I’ll Say It First…

The new Dark Elves are broken, badly. I mean, they’re not as broken as the new High Elves, where an army comprised of 2×10 archers and the rest Swordmasters probably beats anything in the game (Empire/Dwarf gunlines aside) without even thinking about it. The problems? Well…

Firstly, I’m not happy about Executioners. They wrote up rules for Draichs (essentially flail+halberd, so they wouldn’t always strike last), then decided not to use them. The champ had the ability to add 25 pts of magic items, now removed (AFAICT). 50pt banner limit, now 25 pts. Always Strike First banner bumped from 25pts to 35pts, so they only unit that’d really benefit no longer can. The one plus is that they’re still Khainite. Oh, and they’re S4 now.

Secondly, Witch Elves. Knocked down to WS4 (though the points cost dropped a bit with it). I just don’t really see a reason to take them.

Cold One Chariots are no longer 2-for-1, so it’s a special choice for one chariot? I’ll pass. They’re now mount options for heroes, which is the only way I’d ever take one (though sorceresses cannot be in one, it seems).

Bolt throwers lost the -1 penalty for multiple shots and got bumped up to six shots, like the High Elf ones. I guess I can’t really complain about this, but I’d still rather not use them.

Shades became worthwhile (ability to take great weapons, and they’ve always been skirmishing scouts who can take repeater crossbows). Unfortunately, this makes them 20pts each, and a specials choice. I -may- end up taking some, situationally.

Spearelves are six points, seven with shields. Given the 25pt sacrifice dagger (which can cause panic tests), they may be worthwhile just to sacrifice.

Dark Riders got a points drop, not that they needed it.

Harpies are core. Flying skirmishers with two attacks apiece as core (no, they don’t count towards the min core units, but hey), and the rest of my units don’t care if they panic? Yeah… Balanced.

Corsairs are pretty much the same, except for the ability to take repeater handbows, and you now have to reroll the highest die on your flee. The handbows can be taken as multiples, but 8″ range, only function as a second hand weapon in the first round of combat? Seriously, if you’re that close, I’ll want to be charging (especially if I give one of the units the 25pt frenzy banner, which is corsair only). If not, a seven-wide frontage gives me 28 S3 shots that hit on a 5+ if you charge me. Fair.

As an aside (not that they needed it), repeater crossbows are now armor piercing like guns or WE longbows, except it’s also at long range. WTF. 28 shots against, say, Knights of the Realm ends up with 9ish hits, 4 wounds, one wound after save. It’s still suck against heavy cav, but it’d be murder against lightly armored troops, especially with the usual 10-wide crossbowmen units firing for a few turns.

Crossbowmen are 10pts per, 11 with shield. Woo.

The real WTFs?

Hydras are up to 7 attacks, with three attacks per handler (the handler attacks are also armor piercing). Seven WS4 S5 attacks plus six WS4 S3 armor piercing attacks with terror, and the hydra is T5 W7 3+ save 4+ regen? Shooting randomization automatically hits the hydra, and you can’t strike the handlers in close combat if you also touch the hydra. Plus a points drop to 175? Sure…

Black Guard are no longer 0-1 and no longer rare. They got Immune to Psychology and two attacks. This makes them, for all intents and purposes, a better anvil than hammerers (since fear causing units won’t autobreak them). Not impossible for them to soak a charge from Blood Knights if I can bait them (not hard).

Cold One Knights are equivalent to Grail Knights, only special and not 0-1. WS5, S4, 14″ charge, 2 attacks, lances, Cold Ones still cause fear (and are still S4 T4). Not Immune to Psychology, but big deal. Stupidity might play a role, but that’s always been the case. They’re probably more than worth their points now.

Witch Elves can no longer take magic items. Temple of Khaine stuff only. Black Lotus poison now makes me reroll 1s to wound, and the Rune of Khaine is +D3 attacks.

Reverse ward item is WTF. Armor of Eternal Servitude got cheaper. Manticores now have killing blow, and automagically frenzy+hate if the rider dies. They take a heroes choice to use them as a mount. Dark Elf Dreadlord (replaced Highborn) can easily get a 3+ save on the manticore + reverse ward w/4+ regen plus a magic item (Sword of Ruin to deny armor saves?). Not cool.

Cauldron of Blood is a mount for Death Hags (WE hero), making the cost of hero+CoB 200pts. No rare slot or even hero slot. It still causes terror, has crew (plus the hag), and gives them 4+ wards. Any Khainite units (Execs, Witch Elves, Assassins, maybe Cold One Knights) within 12″ are stubborn. Every magic phase, it can put one of the following effects on ANY unit within 24″ which cannot be dispelled or stopped in any way:

• Killing Blow
• 5+ Ward Save
• +1 Attack

Sorceresses have access to Metal and Fire now as well. Ring of Hotek (miscast on any doubles) got the range boosted to 12″, which may make it worth taking.

Assassins are no longer characters. They’re unit upgrades, but can still take stuff from the Temple of Khaine (no magic items). Stat line is the same, but they cost 45 points less or something. Once revealed, they’re just like current assassins (including the ability to leave the unit). The problem I see with this? Lone assassin makes Grail Knights worthless.

Rune of Khaine (+D3 attacks), Hand of Khaine (killing blow), Black Lotus (reroll 1s to wound). Pop him out and stick him in front of a unit that’s going to be charged, and keep him in range of the cauldron. Grail Knights charge. He hits on 3s, rerolls failed to hit rolls (did I mention that the ENTIRE ARMY has Hatred now) on the first turn with anywhere from 5-7 attacks (3+extra hand weap + D3 attacks), reroll ones, sixes are killing blow, S4. If he even kills ONE knight and can’t get struck back against, he’s perfectly safe. Even if not, the knight needs to wound twice. He loses combat and needs to roll under a 10. I flank charge the grail knights the next turn (or let the assassin tie them up forever). Not cool.

Granted, Black Guard with Cauldron Killing Blow and the ASF banner or the Hydra banner would be incredibly nasty (or both, really), giving them anywhere from 21-36 always-strike-first always-reroll-failed-hits S4 Killing Blow attacks (with both) on a 7-wide frontage, immune to psychology. Witch Elves, similarly, could have 29-43 reroll-failed-hits poisoned killing-blow attacks with a BSB (Hydra banner) and Cauldron, plus whatever Temple Gifts the Hag and BSB had. Cold One Knights look just as bad.

This is not my idea of balance, and this says nothing of the (likely) 4 units of Dark Riders, at least two terror causing units (Cauldron, Hydra, maybe Manticore, maybe lord with the Cold One Knights on a chariot or Cold One), flying skirmishing core units, etc. 50% of my army being stubborn? Cool…

WTB more Rare Units and less specials, and I’m guessing I’ll almost never have Executioners (sadly. I love the models, but Black Guard or Witch Elves simply do it just as well with the Cauldron to give them Killing Blow, and Cold One Knights being viable again gives me S6 on the charge).

Did I mention that a L4 sorceress can generate a ridiculous amount of power dice? Not as many as Vampire Counts, but the “everybody-has-it” spell (even if I don’t take Dark) dives me D3+1 power dice (I suffer wounds if I don’t use them all). By herself, 10-14 power dice per phase is not unreasonable.

Something is not right here. It might be fun against Vampire Counts (a cheesy High Elf list probably still wouldn’t be). I have difficulty seeing Dwarves competing without going ludicrously gunline, to say nothing of Tomb Kings or Bretonnians (since, as noted, I could simply shut down lances with lone assassins, WTF).