Starting new DE army

[oranos325]

Hey everyone, I have been thinkimg about starting a third army to go with my nids and space marines for a while and I've finally decided upon Dark Eldar. The models seem really cool and I enjoy armies that are more difficult to play for some reason.

So here is a 500 pt list I came up with to start, using just a battle force and an archon:

HQ:
Archon: huskblade, shadow field

TROOPS:
Warriors x10: symbarite, blaster

Wyches x9: hekatrix with agonizer, raider with nightshileds and dark lance

FAST ATTACK:
Reavers x3

Total: 496 points

Comments and critiques are greatly appreciated. The plan is to run the archon with the wyches in the raider with the warriors footslogging until I can get a second raider. Oh and if anyone knows where to find a god DE tactica please share it cause I'd certainly like to read one. Thanks!

[jhussey]

It's a good base for sure. Honestly with the way the current dark elder warriors are, I wouldn't waste the points on upgrading to a Sybarite unless you just need that one point of LD. My warriors usually hold up on an objective and try to out last my opponents shooting. I put the wyches in a raider and move them to take an opponents objective. You may want to consider giving your Archon drugs as well. They're no like wow but I tend to always get good results. It's not a make or break though. What do you plan to do with him? Foot slog across the field? My archon ALWAYS fails his very first 2+ save lol...

[oranos325]

I was planning on putting him in the raider with the wyches so I had my cc unit moving forward fast while the warriors shoot any MCs someone might have and take objectives. The three reavers would basically just zoom over infantry.

If I knocked out the symbarite I would have some extra points... hmm if I took off some gear from the Archon and maybe took off the hekatrix I could afford another raider (of course I'd have to buy it in addition to the battle force and archon). The list would look more like this:

HQ:
Archon: Venom blade, shadow field

TROOPS:
Warriors x10: blaster and raider with night shields

Wyches x9: raider with night shields

FAST ATTACK:
Reavers x3

Total: 496 points

Is that one better than the first? I know I traded quite a bit of cc potential for that extra raider.

[jhussey]

I think you have more mobility now, but I don't think your other list was bad. The way I play my warriors they don't need a raider since I deploy them on the objective in my DZ. The extra points you saved though could add 3 more reavers. I think the Huskblade on the Archon is fine, just remember that to get the most out of it's high points you need to challenge in every CC. The Venom Blade though is a nice solid weapon and probably the best CCW for the points in the DE army. I take a Huskblade if there are a lot of MC in my opponents army that I want to take out. It works great if you can get to a riptide or Wraith Knight. It might take a bit more to cause the wound since the Archons STR is so low. If you get lucky on your combat drug roll though you can have STR as high as a Space Marine. Also the Venom Blade may wound on a 2+ but most MC's have good saves, so if you can force the higher invuln save with the Huskblade that helps greatly.

[oranos325]

So you think the warriors don't need the raider and the points could be better spent on the reavers? I've been trying to look up tactics for DE since I've heard they are very difficult to play and one common point I've come across is the need for mobility, so I thought the raider would help with that but a I like jetbikes too so which ever would be more effective at this point level I'd be up for.

As for the archon, do you use the huskblade or the venomblade in your all comers list? I don't like tailoring lists all that much so I generally go with the best option for as many possibilities.

Thanks for the repsonses and all the help so far!

[jhussey]

I always take a Huskblade, but I have about 2k points of DE and tend to play games between 1k-2k. It I were to play a smaller game, say 500-750 I'd probably take a venom blade instead. I don't normally tailor lists, but I will make small adjustments to allow for changes in points or tactics.

Dark Eldar really need to be mobile, so taking the raider for your warriors isn't bad. My point was that the way I play my warriors they don't need to be mobile. They just sit on an objective and shoot. I love Dark lances and Blasters in my warrior squads as well. My Wyches on the other hand go in a raider every time. I fly across the battle field to an object outside my deployment zone and try to have them take it. The dark lance on the raider is great for stopping walkers or tanks and since they are considered assault vehicles the wyches can disembark, shoot and assault in the same turn. Also since the wyches will always see CC, I take the Hekatrix with PGL and an agonizer.

When you start adding to your army I would recommend a squad of 4 Incubi and a Venom to accompany your Archon. The two splinter cannons on a Venom clear a nice path so you can put the Archon and his Incubi in assault range of the tougher stuff.

During my last game I play against Space Marines. My friend deep struck his Termies right in the middle of 3 of my units to try and break me off of an objective. He shot the squad of warriors to pieces, but they held fast and passed their moral check with only 3 warriors left so they were able to keep the object. When my turn came up I shot at him with the remaining 3 warriors but failed to wound. Then my Archon and his 4 Incubi (already disembarked from their venom getting popped) assaulted his Termies. He hit with all 10 over watch shots. Yes he roll TEN sixes lol. I passed every save though so it was quite a site. My Incubi and Archon tore through is termies in a single round of close combat. The Klaives the Incubi use are deadly and the Huskblade negated his 2+ save and force him to use the 5++ invul and he failed it.