First Raid Approaches

I was working for Games Workshop just after 3^rd edition 40k hit the streets. The Dark Eldar were the new kids on the block and a lot of people picked them up as they came with the 3^rd edition boxed set. Then they kind of dropped them. The style of play needed to field them was not really the style that fit the rules set for 3^rd edition. At very least the whole concept of a mechanized fast moving force was merely a gleam in the eye. At the time I had switched from Eldar to Sisters of Battle as I had access to the play test codex and would send notes after games to the designers about how things did and problems we ran into. I had to use the codex rules out of the rulebook though as the play test codex was not for civilian eyes. I ran my sisters as a mechanized force and it proved very effective. I could not do that with my Eldar at the time due to no wave serpents, or at least I would have to mod up a bunch from scratch, and foot slogging was actually the way to go for anything you could not carry in a falcon.

Basically what I am getting at is that the whole mechanized army concept, being able to blitzkrieg the enemy, was appealing and This is what drew me initially to the dark Eldar. I can do a whole army mounted up in transports that provide good back up to the units. Sadly I did not purchase an army in 3^rd edition and I did not play the horror known as 4^th edition.

So I now find myself with a sizable Dark Eldar army. I plan on going to the dark side this week

I have two lists which are basically the same and are 1750 points, in case I want to use them in the third round of the GW tournament and 1850 points as this is the size we usually play at the store.

The list consists of At 1750 points

1x Archon with Agoniser, splinter pistol, Combat Drug Dispenser, Gruesome talisman, hell mask, trophy rack and shadow field, 4x warriors, 4 incubus and Drazaar Master of blades in a raider with Night Shields.

1x Wych Dracite with Agoniser, Splinter pistol, Combat Drug Dispenser, gruesome talisman, hell mask trophy rack Archangel of pain, witch retinue with succubus armed with Agoniser and splinter pistol, Gruesome Talisman, goblet of spite and a Mask of the Damned on a raider with night shields.

3x Warrior Raider squads

3x ravagers all with night shields and some disintegrators

The 1850 Point list adds a squad of 3x Reaver Jet Bikes with 2 blasters.

I am going to run this list Wednesday to see how they do. As you can see despite having a lot of point sunk into my two HQ units, which are the hardest hitting squads in the list, I am still able to field 3 troops choices to take and hold objectives. Despite the Raiders weak armor and open topped status they are excellent transports and pack a dark lance. This means they can act in support of the warrior squad holding an objective by eliminating armor units. The Ravagers act as back up killing artillery and tanks and then hitting troops with the disintegrators once they are out of their transports. Having faced this retinue before I can vouch for it lethality and ability to kill tough units. The wych Dracite and her wyches are also monsters. The Goblet of spite is key to this. It allows them to always hit on a 3+ regardless of weapon skill. Combine this with a 4+ invulnerable save in close combat and you will have even Hive Tyrants crying uncle.

I think this is a good balance between mobility and punch. The only thing is you must hit fast and hard on the first turn. Then you have to keep the momentum of the first strike up. You cannot get into a slug fest as the Dark Eldar are fragile. Lightly armored and toughness 3 means no stand up fights. Open topped armor 10 vehicles also means no dueling with tanks strait up. You have to be sneaky and use your terrain. Target priority is also important. You must decide what you are going to hit and hit it fast. There can't be any re-tasking mid strike. Its a merry dance of death and you must stick to the choreography.

So we will see how they do Wednesday. I think I am going to start doing some posts about the different units as I am sure many are totally unfamiliar with the Dark Kin. Also I will be doing some Posts about the Different choices available in the Eldar codex. I think I may start with HQ mainly because the HQ choice for your Eldar army sets the tone and theme of your army list.

Until then........

Blood Runs, Anger Rises, Death Wakes, War Calls!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!