My one-year experience report with the Dark Eldar

Heya all, and welcome back to the webway.

I have been playing these guys for a year now, and I am now confident enough to talk about what works and what does not work for me as of this moment. The more I play with them the more I realized that my style is evolving to become a little more unusual. Thus I think it is best that I phrase the topic in the questions I asked myself in my mind.

Of course I do not need to say the obvious pros and cons of Dark Eldar as that is done to death throughout the internet and practical games. What I want to talk about are my thoughts to improve and cover some of the glaring weaknesses of my current gameplan.

1) How do I keep my tempo running?
 My current list is quite formidable if I were to face against balanced opponents, as my list has all the tools needed to dish out the pain. however, the more I play the more I noticed that my Dark Eldar tends to run out of steam around Turn 3, and I would need some way to push the tempo to at least Turn 4. But the solution for my army would be; a) I increase the firepower of the list to intensify the aggro-time of when I have the tempo or b) I lessen the tempo to have a more consistent and prolonged damage tempo.

So far, I prefer b) over a), and I will most likely throw in some tougher units that will be used to tie down elements that I am not fond of (Hydras, Psyriflemen) while the rest of my army does my magic. In addition, I am also looking at a one-two punch approach to my army, where I would be able to chain a combination or sequence that can take my opponent offguard. I am currently looking at the Beastmasters how they could help me with this approach without breaking the bank too much like those of the Hellionstar. I may even throw in a Grotesque unit in if they could work to my specification.

2)How do I kill gun platforms reliably?

My current approach needs some rearguard harassers that could enter in behind enemy lines and blast those pesky things apart. Scourges are becoming more and more attractive for me as they would fill this role admirably. They could help me against my Psyriflemen and Hydra problems. Reavers can be used to fill the role of a harasser, but I want something dead when I shoot at it, or at least have some effect on it.

I can also attempt to assault said boxes as well.

3)Is too much speed a bad thing?

As of this moment, my force is extremely mobile as befitting a Dark Eldar army, but sometimes I find that I overextend myself due to my need for speed. This could be rather nasty if my opponent downs enough of my stuff within the first few turns and causing my force to be sitting ducks. I will have to take the lessons from my slower armies to rein in upon my 'Reaver' tendencies, but otherwise I really enjoy the mobility and fluidity of the force.

4) Should I have more shooting, or more assaulting?

My current playstyle is primarily that of a shooting-Kabal force, with the main assault elements being two squads of wyches and an Archon to bear the close-combat punch. As of this moment, I find that I may need more assault elements into the army, but at the same time I want to maintain the shooting elements within my army as they are very effective (barring psyriflemen). I could use more wyches, but I want it to be less obvious when my entire force moves forward. Beastmasters are so far fitting into the theoretical role very well.

5) Should I have more or less guys?

So far, my army is evolving down the MSU route, but I do realize that I have a weakness with this approach. My most practical solution would be to pump up the Kabalites to full 10-men squads for objective grabbing, or I can take several Wrack squads to compensate for this department, as they have FNP.

6)Should I spend more on vehicle upgrades?

My answer here as of this moment is a rather shaky 'maybe'. Shock Prows and Torment Grenade Launchers could do wonders, and I have tested them out, but sometimes I like the very spartan approach of just slapping a flickerfield and be done with it. This would also solve the problem of those annoying blobs of infantry at times.


So my experience is telling me that my approach is slowly becoming a rather interesting mix of things that would allow my force to have more dimensions of engagement. The synergy of my army as of this moment is quite nice, but it does have its glaring weaknesses that I would need to change to allow for some ace up my sleeves. I would want to take mechanized and infantry blob lists by surprise while also allowing me to deal with hybrids as well.

The Other Games Store NOVA format Tournament 2k pts Dark Eldar

Vespera looked upon the vast expanse of the void, knowing that travelling back with almost a billion slaves in tow would be a perilous thing indeed. The void will always throw surprises at her without her even knowing. Perhaps it is the only thing that an Archon could never predict, for the slave trade have its share of slave liberations, slave piracy, or slave destruction. Everyone have something to gain from forced servitude, and Vespera will see to it that she will be the one who benefits from it all. Unfortunately for her, the bulk of slaves and the distance from the nearest Webway portal have forced her to travel much more slower. She have taken slaves on the magnitude of several million, but a billion? To make matters worse, she will have to allow the majority of her slaves to live long enough to be sold in the slave bazaars of Commoragh, and that means making pit stops throughout her route to gather supplies for her slaves to feed upon.

Without the certainty that she usually possess, she is forced to take things in strides.....

Heya all, I will be reporting soon about a tournament I entered the other day and suffice to say, it will be a big epic battle report with several battles.

The tournament rules for this tournament is the renowned NOVA format, a format only found in the US and I will be playing against a certain amount of opponents in games that incorporate three objectives within each round; kill points, objectives, and table quarters. The way the format goes is that, each round there will be a main objective, followed by secondary objectives and tertiary objectives as tiebreakers. The objectives will be rotated every round, it is encouraged to get as much of the objectives as possible in addition to the main objective. 

Here is the list that I have taken to the tournament

Archon with Agoniser, combat drugs, shadowfield, and haywire grenade
2 haemonculi with liquifier guns
3 squads of 3 Trueborns with blasters in Venom with two splinter cannons
1 squad of 7 wyches with haywire grenades and a hekatrix upgrade armed with an agoniser in a Raider with shock prow, torment grenade launcher and flickerfield
1 squad of 8 wyches with haywire grenades and a hekatrix upgrade armed with an agoniser in a Raider with shock prow and flickerfield
2 squads of 5 warriors with a blaster in a Venom with two splinter cannons
2 squad of 5 warriors with a blaster in a Raider with flickerfield
2 ravagers with 3 dark lances and flickerfield
1 Razorwing with two dark lancers, splinter cannon, 4 monoscythe missiles and flickerfield

I will warn you guys that my battle reports this time round is not as detailed as always as I am forced to keep myself to a 2 hour time limit and thus am unable to take enough pictures to describe the whole situation and only chose the pieces that are pivotal in the game. Funnily enough, in these battles I have a recurring circumstance that I am always getting hounded by all the armies that I have faced (both literally and metaphorically).

My experiences with the Baron so far....

Heya all, and today I just want to talk about my experiences with the Baron.

Now the Baron is something of an interesting oddity in the whole DE roster of special characters. He is the only IC that can't get into a transport as a result of his Jump Infantry status, and this often means that he will be hanging out with either some element that will keep up with him and/or something durable that could take some hits for him.

Another interesting thing about the Baron is that he allows Hellions to become troops and in many ways make them so much more useful on the table. His combat stats is impressive enough  but I would prefer that he has a power weapon instead rather than a big baseball bat. His phantasms grenade launcher would also work great with units that do not come with grenades such as those beastmasters units. But I believe that the reason why he is amazing is because he allows the army to get a 1+ on determining turn order, and that could make or break some DE lists (alpha strike lists are definitely within this category). With his cheap price tag, one can see why he is a favourite these days.


So far I have tried the Baron with the Hellion buddies and pain token shenanigans with the haemonculus and wracks or another haemonculus a.k.a Hellionstar, and despite the amazing strength and durability of the unit, but I find it a very technical combination that requires the mission to allow the deployment of all the units needed for this combo on the table and also the primary set-up can be compromised. Of course one can play without the haemonculi and the wrack chemistry, but the feel no pain is vital for the unit to have the extreme durability that it confers, while the second pain token makes it a threat that your opponent could not ignore. This intricate set-up is why I am not really pleased with this combo, as I am relying too much on the idea that I can always set up the combo.

This is not to say that the Hellionstar is bad, but based upon my experiences they are best when they are acting as a large mobile cover for all the other elements in the army while becoming a huge magnet. The charging is always good with this unit, but I find that they tend to overkill and against parking lots, they could be exposed to return fire unless a fraction of it engages with an exposed infantry unit to allow for some sort of defense. For the point cost of the entire combo, I say it is kinda fun, but not as flexible as I like them to be. In addition, I never believe in the deathstar approach as an opponent who knows what they are doing will shred it apart or outplay the unit.

The other option that I find interesting is the beastmaster/Baron combo. This combo is simple and allows the beast units to have grenades and stealth which is a boon, while also providing wound allocation shenanigans to allow the whole group to survive even longer. And for a significantly cheaper cost than the Hellionstar combo, I am just as durable and small enough to hide among the terrain. In my opinion this combination is a much more viable combination than the Hellionstar as it is much more sneakier while sacrificing little offensive power. And it is a much more easier and reliable unit to use. The only thing preventing me from playing this particular unit is the issue of getting a model of the Razorwing that is much cooler than the GW ones, while also conveying a very swarm-like feel. Three birds on a base is kinda lame, and if I have to get one of these as a desperate measure I will make a mould and make tons of birds.


Combos aside, I believe that the Baron is actually a very viable character but he is not for everyone as he rewards a general that would want an alpha strike and/or generals who want to use the units such as hellions and beastmasters in their list. However, my personal preference of being a speed freak and my disdain for special characters prevented me from taking the Baron as my to-go HQ.

Vespera Strikes Back - Dark Eldar vs Blood Angels 2000 pts

Heya all, its been a while since I did anything resembling a 40k battle, and in the past few days I managed to get some games! There are some seal-clubbing as sometimes there are kids who want to learn about the game, but this battle report is done with one of the stronger opponents that I have not fought for a long time. So without further ado, here's the batrep!

Beckjann

SPRING BREAK!!

FUCK YEAH SPRING BREAK IS HERE!!!!!!! TIME TO HAVE LOTSA FUN!!!!!

I'm still alive!!!!!

Heya all, and it's been a while since I am on the webway. Things have been kinda rough in terms of studies (being a senior and all does that to you) and my gaming life, social life, and fun time have been cut down a lot. Nonetheless, I managed to get some things painted before I lost steam (Wracks are a whole lot of fun to paint),  and now the only remaining things left to paint are my 18+ Reaver jetbikes.

Once my studies for this term is done, I will try to get some games back on my belt and I am really looking forward to fighting against the new Necrons (so much fun stuff that they could do that will challenge my gaming skills).

On unrelated news, several net friends of mine introduced me to My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic and I am hooked, and I discovered the joys of Applejack (a.k.a Apple Brandy).

And now I have to fade again.....*sob*

The Outcast's Challenge - Dark Eldar Vs Eldar 1500 pts

Heya all, and now without further ado, my newest battle report. Read on.....

Vespera has finally recuperated, or to be exact reformed after her unfortunate incident with the Space Marine whom she now knows as Draigo. She was essentially dead in body, but alive in spirit when they came back to the Dark City, and she was forced into one of the Coven's sarcophagi to heal her injuries in full. A destroyed liver, severed intestines, a ruptured lung, broken ribs....those injuries would have killed a lesser Dark Eldar. But of course she is not a lesser Dark Eldar. Nonetheless The Haemonculus of the Giggling Suffering have told her tat she should not push her body too much, and instead enjoy the little things in life.