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last updated: 8/25/99

Dark Eldar Tactics: Part One
The Dark Eldar are by far the most mobile of all the armies. You will have to use this speed to overwhelm your opponent, piece by piece. If you do your attacks piecemeal, you will lose a great deal of your army, and this action will bleed you to death. Here are the tactics that work well for me:

1. Space Marines: The staple army that you fight, so you might as well be prepared to face off against it. First off, equip all of Sybarites with Agonizers. You will want to power to cut through armor. A Talos is a must for feasting on any Terminators you may come across. A Ravager is another fine choice for removing Space Marines from the table wholesale. Shy away from Scourges, as they generally never kill their value in points. If the enemy has a lot of armor, the Dark Lance Scourges may help, but overall they are a waste of points.

2. Imperial Guard: With this army you will want to close fast and furious. With them, the longer it takes to reach them, the more you're going to get chewed up. The more stuff you have on the table, the more barrages you'll take. Here's a nasty solution. Drop down some Scourges close to the enemy line. Equip the Scourge Sybarite with a Warp Portal, and let your entire force pop out right in your opponent's face. All of the Homonculus creations are great here. Grotesques will mop up guardsmen, and the Talos can take care of any enemy armor.

3. Orcs: The green mobs can be bled to death by Dark Eldar in Raider squads. Take as many Raider squads as you can. Upgrade the Dark Lance on each Raider to a Disintegrator, and watch the Orcs get pounded into oblivion. Ravagers will be utterly lethal to the Orc army. If they are upgraded to three Disintegrators, that's three Heavy Templates falling into a mob. That's bound to kill at least four orcs (we know they like to pack close together) per shot.

4. Eldar: This fight is certainly nasty, but the Dark Eldar can eventually win out against their better equipped Bretheran. Raider Squads with Disintegrators with work well to thin their already small squads. A fully upgraded Ravager with also strike fear into their hearts. Use Scourges armed with Splinter Cannons to pick on any squads that stray too far from the pack.

5. Tyranids: Think of them as deadlier orcs. They may not have many long range weapons, but what ones they do have will hurt you badly. Once again the Raider/Disintegrator groups work best, with a Ravager as back-up. A Talos may seem like a good idea, but Scourges w/Splinter Cannons will work even better. If you can, concentrate your fire on the node creatures using your heavy weapons, then use the Splinter Rifle teams to scare off the little beasties.

6. Chaos: Treat these evil bastards as you would the Space Marines. The demons they summon may seem nasty, but your mobility can keep you out of harm's way. If there is a Greater Demon with wings, throw a sacrificial troop against it. Warp Beasts or Grotesques are excellent for whittling down a demon, or at least tie it up while your important squads do the dirt.

Dark Eldar Tactics: Part Two
Each unit of a Dark Eldar force is highly specialized. Think of them as chesspieces that are tailored to take out a set enemy. If used poorly, they will die extremely fast. It's hard to recover from a bad move with the Dark Eldar.

1. Archon/Retinue: This expensive squad has never been worth the points. Most armies will walk right through them, or the retinue will never actually make it into combat. The Shadow Cloak for the Archon is fated to never work. It has never saved my Archon from death... Invulnerable 2+ my ass...

2. Homonculi: Often called lazy by my counterparts, they must be mounted in a Raider, or they will never see combat. The Shredders and Stingers they have can be extremely effective.

3. Raider Squad: The single best troop in the army. When you load it up with a full complement of men, and upgrade the Dark Lance, you have a veritable killing machine. Take lots of them. They're cheap and expendable when used in swarms. Thinks of them as vehicular Tyranids. Get close while whittling down the opposition with a rain of blasts and shots.

4. Warp Beasts: These tenacious critters are nasty. They move rapidly across the battlefield, and god help any unit (other than Banshees) that they attack. They even can eventually whittle down a powerful enemy leader if given the chance. Don't forget that the Beast Master has an Agonizer. That can be a nasty surprise.

5. Grotesques: These guys are terrific screens that can soak up a lot of fire from armies like the Imperial Guard, leaving your other units unscathed. They will also make things that they beat in hand-to-hand automatically fallback. Highly useful.

6. Mandrakes: This unit is pathetic for fighting, so don't use them that way. This is a trick unit. They will only be useful for certain missions. Remember that their early placement is key, and that unless in the right spot, they will be too slow to reach any objectives. These guys either win big or lose big.

7. Wyches: I've never seen the Wyches ever do anything productive in battle aside from drawing enemy fire. Their Combat Drugs are rarely decisive in combat, and the special weapons, like the Razorsnare are far from effective. I generally take my Wyches in the full squad of 20, because they'll last a lot longer than any other size. A Succubus with an Agonizer can be the nightmare to a marine, so always try to get one.

8. Reaver Jetbikes: These fast moving troops can perform much the same job as the Mandrakes, but are more versitle. They can do an effective job in hand-to-hand, and upgrading one with a blaster makes for some excellent emergency tank-busting. Reaver's are tough, and maneuverable. As such they are one of the most effective units in the DE army. Always upgrade one to a Sybarite, and never ever forget the Gruesome Talismans. For a mere 2 points, you can possibly prevent this relatively small squad from bolting if things get bad.

9. Talos: This is the bane of Terminators everywhere. The fast speed of the Talos, combined with the sheer hard-hitting close combat capabilities makes the Talos a must. Keep it away from weapons that cut through armor, and this thing will really take a beating. Often the sheer intimidation factor of this thing will draw all of the enemy fire. Remember that it is a skimmer, so keep its movement in mind. The Talos can really fool people with how far it can go. Not too effective against orcs and Banshees.

10. Scourges: These guys can either win you the battle, or die a quick death. Here are the most effective uses for them:

• A. Use a squad equipped with Splinter Cannons to Deep Strike next to a lone squad. Fire your many shots into it, and you'll probably get a lot of kills.

• B. Deep Strike a squad deep into enemy territory. Make sure the Sybarite is equipped with a Warp Portal. Drop the portal down and let your army surface next to the opposition. In this case, take a lot of Scourges armed with Splinter Rifles, so you can soak up a few casualties. This will buy you the time to do what you need to do. Not too many armies can resist a DE attack from behind their lines.

• C. Deep Strike the Scourges whereever you need to take a table edge. You can secure objectives this way.

11. Hellions: I've no experience with these troops at this time.

12. Ravager: If you want to remove a lot of enemy models and fast, use a Ravager or two. These things can wipe out whole squads if equipped with the Disintegrators. These weapons are ideal for killing just about anything. Orcs will fall by the mob if you can fire all of your weapons. If you are going against a heavily mechanized army (like some Imperial Guard armies),equipping it with three Dark Lances will guarantee that whatever vehicle you shoot at will die.