Well, I won't lie to you- Dark Eldar are a whole new monster to me, and I've been trying my hand at list building of late. Here's a link to my first 'published' attempt at them. I got a lot of accusations (like, two lol) that the list was souless, not creative, etc.
I think I agree to an extent- it's pretty spammy, and lacks anything that gives it some real character. In fact, I'm not convinced it would work extremely well. It might, but again, it might not. It would likely depend on how well the 'Incubistar' did. Which depends on having dependable transports, which the Dark Eldar do not have, really.
So, in this post I'll be talking about what I think Dark Eldar need in order to be competitive, and at the end, a list that is hopefully less soulless but potentially far stronger than the original.
The thing I see as giving Dark Eldar the most problems with is the lack of anti-tank. Namely, they have (almost) zero access to AP1/melta weaponry. Sure, reavers and scourges (ugh?) have it, but they cost a lot. Any list that wants melta is going to need to make either reavers or scourges a wider part of their gameplan. Otherwise, Lance weapons are what we have to shoot with. AP2 Missile Launchers (that affect AV14), essentially. Statistically, you need like 15 shots or so to wreck/explode a single AV12 vehicle.
Many armies make up for their lack of tank kill in the shooting phase with strong assault capabilities (looking at you, Orks). Dark Eldar have some strong assaulters, but no squad upgrades that really help you out against AV10. So, Dark Eldar clearly struggle in this regard.
The ability to kill troops in a Dark Eldar list is pretty good. Splinter weaponry makes you hope your opponent brought 3 wraithlords/9 Carnifexes (you probably should wish that anyways :-p ). Poison is everywhere for Dark Eldar, and for very affordable prices.
The problem I've had with Dark Eldar assault power for a while now, is how undependable their transports are. Seriously, AV10 open-topped is ridiculously easy to pop, even with a 5++. It makes the 'Incubistar' far less dependable. I'll be writing an article on it soon, but I think the key to a good assault element is a dependable assault element, and this makes Dark Eldar struggle. What's that? You killed my single raider with 400+ points of assault troops in it? Ah, well, good game then. Sad face :(
So, I've been sad, until I discovered (rediscovered?) this fun unit: Hellions. At the time the codex came out, people were raving about how Hellion spam=easy button, and I had originally said that Hellion-spam lists would not work, since they lacked fire support, invulnerable saves, and a way to get everyone FNP/FC efficiently (6 Haemonculi? Lol, what a joke)
I still think that this is true- Hellion spam sucks (for the same reasons). This view however, caused me to completely disregard Hellions as anything I would ever want. That view has changed.
A single squad of Hellions with FC/FNP gives what every general would love: a ridiculous number of quality attacks at high I, that don't depend on a transport. That's what makes my Wolfstar strong- the ability to move despite getting shot up the turn before. And what's even better- they can kill tanks with S5 charges. I'll talk more about the unit some other post, but suffice it to say that Hellions can do just about everything a good assault unit can, and do it well.
So, with hellions as my strong assault unit, let's make a list, for funsies. Hope you like it.
Dark Eldar List, complete with Awesomesauce, 1850 Points:
Baron Sathonyx
Haemonculus
Haemonculus
20x Hellions w/ Helliarch w/ Power Weapon
5x Warriors w/ Blaster, Venom w/ 2x Splinter Cannons
5x Warriors w/ Blaster, Venom w/ 2x Splinter Cannons
5x Warriors w/ Blaster, Venom w/ 2x Splinter Cannons
5x Warriors w/ Blaster, Venom w/ 2x Splinter Cannons
5x Wracks w/ Liquifier, Raider w/ Flickerfields
4x Kabalite Trueborn w/ 4x Blasters, Raider w/ Flickerfields
6x Reavers w/ 2x Heat lance
Ravager w/ Flickerfield
Ravager w/ Flickerfield
Ravager w/ Flickerfield
So, a quick recap:
11 Dark Lances
8 Blasters
2 melta/lances
(21 lance weapons)
48 Splinter Cannon shots (32 hit, 16 wound)
42 Splinter Pod shots (28 hit, 14 wound)
(90 total Splinter weapon shots- 60 hit, 30 wound)
And that doesn't include the warrior squads' splinter rifles.
The key is to keep the hellions in cover (Baron lets them reroll failed dangerous checks, and also gives them a 3+ cover save), and use them as mobile firepower until they need to jump up, fleet, and furiously charge w/ 60 S5 attacks, striking at I6 (Baron has grenades).
Keeping them screened is even better- they still get cover saves, and can't be charged by nasty things like Thunderwolf cavalry. Shooting from behind a wall of Venoms/raiders can be potentially nasty.
Haemonculi just need to start with the squad, drop their pain tokens off, and climb in with the Wracks. Maybe I should get some liquifier guns/venom blades to make that squad better. It gives me one (very potent) close combat threat, one hard-to-kill objective holder, and 4 annoying zippy warrior squads, and then a ton of random other firepower.
Reavers have a fun job as well: providing cover saves to my vehicles/screening. Their ability to move 36" in a turn lets them be where they need to be, and the models are big enough to provide cover. They can also spread out to deny assaults on the Hellions by things like Wolfstars/Fiends, etc., allowing me the charge instead.
Thoughts? Concerns? Is this list less soulless?
