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I recently got hold of some Hellions, but being completely new to Dark Eldar I'm struggling to see how to best use them. I mainly play against Blood Angels, Dark Angels and Witch Hunters, and am just wondering how some of the DE players are getting the best from the unit? Obviously their speed is an asset, but against a very shooty army it seems I have to be very selective about what I target.

Any suggestions/playstyles for Hellions would be appreciated; preferably without Sathonyx for the time being.

Thanks!

Character hunting. Against BA, use the stunclaw to yank sanguinary priests out of position, place expensive characters in places where they can be shot at without a cover save the next combat you hit and run from, harass small squads. Against sisters their S5 will be extra useful, you could also use it to remove Book of St.Lucius holders out of range or into a combat they would lose easily without their ablative wounds.

Not to mention how awful sanguinary priests are against dark eldar; I'm fairly sure you gain a pain token from killing them.

In terms of hellions; cover. With stealth given by the baron, they sure ain't easy to shift...

Hmm, guess it's good I gave the Helliarch a Stunclaw. I might have to kitbash a Baron model soon, he seems to be a really good choice to run with them.

So people are just sticking with cover to avoid fiery bolter AP5 death?

Neith wrote:Hmm, guess it's good I gave the Helliarch a Stunclaw. I might have to kitbash a Baron model soon, he seems to be a really good choice to run with them.

So people are just sticking with cover to avoid fiery bolter AP5 death?

Considering how many MeQ armies you'll face... yes. It also saves them from AP4 pulsey death, rending flayery death, explosive battlecannon death... pretty much everything apart from lasguns.

Also remember that the scout rule from the baron means that you can deploy 12" forward, scout 12", move another 12" and get a first turn charge off on unwary opponents.

wizard12 wrote:
Also remember that the scout rule from the baron means that you can deploy 12" forward, scout 12", move another 12" and get a first turn charge off on unwary opponents.

Where is this rule????

He gives them stealth which gives them a bonus to cover saves.

Uh....the Baron definitely does *not* have the scout special rule.

Best used with Sathonyx, as they are a ridiculously good troop unit. However, they have a definite lack of anti-tank, so make sure that you make up for that with the rest of your list. You CAN get normal Hellions boosted to S6, and the Baron to S8, but it's fairly difficult to do, and at that point I know I would rather have them HQ hunting and destroying everything in their path instead of punching a tank.

They're really cool when they're troops, so if you want to run them I'd say take The Baron Sathonyx as well. He also gives them stealth which is great, and you get +1 to go first.

I'd run probably 10+ Sathonyx and upgrade one to a Helliarch w/Agoniser. For added fun you can start a Hemonculus with them and then have him fall out of the unit when they move but leave his pain token with them so they have FNP. 3+ cover/FNP/very fast moving troops choice seems pretty cool.

I thought that since they are jump troops a haemonculus cannot join them?

They are jetbikes and not jump infantry correct? Do they take dangerous terrain tests in cover with the skilled rider USR? 1/36 dead per turn doesn't sound that bad.

schadenfreude wrote:They are jetbikes and not jump infantry correct? Do they take dangerous terrain tests in cover with the skilled rider USR? 1/36 dead per turn doesn't sound that bad.

They're jump infantry, reavers are the jetbikes

kenshin620 wrote:I thought that since they are jump troops a haemonculus cannot join them?

He can join them, he just stops them from moving as fast as they can (since the unit moves only as fast as it's slowest model). At least that is my understanding of it.

I'd have the Hemonculus start the game with them in order to get them a pain token ASAP, and then just leave the unit on turn 1.

wizard12 wrote:

Neith wrote:Hmm, guess it's good I gave the Helliarch a Stunclaw. I might have to kitbash a Baron model soon, he seems to be a really good choice to run with them.

So people are just sticking with cover to avoid fiery bolter AP5 death?

Considering how many MeQ armies you'll face... yes. It also saves them from AP4 pulsey death, rending flayery death, explosive battlecannon death... pretty much everything apart from lasguns.

Also remember that the scout rule from the baron means that you can deploy 12" forward, scout 12", move another 12" and get a first turn charge off on unwary opponents.

Cover saves them from lasguns too: you take the best save available at all times, and a 4+ cover save(which is nearly ubiquitous) means half of them save from lasgun fire vs 1/3. Add in Stealth and/or going to ground and not much can kill them at all(Hellions+baron on an objective in 4+ cover going to ground every turn is a 2+ cover save that scores that objective)

Gutrip: you certainly do get a pain token from Killing Sang Priests, Archons/haemonculi with Soultraps also double their str from killing them(provided the test is passed). Basically DE is the Rock to the BA's scissors(mostly)

For Anti tank in a Baron "Lord of the Skies" list i would take 3 5-man units of Scourges with a pair of heat lances each. the Baron, 60 Hellions with a Stunclaw and phantasm grenade launcher in each of the 6 squads, and 2 units of Scourges with paired Heat lances is only 1572 points leaving you with 278 points for additional upgrades or some more units; also 76 models that can move 12" per turn and 60 of them are scoring makes for A) great objective grabbers, B) more models than many armies can kill in 6 turns, and C) A nightmare for transporting and movement phases.

kenshin620 wrote:

schadenfreude wrote:They are jetbikes and not jump infantry correct? Do they take dangerous terrain tests in cover with the skilled rider USR? 1/36 dead per turn doesn't sound that bad.

They're jump infantry, reavers are the jetbikes

Then don't they have to make dangerous terrain tests if they are in area terrain? Or do they have a special rule that makes them immune?

the baron lets his squad reroll them

Also it is only if they move into(or from) Difficult terrain; If you deploy them(and the Baron for the stealth) they never have to take a single dangerous terrain test(unless they are somehow forced to move, or you move them)

And yes; the baron gives them skilled rider(or at least the Jump infantry equivalent).