Why do we need another tactics article, when so many good tactics articles already exist? Well, we don't, really, but I wanted to provide others with my insights to the troops available to the Dark Elf commander. You should take all of the tactics below with a grain of salt, as after all, they're only my opinion. Also note that I haven't faced every possible army, and have also not owned (or used) every troop, so if they don't work as I've stated, I'm sorry.
Each of the troops will have an entry given as follows:
With the tactics for each troop type, I will also indicate how much I have used that troop. I will indicate this usage with the words Common, Uncommon, Rare and Never. Common means that I almost always field a unit, Uncommon means that I occasionally use them, Rare means almost never used, and Never means that I have never used it in a game.
I will also indicate the normal unit size that I field. This will be shown with a Unit: indictor. In the case that I have never used a troop, then I will put in the size of unit I would be likely to use.
No matter what, you have to field a General. The General can have a number of battlefield roles, and is most commonly used to either hold the battle line with his leadership, or to act as the linchpin in an attacking unit.
I tend to field my General mounted on a Cold One, as this makes him both fairly maneuverable, and more survivable. I also tend to back him up with a unit of Cold One Knights to give them added weight on the attack.
The General is going to draw a lot of attention no matter where you put him, so he should be well protected. Because of his crucial role in the army, he should be outfitted with items that promote survivability first, and then with other items which suit his role.
align="left>The Battle Standard Bearer can give be used to keep crucial units from running away from a fight. However, the Bearer himself is very fragile. They are best used to help hold a defensive line, or to ensure that a critical fighting unit stays in the fight.
As a less respectable option, you can give two nasty magic banners to a unit to boost them to unstoppable levels. I shudder to think of the combat winning potential of a unit of Witch Elves with the Battle Banner and War Banner, with full ranks, Champion and Hero.
Dark Elves have some of the coolest mages in the game. I tend to field 2 mages, 1 level two, and a level three. For the most part, a fourth level mage is not necessary, and too costly.
Dark Magic has a number of powerful spells, but these all come with a high casting cost. One major advantage of Dark Magic is that you can use Dispells as power cards while casting. This means that your mages will get a lot of opportunity to cast their spells, but won't be holding many cards in-between turns. A good remedy for this is the Banner of Sorcery. This will allow a nearby mage many more cards than normal.
Mages almost never wear armour, and so are usually killed very easily. They can gain some protection by riding a Steed, or Cold One, but they are much better protected in a unit of troops. The unit will serve to absorb missile and war machine fire, and occasionally even spells. As well, the unit will help the mage survive a charge from the enemy.
Having made the case for putting mages in a unit, I will now make a case for not putting them in a unit. Being in a unit means that the mage will be forced to move where the unit moves, to fight where the unit fights, and worst of all, to run when the unit runs. Because of this, I tend to field some of my Mages in units, and some as individuals. This tends to give me some very maneuverable Mages, and some more survivable Mages.
A hero can be just the boost that a weaker unit needs. Not only is the hero a better fighter, but the addition of magic items can give an unexpected edge to a unit.
Most Dark Elf players do not field any Heroes. Rather, they tend to field Witch Elf Heroes exclusively. However, both have their purposes. The Hero is a cheaper alternative and even with fewer attacks, is just as skilled.
The Witch Elf Hero is one of the most skilled fighters in the entire Dark Elf army. She has more attacks than the General, with almost as high a Weapon Skill. This makes her dreaded by most armies.
Because of her extreme hitting power, I tend to field her on the fastest mount I can get for her. Usually this is a Dark Pegasus, since the flying movement allows her to get into combat very quickly. I would also consider placing her in a unit of Witch Elves in order to boost that units strength. Remember that she must attack, whether you want her to or not, and this is her biggest weakness. You must ensure that she attacks only the units that you want her to. Do not let her get stuck in with a unit that she cannot kill or drive off.
An assassin is added to a unit purely to give that unit a better fighting chance. Of course, you can arm them to the teeth and try to use them as a super-killer, but this rarely works out. First, the unit that is hiding the assassin has to get into combat, and regardless of who is leading the army, you cannot guarantee that. Thus, it's often not worth putting a mega-killer weapon in the hands of the Assassin, since he may not make it to combat.
When I do use an Assassin, I tend to hide them in Warrior units. This gives the unit the added boost in combat that it needs, but is very predictable.
Ever since I've had enough to field a unit, I've used the Cold One Knights. They are incredibly effective at killing off weaker enemy units, and pretty good at killing their equals.
One of the things that can be a bit troublesome with the Cold Ones is Stupidity. Even with a Leadership of 8, a unit of Cold Ones that doesn't have a Hero or a General leading them will eventually go Stupid. Of course, putting a character in the unit doesn't guarantee that they will not go Stupid anyways. Of course, if you are really worried about it, you can put the Blood Banner on the unit standard, and then you're guaranteed to not go stupid.
Personally, I don't use the Blood Banner much, as there are many better banners which can benefit the unit the most. I tend to field the Cold Ones with the General so that they don't worry much about stupidity.
I haven't used the Dark Riders much, mainly because they have a fairly large cost, and that makes it difficult to field a unit of them and a unit of Cold One Knights.
The best use that I found for the Dark Riders has been in the role of harassers, and pre-emptive strikes. The super-fast movement of the Dark Riders allows them to cross the battlefield in short order. I was given the idea of putting a Champion in the unit, and giving him a destructive item, like Heart of Woe, or the Black Gem of Gnar. Both of these will surprise an enemy, since they do not expect light cavalry to bring any real combat ability to the table.
Dark Elves with Halberds. While fairly expensive troops, they would allow for some hitting power against the better armoured troops of the enemy. I really wouldn't field these troops unless I knew I was going against some of the better armoured enemies.
Personally, I tend towards larger units of troops, or towards larger numbers of units. Since you are only allowed one unit of Black Guard, I'd prefer a larger unit.
These are some of the hardest hitting troops for the Dark Elves, but they are some of the rarest as well. I've never used them in a game simply because I don't own any miniatures for them.
Like the Black Guard I would tend towards a larger unit, since I'm only allowed one of them.
The Corsairs are a good unit for sticking around through lots of hardship. They don't have a great save, but since it cannot be modified, it tends to save at the most opportune time.
Assassins make for a good surprise in the Corsairs. They make the unit slightly more threatening, and since the Corsairs are more likely to save than other infantry, you should have more of the unit left when the Assassin makes his appearance.
Unlike many of the other Dark Elf commanders, I don't tend to field Witch Elves. I do have a number of them, and do field them in fairly large units, when I do. The main reason for not taking them is that they can't carry a Repeater Bolt-Thrower to the battlefield.
I will not dispute the battle worthiness of the Witch Elves, but I will suggest to everyone that there are other units that can fulfill a very similar role in battle. The Black Ark Corsairs are a good example. They can be fielded for about the same points, have a better save, count towards bringing a Repeater Bolt-Thrower, and can have an Assassin hidden in the unit.
I would tend to use Witch Elves only when themeing my army, or when I have a large surplus of points remaining. Bigger units are better than small units, since they tend to take a lot of missile fire and have a poor save.
Of course, most people field the Cauldron of Blood when they field a lot of Witch Elves. I don't blame them. The tactic is effective, if you can get it to work. My only caution about the Witch Elves is that they do not take missile fire well. If you are going to field them, take large blocks, and expect heavy casualties.
I almost invariably take at least 1 unit of Warriors. Many say that the Warrior is a useless unit, but I find that they add a lot to the proper flavour of the army.
Some of the most convincing reasons for taking Warriors is that they allow you to bring a Repeater Bolt-Thrower for the least number of points. I use them for that reason, but also because as an actual unit, they can get in the way of enemy units and tie them up for a turn or two. Oddly enough, many enemies don't see them as a high threat, and so they are ignored until they are nearly at the enemies throats! This alone is a good reason to drop three or four units on the table. In addition, they make some very good screening troops (when used in smaller numbers), and won't devastate the points budget for your army.
Spearmen are great units, but aren't very useful unless you're planning on a defensive army. Their greatest usefulness comes from their ability to strike back in force after taking a charge. However, this is a very risky role, as they will tend to take some heavy losses. If there was every a poster unit for an Assassin, this would be it.
Even though the Crossbowmen are undoubtely effective, I don't see the reason for fielding them when I can field Scouts. Of course, the Crossbowmen are more in character with the feel of the Dark Elf army, and if I was going to go with a fully storylined army, I'm sure that I would put in a few small units.
The City Guard are the ultimate combination of Spearmen and Crossbowmen. They combine the excellent shooting of the Crossbowmen with the defensive abilities of the Spearmen. Of course, they also inherit all of the disadvantages of both troops. This means that the City Guard will rarely move, and even more rarely survive any concentrated shooting. This unit is very effective in a defensive army, but not too much use elsewhere.
The Dark Elves have some great Scouts. They have a lot of advantages, and one major weakness. They can infiltrate, skirmish and have a very good ballistic Skill. Their main weakness is the almost total lack of armour. Of course, with a decent deployment, they can usually provide some serious firepower against the enemy, but don't expect them to live through a combat.
Harpies tend to be a staple troop in my army. They are good at attracting missile fire, are great at taking out single Mages, or war machines. Of course, once they lose a combat, they are probably gone. Their incredibly low leadership will invariably fail them at the worst possible time, and they will run very far and very fast.
If you want to be sure that they stay in combat, then your only real option is to keep the General near them at all times. This of course prevents him from doing anything else, making him a huge points waste. I tend to assume they will run off, and don't rest the hopes of the army on them.
In my opinion, this is the only war machine the Dark Elves have. The Cauldron of Blood really cannot be counted because it acts less like a war machine, and more like a fighting platform.
The Repeater Bolt-Thrower is very good a killing off large blocks of troops, yet surprisingly ineffective against single models or small units. The key to the Repeater Bolt-Thrower is it's ability to penetrate ranks. This means that you will get a lot of casualties from relatively few shots. Even though the weapon is effective on it's own, it becomes even more devastating when several of them converge on a single target. Entire units have been wiped out in a single round of shooting from the combined might of 3 Bolt-Throwers.
Of course, anything this effective will be a major target for your enemy. If you plan on getting more than a rounds worth of reliable shooting, then I'd suggest some protection for them. Myself, I rarely put any protection on the Bolt-Throwers, since I know that they're likely to simply get killed or run away on their own.
The Cauldron of Blood is a good boost to any Witch Elf regiments or Witch Elf Heroes that happen to be in the area. Beyond that, the Cauldron is pretty much useless. It doesn't make a good chariot, and isn't very well protected. Of course, it's not meant to be a front line attacker. If you do take the Cauldron, put it behind the Witch Elves as it will do the most good there.
Well, this includes all of the special characters, and other troops. Personally, I don't tend to use special characters, since they don't do too much more than the regular characters do. Of course, I'm not against taking them, since they do add a lot of flavour to the army.
