Archon Loadout?

Hands down the reason I got into Dark Eldar was the incubus models. Now the idea of them with an Archon in a Raider as a counter punch is my idea of cool.
So whats the most effective load out for the Archon in a unit of 9 Incy all in a Raider?

I never leave home without this Archon loadout.

Venom Blade, Huskblade, Shadowfield, Soul-trap, Haywire Grenades, Combat Drugs and a Phantasmal Grenade Launcher.

The grenade launcher will be more most valuable asset when taking the Incubi. Currently my bad luck with the dice makes me want to try the Clone-field in place of the Shadowfield, I always seem to roll a "1" when making that first save lol. I also like taking Lelith with the Archon, she is an absolute murder factory and if she isn't in the challenge then she'll be cleaning up the combat while the Archon is doing his business.

Thank you for the reply....I figured the PGL was a necessity with the Incubi.

If the incubi don't workout (I haven't entirely gave up on them) then you should consider Grots... They are sooooo good as an Archon body guard unit.

MurDok wrote:

I never leave home without this Archon loadout.

Venom Blade, Huskblade, Shadowfield, Soul-trap, Haywire Grenades, Combat Drugs and a Phantasmal Grenade Launcher.

The grenade launcher will be more most valuable asset when taking the Incubi.  Currently my bad luck with the dice makes me want to try the Clone-field in place of the Shadowfield, I always seem to roll a "1" when making that first save lol.  I also like taking Lelith with the Archon, she is an absolute murder factory and if she isn't in the challenge then she'll be cleaning up the combat while the Archon is doing his business.

Why the huskblade and the venom blade? you can only ever the special rules of one or the other.

You do however give me a wonderful thought to pair the archon with Lileth! I actaully never thought of that due to point constraints.

Silverglade wrote:

Why the huskblade and the venom blade?  you can only ever the special rules of one or the other.

You do however give me a wonderful thought to pair the archon with Lileth!  I actaully never thought of that due to point constraints.

Because of the combination and flexibiity; they're both really good options, but against different targets. If there's something you're likely to be able to one-shot with the huskblade such as T6 or below monstrous creatures, opposing characters, or anything with a 2+ save, you can fight with the huskblade. If that's not a concern, weight of attacks might be the better option so you flip to the venom blade. I.e. if you launch your archon at a full-wound carnifex, huskblade is the way forward. If said 'fex only has one wound left, go with the venom blade. Making him AP2 also helps as the Incubi are AP2. If the archon isn't AP2, then sometimes you'll be throwing your incubi into combats with a tooled up archon who's only really along for the ride and won't make much of a scratch (anything with a 2+ save, for example). The venom blade is such a good option and so cheap that you'll rarely be making sacrifices elsewhere in list building to include one alongside the huskblade anyway.

Panic_Puppet said it exactly. We Dark Kin love our flexibility. Don't forget too, in the rare occasion that venom might get you re-rolls because of the poison special rule in CC.

I am so pleased with how Lelith does in the Arch on / Grot squad. She finally has that survivability I was always seeking lol

My standard for a *long* time has been Huskblade, Drugs, Field, Soul Trap. With a unit of Incubi that large, the PGL is probably worth it. I have often taken a unit of 5 Incubi with him, and while I understand how awesome (ie, near necessary) grenades are, the premium of the PGL is just... distressing for only 5 models. Sure I get defensive grenades too... but... eh?

Anyway.

With the unfortunate proliferation of 3++'s I've been facing lately, the utility of the uber-cheap Venom Blade has been looking more and more attractive lately. While I haven't run the math (and actually, that wouldn't be a bad idea - I did the numbers for various Wych Drugs since I've been Duking it up to see what I should actually go for) it *seems* that, at S3, tackling up to a T4 4++ Dudeman is pretty easy. Or a T5/6, with a 5++ is, IMHO, a safe enough bet (cheap math - 3 hits each phase gives you 1 W on T4 each turn, or 1 6-to-wound in a game turn). Once they start rolling a 3+ against the HB, though, I think the VB may be the better option - especially against those Necron Lords with T5 to boot.

Of course, the right drugs greatly alter your chances of slaughter, and +1 S or Re-rolls make even needing a 6 fair odds.

Same with Haywires... if you're worried your opponent will be able to tie up your unit with a Walker (or if you just want an extra shot to open up a weakened tank to get to the juicy center), it's a cheap-enough upgrade to not worry too much about.

-K

I've been using husk blade and shadow field. It keeps him relatively cheap (as he is going to die ti 1st s6 hit any way).

Husk blade, soul trap, and shadow field for 135 pts is a steal but I do run some drugs occasionally and add the venom blade. now correct me I am wrong, but can't you still soul trap something if you kill the opponent with the venom blade?

Trapping just requires the kill - either in combat or shooting. And here's a fun fact...

(So I'm Told...) Chaos sgt's and the like get to roll on the boon chart if they kill a character, yeah? So generally you want to be challenging, even if you didn't already have to. So it seems that, when shooting, they've been FAQ'd to clarify that, so long as the sgt is firing the same weapon type, since all the dice are rolled together, if the character dies to a round of shooting you can attribute the kill to the Sgt.

This should, I believe, hold true for Archon's Soul Trapping as well.

So toss him in a Raider with a bunch of warriors, and splinter-fire down the last wound or two off an MC. Attribute it to the Archon, and trap the soul.

Of course, this is from the same guy who told me that his 1k Sons Beam power wasn't shortened by Night Shields, and that he could cast Invis on both the transport/squad inside at the same time (with a single use of the power).

...

So yeah, I'll be checking the FAQ's myself shortly, but if it's true, it *did* just open an interesting tidbit for us...

-K

Lol well, Csm have to challenge no matter what. but it has to be the Archon himself who kills the opponent. but that would be neat!

in the same way that the chaos sgt has to kill the character to roll on the boon table. Looking over the faq myself I didn't see anything that would support that... Maybe I missed it, but that kid has been pulling out a lot of odd 'faq rulings' ...

jbwms713 wrote:

in the same way that the chaos sgt has to kill the character to roll on the boon table.  Looking over the faq myself I didn't see anything that would support that... Maybe I missed it, but that kid has been pulling out a lot of odd 'faq rulings' ...

Might be time to have a copy of his faq every time you play him. That way you can say "nope, you're full of crap." Either he is wrong, lieing, or he was right, but at least you can see it in black and white.

Don't forget that characters need to be rolled for separately or with a different type of dice because characters can get precision shots. This includes sergeants and other non IC characters.

(HuskBade, Venom Blade (for all the reasons mentioned above), Drugs, Clone Field (because I just think it's cool, and I too have rolled too many early 1s on Shadow Field), and Ghostplate Armour (that 6++ last option has saved me a fair few times).
I know you were asking how best to kit him out for a unit of 9 Incubi. I did this a little, but have been finding more value now in the same loadout for my Archon, but I now put him with a Wych raider, and still have my 9 Incubi Raider but with a Haemonculous. The main reason for this is having two AP2 killer units.
I didn't think it would work, losing the granades for the Incubi and all, but have always managed to arrange my charges with no cover since trying it out, and those nine, with their 3+ and starting with a pain token will take out anything (sliced through a unit of centurions with a combat-Chapter Master backing them up this week, losing only four of them all together.

I was just finding that the Archon, plus all those Incubi was just massive overkill, and splitting them up could take down twice the amount of anything armoured.

Also, your AP2 combat unit isn't all your eggs in one basket (well, Raider).

I'm definitely happier with my Archon escorted by Grots; I don't bother with the PGL, as the Grots are there as 140 points worth of ablative wounds and a Toughness 5 bump. My Archon can take a faster route across to the enemy knowing that when her boat gets popped she won't lose most of her retinue.
Meanwhile a Venom full of Incubi without an expensive IC is a second target that can't be ignored.

Since changing from an Incubi retinue, which would rarely get into combat as my opponent poured EVERYTHING into 4 kill points (Archon, Inc, Ven, Slay Warlord), now there are 2 AP2 slayers, and his fire is split.

I definitely think of the Grots as a 140 point upgrade to the Archon, not a unit in their own right.

I personally love Incubi, they are great when you have a foe who brings some tough Terminator type opponents. My 4 incubi including a Klaivex have crushed so many would be Deathstars, but the reason is because I use them as defensive Attackers (i.E. opponents in my back field or opponents who deep strike. The Archon is a badass if you can kill that I.C. or M.C. he will mop up everything he comes in contact with at Strength 6 which is why I think the venom blade works for soul trap because in our meta here in Houston he can still soul trap guys killed with it.

why are people taking the PGL ? archon comes standard with plasma grenades, that count as assault nades

For him only not the unit he is with....the pgl means his units counts as having them i believe.

hmmm then i've been cheating my friends i thought that one model with assault grenades make the squad bashing at normal initiative

If you can, add an allied Farseer for Buffs. You want Forewarning, Prescience, and Fortune