 to enemy rend. It casts on a 4 so you should get it off. With that they are nearly at tough as the Ishlaens and you get way better attacks when you get your charges in. 

If you're curious about Morsarrs, the Honest Wargamer did a episode on them. They think they are one of most effective offensive units in game.  https://soundcloud.com/the-honest-wargamer/aos-rundown-morsarr-guard

 

 

Edited September 21, 2018 by Hankster

[King Taloren]

Where are you guys getting a +1 save to get a 2+ on Ishlaen? You don’t benefit from cover on the charge. And the ability is not a +1. Instead your save characteristic is a 3+ on the charge.

though I have found Ishlaen to do almost as much damage as non charging morsarr. Yes there is no rend but they are really good at tanking heavy hitters with low Armour and the wiping them out fairly effectively.  Even when they get charged instead of charging. Most destruction units can’t put dents in then because of the ignore rend and high wound count. I like keeping the Leviadon nearby to keep them on a near permanent 3+ unrendable save.

Edited September 21, 2018 by King Taloren

[LegioX217]

Its so hard to decide what to paint next because its so hard to fit all the good toys in.  I'm finishing up some infantry and can't decide which hero to paint,  I have them all except the AoS. I'm thinking Tidecaster but then if I end up going AoS I'll probably wish i spent the time painting the scryer or something else.

So far I have 

10 Reavers

10 Thralls

Scryer,Render,Tidecaster,Lotann, King/Vulturnos

6 eels (going 3 of each to start) 

 

I would like to get a shark for rule of cool and I haven't decided which centerpiece model I should go for bigger games, AoS or Leviadon though I'm using the Ionrach scheme so I would possibly go heavy magic with an AoSea. Not sure if AoS+tidecaster is too much for average games. I realize how quickly points add up if I want to take a Vulturnos and AoSea, not sure if its even good at 1.5k points or overkill, and I do like to paint up what will ease into a higher game size.

For 1k points just to get a variety of units painted up I was looking at something like;

Vulturnos

Tidecaster

10 Reavers

10 Thralls

3 Ish

3 Mors

960

Not power gaming it but hopefully can transition into 1.5k points. Though it would seem ridiculous throw an AoS and a shark in to bring it to 1440. 

Well as long as I paint something it should be progress :D

[Hankster]

39 minutes ago, LegioX217 said:

Its so hard to decide what to paint next because its so hard to fit all the good toys in.  I'm finishing up some infantry and can't decide which hero to paint,  I have them all except the AoS. I'm thinking Tidecaster but then if I end up going AoS I'll probably wish i spent the time painting the scryer or something else.

So far I have 

10 Reavers

10 Thralls

Scryer,Render,Tidecaster,Lotann, King/Vulturnos

6 eels (going 3 of each to start) 

 

I would like to get a shark for rule of cool and I haven't decided which centerpiece model I should go for bigger games, AoS or Leviadon though I'm using the Ionrach scheme so I would possibly go heavy magic with an AoSea. Not sure if AoS+tidecaster is too much for average games. I realize how quickly points add up if I want to take a Vulturnos and AoSea, not sure if its even good at 1.5k points or overkill, and I do like to paint up what will ease into a higher game size.

For 1k points just to get a variety of units painted up I was looking at something like;

Vulturnos

Tidecaster

10 Reavers

10 Thralls

3 Ish

3 Mors

960

Not power gaming it but hopefully can transition into 1.5k points. Though it would seem ridiculous throw an AoS and a shark in to bring it to 1440. 

Well as long as I paint something it should be progress

Personally, would take more Ahkelians.  I've been playing them for a little while, I've gone almost completely for Ahkelians. To me it is really powerful to have all of your army on a 12+ move with flight. We will see how I do with this when I run into magic heavy armies. 

Speed and hitting power seems to be what the Deepkin do well. Their entire lore, allegiance  abilities, and most of their enclaves are focused on moving fast and hitting hard. The Ahkelians are the units that do this, specifically the eels (particularly Morsarrs), the King, and to some extent the AoStorm are what do that for you so that is where I'm focusing from now on. 

The Soul Render and the Thralls are awesome models and I have seen some very killy Thrall heavy armies on youtube etc. But I think if you want a army that is a horde of aelves, you're better off playing Daughters of Khaine since that is what they are designed to be. 

Anyway, the point is to have fun. The Deepkin are decent enough that you can be competitive with a bunch of different lists, so play what you think is cool. Personally, I think the King and the Morsarrs, and to a lesser extent the shark are the coolest units, so I have lots of them in my army. 

[LegioX217]

2 hours ago, Hankster said:

Personally, would take more Ahkelians.  I've been playing them for a little while, I've gone almost completely for Ahkelians. To me it is really powerful to have all of your army on a 12+ move with flight. We will see how I do with this when I run into magic heavy armies. 

Speed and hitting power seems to be what the Deepkin do well. Their entire lore, allegiance  abilities, and most of their enclaves are focused on moving fast and hitting hard. The Ahkelians are the units that do this, specifically the eels (particularly Morsarrs), the King, and to some extent the AoStorm are what do that for you so that is where I'm focusing from now on. 

The Soul Render and the Thralls are awesome models and I have seen some very killy Thrall heavy armies on youtube etc. But I think if you want a army that is a horde of aelves, you're better off playing Daughters of Khaine since that is what they are designed to be. 

Anyway, the point is to have fun. The Deepkin are decent enough that you can be competitive with a bunch of different lists, so play what you think is cool. Personally, I think the King and the Morsarrs, and to a lesser extent the shark are the coolest units, so I have lots of them in my army. 

So maybe I should drop one of the infantry for a shark. Is Vulturnos and a Tisecaster too much for 1k? Or would an AoSea as the only hero be a viable 1k list?