Very inexperienced general

[earache666]

Hi everyone, although Ive been into warhammer for a few years my gaming experience is very minimal due to time constraints....i get 1-2 nights a week to get my fantsy gaming fix and that is usually consumed with dungeons & dragons. But, all the lads i play dnd with all play hammer too so we've started a private mini tournament to get everyone playing a bit more hammer. Unfortunately im probably the most inexperienced in the group. I have my first battle coming up very soon against one of the most experienced in the group and his dwarven army. My Dark Elf collection so far is....
1 x Dark Lord on Black Dragon
1 x Supreme Sorceress
1 x Sorceress
2 x Hydras
1 x Reaper x-bow
2 x Assassins
21 x Cold One Knights
33 x Repeater X-bowmen
40 x Spearmen
5 x Corsairs
5 x Dark Riders
20 x Naggarond Black Guard
5 x Executioners

I will soon post in other forums looking for army build and tactical advice.

Glad to be on board and look forward to some Khainite blood drenched victories!!!

[direweasel]

First, welcome and hi.

The second thing I notice is WOW, that's certainly a TON of cold ones for a starting force. Also, I don't have the book in front of me, but I think you need 10 executioners to be legal. So unless you use proxy forces for the back rows or something, you'll need more of them before you can get any use out of them. That is also the case with your corsairs as well.

Other than that, what you have is certainly a good start for a non-witch elf force. My next purchases would be more corsairs, executioners, and a few boxes of our light cavalry, some to turn in to dark riders, and some warlocks. If you know what you're doing and are comfortable with using magnets, you can make both out of the same unit, switching out the bodies of the riders to be whichever you need.

If you're a rookie and your dwarf opponent is experienced, look to that game less as a chance to win, and more as a chance to learn. You will most likely lose your first several games, pretty much everybody does. But use those as ways to get better and figure out ways to fix what you did wrong going forward.

Dark Elves can be a VERY competitive army, but they are NOT easy to master. We are Toughness 3, expensive points wise per model, and low armor. A good general can get around those weaknesses, but they are weaknesses. This army is NOT a bludgeoning instrument that any idiot can win with. But you can win with them, once you know what you're doing. Dark Elves are excellent in magic, we can be good at shooting (although your army might need more bolt throwers if that's the direction you would like to go), and we are excellent in close combat. We always strike first, have high weapon skill, reroll misses against most armies with most units, and murderous prowess. We have lots of big scary monsters, the best light cavalry in the game (dark riders and warlocks are both outstanding once you learn how to use them), good chariots, and great heavy cavalry (and your collection is blessed with a ton of them). Plus, in my opinion, our minis are outstanding.

So don't give up on them when you lose at first. You will learn, and you will win.

Also of note is that this website is a GREAT resource even for veterans, but especially for beginners. People will help you with army lists. There are tons of articles on tactics, lots of resources for painting, battle reports so you can see what does and doesn't work for other people, intel on what is good and bad against other armies, the whole bit. I've been playing Dark Elves off and on for 20 years, and I've learned a lot here, since I joined last year.