With that being said, several recent articles have been published by various authors where I had to think real close about what my army was doing in battle (here, there, and everywhere). Both authors have their heads on straight (usually), but both had very different ideologies on how to play the Dark Eldar. That is okay, as I'm going to be picking and choosing what I like and don't. Just like what I want you to do with Implausible Nature. ;)
You'll notice that the first article is written by DashofPepper and is primarily explaining his Nova Open 2011 list. This article is important, as it explains the primary reason for me wanting a Baron-led Beastmaster pack. I've always wanted to run a Venom-heavy list, even before the codex was officially released, so knowing how a proven DE player does it is extremely important before moving forward. His second article talks about some of the basic principles of the Dark Eldar and the why's behind them. I don't agree with all of them, but he does a good job at laying down his arguments supporting his position. That is exactly the type of thing I need to make an informed decision. Finally, the article by Stelek goes into how to build a balanced DE list using what he refers to as "Dual-purpose" units. Essentially, he's looking for duality in the units he is taking and outlines pretty clearly why he takes the units he does. Reading these few articles (and the comments), you'll notice that Stelek and Dash disagree on how to handle the "correct" way of playing the Dark Eldar. I don't think there is one, to be honest. Phil Kelly did a great job at creating a very balanced codex with few poor units in them. There are quite a few archetypes that can be created from this book, so arguing over who is right is pointless in my opinion. So let's take a look at what my current DE list and we'll go from there.
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]
As noted in my previous article, this list features 3 separate CC units as the centerpiece of the army. Backing them up is 6x Wrack units in Raiders, as well as some Reavers and Ravagers. Something Dash mentioned in one of his articles prompted me to examine my list pretty thoroughly and it basically amounted to describing what he believed was the correct way of playing Dark Eldar: All or nothing. For him, the only way the Dark Eldar did well was to apply massive focused pressure on a single point of an opponent's army with everything in the DE list. Doing so prevented anything from being "suicidal", as there would be massive targeting issues present because everything was right there with the rest. For a long time Stelek has argued that Blaster-born units were not very good, because after they jumped out and fired their weapons, they would simply be shot and killed. Theoretically, I agree with this statement. However, if you are successful with your Alpha Strike as Dash suggests, there are quite a few more dangerous things you need to watch out for. Thus, you've got multiple threats to deal with rather than just a couple, so killing off an unit isn't as easy as it sounds. If you can manage to bust infantry out of even a couple transports, then you will be well on your way towards winning the game.
Outside of dual-heat lance units (i.e. Scourges/Reavers), the most effective AT unit we have is the Blasterborn squad, so why not use it? The problem is, in my current list, there is no extra points and only one slot to put them. I don't think its wise to add a single unit of Blasterborn to a list, as they'll simply be targeted straight-away and marginalize their effectiveness. That means I have to make a concession in my list. As much as I like the dual-Incubi setup, so long as they are in the list, I'll be happy. So I'll drop one unit of those (and their Haemonculus) to give me the points buy a Blasterborn squad and Venom transport. As mentioned, I need two of them, so I will also need to drop something else in the list. Dash makes a very good case for why Reaver Jetbikes aren't all that great in one of the articles I linked. While I don't necessarily buy into everything he said, the point about them usually not contributing to the first turn Alpha Strike was spot on. As much as I'd like to have melta in the list, they have to go.
Assuming there were no other changes to the list, we're sitting at 1944 points. Obviously, we have some wriggle room to spare. Much like Dash's list, we have both a Beastmaster pack and a CC-oriented unit. Where he takes Wyches for their Haywire Grenades, I will risk it and give myself more kill power. Do I really need the extra anti-infantry? Not really, but if my opponent is decently lucky, then the Venoms won't be around long so its nice to have a few units who can get the job done in CC. This also gives me the ability to use the Beastmaster pack as a tarpit unit against dedicated CC-units such as TWC, TH/SS Terminators, or Nob Bikers. Then, because those units are out of the way, the Incubi is free to commence a counter-attack. However, because I now only have one squad of them, I feel that only having 6 of them is a little light. So using the left over points, I'll add in a couple more Incubi. I also want to help make sure they don't get shot down prematurely, so I'll add a Flickerfield to their Raider.
So now we have a large squad of Incubi who ride around in a Raider that is as resilient as you can make a paper airplane. Those Incubi will eat MEQ for dinner and due to the larger squad size, fair much better against horde infantry units. Dash uses the pain token from the Haemonculus to protect his Wych investment and claims FNP it does that wonderfully. By the same token, the Incubi (with similar numbers) should last even longer due to their superior 3+ armor saves. Even if their Raider goes down, the Incubi have Fleet so they will still remain fairly mobile. If I'm able to use cover cleverly (not hard in Nova Open 2011 boards), they are even more resilient to incoming fire.
Looking at the list, we have 2x Blasterborn squads that are going to make an impact on turn one. We have the Incubi squad that is zooming forward to take advantage of de-meched infantry, with the Beastmaster pack following closely behind. I don't think that is enough direct threat to prevent my Blasterborn from getting rocked. However, I don't think there needs to be much in the way of change to correct that issue! Let's explore the Troops slot again. :)
As it stands now, we have 6x Wrack units with Liquifier Guns in their Raiders. Previously, I was using these as my alternative means of anti-infantry should the Incubi/Beasts not be sufficient. However, I was thinking that in the "All or Nothing" approach, these guys are mighty vulnerable and don't exactly contribute much to the opening of transports. Sure their Raiders will be firing, but we all know how easy it is to stun open-topped AV10. Wracks have no way of dealing with vehicles by themselves and that concerns me, no matter how powerful their Liquifier Gun is. So I think a concession needs to be made. I don't want to get rid of them entirely, as their ability to hold objectives is second to none. Not only that, they really do pack a punch if needed. Consider the fact that you'll likely be facing Wolf Scouts and/or Genestealers, which will likely Outflank behind your lines, the ability to throw the Liquifier Gun into them at near lethal efficiency is important. Not only that, you can assault them if you need to and will do pretty good damage with their poison weapons.
What am I going to do then? Well, I think this is a good time to take advantage of Stelek. One of his list building philosophies is the 4+2. For those that don't know what means (or don't want to read the article), that essentially means there is four advancing troops and two backfield troops. This gives your advancing troops enough redundancy to get their job done, while having sufficient troops available to claim your objectives and support one another without wasting resources. How will I implement this into my list? We'll take a look. ;)
First of all, I want to keep Wracks in the list in some fashion. I was thinking they would fill the need for two backfield units. But when I'm thinking about this, I had to decide if that was such a good idea, as this would prevent charging forward with everything in my army as Dash suggests. To reduce the threat level of my valuable units, I need massive target issues present. Ideally, that would be 6x Warrior units with Blasters. However, I decided to go with my plan of 4x Warrior squads and 2x Wrack squads. I want a good list, but I'm not going to go that extra 5% to give the maximized potential. I do the massive optimization thing with my Black Templars and there are units I'd just like to use in this list. However, its not like anything I'm adding to the list is making it bad. They still have a role to play and should do it well. I just need to learn the army, just like anything else. :P
HQ:
* Baron Sathoynx. [105]
* Haemonculus. [50]
ELITES:
* Incubi (8) w/ Klaive. Mounted in a Raider. [246]
* 4 Kabalite Trueborn w/ 4 Blasters. Mounted in a Venom w/ 2 Splinter Cannons. [173]
* 4 Kabalite Trueborn w/ 4 Blasters. Mounted in a Venom w/ 2 Splinter Cannons. [173]
TROOPS:
* 5 Warriors w/ 1 Blaster and 4 Splinter Rifles. Mounted in a Venom w/ 2 Splinter Cannons. [125]
* 5 Warriors w/ 1 Blaster and 4 Splinter Rifles. Mounted in a Venom w/ 2 Splinter Cannons. [125]
* 5 Warriors w/ 1 Blaster and 4 Splinter Rifles. Mounted in a Venom w/ 2 Splinter Cannons. [125]
* 5 Warriors w/ 1 Blaster and 4 Splinter Rifles. Mounted in a Venom w/ 2 Splinter Cannons. [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]
HEAVY SUPPORT:
* Ravager w/ Flickerfields. [115]
* Ravager w/ Flickerfields. [115]
* Ravager w/ Flickerfields. [115]
TOTAL: [1998]
Okay, so what we're seeing is a different list altogether. I don't think its a poor change though. Obviously, we don't have as many Incubi running around and that makes me sad, but I really think the one squad will be more than enough of a threat to draw fire. With the FNP and increased squad size, they should stick around. And when the transport gets shot down (if opponent has first turn), they can Fleet to their targets. I also dropped the Reaver Jetbikes, just because I don't think they'll contribute as much as I'd like them to. In exchange, I added two Blasterborn squads. They will be shooting their full capacity of blasters (4) at vehicles on first turn to give my Incubi something to charge. With them will be the Warriors, to give additional blaster shots and some redundancy for my forward portion of my army.
The Wracks will camp cover, preferably on objectives, which is a change from the last list. They are also competent at holding their objectives due to their Liquifier Gun and dual-poison weapons. Their Raiders will preform first/second turn ramming on vehicles to attempt to blow something up, but it also doubles as movement blockers. Moving ahead of Wracks, but behind the rest of the army is the Beastmaster pack. They'll engage any opportune enemy as the situation calls for it. Add in the Venoms and the list should have anti-infantry really covered.
The list contains 12 Dark Lances, 12 Blasters, 12 Splinter Cannons, and 2 Liquifier Guns. :)