HELP!!!! How Should I run Dark Eldar?

[geneticdeviant]

Would appreciate some help from you good people if possible.

I have acquired the new dark eldar codex and im still undecided about how to approach running them.

My first idea was something based around the following:

2 or 3 units of Wyches all led by a Haemonculae for the feel no pain transported in Raiders
Three Ravagers
Wracks as troops
1 or 2 units of Incubi
Reaver Jetbikes
Maybe a unit of grotesques

Would this potentially work? How would you equip these to work most effectively?


Then i got to thinking...................Man!! those transports and Vehicles are very very squishy. So i started thinking about webway portals. I love the idea of these but are they really effective?

My impressions are you woud need at least two or three to guarantee getting them where you want them. Additionally you will need a transport to be able to do this as quick as possible. Infact i would say this needs to be deployed first turn and really you need to go first to avoid getting shot to pieces before getting a chance to deploy them.

So i was thinking of taking Vect and maybe Baron to almost guarantee the first turn Alpha strike. Everything will be in reserve first turn except the three Raiders with the Haemonculi in. Bomb them forward and disembark and deply the portals. Protect the portal with the unit and Haemonculi in the opposition players turn (Feel no pain will help here). Next turn bring out the pain, multiple maximum units of Wyches, Talos Pain Engines. Reavers, Hellions etc etc.

How would you advise running a webway portal list? Is this viable? And am i on the right tracks with the above?


Next up i was thinking of running a list with a Synergistic feel to it. I mean by generating lots of pain tokens. The list woud be based around the following:

6 Haemonculi
3 Chronos Parasite Engines
Multiple Units Of Wracks
Grotesques

So everything in the army will have Feel No Pain minimum. Sounds like fun.

So any advice on running the above? Again, is this viable? Am i on the right tracks with the way i'm approaching it?


Maybe even a combined Webway portal and Synergy pain token list would be viable with Vect and three Haemonculi, Multiple units of Wracks, Grotesques, 3 Chronos Engines? Decisions, Decisions...............


Your advice would be greatly appreciated guys.

[Necron_Lord]

Any list you come up with will probably do well against some types of lists, and less well against others, but that is true for every army. WWP is good for keeping units from being shot, but an opponent can surround it, to deny certain units from coming out of them. Scourges and Reavers can ignore them, but Wyches, Beastmasters, and Taloi cannot.

I would say get a list you think would be fun, and after getting a couple dozen games in against different types of armies you'll have an idea of what you'll need to have more success. Of course, you'll do best with a balanced list with anti-mech dakka coupled with assault units. Dakka units are Ravagers, Scourges, Reavers, Fliers (Razorwings, Voidravens), Warriors/Trueborn, and Transports.

Assault units are Archons, Succubi, Incubi, Wyches/Bloodbrides, Grotesques, Wracks, Harlequins, Beastmasters, and Taloi.

Each unit performs better against certain types of units, so deployment and game skills are very important as DE are all about competent execution. They have all the tools to beat anyone if you play a decent list and play them well, but their 'squishiness' means that any mistakes you make can have you get brutally punished. Just the way of Commorragh, the strong and devious thrive, the weak are enslaved or killed. ;P

[JonnyRoxtar]

Use units you like. Whether its lookwise or fluffwise or ruleswise. Then make it work.

I make armies out of stuff I like, sometimes they work first time other times it takes a while to see what theyre good at and what their role should be, but at all times I have a cool, to me anyway, army.

[Joe TwoCrows]

You shouldn't: you should *fleet* them.

If you're coming from a Marine army, forget everything you know. DE don't assault the same, shoot the same, move the same or die the same.

Start from scratch, which makes JonnyRoxtar and NL''s advice sound. Play for fun, and play fluffy. Don't expect to win very much for a while until you see what makes sense for you.

Individual DE models are squishy; your instinct is correct there. So, use transports as mobile cover while alive, or static cover when dead. Don't be shy about sacrificing any unit for the game objective. Assault units die to shooting; keep them in multi-assault if you can. But also gang up; your incubi may not kill a Greater Demon, but add a talos? Distract your opponent: Bladevaning a Long Fang unit means they have to deal with the Reavers, not the incoming Wych squad. Make your opponent move the way you dictate; a webway portal is impassible and indestructible so zoom up and drop it in his assault lane to go around. Never think like a mon-keigh.

Welcome to Commoragh.

[w7west]

For instructions how to play de army, one must first become one with the spirit of the kabal. Initiates may begin this quest by simply going around a store and asking to borrow a single quarter from 5-6 individual players. "I have 1.25 but need 1.50 for a pop do you have a spare Q?" Just do not let a previous victim hear you when you move on to your next unwitting prey. Once funds have been raised to an appropriate level, go forth to the vending machines and purchase not only a pop, but several bags of skittles as well. When questioned about the unexpected bounty upon your return, use these newly gained skittles to leverage other players into doing simple tasks for you such as retrieving the bathroom key, the game board, putting away terrain, etc.

This is just an example of how one may get their foot into the door of becoming a great Kabal. Once you get into the correct state of mind, orchestrating your raid will become second nature.

[thecactusman17]

W7west: Archon of his FLGS. I like it.

Joe TwoCrows has it on the money here. If you are coming from Space Marines, you are going to be in for a world of difference. Space Marines really shine in the combat phase, on both offense and defense while rolling dice. Dark Eldar really shine in the movement phase, and in other parts of the game where your intelligence and ability to catch your opponent off guard is what counts. A few recommendations:

Dark Lances in particular are one of your greatest assets and most terrible curses. This is a weapon that is 100% reliant on dice going in your favor whenever you deal with tanks. Expect for half your army to fire at a target before even hitting the damn thing, even if you end up killing it and scaring the occupants off the board on the first shot. The Dark Eldar employ a weapon exactly like themselves in this instance: terrifyingly powerful, but shifty and unreliable when you need them most.

NEVER rely on a dark lance to win you the game. Allow the possibility if you have no other options, but if Dark Lances were themselves a race they would rule Dark Eldar society with an iron fist.

Webway portals are really cool ideas with a few important caveats: They have to start off table, prevent a model from shooting, forcibly expose said model to enemy attack, and even if they deploy perfectly your army is mostly held in reserve, trusting in lucky dice to get you onto the field. If you have infantry units that simply MUST be on the field early to be effective, spend the extra 20-30 points to give them a transport.

Pain tokens are useful and effective and their effects start immediately. A great tactic is charging a unit, killing it almost to the last man, getting countercharged by another unit, and then killing the rest of the initial squad (giving you FNP) to suddenly make your unit that much more survivable. Wyches do this well, obviously.


Combat drugs: If you are playing wyches, seriously consider Duke Sliscus as your HQ. The ability to choose between drugs is really important in a unit that already outclasses so many others in stats. Against marines? Choose the reroll wounds ability. Tau gunlines? Pick the Pain token to give you a save.

Haywire anything: Best anti-tank in the army. Very serious. Can kill a ******* monolith if you throw enough haywire at it.

[w7west]

Haywire anything: Best anti-tank in the army. Very serious. Can kill a ******* monolith if you throw enough haywire at it.

100% true. A 10 man(woman) wyche squad with haywires is far more devastating to a parking lot style army than pumping 20+ lances out. If you can get your wyches in combat with 2+ vehicles and still get one lone wyche into base with a guardsman, you have achieved a very beautiful thing and perhaps even the pleasure of a "cheesy move" mutter from a guard commander.

[GrenAcid]

My 2 cents.
Dont forget raiders can wreck your enemy line after units move out form inside, ziping 24+2d6(eather sails) and tank shock whatever you can(I mange to push tactical out of board) and its nice fire magnet(turbo-boost gives you 3++) so rest of army will take less shooting.

Strike hard, strike fast....

[Mikey87]

what? Raiders getting a 3++ save for turboboosting? True?

[w7west]

what? Raiders getting a 3++ save for turboboosting? True?

4th ed: 3++

5th ed: 4+ cover save (space marines can't turboboost most vehicles so nerf)