2k Reborn Drukhari

Through a culmination of events since the last army list I posted, I have decided to abandon the Wych Cult list I had in mind for a local tournament. While there was potential for it to work, I haven't been having much success lately with Wych Cults - our club (that runs the tournament) have been doing an escalation league since January, and of the ten or so matches I've played using Cults, I only won once (and even that was only by a point). So for the time being, I'll put the Wych Cult idea on the back-burner.

With the recent release of the Ynnari Index, I've been tempted to try something a little bit different and run Reborn Drukhari for the tournament. The list below is a 'test' list to see what works - I'll get a chance to try it out over the weekend, but any comments and/or critique are very welcome.

Battalion and Supreme Command Detachments (+6 CP) - 1993pts - 100 Power
- Exalted of Ynnead: -1 CP

Battalion Detachment - Ynnari

HQ
- Succubus with Shardnet and Impaler - 55pts
   - Warlord Trait (EoY) - Walker of Many Paths

- The Yncarne - 337pts
   - Knows Gaze of Ynnead and Shield of Ynnead

Troops
- 5 Kabalite Warriors (Blaster; Sybarite has Blast Pistol and Agoniser) - 61pts

- 5 Kabalite Warriors (Blaster; Sybarite has Blast Pistol and Power Sword) - 61pts

- 10 Wyches (2 Hydra Gauntlets; Shardnet and Impaler; Hekatrix has Blast Pistol, PGL and Agoniser) - 110pts

- 10 Wyches (2 Hydra Gauntlets; Shardnet and Impaler; Hekatrix has Blast Pistol, PGL and Power Sword) - 110pts

Fast Attack
- 15 Hellions (Helliarch has PGL, Stunclaw and Splinter Pistol) - 217pts

Heavy Support
- Ravager with 3 Disintegrator Cannons and Shock Prow - 126pts

- Ravager with 3 Dark Lances and Shock Prow - 141pts

Dedicated Transport
- Raider with Disintegrator Cannon and PGL - 83pts

- Raider with Dark Lance and PGL - 88pts

- Raider with Dark Lance and PGL - 88pts


Supreme Command Detachment - Ynnari

No Force Org
- Court of the Archon - 3 Sslyths + 1 Lhamaean - 96pts

HQ
- Archon with Huskblade and Blaster - 93pts
   - Warlord: Lord of Rebirth
   - Relic: Hungering Blade

- Yvraine - 132pts
   - Knows Unbind Souls and Ancestor's Grace

- The Visarch - 120pts

Dedicated Transport
- Venom with second Splinter Cannon - 75pts

Ok, here's some feedback:

Glass Battleaxe wrote:

Troops
- 5 Kabalite Warriors (Blaster; Sybarite has Blast Pistol and Agoniser) - 61pts

- 5 Kabalite Warriors (Blaster; Sybarite has Blast Pistol and Power Sword) - 61pts

- 10 Wyches (2 Hydra Gauntlets; Shardnet and Impaler; Hekatrix has Blast Pistol, PGL and Agoniser) - 110pts

- 10 Wyches (2 Hydra Gauntlets; Shardnet and Impaler; Hekatrix has Blast Pistol, PGL and Power Sword) - 110pts

You spend so many points on unnecessary bling.

Syrabites have 2 attacks each and the rest of the unit is allergic to melee, so there's no need to buy them melee weapons.

PGLs in Ynnari are terrible, even if you remember to use them, you can't use the mortal wound strat so they're underwhelming.

Power Swords are inferior to Agonisers in almost all instances, especially since you can't take Cursed Blade Obsession for +1 Strength

A one-shot Blast Pistol on a 3+ model are questionable, and they're facing two full fight phases (yours and theirs) before they can shoot again, so this is 20 points that could very well never see use in an entire game. If you really want Blast Pistols, I could see an argument, though it's weak, for these to go on your Syrabites so that each unit threatens 2 'Blaster' attacks from the relative safety of their Venom.

Glass Battleaxe wrote:

Fast Attack
- 15 Hellions (Helliarch has PGL, Stunclaw and Splinter Pistol) - 217pts

Rules-wise, there are not enough redeeming qualities for Hellions to be worth their cost, and as such they should never make the cut.

Glass Battleaxe wrote:

Heavy Support
- Ravager with 3 Disintegrator Cannons and Shock Prow - 126pts

- Ravager with 3 Dark Lances and Shock Prow - 141pts

Alright, but where's the third one? I recommend mixing the special weapons on your Ravagers, so that it's harder for your opponent to destroy the weapons they're the most scared of. Also, these guys should never have Shock Prows until all of your Raiders have Shock Prows first - they're more likely to be closer to melee.

When I'm not running 3 triple Dissies Ravs, I frequently run:

3 x Ravager with 2 Dissies and 1 Dark Lance.

Glass Battleaxe wrote:

Dedicated Transport
- Raider with Disintegrator Cannon and PGL - 83pts

- Raider with Dark Lance and PGL - 88pts

- Raider with Dark Lance and PGL - 88pts

I approve of mixing weapons here, in a similar fashion to the Ravagers. However, again, PGLs are almost meaningless without the mortal wound strat. If you drop all three PGLs and add a Shock Prow to each, which will do more work most of the time, you still save 6 pts.

Glass Battleaxe wrote:

Supreme Command Detachment - Ynnari

No Force Org
- Court of the Archon - 3 Sslyths + 1 Lhamaean - 96pts

HQ
- Archon with Huskblade and Blaster - 93pts
   - Warlord: Lord of Rebirth
   - Relic: Hungering Blade

- Yvraine - 132pts
   - Knows Unbind Souls and Ancestor's Grace

- The Visarch - 120pts

Dedicated Transport
- Venom with second Splinter Cannon - 75pts

What is the purpose of this detachment? There are so many points spent here on underwhelming models and characters. 20 Wyches are nowhere near enough of a screen to play 'Herohammer' - and I would argue these characters aren't strong enough to justify that style of play anyway.

You could easily cut this entire detachment and just add Yvraine to your Battalion, save yourself a bunch of micro managing characters and save a tonne of points.

So, some thoughts:

- I think you're spending way, waaay too much on characters. Neither DE nor Ynnari have characters that are worth spamming.

- If you really want to conserve most of your characters, why not split your 2 Wych squads into 4 units of 5? This way you can have twice as many sergeants (which means more Agoniser attacks and more Blast Pistols if you want them). More importantly though, you can split off 3 troops along with Yvraine and the Archon to form a second Battalion. I'd strongly recommend dropping the Visarch altogether, as he's completely abysmal in every way.

- Personally, I think Hellions are utter trash. IMO Reavers do their job far better. However, if you're set on running Hellions, I'd consider splitting them up into multiple, smaller squads. A squad of 15 is just asking to die to morale.

- I really don't think the Court of the Archon is worth it. You're literally spending more points on the Archon's bodyguard unit than you're spending on the Archon himself.

- As hydranixx said above, I think you've got far too many unnecessary upgrades. Kabalite Warriors never want to be anywhere near melee, so giving them melee weapons and Blast Pistols is just a waste. Believe me, I've tried to make melee Kabalites work with Poison Tongue. It just doesn't. Also, I's strongly advice that you use PGLs and Shock Prows as a way to spend leftover points - not go-to upgrades for all units.

- One very minor point - I'd recommend swapping spells so that the Yncarne has Ancestor's Grace, rather than Shield of Ynnead. That was he can always choose to give himself rerolls and Yvraine can concentrate on getting herself in a good position to use the shield.

Thanks for the responses guys.

Hmm... guess I'll need to rethink a few things. As I mentioned, I'll be able to try out a few things this weekend, and there's still plenty of time before the tournament to revamp my list.

So... on Saturday, I played two matches with Ynnari - both against the same opponent, who brought Orks. Both matches were Maelstrom of War missions from Chapter Approved '18.

The first match used a variant of the list I posted in the original post - I had axed the CotA, the Visarch and all my PGL's to make room for an Outrider detachment with 20 Hellions, a Blaster Scourge unit and a Haywire Scourge unit (ditching the Supreme Command detachment in the process). Suffice to say, it was a disaster - my opponent, using a Dread Mob list with Gretchins for a double Battalion and a Gorkanaut, seized the first turn and proceeded to cripple my Raiders and Ravagers. I had put my Hellions and Scourges in deep-strike, but by the time they came out, I was down to my Archon and Succubus - I conceded at the start of turn 3.

After taking a brief break, me and my opponent talked about the issues that Drukhari in general are facing in competitive play at the moment - in addition to discussing his Orks which are better at shooting than Custodes with their Dakka Dakka ability, and have no 'bad' units across their entire codex. We also discussed detachment options, and how double battalions seem to be the way to go at the moment.

Following this, we had a second match, with me using a double battalion, and him using slightly less efficient variants of units (Bubblechuckas instead of Traktor Cannons, for example). I can't remember exactly what my list contained, but I know I dropped the Hellions and brought a Voidraven and CotA (the latter to bubble-wrap my warlord). This time, the match was a lot closer - first turn and a good deployment map meant I had a better chance of surviving his fire. I built up an early lead with good objectives, before finally getting tabled in round 4 - a lone Lhamaean being the last unit to be mopped up - and playing with Acceptable Casualties meant I ended up losing 11-10.

So, with what I've learned from those games, I have revised the potential list I will be using for the tournament. I know this list probably isn't perfect, and it'll likely need tweaking between now and the event, but I'm hoping it will at least give me a better chance than the list I posted earlier.


2 Battalion and 1 Air Wing Detachments (+11 CP) - 1998pts - 103 Power
- Exalted of Ynnead: -1 CP


Air Wing Detachment - Flayed Skull

Flyer
- Razorwing Jetfighter with Disintegrator Cannons and Splinter Cannon - 145pts

- Razorwing Jetfighter with Dark Lances and Splinter Cannon - 155pts

- Voidraven Bomber with Void Lances and Voidraven Missiles - 165pts


Battalion Detachment #1 - Ynnari

No Force Org
- Court of the Archon - 2 Sslyths + 1 Lhamaean - 69pts

HQ
- Archon with Huskblade and Blaster - 93pts
  - Warlord: Walker of Many Paths
  - Relic: Hungering Blade

- The Yncarne - 337pts
  - Knows Gaze of Ynnead and Unbind Souls

Troops
- 5 Kabalite Warriors (Blaster; Sybarite has Power Sword and Splinter Rifle) - 51pts

- 5 Kabalite Warriors (Blaster; Sybarite has Agoniser and Splinter Rifle) - 51pts

- 5 Kabalite Warriors (Blaster; Sybarite has Power Sword and Blast Pistol) - 61pts

Heavy Support
- Ravager with 3 Disintegrator Cannons and Shock Prow - 126pts

- Ravager with 3 Dark Lances and Shock Prow - 141pts


Battalion Detachment #2 - Ynnari

HQ
- Succubus with Shardnet and Impaler - 55pts
  - Warlord Trait (EoA): Warden of Souls

- Yvraine - 132pts
  - Knows Shield of Ynnead and Ancestor's Grace

Troops
- 5 Wyches (Shardnet and Impaler; Hekatrix has Agoniser and Splinter Pistol) - 49pts

- 5 Wyches (Shardnet and Impaler; Hekatrix has Power Sword and Blast Pistol) - 59pts

- 5 Wyches (Shardnet and Impaler; Hekatrix has Agoniser and Blast Pistol) - 59pts

Dedicated Transports
- Raider with Disintegrator Cannon - 80pts

- Raider with Dark Lance - 85pts

- Raider with Dark Lance - 85pts