The following Special Character has not been playtested as thoroughly as the ones presented in the army books and is not necessarily as balanced or fair. Consequently, you must agree with your opponent about whether you can use him or not before the battle begins. If you do use this character in your games, then why not email GW and let them know what you think?

Shadowblade is still young in Dark Elf terms, being a mere 150 years old. His reputation, however, is already legendary. Stories of his grisly adventures are used as the basis of ballads sung by Dark Elf minstrels, or as bedtime stories for Dark Elf children. Possibly his most famous exploit was the murder of the entire crew of a High Elf Hawkship, one by one over a period of several days. Only the horribly mutilated captain was left alive, so that he could tell of the days and nights of mounting horror on the ship as the crew desperately attempted to corner Shadowblade, but without success.

Almost imperceptibly, the shadow slipped over the outer wall of the Dark Lord's residence and dropped silently to the ground on the other side. Shadowblade was frequently called upon by Hellebron to dispose of her political opponents or those who had wronged her in some way, however slight their indiscretion.

He had no opinions about the murders he committed for his mistress, only that he had been ordered to carry them out and that he enjoyed nothing more. He like the way a body went limp as a poisoned dagger was slipped between its ribs. He took pleasure in the contorted expressions of indescribable pain his victims exhibited under the effects of the agonising Black Venom.

Quite simply, he loved his work. And he was loyal. The only thing he valued more than being able to kill was loyalty, a quality indoctrinated into him from childhood during his harsh upbringing in the Temple of Khaine, ever since he was stolen from his parents' home on Death Night many, many years ago.

In the Temple he had learnt the deadly martial arts of the assassins of Khaine, studied the power of poisons, learnt how to move without making a sound and slip through shadows unseen, and that there was none more important than the Hag Queen, except the Witch King himself.

As Shadowblade sank his dagger up to its hilt into the back of the guard at the entrance to the tower he did not even think about his action. It was second nature to him and he did it automatically. The guards further into the tower likewise gave him no trouble, only becoming vaguely aware of his presence as he killed them.

Shadowblade can be fielded in a Dark Elf army and counts as a Lord choice. He must be fielded exactly as described here and may not be given any additional equipment. Like all Assassins, he may not be the army's General.

Points: 360

Weapons & Equipment: Shadowblade has two hand weapons coated with Dark Venom (p22, Dark Elf army book), carries the Heart of Woe and a Potion of Strength. He also has the Dance of Doom, Touch of Death, Hand of Khaine and Cry of War abilities (page 23, Dark Elf army book).

Heart of Woe: If Shadowblade is slain, centre the large blast marker over his final position. Any model fully under is automatically hit, while models partially under are hit on a roll of 4+. Models hit by the exploding Heart of Woe take a Strength 3 hit.

Potion of Strength: Shadowblade may drink this at the start of any turn and it lasts until the start of the next player's turn. While it has an effect, the Potion gives Shadowblade +3 Strength.

MASTER OF ASSASSINS: Shadowblade is treated as an Assassin in all respects, with the exception of his Hidden rules. Shadowblade may be deploy in one of four ways: as normal; as a Scout (with a unit of Shades if you desire); using the Hidden rules on page 11 of the Dark Elf book; inside the enemy army. If he chooses to deploy in the enemy army, the following rules are used. At the start of any of your turns, you may declare that Shadowblade is revealing himself. Place a marker anywhere on the table. This is where he was attempting to hide. Roll a scatter dice and an artillery dice. If you roll a misfire, Shadowblade was discovered by the enemy and counts as slain. If you roll a number, move the marker this many inches in the direction indicated by the scatter dice (or he remains where the marker is, if you have rolled a 'Hit'). Place Shadowblade on the marker's final position. Shadowblade may move and fight as normal on the turn he arrives (including declaring charges). If the scatter would take Shadowblade into an enemy unit, place him at the front of the unit and in combat (or as close to the front of the unit as possible). He counts as charging that turn. If he would scatter into a friendly unit move him to the closest edge, outside the unit.