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Dark Eldar are a weapon and tactical specialization army.

PS: I am terrible at proper English, spelling and grammar, I am sorry ahead of time.

They don't have Psychic, Knights, High AV vehicles and are a fast mobile Raiding force. The DE codex doesn't do its justice in representing this at all.

DE has a few problems, one is that lack of options in many units and HQ's the other is over costed and under preform units. This is mainly due to the ideal of special rules need to add cost to the units. Where this is true, but special rules values are incorrect in the DE army, Night Vision as a rule is completely useless. Power From Pain shouldn't increase the points b.c every codex has its "special" army rule, where Eldar has Battle Focus, SM with Atsknf etc... The other problem is the full army being the same cost as other similar Xenos but has 1 armor save value less, I'm assuming this is for the glass cannon feel and having "better" weapons.


A few problems that are completely glaring in the face that I would like to fix.

Vehicles: Both vehicles are 5-10pts over costed and each upgrade is over costed as well. Giving if it explodes (and it almost always does giving that it is AV10 and Open top) its literally a death trap for the models inside. Most of the upgrades are fine just need to be cheaper, 5-10pts cheaper giving what it is.

Fliers: Both over costed. Razorwing 100pts base, Bomber 120pts base. Remember these are AV10 if they Jink they literally are completely useless, Bolt guns will kill them. The Razor Wing also needs 1 or 2 missile options that are NOT Blasts and the Splinter gun should be replaceable with a Lance or Diss Cannon.

Wyches: Dodge should be a 4++ always, their weapons are to similar its just different types of re-rolls or rending, they should start with Rending or make them cheaper and give them weapon options with AP. Wyches are gladiators, they should be scary in Melee, as it is now they aren't.

Hellions: Extremely over costed for what little they do. Give them with Jink option, 4+ save and +2 str on the glaive (Its a 2hd weapon should be +2s). Literally Beast Masters are better Hellions for cheaper....

Archons: Let them take Bikes, Skyboards etc.. they need more options

Armor Saves: There is no reason ALL Warrior "Kin" units Armor saves shouldn't be +1 more than they currently are now. NONE at all. This will make most models 4+ and 5+ (that still isnt much, its equal to Tau and Necrons)

Weapons: Mostly they are over costed, DE IS A WEAPONS army, make them cheaper, heck they are cheaper in other books, IDK why THE feth they are so costly compare to others.

Urien Rakarth: Give him EW

Haemonculus: 50pts


Demi-Company.

DE player places 3 WWP's done (for free) treat them as infiltrators. +1 to your reserve rolls and -1 to your opponents. And all vehicles when Jinking doesnt cause the unit(s) to snap fire.

This gives a really good fluff feeling also it makes vehicles and units in vehicles usable.

Veck and the Dais

5th ed Veck was really good just extremely over costed, make him and his vehicles both about 50pts cheaper. That be about 190 for Veck (remember he is still S3 T3) and the Dais should be 150pts base, it is a AV 13 open top fast skimmer transport with 3 Dark Lances. Honestly is still alittle costly. Let the Dais have Raider options too.

You may or may not agree with me and that is fine, these are just things I would change, after playing DE for years and have play 100's of games played through many editions with them, Im not looking for them to be top teir but just to be more fluffy and actually enjoyable.

Edit for spelling and grammar.

Vehicles: I think the 55pt base cost of the Raider and Venom is fine, but yes most of their upgrades are too expensive, and Flickerfields should actually be an option for something other than the Venom. You made no mention of the Ravager though, that thing should defintiely be cheaper, particularly when you consider that the Eldar Hornet does a similar job better (4 shots from only 2 guns so doesn't have to worry about snap shooting a weapon when going 12" and only costs 80pts or something with the Puls Laser loadout) and should get it's Aerial Assault rule back so that it can go 12" and fire all 3 weapons at full ballistic skill. Heck, someone mentioed elsewhere why not make it a transport with a capacity of 6?

Flyers: Definitely need to be recosted though maybe not as far as you've gone, and I've previosuly suggested before that Shatterfield Missiles should be S8, Heavy 1, Sunder so that we have a propper anti-tank option with one of the missile options. If these were the standard missiles on the Razorwing it would be much better at it's intended job (and may actually be worth keeping at the same points as it would be so much more effective), with the Monoscythes being standard on the Voidraven, it's rediculous that a 160pt flyer only has 2 single shot guns and a one use only bomb as it's sole standard weapon loadout and has to spend 40 pts minimum for any missiles.

Wyches: I could go with this, but I've always wanted to see them as WS5, they're gladiators that spend all their lives fighting in close combat, they should bloody well be better at it than a Space Marine.

Hellions: Everyone wants them to get their Jink rule back, and let them use their Skyboards in both movement and assault, given that they're flying around on these things they have more reason to be able to do that than just about any other Jump Infantry unit in the game. Wych Cult units shouldn't have a good armour save, it's the whole point in sacrificing armour for mobility. I don't agree with you making the Hellglaive +2S, being two-handed doesn't matter and is likely why it's +1 to begin with, but it should be AP4 and make Hellions 2 attacks base instead of 1.

Archons: God yes, please!

Armour: Ghost Plate armour should definitely be more available, there's absolutely no reason why an Archon doesn't have it and Trueborn can' take it.

Weapons: Yes, there are many examples, like Blasters and Agonisers, that should be just flat out cheaper but there are other weapons that need to be better, a Shredder is only 5 pts but even if it was free I wouldn't take it. The bid one that needs to change is the Dark Lance though, it's supposed to be a scary anti-tank weapon but it really isn't. I;ve previously suggested replacing Lance with Darklight, where targets armour values are counted as being 2 less to a minumum of 10. Makes them much more useful against all vehicles and not just the never seen Landraider.

Urien Rakarth: Sure, but I'd rather the Casket of Flensing was made much better as well.

We need more than just Vect but all of our special characters back, I really want to play using the Baron or Lady Malys.

I did forget about the Ravager, I was going off of memory. I guess I should have gotten the book out, it is little over costed too.

If Hellions got more attacks that be fine over S5, Yes, JSJ would work wonderful with them too. If you dont like the 4+ save, then give them Jink or Dodge. They need either saves against Melee or shooting for sure.

Over all we "the community" see what is needed, just hope GW does too.

Vehicles: I'm actually fine with the current price point for both of our dedicated transports. That's not to say that they couldn't use a boost though. Making them cheaper doesn't really fix the issues you've mentioned. They're still very dangerous for their passengers, and they're still paper thin. Having enough points left over to take one or two extra vehicles doesn't really address this. My preferred fix is to give all dark eldar vehicles a piece of wargear (probably an upgrade) that lets them move 2d6" in the assault phase. this would allow you to use JSJ to move even faster than we do right now (reclaiming the fastest army vibe from our craftworld cousins) and allowing us to gain a small bit of survivability provided we use terrain and screening to our advantage.

It's also worth noting that the GW FAQ (which isn't officially out yet) does some terrible things to us. Specifically, it causes passengers in a jinking vehicle to snap shoot. This is a pretty nasty nerf to dark eldar (and not much of a nerf to almost any other army), so I'd appreciate a rule that ignores this if it comes to pass.

Our vehicle upgrades aren't overpriced in my opinion. The ones that work (splinter wracks, aethersails, and night shields) work fine for their points. Grisly trophies are probably fine even if they are a low priority. The tank shock and ramming options aren't too pricey; they're just non-functional. They require you get get right up in your opponent's face to use them, thus guaranteeing you'll be wiped out on the following turn and make your much more reliable options for dealing with the things you shocked or rammed (shooting) ineffective. I'd like to see chain snares turn into some sort of vector strike usable in either (both?) the movement or shooting phase. Maybe even assault phase if my aforementioned assault phase move is implemented. I'm not sure what to do about shock prows. I like them in theory. Maybe if you could perform the ram as part of going flat out rather than in the movement phase? That way, you could drop off a melee unit with the thing in the movement phase, then slam it into something else in the shooting phase.

The ravager needs to regain its rule that allows it to fire all its weapons in one phase and maybe get a price decrease. I can't really comment on how to buff the flyers, but they should definitely have vector dance to match the craftworlders.

Wyches: Agreed about the invul save. I have mixed feelings about how exactly I want them to perform in melee. Back in the day, they were a really solid tarpit unit (you could give them a 4+ invul with 4+ FNP on turn 1 using cheap haemonculi) that would pin down an enemy while your incubi (or whatever else) charged in to do most of the damage. I kind of like the idea of something like...
Shardnet/Impaler: Units locked in combat with a unit containing a shardnet reduce their Attacks by 1 to a minimum of 1. Lets them tarpit.
Razor Flail: Lets them make coup de grace from unexpected angles. Maybe rending? Helps against heavily armored targets and MCs.
Hydra Gauntlets: Grant d6 bonus attacks. Increases max damage output, but is less useful against heavily armored targets.

I also like the idea of wych weapons having better effects for blood brides and succubi. This would make the weapons viable options for succubi and would emphasize the difference in skill level between wyches and brides. Plus it would make brides into something other than "less cost-effective wyches."

Hellions: Here's the thing about hellions: all their attacks are good at hurting non-vehicles in an army that is already awesome at hurting non-vehicles. If I want a dedicated melee unit, I'll probably go with incubi or reavers. If I want a way to shoot up infantry, I'll probably use warriors and venoms. Making them hit harder doesn't help to give them a niche. if you actually made them better at shooting/assault/movement than other units, you'd just be stepping on the toes of reavers/scourges/various other shooty/choppy units. So what I'd like to see from them is the return to their old rules that let you yoink models out of units and carry them away. It's an amusing rule that conveys their fluff well and potentially allows you to pick apart death stars. They become dedicated death start dissassemblers while still being moderately good dakka/choppa units. I'd be fine with them (and all jump infantry really) getting jink though.


Archons: Agreed. Give the mobility options back to Succubi and Haemonculi as well.

Armor Saves: Disagreed. Dark Eldar are meant to be squishy. It's their thing. Wrapping them in heavier armor would make them more durable, but it also makes them lose some of their flavor. Dark eldar should have squishy profiles. That said, they should also have some way of mitigating damage. A first-turn deepstrike option to boost their alpha strike, some wargear or unit that allows them to turn on night fighting, and my aforementioned assault move would all be good options for this. Dark eldar shouldn't survive because you made an armor save. They should survive because you hit hard, ran away fast, and bullied your opponent with units that take advantage of their weaknesses.

Weapons: Partially disagree. Our weapons that work are pretty okay for their prices. The blaster and blast pistol are perhaps 5 points too expensive, but they work reasonably well for what they do. The issues with our weapons are that they don't strip hull points fast enough (outside of haywire blasters), dark lances are pointless on non-relentless platforms in an army that's all about speed, the small blast of the shredder makes it meh (we had a whole thread a while back discussing how to fix it), the liquifier's inexplicable strength debuff makes it too unlikely to wound, and the heat lance isn't available to many of the units that would like to use it.


So it's not the price tag of our weapons that's the issue. It's that many weapons have core problems that need to be addressed. I kind of like the idea of letting Lance weapons inflict 2 penetrating hits rather than one against vehicles of AV 12 or less, effectively making them strip hull points faster and increasing our odds of crippling a vehicle (very dark eldary).


Urien Rakarth: I take less issue with him directly and more issue with Power From pain in general.

Haemonculi: I miss good PFP and cheap haemonculi with an option to take a better, killier haemonculus ancient that had access to useful arcane weapons. The current haemonculus is neither as cheap nor as powerful as his predecessors, and all of the potentially interesting arcane weapons got nerfed (mindphase gauntlet's old rules would be great in this edition).

Demi Company: I'm confused on how the webway portals work. Are they like servo skulls? I'd really like all squad leaders in the dark eldar codex to be able to take a corsair style webway portal. The jinking part would be nice. Overall, this seems fine to me.

Vect: And of course, we really ought to have my beloved Lady Malys around. And a new-and-improved Kheradruakh that takes a page out of the new assassins' books.

Power from Pain needs to be reworked as well. The new version doesn't cause you to lose your pain tokens after a unit died like the old system did, but the new system also lacks the visceral reward of killing a thing and getting powered up as a result. The current PFP also encourages you to hold your forces back while the pain batteries charge and just isn't nearly as useful as the old PFP. In the old system, I could reliably get my melee units into combat on turn 1 or 2 and have both Feel No Pain and Furious Charge going by the end of turn 2 or 3. These days, I have to wait until turn 3 just to get a weaker Feel No Pain (that is ignored by the abundant strength 6 in the game), turn 4 to get furious charge (at which point my melee units have been in combat for several turns already), and turn 6 to get something at all better than what I previously had. Fearless on turn 5 is nice, but meh.


SHORT WISHLIST:
*Assault moves on vehicles
*Vector dancer on fliers
*Bring back our old wargear
*Rework PFP

Yes, actually Lady M was one of my favorites, honestly if she was still in 7th ed (With her 5th ed rules) I would play her every game.

I understand what you mean about Hellions being AI and we have enough of that, but they are much a cool unit and they need a buffs, Having something like JSJ on them would give them a niche, or keep them melee and give them sometime of melee bonus.

The only thing about Urien was to make him more viable in lists, He could give a better PfP rule than he does now. Well we need a new PfP rule anyways, I like 7th ed way of doing it, but its still not good.

Archon + others, the mobility would be so good, and so would some other options too. Every other dex gets these things for there armies we dont b.c there isnt models for the,... how sad.

 Amishprn86 wrote:
Yes, actually Lady M was one of my favorites, honestly if she was still in 7th ed (With her 5th ed rules) I would play her every game.

I understand what you mean about Hellions being AI and we have enough of that, but they are much a cool unit and they need a buffs, Having something like JSJ on them would give them a niche, or keep them melee and give them sometime of melee bonus.

The only thing about Urien was to make him more viable in lists, He could give a better PfP rule than he does now. Well we need a new PfP rule anyways, I like 7th ed way of doing it, but its still not good.

Archon + others, the mobility would be so good, and so would some other options too. Every other dex gets these things for there armies we dont b.c there isnt models for the,... how sad.

As a Poisoned Tongue player, I support all this praise for Archon Malys.

I disagree that giving hellions JSJ would give them a niche. I also disagree that boosting their melee ability would give them a niche. If you make them a JSJ unit, you're just discouraging assault and making them compete with reavers who already JSJ. If you increase their melee prowess, they still get lost in the sea of melee units we have (grotesques, incubi, reavers with caltrops, MCs, etc.) Making them better at shooting or assaulting might make them better, but it doesn't give them a reason to exist alongside other units that do the same thing. That's why I like the whole "pick a guy up and carry him off" mechanic. It conveys the idea that hellions are full of shenanigans, captures the fear of being picked up and carried off to be mutilated by a gang of flying space elves, and gives them a unique edge that other units can't capture.

If you make them good at shooting poison, they step on the toes of scourges, venoms, warriors, etc. If you make them kings of melee, you step on the toes of our melee units including reavers who are already fast melee guys with hit & run. If you let them grab a guy and carry him off, you give them a unique role in the army. Imagine grabbing a psyker out of a death star or carrying off a the melee character that was trying to rescue his pals from close combat.

It's hard to say what should happen with Urien until we have a revised PFP mechanic. Traditionally, Urien's thing has been:
* Granting access to ubergrotesques
* Boosting doing PFP better than the average haemonculus
* Being hard to kill.

Something inkeeping with that would be nice.

I miss the mobility options our HQs used to have, and I feel bad for all those dark eldar players who went to the trouble of converting biker archons/archites/haemonculi when the first Dark Eldar codex was still a thing. Also, I'd love to be able to give my HQs wings if only for the aesthetic of it.

For hellions I still feel they need a niche, either way Melee or Shooting there will be other units that do it too. Give them a different Niche with 1 or the other.

JSJ will be different, with DS and range options (Not Long range ones, 6"-18") then they dont take the play of Scourges.
Same for Melee, give them something unique in melee, like a Challenge bonus, or S5.

WIth UR, im fine with those changes, I wanted him to never be ID, its kinda of the fluff too. But he should be an Army modifier also you are correct. Thats his role and he needs to do it well.

If you want a deepstriking unit with poison, hellions already sort of do that, but warriors, scourges, and even empty venoms already do it better. Giving them an assault move to JSJ after deepstriking would only really help them if...

A.) They can land near BLOS terrain that they can jump behind.
B.) The enemy doesn't have another unit behind that BLOS terrain to go after them anyway.
C.) They roll well enough on their assault move to actually take advantage of the BLOS terrain.
D.) The enemy you want to shoot is near enough to the BLOS terrain to shoot at before running away.
E.) The enemy isn't mobile enough to just hop behind the BLOS terrain anyway.

That's a lot of highly situational prerequisites just for a mediocre shooting unit to sort of kind of have a niche. :(

Even if they were strength 5 in melee (which they sometimes are thanks to furious charge and wych drugs), they'd still be competing with our other dedicated melee units and with reavers who arguably do the job better thanks to cluster caltrops.

What exactly would you want them to get as a challenge bonus, and why would they have that bonus?

In my eyes, they shouldn't be better at shooting than our shooty options, and they shouldn't be better at melee than our melee options. As is, they're mediocre at both shooting and assault but lack a unique advantage to encourage people to take them over more specialized units. Honestly, I'd strongly consider taking hellions as they are if they could grab models out of melee and/or if half the results on the wych drug table weren't so bad.

Wyldhunt wrote:
If you want a deepstriking unit with poison, hellions already sort of do that, but warriors, scourges, and even empty venoms already do it better. Giving them an assault move to JSJ after deepstriking would only really help them if...

A.) They can land near BLOS terrain that they can jump behind.
B.) The enemy doesn't have another unit behind that BLOS terrain to go after them anyway.
C.) They roll well enough on their assault move to actually take advantage of the BLOS terrain.
D.) The enemy you want to shoot is near enough to the BLOS terrain to shoot at before running away.
E.) The enemy isn't mobile enough to just hop behind the BLOS terrain anyway.

That's a lot of highly situational prerequisites just for a mediocre shooting unit to sort of kind of have a niche. :(

Even if they were strength 5 in melee (which they sometimes are thanks to furious charge and wych drugs), they'd still be competing with our other dedicated melee units and with reavers who arguably do the job better thanks to cluster caltrops.

What exactly would you want them to get as a challenge bonus, and why would they have that bonus?

In my eyes, they shouldn't be better at shooting than our shooty options, and they shouldn't be better at melee than our melee options. As is, they're mediocre at both shooting and assault but lack a unique advantage to encourage people to take them over more specialized units. Honestly, I'd strongly consider taking hellions as they are if they could grab models out of melee and/or if half the results on the wych drug table weren't so bad.

As they are I would say they are in the top 10 worst units in the game, completely pointless and worthless, they need a reason. Even if they are still part shooting and Melee, they need t be either Better or Cheaper. If they where 8pts I could see someone take them but many players still wouldnt.

Something I just thought about, Give them special DSing rules that lets them charge after DS, keep them the same. There, they are cool, fluffy and useful now. Taking a couple small 5mans would not be to powerful b.c if you take more you would have higher chance of mishaps, they are only S4 T3 and 5+ saves, its nothing stronger than GSC book.

Assaulting after Deepstriking would be a fluffy rule that would allow them to shut down and bully troublesome ranged elements. However, assaulting out of deepstrike in general is a whole conversation unto itself. You can see the arguments for and against it in a recent thread here in the proposed rules section.

I'm not sure why hellions should get such a rule when things like assault marines don't, but I agree that it would give them a unique role.

Not a Dark Eldar player, but I was thinking something fitting their lore and stats to improve their survivaility in case their transports explode.
What if the unit is allowed an initiative test. If they fail, they take damage as normal. If they succeed, they can disenark without suffering damage, as they leap out of the vehicle BEFORE it crashes and burns.
It'd make sense to turn this into an USR, as orks and Necrons could still do that, but having lower I, they'd rarely pass it.

If warrior Kin where given a +1 to the armor save (4+), then explosions wouldn't be a problem.

Some of the problems are they cant be effective while in vehicles due to jink (AV10 open top must jink, even against bolters). They need to be able to "Jink" and ignore Snap fire rule. These 2 things will make Venom/Gunboats up to par with all the other armies vehicle spam lists.

This would mean Raiders with Nigh Shields be the normal thing. With a 3+ jink would be fine on them if they still still fire at full BS.

A special ability called "Real Space Raiders" where they are wounded on their initiative instead of toughness against vehicle explodes results and gives all bike and jump troops the ability to re-roll failed dangerous terrain. This makes sure half of the unit doesn't die when a raider goes down.

Trueborn should be equipped with Ghost Plate and Shard Carbines automatically.

Hellions should come with stealth and their skyboards should have blade vanes. Also bring back the old rules for stealing independent characters out of units. They should also be moved to troops.

Wyches and Reavers should be WS 5 base and attacks should be rending.

Wyches have dodge save against overwatch

Blood Brides should be WS 6, have rending, all of them can upgrade to wyche weapons (which also need new rules) and can choose their combat drugs at the beginning of the game.

Incubi need to cause fear and come with assault grenades automatically. This should all be represented by their tormentor helms which are talked about in the fluff but don't actually contain any rules.

Wracks should be moved to troops.

Mandrakes should have 2 fire modes for their bale flame attack. The one currently, and heavy flamer templates. Their close combat blades should have rending, and they should ignore initiative penalties for assaulting in cover.

Bring back the Arial assault special rule for Raiders and Ravagers.

All of the Jets should be AV 11 and points cost dropped by quite a bit. Also their missiles need to have their rules changed to accurately reflect the rolls of the fighter and bomber on the battlefield.

Void Lance weaponry should be changed to Strength D.

Archons need to be given all their equipment back and add jetbikes, skyboards and scourge wings.

I'm sure there's a lot more that needs to be covered...

 Brutus_Apex wrote:
A special ability called "Real Space Raiders" where they are wounded on their initiative instead of toughness against vehicle explodes results and gives all bike and jump troops the ability to re-roll failed dangerous terrain. This makes sure half of the unit doesn't die when a raider goes down.

Trueborn should be equipped with Ghost Plate and Shard Carbines automatically.

Hellions should come with stealth and their skyboards should have blade vanes. Also bring back the old rules for stealing independent characters out of units. They should also be moved to troops.

Wyches and Reavers should be WS 5 base and attacks should be rending.

Wyches have dodge save against overwatch

Blood Brides should be WS 6, have rending, all of them can upgrade to wyche weapons (which also need new rules) and can choose their combat drugs at the beginning of the game.

Incubi need to cause fear and come with assault grenades automatically. This should all be represented by their tormentor helms which are talked about in the fluff but don't actually contain any rules.

Wracks should be moved to troops.

Mandrakes should have 2 fire modes for their bale flame attack. The one currently, and heavy flamer templates. Their close combat blades should have rending, and they should ignore initiative penalties for assaulting in cover.

Bring back the Arial assault special rule for Raiders and Ravagers.

All of the Jets should be AV 11 and points cost dropped by quite a bit. Also their missiles need to have their rules changed to accurately reflect the rolls of the fighter and bomber on the battlefield.

Void Lance weaponry should be changed to Strength D.

Archons need to be given all their equipment back and add jetbikes, skyboards and scourge wings.

I'm sure there's a lot more that needs to be covered...

I think you missed that our bikes have Skilled Rider, so they ignore dangerous terrain. Mind you, if the Archon and Succubus can take bikes again then it would make sense, the rest of that proposal is great.

Completely agree on Trueborn.

I don't see too much of a point to stealth, especially if they gain Jink back which is what most people want, and Bladevanes would be useless, to get anything from them you'd have to sacrifice their mobility unless they're given the ability to use their jump packs in movement and assault. Agreed about the Stun Claw rules going back to what they were. I don't see any reason to move them to Troops, they're fine as Fast Attack.

Agreed on Wyches and Reavers being WS5, but I think something similar to Bladestorm where they are AP2 instead of straight up Rending (I don't want Wyches going tank hunting which they will do since Rending would let them glance AV12).

Agreed on Bloodbrides, though see above on Rending.

Who cares about Fear? But have tormentor helms count as assault grenades, yes defintiely.

Agreed on Wracks.

Definitely need assault grenades on Mandrakes, they'd actually be very good with just that but as it stands we have a unit that needs to be in cover that is useless if they charge out of it.

Aerial Assault was never on the Raider, and since it only has one weapon it would have had no effect since it's a Fast Vehicle so it can go 12" and fire at full BS anyway. Agreed with the Ravager.

No need for the Razorwing to be AV11, if the Crimson Hunter doesn't need to worry too much about AV10 then neither should it, but it's weapons do need to be imrpoved all round. The Voidraven shouldn't have been made AV10, but you cant make it tougher, reduce it's points cost then load it up on D weaponry.

Options need to be brought back not just on the Archon but throughout the codex.

 Brutus_Apex wrote:
A special ability called "Real Space Raiders" where they are wounded on their initiative instead of toughness against vehicle explodes results and gives all bike and jump troops the ability to re-roll failed dangerous terrain. This makes sure half of the unit doesn't die when a raider goes down.

Trueborn should be equipped with Ghost Plate and Shard Carbines automatically.

Hellions should come with stealth and their skyboards should have blade vanes. Also bring back the old rules for stealing independent characters out of units. They should also be moved to troops.

Wyches and Reavers should be WS 5 base and attacks should be rending.

Wyches have dodge save against overwatch

Blood Brides should be WS 6, have rending, all of them can upgrade to wyche weapons (which also need new rules) and can choose their combat drugs at the beginning of the game.

Incubi need to cause fear and come with assault grenades automatically. This should all be represented by their tormentor helms which are talked about in the fluff but don't actually contain any rules.

Wracks should be moved to troops.

Mandrakes should have 2 fire modes for their bale flame attack. The one currently, and heavy flamer templates. Their close combat blades should have rending, and they should ignore initiative penalties for assaulting in cover.

Bring back the Arial assault special rule for Raiders and Ravagers.

All of the Jets should be AV 11 and points cost dropped by quite a bit. Also their missiles need to have their rules changed to accurately reflect the rolls of the fighter and bomber on the battlefield.

Void Lance weaponry should be changed to Strength D.

Archons need to be given all their equipment back and add jetbikes, skyboards and scourge wings.

I'm sure there's a lot more that needs to be covered...

Trueborn: I like this idea. It makes sense for nobility to have better armor than mooks.

Hellions: Totally agree on Stun Claw. I'm not so sure about blade vanes or jink. I kind of think all jump infantry should have jink, but I'm not sure hellions warrant being the only jump infantry to have it. Making them troops would be interesting. It gives you a mobile unit that shoots roughly as well as a squad of warriors and stabs better than a squad of wyches (albeit with a worse save). It would actually be a decent all-rounder troop choice without overshadowing the existing troop choices. Maybe bring back the Baron and have him treat them as troops? Or have a core detachment in a decurion that lets you take several hellion squads along with an HQ on hoverboard?

Wyches: I'd be okay with that. I feel like rending (pseudo or otherwise) is becoming uncomfortably common, but it actually represents their fluff well. WS 5 at least helps them hit MEQs a bit more often and causes tau to hit them on 5s in melee. I wrote up a Wych Cult detachment a while back that gives my preferred (and overly complicated) fix to wyches, but these would be just fine.

Regarding drugs, you could actually probably fix drugs by simply making it a d3 chart and dropping the worst options. The times that +1 Leadership or Initiative have actually been helpful are too few and far between to warrant being results on a random table. +1 to PFP is slightly better, but PFP is pretty meh until around turn 4 anyway. And by then it's too late to be all that helpful. Just making the drug table be a d3 table with +1 Strength, Attacks, or Toughness as the results means that wyches will always get sometihing that improves either their offense or defense at least slightly. +1 Toughness even makes them more likely to benefit from PFP's FNP.

Also, does anyone else miss having the option to take the old-school drug dispensers where you could be a combat monster until you got reckless and overdosed? I wouldn't mind seeing that become a thing again. It was a fun rule that matched the devil may care attitude of the dark eldar.

Blood Brides: I like your suggestions quite well. I rather like the idea of them unlocking extra benefits from wych weapons (on top of being able to take a wych weapon each) even better. WS6 rarely makes a difference over WS5, but unlocking new benefits from wych weapons is a nifty way to show that they have superior skill and/or training compared to their underlings.

Incubi: I'm not sold on fear. It's already the gimmick of many of our other melee units. Incubi don't need to steal their thunder. They do need assault grenades though. As for the tormenter helms, it's my belief that they're technically still present mechanically. They used to provide an extra attack in close combat despite klaives being two-handed. In 5th edition, they stopped being an option for HQs meaning they could only ever be used by incubi. But incubi do have two attacks base where, iirc, they used to only have 1. So if I'm not mistaken, they basically kept the bonus form the helms but didn't see a reason to give the helms a wargear entry since they provide a statline bonus to a single unit and no one else.

I kind of like the idea of blood stones coming back as an option for klaivexes. Klaivices? Basically, a strength 3 ap 3 flamer (handy but not great in today's meta) that makes the wielder's unit count as having assault grenades as the waves of psychic torment emanating from the stone agonize would-be defenders.

Wracks: Absolutely. Though to be fair, haemonculus covens basically already lets you do this as long as you're doing a coven-centric list.

Mandrakes: Agreed regarding the pseudo-assault grenades. The heavy flamer idea is cool, but I recommend making it a nightfiend-only thing. That poor squad leader has too few reasons to exist, and a superior mastery of balefire would be a cool way to set him apart. I'm not so sure about the rending idea. Especially if we're giving it to wyches. Mandrakes don't really strike me as finesse warriors (at least not compared to wyches), and their weapons seem to basically be mundane, if spooky, hunks of metal rather than highly advanced armor ignoring weapons. A couple items on my wishlist for them include:
* 5+ invul saves like they used to have. Mostly because they can lose a promising combat due to their utter lack of saves in the early game. I actually use mandrakes a lot, and their lack of save in melee is the number 1 reason I use them as shooty objective holders rather than melee combatants.
*A "strike from the shadows" mechanic that gives them extra attacks if they charge through cover.
*A piece of wargear that activates night fighting for a turn. It doesn't actually help the mandrakes, but it's a fluffy way to buff the rest of your army and get some use out of night vision.

Arial Assault: For ravagers, yes.

Flyers: I don't know about AV11. Not being shot down by bolters would be nice, but durability isn't the thing keeping me from taking the flyers. The thing that keeps me from taking them is that their weapons just don't really bring a lot to the army. The razorwing is really meant to go after things with Toughness values, and our whole book can do that pretty well. The void raven can threaten vehicles, but probably not as well as a squad of blasterborn in a venom or haywire blaster scourges.

I'm not sure about making void lances strength D purely because of all themoaning and groaning surrounding Strength D. I kind of like the idea of weapons with the lance rule generating 2 penetrating hits for each unsaved pen they score against AV 12 or less. So lance would basically be poison for AV 13+ while also being better at crippling or stripping hull points from smaller vehicles. Maybe even just have it generate two pen results but only inflict 1 hull point? So you're more likely to stun/immobilize/explode your target without actually taking multiple hull points off representing the lance's ability to carve through armor and reach critical systems?

If all DE vehicles had "Jink without the Snap fire", even Fliers would be playable, tho still over costed (Specially the Bomber).

Hellions as troops with the Baron isnt the right idea, the Right idea would be a Demi-Company with the Baron as Command and Hellions as Core (Just make them troops) and have a Formation with Baron and 2-4 Hellions giving them some style of Buffs.

DE would have some of the more cool Formation rules if GW cared.

Amish, how much should a BS 4, AV10 Fighter-type Flyer with 4 Str 8, AP2 shots cost?

 Amishprn86 wrote:
If all DE vehicles had "Jink without the Snap fire", even Fliers would be playable, tho still over costed (Specially the Bomber).

Hellions as troops with the Baron isnt the right idea, the Right idea would be a Demi-Company with the Baron as Command and Hellions as Core (Just make them troops) and have a Formation with Baron and 2-4 Hellions giving them some style of Buffs.

DE would have some of the more cool Formation rules if GW cared.

I have mixed feelings on the "jink without snapfiring" thing. It would be very fluffy for dark eldar, but it also removes an element of player choice. There's an interesting, meaningful decision to be made when you decide whether or not to jink. Having the best of both worlds eliminates that choice.

That said, I really feel there should either be a piece of wargear or a detachment bonus that allows dark eldar passengers to fire at full BS after the vehicle jinks. That's how I play it currently, but the GW FAQ may or may not be ruling that passengers snapfire after their transport jinks.

Vector Dancer is a must for the Fighter, and the Void Raven should have Strafing Run.

I still think they should both be AV 11 and actually should be "Stealth Aircraft" and come with the Stealth special rule.

Wyldhunt wrote:

 Amishprn86 wrote:
If all DE vehicles had "Jink without the Snap fire", even Fliers would be playable, tho still over costed (Specially the Bomber).

Hellions as troops with the Baron isnt the right idea, the Right idea would be a Demi-Company with the Baron as Command and Hellions as Core (Just make them troops) and have a Formation with Baron and 2-4 Hellions giving them some style of Buffs.

DE would have some of the more cool Formation rules if GW cared.

I have mixed feelings on the "jink without snapfiring" thing. It would be very fluffy for dark eldar, but it also removes an element of player choice. There's an interesting, meaningful decision to be made when you decide whether or not to jink. Having the best of both worlds eliminates that choice.

That said, I really feel there should either be a piece of wargear or a detachment bonus that allows dark eldar passengers to fire at full BS after the vehicle jinks. That's how I play it currently, but the GW FAQ may or may not be ruling that passengers snapfire after their transport jinks.

What if all the DE vehicles gained a special rule such that when they move Cruising Speed, they gain a 5+ cover save?

 Happyjew wrote:
Amish, how much should a BS 4, AV10 Fighter-type Flyer with 4 Str 8, AP2 shots cost?

Are you talking about the Eldar fliers? B.c No DE flier has 4 S8 AP2 shots.

DE have 2 Diss Cannons and 4 S6 ap5 missiles, you pay 10pts for the 2 Lances and as a "Fighter" it cant even use its Missiles against other fliers. 140pt flier to shoot 2x S8 as a fighter that is AV10 on all sides is really costly.

jade_angel wrote:

Wyldhunt wrote:

 Amishprn86 wrote:
If all DE vehicles had "Jink without the Snap fire", even Fliers would be playable, tho still over costed (Specially the Bomber).

Hellions as troops with the Baron isnt the right idea, the Right idea would be a Demi-Company with the Baron as Command and Hellions as Core (Just make them troops) and have a Formation with Baron and 2-4 Hellions giving them some style of Buffs.

DE would have some of the more cool Formation rules if GW cared.

I have mixed feelings on the "jink without snapfiring" thing. It would be very fluffy for dark eldar, but it also removes an element of player choice. There's an interesting, meaningful decision to be made when you decide whether or not to jink. Having the best of both worlds eliminates that choice.

That said, I really feel there should either be a piece of wargear or a detachment bonus that allows dark eldar passengers to fire at full BS after the vehicle jinks. That's how I play it currently, but the GW FAQ may or may not be ruling that passengers snapfire after their transport jinks.

What if all the DE vehicles gained a special rule such that when they move Cruising Speed, they gain a 5+ cover save?

The problem with DE vehicles are,
1) They are Death Traps. Its open top and AP most likely explodes them, with 3+ to wound and a 5+ save 1/2 your guys normally die.
2) Jink renders them completely useless, do to number 1 we already have a harsh side effect being in open top AV10
3) They are over costed and so are the upgrade.
Once DE are out of vehicles they are dead, no way to save them. ALso a flamer... a basic flamer can literally Explode the Vehicle, get D6 hits remove 2-3 guys, the explode gets 4 more guys. yes this would be rare, but Im just trying to point out how fragile they are.


If you can fix number #3 making them cheaper then number #1-2 arnt as harsh b.c you will have a couple more 5mans in vehicles.
Without fixing #3, they are overcosted death traps, so you need to fix #1 or 2.
You can either Fix #1 or #2. I personally would like a fluffy fix either or;
1) Jink doesnt cause snapfire
2) Past a Inititive test to auto "disembark" when vehicle explodes to not take casualties

jade_angel wrote:

Wyldhunt wrote:

 Amishprn86 wrote:
If all DE vehicles had "Jink without the Snap fire", even Fliers would be playable, tho still over costed (Specially the Bomber).

Hellions as troops with the Baron isnt the right idea, the Right idea would be a Demi-Company with the Baron as Command and Hellions as Core (Just make them troops) and have a Formation with Baron and 2-4 Hellions giving them some style of Buffs.

DE would have some of the more cool Formation rules if GW cared.

I have mixed feelings on the "jink without snapfiring" thing. It would be very fluffy for dark eldar, but it also removes an element of player choice. There's an interesting, meaningful decision to be made when you decide whether or not to jink. Having the best of both worlds eliminates that choice.

That said, I really feel there should either be a piece of wargear or a detachment bonus that allows dark eldar passengers to fire at full BS after the vehicle jinks. That's how I play it currently, but the GW FAQ may or may not be ruling that passengers snapfire after their transport jinks.

What if all the DE vehicles gained a special rule such that when they move Cruising Speed, they gain a 5+ cover save?

I kind of like that. It encourages you to move around quickly while still being rewarded for jinking. It also rewards you for taking night shields unlike our realspace raiders detachment that makes nightshield redundant. I'd be okay with this. The problem I see with it, however, is that your dudes inside are snapfiring if you move cruising speed. So this would be a good rule for a ravager or venom, but the raider is still sort of out of luck.



Automatically Appended Next Post:

 Amishprn86 wrote:

The problem with DE vehicles are,
1) They are Death Traps. Its open top and AP most likely explodes them, with 3+ to wound and a 5+ save 1/2 your guys normally die.
2) Jink renders them completely useless, do to number 1 we already have a harsh side effect being in open top AV10
3) They are over costed and so are the upgrade.
Once DE are out of vehicles they are dead, no way to save them. ALso a flamer... a basic flamer can literally Explode the Vehicle, get D6 hits remove 2-3 guys, the explode gets 4 more guys. yes this would be rare, but Im just trying to point out how fragile they are.


If you can fix number #3 making them cheaper then number #1-2 arnt as harsh b.c you will have a couple more 5mans in vehicles.
Without fixing #3, they are overcosted death traps, so you need to fix #1 or 2.
You can either Fix #1 or #2. I personally would like a fluffy fix either or;
1) Jink doesnt cause snapfire
2) Past a Inititive test to auto "disembark" when vehicle explodes to not take casualties

I agree that our transports are death traps and that jinking (which is almost mandatory on raiders and ravagers (flickerfields give venoms some hope of survival) really shuts down most of our vehicles' offense. I wouldn't really call them overcosted despite this though. A venom puts out a terrifying number of shots that are quite efficient against high toughness units like bikes or MCs. Against flying MC lists (daemons, flyrant spam) I find venoms quite handy as I'm likely to get at least a couple hits. Against grey knights, they're a solid way to shave wounds off of a dreadknight. Against bikes, they thin the herd quickly enough for my other units to deal the finishing blow.

Our raiders are pretty good at their jobs too. Their offense isn't great, but you don't take them for the offense; you take them for the ability to deepstrike 10 warriors who then reroll all 40+ of their poisonous to-hit rolls. Depending on whether or not you're using the GW FAQ (which isn't official yet), you also use them to deliver allied eldar units like dragons or wraithguard. They are paper thin, but they're also open-topped with access to a 3+ cover save.

The pricepoints for our fliers would be fine if they actually had a niche. The problem is that other units do either anti-tank or anti-infantry better than either of our fliers. If they each had a job they excelled at for their points cost (GMC and SHV hunting for the razorwing and voidraven respectively), they'd be a lot more appealing. Making them more durable isn't necessarily a priority for me. Crimson hunters are fragile, but they're good at killing things. People take crimson hunters.

The ravager might be a tad pricey for what you get, but I think that says more about the ridiculous amounts of dakka certain other armies have than the dakka of the ravager. The ravager's real problem is that it can't bring all of its guns to bare in a single turn.

Also, a normal flamer cannot explode our vehicles unless it has some sort of strength bonus from a different source. Normal flamers cannot generate penetrating hits against AV10.

I like the idea of passengers being immune to snapfire and of passengers being able to resist explodes results (wounding against initiative as someone suggested above is an elegant way of doing this that doesn't require extra dice rolls). I still very much like the idea of dark eldar vehicles being able to make assault moves. It keeps us in movement, it makes us feel about as fast as our craftworld cousins, and it encourages drive-bye JSJ techniques.

Oh you are right about flamers thats my bad. But stands the point S4 is enough to wreck them.

Random thoughts:

I think the idea of passengers being able to pass an Initiative Test to avoid casualties when the enemy blows your Raider or Venom to pieces is a pretty awesome idea, honestly.

I also like the idea of all vehicles and jetbikes being able to Jink without penalty... both of those could definitely be Command Benefits for a unique Dark Eldar detachment.

Wyches are over-costed. 8-9 points per model MAX. 2 Attacks base. Their Dodge save needs to be active at all times (ala Purestrain Genestealers' "Hyper-reflexes") and further improved in the Assault Phase by allowing them to be used against Overwatch and becoming 4+.

-Razorflails should have two modes: offensive or defensive.

-Hydra Gauntlets should just be a straight-up offensive weapon.

-Shardnet/Impaler should just be a straight-up defensive weapon.

I honestly don't think that Trueborn or Bloodbrides should even be in the codex. They seemed like a last-minute idea to make the codex seem more full and robust than it really is. Just my opinion. Just let Kabalites and Wyches take as many special/heavy weapons as Trueborn/Bloodbrides could. You guys want more special/heavy weapons, right?

"Void" weapons should be Strength D.

Mandrakes need a re-sculpt REALLY badly. I think they should look more like chilling, inky, shadowy night daemons with some dynamic-as-hell poses. Right now they just sort of look like chunky wrinkle-faced Wood Elves with poorly-made skin dresses. They should be Daemons. They should be able to literally melt into the shadows during your Movement Phase or as a response to enemy shooting in their Shooting Phase; entering Ongoing Reserves, come back via Deep Strike (deviating as normal but with no fear of mishaping) and be able to assault immediately. Shoot the target unit with some odd Balefire and Pin them if you don't want to eat Overwatch.

@Radarbabyeater:

Initiative VS Explosions: How would you feel about the suggestion someone made earlier in the thread to simply wound against initiative instead of against toughness with explosions? It simultaneously prevents you from losing half a squad on that occassional time you roll a 6 on the initiative test while also causing you to occassionally lose a dude here and there. So your opponent feels good because they still get to consistently wound a guy or two with an explosion, and you feel good because you aren't getting an unlucky initiative test result and losing half the squad. Also, it doesn't require you add another die roll (the initiative test) to the series of rolls needed to resolve the explosion.

Wyches:
What specifically would you like to see from these offensive and defensive modes on wych weapons? Also, how would you feel about simply making drugs a d3 table, dropping the crummy results (+1 Initiative, +1 Leadership, and +1 PFP)?

Trueborn/Blood Brides:
I like both of these units in theory. Having some rich kids for your dracon (who used to be a cheap HQ) to hang out with is neat, and being able to load up a bunch of blasters in a transport is a nice option. I'd be fine basically just handing out their options to kabalites, but being able to say "these are my true kin nobility" is kind of nice, and I'm not sure how I'd feel about taking 4 blasters in each troop choice.

Blood Brides are also fun in theory. I like the idea of being able to run an elite, hard-hitting unit of wyches in a cultl-themed army. Having no middle ground between a wych trooper and a succubus feels odd (reavers, beastmasters, etc. are outside the normal ranks of the cult). The problem is that blood brides suffer from the same problems wyches do, and the extra attack isn't enough to make up the difference, especially when they cost more. I really like the idea of bloodbrides unlocking new "fighting styles" to represent their higher degree of skill, but that's my own little pet idea.

So I like the fluff on both units. Trueborn are mechanically fine in my opinion. Blood Brides just need more love.



Void Weapons:
Making anything strength D is opening a can of worms, but I see where you're coming from.

Mandrakes:
Completely disagree. I'd be happy to see new sculpts, but the current ones are a fantastic blend of Japanese ghost (think "The Grudge") and axe murderer. I'd worry that making them "inky" would mean making them watery/ill-defined/melty. I wouldn't mind them being in plastic, however, and some tendril-shaped bits on the sprue would be a neat way to add "shadow tendrils" to their bodies and bases.

Making them daemons again would be nice in that they'd have a save in melee, but it also removes some of the neat mystery/ambiguity about their fluff. Are they really half-daemons? Are they something spookier that fell into an even darker and stranger place than the warp and had to make arcane pacts to survive? How do they feel about daemons? Is Kheradruakh just trying to open a warp rift, or is he up to something much stranger?

Making them immune to shooting (by instantly putting them into reserves) and allowing them to assault after arriving from reserves means that you'll only ever get to interact with them in melee. Which probably isn't much fun for armies that are really bad at melee and don't abuse overwatch shenanigans. Giving them something akin to the genestealer cults' re-deployment/ambush rules would be very fitting for them though. I think you're on the right track, but mandrakes shouldn't be untouchable.

On the topic of Mandrakes, I want Kheradruakh to come back as a Lord of War that behaves similarly to an imperial assassin. I also want nightfiends to have cool, occult wargear options and maybe even a "Shadow King" HQ option for them representing a powerful pack leader in charge of a particular large-scale operation funded by an archon or archite or what have you.

Wyldhunt wrote:
@Radarbabyeater:

Initiative VS Explosions: How would you feel about the suggestion someone made earlier in the thread to simply wound against initiative instead of against toughness with explosions? It simultaneously prevents you from losing half a squad on that occassional time you roll a 6 on the initiative test while also causing you to occassionally lose a dude here and there. So your opponent feels good because they still get to consistently wound a guy or two with an explosion, and you feel good because you aren't getting an unlucky initiative test result and losing half the squad. Also, it doesn't require you add another die roll (the initiative test) to the series of rolls needed to resolve the explosion.

Wyches:
What specifically would you like to see from these offensive and defensive modes on wych weapons? Also, how would you feel about simply making drugs a d3 table, dropping the crummy results (+1 Initiative, +1 Leadership, and +1 PFP)?

Trueborn/Blood Brides:
I like both of these units in theory. Having some rich kids for your dracon (who used to be a cheap HQ) to hang out with is neat, and being able to load up a bunch of blasters in a transport is a nice option. I'd be fine basically just handing out their options to kabalites, but being able to say "these are my true kin nobility" is kind of nice, and I'm not sure how I'd feel about taking 4 blasters in each troop choice.

Blood Brides are also fun in theory. I like the idea of being able to run an elite, hard-hitting unit of wyches in a cultl-themed army. Having no middle ground between a wych trooper and a succubus feels odd (reavers, beastmasters, etc. are outside the normal ranks of the cult). The problem is that blood brides suffer from the same problems wyches do, and the extra attack isn't enough to make up the difference, especially when they cost more. I really like the idea of bloodbrides unlocking new "fighting styles" to represent their higher degree of skill, but that's my own little pet idea.

So I like the fluff on both units. Trueborn are mechanically fine in my opinion. Blood Brides just need more love.



Void Weapons:
Making anything strength D is opening a can of worms, but I see where you're coming from.

Mandrakes:
Completely disagree. I'd be happy to see new sculpts, but the current ones are a fantastic blend of Japanese ghost (think "The Grudge" and axe murderer. I'd worry that making them "inky" would mean making them watery/ill-defined/melty. I wouldn't mind them being in plastic, however, and some tendril-shaped bits on the sprue would be a neat way to add "shadow tendrils" to their bodies and bases.

Making them daemons again would be nice in that they'd have a save in melee, but it also removes some of the neat mystery/ambiguity about their fluff. Are they really half-daemons? Are they something spookier that fell into an even darker and stranger place than the warp and had to make arcane pacts to survive? How do they feel about daemons? Is Kheradruakh just trying to open a warp rift, or is he up to something much stranger?

Making them immune to shooting (by instantly putting them into reserves) and allowing them to assault after arriving from reserves means that you'll only ever get to interact with them in melee. Which probably isn't much fun for armies that are really bad at melee and don't abuse overwatch shenanigans. Giving them something akin to the genestealer cults' re-deployment/ambush rules would be very fitting for them though. I think you're on the right track, but mandrakes shouldn't be untouchable.

On the topic of Mandrakes, I want Kheradruakh to come back as a Lord of War that behaves similarly to an imperial assassin. I also want nightfiends to have cool, occult wargear options and maybe even a "Shadow King" HQ option for them representing a powerful pack leader in charge of a particular large-scale operation funded by an archon or archite or what have you.

Iniative vs. Exploding Vehicles: I don't see why your idea wouldn't work. It's less dice to roll, if nothing else.

Combat Drugs: Yeah, either make it a D3 roll with very solid results or a D6 roll with good results that don't include garbage. I think you could really go with two different ideas: Either direct boosts to their characteristics (ala WS+1, S+1, A+1, etc.) or by allowing Combat Drugs to grant USR (ala Furious Charge, Preferred Enemy, Rage, Crusader, etc.). I think either would work. The one idea that I can't stand behind are Combat Drugs increasing defensive attributes of the users. They are claimed to be used to enhance fighting prowess whilst shortening the life-span of the prospective user.

Wych Weapons: My thoughts are:

>Razorflails (offensive) S+1 AP3 Melee, Specialist Weapon, Poisoned (4+)
>Razorflails (defensive) S(User) AP5 Melee, Specialist Weapon, Disarm, Poisoned (4+)

Disarm: Enemy models in base contact with a Wych equipped with this weapon must take an Initiative Test before they strike. If passed, nothing happens. If failed, they are unable to use their close combat weapons or benefit from any of the effects of their close combat weapons for that round of close combat.

>Hydra Gauntlets S+1 AP5 Melee, Specialist Weapon, Rending, Sentient, Poisoned (4+)

Sentient: A model equipped with a pair of Hydra Gauntlets gains D3 Hammer of Wrath attacks with the Rending special rule.

>Shardnet & Impaler S(User) AP5 Melee, Specialist Weapon, Entrap, Poisoned (4+)

Entrap: Enemy models in base contact with a Wych equipped with this weapon subtract 1 from their Weapon Skill and Attack characteristics to a minimum of 1. This effect is cumulative.

>Agonizer S(User) AP3 Melee, Concussive, Poisoned (4+)

Nobody takes Electrocorrosive Whips. Just roll them into Agonizers.

Trueborns/Bloodbrides: I guess this is just one aspect of contention I have with the codex, in general. It just seems like they wanted to make the codex fatter and did so artificially without introducing anything unique. If anything, I think Trueborn should be part of the Court of the Archon. Even then... I still don't like them in particular. Again, that's just my opinion of them. Same thing with Bloodbrides. Dark Eldar should be bristling with extremely dangerous and exotic weaponry and wargear. If you allowed Kabalites and Wyches to take the same amount of special/heavy weapons/wargear, you have some really dangerous basic infantry. The balance is that they're just as flimsy as their more expensive Trueborn/Bloodbride cousins. In practice, you'd still be using them in almost the same way as you use Trueborn/Bloodbrides now.

Void Weapons: I know. But they're supposed to be, like, second-to-none in terms of pure destructive power in the Dark Eldar arsenal. Also, they're only available on flimsy Dark Eldar paper airplanes. Balance?

Mandrakes: I can see where you're coming from with the whole "Grudge" thing, but I still think that the current models are WAY too chunky. Way too buff for Dark Eldar. I don't care if they are daemons. Yeah, I guess we just have different ideas about how they should look, but that's totally cool. I would like to see something more lithe and fluid looking. Something as dynamic as Harlequins, yet still off-putting and slightly daemonic. Honestly, I've NEVER been a fan of them having some sort of mystical ice/fire shooting attack. I'd rather see it go and transform them into properly dangerous assault units.

In terms of the fluff, I think it's good stuff. Aelindrach is a REALLY weird place, even by Dark Eldar standards. That being said, whatever their true nature or forme, it just seems really odd to me that they still have "squad leader" upgrades. I can't possibly imagine that they subscribe to such a silly notion. They're hired as assassins. They should be. I don't think they really have the numbers to support a full military organization set-up. I understand that they may be unfun to fight against, but I feel that way every time I face a cheese net Eldar or Tau list. I guess you could change this "Shadowmeld" ability to be something more akin to the Warp Spiders' Warp Jump Generator? Being able to melt into the shadows just seems... so... right.

As far as special characters, I wish there were none available for play. I think they're downright silly. That's just me, though.

Combat Drugs: To play daemon's advocate, there are plenty of real-world drugs that aren't exactly healthy for you but also allow you to take a beating without feeling it.

Wych Weapons: There are some neat ideas there! Why such a strong attachment to poison though? I realize it helps offset our low strength, but doesn't it also mean that wyches basically do what warriors do but with a more difficult delivery system? Fluff-wise, I'm not sure arena-goers really want to see gladiators drop to a single poisonous scratch rather than putting up a fight to the end. Some poison makes sense, but I'm not sure having exclusively poisonous special weapons does. Also, why the bonus to strength on gauntlets and razorflails? If anything, i'd think that razorflails would be more difficult to get a lot of concentrated for behind.
That's just me though. I always like seeing suggestions for wych weapons.

Electro Corrosive Whip: Mostly agree, though I wouldn't mind seeing something interesting done with them. In an era of challenges, it's a shame we don't still have things like the old version of mindphase gauntlets. Maybe electrocorossive whips could lower the number of attacks a model has in subsequent turns for each hit you land with the whip or something?

Trueborn/Bloodbrides: Heh. See, I actually feel like the current incarnation of blood brides and trueborn is an attempt to *shrink* the overall codex size. Instead of actually being their own distinct units, they're just more expensive versions of troops with slightly different wargear selection. Honestly, I'm fine with trueborn as they are, though I wouldn't mind seeing them with access to haywire blasters or heatlances. Blood Brides need some sort of rework, and that rework should probably have something to do with the rework that basic wyches need. Making them troops would probably be fine, but I'm not sure it would be a necessary change.

Void Weapons: Eh. I'd be fine with it, but I think the platforms for void weapons have other issues that making them weapons strength D wouldn't really solve.

Mandrakes: I understand where you're coming from. To be fair, part of my love for the current models is in contrast to the silly kinky-elves models they had back in the day. I really dig their current aesthetic, but I'm sure there are tons of awesome poses their bizarre nature would allow. I think it would be cool to have some variants that features massively distended jaws or oversized claws, sort of playing up a mild shape-shifting/inconstant body sort of thing.

By all rights, they should be designed with melee in mind. That said, I've gotten way more use out of them since they became 2+ cover saves with mid-ranged, Ap4 guns than I ever did when they were still sort of kind of a melee unit. I like balefire just fine as an option. Why are there shadow elves? Why are the shadow elves able to shoot fire at people? We don't know, but it's weird, and that's kind of the great part. Having a melee option of some sort would be great though.

If I were to give them a really fluffy rule, I think ripping off the genestealer cult's re-deploy-and-ambush thing would fit them really well. It plays up their uncanny supernatural shadow walking mobility, it synergizes well with balefire, and it possibly lets them ambush that backfield target your opponent left isolated.

As for squad upgrades, I'd probably avoid conventional dark eldar weapons. Path of the Archon makes it pretty clear that "normal" dark eldar weapons are bizarre sights in Aelindrach. Being able to take talismans that strengthen your balefire, let you ambush better, or mess with psykers, however, would all be very cool. I see mandrake "society" as less of an organized millitary and more of a series of semi-independent predator packs. Weaker packs can be bossed around by more powerful packs to some extent, and they're generally willing to cooperate if the price is right. Animalistic mercenaries, basically.