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2.4K has become a popular points value in the early days of 8th edition, probably because of the exact 600p 25% sections, and there's a few tournaments coming up. I'd like to take Dark Elves to those instead of Daemons, and I have a few ideas. Since the break point scenario is an issue I had to design the list so that it has enough standards not to cause me problems. I need a few test games with this particular list against a few power opponents but the Sorceress would most likely be using the Lore of Death to give me an edge against enemy characters. The Warriors can hold their own but mostly exist to de-steadfast opponents while the monsters and chariots do the dirty work. The army has 66 armour piercing multiple shot missile weapons so it's very shooty, while maintaining an in-your-face melee attitude. War machines are not a problem because of the 6 hunter units and magic. We also have to remember that multiple shot missile weapons can actually take down war machines too, because 6's always wound. The Cauldron provides a 5+ ward save for the Warriors who also deploy in an extremely wide formation untill enemy templates are neutralised. Then they swift reform and get aggressive.

I'm afraid I might have gone a bit overboard on Dark Riders with this list, but the vanguard move outperforms Harpies pretty handily and there aren't many other things I'd like to spend those relatively few points on. Since war machines are so popular now it's also pretty important to have a ton of units capable of hunting them down.

Lords
Supreme Sorceress, Extra Level, Pendant of Khaeleth, Focus Familiar: 370p
Dark Pegasus
Heroes
Death Hag, Battle Standard, Cauldron of Blood: 225p
Core
35 Dark Elf Warriors, Full Command, Lichebone Pennant: 240p
10 Dark Elf Crossbowmen, Standard: 110p
10 Dark Elf Crossbowmen, Standard: 110p
10 Dark Elf Crossbowmen, Standard: 110p
5 Dark Riders, Repeater Crossbows: 110p
5 Dark Riders, Repeater Crossbows: 110p
5 Dark Riders, Repeater Crossbows: 110p
Special
5 Shades, Extra Hand Weapons: 85p
5 Shades, Extra Hand Weapons: 85p
5 Shades, Extra Hand Weapons: 85p
Cold One Chariot: 100p
Cold One Chariot: 100p
Cold One Chariot: 100p
Rare
War Hydra: 175p
War Hydra: 175p

Total Points: 2400

shields on the crossbows for the ward save might be good.

you have a cauldron of blood, but i dont see any khaine units so your losing some of its bonuses.

First of all: Purple sun makes Cauldrons disappear. Do you think you have enough magic defense to stop it? I might consider a second (or even third) sorceress to boost magic defense.

Second: One big unit of 30 RXBs with shields gives you another big combat block at need. Deploy 15 wide (will take less room than the 3x5 wide with 1" separation you already have), reform to 5 wide for fighting.

Third... are Dark Riders really working that well for you in 8E that you want three units, on top of all those shades that now do about the same job (warmachine hunting and harrassment, since march blocking went right out the window for this edition)?

That is a solid and redundant list. I like how the core units perform and it will give opponents a tough time at dissecting threats.

Moreover, I believe it plays well in all phases of the game. I would be interested in seeing how it performs against the mirror and the vc list you posted a while ago.

Why not black guard deathstar unit?

That is a solid and redundant list. Moreover, I believe it plays well in all phases of the game.

I have a lot of confidence in the Dark Elves too. I understand three units of Dark Riders might be too much though. Two would be sufficient. Here's an alternative that functions the exact same way and is even more shooty (91 rxbs).

Lords
Supreme Sorceress, Extra Level, Pendant of Khaeleth, Focus Familiar: 370p
Dark Pegasus
Heroes
Death Hag, Battle Standard, Cauldron of Blood: 225p
Core
30 Dark Elf Crossbowmen, Full Command, Shields: 350p
10 Dark Elf Crossbowmen, Standard: 110p
10 Dark Elf Crossbowmen, Standard: 110p
10 Dark Elf Crossbowmen, Standard: 110p
5 Dark Riders, Repeater Crossbows: 110p
5 Dark Riders, Repeater Crossbows: 110p
Special
5 Shades, Extra Hand Weapons: 85p
5 Shades, Extra Hand Weapons: 85p
5 Shades, Extra Hand Weapons: 85p
Cold One Chariot: 100p
Cold One Chariot: 100p
Cold One Chariot: 100p
Rare
War Hydra: 175p
War Hydra: 175p

Total Points: 2400

First of all: Purple sun makes Cauldrons disappear

And? There's a spell to make anything disappear in the game. The Death Hag has a brilliant ward save against assassination spells and they are too tough to crack for most hunter units. She is more survivable than a BSB Master while providing the troops with valuable buffs. Enemy wizards are naturally the number one target for my Lore of Death Supreme Sorceress.

First list: I like the warrior unit for the hth ability. The third dark rider unit provides redundancy and teams well with the other shades, chariots, and can really give opponents nightmares on charge reactions. Additionally, focused fire from a mirror build will not shut it down as easily.

Second list: There is a lot more snooty here...reminds me of the safh marine 40k list of years back. Enough hth to clean up after shooting thins things out, redundancy, and mobility too.

In sum, I would choose the first list, but that is my preference for the third dark rider unit. Really, it is a toss up on the warriors versus the rxbs in damage output since the extra attacks in hth are negated by the shots of the other. Take them for a test ride and let me know...I'll pilot the first one and post idiosyncratic responses that may not be fully generalizable to the effectiveness of the list.

It looks like a solid list. Some extra food for thought for the DE magic phase: Sacrifical dagger seems to be quite handy in the new edition, altough it does mean that the wielder needs to be around warm bodies. Also additonal level 2 mage with different lore would bring up more channeling, more variety with spells as she should probably take different lore, and an option to take a scroll (or darkstar cloak)...

Lifetaker for the supreme sorceress would probably be a good addition, regardless if she goes mounted or not.

I'll pilot the first one and post idiosyncratic responses that may not be fully generalizable to the effectiveness of the list.

Thanks for the comments and feel free to PM me anything you figure out about my lists or any variant of your own.

It looks like a solid list. Some extra food for thought for the DE magic phase: Sacrifical dagger seems to be quite handy in the new edition, altough it does mean that the wielder needs to be around warm bodies. Also additonal level 2 mage with different lore would bring up more channeling, more variety with spells as she should probably take different lore, and an option to take a scroll (or darkstar cloak)...

Lifetaker for the supreme sorceress would probably be a good addition, regardless if she goes mounted or not.

I like the Sacrificial Dagger too. At the moment I just like the flight move and Focus Familiar more but that's only based on my first experiences and instincts instead of real empiric tournament data. Pegasus being a cavalry mount in this edition is fairly sweet and leaves it very few downsides.

I can't see an additional Sorceress ever being worth the points despite the scroll and additional spell options it would bring. The return of investment in magic goes drastically down the more you spend. Lifetaker is a gorgeous magic item and I had it in all of my first drafts but in the end I simply don't have the points for it. Additionally, since the flying Sorceress can't (march) move 20" and shoot the Lifetaker anymore the use of the item is somewhat lessened.