So I’ve now been playing Dark Elves for 3 seasons now and I think slowly they’ve become one of my favourite teams to play with at least from a competitive level. You can’t quite pull of the nonsense you can with Woodies or Elf Union, but you can play a mean defensive game while still having plenty of power on the attack. They’re also a team with a LOT of positionals to choose from, all of which are expensive so unfortunately, you’re not going to be able to take all of them at once.

The passing change has, however, dampened their effectiveness a little. They never were a passing team like Elf Union or High Elves, but their Quick Passes have gone from 2+ all round to 3+ at best and 5+ at worst. The age of passing between Blitzers or Witch Elves is all but over, but that’s not to say this team has lost any of its offensive capability, we just need to be a little different in how we approach it! Fumblerooksie (mentioned many times below) is going to be our ticket to success I feel and does play nicely into the more loose running game that Dark Elves play anyway.

With that in mind, let’s look at some of my recommended Dark Elf Starting Roster, of which you’ll probably recognise if you’ve been playing Dark Elves or Blood Bowl for any length of time!

Full Block, 2 ReRolls TV1000 Roster:

This gets you maximum block off the bat, which, is incredibly important early on I find. Your Blitzers are your primary force, doing most of the leg work thanks to Block and AV9+, making key blitzes and, surprising for elves, doing a fair amount of hitting as well. Compared to other Elf teams you get 4 of these glorious bastards, giving you a bit of a buffer if one or two get knocked out. It’s definitely worth trying to spread the SPP out on these guys, as it’s really easy for one of them to hog all the glory and leave the rest in the dust. I’d keep these guys lean and trim, sticking to guaranteed skills rather than any random ones. These are your reliable guys and need to stay that way, so I think you’re better off saving up the SPP if you need Guard or MB.

The Runner gets included here as the only real passing option we have. At 3+ in the new edition, it’s a bit worse than the old edition but still usable. With Passing as a Primary you try to roll for a cheap upgrade, but I feel like you’d be better of saving for PA2+ , followed by some Nerves of Steel to make the most of Dump Off (it’s such a shame we have to pay extra for what we once had!). The cost for this could be offset by giving the linemen some random Primaries instead. Alternatively one could look at something like Running Pass or Fumblerooksie as some more short-ranged options, the latter if which pairs nicely with MA7.

Speaking of, the rest of the roster contains these ever so reliable, if expensive linemen, and then 2 rerolls which is fine at this stage, but I’d be looking to get a 3rd sooner rather than later. They’re a bit expensive I feel to fully commit to give them random skills, but there’s very little in the General or Agility columns than these guys can’t utilise in some way. AG2+ makes them fairly easy to level up as well, picking up a dropped ball from the aforementioned Fumblerooksie skill. It might even be worth trying for a Random Secondary on one or two just to see if you can get some cheap Guard!

This build is best if you want a nice, reliable start with the Apothecary and of course a Witch Elf as your next purchases.

Surf City, 2 ReRolls TV1000 Roster:

Trades a Runner for a Lineman and then a Blitzer for the Witch Elf. This is my favourite Dark Elf Starting roster, just for the sheer threat early on that is frenzy. Unless your league is full of Ogre and Elf Union teams, it’s unlikely that there will be any sidestep in play, so your literal mean-girl can have her fun! Keep an eye on her, however, as unlike the blitzers she lacks block and Frenzy can be a hard skill the master. She’s going to be a prime target and she will be getting a boot to the face should she end up on the ground and at 110k she’s an expensive investment to lose, especially with no Apothecary.

She’s been given very a very poor passing ability now, so no more vanity passes for level ups or even pairing two Witches off together to pass between them. They’re still very good players though and it might even be worth throwing a Random Secondary on one to try for cheek Strength skill!

Going forward, I’d prioritise the Apo first, followed by either the 4th Blitzer if there’s a lot of block in the League, or the 3rd reroll if you’re finding you’re rolling a lot of dice. After that, then get your Runner for some ball-handling capability and some ok-ish passing.

Aaron added an Assassin!?, 2 ReRolls TV1000 Roster:

It’s HERESY I know! Unfortunately for me, the Assassin got a buff…. a BUFF!!!! So now I feel I have to consider him!

At MV6, 90k, he was close to useless, but now he’s been bumped up to MV7 for 5k less! Thanks to the new way SPP and buying skills works, he can also just save up for Multi-Block rather than having to wait for a doubles roll that may never come.

MV7 makes him a half-decent ball carrier and you can quite easily get him some scoring spp thanks to that extra square of movement (picking up dropped balls from Fumblerooksie for example). I still wouldn’t be too reliant on Shadowing, especially given the changes to it, rather make him into a mobile stabbing machine. PA5+ means he’s probably not going to passing to anyone, but I think he’s a lot better than he once was, especially for less money! It’s nice to see actually, the Assassin is incredibly flavourful for the Dark Elf team so to see him get better is good.

This might not be the build I’d go for (although it DOES start with a Witch Elf so….) but I’d be far more tempted to add him on as my 12th/13th player going forward.

That said, I’d be tempted to just keep the one for now. As before, the Apo (very important with 3 times the AV8+ on this one!), 3rd ReRoll and the 4th Blitzer are going to be your priorities in the short term.

Dark Elf Starting Roster, Conclusion:

Despite the passing change, things haven’t changed much in terms of the rosters themselves, other than maybe the Runner being a bit more of a priority to get that PA3+  on the field. The Assassin pops his head into these as well which makes a nice change, but everyone else has largely remained the same in terms of what they do. We’re still going to be playing that loose cage running game and the new skills are certainly going to help offset the lack of 2+ passing.

The changes to casualties and the lower odds of getting permanent injuries helps us a little too. Dark Elf teams have always been expensive so losing a player was a big hit, so hopefully, we’ll be able to keep our team in good shape for longer.

The biggest benefit (for all teams, not just us) is being able to reliably get those Secondaries without waiting on dice rolls. Dark Elves have always struggled to get any real Strength skill, so being able to just buy them, even for a larger cost really works in their favour. It’s a team that doesn’t really struggle in terms of SPP, so I’d be very tempted to have my 3rd/4th Blitzers wait a bit longer just for some Guard or MB.

If you’ve somehow ended up in the wrong edition, check out the Dark Elf Starting Roster for Blood Bowl 2016 instead!