A Short Primer on Starting Dark Eldar

Hello everyone, I'm continuing my Getting Started mini-series and this time I'm doing Dark Eldar. I'm not sure if I'll go over the entire codex as well as its' Haemonculus supplement or if I'll move on and do more Getting Started videos, but either way I hope this is helpful, or at the very least entertaining while you paint your minis

Good job, J.P! I liked your summary of the DE.
Skimmer spam is likely to be something we can all do at the Dark City. For any newcomers that this brings from YouTube: I hope you like building and painting vehicles!
If you run Venoms, do you kit your 6 groups of kabalites with blasters to enhance your AT potential? I do but I also prefer raiders because the 3+ jink from nightshields is so good.

Are there other competitive playstyles than Raider/Venom spam?

Yes. An allied Autarch makes a DE/E air-force a possibility through the real space raiders detachment. Scalpel squadron for null deployment. OR load up on reavers, scourges, swooping hawks, beasts(less so now), Warp Spiders and scat-bikes and overwhelm with multiple targets and speed.

You mentioned the Dark Artisan but I also feel that the Grotesquerie and the Corpesthief Claw are all powerful formations, too, particularly when paired with leadership shenanigans from Harlequins. Grots need the ride but our MCs are quite resilient stomping up the board.

Another competitive choice is to forgo any Blaster or Splinter racks at all and just use the 5 men squads to get as many objective secured transports as possible.

Nice work, I like it

DEfan wrote:

If you run Venoms, do you kit your 6 groups of kabalites with blasters to enhance your AT potential? I do but I also prefer raiders because the 3+ jink from nightshields is so good.

Are there other competitive playstyles than Raider/Venom spam?

[...]

You mentioned the Dark Artisan but I also feel that the Grotesquerie and the Corpesthief Claw are all powerful formations, too, particularly when paired with leadership shenanigans from Harlequins. Grots need the ride but our MCs are quite resilient stomping up the board.

Thanks DEfan! I used to put 1 blaster in every Venom as I think it's the right thing to do but I often forgo that so that my units are uniform in their roles and firepower. Like I said I think it's probably better to be adding a blaster in every Venom with the Kabalite Warriors, but I don't do it.

As for other competitive playstyles.. I've been thinking about that for a while but couldn't come up with anything on my own, but I started a thread here with a ton of interesting ideas

I totally agree about the Grotesquerie and the Corpsthiefclaw formations. I should've mentioned them but for some reason was only thinking of my favourite (the Dark Artisan).

CptMetal wrote:

Another competitive choice is to forgo any Blaster or Splinter racks at all and just use the 5 men squads to get as many objective secured transports as possible.

That's one more reason why I like Venom spam so much

Calindor wrote:

Nice work, I like it

Thanks Calindor!

No love for Freakshows.

40kScribe wrote:

Like I said I think it's probably better to be adding a blaster in every Venom with the Kabalite Warriors, but I don't do it.

No, it's not better. You're doing it right by keeping them focused. Blasters are overpriced and underwhelming. Consider what you have to pay for a blaster(15 points) on a 40 point warrior squad. Blasterborn are even worse, because you're paying more points to make them "trueborn" which are just warriors who are allowed to have more overpriced blasters, so you're basically paying 19 points per blaster in blasterborn squads.

For the price of a unit of blasterborn(BEFORE their transport), you can almost get a ravager with 3 dark lances. The points people spend on making their warrior units inefficient can be put to better use making 1 efficient unit that actually kills tanks.

Good heads up on the current state of the darkest of kin. The Dark Artisan formation is solid and very survivable and a great unit to have your warlord in. I do think you left out mentioning the fast attack options though.

Venoms have distinct advantages over raiders as far as shooting and securing objectives go compared to raiders. At this point, we should accept that unless you are dumping serious points in a trueborn squad that a raider is should be viewed as an assualt transport for any pure DE list. Though a warrior gun boat isn't the worst of options.

That being said, I find taking reaver jetbikes in combination with a grotesquerie can make for good forward moment. Back that with several squads of warriors in venom each with a blaster and a ravager plus scourges work very well in a balanced pure DE list.