Yeeman returns.. 1850 ITC Tourny List

Hello Dark City! I have been gone from the forums and from 40k for many months now. The last tournament I went to was the Renegade Open in Minnesota in December, but that was more from peer pressure and $29 plane tickets than playing. Finished 7th, so cant complain!

Because I live 3+ hours from the nearest game store my motivation for 40k has been nearly nil. But I have some tournaments coming up this spring and summer I want to attend and do not want to bring the same list I always have, so below will be the new iteration of a list I will continue to tweak for the upcoming season. Give me your thoughts on it!

Dark Eldar Real Space Raiders

HQ
Urien Rakarth- 140

EL
x3 Grotesques, Raider- 160

TR
x5 Warriors, Raider- 95
x5 Warriors, Raider- 95

FST
Venom- 65
Venom- 65
x6 Reavers, Champ w/ Caltrops, x1 Caltrops- 136
x6 Reavers, Champ w/ Caltrops, x1 Caltrops- 136
x6 Reavers, Champ w/ Caltrops, x1 Caltrops- 136

Dark Artisan Formation
Haemonculus w/ Scissorhands, WWP- 115
Cronos w/ Probe- 125
Talos w/ TL-Heatlance, Ichor Injector- 135

Aspect Formation
x5 Fire Dragons w/ Exarch- 120
x5 Fire Dragons w/ Exarch- 120
x5 Warp Spiders w/ Exarch- 105

Void Shield Generator w/ x3 Shields- 100

So the Premise of the list is to boost PFP on the Reavers and Grots with Urien. Then to boost those FnP rolls with the Dark Artisan. By placing the DA centrally the Reavers can spread out and gain the +1 bonus. I am hoping the Voidshield will protect me first turn and allow my CC units to get to where they need to go.

This list is very different from what I normally run and requires me to paint lots of these models. But, as I am slowly gaining motivation and the "want to" play again, this list seems fun and a nice base to build off of.

I would really like to get Venoms on my Warriors but I need to save those 20 points because that damn DA Formation is so expensive but works so well in conjunction with my list. I could always drop the Aspect formation but would need to replace it with some AT. I could do an Eldar Ally with some things, but not sure I want to go that route as the Dragons are my anti-Knight defense and are better with the Aspect than an Ally.

I am hesitant on the Voidshield and not sure if I need it as I have not ran one before but it seems like a good T1 deterrent and forces my opponent to waste high str. low AP shots on it. Experience with it?

Well let me know what you guys think and if I am heading in the right direction. If there is something I am missing to help my list work more efficiently!

YEE!

List looks like it could be fun.

This is not the kind of list that I am used to running, so it is hard to comment on. But from a glance the army seems pretty good.

I am curious to hear how this list will turn out for you.

How have you found the dark artisan working for you? I have used it a few times and found it underwhelming for the amount of points that it costs. There are certain situations where I think the artisan could shine, but none of them have really come up. But your idea might make it worth it?

I have actually been using disintegrators on my Raiders and have been loving them. So I don't think they should cause any issues.

Love the aspect. Fire dragons are great at what they so don't think they will give you many issues. But I know you already know that. The only thing I would be concerned about is a bad scatter putting them out of melt a range into suffering a deepstrike misshap if you got that rout.

As for the VSG. I have been using it lately and have come to love it very much. Against certain armies it can really save your ass. Just having another large Los blocking terrain is really nice. The shields are great and can be really annoying to take out for some people. Especially when you regenerate more every turn.
The only thing you have to really figure out with the VSG is to learn how to deploy it well. It counts as a model in you army so can camp an objective which is always handy. One I have often done with the VSG and Warput Spiders is either place in or out of the VSG of either flicker jump the spiders into the VSG shields or even better is to flicker jump them out when your opponent targets them with a unit to try and take out the void shields

Do you think taking a grotesquerie would be better than running the Artisan? I know you want the fnp bonus from the cronos, but maybe the points saved could get you more of something else? You would save a good chunk of points since you could put the Grotto unit you already have in the grotesquerie? Just am idea. Both could be very solid choices in your list.

Appreciate the comments Colin.

I have used the Artisan a few times and it is really hit or miss. They drop and dont die Usually. Good opponents feed them a unit and never shoot them because they know it is a losing effort. Their damage potential I think can be high, but getting them to fight an important unit has been difficult. They really shined the most when I deployed them against a DP Battle Co. and they were able to multi assault and eat lots of marines. I am very iffy on the unit and have other options for the points (Eldar Ally or Wave Serpents for Aspect Host- I have loved the BS 5!) Admittingly it has been difficult to get the Bikes and such the bonus FnP.

Bad scatter havent creeped their ugly head too much. I can always get out and BF, though that is not ideal. The double dragons are really the only things I have to kill Knights efficiently and the Spiders help with everything pretty much!

I have used the VSG twice now and messed the deployment once (too far forward) and enabled some guys to get into it and negate the shields themselves. But I like the piece of terrain and really I need it to help against Tau first turn and frustrate Eldar Scat Bike spam enough to hopefully waste lots of shots to down it. The Flickerjump with VSG is fun to do! I was not aware the VSG could grab objectives, need to look that up. Is that an ITC ruling or just something for 7th? I dont use fortifications so it is pretty new to me.

I LOVE the Grotesquerie and what it does for me. I would have no problem using it instead of the Artisan. But, I have used it so much before I really want to branch out and try some other things. I feel like if I use the Grotesquerie, my list will fall back into what I was using before, not that it was bad (Top 7 in 3 GTs last year) but trying to see what massed Reavers can do.

Reavers are very hit or miss for me. They need to cripple a unit hard t avoid the counterattack. They are SO fragile its annoying but can hit very hard when positioned correctly and everything.

I am on the fence about the Dark Artisan and want to try it a few more times, but it is getting to the point of "enough is enough" this thing just is not working the way I want.

Appreciate the comment Colin as usual!

Yeah I haven't used reavers very often, and I feel the same way that you do about them. Sometimes they are great and can really win you the game with caltrops. I just think that they can be tricky to use especially with all of the ignores cover and high rate of fire weapons out there nowadays.

I know it is a lot of points, but I love having coven in my armies for the -ld bubble mixed with the armour of misery or the mask of secrets (from a corsair prince). I have used it to crazy good effect. I have had the best success doing this with the corpsethief formation. It is expensive, but it tends to put solid work in. The 30 twin poison shots, a few ichor injectors and you are ready to rock. I still need to experiment with it a bit though. You really have to write your list based around the corpsethief.

I can't remember where it is written about the VSG counting as a member of your army, but it is official and not just ITC. Probably in the stronghold assault or in fortification section in the BRB.

There is a small 1350 tournament coming up so I might have to give 18 reavers a try. Maybe with a grotesquerie or eldar corsairs?

I have been running corsairs with eldar lately and they have been amazing. Corsairs feel a lot like dark eldar. Except with no coven. I think DE and corsairs could be a lot of fun

colinsherlow wrote:

There is a small 1350 tournament coming up so I might have to give 18 reavers a try. Maybe with a grotesquerie or eldar corsairs?

Reavers and Grotesques are definitely a good combo. There's almost nothing that neither can handle, and they're arguably our 2 best units for close combat so they get my vote.

Reavers and Corsairs are probably pretty good as well, because most of what Corsairs offer is practical (and piratical ) ranged support and movement shenanigans, and that's just what the Reavers need. Hornet's alone would be really helpful for long ranged punch.

Maybe you could fit 12-18 Reavers in with both a minimal Grotesquerie and the Corsairs? You'd be pretty bare bones in your list though.

I personally use the Haemonculus Coven book a lot.

This is a surprising list. The Void shield will be useless in 50% of your games since you will want to project force forward. this kind of looks like a stand back and shoot list that has no range. If it tries to project melee forward, it seems to be hoping the enemy will do the same?

The Void Shield is useful for games you dont go first in, but even then it can be downed so fast... The Dark Artisan is going to need to be supported by the Grotesques so my suggestion here would be to donate one of the Raiders to the Grotesques, add one more to the unit, and then put an aethersail on it. then put it RIGHT up front when you need to. Any time you embark or disembark it disallows the Raider from moving Flat out so they need to start with a dedicated transport.

The Dark Artisan formation will show up, one hopes, just in time to support them.

To that end make adjustments to allow for an Autarch and 2x3 Eldar Jetbikes. Not only for the obvious reasons of objective stealing but also because reserve shenanigans are a thing you need to do.

That is what I would do to begin sprucing the list up But it is such an odd list that i think Tau empire, Astra Militarum and some other longer ranged enemy forces are going to really hurt this list.

Have you gotten any test games in with this list?

I just did last night.

First game was against Tau with Decurion and CAD. The Reavers I used as Smart Missile Bait which worked out great. I strung them out to get the initial VSG save. I ate Overwatch with them and while the Grotesqes and Urien went in and handled stuff. The Dark Artisan came in Turn 3 and didnt do much. I was able to eat 2 fire Warrior Squads that he fed me but they were never shot at because it simply was too tough he said. The result of this game was a draw. That Combined Fire is no joke!

Second game was against Eldar Scat Bike spam with Aspect formation and DE allies. Here the Reavers shined. I was able to eat up Overwatch and their Str. 6 shots with being T5 this game and have FnP. A 3+ Jink or 5+ AS with a 5+ FnP is not terrible to be honest, not the best but better than not getting a save. I was able to board control with the aggressive Reavers and Grots. Again, the DA did not do much besides blow the VSG he had and kill some Reapers on it.

Overall the list worked pretty well. The DA seemed very good but the FnP bubble I tried getting really never worked out. Trip Reavers is pretty legit though. They arent a powerhouse unit, but cleaning up anything Tau or Scat bikes is pretty nice to have. Plus, Hit and Running out is always beneficial. The VSG was great and allowed me to advance forward without really advancing forward because I could string my guys out.

I am thinking of dumping the DA for a Grotesquerie or an Eldar Ally/ CAD for some Farseer goodness on Reavers or Ignores Cover Vaul Batteries. I have no real backfield units for me or campers. I would like some blasts in the army and i can get that with the batteries. I will prolly post a list coming up this week as I work on some stuff to get ready for an RTT in 2 weeks.

I would like to see primarily dark eldar, but that can be hard to do if you want to be competitive.
I am a huge fan of the grotesquerie and have had pretty good success with the few games that I ran it.

Eldar are always super solid. I think a jetseer in a reaver unit would be great. And maybe a unit or two of 2 D-batteries. The hemlock is even pretty good.  If you have the points and can get a warp hunter that will go a long ways.  Seer, warp hunter or hemlock or 2x3 D-batteries plus whatever could work great.

D-shots are also great at removing void shields
One D hit removes a shield. You don't even have to roll on the D chart as it is just hits.

I have actually been using inquisition with space elvessel lately.  The henchmen fill in the VSG bubble. I take 14-16 acolytes, 2 10 point psykers, a ld10 stubborn inquisition and servos kills for around 100pts.  It has been amazing for me so far.

I have some lists that I am trying out that are mostly Eldar and Corsairs (my version of DE and Archon on bike) and often inquisition. Buuuuut I am missing the more unique DE units like coven units