The Kabals of the Dark Eldar

The Kabals of the Dark Eldar. Listed with background and paint schemes for each just might give you a head start on what direction to go with your paint schemes. GW's latest was to provide with just what we needed to get such a head start on exploring eight of the lesser Kabals, their background, deeds and a color scheme for each. 

The Wraithkind

Once the rulers of the pleasure city Aur-Ilithain, the Wraithkind were extremely powerful until their Archon, the Daemon-courting monomaniac Lord Tliensic D'raque, attempted to close his dark paradise off from Commorragh. By destroying the single hyperspatial bridge that led from the heart of the Dark City to the Cyclops Gate of Aur-Ilithain, D'raque announced his intention to secede from Vect's rule. The very next night six secret portals suddenly opened across Aur-Ilithain, and thousands of shadow-creatures spiralled through, chanting in an eldritch tongue. Before the next dawn, Vect's ethereal allies had plunged the pleasure city and its denizens into a half-real state slightly out of phase with the rest of the webway. The Wraithkind were forever altered, changed into night-shrouded fiends that can only feed when they step out of the webway into the material dimension. When they do so, the venting of their frustrations upon the lesser races is shocking to behold.

The Lords of Iron Thorn

The Lords of Iron Thorn can trace their origins to the founding of Commorragh itself. One of the greatest noble houses of the old order, the Thornlords are to this day a very powerful force in the Dark City, for they control the last remaining hanging garden of psy-lotus in all of Commorragh. Though they still consider themselves 'of true blood', the Lords of Iron Thorn wisely refrain from discussing their pedigree in front of the Kabal of the Black Heart, for Vect keeps a very close eye on his ancient rivals.

The current wearer of the Ironthorn Crown is the dangerously crazed Marquis Vaulkhere, a towering and bombastic lotus-fiend who spends only a few minutes every cycle in his right mind. The Marquis practically bleeds an aura of faded grandeur, but woe betide any who criticise his leadership, for under his velvet façade of sophistication lurks an unholy terror just waiting for an excuse to maim and kill.

The Dying Sun and the Falling Moon

The war between the solar cults and the lunar sects of ancient Commorragh still rages fiercely between two of its oldest and most stubborn Kabals. Across the backdrop of the persecuted Ulia system, the Dark Eldar toy with the fates of lesser mortals in order to master the power of the stars. The Kabal of the Falling Moon, led by the angel-winged helionaut Y'polleon, seek to 'purify' the system by destroying every planet and satellite within it. His twin brother, Archon Vorl-Xoelanth of the Dying Sun, instead seeks to extinguish the star at its heart and colonise the darkness that remains. Either way, the madness of the twin Archons will see the Ulia system torn apart unless the Imperium can bring a system's worth of reinforcements to bear before it is too late.

The Severed

No one save Archon S'aronai Ariensis himself knows the full story of how the Severed left Commorragh. The fact it cost Archon Ariensis his left hand is well known, however, for to this day his Kabalites mutilate themselves in a peculiar gesture of solidarity, replacing their lost hands with blades, whips and even more lethal prosthetics. Now a fully space-bound Kabal, the Severed have at some point or other brought every world in the Ghoroid Strip to its knees; their brightly painted Raiders and Ravagers are adorned with chains of shrivelled hands taken from Dark Eldar, Space Marine and Imperial Guardsman alike.

The Bleaksoul Brethren

Operating out of Viridian Sound, the Bleaksoul Brethren are famous for their shark-like rows of teeth and twisted sense of humour.

The Flayed Skull

The Kabal of the Flayed Skull tattoo stylised bloodstreaks across their faces. Their many aircraft and well-equipped warrior cliques boast so many gore-splattered trophies that the entire Kabal has a reputation for being hi-tech headhunters.

The Slashed Eye

Formerly under the iron control of Archon Cythrax, the Kabal of the Slashed Eye is now little more than a tool for the audacious and resourceful Lord Hellion, Baron Sathonyx. Though Sathonyx prefers to remain behind the scenes, the Slashed Eye – though a relatively small Kabal in terms of Kabalite Warriors – wages war accompanied by dozens of swarming Hellion gangs; numerous enough to blacken the skies, and keen to earn respect in the eyes of their patron.

The Fiend Ascendant

Archon Tarsidhe of the Fiend Ascendant has become so addicted to the gladiatorial spectacles laid on by his Wych Cult allies that his entire existence has become a cycle of theatrically inspired warfare. His Kabal and their affiliated Wych Cult allies have gouged their way across the Eastern Fringe these last two years, a rolling cavalcade of athletes, Beastmasters, blade-dancers, Harlequins, Medusae and exotic alien monsters that Archon Tarsidhe takes delight in 'showcasing' against whatever the empires of Man and Tau can muster to stop him.

Ultramarines DVD Movie Delayed

If you haven't heard yet, the Ultramarines movie was delayed. For those of you that don't check your email I've posted the official announcement and the email sent out. This was done yesterday, as the movie was supposed to be released on Nov 29th.

While Im dissapointed, it's not the end of the world, and even a couple weeks is not a big deal for me. After all I'm not 15 anymore, so there is no reason to get all worked up over a delay. It will be fun and exciting when we do receive the movie. If I hear anything else, I will post it here.

Offical announcement by Codex Pictures.

We’re extremely sorry to advise that that we have had an unanticipated production problem, beyond our control, with the Ultramarines Collector’s Set, which means that we have not been able to start shipping today, November 29th 2010, as we had intended. We are working around the clock with our third party suppliers to resolve the issue as quickly as possible and hope to be able to have information about a revised ship date tomorrow.

If you’ve already ordered your copy, you’ll shortly receive an email from the distributors informing you of this situation.

We at Codex Pictures would like to say how disappointed we are that we’re not going to be able to get the movie to you at the time we had planned and we fully recognise you will be too. We can only apologise for this unfortunate delay and reassure you that we are doing our very best to sort out the issue and get your order to you as soon as possible. Thank you in advance for your support.

Codex Pictures


Here is a copy of the email sent out.

Dear xxxxxxxx
RE: Order

Unfortunately, due to a production issue outside of our control, we are not able to start shipping your order for the ULTRAMARINES DVD Collector's Set today, November 29th as planned. We are working around the clock with our third party suppliers to resolve the issue as soon as possible and hope to be able to give you details of a new ship date tomorrow.

We at Codex Pictures know you will be very disappointed not to receive your DVD as soon as anticipated and are equally distressed ourselves that this has happened.

Please accept our sincere apologies and rest assured we are doing everything we can to resolve the issue and get your order to you quickly.

Codex Pictures

Denizens of Commorragh (Venoms)

One of the most exciting and fun new things we have in the new dark eldar codex is the Venom. As we speak, it's a transport without a model, however GW was gracious enough to give us a picture. Also there is the past references to the Venom in the old Harlequinn experimental codex that you can find pics of elsewhere on this blog. This makes it very easy for people to quickly construct Venom's for the battlefield.

The Venom is a BS4 F10 S10 R10 fast open-topped skimmer. It comes with a twin-linked splinter rifle, a splinter cannon, and a flickerfield. It comes with night vision, and its transport capacity is 5. It has some good options and starts off 5pts cheaper than a raider.

The one seemingly mandatory option is upgrading its splinter rifle up to a splinter cannon. This makes the cheap skimmer very heavy anti-infantry. Two splinter cannons means you move 12" and get an amazing 12 shots off at BS4. Move 12" fire 12 shots at up to 36" poisoned shots that wound on a 4+. Why would you not want a couple of these in your lists.

Other options include Retrofire Jets, Chain Snares, Grisly Trophies, Envemoned Blades, and Night Shields. You start the game with a flickerfield which gives you a 5+ invul save.

One of the nicest things about Raiders and Venoms is that they are opposites. One carries a dark lance or disintegrator and carries 10, while the other will have 2 splinter cannons and carry 5. Using the two of them, together really gives you great flexibility on the table top. One able to take out heavy armor, the other massed infantry.

One thing I love so far about poisoned shooting weapons of the Dark Eldar is the need to not care if those marines are in cover or not. It's easy to put down a hail of fire at a great distance with a good ballistic skill. The Venom truly excels at this. Moving 12"s with such a great range, really means you can almost always see and reach a target that you want to shoot at.

The tricky thing is to figure out what goes into the venom. Some units just don't seem to fit with a venom. You can only take 5 infantry in order to get the venom and this is the limiting factor. You need to have an efficient 5 man unit to take with the vehicle.

I like Kabalite Warriors and Trueborn the most. 5 kabalite warriors with a blaster and sybarite with a blast pistol are on the top of the list for me. Trueborn with a venom work, but in general I don't like the idea of suiciding my trueborn, so I prefer them in larger numbers.

When looking at maximizing the unit that rides the venom, both wyches and wracks require 5 models to get their special weapons. This means no independent character. I see this as a drawback, as it limits my flexibility on the tabletop at deployment. While this isn't always an issue, it makes me look at other unit types to take the venom, and makes me want to give wracks and wyches both raiders.

Overall I really like the Venom. In a force were you have several raiders, taking a couple venoms really are going to fill in your list. Currently I am fielding 4 raiders and 2 venoms in several of my lists, and I really like the flexibility of it. I keep them cheap, and don't add anything but the extra splinter cannon and they work out real well. You will see a lot of players taking venoms, whether its because they are playing multiple small unit (MSU) lists, or because they really like how cheap it is to get those 12 poisoned shots. Not to mention that it looks like we will getting a model for them sometime next year around summer time.

House Rules. How To Use Them and How Not To.

House Rules are changes or add on's to the rules that are usually done at a location. There is a lot of mis-read rules out there, just as there is some forum junkies with some crazy rule interpretations. If there are rules mistakes in a friendly game, who really cares. If the issue cannot be resolved immediately fix it later with a rules discussion afterwards. If the conflict comes up in a tournament, well, that's what there are judges for. Accept the ruling of the judge, and if they really are wrong, you can prove it to them later.

The following event happened recently to a friend of mine in a recent game, so I thought I would share my thoughts on house rules.

He started a normal game, and part way through the Imperial Guard player was adamant that his Company Command Squad could give themselves an order while still inside their chimera. When questioned and the rule pointed out to him, he declared that it was a house rule with several of the people watching the game (his friends) agreeing that it was indeed a house rule, because it just makes sense they should be able to receive their own orders. Other issues came up later, as the same player was having his guys inside shooting while the vehicle popped smoke. What happened was that my buddy just went with the table consensus and finished the game.

When he called me, I simply clarified what he already knew about the rules they were using. Then what I told him is a couple things.

First off, if there are special house rules that change or add rules they should be clear at the beginning of the game. Declaring house rules on the fly really is not nice. If they are really house rules, and are not posted somewhere, your opponent should really be made aware of any that your army will be using.

Second. Declaring house rules during the game really is cheating. I understand accidents, but it is really hard to play a friendly game if both players are using different rules. If you don't declare them to your opponent, don't use them that game. Don't enforce house rules on your opponent if he wasn't made aware of them. Back off and play according the rules.

Third. Stop trying to cheat. If someone is new to your store, you are not giving it a good image. Your local 40k players are the people you generally should be accepting to. Play hard, but don't bend the rules when they suit you.

Last but least. Remember that when you are playing for fun, you are playing for fun. Playing hard competitively or not, if someone really is cheating and pulling a lot of crap, don't be afraid to just pick up your models. There really is no reason to spend the next 3 hours pissed off playing a game with someone that is either blatantly cheating, or a dozen other ridicules things you sometimes have to go through. I myself have never yet done this, but I am not above it and reserve the right to refuse to play with someone. I'd rather stop the game and get in another game with someone else.

Denizens of Commorragh (Raiders)

Of all the iconic pieces on the battlefield, nothing says Dark Eldar more than the raider. Our previous codex saw these as a spammed unit of fast moving transports, able to flood the field with their mobility and the weapon that makes them such an icon, the Dark Lance. As a Dark Eldar player, we take them for granted, as their use seems rather obvious and simple. However, the new codex has thrown us a slight curve ball, and while we can use them rather simply like we could before, there is much more to the raider now than meets the eye at first glance.

Raiders are extremely lightweight and extremely maneuverable. They come with a BS4 and armour of F10 S10 R10. They are a fast, Open-topped, Skimmer that comes standard with a Dark Lance (exchangeable with a Disintegrator for free) and with Night Vision.

They, much like the rest of the dark eldar army now, a unit of extremes. They are highly flexible in their role, but also rather expensive in terms of what they are. You can take any of the following options; Shock Prow, Torment Grenade Launchers, Enhanced Aethersails, Retrofire Jets, Chain Snares, Grisly Trophies, Envenomed Blades, Splinter Racks, Night Shields, and a Flickerfield.

Shock Prow. Allows you to tank shock and ram. Add D3 to your armour value on a tank shock
Torment Grenade Launchers. Reduce enemy leaderships by -1 within 6" and units must pass leadership to assault.
Enhanced Aethersails. Can move an additional 2d6" but cannot disembark or shoot.
Retrofire Jets. Vehicle can Deepstrike, however units cannot disembark
Chain Snares. All non-vehicle enemy units it passes over in the movement phase take d3+1 S4 AP- hits.
Grisly Trophies All friendly units within 6" can re-roll failed morale checks
Envenomed Blades. If assaulted every roll of a 1 results in a S4 AP- hit
Splinter Racks. All passengers may re-roll their failed to hit rolls with splinter rifles and pistols
Night Shields. Reduce ranges of weapons by 6" that are firing at the vehicle
Flickerfield. Gives the vehicle a 5+ invulnerable save.

Looking at this, your Raider can easily get very expensive very fast. So a wise person is only going to take what they need for that raider, they are just vulnerable to do otherwise. Raiders start at 60pts already, and easily sit at 70+pts without even a heart beat.

So what do you do? You customize your raiders to fit your army. You take one, possibly two upgrades only, or simply go with none. If you think a flickerfield or nightshield is going to save you, it's not. So be prepared to lose all those points if you make these raiders expensive.

I haven't tried all the options, but here are the ones I've been looking at or fielded.

Raiders with Shock Prow say that if I lose my weapon, I become one. I like to keep it simple at stop here, but you could also add enhanced aethersails or torment grenade launchers with this. For me, I'll stay simple and just go with the shock prow.

Raiders with Grisly Trophies. Fielding backfield warriors with two darklances or splinter cannons, nothing says "Stay" than with a raider within 6" and getting a re-roll on your leadership. You might not be around long but at least early game a few of these raiders sitting in the backfield will keep you around a little bit longer.

Flickerfields. These are more expensive, and I've used them a lot. One day I know I will make a flickerfield save successfully. Thus far not one raider has lived because of a flickerfield. I will let you keep using these as I am done trying.

Nightshields. Also expensive and in my opinion a waste of points for a raider. Save your nightsheilds for your heavy support skimmers.

Disintegrators. There is a lot of hate on these floating around. I don't believe this weapon was nerfed. Small templates only ever hit 1 model in a unit anyhow (unless coming out of a broken transport or playing noobs), so I like the new longer range Heavy 3 S5 AP2 36" weapon. Sustained fire with the old ones as much shorter. Even though I like this option, it will be situational where I take it. In Raider heavy lists, taking two raiders with Disintegrators seems appropriate. Or if your list is very heavy with blasters and lances already this would be an ideal weapon.

There are other options as well, however these are the ones I am using. Splinter Racks I've seen used, but I don't like the idea of a 6" moving raider.

Think of your raider as a fast transport for your assault troops that comes with a weapon, not the other way around. They are open-topped so they are an excellent vehicle to disembark from (from any point of the hull). They can rotate for an extra couple inches of distance (do this first before moving forward), and can move 12" and deploy. This very quickly places your transported unit almost 18"(its not quite 18, more like 17 1/2) forward on a good move. So if you need that webway as close to the enemy as possible, you can really get it into a forward position.

Summary; before I start getting into the intricacies of using your raider. Don't load them up with too many options. Keep the price of them down. A Raider cannot do it all. Know what role your raider will  be taking, and choose your options accordingly. If fielding multiple raiders, think of mixing it up. Simply spamming your options on your raiders is OK to start with, but you can really set yourself up with raiders performing slightly different roles on the tabletop. Example.. Raiders sitting in the back with grisly trophies, and raiders deploying assault troops with tormentor grenade launchers.

Mon Keigh. Where did it go?

Mon Keigh. We used to hear or read this word all the time. It took me to just the other day to realize that I hadn't seen the word in our new codex. Did they throw it away? I understood the word to mean all the races beneath them, but I see in our shiney new codex that I see them call humans, humans.

I beleive it's in the current craftworld eldar codex. Did I miss it or is it gone now?

A Torturer's Tale - Dark Eldar from the year 2000

Back in January of 2000, Gav Thorpe wrote a short story about the Dark Eldar. While it's really not that good when compared to our new fluff, it is an interesting read. It's 3 pages long, so here is the link on the GW website that you can read the story. Games Workshop re-released it yesterday in pdf format for us to read.

A Torturer's Tale

Paint Scheme For Dark Eldar

It's Black Friday and my time is a little short this morning. Black Friday means the wife is out shopping, and an all long 12-15 hour game night sits ahead of me. So I am trying to get as much sleep as possible today.

I ran across this paint scheme done with metallics. It's done by Mark Bedford from Forgeworld. I figured I would post it. They are extremely nice with blood specs and other nice details. Here is a brief on what he used for the effects.

'They need something functional,' said Mark. 'They did cover it in blood though, just to make sure it was properly baptised for battle.' Mark achieved the burnt metal look by using successive washes of Baal Red, Leviathan Purple, Asurmen Blue and Badab Black over a Boltgun Metal base. The blood was a mix of Red Gore, Scorched Brown and Necron Abyss; which was flicked on with a stippling brush.

The metallic scheme on the Kabalites was first painted with Tin Bitz followed by a Shining Gold highlight and then a Mithril Silver one. Mark then used a watered-down mix of Chaos Black and Scorched Brown to shade in-between the armour panels. To make his miniatures really stand out, Mark used off-cuts of models combined with the Warhammer 40,000 basing kit to add loads of detail to his bases.

Denizens of Commorragh (Wracks)

Wracks are probably one of the biggest surprises in the Dark Eldar Codex in 5th edition. Almost immediately everyone had them in lists. I mean a cheap 10pt model with feel no pain? wow. Lets take a look at what they really are.

Wracks are an elite choice that can be troops if you have a Haemonculi in your HQ slot. As an elite choice they are cheap, and might be required in your lists to get pain tokens on the tabletop, however it is when they are troop choices that they really shine.

WS4 BS4 S3 T4 I4 A1 Ld8 Sv6+. They are very flexible in unit composition being 3-10 wracks. They come with two poisoned weapons (4+), night vision, power from pain, altered physique (start with a pain token). I was really surprised wracks got an initiative 4 and such high WS and BS. For every 5 models one wrack can replace a poisoned weapon with a Liquifier Gun (S4 APd6 template). They can also take a Raider or Venom for a dedicated transport.

One Wrack can be upgraded to a Acothyst, who can then take a large variety of weaponry. Stinger Pistol, venom blade, mindphase gauntlet, hexrifle, scissorhand, flesh gauntlet, agoniser and electrocorrosive whip.

To start, I really don't like Wracks in small units. I know you can have 3 or 4 in a unit, but the only reason you would do this would be to take a small personal escort for your haemonculi or archon to fit into a venom. You would be short changing yourself as you need 5 wracks to get your liquifier gun. Then you are taking up a very important slot in your army.

5 Wracks in a venom. While cheap, I don't find this small of a unit that effective. We are Dark Eldar after all, and even with feel no pain we are not that durable. This is the smallest unit I would consider, and then only if I need to fit out a venom, which I prefer warriors in.

The idea of Wracks is to hold a position. 10 Wracks with Feel No Pain in cover will do just that. Remember that you are more of a defensive unit and you do not come with grenades. No assaulting into or out of cover. What you do get though at 10 wracks is two liquifiers that should be just what you need to route something coming at you. If that isn't enough, you do come armed with two poisoned weapons. Just what the doctor  (Haemonculi) ordered when facing big bugs.

If you are fighting out in the open, wracks with a second pain token can really do some damage. Having Furious Charge gives you 3 attacks at S4 on the charge at I5. This means you are hitting marines on a 4+ and wounding on a 4+ with a re-roll (since your poisoned weapons are at a strength equal or higher than the toughness of your opponent).

Your Acothyst. While flesh gauntlets are nice (instant death on a 4+), a lot of people are drawn towards the hexrifle. It is one of those remove from play sniper rifles, and the saving grace of this weapon is that its an assault weapon 36" AP4 sniper. With the hexrifle a model wounded must take a wounds characteristic test or be removed from play. While a lot of people are talking about hexrifles, I don't see them being very reliable, but hey if you have nothing else to do with the unit cause everything is too far away, by all means fire a hexrifle. There are other options as well, scissorhands for instance are nice.

I like Wracks a lot. I will be using them mostly as a defensive unit, probably to protect webway portals and objectives for the most part. They will do good in assault if you are not going through cover, and I like their template weapons (liquifiers). With two liquifiers wracks can be good to remove tougher units out of cover. Don't forget how far you can reach with your wracks when mounted on a raider. Raider movement is 12" deploy at almost 3" and a template is 8"'s long. That's almost 23" of coverage for your liquifiers. A proper rotate could give you another 3" but that is not reliable depending on position.

Possible Combination against incoming transports. Trueborn with blasters or other tank killing units, and Wracks with 2 liquifiers. Pop that transport and flame away with what ever comes out. I havent practiced this, or done it yet, as my games lately have been on my opponents board edge and not near mine. Any time though you can pop a transport and kill everything that survived the wreck with your next unit's shooting, it will make your opponent cry.

Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving to those here on the US side of the Pond. Stay safe.

A special thanks to our soldiers serving overseas.

Internet Abbreviations. Definitions

Although I find that on occasion I will throw one out, it is mostly by accident. I really cant stand all the Internet abbreviations we have for 40k. To me the vast abbreviations for 40k are very similar to why some notorious authors throw in words they know only english professors might know. It's a form of elitism, or a sense of "I'm superior to you", "know more than you", or even "I'm part of the club it's too bad if you cant understand me". Authors have been doing this for a long time, and it really does make sense that bloggers would pick up some form of it as well.

Most of us online are extremely fast on the keyboard. In fact it takes us just just slightly longer to write force organization chart as it does FOC, so it is not a real time saver.

The problem I see with all these abbreviations are that it keeps the casual 40k'r or the new to the game player from really absorbing the lingo. There are some cases of it, especially on forums, where I've seen authors post a long list of the abbreviations they are about to use. These are very very annoying to read, and I cant imagine what a new player must have to go through to read some of these.

So I figured we could all help out those that are just getting online, and learning the lingo. We are not going to stop the abbreviations, so lets at least get a dictionary going. Please help with some of the ones I've missed and I will update the list.

FOC = Force Organization Chart
MEQ = Marine Equivalent
TEQ = Terminator Equivalent
GEQ = Guardsman Equivalent
IC = Independent Character
MSU = Multiple Small Units
FAQ = Frequently Asked Questions
GW = Games Workshop
FW = Forge World
GD = Games Day
RT = Rogue Trader
WYSIWYG = What You See Is What You Get (In rulebook)
BRB/BGB = Big Red Book/Big Grey Book. Both mean mainrule book.
C =  other abbreviation - Codex: whatever (ex: C: SM is codex: space marines, not to be confused with CSM - chaos space marines)


MC = Monstrous Creature
MC = Can also mean Master Crafted
Inq = Inquisitor
=I= = Inquisition

MECH = Mechanized
IC = Independent Character
DP = Daemon Prince
HtH = Hand to Hand (Assault)
WIP = Work in Progress

SM = Space Marine
DE = Dark Eldar
IG = Imperial Guard
SoB = Sisters of Battle
SW = Space Wolves
BA = Blood Angels
DA = Dark Angels
BT = Black Templar
WH = Witch Hunters
DH = Daemon Hunters
GK = Grey Knights
CSM = Chaos Space Marine
IA = Imperial Armour

FNP = Feel No Pain
FC = Furious Charge
5++ = 5+ Invunerable save

LRBT = Leman Russ Battle Tank (usually standard variant)
LR = Land Raider or Leman Russ
DP = drop pod

EA = Extra Armor
SL = Smoke Launchers

PW = Power Weapons
FW = Force Weapons
PF / PK = PowerFist / Power Klaw
KFF = Kustom Force Field
TH = Thunder Hammers
LC = Lightning Claw
CF = Chainfist
SS = Stormshield
CCW = Close Combat Weapon

JotWW = Jaws of the World Wolf

TL xxx = Twin Linked xxx
AC = Autocannon/ sometimes can mean Assault Cannon
Asscan = Assault Cannon
ML =  Missile Launcher
HB = Heavy Bolter
HF = Heavy Flamer
MM = Multimelta
MG = Meltagun
LC = Lascannon
CML = Cyclone Missile Launcher
ML =  can be either missile launcher or multilaser

CCS = Company Command Squad

PGL = Phantasm Grenade Launcher

FD =  Fire Dragons
DA =  Dark Avenger
WS =  Warp Spiders
WL =  Wraithlord
WG =  Wraithguard
SG =  Storm Guardians
DAVU =  Dark Avenger Vehicle Upgrade (buying a squad to make a serpent or falcon tank scoring)
HF =  Holo Field
SS =  Spirit Stones
SC =  Shuriken Cannon
Sl =  Scatter Laser
EML =  Eldar Missile Launcher
BL =  Bright Lance

I know there are more, but this makes my head hurt. If you know of more, please leave them in the comments and I will update above.
I am not going to do stat line abbreviations because they are defined in the main rulebook.

Denizens of Commorragh (Kabalite Warriors)

Continuing the series on Dark Eldar, discussing Kabalite Warriors was past due. Dark Eldar have a very unique selection of troop choices to pick from including two units that can become troop selections.

Our dark eldar warriors come with some of the best troop choice stat lines in the 40k universe.

Kabalite Warriors come with BS4 WS4 S3 T3 I5 A1 W1 Ld 8 Sv5+. A very flexible squad size of 5-20, they come with splinter rifles and kabalite armour, with the following special rules; fleet, night vision, and power from pain. One Kabalite Warrior can replace his splinter rifle with a shredder or a blaster. In addition for ever ten models in the squad, one warrior may upgrade his rifle with a splinter cannon or dark lance. If our warriors number 10 or less they can take a Raider dedicated transport or a Venom dedicated transport if they number 5 or less. Just a side note, that Dark Lances are very expensive point wise (25 each) in warrior units.

Upgrading one Kabalite Warrior to a Sybarite grants you one extra attack and gives you a Leadership 9. They get some nice options. Their splinter rifle can be replaced with a both a splinter pistol and close combat weapon for no charge. Following that, you can replace your pistol with a blast pistol, and your close combat weapons with either a venom blade, power weapon, or agonizer. A sybarite is also able to take ghostplate armour or a phantasm grenade launcher.

Kabalite Warriors are a very flexible unit, able to be molded into many different forms on the battlefield. They can be set up in small 5 man Venom units all the way up to 20 man ground infantry. Here is several unit set ups that I see being used.

5 Warriors in a Venom. Here you take a blaster and upgrade your Sybarites pistol to a Blast Pistol. The Venom obviously takes a second splinter cannon. You now have two blaster weapons S8 lance AP2 in the unit, and the venom takes care of infantry with 12 shots. You can use these as types of units as forward armor breakers, flanking units, or last minute objective grabbers.

10 Warriors with a Raider. Here you are either taking a splinter cannon and riding the raider, or a dark lance and letting the raider fly solo. You also have the blaster options above. I see many people that will be using 10 man warrior units, however it's not my favorite. I prefer either the 5 man version above, or the 20 man unit below. The only way I would be using 10 man warrior squads is if they are advancing in raiders with a splinter cannon, blaster and blast pistol. Even then the list would really need to call for it, as I see this sized unit sub par unless your deep striking raiders which I haven't playtested yet.

20 Warriors. This along with the 5 man units are my favorite. You are durable because of your numbers. You can take two dark lances or splinter cannons at this size. Dark Eldar are most often very rich in targets, and 20 warriors in cover are not a very enticing target for most things, and I have found that these units don't often get shot at. Make sure you get your sybarite here for the leadership 9. 20 warriors with Splinter Cannons are my favorite, as it allows for great flexibility in movement and staying in cover. Need that objective 6" out and away from cover, its easy, just move part of your unit to reach out and grab it, leaving the rest in cover. Splinter Cannons with their long ranges are excellent, as you can move or remain stationary and still put down a decent hail of firepower. Using 2 Dark Lances here is also a good option for the same reasons above, except your are firing two Dark Lances every round and may be armed with a blaster and blast pistol as well.

Kabalite Warriors are a very flexible unit in your army. Need heavy weapons, you got em. Need a hail of anti infantry fire, you got it. Need a very mobile unit capable of taking down the heaviest tanks, we have the answer for you. Get a pain token on a 20 man unit, and watch the frustration on your opponent as he tries to take em down

Before you go loading yourself up with Hellions and Wracks, or even Wyches, take a close look at warriors. They fit so well into the Dark Eldar army, it's hard not to take them.

Dan Abnett and Prospero Burns - Space Wolves

If there is one writer that I enjoy reading in the 40k universe, it's Dan Abnett. You wont see me discussing many more writers. Yesterday Dan Abnett discussed his latest Horus Heresy book, Prospero Burns. In it we get to read about Leman Russ, the Primarch of the Space Wolves. I am not a very fast go out and get every novel reader, but I do eventually get to them. This will be one of those books, and I look forward to reading it.

Here is Dan Abnett discussing his latest book and Space Wolves.

Dan: One of the big challenges I set myself when writing Prospero Burns was to try to portray the Space Wolves as more than simply feral and deadly warriors. I mean, they HAVE to be feral and deadly, but I want the reader to have a little more empathy with them than that. It's too easy to read them as brutish and cartoonish.

It's also too easy to spoil everything by making them too touchy-feely, and therefore dilute the whole Space Wolf riff. I'm pretty pleased with the balance I've struck: I'm really looking forward to see what Space Wolf fans and players think. The Wolves are absolutely the stone killers they always have been, mighty and resolute and stoical, but there's also now a sense of a grim special purpose to them, a reason for why they are so vicious and uncompromising. Plus, they're smarter and wiser than you might imagine.

Space Wolf players might also like to bear in mind that this is set in the very early days of the Legion, no more than a century after their foundation, and at a time when even the Fang is not 'finished'. We're so used, in 40K, to Chapters being 'immortal institutions' - they've been around 10,000 years, they're never going to end or change. But all the Space Marines are new in the Horus Heresy. No real longevity has been established, no traditions. They are learning about themselves, discovering if the concept of the Space Marine is just the latest stage of the arms race or something more enduring and permanent. It makes the Wolves, even Russ, less secure and also a LOT more ambitious. They want to prove themselves and woe betide you if you're dumb enough to get in their way.

I hope readers enjoy Prospero Burns. As a counterpoint to Graham's wonderful A Thousand Sons, it may make people sympathetic towards the killers rather than the victims. History is written by whoever's left alive after the event, and opinions may vary... I personally can't wait to get back to Fenris.

Denizens of Commorragh - Updated Compilation

I have been working through the Dark Eldar Codex in the Denizens of Commorragh series. Here is a compilation of what has been posted thus far. I will continue to go through the codex, and then I will probably backtrack a little a make sure everything is up to date as far as how I think each unit can and should be used. I started this series before the codex came out and sometimes units evolve through lots of gameplay, so I will eventually update into a single guide. Putting this together also gives me a good idea on what units I haven't gotten to yet.

It's all ice outside here for the first time of the year, so there is a lot for me to get done today. So I will get straight to the point.

Denizens of Commorragh Index

Cronos Parasite Engine
Talos Pain Engine
Asdrubael Vect
Archon
Ravagers
Voidraven Bomber
Razorwing Jetfighter
Venom
Haemonculi
Hellions
Drazhar - Master of Blades
Hekatrix Bloodbrides and Wyches
Incubi
Mandrakes
Kabalite Trueborn
Scourges

Games Day 2011

Games Day 2011 now has confirmed dates in the following countries, US, France, Australia, Italy, and Spain. Even though we got hosed today on Blood Angels information, we did get confirmed dates on Games Days.


Tickets go on sale in both France and the US over the next few weeks. Here is the news release via GW.

If you have never attended Games Day then make sure 2011 is your year. Games Day is the biggest annual event in the Games Workshop calendar. Every year we run several Games Days across the world and thousands of excited hobbyists travel from miles around to attend. The event is a celebration of the Games Workshop hobby and it is a fantastic opportunity for you to play in massive multi-player games; meet the people who design Citadel Miniatures and write the rulebooks; buy lots of great new kits and, of course, enter Golden Demon - the greatest miniature-painting competition on Earth.

The great news is that over the next few weeks Games Day tickets start to go on sale in the USA and France and we didn't want you to miss out. Even bigger news is that Games Day will be returning to Australia in 2011 and oh my, what a venue they have chosen.

Games Day USA will be held in Chicago on July 30th 2011. Tickets go on sale on November 26th. That's this Friday.

Games Day France will be held at Le Parc Floral de Paris on 22nd May 2011. Tickets go on sale on December 1st.

Games Day returns to Australia on October 1st 2011. The event will be held at the Australian Technology Park in Sydney. While the picture is not of Games Day we thought the venue was so cool we just had to show you a picture of it. Tickets go on sale on March 1st.

Games Day Italy and Spain have confirmed their Games Days too. Games Day Spain will be on July 3rd 2011 and Italy will be on October 16th 2011.

Stormraven Gunships and Furioso - Blood Angels 2500pts

Since more doesn't equate to more. I figured I would at least stay with the theme of the day and let go of one of my Stormraven lists I've had in the background for quite some time. It is by far not optimized and refined yet, but hell, it sure beats the release of information GW gave us today.

Here is the list. I'm not going to go into the detail of how to field it, it is mostly self evident and the list hasnt really gone through any playtesting. Let me know what you think.

2500 Pts - Blood Angels Roster

1 Librarian @ 100 pts (Unit Type: Infantry; ...in Power Armour; And They Shall Know No Fear; Independent Character; Psyker; The Sanguine Sword; Unleash Rage)
1 ...in Power Armour (Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades; Power Armour; Psychic Hood; Bolt Pistol; Force Weapon)

1 Chaplain @ 100 pts (Unit Type: Infantry; ...in Power Armour; Fearless; Honour of the Chapter; Independent Character; Liturgies of Blood)
1 ...in Power Armour (Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades; Power Armour; Rosarius; Bolt Pistol; Crozius Arcanum)

1 Furioso Dreadnought @ 190 pts (Unit Type: Vehicle (Walker); Smoke Launchers; Extra Armor; Blood Talon with Meltagun; Blood Talon with Storm Bolter; Magna-grapple; Blood Talons; The Red Thirst; Drop Pod)
1 Drop Pod (Unit Type: Vehicle (Open-topped); Transport Capacity: 10 models; Storm Bolter; Drop Pod Assault; Immobile; Inertial Guidance System)

2x 3 Assault Squad @ 165 pts (Unit Type: Infantry; Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades; Power Armour; Remove Jump Packs; Bolt Pistol x3; Chainsword x3; Meltagun; And They Shall Know No Fear; Combat Squads; Descent of Angels; The Red Thirst; Razorback)
1 Assault Marine with Meltagun (Unit Type: Infantry; Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades; Power Armour; Remove Jump Packs; Chainsword; Meltagun; And They Shall Know No Fear; Combat Squads; Descent of Angels; The Red Thirst)
1 Sergeant (Unit Type: Infantry; Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades; Power Armour; Remove Jump Packs; Bolt Pistol; Close Combat Weapon; And They Shall Know No Fear; Combat Squads; Descent of Angels; The Red Thirst)
1 Razorback (Unit Type: Vehicle (Tank, Fast); Transport Capacity: 6 models; Access Points: 3; Fire Points: 0; Smoke Launchers; Lascannon and TL Plasmagun)

9 Tactical Squad @ 265 pts (Unit Type: Infantry; Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades; Power Armour; Bolt Pistol x9; Bolter x7; Meltagun; Missile Launcher; And They Shall Know No Fear; Combat Squads; The Red Thirst; Razorback)
1 Sergeant (Unit Type: Infantry; Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades; Power Armour; Bolt Pistol; Bolter; And They Shall Know No Fear; Combat Squads; The Red Thirst)
1 Razorback (Unit Type: Vehicle (Tank, Fast); Transport Capacity: 6 models; Access Points: 3; Fire Points: 0; Smoke Launchers; Twin Linked Assault Cannon)

2x 1 Death Company Dreadnought @ 125 pts (Unit Type: Vehicle (Walker); Smoke Launchers; Blood Talon with Meltagun; Blood Talon with Storm Bolter; Blood Talons; Fleet; Furious Charge; None Can Stay My Wrath; Rage)

1 Death Company @ 260 pts (Unit Type: Infantry; Death Company; Death Company; Black Rage; Fearless; Feel No Pain; Furious Charge; Rage; Relentless)
8 Death Company (Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades; Power Armour; Bolt Pistol; Chainsword)
2 Death Company (Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades; Power Armour; Bolt Pistol; Thunder Hammer)

3x 1 Baal Predator @ 120 pts (Unit Type: Vehicle (Tank, Fast); Smoke Launchers; Dozer Blade; Flamestorm Cannon; Scouts)

2x 1 Stormraven Gunship @ 245 pts (Unit Type: Vehicle (Skimmer, Fast); Transport Capacity: 12 models; Transport Capacity: 1 Dreadnought; Access Points: 4; Ceramite Plating; Smoke Launchers; Extra Armor; 4x Bloodstrike Missiles; Twin Linked Assault Cannon; Twin Linked MultiMelta; Hurricane Bolters (each side); Assault Vehicle; Deep Strike; Power of the Machine Spirit; Skies of Blood)

1 Vindicator @ 155 pts (Unit Type: Vehicle (Tank, Fast); Smoke Launchers; Siege Shield; Demolisher Cannon; Storm Bolter)

Total Roster Cost: 2500

Best News is No News.

Wow, Simply put, we didn't get anything we already didn't know. A big announcement is coming tomorrow, but it's the same announcement as we are giving you today! lol.

Anyhow, nothing new on the Blood Angel front. Stormraven and Furioso Dreadnaught along with a Blood Angel Battleforce set are the most likely releases in February. Just scroll down for yesterdays news article encase you missed it.

Stormraven and Furiouso Announcement Imminent

There are rumors abound that tomorrow GW will announce the release of models not yet seen by anyone (they apparently don't read blogs). It seems they will announce both the Stormraven Gunship  and the Furioso Dreadnaught. Also in the wind are a Blood Angels Battleforce. Here is the catch, it's not being released til February 2011.

Talking about a leak of information. Perhaps the GW slip has forced their hand? Maybe they are just trying to push the hype for next year sales? Who knows.

We do know that February seems about right for a release like this. Don't hold your breath, but we will see what tomorrow brings. "The past is history, and tomorrow is but a mystery, and today is a gift, it's why they call it the present" (Kung Fu Panda Quote). lol

The rumor.

The Blood Angels are one of the most popular Space Marine Chapters. They fought at the Emperor's side during the earliest days of the Imperium as one of the original Legions. Ten thousand years later, and one of the longest-running Chapters, they are still shaped by the deeds of their Primarch Sanguinius. Few Space Marine Chapters are as prolific and loyal in their defence of the Imperium as the Blood Angels, though a flaw in their gene seed makes them susceptible to the Black Rage and the Red Thirst - all-consuming curses that turn them savage and blood-thirsty in battle...

In February 2011, the Blood Angels will receive more reinforcements, including never-before-seen models - visit the website tomorrow for more information from the Studio in their Incoming! article. If you want to start massing your own Angelic Host, or are looking to bolster your troops, then here are some essential items to prepare for the new arrivals in February.

RIP Duty. Imperial Guard Massed Infantry Assault.

I posted this list some 5-6 months ago, and it recently came to the forefront of my thinking. I discovered about 60 more infantry I hadn't remembered having while organizing my models. Unopened boxes of guard infantry. So I started putting some more together with the intention of fielding this list. I think I am still a little short, but hey, win a single tournament or spend less than $100 whichever comes first. I think I'm about 60 guys short now.

This list is based off of the books by Dan Abnett. Massed infantry pushing forward in a massive wave. If you've read the books you know how cool of an image it put into your head. War on a massive scale only found in the 41st millennium. Anyhow, here is the list for those of you that are new to reading here, meanwhile I am putting more infantry together.

RIP Duty. Massed Infantry Assault. Retraining, Indoctrination, and Punishment detail
2500 Pts

Total model count 353.

1 Lord Commissar @ 80 pts (Unit Type: Infantry; Flak Armour; Frag Grenades; Refractor Field; Bolt Pistol; Power Weapon; Aura of Discipline; Independent Character; Summary Execution; Stubborn)

4 Infantry Platoons @ 605pts
4 Platoon Command Squad (Unit Type: Infantry; Flak Armour; Frag Grenades; Close Combat Weapon x4; Lasgun x4)
1 Platoon Commander (Flak Armour; Frag Grenades; Laspistol; Close Combat Weapon; Junior Officer)

3x9 Infantry Squad (Frag Grenades; Close Combat Weapon x9; Flak Armour; Lasgun x8; Krak Grenades; Meltagun x1; Commissar; Combined Squad)
1 Commissar (Flak Armour; Frag Grenades; Bolt Pistol; Krak Grenades; Power Weapon; Summary Execution; Stubborn)
1 Sergeant (Flak Armour; Frag Grenades; Laspistol; Krak Grenades; Power Weapon)

50 Conscripts Squad (Close Combat Weapon x50; Flak Armour; Lasgun x50)

Basically, we have so many troops, objectives should not be a problem. All the infantry squads have commissars and should be put together so that they are 4x33 men with 6 power weapons, 3 commissars, 33 krak grenades and 3 melta guns. The Commissar Lord should be placed to support and help the 200 conscripts with leadership. Platoon commands are there simply to give orders.

New Forgeworld Releases- Ironclad Mark IV and the Land Raider Achilles

Normally I am not that quick to report on Forgeworld releases. Perhaps that is because most people locally don't even bother to take note of Forgeworld that often, possibly because of the lack of apocalypse games.

I do keep an eye on what they release though, and the latest Ironclad is truly a work of art. Perhaps one of them will find their way into my Blood Angels as a Furiouso.

I won't go into too many of the details, you can look them up on Forgeworld. I did want to post up some of the latest pics though.





Denizens of Commorragh - Cronos Parasite Engines



by Isotope99

Yesterday I revisited the Denizens of Commorragh series and discussed the Talos. It's only right that the next discussion to come up is the Cronos Parasite Engine. Where the Talos is a close combat monster, the Cronos is just the opposite. It is a close range shooting beast filled with Haemonculi arcane wizardry.

What is it. Well we have no picture. I did find two conversions, and I've posted them here. It is an insect type creation, obviously looking more like a parasite than the scorpion like Talos. WS3 BS3 S5 T7 I4 A2 Ld10 Sv3+. Just from it's stat line you can see it's differences. It is fearless with power from pain and has move through cover. It's also a monstrous creature.

What sets it apart are it's weapons. It comes with a close combat weapon and a Spirit Syphon. A Spirit Sypon is a Template S4 AP3 Assault 1 that if it kills one more more models you can choose one of your units within 12" of the Cronos, which can be the Cronos, that unit gains a pain token.

You can also upgrade the Cronos.Options include the taking a Spirit Vortex, which generates pain tokens like the Spirit Syphon except that it is a Range 18" S3 AP3 Assault 1 Large Blast. The other option is the Spirit Probe which allows you generate pain tokens in close combat, again like the spirit syphon.

So upgraded properly, with both Spirit Vortex and Spirit Probe, the Cronos Parasite Engines able to generate 4 pain tokens in a round. It is a monstrous creature so it can fire both weapons during the shooting phase, a death from each one generates a single pain token. Then in assault if a single casualty occurs it generates another pain token. Then as normal, if you wipe the unit, you generate a pain token for the cronos. Each weapon apparently rapidly ages its victims leaving nothing but a dried out husk of a corpse.



By Dread



Both upgrades are what should be fielded with the cronos to maximize it's effectiveness. I currently have two of them in my list that you can read (posted a few days back). Two Cronos Parasite Engines backing up a single Talos Pain Engine and a unit of Incubi. While I think the Cronos can be fielded in the backfield a little better than the talos, I suggest using a webway portal to really make the best use of the creature. From midfield the Cronos should really be a threat to your opponent and be able to back up your forward assault units. Watch out for melta teams or plasmas.

The Parasite engine really seems to meld nicely with a talos. The Talos being that close combat death, while the Cronos deals its death in the shooting phase. With a toughness of 7 and a single token that you should be able to get rather quickly, it should have good survivability on the tabletop. While it doesn't have the mass number of possible attacks or the greater strength of the Talos, S5 with furious charge will make it no slouch.

I see them being a strong unit in a list designed with them in mind. Don't simply just place them in your list without really figuring out how to make them effective. First round missle fire will kill them dead. Webway Portals lists seem the best way to get them on the field where they can unleash on the enemy. If you are facing a fast moving assault army like blood angels or space wolves, I can see deploying the Cronos. However portals still seem like the best suprise they can offer. Punish severly those that would approach your portals and attempt to block them. That will be the way I use the Cronos Parasite Engine.

Denizens of Commorragh - Talos Pain Engines

I was back reading on my blog and discovered that I really hadn't covered a good range of models on my Dark Eldar Reviews. The series Denizens of Commorragh was only partially complete. So today I wanted to talk about the Talos Pain Engine.

First off, it's slow. Dangerously slow for a Dark Eldar Army. If you are planning on walking these across the battlefield, missile launchers will eat you up, as you only have 3 wounds. It's hard to get pain tokens into them until they get into close combat. While I can see someone using a talos from the backfield, I think they are strongest from a warp portal. It also guarantees that anyone that tries to block off your warp portal will pay dearly when they are unsuccessful.

Lets look at them. WS5 BS3 S7 T7 W3  I4 Ad6 Ld10 Sv3+ . They are fearless, have power from pain, move through cover and are a Monstrous Creatures. You can replace their close combat weapon with a twin linked liquifier (nice but might kill to many and preclude your charge), inchor injector (instant death) , or chain flails (roll an extra d6 and pick the highest). You can then take an extra close combat weapon.

Weapon wise you come with a twin linked splinter cannon. Remember you are a monstrous creature, so you are relentless. You can replace the splinter cannon with a stinger pod, twin linked haywire blaster, or a twin linked heat lance. The twin linked heat lance seems the most reliable. Gives you a chance to blow up a close vehicle and then chew on the crew inside when you charge them in assault.

Set up wise, I will be using these with the twin linked heat lance, extra close combat weapon, and chain flails. I suppose if you plan on a defensive talos, you can always choose a longer range weapon like the splinter cannon. While I like the idea of the liquifier, I don't like the idea of killing too many guys and not being able to assault.

The Talos shines in area denial, with 3-8 attacks on the charge. 1 for charge +extra close combat weapon, and 2d6 pick the highest random attacks. With S7 I4, you should be able to do pretty well. If you remember that your talos is a Support piece they will excel on the table top. Alone you will see them killed by meltas and missile fire. However get yourself a pain token and you will reduce those kills to just meltas, as Krak missiles you will get a Feel No Pain save with your first pain token. Plasma will also be rather dangerous, but this is why you are a support piece, and not the apex of the assault.

Come out of a Warp Portal for field placement, and use these in conjunction with other close combat units. A Talos has a 6" movement and 6" assault and is not fleet. So they have reach of 12" from any portal when you are trying to assault. A portal centrally located gives you 24" dia reach (12" in any direction) from the portal. Your portal is 3" diameter, so basically you can draw 27" diameter circles on the table top and that gives you how much coverage they have as they come through a portal. From the center of the portal 1.5"+ 6" movement + 6" assault radius. The idea is to show how much territory on the board a talos can threaten if you placed one or two webways.

Pain tokens means the Talos will get better as the game proceeds, so they work well with Cronos Parasite engines. FNP and Furious charge make them true monsters. S8 with I5 on the charge with 3-8 attacks/ avg (6). Wow.

You will find that your forward assaults will get that extra push with a talos or two in the ranks. If you read the blog, you will see that I have them in a current list I am using. However the Talos is backed up two Cronos Parasite Engines, a unit of Incubi, and a Ginsu on steriods (archon).

Forward Progression on Raider Conversions

Today Ive made some ground on converting my raiders over to a more 5th codex appearance. Im starting to like the looks of how they are coming out, however I know there is a lot more work to be done on them. All the pics are in black and white until I repaint. (they look like crap right now).

Im trying to keep it simple, yet keep with some of the same aethestics of the new raiders. I've decided to just stick to the old parts, and not add new ones. To start I need a sail. Plasti-card seemed pretty easy to make one out of, as well as extra sprue bits. I took off the rear fin of the old raider, cut it up, and used it as a large angled rudder for the rear of the raider.

So this is where I am at thus far. I will attempt to get some better pics without so much shadow on them at a latter date.

Dark Eldar Pain Tokens with Pics

Today GW is showing us how they envision pain tokens looking on the tabletop.

I had planned on using old spikey bits from my old chaos army that are laying around along with misc heads from various games.

I also plan on putting them on Square Bases so that they are easy to recognize and see on the battlefield.

 Here are some other ideas as well from the GW modeling studios. I thought I would share them with you.

Dark Eldar List - Asdrubael Vect 2500pts (Refined with Haemonculi)

It's time to unleash my Haemonculi. Refining a list is what getting a lot of games in is for. This list is updated from the previous one listed a few weeks back. I wrote a battle report on this lists predecessor. I am moving more in this direction with the Haemonculi and more forward assault support. Hence the Pain Engines and Haemonculi.

The Haemonculi will throw down their arcane wargear to confuse and frustrate the enemy, while Pain Engines are set to use the portals. Wyches are designated for disabling armoured lines, while the rest of the army pushes forward into the middle field, leaving behind the warriors in the backfield.

Vect will ride along with the Incubi, and the three haemonculi can split up between the three elite choices, Incubi and Trueborns. With the 75% chance of going first, and the warp portals, the Pain engines should have plenty of time to do their business.

Tactic wise with the Webways, I want to be able to use them not only as a board edge, but as a defensive impassable terrain as well. An 11" wall possibly blocking off an objective, or centered on the board, that I have full mobility around and am able to come through with Pain Engines. Time to take full advantage of this powerful tool.

HQ
Asbrubael Vect 240pts (Gives almost a 75% chance going first)

Haemonculi Ancient 125pts with Webway Portal, Animus Vitae, Venom Blade
Haemonculi 110pts with Webway Portal, Shattershard, Venom Blade
Haemonculi 110pts with Webway Portal, Crucible of Malediction, Venom Blade

Elite
2x Trueborn (7) 214pts with 4x Blasters, and a Dracon for Leadership.
Raider with a Shock Prow (Dark Lance)

Incubi (7) 254pts Klaivex with Demiklaives (since they will end up splitting up with the archon)
Raider with a Shock Prow (Dark Lance)

Troops
2x Wyches (5) 145pts with 5 Haywire Grenades, 1 Hydra Gauntlet, Hekatrix
Venom with Flickerfield and 2 Splinter Cannons
2x Warriors (20) 210pts with 2 Splinter Cannons, Sybarite
Wracks (10) 195pts with 2 Liquifiers, Acolyst
Raider with a Shock Prow (Dark Lance)

Heavy Support
Talos Pain Engine 125pts, Chainflails, extra close combat weapon, twin-linked Heat Lance

2x Cronos Parasite Engine 110pts, Spirit Probe, Spirit Vortex

Total Points 2517. I need to drop 17 points in this list. A Incubi or something I haven't decided upon yet.