Which subfaction of the true kin is your favourite?

So, with GW keeping dark eldar as three distinct flavours that we can mix and match like a fine cocktail, I thought it would be fun to get people talking about which subfaction they prefer.

Kabal, cult or coven

This of course assumes all will be balanced and perfect in the new codex.... lol.

Personally I think the cult speaks to me most, something about gladiators running at a gun line, causing havok while jetfighters and bikes screech about picking off stragglers.

Although to be honest I love all three.

1. Cult because I like wyches, packs and reavers

2. Covens because I like grots and mandrakes

3. And Kabals because I like Court of the archon

RedRegicide wrote:

1. Cult because I like wyches, packs and reavers

2. Covens because I like grots and mandrakes

3. And Kabals  because I like Court of the archon

Mandrakes are not related to coven.

I primarily like aggression and speed, so Wych Cults for me.

Kabal all the way. I like Machiavellian political scheming, especially when done on a grand scale by xenos with technology bordering on magic.

dumpeal wrote:

RedRegicide wrote:

1. Cult because I like wyches, packs and reavers

2. Covens because I like grots and mandrakes

3. And Kabals  because I like Court of the archon

Mandrakes are not related to coven.

Oh you’re right actually. See I was originally gonna be a coven player after the Ynnarri thing happened, one of he reasons was because mandrakes and coven weren’t gonna stay as pure drukhari, so I started associating them.

Aesthetically I love the Kabals, the sleak plate armor is really appealing to me, but gameplay wise I honestly enjoy all three of them but I'd favor the Wych Cult playstyle the most. (If it worked)

I prefer playing Kabals, but overall I love Covens more.

What's not to love about our Hellraiseresque pain-necromants who create pain engines and golems of flesh?

I like all three, but the kabal is the foundation of all of my lists, though i might throw cult and/or coven elements in on a supplementary basis.

If we had Malys back I'd be equal on my love for kabal and cults but for now I'll play the screaming death banshees of the arena that I loved when I first started playing.

Cult is my favorite but the most useless of the three.

Cult. Favorite faction by a mile, but unplayable.

would be cult for me too, love them just pointless at the moment to play.
i miss you reavers

Honestly, I like to cherry pick between the subfactions as I feel like they do work together on large scale raids when needed and they should have connections between the subfactions.

Covens are my favorite though. The fleshcrafters of haemonculii are a large part of how the DE cheat a final death. I wish they had more units personally.

Really love cult.

I like the political bickering of the kabals, but prefer the up an in your face aspect of the cult more. I really like the sleak asteatics and the less transport driven nature of the cult (hellion, reavers, beasts).

I like the idea of covens, but do not like their models very much.

But the nicest part is mandrakes, (all my beast have some mandrake flames, and in my personal army lore come from the shadowrealm as well, to tie my mandrakes more with the cult aspects in my army).

It looks like the least supported subfaction appears to be the most popular one.

I would probably call coven the least supported right now,

Wych and kabal can be run as a full army, covens on the other hand need to borrow from the others.

They lack heavy weapons, unless you count the talos as a heavy weapons platform. They also lack an effective means of getting rid of horde. Which I think is what grots are meant to do.

Britishgrotesque wrote:

I would probably call coven the least supported right now,

Wych and kabal can be run as a full army, covens on the other hand need to borrow from the others.

They lack heavy weapons, unless you count the talos as a heavy weapons platform. They also lack an effective means of getting rid of horde. Which I think is what grots are meant to do.

Wyches also do not have heavy weapons, and if you count the reavers, you can as well count the talos, since the talos can point for point have more heavy weapons then the reavers do (146 for 2 heat lances on a talos or 230 points for 2 heat lances on reavers).

Grots while not great as anti horde are also not that much worse then our other anti horde options (with only beast being better at it, although much less survivable). Multiple people already mentioned we have problems with hordes as DE.

While grots and wracks are not great, I think they are slightly better priced than wych cult units. I never played with or against the chronos or talos, which to me seem slightly unerwhelming, but also not as badly overpriced as the reavers.

When looking at number of units there is very little difference (both have 1 named and 1 regular hq, both have 1 unit of elites, wyches have 1 character hq, both have 1 unit of troops and wyches 2 fast attack vs the coven 2 heavy).
And I think the discussion of support is also based on what is viable to play with?
Where the normal troop choices wracks still seem a lot better then wyches to me.

I count the razorwing and voidraven as the cults heavy weapons, as they can be for kabal or cult, but not coven. Razorwing right now being an excellent platform for dark lances and dissies.

I agree on pricing, as the codex stands cult units (reavers, bloodbrides, maybe wyches) are overpriced for what they do, but the talos and cronos are definitely overpriced, they should be a lot scarier than where they are right now.

I still think cult is a more complete force, just because they don't lack long range heavy weapons. This of course may all change if we can webway in monsters effectively come our codex, and if heat lances/ haywire is fixed, then range doesn't matter too much.

From least favourite to favourite:

4) Wyches. Outside of a few options (the masks and hydra gauntlets), these just don't interest me on a fluff or aesthetic level. What's more, with Reavers being nerfed to hell, I'm not sure they have a single good unit to their name.

3) Coven. Choosing between this and Kabal was tricky. I really like the fluff and aesthetics of Coven units (though, to be fair, I like the aesthetics of Kabal as well). However, with the possible exception of their HQs, I've never been a huge fan of how they actually play on the table.

2) Kabal. As above, I love their aesthetics and, to my mind at least, these just embody the Dark Eldar. Certainly they're my favourite playstyle with fast, fragile, predominantly shooty units. Incidentally, I would still like a Scourge Lord HQ. Or at least the option of wings for other HQs.

1) Mandrakes! I know they don't fit into any of the three, but I still long for the day when these guys get a HQ. I adore their models and their fluff. What's more, this is the first edition since I started playing where they've actually decent on the table.

The Covens personally. The stuff they get up to and their lore is just brilliant. Absolute meat head Grotesques and their terror tactics are hilarious. The little snippets and stories of battles. Like a Grotesque who's just had his head exploded by a Commissar with a power fist then proceeding to strangle him to death anyway

Britishgrotesque wrote:

I would probably call coven the least supported right now,

Wych and kabal can be run as a full army, covens on the other hand need to borrow from the others.

They lack heavy weapons, unless you count the talos as a heavy weapons platform. They also lack an effective means of getting rid of horde. Which I think is what grots are meant to do.

Maybe right now, but last edition they got an entire supplement.

Cults have something of a history of being ignored, with 7th edition being seen as something of a low point with only one good unit.

Oh, how foolish we were, thinking that one good unit was a low point...

FuelDrop wrote:

Maybe right now, but last edition they got an entire supplement.

Cults have something of a history of being ignored, with 7th edition being seen as something of a low point with only one good unit.

Oh, how foolish we were, thinking that one good unit was a low point...

I can imagine them releasing the codexes and then releasing supplements for each subfaction. Almost definitely wishful thinking on my part though.

Nothing would make me happier than all 3 being balanced, and being able to run an army with a 3rd of each.

I'm pretty certain with how they are changing points that each will have some decent units. I'm just worried that on a couple they get the rules wrong, and are unwilling to change them until another codex.

Even though their rules are kinda lacking at the moment, I LOVE the Haemonculi Covens. They're so twisted and disgusting and monstrous but they also have an air of arrogance that even the Archons can't match. Haemonculi are often servants of the Kabal, but even the Archon has to keep the Coven on their good side if they want to wake up after a raid goes south.

And their models are outstanding. Oooooh how I wish I could just field a dozen Pain Engines and a whole field of converted up monstrosities. Kitbashing up my Grotesques was a ton of fun and I wish I was better with green stuff so I could finish up my Coven Raiders.

Kabal. Their models have that space pirate look i am sooo in love with.