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I am just getting into 40k i have a rulebook, the dark eldar codex, the Covens supplement, and a dark eldar painting guide. I have honestly never played a game of 40k so this is all based off me picking models and upgrades that seem cool and fun. At the same time though i am trying to be slightly competitive. Any idea's on how to tailor my list or upgrades? I will defiantly be taking the three covens detachments i have listed above as I love the Coven theme and lore( Fluff) however the realspace raiders i have at the end is there just to fill points and add dark lances for tankbusting. Any and all advice or comments would be appreciated. I'm sure this list could be allot better.

40k 1500 Coven Type List

Grotesquerie Detachment ( Covens Supplement)
1. Urien Rakarth- Base 140
2. 2 units of Grotesques- base 105
1. aberration upgrade- 10 plus flesh gauntlet-10
2. Liquifier gun upgrade 15
Total= 420

Dark Artisian Detachment ( Covens Supplement)
1. Haemonculus base-70
1.Armour of Misery-15
2.liquifier gun-15
3. Webway Portal- 35
2. Talos- base-120
1. Twin Linked liquified gun-15
3. Cronos- base- 100
1.Spirit Probe-25
Total= 395

Scapel Squadron Detachment ( Covens Supplement)
1. 2 units of wracks- base 50
1. Liquifier gun- 15
2. Acothsyt-10
1. Liquefier gun -15
2. 2 Venoms- base-55
1. Splinter Cannons- 10
Total==310

Real space Raiders Detachment
HQ- Archon - base 60
1.The animus Vitae-20
Troops- Kabalite Warriors- base- 40
Troops- Kabalite Warriors- base 40
1. Upgrade 3 kabalite warriors -24 ( 8 a model)
— Grouped with the archon)


Fast Attack- Raider- base-55
1.. Dark Lance-5
2. Enhanced Aethersails -5 (Archon and warriors transport)
Fast Attack- Raider- base 55
1. Dark Lance-5
2. Enhance Aethersails -5 ( dedicated Grotesquerie transport)
Fast Attack- Raider- base 55
1. Dark lance-5
Total 375

Total list formation- 1500


EDIT: I'm also looking for a way to add more wracks without making my army weaker. Are there ways to make wracks into tankbusters? I love the models and they look like fun to paint.
EDIT2: Just learned that BS is balistics skill and Grotesques have a BS of 1. Should i not take liquifer guns with them because of this? If any of you play DE how do you normally kit them?

Hey welcome to Dark Eldar! So first of all, dakkadakka doesn't like individual pts to be posted for wargear and upgrades. You might have to remove those in an edit. Also your format is very difficult to read. You don't have to break down all the points for upgrades, most of the DE players know them by heart. Just doing something like:

Raider
- Dark lance, Aethersails

Ok so starting from the top, the Grotesquerie is a great unit and easy to use so good choice. I think Urien is a little expensive at 1500 pts so maybe just use an ordinary Haemonculus to satisfy the HQ requirement. At 1500 pts, I usually just leave all units bare with only an abberation upgrade in each squad. The only upgrade I take(if I do take any) is scissorhands on the aberration. I don't use the liquifier gun too much because it got worse in the new edition of the codex ( they used to be str 4, and 5 pts less!) and can be very random.

The Dark Artisan is also great and easily our most tanky unit. You'll want to play a few games with and without the webway way portal I think. It is nice to have them Deep strike precisely, however they won't get to charge till turn 3 with it. If you footslog them, they can be a damage absorber turn one. The armour of misery may not be necessary because the unit already has fear and already causes leadership issues to the enemy.

The scapel squadron is fine. I like ossefactors as well, but again experiment with what you like.

As for the rest of the list, I don't think it needs to be real space raiders. You can take that many raiders with a Combined arms detachment. They will become a dedicated transport for the warriors and grotesques and will not take up a fast attack slot. Get rid of the animus vitae, it's incredibly hard to use with its short range. Instead of the Archon, I would get a second haemonculus to put in with the second grotesque squad to help with the power from pain chart.


Ok so maybe with some the point drops get some blasters in the warriors squads. You may also want a couple ravagers to help with anti-tank. And to answer your bottom questions: No, wracks are pretty just anti-infantry. DE pretty much rely on haywire and lance weapons for vehicles. The liquifier gun is a template weapon and is not affected by BS. So those would work with grots.

I think your coven portion looks good with a few changes and dropping some of the wargear and maybe urien too. Try to get more lances in your kabal portion to help take out vehicles and such. Also Venoms are great for 5 man warriors squads and easily some of our best units. I generally run a grotesquerie supported by venoms, ravagers and scourges. Good luck though!