1000 pt Dark elves starter idea

[BlackTemplar88]

Hi,

I am new to Warhammer fantasy. I've been playing 40k for years and i figured i would give this side a try. I'm trying not to go overboard with really expensive units just yet as i want to get a good flavor of what fantasy has to offer without going all in. i decided to go with the dark elves as they seem to give you a lot of control over where the fight is. Below is what i have come up with thus far for my beginner army.


HERO

1X Sorceress - Level 2 / Sacrificial Dagger / Tome of Furion / (Fire Lore?) - 175 points (Attached to Reaper Crossbowmen below)

CORE

18X Warriors - Full Command / Shields / Banner of Murder - 166 points

19X Warriors - Full Command / Shields / Banner of Murder - 173 points

10X Crossbowmen - Naked

20X Black Ark Corsairs - Full Command / Banner of Murder - 250 points

SPECIAL

5X Cold One Knights - Naked

Total = 999 points (pending legal army and correct math)

My intentions are to use the warriors as an anvil and flank with the CoK and BaC on opposite sides while harassing a little with the Crossbowmen and Sorceress then dive them in when everything is locked up in CC ( if any archers left after sacrificial dagger ) My 1st question is is this army legal as i understand the rules? my 2nd would be to able to give this army a 50/50 shot at a win ( don't expect a whole lot due to money ) I have already purchased the starter army + the sorceress so to complete this list i would require 2 more boxes of Warriors. any help / pointers would be appreciated.

[Mini_Grift]

Hi,

It's the other way round for me, played Fantasy for 15 years and only started 40K about 6 months ago! Dark Elves are a great army, and the only army that has 'stuck' with me in all years of playing, other armies have come and gone, but DE have always been with me!


Anyway, on to your proposed army

The Sorceress is illegal as you can only take one magic item from each section, but you have chosen two from the Arcane section for her. The Dagger is not really needed in such a low point army, it's only good at 1,500 points plus. I would keep the Tome of Furion and give her Dark Magic, you could the then give her some sort of protection or Lifetaker, which is also a popular choice for a Sorceress.

Your army can also only have one of each magic banner, so you can only have one Banner of Murder, I'm afraid. I would consolidate your warriors into a single unit of 25-30 and keep the BoM on them. Give the Corsairs the Sea Serpent Standard instead - that banner, in my opnion, is best used when a combat character joins the units (master with the Whip of Agony, for example). But at 1,000 points, the SSS is a good bet even without an accompanying character.

Small units of crossbowmen should get a musician at the very least (this means they can swift reform and still shoot at anything harassing your flanks, and also gives them +1 to rally should they ever decide to run away). Unit bigger than 14-16 models should also get Shields and a standard bearer.

The 5 Knights are good, I would still just give them a musician as well, just in case.

So. you'll probably have a few points leftover. I would invest in a unit of 5 Harpies, and a Pegasus for the Sorceress (Tome of Furion, Pendant of Khaeleth, Pegasus, Level 2 with Dark Magic = the only character I ever take at 1,000 points!). If you don't mind not having freinds then a Hydra is also an excellent purchase!

Hope that helps!

[Ravenblade]

Hey, just to add to what's been said before

Just to say, you can't post points costs for "naked" units.

Anyway, the army looks pretty decent. If you're using the Sacrificial Dagger then never sacrifice anything other than Spearmen...they are 7pts with a shield for a very good reason. I agree with Mini_Grift about the Spearmen, the best size for them is 25-35 models per unit, in ranks of 5-6 wide. It gives you Steadfast against most other units for longer and 35 Warriors with Full Command and a 25pt Banner cost less than 300pts.

The Pegasus Sorceress mentioned above is one of the best heroes to take at 1000pts for Dark Elves. Dark Magic or the Lore of Death are just simply brilliant on a highly mobile wizard. Between the two of them at this size I'd go with Dark. Dark gives you much more things for dealing with units, whereas Death is very focused on sniping out Characters and Champions, although sniping out a standard infantry model is a good way to garner Power Dice (one opponent I played actually suggested I was retarded for casting Caress of Laniph on a single Gnoblar....until I caused 7 wounds on it and got 5 Power Dice back which I then chucked at Purple Sun....bye Ogre battleline!).

[BlackTemplar88]

hey thanks for the help mini_grift and Ravenblade,

I have considered your post as have talk to another person as well and have made a few changes to the list. something tells me this is going to take a little bit of getting used to. the updated list is as follows.

Hero

1X Sorceress - Level 2 / Tome of Furion / Pendant of Khaeleth / Dark Magic - 185 points

Core

28X Warriors - Full Command / Shields / Banner of Murder - 229 points

20X Black Ark Corsairs - Full Command / Sea Serpent Standard - 250 points

Special

5X Cold One Knights - Dread Knight - 151 points

Rare

War Hydra

Total = 990

I didnt go with the pegasus as i had already purchased the sorceress model with no mount . i decided to get rid of the 10 crossbowmen to make room for the war hydra and corrected my illegal items as now i think i understand the wargear rules a little better. i had some extra points left over but not enough to make any sort of noticeable impact on anything so i tossed 16 points in for a dread knight. ( dont think 16 points is worth 1 more attack but its better then nothing). the cost of the hydra + extra shield sprues to convert the archers vs the 2 boxes of warriors only came to a total of about $10 more which isnt going to break the bank. the only model i have yet to purchase is the war hydra as money is still a bit tight for the moment. Please let me know what you think of this revision and if i may have yet missed anything illegal in the army. thanks.

[BlackTemplar88]

Im sorry for the "Naked" points costs. if that was a forum rule / GW Legal issue my apologies for over looking it and i have removed those points.

[Mini_Grift]

Hey,

Lookin' good! With the extra 10 points you can give the Dread-Knight a cheap magic item or two. I would probably swap him for a Standard and give them the Gleaming Pennant so they can re-roll their first failed stupidity test. It is quite unlikely you'll face anything with Regeneration at this point level, but I find the Banner of Eternal Flame a good choice for the CoK in bigger games to counter montrous regeneration.

Best way to learn is to practice. Go forth and die (or die trying)!

MG

[BlackTemplar88]

Hey,

Ya that helps a lot to go with a standard bearer instead of the dread knight. especially in a lower point game, it seems as tho i can get a lot more bang for my buck. also seeing as how i'm new to warhammer fantasy thanks for pointing out there was a magical item list in the 8th edition rule book that any army can pick from. i thought i was limited to what was in my codex . ill try and hurry up and assemble this army composition ( need to buy war hydra ) and let you know how it goes. thanks again for the help.

[Mini_Grift]

Hi,

Had any games yet? Would be interested in hearing if your army worked or not

MG