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Next February we are starting a Tale of Four Gamers league and have two months to assemble and paint a 500 point army. I'm thinking of doing DE cause the only options I have are SoB, Demons, or Grey Knights. I play every other army. Here is my proposed list:

HQ:
Archon w/ Power Sword - 75 points

TROOP:
9 Kabalite Warriors w/ Shedder and Splinter Cannon - 96 points
Raider - 60 points

10 Kabalite Warriors w/ Shedder and Splinter Cannon - 105 points
Raider - 60 points

FAST ATTACK:
4 Reavers w/ Heat Lance - 100 points

I know nothing about DE so if this isn't a good list please let me know. Thank you.

In such a small point game, your archon is not really doing anything. A few power sword attacks won't change matters, and without contributing any shooting the archon will do little/nothing all game. The minute guns are pointed towards the con your giving up slay the warlord. Archons need to be loaded out to be effective. A minimum build is a shadow field+venom blade, but you are probably going to want more toys. I would take a cheaper HQ at this points level until you can afford to buff up the con.

A succbus is better for melee combat, and cheaper. Take one with a venom blade and your good to go. In combat the 4++ means you have a chance to survive, and drugs off the bat are good value. The best cheap HQ however is the hamey. Take one with a liquifier gun and venom blade and you now have an all round general purpose support HQ. The pain token gives the whole unit FNP, the venom blade gives you a chance in combat(but don't try to get into it) and the liquifier is all around amazing.

The kabbie gunboats should toss the shredders. They are short ranged, innacurate, and can't be snap fired. Take splinter racks on the raiders to maximize poison dakka. Also consider night shields to protect your raiders.

Reavers should always be taken in groups of 3, for the special weapon. Drop a reaver and put the points elsewhere.

Your a bit low on anti tank, with 2 dark lances and 1 heat lance. Try and get some extra AT in there, maybe blasters for the kabbies? If you see armor, night shields can help you kite and dark lance till it pops.

I also have no idea about DE but I like the look of this list. I'm sure that isn't a great help, but its the kinda thing i'd start with since it has good symetry and sounds fun to play.

Basically, I like it from my own, slightly OCD point of view.

Personally when I run haemies I prefer to make mine an ancient and slap on a mindphase gauntlet to tarpit characters in challenges

Usually I like to take baron+small beastpack and venoms loaded with naked kabbies since they are all fast and cheap so they can avoid counter deployments and don't hurt so much when some of them die

I'm in a good position to give you advice because I've been building 500 point dark eldar lists for the past week and a half. DE are tricky to build usually, and more so at 500. My league has a slightly different FOC at 500 with HQ not being required. Your archon is almost 20% of your list and isn't adding anything. You could give him a blaster for BS 6, but I would cut him loose. Haemy is solid because he is cheap and immediately contributes something with his FNP token.

Shedders are awful. Remove those.

Reavers can be good in 500 point games.

You've been given good advice so far and I concur with much of what has been said already.

Personally, with regard to your list, I feel you are putting too much faith in your raiders. You raiders a lacking flicker fields and/or night shields. These are really easy to down. In fact, if you were to lose those two ultra fragile transports (taking a lot of the squad with them) I think it would be very difficult to recover.

Naked warriors with splinter racks are cheaper and more effective than adding all those weapons in.

ff and ns are you best friends.

Don't put special weapons on the reavers. If you are not turbo boosting around they will die ans do nothing.

I think the advice so far has been more or less solid. I have been playing DE for a couple years and have been doing pretty well with them (even in 6th edition). Here is what I would run at 500. It is exactly 500pts...


Baron

Beastmaster unit
2 Beastmasters
3 Khymerae
2 Razorwing

1 Ravager with Flicker Field

5 Kabalite warriors
1 Venom 2x Splinter Cannon

5 Hellions (troop choice with Baron)

This is the core of most of my lists (scaled down of course). This gives you the tools to deal with MC's, tanks, most assault units at 500pts, and infantry. The Beastmaster squad with Baron attached is a very good unit and super fun to play. Whatever list you end up using remember your pain tokens, Hit and Run, jink, and flickerfield and you will do well. Good luck!

OK, here are the two lists I've made using the above comments:

LIST 1
Haemonculus w/ Liquifier Gun

9 Kabalite Warriors w/ Blaster
Raider w/ Night Shield & Splinter Racks

10 Kabalite Warriors w/ Blaster
Raider w/ Night Shield & Splinter Racks

3 Reavers w/ Heat Lance


LIST 2
Haemonculus w/ Liquifier Gun

5 Kabalite Warriors w/ Blaster
Raider w/ Night Shield & Splinter Racks

10 Kabalite Warriors w/ Blaster
Raider w/ Night Shield & Splinter Racks

Ravager w/ Night Shields

You need flickerfields on the vehicles.

Also you shouldnt really put blasters in with the Warriors.

Realistically you want to be sticking to Venoms and 5 man squads in such low point games.

I would suggest this...

Haemonaculus - Liquifier, Power Weapon (Power Maul - +2S, AP4).
5x Warrior - Venom (2x Splinter Cannon)
5x Warrior - Venom (2x Splinter Cannon)
4x Wracks - Venom (2x Splinter Cannon)
1x Ravager - 3x Dark Lance, Flickerfield

You would be lacking Big Guns in that list though.

An alternative would be (if you wanted more big guns)...

Haemonaculus - Liquifier, Venom Blade.
4x Wracks - Venom (1x Twin Linked Splinter Rifles, 1x Splinter Cannon).
5x Warrior - Venom (Splinter Cannon).
1x Ravager - 3x Dark Lance, Flickerfield.
1x Ravager - 3x Dark Lance, Flickerfield.


Those are what I would go for. I do not play 500 pts though really, smallest games I play are 1k, there are probably better people to help you but I thought I would try anyway

In regards to flickerfields they are unneccessary since your vehicles are skimmers and already get a 5+ cover. Drop the blasters on the kabbies since they result in a confused unit. If it shoots a tank they are wasting a ton of poison, if they shoot infantry they are wasting a darklight shot on infantry. You already have 2 raiders so if you can squeeze in a ravager you should be set for AT.

Personally I would run a heamy with wracks in venoms and a ravager but you can run what you like.

"In regards to flickerfields they are unneccessary since your vehicles are skimmers and already get a 5+ cover."

Not against weapons that ignore cover. For 10 pts its worth it in my opinion...

 A GumyBear wrote:
In regards to flickerfields they are unneccessary since your vehicles are skimmers and already get a 5+ cover. Drop the blasters on the kabbies since they result in a confused unit. If it shoots a tank they are wasting a ton of poison, if they shoot infantry they are wasting a darklight shot on infantry. You already have 2 raiders so if you can squeeze in a ravager you should be set for AT.

Personally I would run a heamy with wracks in venoms and a ravager but you can run what you like.

You say a confused unit. I say a unit that kill a tank in a pinch. Also, how is Str 8 AP2 not good against infantry? Sure its only 1 guy but that's a dead guy. I agree with flickerfields and a 5++ isn't worth 10 points.

I will probably run List 2 but take one warrior out of the 10 man squad and drop him in the 5 man and add the Haemonoculus to the 9 man squad.