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Help! I like both armies so much and I cant pick. I like the cloaked look of a lot of eldar units but I also like how menacing the dark eldar ones look. Please help me pick!

I started with Eldar then added Dark Eldar. Thought of them as a scouting force for my craftworld rather tab actual denizens of Cormoragh. So I say get both. Maybe start with CWE since DE codex is getting rather dated.

Getting dated? Far past just 'getting'. Yes, I'd agree with starting up atleast 750pts of Eldar and hoping they hurry along with the new Dark Eldar codex. Nice thing about the allies matrix though is that you really don't have to make a choice between them. Getting both is a very real option.

I hear they are due to be updated soon. Maybe Ill go with the allied rout. I've never done that before as I usually like to go for a unified look.


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I like that I can switch between them. Though I think I am leaning towards Eldar.

I mostly fight orks so which do you think is better suited for that?

From a "what's strong" standpoint there's no contest. Eldar are one of the best pure armies out there, and they get even better once you add select allies to them (of which Dark Eldar can count themselves....).

On the flip-side, Dark Eldar -should- be up for an update soon, but just remember how long it took them to give Orks a new codex.

I would recommend Elder to start with. They are more forgiving than Dark Elder to play with.

If the cloaks are what you like from Eldar, you sound more into the Dark Eldar motif.

Look at assembled/painted versions of both battle forces. Pick the one that speaks to you more. IMO.

Ugh easier said than done haha. Thanks though, its all very helpful

eldar are space fairies and dark eldar are fething metal

Get both, but in that regard start with getting their codicies and building a list you like so you know what to buy for it.

It depends, I am a tau player and I constantly get whiners being like "cheesy tau" the only recourse I have to these comments is "hey at least I'm not Eldar".

It depends on you, I personally prefer Eldar to dark Eldar, but that is because I like Mecha, and their sweet sweet looking tanks. But if you are getting into a new community and don't have friends to play with, you might get frustrated playing as Eldar because people will whine about how strong your army is.

Read online the fluff, ultimately the most important recession - besides liking the looks of your models, is liking their story. I started playing as Necrons, because I liked some of their models and was told they are strong.... then I read the fluff... and then the 3 or 4 models I liked were not enough to keep using them.

Ok yea Im reading up on fluff.

Do you guys have any opinions on tactics? I think that might help with my decision.

I've been trying to avoid the cheesy dark eldar list by going with a kabal style dark eldar. Kabalite warriors as troops in venoms and raiders, Sliscus with trueborn and splinter cannons, and ravagers. Put night shields on everyone and watch you Mr opponent melt from a distance.

However, the thing you need to know about dark eldar is that they are the glass cannons of 40k. They hit hard, but die easily. Eldar are tough at range and combat. I am running dark eldar with eldar allies to add in some of that toughness. (Cough, Wraithknight). But I am not - so - patiently waiting for the new dark eldar codex and what terrible monstrosities it will bring (I'm hoping for a giant grotesque monstrous creature that rivals the Wraithknight.)

Well, I'd go with Eldar. Its the safer bet. DE is too fragile and rather hard to master. Eldar has a steeper learning curve.

Dark Eldar have some pretty sweet models though, especially compared to those tired old Aspect Warrior sets.

They, with the new battle bros are like the same book, but you need to buy too books instead. Definitely start with eldar if you ask me.

Abzapp wrote:
Help! I like both armies so much and I cant pick. I like the cloaked look of a lot of eldar units but I also like how menacing the dark eldar ones look. Please help me pick!

Please, please, please do not listen to people telling you not to get Dark Eldar because they are outdated. Pick the army that you like the most based on fluff and models, not game rules, or you will not enjoy the game. AND FOR THE AMOUNT OF MONEY THIS GAME COSTS YOU SHOULD MAKE DAMN SURE YOU'RE ENJOYING YOURSELF

Sounds to me like you should take Dark Eldar with Maugan Ra and some Dark Reapers allied in! Since you like the whole cloak and menacing pointy armor thing.

I would lean towards Eldar at the moment just because they are more balanced in the overall scheme of the game.

They have psychers and DE do not. So essentially if you're playing DE at the moment you are at the mercy of everyone else in the psychic phase.

Just something to consider

Play Eldar if....

You're competitive
You like fitting in to the metagame
You like aspect warriors, guardians, or wraithbone units
Bright colors are your thing
You fancy a steady, 'heroic' looking army
You plan on adding an allied contingent later (arguably, Eldar have the better allies including the Tau/Eldar combo that was so legendary last edition)

Play Dark Eldar if...

You want an army that's uncommon
You like scary looking raiders, fast vehicles, and bizarre looking aliens
You want to have an intimidating, menacing looking army
Extremely fast-paced gameplay is your thing, where a few judgements on the first turn or two can win or lose you the game
You won't mind if you need to buy a new codex and alter your tactics in a few years (old codex, bound for replacement eventually)

As for the practical side...
Take what I say with a grain of salt.

Because of the clean look and bright colors, an Eldar force is easier to paint to a decent standard. YMMV.

Dark Eldar would be slightly more difficult to transport, due to the spikes breaking off.

When it comes to cost, a Dark Eldar army is slightly cheaper when ordered from the GW website (Kabalite warriors, etc saving you the money). But it's a lot easier to find Eldar stuff when shopping for used goods, like on Ebay.

An Eldar Aspect Warrior force is prohibitively expensive right now. Look for old lots of aspect warriors if you go that route, and there's always some old metal aspect warriors floating around.

Awesome, I've been wildly swinging back and forth between the two armies and its nice to have someone lay it out like that.

Im told the DE codex will come out within the summer. Do you think that they will become competitive? Or will it be more like SOB who just got slightly less worse?

Abzapp wrote:
Awesome, I've been wildly swinging back and forth between the two armies and its nice to have someone lay it out like that.

Im told the DE codex will come out within the summer. Do you think that they will become competitive? Or will it be more like SOB who just got slightly less worse?

Maybe before the end of the year. Nobody knows what it will be like; any answers here and now are wild speculation; there's another thread full of that here http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/595606.page

 morganfreeman wrote:
From a "what's strong" standpoint there's no contest. Eldar are one of the best pure armies out there, and they get even better once you add select allies to them (of which Dark Eldar can count themselves....).

On the flip-side, Dark Eldar -should- be up for an update soon, but just remember how long it took them to give Orks a new codex.

and even before the 5th edition codex.. it took an ABSURD amount of time to update them from 1998. The same thing happened to Necrons (2001-2011) and the 3rd edition dark eldar codex. So annoying to see MULTIPLE space marine codexs before just one update for some of the xenos updates.