Dark Eldar HQs

A few questions for fellow DE players, regarding their HQ choices:

1) Which HQ(s) do you typically use - Archon, Succubus, Haemonculus, Coven Haemonculus, and/or one of our SCs? And, if you use more than one, which is your Warlord?

2) How much do you spend on your HQs (and on what)? Are you pretty frugal, or do you give them everything but the kitchen sink?  

3) How do you use your HQ? In particular, I'm curious as to people use their melee Warlords - do you throw them into melee ASAP, or do you hang back until the enemy has been softened up a bit?

Couple of options.

DE Codex 1- Archon with Huskblade, Armor of Misery, and Shadow Field. WWP optional. This Archon goes with a unit of Grotesques or a unit of Incubi and assaults into the middle of the enemy army. Since he's usually allied with my Freakshow list, his main focus is to maximize exposure to his Armor bubble.

DE Codex 2- Archon with Blaster, Armor of Misery or Webway Portal optional. This Archon goes into a Venom or Raider with a small ranged squad. Fire Dragons, Dark Reapers, or Blasterborn are most common. He's a cheapy gun-boat commander.

Covens- Haemonculus with Scissorhand. If he's in a formation I might take a Diabolical Plaything. The Sump in a Grotesquerie and the Vexator Mask in either a Grotesquerie or a Dark Artisan unit are my most common. Again, Webway Portal optional and always useful.

With the exception of the first one, I don't like spending a buttload of points on my HQ. (And even number one is cheaper than the HQ's in all my armies except Inquisition.)

Special characters are pretty disappointing in this Codex. I'm probably one of the biggest SC advocates in 40k, but the current ones are just so sub-par I can't bring myself to include them. Also, I'm still kind of wearing a black armband for the Baron and more importantly the Duke.

Is that helpful?

My 3 choices are:

Archon with Blaster and WWP with Medusae deep striking in a raider. Suicide unit generally. (not warlord).

Dark Artisan Haemy with Agoniser, Sindriq's Sump and WWP. Warlord and hyper aggressive deepstrike.

Single Lhamean warlord, hidden at the back, doing nothing all game unless he can hold an objective and not be risked.

I tend to stick to two archon load outs and wouldn't really field both below 1850 pts.

Archon 1 Pretty standard beat stick character; Agoniser, Haywire grenades, Shadow field, Soul-trap, Animus Vitae. In a raider with grots point them and watch them chew through things.

Archon 2 More of a shooty lieutenant character; Blaster, Haywire grenades, Armour of Misery. Run him in a venom with another shooty unit. Used more as a bully unit and hunker down on an objective when the venom eats popped.

I do own a succubus but I haven't used her with the new codex and can't really imagine I will. RIP Duke you where the best.

Depends on my list:

If Grots from Codex: DE -> Haemi with Scissorhands

If Dark Artisan -> Haemi with Scissorhands + WWP and an Archon with Blaster

If Eldar Allies -> Archon with Blaster and Autarch with fusion gun

I really dont like expensive HQ. None of them is particularly useful and just cuts points back on more useful options.

I'm with vindicavi. This is basically the only HQ I take.

Archon /w agoniser, shadow field, soul-trap. I just recently had one hit str 8 and murder everything.

Lately Ive been toying with 2 haemies...1 from the codex with scissorhand and the armor of misery, the second urienwho goes along with the grotesquerie formation. While he doesnt hit very hard he is incredibly durable and has some nice buffs to help things along. Paired with a cronos his squad can decimate.

I do miss solid ap2 or 3 weapons...but the turn boost for grot squads is nice. I may consider an archon again in the future but im having much success currently.

#grotesquerie

-Succi glaive misery 110 points
-Archon blaster animus wwp haywire 135
-Archon husky trap shadowfield(animus or spite) 135(155/160)
Unfortunately i dont have hoemy and only proxied it for DA tests this far,but something like
-Haemy wwp animus 125 or
-Haemy Sindruiqs, scissor for 90 points

I am testing between

Succubus glaive, (armor of misery), haywire and

Archon, SF, Agonizer

For my grots unit. Both choices bring advantages the other one cannot provide.

I like the AP2 weapon of the succubus and the point advantage. The AoM is nice but no must-have, it is definitely debatable whether to take it.

On the Archon I see the big advantage in his tanking abilities, as he is able to tank instant death wounds vs psykers or monstrous creatures, which I see as the biggest threads for Grots (important to select another model e.g. Aberration as warlord to make Archon disposable).The lack of AP2 can partially be compensated by a scissorhand of an aberration.

To conclude, currently I feel the Archon is the better choice overall, but is also more costly. I recommend the Archon choice for games of 1500 points and above. For games below 1500 points I prefer a cheap succubus build.

Thanks for all the replies so far.

It's interesting to see what people are running at the moment.

Aroban wrote:

On the Archon I see the big advantage in his tanking abilities, as he is able to tank instant death wounds vs psykers or monstrous creatures, which I see as the biggest threads for Grots (important to select another model e.g. Aberration as warlord to make Archon disposable).The lack of AP2 can partially be compensated by a scissorhand of an aberration.

Using a 'disposable Archon' is an interesting idea.

Though, I wouldn't want an Aberration as my HQ - it just doesn't seem right. I'd probably have to use a Haemy or somesuch instead.

Hellstrom wrote:

Archon with Blaster and WWP with Medusae deep striking in a raider.  Suicide unit generally. (not warlord).

Out of interest, how many Medusae do you put with him?

Hellstrom wrote:

Dark Artisan Haemy with Agoniser, Sindriq's Sump and WWP.  Warlord and hyper aggressive deepstrike.

Any particular reason for the Sump?

My three most used HQs are (in no particular order):

(1) Archon with Agonizer, Shadowfield, WWP
(2) Haemonculus with Scissorhand and WWP (sometimes Sump)
(3) Succubus with AoM, Glaive, WWP for fluffy/fun games.

On occasion I will drop the Agonizer on the Archon and use him as a cheap WWP-bearer for a suicide unit, but I do hate to do that as I often play for fun and not competitively. It ruins my immersion.

The Shredder wrote:

Though, I wouldn't want an Aberration as my HQ - it just doesn't seem right. I'd probably have to use a Haemy or somesuch instead.

Seems more appropriate to nominate that scheming Dracon in your Blasterborn unit! It was his plan that Archon fall anyway, yes?

The Shredder wrote:

Out of interest, how many Medusae do you put with him?

Two. I find that any more than that is overkill. Unless you're going for overkill. Then maybe three?

The Shredder wrote:

Hellstrom wrote:

Archon with Blaster and WWP with Medusae deep striking in a raider.  Suicide unit generally. (not warlord).

Out of interest, how many Medusae do you put with him?

Hellstrom wrote:

Dark Artisan Haemy with Agoniser, Sindriq's Sump and WWP.  Warlord and hyper aggressive deepstrike.

Any particular reason for the Sump?

4 Medusae I think is the perfect amount in a Nightshielded Raider.  It's quite possible to wipe 2 squads of pretty much anything that doesn't have a 2+ Armour save on the turn you arrive with this squad.  The only difficulty is getting to your next target.

I like Sindriq's Sump for Rampage.  When in a challenge (with your AP3 weapon) getting D3 extra attacks can be the difference between killing and getting stuck.  For the same reason, any extra attacks gets the Dark Artisan formation out of combat as quick as possible, ready to chase their next victim.

Hellstrom wrote:

4 Medusae I think is the perfect amount in a Nightshielded Raider.  It's quite possible to wipe 2 squads of pretty much anything that doesn't have a 2+ Armour save on the turn you arrive with this squad.  The only difficulty is getting to your next target.

I might try this squad - it sounds like fun.

Though, if you're only using 5 models, is there a reason you use a Raider over a Venom?

Hellstrom wrote:

I like Sindriq's Sump for Rampage.  When in a challenge (with your AP3 weapon) getting D3 extra attacks can be the difference between killing and getting stuck.  For the same reason, any extra attacks gets the Dark Artisan formation out of combat as quick as possible, ready to chase their next victim.

Ah, I see.

Can't take a Nightshield on a Venom and you will be jinking permanently trying to keep that expensive unit alive. Also the 3 str5 ap2 shots from the dissie is useful to clear that single 2+ model before the flamers assault the 3+ units

I'm aiming to just use a Succubus with an Archite glaive and call it a day. Cheap and cheerful.

Groltag wrote:

I'm aiming to just use a Succubus with an Archite glaive and call it a day. Cheap and cheerful.

yeah but 4+ armor helps a bit VS shooty or explosions and 15 points for -2Ld bubble isnt that bad

My 2 fav HQ load outs are...

1. Archon with WWP and Haywire. He's cheap and does the job.

Throwing super accurate Plasma nade blasts adds AI. Throwing and then charging with haywire nades adds AT. Whatever the unit he can get it where it needs to go and help it do what it needs to do.

2. Haem with WWP and scissors, for Grots or dark artisan.

If I have some pts left over I may give them a cheap bit of kit but they don't really need it.
I'm so cheap when it comes to pts.