First 1k pts list, never played 8th before

Hey everyone!
I have only relatively recently returned to 40k and only played a handful of 500 pts games using 6th edition rules.
Since I have bought a bunch of second hand minis and started to acquaint myself with 8th edition rules, I've decided to cobble together a 1000 pts army list and ask you guys and gals what you think.


++ Battalion Detachment +5CP (Aeldari - Drukhari) [54 PL, 1,001pts] ++

+ No Force Org Slot +

Detachment Attribute
. Kabal of the Flayed Skull

+ HQ +

Archon [79pts, 4 PL]: Huskblade, Phantasm Grenade Launcher, Soulthirst, Splinter pistol, Warlord (Archon)
. The Obsidian Veil

Archon [76pts, 4 PL]: Huskblade, Splinter pistol

+ Troops +

Kabalite Warriors [78pts, 4 PL]
. 7x Kabalite Warrior
. Kabalite warrior with Heavy Weapon: Splinter Cannon
. Kabalite Warrior with special weapon: Shredder
. Sybarite: Splinter Rifle

Kabalite Warriors [78pts, 4 PL]
. 7x Kabalite Warrior
. Kabalite warrior with Heavy Weapon: Splinter Cannon
. Kabalite Warrior with special weapon: Shredder
. Sybarite: Splinter Rifle

Kabalite Warriors [47pts, 2 PL]
. 3x Kabalite Warrior
. Kabalite Warrior with special weapon: Blaster
. Sybarite: Splinter Rifle

Kabalite Warriors [47pts, 2 PL]
. 3x Kabalite Warrior
. Kabalite Warrior with special weapon: Blaster
. Sybarite: Splinter Rifle

Kabalite Warriors [80pts, 4 PL]
. 8x Kabalite Warrior
. Kabalite warrior with Heavy Weapon: Dark Lance
. Sybarite: Splinter Rifle

+ Elites +

Sslyth [27pts, 2 PL]

+ Fast Attack +

Scourges [84pts, 5 PL]
. Scourge
. Scourge with Special / Heavy weapon: Haywire blaster
. Scourge with Special / Heavy weapon: Haywire blaster
. Scourge with Special / Heavy weapon: Haywire blaster
. Solarite: Shardcarbine

+ Dedicated Transport +

Raider [5 PL, 85pts]: Dark Lance

Raider [5 PL, 85pts]: Dark Lance

Raider [5 PL, 85pts]: Dark Lance

Venom [4 PL, 75pts]: Splinter Cannon, Splinter Cannon

Venom [4 PL, 75pts]: Splinter Cannon, Splinter Cannon

++ Total: [54 PL, 1,001pts] ++


The plan is to have the one squad Kabalite Warriors with the Dark Lance sit back on an objective and having the Archons and their retinue sit in a raider as a countering unit, while the gunboats and Blaster- Venoms do most of the work.
The Flayed Skull obsession allows for maximum usefulness of gunboats (I didn't have the points for splinter racks), while the Blasters, Dark Lances and the Scourges' Haywire Blasters can counter enemy vehicles. The increased mobility of the vehicles should help with board control as well.

I have never been a particularly good player and while I am beginning to wrap my head around the details and finesse of playing Drukhari, I am still learning and would greatly appreciate any help.

Note: Beyond these models, I also have another 20 Kabalite Warriors (including a bunch of special weapons), 5 more Sslyth, around 25 Wyches and a Succubus.


Thanks in advance!

Welcome to 8th edition!

- Soulthirst is a very weak Warlord Trait. If you go with Flayed Skull, you have two excellent Warlord Trait options in the form of Hatred Eternal or Famed Savagery - take your prefered one of those instead.

Generally with Dark Eldar you want to opt for the "more boys fewer toys" mindset - as in, don't buy upgrades when you have more models you can buy instead. For one example, I would add more Kabalites to the list rather than buying things like Splinter Cannons. This is also the case with Sslyth, sadly, they're basically upgrades for your Archon that just give away free Kill Points. If you drop your single Sslyth, you free up points to bring in 4.5 Kabalite Warriors who will do a lot more damage than a single Sslyth ever will.

Kabalite squads without transport tend to underperform - we're just not made to be footslogging army. But, seeing as you only have 5 transports, if you must run a footslogging unit, consider deploying them via Deepstrike with the Webway Portal Stratagem. Even just 20 Kabalites with no upgrades in Deepstrike is helpful as that's a lot of bodies and poison dakka that can show up where you need it most on Turn 2 or Turn 3.

First of all, thank you for taking the time to look at my list.
I did play with the list a bit and eventually decided against the big blob. Instead, I added another Venom 5 man blaste squad. I know, I don't have the venom I'd need for that at the moment, but I figure there could be worse options.
edit: replaced it with a Raider, explanation at the end of the post.
I do feel a bit dirty because it reminds me of the 6th ed Venom spam cheese. Not sure how popular and effective they are nowadays.
I do regret not being able to field my Sslyth, since I really love the models and like the idea of having them in the Raider as ablative wounds and as a meat shield for charges and subsequent overwatch.

On that note: Is there any way I could use my Archons more efficiently? Maybe not have them simply ride around as a two man mini-"deathstar"-unit waiting to be shot out of the sky?
I know there's the approach of using an Archon and his aura in conjunction with two Ravagers, but that's neither an option nor anything I'd really consider doing, since it's something I consider to be a competitive approach, not a fluffy one.
Also: should I consider taking away one Venom's splinter cannon and instead give one Archon a blast pistol for a bit more punch?

Anyway, here's my list. C&C are of course welcome.

++ Battalion Detachment +5CP (Aeldari - Drukhari) [54 PL, 1000pts] ++

+ No Force Org Slot +

Detachment Attribute: Kabal of the Flayed Skull

+ HQ +

Archon [4 PL, 79pts]: Hatred Eternal, Huskblade, Phantasm Grenade Launcher, Splinter pistol, The Obsidian Veil, Warlord (Archon)

Archon [4 PL, 76pts]: Huskblade, Splinter pistol

+ Troops +

Kabalite Warriors [4 PL, 68pts]
. 7x Kabalite Warrior
. Kabalite Warrior with special weapon: Shredder
. Sybarite: Splinter Rifle

Kabalite Warriors [4 PL, 62pts]
. 7x Kabalite Warrior
. Kabalite Warrior with special weapon: Shredder
. Sybarite: Splinter Rifle

Kabalite Warriors [2 PL, 47pts]
. 3x Kabalite Warrior
. Kabalite Warrior with special weapon: Blaster
. Sybarite: Splinter Rifle

Kabalite Warriors [2 PL, 47pts]
. 3x Kabalite Warrior
. Kabalite Warrior with special weapon: Blaster
. Sybarite: Splinter Rifle

Kabalite Warriors [2 PL, 47pts]
. 3x Kabalite Warrior
. Kabalite Warrior with special weapon: Blaster
. Sybarite: Splinter Rifle

+ Fast Attack +

Scourges [5 PL, 84pts]
. Scourge
. Scourge with Special / Heavy weapon: Haywire blaster
. Scourge with Special / Heavy weapon: Haywire blaster
. Scourge with Special / Heavy weapon: Haywire blaster
. Solarite: Shardcarbine

+ Dedicated Transport +

Raider [5 PL, 85pts]: Dark Lance

Raider [5 PL, 85pts]: Dark Lance

Raider [5 PL, 85pts]: Dark Lance

Raider [5 PL, 85pts]: Dark Lance

Venom [4 PL, 75pts]: Splinter Cannon, Splinter Cannon

Venom [4 PL, 75pts]: Splinter Cannon, Splinter Cannon

++ Total: [54 PL, 1000pts] ++


Edit: I actually completely forgot about the 2 additional Raiders I have flying around (pun intended). I replaced the Venom I had originally added with it and took away the splinter cannon. Is this a suboptimal approach or worthwile?

Edit 2: Another idea I had was replacing the aforementioned new squad of Warriors with another squad of Scourges with 3 Dark Lances. Any thoughts on that?

I’d advise against the scourges with D lances simply because they’re heavy weapons and scourges are best used IMO as hit and run blaster wielders

I edited my list again, this time sticking to the models I own. The grisly trophies I gave to 2 Raiders are filler to get to 1000 points, although I could imagine that in combination with the Archon's PGL, they could actually come in handy.
One of my 5 man Warrior squads will be riding in a Raider, since I don't own the Venom I'd let them ride in otherwise.


++ Battalion Detachment +5CP (Aeldari - Drukhari) [55 PL, 1,000pts] ++

+ No Force Org Slot +

Detachment Attribute
. Kabal of the Flayed Skull

+ HQ +

Archon [79pts, 4 PL]: Hatred Eternal, Huskblade, Phantasm Grenade Launcher, Splinter pistol, Warlord (Archon)
. The Obsidian Veil

Archon [76pts, 4 PL]: Huskblade, Splinter pistol

+ Troops +

Kabalite Warriors [47pts, 2 PL]
. 3x Kabalite Warrior
. Kabalite Warrior with special weapon: Blaster
. Sybarite: Splinter Rifle

Kabalite Warriors [47pts, 2 PL]
. 3x Kabalite Warrior
. Kabalite Warrior with special weapon: Blaster
. Sybarite: Splinter Rifle

Kabalite Warriors [47pts, 2 PL]
. 3x Kabalite Warrior
. Kabalite Warrior with special weapon: Blaster
. Sybarite: Splinter Rifle

Kabalite Warriors [78pts, 4 PL]
. 7x Kabalite Warrior
. Kabalite warrior with Heavy Weapon: Splinter Cannon
. Kabalite Warrior with special weapon: Shredder
. Sybarite: Splinter Rifle

Kabalite Warriors [68pts, 4 PL]
. 8x Kabalite Warrior
. Kabalite Warrior with special weapon: Shredder
. Sybarite: Splinter Rifle

+ Fast Attack +

Scourges [84pts, 5 PL]
. Scourge
. Scourge with Special / Heavy weapon: Haywire blaster
. Scourge with Special / Heavy weapon: Haywire blaster
. Scourge with Special / Heavy weapon: Haywire blaster
. Solarite: Shardcarbine

+ Dedicated Transport +

Raider [5 PL, 82pts]: Disintegrator cannon, Grisly Trophies

Raider [5 PL, 82pts]: Disintegrator cannon, Grisly Trophies

Raider [5 PL, 80pts]: Disintegrator cannon

Raider [5 PL, 80pts]: Disintegrator cannon

Venom [4 PL, 75pts]: Splinter Cannon, Splinter Cannon

Venom [4 PL, 75pts]: Splinter Cannon, Splinter Cannon

++ Total: [55 PL, 1,000pts] ++

I like it! Raiders have always done my cold heart proud

red_head wrote:

I do regret not being able to field my Sslyth, since I really love the models and like the idea of having them in the Raider as ablative wounds and as a meat shield for charges and subsequent overwatch.

You can squeeze in one or two Sslyth if you really want, but generally they're not amazing. I have some cool converted Sslyth models of my own that I look for opportunities to use but they're seldom worth it.

red_head wrote:

On that note: Is there any way I could use my Archons more efficiently? Maybe not have them simply ride around as a two man mini-"deathstar"-unit waiting to be shot out of the sky?

If you're relying on your Archons to do a bunch of damage you're going to be disappointed, they're not really melee beatsticks like Smash Captains or one man armies like Custodian Shieldcaptains or  Daemon Princes. Archons are instead cheap (relative to the aforementioned models at least), relatively quick with an effective 11" move after hopping out of their transport, relatively survivable with their 2++ if you steer them towards the right targets, and relatively hitty against weak targets.

So rather than going full rambo with them, use them to bully and fight combats you know they'll win. So for instance, swinging an Archon into a squad of Guardsmen to reliably kill 3 or more of them and force the remaining ones to fall back and/or lose more to Morale.

One way to use Archons in your type of list would be to put each of them into a Raider with 5-8 Kabalites in it, with an optional Sslyth if you want. Don't actively try to charge everything in sight, just play your entire list and game as if your Archons don't exist, using your boats as shooting platforms. At the start of each movement phase, assess if there's an opportunity for the Archon to hop out and move his full 11" to create some melee pressure, such as running in to tie up units that want to shoot, or bullying a unit off of an objective, or blocking the narrow pathway in front of a Knight etc.

red_head wrote:

Also: should I consider taking away one Venom's splinter cannon and instead give one Archon a blast pistol for a bit more punch?

I would forgo buying a single Splinter Cannon anywhere in the list until every single other unit in the list is as fully loaded up as you want them to be. This includes giving the Archon a Blaster (rather than Blast Pistol, as it has 3 times the range). When you've bought all your extras, then sure, now it's time to slap on your extra Splinter Cannons.

red_head wrote:

Scourges [5 PL, 84pts]
. Scourge
. Scourge with Special / Heavy weapon: Haywire blaster
. Scourge with Special / Heavy weapon: Haywire blaster
. Scourge with Special / Heavy weapon: Haywire blaster
. Solarite: Shardcarbine

As per the above point, this squad is missing its 4th special weapon. Another Haywire Blaster or even a normal Blaster would be welcome here, and will do more for you every game than a Splinter Cannon ever will.

red_head wrote:

Raider [5 PL, 82pts]: Disintegrator cannon, Grisly Trophies

Raider [5 PL, 82pts]: Disintegrator cannon, Grisly Trophies

Raider [5 PL, 80pts]: Disintegrator cannon

Raider [5 PL, 80pts]: Disintegrator cannon

I can guarantee you that 9 out of 10 games, you will not remember that you have Grisly Trophies, and in that one game that you do remember it, you won't remember which Raiders they're one and/or your opponent will just make his Morale tests and not care.

I would always, always buy Shock Prows before these. Shock Prows at 1 point each are a steal for the extra threat it gives your Raiders and Ravagers.

Generally my checklist of how to spend extra points at the end of a list is something like:

Special weapons (usually Blasters) -> Splinter Cannons -> Shock Prows -> Venom Blades for Scourge Solarites / Wrack Acolytes -> Blast Pistols

... so I would basically not buy Blast Pistols unless every unit in the list had full upgrades AND I also could not afford another unit by trimming some upgrades.

I hear what you're saying and it make intuitive sense. I guess I'm going to have to get another Haywire Blaster from a bitz shop to max out the Scourges. I'll sit down and work a bit more on the list tonight.
Thanks for the advice so far.

And I don't expect my Archons to go on a killing spree, but I guess that combined with shooting from other units, they'll be able to do some damage in 1k pts games. We'll see. I'm honestly just excited to finally field a "proper" army once I've painted up the rest of them.

I actually updated the list 2 days ago, but forgot to actually post it. Here it is:

++ Battalion Detachment +5CP (Aeldari - Drukhari) [55 PL, 1003pts] ++

+ No Force Org Slot +

Detachment Attribute: Kabal of the Flayed Skull

+ HQ +

Archon [4 PL, 79pts]: Hatred Eternal, Huskblade, Phantasm Grenade Launcher, Splinter pistol, The Obsidian Veil, Warlord (Archon)

Archon [4 PL, 93pts]: Blaster, Huskblade

+ Troops +

Kabalite Warriors [4 PL, 68pts]
. 8x Kabalite Warrior
. Kabalite Warrior with special weapon: Shredder
. Sybarite: Splinter Rifle

Kabalite Warriors [4 PL, 68pts]
. 8x Kabalite Warrior
. Kabalite Warrior with special weapon: Shredder
. Sybarite: Splinter Rifle

Kabalite Warriors [2 PL, 47pts]
. 3x Kabalite Warrior
. Kabalite Warrior with special weapon: Blaster
. Sybarite: Splinter Rifle

Kabalite Warriors [2 PL, 47pts]
. 3x Kabalite Warrior
. Kabalite Warrior with special weapon: Blaster
. Sybarite: Splinter Rifle

Kabalite Warriors [2 PL, 47pts]
. 3x Kabalite Warrior
. Kabalite Warrior with special weapon: Blaster
. Sybarite: Splinter Rifle

+ Fast Attack +

Scourges [5 PL, 84pts]
. Scourge
. Scourge with Special / Heavy weapon: Haywire blaster
. Scourge with Special / Heavy weapon: Haywire blaster
. Scourge with Special / Heavy weapon: Haywire blaster
. Solarite: Shardcarbine

+ Dedicated Transport +

Raider [5 PL, 80pts]: Disintegrator cannon

Raider [5 PL, 80pts]: Disintegrator cannon

Raider [5 PL, 80pts]: Disintegrator cannon

Raider [5 PL, 80pts]: Disintegrator cannon

Venom [4 PL, 75pts]: Splinter Cannon, Splinter Cannon

Venom [4 PL, 75pts]: Splinter Cannon, Splinter Cannon

++ Total: [55 PL, 1003pts] ++


This is using only what I actually own. The Blaster- Archon will probably be riding along in the Raider with one of the 5 man squads.

Trying to write a 1k list myself at the moment. So far I’ve got;
Battalion Detachment +5CP
Kabal of the Black Heart
HQ
Archon: Blaster, Huskblade, Labyrinthine Cunning, Warlord (Archon)
Writ of the Living Muse
Archon: Blaster, Huskblade
Troops
5x Kabalite Warrior: Blaster
5x Kabalite Warrior: Blaster
5x Kabalite Warrior: Blaster
Heavy Support
3x Ravager: 3xDisintegrator cannons
Dedicated Transport
2x Raider: Disintegrator cannon
Venom: Splinter Cannon, Twin splinter rifle

Total- 927pts

Just debating what I could do with the remaining points.

So why wouldn't you just post your own thread for discussion and input?

Cause I’m sharing mine with you for comparison...