DE: Getting the best out of cover

Class is in session.

To get the best out of Dark Eldar, you must understand 2 things:  Everything you have is paper thin, and everything you have is incredibly destructive.  This means that in order to play your glass cannon army effectively, you must know how to deal damage while denying damage.

Here's a cheat sheet:

Stealth is +1 to your cover save.
Shrouded is +2 to your cover save.
Skilled Rider is +1 to your cover save.
PGL and defensive grenades gives Stealth to units being shot at 8" and closer.
Well-positioned angle is +1 to your cover save, but only under certain conditions (pg.75, picture 3).
Stealth + Shrouded = +3 to your cover save.
Stealth + Shrouded + well-positioned angle = +4 to your cover save; this means that they stack.
Jink is a flat 5+ cover save.
Flat out is a flat 4+ cover save.
Most terrain is a flat 5+ cover save.
Ruins is a flat 4+ cover save.  Jink, Flat out, and all terrain cover do not stack.

The thing to take away from this is that there are some things that stack and some that don't.  Jink is the same as 5+ cover from terrain, so you can only use one or the other.  The same applies to Ruins and Flat Out.  However, there's some things that stack on top of cover, and there's a lot of different combinations that you can pull off to deny damage.

Check this out:

Most terrain + Stealth = 4+ cover save.
Most terrain + Shrouded = 3+ cover save.
Most terrain + Stealth + Shrouded = 2+ cover save.
Ruins + Stealth = 3+ cover save.
Ruins + Shrouded = 2+ cover save.
Most terrain + well-positioned angle + Stealth = 3+ cover save.
Most terrain + well-positioned angle + Shrouded = 2+ cover save.
Jink + Stealth = 4+ cover save.
Jink + Stealth + well-positioned angle = 3+ cover save.
Jink + Shroud = 3+ cover save.
Jink + Stealth + Shrouded = 2+ cover save.
Flat out + Stealth = 3+ cover save.
Flat out + Shrouded = 2+ cover save.
Flat out + Stealth + well-positioned angle = 2+ cover save.
...etc

If Night Fighting is in effect, you gain Shrouded from 24-36" (and Stealth at 12-24").  This is Lance engagement range.  I repeat:  This is lance engagement range.

So which ones out of this list is most common for Dark Eldar?

• If I want to stay at max Lance range and engage the enemy under Night Fighting, I make sure I get a 3+ cover save (Jink + Shrouded).  Remember to always keep moving.  Ravagers can move 12" and shoot all their Lances, so make sure you draw units out of cover and Focus Fire what you can.
• If I want to relocate my units under Night Fighting instead of shooting, I Flat Out and keep either Shrouded or Stealth.  If I'm going for an extreme angle shot or a flank shot next turn, I'll just move parallel across my battle line.  This will give me a 2+ cover under night conditions.
• If I'm driving my units close to the enemy, I'll often times ignore the fact that I'm going Flat Out (obviously, because you're going fast), drive my boat behind some ruins hopefully, and angle it from the most dangerous threat (the one that's going to be shooting at your boat) to get +1 cover.  Remember that Ruins and Flat Out do not stack, but being behind some ruins allows you to angle your boat from enemy fire.  If I'm within 12-24", I'll gain Stealth and thus, I'll have a 2+ cover under those conditions.  This means that under the cover of night, you can move units incredibly far distances and be dangerously close to your opponent, 
• If I'm going second under Night Fighting, I'm either going to be out of 36" threat range completely, limit my opponents AT fire with Night Shields, or gain 3+/2+ cover from stacking terrain/ruins + Shrouded +/- Stealth + well-positioned angles. Dark Eldar have just as many options going second than they do going first under Night Fighting.  In fact, some prefer going second so they can bait enemy units into over-extending or over-committing his units out of cover instead of the first turn Alpha Strike.  Just remember that Dark Eldar see through the dark completely.
• If there is no Night Fighting in effect, you have to utilize your Night Shields, Jink and terrain to negate as much damage as possible.  Cover is now provided as long as 25% of your vehicle is obscured now, so this should be very easy obtain.  This also means that should always be moving with your vehicles, and trying to find well-positioned angles behind buildings to gain 4+/3+ cover.  Remember that Jink does not stack with most terrain, but it does stack with well-positioned angles.
• Our vehicles are designed to take advantage of extreme angles because they're long and slender, and the prows are very narrow.  Finding these angles will keep you alive under the most impossible odds while maintaining your ranged lethality.  Stare at your Raider/Venoms/Ravagers with Pg. 75 open in your rulebook.  Burn that image in your head and practice angling your ships against enemy fire until you get it right.

Updated 7-15-12, added 3 diagrams.
I did these really quick in Vassal, so excuse the rush job.

The blue arrow symbolizes the trajectory that the Ravager moved in before he engages his target (green).  The red arrows symbolize the marines that want to engage the Ravager, but the poor angle of shot will provide the Ravager with a +1 cover save behind the ruins for total of 3+ cover save.  Assume the position the melta marines are in now is the position they'll be next turn.

The gunboat advances in a direction that faces the marines with the meltagun in front.  However, the only thing they can barely draw their eyes on is the side of the Raider.  Due to the fact that the armor side they're engaging is not the same as what they can actually engage, you get +1 cover from the extreme angled shot.  The gunboat is now freely able to engage the Terminators in green.  Again, assuming the marines have moved into position already.

The Venom here did not move, he just merely changed to fully hide his left side to the Predator because of the height of the oil barrel.  The only thing that the Predator can see is the tip of the Venom and the edge of the tail.  Because the Predator cannot engage the side armor of the vehicle, the Venom gains a +1 cover save.  The Venom is now free to engage the marines out of cover in front of him while denying the Predator of his prey.

The key thing to remember about angling your vehicles is this:

• If he's facing a direction that'll give him front, side or rear armor, but he can't see your front, side of rear armor so he shoots at another armor facing [noun] at the time of the engagement, you get +1 cover save.  That's RAW.
• For RAI, casual play and speed, if you get down to the attacking model's point of view and you can barely get a piece of the target, you will probably get a +1 cover save.  Check with your opponent just to make sure.

That is all.  Class dismissed!

DE: Time to add in some allies!

I can't wait for the new Eldar book.

It's Friday! I hope everyone is having a pretty good week so far.  Next week, depending on how lazy I feel, I might get a game in with my DE with Eldar allies.  I don't think allies will be good for anything less than 1850 because even bare bones stuff takes a good amount of points.

Let's see now.. as Dark Eldar, we don't have many options for really good allies.  However, we gained one of the best armies in the game to partner up with and that's none other than Eldar.  Given that we're the same race, one can only accept that by the way fluff has advanced that Eldar and Dark Eldar are no longer hating eachother.

This is one of those rare times that I'll ever talk about fluff, but I think for this particular topic, fluff is important.  First thing's first:  Dark Eldar and Eldar are not like Dark Elves and High Elves.  They don't hate eachother to death, they just don't agree with eachother's life style.  If you read through the Dark Eldar codex, there's a section in there that says Dark Eldar even helped the craftworld Iyanden when they're about to be overwhelmed by Orks.  Regardless, the old idea of the Eldar hating on their over-indulgent cousins is being pushed aside and they are now Battle Brothers.

Now that fluff is done, we can talk about army lists.  Hmm.. what can I bring at <2K points that can incorporate the strengths of both armies?

Well, I drafted up an army list for you guys:

1999

19 VP

HQ:

Succubus (Agonizer/BP, Haywires) = 105

TROOP:

5x Warriors (Raider NS, Blaster) = 130

5x Warriors (Raider NS, Blaster) = 130

10x Warriors (Raider, NS, SR, Blaster, SC) = 195

10x Warriors (Raider, NS, SR, Blaster, SC) = 195

9x Wyches (Raider NS, Hekatrix/Agonizer/BP, Haywires) = 225

10x Wyches (Raider NS, Hekatrix/Agonizer/BP, Haywires) = 235

HEAVY:

Ravager (NS) = 115

Ravager (NS) = 115

Voidraven (NS/FF, 4x SF) = 205

Allies:

Farseer (Jetbike, Guide, RoWarding, RoWitnessing, Spear) = 133

3x Guardian Jetbikes = 66

3x War Walkers (Scatter Laser, Shuriken Cannon) = 150

By some form of insane luck, I ended up with 1999 points on the nose.  That's pretty hysterical, it's almost like the two books were made for eachother.

Here are the changes I made to my original 1750 army list:

-Dropped a Succubus to make points for allies.

-Dropped the PGL and re-added the Agonizers just because it's more all-comers.

-Kept everything else the same, the units, the upgrades, the Voidraven, everything.

-Added a Farseer on a Jetbike to fly around with Guardian Jetbikes.

-Decided to take 3x War Walkers with dakka dakka.

The idea behind this list is to supply my army with some well-needed psychic defense.  In my last game as Chaos, I noticed how devastating how certain spells can be.  There was Hallucination, which thankfully he rolled poorly for on the table, and then there was Invisibility.  Now these were spells he were able to get off because I had nothing to stop him.  His Sorcerers were really well protected (either by strong cover or 2+ armor saves), so they were able to cast their spells without any issues.  That's just unacceptable once the games go into larger point ranges.  I mean, can you imagine the pain and frustration of having your shit not striking your enemies in combat because they're too busy swinging at themselves?  No way man.

So with that said, I've added a Farseer to hang out with some Jetbikes.  Jetbikes are scoring and they move really fast so they can keep pace with my mechanized army.  The best thing about Jetbikes is that they can get an outrageous amount of cover from my LoS-blocking and cover-hugging Raiders.  The Farseer will swap out Guide for Prescience (which is a 12" better Guide) and he'll cast this awesomenesss on anything that needs it.  Some common targets include the Voidraven when he needs to dogfight or place his templates down more effectively, Warriors who are out of their Raiders and need to fire more accurately, Wyches who need a little more combat potential (imagine Guide + re-roll wound drugs), and the War Walkers, who can Outflank and put out 21 S6 shots on the turn they come in.

Speaking of the War Walkers, they are actually one of the most effective Eldar units for their points.  You take with them Scatter Laser and Shuriken Cannons and they absolutely shred shit with S6 shots.  Outflank a Aegis Line emplacement and cast Prescience on them.  Your Farseer will have to be in a good position for him to cast Prescience because it's a Blessing and you must do it at the beginning of your movement phase.  After you cast, you can GTFO because Eldar Jetbikes have an insane amount of coverage now.  The fact that he's traveling with a unit that's scoring is just more gravy.  I guess you can also opt to take Doom, which is a fantastic spell because of the range and awesome effect (re-roll wounds).  Doom on a unit that's being shot at by Splinter Rack gunboats just scream agony.. which is exactly how the Dark Eldar like it.

As most of you know, Runes of Warding is the best psychic defense in the game.  You don't even need to do anything, you just need to be alive.  Runes makes all psychic spells cast to roll 3d6 instead of the normal 2d6.  Anything that scores 12 or above takes a Perils of the Warp.  Perils got even deadlier this edition because you get no saves of any kind, you just die if you're a 1W model.  The average dice roll from 3d6 is a 10.5, which statistically should auto-fail every psychic spell in the game.  It's pretty fucking amazing, and one of the reasons why Eldar is considered the king of psychic defense.  My other wargear is just the standard Guide, which I will sub-out for Prescience, Runes of Witnessing witch will increase my chances get my spells off, and a Singing Spear just because I can.

If you guys are big on Forgeworld stuff, I also suggest looking into a Warp Hunter as a Heavy choice rather than 3x War Walkers.  The Warp Hunter can take Holofields for 160 points of raw badassery:  A 36" Large Blast, D-Cannon is just nothing to fuck around with.

Alright, that's it.  Let me know what you fellas plan on taking for your allies, I'm eager to hear how effective mixed armies will be.

Dark Eldar units revisited

Arrogance and firepower.

This will be my 6th Ed. review of all the Dark Eldar units.  I'll probably do a complete army primer for my Kabalite army sometime in the near future, so stay tuned.  This is a review of the entire book in the new edition, my army primer will be similar to my Pure Grey Knights tactica where I only focus on Kabal units (no coven stuff).

Alright, let's begin.

HQs
Asdrubael Vect - Still good, just not as good as he was.  Preferred Enemy and Fearless now confers to the squad that he's with, so that's always good.  I say that alone makes him worth his points despite his Power Weapon being only AP3.  Well you know what, tough shit.  All of our power weapons are now AP3, at least he still wounds on 3+ and now you get to re-roll all 1s.  This makes him a beast at killing tactical marines, but a complete waste if you throw him into combat vs. Terminators.  Seize on 4+ is still good too, especially when you can take advantage of Night Fighting.

Lady Malys - Not much to say about her.  Making a squad immune to psychic abilities in an edition where psykers are everywhere is pretty promising.  The best thing about her is her 130 point price tag and the fact that she can relocate bits and pieces of your army.  No Shadowfield is a bit of a let down, and the AP3 on her weapon is also pretty sad.

Drazhar, Master of Blades - Now holds one of the only options for AP2 in our entire book, and that alone makes him attractive.  What makes him unattractive is his points cost, his lack of grenades and the fact that he has to join Incubi, who also don't have grenades.

Lelith Hesperax - Lelith got a bit of a boost this edition because her weapons now completely ignore armor. This is great and all, but I would still prefer a 2++ on her because of her points cost.  You can literally buy 2 Succubi in place of her and that's just a ton more cost effective in every way, shape and form.  Some people still enjoy the ignore armor saves thing, but to me, she's still S3 with no drug modifications.

Urien Rakarth - Sees a buff this edition with the addition of challenges.  Urien is actually really good in a challenge, but your opponent is probably not going to want any of that.  He's carrying a Flesh Gauntlet that's poisoned 3+ and has a built-in Clone Field.  I mean, come on.  For that reason, he's a decent buy for any coven list because he also provides army-wide buffs and bonuses.  Overall, a good choice in a coven list, but I wouldn't say he's completely cost effective.

Duke Sliscus the Serpent - Great buy as always.  I've always said he was a good buy for 150 and I still stand behind him with that.  His weapon also got buffed because it still ignores armor saves on a 5+.  Duke comes stock with a Blast Pistol and Shadowfield, and has great army-wide buffs for drug heavy lists.  He's great for armies using a lot of Splinter shots and even better with an mechanized list that can take advantage of his near army-wide Retrofire Jets.

Kherdaruakh, the Decapitator - I've literally given up on trying to say his name, so I just call him the Decapitator.  It doesn't really matter anyway because he's crap.  Not worth the points in any way.  Just terrible.

Baron Sathonyx - The only other great buy for special characters.  He's dirt cheap, gives whatever unit he joins Stealth, a free PGL and Shadowfield.  Hellions also become troops when you take this guy and since he's an IC, you can attach him to anything you want.  I don't know about you guys, but this guy is simply outrageous for the cost.  To make things even more interesting, you can also take him, another Shadowfield Archon with Eldrad and a big unit of Wraithguard with Conceal.  Attach both the Baron and Archon to the unit and place them in the front and Fortune the unit with Eldrad.  You now have a T6 unit with 4+ cover walking across the field with 2x 2++ re-rollable characters to take shots and transfer wounds.  Oh, and they have Hit and Run.

Archon - A fantastic buy still, but a little nerfed because of his weapon choices.  Both the Huskblade and Agonizer lost a lot of their killing potential, but the fact that he can still sport a Shadowfield in challenges is very nice.  He can challenge with confidence and you can gear him out however you want.  Agonizers are great vs. normal marines, Venom Blades are better vs. Terminators (and also much cheaper), and BS7 Plasma Grenades and Blaster shots are always good.

Succubus - My favorite HQ under the new rules.  She has built-in drugs, outrageous WS and I and is only 5 points more expensive than the Archon.  Her 4++ dodge is't as impressive as the Shadowfield, but it comes stock and costs nothing.  Besides, if you roll for +1WS, she is now WS9 and all units WS4 and under will need 5s to hit her.  That, in combination with her speed and wide range of weapon choices will give you plenty of options.  One of the biggest things to note about her in this edition is that you now use the highest I in the unit when rolling for Sweeping Advance.  This makes her I8 extremely deadly to anything she wins combat with.

Haemonculi - Not much changed with these guys.  They're still the points effective, Liquidfier-totting, Shattershard sharting weirdos that get all kinds of funky ass weapons.  I guess they got buffed a bit because Haemonculi alone hold the keys to Arcane weapons and thus, the ability to instantly remove Terminators, characters and character units.

Elites
Incubi - Incubi are still the premiere marine shredders we have for CC, but the fact that their weapons are AP3 now makes them a lot less attractive.  There's 2 things that I don't like about Incubi; the fact that they can no longer tango with Terminators, and the fact that there's no grenades in the squad.  You would think Eldar technology has figured out how to cut through Mon-Keigh contraptions by now.  Anyways, I don't like the Archon PGL tax just to see them bounce off TDA.  I find that highly unappealing. Yes, I say this knowing that Disintegrators are an weapon option for Ravagers.  That doesn't stop me from hating the fact we don't have a reliable answer to Termies in melee.

Grotesques - Basically the same as they were last edition, except for the fact that FNP is different.  You no longer care about AP1, 2 and Power Weapons, but at the end of the day, a 5+ is still a 5+.

Wracks - Since Wracks have two poisoned weapons that wound on 4+ (unless you need lower to wound), you can re-roll wounds vs. units that has the same T as your S.  This makes poison a little better this edition.

Mandrakes - They're pretty much the same as they were last edition.  Use them if you want I guess.

Harlequins - Well, it looks like GW messed up and changed the Eldar Harlequins in their FAQ and not ours.  That means all the rules for the Shadowseer still apply in the meanwhile.  The one thing that turns me off about Harlequins is that while they're good (Rending is AP2 and AP2 is rare!), is that they have to footslog their way across the field.  In a Footdar list, they can work pretty decently, but then gain if you're playing DE on foot you're probably playing very casually.  Although, I think Duke + a giant unit of Warriors w/ Splinter Cannons, PGL for Stealth and a Farseer to cast Prescience would be bonkers.

Kabalite Trueborn - Just as good as they were last edition.  Now if they only had access to Haywire Blasters..

Hekatrix Bloodbrides - Don't bother.  Now that Haywire is so good and Wyches do it for cheaper, just stick with the Wyches.  The extra cost doesn't justify paying extra for the specialty weapons.

Troops
Kabalite Warriors - Rapid Fire got better, therefore Kabalite Warriors got better.  You can now also Snapfire and Overwatch, so overall this has been a huge boost of the effectiveness of the unit.  They are one of my premiere go-to units for sheer weight of fire and forcing mass wounds.  Add in Splinter Racks and maybe the Duke and you've got yourself some serious firepower.

Wyches - Got a little weaker because of Overwatch, the 5+ FNP and the S4 from Exploding vehicles.  Wyches also lost some of their infantry killing firepower because of the nerf to Agonizers, but in exchange they gained some good stuff too.  PGL got buffed so you now count as having Stealth if you're being shot within 8", challenges work in your favor because of I6 and Agonizers, Haywires are insane at destroying vehicles and you can now throw Plasma Grenades (S4 AP4 Blast) before you charge with the Fleet bonus.  There's a few things good and a few things bad, just gotta deal with it.

Fast Attack
Hellions - Got better, lost nothing.  Come in from reserves faster because of 3+ rolls on a safer DS table.  Gain Hammer on the turn you charge with Jump packs for free I10 damage.

Scourges - Same as above.  Now with Haywire Blasters being better, I can see these guys play a stronger role on the battlefield.

Beastmasters - Got better as well.  Moves up to 12" in the movement and ignores terrain, even when charging.  Have Fleet and Move Through Cover, and if you attach the Baron to them, Hit and Run and PGL bonuses.

Reavers - Also got better.  Not only do you move further, but you keep the same outrageous cover save because of Jink and Skilled Rider stacking.  This is great for a unit that just has to fly over something to do damage.

Transports and Heavies
Raider - You can now drop the Flickerfield (because you have Jink) and take the 10 points spent there for Splinter Racks for your gunboats.  This gives you re-roll to hit for the now improved Kabalite Warriors and that's just amazing.  Keep in mind that you can move 12" and Snap Fire all your shots as well, so don't forget to do those.  Otherwise, the 3 HP is just gravy.

Venoms - Now at 2 HP, but still have their uses.  Need long-ranged Poisoned shots?  There's no craft that does it better.  Still the best MSU Trueborn carriers unless you need a longer range Lance boat.

Ravager - Speaking of Lance boats, these guys are still one of the best buys in the book.  I take Night Shields on all my vehicles and I encourage you guys to as well.  Pre-measuring goes a long way to deny the enemy of their more lethal weapons, and helps you become a better player by helping you space better.  At 115 points with the Night Shield, I don't think there's a better buy if you're looking for powerful, long-range damage that can insta-gib T4.  If you don't like Lances, just take Disintegrators and Focus Fire some Termies.

Talos Pain Engine - I like it, what can I say.  MC attacks are now AP2 and have the ability to Smash things. Fearless got improved so you can tie things up, and its weapon options are still awesome.

Cronos Parasite Engine - Not as good as the Talos, but still good for its points.  Both the Talos and Cronos contests with my Ravagers, so that's no bueno.

Razorwing and Voidraven - Now that the Flyer rules are out, the Razorwing is out there for all to see.  When you compare the Razorwing with the Voidraven, a lot of people see two things:  AV11 vs. AV10 (Razorwing), and S9 Lances vs. S8 (Razorwing).  The one thing I encourage a lot of people to see is the 40 points of missiles that the Razorwing comes with.  Sure, they're all the same type of missile, but Monoscythe got a pseudo buff this edition because blast (and thus scattering) now hits for full effect on vehicles.  If your vehicle gets clipped by an asshair by my blast marker, you're gonna take it at full strength.  Regardless of which choice you go for, just know that Flickerfields is still a great buy for the flyers.  This allows you to take a 5++ save so you fire for full BS next turn instead of having to Jink.  Night Shields is a little more questionable because of how far you have to move, but being AV10/11 on your vehicles means that any damage prevented regardless of its source is much appreciated.

BR: 1750 DE vs. CSM

Takin' some slaves.

Mission: Crusade (4 objectives)
Deployment: Dawn of War

My list:
1745
17 VP

HQ:
Succubus (Agonizer, BP, Haywires) = 105
Succubus (Agonizer, BP, Haywires) = 105

TROOP:
5x Warriors (Raider NS, Blaster) = 130
5x Warriors (Raider NS, Blaster) = 130
10x Warriors (Raider, NS, SR, Blaster, SC) = 195
10x Warriors (Raider, NS, SR, Blaster, SC) = 195
9x Wyches (Raider NS, Hekatrix/VB/PGL/BP, Haywires) = 225
9x Wyches (Raider NS, Hekatrix/VB/PGL/BP, Haywires) = 225

HEAVY:
Ravager (NS) = 115
Ravager (NS) = 115
Voidraven (NS/FF, 4x SF) = 205

His list:
Sorcerer in TDA
Sorcerer in PA on foot
2x 7x Plague Marines w/ 2x Plasma Guns in Rhinos
7x Terminators, 2x combi-meltas, Reaper AC, MoNurgle
2x 2x Obliterators
1x 10x CSM squad on foot w/ Plasma Guns


Summary:

• I rolled a 2 for my Strategic tree and drew Night Fighting in the first round of the game.  I also won deployment and he failed to seize.
• Bad positioning on his Obliterators costs him dearly as I reduce the total number of Oblits from 4 to 1.  I just focused a ton of Dark Lances into his Oblits early, and his return fire didn't do anything because of Jink + Night Fighting.
• My opponent perils twice by rolling double 6s with his TDA Sorc and his dude on foot.  It was funny to see, but a little bit sad at the same time.
• Night Shields stopped a lot of incoming fire his Plague Marines, Plasma weapons and Bolters.
• One of the cooler things to see was that my opponent disembarked his Plague Marines and then moved the Rhinos in the shooting phase to gain cover saves from some angles.
• I managed to pull some really great angles with my Dark Lances and pick off a lot of the Plague Marines' Plasma Guns.  Special Weapons are useful, but they can be picked off really easy when left in the front.  That's when the power of Night Fields really kick in.
• My Voidraven failed to come in on Turn 2, but his Terminators with the Sorc landed smack dead in the middle of my forces.  It was a bold of him to do so, and he managed to disable one of my Ravagers.
• On my third turn, my Voidraven flies over his Termies who are still in DS formation and drops a Void mine.  Instead of killing all those tightly packed Termies, it scatters 6" into my Wyches and kill 6 of them.  It also clips a Ravager and the Wyches Raider and blows both up.  So far, my Voidraven has done more damage to my army than all his forces combined.
• The Voidraven's Void Lances and Shatterfield Missiles cuts into a Plague Marine squad out of the Rhino and kills several of the members.  I focus all my attention into the Terminators and kill many with Lances before charging the final 3 + Sorc with both Succubi and Wych squads.  My drug roll earlier was a Pain Token, but MoNurgle kept the damage on the low and one of my Hekatrix dies in a challenge vs. his Sorcerer who only has 1W left.  I couldn't do any damage when fighting against his Termies and I lose combat by 2.  Thankfully, I pass both.
• Next turn sees his lone Oblit try to hit my Voidraven and miss because it's a Flyer.  My gunboats put some serious hurt on his units not in combat with Rapid Fire Splinter Rifle + Splinter Racks.  A lot of things die on his side of the board and I get a pain token for one of the Warrior squads.
• Close combat sees me kill the rest of the opposing Termies while my Succubus and his Sorcerer dueled.  Nothing happens from the duel and his Sorc breaks from combat.  I catch him because I'm I8 and I gain more Pain Tokens on both squad of Wyches.
• The Voidraven and gunboat cleans up the 10x CSM squad while more Dark Lances pours into the remaining Plague Marines.  Invisibility and FNP helps, but sheer weight of fire from Poisoned shots drops shit regardless.
• We keep forgetting about the random relics; one of which was a sabotage (my opponent triggered it) but it ended up doing nothing for 2 turns, and the other one was a +1 cover save for my scoring Wyches.
• My smaller squad of Wyches w/ the Succubus charges a squad of Plague Marines and kills some, but Fearless keeps him in the game.  The next turn another squad of Plague Marines try to join the fray but roll double 1s for the charge.  We call the game here.

Reflection:

• Night Fighting is great for Dark Eldar.  It gives me a chance to be bold and aggressive with my army while maintaining great defenses.  I can really bully armies that can't deal with it effectively.
• Both of my Succubi are now accusing each other of who was responsible for the Void Mine incident.  A bribe of the flesh perhaps?
• I think it's time to change out all my Agonizers for Venom Blades.  I just get nowhere with 2+ armor saves and the difference isn't even that bad vs. regular MEQ in a challenge.  Judging from my meta, I think I can get away with just VB for a couple of games.  Terminators are just so hard to kill now in CC.
• My opponent should of just hid all his units and let me fly around my first turn.  Losing so many Oblits in the first round of hurting really put him in a bad spot.  Maybe even Deep Strike in on me now that reserves are better:  Combined with the Sorc and his unit coming it, it might have split my focus.
• Focus Fire with Lances is still super important.  I was able pick off a lot of targets out of cover with singular Lance shots.  The speed and mobility of my transports allowed me to get in place.

6th Ed. Wound Allocation.. why?!

Look at this shit.

I mean honestly, why?
Look at the god damn flow chart for a second.  I didn't make it, some other dude did.
Check it out by clicking on this link.

Why can't it be like 4th Ed.?  I played 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th and I honestly think 4th Ed. has the best wound allocation system out of all of it.

Look at the flow chart above and observe my 4th Ed. wound allocation flowchart.

This flowchart took longer for me to make in paint than it takes to resolve a shooting phase.
This took about 10 seconds to make.

6th Ed. DE vs. Army Predictions

RPS is a real man's game.

You know what I think?  I think even though 6th Ed. is one of the better editions of 40K I've ever played, it's still got some balance problems.  I know, you're probably thinking no shit, but things got very complicated this edition with allies, fortifications and flyers.  Most of these problems are not because of the actual edition (some parts is), but the fact that certain army books benefits too much from the rules.  For example, Dark Eldar gain Jink on all of their vehicles and love the hell out of Night Fighting, but there's a lot of horrible nerfs to the army as well just from the general rules.

Let's see how many armies there are for 40K:
Blood Angels - Buffs
Chaos Daemons - Buffs
Chaos Space Marines - Nurgle buffs up the ass
Dark Eldar - About even
Eldar - About even
Grey Knights - Buffs
Imperial Guard - Buffs
Necrons - Unbelievably good
Orks - Buffs
Sisters of Battle - Buffs
Space Marines - Buffs
Space Wolves - Even, the lack of anti-Flyers is pretty sad
Tau Empire - Buffs
Tyranids - About even

You know what I think is going to happen next 40K Major?

The top armies will be:

1. Necrons - Just out of control right now.
2. Imperial Guard - Still a force to be reckoned with, and access to the best Flyer (Vendetta).
3. Grey Knights - The best MEQ force with a lot more options.

How does Dark Eldar fair against these armies?  If you roll Night Fighting, you might have a +10 point advantage except for Necrons.

• Imperial Guard - 80-20 them.  Once a bad matchup, always a bad matchup.  Hydra changes make Flyers useless, still has the cheap, cost-effective and deadly units they had in the past, S10 large blasts all over the place, HP changes doesn't really matter because Guard is still plentiful and equally effective vs. our higher cost units.  Plentiful S6+ shooting vs. our nerfed FNP.
• Necrons - 70-30 them.  Necrons just dominate right now with the new rules:  Fantastic shooting options, Flyers all over the place that are dedicated transports for troops, AV13 Fast Skimmer troop transports with 4 HP, destroys vehicles like they weren't even there due to Gauss.
• Grey Knights - 60-40 them.  Still the best MEQ force with lots of options:  Paladins are very unique and they count as characters, has access to the Stormraven, 2+ armor saves up the ass, and powerful anti-tank options.
• Eldar - 60-40 them.  Plentiful S6 shooting that gets through FNP and access to better BRB psychic lores.  Jink now gives their vehicles a free Flickerfield.  Mechdar will be serious problems for us, but other builds such as Footdar will be better managed.  Although, they can now take DE allies which makes Shadow Field allocation with Fortune really fucked up.  We still get our Flyers and better manipulation of Night Fighting, but that's pretty much it.
• Orks - 50-50 even.  Their new Flyers are incredible and there's a lot of buffs that benefits them this edition.  The best army to Overwatch with, Lootas are amazing and their Shootas are fantastic.  Our poisoned shooting is still very effective against them.
• MEQ - 50-50 even.  This includes pretty much every MEQ army that's worth mentioning (BA, SW, Vanilla), there's no doubt that they got buffed.  Krak is now S6 in combat, Rapid Fire is now easy mode, Stormraven is just fantastic.  SW don't get Flyers, but they still have their Long Fangs who can now Snap Fire on the move and have access to the Aegis Defense Line.  If I was to rank them, it would be BA > SW > Vanilla.
• Tau - 50-50 even.  This depends entirely on terrain and how much Lances you carry in your army.  One of the better cat and mouse games that depends on good generalship and player skill to win.
• CSM - 60-40 us.  I predict good results against the like of CSM even though some of their shit got ridiculous.  As DE, you shouldn't really worry about anything except for Nurgle lists with Epidermis.  True T5 on Typhus and PMs that can't be Power Weaponed, and T6 on their Bikers and DPs can be troublesome, but DE still have the answers for it.  I predict a 50-50 matchup if that's the case.
• Tyranids - 70-30 us.  Last edition, I would of given this a laughable 80-20 because the matchup was so bad, but now with their 6th Ed. buffs, I'd say the MU is a little easier.  Fearless got a lot better, they can now hit our vehicles on a 3+ no matter how far we moved, they lost their 4+ cascading cover but they gained more than they've lost.  Definitely a better edition for them.
• Sisters - 70-30 us.  Weaker marines with less options.  Not much more to say here.

Keep in mind that this is a highly-opinionated piece.  Let the riot begin.

BR: 1500 DE vs. Orks

Might is right!

Hey guys, I didn't take pictures this time around so I apologize ahead.  This BR will be summary form, taking vital information gathered during the game and sharing it in bullet point format.  The one thing to keep in mind from these BRs is that they're not actually BRs, they're self-reflections on the pros and cons of my play.

My army list:

1500
14 VP

HQ:
Succubus (Agonizer, BP, Haywires) = 105

TROOP:
5x Warriors (Raider NS, Blaster) = 130
10x Warriors (Raider, NS, SR, Blaster, SC) = 195
10x Warriors (Raider, NS, SR, Blaster, SC) = 195
9x Wyches (Raider NS/AS, Hekatrix/VB/PGL, Haywires) = 215
10x Wyches (Raider NS/AS, Hekatrix/VB/PGL, Haywires) = 225

HEAVY:
Ravager (NS) = 115
Ravager (NS) = 115
Voidraven (NS/FF, 4x SF) = 205

Notable changes:
-The Wyches' Hekatrix were trying out Venom Blades and PGLs with the 20 points I would normally spend on Agonizers.
-I dropped Blast Pistols because I didn't have the points.
-10 points remaining means I took Aethersails for both of my Wych Raiders.


Mission: Purge the Alien
Deployment: Dawn of War

• I got Night Attacker as my Strategic Trait and forced NF for the first round of combat without needing to roll.  Once again, I have to advocate the strength of the Strategic tree for my Warlord.
• My opponent got the first turn and I deployed defensively.  I made sure all my opponent's ranged weapons were either 36" away, or out of range because of Night Shields.  Unfortunately for my opponent, I seized the initiative and quickly went up 2 KP by popping 2 transports.
• Ork's retaliatory shooting was powerful, but Night Shields, out of range because of Night Fighting, Shrouding, Stealth, and Jink prevented a lot of damage.  There was also a healthy amount of half-wrecked buildings on the board so I was able to manuver some vehicles out of LoS from the Lootas.  Those things are insanely powerful this edition, so I deployed and moved far away from them.  I needed my bomber on the field to counter them.
• At the end of the Ork's phase, he managed to down 2 of my Raiders through sheer weight of fire.  The Battle Wagon holding 20 Shoota Boyz put out a ridiculous amount of dice.  Watch out for those, as they can now move 12" and Snap Fire (same as your Raider gunboats).  I shot from my gunboats after moving 12" but my rolling was quite trash.
• On the second turn, one of my Kabal Warrior gunboats advanced 6" and Rapid Fire into a Shoota squad out of cover down to half of its models.  The Splinter Racks on the gunboats is huge!  My wych squad finished the rest of the squad from Splinter Pistol shots and a grenade before charging in and killing the lone Mekboy.
• My Voidraven fails to come in from Reserves so I fly my Raiders out of LoS and range of the Lootas.  He moves them out of cover to help the fight that's across the map.  I had a terrible round of shooting with my Lances so his Battle Wagon with Shootas light up another Raider.  Between his outflanking Deffkoptas, his Grot artillery and a few Lootas, he manages to drive a Ravager into the ground after jinking and cover saves.
• In the next couple of rounds, my opponent tries his hand at assaulting some of my units.  I thought I had a bad run with Lances on my second round, but his assaults were pretty pathetic.  He had some Tankhuntas charge my Warriors in cover and managed to tie combat.  My Wyches came and whipped them out before consolidating back into cover.  This is where I saw the strength of PGL giving me defensive grenades (Stealth vs. all units 8" away) on top of having FNP because of the Pain Token.
• Let's just say that the next couple of rounds consisted of me shooting poisoned shots into Orks out of cover and me making outrageous 4+ cover saves + FNP.  The PGL really helped in an assault where I got charged by Burnas.  Due to the fact they didn't get any bonus attacks, my Succubus and Hekatrix just ripped a big chunk out of them.  After winning combat by a substantial amount, I ran them down because of my I8 Succubus leading the squad.
• CC damage wise, the Agonizer is definitely better vs. the likes of Plague Marines or Nob Bikerz with 3+ armor saves.  The Venom Blade, is definitely better vs. anything with a 2+.  Now I gotta decide how I want my CC squads, Venom Blades on the Hekatrix or Succubus?  Who should carry the Agonizers in an all-comers list?
• On the turn that his Dakkajet came in, he shot the crap out of a Wych squad that's out of cover.  I had recently killed his Mekboy and his Jet comes out of nowhere and shoots 4 of my Wyches down even though I had FNP.  Just keep in mind that S6 shots really take a serious hit on T3 units.
• On the turn that my Voidraven came in, I shot 2x Shatterfield Missiles (mistake here: templates, blast and large blast weapons cannot hit flyers!) and 2x Void Lances into the Dakkajet.  I got lucky on the counter-jetting because I failed my first reserve.  Anyways, I rolled 2 pens and rolled double 2s for the results.  Hmm.. Ork shooting and twin-linked BS1 really doesn't mean anything.  However, the Voidraven did make his mark when I shot a bunch of Lootas out of cover with SF missiles next turn and inflicted 14 wounds.  The remaining Lootas ran for the hills and couldn't rally because he was under 25%.
• Focus Fire came into play when I directed my the Lances and Blasters from my remaining units into his Meganob squad.  Since my I could only fire 1 Lance at a time, I might as well pick off the Nobz that were out of cover.  Sheer weight of Rapid Fire Poison managed to inflict enough wounds on the 2+ armor squad that by the time my Succubus charged the squad, a Nob was the only one who's left.  The big thing to take from this is the fact that the Warboss and his different save (2+/5++) and true Toughness 5 was able to soak up a ton of damage.  He just doesn't give a fuck about S8 AP2 anymore, and that makes me sad.
• We called the game right before Turn 5 because I was leading by a ton of VPs (12-5 VPs).  In addition to units killed, I killed his Warlord, was in his deployment zone and drew First Blood.  I actually like the different ways to acquire VPs in addition to killing enemy units.