A Return to the Druchii

Cherry soda man · Post by **Cherry soda man** » Mon Jun 04, 2012 3:43 am

Hello all,

A bit of background for me, I'm a veteran druchii player (8 years or so, started back with our wonderful 6th edition book) who abandoned my elves a few years back for seemingly greener pastures. So, while I normally take pride on my knowledge of our army, I find myself wanting the advice of more experienced crowd when it comes to 8th edition DE.

I play among a gaming group of my closest friends, most of who have played the game as long as I have. Combined we have nearly every army in the warhammer universe barring chaos dwarves, tomb kings, and beastmen. So I have recently been creating a 2400 all-comers list to get myself back into the swing of things! It is as follows:

1 Lord: 330 Pts. 13.7%
2 Heroes: 341 Pts. 14.2%
5 Core Units: 749 Pts. 31.2%
3 Elite Units: 476 Pts. 19.8%
1 Rare Unit: 175 Pts. 7.2%

Supreme Sorceress, General, lvl4, Talisman of Preservation, Sacrificial Dagger, Dark Magic - 330 Pts.

Sorceress, lvl2, Seal of Ghrond, Tome of Furion, Shadow Magic - 180 Pts.
Master, Shield, SDC, Pendant of Khaeleth, Blood Armour, BSB - 161 Pts.

34 Dark Elf Warriors, M, S, C, Standard of Discipline - 234 Pts.
34 Black Arc Corsairs, 2xHw, M, S, Sea Serpent Standard - 380 Pts.
13 Crossbowmen, M
5 Harpies
5 Harpies

20 Black Guards, M, S, Std. of Murder - 306 Pts.
5 Shades, 2xHw - 85 Pts.
5 Shades, 2xHw - 85 Pts.

War Hydra

Total: 2181

Now 2181 points is fine and all, but I want to get to 2400! My problem being I can't seem to decided on what to flesh my list out with. I am very welcome to any advice at this point, and would appreciate it very much. Thanks all!

A.andersson · Post by **A.andersson** » Mon Jun 04, 2012 8:16 am

since you have a very troop heavy list i would switch the lore on one of your magicians to shadow. the withering and mindrazor spells can give you a victory in some situations. that way you can also deal with super heavy opponents, like warriors of chaos. the lore also has some serious synergies with dark magic.

for my taste you lack in hard hitting mobility, so for the last points i would include a master mounted on Dark Pegasus, if you like him you could place your bsb on one as well. (remove some stray corsairs to get the points imo)

good luck!

Post by **Calisson** » Mon Jun 04, 2012 8:40 am

Welcome to D.net, Cherry Soda Man!

Well balanced list already.
A strong suggestion: a COB BSB instead of your master, who is too vulnerable.
Some more hard hitters would be nice, such as a COC which goes well along with infantry.

Have fun!

Dimitriosb · Post by **Dimitriosb** » Mon Jun 04, 2012 8:57 am

A second unit of Black Guard with musician, seems a good idea.You will need some points more but it will not be so difficult to find them.

Also I agree that Dark Magic is good,but not that good.One sorcerer with this lore is enough.

Cherry soda man · Post by **Cherry soda man** » Mon Jun 04, 2012 5:01 pm

Awesome, I wake up to 3 replies!

@a.andersson, I was actually supposed to have Shadow written on the level 2 with the ToF. Also what arguments would you make for a master+ pegasus over, say, a CoC? Both are somewhat more mobile than infantry, and considering I should have no problem dealing with war machines I was simply curious as to why one over the other.

@Calisson, thanks mate! I was indeed considering a CoB, but is there anything in my army that would strongly benefit from it? I mean of course, a buff is a buff, but would the benefit from the CoB be more useful than say another CoC? Or a master mounted pegasus?

@DimitriosB, I was actually considering a second BG unit while writing this list. Biggest qualms against it are that:

A) I'm already rather saturated with troops, I feel like at this point adding another 7-wide unit would begin to clutter deployment zones more than I care for.

and

B) That would unfortunately require another ~20 converted black guard.

I am actually typing this at work, so I'll have to get back to all of you with a revised list and what not later on.

Red... · Post by **Red...** » Mon Jun 04, 2012 5:49 pm

I like the list, it's very strong.

I echo Calisson's point. You could usefully add either:

2-3 Cold One Chariots
or
7-8 Cold One Knights with full command, gleaming pennant and whip of agony

That would give you some real shock impact forces and add a bit of extra punch to your list

Boomkapow! · Post by **Boomkapow!** » Mon Jun 04, 2012 6:55 pm

I agree with a lot of the points made so far. One thing I would add is that you may want more or no shooting. As is, there is a chance that your melee infantry will get in to combat asap leaving your xbowmen with no targets.

I would maybe consider upping that unit to 20 (10x2) and maybe add a Reaper Bolt Thrower. Or you could take them out and add to your corsairs. The more shooty option would sate the need to have too many heavy hitters. Just a thought.

Cherry soda man · Post by **Cherry soda man** » Mon Jun 04, 2012 10:16 pm

So this is what I've come up with for an exact 2400 list:

1 Lord: 330 Pts. 13.7%
2 Heroes: 341 Pts. 14.2%
5 Core Units: 749 Pts. 31.2%
4 Elite Units: 695 Pts. 28.9%
1 Rare Unit: 175 Pts. 7.2%

Supreme Sorceress, General, lvl4, Talisman of Preservation, Sacrificial Dagger, Dark Magic - 330 Pts.

Sorceress, lvl2, Seal of Ghrond, Tome of Furion, Lore of Shadows - 180 Pts.
Master, Shield, SDC, Pendant of Khaeleth, Blood Armour, BSB - 161 Pts.

34 Dark Elf Warriors, M, S, C, Standard of Discipline - 234 Pts.
34 Black Arc Corsairs, 2xHw, M, S, Sea Serpent Standard - 380 Pts.
13 Crossbowmen, M
5 Harpies
5 Harpies

20 Black Guards, M, S, Std. of Murder - 306 Pts.
8 Shades, 2xHw
9 Shades, 2xHw
Cold One Chariot

War Hydra

Total: 2400

Bumped up the number of shades to increase the amount of shots where it really counts and threw in a CoC for combat support. Looks peachy.

Post by **Calisson** » Tue Jun 05, 2012 5:48 am

Your BSB is well protected with Blood Armour & PoK.
However, he doesn't bring that many additional attacks, and he may be killed in melee to cumulated R&F hits, as he has the highest bounty on his head.

The alternative would be a COB BSB, following the lines and avoiding melee. Experience shows that a COB is very hard to kill, even with no Gift of Khaine.
That would cost you the present BSB plus a couple of infantry.
It would make frenzied corsairs efficient against heavy cavalry & heroes with massive KB.
Before melee, it would help 5++ed BG to make their way. They apreciate +1att, too.
Occasionally, a hydra can benefit from KB, too, that's the only animal which can get any COB's blessing.

-=-=-

Also, with such a list, many people would advise Shadow over Dark. See which one brings the greatest synergies.

Cherry soda man · Post by **Cherry soda man** » Tue Jun 05, 2012 9:23 am

Oh bummer, I forgot to include that in (which was actually something that I wanted to include in all along, I've used it before to great effect). I'm thinking I should trim the fat off the shades to get points for it?

Anyway another list should be up tonight.

Omnichron · Post by **Omnichron** » Tue Jun 05, 2012 9:26 am

The list looks good. I'd consider using CoB with any troop based army (2-3+ close combat units), so you can use the buffs to maximize the damage you can deal or soak damage a bit better.

Try the list and change a bit underways, because a list is just a list... it's how you work it that makes you win games and gain experience about what you need to improve.

Cherry soda man · Post by **Cherry soda man** » Tue Jun 05, 2012 11:34 am

Omnichron wrote:The list looks good. I'd consider using CoB with any troop based army (2-3+ close combat units), so you can use the buffs to maximize the damage you can deal or soak damage a bit better.

Try the list and change a bit underways, because a list is just a list... it's how you work it that makes you win games and gain experience about what you need to improve.

Oh I absolutely agree! Unfortunately I'm stuck in quite a financial pickle at the moment, and so I more-so want a solid base to build up upon at the moment than I do an ever-changing list. Maybe once the university starts back up and I actually get to keep some of my money I'll start switching different components around and trying out new things, but just purely because then I'll be able to purchase the models that I would need.

Here lies the list in its current incarnation. My only concern is that a lady as classy as the hag shouldn't be as naked as she is, it's not socially acceptable

So, trim the fat off of something or leave her naked? I'm just worried about a flock of those damn high elf eagles picking her apart. HoK would be nice for such an occasion...

1 Lord: 330 Pts. 13.7%
2 Heroes: 405 Pts. 16.8%
5 Core Units: 803 Pts. 33.4%
4 Elite Units: 576 Pts. 24.0%
1 Rare Unit: 175 Pts. 7.2%

Supreme Sorceress, General, lvl4, Talisman of Preservation, Sacrificial Dagger, Dark Magic - 330 Pts.

Death Hag, Cauldron of Blood, BSB - 225 Pts.
Sorceress, lvl2, Seal of Ghrond, Tome of Furion, Lore of Shadows - 180 Pts.

34 Dark Elf Warriors, Shields, M, S, C, Standard of Discipline - 268 Pts.
13 Crossbowmen, M, S - 145 Pts.
35 Black Arc Corsairs, 2xHw, M, S, Sea Serpent Standard - 390 Pts.
5 Harpies
5 Harpies

20 Black Guards, M, S, Std. of Murder - 306 Pts.
Cold One Chariot
5 Shades, 2xHw
5 Shades, 2xHw

War Hydra

Total: 2399

Ace073 · Post by **Ace073** » Wed Jun 06, 2012 7:51 am

I dont think you need to worry so much about the hag, remember the cauldron already gives her a 4+ ward and two extra wounds in the form of the hag attendants. Also, being a warmachine, only six enemy models get to fight against it. Against that many attacks (13 or 10, depending on your interpretation of the rules) that are poisoned and high initiative, not many units will live through that to even wound back.

Of course there are elite units that can, but hopefully you havent left your cauldron in a place where said elites can get to it.

A.andersson · Post by **A.andersson** » Thu Jun 07, 2012 10:23 am

The arguments for including masters mounted on peg including the previous master bsb over chariots is two sided, in my opinion they are two entirely different type of units, chariots are great as infantry support and combo charges but lacks the cheer speed of peggriders when it comes to putting pressure on your opponent right from the start.
The cauldron and chariots makes for a different type of game wich at the moment at least in my area is a bit more common. And from what i read here in most peoples communitys.
The point by fielding the pegg riders then is that you have different options than with the cob+chariots. I think that shadow magic and the cauoldron is a bit simiral in that they both support infantry very well, therefore having other options as well might be gound so you do not get to one sdided.

I think it makes for an interesting game to switch tactics and therefore i reccomend to play with both!

Good luck anyway!