Was the Dark Eldar codex ever the best?

Context: I think the current book is Jank. almost unusably bad, as I don't want to ally with eldar.
I think the new rules are overall quite negative for us. Readily looking forward to the new book so we can hopefully be pulled back into the middle.

I'm having a discussion with my friend, who claims my pessimistic view is because "when you go from the best army in the game to one of the worst due to rule shifts, people have a tendancy to go over board."

He claims the top tier was blood angles, space wolves, and deldar, with deldar on top.

Maybe it was just because I suck as a general, but I am 100% certain we were never the best book.

For me, it's been about in the middle, rewarding players able to use the playset required.

We've certainly been #1 with the old dex, I'm not so sure about new dex. I'd say we were in top 3-5 for lengthy periods though, which is certainly enough to make your friend's point, I think.

oh, I should add the caveat that I didn't pick them up on release. I can't remember release schedules, were IG and GK after or before us?

When I started I think grey knights, Ig, space wolves and bangles were all considered tougher. Of course if we were next, it's still pretty good!

Towards the end of 5e, which sounds like the period you started, IG, Space Wolves and GK were probably the top armies. Blood Angels were never a top army but, like the Dark Eldar, did reasonably well. Since 6e I'd have to say we've never been near the top other than when allied with Eldar.

We came out after Imperial Guard but prior to Grey Knights.

I would say IG and Wolves were top with us as third, then Grey Knights bumped us from the top 3 and we've been sliding since then.

The updated 3rd was a little underpowered but if you played it right it wrecked face. Sure you couldnt kill anything but all those leadership roll devices, I had marine armies twice my points cost running off the battle field. And 3rd ed combat drugs were crazy good. But no, DE was never a walk over army and the codex was never very good.

Quote :

Was the Dark Eldar codex ever the best?

It still is. Just not the best at winning

Barking Agatha wrote:

Quote :

Was the Dark Eldar codex ever the best?

It still is. Just not the best at winning

Yep. Still the coolest dex by far.

Thor665 wrote:

I would say IG and Wolves were top with us as third, then Grey Knights bumped us from the top 3 and we've been sliding since then.

Good analogy.

Sky Serpent wrote:

Thor665 wrote:

I would say IG and Wolves were top with us as third, then Grey Knights bumped us from the top 3 and we've been sliding since then.

Good analogy.

One my friend thinks, that this is looked like this:

And the winner is... Blooooood Angeeeels!!!

Second place is captured byy.... Greeeeeeyy Kniiiiigths!!

Oh, and there Dark Eldar on a third place.

Blood Angels haven't been top of the tree since the days of Rhino Rush.

Agreed.

They had a decent high mid to low high existence near the end of 5th though.

They werent top in the hands of all in 5th, but blood angels was one of the most brutal armies i have ever seen in the hands of a few really good players.

They then switched to GK.

Good play is different from good codex. A great player can do wonderful things with a bad codex, but that doesn't make the codex a power codex, it makes the player great. A power codex is one that allows a relatively weak player to consistently perform well against players of superior relative skill to him.

Thor665 wrote:

Good play is different from good codex. A great player can do wonderful things with a bad codex, but that doesn't make the codex a power codex, it makes the player great. A power codex is one that allows a relatively weak player to consistently perform well against players of superior relative skill to him.

Guy who played BA in my local club is second type. Army do 75% of work for him on the battlefield. Or maybe even 85%

Quote :

Good play is different from good codex.

I know, just saying. I just think that some codexes provide more free space to set an advantage, regardless of overall power level of unints ( cheapness and all-round effectiveness of units ).

Like Necrons are now way more versatile then Chaos or DA, even if i place them in the same bracket of power level.