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I'm new to Dakka Dakka but I've been playing Ultramarines for 25 years and have recently been put in a position to be able to start a new faction and get the whole thing commission painted. I've decided on Dark Eldar because I wanted a Xenos race so it wasn't at all aligned with my Imperial forces and of all the options the Dark Eldar fluff draws me in the most. I was inspired to do this by a friend who's done something similar with Tzeench Deamons and his list is seriously competitive so I've tried to put together what I think is a pretty strong list.

CAD #1

170pts - Archon, Shadowfield, Haywire grenades, venom with dual splinter cannons

110pts - 5x Warriors, blaster, Raider with disintegrator cannons
110pts - 5x Warriors, blaster, Raider with disintegrator cannons
120pts - 5x Warriors, blaster, Venom with dual splinter cannons
120pts - 5x Warriors, blaster, Venom with dual splinter cannons

73pts - 3x Reavers, cluster caltrops, heat lance
73pts - 3x Reavers, cluster caltrops, heat lance
73pts - 3x Reavers, cluster caltrops, heat lance

CAD #2

10pts - 1xLhamean

115pts - 5x Warriors, blaster, Raider with Dark Lance
115pts - 5x Warriors, blaster, Raider with Dark Lance
120pts - 5x Warriors, blaster, Venom with dual splinter cannons

73pts - 3x Reavers, cluster caltrops, heat lance
73pts - 3x Reavers, cluster caltrops, heat lance
73pts - 3x Reavers, cluster caltrops, heat lance


Death from the Skies formation

165 Razorwing Jet fighter, Dual Dark Lance, Night Shields
165 Razorwing Jet fighter, Dual Dark Lance, Night Shields
165 Razorwing Jet fighter, Dual Dark Lance, Night Shields




All comments would be great, I want to make sure I get the best list possible out of this project because it will likely be a one off. I think the list is reasonably good, although it will struggle against Wraithknights but what doesn't. Lhamean will go with the Archon in his Venom and the rest speaks for itself.

Specific thoughts I have are;

- Are Razorwings a better choice than Ravagers? I don't have the death from the skies book yet so not even sure the formation is legal but I believe it's possible to get ignore cover and other goodies from them. I also think they'll have better staying power than the Ravagers. Will also help give air cover against Hell Drakes and FMCs.
- Do I have the right balance of Dark Light Weapons? Don't have the points to upgrade all the Raiders but then again 3 shots at AP2 is not such a bad thing.
- Should I put blasters on the Reavers? I've gone for heat lances to deal with serious armour but they're not as good vs GMCs.
- The corpse Thief Claw formation from Covens supplement is very good but to get that in would mean dropping the Razorwings and then some, would it be worth it?
- Is there a completely difference build that I've missed? The list purely in my head (and Battlescribe) at the moment so can make any changes for the better. Is there a way to make a combat based Dark Eldar Army work? I've love the idea of rushing up with Venoms filled with Wyches, Beastmaster packs and Reavers for a fluffy Wych cult list but just don't think it will hold up I'm against the tough Tzeench Deamons, triple Drake CSM and Craftworld Eldar lists I face regularly.
- I've got the option to run as Dual CAD or Real Space Raiders depending if obsec or better protection turn 1 is better


Thanks in advance for all the help.






Automatically Appended Next Post:
Sorry just spotted I copied and pasted too many Reavers into the second CAD, should only be 2 units, not 3 for 1850.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Also the Razorwings are upgraded with Cannons

Hello there, I think it is a fine list personally. I have been playing DE for 18 years and the best strategy with them has and still is MSU. You have all the tools to tackle most armies, top tier will give you some hate but that's nothing new.

It's also a very good foundation for making small changes over time and you should have a lot of fun with it.

What color/kabal were you considering?

Thanks for speedy vote of confidence :-)

Was planning to try to make up my own Kabal name like;

Kabal of the poison kiss or
Kabal of decadent bloodlust

But haven't settled on one yet.

For the paint scheme I was going to be a little less creative and ask whichever painting studio I go for to suggest examples of other Dark Eldar commissions they've done and pick one I like. I'm not overly impressed with generic GW scheme but I do like Lawrence's on Table Top Tactics.

What colour scheme did you go with for yours?