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Hey all

Im getting the dark elf spearhead, and I have access to 10 more of the plastic foot guys, as well as ten witches and ten executioners.

I was wondering, since I dont have the book yet, what else I should pick up, and if this is a good starting place for an army? Is there anything critical I should get, and should I bolster the numbers on the witches and executioners or even take them at all?

Thanks for any help!!

From my experience Executioners generally don't quite cut it. For one point more you can get Black Guard who are Stubborn, Immune to Psychology, hand two attacks, and get to reroll to hit in every round of combat. Sure you lose a strength and only have a Halberd instead of a Great Weapon, but the other benefits make it worth while. On top of that Black Guard can take 50pts worth of banners which gives them access to ASF making them a lethal unit that can take anything on!

Personally I'm just starting to use Witch Elves and they seem a little lack-luster to me. Costing the same as Corsairs they gain Frenzy and poisoned attacks. For 25pts Corsairs can have a banner allowing them Frenzy as well, plus they have a 5+ armour save in combat and a 4+ against shooting which Witch Elves have no save at all. If you were to take a Cauldron though and grant the Witch Elves the 5+ Ward save they could be very effective on the charge, so that's one thing to consider.

If you wanted to go with a "fluffy" list then Witch Elves and Executioner paired with a Cauldron or two and a bunch of shooting, spearmen, a bunch of assassins, led by Cron Hellebron would be an ideal Khainite army.

Hey!

Thanks for the advice. Are witch elves good in units of ten or do they need more since they are fragile? I may just skip on them if I have to buy more, they dont sound like they are worth putting more money into.

I do have access to a cauldron. I may have to get that. 5+ ward on any unit is pretty good!

So I can do a list without the plain spearmen? If thats the case I am sold on the army then. I just dont like the old elf spearmen for any army. Id like to avoid them.

Thanks for the help!

My Dark Elf force doesnt use spearmen at all and I've only lost once! Spearmen are definitely not needed to make an effective army.

Witches are nice. Sure you can get a banner to make corsairs frenzied, but you still don't get poison, or a hag. Witches are best used in units of 12 for optimal attacks, no worries about watching the unit get shot, they aren't fragile because they never run away and fight the same no matter how many of them there are. I say back up the witches with corsairs and chariots when you get the chance, then your opponent wont know what to shoot at. 12 witches means shooting 12 wounds, or hitting them first (never a good thing no matter what elf you've got)

Executioners are okay, not as good as they used to be, but okay. If you do use them, again, 12 or more models. This is more important with executioners since they can panic (I roll 11s a lot). Executioners put heavy stuff down, witches will usually lose a unaided fight with black orcs or chaos warriors (both more expensive than witches) but executioners can chop through that armor no problem. not to mention they are a cheap way to deal with a s-tank.

In a nutshell you'll need more models for both units. If you run them both you may as well get a cauldron and some chariots(put characters in them so you don't use up special choices).

Oh, and on the topic of spearmen(aka warriors) , they are cheaper and more effective in combat than the average corsair unit (frenzy banner is nice). But if you don't like the models grab some dark riders with corsairs.

I too recently bought the Dark Elf Spearhead and have to say it's great. I played Dark Elves for a brief period before the new codex, but let them gather dust when I found out that a new codex was coming out.

As far as the units are concerned, I think Black Guard are the way to go!! These units, if your opponent knows what they do, will always make your opponent focus on them first. This will allow you use your other units, Corsairs, Riders, War Hydra, move into prime position to make some good charges.

On the flip side if your opponent decides to ignore them and focus on something else, then that is great for you. These units don't necessarily always win a fight, but what they are great at is tying up other units. Stubborn Ld 9 (10 w/ general - or unbreakable with upgrade) is HUGE!

The Dark Elf codex gives you the oportunity to make some really great middle of the road units. Not necesarily 1 giant, kick your opponents butt every time unit. So you can use this to your advantage by forcing your opponent to make a choice. If theya decide to focus on one good unit, then that leaves your other units the ability to move into gret posiioning. However, if they decide to spread their focus accross multiple units, then your army will not have taken enough damage by the time you are moving in for the kill.