Okay, in getting ready to try to put together an army for an upcoming tournament, I've put together the following list for my Dark Elves:

560 - Dreadlord - Pendant of Khaeleth, Armour of Darkness, Crimson Death, The Other Trickster's Shard, Black Dragon
180 - Sorceress - Lvl.2 (Dark Magic), Sceptre of Stability, Seal of Ghrond
165 - Master - BSB, Ring of Darkness, Shrieking Blade, Heavy Armour, Sea Dragon Cloak, Shield
317 - 41 Dark Elf Warriors - Shields, Lordling, Musician, Standard Bearer - Standard of Discipline
125 - 10 Dark Elf Crossbowmen - Shields, Musician, Standard Bearer
125 - 10 Dark Elf Crossbowmen - Shields, Musician, Standard Bearer
55 - 5 Harpies
55 - 5 Harpies
235 - 5 Cold One Knights - Dread Knight - Ring of Hotek; Musician; Standard Bearer - Standard of Slaughter
330 - 20 Black Guard - Tower Master- Ironcurse Icon, Dragonbane Gem; Standard Bearer- Banner of Murder; Musician
350 - 2 x Hydra
Total = 2497

I know only having the Lvl 2 keeps me weak magically, but she is there mainly for magic defense. The Seal of Ghrond gives her +1 dispel dice and the sceptre gives me one time use of adding an additional dispel die, so I should hopefully be able to hold out against a few spells.

I've been hesitant about giving the Knights the Ring of Hotek since the new addition change to it, but it just gives me that little bit more of magic defense to run with, especially if I march them up quickly to get within 12" of a spellcaster.

The BSB with the ring runs with the BG who, with their champion's Ironcurse Icon, will hopefully have enough of a decent defense against shooting (opponents are at 1/2 BS against them thanks to master and they get a 6+ ward vs. war machines because of the champion) to make people not want to bother to try, and then they hopefully can knock most folks around in close combat. But they also cause fear because of the BSB's weapon, so they'll have an even better chance of that. Also, with their champion having the dragonbane gem, I can throw him into challenges vs. fire-wielding opponents (such as certain daemons) and stand a pretty good chance of surviving.

Upping the spears to 40 gives me more options for set up (4x10 (horde!), 5x8 or 8x5) and makes the sorceress a little more survivable. With the standard they become Ld 9 for when I'm not within the 18" range of the Dreadlord to make their steadfast even better.

With three monsters on the board, that's a lot of draw to take the focus off of the other units for a turn or two. Hopefully it will give those units a chance to get in to close combat until the hydras can join (the dragon will probably already be there!).

What does everyone think?? I'm looking for any and all suggestions to make this competitive and still allow me to keep the dragon.