2000pt first dark eldar list: nothing gets deployed!

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Dangerous Beans
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2000pt first dark eldar list: nothing gets deployed!

Post by Dangerous Beans »

Ok so, I've dabbled in a little 40k, but never anything serious and certainly never enough to ever want to field an army other than proxies (wanted to finish my druchii first :D), that is until the new dark eldar came out.

And oh boy did they come out kicking and screaming like a newborn clawed fiend.

As far as I can tell, pretty much every unit has a solid position somewhere in the armylist - meaning a lot of choice and gorgeous models to boot: where can you go wrong?!


Thus I began my list with the models I got from Christmas: 20 witches and a raider transport. The rest shall be proxied in for the time being until my collection gradually grows as I get things painted.

However my maiden game with them shall be in 2 days time on saturday, and I'm up against 'some' imperium army (anything from witch hunters, daemon hunters, space marines, space wolves, or the 'guard); I do not know which it shall be until the day: I'm somewhat expecting a drop pod assault...

So, for my list I thought I'd counter this fact that I do not know what I'm fighting against whilst my opponent realises I'll be dark eldar, by fielding an army that deploys nothing: relying instead on a few deep strike units backed up by vicious webway portalled close combat troops. How did I do this? Well with the Duke of course...

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HQ:

Duke Sliscus: 150

Archon: 180
Huskblade, Soultrap, Shadowfield, Webway Portal, Combat Drugs.

ELITES:

8 Incubi: 226 (in Webway Portal)
Klaivex (demiklaves)
Onslaught

10 Wracks: 120
2 Liquifier Guns

Ride in Raider (Torment Grenade Launchers, Grisly Trophies): 70

8 Hekatrix Bloodbrides: 154 (in the Webway Portal)
2 with Hydra Gauntlets
Syren with Agoniser

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TROOPS:

9 Kabalite Warriors: 136 (Duke goes here)
Splinter Cannon, Blaster
Sybarite with Agoniser

Ride in: Raider (Splinter racks, Nightshield, Flickerfield): 90

9 Wyches: 121 (Archon goes here)
Haywire Grenades
Shardnet/Impaler

Ride in Raider (Torment Grenade Launcher, Grisly Trophies): 70

12 Wyches: 164 (in Webway Portal)
Haywire Grenades
Hekatrix (power weapon)

11 Wyches: 136 (in the Webway Portal)
Shardnet/Impaler
Haywire Grenades

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HEAVY SUPPORT:

Talos Pain Engine: 115 (in the Webway Portal)
Chain Flails, twin linked Haywire Blaster

Talos Pain Engine: 115 (in the Webway Portal)
Chain Flails, twin linked Haywire Blaster

Voidraven: 225
Nightshields, Flickerfield
2 Implosion Missiles


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I think I may have totalled some of my points badly, if so, I'll transform the Hekatrix Bloodbrides into normal Wyches: I may even do this is my points are'nt too strained as I had initially though I had 5 troops. Turns out I didnt!

The voidraven is a fairly chunky investment: I paid out for the defences as I itend on this baby sitting 48" away from the enemy when it arrives from deep strike: that way the equivalent enemy range of 56" should put it out of range from most lascannons. It will loose off 1 or 2 missiles depending if the termies/other nasty 2+ armoured troops have arrived using its long range, then zipping behind cover to blast away at enemy armour for most of the game, saving its void bomb for later if needed.

The 3 units of wyches in the webway shall be unleashed once battle has truly begun: the talos will be first out of the portal and hopefully straight into combat, failing that the haywire blasters will take on enemy armour as they move. The 2 troop wyches will be next - earlier if theres space around the portal, followed lastly by the hekatrix who will head to wherever is needed.

The duke shall be dropped off to join the archons unit asap, whilst his warrior 'bodyguard' zip around the field firing out their re rolling misses 3+ poisoned shots (I would have taken trueborn but wanted the extra troop choice).

Et voila!

So wave 1: lands behind cover/near the enemy as I see fit, weather the enemy firepower, then bogs down the enemy asap in combat: the archon gets dropped off and throws the webway portal in the first turn of shooting, meaning more units can arrive to lay the pain onto the enemy. I itend on landing the wracks raider between the enemy and my intial forces so we can gain cover saves from the tough old wracks. The voidraven hunts tanks/shoots up any nasty close combat enemy units.

Next the talos's arrive to lend power armour ripping attacks to where they are needed: zapping tanks as they go.

Finally several neat wych units overcome the enemy power armour through sheer number of attacks and hopefully gain pain tokens easily by mopping up loose enemy model units.

The icing on the cherry is that nearly everyone has combat drugs and the Duke allows the best choice of 2 rolls!

Hope you like it!
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Post by Calisson »

How do you play the arrival of reserve units?
p.94 rulebook, starting from turn 2, you roll for each unit (HQ may be deployed within a unit) and see who comes (increasing chances for any unit to arrive each turn until 5th turn, when all remaining come).
Deepstrike troops (p.95) drift after arriving, and may not charge that turn, only shoot. If they drift on impassable land, they may be "warped" out.
If you play on a rather small table, deepstrike is more a liability than an advantage. It is interesting only if you play on a huge table.

What can happen in a worst case scenario:
Wave 1: Duke & warriors arrive alone in turn 2. Shot to death by all present imperials.
Wave 2: wracks arrive alone in turn 3. Shot to death by all present imperials.
Wawe 3: all footers arrive in turn 4. As no warp portal is present yet, they have to start from your table border, and half of the battle is already over. They have to walk to the nearest objectives, which are heavily defended by shooty imperials.
Wave 4. All remaining troops arrive in turn 5. Voidraven drifts to <1" of an enemy (hard to avoid, they are everywhere) and is dstroyed.

Commenting your unit choices now:
- Duke is fun. He has only 2 wounds, but his shield is great (don't forget he has it!).
- Archon: a haemonculus can carry the portal too, and you can take several of them, and they provide a free pain token. And wracks become troops.

- Incubi are great against SM. But vulnerable to shooting.
- Wracks are resistant but not that scary. Good to hold an objective. They are better deployed rather than kept in reserve.
- Bloodbrides are great, however wyches are nearly as great. Better take wyches because they are troops. Some of them may take grenades, very effective against vehicles (and only hope against dreadnought). Grenades are better for wyches (they keep a single attack with them).

- Warriors are nice, but trueborns are much greater, especially if the Duke is with them. Check the firepower they have, and the duke increases their poison shots.
- Wyches: never too many of them! You can specialize some of them to become andi-vehicles. Beware of dreadnoughts: only wyches with grenades can handle them (with 1 grenade each (p.63), requiring 6 to be set (p.73), but it's still better than being hopeless).

- Talos: great but slow and can be shot to death by Imperium before arriving into melee.
- Voidraven: you're right to keep its cost as low as possible. Sturdier than raiders, but still vulnerable. Its mine is close to useless, because only usable at very close distance. Don't forget it can deepstrike AND shoot.
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