1000 pts list - new to Dark Eldar

Greetings friendly internet people!
I have been thinking about starting a Dark Eldar army, and would like some thoughts and critique on the lists I have put together so far.

Before we get into the lists, a few disclaimers:

I re-started playing WH40k a few months ago, collected a few Tyranids and wanted to try something new - never played Dark Eldar before, and they do sound kind of fun.

In the beginning, I will pretty much exlusively play against my best friend (Space Wolves) and his brother (Ultramarines), eventually Tau - planning on visiting the store for a few games after feeling more comfortable with the list I'd like to play and having it all painted up and such.
The Wolves player runs basically all foot-units, a squad of Long Fangs - pretty much no tanks whatsoever. The other guy has a wide variety of models at hand, and I can see him switching stuff around as the lot of us is getting used to the hobby again - 2+ armor, tanks, melee units, Centurion Devastors (is that what they are called? Can't remember exactly). Perhaps something to keep in mind when providing advice on the lists.

I am not looking at tailoring my list towards what they bring or could possibly bring, I feel like that is way too cheesy for our casual and fun games, but I still would like something that can hold it's own in combat environment, if that makes any sense at all.

Please also note: I DO NOT OWN A SINGLE DARK ELDAR MODEL YET. Anything goes, basically.

Now, to list number one:

HQ
Succubus
- Agoniser
- Blast Pistol

Elites
Hekatrix Bloodbrides x6
- Shardnet and Impaler
- Shardnet and Impaler
- Syren w/ Agoniser
- Raider w/ Enhanced Aethersails (Succubus goes here)

Troops
Kabalite Warriors x8
- Blaster
- Splinter Cannon
- Raider w/ Nightshields, Splinter Racks

Wyches
- Haywire Grenades
- Venom w/ Splinter Cannon

Heavy Support
Ravager /w Nightshield
Ravager /w Nightshield
Ravager /w Nightshield

= 997 points if I did my math correctly. Also, possibly a little light on troops choices, but tabling the opponent is more fun anyway


Off to the second list!

HQ
Archon
- Combat Drugs
- Huskblade
- Phantasm Grenade Launcher
- Shadow Field

Elites
Incubi x4
- Venom w/ Splinter Cannon (Archon goes here!)

Troops
Kabalite Warriors x8
- Blaster
- Splinter Cannon
- Raider w/ Nightshield, Splinter Racks

Kabalite Warriors x8
- Blaster
- Splinter Cannon
- Raider w/ Nightshield, Splinter Racks

Wyches x5
- Haywire Grenades
- Venom w/ Splinter Cannon

Heavy Support
Ravager w/ Nightshield

= 943 points, so some points to spare. A little more troops than the first list, less long-range firepower as well, and a handful of points left and no idea what to do with them.

As anyone can see, my general approach here is to get the troops and HQ set, then add in some kind of "special unit" to go with the list. I really like the concept of the Ravagers, and the gunboatish Raiders.
Also, can anyone see the Harlequins + Shadowseer work in any of my lists? The models look really cool, sadly I have no idea if they are worth anything on the tabletop, especially in such small games.
Additionally, I could see myself fielding the Baron and a bunch of Hellions, but reading forums leads me to the conclusion that Hellions are only worth bringing in 15-20 man strong units, which could end up too expensive points-wise in a 1000 points list. If that's not the case, I would probably be willing to give these guys a shot if someone comes up with a cool idea and / or list tailored to make them work.

Sooo, kinda long wall of text here, really I am just looking for advice from the more experienced Dark Eldar players out there. Are those lists any good? Tweaks to be made? Points I spent in places i rather hadn't? Allies to consider? Please remember, I do not own any Dark Eldar model yet, so this shouldn't be the limiting factor here

Thanks a lot in advance!

I am also kind of new but i am going to put my opinion here anyways.

First off: Your Kabalites are not legal, you need to take 10 to be able to take splinter cannons. (If you mean 8 kabalites + 1 with splinter cannon and 1 with a blaster, ignore this).

I would also say that you need to focus them more. 1 Blaster and 1 Splinter Cannon will make you have both different ranges (Either you have to get close and waste the safety the 36" range brings with the Splinter Cannon, or you won't shoot that Blaster) and no focus. Blasters are anti tank weapons, and Splinter Cannons will not do anything against tanks, but works great against infantry.

Other than that it seems fine from my newb perspective. Blood brides are not optimal afaik, but if you like them, why not use them?
Personally i would make sure to get 2x10 Kabalites and go for the second list, but swap things around a bit and get something like 1-2 Squad with a Splinter Cannon and 0-1 with a Dark Lance or a Blaster.

From the second one you will have:
Archon and Incubi for Terminators and the like.
2x Kabalites with Splinter Cannon for Infantry.
2 Raiders for Tanks.
2 Venoms with dual Splinter Cannons for Infantry.
Wyches for Tanks.
Ravager for Tanks.

This gives you redundancy, which is great.

I hope i don't get to much wrong, but those are my observations.

Also, the baron and Hellions are awesome, i use them in a group of 9+Baron, If you get a good roll on Combat Drugs you will have a monster unit, Shooting 18 poison 4+ shots and then charging with 27 S4 (Up to S6 with the +1S Drugs and +1 from having 2 pain tokens) plus the barons 4 S6 (S7 with 2 pain tokens, although he does not do drugs   ) is enough to hurt most units and even pop tanks ( 27 S4 attacks should glance anything with less or equal AV12 and 3HP to death). I love my Hellions.

Hey!
Thanks for the quick reply, and sorry if I was a little unclear on the writing, I did indeed mean to make the Warrior squad 8+1+1
I already wondered as well why one would put a Blaster and a Splinter Cannon into the same squad, for the exact same reasons you pointed out. In the meantime i came up with a slightly different list that I wanted to share and maybe get a comment on:

HQ

Archon
- Agoniser
- Combat Drugs
- PGL
- Shadowfield

Baron Sathonyx

Elites

Incubi x4
- Venom w/ Splinter Cannon (Archon goes here, still)

Troops

Hellions x9

Kabalite Warriors x10
- Splinter Cannon
- Raider w/ Nightshield, Splinter Racks

Fast Attack

Reaver Jetbikes x6
- Heat Lance x2

Heavy Support

Ravager w/Nightshield



A little different than the other two, not any less mobility and redundancy if I see this correctly.
Thoughts? Input? Any must have upgrades to the Jetbikes?

Thanks in advance!

I think having 2 HQs is a bit much at 1000. I think a fifth Incubi and a few more Hellions would be a better option. You might be able to squeeze in a second ravager as well. Here's a list with the changes.

Baron-105
5x Incubi in Venom w/SC-110
13x Hellions-208
10x Warriors w/SC in Raider w/FF,NS,Racks-190
6x Reavers w/HLx2-156
Ravager w/FF-115
Ravager w/FF-115

I swapped FF over Nightshields because I've always found them more useful. It prevents you from having to Jink for saves and gives a consistent 33% chance to avoid damage. With the amount of flyers and long range guns. Extra Hellions should let them survive longer once they get FnP.

Hey! Cutting the second HQ is possibly a good idea, but wouldn't the Incubi be a lot weaker without the PGL? Also i believe you forgot to include the points of the Venom in your list, so I think the second Ravager would come with a few more "casualties".

If the Incubi can fare well enough without the PGL, adding another one there and a few more Hellions sounds indeed like a good idea, thanks for the input

Ahh yea, I knew it felt like a little much. But I definitely think 2 HQs might be too much at 1k. With the setup you had listed your HQ is 250, 1/4 of your list. I'd say focus into one or the other. Baron with a big unit of Hellions and cut the Incubi or build a Archon w/Huskblade, Soultrap, Shadowfield, and PGL and bring the Incubi back.

Baron-105
20x Hellions-320
10x Warriors w/SC in Raider w/FF,Racks-180
6x Reavers w/HLx2-156
Ravager w/FF-115
Ravager w/FF-115

Archon w/HB,ST,SF,PGL-160
4x Incubi in Venom w/SC,NS-185
10x Warriors w/SC in Raider w/FF,Racks,NS-190
9x Reavers w/HLx3-234
Ravager w/FF-115
Ravager w/FF-115

I think the first list of these 2 would run better because the hellions are so good for their points and can screen the rest of the army. I think no matter what you choose all the units in your lists will scale well up to 1500 or 1850 lists. I think you just need to focus them more at 1k and try not to do too much. But that depends on what you play against and how "friendly" or "tournament" you want the lists to be.

Just a point on the Hellion build:
With Sathonyx they get the "objective secured" rule, which is awesome. This gives you a unit that can easily grab any objective 12-18" away, or steal/contest an objective 14-24" away with a charge. The second part is very important, especially in Maelstrom missions (those where you use objective cards and score mid game. They also have a 30" threat bubble with their Splinter Pods that anything with a high T will try to stay out of.

(I hope everyone realizes that i am biased and that your milage might vary)

Hey, I'm strongly considering the first list KabaliteSon posted, however for simplicity's sake I would go with only 19 Hellions (5 per box IIRC?).

Any good suggestions as to what to do with the spare points after putting FFs on everything and additional racks on the raider?
Some more upgrades for the raider / ravagers maybe?

Depends on what you are facing. personally I love the Helliarch for snatching ICs that try to hide behind troops (CSM Sorcs in cultist blobs for example), but again, your milage may vary when it comes to this.

You could try Night Shields on the Ravagers to help stay out of Melta range easier?

Hello again everyone!
I think I decided on which models I want for my 1000 points Dark Eldar list now, and wanted to share the quasi end result

HQ
Baron Sathonyx

Troops
Hellions x19
+ Helliarch w/ Splinter Pistol and Stunclaw

Kabalite Warriors x10
- Splinter Cannon
- Raider w/ Flickerfield, Splinter Racks

Fast Attack
Reaver Jetbikes x6
- Heat Lance x2

Heavy Support
Ravager w/ Flickerfield, Nightshield

Ravager w/ Nightshield (ran out of points here for the Flickerfield, dang ;( )


Does that look playable at all?
Thanks everybody, you have been a great help!

Looks solid. I say get the models and give it a play. Or proxy it if you have the means. You just have to be careful to keep the second Ravager in cover. When you deploy, use the Hellions as a screen to cover the Skimmers turn 1, that way you don't have to Jink and lose firepower. I always found the Stunclaw to be situational. Don't over commit to an assault just to use it.

The key with Dark Eldar is taking using every advantage you have to its fullest. Pre measure to set your Skimmers just out of range but able to strike back. Remember all of Barons tricks. The rerolls, defensive grenades, stealth and hit and run. Use your Reavers to get in the backfield and harass the long range AT units. and don't forget your eldar jetbike move in the assault phase to jump in and out of cover/melta range.

Don't change up your list till you play 3-4 games while you get the hang of your units limits. But most of all, play the hell out of it.