Thursday, February 24, 2011

Dark Eldar for 'Ard Boyz: 38 Dark Lances

Well, 'Ard Boyz is officially happening August 13 and I'm sure in the coming months I'll starting practicing with both my Eldar and Dark Eldar to come up with the best list possible.

My first idea is a Dark Lance spam Dark Eldar list, designed to hit with a nasty alpha-strike.  I have the Baron in there to help ensure the first turn, and I could easily fit Vect in by dropping a big Scourge squad or reducing the size of the Warrior squads. 

Dark Lance Spam:
Baron - 105

3 Trueborn (2 dark lance) in Raider - 146
3 Trueborn (2 dark lance) in Raider - 146
3 Trueborn (2 dark lance) in Raider - 146

10 Warriors (dark lance) in Raider - 175
10 Warriors (dark lance) in Raider - 175
10 Warriors (dark lance) in Raider - 175
10 Warriors (dark lance) in Raider - 175
10 Warriors (dark lance) in Raider - 175
10 Warriors (dark lance) in Raider - 175

5 Scourges (2 dark lance) - 140
5 Scourges (2 dark lance) - 140
10 Scourges (4 dark lance) - 280

Ravager (night shields) - 115
Ravager (night shields) - 115
Ravager (night shields) - 115

Total: 2,498

Obviously 38 Dark Lances is more than enough to handle most opponents, so the final version of the list will likely substitute some Venoms in for Raiders and 5 man squads of Warriors.  Just wanted to throw this list out there to hopefully generate some creative juices.

Can anyone out there cram more than 38 Dark Lances into a 2,500 point list?

9 comments:

  1. strategy question....all those trueborn and warrior squads cannot fire while the raider is moving...and you want them to move, so what is the plan to get those firing?

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  2. Shadowvast, it's true that most Dark Eldar armies want to move but it's really not possible with Dark Lance spam. I would probably keep 4 of the Warrior squads embarked and keep the Raider stationary - only moving it if I needed to get out of a tight spot. The other 2 along with the Trueborn would likely start out of their transports in cover. The empty Raiders would provide cover for the rest of the Vehicles.

    However, when it's all said and done, I agree Dark Eldar need their mobility. I think an army with a combination of lances and blasters can be more effective, but I just wanted to see how many Dark Lances I could squeeze in.

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  3. The nasty part about this list is that it can hit 24 different targets. Bad part is a horde list or any kp mission will smash this list.

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  4. 25 KP in 2,500 isn't terrible especially for DE, but the KP's are pretty easy to get (no vehicle upgrades, FNP or T4 Wracks).

    Horde (and many other builds) would be a challenge. The lists saving grace is having 12 Shard Carbines (36 shots at 18") and 57 Splinter Rifles (114 shots at 12") which would dramatically help thin out the ranks of any Horde army before the charge.

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  5. Hi,

    Nice base list to judge others against, but as you hinted at in the post a better list would reduce some of the dark lances.

    I don't think you could get more dark lances, but if you wanted more lances you could use the trueborn's opportunity to carry more blasters.

    However getting back to making a better list. How about swapping 3 squads of warriors with dark lances for 3 squads of 10 wyches including hex with venom blade (exactly same points).

    Also where is the baron going to go ? You should either drop him or swap a warrior unit for hellions.

    Rathstar

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  6. Baron would be going with the big unit of Scourges to grant them a 3+ cover save. I'm working on developing a list that has comparable firepower, but also has a bit of close combat goodness.

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  7. I've played DE for a long time, the lack of mobility will crush this list. I don't mean to sound harsh, but DE live and play like a shark - always moving always attacking. They cannot hunker down like guard and leaf blower the opponent, they are way to fragile.

    And for goodness sack, you do not have the best item in the new codex for your ravangers - FLICKER FIELDS. These have saved my bacon on more than one occasion. Night shields mean little since your ravangers are back line heavies anyway. They have to live in the 30 to 36 inch range for your Night shields to have any appreciable effect. Most weapons directed at them at 48" range anyway.

    The sad statistic about Dark Lances is that they only have an 11% chance of wreck/destroy each shot. Even if you could fire all at once, that's 4 vehicles destroyed a round. This drops incredibly when you look at cover saves, you moving, etc.

    Recommendation:
    Ditch the 2 Trueborn elites w/ lances for 4 trueborn w/ Blaster on Vemons. That 183 points for a mobile 4 lance team, with a 5+ invulnerable.

    Give the Vemons nightshields and live in the 12"-18" range. Night shields protect you from rapidfire, pistols and melta incredibly well.

    Ditch the night shields for flicker fields on the ravagers.

    Heavy weapons on fast attacks is counter productive. Use blasters, heatlances or Haywire Blasters with them. Quick and mobile.

    It looks like you don't care a lot about your HQ choice so - play with 6 haemonculus (300 points) and have them escort your Warriors to give those squads feel no pain. It's an incredible way to make them hold an area long term. Use liquifiers or Hexrifles there after to make the haemies useful. Oterwise they are just a meat shield.

    Those are my thoughts. My list is completely different for 'ard boys.

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  8. I would change the dark lances and the raiders for the true born to 3 each with blasters on a venom with splinter canon upgrade. the 3 venoms will help with hords gives you the same number of lance shots (albeit a shorter range) but also some anti-infantry shooting (12 poison shots) for the same price...

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