Having read this most interesting discussion and looking at my comments early on I set out last night to attempt to compare the effectiveness of an MSU/MSE list vs a more conventional DE army list.
My assumption before the game was that it would probably end up in one of two results a draw or a massacre to the player who went first. I had little expectation of any thing else from my past experience of same race opponent games.
First up the army lists;
MSU tactical style army;
Noble on peagasus lance ha sdc enchanted shield, seal of ghrond
Sorceress l2 lifetaker and tome of furion
sorceress l2 dispell scroll and dark star cloak
10 warriors champion and standard
10 corsairs champion
10 warriors rxb shield
5 DR rxb
5 DR rxb
2 charriots
7 shades
5 harpies
2 RBT's
1 hydra
Possibly not truely MSU but based on its principles the corsairs provided a bait unit, I had a screen with the rxb warriors for the spear warriors charriot and hydra the hammer and anvil. The DR protected the flanks.
More conventional army using traditional DE tactics - my opponeent Trevor was under stictest instructions to forget ever hearing about MSU coupled with telling him I was going to play with my Chaos Khorne army!
Highborn dark steed ha,sdc, enchanted shield Blade of ruin
Noble BSB Coldone SDC, HA, Hydra banner
Sorceress L2 DSC
Sorceress L2 2x dispell scrolls
2 x 10 rxb warriors
20 warriors c/s/m
5 DR
5 harpies
7 COK c/m
2 charriots rxbs
2 RBT's
The table top was set up as a mirrior with a hill partly in each deployment zone and a wall towards the middle of the table on both sides.
Deployment
second line (behind COK's) spears harpies
front line DR RBT Chariot COK Chariot rxb rxb
front line harpies corsairs rxb RBT's
second line pegasus DR spears (angled to centre) chariot hydra chariot
Scouts behind a wall 10" infront of the rxb unit
Conventional list went first
The game progressed pretty much as expected with the COK rampaging through the centre of the table unfortunately not through my bait unit but through my rxb warriors over running into the hydra. I duely counter charged with a charriot and the spear armed warriors. The COK's duely lost and fled in a fit of bad dice despite 3 over running units I failed to catch them. I was then forced to move my RBT's to avoid the harpies I couldn't shoot due to having got chillwinded!
The large spearmen were dispatched by a combined charge from the warriors (flank) and a DR (front) unit whilst the pegasus eventually disposed of the RBT's in turn 5. Meanwhile both my charriots got charged and the hydra killed without inflicting further damage.
The shades fought out a protracted fire fight from behind the wall with the rxb warriors eventually 1 unit of them broke and the shades were killed. The second unit fell victim to a fortuitous flank charge from my small warrior unit and promptly fled with my warriors over running back into my half of the table.
The game ended with me having the noble, corsairs and a DRunit in my opponents half of the table with my warriors in my own. My opponent had the remains of his COK and 2 charriots in one quarter along with his highborn and 2 sorceresses.
The more conventional army won by 350 pts a minor victory.
At the end I felt the game went pretty much as I'd expected with the COK unit proving very powerful but fragile whilst the plethora of units I had coupled with the attempt I made at using them in the MSU style saved me loosing more heavily as it enabled me to occupy 3 of the 4 table quarters at the end of the game. Without these and a bonus 200 pts for the standards I captured I would have lost by 850pts.
Looking at the list I only had 2 more units than the traditional style list but these proved decisive in staving off a worse defeat as if I had played the list in a more traditional style then I would probably have lost the lot and certainly would have done so in the past.
MSU provided me some creative solutions to common problems such as how to I kill heavy cavalry and negate charriots without resort to big expensive formations or relying on my magic which proved sigularly useless all game (I failed to dispell any spells at all! then got both my sorceresses chillwinded to death). The pegasus proved very handy if not as powerful as a manticore it was a lot cheaper and proved more than adequate for killing off war machines. The hydra made for a marginally more reliable hammer than the more usual small COK unit as I would have been relying on Ld8 to avoid stupidity and works out at a similar points cost even if it is a little less effective in hth. The terror is handy and it soaks up missile fire which means all your fragile small units have more time to get into position which is nice.
Overall I liked the feel of the MSU army and will try out a few more variants on it over the coming weeks but at the end of the day I suspect I will end up with more of a hybrid style army not disimilar to this one which utilises MSU infantry tactics with more traditional druchii DR shade tactics. With the final advent of the revision and the changes this will move to a more MSE/DR combo - now just to paint all those witch elves!
K