In the next couple of weeks my group is going to start our first escalation league that starts with 500 points and adds 250 every few weeks. I was thinking of doing harlequins allied to Dark Eldar for my new project so I thought it would be a great opportunity to start
DE and practice painting. Our rules are no vehicle with 14 armour below 1000 or super heavies... with a silent agreement on no difficult models like riptides or knights below 1000. This is a gentleman's game after all.
I need help, however, understanding the
DE and constructing a growing army list. I have never done a league like this before! I decided on
DE as it has become a growing obsession. I have noticed nobody plays them in my entire city that I have seen at our
LGS or my group. On top of that their army seems so...interesting and complex. Like a gun that is about to explode in your hands. I have spent the past few weeks re-reading their rules and creating multiple lists I think will work, but at 500 points I am at a loss. It is so hard having so little and I feel like at only 500 points the army will just implode by themselves, let alone being mowed down by other armies! I want this - to be good with Dark Eldar. I want to paint them, love them, and suffer through having such fragile units.
Below are four army lists at 500 points I have made just now. I will explain my reasoning for each. Please just let me know if I am on the right track, what you recommend, and how I can grow from here.
Basic List
This is the first list I threw together. I decided on a cheap Haemonculus in a unit of incubi to get into melee range while my two warrior units would try to pump out as much poison as possible. The problem I saw with this list was that it lacks anti-vehicle. A single lance won't help me much if my opponent takes rhinos or chimeras.
Haemonculus -80
Scissorhand
Kabalite Warriors - 170
5 additional models
Raider
Lance
Night shields
Splinter cannon
Kabalite Warriors - 105
Venom
Splinter Cannon
Venom - 65
Splinter Cannon
Incubi - 60
1 additional model
Archon Time
With this list I wanted to boost the incubi with an Archon upgraded to hit hard. Still no anti-armour and I hear the Archon isn't worth the points. A 2++
inv (even if temporary) and a
ID AP3 weapon sound good to me. I really want to go melee with this army as I am normally all gun-line with my other armies. Kinda rough at 500 though.
Archon - 125
Huskblade
Shadow Field
Kabalite Warriors - 155
5 additional models
Raider
Lance
Splinter cannon
Kabalite Warriors - 105
Venom
Splinter Cannon
Venom - points of one venom obviously
Incubi - Basic unit
Blaster Time
So with this list I want blasters to get more serious with my firepower. Decided melee wasn't really worth it at 500 since I was already taking shooty troops as it were. Archon again just fills the
HQ slot. He fits in the raider with the warriors.
Archon - 75
blaster
Kabalite Warriors - 155
4 additional models
Raider
Lance
Splinter cannon
Kabalite Warriors - 105
Venom
Splinter Cannon
Venom - points of one venom obviously
Kabalite Warriors - 105
Trueborn upgrade
Blasters
The list I currently have settled on
This is the list I have currently. It takes the haemonculus as a required
HQ. He fits in the raider with the warriors. Then I thought "Why not just go two raiders?". Thats a lot of poison. All in one package. At 10 armour. That is a big target. Scourges in there are my anti tank. I took the heat lances to deal with
TEQ and
MEQ in case my opponent isn't running vehicles. Plus one guy is running Grey Knights and we all don't like that. Had to take out a model in the second raider to fit the points.
Haemonculus - 85
Liquifier Gun
Kabalite Warriors - 170
4 additional models
Raider
Lance
Splinter cannon
Kabalite Warriors - 170
4 additional models
Raider
Lance
Splinter cannon
Scourges - 120
Heat Lances
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So is my trail of thought correct here? I need something that can expand while also dealing with all comers. I know eventually I will use haywire scourges (love those models) and want a haemonculus in my army. I am thinking of eventually using the Coven to fit in a talos and cronos. I just love Haemonculi and everything about them. So let me know what you think, I really want to better understand this army. Eventually be a special snowflake with Dark Eldar webway-ing harlequins.
