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Hi all
I am starting a Dark Eldar army after running Space Wolves for a break and to paint something different. Any thoughts on what a good base for an army should be? I am currently working on my first Kaballite Warriors squad. I like the idea of a 20 man Kabalite warrior squad with the dude that makes them wound on 3+ and some splinter cannons in there but is it practical? Do I take a sybarite with them to get the leadership to 9?

Any advice is appreciated.

Thanks
Mike

Duke is a great starter HQ, he helps the unit of kabalites hes with and all your wyches by getting the 2 rolls on combat drugs. You dont NEED the upgraded sybarite for leadership as duke would convey his L10.

Nah, Sybarites don't add much, get splinter cannons instead and kill the opposition before they force you to take Ld checks!

As for a unit of that size, the only way you could realistically use it would be through a WWP list, as we don't have a codex transport capable of transporting this many guys. You could of course use the Tantalus (transp. cap. of 20 or 25, I don't remember exactly) though that would take up a lot of points iirc, and with one large unit inside, would be a hell of a points sink for most games outside of apocalypse.

This would mean you also needing to get a suicide Haemonculus (cheapest HQ) with a WWP, in a venom, to burn it right across the board, and drop the WWP in a position that you're content with your warriors potentially staying in, or not moving far from, throughout the game while they get bogged down doing their thing. There's also talk that 20 guys can't all fit round a WWP due to the wording in the codex: "any of your units may enter play from the portals edge". Ie, each model must touch the portal, which all of 21 guys (the KW's + the Duke, as he has to deploy with them) can't do.

One thing I've been eager to try is the Duke loaded in a Raider with 9 Trueborn, totting 2 splinter cannons and 7 shard carbines. That gives 27x 18" poisoned 3+ shots, along with 8-12x 36" poisoned 3+ shots.

It doesn't sound like much, though I still wanna try it out. Seems pretty cool for a unit of 10.

My main opponent started Wolves and switched to DEldar too.

He just runs like 4-5 skimmer transports and packs them with dudes. The transport has anti-infantry or anti-tank and the dudes inside have the opposite. Backed up with scourges for mobile AT and wracks for cheap durable scoring, plus some dude with a 2+ save that lasts until it fails - its pretty effective

As for HQs, there can only be one. Baron Sathyonx is one of the best in the game, with so many force multipliers.

Firstly, how competitive do you want this list to be? Dark Eldar troops range from highly competitive (warrior units in venoms) to low tier (foot slogging wych units).

That said; I personally build my army around a base of warrior-raider gunboats and, although not optimal, the unit is versatile and packs a punch that I find surprises many. I run the warrior squad at ten models with a single blaster and a single splinter cannon (no sybarite) while their raider has a dark lance, night shields, flicker fields, and splinter racks. I could in theory run more cost efficient units, but proper application of this unit can be a dominating force.

I like the idea of a 20 man Kabalite warrior squad with the dude that makes them wound on 3+ and some splinter cannons in there but is it practical? Do I take a sybarite with them to get the leadership to 9?

If you are running them on foot with the Duke there is no need to take a sybarite. That said I highly suggest you avoid running foot slogging non-coven units. Dark Eldar are exceptionally fragile. This is something I can not stress enough. They will evaporate at the slightest application of enemy firepower on the field. They have no power armor and psychic powers to protect them.

 kitch102 wrote:
Nah, Sybarites don't add much, get splinter cannons instead and kill the opposition before they force you to take Ld checks!

As for a unit of that size, the only way you could realistically use it would be through a WWP list, as we don't have a codex transport capable of transporting this many guys. You could of course use the Tantalus (transp. cap. of 20 or 25, I don't remember exactly) though that would take up a lot of points iirc, and with one large unit inside, would be a hell of a points sink for most games outside of apocalypse.

This would mean you also needing to get a suicide Haemonculus (cheapest HQ) with a WWP, in a venom, to burn it right across the board, and drop the WWP in a position that you're content with your warriors potentially staying in, or not moving far from, throughout the game while they get bogged down doing their thing. There's also talk that 20 guys can't all fit round a WWP due to the wording in the codex: "any of your units may enter play from the portals edge". Ie, each model must touch the portal, which all of 21 guys (the KW's + the Duke, as he has to deploy with them) can't do.

One thing I've been eager to try is the Duke loaded in a Raider with 9 Trueborn, totting 2 splinter cannons and 7 shard carbines. That gives 27x 18" poisoned 3+ shots, along with 8-12x 36" poisoned 3+ shots.

It doesn't sound like much, though I still wanna try it out. Seems pretty cool for a unit of 10.

Only problem with this is that you can't burn it across the board and still use the WWP.

WWP can only be used if you are outside a vehicle, and you can't disembark if the vehicle went more than 6''.

If you wait until turnb 2 to deploy it you risk the Warriors coming in before you are ready.

 Ascalam wrote:

 kitch102 wrote:
Nah, Sybarites don't add much, get splinter cannons instead and kill the opposition before they force you to take Ld checks!

As for a unit of that size, the only way you could realistically use it would be through a WWP list, as we don't have a codex transport capable of transporting this many guys. You could of course use the Tantalus (transp. cap. of 20 or 25, I don't remember exactly) though that would take up a lot of points iirc, and with one large unit inside, would be a hell of a points sink for most games outside of apocalypse.

This would mean you also needing to get a suicide Haemonculus (cheapest HQ) with a WWP, in a venom, to burn it right across the board, and drop the WWP in a position that you're content with your warriors potentially staying in, or not moving far from, throughout the game while they get bogged down doing their thing. There's also talk that 20 guys can't all fit round a WWP due to the wording in the codex: "any of your units may enter play from the portals edge". Ie, each model must touch the portal, which all of 21 guys (the KW's + the Duke, as he has to deploy with them) can't do.

One thing I've been eager to try is the Duke loaded in a Raider with 9 Trueborn, totting 2 splinter cannons and 7 shard carbines. That gives 27x 18" poisoned 3+ shots, along with 8-12x 36" poisoned 3+ shots.

It doesn't sound like much, though I still wanna try it out. Seems pretty cool for a unit of 10.

Only problem with this is that you can't burn it across the board and still use the WWP.

WWP can only be used if you are outside a vehicle, and you can't disembark if the vehicle went more than 6''.

If you wait until turnb 2 to deploy it you risk the Warriors coming in before you are ready.

Best way to use a WWP -

Put a bare Haemy with the WWP with a squad of 5 wracks in a Raider. Deploy that Raider right on the edge of your deployment zone (in cover if you can). Make sure it is on the line and parallel with the line.

1st Turn, turn that raider 90 degrees. Thaty gets you 3" of movement free thanks to the length of the model. Then move 6" witht he Raider, then deploy the unit out 6". Thats around 15" of movement for your Haemonculus. Puts the WWP a lot closer then you can other wise manage. Now its perfect for that pair of Talos to come charging out of.....

Good stuff Ascelam, though how do you deploy the unit out by 6"? I thought it was 2" max for disembarking?

One other consideration that we have is to deepstrike Raiders / venoms behind cover on our opponents side of the table, then make the moves that you've described there on the following turn.

Hell, even if the raiders get blown up, passengers can be positioned in an advantageous position (ie, a free movement), they then don't have to disembark, and move / shoot normally next turn.

If they're still alive. Best of a bad situation and all

Thanks for all the help, I really appreciate it.