Dark Elves - Dreadlords and Masters Tactics anti-character and anti-light infantry

On this page I'll look at Dark Elf characters that fulfil the roles of anti-character and anti-light infantry. Of course, the Dark Elves have a perfect solution to enemy characters in the form of Assassins, but equipping your Dreadlords and Masters to tackle the best the enemy have is still a worthwhile move.

• 

  Character Killer 1:
  Dreadlord - 140
  Potion of Strength - 30
  Hydra Blade - 35
  Heavy Armour - 6
  Shield - 3This Dreadlord is great for dealing with enemy characters that are clad in particularly good armoury - think Dwarf Heroes, Empire Knights and the like. With the Potion of Strength he'll be Strength 7 for a single round of combat, and, combined with the Hydra Blade (+D3 attacks) and his inherent Hatred special rule, he should be able to inflict several wounds on his intended victim. Being Strength 7 will force a -4 saving throw modifier on his victim, which means even the best armoured foe will struggle to survive. The benefit of this setup is that if your Dreadlord is fighting lesser opponents, he can save the Potion of Strength till later (it's also very, very good at killing off Dragons and the like).Possible modifications - Swap the Hydra Blade for the Sword of Ruin, which ignores all armour saves, but at the cost of the extra attacks.

• 

  Character Killer 2:
  Dreadlord - 140
  Dagger of Hotek - 30
  Armour of Darkness - 25
  Dark Steed - 12As fast as a Dark Elf can get, without buying an expensive mount, this setup is perfect for hunting down enemy Wizards and lesser characters. The Always Strikes First rule provided by the Dagger of Hotek means that our Dreadlord will definitely get to fight, while the Armour of Darkness should allow him to get into (and away from) the combat unscathed.Possible modifications - take Heartseeker instead, which allows re-rolls of failed wounds, but means the Dreadlord will be relying on his Initiative to strike first instead.

• 

  Character Killer 3:
  Master: 80
  Heavy Armour: 4
  Sea Dragon Cloak - 4
  Crimson Death - 25A good, cheap hero with a powerful magic weapon (making him strike at Strength 6), this Master is perfect for pitting against other enemy Heroes and Wizards. Ideally you avoid powerful Lords or special characters with this guy, since they'll generally hack him apart. Three Strength 6 attacks (re-rolling missed hits, of course) will generally do for an enemy Hero and will butcher almost any champion going, so be confident when issuing challenges too.Possible Modifications - Sword of Might (for +1 Strength) or a great weapon are cheaper options.

• 

  Character Killer 4:
  Master: 80
  Chillblade - 50
  Heavy Armour - 4One of the deadliest weapons in the Dark Elf arsenal, the Chill Blade is especially good against characters with a modest Toughness - any model struck by the Chillblade must pass a Toughness test or suffer a wound with no armour saves allowed. Models hit by the Chillblade also may not make any further attacks int that Close Combat phase. Because Dark Elves have such a high Initiative value, against almost any model except High Elves you'll be able to hit them first and, hopefully, deny them the chance to fight back that turn. That's perfect for stopping enemy characters doing their 'thing'.Possible Modifications: Include this combination inside a unit bearing the Standard of Hag Graef, making them Always Strike First and guaranteeing he'll get the drop on almost any foe.

• 

  'Light' Trooper Killer 1:
  Dreadlord - 140
  Black Dragon Egg - 35
  Hydra Blade - 35
  Heavy Armour - 6
  Shield - 3This Dreadlord has a powerful combination of items that lend themselves perfectly to wiping out lightly armoured foes. The Black Dragon Egg allows the Dreadlord to breath noxious fumes onto a foe - using the breath template, this will cause horrendous casualties on a decent-sized unit of enemies like Skaven, Goblins, Empire infantry, High Elves or even undead warriors. Even better, it then forces them to take a panic test at -3. If there's anything left, the Hydra Blade means that the Dreadlord will be fighting with between 5 and 7 Attacks, which will make a mess of lightly armoured foes.Possible Modifications: The Black Dragon Egg works just as well for a Master, if you want a cheaper character, but you'll have to make do without the Hydra Blade.

• 

  'Light' Trooper Killer 2:
  Master - 80
  Dark Steed - 12
  Heart Seeker - 35
  Blood Armour - 15The Blood Armour counts as heavy armour, the save of which improves by one each time the wearer causes a wound in close combat. Combined with the Heart Seeker, which allows the re-rolls of both failed hits and wounds, and the bearer will soon be scything down lightly armoured foes. Once he's killed a few, he'll quickly gain a 1+ save, and then he can look to tackle stronger, nastier enemies.Possible Modifications: This combination would work equally well for a character on foot.

• 

  'Light' Trooper Killer 3:
  Master - 80
  Heavy Armour - 4
  Additional Hand weapon - 4
  The Hydra's Teeth - 40In my opinion the Hydra's Teeth are the most entertaining magic item in the Dark Elves armoury (they conjure up that great scene in Jason and the Argonauts). Perfect for chewing up light infantry, these teeth are treated like throwing weapons that cause D6 WS2 S3 hits each. You get five in total, and since you can throw them all at once, I recommend hurling all five at the same unit and causing havoc!Possible Modifications: If you purchase the Hydra's Teeth for a Dreadlord, you can also include some other fancy gear too.