So my knowledge is based on the stuff I read on warseer (before the warseer inquisition cleaned and locked the topic) and what I saw on the mobile phone pictures someone took from a couple of codex pages. This isn't enough to sketch up an actual army-list, because I lack the points and exact wording for war-gear. Nonetheless I think that after reading the codex most of my first impressions won't change at all.
Let's start with the content of my first DE order:
- Codex
- Lelith as a single HQ unit (so no Archon model)
- One squad of wyches, two warrior squads and a single raider as troop choices
- a single box of reaver jetbikes
I rather read the codex over and over again, checking if the codex matches my first impression, before I go and buy tons of things. Lelith is for the cabinet or counting as a wyches troop champion, since the model looks so sweet. Archon will be build from DE and eldar bits, trying to run him as some kind of corsair prince, who also works as an autarch in a Eldar list. I want the raider for some conversion ideas on my Wraithlord, trying to warp those into things possible to count as a talos until GW redoes the ugly 3ed metal model. I plan to use of one the large blades at the rear of the raider as a "count as phantom blade" on a Wraithlord, moving the flamers from the forearm and replace it with some small blades from the raider sprue. Attach the flamers to magnetized hard-point on one shoulders and place some magnetized splinter cannons on the other one. But some chains and other spiky bits on the WL, then add a DE to the base who controls the frenzied WL. The trophy lances will also be used to create a small squad of shining spears, combining them with cold one steeds and DA bits. Then use the remaining parts to build a proper raider and use it as a testbed for a variation of my eldar scheme, trying to pull the two forces together that way.
The warrior boxes will be mixed in a roughly 2:1/1:1 ratio with DA and guardian bits, creating some unique corsair models. I'm aiming for 10 storm guardians and 20 guys who can count as either DA or DE warriors. Reaver jetbikes will stay reaver jetbikes, I will keep the cold one idea for the CWE jetbikes, so that the guardian and shining spear "jetbikes" have the same theme as my jetlock council.
My first impressions... :
I really like the codex so far, since it looks like GW managed to build one with a good internal balance. I'm not sure why they accomplished that with the DE codex and failed to do it with both the IG and Nids codices. My guess would be that the want to make all DE kits got choices, because the army is complete overhaul. They not just adding some new units and redoing some of the old kits, going for the "you want vendettas/hive guard" effect we know so well.
My only minor gripe is that it doesn't look at hart as nails as the IG or SW codex. Thats fine as long as you play on a semi-competitive level or play tournament just for fun, but my first impression is that IG are far more capable to play the ed5 mech game (and fight it) than DE are. Same goes for SW, who can get a large amount of good AT weapons for a good price and mount them on durable platforms. DE lance spam took a hit with cutting down the amount of lances troop choices (=warriors) can carry by half, while increasing the factor 2,5. Sure, they added some new AT weapons like heat lances and increased the range of blasters, but most of the wielders of these still need to go relatively close to their targets, which cuts down on their life span being T3 models with mediocre saves.
Same goes for the power through pain token system. I really love the idea behind it, but as long as you don't play against things like hybrid armies, nids or wait for 6th ed (hoping that it puts a hold on the mech dominance, thus creating more hybrid or foot slogging lists) you will only get those tokens in the mid/late game, after you managed to pell enough of your opponents units out of cheap transport, to start killing them and earning tokens that way.
So my first impression would be that DE are a codex with few bad choices, which can be fun to play with. But it is not the best choice if you are looking for a broken/top notch codex aimed for tournament gaming.
... and the kind of army I will most likely run:
Is sadly build around a couple of units which will get their models in wave two or three. Let's break it down into the 5 sections.
HQ
I think I will skip most of the named characters. The mandrake guy looks like crap, I really can't understand how Phil Kelly can create some greats harassing units like Wolf Scouts and then repeat the mistakes RC made with Marbo and the Lictor. A stalker geared for CC, who can be placed everywhere on the table w/o being able to charge a target in his turn of arrival is just a waste of points. GW got the rules right with the old calidus assassin and after loosing the ed4 consolidation rule, I don't see any reason why such a character should not be able to charge in his turn of arrival. The other HQ choices either look very pricey (vect, Drazhar) or not like CC killers.
So I rather go for an archon geared towards killing stuff in CC and some Haemonculi, who give pain tokens to some units, can carry a WWP (if needed) and make wrecks troops. This also saves me from the hassle running into a tournament which bans the use of named characters (had that problem again 1 week ago fielding eldar at a 4 players team tournament).
Elite
Mandrake are not my unit of choice. I don't like the style of the models. They just scream "WoW" to me and I don't think that comic style fits my DE image. A bunch of stalkers with daemon blood in their veins from generations of forbidden inbreeding with things from the warp should look like creepy shadow killers, not like some things ripped of WoW or a PS3 game crossbreeding Street Fighter with linage dark elves. But thats okay with me, since their rules seems to suck too. Same problem as their named character have. Can't understand why a unit which had such a unique infiltration mode back in ed3 gets changed into some run of the mill stuff, which either won't reach their targets or can't hold a candle to them, thanks to the lack of grenades. They just bounce of stuff like longfangs if those are sitting in cover.
Elite wyches are not bad but since you can get the basic version as troops I don't see a reason to field them. My two elite choices would be a squad of incubi, geared to kill units with 2 or 3+ saves (maybe running along with the Archon) and two small squad of trueborn warriors. Take 5-6 of them, arm them with blasters and hide them in a venom. I could take a raider but the venom should have a smaller footprint and for 65 points you get a open toped skimmer with a 5++ save and twelve BS 4 shots, who can be fired after moving at cruising speed, with a range of 36" and wounding everything on a roll of 4+.
Troops
I'm not keen on fielding warriors as troops, since you can get poisoned weapons nearly everywhere in the codex and for a sniper squad they are useless after GW nerfed their ability to spam cheap lances.
So my troops will mainly consist of a lot of girls in raiders, trying to get enemy troops a good spanking with whips and paddles. Add some wrecks (moves to troops thanks to the HQ choices) in a raider, who play the roll of durable object holders (t4 and fnp right from the start) and you got my troop choices.
Fast attack
This section is tricky. I may use warpbeast but only after GW dishs out some new models, since there a not many beast troops in the GW range who are cheap and fit my style. I'm not a big fan of metal models anymore, so my options outside of the GW evil empire should be scare too.
I will get a single box of hellions, esp. since I want them for the wraithlord to talos conversion. Except for that I'm not sure if I want to field them in numbers. They may be fast and cheap, but they are not troops unless I take a named character and they don't seem to pack AT weapons.
So most of the FA section will be filled with scourges and reavers. Scourges don't have a new model so far and the artwork doesn't look like something I could reproduce with some conversion work, so reavers are my first choice for the first month.
Scourges can get 2 special weapons for a cheaper price, since they can field 2 per 5 models compared to the 1 per 3 models of the reavers. They also have a smaller footprint and have a better save. Reavers on the other hand can move up to 36", get a 3+ cover save that way and have the eldar jetbike special rule. So on a table with decent terrain you could try to hide behind cover, pop out in the movement phase and fire some 18" S8 lance shots on a target and then hide behind cover again using the 6" move in the CC phase.
Heavy Support
I will convert a single Talos or two, but I'm not sure yet if I want to field him. Same goes for the new DE skimmers. The razorwing looks great as a alpha strike vehicle, trying to bomb things like IG weapon teams, lootas or SW longfangs off the table with 4xS6 rockets, each of them ranging 48" and exploding with a 5" template. The downside is that we don't get a model in the first wave and the artwork looks like a DE rip-off from the FW eldar Nightwing. This is nothing I could scratchbuild using raider parts and plastic cards and I'm not sure if I want to buy a 65 pounds resin model from FW and then start sawing and sanding of parts, to make it look like a DE craft after gluing on some bits from DE raider/ravager sprues. Esp. since I could get a single ravager and two raiders for the same price at any UK webstore.
So most likely my HS choices will be a boring combo of 3 ravagers or two ravagers and a talos (or his smaller cousin) if I go for a army using a webway-portal.
Cheers Karnstein
No comments:
Post a Comment