Fix the Codex with 3 changes or less

1. Wyches Cult units (Succubi, Wyches, Bloodbrides and Hellions) get Bladestorm (to-wound rolls of 6 wound automatically and count as AP 2) in close combat and Jink (only when not in cover already). This should up their survivability and killing potential.

2. Pinning is added to Shredders and Splinter Pods. This adds a synergy element to our army and helps our assault units against overwatch.
Alternatively; Shredders get Monofilament and Splinter Pods get an equivalent of Dreadskulls (in the following assault phase, a unit that charges an enemy unit in cover that has been hit by this weapon gets to attack at their own initiative, as if they had Assault Grenades).

3. Our fliers get Vector Dancer and access to Haywire missiles. You know, so they can actually be used for aerial combat instead of just bombing runs.


These three are my top picks. But I would also change a few things about our characters, Scourges, and Power from Pain.

This is almost a Walter Mitty fantasy, but I too really like the idea of a power from Pain rule that incentivizes murdering, is based on proximity, and isn't terribly tedious to keep track of (one reason why I like the current version of the rule)

1)  completely rewritten Power from Pain rule
2)  can we please be the fastest army in the game?  Please!  This is one major reason why I started DE in the first place
3)  in General can our rules and units match our fluff?  Stuff like attacking at Night, pinpoint vehicle takedowns, perfectly thought out battle plans etc.

What frustrates me most about the DE is that IMO they've always had the coolest fluff, and only for a short time in 5th edition did it feel like our rules matched the fluff.

If you want specific fixes here you go, in order of priority:
1) improved Run and Charge moves for everything with normal Fleet
2) vehicles move 6" extra without penalty
3) Wyches lowered to 8 points a pop

The main trouble is that unfortiently, the codex probably will not reach the level of comparable of the others with 3 steps. Probably it will get us to level as we've been in 5th edition, but not further. Although, my thoughts are these ones

1. More focused to inforce Night Figthing and gaining bonuses from it, like Night Lords in HH for example.
2. Balancing hand-to hand combat: assault grenades or abilities that copy their potential. Banshees got their powers from nowhere, that's... infuriating!
3. More different ways to assemble an army - detachments/formations/decurion-type detachments, whith their own relics and additional rules.

There are just too many things one could achieve by tweaking many things in the codex. Wyches and better Trueborn/HQs are certainly one of these, but if I had 3 changes I could make on the codex, it would be the following:


- Labrynthine Cunning as a default rule on Archons
It would make up for our otherwise lacking options in Reserve Manipulation and also gives the Archon an actual puropse.


- Improved Deep Strike
Everything can have Deep Strike in the army, including our MCs. On top, every unit that already has DS get's the "Low Orbit Raid" rule: When perfoming DS, you have half the normal scatter distance (or allows you to re-roll your dice).
If we can't have superior speed, let us get the possibility to get us everywhere we want in another way.


- Lethal Dose on Splinter Weapons
Let's face it, our Splinter Weapons are cool and very good on MCs but the times when they were special are over. Compared to other troop choices, Kabalite Warriors are average at best and it would give us a way to actually harm Gargantuan Creatures.

In return, I'd happily accept a slight increase in point costs for Venoms.


As much as I'd love to see units like Trueborn, Wyches, Bloodbrides or Incubi to be worthwhile, there is simply bigger fish to fry. I'd also love to have better Aicraft, like Haywire Blasters/(Cannons?) on Razorwings or default Shatterfield Missiles on a Voidraven + Void Mine with Str D, but as I mentioned there are other priorities.

Came here to post a topic like this and found there was already one!

3 changes is difficult though. Trying to think of powerful ones that would make all of our units better/fix some of the problems with ones that aren't really competitive.

Army-wide special rules
Battle Frenzy: all dark eldar units may run and shoot/assault in the same phase. Furthermore, Dark Eldar infantry may make an additional 6" move immediately after shooting (6+D6" for scourges/reavers/hellions), provided they move closer to any enemy unit (representing their glee at the coming slaughter).

Preternatural Pilot: all Dark Eldar vehicles can move an additional 6" without penalty to ballistic skill or embarking/disembarking. Vehicle snap-shots are made at BS2.

General change
More frequent and cheaper heavy/special weapons.

Both of the general special rules would make Dark Eldar a lot more slippery and fast, and should help Scourges with their lack of Relentless. Preternatural Pilot should help with overall firepower, getting Wyches into combat and dealing with flyers.

More frequent and cheaper heavy weapons would certainly help chuck out more firepower, but might also help a couple of sub-par options. Would Shredders be better if you could take 4 in a squad of 10 Kabalites? Would Wyches be better if half of them could take Hydra Gauntlets, and Bloodbrides if all of them could?

Some great ideas here. I'd like to see more defensive abilities and a simple tweak to combat drugs would please me a lot:

1 - Night shields changed to: if this vehicle didn't shoot in its previous turn then no model beyond 18 inches can target it.
2 - Scourges get a run move after shooting.
3 - Combat drugs changed to: a unit with this ability can pick which drug to use at the start of each of its turns, (same boosts as normal).

I must say giving wych cult weapons rending sounds like a great idea. I wish their 4++ worked at all times too really. Being able to always chose to go up to T4 helps a great deal vs overwatch though, plus it makes FNP work a lot more of the time.

Some people have mentioned wych grenades. Note that the wych haywire grenade change was due to the 7E rules change for grenades - units can only throw one grenade in any phase, so even if all models had haywire grenades they wouldn't all be able to use them.

Everyone's ideas here are great, but I'd like to see some increases in speed and portals everywhere.

1 - Move through cover on almost everything.
2 - Webway portals become changed so that they are essentially a grenade with 12" range that, once thrown, a single unit may deploy from or enter reserves, must be within 6". They would need a points increase, not sure how much.
3 - Instead of fleet, units have a special rule that allows them to exchange a run move for 5", but they must run towards an enemy unit.

1. Wych cult units (Succubi, Wyches, Bloodbrides and Hellions) get Rending.
2. Night shields completely re-written to have the following rule: Night Shield Generator - As long as 1 non-destroyed vehicle is on the table with a night shield generator, the night fighting rule is considered to be in effect, and it is considered night time.
3. Splinter weapons are no longer poison weapons. They are now fleshbane(4+).

I don't think this completely fixes the codex, because the codex has had over 30 nerfs from the 5th edition version, but the aforementioned changes address the biggest flaws in our army, I think. It makes wych cult units decent in melee, gives us a way to keep decent cover saves on our otherwise save-less army via night shields, and by switching splinter weapons to fleshbane(4+), they don't get a power boost against anything except GMCs, which they will suddenly be awesome against.

Well not experienced but some ideas.

Right now the only thing people seem to suggest is venom spam with a few units to take care of vehicles. Our shooting is not the best I think it is ok, it is mainly that our close combat and non-mounted maneuverability has become useless.

1) power from pain:
Killing a unit in the shooting phase gives an extra 6 inch move
Killing a unit in close combat allows all units in that combat another charge (but the fighting must wait till the opponents turn)
Killing a unit gives 1 extra victory point

2) Battle frenzy:
Units can assault after running, and always count as having assault grenades.

3) Weapon options are made much better (so wych weapons get some use, hellion weapons get the extra attack back and the stunclaw does something useful again, all special weapons become open to others, possibly with some discounts, nightshields make sure our jink works even if someone ignores cover/ we can have flickerfields on our other vehicles again)

This will make our army
A make us focus on killing/slave capturing (and faster).
B makes close combat viable
C allows a larger variety of units to see the field, even without a transport
D brings tactical decisions on supporting each other, who do I want to make the kill to get the extra move, soften up this enemy with unit A so I can double charge with unit B or destroy another unit completely and move to a safe spot?

Instead of nearly full mech/venom spam armies with just some reavers/scourges, I hope this will lead to more diverse and usable armies for us.