Bloodbries vs Incubi

[oldone]

As the title suggests i was wondering what people thought of the 2 dark eldar elite combat squads.
I love both of the models (coverted ones obvs for bloodbreis) so this is going to be purely for effectiveness in game terms
so thoughts?

[eldargal]

Incubi kill things with good armour saves, Bloodbrides trap death star units in combat while the rest of your forces kill other things. At least that is how I use them.

[isotope99]

Personally a lot of what bloodbrides do well, wyches also do well plus are cheaper and scoring so I'd keep the wyches as troops and use incubi as elites (just make sure to run them with someone with a phantasm grenade launcher like an archon or the baron).

[Cheese]

I don't think you can compare them at all. They both excel at very different roles. Incubi are for killing Marines and non-storm shield termies and other things like that. Bloodbrides are for holding up big nasty units and slowly thinning them down while the rest of your army goes about their jobs or for escorting an anti-IC/MC Archon to keep him alive.

I think that Bloodbrides are better than wyches for smaller squads, allowing for more special weapons but still packing a decent punch. I run 7 Bloodbrides with 2 Shardnet and Impalers and a Syren with a Venom Blade to join my Archon. If I were to run wyches I would need 10 to get that all important 2nd special weapon, but this would mean that my Archon would no longer fit in the Raider, thus, eliminating my need to take any wyches/bloodbrides.

[Corvus-Master-of-The-4th]

Personally a lot of what bloodbrides do well, wyches also do well plus are cheaper and scoring so I'd keep the wyches as troops and use incubi as elites (just make sure to run them with someone with a phantasm grenade launcher like an archon or the baron).

Yeah I agree isotope, the only real benefit of Wych's is one more attack and greater number of Wych weapons... Oh i didnt think of that Cheese :L

For Incubi:
Power weapons
High initative (against marines and other such armies, quite standard for Deldar/Eldar though)
Incubi Suits... Power armour is awesome for Deldar (especially with a pain token)
Klaivex (great WS, BS, A, and I for only 10 points)
Klaivex powers (I only see the need to take Onslaught myself)
Bloodstones (never used them, but an AP 3 flamer is pritty awesome... Shame it's Str 3 :L)
Demi-Klaives

Against Incubi:
No access to Grenades (compared to Wyches/Bloodbrides)
Grey Knight Halberds/Hammerhand combo... = Incubi fail
No shooting (minus a Bloodstone)... But thats not really a problem
10 points more than a Bloodbride and 12 more points than a wych
No Agonisers/Venom blades... But that makes sense and fits the fluff (compared to Wyches/Bloodbrides)
No Combat drugs (compared to Wyches/Bloodbrides)

There are probably other things that are For and Against, but thats all I can think of :P

[Necron_Lord]

I pretty much agree with what has been said.

Pros for Incubi - WS 5, S 4 power weapon, 3+ armor save, made for killing MEQ Troops, can glance RA 10 vehicles, good against units with good armor saves and no invulnerable saves

Cons for Incubi - no invulnerable saves, expensive, no plasma grenades, suck against MCs with T 6+ (need a 6 to wound), no real ranged weapons

Pros for Bloodbrides - I 6, 4++ save in CC, combat drugs, syren with agoniser or venom blade, plasma grenades, good tarpit against units with CC attacks which ignore armor saves, pretty good against horde due to high number of attacks, wych weapons, splinter pistols

Cons for Bloodbrides - T 3 Sv 6+ when not in CC, S 3 normal attacks

Bloodbrides are good anti-horde, anti-MC/IC tarpit, and anti-CC death star tarpit, but are more vulnerable to exploding transports, and getting shot in the open, and need haywire grenades to be effective against vehicles.

Incubi are meant for killing MEQ, Sanguinary Guard, Meganobz and such, but are not as good (as in surviving CC) against CC death stars, MCs, ICs, high T (6+) units, and need an IC with phantasm grenade launcher to attack first against units in cover. They survive exploding transports and bolter fire better though, especially with a pain token.

[Corvus-Master-of-The-4th]

How'd I forget WS: 5 and S: 4 :L

[darthken]

im a big fan of incubi now, time and time again they have proved their usefullness in my games, though they usually end up dead, they more than make their points back

ive not had any luck with bloodbrides or wyches, ive watched them bounce hopelessly off IG, eldar guardians, tau fire warriors, and heaven help them if they get anywhere near something resembling a space marine.

[thecactusman17]

They are both fairly good units. The primary difference is what they are supposed to do in the game. Incubi are great for being a wrecking ball unit but can't manage finesse. You don't throw them into combat, you throw them through a combat so that you don't take any wounds back from powerfists or other big nasty things. Then you get them into cover and hide until they can get into CC again.

Bloodbrides are the opposite--you put them into combat, and by The Dark Suns that's where you want them to stay until they get a pain token or two. Bloodbrides are going to be like Wyches, but where Wyches should come in to mop a unit up over the course of two turns, Bloodbrides come in to really lay it down on a big tarpit unit.

So between these, which unit is the best?

Neither. The answer is C: 20 Hellions with the Baron and a Haemonculus attached at the start of the game. They are jump infantry, are S4 standing and possess combat drugs, have grenades, can wreck light armor and overwhelm Space Marines and Guard. They also get a 3+ cover save. Most importantly, they get Hit and Run so when you don't crush through the first time, you jump back out and slam back in especially if you manage to get that Furious Charge token.

This isn't quite as jokey as it sounds. With careful positioning you are easily capable of killing 85%-90% of units that could be put on the table against you with this setup.

[Cheese]

Incubi should not have the shooting. You should never take the Bloodstone. It's an expensive weapon and more often than not it will take you out of assault range, leaving the unit mostly alive and denying you a Pain Token.

Another thing, Haywire Grenades are not good. They are wasted points for something your Bloodbrides should not be doing; assaulting tanks. What if a Dreadnought assaults you? Well how tdid the Dreadnought catch you? You are Dark Eldar, if they're assaulting your troops with their Dreadnoughts, then you've probably lost anyway. But, just in case they do and you are actually winning, then fine. Their Dreadnought is now stuck in CC with your 2-3 Shardnet and Impalers dropping his attacks to like 1 or 2 and you have a 4++ save, so you should keep him there for the rest of the game, away from your other units and allowing your Dark Lances to be fired elsewhere.

I agree with Cactus, sort of (I run 2 units of 10), Hellions ftw.