Dark Eldar - HQ and Wargear

HQ Choices for Dark Eldar

Archon:
The master of your Kabal, the guy who has schemed and murdered and bribed his way to the top. He is the equivalent of a Space Marine Captain leading your Company of battle-hardened Space Marines, if only that every single member of said Company is quite willing to murder him to take his place, such is life in the Dark City.


If your taking this guy he is likely going to be your Warlord as his leadership is the highest in the Codex, equal only to Drazhar. He also has access to the coolest of wargear and with such high Weapon Skill and Ballistic Skill he is fairly versatile in both a shooting and a close combat role (though really you should be aiming for the latter).


Naked as he is, he isn't going to be much use. You need to suit him up for him to be effective and this can get very expensive very quickly, but the more you put into him the more effective he will be.


His options include:

• Huskblade - an Power Sword with Instant Death. Quite killy and will surprise the odd multi-wound model, but being AP3 means that you will find it hard to beat those dedicated Close Combat characters that are running around in 2+ Armour. It is still quite good for its price and only available to Mr Archon.
• Blast Pistol - Quite expensive for what it is and very short range. At its cost you are better spending points elsewhere. If you really do want to use it then it might come in handy as a last ditch attempt to pop a transport so you can charge the occupants (if all your other firepower has failed).
• Blaster - This has the same price and stats as the pistol but with an 18" range at Assault 1. It is much better and gives you the option to use this guy in a ranged role. You do sacrifice the extra attack in Close Combat to get this, but the range means you can get quite a bit of use out of it, especially in those Open-topped Transports that you can shoot out of.
• Power Sword - Cheap and cheerful. You will find you lack the strength to carve up most enemies, but if you running an Archon on a budget, and you want him to be in Close Combat then the sword is perfectly viable.
• Agoniser - one of the Archon's staple weapons. This beauty doesn't care about your Archon's low strength and will chew through Space Marine and Trygon alike. A very good choice.
• Haywire Grenades - Just take these. There are very cheap and amazing for spending those last few leftover points on. You never know when you might need them. Heck you can even throw it 8" using your Archon's high BS before a charge into said vehicle where you can, once again, hit it with a grenade.
• Soul-Trap - Remember I said the Archon lacks the strength to p though things? This is your answer. This gives your Archon +1 Strength for the rest of the game for each unsaved wound cause by your Archon in a challenge. This pairs well with any of his Close Combat weapons. It can be difficult to use though, as once you opponent gets wise to it he/she will just decline challenge to deny you the boost.
• Phantasm Grenade Launcher - An 18" range Blast that will do no damage, but every unit hit by the blast must take a Leadership test at the end of the Phase and takes wounds equal to the difference they failed by, no armour or cover saves allowed, BUT models with Fearless and And They Shall Know No Fear are immune, which is pretty much half the units in the game. This can be combined with a few bits of wargear that reduce Leadership but it isn't going to do alot.
• Clone Field - A 4+ Invulnerable save. Nice and cheap, but overshadowed by its brother the Shadow Field. You also can't take this as well as a Shadow field. It is cheaper than its brother and never runs out. Good for an Archon on a budget.
• Webway Portal - The godsend of this Codex. This allowed your Archon, his unit and any Transport they might have to be able to Deepstrike, and when they arrive they don't scatter. There are many, many uses for this within this codex, and paired with the Dark Eldar's Battle Brothers; the Craftworld Eldar. Some choices include: Kabalite Trueborn with Blasters or Heatlances, a Court of Medusae, Wyches/Incubi/Grotesques to avoid running across the open board, Allied Wraithguard with D-Scythes, Allied Fire Dragons. Just enjoy this item and prepare to drink your opponent's tears.
• Shadow Field - This item gives you a 2+ Invulnerable save that you lose for the rest of the game at the end of the phase you fail your first save using it. I would recommend it for almost every Archon, and you will see this on almost every Archon. Very very useful for taking wounds for the squad.

The Archon also has access to the Artifacts, which I will cover at the end of this section.

Court of the Archon:
This squad can be taken per Archon in a Detachment. It consists of up to 12 models chosen in any combination from the four following models:

• Lhamaean - This is a standard Dark Eldar Statline, armed with Kabalite Armour (a 5+ Save), a Splinter Pistol and a Shaimeshi Blade. This Blade is Poison 2+ and causes instant death on any To Wound roll of a 6. She is the cheapest model in the unit and can be quite useful as a unit filler until Close Combat when they start to dish out the pain.
• Ur-Guhl - A blind bat-like creature that stalk the shadows. It has quite a few attacks and Strength 4 with Fell No Pain. A nice model that provides extra wounds for the squad, and then provides a ton of attacks when it reaches Close Combat.
• Medusae - Awesome model with a standard Kabalite statline but comes with an Eyeburst from its one large eye. This translates into a Strength 4 AP3 flamer. You want quite a few of these, but they are delicate as hell. Webway Portal here!
• Sslyth - The bulky bodyguard. At at Strength and Toughness 5 with multiple wounds and Feel No Pain they rock. They come with a Shardcarbine, Close Combat Weapon and Pistol, and can act as very good bodyguards for your Archon, just don't expect them to stay around very long without anyone else in the unit due to their low leadership.

The Unit can take a Raider or Venom as a Dedicated Transport, which I would suggest you always take one or other depending on their unit size. This unit is a nice unique squad that doesn't see alot of use, but might start increasing in numbers with this new codex allowing you to pick any you like, rather than forcing you to take once of each first.

Succubus:
The ruling elite of the Wych Cults. They are deadly and graceful in equal measure, and despite a points increase in this codex, are actually quite useable.

She has a very nice statline, with Combat Drugs improving this further. She comes stock with a Close Combat Weapon, Spliter Pistol and Plasma Grenades. She only has a 6+ armour save unfortunately and cannot take a Shadow Field of Clone Field to help this. She does, however, gain a 4+ Invulnerable save against all wounds inflicted in the fight sub-phase, which gives her a bit of survivability once she reaches Close Combat. She is built for Close Combat only, and if you can get her there she will chew through squads on her own. The other advantage of taking her is that, even fully kitted out she will likely not be over 120pts.

Her options are as follows:

• Archite Glaive - This. You want it. It is the only source of AP2 in Close Combat anyone can get. It has two modes: Single-handed, which is a standard Power Sword, and Two-handed which is +1 Strength AP2 (at Initiative 8). Combine this with a good roll for Combat Drugs and your away!
• Blast Pistol - Same problems as the Archon above.
• Haywire Grenades - Again, yes always take these.
• Webway Portal - Again a very useful tool. With her I would suggest having a group of Wyches accompany her and try to survive to get off your charge next turn. You have Grenades so aim to run into cover.
• Power Sword - Cheap, but the Archite Glaive is better for only a fraction mosre points.
• Agoniser - This is the only other weapon I would consider running on a Succubus. The Poison helps with her low Strength and AP3 is nice to chew through Marines or even Aspect Warriors before they strike.
• Wych Cult Weapons - They are cheap but not worth it at all on your Succubus, who should be a source of low AP in CC. Please skip these.

The Succubus also has access to the Artifacts, which I will cover at the end of this section.

Lelith Hesperax
The Queen of Knives is the Close Combat Wych. She has an improved Succubus statline, though no Drugs for her. She has an improved Dodge rule, which gifts her a 4+ Invulnerable save and a 3+ Invulnerable save against wounds inflicted in the Fight sub-phase. She also ignores all armour saves in Close Combat, and gets to re roll all failed To Hit and To Wound Rolls whilst fighting in a challenge, which makes her very nasty, especially in a challenge. Stock she comes with two close combat weapons and Plasma Grenades. She can purchase an Impaler to re roll all to wound rolls of a 1 (when outside of a challenge). Her Warlord Trait brings her up to WS 10, which doesn't do much as really WS9 is the benchmark for being hard to hit in Close Combat. She also has Rampage for chewing through squads on her own, which she will do. Beware throwing her against high toughness enemies, as she has a low Strength and no way to improve it.

Haemonculus
The ancient and horrific flesh sculptors of Commorragh. A beautiful model and really helps get the best out of your army. They start with decent stats and a boost to toughness over other Dark Eldar, along with Feel No Pain as standard. They only have a 6+ armour save though so don't rely on this too much.
The main reason you bring one of these guys, and you do want to, is for their special rule Master of Pain. This allows the model and his unit to treat the current turn as being one higher than it actually is when determining what special rules you benefit from on the Power From Pain table. This means Turn 1 your unit has Feel no Pain (6+) and gets Furious Charge by Turn 3, a great boost to you combat units.  You can also attach this guy to an Incubi squad and give them Feel No Pain that bit sooner, the benefits of his rule go on and on.

His options are as follows:

• Crucible of Maledictation - Once per game he can open his box and every Psycher or Unit that includes one or more models with the Psycher/Brotherhood of Psychers/Psychic Pilot special rules within 3D6" of him take a Strength 6 hit with no saves of any kind allowed. Kinda dependant on you rolling well for the range, but a nice way to kill off that Librarian with a wound left.
• Webway Portal - As above, its very good. I would recommend he accompany some Grotesques or Incubi through the portal to give them a boost.
• Mindphase Gauntlet - A Close Combat Weapon with the Concussive Special Rule. You are still fast than marines so might come in handy if you manages to get a wound through. there are better options.
• Flesh Gauntlet - A Close Combat Weapon with Poison (4+) and causes Instant Death on any To Wound roll of a 6. Nice and useful, worth it when you manage to take down that Hive Tyrant that's been annoying you.
• Scissorhand - A cheap and effect Close Combat Weapon. It has Poison (4+) and Rending. I expect to see many Haemonculi with these attached, as it gives your fiend an extra punch in Close Combat.
• Agoniser - As before it's an amazing weapon, if not pricey, especially on a Haemonculus that isn't built to be a combat monster. You might be better saving your points.
• Stinger Pistol - A Splinter Pistol with 2+ poison. Nice if your expecting lots of big bugs, but only really take this if you've got points left over.
• Hexrifle - An Assault 1 AP 4 Sniper Rifle that gains Instant Death on all its Precision shots. Quite handy for a Haemonculus that isn't planning on being anywhere near the enemy.
• Liquifier Gun - A Strength 3 Flamer with AP (D6). A very nice weapon and an old favourite of Dark Eldar players. It is great for Overwatch and to fire off before an assault, just watch the low strength.

The Haemonculus also has access to the Artifacts, which I will cover at the end of this section. 

Urien Rakarth
He is everything you want a Haemonculus to be and more. He is cheap and effective and probably the best named character in the codex. With the statline of a normal Haemonculus with a further bonus to Toughness, at first glance he isn't all that, It is his special rules that make him amazing for his cost. First of all he has Feel No Pain (4+) and It Will Not Die as standard. His big Special Rule is that his Master of Pain special rule affects all friendly models with 12" of him, not just his own unit. That is a large area of buffed Dark Eldar.
His wargear consists of a Clone Field (which a normal Haemonculus cannot get), a Close Combat Weapon and an Ichor Injector. This is a Close Combat Weapon that has Fleshbane and gains Instant Death of any To Wound roll of a 6, which is very nasty should he get a would past your armour. He also has a Casket of Flensing, which is a one use only Assault 2D6 range 12" Strength 3 AP3 shot. Nice for weakening a unit prior to an assault.
Finally his Warlord Trait gives all friendly Dark Eldar with 12" of him the Fear special rule. He should live for a very long time and provide a wide buff to Power From Pain to the core of your army.

Drazhar:
The Mast of Blades is the only model in the army with a 2+ armour save thanks to his Executioner's Armour. He is built to be a combat machine. With stats higher than an Archon and the weapons to dish out alot of pain, he will draw alot of firepower.
He has Eternal Warrior to shrug off those Lascannons and Railguns, Fearless and Ramage to chew though any squad he touches. Armed with Demi-Knaives, he can either fight at Strength 5 AP 2 Two-handed or as two Single-handed weapons at Strength 4 AP3, but with the extra attack for two Close Combat Weapons. He if very flexible in combat, but is limited to only join a unit of Incubi. The Incubi gain +1 to their WS whilst Drazhar is there which makes them super nasty.
Finally he has a special rule which, when he rolls a 6 on his To Wound roll in Close Combat, he generates a further bonus attack (this doesn't keep generating further attacks). Overall a nice set of rules for chopping through those Terminators and tough to crack squads, but he comes at a hefty price tag. Be careful where you send him, you don't want him tarpitted or left out in the open to be shot to death.

Artifacts of Cruelty:
The Animus Vitae - This beauty is a must for one HQ in your army. It is an Orb, that you throw (like a grenade) and can only throw once. It is Strength 4 AP2 and if it manages to cause an unsaved wound all models with the Power From Pain special rule (friend or foe) treat the turn as being one higher that it actually is when determining the special rules they get from Power From Pain. That's your whole army buffed in one go. For its price always go for it, even if it doesn't work, it was worth the risk. Target the enemy unit carefully and hope for the best.

The Archangel of Pain - Once per game you open the box and every enemy unit within 9" of the bearer has to take a Leadership test at -2 Leadership and take wounds just like for the Phantasm Grenade Launcher, including Fearless and And They Shall Know No Fear models being immune. Expensive for what it is, but useful in certain situations.

The Armour of Misery - I would Highly recommend this for one of your HQ choices. It provides a 4+ Armour save, a 6+ invulnerable save and causes all enemy units within 6" of the bearer to be at -2 Leadership. Now, a Succumbus will love you for the Armour as she has no way of getting any protection other than this, that same can be said for the Haemonculus. To be honest I would always take it if you can. The leadership special rule can be combined quite nastily with The Archangel of Pain or any Phantasm Grenade Launcher, should you manage to get a shot off at the right time.

The Djin Blade - Possibly the worst Artifact in the game. a Power Sword that gives you +2 Attacks, but you roll a separate dice after you resolve the attacks made by the weapon and on a 1 you suffer a wound with no saves of any kind allowed. It costs more than an Agoniser, Archite Glaive or Huskblade. Pass.

The Helm of Spite - The fist bit of Anti-Psycher in the Codex. All friendly units within 12" of the bearer have the Adamantium Will special rule, and in addition, all enemy psychers with 12" of the bearer suffer Perils Of The Warp on any double when making a Psychic test. A nice way of deterring Psychers from spending their warpcharge, but might have limited use in general play. If your local area plays lots of Psychic powers then this might be a good buy, as its the only defence you have!

The Parasites's Kiss - A Stinger Pistol that is Master-Crafted and gives the bearer a wound previously lost in battle when it causes an unsaved wound. This could have done with being AP2 or 3 to make it worth its cost, but as it stands I don't see it getting alot of use, then again it is very cheap, so if you have spare points you haven't already spent on Haywire Grenades then why not.

Example Builds:
- Archon with Huskblade, Soul-trap, Haywire Grenades and Shadowfield

This is your standard non-Webway Portal Archon. you might want to swap out the Huskblade for an Agoniser, it's down to your taste.

- Succubus with Archite Glaive, Haywire Grenades and Armour of Misery

This is a build I plan to use and it's very effective at its role. You could add a Webway Portal to Deepstrike her and a Close Combat focused unit down into a position they need to be in and hope you live.

- Haemonculus with Scissorhand and Animus Vitae

This guy is there to buff your army up and is very cost effective and is actually OK in a fight. Try to get him in a position where he can throw that grenade early.

Thus ends Part Two. I hope it has been helpful!

Part Three will follow where I will look into the Troop Choices and their dedicated Transports (even though they are now Fast Attack).