Your opinion about my first 1000 points Dark Eldar Army if you willl ;)

Greetings,

I played w40k long ago and quit the game (by activity, not by heart ) because i couldnt find the time for it. When the latest Dark Eldar models got released, i couldn`t help but drool all over the images and the idea of putting together a battleforce of these evil space pirates!

That being said, i constructed a list, which, in theory looks cool and might do the trick. I`ve not yet bought any of this, so i can still alter what i want if you managed to convince me the choices i made are really faulty.

Without further babbling, i will now provide you with my list as well as my presumed tactics to use them with.




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Archon 185 points
Blast Pistol, Huskblade, Combat Drugs, Shadow Field, Webway Portal

Instead of a soultrap, i chose to provide my archon with a Court of the Archon. The Lhamaean provides me with a 2+ poisoned Huskblade right from the start, where as the soultrap needs me to kill an independant character to get a strength of 6. Even though a Court, in total, is obviously more costly than a mere soultrap, it might still be a better choice. That being said, i simply love the versatile looking models and their battle abilities, so despite the Court not being the best choice ever according to professional Dark Eldar players, i`m very tempted to take them along. The Archon can finish of basically everything, especially with his 2+ you die rolls. Chances are good he can dispatch an enemy high ranking independant character within the first round and should he need to take hits, we have the Ur-Ghul and Sslyth as meat.


The Court of the Archon 150 points (including a Venom)
Splinter Cannons, Night Shield

Since my Archon is the main Webway Portal man behind my tactics, i wanted him to have some bodyguards. The Court does the trick and comes with some extra stuff i can utilize, mainly the 2+ poison is interesting, but the flamer template Eyeburst can be very destructive if fortune favors the rolls. I gave them a Venom to be able to quickly manouver to an interesting location on the battlefield, drop off the Archon and his Court and let the Archon use his Webway Portal in Turn 1. He could be using it in Turn 2, but the rest of my army is in reserve and i don`t want to throw a lucky 4+ for the reserves, screwing over my Webway ambush tactics, so my best bet would be find a good spot to disembark and use the portal in Turn 1. For i forget, the court consists of the 4 minimum models required and i added the Archon to the unit from the start, hence the choice of the Venom. The extra splinter cannon seems a no brainer and the Night Shield, if it survives the first dropoff, will serve it well, at least, on paper


10 Kabalite Warriors 210 points (including a Raider)
Blaster, Splinter Cannon, Sybarite, Disintegrator Cannon, Retrofire Jets, Splinter Racks, Night Shield

Hopefully these guys do not arrive too late from reserve and hopefully not on top a building or another squad. I`m not sure if it`s possible to move after deepstriking, i think not, so i`m hoping i`ll be lucky enough to land within 12" of my target i want to rapid fire to death. The idea is to quickly ambush a squad of unsuspecting enemies, this is mainly focussed on anti-infantry, which is the main reason i chose for their Assault oriented weaponry (should the raider be blown to bits). Before the raider gets blown to bits, it can provide me with useful anti-(heavy)infantry support fire while the warriors try to destroy that same squad. I`ve read that focus fire, not fighting on equal terms, is the key to victory, so this seems the best way to make use of these guys. If not deep striking, i fear the raider will be long destroyer before it could be of any useful assistance.
I added the Sybarite for the extra leadership boost should the need arise, but i also gave him hand to hand combat weapons, nothing fancy though, these guys are for shooting, nothing else. I`ve also given the Raider some Splinter Racks, so that it will help the Kabalites perform their ambush attack to the best of their abilities. We might only have one chance to suprise and destroy after the deep striking...


10 Wyches 175 points
Haywire Grenades, Hydra Gauntles x2, Hekatrix, Blast Pistol

Okay these are meant to enter through the Webway Portal and mop up anything that still lives after it has been shot or bombed to death. The ideal situation would be having the raider deepstrike in Turn 2, but if not, i`ll just send these Wyches to the nearest group that has been thinned out by my Razorwing`s Missiles. I`ve read that Wyches aren`t all that, at least, when compairing them with a so called "hammer" unit. They are mainly there to distract the enemy and annoy them for my other troops to get in certain places or, just to destroy left overs. I chose 2x hydra gauntlets for the extra attack numbers, seems the best choice, presuming im throwing the dice the way i want it. You`ll also see that i did not give the Hekatrix an Agoniser, but a Blast Pistol. I don`t see the point why i should give her an Agoniser, when the Blast Pistol does the job better and costs less. The Blast Pistol will always wound on 2+, unless i`m facing a foe with a Toughness of 8+ (correct me if im wrong please!) and with the AP of 2, its basically a Power Weapon in terms of army save negating abilities.



3 Reavers 98 points
Heat Lance, Cluster Caltrops

You`ve probably guessed correct, i`m considering to buy the Battleforce, these guys are in it, so i though, might as well use em. They emergy through the Webway Portal, Turbo Boosting straight away over the preferred enemy squad, abusing their Blade-Vanes and Cluter Caltrop, then after a couple of lucky kills they speed behind cover again, or, should the need arise, fly in front of troops i want to keep alive a little longer and enjoy a 3+ invulnerable save. If needed, i can use the Heat Lance against a bothersome vehicle, which, in all likelyhood, might be the first target for my Wyches since they have Haywire Grenades with them. Tie the vehicle up and then destroy it was a precise blast from the HeatLance, again in theory :so_happy:



Razorwing Jetfighter 185 points
Darklances x2, Splintercannon, Monoscythe x2, Nectrotoxin x2

This is my terror shock choice. I suppose i could deepstrike this baby as well, but i`ll have to do my best to set it up in cover (as well as the Venom transporting the Court + Archon) should i not be so lucky to start the first turn, or be so unlucky to play on a table to with virtually no cover or line of sight blocking obstacles (if that`s the case, might as well roll over and play dead). I`ll probably unleash hell in the first turn with this monster, shooting off all my missiles, darklances and splintercannons (btw, i presume i can choose multiple targets, throwing 4 missiles on multiple squads, then targetting a vehicle with my darklances and finish off another round of poison cannon death on a some remaning troops). Assuming the Razorwing was succesful in softening up my enemies, the Venom then flies in, does some shooting, drops of the Archon and Court, opens a Webway Portal, brings forth the Wyches to destroy the closest annoying vehicle or mop up a dying enemy squad. Same goes for the Reavers.
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Thats basically the tactic i had in mind when building this setup. At least, to start out with. It`s probably just as glasscannon like in stratetic as the Dark Eldar are themselves. Still, i would like your advise, so bring it on!

Kind Regards,

Z405

from first read m8 seems a good list..... however i wouldnt bring the reavers out of a WWP as they move 36 to turbo boost....... and depending on where they are and where your portal is not the best idea.... also dont forget if your turbo boosting you cant shoot or move in the assault as i recently found out.... so if they are to wipe a sqaud maybe turbo from your edge.... since they have a heat lance maybe pop em out of a WWP and blow a near vechile . also you might want to think about bringing out the RWJ out turn one as it has arieal assault remember so you can move 12 and fire all missles making a 48 range aim.... perfect to piss of marines. orks and in my experience with a bomber instead of a fighter really good against tyranids.... pain for thought to consider though a nice army all the same.

My concerns with the list are many. Most have to do with the Webway Portal plan. I'll start from the top.

Archon + Court

That is a big unit for a Webway Portal Carrier! You are putting a lot of your eggs in one basket, a basket that you will fling directly at your enemy, then empty those eggs out intentionally. Most Webway Portal armies take 2 cheap Portal carriers to increase their chances of a portal drop, increase their options if they get 2 portals off, and decrease the damage when the enemy quite rationally focuses fire on them.

Additionally, the Lhamaen only increases the effectiveness of poisoned weapons, and the Huskblade is not poisoned. This means it only affects the splinter pistol! About the Night Shields- they are down to personal preference. Don't be too hesitant to cut them if you need points for special weapons somewhere else.

Warriors

The Retrofire Jets have an unfortunate drawback- the unit inside cannot disembark the turn it comes in. As the vehicle counts as having moved at cruising speed (so it can't move further, to answer one of your concerns), the unit embarked cannot shoot. You will have to wait an entire turn to shoot- please abandon this plan! There is an HQ, the much beloved Duke Sliscus, that lets you Deep Strike your army in the good way, typically at higher points values to make it work.

I recommend deploying them normally, dropping the Jets from the Raider and picking up a Flickerfield. A great upgrade. I also recommend changing the Disintegrator to a Dark Lance. This gives the unit more of a dual role- the Raider can snipe vehicles while the Warriors handle infantry. The classic play is Turn 1- Move 12", fire Dark Lance. Turn 2- Move 6" Fire Lance and Warriors. Drop the Sybarite and Splinter Racks if you need points elsewhere.

Wyches

Here is where big changes can be made. My recommendation is to give them a Raider, and scrap the Webway plan altogether. That frees up your Court to maneuver freely, lets the Wyches move faster across the board, say by turbo-boosting 24" Turn 1 behind some juicy cover, and gives you a transport, which has a big gun and can give people rides. Raider with Flickerfield is standard, but I like Aethersails for a big turbo-boost.

Between Hydragauntlets and Razorflails, Razorflails statistically do more damage. That being said, most of the damage frm a Wych squad comes from their Hekatrix with an Agonizer. The Blast Pistol does not compare, as it does not have any special advantage in close combat, where you want your Wyches to be as much as possible. Make the swap and don't look back. I also recommend giving the unit Haywire Grenades- there will be games where you cackle in glee as your Wyches blow up vehicles left and right. 20 points is a bargain for that capability.

Reavers

Solid. I don't think the Cluster Caltrops are needed, so if you need points somewhere else, cut away.

Razorwing

Your points total is off. Truthfully, I didn't check the points total on your other units, but this one stuck out. For the upgrades listed, it should cost 165 points. I think you may have been purchasing your Monoscythes when you normally get 4 free and can replace them with other missiles. As you haven't bought this yet, I would recommend you replace it with a Ravager. It is very hard to have too much anti-tank, and your list has two assault units and a gunboat to deal with infantry. Literally no army list will be poorer without a Ravager, whereas a Razorwing, once it has deployed its missile payload, is a poorer, more points-costly Ravager. I love the Razorwing, but I run it with two Ravager friends to crack open transports so it can shoot at the goodies inside. Start with one Ravager (with a Flickerfield!) and go from there.

In summary- run your Court, but don't force it to be a Webway Portal carrier. Let it go about its business murdering people in unusual ways. Don't Deep Strike the Warriors, just let the Dark Lance do the work until you get yourself in range, or can find some nice cover to camp in. Give those Wyches a transport, haywire grenades, and an Agonizer. And beef up your anti-tank with a Ravager. Let me know if you have any questions, rules or otherwise.

thanks guys for teh replies- i forgot to say so, but finally got around to it.

all your advise has gone into careful consideration and i came up with an entirely new list which i think is not only the most versatile, but the most interesting to play and visually appealing for me to look upon ;p