Help getting my first 1,000 points up and running

Evening everybody,

Hope you're all having a great day and if you're in America, I hope you had a pleasant Thanksgiving. I certainly did.

I'm just getting into Dark Eldar and I'm starting to put together my first list. I'm looking to start of with a 1,000 point list before expanding to a larger collection.  I figure that's the best way to not only learn the army but to figure out what units I like and what fits my play style.

So this is what I have so far.

HQ:                                                                  
1: Archon:                                                            95 points                            
  - agoniser, soul-trap, spliter pistol

Elites:                                                                
1: Grotesques (4 of the big guys)                             225 points
  -  Aberration w/ sccor hands
  - Raider w/ dark lance and Enhanced Aethersails

Troops:
1: Warriors (5 man)                                               130 points        
 - Blaster
 - Sybarite
 - Venom w/ splinter cannons

2: Warriors (5 man)                                               130 points        
 - Blaster
 - Sybarite
 - Venom w/ splinter cannons

Fast Attack:
1: Reavers (3 bikes)                                               83 points
 - heat lance
 - cluster caltrops
 - arena champion

Heavy Support:
1: Ravager                                                          140 points
  - 3 dark lances, night shields

                                                          subtotal: 803 points


So thats the start of what I think I want in the army which leaves me with 197 points to fiddle about with. So now I'm trying to decide what to add and possibly what to change. Which is where you guys might be able to help.


I'm not sure what else I want, but I do know what I like already. Unfortuently I am basing some of it on looks and not on how they preform, so I'm not sure if what I like actually lines up with what is good.

- Warriors in venoms: Apparently that's a lot of peoples kink in this army
- Grots:  part of the reason I chose this army is an awesome conversion I saw and want to try my hand at.
- Reavers: *$#%ing LOOK AT THEM, they look awesome

Also, I have a feeling I might eventually dip into the coven supplement to get the grotesque formation but I'm not sure If I want to start building towards that now, or wait until later.


Thoughts and such are very welcome.

Thanks,

A man who ate to much turkey today.

Not too bad for a starting selection.

The Grotesquerie option from the Haemonculus Covens book is really good. You might want to consider swapping the Archon for a Haemonculus so you can more easily expand to the Grotesquerie. However, I fully understand the Archon as a cooler looking model being a good choice. Another Archon advantage is you can use the Start Collecting Dark Eldar box in its entirety with you plan.

The Grotesques Raider probably will be going flat out and having to Jink, so not worth the Lance upgrade there. I like Night Shields to improve the odds to get to the target, and find Aethersails usually aren't necessary. Personally I prefer Agoniser over Scissorhand on the Aberration. Agoniser is better against 3+ or worse saves (Space Marines) and Scissorhand against 2+ saves (Terminators).

Blasters on the Warrior squads are OK, but you don't need them. The extra leadership from the Sybarites could be trimmed too.

The Reavers could drop the Arena Champion too, and I wouldn't recommend them in a minimum sized squad. Heat Lance is fairly much optional there too, as you will often want to Jink.

Ravager is a fairly solid choice.

All in all, you have pretty solid choices in there (no bad units) and could add in all kinds of options. A bit more anti-tank would help, so perhaps some Scourges.

I will agree with a lot of what kantalla has said. Reaver champion should probably be dropped to a regular guy (to save points). Heat Lance with them is OK, just dont forget that you have a nice 3+ jink with these gentlemen, so you should be using it whenever you get shot at.

With the Sybarites in the warrior squads, either give them Haywire Grenades, or drop them. The HWG do a lot of work, and combined with the baster should make some AV units cry.

I assume the Archon will be riding with the Grots. In this case, keep the scissor hands on the Abby (Archon is great VS 3+ saves, but the Abby will need to step in if you go against something with a 2+). Drop the DL, and give them the Night Shield (for the 3+ jink). This is the largest concentration of points in your army, expect it to be targeted by EVERYTHING turn 1. You WILL loose the raider at some point, hopefully after you get close enough for a charge.

Last thing, try to get a lot of troops in transports. One of our main advantages lies in our fast ObSec transports, so you could do worse buying another 2 venom/raider filled with warriors.