Post Tournament Thoughts and List Evaluation

The last couple of weeks have given me a chance to reflect on the Dark Eldar list I took the tournament in March. Let's break it down and see what worked well and what needs to change.




As those who read my 'post tournament rundown' post will know, the army did very well in some games and fell short in others. Obviously it's not always exactly clear where generalship, luck and experience come into these results but it was certainly apparent that my list had some flaws.

Archon (huskblade, soul trap, combat drugs, shadow field, Haywire grenades, Phantasm G.Launcher)

175pts.

Haemonculus (Shattershard, Venom blade)

70pts

+

4 Incubi

Raider (Dark Lance, Night Shields)

158pts

At over 400pts this unit is a pretty big points sink in a 1500pt list. It certainly had it's moments but I'm not convinced enough to say it earned back it's high cost. The Incubi are the real powerhouses here and I'm now wondering if they could manage without the support of the Archon's PGL. Perhaps I should consider taking five in a Venom to go hunting with next time.

The Archon was less than stellar throughout many of the games. I was cursed with my Shadow-Field rolls on the first day of the weekend, by the end of the three games he had taken a total of six 2+ saves and failed four of them. Not good for a T3 warlord. He didn't manage to personally kill any ICs or MCs either so my Soul Trap unfortunately never saw the light of day. Perhaps it was a poor pairing with the Huskblade as at S3 he was often wounding on 5+ or even 6+ and it just never happened for him. I think perhaps in future I'd like to try taking a much cheaper Archon armed only with a Blaster and putting him in a Venom with a couple of Blaster wielding Trueborn. Could be devastating tank/terminator/monstrous creature hunting squad.

As for the Haemonculus, what is there to say? Really you are paying to start with a pain-token and I would say for that alone he's great. The added bonus is the fun you can have with the Shattershard though. Just watch your opponents face as he has to play Russian-roulette with the expensive HQ unit you've targeted. Great fun. With the Venom-Blade he wasn't too shabby in a fight either.

10 Kabalite Warriors (Sybarite, Blaster, Splinter Cannon)

Raider (Dark Lance, Splinter Racks, Night Shields)

205pts

10 Kabalite Warriors (Sybarite, Blaster, Splinter Cannon)

Raider (Dark Lance, Splinter Racks, Night Shields)

205pts

10 Kabalite Warriors (Sybarite, Blaster, Splinter Cannon)

Raider (Dark Lance, Splinter Racks, Night Shields)

205pts

I love everything about these guys, so much mobility, so much versatility. The anti-infantry capabilities of the unit is where they really shine though. Using them as a pack to pick on single units ensures devastation. In rapid-fire range it's just ridiculous. Twenty splinter shots per unit, hitting on 3+ with re-rolls. And two S8 AP2 weapons to boot. I'm smitten.

The Night Shields on the Raiders were well worth the spend. Just that extra six inches made all the difference so many times in terms of putting potential shots out of range. It was especially useful against enemy troops with Meltaguns. It was a fantastic psychological weapon too, frustrating many an opponent by scuppering a well thought out plan.

5 Wyches (Haywire Grenades)

Venom, (Splinter Cannon, Night Shields)

135pts

The most reliable tank-busters in the army, It's just a shame they are so often 'one use only'. Still well worth the points though, especially if the Venom survives to go on harassing infantry for the rest of the game.

 

Ravager (3 x Dark Lance, Night Shields)

115pts

Ravager (3 x Disintigrators, Night Shields)

115pts

Ravager (3 x Disintigrators, Night Shields)

115pts

I just love Disintigrator Ravagers, Nine AP2 shots are just so devastating against Marines which make up so many of our opponents in 40k. Don't get me wrong, there were definitely times where I longed to have another Dark Lance Ravager, especially as my one was so often the first to of the three to explode but most of the time the trade off was absolutely worth it.

Having said that it's clear that my anti-tank is definitely lacking. This was most apparent in my final game against Ian's Grey Knights/Guard where I had too many av11 vehicles to open and no-where near enough Darklight to do it.

As much as it pains me, I think a Dissie Ravager will have to go. If I can find a way to juggle the points I think a Razorwing/Voidraven might be in order to take up the anti-tank slack and also to give me a fighting chance against Flyers.

Time to go and write a new list...

Happy raiding!