What makes Malekith so strong?

[DJTron]

I just started playing and as such don't have a great grasp of some of the more obscure concepts or races I haven't played yet. I'm trying out DE soon and I keep hearing about how Malekith is the strongest LL for the faction, but I can't figure out why. As far as his personal lord effect, it seems pretty great, but his empire-wide benefits seem meh at best and he has the XP share/loyaly debuff to work around for a downside. What makes him so strong?

[Fendelphi]

He is a fairly strong fighter/caster hybrid with access to a dragon mount. He gains access to a spell that can deal a good amount of damage, while healing himself. That pretty much means he can deal with most problems in combat, regardless of the rest of his army.

Empire wide-buffs are rarely the be-all, end-all. By the end game, most research and lord buffs surpass such bonuses by a fair bit.

[Cheslock]

Drago

[Toaster Maximus]

His mother issues and the blood of his foes?

[RadCon One]

His starting Region is the main thing he has going for him. It is a 4 region province that is in the very corner of the map and so is easier to defend, while also having a port for black arks and having a good number of landmarks nearby.

Otherwise like you said he has absolutely trash empire traits going for him, so really you are better off confederating him as another faction if you can than you are going for him himself as long as you don't mind not having him from turn 1.

[Ragnarok]

I thought Malus was a fun dark elf. Hard start but really strong over all. At least to me.

[Jamescougar]

The xp share is one of the best faction trait in fact. Malekith will reach lvl 25+ in no time no mater what because of rebellions, norsca, skavens, de, etc billions of stacks to kill. But due to this trait, you will pex the other lords much faster in mid game, and Malekith will reach lvl 40 with ease fighting asurtide.

You will notice that it is one of the few faction which the random lords can reach lvl20+ in AI hands, because of this trait.

Queek's trait is the mirror and is absolute trash.

Plus, as others said : strong start in a corner of the map, insane economy from lvl 10 to end of the campaign, lethal roster, very decent lord in battle in early, then beast once he is leveled, godtier with sword of khaine.

Doesn't suffer comparison with other LL's factions, lokhir and malus are tedious, hellebron will need much more time to be a powerhouse. I don't play Morathi, but i heard she can compete if you get out of the early game because you can invade Ulthuan fast.

[Teh_Diplomat]

Early on, his access to generate more magic is available from the beginning, which is nice in the early game. His lore of magic also leads to heavy debuffs on lords/ and heroes.

During the mid-game, it's nice to be able to funnel back magic into your fire sorceress who you start with.


Once you get the Dragon, you're able to lure the enemy into magic, pin down and cast de-buffs on lords/heroes; and Malekith becomes quite powerful.


It's not so much the raw damage output (good, but not great) but his speed, Hp, physical resist, and lore of magic and he's fantastic in Mortal Empires.

[Ashley]

Compared to other dark elves his starting region is one of the most safest and easiest to secure. VS early game skaven ai. Extremely weak in their hands. Vs Morthi, Malus and whatever his name is starting in areas with tons of enemies. I wouldn't say he does anything OP it's just that most of the other lords have worse to deal with,

[Ashantai]

It's a mixture of everything.

His campaign is fairly easy, especially in ME.
He has great faction wide buffs, some of the best of anyone.
He's a caster who gets a dragon and is good in combat.
He has great magical items.

Put it together and you have a character which can fly, heal himself with dark magic, destroy almost anyone in combat, and benefit his entire faction.

No one else has that mix I feel. Vlad has casting and toughness but no mobility, Tyrion has combat and mobility but no spells, Mannfred has mobility and spells, but lacks in combat compared.

[yuzhonglu]

-50% upkeep reduction to darkshards.

[Sardorim]

Put him on his Dragon.

He will destroy almost any LL in 1 vs 1 battle.

Though with Imrik now around... I would say he may be the most OP LL ever if he gets all his upgrades.

[GodKilla-]

Rumors say it's a can of spinache every day that makes him so strong