Why Play Dark Elves?

[Dave]

I can't wait for them....

[wesleytj]

i don't think seeing them in person is going to make me feel any better about them. they look like a bunch of guys wearing studded leather and mohawks. not exactly what i think of when i think of elves, sorry.

[Thadrin]

Thats what the elves in SECOND edition were like. ANyway, I think these are an attempt to get away from the "too girly for this game" image that Elves have, and more in line with "even the wettest BB player is still pretty damned tough."

[littlemute]

Where is the image of the new Elf team by GW? Is there one online?

Thanks!

[wesleytj]

Thats what the elves in SECOND edition were like. ANyway, I think these are an attempt to get away from the "too girly for this game" image that Elves have, and more in line with "even the wettest BB player is still pretty damned tough."

yeah i didn't like them then, either.

and i dare you to call a witch elf "wet"...that's a good way to die.

[Rupert]

Why play dark elves you ask. Well, I have played both HE and DE, and against a lot of WE and I think that HE and WE are better on offence, but all elves should be able to make a two turn TD unless something goes very wrong. The key to winning with elves is defence, and on defence Darkies are good. Wood elves have the wardancers and the speed to get the ball secured if they manage to knock it loose but Dark elves have other advantages:

6 st 3 players just one skill away from 'blodge'. This makes it easy to develop defensive specialists to play against both strenght temas and against other agile teams.
AV 8 allows them to tie up opponents while their 'hunters' get behind the line and cut off the ball carrier. WE suffer a lot more damage if they dont get away from the opponents.

Compared to WE Darkies have an advantage because they dont rely on just two players to get the ball on defence. Compared to HE they are better at developing defensive specialists. On offence they lack a little but with the 'control the clock' style most teams play against elves there is no point in being good on offence unless you have defencive qualities too.

[JasonC]

Darkies arent evil they're just misunderstood.
Plus they are just plain cool.

[Thadrin]

and i dare you to call a witch elf "wet"...that's a good way to die.

I have nothing against Dark Elves. Its High Elves and Wood Elves I object to. Poncy Girly gits with stupid shiny helmets and Treehugging hippies who don't stand and fight.

[Dave]

and tell you 'come and get me??'

[Twist]

Dark Elves were my first team... And they are still at the top of my list over a decade later. In my opinion, with an agility of 4 across the board, offense is easy. For an elf, defense is where you need work, and your skill choices help immensely. As someone mentioned earlier, block & dodge is easy for 6 of your players, and once you have enough to purchase those 6, they will never leave the pitch (willingly).

Needless to say, Dark Elves are more of a run the ball and bash your way through the oposition kind of team, although as with most elves, you have to choose your hits wisely. Elves can dance around opponents, and hit whoever, whenever, preferrably the ball carrier.

As an example, here are my best players on Deadly Nightshade, just to show you how you what they can look like after 30 to 80 odd Star Player Points:

Vitrole Darkside, Blitzer, 7, 3, 5, 8 block, dodge, dauntless, tackle
Trojak D'Spayre, Blitzer, 8, 3, 4, 8 block, dodge, pass block, catch, NoS
Maloric Bloodwine, Blitzer, 7, 3, 4, 8 block dodge, tackle, strip ball
Urian Poisonblade, Blitzer, 7, 3, 4, 8 block, tackle, dauntless
Karnilla Lanfear, Witch Elf, 7, 3, 4, 7 frenzy, dodge, jump up, block, tackle
Malice Widowmaker, Witch Elf, 7, 3, 5, 7 frenzy, dodge, jump up, block, leap

Ok, not a lot of variety, I know. Like I said, offense is easy. They are all potential (what I call) ball extractors, getting into cages to hit the ball carrier, or busting them up. My offensive skills mostly consist of block and dodge. LOL! Well, except for my pass blocker with NoS.

OTHER elf teams are more specialized towards scoring. Take Wood Elves. Catchers are suited for offense. Wardancers are obviously their best defensive player, but there are only 2 of them. High Elves are similar, in that their catchers take more skills than a DE to play a little D, and they only have 2 blitzers. For young elf teams, Darkies are better D.

Ok, I've talked too much. Everyone can read me like a book now, I'll never win another game in the TBBF... Oh wait I did have a point... Offense goooood, defense better....

(edit: In hindsight, I should have read Rupert's post more thoroughly, instead of writing all this! Argh!)