Editing Warhammer/Tactics/8th Edition/Dark Elves (section)

====Generic Characters====
While named characters are judged against their generic counterparts, generic characters are examined based on their role in your army.

'''NOTE:''' No Master or Highborn's Armor Save should EVER be worse than 3+. It costs less than 15 points to give them Heavy Armor and Sea Dragon Cloak which instantly gives them a leg up on 99 percent of most enemy Heroes and Lords. 

*'''Dreadlord:''' Your workaday combat Lord. He's cheap and effective and can be highly nasty when given the right equipment.  There are many equipment options that will be covered in the equipment section. Better than the High Elf equivalent in close combat, as they have better access to Armor Saves and re-roll Wounding rolls of 1 while sharing ASF.  Overall, he's cheap with some good stats (WS7 and I8 is nothing to sneer at) and he can be quite effective in the right circumstances. Just don't put him in fights he can't win. Bear in mind he can take all the repeater weapons, so if you plan on sticking him in some block of Bleakswords or Executioners, pick up a crossbow, because he can move and fire both shots and still be hitting on 2s, so you can earn your points back quite easily (you need to kill 1 average infantryman with it to earn back your points, which you can do easily). If you're running a cavalry Dreadlord, I'd go with a repeater handbow, as you can use it with a shield and still get that sweet 1+ save on a cold one with heavy armour and a sea dragon cloak, while getting free shots in. As for the brace, I wouldn't recommend dropping a point of save for whats likely 1 more casualty per turn. As for melee equipment, for infantry I'd go sword and board vs Elves, Empire, Skaven and great weapon against pretty much anything else. Chillblade is fantastic against Ogres by the way. For cavalry, lance, and throw him in a unit of Cold One Knights. In any case, remember a ward save because of killing blow and try for 1+ armour as much as possible. Honourable mention to Giant Blade from the rulebook, but only against other elves, as you can wound more or less anything that isn't a dragon on 2s (and you wound dragons pretty decently too), while still keeping ASF so their heroes don't get ASF rerolls against you. 

*'''Supreme Sorceress:''' Supreme Sorceresses (and Sorceresses for that matter) excel at one thing: blasting the almighty crap out of everything. You can fling absurd amounts of dice around if you're unafraid of Miscasts and have access to some impressively destructive Lores. The Dark Elves signature Lore consists of almost nothing but ways to blast the shit out of people. Aside from that, Sorceresses can now use all eight Battle Lores (Fuck Yeah!).  To keep in the spirit of the fluff, Death is good for some targeted Hero killing and Shadow can home unit Synergy if you're willing to throw a lot of dice at it. Bringing a Level 4 Supreme Sorceress will almost always pay off. Life is good for several things, such as those Toughness 7 Witch Elves, although that doesn't feel like Dark Elves (well this <s>codex</s> armybook is Matt Ward's work..., also you could just say they're an exiled Wood Elf or something).  In closing, a very versatile offensive caster and just as good a choice for General as the Dreadlord, though with different uses.  

*'''High Beastmaster:''' Comes in at over double a Dreadlord in points. With one less A and I, light armor, cloak and spear, but lets one Beast per turn within 3" gain +D3 attacks and must take a Manticore or a Scourgerunner Chariot for free. May take the usual 100 points of magic items but has no standard options. His point costs are intimidating, but functionally he's only 10 points more than a Dreadlord on a Manticore, and the free Manticore with +2D3 attacks (get Blind Rage) can definitely help him earn his points back, even against the enemies elites as 8 (or 9 if he gets Frenzy) S5 attacks + Thunderstomp + Killing Blow is nothing to sneer at, and that's all before the Beastmaster attacks!

*'''Black Ark Fleetmaster:''' He's a Lord worth ~75ish Skaven Slaves and has a sword for a leg. Needless to say a kick to the crotch from this guy is to be avoided at all costs. Seriously though, Master stats with +1 wound. Whenever he is in a Challenge (and alive) or kills an enemy Character at all he makes his unit Unbreakable for the turn. It's a cool rule, and he's got a nice flavor, but he's just not worth the points. Take a Dreadlord for less points and get more use out of him. More for fluff and fun games and seems really out of place as a Lord choice (especially when you consider that his rough High Elf equivalent, the Sea Helm, is a cheap Hero).
 
*'''Sorceress:''' Sorceresses are cheap and effective. Level 1s can bring a small effective spell to the table (notably Dark Magic's Signature Spell is one that shooting heavy armies HATE!) and bringing a level 2 could provide valuable support when things go tits up for your Supreme Sorceress, especially if you're willing to for alternate Lores (Fire works well for basic Sorceresses). Not as powerful as a Supreme but well worth taking.  Remember, they can now use all eight Battle Lores. 

*'''Master:''' Masters are among the best cost for ability Heroes in the game. For 70 points, plus an extra 10 for the Sea Dragon Cloak and Heavy Armor, you'll get a guy with M5, WS/BS6, S4, T3, W2, I7, A3, LD9 and a 3+ armor save, plus ASF and Murderous Prowess. A Master is a great choice to add some oomph to a unit and probably the better choice for a BSB since you can very easily have him have a 2+ Armor save, without a mount or magic equipment.

*'''Death Hag:''' Death Hags cost 15 points more than a Master for 2 hand weapons, Frenzy, Poisoned Attacks aaaand...the loss of any kind of saves beyond a 5++, which only comes from a Cauldron of Blood. Not batting 1000 here. Gifts of Khaine are more expensive for them but they can take a single Magic Weapon up to 50 points.
**'''Cauldron of Blood:''' 190 point Chariot, gives the unit you put it in a 6++(5++ for Witch Elves), lets all friendly units with Murderous Prowess within 6 inch re-roll all failed To Wound rolls, and has a Bound Spell that makes a unit Frenzied(+2 attacks instead of 1 if they were already Frenzied). The kit can also make a Bloodwrack Shrine and gives you Hellebron.  So you can make a Cauldron of Blood (a Chariot), a Bloodwrack Medusa (Monstrous Beast) as an independent unit and Hellebron (a Special Character)... all for just $80. I suppose it's rather pathetic we've gotten to a point where $80 AUD seems like a good deal for three models, but we are talking a good deal by GW's ridiculous standards. 

*'''Assassin:''' When kitted out right, Assassins can end the life of any Hero and some Lords. It has frankly ABSURD WS and I mean that. It can put the whammy on anyone dumb enough to get into close combat with it. And here's the kicker: because of the Hidden rule, people don't know if they're getting into combat with it. Very good in either your ranked units (to help them hold up when a powerful unit tries to use them) or in your flank units (to up your kill count when you charge).  An example of a good Assassin is additional hand weapon and Potion of Strength. Other combinations will be discussed later.  Assassins often end up on suicide detail after a round of combat or two, so don't throw too many points into them. Oh and don't forget to write down what unit it's in, or people will accuse you of cheating. When you can spare the points, always take one.