Reader's Reply to Venomspam

Edit: This post was meant for discussion based upon a reader's reply though in hindsight improperly handled on my part. My apologies.

The Dark Angel rather than replying sent me some long ass email in relation to our recent post on Venomspam. Here it is for discussion =D.

Hi Will

Not that i've tried it out much but my ideas for Dark Eldar are:

Foot Dark Eldar have never worked for me (though 10 grotesques acting as portal delivery did a bit). I still think mech is the way to go.

Simply a 50/50 roll for night fight brings us so many benefits considering skimmers moving gives them 5+ cover add shrouded to that and it's great let alone shrouded plus 25% covered by a ruin. :) happy Now with rapid fire the way it is night shields are mandatory and now there won't be any guess work we can plan the distances all out with premeasuring.

What you've got to consider now is that with most cover dropping to a 5+ or the ability to focus fire disintegrators are better. A venom with NS and the 2nd cannon costs 75points and averages 1 and 1/3 dead marines a turn. Whilst a tripple dizze ravager costs 115 (NS no FF obviously) and averages 2 and 2/3 dead marines. With those damage to firepower outputs the dizzie ravager is now better per points. However the first problem is the loss in AT. So 6 venoms + a rapejet was about right in the old system. Now two dizzie ravagers is about the same vs marnies as 4 venoms and even better against terminators. So we can keep that fire power level the same by going two venoms and two dizze ravagers (the bonus is the ravages are immune to bolters too). With the rape jet now suffering the problems of being Av10 I think the void raven is in a lance bomb plus two S9 lances and say NS, FF and 2 shattershards (i'm sure you can work out why those upgrades) and it's good at taking on tanks and raping infantry as much as it can. However it won't be on the table turn when when you want to start shooting. So a 3rd venom or dizze ravager can help shore up that place of a little more anti infantry you miss out on). And if going for more an alpha strike list then the flyer will simply be dropped for a third ravager for more guns on table turn 1.

So Anti infantry for me is 3 venoms and 2 dizzie ravagers + a one turn void raven that switched to tank hunting for the most likley only other turn it will get a shot. Now about those venoms short range blasterborn aren't as hot as they were so I'm thinking if venoms get a 5++ well why not stick double darklanceborn inside, as they will won't tos stay still in the first place and that helps fix up some of our long range AT problems. As for troops you could go another venom units but I'd much rather prefer 5 man warriors and blaster (or wracks) in NS raiders, not nly does this bring even more long range AT but our weak scoring units are now in the slight better 3 hull point rides too (hey it's DE use everything you can to survive).

Now about surviving, well unable to bring in necrons for pulse goodness and not wanting to run a combat army (ye because T3 guys with very little armour love overwatch and potential failing charges through 5+ cover......:( sad I think i'll try and roll the warlord trait that lets me choose to make it night fight first turn. Of course alpha striking helps too with enemies not being able to reserve off and being able to punish armies that brought one too many flyers and don't have the staying power to last that long till they come on. So this would call for vect / baron or both. Now at 2000points i'm sure you could fit in vect but at 1750 i think we'll have to take the baron. Now where for him to go hellions with the reduction of cover from 4 to 5 and stealth may well be up anyway and FNp dropping to 5 from 4 i don't think hellions are as good as they were. So that leaves the baron to join beastmasters (possible) or my favourite place scourges. Whilst he won't confer his re-roll dangerous terrain he does bring a pretty good wound soak in the form of a shadowfield and be able to have the haywires in the second line just behind him and pawn saves off to the other more useless chums if you don't wont to risk loosing the warlord. Also scourges a dark lance is better over all (pen + destroy, penetrating + destroy Hp remove and glance Hp remove) then a haywire against vehicles with 3 or more hull points whilst the haywire wins out when shooting at 1 or 2 hull points.

All in all i'd be looking at something like this for 1850, 1750 may well be a case of simply drop some blasters or only run the 5 raider units. Unless you wan't to go the route of hamey and 3 man wracks and no warriors in troops.


Baron
3x(3x trueborn, 2xdarklance in venom with 2nd cannon and night shields)
6x(5xwarriors + blaster in raider with NS) one with grisly trophies for the baron to stick next to so he won't run a way as much with ld 9
5xscourges - 2xhaywire
3xravagers (2xtripple dizzie and 1 tripple lance)
Total 1850

none of that was proof read much so if i don't make sense halfway through it's me being lazy. L2english!

regards

The Dark Angel