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.

With that in mind, let’s look at some of my recommended Dark Elf Starting rosters, 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 AV8, 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.

The Runner gives you one of my personal favourite skills Dump Off, which is a pain to deal with early on. He’ll be picking up on 2s but you’ll still want to get Sure Hands and Nerves of Steel on him as soon as possible. I like to only play him on the attack as well, so when you hit 12 players you’re better of replacing him with a cheaper, more durable Line-elf.

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.

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.

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.

Dark Elf Starting Rosters, Conclusion:

You may have noticed that neither of these rosters includes the Assassin. That is because this has been written by me, Aaramus, and you’ll never see an Assassin in my Dark Elf teams. You’ll have to as someone else if you want a roster with them in!

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But if you’re feeling stabby then you can include him in a roster with 2 Runners, 2 Blitzers, 2 Witch Elves, 4 Linemen and 1 ReRoll….. if you want to that is…… but I wouldn’t…..

If you’ve somehow ended up in the wrong edition, check out the Dark Elf Starting Rosters for Blood Bowl 2020 instead!