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I'm new to 40k, so I will need lots of constructive critisism. I really like the dark eldar backstory, and the models look amazing, so even though they arn't the best of starting armies I have chosen to at least try using them as my army. There are two lists because if I tried making two different lists then at least one of them would be half decent, and because it is really fun to plan out each army.
The backstory to these armies is that they are twins; the first archon, the evil twin, conquered a wych cult and now controlls an arena, thus the reavers and wyches. The second archon, the other evil twin (they are dark eldar, after all!) is an outcast, who fled the dark city and is now lying low. Of course, being an insane megalomaniac, he has not taken well to hiding and so seeks to gain infamy, beginning with a reign of terror upon realspace.


As I said before, I don't know the game very well yet, but I think my strategy for this army would be to field the archon with the hekatrix and use him to hunt down their ICs and MCs. The Wyches are going to take out the heavier infantry, with the lighter infantry being dealt with by the Warriors and the Venoms that the trueborns are riding, while the trueborns themselves are causing havoc with the enemy's tanks. The ravagers will be attacking largest threats, usually tanks, MCs, or ICs, while reavers flank the biggest tanks to shoot their rear armour. Again, constructive critisism is welcomed.


Archon w/ huskblade, soultrap, Clone Field... 135

Hekatrix Bloodbrides (x9) w/ shardnet and impaler (x3), raider... 207

Kabalite Trueborn (x4) w/ blaster (x4), venom w/ splintercannon... 173

Kabalite Trueborn (x4) w/ blaster (x4), venom w/ splintercannon... 173

Wyches (x10) w/ shardnet and imaler, razorflails, Hexatrix w/ agonizer, raider... 200

Wyches (x10) w/ shardnet and imaler, razorflails, Hexatrix w/ agonizer, raider... 200

Kabalite Warriors (x10) w/ blaster, splintercannon, raider... 115

Kabalite Warriors (x10) w/ blaster, splintercannon, raider... 115

Reaver Jetbikes (x3) w/ blaster... 81

Reaver Jetbikes (x3) w/ blaster... 81

Ravager... 105

Ravager... 105

total... 1517
*EDIT* I made a mistake on the cost of the Wyches, so now I need to find somewhere to cut at least 17 points. Thanks!


My second army is similar to the first, but with more firepower but less close combat support. On turn 1 the Razorwings shoot all of their missles into the thickest masses of infantry. No matter how tough they are, I doubt that any army will do well with 8 monoscythe missles exploding in their ranks. The archon and his hekatrix perform the same role as in the first army, as with the Warriors. The Wyches perform basically the same task as before, but they can also use their haywire grenades to cause some havoc when they are not in close combat. Thanks for your advice!


Archon w/ huskblade, soultrap, Clone Field... 135

Hekatrix Bloodbrides (x9) w/ shardnet and impaler (x3), raider... 207

Kabalite Warriors (x10) w/ splinter cannon, blaster, raider... 175

Kabalite Warriors (x10) w/ splinter cannon, blaster, raider... 175

Wyches (x5) w/ haywire grenades, shardnet and impaler, hekatrix w/ agonizer, raider... 160

Wyches (x5) w/ haywire grenades, shardnet and impaler, hekatrix w/ agonizer, raider... 160

Ravager w/ flickerfield... 105

Razorwing Jetfighter w/ flickerfield... 155

Razorwing Jetfighter w/ flickerfield... 155


Total... 1497

I really like both armies, I think you've done well with the fluff and you have balanced out well.

The trueborn with venoms are sick... I wiped out a SM scout squad that had a 2+ cover save and had infiltrated close by with 3 venoms that took the extra splinter cannon... 12 shots a venom, for 36 shots total... I wiped the squad and the blasters are indeed very nasty.

I take my raiders with flickerfields to null some of the shots, but I know some people swear up and down you need to cut points on the add-ons to raiders.

Over all great job and enjoy the mayhem!

-Pat

Thanks Pat!
However, I would really appreciate multiple opinions. Does anyone else have any input?

I'm pretty sure your wych squads should cost 200 points, not 190. Personally I agree that flicker fields are a must; the invulnerable save can be a life saver. I like the first list much more than the second. This might be personal preference, and it might not fit with the theme of your list, but I think incubi a much better squad for the archon than the bloodbrides. A squad of four in a venom some people love. Personally I'd try to fit 6 in a raider with the archon. Lastly, I think haywire grenades would add a lot of versatility to your wyches. If you have to drop a squad of reavers to make points for the suggestions above, do it; they aren't as valuable in my opinion as flickerfields, haywire grenades, or incubi. Overall though, I like the list.

Your right, the Wyches do cost 200. Thanks for pointing that out! *EDIT* Alright, fixed the cost. Now I need to find somewhere to cut 17 points.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Thanks for your advice, Rozgarth. Would you please tell me why you prefer Incubi? I like the bloodbrides because they can use their shardnets in combination with the Archon's clone field to make him pretty much impossible to attack, but I would be glad to hear your reasons for preferring the Incubi.

Krork wrote:I'm new to 40k, so I will need lots of constructive critisism. I really like the dark eldar backstory, and the models look amazing, so even though they arn't the best of starting armies I have chosen to at least try using them as my army.

Welcome to both 40k and to the Dark Eldar - you have chosen a dark and treacherous path laced with the heights of ecstasy, the depths of despair, frought with poison, betrayal, spikes, and thongs...and spiky thongs. Let's see if we can help.

For friendly play i think you're already looking fine, but there are a couple ways to tighten you up a bit more.

Archon w/ huskblade, soultrap, Clone Field... 135

Hekatrix Bloodbrides (x9) w/ shardnet and impaler (x3), raider... 207

This is a fun combo. I'll note that I personally feel you're sort of bringing a howitzer to a knife fight though insomuch as this squad is probably more beef than you'll need at 1500. I would also strongly advise you to add Flickerfields to your raiders - they dramatically increase their survivability, especially if you don't get first turn.

Kabalite Trueborn (x4) w/ blaster (x4), venom w/ splintercannon... 173

Trueblasters are always a solid choice.

Wyches (x10) w/ shardnet and imaler, razorflails, Hexatrix w/ agonizer, raider... 200

The shardnet is a defensive tool for Wych squads that are trying to tarpit tough units. The razorflails are an offensive tool built to help you kill things faster. I don't see your list as a tarpit list so I would tend to suggest taking double flails over the mix of net/flail. Quite frankly, I think you'd be better served getting some Haywire grenades in the squad as well, though that is almost certainly a concern for tourney level play.

Kabalite Warriors (x10) w/ blaster, splintercannon, raider... 115

You forgot to include the Raider cost there - I'm not going to go back and double check your math but you may wish to verify that this is still a 1500 list. I'm happy with the Gunboat build, it is very solid and durable (well, durable for DE)

Reaver Jetbikes (x3) w/ blaster... 81

Consider the cost of one unit of RJBs. Then consider the cost of a Ravager. Ask what each is supposed to do and then ask which can do it better. I think you'll find the Ravager a superior option hands down.
The Fast Attack slot is a very dangerous one in our codex. For optimal army building, until you're more confident with what you're doing, I'd advise you to avoid this slot totally.

Ravager... 105

Again, FFs are very good - also, three of these is "needed" (I use that term very loosely) for optimal 1500 point competitive play.

total... 1517
*EDIT* I made a mistake on the cost of the Wyches, so now I need to find somewhere to cut at least 17 points. Thanks!

See above comment about the Warriors - I'm not gonna total it for you, but the whole list might be off.

Let's look at that second list;

Archon w/ huskblade, soultrap, Clone Field... 135

Hekatrix Bloodbrides (x9) w/ shardnet and impaler (x3), raider... 207

Same as above.

Kabalite Warriors (x10) w/ splinter cannon, blaster, raider... 175

Well, you got the totals right here - otherwise same as above.

Wyches (x5) w/ haywire grenades, shardnet and impaler, hekatrix w/ agonizer, raider... 160

This is very close to how I run my Wyches at 1500, though I drop the shardnet and just bring an additional Wych. I find that the extra attacks and potential wound usually are better than a few -1 attacks.

Ravager w/ flickerfield... 105

Razorwing Jetfighter w/ flickerfield... 155

Razorwing Jetfighter w/ flickerfield... 155

Your heavy selection looks suboptimal to me, Razorwings are, at their core, anti-infantry. So are Gunboats, so are Wyches, so are Bloodbrides. You've got a lot of anti-infantry and I don't think you have the anti-tank to properly support it. I actually see this as a bit of a concern with your first list as well, you're very focused on killing troops and not so worried about dealing with mech swarms. That's tactically very unwise if you're going to a tournament.

Of the two I vaguely have a preference for the 1st list and think it would mostly perform better. But both could be tightened up substantially if you wanted to play competitive games with them.
For friendly play with your pals or just guys at the shop I think both lists are excellent ways to learn a lot about DE - I would still recommend the first list just because most competitive lists won't include Razorwings, and so if you're still buying up things that list wouldn't take you much off the beaten path of building a competitive list later if that was your goal.

My thoughts,
Thor.

Yeah, personally I would drop both reaver squads to give haywire grenades and flickerfields to your army. If you can I would also try to squeeze in that third ravager like thor suggested. I prefer incubi because, in this list, you already have two wyche squads, and bloodbrides are basically wyches that can take a weapon every third person instead of every five. Incubi have 3+ armor saves and power weapons; with an archon they will literally slaughter your opponent. The bloodbrides aren't bad, but since you have wyches already I think incubi will serve you better (plus they look awesome in my opinion)

Thanks, and sorry I keep getting the costs wrong. I really shouldn't do math when I'm half asleep... anyway, I'm going to check the math again in the morning.

*cough*

http://www.alice40k.tripod.com/calculators.html

List Makers. DE one in there, though I had to fix one of the charts myself. Easy to do however, and they're the greatest list prototyping devices I've ever seen. Especially since they are free!

As for your lists... listen to Thor, for one. I also like the first one better. Drop a RJB squad and fine the points for a third Ravager... maybe drop the second if you're having points issues. 3 Ravagers and 2 BlasterBorn should be plenty of antitank to pop open things for your Wyches to assault and Warriors to Torrent.