Topic: Dark Eldar: What Do You Recommend?

[Wyddr]

It occurs to me that, given the current meta and a casual stroll through Ebay, I could get a Dark Eldar army for short money.

Now, I've got my own ideas of what to take and not take, but I'm interested to hear if anybody out there still plays them or encounters them (they seem to have vanished into the Webway around here and were never popular to begin with).

What do you think works? Can a pure DE list do okay in a friendly environment (not advocating taking them to tourneys, mind you)?

Seen any nasty combos?

[Cavalier]

Hey Wydrr. Yes, though much maligned Dark Eldar can still bring the pain. Lawrence from Tabletop Tactics is a dedicated Dark Eldar player and has won the No Retreat GT (from SN Battlereports) three times in row with pure Dark Eldar. The DE community is extremely pessimistic and cynical, but in reality the army is still good and can compete.

Their best units are Kabalite Warriors, Venoms, Reaver Jetbikes, Razorwing Jetfighters and the deadly Talos pain-engine (in particular using the Corpse Thief Claw formation from the Haemonuculus Covens book). But simply put Kabalite Warriors in Venoms supported by multiple groups of Reavers is extremely deadly and can catch people totally unawares.

The Reavers have great jink saves and shred people in close-combat with their incredible hammer of wrath attacks with their cluster caltrop upgrades. They are ultra-fast (fastest unit in the game) and can also bring great shooting via the Blasters which can bust tanks.

The Kabalites in Venoms just bring incredible amounts of shooting, extreme mobility and are great scoring options (Reavers too) in maelstrom type games.

They have a variety of units are good support units like Mandrakes (despite their reputation), Scourge and even small units of Incubi are very effective at mulching Marines and holding the line.

If you want to see Lawrence's list and see the results of his games check

Vox Cast Transmission 13: No Retreat III Tournament Report - YouTube

His previous lists were all fairly different... whether it be pain engines, flyers or MSU Reavers.

Also check out the Splintermind Podcast (which I've participated in the past) where they talk to Skari and Lawrence about what works for DE. Its probably the best DE primer you could ask for. Its episode 26- Skari and the Spider.

I definitley plan on getting back to my DE soon. I really want to give the Reavers a whirl since they are amongst my favorite models in the DE line. Anyway Wydrr hope that gives you a decent overview...

Splintermind: The Dark Eldar Podcast

If you have any more questions I'm happy to help

[Wyddr]

This basically mirrors my thoughts--Venoms, Reavers, Kabalites, and MSU tactics.

Do you kit up your HQ a lot (CC beast Archon) or go cheap?

I like Archons, both in terms of fluff and some of the older models (newer one with the arms crossed is pretty silly looking, imho) and they've got a nice statline, so my instinct is to kit one with a shadowfield, agonizer, and haywire grenades. That's a lot to spend on wargear, though.

Then, what to escort him with? Archon's court looks sort of lame. Trueborn are nice, but don't hit too hard in CC (which is where he belongs). Incubi are pretty cool, but their low Str (even with Klaives) gives me some pause. Grotesques? Can't see them really paying off against most opponents.

I'll check out those sources--thanks Cavalier!

[Cavalier]

Hey Wydrr all good questions.

Yeah most people hate the Archon loaded up for combat, but I must confess, I've had resounding success with my mine. I've had him take ungodly amounts of damage, or at the least tie up dangerous units for multiple turns. Particularly against Necrons and Marines. Yeah I go Shadowfield, Agonizer and Haywire all day. If you are lean and mean with the rest of your list you can have fun with your warlord.

Also I totally forgot... Grotesques! Grotesques are a fantastic unit... especially via the Haemonculus Covens book. But even straight from the DE dex they are great... and give a high majority toughness to the Archon. They are a fantastic unit and perfectly suit an Archon loaded for combat. When you take them from the Covens book they get a dramatically improved Power from Pain chart too. Grotesques are fantastic... check out Skaredcast on youtube (Skari) who uses them extensivley. They absolutley shred in combat and gain Fearless fairly quickly from the Covens book.

Yes the Incubi are a bit risky, but when taking just a unit of 3 in a Venom as a defensive unit they can be quite nice. Power From Pain helps them out too. Sslyth aren't horrible especially with their good stats and Shard Carbines. But honestly, its all about Grotesques.

Alternately you can have him loaded up with an Agonizer, Shadowfield and a Blaster and have him rock around with True Born blowing up vehicles. You can pull off some nasty deepstrike moves via Raiders... and when measuring from any point of the hull you can pull some really dirty moves to get rear armor on stuff like Imperial Knights.

Again most people advocate cheap Archons, or just go with a ultra cheap Lahmean (which is FAQ legal) for warlord options... but Lawrence from TTT took a fun tooled up Archon to No Retreat and dominated his opponents. He went power sword, shadowfield, blaster riding around in his own Venom which is really cool. Again I'd upgrade and give him the Agonizer, Shadowfield, Blaster and I find he's been great.

[Wyddr]

Hmmmm...I'll need to run some tests on the Grotesques, I suppose. The lack of AP or rending or anything makes them seem sort of like Ogryns, except reasonably priced ones. I've had a hell of a time every getting *Ogryns* to pay off, but the Grots do have some extra attacks in the mix. Their *terrible* leadership is worrisome, should the Archon meet with an unfortunate end. 

Do people bother with the Liquifier? It doesn't seem that great, given the low Str, but there isn't a hell of a lot of AP2 in the book, and that's one possibility.

What about the Phantasm Grenades Launchers (scattered about throughout). They look fun, but also kinda terrible. Still, it's like a cheap, slightly weaker Psychic Shriek every turn without the need for a psyker, sooo...

[Lord of Winter and War]

The grotesqurie formation from the Covens book is really good. The abilities they can get are phenomenal, and they can get so many attacks with poisoned (so often re-rolling wounds). I'm terrified of them.

Liquifiers I wouldn't bother with, no would I bother with Phantasm grenade launchers. So many units in the game are immune to the phantasm grenades.

[Wyddr]

...and they can get so many attacks with poisoned (so often re-rolling wounds). I'm terrified of them.

Ah! I *always* forget that about Poisoned.

Okay, now I get it. Grotesques, here we come!

(I mean, assuming I do this. I have, like, four other army projects running and only like 3 opponents, soooo...)

[Cavalier]

KS is right on the money. They are freaking scary... and they get tons of morale boosts from the Covens Supplement Power from Pain.

They make a nice 1-2 punch with the Reavers. The Reavers can go out and get in everyones face in the first wave, then the Grotesques can follow them up, or protect your lines.

DE are a great army... they are very challenging to play but actually have the tools to hang with the big boys. They can do work against Battle Company because they are great in assault and can pop light transports easy. They have the mobility to shoot or assault Eldar laser bikes, Warp Spiders and other Aspect warriors and since they are an extreme threat overload MSU army it mitigates their shooting to a good extent. Against Necrons they do work too since they can get into combat and pull lots of Leadership shenanigans. They have their bad matchups (like Tau) but so does everyone.

They are a good army thats highly rewarding to master. Go for it Wydrr! 

[Wyddr]

I'm thinking about it. As I said, a lot of other irons in the fire and not a lot of 40K action around here anymore (thanks a lot, rapid 7th Edition changeover  ).

One last question: Shredders.

The statline looks pretty sweet for the cost, but nobody seems to use them. Is that because Blasters are needed for Antitank (and, yeah, I can see that), or are Shredders somehow worse than they look?

[Cavalier]

Yeah I dont bother with Shredders. Part of the deal is the range... the standard Splinter Rifle is such a nice weapon... putting your dudes within thin double-tap range for bolters and assault is just not worth it. Especially if you are in a Venom.

Besides Blasters are just essential. 5 Warriors+ blaster in a Venom is almost obligatory. Furthermore the anti-infantry firepower coming out of 4 warriors (minus the warrior with the blaster) + venom with double splinter cannons is just ridiculous. The Shredders become redundant and endanger your dudes by getting close enough to deliver.

The best option for dropping pie plates is the Razorwing which is ridiculously deadly. Thing is just a missile machine.