First 7e Codex List - 1500 Points

Dark Artisan Formation (Haemy[Warlord] with Flesh Gauntlet and WWP, Talos with Chain-flails, Cronos with Spirit Probe)
Dark Eldar CAD
Succubus (Archite Glaive, Haywire Grenades, Webway Portal, The Armour of Misery)
10 Kabalite Warriors, Splinter Cannon, Raider, Splinter Racks, Night Shields, Enhanced Aethersails
5 Kabalite Warriors, Venom, Splinter Cannon
9 Reavers, Arena Champion, 3 x Heat Lances, 3 x Cluster Caltrops
Eldar Allies
Autarch, Eldar Jetbike, Banshee Mask, Laser Lance, Shard of Anaris
3 Windriders, Shuriken Cannon
5 Fire Dragons, Wave Serpent, Scatter Laser, Shuriken Cannon, Ghostwalk Matrix and Holo-field

The Succubus joins the Fire Dragons in their Serpent and Deep Strikes in. The Dark Artisans also arrive via precision Deep Strike.

Played a game last night and it didn't go well but that was almost entirely down to being Seized on, which was unfortunate as it didn't really give me a chance to see how the army performs.

Well it really DID show you how it performs.

Getting seized on a couple times taught me to BUILD my armies AS IF I'm going second. This really makes it tougher on the foe.

Unorthodoxy wrote:

Well it really DID show you how it performs.

Getting seized on a couple times taught me to BUILD my armies AS IF I'm going second.  This really makes it tougher on the foe.

I actually did deploy as if I was going second but there was very little cover and I was facing a Nemesis Strikeforce (Deep Strike 1st turn, run/shoot or shoot/run) plus a drop pod assault so there was little I could do to mitigate incoming damage in any event.

how much did you reserve? just the WWP units or others too?

The only things on the table were the reavers, kabalites, raider and venom. I couldn't leave any more in reserve without risking being tabled turn one.

How did the Dark Artisan formation do when it came in or had you called the game by then?

Sky Serpent wrote:

How did the Dark Artisan formation do when it came in or had you called the game by then?

The game actually went to turn 5 and I had a (very) slim chance of winning it but it involved rolling a 6 on my difficult terrain plus a 6 on my run move and then hoping the game ended

The formation did okay. I had to deep strike it next to some devastators which the Cronos promptly killed 3 of with the Spirit Vortex. They chose to leg it, leaving me in control of an objective but effectively out of the fight, due to the location of everything else. I was forced to just take potshots at the few marines in range of the Talos' splinter cannon for the rest of the game.

If I use them again I might be a bit more aggressive with them.

Interesting to hear, I defo think they should be used aggressively, at least in a pseudo manner and/or as a bullet magnet.

I am looking at tag teaming them with a Sslyth bomb alongside a variety of deep striking units - currently weighing up whether they would cause more damage than two Voidravens.

I needed to bring them down in a corner by the Dev's as 4 tank hunting, bolter drilling, heavy bolters were absolutely butchering me and needed to be dealt with and I had nothing else that could get there. Unfortunately that left them stranded unless I wanted to leave the objective and (slowly) make my way towards the Force-wielding GK terminators. They opted for discretion over valour

I've had to drop them from my next iteration of the list in order to make room for more scoring troops and some backup AA in the form of a second Wave Serpent. New list is:

Dark Eldar CAD
Archon (Blaster, Haywire Grenades, Shadow Field, Webway Portal, The Armour of Misery)
10 Kabalite Warriors, Splinter Cannon, Raider, Splinter Racks
10 Kabalite Warriors, Splinter Cannon, Raider, Splinter Racks
10 Kabalite Warriors, Splinter Cannon, Raider, Splinter Racks
9 Reavers, Arena Champion, 3 x Heat Lances, 3 x Cluster Caltrops
Eldar Allies
Autarch, Eldar Jetbike, Banshee Mask, Laser Lance, Shard of Anaris
5 Dire Avengers, Wave Serpent, Scatter Laser, Shuriken Cannon and Holo-field
5 Fire Dragons, Wave Serpent, Scatter Laser, Shuriken Cannon and Holo-field

In fairness, that nemesis strike force with pods is one of the better alpha strike lists out thee now and is devastating against DE with their cleansing flame.

Did you find you needed the 9 reavers with 3 heat lances? Was that a bit of overkill on the unit?
I like the detachment but I dropped mine from aerial assault list. You need a list built to support them. I like Sky's idea of two Voidravens as replacements ... you get some AA and AI. It might have made a difference in your game.

Count Adhemar wrote:

Sky Serpent wrote:

How did the Dark Artisan formation do when it came in or had you called the game by then?

The game actually went to turn 5 and I had a (very) slim chance of winning it but it involved rolling a 6 on my difficult terrain plus a 6 on my run move and then hoping the game ended

The formation did okay. I had to deep strike it next to some devastators which the Cronos promptly killed 3 of with the Spirit Vortex. They chose to leg it, leaving me in control of an objective but effectively out of the fight, due to the location of everything else. I was forced to just take potshots at the few marines in range of the Talos' splinter cannon for the rest of the game.

If I use them again I might be a bit more aggressive with them.

That's why I Wonder why everyone is so hyped on this formation. It's great against static army but it's pretty much a one shot deal of the opponent has any mobility.

The heat lances didn't do a great deal really but the reavers were mostly dead by turn 2 so they didn't get much of a chance. They're also one of the few things in the army that can deal with AV14 so I like to keep them in just in case after a nasty experience a few weeks ago against a triple Land Raider list that I literally could not damage.

Not a fan of Voidravens, or Razorwings for that matter. Too fragile, poor AA and I don't really need the AI.