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Haemonculi Tactica

Submitted By: Date: October 24, 2006, 08:00:00 PM Views: 2069
Summary: This faq is written in my own free time and made for all those Dark Eldar players who would like to know more about how to use their Haemonculi. I will discuss various options and configurations about the Haemonculi but may forget parts due to lack of knowledge of them. If you notice this then feel free to pm me and I will add it to this article. I hope after reading this little faq you will have learned a bit more about how to field your Haemonculi unit. -Archon Bjorn-

Haemonculi Tactica

Introduction

Haemonculi; torturers beyond compare. They dedicate their lives to perfecting the art of pain, and the science of fear. The most talented create their own twisted servants and war machines. Unlike the rest of Dark Eldar society, Haemonculi can act independently. The Lords of Kabals and Cults hire these disturbed persons to inflict pain and suffering on their enemies and build them more effective killing machines.

Haemonculi are protected by their own covens. This means that their lives are safer then that of the average Dark Eldar. The Haemonculi are found in nearly every kabal that can afford one (like incubi) yet they are also the advisors and counsellors of the archon, their intelligence and insight quite valuable.  Allot of our kindred don’t see the power that these covens have in our community.

Haemonculi can also be found on the battlefield. Leading their own Coven minions and weapons.  This article will cover Haemonculi on the battlefield, the various nuances and strategies which suit them best.



Haemonculi Stats:

Surprisingly a haemonculus' stats are different then you would expect from a normal Dark Eldar unit. He has a lower intiative but a higher T. Something that is quit unusual for our kindred.

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The Haemonculi his weaponskill doesn’t really matter, as I will explain further in the article whereas his BS also won’t matter 90% of the time (I will also cover this later on in the article)



A Haemonculi is relative cheap for what you get in return. The ability to take 3 haemonculi as one HQ combined with the ability that they are only 25 pts and are able to take wargear makes them suitable for several roles where you don’t want to spend a Dracon or Archon for.




A Haemonculi his strengths.


A Haemonculi doesn’t benefit from special rules. Although they do have acces to some special wargear and the like. However this also has its advantages and disadvantages. Let us look at a Haemonculi his
 strengths.



-Cheap Hq

-Able to tak 3 as one HQ choice

-Acces to special wargear

-Independent character status

-Able to take wargear.



The last one seems quit obvious of course. It is a HQ after all. However I will cover later on in the article why its so important that the Haemonculi can take the same



Of course like all units. The Haemonculi also has its weaknesses.






A Haemonculi his weaknesses:





A Haemonculi his special weapons:


Like stated before. The Haemonculi has acces to special wargear in the armoury. These are the following:




Scissorhands


Cheap for its points yet effective and what it does. The poison blades allow you to wound on a 2+ regardless of the target his toughness. This can make the difference in tackling down that wraithlord or not.



Of course you should never rely on the strength of this weapon. Like I said before the Haemonculi is meant to add SOME close combat punch to the squad although in a very limited way. Keep in mind that this weapon is not a power weapon and therefore it is mostly countered by the creatures saving throw. This weapon is also suited to take down masses of light armoured infantry like Guardsman.




Stinger


A shooting weapon with a limited range. I doubt that many of us will ever use this weapon as the destructor is a better option. (See below for more details) Fluff wise it is a real Haemonculi weapon. Letting the units explode in a good old fashion of red gore and the like.



Although I won’t go to far into details it comes down that you need to wound with a low S weapon with almost no AP. When you wound the model you need to place small blast marker on the model thus other units are hit with the same S as the creature his toughness. This weapon is in my opinion not worth it points and your better of spending your points elsewhere.






Destructor:


Now this is most likely the most favourit weapon of the Haemonculi. This weapon is actually our only DE flamer! But we just wouldn’t field normal flamers do we? Instead the flamer has a random AP that is
 determinated by the roll of a D6. This is also the reason why the BS of the Haemonculi doesn’t really matter as a flamer auto hits.


Note: For every model you wound you roll a SEPARATE dice for the AP. There has been allot of confusion among our kindred how this weapon actually works but if you read it right then you notice that you need to roll the AP for every model you wound.



A fluffwise explanation is that the flamer fires off a acid cloud. The effect of the cloud depends on the place where the unit stands as some areas are covered with more acid then another part.




I personally love this weapon. Mainly because with a little bit of luck you are able to melt a terminator or 2 with this weapon instantly earning its points and that of the Haemonculi back.




Summeray weapons:


So we have discussed the three weapons of the Haemonculi. What is their overall intended target?
-Scissorhands : Light infantry or combined with a agoniser to tackle down high T creatures.

-Stinger : Light infantry with a 5+ save seems best suited as targets.

-Destructor: Its random AP makes it effective versus all kind of infantry being it either heavy or light.




Wargear:


Now I hear you thinking. If the Haemonculi are meant to support your squads a bit. Then why is the wargear so important? Seeing as it will most likely footslog or join other squads on raiders allot of wargear won’t seem necessary.



How wrong you actually are. Haemonculi are meant to mainly carry one piece of wargear. This piece of wargear is our precious webway portal! When making use of his IC status a Haemonculi will most likely survive long enough to
 deploy the portal while the warriors screen him off and take the incoming blows.



Besides carrying the WWP a Haemonculi is also suited to carry a nightmare doll if you tend to use it. Its wounds make sure that he won’t die while his IC status will still most likely keep him alive.



Other wargear that should be considered are:

Gruesome talisman

This makes the Haemonculi suddenly count for allot of model in close combat. A fairly usefull piece of wargear for its points to quickly outnumber your opponent in close combat.




Reaver jetbike:

See Haemonculi configurations below.






Haemonculi configurations and uses.


These are the most common configurations.




Haemonculi  w/web way portal


Keep him plain. Once the webway portal is deployed he will most likely quickly stand in the open and die. The most common use of these carriers is to place them between 2 large warrior squads.


WWWW       WWWW

WWWW         H   WWWW

WWWW      WWWW

WWWW      WWWW



W=Warrior

H=Haemonculi




Haemonculi: w/scissorhands, gruesome talisman


If you decide to throw your Haemonculi in a squad of wyches then you will most likely prefer to FoF over shooting. Thus the destructor has no real use. These kind of cheap haemos are also usefull in combination with a grotesque squad. Don’t come within the kill zone of power weapons though



Try to place them like this:



    E E E L E H E

W E E E E E E E W

WWWS W W W H



W=Wych

S= Succubus

H=Haemonculi

E=Enemy

L=Leader

H= Heavy weapon model



You should be out of the killzone this way while the rest of the squad covers the whole squad keeping them on their place. Remember that your haemonculi strikes after the rest of the wych squad and the like so your opponent will probably remove the models that are in BtB with the Haemonculi. Therefor try to let him stand a the side of the model with the heavy weapon.






Haemonculi: w/Scissorhands, gruesome talisman, destructor


I would simply add a destructor when your haemonculi is leading other squads that prefer to rapid fire instead of charging.. (Raiding squads with blaster and a splinter cannon.) combined with the raider his
 disintegrator this small squad is able to tackle down small to medium sized MEQ squads. A usefull addition to any force which wants a fun unit. Keep in mind to start shooting with the destructor!



[assuming the flamer hits 4 models]

Average kills with Raider squad (7 warriors inc. 1 blaster and splinter cannon)

MEQ:

-   Splinter cannon: 0.44

-   1 blaster: 0.56

-   10 rapid fire shots 0.72

-   Destructor 1



So without the help of your disintegratos you kill on average 2.72 marines. That ain’t so bad is it?






Haemonculi: w/Scissohands, gruesome talisman, destructor, reaver jetbike.


These are used to flame the enemy while using their IC status and hop back while another unit charges in. Keep in mind that since GW published the war gear book DE bikes can move in the assault phase.




Units to tag along with:


As you can see above. A Haemonculi is a pretty versatile model. Thus it can join almost any squad depending on the way you have armed him. Try to keep in mind that if you are going to FoF instead of shooting to only add poison blades whereas your gonna shoot both. (As he will most likely be locked in combat the turn after)


Warriors (meatshields)    webway porta
l
Warriors (raider squad)   Destructor, Scissohands

Wyches.         Scissohands, gruesome talisman

Grotesques        Destructor Scissohands gruesome talisman




Tips and last words:


Like I have stated earlier you should try to keep your haemonculi out of the way of power
 weapons or fists. I know that normal attacks also easily kill this model but a commander will quickly make short work of him.



Try to charge near the heavy weapon model so your opponent doesn’t remove models near your haemo to negate his attacks.



Don’t expect this model to last very long. It will often be whipped away pretty quickly. Overall I would go for the reaver jetbike/tag with grots and webway portal carrier Haemonculi.



Keep in mind that this unit is cheap and expandable, it won’t hurt to much when you will lose it overall. There for dare to take some risks with a destructor Haemonculi.



Don’t go overboard with this unit. Although a model on its own isn’t expensive. Getting 2/3 of them with some nifty configuration will quickly start to suck up points. If you are to win tournaments and the like then I would only take more then one haemonculi if you are using them as webway portal carriers.



And thus I have written down so far what I can think of at the moment. PM me if you have any tips what to add. Or if I forgot to include something. Heck, if you have a nifty configuration then PM me right away and I will include it in the article.

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