Featured Content: Dark Eldar Codex Breakdown (Part 2: Units)

Now the Meat and potatoes, units! We well start with HQ’s and work our way down.


Archon: The Big man on campus is back in this codex with improved stats from before for about the same points. Gaining plus one attack and a lot of gear stock that you would have had to pay for before he is still one of the best CCW monsters in the game! Good builds being:

Husk blade or power weapon & soul trap, clone field & ghost plate or shadow field (users pref)

Idea here being you attack enemies Independent chrs or Monstrous creatures and get to STR 10 as fast as possible. Once you have the souls he will become a combat monster causing instant death to all in his path and laughing at tanks armor as he crushes them aside. If you need 10-20 points bad in your list then you can just take the power weapon instead of the husk blade. This makes him a lot less effective at killing enemies chrs but there always has to be the poor mans build.

Electrocorrosive whip & soul trap, clone field & ghost plate or shadow field (users pref)

Idea here being that you jump on the enemies chrs and kill them with them not having enough high str hits back for him to do any real damage to you. Once he dies the skies the limits for you as STR 6 will make you near unstoppable.


Agonizer & blast pistol, clone field & ghost plate or shadow field (users pref)

Throw him at the nearest squad and watch him rip them up for his own cheap cost. Would recommend the succubus more for this approach though as she's cheaper.

Important things to note: Combat drugs are a must on this guy as almost 88% of what you get will only make this guy better. Remember, Just say YES to drugs! If you plan on them escorting Incubi into the mix, then the Grenade launcher will make sure they kill all in their path before the blink of the eye. Even though the Archon can take a blaster it’s useless as he needs as many attacks as he can to tear things up. Only give him one if you REALLY need more anti tank (should also be said that a blast pistol is a good mix of the best of both worlds in this case).


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Succubus

Most people over look her as she can’t have all the whoop lah of the Archon but I think she is honestly the best poor man HQ we can get.

Important things to note: She comes with combat drugs and a 4++ save in CC base so that alone makes her cheaper then the Archon for what she does. With a weapon skill and initiative high enough to hit the Lord of Death on 3s and swinging before he can blink means she can almost take the big guy out by her self. As said above, if you roll the +1 weapon skill drug for your army with her in it it’s not really a waist as it makes her only able to be hit on 5’s by MEQ. Because you have to get rid of the Agonizer in order to get Wyche weapons they just don't hold wait with her, which is what may make Leilth more appealing if you you have both a PW and an impaler. Good build being:


Agonizer & haywire grenades


Cheap and able to kill large amounts of marines. If you have around 100 points laying around then she may be your girl!

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Homunculus/ Homunculus Ancient

The main reason why these guys are going to hit the field is that they start with a feel pain token. Yeah sure they don’t appear to be the combat beast that the other HQs are, but it should also be noted that they can do some scraping as well. With that thought in mind I feel that it is a huge waist of points to just take this guy for the token alone. Good builds being:

Agonizer & Webway portal

With 4 attacks on the charge he can drop enough MEQs to get his points back. While this may not seem appealing right off the bat you have to look at the big scope of things. If he joins a squad of Wyches or Warriors and they have another Agonizer in the unit then you are throwing 8 Agonizer attacks at the enemy and that can drop a lot of guys.

Hex rifle, venom blade

This is a great build for a homunculus as it allows him to join a squad that can sit back and rain some fire on the enemy and ensure they don’t die off like crazy while doing so. Main tactic I see for this build will be covered in the Mandrake entry. Only reason to take the venom blade is the said reason above. He’s not a show stopper in the CC department but 4 venom blade attacks are nothing to laugh at for the points it cost.

Husk blade & soul trap

I see this as the least common build and it should be said that it will only work best with the Ancient. Same idea here as the Archon Soul stealer build, but he’s a little less survivable then the boss man. I will say that I think it’s the best to do if you want a all themed homunculus army though.

Scissor hands & liquefier gun

The amount of wounds this guy can do can smash a Ork boy horde fast, just stay away from instant death while doing so. Could be the best way to go even against marines due to the shear saves forced.

Important notes: When covering the Pain Masters I didn’t get to into the arcane war gear, as I covered it all earlier in it’s own section. As I said before, most of them are just good point fillers, but some can be game breakers as well. This is another great thing about the homunculus, the fact that he can do SO much. I’ll be the first to warn you though by saying that you should try not to get to wrapped up in all the things he can take, as to much to quick will make you lose the valuable points you need to fill out your body count.

Other things to see about this guy that don’t catch the eye right off the bat are that he has no fleet and no access to plasma grenades. The first of these two problems can hurt some units as they rely on the normal 6” charge rather then insuring it with a fleet move (Wyches come to mind first as they need his pain token right off the bat so they survive better). The latter of the two problems can only be solved by taking a phantasm grenade launcher or just waiting to be charge instead (Hex Rifle build).

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The Court of the Archon

If you liked the wacky and random body guard units of the Witch/Daemon Hunter books then start slobbering as now we can a similar unit! The main thing you can see with ours compared to its founding father unit is that ours is indefinitely CC based. There are 4 different critters making up this rag tag band so lets starting probing at them.

Medusae- This brain sucker is addition as you should almost always want a flamer template dropped bro you charge to thin hordes a little. The fact that its abilities are a little random may make you want to look away but with the cost that it is I think you should weather the random storm and take a least one if you take the Court. I just noticed that these guys have LD9 so if your Archon leaves then they're needed to not break.

Ur-Ghuls- The only reason to take one of these ugly things is the fact that it allows you a good number of STR 4/5 (depending on charge or not) attacks and can take the hit if needed so you don’t lose the big combat dealers in the squad as fast. They also have a great INT so they can drag down some men before they knew what hit them.

Lhamaeans- Her ability is near useless as the Archon shouldn’t be toting around a poisoned weapon, and the fact that she has a low number of attacks may put her on the back burner. Good side is she’s the cheapest thing in the unit and can pull off 1-2 wounds consistently in CC with near anything. The bottom line for her though is that she is easy to kill and with to many T3 models in the unit it will take away from the units survivability as a whole so I say leave her at home. I did just noticed that these guys also have LD9 so if your Archon leaves then they're needed to not break.

Sslyths- Here are the main reason to take this unit. These pleasure indulged snake men really know how to get it done. A min of three will be needed in every squad as to really deal out the hurt though. With a high T and FnP to boot they will defiantly make some players read your codex in a hurry. Good build being:


1 Medusaes
1 Ur-ghuls
1 Lahamaean
(total above number never going higher then 3 men/women so the T of the unit is counted at 5 for the unit in CC, but sadly will be counted at T3 to shooting so you’ll have to kill one of the above if you take a wound from the raider blowing up)
3 Sslyths
1 archon (any gear of your choice but NEEDS the Phantasm grenade launcher)
1 raider

Important notes: This unit is pretty tough and will be both cool and fun to see on the table. Only real issue is that you can get a unit of Incubi for cheaper that will kill MEQs a lot better then them. Another bad thing about this unit is that they don’t have the Power from Pain army wide rule on the combat masters. This is combated by the unit having FnP and Furious charge on most of the units. The only way this can be good is if you kill three units with them with your Archon is still up, just move the big guy to a new squad and he will take all his tokens with him and the squad will still have FnP. I think this unit is the other end of the spectrum for body guards to the Archon. If you are sick of hordes, then these guys will do better at killing them then Incubi will, but if you go against a lot of MEQs then leave these guys at home and call your local Incubi temple for assistance. Another thing pointed out by others that I didn't notice right off the bat was that you are REQUIRED to have at least one of each type in the squad.


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Incubi

Almost seems fitting that they are next as they are most commonly used as the Archons best friends other then the Court. This unit is one of the few things in the book that I see most players losing their minds over and spending WAY to many points on them, so I think it’s fair to say they need more on them then “just point and click”.

Klavex- Something to think about is that he's almost the same cost as another Incubi. Murderous assault doesn't really seem that good to me as you won't be fighting to many ICs with these guys as they are a hammer unit. If you do decide to take a Klavex then it's a must that you give him the onslaught ability. Although it may cost as much as another Incubi, I think on average it will do far more then 3 attacks (really depending on the squad size). The Demi klaves are also to many points to me. You can get another guy for 2 more points. The blood stone on the other hand is great as it can allow you to drop a decent amount of guys before you go in (as we lost our splinter pistols on them now). It doesn't say one shot only for it so you can do it every time you go in. Another great thing about it is that it can kill enough Marines to allow you a dual charge as the original target will require far less attacks to kill them then before. All this for less then half a Incubi? Yes please.

Squad size- The biggest thing to talk bout here with these guys is squad size. At first glance most people are going to want to go Archon, 8 Incubi, 1 Klavex, with both powers. WRONG! The only reason you would want a unit like that is if you know the Emperor is going to be on the field and because that never happens then lets see what else we can do with them. Good builds being:

1 Archon (NEEDS the Phantasm grenade launcher)
5 Incubi
1 Raider

Or

6 Incubi
1 Klavex (murderous onslaught)
1 Raider

These units will kill most things in the game with a single charge and isn’t a crazy point sink to boot. Yes, sometimes what you charge wont die like lemmings pointed towards a cliff but if you but to many points into these guys will fail you big time. In Ork tongue we call this being "to killy". If you don’t trust me then ask Khorne players what it feels like when they kill everything on the charge and are staring at every gun barrel the enemy has to offer.


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Grotesques

So GW thought the old ones just weren’t transformed enough so why not redo them completely! While this was a cool thought, I don’t know if they really hit it on the head when they tried. For all intents they are fast Ogryn with out grenades and when you take into account that you have to have a IC in the unit at all times to baby sit so they don’t kill themselves that only leaves room for 4 of them in a raider. On top of all that if the IC isn’t a Archon with Phantasm grenade launcher then the unit will lose out on that fast INT they had to begin with. Being some resilient to start with is a and the fact that they can have a liquefier and a Sarg with a flesh gauntlet is nice though. Another thing to think about with the Sarge is that the venom blade will re roll to wound vs really anything in the game on the charge. Good builds being:

10 Grotesques, liquefier, aberration w/ flesh gauntlet
1 Archon (any gear of your choice but NEEDS the Phantasm grenade launcher)

(out of a Webway portal)

Or

1 Raider
4 Grotesques, liquefier, aberration w/ flesh gauntlet
1 Archon (any gear of your choice but NEEDS the Phantasm grenade launcher)


Important notes:
As said before these guys just didn’t get as good as what I feel they could have been. With no power weapons they fail to really be horrifying and the fact that they don’t have fleet in a fast army really brings them down. If you do take a weapon on the Sarge it will make him double armed as it is not a "upgrade" of any weapon but rather GAINING it. This said I feel they suffer like flash gitz in the Ork book, being to over priced for what they do in a under cost book.

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Wracks

Maybe after GW got done with the last entry they decided that people would be mad they couldn’t use their old models that they had for grotesques. So what better to do then make them a new CC monster unit! Good builds being:

8 wracks, 1 liquifier gun, 1 Acothlyst with Agonizer
1 homunculus (any CC layout)
1 Raider
Only reason that you want the Pain Master in the unit is to give them FC so that they can re roll to wound against MEQs. Problem being they have no grenades. That being said a Archon with a Phantasm grenade launcher sounds good with them so you can get the token real fast!

Important note: As said above they have no grenades so that can be a major set back. They fact that you can have 2 liquefiers and a Agonizer in the unit is incredible. Add that to the fact that you can take them as troops with the Pain Master in there and I don’t see why a unit of these wouldn’t be fielded! Another good tactic is to take them in large squads and make sure half their squad is in cover moving up field. This will give your army a 4++ and 4+ vs shooting and they can cover a large area (this is only with a walking build of course).

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Mandrakes

All I hear is people going on and on about these guys and how sad they are that they weren’t as good as what they wanted. The sad part is that they are, but just not in the sense that you would think. Looking at stats, if appears very obvious that these guys are CC gurus. The fact the Serge can’t take a cool weapon and they don’t have rending makes you want to turn your head…. DON’T! This units main function is, believe it or not, to shoot. Infiltrate them around 13” ahead of your battle line and have a Homunculus near by in a raider. First turn drive him up and join the unit. When the shooting phase comes around laugh as you throw 20 STR 4 pinning rounds at the enemy and if your really lucky they will be useless next turn. The fact that these things (being neither a DE or a monster really) have BS 4 further proves the point. On top of it all when they get shot back they have a 3++ save to shooting AND FnP from the Hammie. After you let all those shots out you can drop a Webway Portal with the Hammie and you are in great position to watch all the rest of your army come screaming on to the table. Once they get charged you will see where the CC greatness comes in for them. 20 STR4 INT5 attacks will knock most MEQs off their high horse. Another great thing to say about them is with 2 Pain Tokens they can destroy a transport in no time. Good build being:

10 Mandrakes
1 homunculus, hex rifle, Webway portal

Important note: With no grenades this unit can’t really do anything in the charging department. Remember That not only charging into but through cover makes you swing last unless you have grenades. Again if you take a Archon with the Phantasm grenade launcher if you want to make them charge happy, but then you lose out on that nice shooting attack right off the bat. Another thing to be said about the Sarge is the fact that he has LD 9 which can make the unit better at holding it's ground.


True born

So being grown in a tank isn’t good enough for all DE, and that’s where these guys come into play. Another way to think of them is a poor mans stern guard. These guys have another attack then the average warrior and access to many different weapons. Good builds being:


10 Trueborn with shard carbines
1 Raider

Very good harass unit that can really lay some fire into anything that has a wound profile. Kind of the poor mans Scourges.

5 Trueborn, 4 blasters
1 venom, 2 splinter cannons

These guys will destroy most tanks in one volley. No need to get into to much with these guys.


10 Trueborn, 4 shredders
1 raider, splinter racks

I just love the idea of dropping 4 STR 6 blast on people and watching them fail saves ha ha. I will say that this unit can do a lot or a little depending on how I do with the scatter, but hey it’s fun.

5 Trueborn, 2 splinter cannons & 3 shredders
1 Venom, night shields, 2 splinter cannons

Great at killing infantry in mass as well. Essentially it's really just a different approach to the above squad but I like it none the less.

Important notes: While these guys are the “stern guard” of the DE they don’t have the staying power that their father unit does. Be warned that if their transport goes down the enemy will kill them FAST. I’m also not a huge fan of the suicide 5 man units but I know people love them for some reason so I made sure to include them. Another quick thing to say is that the Duke can make the first of these builds incredibly horrifying with the number of wounds it will deal out. A fact that makes them better then scourges in that sense.

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Harlequins

The jokesters of the laughing God have finally come to our book. Bad part of these guys is that to be effective they have to have a shadow seer and the kiss upgrade. This makes them dead on the same points as a Incubi and can’t take a transport. On the up side they are hard to shoot and if they make it there they can do the same if not better to hordes that Incubi do. Really not an OMG unit but not bad either. Good build being:


9 Harlequins, 9 kisses
1 shadow seer

A lot of attacks and praying in cover to get you when you get close.

Important note: This units not really new to the game and has been discussed else where. Best tactic I see is as a screening unit for your foot units, thus giving then a 4++ save. Need help here as I’ve never really used them.


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Hekatrix Blood brides

Really our “vanguard vets” these girls are just Wyches with +1 attack. I wont get into these girls to much, as I will cover Wyches in the later entries, but it appears that these girls are made to ride in Raiders. The units main ability is to the fact that they can take a Wyche weapon per every three men/women. Good builds being:


8 blood brides 3 hydra gauntlets
1 Syren, Agonizer
1 Raider

Important notes: The fact that they are Wyches that can't hold objectives hurts them pretty bad. It should be said that if you take 9 Wyches that it won't hurt the number of weapons the squad can take, thus making them a great IC delivery squad.

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Kabalite Warriors

So our main stay murderers are back and better then ever (by some standards). The ups and downs of warriors are covered a lot in the Splinter weapons section. The more I look at these guys though I can see that they are really one of the best bang for the bucks troopers in the game, especially once they gain a pain token. Good builds being:

10 warriors, blaster & Dark lance

I see these guys taking the place of our former double dark lance toting squads. Great anti tank squads that can also do some damage to infantry if need be. Other then knocking out tanks they will also be huge in holding objectives for us as they are cheap and a troop choice.

10 warriors, splinter cannon & blaster or Shredder
1 raider, Splinter racks & night shields

This squad will be great for either being the best of both worlds or just specializing in knocking out enemy troops. To me Raiders are better suited with getting CC troops into the mix but I have sen them used to good effect.

20 warriors, 2 splinter cannons, 2 shredders, Sybrite, Agonizer, PGL
1 homunculus (any CC build)

I used these horde squads all the time in the last book and it appears that it's gotten even better now that we have FnP with the Homunculus. Once you get to get charged you will have a lot of I 5 attacks and the Agonizer makes quick work of marines. The PGL is very useful because it's cost is the same as arming 20 warriors with grenades so why not take it instead and get two for the price of one.

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Wyches

Everyone needs entertainment, and it seems the DE don't like TVs so this is where these girls/boys come into play. When they were a elite slot they were okay, but now that they can hold objectives I see them reentering the spot light.

The biggest thing to cover with these guys is the special weapons that they can field. The Impaler is okay to tie people up, but as I'll say earlier I enjoy killing more then stalling. The other two weapons allow for more blood letting in CC. I honestly feel the Hydra gauntlets take the cake though because your average roll for attacks is going to be a 3 or 4, thus resulting in basically having another Wyche present. A lot will argue that the Razor flail is better but you have to remember that the re roll to wound combat drug roll does nothing for them and the risk reward factor the the hydra can't be underestimated. Good builds being:


9 Wyches, 2 Shardnet and Impalers
1 Hekatrix, agonizer
1 raider, night shields

This will be peoples "tie up unit". I've never been a fan of using Wyches to hold people up as my goal will always be to kill them. I have seen people use them to good effect though, holding up elite squads until something nasty can come and end the stalemate.


9 Wyches, 2 hydra gauntlets
1 Hekatrix, Agonizer
1 Raider, night shield

I use this unit the most as I feel they can give out a crazy amount of wounds 3/4s of the time with the right drug roll. Shimmy them up field and when the time is right jump out fleet and charge.


14 Wyches, 3 hydra gauntlets
1 Hekatrix, Agonizer
1 Homunculus (any CC build)
(All coming out of a Webway portal)

This squad will come running and screaming out of the portal ready to kill anything in their way. With FnP they don't have to worry about getting shot to much if they don't get the charge (the Hammie doesn't have fleet).


Important notes: With ++ saves in CC they can be quite hard to kill when up close. Problem is that once they are out of CC they seem to die FAST to bolter fire. Most people will say that this makes Wyches not really a viable unit compared to warriors but they (as with anything else in the codex, can become rather tough with some help from the Hammie and make sure you hug cover if your card board box gets wrecked.

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Hellions

The old fluff apparently wasn't good enough so now we have these SLC punks riding "skate boards" in our armies. These guys are pretty impressive, and this is with out taking into account what the Barron does for them. IMO these guys are the best Webway unit in the book. Here's my reasoning why. If some one surrounds a Webway portal then you may not pull a squad out as they have to stay out of 1" of a enemy unit. Hellions being jump infantry ignore that fact by flying over the squad and then charging them. With the jump packs in mind they come screaming out of the Webway almost guaranteeing they charge where they want. The last fact being that they are so fragile that with out a Webway they would get shot to death in no time. Some people think they are also a great screening unit for raiders as they are such large models that they will almost always give raiders a cover save so you won't need flicker fields. Good builds being:

9 or 14 Hellions
1 Hellarch, agonizer & PGL (PGL is a must as they don't come with Plasma Grenades)
(usually best with a Webway)

19 Hellions
1 Hellarch, agonizer & PGL
1 Baron

This unit is great as they are scoring and can really deal out some pain. In order to get the best effect out of them I highly recommend adding a Hammie to get the FnP token and then making him leave to join another squad first turn (leaving the Token when he goes).

Important notes: As said above if these guys/girls are caught out in the open, then consider them dead. Another good idea for them is to fly them right next to cove and then run into it so you won't have to roll dangerous terrain. Another thing I forgot to say before is about the Stun Claw. While this thing is a fun gizmo I don't really see it in competitive builds. The Agonizer will kill people (or the IC in question) so it's not really that impressive. The only time I see it being a big help is if you have two units in CC with blood angels and one of them grabs the priest and pulls him far enough out of the way that he can't give the squad the FnP. Again though, one Agonizer attack and he's gone period but it's what ever.

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Scourges

Our former flying DE are turning themselves into bird men now. You would think the fact that their bones are getting hollowed to fly easier should make them easier to kill then before but instead they have a 4+ save! I guess this only makes sense as they have the most money out of all out units, so Ghost armor is cheap to them. This unit reminds me of a mix combination of Dark Reapers and swooping hawks. Main thing to notice there is that both units are meant to kill infantry. I know they have options to get anti tank but in all reality it seems to me that they will only really be good at mowing infantry down. There is MAYBE one exception to this though. Good builds being:

10 scourges

Yeah that's it for one for them. Cheap, throwing out 30 shots a turn, and the fact that a splinter cannon cost almost half a guy makes them almost not taking for these guys.

10 scourges, 4 splinter cannons

Main reason it do this so to hope that when you do get into position that you will be able to shoot all guns at once. If you are just 24" away and shooting just the splinter cannons as heavy then it's only 24 shots, where if you just had all carbine and moved forward 6" you would shoot 30. This build is better then the first one though when you think of causality wise. If you lose 5 guys from this unit, who cares, but 5 from the other squads drops it's shooting effectiveness by a lot.

10 scourges, 2 splinter cannons & 2 Dark lances

Multitask unit that I have been tossing around but I really think that making something okay at one thing really hurts you in the long run as they could have been great at just one thing.

10 scourges, 4 Dark lances

It can't be ignored that these guys get DLs really cheap, so if you make a list with the first build in it a switch to this could help if you're really hurting on anti tank. That being said DE are one of the few armies that rarely have that problem but it is a okay choice so I thought I would list it.

Important notes: I know some of you are thinking where is the Heat lances but the fact stands that after you shoot them to do what you want, you're squad will be dead. Only way it could be usable is in a Alpha strike force but still, I hate the idea of losing almost a 300 point unit to kill a Land raider. Another thing I failed to mention that other keep talking about is what about 5 scourges with 2 heat lances? I feel this unit won't reliable kill a tank and get there cost back. Best case senerio they come out of a Webway and wound a Land Raider (knock a gun off of immobilize it and then they get destroyed. My views on suicide units are why not just take a unit that can do the job and NOT die so you don't have a one trick pony that's a gamble.

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Beastmasters

Very Ironic to me that the unit is called Beastmaster when really they don't really do anything compared to the beast. A name like beast pack would have been better, but that's getting off track. This unit squeezes into the number two slot of best Webway units because only because they can't take grenades. Worse then that, adding a Archon in there to give them a PGL will help in the short game attack but they will lose out on their 12" charge. Other then that a great unit, with really only one build I can think of that will go the distance. Good build being:

2 beast master
1 beast master Venom blade or Agonizer (both are good but with only one attack base with the master is he really going to get his points back? That's why I like the Venom blade as it's cheap and it will make sure his 3 attacks force some saves for sure, especially if he gets Furious charge)
10 Khymare
2 Razorwing Flocks
(out of Webway Portal)

This unit will throw a CRAZY number of attacks at the enemy and has a great 4++ save to back it up. Out of a Webway portal deployed only 15" up (due to 12" raider move and disembark) these guys will really make some of your opponents worry.

Important notes: Only real issues I have with them is that they have LD 8 max with out a IC attached and the Clawed Fiend is near useless. In most cases you should be winning most combats so who cares about that. The latter of the two problems is a shame as well considering that it's cool to have a big monster hanging out in your army. The main thing he's good at is taking wounds to get more STR 5 attacks but in most cases the Razorwing Flocks are better at that as well. At first glance you would think his toughness is there to make the unit harder to wound but in reality I feel it's there to soak up power fist wounds as he can't be instant killed by them. On top of it all he only seems to gain from the fact that they swung on him to begin with. The only other thing I see them good for is anti horde, as STR 5 will kill more Orks then rending any day and also have a better time in taking out tanks as well. I still feel that he's to many points for what he does though. Another fact to note is that Razorwing Flocks have 5 wounds and are not swarms for some reason. This is great for taking bolter saves on them if they are in cover. This will save one of your warp beast lives and you can do it 4 times before some one really has to die (in sets of two of course).

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Reavers

Some times DE don't want to slow down to cut peoples heads off. When this thought becomes a constant in a DEs mind, they go and buy a Jet bike a the fun begins. This unit got a LOT better in this book mainly to the fact that they did a great job integrating the fluff to game rules, which is really hard to do some times. The main use for these guys so to zoom all over the table and cause massive amounts of saves without ever losing that 3+ cover save granted by turbo boosting, Good builds being:

9 Reavers, 2 Cluster Cantrops, 1 Grav-talon

Zoom past infantry and cause 6 d 3+1 STR 4 hits, 1 d 3+1 pinning hits, and 2 d 6 STR 6 hits! This could wreck most infantry squads and with some luck (added my the TGL on raiders) could pin them to!

9 Reavers, 3 Heat lances or 3 Blasters

Both are great at anti tank and both can use that jet bike save to get into cover so they don't get chewed up. And don't get to worried about dieing to dangerous terrain as they guys have skilled rider! I see the blaster being more effective here because at 24" away after they shoot can allow them to get out of a lot of enemy fire.

Important note: While people are going crazy over the heat lances and the fact that these guys/girls get a 3+ cover save all game I haven't heard a lot of people mention that a flamer kills these guys faster then raid in a roach hole. Another to be said about these guys is that they really don't gain to much from combat drugs as they will either be zooming around or trying to be Tau crises suits. Still though, they are a fun and competitive unit that, as I said before, Phil did a great job with combining it all.

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Raiders

If Dark Lances aren't our poster child then this thing is. I have yet to see at least one list with out a Raider showing it's card board face at least once. It's major advantages are really covered in the Vehicle upgrade section. I won't even get into the mass amounts of builds you can do with this thing as it would take me around 30 more pages and as said above just look in the Upgrade section.

Important notes: Being a cardboard box is not only this things greatest weakness, but also its biggest strength. It allows for a consistent 24" charge due to fleet and disembark and to boot has a DL to kill any armor after words. It also has the option of taking Disentigrator instead of the DL but that's really up to you. I only recommend switching if you have your anti tank locked down with the rest of your list. Another great thing about this being opened top is that when the crew are firing out of it you measure from the tip of the tank for ALL shots. This allows for more fire being able to get laid out at a unit dead on 12" away with little to no fire back in return due to night shields.

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Venom

A mini raider and no model in sight. Best thing to do now is take a Eldar Vyper and convert it if you really want this 5 man transport. It's strengths lie in the fact that its good for Incubi or Trueborn squads but it should be noted that it comes with Flicker Fields. This isn't a big deal to me as I think it's a crap upgrade due to the point cost, but for free why not! The main difference to it and the Raider though is the fact that it can have two splinter cannons. Being on a tank they will always fire with the heavy profile and sense they have no strength they can both be fired after moving 12".

Important notes: Other uses are covered in Vehicle War gear section and the Raider entry.

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Ravager

As I said in the Distergrator entry this thing can murder FnP units and 2+ save units in no time. It's main goal though is going to be a 3 DL wielding tank murder. Only real upgrade wroth taking to me is a again night shields. With that up grade you would be out of heavy bolter range as well when you are destroying the Devy squad with 9 STR5 AP 2 shots.

Talos

Some times you have to maim and torture some one so bad the only thing you can do with them is to put them in a robotic body and watch them go mad with rage, slaughtering all in it's path. The Talos has become insane as it has Power from Pain now and with chain flails you almost insure that you will kill at least 3 marines a turn without much return damage. Like other walkers he needs to have support in CC in order to be really efficient.

Talos, haywire launcher

Good bullet magnet that will slow down enemy tanks, if not blow them up. Real goal of this guy is just to take shots so your Raiders have a chance.

Talos, Heat lance, chain flails
(out of Webway portal)

Can crack open a tank and eat the goodness inside. Best use for the heat lance IMO.

Talos, Twin linked liquifier and extra close combat weapon
(out of Webway portal)

If you roll a 3 or lower on the AP the re roll to wound it will kill a lot of guys and make the charge that much easier.

Important notes: This guy is slow, so as said above he needs to go through a Webway portal. If not he will catch a LOT of fire, which in all honesty, isn't always a bad thing. When all is said and done he is a great Heavy to the book, only real problem being all our heavies are really nice!

Cronos Parasite Engine

This guy is like a baby Talos but his only real draw back is that he doesn't have as many CC attacks compared to his big brother. Good part about him though is he's just as tough to kill and also has power from pain. The cool part about this guy is that every time he kills something he may give a Pain Token to any squad within 12" of him. Yeah that sounds cool and all, but his real strength lies in the fact that he has a gun called Spirt Vortex. This thing will rack up the kills and also let you throw Pain tokens ALL over the place. Good builds being:

Cronos, Spirit vortex

He just walks up field throwing out covering fire and making his buddies better.

Cronos, Spirit probe, Spirit Vortex
(Out of Webway portal)

A great way to get a 3 (if not 4 ) of Pain Tokens in one turn and can hold up units until help gets there.

Important Notes: Gaining a Token from just one "set" of wounds my not seem that prominent, but you have to remember that the Cronos can take BOTH of the guns so they can gain up to 3 tokens a turn (four if it kills the squad, but that last token ONLY goes to him)


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Razorwing Jetfighters

The other new craze in 5th edition is fliers so of course we got two of them! It really fits our army though as the DE are all about lightning fast raids and Alpha strikes. The first of the two aircraft is very good at dealing with enemy infantry. Replace the twin linked splinter rifle with a splinter cannon the Dark lances with Disentigrators and move in first turn and let the missiles fly. After that you can rip into enemy infantry to good effect. Good build:


Missiles: I really like the Necrotrix missiles. They cause pinning, are poisoned, and a large blast so what's there not to like. I have also noticed a lot of people talking about Shatterfield missiles but the issue with these things is the AP-. How is that a big deal? Well, if you don't know AP- causes a -1 on the vehicle damage chart and allows anyone a save out of cover. This could be a big deal as every wound counts when Alpha striking. The Implosion missiles are okay in my book, as they can really wipe out tough infantry but I also feel that mass saves will do the same thing.


Razorwing jetfighter, 4 Necroscythe missiles, two splinter cannons

Once you Alpha strike someone with this thing it becomes some what of a weaker Ravager. I wouldn't really worry about deep striking it either as it really one of the best regular reserve units in the game.


Important notes: It's really fragile so don't expect it to live long after it drops it's payload. As said above in the Night shield entry, the night shields can make this thing truly scary as a whole game threat rather then just one turn Alpha striking. Compared to the bomber this thing is far cheaper and I think it will do about the same job. It's also important to note that due to aerial assault it can move 12" and fire all guns, thus increasing it's mobile killing power.



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Voidraven Bomber

This bigger, more armored of the two fliers this thing can do the best of both worlds for our army. The great thing about it is the fact that you can come in first turn and shoot all your missiles to kill a large formation of infantry, to then next turn bomb a tank and call it quits. Only real issue here is that for being a bomber it only has one bomb and after that and the Alpha strike you are just shooting void lances at tanks.

Missiles: I really like the Necrotrix missiles. They cause pinning, are poisoned, and a large blast so what's there not to like. I have also noticed a lot of people talking about Shatterfield missiles but the issue with these things is the AP-. How is that a big deal? Well, if you don't know AP- causes a -1 on the vehicle damage chart and allows anyone a save out of cover. This could be a big deal as every wound counts when Alpha striking. The Implosion missiles are okay in my book, as they can really wipe out tough infantry but I also feel that mass saves will do the same thing.

Voidraven bomber, 4 Necroscythe missiles, 2 void lances, 1 void mine

The great thing about this is fact that you can come in first turn and shoot all your missiles to kill a large formation of infantry, to then next turn bomb a tank and call it quits.

Important notes: I don't see why you wouldn't take a Ravager for this role as it's cheaper and we already have a million of them ha ha. It's also important to note that due to aerial assault it can move 12" and fire all guns, thus increasing it's mobile killing power. As said above in the Night shield entry, the night shields can make this thing truly scary as a whole game threat rather then just one turn Alpha striking.

Thanks again to Chris (The Bear) for this great contribution to the blog!