The basic fundamentals

Hey guys,

I posted a topic on here a few days ago asking for your advice on building a 1,500pt army and all your advice has been really appreciated!

I am new to the dark eldar play style as my other army is orks..... So yeah abit different.

I actually live near war hammer world so it's easy for me to talk to the guys there but I'm
Sure sometimes they have no idea what they're talking about.

Dark eldar are apparently the most maneoverable army in 40k and lighting quick... But from what I can read I can't really see it. Yes we have a lot of fast paper plane skimmers and the fleet rule but from my understanding so do eldar? And tyranids??

We are capable of a ' glass hammer ' type assault. I understand what the concept means, I'm just unsure How to execute it??

I know this might sound silly but coming from brutish playstyle like orks I just need some guidance

Any help is really appreciated!

Our vehicles are ALL fast skimmers, with the slowest vehicles being Raider and Venom. Which are still fast compared to Rhinos etc. Tyranids mostly have Fleet but so do we, and they don't have vehicles. We will also be able to assault before Eldar thanks to open-topped, plus have you seen a Reaver turboboost? Yeah. Many of our units also have at least an 18" assault radius.

As to how to make a glass cannon assault, get lots of vehicles (Razorwings are my favourite), act like cover isn't necessary (it shouldn't be if you kill enough of them) and aim to table your opponent by turn 3. Did it with an Ork horde recently, utterly hilarious. Since so many of our vehicles can cover most of the board with firepower on turn 1 it should be possible to kill close to 50% of an opponent's army during your turn 1. Note that this only works when you have turn 1 or your opponent does next to nothing on his first turn (like if he's Orks).

Another thing on the glass cannon assault, you'll never need more than one Razorwing. I like the 1 Razorwing and 2 Ravager combo, although make sure you run your Razor with dissie cannons. I also find it helps to tell your opponent exactly what it can do first turn. If it does die before it shoots, it's usually been shot at by a lot more than 165 points worth of firepower, letting your other vehicles get closer to the enemy. A glass hammer assault SHOULD NOT be an assault orientated army, as this will cripple your chances of actually doing it (you have a maximum of 28" assault range, pivoting trick included). Kabalite armies are fun to play as, plus you can stomp an opponent in 3 turns.

Also bear in mind that the 'supersonic' rule can save the life of your Razorwing, and that you should only move at the correct time. Too early or too late and your vehicles are dead, especially if it's Grey Knights or Tyranids. Genestealer rending mauls Raiders and Ravagers.

Painbiro explained it quite well IMHO. I hope that answers your question.

There is no other army that can get to you in assault so quickly with almost all their units (ex. Wyches in a Raider can move 12" + disembark 2" + 1" (up to 6") on the fleet roll + 6" assault move = 21" up to 26"). Lots of units that can move 12" (Hellions, Scourges, Beasts). Etc...
Almost everything can move a minimum of 12" and still shoot most of it's weapons, also not unimportant (ex. Ravagers).
Plus, don't forget the WWP. Create a tableedge anywhere on the table from which your reserves can come from.

All this ensures that the DE player dictates the game. When you do this you decide who hits what. When you decide this you'll obviously hit your opponents the hardest. When you don't dictate the game, your opponent will hit your army hard and DE is not very resilient (T3, 5+/6+ saves against shooting, etc...). This is what people mean with the 'glass hammer'. You can really hammer your opponent into pieces, but don't get hit back in return or you'll shatter like glass.

Ehhmm...fancy words aside general basics apply here - shoot the choppy ones, chop the shooty ones. Bring enough dakka to not worry about return fire. Dont fight with the enemy, just kill him.