2000pt army, first attempt

[Sutanri]

Hullo, I'm Sutanri and this is not only my first attempt at a DE list but also my first attempt at an army list of any kind - the only game I've played so far was a little introductory game at my local Games Workshop. I have been reading up on what makes a good list, but don't be surprised if I've gotten it completely wrong.

The models I have so far are a Supreme Sorceress, a Sorceress, an Assassin, a RBT, and a Battalion box set (which I would like to make maximum use of since I will have very little money to be spending on models in the near future).

With that said, here is my list:

Characters

lvl 4 S.Sorceress w/ Focus Familiar, Black Dragon Egg and Power Stone ( 335 )
lvl 2 Sorceress w/ Darkstar Cloak and Dispell Scroll ( 185 )
lvl 2 Sorceress w/ Sacrificial Dagger and Dispell Scroll ( 185 )

Assassin w/ Additional Hand Weapon, Manbane and Rune of Khaine ( 146 )

Core

10xRepeater Crossbows ( 100 )
10xRepeater Crossbows ( 100 )

5xDark Rider w/ Repeater Crossbows ( 110 )
5xDark Rider w/ Repeater Crossbows ( 110 )

14xBlack Ark Corsairs ( 140 )

16xDark Elf Warriors ( 160 )

6xHarpies ( 66 )

Special

5xCold One Knights ( 135 )

5xShades w/ Great Weapon ( 90 )

Rare

Reaper Bolt Thrower ( 100 )
Reaper Bolt Thrower ( 100 )

Overall: (2014) - should I be trying to drop those extra 14 points?

When you make a criticism, if you could also give me a few tactical tips then that'd be fantastic. Oh, and if it helps, I'd like to be winning games, but I certainly don't want a ridiculous cheese list that'll piss people off, as I'm not intending to go into tournament play anytime soon.

[notabot187]

A good first effort for sure. Not sure how well the dragon egg will work for you. I have found that if you wizard is that close to actually use it, you might be too close. Also I am not a fan of power stones in an army that generates so many easy power dice. So if you are looking to rid yourself of some points, the power stone should be the first to go.

I prefer manbane rending star assassins. But since you don't have any other combat characters, your current assassin build is very good.

I generally only go for 2 wizards. Giving the sac dagger to the lvl 4 lets you make better use out of it. I also like tome of furion over darkstar cloak. As i have found more spells is often better than more dice.

[Sutanri]

Tome of Furion over Darkstar Cloak? Really? I was told Darkstar Cloak was way better. I'll certainly think it over.

I'll be posting a revised list soon, with some advice that various people have been giving me.

[notabot187]

Well the thing is Dark star cloak gives you one extra dice for your wizard. All of your wizards know a spell that makes d3+1 power dice. You also without the darkstar cloak have 10 power dice. Do you really think that 1 more dice is more important than having a better shot at getting a spell you need? Depending on what lore you happen to be using, some of them have very specific spells you want.

At lower points I would say the darkstar cloak is better, since you need to generate more dice on less bodies, and peoples starting 2 plus a caddy is often enough to slow down your magic. But at higher points, you have enough chances at PoD and have the ability to take more wizards. So volume of dice, along as you have at least 8, isn't that big a deal.

[Intrepid]

Tome of Furion over Darkstar Cloak? Really?

I would also agree. If you don't have the spell you need then any casting ability is wasted.

My list is very similar to your proposed one, fewer Dark Riders but more COKs. I find that a 12-man handbow Corsairs squad is a very good harrier and baiter, if you need a place to cut some points. Besides, Corsairs won't do much in combat without any command.

If you want to win but not be considered a powergamer then simply avoid the Black Guard Death Star. To my knowledge and experience, that's the only real cheese to be found in the Dark Elf factory. Soon I'll learn how people react to four Bolt Throwers. Some players say that's cheese, too, but nobody seems to have actually faced it...and I need the firepower because my metagame is full of Ogres, Chaos Knights, Stegadon herds and one really obnoxious Dwarven gunline.