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So I've recently decided to pursue a longstanding goal of mine and get to work building a fully Mandrake-themed Dark Eldar army (more on that later) but as I am a bit of a fluff hound, I'd like to know what all is out there and what I might be overlooking.

I have a grasp of the basics, they hail from Aelindrach, which is on the outskirts of Commoroagh itself. As far as I can tell, they have ability to merge with and move through shadows (appearing in their prey's own shadow moments before they strike) and they are generally regarded as savage by other Dark Eldar. But that said, they are not so savage that they are never entreated with, although like the Haemonculi, the Mandrakes tend to have very esoteric and specific requests of whoever would retain their service for a raid or job.

The only notable Mandrake I know is Kheradruakh and he has his big creepy head collection that is building to something. Though there is little mention of it in the current codex, there was much more detail given in the previous.

So that all said, what else is known about them? Or is there anything known about them?

Finally, as a litmus test of my army's fluff, here is the basic rundown: an Archon in all of the arrogance associated with them, decides that he wants a piece of Aelindrach for his own ends. Maybe it is just pride, maybe he sees an opportunity, but in the end he decides he is going to kick out the savage Mandrakes and build more power there. To that end, he sends a force to enact his will. What comes back is not his force, but the Eldar he sent but all twisted and warped into Mandrake-like beings themselves. Workable rules for an army dictate that they still be Kabalite Warriors, Reavers and so on, but in modelling and fluff, I want to show utter corruption, like a fusion of normal Dark Eldar and Mandrake.

That's the very short basics, but I gotta test it out somehow, right?

I highly recommend Path of the Archon, it's a Black Library novel that's main storyline is Aelindrach invading the rest of Commarragh, but i'll give a synopsis of everything we learn.

Aelindrach: Is an abstract place similar to the Warp, with no actual land and just levels of shadow. Moving through Aelindrach is a matter of desire, not motion. For example in the story when a Wrack entered the shadow, he began to sink into it, smothering him and his sense but the Haemonculus floated through the fog without moving his feet. The Wrack eventually got the hang of it, as he willed the shadow to obey the laws of physics he knew, so he walked around, however the Haemonculus could simply decouple his perceptions of Physics, allowing him to float.

Mandrakes are also not a united front, but are many different clans that in-fight to gain supremacy. In the story, two rival mandrakes lords turned to Chaos Powers (One Nurgle, One Tzeentch) to gain power over the other Brother, but Nurgle won by the aid of the Haemonculus and his Grotesques, and he convinced the Mandrake Lord to try invade the rest of Commarragh. Mandrakes mark their territory by leaving glowing claw marks in the shadow, the Haemonculus knew this and made his own marks to draw the Mandrakes out.

Mandrake specific weapons are a thing, the Tzeentch brother was using what amounted as search lights as his trump card against the other, the search lights burnt away the Mandrakes and 'other, fouler things' but only angered the Grotesques.

In the same way as Aelindrach is an abstract sub-realm, with few actual portals, it can also swell and grow, invading other sub-realms and bringing them into Aelindrachs shadow-game. In the story, lower Commarragh was practically over run by practically infinite (suggesting their are actually a LOT of them) Mandrakes and Ur-Ghuls but the Mandrakes didn't manage to gain any foot hold in high Commarragh where the 'real' Kabals held power. Eventually, using his body double as bait, Vect baited all his enemies into a single sub realm then sealed it off and connected with the Stolen Suns, wiping out opposition.

As for your theme i would argue that due to how Physics is different in Aelindrach it wouldn't make much sense for the Archon to build his strong hold there. However, it is implied that there are things in the Shadow Realm more powerful then the Mandrakes (Mr-K makes an appearance in the story, and when the civil war has ended he says that Aelindract has returned to it's slumber, waiting for something to wake up) so it seems perfectly reasonable for an ambitious Archon to make a bargin with a Cthulu-esque Shadow Daemon the souls of his Kabalites away in exchange for greater power. This could explain the whole ''Mad Archon but Mandrake-Kabalites''.

Awesome. I'm glad this is something that has some precedent and that there is more meat on the bones for Mandrake fluff. Thanks for the recommendation, too, I'll see what I can do about picking it up. Will I be lost if I jump in there, since I know the Path is a series?

And yes, that thought on the Archon making a deal fits in perfectly. In my mind, the Archon is nowhere near crazy enough to throw himself into Aelindrach, so he sends his "most" trusted allies throughout Commoragh to do it for him. This would include a confidant-come-ally Succubus to lead the whole show. Of course, the Archon didn't feel the need to tell her WHY she was going there...and once she crawls out, it turns out she made a better deal with the shadows, and has placed herself in charge.