Dark Eldar Progress

So over this week I have put together the following:

20 Kabolite Warriors
20 Wytches
5 New Incubi
6 Old Incubi
1 Homoculous
1 Archon


I've also got some scourges that I have semi-put together, but until I hace made a decision regarding their weapon load outs, I'm leaving them that way.

So on Sunday/Monday I got all of the models together, and all of the old models stripped. I meant to play some 40K with Don (or watch really) on tuesday, but I was so beat after work I couldn't quite get myself to go drive 30 minutes down the road.

So instead I put together a Raider on tuesday and then did the basing on all of the above models.

Last night I did the base coating with Games Workshop Chaos Black spray paint.

I doupt I get any work done tonight, as my wife has this night off from studying. However, I might be able to get her to help me work on my base color, which I will be applying with my airbrush over the next week.

I tried at first something with Hormagaunt purple, but just didn't like it. I think Warlock purple should have just been called pink. The last purple, a nice dark one, I think I will use as part of my base, with a mixed chaos black in to give it a deeper shade. I am using a random Eldar Guardian that I have as my test model.

Dark Eldar Play Day Results

So last weekend I had the opportunity to playtest the new Dark Eldar codex. My friend Shawn Rogers had a lot of the old models, so we threw down with broken/old stuff to see how it worked now.

I was impressed, and I think so was everyone else.

I think that I may have it a bit easier, as I have never played Dark Eldar before, so I am not going in with any preconceived notions. I want to see battlefield results, and that's all that matters. Someone asked me what my theme was, my theme is that my Archon is a winner, and he surrounds himself with winners. If you aren't a winner, you will not make it into the list.

Now, the first game I played was againay Ryan Graham's tournament blood angels list. Mephiston, 2x10 Assault marines, 1x Sanquinary priest w/jump pack, 2x razorback w/assault cannons with 5 man RaS, 2x Baals, 2x Vindicators, 1x Predator, librarian dreadnought.

I ran.
Archon w/Husk Blade, Shadowfield, Phantasm Grenade Launcher, Sul Trap

9x Incubi w/Raider w/Aethersails

Two:
10 Warriors w/Splinter Cannon, Blaster, Upgrade Sergeant w/Venom Blade and Blast Pistol
Raider, Aeithersails, Torment Grenade Launcher, (the -6 inch range ability), Shock Prow

Two
Wytches w/Hekatrix, Agonizer, Blast Pistol. Haywire Grendades, 2x wytch weapons (one squad of Razorflails and one squad of Impalers and shardnets).
Raider, Aethersails, Torment Grenade Launcher, Shock Prow (-6 inch range ability)

Scourges, 2x Haywire blasters

2x Raiders with 3x Dark lances, -6 inch range ability, Flickerfield

1 Razorwing Fighter with 4x Monosythe Missile, Flickerfield, -6 inch range ability.

My list isn't to the letter, but that gives you a good idea.

I'm not going to go through with a complete battle report, but here are my thoughts in general.

Archon + Incubi - I hated putting them in the same unit, but I put them in reserve, and they were powerful enough to make sure that Ryan's assault marines didn't really want to even cross the board at me, or face being destroyed when they arrived. When they did arrive they blasted 33 inches onto the board, near his objective. Sadly, when the had their ride blown up, they loaded out pinned (11 on pin check). Made me wish I had taken grisly trophies on that vehicle. I didn't get a chance to see them in action, but the fear they generated in my marine opponent was worth their point value.

Warriors - I can't say they did that much actually. The Aethersails +shock prow is amazing, as is the -6 inch range ability. The raider performed better then I had anticipated throughout the game. the move 12 disembark 3 fire two darklight weapons was nice. I didn't notice not having the darklance in the squad.

Wytches - Amazing. I got outflanked by two baal's on turn two, and they jumped on them with haywires and destroyed them both almost effortlessly. They then reboarded their vehicles and dealt with some small squads of blood angels later. I've done the math though, don't take the razorflails. When you roll the re-roll wounds it will suck, go with the +2d6 attacks of the 2x hydra guntles. I liked the shardnet and impaler... but it's selectively useful. Make sure to place them in base to base with people he doesn't want to remove, or he will just remove them in combat resolution and the shardnet will not matter. So sergeants/characters/special/heavy weapons. I love taking haywire genades on them.

Scourges - I do NOT understand why no one talks about the Haywire Grenade Luncher. The math on fire suppression is amazing. The unit, for 130 pts for 5 and 2x haywire can suppress a vindicator almost every time, and any other weapon. It doesn't destroy a lot, but it's ability to suppress the most damaging vehicle is nice. They guys also have a 4+/6+ save (read GhostPlate, it has the 6+ under that). I like the unit, I will be playtesting them some more

Ravagers - No bad comments. I lost one on the second turn to a flamestorm baal, but the other was golden, able to knock vehicles out easily.

Razorwing - Needs more playtest. I didn't see anything on turn one, so I lost my firing (night fight), and his baal blew it up on turn 2 before it could shoot. I think it is a great way to deal with hoards and also longfangs (4 str6 blast templayes hurt). Problem with it is lack of model.

I played a second game with some other units and here are some other thoughts.

Beastmasters are pretty bad news. They obliterated a 30 man squad of ork boys, and while I ended up taking 4 wounds, I lost no models.

Cronos Parisite Engine - My first test game I generated a few pain tokens during the game, but I think I had one unit that got 2. In game 2 when I tested this thing, I ended up with every DE unit having 2-3. I was actually running out of units to give them to and I only had one of these. I charges a unit of Ork boys and gained 4 tokens and gave them to nearby units. My units got so charged up, that when it came to my turn again, my opponent coseded because of the math (beastslayers/2x Wytches all with FNP and Furious Charge) and the wytches had re-roll all wound rolls.

Talos - Not bad for 100 point, makes the Trygon look like crap. Sad when this thing will probably kill a trygon if it assaults, and is half the cost. I puta haywire blaster on it, I love those things.

I tried Duke Siliscus out with 20x warriors with splinter cannon, and didn't like it much. I just like the death dealing archon, and the duke for his abilities, isn't that great. I think that if I was going to go with some of the special characters, I like the Baron (attach him to 10 scourges... they get stealth, and become decent in hth), and I like Lady Malys, who I think for her abilities is appropriately priced. Drazar, to expensive, Lilith, too expensive for her failure to deal with toughness 5+ and vehicles.

I'm actually a litter interested in drying out the decabitator, I'm not sure he sucks quite as much as everyone thinks. I think he would be interesting to scare the crap out of a pack of longfangs, but his T 3 means that he will be instant killed so quickly, even if he deployes into terrain (3+).

Units I still want to playtest:

Trueborn
Mandrakes (??!!!)
Hellions
Voidraven
Razorwing(more)

While I don't have a problem with wracked or grotesques, i think that a homoculi army works very differently. I am going to focus on a army in the first list, and get it up and running and painted, and after that is completed see what other units I want to add.

Rogers game my all his banged up guys, that I have since stripped, which gave me the following (old models)

1 Old Urian Rakarth
1 Old Homoculi
1 Drahzar
6 Old Incubi
10 Old Wytches (not stripped... doubt I use)
9 Scourges
5 Hellions (will be coverted to Beastmasters)
10 Metal DE with mixed heavy weapons
2 Old Raiders (converted to Venoms?)
1 old Ravagers (Converted to Venom?)

I also have purchased the following:
20 Warriors (put together, ready for basing)
20 Wytches (put together, ready for basing)
1 Archon (put together, ready for basing)
5 Incubi (put together, ready for basing)
3 Raiders (in boxes, will put together tonight)
2 raiders (ordered, in the mail)
3 Ravagers (ordered, in the mail)

So far my assessment of the army is not that it is a steam role of epic proportions. Some people will pick this army up and not be able to get it to work. I picked it up, and I can tell you that it felt more right playing the games, then it ever did playing my marines. I was never able to make my marines do what I wanted them to in my mind. These, while playing different then my Tau, felt more like my Tau. Lots of movement, combined with firepower. These guys just have some HTH to fall back on when everything hits the fan.

I've modified the first list above now and lost the Razorwing (no model), added a Ravager, and added a homoculi with Animis Vitae, Agonizer and Crucible of Malidication to play test. I can't wait to play against a psyker and drive 5 raiders on top of him and watch as he fails a LD test at -5. That will be funny, as will tank shocking space wolf cavalry off the board doing the same thing.

Angels of Perdition - 4th Landed Company

The 4th Company is my company. I'm unsure how many people that reas this have taken a good look at my guys, but in my opinion... they are perfect. I don't mean, that painting is perfect, I'm no golden demon winner, but I meant their unit designations.

The Angels of Perdition are a Dark Angels successor chapter, which means they use different unit designations then standard codex marines. Codex marines use a color around the should to denote which company they are from. Dark Angels use a pattern on their knee. 4th Company uses a split scheme checkerboard on top, bone on the bottom of the knee. The shoulder then designates what squad they are from on the left shoulder, and the right has the chapter symbol.

I also have back banners for all the sergeants and each only leads that squad.

I don't think a single opponent has ever noticed, which is fine.

It's not for them, it's for me.

I, like Conan, like to crush my enemy, see them driven before me, and hear the lamentations of their girlfriends, but that isn't what keeps me coming back to the game.

Nope, it's my imagination. I know that Scout Sergeant Orion is a crazy bastard that is older then whoever the Chapter Master has sent lately to tell the 5th what to do. He does his own thing, and because he gets results, they let him go. I know that the 1st Squad is lucker then they have any right to be.

At tournament they rolled up and blew a rhino with berserkers up. The berserkers pile out, then the enemy blew my rhino up, and killed some guys, and I used combat tactics to tall back. I then auto rallied and ran up and shot again, the berserkers then rolleda difficult terrain test to assault me, and rolled double 1st, and didn't make it. I double tapped them again, finally they assaulted me and I wiped them out. That was some luck. Last game against Andy they got assaulted by 6 Wolf Guard, and they wiped THEM out, it was amazing. I know that Librarian Raziel is just out of the Library, and can't be trusted on the table by himself.

Anyway, I think you find, after you have hand painted your armies, and played with them, they tend to develop some Soul... and I think that spark of something is what brings me back, time after time.

Dark Angels Top Ten Wish List

I've played Dark Angels a long time, long enough to remember when we were black, and the Iron wing, when we weren't special, when we shared a codex with Blood Angels (who were better then us then as well), when we had to roll a 1 to even move our units (3rd edition), when the sword of secrets was a 40 pt str 6 power weapon and the Darksword for chaos was 20) and now I play a successor chapter of the Lion because I'm tired of GW thinking just because we wear dress they can frag us like we are wearing one.

So, what is in my wish list, and then is 10 to 1. This is partially meant funny, and is a partial rant, if you have ever played DA's, then you will feel me on some of this.

10. Look at the Horus Heresy Art. I want guys with lion shoulder pads, with large two handed ornate two handed swords, give us +2 str but -1 I or something. We need a reason to NOT be folded into the basic codex, and if you can't come up with it, just fold them back into it. You guys did a good job of making Blood Angels different, we need to see the same thing for DA's.

9. Characters that Don't Suck - We've never ahd any special character that is been wonderful. No beatstick hammer character that people are afraid of. Azreal has never been impressive, nor has Asmodi, Bethor, Sammael.... they all suck, they've always sucked... stop that. Where is my Avenging Angel? Where is the guy that that makes

8. Stubborn - Why did you give it to us when it sucked, but take it away when it rocked... I know... the dress thing again.

7. Battle Companies - The Codex should be different then Codex Space Marines, but DA's are more then just all Terminator and Bike armies. Make the Battle Companies cool. The Lionwas Number 2 for Battles Won, and may have been the best stretegic thinker of them all. If he had a little more common sense, the Horus Heresy would have been over before it started.

6. Black Library - Can you guys write a book for the DA's to do something worth doing and be marines I WANT to play. Read Storm of Iron and tell me you don't want to play Iron Warriors/Imperial Fists, or that book with Ultramarines vs. Tyranids, or the Horus Heresy books and Black Legion/Lunar Wolves or Legion and Alpha Legion or... you get my point. Just because we are aloof and secretive doesn't mean that we are the #*@hole of the neighborhood. Yea... we wear a cool robe, and stand by ourselves in the dark, but that's because we're just cooler then you are, and we think we are better, not because we are all traitors ALL time time. They should be heroic, damn heroic in their own way, fighting the darkness from the darkness, battle fought, and sector's saved and no thanks asked for, perhaps entire campaigns fought and won without a mention to the Adeptus Terra, they sink no reward, they ask for no help, because the rest of the imperium just get's in their way. That's how the Lion did it, That's how we do it, and it's worked out pretty good so far. This all goes for the Lion as well, he is the only Primarch that is written as a dumbass jerk... stop that. Fatal flaw I understand, but Jerk...come on.

5. Fear the Darkness/Weaken Resolve - These were our powers, thanks for giving them to everyone else. And Windworm.... Windworm?! Really. How about that Terrorsight stuff from the last DA book ?

4. Mortis Pattern Dreadnought - DA special dreadnought THAT THEY CAN'T FIELD... thanks for that. I think I see a pattern, it's called give A's something, then take it away when it's good and give it to someone else.

3. Ravenwing - Give us scouting bikes, but then tell us they can't turbo-boost (a specific nurf for the DA bikes)... give us bike only army, then turn around and give it to marines, make us pay out the nose for fearlessness, but then give normal marines Combat Tactics and/or stubborn which is better.

2. Deathwing - We are supposed to have the best terminators in the galaxy.... new flash, they are the worst. They are more expensive and have worse options then every other terminator. Let's list them to be sure. Chaos terminators 13 pts cheaper and better, Normal Marine Terminators 10 man squads and TH/SS's, Space Wolves - Login Wing, Blood Angels - Furious Charge/FNP, Grey Knights - Str 6 power weapons. Give us terminators with sword/board, something... anything. And good grief, you gave the 5th ed termy army, TO SPACE WOLVES... that's just insult to injury.

1. Please love the Dark Angels, as much as the players do for change. I would like to feel a fronted, just once, when someone tells me their wolves are counts as Dark Angels.

Chapter Organization: Angels of Perdition

Inquisitor Report: Omega Alpha 049185719030

Sector: Stella Magnus

Since the close of the Ebon Star Crusade in 951.M39 the Space Marine Chapter known as the Angels of Perdition have been in occupation of the most spinword world of the Sub-Sector Damien and the end of Imperial Controlled Space. The world, Kyton IV by official registertry still of the Adeptus Mechanicus, who have refused under protest to change the name of the world, has been the homworld of the Angels.

Since that time Inquisitorial, as well as Adeptus Administratium records show a clear registry of complying with Imperial Demands of geneseed and other required acknowledgements of Imperial Power. Still, rumors have persisted that they have excerted an overmastering influence over sub-sector Damien and Fallen Sectors that saw the bulk of fighting during the Crusade. While the sub-sector has come back suprisingly well since that time period, this report has been requested due to concerns that stem from the Great Berayal the limitation of Astartes power that has become necessary since then.

First, no accurate census of the Angels of Perdition has ever been complied. At no point during the last mellinia has the entirety of the Chapter been present. Even during the Feat of Maledication that is held each year, many of the companies are not present. At any time one time, it appears that at least 40% of the Chapter is not present on Kyton IV at all, or as they call it Angelos Secundas. Specifically during the a request for aid in M40,493 only a single Company, the 4th was present at all. To this day it is unknown where the vast majority of the chapter vanished to four three years while the legetee waited for the return of the Grand Master.

Additional population problems are due to the unusual, and onorthadox way that the Angels of Perdition take on new applicants. 95% of all of the Adeptus Astartes follow the guidelines laid out by Roboute Gullimen, and operate a tenth, enthre Scout Chapter. The Angels of Perdition do not. Instead, each of the Battle Companies, or as they call them Landed Companies, operated out of a vast citadel that dot the landscape of Angelus Secundas. From there applicants from the various feudal culture hold games and tournaments and the best are given a Quest to slay one of the many mutant forms of life found on the planet. Those that return are admitted into that specific Chapter's Scout force each year. Each company therefore has between ten to fifty individuals that are being trained as scouts inside each of the citadel's. Besides this issue the Landed Companies act as standard battle companies, of which there are four in total.

The First and Second Company seem to operate as a completely seperate entities, and their structure is not a topic of this report, as all indiciations is that they operate within the required window of normalcy for a chapter of this geneseed.

Lastly, are the companies known as the Knightly Companies. There seem to be some bleed between members of the Landed Companies and Knightly Companies from time to time, but it is known under what circumstances this takes place. The Knightly Companies do not operate on Angelus Secundus and have no known permenant home, although they resupply on the orbital station of Lunas when in need. The Knightly Companies, unlike standard reserve companies, are on permenant crusade, a habit that was taken on by the close proximity of the Angels of Perdition with various crusades of the Black Templars for some mellinia. To this day the Knightly Companies range far and wide, seeking out the enemies of Mankind. I have attached a lengthy report of the various times and conflicts they have been in. Their population and numbers are currently unknown, as the Knightly Companies in some reports span lest then fifty space marine and other times number in the hundreds. I am unsure if these are anomolous records, or if the Knightly Companies have abandoned the Codex Astartes in form as well as function.

Since beginning this report I have requested records from the Administration Records from Terra, as it appears that the Angels of Perdition hail from Segmentium Pacificus at some point. The only message I have received is that all records were destroyed during the the Nova Terra Interregnum, and a copy of their original founding documentation, signed, along with eight other chapters, on the same day, by Saint Sebastian Thor.

I will continue as you have requested and seek further information. While I feel that you may be right, and it would be possible to bring charges against the Angels for their diversified approach, I feel the effect would by only to make them more secretive regarding their affairs. I am again requesting a further budget increase to bring in more potential operatives as the case warrants.

Your Eternal Servant

Inquisitor Conrad Guot

Angels of Perdition: Mopping Up

I am preparing for the coming of darkness and ruin.... also known as the Dark Eldar. To that effect I am finishing a few projects over the next two-three weeks to prepare. What does this mean? That a lot of Angels of Perdition stuff is going to go from beat up to paintinged and finished. Here is the list of what I am working on and after last weekend, where it is headed.

Land Raider Redentia - An unknown mark of land raiders that has survived since the Angels of Perdition started their Crusade at the beginning of M35. The lascannons are fully inrechangeable with flamestorm cannons and assault cannons depending on the need. This is historically been the personal transport of the Captain of the 4th Company, however currently Chapter Master Gabriel Martel is using it as he rebuilds the 4th, and hopes for the return of the rest of the chapter from the Ordeal of Retrieval of the remains of Master Angelos Orzeal. It is fully magnatized and the basecoats of black/bone were airbrushed on yesterday. It came out better then I had anticipated. I will be working on other base coats for a bit, but at this point it needs clean up more then anything else.



The remainder of 1st Squad. I have a bit a of delimma regarding first squad. They double as my strenguard, as the Angels of Perdition do not have their veterans fight in anything but terminator armor (like Dark Angels). Therefore, like Dark Angels their company veterans sit at this level until they are promoted to the First Company. This means I run them either as Strenguard or I run them as DA Company Veterans, or Standard Marines.



4th Tactical Squad - Tactical squad with Brother Methias Kain w/Powerfist and combi-plasma, and the squad has a heavy plasma and plasma gun. I will soon have 30 painted tac marines so In no longer feel the need to build the perfect squads any more. Besides Plasma will be the new melta at some point again, and I will have these marine again. I'm still on my way to building a company of marines (once these are done I will have 60 painted marines... 40 tactical, 10 assault, 10 devestator). I doubt that I will bother with the other 40 marines until a new codex upgrade and/or new edition of 40K. This a total of 10 marines plus a rhino/razorback



2x Tornado Landspeeders - I bought for 16 bucks each base landspeeders from Battlewagon Bits awhile back. The heavy bolters/tornadoes I coverted over from the tons of ravenwing sprues I have.



2 Dark Angel Captains - One is the old model that I used for Captain Angelos Orzeal. The second is the new Captain model that I have been waiting to paint up.



Sooooo

1 Landraider

2 Landspeeders

1 Rhino/Razorback

15 Marines

2 Captains



2 Weeks... we will see.

Rhino vs. Raider

I play Tau and marines and have fooled around with most of the armies from one time or another, although I have not taken that many more to tournament. Tau, Grey Knights, Lysander Wing, Tau again, Codex Space Marines.

So I am not coming at this new Dark Eldar codex with any previous Dark Eldar experience, which is both good and bad. Good because I want to take a look at builds and things that other people who play it may overlook. Bad because I can't simply update an army, I am going to build it from the bottom up. I want to try and figure out what works, and what doesn't. I'm not going to put a list here as I honestly can't make an actuall assessment of numbers, I have to see that shit on the table.

So I want to talk about the Raider, and why the Raider is not the Rhino.

They aren't the same, you do understand that... right? Yes, it's obvious they have different points/costs/stats, but I believe they have two completely different uses.

No one, doesn't take a Rhino. It's 35 pts, it's ubiquitous, it's really worth it to block LOS, it's cheap and for it's point cost it's hard to remove from the table. I can't remember I saw the last tactical squad on foot that didn't have an attached transport. It was the hard candy shell that the marines needed to last on the table. It also cost 2.3 marines, and definitely was harder to kill then that.

The Raider is none of those things. The base raider is double that point value, and is easy to remove from the table. The rhino is a automatic purchase, you have to have it. The raider is different, I think that you need to make an activie decision of WTF you want to do with it. Filling it with Kabalite Warriors and driving around like some sort of future BDSM pimp simply isn't going to work. The Raider costs more then 6 warriors, and honestly, if you are in cover, I think 6 warriors in cover will last longer then a rhino.

A raider is not a hard coated shell, it is just more soft chocolate. This is at least true for warriors. The raider is made to carry large squads (10) to a certain place and then blow up. In a best case scenario they manage to make it to hand to hand combat. Then they blow up.

This is my problem with the Raider. In the old game they were required, as the basic warrior was complete trash (str 3 gun.... please). The warrior is not crap anymore, he's actually pretty awesome.

For that purpose wytches in a raider seem to make a lot of sense. It gives them an additional 14 inch charge range (ok 14.9) and may actually be a hard coated shell for them as they are more expensive and have a 6+ save vs a 5+ save. I'm actually having a hard time wrapping my mind around wytches at the moment, and need to play test them, so I don't want to talk about them.

I'm strongly considering playtesting a few warrior squads on foot right now. 20 warriors with 2 splinter cannons kicks out 30 posisoned shots a turn (18+12) 20 hits, 10 wounds. It will kill a trygon in two turns and will kill a wraithlord in 1. It will kill a C'Tan in one turn.... one turn. They sit in cover and blast away. If not the splinter cannons, throw in two dark lances and they can fire at vehicles at 36 the later in the game fire their weapon. They shoot like marines but better against toughness 4+ and cost 2/3 the cost.

Also, 20 guys in cover, except for flamers, are pretty hard to move out of it, or you could give them a feel no pain token and then let them be a little harder.