Different Ways of Running Dark Eldar?

The way that I've been running my Dark Eldar has been as classic Venom Spam with allied Craftworld support for a while. Over time I got a little bored with them, so I added in a Dark Artisan Formation to change things up a little, which did a great job for me. In my experience the number-1 way of running Dark Eldar is Venom/Raider spam with Craftworld allies and maybe a formation from the Haemonculus Covens supplement. I was wondering what are some other ways that people are running Dark Eldar in semi-competitive and/or competitive environments? For example:

- Anyone still running beast-pack?

- A collection of different formations?

- How about Reaver jetbike armies? Having them backed by Saim Hann could be cool as well

- How about 3 Voidravens and 3 Razorwings? Thematic or do you think it could have potential if backed by an Autarch and a comms relay?

- What allies and allied units are you using? I like the idea of allied sporefields discussed in this thread. I've also always liked the idea of allying in a horde or two of Cultists for the midfield, for example the Helbrute Formation could be good.

Thoughts and/or Ideas? Or should I just stick to my Venoms, Craftworlders and mad artisan?

I have used a Beastpack of 12 khymeras with Harlequin Shadowseer council along with Corpsethief Claw. Two games 2pts/40pts record with it (Although we had invisibility nerf and I played against toptier lists DA/SW and Necr)

Might try bike army sometime as I have ~50 of them together.

The most success I have had this edition has been with a pure coven foot list. I might start dabbling in massed reavers again though.

My poor battered slave crops (my regular opponents) and I became quite bored of my usual venom/raider/ravager spam about the same time our latest dex was released.

So since then I've dropped some of the skimmer spam for a RSR det with 3 units of reavers, 2 units of scourges and a razorwing + a grotesquerie formation. Even tho my list might not be as lean and mean as it was before its alot more fun to play with and against.

I feel it has also made me a better tactician as i often face top tier lists like the SM gladius. Loving maelstrom missions + reavers!

My armies are limited by my models, and I simply don't have enough of any one thing for a proper spam list. I generally run either pure DE, or DE with a coven formation (typically Grotesquerie or DA, but I've also run Fleshcorps and Scarlet Epicureans on occasion).

Currently, I don't use any allies. However, once Corsairs are released, I strongly suspect that my army will become 'Corsairs with DE allies'.

I run Freakshow armies (leadership shenanigans for fun and profit) using mostly Eldar-family armies.

Here's a link to the series of articles about it: http://www.thedarkcity.net/t11454-dark-eldar-guides

Typically, I take a the bare minimum Court HQ/Troops in Venoms, a Grotesquerie in Raiders, and a Dark Artisan. Whatever points I have left over for the point level I'm playing at go into Haywire Scourge and Reavers - outside the small amount of Warrior/Venom/Scourge support, it's a very assault-focused list.

Going to try an allied Harlequin Masque eventually, too. Occasionally I toss in a Ravager because my weak point is anti-tank shooting past 24", with only a handful of Lance Raiders (and the DA's deepstriking heatlance) that can pop a Vindicator before it gets into range.

Firstly I think it’s important to note that my first love was CWE (back in the early 90’s) but a couple of months after playing the 6th edition CWE codex, I quickly got board of them and started to collect the true kin. DE quickly became my one true love.    

I’ve been running three different types of list, but I rarely run the exact same list twice.

As you can imagine I’m not adverse to fielding units from my first love….. but I try and keep the true kin as core as possible

So any way my three types of lists are quite different and in no particular order are

• Monster mash
• Kindred Spirits and
• Pure DE

Monster Mash

My monster mash lists generally revolve around high toughness units i.e. talos, grots, wraithguard, wraith lords. some times this involves wraithhost formation with two d-scythe wraithguard both of which are in nightshield raiders (DE CAD), WWP archon with the wraithcannon WG, with minimal warriors and depending on points either a unit of 3 talos or two units of 2 talos.

I’m always trying to minimise low toughness units / maximise high toughness models / MC with formations, CADs, allied detachments etc. but it’s surprisingly difficult. However I generally try and get d-scythes in raiders and wraith cannons with WWP archon.

Kindred Spirits

These lists revolve around DE real space raiders detachment with aspect host formation (with or without grotesquery formation). I will admit that the aspect host units are a mix of fire dragons and dark reapers, with the fire dragons in WWP raiders and Dark reapers in venoms. These lists generally comprise at least one unit of 2-3 talos with three units of scourges / reavers in various mixes and venom warriors added as points allow.

Pure DE

My pure DE lists generally revolve around raider delivered grotesquery, one unit of 3 talos or two units of 2 talos, scourges + reaver mix, with venom warriors to taste / points.

I readily admit that I haven’t used ravagers for a year or two and shy away from dark light weapons in general.

Personally I find the Kindered spirits lists to be the most competitive with the pure DE the least successful of the three. The monster mash lists are a bit hit and miss, they do really well against low model count elite armies but struggle against MSU style lists, particularly if they are highly mobile.

I rarely use the same list more than once, but I typically do vehicle spam lists to outmaneuver and outshoot enemies or assault heavy lists bringing a grotesquerie, a corpsethief, and lots of reavers to push in aggressively. I've done lists with lots of razorwings but never voidraven bombers. Haven't used wyches since the new codex either.

Last few lists have been DE+Coven Formations with CWE support.
DE provide the skimmers and fodder, Coven provide assualt eleemnt and CWE bring fusion, reserve rerolls and a WK.

More I practice, the more success I have had with Reaver spam

Basic list
CAD with x3 Reavers x6 with Cluster Caltrops
one unit of x3 Talos with Ichor Injector
x2 KW in Venons
x1 Lam in a Venom

Dark Artisan formation

Cegorach's Jest Formation

The Harelquins are purely anti-tank with Haywire & Caress's

Dark Artisan is my Warlord, and stays close to the Talos, giving me a smaller Corpsethief wannbe with 4+ FnP rerolling 1's

but the reavers are the work horse in ITC missions
grab objectives any where on the board
strong enough on assault to get me that "Kill one unit" objective

key issues
Ignore cover, flyers - par for the course with DE
Obj Sec spam - makes grabbing those objectives a bit harder which is why I switch from RSR to CAD

other options (mostly mentioned above but I second)
Aspect Host with Fire Dragons & Dark Reapers a good option instead of Harlequins
Windrider Host gets spendy, but Ally detachment with 2 windriders and an AUtrach with Banshee mask to join the Reavers and manipulate reserves is pretty awesome
Frankie from FLG ran Corspethief with 3 Razorwings and was also quite effective

I have started running a beast pack agian. I normally run it with 3-4 razorwings and the rest khymeras. I add a winged autach with shard of anaris fusion gun and banshee mask. Its not the most compedite unit and i normally end up with the autach eunning atound alone, but a 18" move melta gun is fun!

I usually run a RSR for most games. I sometimes ally in CWE or Harlies depending on the match.

My generic list has two detachments a formation and a RSR

*Grotesquerie in raiders with dissies and nightshields w/ one unit led by a Succubus w/ glaive and AOM
*Four venoms with dual SCs and five man warr squads
*Two squads of scourages w/ haywire
*Two six man squads of reaver jetbikes with two caltrops
*Two Razorwings with dual dark lance
*A tri-lance Ravager
*Single Talos

This works for casual play in my area. Though any really heavy mech lists are an uphill battle.

I usually drop the grotesquerie, the bikes and the lone Talos if I want to mix in CWE. My CWE are fairly simple. Farseers, dire avengers(5) or foot guardians, striking scorpions or scythguard, a wraithknight, dark reapers and three dual lance warwalkers. Sometimes I'll bring a cast of player too.

I'd really like to stick an Autarch on jetbike with a lance and fusion gun in a unit of reavers and throw a unit of banshees in a raider to fit a more wych cult style list using flyers for anti-tank and wych squads in a mix of raiders and venoms. This would be more of a themed list but, something I may build towards.  

The only other allies that catch my eye are Imperial Assasins to fill niche gaps such as anti psychic, or ranged support.

My area isn't overly competitive and mostly causal game are played. A semi-competitive list is something like

Two CADs

*Archon w/ wwp and blaster
*two five man warrs in venoms w/ dual cannons
*two empty venoms
*a razorwing
*a tri lance ravager

*farseer w/ spiritstone and spear
*5 scythguard in a wave serpant w/ bright lance and cannon
*5 dire avenger in a wave serpant same loadout
*10 guardians w/ scatter laser and warlock
*WraithKnight w/ sword and board and two scatter lasers

I have had success with three lists in this edition.  I find that there are some great units that if you equip them well, you can really rely on them (talos and venoms).  All three lists are 2k.

DE Single force org
Haemonculi with Fleshgauntlet and armor of misery
4 grotesques in a raider with FF
7x venoms with SC + warriors with blasters
2 razorwing jetfighters
3 talos with haywire
3 talos with haywire

The Talos work together to take out any tanks,  the razorwing jetfighters blow stuff up on the ground and then hunt fliers, the grotesques make themselves into a forward threat and the venoms do their thing.  

DE + Coven
Haemonculi with armor of misery and flesh gauntlet
5x venoms with SC + warriors
2 razorwing jetfighters
3 talos with haywire
3 talos with haywire

Grotesqurie w/
Haemonculi with stump and flesh gauntlet
3 x grotesques in raider
3 x grotesques in raider

Pair the first Haemonculi with the second grotesque squad and watch those two units zoom forward wreak havoc.  The Talos play tank busters.

DE, CWE
Archon with WWP and blaster
5x venoms with SC + warriors
2 talos with haywire
2 talos with haywire
Tantalus

CWE allies
Aurtach with Fusion gun
6 wraithguard with d scythes
4 jetbikes (1 w/ cannon)
Crimson Hunter with exarch

The fully loaded tantalus drops in with the help of the WWP and the autarch and kills all sorts of stuff.  The crimson hunter chases away Helldrakes. The venoms venom.

RB

Once I have the stuff to do it, I really want to try running triple Razorwings. I have one at the moment, which used to get targeted by everything on the battlefield when it first arrived and never do anything, but lately the one nipping around has actually been quite useful. Being able to fire all the missiles again when it turns up is great, as is the fact that a lot of armies are content to hope for lucky snap shots rather than pay the points for dedicated anti-air which can't do much against ground targets. The list will be (roughly):

Succubus-Armour of Misery, Archite Glaive, Webway Portal

3 Incubi-Raider

4xWarriors with blaster in a Venom

2x5 Scourges, 4 haywire blasters

3xRazorwing Jetfighter, two with lances, one with disintegrators (maybe. Not set on that)

2xRavagers with triple lances

Having three flyers makes me slightly nervous, as it's potentially a lot of points staying off the board, but I've increasingly found that the core of the list - the Kabalites, Ravagers and Scourges - do so much damage (or have the potential to) that they can hold on until reinforcements arrive. This list will not be concerning itself much with objectives. The only other time I ran a Realspace Raiders detachment, the game ended in a draw, but they did so much damage I almost won with a tabling. The damage output here will hopefully be enough to tip it in my favour next time. I'll just be playing to kill

I have stuck to kabalites , with the odd coven unit and eldar as support .

I'm similar to skari,

But rather than the covenites, I've stuck to CWE allies.

1 farseer on jetbike
jetbikes with splinter cannons or skatter lasers
Wraithguard (these guys drop in with WWP archon). They deal with most anything.

When I feel frisky, I make it a CAD, and add a second unit of jetbikes, and a second squad of wraithguard in a raider.

Mr Believer wrote:

but I've increasingly found that the core of the list - the Kabalites, Ravagers and Scourges - do so much damage

Really?

You must have better luck than me. I usually find that two squads of scourges can just about manage to take out a Rhino (if they work together), before being shredded by enemy fire. And, the least said about the performance of my Ravager and Kabalites, the better.

The best lives I have seen or made (these are not all my original ideas)

Frankies from frontline gaming (slightly changed)
Corpse thief claw
Lhamaen in venom
2 medusas in venom
3x5 kab Warriors in venoms
3 lance razor wings
3 lance ravager

This is similar to dark artisans recent tournament winning list
Corpse thief claw
Lhamaen in venom
5x5 kab Warriors, blaster in venom
5x3 reaver jet bikes with blaster and cluster caltrops

This is one that I made up and want to try
Corpse thief claw
DE CAD
1 lhamean
2x5 kabalite warriors
3 raiders with night shields

Eldar wraith formation
1 unit D scythes
2 units D guns
Wraith knight with 2 D cannons and scatter laser
Wraith lord with bright lance and double flamer
Spiritseer

And last list no corpse thief I promise this time!
2 medusa in venom
5x5 kab Warriors in venom
3x5 scourge with 4 haywires
2x2 heat lance talos Ichor injectors
Grotesquerie with raiders night shields.

So there are a bunch of lists I have made or "borrowed", however they are the coolest lists I can think of off the top of my head. Oh and definitely Jim solos freakshow too.

Jimsolo wrote:

I run Freakshow armies (leadership shenanigans for fun and profit) using mostly Eldar-family armies.

Here's a link to the series of articles about it: http://www.thedarkcity.net/t11454-dark-eldar-guides

Super cousins as I like to call it, jimsolo's guide is great. (that splinterminds episode is great too, it really helped listening to you talk through it) I highly suggest trying this strategy and checking out his guide. It brings something a lot of people dont expect and uses pretty much everything you would already have. Harliquins and corsairs are optional but a whole lot of fun to use if you can.

IMO when it comes to being competetive our best formations are covens and taken as allies. After that we still posses a decent level of msu which is always a good strategy in mealstrom which, lets face it, is the most fun to actually play. Our ability to mow down most obsec infantry with poison and high mobility can give you a chance at winning against most armies.

Personally above about 750 points I will always take some kind of kin allies. The reason is that it can get frustrating when your opponent brings something that you just lack the tools for. Our pure army just seems lacking, not to say it is useless, it can still win, however I think it becomes more about playing the way you want than trying to compete. If you want to roll some dice, venom spam will give you a ton of that. If you want to run beasts, you can do that. If you want to run monsterous creatures, thats a possibility as well. If you want to win, you can take allies

Joking aside there is still a ton of variety, most of it is just a step back fromo the competitive scene, mostly in part to our small amount of formations in a meta full of decurions and limits due to tournament and league rules.

WhysoSully wrote:

Joking aside there is still a ton of variety, most of it is just a step back fromo the competitive scene, mostly in part to our small amount of formations in a meta full of decurions and limits due to tournament and league rules.

I actually think it's mostly from the 30+ nerfs they made to our codex from the last one. I'd be willing to wager money against just about any opponent with me playing pure DE if they'd let me use the last codex instead of our current one.

BetrayTheWorld wrote:

WhysoSully wrote:

Joking aside there is still a ton of variety, most of it is just a step back fromo the competitive scene, mostly in part to our small amount of formations in a meta full of decurions and limits due to tournament and league rules.

I actually think it's mostly from the 30+ nerfs they made to our codex from the last one. I'd be willing to wager money against just about any opponent with me playing pure DE if they'd let me use the last codex instead of our current one.

Formations are from the codex!

But I agree, its pretty bad. Also the basic rules of the game have changed in such a way that, among other things, night fighting is basically useless and speed is no where near as hard to pick up for the other armies as it used to be.

Got my fingers crossed for the next one. Right now tournaments let you run more formations than our codex even has and marines have access to more psychic powers than Games Workshop has Dark Eldar molds! Its straight lunacy.