DE in Space, Dark Eldar help!

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Sulphunet
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DE in Space, Dark Eldar help!

Post by Sulphunet »

I just started playing 40K, and naturally I went with Dark Eldar. But I'll be facing Blood Angels and Space Wolves all the time, and my opponents both love using tanks and extremely heavy melee units.

Now I know DE are melee oriented, that part is obvious. But I don't want to face Sanguinary Guard, Death Company or the Space Wolves in general in combat. Unless it can't be avoided. So, I need some help.

I'm going to field some Scourges, just for the heavy weapons. All my Warrior units have a Dark Lance and Blaster, and I plan to field some Bloodbrides just because of how nasty they are.

And I don't want to be completely cheap, so no Blasterborn in Venom for me. Instead I plan to put 4 Incubi and a Haemonculus with Webway Portal in the Venom that will have Deep Strike.

That's my basic idea so far, plus an Archon and some Hellions. Suggestions?
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Setomidor
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Post by Setomidor »

I have a brooding Dark Eldar army too but so far I've never had a game in (too much Fantasy and Blood Bowl!).

Some very general advice is that 40k 6th edition is just 10 days away, so whatever advice you get now might be void in less than two weeks from now. The new edition might change what's good and bad entirely, so in your position I would just focus on getting a HQ and a pair of troop choices ready and wait with everything else until the new edition has settled down a bit.
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Sulphunet
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Post by Sulphunet »

Ah, but my game is next Wednesday and we won't be worrying about 6th edition until after that.
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Kabbala
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Post by Kabbala »

If you write up the list you're thinking of running, I (and maybe others) can provide better input. I've been playing Dark Eldar since they arrived way back in '98, so can maybe provide some insight.

First though, dont think of them as a CC army. They are very much a combined forces army. You have to whittle the opponent down with shooting before charging into combat.
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Sulphunet
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Post by Sulphunet »

Alright, here it is:

Archon (Huskblade, Shadowfield, Soul-Trap, Combat Drugs, Ghostplate Armour, Haywire Grenades)

Heamonculus (Webway Portal, Flesh Gauntlet, Hexrifle)

10 Warriors (Dark Lance, Blaster, Sybarite)
10 Warriors (Dark Lance, Blaster, Sybarite)

4 Inucbi
9 Bloodbrides (Razorflails, Hydra Gauntlets, Syren w/ Agoniser)

Raider (Nightshields)
Raider (Nightshields, 1 w/ Splinter Racks)
Venom (Nightshields, Retrofire Jets)

5 Hellions (Helliarch w/ Stun Claw)
5 Scourges (Dark Lance, Heat Lance)

Ok, Haemoculus and Incubi in Venom to deep strike and cause chaos with the pain token from Haemonculus.
Warriors in Raiders, Archon with Bloodbrides which will come from the Portal.
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Deadlydeception
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Post by Deadlydeception »

Cool list, I like how it is quite a bit different from the standard Dark Eldar fare. Unfortunately, I don't think your deepstriking webway portal combo is the way to go. If you end up getting that reserve roll with the bloodbrides before the portal is down they will be coming in from your table edge and probably get shot to pieces before they can do anything. It would be far safer to just have the venom on at the start of the game (preferably out of LOS) and drop the portal first turn after rushing forward.

Your characters look like they might be a little over-equipped. The Huskblade/Soultrap combo is quite a bit of fun when it works though, so I can see why you would want to try it out. On the Haemonculus, I think his weapons aren't really worth it. With the Flesh Gauntlet you only have around a 30% chance to get your wound through on the charge against a 3+ save marine. The hex rifle is also not that great as the target has to be take an unsaved wound before you roll to see if they are removed from the table. I think he would be better with just the portal and either a hex rifle or a liquifier for marine cooking goodness.

As for your fast attack choices, I think that you would be better off with a haywire blaster than the dark lance on your scourges. You pay a premium for the ability to move and shoot, so having both assault weapons seems like a good idea to me. It might be even better to have two of the same weapon (probably double haywire for vehicle suppresion), but that depends on how you feel about converting and collecting bits. Five Hellions seems like it would be a very fragile unit and I'm not sure it is enough to do that much damage.

Finally, I don't really see what the Sybarites add to the warrior units. They could probably come out too.

Taking off the ghostplate armour, the flesh gauntlet, both sybarites, the jets, and the hellions should get you enough points for a nice anti tank Talos. Then you would have two units to come out of the webway portal, giving it a bit more consistency.
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Calisson
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Post by Calisson »

Sybarites are needed to bring a power weapon to the unit.
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Kabbala
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Post by Kabbala »

To follow on with what was mentioned above, and I agree with much of it. Though I love a good WWP list, your strategy/build listed above wont really be the most effective.

WWP list work best with at least 2 of them to ensure one gets dropped. IF you go second, and your opponent shoots the WWP delivery unit off the board then you just wasted some points. Plus, for just one unit to come out of it, it's not really optimal.

As for the Heamonculus, a liguifier gun is your better bet as your plan is to get him into CC with the Incubi.

The Dark Lances are heavy weapons. I'm sure you know this, but the wasy you are using them isnt maximizing the units potential. I would drop the DL and Sybarites from the warrior squads and give them a Splinter Cannon instead. Your warriors should be shooting targets to soften them up for the Bloodbrides/Incubi. The Syabrite wants to get into CC, exactly where you dont want the warriors to be. The warriors in the raiders should be moving about softening targets up.

Same with the DL on the scourges. They can't move and shoot the DL. Drop it and get another assault weapon of your choice.

I love the bloodbrides, but they dont do much more than a regular wych squad. I would move things around and run the Archon with the Incubi and a Heami with a squad of Wyches, the first in a venom with add'l splinter cannon the second in a raider.

If I get the chance later at home, I'll try to draft up a list. But sometimes the little ones win out.
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Cornix
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Post by Cornix »

Hello Sulphunet,

I am always glad to see another dark eldar player around. Your army is in some ways very similar to mine and in others quite different. I use WWP but I place mine on an archon in a raider with 9 wracks, this always deploys on the table as models deep striking vehicles are not able to disembark on the turn they arrive meaning the earliest the WWP would be placed is shooting phase turn three. The archon normally stays with the wracks as even if they are unable to charge I can find a piece of cover for them to move into and at T4 with FNP they can survive better than most units in the army. I tend to have more units entering play from the portal, incubi with haemonculus ancient, wyches (I find bloodbride too expensive and I like the fact that wyches are a scoring unit) and talos with chain flails and AHW.

I would certainly have the hellions coming out of the portal so your opponent has less time to shoot them, if able I would add another 5. I agree with the comments above regarding the dark lances especially the onetaking the on the scourge, a blaster will do the same job at the speed they move. I have a preference for using splinter cannons in my warriors, but you said that your opponents are tank heavy, as always your call. Regarding your haemonculus, if he is with the incubi I find power sword and casket of flensing is all I need (if you have the points make him an ancient or he is a kill point waiting to die).

Think about how close your raiders are going to be from the enemy, if more than 18 inches nightshields are fine, closer and the flicker field is better.

Whatever you do good luck and let us know how your games go.
Regards and best wishes
Luke

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the point of the game is to have fun.
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Sulphunet
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Post by Sulphunet »

Alright, you guys are awesome for helping me. I am completely new to 40K, just seeing what I can do with the list really. Definitely going to revamp it, the Warriors will lose the Dark Lances and Sybarite. They'll stay in the Raiders, and the Venom will have the same build and idea, but without Deep Strike.

I'm going to bring the Bloodbrides down to Wyches, and see how well they fair. I'll post a revamped list on here once I get through it.
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Cornix
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Post by Cornix »

I think the bllodbrides switch is a good one, they will not kill as much, but they are able to come out of the portal and eat a unit or two and then claim those all important objectives.

Good luck and have fun
Regards and best wishes
Luke

The aim of the game is to win,
the point of the game is to have fun.
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