Warhammer 40K Tabletop XXXII: I Got 99 Guardsmen and Morale Killed One.

[Voidhawk]

20 wyches, 10 wracks; we've got loads of orks, marines (loyal and plagued), poxwalkers and warmahordes minis to proxy with though.

Due to the hobby / the game being kinda small still in our country, we order from GW every month or so; tomorrow we have a friendly get together to teach the game, try stuff and iron out rules questions; from that, ideally people will figure out what they want / works, so we can order it for them in this month's GW shipment (we do import stuff from the US weekly; GW being in the UK makes that impractical)

So while it would be good to use what he already has as a base, its more important for me that he knows whats good and gets that, because piling up fixes on models that just dont work (and wyches seem way too fragile and slow to work as melee) is spending money the guy doesnt have.

Ironically, by Dark Eldar infantry standards Wyches are actually reasonably tough. They get a 4++/6+++ in melee and can take a drug for T4. I've used them with some success tying down my opponent's good melee units so they can't get to the important things.

In general Dark Eldar are fragile, often counter intuitive, have a steep learning curve and are not really a good beginner army. They exist on a razors edge, where small decisions can be the difference between tabling the opponent and getting tabled yourself.

Our meta, what little there is of it, is composed of:
- Me, running Sisters (although I can step out to let newbies play each other)
- a guy running 60 boys + some psyker Ork HQ and a waagh banner
- an Ultramarine 2x whirlwinds list
- Death Guard poxwalkers+plague marines (know no fear starter) x2
- Primaris (know no fear starter) x2
- Black Templars ft. Land Raider

The Sisters and Orks from those lists are absolute nightmares for Dark Eldar. They have 0 ways of dealing with hordes at the moment (wyches being ironically one of the best available), and Sisters are cheap and T3 which makes Splinter weapons sad.

Right now its a few newcomers, plus a couple 5th edition veterans coming back; there is an older community in the city, but they are mostly casual / bound to home games, so as you say the 'meta' is still developing. Still, Im not too sure how well will melee infantry on foot do against 2x whirlwinds, or a primaris shooting gallery.

There is no such thing as a Dark Eldar "infantry on foot" list, they live and die by their transports. By which I meaning that as soon as they're not in them, they generally die. Here's the complete list of Dark Eldar units that can get in a transport but sometimes don't: 1) Mandrakes, and 2) the HQs because they're not very good and the transports aren't big enough. And I've seen debates about the Mandrakes.

Here's some of the advice from veterans I've picked up in the months since deciding I wanted to play the True Kin:
1) Ynnari lists and Drukhari lists look and play completely differently. Ynnari focus on mostly infantry/bikes (since you can't Soul Burst inside a transport), often take quite a few Harlequins, want to get in-your-face quickly since Soul Burst has a range limitation, and were errata'd so that they must have one of the special characters as warlord. Whereas for an actual Drukhari list everything wants a transport, and they play at range for the first turn or so before mopping up in melee.
2) In either case, Wracks and Wyches are two units you want the least of (other than ones you want zero). You can be fine with one unit capping a 1500pt or 2000pt casual list, but more than that and you won't have the firepower to deal with important things.
3) Bring Ravagers. The basic mistake made by most beginners is not bringing enough Darklight weapons, and Ravagers are the cheapest source around. They serve as a great fall back for dealing with tough things, and are hard to use wrong. Dark Eldar aircraft are also decent at the same job, but are trickier to use.

And here's a short list of opinions I've picked up on which units are good/bad and why:

Spoiler: More guidelines, than actual rules

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• HQs - All fragile and mostly ineffectual. Keep them cheap and don't expect much. The Archon can take a Blaster which is good, and a Huskblade which is too expensive; stick with an Agoniser. The Succubus does well ok-ish as an assassin, and for buffing Wyches, but will die doing it so don't make her your warlord. The Haemonculus is ironically better in melee that the Succubus, but is also 20pts more expensive; generally don't bother.
• Special Characters - All are a bit rubbish, being mostly ineffectual and hilariously overcosted for what you get.
• Kabalite Warriors - Your bread and butter. Cheap, so at the end of the game you might actually still have some bodies on the table. 5 Warriors + Blaster in a Venom is your basic troops choice. Two squads of 5 with 2 Blasters in a Raider is your other choice. Ignore the Shredder, it does nothing.
• Wyches - As I've said above, you can get some success using a single unit in a Raider to tie up important things. Having a 4++/6+++ and only 1 wound makes expensive high-AP melee weapons mostly useless, and having no AP themselves doesn't matter if their opponent paid for an Invul. It's a dangerous job though, so don't expect them to live through it, and taking more than 1 unit is asking to get tabled. Hydra Gauntlets are the best of the three cult weapons. Bloodbrides are 50% more expensive for 50% more attacks, but no extra defense; generally you should just stick with the cheaper option (are you seeing a theme on price?).
• Wracks - Trying to do the same job as Wyches, but more expensive with a worse save and no Drugs. The Liquifier is a flamer that's bad against hordes. A Haemonculus can buff them to T5, but that's another 90pts and Toughness doesn't matter as much this edition anyway.
• Raider - Dark Eldar look fragile, but in practice they're all T5 with a 5++ and this is why. Affectionately referred to as paper-boats, you can proxy one with some folded newspaper. Surprisingly useful in Melee, don't be afraid to charge shooty units to lock them down. If they don't Fall Back from your boat, you can disembark backwards then Fall Back the boat forwards over their heads, leaving them trapped in a circle of gunfire and stabbing. (That trick is pretty dangerous though, since getting out of a boat is often a quick route to death if the encircled unit survives.)
• Venom - The Raider's little sister, and hundreds of pages have been expended online debating which is better. What you lose in AT firepower you gain in a -1 to hit (hilarious in a Plasma meta), good Ant-Inf guns, a smaller profile for hiding behind things, and never losing stats till you blow up. In any case, it's generally agreed that choosing one of the two and spamming it is the way to go. Ignore the second Splinter Cannon, it's 15pts for only 2 extra shots over the Twin Rifle.
• Trueborn - A great unit that brings ALL the firepower, but investing in too many can get expensive fast and leave you very low on bodies. A unit of 5 with 4 blasters in a Venom is traditional and works nicely, and I've also seen arguments in favour of 2 Blasters and 2 Splinter Cannons, or 4 Blasters and 2 Cannons in a Raider.
• Incubi - Where wyches are mostly for tying units down, these guys are your actual Melee beatstick. Will happily murder marines all day, though T3 means they do prefer if their target doesn't survive to fight back. Work nicely in a Venom that can hide behind things and get them into position, or as a second unit in a Trueborn Raider.
• Reavers - The darling of last edition, this edition smashed them with the Nerf bat incredibly hard. At 30pts each they're now incredibly expensive by Dark Eldar standards. Nevertheless, a small unit can make a Turn 1 Assault on a shooty unit and pin it down, and Drugs can give them either T5 or Mv18". Ignore the Heat Lance, it's expensive and does nothing. Grav Talons are always better than Caltrops. They also get alot better in a Ynnari list, where they use Soul Burst to Advance+Charge or Fallback+Charge.
• Hellions - Where Reavers got worse, these guys got better. With Str 4 and Dmg2 they do a good job of murdering multi-wound stuff like bikers or Primaris-things, or anything with a save-vs-damage like Disgustingly Resilient. But they're still only as survivable as guardsmen, so be careful how you use them.
• Mandrakes - Gets the award for Most Improved Unit in the codex, perhaps in the game, going from unusable trash to amazing murder machines. With a multishot weapon that deals Mortal Wounds and three Str 4 attacks each in CC, these guys dish the pain. -1 to hit and a 5++/6+++ can be incredibly infuriating for an opponent to deal with, but they are still only T3 so try not to get them focussed. The recommended tactic is to generally hold them in reserve until Turn 2 at least, maybe Turn 3, so the opponent's key units that can hurt them are already dead/tied up and they can re-roll charges. They particularly excel at character hunting.
• Scourge - Can be kitted for tank hunting or infantry murder, and do pretty decently at either. With a 4+ save, they love dropping into cover on an under-defended flank. For tank hunting five with Dark Lances is best even counting the -1 to hit, and gives good range so they can have the pick of cover. For infantry murder a pack of ten with the basic Shardcarbine is fine. If you find yourself looking at the Splinter Cannon or Blaster options you probably want Trueborn in a Venom instead.
• Ravager - Saved the best for last. The gunboat of all gunboats. The cheapest, most survivable, and most manoeuvrable source of Dark Lances and Disintegrators around. Will happily look at the most important part of your opponent's army each turn and turn it to ash. You will never regret bringing one, and will probably never regret bringing three.

The on foot list? Likely not all that well. Like I said, Dark Eldar love their transports. If it isn't on a transport, it is otherwise really fast. The only real exception to that will be going full Homonculus Coven, which tends to be much tougher in exchange. I'd almost say Raiders and Venoms are the real troop choices in the Dark Eldar Index. Because without them, the actual troop choices are simply bad.

Quoted for truth.

4 Incubi with Klaivex with Demiklaives: 80
Venom with 2 Splinter Cannons: 90

I see what you're trying to do here (take an understrength unit to bodyguard Drazhar), but it unfortunately doesn't work how you want it to anymore. Per the main rulebook Errata, in Matched Play you can only take an understrength unit in an Axillary Support Detachment, the one that gives -1CP. Whether you think that's worth it or not is up to you.

Spoiler: 2000 points

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Outrider Detachment
HQ
Succubus with Blast Pistol and Agonizer: 86

Fast Attack

6 Reavers with Arena Champion with Agonizer, 2 Blasters and 2 Grav-Talons: 224

6 Reavers with Arena Champion with Agonizer, 2 Blasters and 2 Grav-Talons: 224

6 Reavers with Arena Champion with Agonizer, 2 Blasters and 2 Grav-Talons: 224

5 Hellions with Helliarch with Stunclaw: 92

5 Hellions with Helliarch with Stunclaw: 92

5 Scourges with 4 Haywire Blasters: 118


Battalion Detachment
HQ
Lelith Hesperax: 125

Archon with Blast Pistol and Agonizer: 68
Venom with 2 Splinter Cannons: 90

Troops
10 Warriors with Sybarite with Phantasm Grenade Launcher, Splinter Cannon and a Blaster: 103
Raider with Dark Lance: 115

10 Warriors with Sybarite with Phantasm Grenade Launcher, Splinter Cannon and a Blaster: 103
Raider with Dark Lance: 115

10 Warriors with Sybarite with Phantasm Grenade Launcher, Splinter Cannon and a Blaster: 103
Raider with Dark Lance: 115

Total: 1997

I would be very interested to learn how this turns out. I've picked up 15 Reavers myself, mostly by accident or with other things, along with ten Hellions. I tend to group them up a bit more, to make best use of the +1 Toughness drug and keep the special weapons/talons alive. Have you proxied any games yet? I found them reasonably tough, but just not killy enough for the 200pt price tag.

Here's a 1500pt list I've been toying with that illustrates some of the Dark Eldar strengths:

Spoiler: -1 to Hit

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Vanguard Detachment (+1CP)
HQ
Archon, Blaster, Agoniser - 73
Elites
5 Incubi - 90pts
5 Incubi - 90pts
5 Trueborn, 4 Blasters, Agoniser, Blast Pistol - 129
5 Trueborn, 4 Blasters, Agoniser - 119
5 Mandrakes - 95
Transports
5x Venom, Splinter Cannon, Twin Rifle - 5x80 = 400

Airwing Detachment (+1CP)
Razorwing Jetfighter, 2 Dark Lances, Twin Rifles, Missiles - 155
Razorwing Jetfighter, 2 Dark Lances, Twin Rifles, Missiles - 155
Voidraven Bomber, 2 Dark Scythes, Missiles - 194

Total Points: 1500

Literally everything you place on the table has a -1 to hit and a 5++, and only the Mandrakes have a movement of less than 16".