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As I don't really play any imperial army and haven't really read up on it, what are the defensive capabilities?
Assume that all systems/planets around Terra/Earth have been wiped clean and it was just the planet itself. No Imperial Navy there.
I think I've heard of Custodes? I'm sorry. I know a lot of you are cringing right now. Haha.
Say that the ultimate goal was to finish off the Emperor. I.e. Reach the Golden Throne.

Do you think that the entirety of Commoragh could?
1 Craftworld?, 2? 3? Or how many?
An entire Ork waaagh led by Ghazghkull Thraka?
A whole Tyranids Hive Fleet?
Or any other force you can think of?

Discuss!

well, it held off a massive horde of chaos that comprised of like, 7 legions and a gak ton of titans, and these are legions buffed on chaos power. Realistically, Eldar do not have the man power, and Orks would land, make a mess, but I don't think much beyond that since the custodes are basically mini-primarchs, and a chunk of Imperial fists are on Terra always. I think, however, that removing the navy doesn't really work since the moon is the navy base in the segmentum, and there is always a beyond massive fleet at Terra at all times. Regarding Terra itself, It's a hive world, that has seen over 20,000 years of fortification, by the Emperor, and one of the best base-building primarchs, Dorn.

 Brennonjw wrote:
well, it held off a massive horde of chaos that comprised of like, 7 legions and a gak ton of titans, and these are legions buffed on chaos power. Realistically, Eldar do not have the man power, and Orks would land, make a mess, but I don't think much beyond that since the custodes are basically mini-primarchs, and a chunk of Imperial fists are on Terra always. I think, however, that removing the navy doesn't really work since the moon is the navy base in the segmentum, and there is always a beyond massive fleet at Terra at all times. Regarding Terra itself, It's a hive world, that has seen over 20,000 years of fortification, by the Emperor, and one of the best base-building primarchs, Dorn.

Ah, okay. Cool. Thanks for the input.

First of all, it wouldn't matter how many local planets had been destroyed. Terra is the throne-world of the Imperium. EVERY single military unit would be recalled to defend it. You would have to defeat the entire Imperium to take on Terra defenceless.

Even disregarding that, Mars and Luna, along with the Sol System, are possibly the most heavily defended areas in the entire galaxy. If you got to a stage where you could take those defenses out, then nothing would stop you. However, it would take infinitely more than "a couple of craftworlds" to do that.

Lastly, the Imperial Palace isn't a single building, but an entire continent's worth of fortifications, and it extends deep underground too. If you wanted to take out the Emperor, then it would be much easier to deploy a planet-killing weapon that attempt to conquer that with troops. But to do that, you have to get by Mars and Luna and the Solar Fleet, so the question is flawed.

The Imperial Palace's defences are synonymous with the Solar Navy, the Titan Legions on Mars and the Orbital Batteries - it all serves the same purpose - preserve the Emperor. Essentially, to a degree, the entire loyal Human race is dedicated to that too, as if he dies, they are very likely to die too.

And under those circumstances, virtually nothing other than forces with ill defined limitations having those extended - as in a Hive Fleet so large as to be virtually inexhaustible, or a planet-killing Necron ship to awaken that was literally indestructable and unstoppable.

The only real strategic weaknesses are corruption from within (as in the Age of Apostasy) or if the Golden Throne was somehow breached, as a demonic portal lies directly behind it. However, for that to happen, the Emperor would have to die first, so if you goal is to kill him, that doesn't work.

Hierophant wrote:
First of all, it wouldn't matter how many local planets had been destroyed. Terra is the throne-world of the Imperium. EVERY single military unit would be recalled to defend it. You would have to defeat the entire Imperium to take on Terra defenceless.

Even disregarding that, Mars and Luna, along with the Sol System, are possibly the most heavily defended areas in the entire galaxy. If you got to a stage where you could take those defenses out, then nothing would stop you. However, it would take infinitely more than "a couple of craftworlds" to do that.

Lastly, the Imperial Palace isn't a single building, but an entire continent's worth of fortifications, and it extends deep underground too. If you wanted to take out the Emperor, then it would be much easier to deploy a planet-killing weapon that attempt to conquer that with troops. But to do that, you have to get by Mars and Luna and the Solar Fleet, so the question is flawed.

The Imperial Palace's defences are synonymous with the Solar Navy, the Titan Legions on Mars and the Orbital Batteries - it all serves the same purpose - preserve the Emperor. Essentially, to a degree, the entire loyal Human race is dedicated to that too, as if he dies, they are very likely to die too.

And under those circumstances, virtually nothing other than forces with ill defined limitations having those extended - as in a Hive Fleet so large as to be virtually inexhaustible, or a planet-killing Necron ship to awaken that was literally indestructable and unstoppable.

The only real strategic weaknesses are corruption from within (as in the Age of Apostasy) or if the Golden Throne was somehow breached, as a demonic portal lies directly behind it. However, for that to happen, the Emperor would have to die first, so if you goal is to kill him, that doesn't work.

Okay, thanks. Sorry. As I said, I haven't really read up on it.

 Harley Quinn wrote:
As I don't really play any imperial army and haven't really read up on it, what are the defensive capabilities?
Assume that all systems/planets around Terra/Earth have been wiped clean and it was just the planet itself. No Imperial Navy there.
I think I've heard of Custodes? I'm sorry. I know a lot of you are cringing right now. Haha.
Say that the ultimate goal was to finish off the Emperor. I.e. Reach the Golden Throne.

Do you think that the entirety of Commoragh could?
1 Craftworld?, 2? 3? Or how many?
An entire Ork waaagh led by Ghazghkull Thraka?
A whole Tyranids Hive Fleet?
Or any other force you can think of?

Discuss!

DE have attacked Mars before and if they somehow got united(they wont) and somehow thought that attacking Terra would serve them(it wouldnt) they could easily take Terra
Craftworlds come in different sizes but a few of them could take Terra provided it was just terra and the in place defenses.
A large enough Waaaagh can topple anything.
A hive fleet could conquer anything.

How do you measure defensive or offensive power?

10,000 years ago, with Primarchs directing the defense, the existing forces of Terra plus anything that could be summoned in the chaos of the Horus Heresy fought off roughly half of the Imperium's might.

Today things are different. As the center of the Administratum, the Ecclesiarchy and the High Lords of Terra the planet is probably not on the same war footing it was when Dorn, the Khan et al led the defense of Terra.

On the other hand, it's fair to say it's the best defended planet in the Imperium. It's the one planet for whom every loyal and not so loyal human would drop everything short of their own imminent demise to rush to it's defense. It has the Custodes, half the Sororitas, the Scions, Mars itself, the Grey Knights on Titan, the largest of the Segmentum battlefleets, the Assassin Temples and some pretty formidable Space Marine and AM honor detachments present in-system even if it was caught totally unawares... which is pretty unlikely.

I can't imagine anyone in the current state of the Galaxy bothering with a frontal attack on Terra.

Ghazkull or some other spectacularly successful Ork Warlord might try it. Assuming Ghazzy won big on Armageddon (or someone else did the equivalent) and a plethora of other major Warlords joined up for 'da Big Wun' they MIGHT have enough combat power to force their way past the Fleet Solar and Terra's planetary defenses to land. Whether they could sustain the fight long enough to grind the 'umies down in a war of attrition with the whole IOM rushing to save the sacred capital of the Imperium is another matter. To be honest, the Orks would probably be in it more for 'da big scrap' anyway.

The Tyranids could manage it if that was their objective, but they don't give a fig for political or symbolic targets. Their objective is to consume quantity, quality and diversity of biomass. They're more likely to seek out high biomass worlds covered with swamps, jungles and oceans than a parched industrialized wasteland like Terra where the biomass is all stunted humans and food stock whose DNA is already in their brood chambers.

I can't see Craftworld Eldar being able to set aside their survival agendas long enough to unite against Terra unless the Farseers were certain the IoM was planning to systematically annihilate them. Even then, as a diminishing people it would be extreme desperation to engage in an open invasion. More likely they would use surgical strikes, manipulation sand assassination to influence the Imperium away from the course that threatened the Eldar. To do so they would certainly have to unite with most Exodites and probably the Dark Kin(shudder) to gather enough Eldar-y combat power to even consider an invasion.

The Dark Eldar would not be interested in an outright invasion of conquest, of course. Raiding could be a different matter, but It's much easier to raid soft targets like remote settlements in order to feed their lust for terror and fill the slave barges.

[edit] Regarding the scale of Eldar might, I disagree with Harley Quinn's assessment, though HQ makes point that can't necessarily be dismissed because the fluff is inconclusive. Here is my counter argument. Caveats apply of course.

As I read the fluff the Craftworlds are struggling simply to survive. They've got very limited resources left to launch a war of conquest. Wiping out the populace of a remote colony is one thing, but Terra? Craftworlders could not survive the losses they'd suffer. Even with Commoragh AND the Exodites I'm not sure they have the power to mount an invasion without some exceptionally devious, game-changing stratagem. Maybe if the Emperor died and they could access the Imperial Palace Webway? But then, that would be choked with Demons, wouldn't it?

Who know how many Exodites are actually out there? Their tech is lower than either the Craftworld or Dark Kin, but they might provide a significant boost in numbers. But Expdites are notoriously insular, provincial and not much interested in larger affairs. Think of Pioneer cultures - experienced individual fighters who are mostly concerned with wresting a living from their own worlds. It would take a lot of convincing to bring significant numbers of Exodites into the invasion.

If persuading Exodites is hard, Dark Eldar would be nigh impossible. Even if the Dark Eldar could somehow stop their infighting, unite and muster all their might, and even if they didn't turn on the Craftworlders and Exodites... Why would they? Direct assault by ANY Eldar is not in their nature. Dark Kin in particular act precisely like opportunistic predators; they prefer to prey on the old, the isolated, the crippled and the weak. There is little incentive to take on a tough target like Terra head-on. A Cabal might well raid Terran outliers on a dare or for prestige of course, but that's small scale stuff compared to an invasion. [end edit]

The Tau just aren't powerful enough yet. They remain a regional power in the Galaxy. If they were powerful enough to invade they would be powerful enough to force the IoM to terms. That would allow the Tau to expand their population, economic power and influence in peace. Eventually the Tau are confident they would win in a peaceful competition with the IoM, so that's the war they want. The Tau prefer to use their combat power only when other means are exhausted. Even then they only use it for precise, limited purposes against foes who are disorganized or distracted as they did in the Damocles Gulf, or against enemies who cannot be negotiated with like Orks, Tyranids and probably Chaos.

If Chaos (Marines) were strong enough and united enough to crush Terra they would. Immediately. The fact that they continue to chew on the periphery suggests they're not capable of a direct invasion... yet.

Chaos Demons on the other hand care about expanding their grasp (influence, corruption, contagion, worlds consumed by the Warp) and feeding their hunger with negative psychic energy. They are probably happy with the the IoM because the horro and fear it creates feeds them. Demons would have been gravely weakened had the Emperor's vision of a rational, aspritual Imperium come to fruition, so they were more than happy to help Horus wreck that. However, I'm guessing Demons (other than Khorne) aren't supportive of apocalyptic plans that would decimate the galaxy's sentient populace and misery quotient. Oddly enough the vast majority of Demons of Chaos, including The Lord of Change himself, are thrilled with the status quo. In a way, they HAVE won in a grimdark universe of Only War.

The Necrons might be able to mount the power for an invasion if they were fully awakened and could unite. However, they're more concerned with re establishing past dynastic glories and settling old feuds. The one thing that might unite them for an assault on the Sol system would be the Void Dragon. If that C'tan were to stir enough that the Necrons perceived an existential threat to themselves they might combine for an invasion - but aimed at Mars, not Terra itself. The IoM would respond in the same way if Mars was attacked, of course. I think this is the most likely reason for another galactic power to launch an invasion of the Imperium's home system.

My two cents.

Warboss Gorhack wrote:
How do you measure defensive or offensive power?

10,000 years ago, with Primarchs directing the defense, the existing forces of Terra plus anything that could be summoned in the chaos of the Horus Heresy fought off roughly half of the Imperium's might.

Today things are different. As the center of the Administratum, the Ecclesiarchy and the High Lords of Terra the planet is probably not on the same war footing it was when Dorn, the Khan et al led the defense of Terra.

On the other hand, it's fair to say it's the best defended planet in the Imperium. It's the one planet for whom every loyal and not so loyal human would drop everything short of their own imminent demise to rush to it's defense. It has the Custodes, half the Sororitas, the Scions, Mars itself, the Grey Knights on Titan, the largest of the Segmentum battlefleets, the Assassin Temples and some pretty formidable Space Marine and AM honor detachments present in-system even if it was caught totally unawares... which is pretty unlikely.

I can't imagine anyone in the current state of the Galaxy bothering with a frontal attack on Terra.

Ghazkull or some other spectacularly successful Ork Warlord might try it. Assuming Ghazzy won big on Armageddon (or someone else did the equivalent) and a plethora of other major Warlords joined up for 'da Big Wun' they MIGHT have enough combat power to force their way past the Fleet Solar and Terra's planetary defenses to land. Whether they could sustain the fight long enough to grind the 'umies down in a war of attrition with the whole IOM rushing to save the sacred capital of the Imperium is another matter. To be honest, the Orks would probably be in it more for 'da big scrap' anyway.

The Tyranids could manage it if that was their objective, but they don't give a fig for political or symbolic targets. Their objective is to consume quantity, quality and diversity of biomass. They're more likely to seek out high biomass worlds covered with swamps, jungles and oceans than a parched industrialized wasteland like Terra where the biomass is all stunted humans and food stock whose DNA is already in their brood chambers.

I can't see Craftworld Eldar being able to set aside their survival agendas long enough to unite against Terra unless the Farseers were certain the IoM was planning to systematically annihilate them. Even then, as a diminishing people it would be extreme desperation to engage in an open invasion. More likely they would use surgical strikes, manipulation sand assassination to influence the Imperium away from the course that threatened the Eldar. To do so they would certainly have to unite with most Exodites and probably the Dark Kin(shudder) to gather enough Eldar-y combat power to even consider an invasion.

The Dark Eldar would not be interested, of course. It's much easier to raid soft targets like remote settlements in order to feed their lust for terror and fill the slave barges.

The Tau just aren't powerful enough yet. They remain a regional power in the Galaxy. If they were powerful enough to invade they would be powerful enough to force the IoM to terms. That would allow the Tau to expand their population, economic power and influence in peace. Eventually the Tau are confident they would win in a peaceful competition with the IoM, so that's the war they want. The Tau prefer to use their combat power only when other means are exhausted. Even then they only use it for precise, limited purposes against foes who are disorganized or distracted as they did in the Damocles Gulf, or against enemies who cannot be negotiated with like Orks, Tyranids and probably Chaos.

If Chaos (Marines) were strong enough and united enough to crush Terra they would. Immediately. The fact that they continue to chew on the periphery suggests they're not capable of a direct invasion... yet.

Chaos Demons on the other hand care about expanding their grasp (influence, corruption, contagion, worlds consumed by the Warp) and feeding their hunger with negative psychic energy. They are probably happy with the the IoM because the horro and fear it creates feeds them. Demons would have been gravely weakened had the Emperor's vision of a rational, aspritual Imperium come to fruition, so they were more than happy to help Horus wreck that. However, I'm guessing Demons (other than Khorne) aren't supportive of apocalyptic plans that would decimate the galaxy's sentient populace and misery quotient. Oddly enough the vast majority of Demons of Chaos, including The Lord of Change himself, are thrilled with the status quo. In a way, they HAVE won in a grimdark universe of Only War.

The Necrons might be able to mount the power for an invasion if they were fully awakened and could unite. However, they're more concerned with re establishing past dynastic glories and settling old feuds. The one thing that might unite them for an assault on the Sol system would be the Void Dragon. If that C'tan were to stir enough that the Necrons perceived an existential threat to themselves they might combine for an invasion - but aimed at Mars, not Terra itself. The IoM would respond in the same way if Mars was attacked, of course. I think this is the most likely reason for another galactic power to launch an invasion of the Imperium's home system.

My two cents.

Wow. Thanks for writing.

I'm stoopidz like that. Sorry for the wall of text.

Yeah, I play Orks (mainly).

Warboss Gorhack wrote:
I'm stoopidz like that. Sorry for the wall of text.

Yeah, I play Orks (mainly).

Oh, no, don't be sorry. Hahaha. I actually enjoyed reading that.

I figured you did with the username 'Warboss Gorhack'.

The Imperial Palace held off Sebastian Thor, several Chapters of Space Marines, and the billions of people Thor brought with him at the end of the Age of Apostasy, while the Palace was staffed only by the Sisters of Battle.

If The unremembered empire has anything to say about eldar dickary.

They will probably be able to sneak operatives in but various factions within the eldar will dick around to try and get things done there way anyway.

However one thing im curious about is if the big Es pyschic aura is enough to feth with communication and detection. as if that is the case then chaos could sneak in operatives them selves with portals.

The Kal Jericho stories imply that the Emperor is *very* aware of what goes on in the Palace, so Chaos opening portals anywhere in the area would be met by Custodes before they've even stepped out of it.

The fortifications on Terra are incredible.

Even if we discard the epic fighting capabilities of the Brides of the Emperor, during the Age of Apostasy the Ecclesiastical Palace (which was not designed by Rogal Dorn), staffed by a mere five thousand not-quite-Battle-Sisters, held off the entire Martian tech-guard, four full chapters of Space Marines (Imperial Fists, Fire Hawks, Black Templars and Souldrinkers) and a numberless horde of Imperial Cultists led by a Living Saint.

The siege was inconclusive. Despite their siege specialists, their Martian supertech, their hordes of Space Marines, the Ecclesiastical Palace never fell during the entire conflict: The siege ended when the Emperor himself intervened to convince the defenders to surrender because they were in the wrong.

For some perspective, that means that one of the weaker locations on Terra held off a military force that would usually be directed to cleanse an entire sector on a grand crusade.

Warboss Gorhack wrote:

10,000 years ago, with Primarchs directing the defense, the existing forces of Terra plus anything that could be summoned in the chaos of the Horus Heresy fought off roughly half of the Imperium's might.

Depends on the source: the Iron Warriors IA stated they were close to breaching the palace when Horus was killed, the Bill King story had the final push on the Inner Palace underway, whilst Space Marine 1st edition outright stated that the Emperor teleported 'as the Inner Palace fell'.

 Furyou Miko wrote:

The siege was inconclusive. Despite their siege specialists, their Martian supertech, their hordes of Space Marines, the Ecclesiastical Palace never fell during the entire conflict: The siege ended when the Emperor himself intervened to convince the defenders to surrender because they were in the wrong..

Just because the Emperor convinced them to change sides doesn't mean they would have won if they hadn't, the original Codex Sisters of Battle put it at 4,000 left at the end, from an initial strength of 10,000. Enough to out-last four chapters of Astartes in a war of attrition? Possibly. Enough to outlast the *cough* martial might of Mars itself? I very much doubt it. I've always attributed the Emperor's intervention to him wanting the Brides of the Emperor to survive, not because they would change the ultimate outcome.

The fact that they held out for a significant siege against 4 Chapters of Space Marines, plus support, is, I think, proof enough of the Palace's defenses.

Very few forces have the strength to take it.

Or if they do they would be devastated by the sheer cost of the damage, lost manpower and ships, its defence force is every chapter, planet in the imperium who will be there at full warp the moment they get the message and broadcast the ermergancy message.

Your time is running out the moment you begin till the largest relief force in galexy is hammering home.

 Psienesis wrote:
The fact that they held out for a significant siege against 4 Chapters of Space Marines, plus support, is, I think, proof enough of the Palace's defenses.

Agreed. Standard real-life tactics against a dug-in enemy is to use heavy bombardment and go in with at least three times as many men as they have. And that's versus hand-dug trenches and foxholes, not a line with concrete bunkers and huge minefields. The defenses on Terra require a lot more than attacking some field line - unless someone wants to suggest the Sisters are actually better than Space Marines 1v1.

The fact that they were able to hold off the might of 4,000+ Astartes and the Martian Legions shows the fortifications have strength, but the fact that the besiegers were still a-knocking after the defenders had suffered 60% casualties shows it was far from an impenetrable stronghold.

I don't think anyone claimed "impenetrable" but the fact that 60% of the defenders were dead and the besiegers were still outside (and those including 4,000 super-human warrior-monks, each worth 10 of the best Guardsmen) and not chasing the remaining (and greatly outnumbered) defenders around in the halls speaks to both the defenses of the palace and the resilience of the Sisters.

Commarragh probably does have the man power to take on Terra, but the collosal meat grinder wouldn't be in there favour. However, I do fully 100% believe that if Vect wanted Terra gone he could do it. Vect has almost total control of the most powerful pre-fall tech available, has access to Terra (or as close to matter) via the Webway and could theoretically just drop a Black Hole in a Box off anywhere near Sol to cause MAJOR problems. And if anyone could find a way to get it done, he could.

I'd argue Vect is the most powerful Mortal currently alive considering the resources at his disposal. On the other hand, Vect has no reason to destroy Terra, the slowly collapsing imperium as it is makes for great raiding opportunities.

Thanks for the posts everyone.

 ALEXisAWESOME wrote:
Commarragh probably does have the man power to take on Terra, but the collosal meat grinder wouldn't be in there favour. However, I do fully 100% believe that if Vect wanted Terra gone he could do it. Vect has almost total control of the most powerful pre-fall tech available, has access to Terra (or as close to matter) via the Webway and could theoretically just drop a Black Hole in a Box off anywhere near Sol to cause MAJOR problems. And if anyone could find a way to get it done, he could.

I'd argue Vect is the most powerful Mortal currently alive considering the resources at his disposal. On the other hand, Vect has no reason to destroy Terra, the slowly collapsing imperium as it is makes for great raiding opportunities.

That would require there to be a pre-existing exit-point from the Web-way to be in the Sol system which, at this point, is exceedingly unlikely, apart from the one under the Golden Throne which is swarmed with Daemons, Grey Knights and Custodes.

According to this map provided in the Harlequin Codex, and the knowledge that temporary gates can be made to just about anywhere that are touched by the skein of the Webway, it's not to far off of an idea.

Of course, this isn't how much power Terra can hold off, this is Vect cheating and flipping the chess board and destroying the entire planet. Something the Celestial Orray could accomplish as well.

I believe Crons have the best chance of taking Terra. In IA12 there method of warfare is well laid out and they have at their disposal some serious abilities and outright firepower.
You are dealing with electromagnetic chaos, communication blackouts, incredibly powerful fleets (making it to Mars before), solar storms, no morale in terms of breaking them and doomsday esque levels of ships (World engine).
Crons in BFG from what I recall were one of the most powerful fleets/void capable races and once Sols fleets are crippled its a planetscale invasion with very high level of tech (as opposed to say Orks brutishness or Nids meatgrinding).

I'd wager it would be the ultimate challenge for Terra and its defenses.

The Necrons who made it to Mars didn't do so through power. They sent two Shroud-class stealth ships. The stealth only held until Titan, in the outer solar system. One of them made it to Mars by sheer dint of rushing past all the defences at near-c, only to be destroyed on the ground.

Stealth in of itself is a power however. Now if two ships can make it to Titan and one to Mars, imagine what a whole stealth fleet could do, combined with their regular Cairn and Tomb ships.

Point being, they're the only known race to have done such a thing and considering the defenses of the Sol System its no small feat -stealth or not.

The issue with Vect attempting to destroy Terra makes a lot of incorrect assumptions.

He got to his position by understanding politics better than virtually anyone else alive. He would know that an attack on Terra, even if it succeeded, would be utterly suicidal. Humanity would unite in a campaign of genocide against the Dark Eldar, and wipe them out completely. You don't pull the tail of the tiger if you want to livem especially when you gain nothing at all from it.

Although Vect orchestrated it, you can see the amount of damage to Commorragh a single Space Marine Strike Cruiser did to the city. Imagine what a number of Chapters could do. The Dark Eldar are not a race noted for defensive abilities, and robbed of their aspect of speed and surprise, they would be anihillated. Worse, sections of the Webway would likley be breached in the fight, allowing Slaanesh in, which would kill them all in a stroke.

As Humanity either doesn't understand, or doesn't care to distinguish between Eldar and Dark Eldar, the Eldar themselves would likely sell out the Dark Eldar through purely pragmatic concerns, and allow them Webway access, or the first to go would be the Craftworlds. Even if the Eldar didn't care about the fate of Humanity, the knowledge of the damage a vengeful Humanity could vist upon them, as well as the catastrophe of the remnants turning to Chaos without the light of the Emperor would necessitate it. With that in mind too, any Eldar Farseer that anticipated such an attack on Humanity would do everything in their power to stop it too.

For Vect to take out Terra would take an incredible amount of luck, and stupidity, for no gain, and the high chance of losing absolutely everything.

Warboss Gorhack wrote:
Regarding the scale of Eldar might, I disagree with Harley Quinn's assessment, though HQ makes point that can't necessarily be dismissed because the fluff is inconclusive. Here is my counter argument. Caveats apply of course.

As I read the fluff the Craftworlds are struggling simply to survive. They've got very limited resources left to launch a war of conquest. Wiping out the populace of a remote colony is one thing, but Terra? Craftworlders could not survive the losses they'd suffer. Even with Commoragh AND the Exodites I'm not sure they have the power to mount an invasion without some exceptionally devious, game-changing stratagem. Maybe if the Emperor died and they could access the Imperial Palace Webway? But then, that would be choked with Demons, wouldn't it?

Who know how many Exodites are actually out there? Their tech is lower than either the Craftworld or Dark Kin, but they might provide a significant boost in numbers. But Expdites are notoriously insular, provincial and not much interested in larger affairs. Think of Pioneer cultures - experienced individual fighters who are mostly concerned with wresting a living from their own worlds. It would take a lot of convincing to bring significant numbers of Exodites into the invasion.

If persuading Exodites is hard, Dark Eldar would be nigh impossible. Even if the Dark Eldar could somehow stop their infighting, unite and muster all their might, and even if they didn't turn on the Craftworlders and Exodites... Why would they? Direct assault by ANY Eldar is not in their nature. Dark Kin in particular act precisely like opportunistic predators; they prefer to prey on the old, the isolated, the crippled and the weak. There is little incentive to take on a tough target like Terra head-on. A Cabal might well raid Terran outliers on a dare or for prestige of course, but that's small scale stuff compared to an invasion.

On the Exodites: they wouldn't even come close to the numbers boost required to take on Terra, though it would be a powerful boost.

On the Craftworld Eldar: they have superpower weapons the likes of which they barely understand (pre-Fall Weapons), and would only use in the direst of circumstances. However, humanity has more than enough Dark Age relics to counter that.

On the Dark Eldar: the Dark Eldar rarely raid soft targets. If they do raid a soft target, it's either because a.) it was a hard target until the defenders were drawn away, or b.) they were incredibly desperate, and needed a quick score. Usually, they'll raid a heavily defended Hive World just to say they can, or, they'll do a feat of cunning and raid a nearby world, and allow ships to escape to warn the hard world of the soft world's damage, then raid the hard world when half of its defenses have been drawn away.

Hierophant wrote:
The issue with Vect attempting to destroy Terra makes a lot of incorrect assumptions.

He got to his position by understanding politics better than virtually anyone else alive. He would know that an attack on Terra, even if it succeeded, would be utterly suicidal. Humanity would unite in a campaign of genocide against the Dark Eldar, and wipe them out completely. You don't pull the tail of the tiger if you want to livem especially when you gain nothing at all from it.

Quite the opposite in fact, Vect got to his position by knowing when the time for politics was over and when to make a grab for the biggest weapon available to end the war before anyone else knew how far he was about to escalate it. And for the record, and successful attack on Terra would route humanity, as without the Astrominician humanity is basically reverted back to having trouble crossing from one sector to the other. Not to mention we can only guess at what would happen if the Emperor and the Golden Throne was, say, eaten by a black hole. I'd personally support the Star Child theory.

Although Vect orchestrated it, you can see the amount of damage to Commorragh a single Space Marine Strike Cruiser did to the city. Imagine what a number of Chapters could do. The Dark Eldar are not a race noted for defensive abilities, and robbed of their aspect of speed and surprise, they would be anihillated. Worse, sections of the Webway would likley be breached in the fight, allowing Slaanesh in, which would kill them all in a stroke.

Are you purposely underselling the story, or have you not personally read it? That single strike cruiser was accompanied by 12 other Strike Cruisers and a Battle Barge, considering a Cruiser usually houses one company and a Battle Barge 3, that gives us 1500 Astartes, a full chapter and a half full. That is no small amount, especially considering all defense was stymied by Vect and Vect not only let them in, but let them out again. Commarragh is the safest place in the Galaxy currently, with Vect's mastery of the Webway security overrides making it virtually unassailable. He can block off entire sub realms, or conjoin them to the sub realm containing the Suns if he wished for the invaders to have a warm welcome.

As Humanity either doesn't understand, or doesn't care to distinguish between Eldar and Dark Eldar, the Eldar themselves would likely sell out the Dark Eldar through purely pragmatic concerns, and allow them Webway access, or the first to go would be the Craftworlds. Even if the Eldar didn't care about the fate of Humanity, the knowledge of the damage a vengeful Humanity could vist upon them, as well as the catastrophe of the remnants turning to Chaos without the light of the Emperor would necessitate it. With that in mind too, any Eldar Farseer that anticipated such an attack on Humanity would do everything in their power to stop it too.

Yet not all Eldar are on the same front are they? I am sure Biel-Tan would be all for a crippled Imperium, and what hope would a vengeful humanity have of catching a Craftworld without access to Warp Travel? The only reason this would be a factor is dependent on if the universe ends if the Emperor dies, in which case, the argument is mute anyhow.

For Vect to take out Terra would take an incredible amount of luck, and stupidity, for no gain, and the high chance of losing absolutely everything.

The question was who could take on Terra, not who would find it economically viable to. Vect has no reason to kick the hornets nest as you will, but don't let that make you think he couldn't.