Hail thee, new commander here!

[Amras]

So I was browsing the internet yesterday and then I found out an awesome webshop in the UK, selling warhammer miniatures at much lower prices than they are over here. (Must have something to do with the low value of the pound ) I promply decided to get back into this hobby and I ordered:

2x Dark Elf Battalion:



2x Dark Elf Reaper Bolt Thrower



I figured this should get me a fairly good start on my army. I've never played Dark Elves before though, nor have I played against them. In fact I haven't played warhammer at all since 7th edition, so I'm still used to those of the 6th edition.

I'm stuck waiting for my miniatures to arrive now as they have to be shipped all the way over here (the Netherlands) and it's Christmas so I understand if this process is delayed. I'm already thinking about how I wanna play them, and I have some questions as well...

how are corsairs generally used? I''ll have 40 of them. Should I use them in units of 10, 15, or 20? Should I give them handbows or not?

And should I give my Spearmen shields or not? I love it how cheap they are compared to other elves, should I keep them this way or give them some more staying power?

Hope to hear from you soon!

-Amras

[Loki]

Let me be the first to welcome you here. It is a wonderful place, full of all the information you could need. Now, just make sure that you read the forum rules that are at the top of every forum, and the FAQ, to which you can find a link in my signature.

[Matricide]

Since it is your first post here - welcome

Well, there are a lot of topics with these discussions already.. but I myself would use shields on the warriors - they are worth the cost, as long as you don't face armies consisting of S4 or higher attacks only.
They are great to tool up as well the banner of murder, a standard of Hag graef or an assassin can double their value.

Corsair handbows could be fun to play with - but in the end they aren't suited for serious games and might only be effective in skirmish-games. Let them have 2 hand weapons, if you don't want to use 40 corsairs in your army you could always try to model some of them into shades or a couple of assassins - and save some money in one go.

[Melikai the wicked]

Welcome fellow Drealord may death fall onto your enemies.

Whats the name of the website where you bought your minatures and hows the shipping?

[Irtehdar]

Welcome to d.net first off. May your victories be swift and your enemies... whatever...

Handbows for corsairs? I wouldnt. I have a hard time finding a purpose for that which wont ultimately be filled better by other core choices. However with the additional weapons you have a unit that can do alot of good.

Wether to go with units of 10, 15 or 20? That depends on how you want to use them. Id say model up 30 of them. That gives you the opportunity to experiment around with the different sizes and you will rarely go above a total of 30 anyway(3x10, 2x15, 1x10+1x20... you get my point)
It also gives you afew extra models for converting funny stuff with.

About shields for spearmen. I would say yes its worth it in most cases. And Id advice you to go with shields for crossbowelves aswell. (with shields they can double in as melee fighters aswell if the need arises and that flexibility comes at a very cheap price)

[Amras]

@Loki: Thanks for the welcome I hope I will enjoy my stay here.

@Matricide & Irthedar: Well yes, a point for more staying power might be worth it indeed. I am actually considering putting them on my crossbowmen as well, but I've heard that the Battalion box doesn't give enough shields to do this... I will have to get them elsewhere then...

I will model my Corsairs with 2 hand weapons then as I reconsidered that an 8" shooting attack will do practically nothing most of the time (right?) ALTHOUGH most of my games will be in a friendly manner where WYSIWYG doesn't apply too strictly (considering a soda can once was a stand-in for a dragon ) and I could try them out with handbows sometime. I mean, a small unit of 10 corsairs could, theoretically, move within 8" and fire off 10 shots or so. Then if the enemy desides to charge, they fire off another 10 shots before they die (most likely). If you somehow manage to scare the enemy into NOT charging, you can move around the Corsairs even more next round and fire again! Actually, come to think of it, if you also fire with other things at the enemy unit it might actually hurt it pretty badly. I MUST TRY THIS OUT!

@Melikai The Wicked: Okay I wanna be very careful about recommending this site. This site seems to be a pretty small-time business run by just a couple of guys or maybe even just one man. His name is on the website and he also responded to my emails. We emailed back and forth quite a lot today while I was at work. He said that he expects me to get my order by the beginning of next week (5th of January). Which means he'll probably dispatch it next Monday or Tuesday (29 or 30th of December). He cannot promise me anything though becauase of course I did place my order on the 1st day of Christmas and he'll ship it around newyears. On these days I don't expect either him or the shipping service to be doing much work. Anyway it has to come all the way from Nottingham to the Netherlands so if you live in the UK I guess you could have it much sooner.

Still I think it's worth it as I am only a poor high school student living in my own appartment and by buying from him I got my order for 118 euros instead of the 205 euros it costs over here! I consider that a pretty good deal!

I don't know if druchii.net likes me "advertising" for online webshops so I'll withhold the website's name for now. I'll tell you more once I've gotten my order and an okay from a moderator here, to link the website

[Calisson]

Many people are convinced handbow corsairs are not useful.
I still like to take them.

a small unit of 10 corsairs could, theoretically, move within 8" and fire off 10 shots or so. => they can only move 5" and shoot, or move 10" and not shoot. But it is still usable.

Then if the enemy desides to charge, they fire off another 10 shots before they die (most likely).
They don't necessarily die at all! and the enemy may find himself in odd positions, whether he is stuck in melee or if he pursues in unfavourable direction

If you somehow manage to scare the enemy into NOT charging, you can move around the Corsairs even more next round and fire again! Actually, come to think of it, if you also fire with other things at the enemy unit it might actually hurt it pretty badly. I MUST TRY THIS OUT! Sure do it!

The taunting unit you describe is my favorite use.
There are other uses for them.
They may babysit a sorceress (you don't want these corsairs in melee, neither the sorceress - the stand & shoot will deter light cavalry).
They may, simply, occupy a 1/4 table, especially inside a building, let them plunder and they'll be happy, and very difficult to dislodge save by magic or template weapons.

[Amras]

Well my purchase arrived today, yayyyy! I can get started on ze glueing!!

[No one]

if you live near Alkmaar you could come to the GW store there (we game there every saturday from 10 till 5) it's in the Boterstraat.

however, welcome fellow dreadlord, I hope you will prove usefull to me in my plotting

[Amras]

Thanks for the invite, No One. Unfortunately I am 157 kilometres away from you guys, a distance i'm not quite prepared to cross when I can play with my friends in my own town, or at my gaming club a mere 9 km away

[No one]

in that case I hope you'll have a lot of fun! show them what a dark elf can do