WFB: Dark Elves Lords and Heroes
HERO’s Gaming here with a unit review of the new Dark Elves book. It’s time to take a close look at the Lords and “Ladies” of the Dark Elves.
This review will focus on how Dark Elves will preform from an external balance point of view.
LORDS and HEROES
Malekith – 2/5
Just way too expensive for what he does. The guy is 510 points and is basically a lesser version of Teclis and a lesser version of Tyrion mixed into one character. This lack of focus and the fact his primary abilities are kind of gimmicky makes him a poor choice overall. Oh, you can also take him on a his dragon for an absurd amount of points if you really want to.
Mortahi – 3/5
Not the greatest character, but for her points, she’s not bad at all. She’s basically a Supreme Sorc that has more lore flexibility and can fight on her Dark Peggy. The fact she’s packing some powerful weaponry, an innate 4+ ward and MR2 (2++ vs. magic missiles), and she has everything built in nicely for her cost, I say she’s a solid choice. If you want to go the flying route, I know I would rather have Mortahi over a standard Supreme Sorc because of her extra special rules. At 375, if you’re going for the peggy spellcaster, there’s no better option.
Hellebron – 4/5
The reason why I don’t rank her higher is because she has absolutely nothing defensive about her anymore. She lost Parrying Blade and gained some useless S4 backlash in return, but the damage and toolbox has increased dramatically. Coming in at 310 points, she packs 5 base + Super Frenzy + D3 attacks for a total of 10 possible attacks at WS7 I9 ASF Poison S10 with re-roll 1s to wound. If that’s not crazy, I don’t know what is. She comes with Warcry which is super Fear on -3 Ld., Witchbrew which makes her and unit of Witches get super Frenzy (+2 attacks), and Rune of Khaine which is what gives her +D3 extra attacks. Hellebron also gives magic protection in her unit in an rather unique way: All magic spells targeting her unit gets +4 to dispel, so if you have a Supreme Sorc in your army you get +8 to dispel on the unit. Not bad per se, but I would rather see MR3 personally.
Malus Darkblade – 2.5/5
Not really that great, especially for his points cost. The reason why is simply because more competitive options exist via the Dreadlord and their damn Sea Dragon Cloaks. I mean, he has one, but his points cost vs. a regular Dreadlord is a little shoddy, and you know for sure the dude you build isn’t going to go berserk and cut down your own guys. Plus, aside from the 1+ AS, he doesn’t have much protection.
Dreadlord/Master – 4.5/5
These guys are basically better versions of the High Elf equivs in every way. You have ASF, the same stats, but now you have re-roll 1s to wound in CC and have the Sea Dragon Cloak. In case you guys don’t know yet, SDC gives the bearer 5+ Scaly Skin which can be stacked with armor as usual. This means you have 1+ AS for Heavy Armor, Shield and just being mounted, otherwise you’re running 2+ AS for being on foot. This makes the Dreadlord a much better fighter than their HE counterparts in almost every combat scenario and magic item combination. For example, you can easily run a 1+ AS with re-roll, Giant Blade and OTS on the same guy, which is not possible for a HE Prince.
Supreme Sorc/Sorceress – 4.5/5
In terms of sheer flexibility, the Dark Elves are incredibly strong now. All of their mages can take all the book lores as well as having their own Dark Magic. This itself unlocks a huge array of tactics and strategies that otherwise wouldn’t exist. Where the arcane item selection doesn’t stand out like the Book of Hoeth, a few pieces here and there are still pretty noteworthy. That, and the fact that Dark Magic packs its own test-or-die spell makes DE mages some of the best in the game.
High Beastmaster – 2/5
This guy is pretty much the Anointed of the DE book. He’s very gimmicky in the fact that he can ride a Manticore for free, but his points is already very expensive for someone with Light Armor and Sea Dragon Cloak. The only way someone is going to run something that costs 300 points before upgrades is if he really likes the fluff or model. Having +2D3 extra attacks on the Manticore sounds like a lot of fun, but it’s a Manticore and it’s going to die just like Griffons do to cannons and other dangerous artillery pieces on the battlefield.
Black Ark Fleetmaster – 1/5
He’s basically a 3-wound master with a huge gimmick: Kill someone or stay alive in a challenge and your unit gets Unbreakable for the rest of the turn. OK sure, I refuse the challenge. Now you’re left out to dry (lol get it?!) with 50 points of magic items that you can spend trying to get a weapon you’ll never use or a AS that doesn’t matter. Garbage.
Shadowblade – 2/5
This guy is a shadow (LOL, lovin’ it) of his former self. He can hide from unit to unit and on the turn he comes out, he’s falling on you with 4 S8 attacks with +1 to wound and KB. Too bad he’s expensive, is a one-pump chump, and is sure to die after he makes his attacks. Honestly, you’re much better taking a cheaper Assassin.
Lokir Fellheart – 3/5
Not too bad actually, and the funny part is, Lokir has a better chance killing a mage in a bunker than Shadowblade is. Lokir has something called Daring Leap that allows him to swing at any enemy character model in the same combat. Since he’s a piratelord, he also has Show No Weakness which then allows him to give the unit Unbreakable if he kills them. With 4 attacks, S4 and re-roll wounds, he can easily kill an unarmored mage just by being in combat with them. The 2+ AS that he sports ontop of Regen and Terror gives him quite a bit of durability as well. A better assassin than the greatest assassin for cheaper, that’s just sad.
Kouran Darkhand – 2/5
Great stats, ItP, Stubborn, Eternal Hatred, ASF, S6 alway, man, he seems great right? No. Not for the points, not even close. You want fighters to stay alive so they can actually do the fighting. In an edition where Stepping Up is an actual thing, you don’t want to be a fighting character character with little to no armor. Unless you’re bringing the pain like Hellebron, you’re going to be overshadowed and frankly, quite useless.
Tullaris Dreadbringer – 2.5/5
Same deal for this dude, except the fact he gets to give Executioners Frenzy. He’s still paper thin, is pretty expensive and doesn’t bring anything to the table but killing a few models and dying in return. Keep in mind that this is a game about points. You want to maintain a good KDR where you can say with confidence: This model killed X amount of points back and that’s why he’s great. This isn’t going to happen if you get hit back and you die horribly, especially when he’s not packing ASF to go with that lovely 5+ KB. The only thing I like about him is that he gives Executioners’ Frenzy, which can be good and bad depending on situation.
Death Hag/Cauldron – 3/5
This is going to be a slightly longer one because it has to do with two separate entities. For the Death Hag herself, I see her simply as a tax so you can access the Cauldron. She’s actually quite terrible herself, having no save of any kind but allowing you to give any unit you want Frenzy or activate Cry of War. Even though she can take magic weapons, I would just keep her as cheap as possible while getting some utility out of her. She’s going to die, even if the Cauldron is there so why even bother.
The main thing about the Cauldron is that while it is decent, it’s really expensive. If it was a stand alone choice, I would definitely consider taking it, but as of right now, you’re subject to the Death Hag tax. If you’re going to take a Death Hag, you’re essentially 85+ points to something that’s going to be drastically expanding your unit of Witches. From my experience, this leads down a very slippery slope. If you take the Cauldron, you want your unit of Witches to be big. You also want to give the Death Hag the BSB because you don’t want to pay extra for a Master, and some gear/tools to prolong her existence. Before you know it, you’re spending a crazy amount of points to get things going. If the Cauldron gave the girl on top a 4+ Ward, some form of strong MR, or abilities like last edition, I would strongly consider it. Even if you were allowed to re-roll wounds for all units with MP and NOT models within 6″, I would strongly consider it. At its current, the Cauldron is simply another player option, but not a must-have like other people are calling it.
Also, I’m currently playing the thing with re-roll all wounds in CC only. Despite my powergaming roots wanting me to take it with 4x RBTs, I just can’t do it anymore.
Assassin – 2.5/5
Just give the guy a Potion of Strength and extra hand weapon and call it a day. He’s not going to survive prolonged combat, and S7 should be enough to make a dent on anything. Too bad most of his targets are going to be 300+ tooled up lords that’s going to smack him in the face and end it all right there. While the stats are insanely impressive, he’s not exactly in the throw-away zone with all things considered. If ASF canceled with ASF and then followed Initiative order, the Assassin would be stronger. Unfortunately, going at the same time with a Chaos Lord is not going to do anything but get yourself killed with very little chance of actually killing him. Frankly, I wish there was a backstab option that’ll allow these guys to swing with no fear of retaliation for one round. Maybe then they’ll be worth something.
For Malekith! Core, Specials and Rares coming soon!
