Dark Elves Tactics

Dark Elves

Setting:	Age of Fantasy
Games:	Age of Fantasy, Age of Fantasy: Skirmish, Age of Fantasy: Regiments
Species:	Elf
Version:	v2.50

Note: as v2.50 is in constant development the following might not be accurate.

Why Play Dark Elves

Pros:

Strong infantry
Good variety of different unit choices
Plenty of shooting

Cons:

Your army is essentially a big glass cannon
Your shooting relies on Rending for any AP in most cases.

Army Special Rules

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Wizard Spells

Despair (4+): One enemy unit within 12" takes -2 to their morale checks. This pretty much means that you need to tack this on to crush enemy units.
Blade Storm (4+): Two enemy units within 6" take four hits each. This essentially lets you cut through some herds.
Darkness (5+): A friendly within 12" gains Regeneration the next time they get hit. Expect to use this a lot to reinforce your otherwise puny glass cannon units.
Steal Soul (5+): One enemy unit within 12" takes four AP 1 hits.
World of Pain (6+): Friendly unit within 12" can immediately charge and add +1 to their next hit rolls. Considering how many units you can throw into the fray, you'll absolutely be using this.
Black Bolt (6+): An enemy model within 12" takes three AP 2 hits. Pretty much your lone sniping spell.

Unit Analysis

Heroes

Dark Lord: Another fine hero, capable of filling a number of roles depending on what you take. You can also buy Dark Prowess if you're planning on hiding in a unit, allowing an attached unit to add +1 to hit in melee.
- Weapons: You have a pretty vast selection of weapons to use, including lances when you're riding a steed. What's special is that you also get to pick a ranged weapon. The repeater handbow is cheap, but you can double up on it for more firepower. The repeater crossbow is more for punching armor at a better range.
- Mounts: Aside from the horse, you have a couple other options for steeds. The Raptor is essentially the same, but also provides some additional weapons. The Black Pegasus grants some extra wounds on top of a flying mount with some extra attacks. The Manticore and Black Dragon are your big monstrous mounts, upping wounds and Defense scores as well as monstrous attacks. The dragon merely adds on Flame Breath and even deadlier weapons.

Snake Lady: A literal glass cannon. If you're looking for something that can kill anything fast, you can throw her at the enemy. Fast and Strider makes her very mobile and her attacks have a monstrous AP 4. What she lacks is substantial protection beyond Tough 3 and a 4+ defense.

Sorceress: This wizard can actually defend herself in combat, though a 6+ defense won't see that go on for long. Fortunately, you have plenty of mount options, including the Black Pegasus, granting both flight and a 4+ defense.

Assassin: Your most elite hero, toting a mighty 3+ for quality and defense as well as Stealth for more defense. Ambush enables them to pop in at an unexpected angle. Takedown is what makes them assassins, letting them target one enemy in melee and make a hit with Deadly 3 on a 2+. Their only upgrades boost their paired hand weapons - either AP 2, Deadly 3, or Poison. Your choice of poison add-on will determine what they're going to be geared towards killing.

Infantry & Cavalry

Harpies: Harpies are good at one thing and one thing only: Being chaff. Despite the advantage being airborne brings, these girls have some genuinely trash stats on hand. Do NOT try to make a whole front line with them. Rather, have them infiltrate from flanks and cover.
Dark Warriors: Your warriors are about as effective as the High Elves' base warriors. You've got 4+ quality and the open table for weapon options to fill whatever role you see fit.
Witches: Angrier dark warriors, trading their defenses for paired weapons with Poison and Furious. These girls absolutely need to be protected to close the gap. As they lack any other means to attack, it's best to have them gang up on another unit to finish the job.
Corsairs: Your Dark Warriors get a little tougher with Furious and a 4+ defense. That said, they pay for it in versatility - Their only loadouts are hand weapons, dual hand weapons, and repeater handbows. Both options pretty clearly lock them to handling other infantry, and with limited such limited attacks, their roles are better suited to being defensive.
Slaughter Sisters: Elite witches, boosted by a 3+ quality and A2 hand weapons instead of relying on poison. They also replace Furious with Blade Dance, a rule that makes their normally pitiful 6+ defense into a more respectable 4+ when in melee. This allows them to be a genuine threat when up close. The issue is actually getting there.
Executioners: Executioners are brute-killers bar none. Though mostly similar to Dark Warriors, they carry a 3+ quality and severing blades that grant Deadly 3. This means that any tough guys they go up against can be cut down pretty quickly. However, they lack any AP and their 5+ protection means that they can be flattened quickly.
Dark Guardians: Where executioners are for big guys, the guardians are your elite warriors keyed with beating down more armored foes with halberds for Rending and Furious.
Winged Sisters: You want harpies that can actually do more than be chaff? These girls essentially combine them with witches, granting 4+ quality and Flying as well as Ambush so you can drop in unannounced. If you're looking for shooting, you can also buy Javelins for some short-ranged AP 1 shots.
Snake Sisters: One thing you'll notice with the army list is that your options for ranged AP are fairly limited to options with either short ranges or Rending. To compensate, these snakes come with decently ranged bows with AP 1 to punch past armor. You can also add in an additional shot by throwing in a pet wyrm for yet another shot. If you plan on using their mobility in a different way, you can instead swap their bows for halberds for both AP 1 and Rending - the wyrms can still give you some modicum of firepower.
Crossbowmen: What happens when you give Dark Warriors repeater crossbows. Their defense is now a pitiful 6+, but at this range they have no need to be close enough to be the chief targets.
Shade Killers: Elite crossbowmen with 3+ quality. Scout and Stealth means that they can put themselves in a good position early on, which you will still need with their garbage defense. Unlike their lessers they can come with better weapons in the way of either dual wielding or great weapons. Neither of these options should be priorities.
Black Horsemen: Your basic light cavalry maintains the warrior's 4+ quality. You can easily equip both lances and crossbows so you can be the best of both worlds, but the costs make going with only one more viable.
Warlock Riders: Your elite cavalry, toting scarier 3+ quality and poisoned weapons and the option to also become wizards for a mobile and durable blocking force.
Raptor Knights: Super-elite warriors with a 3+ to quality and defense. That said, they are utterly dedicated to melee with only lances and the mount's attacks to carry them. If you're looking for a good hero bunker, you'll find none better.

Monsters

Medusa: A short-ranged beast. Its melee prowess is fairly basic with Fear, Furious and some basic swings. Its standout feature is its Death Stare, a short-ranged rapid-fire shot with Deadly 3, capable of ripping past most brutes, but will suffer against armor.
Abyssal Beast: Your most basic angry monster. It's got Fear, Tough 6 and a bunch of poisoned attacks with a hefty AP 2. It's pretty much all you'll need to handle big brutes and other monsters.
Hydra: This beast is a bit of a force as it is, with a bundle of AP 1 hits and a 2+ defense with Regen. The kicker here is that it adds even more attacks every time it makes a regen save and grows an additional head, making it almost a nightmare if not managed quickly. Welcome to the ideal fire magnet! Also helpful is that you can buy Fire Breath for some ranged power.

Vehicles

Dark Chariot: You chariot is a pretty versatile pick, capable of being a bundle of impact hits and some decent shots with the two repeater crossbows. You can even improve that shooting some more with a great harpoon thrower, turning this chariot into a mobile bolt thrower.
Blood Chariot: Truth be told, this is not made for combat. Being driven entirely by witches, all you're getting is a bundle of poisoned attacks. Instead, what you're buying this for is it's Blood Fury power, letting you grant Furious to two friendly units within 6" when you charge, a good push when you need a strong charge. Fortunately, the Regen and 2+ save makes this thing capable of taking some blows.
Raptor Chariot: Take a Dark Chariot and replace the horses with raptors. While this takes away the option for stronger weapon, your raptors grant more attacks and Fear to help tip over the odds to break a unit.
Medusa Chariot: If you're more worried about the medusa's melee prowess, you can put it on a chariot. This grants it some more wounds and more speed. It also provides two crewmen who can throw in some Impact hits so your charges can also be more effective.

Artillery

Bolt Thrower: Your lone dedicated artillery piece is fairly basic, immobile and capable of throwing a single shot that can pop Tough bruisers. What most armies don't get is the option to instead turn it into a repeater, making it shoot more than once, though these shots are less powerful against armor.

Dark Elves Tactics

Contents

Why Play Dark Elves

Army Special Rules

Wizard Spells

Unit Analysis

Heroes

Infantry & Cavalry

Monsters

Vehicles

Artillery

List Building & Tactics

General Advice

Tactics

See Also

Navigation menu

Dark Elves Tactics

Why Play Dark Elves

Army Special Rules

Wizard Spells

Unit Analysis

Heroes

Infantry & Cavalry

Monsters

Vehicles

Artillery

List Building & Tactics

General Advice

Tactics

See Also

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