When did you start playing dark eldar?

Taffy10 wrote:

I played them first release, then went to uni and found beer

started replaying them around 2010 they have always been my primary 40k army

I couldn't have said it better Thats exactly what happened for me, too. Started in 1998 with the first codex (the one without vehicle upgrades ), had a huge break and now slowly am starting again

cheers
Caspaar

I bought the Battle for Macragge in 2007. After playing a couple of times through the game I decided I wanted something more than the lacklustre shooting and assault of space marines and something more fast moving but spamable like the tyranids. An hour with google later, I decided that DE was that force. I didn't mind the fugly old models. They still see game time now mixed with the new gear from 2010.

I started playing 40k in 2004 and I began collecting CWE (because they had been my very first GW army, when I picked up Epic circa 1993). I soon got bored of them though, and went looking for other things. Imperial armies were just a bit common, and Chaos has always struck me as lacking subtlety.

I ended up picking up the two armies that nobody else played at that time (because they had old codexes and were difficult to win with) - Dark Eldar and Tau. Both have since benefitted from great new models and rules updates since, but I like to tell myself that I collected them before they were cool.

I started when they first came out. Only my cousin played 40k, so we played rarely and only 500-750pts. My main focus at the time was Vampire Conts as most friends played Fantasy.

The new dex(2010) woke the spark in me again and with new friends in 40k I play about 2 times a month.

Edit: Taffy couldn't have said it better.

I started playing DE this year when the latest Imperial Guard codex removed a lot of the things I loved about them. I always played my IG as a mobile, fragile army and looked around for somewhere I could do that better.

Thoroughly enjoying the change.

erm, couple of weeks back

Although I did have a kill team for a year or so

Very end of 2012. Decided in October that I wanted a new force, then towards the end of November/early December picked up a box of warriors to try painting - loved the models, and got the battleforce over Christmas. So I've been playing them for just over two years.

14 years and counting..

2012.
May not sound so staggering to anyone but it was and is the first and the only 40k army I have played. I admit they are not the only 40k-minis I have bought and painted, though.

My reign of terror began in late 4th Edition, when i first got into the game. I was one of the few who got hooked on DE when I saw the old models!

My first ''army'' was collection of rag tag Eldar models from 2nd and 3rd edition and their codex, one month later I saw a VERY dusty codex called Dark Eldar... never looked back lol

For me it was Soulstorm that made me want to start them as an army. I knew they had an old codex and they were fast but fragile, but they felt right on many levels. I enjoyed using the old codex (well, 2nd version of the 3rd edition codex) and I got many of the old uglies (still have them too, they're fielded alongside the newer models), raiders and jetbikes (call me strange but I prefer these to the newer reaver jetbikes). Oh, and I still have my old Talos.
Since the 2010 codex came out this was great as I partly revamped the army. And as soon as the newest codex came out, well my tax rebate brought me that little lovely.

Started way back in 2005. Heard the guy who got me into the game calling DE crap with soccer mesh for armor. Was like 'Welp theres my army'. Even with the awful range at the time the 'prestige' i earned for winning with the Dark Eldar consistently had me keep collecting them. Of course my LGS closed the month before the new DE were realeased. Got back into it recently and have been loving the new rules and models. Definately worth being loyal to the Dark Kin.

I started in 2013. I wanted something awesome to start a converting project and found the dark eldar, and their absolutely gorgeous model range. Thus my harlequin carneval was born . They are also great fun to play and I wanted something different to speesh mehreens. Still loving them now

My first 40k army was DE when they first came out. I think a buddy of mine split the set (I had a Dark Elf army so it was the logical step into the game). I've had a lot of other armies, but DE are always the main temptation for me (except Coven).

I took up the position of an Archon immediately after the previous codex was released. I always liked the army and the idea behind it, but the old model line successfully repelled me. When I started 40k somewhere in 2007, I had had to choose between Dark Eldar and Dark Angels, as I loved both armies (my fondness of Dark Angel fluff began in the glorius days of Epic). The models made the choice for me. I still have a lot of love for The Unforgiven, but after several years of enjoying DE speed and manoeuvrability I find Marine armies boring to play.

The other reason for me to jump to another army was the 4th ed Dark Angels dex. 3 years of using a crappy codex taught me a lot about the game, though.

Funny thing, one cannot play Dark Eldar like marines. But one can play marines like Dark Eldar. All one needs to do is field lots of Land Speeders

I'm with Elzadar, I liked them in Soul Storm, but didn't start playing them until 2012.

See I knew nothing about Warhammer other than the name until I had a small jaunt with the short lived MMO. See we had played World of Warcraft and were looking for something new and were basically told Warhammer is a lot like Warcraft but with better fluff.

And they were not wrong. The world was immersive and fun, and I immediately fell in love... with Orcs, not Dark Elves. I know you thought I was going to say that.

But that love of Orcs brought me to try the game Dawn of War. Someone told me orcs were in it, just in space. And oh my god was I bored to tears. Space Marines were one of the dullest concepts I had discovered in the Warhammer universe. I groaned throughout the game at any section that didn't involve Gorgutz. The same applied to Winter Assault, Imperial Guard, let's get even more boring. I did get excited when Dark Crusade was announced and it was also announced each army would have it's own campaign. Love it. Playing as the Orks was a good time.

Then came Soul Storm I was excited for it as well. Never heard of Dark Eldar, and the Eldar in the previous games had my expectations incredibly low. I was just excited for another Ork campaign. And of course I started an Ork campaign first. But to break the monotony I decided to start another campaign. So who's this cool guy crushing a skull in his select screen. The into play. So, these aren't hippy eldar, they're slave raiders and pirates. I like pirates. They feed off the misery of others... that's a little weird, kinda emo, but wait... the incubi characters look pretty cool. Is that a mechanical scorpion? Holy **** is that guy wearing a face on his face!? They didn't even want the land they just took everything and bolted? Man these guys are cool.

So then I start reading up on them. So they're not emo, they just like to party too much. Downloaded a copy of the rulebook read it and I was hooked. I was about to buy some figures, playing the game seemed a line too nerdy to cross... and then I learned the codex hadn't been updated in like 10 years. It seemed they were abandoned.

Then when me and a buddy decided to start playing it was a no brainer.

That's a long story, but the moral of it is that, I know Space Marines sell, but GW should really push their other armies with space marines in their other forms of media: books, games, etc. If not for Soul Storm, I never would have started the hobby.

Edit: Or in other, other words, I would have started playing them sooner, I simply did not know they existed.

I started playing dark eldar codex during the era of the revised 2nd edition codex with 3rd edition rules. I believe it was 2004 - 2005 so that was what received my vote. However, I have left and returned to the game a couple of times, and have only just returned again with the start of 7th.

I started with the first release, I had said a couple of years before "if they ever release Dark Eldar, I will play them!" to my gaming group, since I am a Dark Elves-player in Fantasy (Hey, if you love elves/Eldar, then the evil kind is cooler ;-) ).
So when they did? I was first in line. The modeles wasnt so nice, but the fluff.... oh yeah.

Sadly, most of my old models have been retired now for newer models (Have thought about selling them), only comes out when I need more Blasterborn or Talos. I still have unopened blisters of the old models (and old un-built plastic warriors :-P ).

There are plenty of fans of the old models here on the forum - if you want to sell your old stuff it would be worth checking out the Barter Port.

I did not know that, thanks Plastikente
Maby I wil have to do some inventoring this weekend

Edit: Hmm, dont have access yet, oh well...

November 2013. My wife gave me a huge gift card for the local game shop, which also gives a 25% discount on your birthday. I wanted to start a whole new army, different from all my other armies. I wanted a lightning fast army, and DE was my end choice, narrowly beating out Slaaneshi daemons. I wound up getting around $300 worth of DE for $17 out-of-pocket.

In 1998 I was working as a staffer in a GW store in the UK. When 3rd edition 40k was released, a bunch of us were invited to HQ to play the new ruleset with such luminaries as Jervis and Andy Chambers walking the room. An amazing experience (especially for a kid from country Australia!).

At the end of the day we were all given the choice of sprues to take home - marines or dark eldar. I took the DE and haven't looked back since. I started to build my army before the figures had even been released, converting my Archon from old chaos figures.

Sadly that original army was the victim of an international move (along with my 10k pt Beastman army, Necromunda and Gorkamorka gangs, Space Wolves and various other stuff) but the memory lives on!

K

I started thinking about collecting DE just before the 7th edition codex came out. The changes threw me off a bit, but after some research on the new rules, I was ready to seriously start with my new army.

When I first started getting into 40K back in... 2007? I was desperate to play DE because they reminded me of Terry Pratchett's elves - that and their fluff was so cool! Unfortunately I gave in to peer pressure and made a Loyalist marine army instead.

But after playing Soulstorm (source of my signature quote) I knew I'd play them eventually. And believe me, after hearing all the naysaying "oh, DE will never get a new codex, no-one plays them, they're gonna be retconned out" nearly put me off entirely, I crowed with triumph in 2010.

Ran out, grabbed a Ravager, a Raider and a box of Wyches and Warriors plus the Failcast Succubus, then borrowed the codex for three months, bought the limited edition Megaforce from my FLGS (damn that was a good day) and aside from a blood-soaked sojourn into my Khornate Marine army (never done anything as satisfying as converting my original Loyalists into Traitors) I haven't given any other army the time of day.

The new Codex favours my play style quite well - my twelve Reavers and their big sister Razorwing get fielded every time and thanks to the Realspace Raiders detachment I finally get to build and paint my Scourge squads without agonising over fielding them OR the Reavers. So far my win/loss ratio has greatly improved and I usually rip the throat out of Maelstrom missions!

Raucir

I was but a lad, and had only just really gtten into 40k.
UP to that point I was doing the usual small child thing or lots of random nonsense mashed into a Spacxe Marine army, but approaching a time where I was going to start my first proper army.
And then 3rd came out, and with it the Dark Eldar.
They were spiky and awesome and spiky and fun and spiky, and became my first reue love (in hobby terms).
And I have been faithful ever since.

Except for a bried affair with World Eaters.
And then Flesh Tearers.
And the Last Chancers.
And very nearly an Eldar army.
And these days anything really silly, small and amusing......

But I never broke up with the Dark Eldar. They're cool with an open relationship.