1500pt Dark Eldar 'all-comers' list

Hello everyone,

This is my first post on the forum (though I have been a long-time anonymous follower). I have only played a handful of matches in the warhammer universe (and always with a borrowed Witch Hunters army), however I have been a long-time fan and have spent a lot of time reading the various rule-books and codexs that have come out over the years. I guess you could consider me an 'armchair strategist' - forever formulating tactics and lists and discussing them with my friends who play the game regularily, but never actually playing myself.

Anyway, to the point of the thread - I am finally going pick up my agoniser and join the war, and I was hoping for some feedback on the first list I am every actually going to implement. Be as harsh as you'd like, scrutinise as you will: no one ever got better being told how good they were! - PLEASE NOTE HOWEVER, this is NOT a tourney list - I will hopefully be playing casually at my store only

I will also try and explain my envisioned role for the units on the battlefield with each entry, though I am very aware 'no plan ever survives contact with the enemy'.

So, lets start

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HQ - 175pts
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1 x Archon (Huskblade, Venom Blade, Phantasm Grenade Launcher, Soul-trap, Combat Drugs, Shadowfield) - 175pts

With the 1.1FAQ making the Huskblade AP2 I am very eager to try out a Husk-trap Archon. The Archon will join up with the squad of Incubi and will take up the primary role as a TEQ (Terminator Equiv?) Hunter, MC-Hunter, or anything else with good-saves etc. The secondary role will be to intercept and counter high-threat CC squads given the fair survivability (ofc a pain token would help) and high-mobility of the sqaud. I appreciate that this squad is likely to draw a lot of attention, so I was considering holding this squad (in its venom) back until after my primary wave. Im not sure how this will affect target-overloading, but It will be something to analyses post-game


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Elites - 188pts
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4 x Incubi - 188pts
- Klaivex (Demiclaves)
- Venom Transport (2 x Splinter Cannon)

Incubi tactics discussed with Archon


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Troops - 655pts
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10 x Kabalite Warriors (Splinter Cannon) - 180pts
- Raider Transport (Dark Lance, Nighshield, Splinter Racks)

This 10-man warrior squad acts as a 'gunboat' style squad, proving AI with the warriors and AT with the Raider. I intend to form a sort of inter-weaved mesh with my troop choices and reavers, so that each supports and softens the enemy for the others and at no-point does a fight ever end up as a 1 on 1 situation. Ofc, they are also a scoring unit.

5 x Kabailte Warriors (Blaster) - 125pts
- Venom Transport (Splinter Cannon x2)

5 x Kabailte Warriors (Blaster) - 125pts
- Venom Transport (Splinter Cannnon x2)

These tidy little squads should be great for supporting the bigger units. Given the relative fragility of these squads I am concerned that trying to earn them a pain-token will probably not be of much use. As such I intend for these squads to soften the enemy for my other units to bag the kill. They are also going to provide yet more targets for my enemy to shoot at, which is always good, and provide 2 extra, very fast, scoring units.

10 x Wyches (Haywire Grenades, Shardnet and Impaler, Hydra Gauntlets) - 225pts
- Hekatrix (Phantasm Grenade Launcher, Venom Blade)
- Raider (DarkLance)

Haywire Grenades look awsome. So do Wyche Weapons. This squad provides a multi-functional scoring unit with enough options to keep the enemy guessing. The haywire makes them a valid AT squad, and the addition of a Shardnet and Impaler really reinforces their role as a 'tarpit'. I decided to use the hydra-gauntlets over the razor flails (razor flails do seem to have the edge when people crunch the numbers) because I didnt want there to be a conflict with the razor-flails and the re-rolls option on the combat drugs table. Though Im aware that they are flying around in a ticking time-bomb (vehicle explodes result), I decided against a nightshield for the wyches raider because I intent to get within that 8" mark to make use of the PGL.


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Fast Attack - 249pts
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9 x Reavers (3 x Heatlances) - 198pts
- Arena Champion (Venom Blade)

This is the squad I am looknig forward to using most of all in the army. Reading Mushkilla's battle reports really made me appreciate reavers. With a solid cover-save on the move, T(4) and the ability to avoid trouble with a ludicrous move distance, they are the ultimate support unit! Their primary role will be AT, given the damage that heatlances can cause), with hopefully alot of bladevaning going on whilst on route. The Arena Champion with Venom blade also allows them to tie-up units or finish off weakened units in CC if required (also allows them to make use of Hammer of Wrath). They can also shield other units if required, using their speed to quickly reposition infront of a suseptible unit.


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Heavy Support - 230pts
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Ravager (3 x Dark Lances, Flicker Field) - 115pts

Obviously, this ravager is a tank-popper primarily, but it can always turn its AP2 guns of TEQ etc.

Ravager (3 x Disintegrater Cannons, Flicker Field) - 115pts

Given that the 3lance ravager, reavers, wyches, raiders and 5man-warrior squads all have the ability to pop a tank, I decided against a second Dark Lance Ravager, and instead got a dissie ravager for medium armour/light tank popping.


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TOTAL POINTS: 1497
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I feel I have enough variety within the list to have a reasonable attempt at most competitors. 2 cc units, 8 lance weapons, ranged and cc AP2 weapons, various AT and AI options - I think im covered.

Like I said, this will be the first list that I intend to take to battle; having only theorised before. I am very aware that knowing the units and rules does not automatically make you any good, but I hope to be able to report some wins at some point

So please, start tearing my list apart point by point if you wish, and tell me what you'd do differently - Im always eager to learn from the more experienced Archons out there!

Thanks guys, have fun

Heh, this list reminds me of the one I took when I first started playing. As mine did, yours has a few flaws, not huge, just little. The main problem I see with this list, and many other DE lists (Including my current one!), is how to deal with Flyerspam armies. For instance, I can't see this list beating a 1500 necron list that has 4-5 flyers and some wraiths. The way I try to get around this problem is by spamming lances/blasters out the wang, and even that is barely enough to keep even. Also, that wych squad is very, very squishy, with transport explosions for open-topped vehicles now being strength 4. I take usually 9 Wyches with a hekatrix, haywire grenades, and stick a haemonculus with them in a raider. A very good anti-tank unit, and can handle itself against most non-dedicated CC units, and relatively cheap. And I would definitely go with 2, if not 3 anti-tank ravagers. I've tried disintegrators, they just aren't as good as lances for their points.

Hope that helps, best of luck to you on taking slaves!

Welcome to The Dark City!

Let me first of all commend you for making a thorough post. This is what an army list should look like. Not just a list but a detailed explanation of what the owner plans to do with said list. Great job!

I'm a firm believer in experimenting and exploring different options. I don't really believe in telling people what they should and shouldn't have in their list. Most of my 6th edition experience comes from running a rather unorthodox list, so what I'm about to say is what I have learnt from my personal experience and may or may not apply to your own gaming group, 40k experience or your list. So bear that in mind.

Now on to the meat.

Combat drugs
Personally I think they are a waste, only 50% of the rolls are useful for the archon, and two of those become irrelevant after you soul trap something:

1. is useless because you can't charge after running.
2. +1 WS does not affect the archon unless he is against a WS7 opponent (the only few I can think of off the top of my head are ordos assassins, broodlords, phoenix lords, daemon princes and greater daemons).
3. +1S handy, but S7 is no better then S6 once you get your first soul.
4. re-roll handy, but re-rolling 1s is not a big deal after you get your first soul.
5. +1A useful throughout.
6. pain token, doesn't really do anything for the archon because if his shadow field fails he is most likely dead (though it can be helpful for his squad).

So in my opinion combat drugs not worth the Xpts, though arguably it has a 50% chance of making that first soul a little easier to get.

Klaivex
The Klaivex is really too expensive for what he brings. More often then not you are better with saving the points and running a regular incubi in his place. If you do take the Klaivex I find the demi-klaives are far too over costed for what they give you S5 as opposed to S4 (from the regular kalive) is not worth XXpts (even more so now that regular klaives have been FAQed to be AP2). If you want to make the klaivex better in challenges you are better off investing in Murderous Assault instead, half the price of the demi-klaive and more effective now that preferred enemy lets you re-roll to hit and to wound rolls of 1. However like I said the points are probably better off spent elsewhere.

Wych weapons
Not really a fan of these, getting an extra wych has always been a better option in my experience. That being said the squad is already maxed out, so they could be useful. Personally I only ever get wych weapons if I have spare points. Hydra gauntlets being the go to because they have a higher potential damage then razorflails (which have a better average damage) average won't get you out of an unfavourable situation 6 extra attacks might. Shardnets are interesting this edition but hard to keep alive as they need to be in base contact.

Flicker fields
This depends on what sort of board you play on. But in my experience I have never felt my raiders needed flicker fields, and I think the same can be said for ravagers. It should be easy enough for them to start out of sight or in cover. The 5+ jink for moving should be enough after the first turn, and makes the FF feel like a waste.

Reavers
You will probably have to play them less aggressively then I do as you won't have the same target saturation that my list generates. A squad of nine reavers will still get torn to pieces if your opponent has nothing else to shoot at. However like you said you plan to use them as a "support unit" and in that role they should serve you well as an all-round toolbox that can plug holes wherever needed.

Reavers take a few games to get used to and despite their resilience (by DE standards) they are just as unforgiving as any other DE unit when you make a mistake (you would be surprised how much trouble a 48" move can get you into).

Hope that helps!

I like the list a lot as well. The adjustments that I would make are:
-Drop the combat drugs for the reasons that Mushkilla listed. They're not bad if you have points to burn, but the trimmings suggested here will give you a neat toy at the end.
-Drop the Klaivex from the Incubi squad. It's tempting, but a HUGE points sink into a unit that is already pretty stellar with the Archon
-Drop two Wyches and the Hydra Gauntlets. 8 man wyche units are what I start every army list with. It has proved the magic number for me in numerous games. The Shardnet/Impaler is magic if you have to deal with Dreads/big scary stuff.
-Cut three Reavers and a heatlance from the Reaver Squad. Why? With the proposed cuts listed above(75pts) and the 3 cut Reavers(78) you can take the 3pts that you had left over to make a second squad of 6 with 2 heatlances This will allow for a bit more aggressive play by having two units to threaten your opponent with.

Hehe, funny that, my magic number for wyches seems to be eight too. Completly agree that two units of six reavers would probably be more useful in a list like this. That being said the last time I ran squads of six reavers was in 5th so i'm not really qualified on the subject. Nice list juggling ESE.

Hey guys, thanks for the warm welcome messages.

Firstly, apologies for the ludicrously late reply - high work loads has kept me from so much as picking up a codex or a paintbrush for well over a month now.

Now, down to the meat of the post: Amendments

I have been reworking the list over and over again, and have come up with a new 1500pt list taking into account the much appreciated feedback you have all provided. It is based around the previous list, so for the sake of readability I will post the changes here, and a new draft of the list as a separate post below. Again, as much critique as you want to provide - the more the criticism, the more pain to feed off Anyway, the amendments are as follows:

Archon:
- Combat Drugs

Incubi:
- Klaivex

Wyches:
+ Enhanced Aethersails on the Venom (I had spare points )
- 1 Wyche
- 1 Wyche with Hyrda Gauntlet

Reavers:
+ 3 Reavers (Becomes 2 squads of 6)
+ 1 Heatlance (2 per squad)
- 2 Arena Champions with Venom Blades

Ravager:
= swap out the dissies on the second ravager for 3 DLs

This is it for the amendments... I'll now post the new draft below

Edit: As per previous post, here is the revised list - be as harsh as possible!

------------ HQ ----------------
Archon (165pts)
+ Shadow Field
+ PGL
+ Huskblade
+ Venom Blade
+ Soul Trap

------------ Troops ------------
Kabalite Warrior Squad (180pts)
+ 10 Warriors
++ Splinter Cannon
+ Raider
++ Flickerfield
++ Splinter Racks

Kabalite Warrior Squad (125pts)
+ 5 Warriors
+ Blaster
+ Venom
++ Splinter Cannon

Kabalite Warrior Squad (125pts)
+ 5 Warriors
++ Blaster
+ Venom
++ Splinter Cannon

Wyche Squad (208pts)
+ 7 Wyches
++ Haywire Grenades
+ Hekatrix
++ PGL
++ Venom Blade
++ Haywire Grenades
+ Raider
++ Enhanced Aethersails

------------ Elites --------------
Incubi Squad (153pts)
+ 4 Incubi
+ Venom
++ Splinter Cannon

------------ Fast Attack -------
Reaver Squad (156pts)
+ 6 Reavers
++ 2 Heatlances

Reaver Squad (156pts)
+ 6 Reavers
++ 2 Heatlances

------------ Heavy Support ---
Ravager (115pts)
+ Flickerfield

Ravager (115pts)
+ FlickerField

-----------------------------------
Total Points: 1498pts
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Potential Totals Per Turn (Just for fun mostly!):
+ 100 Poison Shots (assuming short-range fire, Wyche pistols, Reavers, etc) - rather neat
+ 12 Lance Shots (Blasters, Heatlances, Dark Lances)
+ 31 AP1/2 Attacks, melee and ranged (Archon with + 1A drugs, Incubi, Lance Weapons)
+ 127 Melee Attacks (inc Warriors, drugs = +1A, reavers + Hammer of Wrath, etc)
+ 8 AT units capable of totalling a AV14 vehicle (inc a Str10 Archon !)

note: obviously these are un-representative and daft, but its rather fun to imagine each case

Please dont double post. If you want to add infomation, just use the edit button on the top right corner. -Your Friendly Neighborhood Mod SR-