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Full disclosure: I've never played Dark Eldar (I'm more into that other army with weaponized feminity) and don't own any of these models, but I bought the new DE codex out of curiosity and found it fascinating. I'm sure this list is egregiously uncompetitive, but I'd love people who actually know DE could tell me where it could be improved while staying true to the "Pretty Killers" theme. That means Haemonculi & everything they breed are OUT, because they are So Not Pretty, while a Succubus & at least a couple of units of Wyches/Bloodbrides are In, because they are the Quintessential Pretty Killers.

Yes, imagine all the perfect shallow people you hated in high school have gone Goth and shown up on your planet with poisoned weapons and cutting remarks. That's basically this army.

TOTAL POINTS: 1997

Archon, Succubus, & Bloodbrides (the Arch-Succublob): 555 points
Archon w/ Animus Vitae, Huskblade (or maybe Agoniser), Haywire Grenades, Shadow Field, and (of course) Webway Portal.
Succubus w/ Helm of Spite (iz fashionable hat), Archite Glaive, & Haywire Grenades.
15 Bloodbrides, including Syren w/ Agoniser and 3 models w/ Shardnet & Impaler

Bomber Wing: 570 points
2 fething Voidraven bombers each with
4 implosion missiles
Night Shields

Kabalites: 410 points
2 ten-model squads of Kabalite Warriors (205 points apiece), each with
Sybarite w/ Haywire Grenades
Shredder and Splinter Cannon
Raider w/ Dark Lance, Night Shields, & Splinter Racks

Wyches (Troops): 220 points
1 ten-model squad of Wyches, including
Hekatrix w/ Haywire Grenades & Power Sword
3 models w/ Shardnet & Impaler
Raider w/ Chain-Snares and Night Shields

Reavers: 342 points
2 six-model squads of Reaver Jetbikes (171 points apiece), each with
Arena Champion w/ power sword
2 Heat Lances (or maybe blasters) and 2 Cluster Caltrops

With 2 HQs, 3 Troops, 1 Elite, 2 Fast Attack, and 2 Heavy Support, this could qualify as either a regular Combined Arms Detachment, if you want those three troops to have Objective Secured, or as a Realspace Raider detachment, if you prefer first-turn cover bonuses. I'm not sure which is better -- it may be situational -- but first-turn cover isn't that useful when most of the army is Deep Striking or Flyers.

General tactics (tailor to adversary and terrain)
Reavers deploy behind cover & jink madly so we're not tabled. Everyone else Deep Strikes or is a Flyer.
When things arrive is going to be a little random, but:
Voidraven bombers do horrible things to enemies' strongest units.
Webway Portal opens behind the strongest enemy unit it can confidently kill in close combat. (Which is NOT likely to be the strongest enemy unit on the board: Everybody with high Toughness or AP:2 is a Voidraven target; vehicles are Void Lance/Dark Lance targets). The Shadow Fielded Archon tanks and throws Animus at people for a Power Through Pain boost, while the Succubus and her followers do most of the actual killing.
Wyches melee a secondary target after their Raider softens it up with Disintegrator Cannon shots and/or Chain-Snares. Ideally they bounce a weak but dangerous unit -- e.g. Guard heavy weapons teams -- off an objective. At worst they pray their Feel No Pain works as they tie down something nasty.
Kabalites hang out in Raiders splintering targets with poor Toughness and AP, while the Raiders take Dark Lance potshots at things with Armor Values and/or good Toughness & AP.
And once a reasonable number of other units have deployed to draw enemy fire, the Reavers rush up close to Heat Lance enemy armour in the rear or hit-and-run infantry, preferably infantry that Bloodbrides or Wyches are already meleeing.

My major concerns would be whether I've overinvested in Voidravens (but they're SO KILLY) and/or in a Succublob that's insufficiently killy but highly killable.

I really want wyches/bloodbrides to work, but deep striking anywhere near the enemy with a bunch of T3 6+ save models is asking for trouble.
I'd thin the unit to 8, using points saved for a raider. At least with the raider, you can hope to make the 3+ cover, and then assault out the following turn.
If you're going to take the achron into combat, I'd grab a soul trap.

I like the list (but only because its so kabal-y, which is what i intend to run).

My only feeling is; that if you've reserved everything bar your reavers thats 6 units in reserves. Thats not a problem, but you also have no reserves manipulation, so your going to find that some games you get 2 of the DSing units come on and a flyer... etc... or 3 units... etc

I just think that when you go to DS in say that one raider and the Succublob that you've still only got 3 threats on the table, one AV10 skimmer, some reavers and a big meaty blob that want to assault but cant assault.

My first response will be shoot that blob off the table. I dont want them in assault. I can leave that 1 raider a turn if i need to. Then next turn more stuff arrives and i continue to pick most prefered target for said turn.

I just dont think it has enough ability to ensure it all strikes at the same time. Which is why in my list I have CWE allies that replace your wyches and HQ blob. So I get basically dire avengers in a raider etc... So with an autarch HQ and comms relay I can really make those units arrive at the same time, make them all shooty (so equal threats, rather than a blob of WWP that on the turn it arrives does nothing but pick its nose).

Good points, both of you. Thanks. The Soul Jar is an easy addition; so is switching tactics from "deep strike everything that can" to "Reavers and Raiders deploy and go for dark lance/heat lance kills on priority targets on turn one."

That would also guarantee someone has softened up the enemy line before the Succublod warps in, even if it comes on before either bomber. The very valid question -- which I think I'll raise in the main DE tactics thread as it's of general interest -- is whether a Wych/Bloodbribe blob is anything but a target.

Also: Any way for DE to manipulate reserve rolls without either allies or fortifications?

 SisterSydney wrote:

Also: Any way for DE to manipulate reserve rolls without either allies or fortifications?

Lucky roll on a warlord trait.

Yeah, even with a guaranteed reroll (from either CAD or Realspace Raiders), that ain't something to count on.

 SisterSydney wrote:
Yeah, even with a guaranteed reroll (from either CAD or Realspace Raiders), that ain't something to count on.

^^

Yeh, keeping a few raiders out of reserve isn't a bad idea like you said, you can then put a couple extra dark lance shots into the enemy, The kabalite raiders would be a good choice, as you can sit at the max range of the unit and put some volleys of fire into the enemy. Plus by not reserving, your guaranteeing that when you do DS in, your always going to be at say like; X units +2, giving you that added target saturation.

As for whether a WWP succublob is a target, well I think if they come in on turn 3 for example, they have FNP and FC, which makes them quite a tough unit.

Yeah, but they could also come in Turn 2... Or 4. It's chancy.

Of course, with the Animus, they have a good chance of advancing the PFP chart by a turn before they get into melee.