Prepping for Nova Open 2012: Dark Eldar!

Hello!  I know that this is kind of a change of pace from the battle reports (and those will still be finished up), however, when I get something in my mind, I run with it.  Most of my readers are not Dark Eldar players and I understand that, but I'm hoping you all will help me with a little exercise in preparing for Nova Open 2012.  Yes, the battle reports are still coming.  Patience!  I'll be getting another one up very soon.  Seems to me that mine are much more indepth than everyone else's around the web.  ;)

** Very long.  You have been warned. **

First thing that should be noted is that I'll be taking the Dark Eldar to Nova Open 2012.  This is subject to change, however, if the Black Templars get a new codex before the event (or I randomly change my mind and decide to go with the BT).  In the meantime, there is several national GTs that I hope to attend to give the Black Templars some love.  Now that I have a pretty much painted army, I don't have to worry about that for those GTs.  Still, even that army is receiving tweaks to account for the "new" terrain decisions that Nova Open made (4-5 BLOS terrain pieces per board).  But the point is to plan ahead, as I don't want to fall into another situation like this year where I was scrambling to finish on time, which resulted in extreme fatigue on game day.

I'll go into the tweaks for my gunline BT list in another post, but it is the Dark Eldar that I want to talk about tonight.  So what do we know about them?  Most would point out that they are fragile and highly difficult to play.  Others would be quick to point out their internal codex balance, extreme mobility, and firepower capabilities.  Both sides would be correct in those statements.  The Dark Eldar do have the best mobility of any army, bar none.  This not only allows them to get out of sticky situations, it gives the DE player the ability to re-deploy at a moments notice.  That gives them superior abilities with shooting, as well as being dangerous in objective/table quarter based games.  However, those transports have paper thin armor and rely on cover saves to save them (or Flickerfields if purchased).  Even the infantry has very little in the way of armor.  But where there is lack of durability, you gain extremely dangerous units.  Everything in the army can wipe you off the board if you let them.  The ultimate glass hammer and I love it!

So there are a great many things being tossed around in my mind, but most of those armies are going to have to go through a redux.  The terrain in Nova Open is THAT influential.  There is no way that I'd be able to stand up and shoot.  I have to use the terrain to its maximum capability and that means being as mobile as possible.  Assaulting will have to take a forefront focus, as shooting simply didn't do enough damage with all of the cover saves.  MSU reigns supreme.

To start, I took a gander at the lists that I currently have for the DE and tried to decide if any of them were appropriate for my needs.  The first one, the Venomwing, is a great list.  Very effective and has devastating shooting capabilities.  However, much like my BT gunline list which has the same strengths, terrain at Nova would be killer.  Also, there is no CC presence in the list at all, which I found was relatively important in some games.  So I moved on to the next list.  The basis of this list, I actually did like.  It was built around two FNP Incubi squads.  There has been some success with that combo, but it has to be properly supported for it to work.  If they are the only CC unit you have, then they get targeted early on and killed.

They do have the advantage in that there will be lots of cover to hide in after a successful charge.  But again, they need support and the current list only features Wyches...which won't cut it in my opinion.  The final list is a trick list using WWP.  Its not very balanced, but very tough to beat if the combo works.  Much like the dual-LRC BT list.  But I think there is something to be salvaged from the list:  the Beastmaster pack.  These guys are very durable, hit like a truck in CC, and have a very large threat radius.  So we have a couple of things that I do want to add to my list:  Incubi and a Beastmaster pack.

The challenge is integrating them into a list that remains balanced.  I still have to have sufficient amounts of AT or else there won't be anything to charge.  There still needs to be AI as well, as my close combat units cannot be everywhere at once and I need the capability to knock people off objectives, something that my BT Gunline list didn't do so well at due to the terrain issues.  So what do we have that can accomplish those things?  In the AT department, the choice is a pretty simple one:  Lances.  Ideally, the DE want to have at least 18 dark light weapons on the board, with a preference towards the longer ranged Dark Lances.  This makes the Ravager almost an automatic in most DE lists but finding the others are a bit more difficult.  We'll come back to this in a moment.

So let's spit-ball a little bit and throw some ideas together.  We know that I want the FNP Incubi and Beastmaster, but what are we going to put around it?  I'd like to take advantage of the Dark Eldars excellent MSU abilities if I can, as by doing so, it gives me great redundancy and weapon options across a wide range of units.  Not to mention, Nova Open taught me that having more mobile units was certainly better.  So 6 Troops squads are a necessity in this list.  The other slots need not be filled to capacity, but I'm going to try.  The next decision needs to be regarding the play-style of the list.  Do I build a stand-off and shoot list?  Or do I want to use the mobility of the DE in my lists?  Both had pros and cons.  In a "gunline" list, I'll be facing much the same issues with terrain as I did with my BT gunline (but I have more mobility).  However, the range helps nullify the primary weakness of the DE:  fragility.  On the other hand, staying mobile with my forces allows me to manipulate the board and the game as its happening.  I can access any part of my opponent's army that I want and can be very difficult to beat in objective based games.  However, by putting myself in the open and in range of my opponent's weapons, there is a much greater chance my enemy will take advantage of the lack of durability that exists in the DE army.

I think I'd rather play the mobile type for my Dark Eldar, as that was the reason I ultimately picked them in the first place.  The challenge of keeping everything alive while I'm systematically dismantling my opponent is a good feeling.  There was lots of inspiration for these lists, partially mine; other sources included DashofPepper and Stelek.  In the end, my main internal discussion revolved around the close combat elements of my list and how they would fit in when I needed more AT in the list.  Let's take a look at the finished list and I'll dissect it a little bit, explaining the choices I made and the problems that occurred in the list building process.

HQ:
* Baron Sathoynx.  [105]
* Haemonculus (2).  [100]

ELITES:
* Incubi (6) w/ Klaive.  Mounted in a Raider.  [192]
* Incubi (6) w/ Klaive.  Mounted in a Raider.  [192]

TROOPS:
* Wracks (5) w/ Liquifier Gun.  Mounted in a Raider w/ Shock Prow.  [125]
* Wracks (5) w/ Liquifier Gun.  Mounted in a Raider w/ Shock Prow.  [125]
* Wracks (5) w/ Liquifier Gun.  Mounted in a Raider w/ Shock Prow.  [125]
* Wracks (5) w/ Liquifier Gun.  Mounted in a Raider w/ Shock Prow.  [125]
* Wracks (5) w/ Liquifier Gun.  Mounted in a Raider w/ Shock Prow.  [125]
* Wracks (5) w/ Liquifier Gun.  Mounted in a Raider w/ Shock Prow.  [125]

FAST ATTACK:
* Beastmaster Pack (3) w/ 5 Khymerae and 4 Razorwing Flocks.  [156]
* Reaver Jetbikes (6) w/ 2 Heat Lances.  [156]

HEAVY SUPPORT:
* Ravager w/ Flickerfields.  [115]
* Ravager w/ Flickerfields.  [115]
* Ravager w/ Flickerfields.  [115]

TOTAL:  [1996]

First thing that should be noted, is that there is room for tweaks as I playtest the list.  Basically, this is a very aggressive, "in your face" list that takes the fight to my opponent on all fronts.  As you can see, there are 3 legitimately scary CC-oriented units in the army:  2 FNP Incubi units and 1 Beastmaster Pack led by Baron.  The Feel No Pain will help the Incubi stick around longer on the battlefield, which is especially important if their Raider gets shot down early.  Having that initial pain token also hastens their ascent to the Furious Charge pain token, which will dramatically improve their kill abilities.  Theoretically, you can get a first turn charge off with these guys, but its not likely.  Ideally, they are going to be your main disruption in the list.  Your enemy has Long Fangs?  Head straight for them.  Inquisitorial squads?  Chop them to pieces.  The initial goal with the Incubi is to disrupt their infantry based shooting.  After that, target the most opportune unit available.  Just remember that they don't have grenades, so prioritize things outside of cover if possible.

Even though you have FNP, things like Psycannons will still hurt you badly.  That is where the Beastmaster Pack comes in.  With the protection of Baron (stealth USR and LD 9), you should be able to bring the pack across the board quite easily assuming the same terrain amount as this year's Nova Open.  Once you get into range of your opponent, you have the opportunity to either keep Baron with the unit and be granted grenades when charging (but lose the 12" charge), or you can have him leave the unit so you can make use of the full beast charge.  Obviously, its situational to which is the best move for you.  The Pack can be used for a variety of roles:  tie-up CC-oriented units, eating opponent's troops, or a big massive blob of threat.  With the Razorwing's rending attacks, they'll do some damage against anything they charge.  Its even nastier if they charge poorly armored foes.

After that, the waters become muddied.  The main problem I was presented with was that with that core of CC-units, my ability to include sufficient AT was drastically reduced.  I was taking up two Elites slots where normally Trueborn would be taken.  I also didn't want to invest in footbased Warriors or Scourges, as that didn't fit the list.  There needed to be a good amount of Lance firepower at the start of the game to ensure that there would be something to charge with my Incubi, but I couldn't rely on blasters until the second turn.  That was also a dangerous proposition, as once I got out to fire, that unit was likely dead.  So after hours of tooling around with different options, I came up with the above list.  Considering my self-imposed restrictions, this was the largest amount of Lances I could squeeze out of the list and still remain true to the list's style.

Unfortunately, the list simply did not allow me to wield one of my favorite units in the Dark Eldar codex:  Venoms.  I needed every last Dark Lance on those Raiders and taking a Venom would have cut that number down.  However, I was able to fit in a Reaver Jetbike unit, which is another favorite.  Two units of 6 would have been better, but the points simply were not there.  Armed with Heat Lances, these guys are the insurance policy against those hard to kill vehicles.  If I can keep them in terrain (not hard if this year's Nova was an indication) and rely on their Skillful Riders USR, they should be plenty durable and dangerous at the same time.  The Reavers should have no problems throwing wounds around the board with their Bladevanes ability.  They will also double as a late-game objective contesting unit due to their ability to turbo-boost 36".

Finally, the Troops units.  After the Haemonculus pass of their pain token to the Incubi, they will drop out of that unit and join the smaller Wrack units.  Then once they have jumped back into their Raider, they will join the other Wrack units in their quest to stay mobile and template opportune infantry units.  With the variable AP on the Liquifier Gun, you have a 50% chance to negate MEQ armor (and no cover saves).  That is pretty good in my opinion.  You hit automatically, so on average you're looking at 3-4 marines hit per blast.  With Str 4, you should wound at least two.  With a favorable AP dice roll, you've just took a nice little chunk out of that unit.  Against larger units of marines, you'll get even more under the template.  They are even better against hordes of infantry:  IG, Orcs, or Tyranids.  The Wracks are no slouches in CC either with their pair of poisoned weapons and FNP, with their prowess growing if they gain another pain token.  They are also excellent objective holders, especially when placed in cover.

The list plays exactly how I envision a Dark Eldar list to:  with finesse and skill.  I cannot attack straight on and expect to win.  Rather, I use my Incubi and Beastmaster Pack to present huge threats to my opponent, which will undoubtedly cause them to receive the lion's share of firepower in their direction.  But with FNP and Stealth (Incubi and Pack respectively), they should survive the onslaught.  Fortunately, I should have a reasonable chance at having the first turn (with Baron's special rule), so I'll have the opportunity to Alpha Strike my opponent.  Meanwhile, the Wracks will be maneuvering into position to strike a decisive blow against opportune units while my opponent is distracted by the Incubi/Beastmaster Pack.  The Reavers will likely receive some fire as well, but when turbo-boosting around, they need not worry about dying to incoming fire.  And if they do, its because my opponent expended a vast amount of firepower at them.  Which is makes me happy, as that could have been directed at more dangerous units.  ;)

So now let's take a closer look at it.  Taking my BT gunline list and comparing it against this one, how would each fare?  It really would depend on who has first turn.  However, because of Baron, the Dark Eldar list will have the first turn more times than not.  This isn't such a disadvantage most of the time with my gunline as I don't mind the second turn, but against a fast moving CC-oriented army such as this one, the first turn is definitely needed.

Obviously, the BT have the significant edge in shooting.  If I have the first turn and if I'm not able to grant cover to enough of my Raider hulls, they are going to die spectacularly.  The Dark Eldar can't hurt the Black Templars if their pinned in their own deployment zone.  However, killing the Beastmaster Pack will be a fairly difficult.  Much like killing uber-TWC units, they are simply too durable to kill off before they get to you.  So I'd need to sacrifice an unit to keep them from me.  Trying to block them with a vehicle is also an option, as is trying to tank shock them away.  However, the tank shock option isn't as likely due to the Baron's LD 9 and the prevalence of terrain.  So blocking would be the best option here.  While my advantage is huge in shooting and theoretically would be devastating if I have the first turn, I know from my experiences at Nova Open that BLOS terrain truly hurts.  Even so, if I can stay in my transports, I might be able to pull out a win.  The key will be preventing the CC-units from getting to me early.  If that can be done, the game is entirely winnable.

However, Baron is a game-changer.  He helps ensure that the DE player has the first turn, which nearly guarantees that most of the army will have either advanced into the gunline's face (perhaps charging) and/or shot up a good portion of the vehicles in the list.  Chain-stuns are more than sufficient to keep my paper-airplanes in the air, but I do want to destroy at least one transport on the first turn so I have some targets to charge.  The Incubi will eat the Terminators for breakfast if they aren't in cover, but if I was playing myself, they would be.  So those Terminators would be a better target for my Beastmaster Pack, who will just as easily take them down, but are way more durable against those power fists.  I could even pull off a multi-charge, as the Packs are fairly sizable.  This would leave the Incubi to charge other things in the army, namely the Crusader squads if they are de-meched or sitting outside of their transport.

In either case, if a terminator squad gets charged, that is a significant drop in firepower.  There is no way that the BT can outrun the DE with this type of list, so if the terminators go down, the end is nearly there.  It will be a matter of trying to salvage a win by sacrificing units as needed and bringing down enough of the transports to stop the Dark Eldar AT.  But realistically, it won't happen once the line starts to falter.  The Wracks and Reaver Jetbikes are just the icing on the cake, able to run down cut-off elements of the army and quickly eliminate them.

Definitely not a favorable match-up for my Black Templars, but not nearly an impossible task.  Ultimately, the lack of a counter-assault unit in my BT gunline will be the army's downfall against this particular DE list.  How about everyone else?  Take a look at the list and analyze what you'd do to beat it.  Knowing how I intend to hypothetically run the list, think about what would happen if I had the first turn against your list.  Would your list have the tools to beat me?  Hopefully this will provide some thought-provoking comments.  Just remember, this list is designed with the BLOS terrain at Nova Open in mind.  Let's hear your thoughts!  :D

** Note:  If you don't know the stats or abilities of an unit, weapon, or piece of wargear, let me know.  I'll post what they do. **