Post by The Black Jackal on Apr 22, 2011 14:38:27 GMT -5
I think that there are two main reasons why more new players haven't jumped on the Dark Eldar bandwagon since its reboot last November:
#1: Dark Eldar are not Space Marines
#2: There is little on the way of advice on how to play them
Perhaps I should go into a little more detail about what I mean by these:
Dark Eldar Are Not Space Marines
This, needless to say, should be obvious. What I mean to say is that Dark Eldar are very different from the run-of-the-mill TEH SPESS MAHREENZ R TEH AWSOMZORZ faction that Matt Ward seems inclined to spawn at every possible opportunity. While Dark Eldar do strike faster and harder than Marines do, they can't take nearly as much punishment per unit, and unlike Guard or Orks Dark Eldar simply don't have the numbers to absorb casualties. As a result, Dark Eldar are a very unforgiving side to play and are really only for veteran players looking for something different, naturally masochistic wargamers who want to learn to play the hard way and those with devious intellects (who are usually too busy plotting to take over the world to be interested in miniatures games).
Dark Eldar are also not a very straightforward side to play, either. Our Lascannon-equivalent guns aren't all that great at taking out tanks, our only really heavy-hitting assault units are Archons, Archites (I refuse to call them Succubi, as those are elite Wyches and squad leaders) and Incubi; all the rest make for better tarpits and speed bumps, and our objective-takers get more out of their abilities when they go for last-turn grabs instead of actually holding them. Our jetbikes make for great AT platforms, except for the fact that they're better when they turbo-boost, and most of our Heavy Support units would be Fast Attack in any other codex. As a result, in order to truly shine with this codex you need to look past the obvious and work out each unit's true potential, and there are many ways of doing that. Dark Eldar are not as easy to pick up as Space Marines, which I suppose is why so many people start off with one flavor of Skittles-colored Power Armor or another.
There Is Little On The Way Of Advice On How To Play Them
This may stem from the problem that plagued Dark Eldar from the start: a small player base with little they could agree on when it came to tactics and list building other than "don't take X, Y and Z units, or A, B, C and D upgrades, they suck." Now, with a new codex and the old lists all but unplayable, Dark Eldar players basically have to start all over again.
Furthermore, Dark Eldar players are so rare that before the new codex came out many players weren't aware that they even existed, and you'd rarely find more than one player if you managed to find one. Now, Dark Eldar players are more common, but still rare enough that players can't really bounce ideas off each other, learn from the others' mistakes and devise new ways to butcher the lesser races.
So, this thread exists to point the way to player resources to help these aspiring Archons on their way to glory and fortune.
kirbysblog-ic.blogspot.com/
I discovered 3++ recently, and I found that some of the articles (especially the general 40K, Back to Basics and the Dark Eldar codex review ones) challenged my preconceptions of how this side (and game) is supposed to be played.
Then, of course, there are the standards:
www.belloflostsouls.net/
www.warseer.com/
www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/forums/list.page
Just be warned, there's a lot of trolling and general unpleasantness about the community on these (DakkaDakka in particular is like the 4Chan of 40K gaming forums), and discussions will often ramble meaninglessly for pages.
I would also list the IGMB, but it's more of an Imperial Guard forum with occasional discussions on other factions than a serious Dark Eldar resource. Great community, though.
Anyone else want to add anything?
#1: Dark Eldar are not Space Marines
#2: There is little on the way of advice on how to play them
Perhaps I should go into a little more detail about what I mean by these:
Dark Eldar Are Not Space Marines
This, needless to say, should be obvious. What I mean to say is that Dark Eldar are very different from the run-of-the-mill TEH SPESS MAHREENZ R TEH AWSOMZORZ faction that Matt Ward seems inclined to spawn at every possible opportunity. While Dark Eldar do strike faster and harder than Marines do, they can't take nearly as much punishment per unit, and unlike Guard or Orks Dark Eldar simply don't have the numbers to absorb casualties. As a result, Dark Eldar are a very unforgiving side to play and are really only for veteran players looking for something different, naturally masochistic wargamers who want to learn to play the hard way and those with devious intellects (who are usually too busy plotting to take over the world to be interested in miniatures games).
Dark Eldar are also not a very straightforward side to play, either. Our Lascannon-equivalent guns aren't all that great at taking out tanks, our only really heavy-hitting assault units are Archons, Archites (I refuse to call them Succubi, as those are elite Wyches and squad leaders) and Incubi; all the rest make for better tarpits and speed bumps, and our objective-takers get more out of their abilities when they go for last-turn grabs instead of actually holding them. Our jetbikes make for great AT platforms, except for the fact that they're better when they turbo-boost, and most of our Heavy Support units would be Fast Attack in any other codex. As a result, in order to truly shine with this codex you need to look past the obvious and work out each unit's true potential, and there are many ways of doing that. Dark Eldar are not as easy to pick up as Space Marines, which I suppose is why so many people start off with one flavor of Skittles-colored Power Armor or another.
There Is Little On The Way Of Advice On How To Play Them
This may stem from the problem that plagued Dark Eldar from the start: a small player base with little they could agree on when it came to tactics and list building other than "don't take X, Y and Z units, or A, B, C and D upgrades, they suck." Now, with a new codex and the old lists all but unplayable, Dark Eldar players basically have to start all over again.
Furthermore, Dark Eldar players are so rare that before the new codex came out many players weren't aware that they even existed, and you'd rarely find more than one player if you managed to find one. Now, Dark Eldar players are more common, but still rare enough that players can't really bounce ideas off each other, learn from the others' mistakes and devise new ways to butcher the lesser races.
So, this thread exists to point the way to player resources to help these aspiring Archons on their way to glory and fortune.
kirbysblog-ic.blogspot.com/
I discovered 3++ recently, and I found that some of the articles (especially the general 40K, Back to Basics and the Dark Eldar codex review ones) challenged my preconceptions of how this side (and game) is supposed to be played.
Then, of course, there are the standards:
www.belloflostsouls.net/
www.warseer.com/
www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/forums/list.page
Just be warned, there's a lot of trolling and general unpleasantness about the community on these (DakkaDakka in particular is like the 4Chan of 40K gaming forums), and discussions will often ramble meaninglessly for pages.
I would also list the IGMB, but it's more of an Imperial Guard forum with occasional discussions on other factions than a serious Dark Eldar resource. Great community, though.
Anyone else want to add anything?
