So I'm going against a (what I believe) pretty cheesy list of dark elves; 1 lord on a dragon with the +1 armor save and inversed ward save 2 hydras 1 mage mounted on a dark pegasus 1 mage on foot 3 units of 5 Shades 3 units of 10 crossbowmen and a possible 6 Assasins I can smell the cheese here Any tips on fighting a list like this?
his lord probably has regeneration so he will be tough. you need skinks for the hydras, lots of them. 30 can probably take out 1 hydra per turn. if he doesn't have black guard with the banner of hag grief your saurus will wipe the floor with him. his assassins are nice but not so tough, they are also quite expensive haven't faced a dragon yet so can't help you there
LoL, all he is missing is the Black Guard with the ASF banner & Tower Master, and then you have a real winner. My suggestions are: -Lore of Fire for the Hydras, with missiles coming from your channeling skink with the cloak. -Two Stegs with giant bows to skewer the large targets, esp the dragon. No armor save +D3 wounds. Make sure to get re-rolls with the Lord of Heavens spells so you hopefully don't miss a shot. The lord on foot is jucier target than on the damn dragon. -EoTG bubble your Slann against all his Xbows. -Counter his skirmishers with your own and just redirect and avoid. Either way, you have a hell of a fight on your hands, that list is the epitome of brutal cheese.
Although frowned upon. This might actually work! On a more serious note. Blade of realities? This is the 'normal' answer to tough things you have a hard time killing And sometimes it works. For consistent opposition, I'd also go for Slann Attack mode. Skinks in support, Terradons can fly over RXB-men quite well, but get shot afterwards. Shades are dealt with by Magic Missiles. Hydras with LOTS of magic missiles and skink fire. Giant bow for support, don't count on it though. Dragon with LOTS of magic missiles and skink fire. Giant bow for support, don't count on it though. Lord on foot (after dead dragon), ignore. Or magic missiles and skink fire. Bring your own nasty list. Or, alternatively: Bring the most fluffy list you can imagine and move towards him with your rear exposed. Then, after he massacres you, ask for another game and do the same thing again. Keep doing this untill he realises his list is somewhat* over the top. After he toned down his list, bring back your normal list and enjoy the game! The Hunted *: Understatement.
Consider bringing an Old-Blood with Blade of Realities and Jag charm (or carnosaur) as your Lord Choice. With all the multiwound monsters, the sword will be pretty awesome. Get a charge off on a hydra, and they are most likely dead with leadership 6 (assume he'll have to take 3 or 4 leadership tests and is BOUND to fail at least one.) This could also work on dragon, though leadership is 8 so its slightly harder. Ping pong this guy around and watch him cry as his cheesey monster list starts to crumble. Back this guy up with 2 or three priests with engines (if he whines say "deal with it, monster whore") and you should be golden.
ping pong your Carny-Lord (assuming carny) across the field into BOTH hydras AND his dragon? That WOULD be awesome. Unlikely, but awesome. your oldblood can be killed in multiple ways: He can be shot. His carny can be shot, leaving him very vulnerable. With masses RXB fire this can be done. He can be charged by a hydra (or, 2) and be killed outright. He can be charged by the Lord, and be killed outright. He can be fed shades, and be danced across the field with his Frenzy. Then get charged and killed... He can be killed by an assasin. The Oldblood is too much of a risk against this list. Ofcourse it works sometimes, but i seriously doubt you can do more than kill 1 of these monsters. Simple because, after you manage to kill 1 of them (assuming you CAN do that), he will evade him as if he were the plague. His dragon can fly away from you. And the Hydra moves like a skirmishers so is also able to prance around your LOS. Engines are powerfull. But are quite weak when faced with a hydra or dragonlord. Kill the priest, then move attention towards the stegadon. Which 'only' has 3 attacks. With some bad luck, your priest might actually get shot of by RXB! This isn't that likely, but never count out the odd bolt! Especially when fired en-masse. The Hunted
the skink cheif with BoR or the oldblood? none of them can get a terradon but you might want a BoR oldblood with a cold one instead of a carnosaur. no frenzy, good armor save, no chace to be shot down too soon, no chance to be left without mount and cheaper. CO move as fast as a carnosaur so it should be ok. also please not that the BBoC scar vet can easly deal with hydras in 1 turn. you have 4 attacks that hit on 3's wound on 4's and he gets no save. after he doesn't kill you back [assuming 0+ save] you should win combat and run him down.
On a serious note, I have to agree with The Hunted. A Slann is the best bang for buck against this player. Castle up and take mostly shooting units and fast movers. This list is incredibly hard to beat especially with the monsters and huge amount of shooting. I would maybe try for a cheesed out list too. Slann, three EoTG, minimal core, a couple Stegadons, then as many Terradons you can fit in the rest of the points. I would just put as many monsters and magic in as he has, just to try and out magic/monster him. If he realizes that the lists are not very much fun to play he may revise them. Try to take out his bolt throwers, then just magic his units to death. Enough Burning Alignments, giant bolts, magic, and Stegadons might be able to out match him.