How to Seize the Initiative

But unless most of your army fails to arrive turn 2 they don't have to. By going second you automatically survive the first game turn (barring bizarre deep strike mishaps) and by the end of the second game turn you should have two thirds of your reserves on the table.

Of course, dice being dice, there's always the possibility that none of your reserves bother showing up on turn 2 and, in that situation, you're probably going to die horribly. If you're going to try this then you really need some form of reserve manipulation, such as an allied Autarch or a Comms Relay.

Why two third? Isn't the first reserve roll on a 4+?

CptMetal wrote:

Why two third? Isn't the first reserve roll on a 4+?

Nope, 3+ turn 2, 3+ turn 3 and automatic turn 4.

And by bringing an Autarch for (attempting) reserve manipulation.
Null or minimal deployment is probably one of the better solutions to not havin first turn.
I was only using Autarch to try and guarantee Fire Dragons arrived. A bit of a limited use I think.

The Autarch makes min/null deployment an even better choice.

I can't emphasise enough how powerful the combination of reserve and going second is for Dark Eldar.

Firstly going second and coming in from reserve reduces the number of turns your opponent can shoot at you. If the game lasts 6 turns, and your reserves come in turn 2, then your opponent only gets 4 turns of shooting against them despite your units that come in from reserve getting 5 turns of shooting against him. Think about it you have reduced your opponents shooting potential by 20%, making it more likely you will have units left to contest objectives.

Secondly going second and reserving your army means that if one of your units comes in turn 2, your opponent can only shoot it on turn 3. On Turn 3 our entire army has 5+ FNP from power from pain.  Improving our survivability.

Thirdly, you are almost guaranteed to be able to shoot at your opponent first, which will reduce the return fire your army will take. Again making our fragile army more survivable.

Finally, reserving your army forces your opponent to concede ground or spread his army thin, as he doesn't know where you will strike. This allows you to play dark eldar to their strengths by using our mobility to overwhelm isolated sections of your opponents army.

Sun Tzu wrote:

The place I intend to attack
Must not be known;
If it is unknown,
The enemy will have to reinforce many places;
The enemy will
Reinforce many places,
But I shall attack
Few.

Worth mentioning that reserve manipulation is almost essential for this tactic. Without manipulation you have only a 66.67% chance of getting a given unit on turn 2. An Autarch takes that to 83.33%. A comms relay gives 88.89% on its own or 97.22% if combined with an Autarch! Only downside to the comms relay is that you need a model within 2" to make use of it. Best bet is to take a cheap fortification, such as a Bunker and place the relay within 2" of it. The bunker itself then counts as a model so you can use the relay (as long as the bunker isn't destroyed before turn 2). You could always place a unit inside or behind the bunker as added insurance.

Against the right enemy mandrake could be useful.