[DAM66]

For some of the upcoming tournaments in my area I will need a 2500 point list. The largest DE lists I have played to date are 500 point 40K in a Flash games. Since there is an ever so slight difference between 500 and 2500 I wanted to throw my list as it stands from me gleaning through past WWP lists and liberating what I can.

Additional Thoughts:
1. If you see a clear or best tactic based on this list and don't mind, throw that in the response also.
2. I will list additional units that I have but are not included within the list in case someone thinks they should be.


2500 Pts - Dark Eldar Roster - Unnamed

HQ: Archon (11#, 377 Pts)
1 Archon @ 377 Pts
Combat Drug Dispenser; Shadow Field; Tormentor Helm; Punisher; Plasma Grenades; Animus Vitae
1 Retinue @ [225] Pts
9 Incubi @ [225] Pts
Tormentor Helm; Punisher (x9)

HQ: Haemonculi (11#, 285 Pts)
1 Haemonculi @ 285 Pts
Scissorhand; Webway Portal
9 Grotesques
1 Raider
Dark Lance; Screaming Jets

: Warp Beasts (6#, 75 Pts)
5 Warp Beasts
Beastmaster
1 Beast master
Agonizer; Splinter Pistol

Troops: Warrior Squad (10#, 100 Pts)
10 Warrior Squad
Splinter Rifle (x8); Splinter Cannon (x2)

Troops: Warrior Squad (16#, 169 Pts)
15 Warrior Squad
Blaster (x2); Splinter Rifle (x11); Splinter Cannon (x2)
1 Sybarite
Close Combat Weapon; Poison Blades

Troops: Warrior Squad (10#, 100 Pts)
10 Warrior Squad
Splinter Rifle (x8); Splinter Cannon (x2)

Troops: Warrior Squad (10#, 100 Pts)
10 Warrior Squad
Splinter Rifle (x8); Splinter Cannon (x2)

Troops: Warrior Squad (10#, 100 Pts)
10 Warrior Squad
Splinter Rifle (x8); Splinter Cannon (x2)

Troops: Warrior Squad (10#, 100 Pts)
10 Warrior Squad
Splinter Rifle (x8); Dark Lance (x2)

Elite: Wyches (20#, 338 Pts)
19 Wyches
Close Combat Weapon; Splinter Pistol; Wych Weapons; Shredder (x2); Combat Drugs
1 Succubus
Close Combat Weapon; Splinter Pistol; Wych Weapons; Webway Portal

Elite: Wyches (11#, 200 Pts)
10 Wyches
Close Combat Weapon; Splinter Pistol; Wych Weapons; Blaster (x1); Shredder (x1); Combat Drugs
1 Raider
Dark Lance

Heavy Support: Talos (1#, 100 Pts)
1 Talos @ 100 Pts
Talos Claw; Talos Sting

Heavy Support: Talos (1#, 100 Pts)
1 Talos @ 100 Pts
Talos Claw; Talos Sting

Heavy Support: Ravager (1#, 135 Pts)
1 Ravager @ 135 Pts
Dark Lance (x1); Disentegrator (x2); Nightshields

Fast Attack: Reaver Jetbike Squad (4#, 125 Pts)
4 Reaver Jetbike Squad @
Splinter Pistol; Blaster (x1); Shredder (x1); Splinter Rifle (x4); Combat Drugs; Reaver Jetbike

Fast Attack: Hellion (5#, 90 Pts)
5 Hellion @ 90 Pts
Combat Drugs; Hellglaive; Hellion Skyboard

Total Roster Cost: 2494


I still have in reserve some:
Warriors: approx 15 some with DL's or Splinter Cannons
Scourge: 10 some with heavy Weapons
A Lord:
A Master of Blades special character



Thanks in advance for everyones input, I'm pretty stoked about playing DE. This army has been sitting in my closet for a few years because my son wanted it but never followed through with building it. I have been a Speed Freek for a few years but am ready for another style of play. Not that it matters but the color theme of the army will be Spawn colors (My sons idea). Thanks Again


DAM

[Siruk]

Some points

1. Give a destructor to your Haemonculi

2. Give the WWP in the large wyche squad to the warrior squad sybarite, and leave the wyches in reserve.

3. give blasters to the wyches rather than shredders

4. Give the jetbike squad 2 blasters rather than a blaster and a shredder. Means they can go tank hunting.

5. Make one or two of the splinter cannon squads into dark lance squads. You need more dark lances.

6. On both wyche squads, they should have agoniser wielding succubi, and plasma grenades.

7. Give plasma grenades to the incubi in the lords squad.

[KwiKwag]

(ah, Siruk! you beat me to it!)

That is one huge list and it is a huge step from 500 points so it needs a little focus. I think I will take this one entry at a time. I want to cover everthing and would probably result in a very large post. So I will tackle the HQ first then once we get a feel for that I will move on.

If anyone else wants to mention something about please feel free - I dont want to stop anyone from trying to help with the list.

HQ:Archon (11#, 377 Pts)
1 Archon @ 377 Pts
Combat Drug Dispenser; Shadow Field; Tormentor Helm; Punisher; Plasma Grenades; Animus Vitae
1 Retinue @ [225] Pts
9 Incubi @ [225] Pts
Tormentor Helm; Punisher (x9)

Does this squad have a raider? - It has to have a raider otherwise they will never make it footslogging across the board. Incubi are the second slowest unit in the DE codex (grots are slower) and it is imperative to their success they have a raider to fly out of the portal with.

Do they have plasma grenades? Would hate to see them strike last when charging into cover - they have a wonderful initiative and you can preserve it by ensuring they all have grenades.

Also, this is one heck of killing machine that would probably feel more at home in an Apocolypse game. An Archon and 9 incubi is tremendous overkill and will absolutely decimate anything they get into cc with. A popular setup with this group is a Dracon with 5 incubi - this actually will still tear apart just about anything in the game and save you some points. The Archon is properly built and I like what he has but his retinue must be toned down. If you like the idea of an overpowered retinue then go ahead and put Drahzar in there as the fith incubi but that also just begs you to bring your Archon down to a Dracon - I hope this paints a picture of how leathal this retinue is.

I personally dont play with incubi much as they are expensive and just plain overkill when playing non-marine armies. My other concern is that they are slow - they are good usually for one charge and after that they are stranded. What usually happens is they will totally wipe out their target leaving them sitting there waiting to be rapid fired to death. Now that I think of it, that is what always happens (they charge, kill everyone and then get every gun pointed at them).

HQ: Haemonculi (11#, 285 Pts)
1 Haemonculi @ 285 Pts
Scissorhand; Webway Portal
9 Grotesques
1 Raider
Dark Lance; Screaming Jets

Hmmm, it looked good until I saw the screaming jets. I am not of a fan of deepstriking a portal carrier - this means the earliest (if you are lucky) he can deploy the wwp would be the 3rd turn (which means nothing arrives until the 4th turn). Now I do not know if you are planning it this way but let me tell you that waiting for your reserves to show up in the 4th is a heck of a stretch. You will hard pressed trying to survive 2 turns (remember he has all 2500 points on the board gunning for your starting forces). I personally like a 2nd turn drop with the majority of my reserves coming out in the 3rd. I have found dropping in the 1st turn ineffective (with 1 or 2 units coming out in the 2nd turn) and 3rd turn too late (as my starting forces are either being shot to death or engaged in close combat).

As for the unit itself - being a responsible "Armchair Archon" I must tell you that Grotesques are not orthodox and usually not used. With that being said I use these guys more than the incubi. I do use Haemoculi as wwp carriers and I also put them with a squad of grotesques as well. Sometimes I put the grotesques in a raider and other times I put them on foot.

When in a raider the idea is on the first turn the Haemy and Grots move their 12" and deploy for 2" - setting them up in cover whenever possible exactly where you need the portal to be. On the second turn the Haemy will drop the portal and use the grots as a meatshield - in essence, that is the basic strategy. If the raider gets shot down in the first turn (you lost first turn) then you will lose no more than half the grots and the Haemy is gauranteed to survive. They will be in the wreckage and although they are entagled they now enjoy a 4+ cover save as well as ignoring strength 5 shots. You should be sitting on the 12" deployment zone and you still get to drop the portal in the 2nd turn unless you get charged or shot at some more.

When on foot, the Haemy and grots move their 6" and again setup as to "screen" the Haemy so he can drop the portal in the 2nd turn. Pretty safe and if the grots are in cover then they can enjoy ignoring strength 5 shots and get a cover save for the strength 6.

So lets complete this strategy with one more piece of the puzzle since you need another portal (you should ALWAYS have 2 portals just in case) and another portal carrier. If you drop the Incubi down you can afford another Haemoculus and a portal. This guy is going to provide you 2 things:

1. Gaurantee you have a portal carrier in "omega" missions (starts on the board as infantry in escalation missions).
2. A separate "backup" portal deployer in case the other portal gets destroyed.

This guy adds another dimension to setting up the portal and creates a ton of flexibility. You can now set this guy on foot and have him run separately behind other starting units on the board as to enjoy his IC status. In this instance he can't be targeted and is constantly screened from infiltrators and or fast attack squads. With your list, I would run this guy behind the large warrior group you have and just keep him separated so he doesn't run if the warrior squad runs. Move 6", fleet if you have to if you need a better spot and again drop the portal in the 2nd turn.

Now here is another advanced portal strategy I run all the time and has never failed me:

Haemoculus with scissorhands, destructor and trophy rack with 8 grotesques on a raider. This guy just leads the grots and leaves room for another rider.

Haemoculus with scissorhands, destructor and wwp

and another Haemoculus with scissorhands, destructor and wwp

Setup: one wwp Haemy rides with the haemy/grots (so there's 2 haemys and 8 grots on the raider) and the other wwp Haemy is on foot behind the warriors. This also gaurantees that both wwp Haemys start on the board in "omega" missions as they are both considered to be "infantry" units. Unfortunately, the Haemy and Grots raider will have to start in reserve or in the portal.

Tactic: the 2 Haemy's on the raider move 12" forward and everyone disembarks. The Haemy leading the grots sets up a "screen" for the wwp Haemy. The wwp Haemy separates (when he disembarks) from the squad and fleets into a good defensive position (using the grots as a screen) and is ready to drop the portal in the 2nd turn. He is now pretty much untouchable and has 8 grots and a Haemy to protect him. I sometimes will use the Haemy leading the grots rather aggressively and will try to charge any infiltrators, scouts or fast attack units that dare threaten the portal.

Once the portal is down you can move the 2 haemys and grots towards the mission objective and also get to have 2 destructors (flame templates) to play with. I sometimes drop the grots off at a loot counter or mission while the 2 haemys separate and support other close combat units or try to get multiple flame templates down.

Of course, my next question is: What units were you planning on putting in the protal?

[DAM66]

OK, Head spinning, I got double dosed there.

I made changes based on both overviews. And the changes are;


1. Give a destructor to your Haemonculi(s) Done

2. Give the WWP in the large wyche squad to the warrior squad sybarite, and leave the wyches in reserve. I added a Haemonculi, gave him the WWP and will run him behind the large wyche squad3. give blasters to the wyches rather than shredders

4. Give the jetbike squad 2 blasters rather than a blaster and a shredder. Means they can go tank hunting. Done

5. Make one or two of the splinter cannon squads into dark lance squads. You need more dark lances. Done

6. On both wyche squads, they should have agoniser wielding succubi, and plasma grenades. Done

7. Give plasma grenades to the incubi in the lords squad. Done

I also:
a. Trashed the Screaming Jets
b. Repossessed a Raider from the Wyches and gave it to the Archon and the Incubi
c. Added a Haemonculi, gave her the WWP and will run her behind the Large Wyche squad
d. Reduced the Incubi to make room for all the enhancements (their still Kick Ass at 6 strong)
Thanks to you both. And Yes I do still need an idea of what starts on the board and what pops from the portal

New list is as follows

2500 Pts - Dark Eldar Roster - Unnamed

HQ: Archon (9#, 369 Pts)
1 Archon @ 369 Pts
Combat Drug Dispenser; Shadow Field; Tormentor Helm; Punisher; Plasma Grenades; Animus Vitae
1 Retinue @ [217] Pts
6 Incubi @ [162] Pts
Tormentor Helm; Punisher (x6); Plasma Grenades
1 Raider @ [55] Pts
Dark Lance

HQ: Haemonculi (11#, 285 Pts)
1 Haemonculi @ 285 Pts
Scissorhand; Destructor; Webway Portal
9 Grotesques @ [190] Pts
1 Raider @ [55] Pts
Dark Lance

: Warp Beasts (6#, 75 Pts)
5 Warp Beasts @ 75 Pts
Beastmaster
1 Beast master @ [15] Pts
Agonizer; Splinter Pistol

Troops: Warrior Squad (10#, 100 Pts)
10 Warrior Squad @ 100 Pts
Splinter Rifle (x8); Splinter Cannon (x2)

Troops: Warrior Squad (16#, 169 Pts)
15 Warrior Squad @ 169 Pts
Blaster (x2); Splinter Rifle (x11); Splinter Cannon (x2)
1 Sybarite @ [19] Pts
Close Combat Weapon; Poison Blades

HQ: Haemonculi (1#, 95 Pts)
1 Haemonculi @ 95 Pts
Scissorhand; Destructor; Webway Portal

Troops: Warrior Squad (10#, 100 Pts)
10 Warrior Squad @ 100 Pts
Splinter Rifle (x8); Dark Lance (x2)

Troops: Warrior Squad (10#, 100 Pts)
10 Warrior Squad @ 100 Pts
Splinter Rifle (x8); Splinter Cannon (x2)

Troops: Warrior Squad (10#, 100 Pts)
10 Warrior Squad @ 100 Pts
Splinter Rifle (x8); Splinter Cannon (x2)

Troops: Warrior Squad (10#, 100 Pts)
10 Warrior Squad @ 100 Pts
Splinter Rifle (x8); Dark Lance (x2)

Elite: Wyches (19#, 287 Pts)
18 Wyches @ 287 Pts
Close Combat Weapon; Splinter Pistol; Wych Weapons; Blaster (x2); Combat Drugs
1 Succubus @ [43] Pts
Agonizer; Splinter Pistol; Wych Weapons; Plasma Grenades

Elite: Wyches (10#, 175 Pts)
9 Wyches @ 175 Pts
Close Combat Weapon; Splinter Pistol; Wych Weapons; Blaster (x1); Shredder (x1); Combat Drugs
1 Succubus @ [43] Pts
Agonizer; Splinter Pistol; Wych Weapons; Plasma Grenades

Heavy Support: Talos (1#, 100 Pts)
1 Talos @ 100 Pts
Talos Claw; Talos Sting

Heavy Support: Talos (1#, 100 Pts)
1 Talos @ 100 Pts
Talos Claw; Talos Sting

Heavy Support: Ravager (1#, 135 Pts)
1 Ravager @ 135 Pts
Dark Lance (x1); Disentegrator (x2); Nightshields

Fast Attack: Reaver Jetbike Squad (4#, 120 Pts)
4 Reaver Jetbike Squad @ 120 Pts
Splinter Pistol; Blaster (x2); Splinter Rifle (x4); Combat Drugs; Reaver Jetbike

Fast Attack: Hellion (5#, 90 Pts)
5 Hellion @ 90 Pts
Combat Drugs; Hellglaive; Hellion Skyboard

Total Roster Cost: 2500


Thanks so much, DAM

[Siruk]

Okay, just one more thing. The wyche squads, have them come through the portal. Wyches should never be made to run across the ground as they are easily shot down.
Run the haemonculi with the portal behind the large warrior squad, warriors arent as valuable as wyches, and are that little bit more resilient. Plus they dont tend to scream shoot me.

Heres a list of units I suggest you put in you WWP:
Both wyche squads
Incubi and lord
The talos's
The warp beast.
The hellions.

Deploy all the warrior squads, the haemonculi, the grotesques, the ravager and the jetbikes.

I suggest deploying the warrior squads with the big warrior squad in the middle, the 2 small splinter cannon squads on the flanks and the dark lance squads in between, giving you a a whole board edge where you will be able to watch (No flanking) The Ravager should be deployed where-ever you think it will be most effective, while the grot raider should be placed where it can terrain hope up the board.

[KwiKwag]

Originally Posted by Siruk

Heres a list of units I suggest you put in you WWP:
Both wyche squads
Incubi and lord
The talos's
The warp beast.
The hellions.

I agree with Siruk's suggestion - the warpbeasts and the ravager are on the "bubble" for me as they can either start on the board or in the portal. In fact, I use the warp beasts as a counter charger for the portal carriers and I hide the ravager in the portal as this skimmer always seems to be shot at first or taken down by the 2nd turn. Its your call. The bikes I also always put in the portal for the same reasons as the talos but they can also be used as a distractor starting on the board. They too will get alot of attention so don't be surprised if your opponent puts alot of fire on those bikes.

Now, onto your list.

As for the elites:
Elite: Wyches (19#, 287 Pts)
18 Wyches @ 287 Pts
Close Combat Weapon; Splinter Pistol; Wych Weapons; Blaster (x2); Combat Drugs
1 Succubus @ [43] Pts
Agonizer; Splinter Pistol; Wych Weapons; Plasma Grenades

I do not like footslogging wyches at all. I would easily recommend you reduce the number down to 10 and put them on a raider. When the raider of wyches comes out of the portal they should now be able to reach close combat straight off. They might reach by foot-slogging but I just can't do it, give them a raider.

Elite: Wyches (10#, 175 Pts)
9 Wyches @ 175 Pts
Close Combat Weapon; Splinter Pistol; Wych Weapons; Blaster (x1); Shredder (x1); Combat Drugs
1 Succubus @ [43] Pts
Agonizer; Splinter Pistol; Wych Weapons; Plasma Grenades

Perfect except for the shredder - it is starting to look like you dont have enough models to sport another blaster. Its okay if it looks like a shredder but be sure to claim it as a blaster. Its cheaper, it does wonders on necrons and marines and even can "pop" a tank if you have to - stick with blasters.

Both wych squads should look like this one - do you have enough raiders?

[DAM66]

As it turn out Yes, I am out of raiders. I do have my eye on this one that a Archon only used on Sundays to go to church. I will try to beg, borrow or by otherwise obtain another Raider.

I want to thank you guys a ton for all your help. I have a much better feeling going into this weekend with all your tips bouncing around my noodle.

Thanks again, I will try to give you an update next week.

DAM