Post by The Black Jackal on Apr 27, 2011 0:43:55 GMT -5
First, before I reveal my cunning master plan (complete with sinister laugh), a little background. My current record with Dark Eldar (6 wins, 9 losses and 6 draws as of 20110426) isn't exactly impressive. Most of those wins and half the losses were under the old codex, while the vast majority of draws (and the rest of the losses) have been, curiously enough, under the new one (I suspect that a lot of this had to do with the distinct lack of Horrorfexes).
Anyways, my hope was that I could more or less continue with my old play style under the new codex (which essentially boiled down to "pin half the enemy's firebase on turns 1 and 2, then roll his line up from the unpinned side"), and simply replace my Horrorfexes with Grav Talons. Unfortunately, such a list really only works at high points values (and that Grav Talons simply don't compare to Horrorfexes in the first place), so I started experimenting with more conservative lists (which almost always ended in losses).
Then one day, my local Tau player (and mortal nemesis) told me what my problem was: I was too predictable. My tactics were outdated and I trusted too much in flickerfields, Feel No Pain and cover saves to get to grips with the enemy as fast as possible. So, with that in mind I scoured the internet, searching for new ideas and testing them out against my Guard (even though they're Air Cavalry, I have enough infantry from the dark days of the old codex to play multiple different styles), which eventually culminated in the list I hammered my nemesis with this past week.
However, I strongly suspect that the only reason why I beat him as decisively as I did was because he simply didn't see it coming (also, he was blissfully unaware that Venoms can take two Splinter Cannons each). While it's a strong advantage, it's not one I can maintain forever, especially if I'm running a take-all-comers list all the time.
This, of course, brings me to the heart of the matter, and the subject of this thread: my nefarious scheme.
Now, I am what one might call a "method" player; I try to get into the mindset of the side I'll be playing before a game (don't judge, I find it helps with my tactics). One of my greatest inspirations for Dark Eldar tactics is Ra's-Al-Ghul from Batman Begins (if you haven't seen it yet, shame on you). One of the things he teaches Bruce Wayne during his training in the mountains is that theatricality and deception are powerful weapons, and that you have to be more than just a man in the eyes of your opponent.
Of course, not all of that's exactly possible on the table; there isn't much that one can do on the way of theatricality except for talking up the sheer awesome of a unit so the enemy will direct most of his attention towards it, most of what we would call "deception" is also called "cheating," and your opponent can clearly see you and your forces for what they are: a nerd with a collection of dice and plastic soldiers.
However, let's take a closer look at these: Firstly, deception. Since cheating is out of the question, what else can we do on the way of deceiving our opponent, and why do we want that?
The definition of "deceive" is "to cause a person to believe something that is not true, typically in order to gain some personal advantage." With that in mind, let's look at what we can do to achieve that.
One of our special characters lends herself to deception very nicely. I'm talking about Lady Malys, of course. Her ability to re-deploy up to D3 units before the game begins is perfect for this purpose. Deploy a juicy-looking unit (or two) in a position that would tempt your opponent to commit forces to taking it down, and before the game begins re-deploy them somewhere else (or in reserve) so that his committed units are at a tactical disadvantage. Another use is to deploy more conservatively, wait to see whether you or your opponent seizes the initiative and then re-deploy accordingly, but that may be seen as bad form depending on your play circle.
Another method is to buy more transports than you really need, and then take a character with a Webway Portal to bring your assault units in closer up, while you deploy their transports either as a shield or have them come in from reserve, maybe send them in to flank the enemy. The intention here is to get your opponent to commit troops and firepower to destroy a perceived threat, when in reality all they're doing is shooting down a bunch of empty 60 point skimmers.
Part of the deception element is dividing your opponent's forces and attention. We are the fastest side in the game, and Dark Eldar players need to take advantage of that. More importantly, the less fire coming towards your Raiders, the better. Reavers are fantastic in this capacity (as are empty Raiders with Aethersails and Chain Snares). I can't tell you how many times they have bought my Raiders another turn or two by making my opponent dedicate half his firebase to shooting them down, and they're great harassing units if the enemy decides to leave them alone. Additionally (and this is especially important against horde armies like Guard, Orks and Tyranids), it is also best to isolate one or two units and overwhelm them with your entire force; not only are your chances at success that much higher, but you also get to start racking up those pain tokens.
The last part of deception is the actual nefarious scheme of mine, which is keeping multiple lists, preferably ones with very different approaches at slaughtering the enemy. I intend to have several take-all-comers lists and at least one to counter each side's advantages, and for casual games I'll go with whichever one I want (the take-all-comers lists are intended for sides I'm not familiar with/for chainging things up against my regular opponents).
Next is theatricality. One of the definitions of "theatrical" is "exaggerated and excessively dramatic." We're going to have to go with a more liberal definition here, though: "larger than life."
Now, we all know that Dark Eldar are a fragile race. We don't have the numbers of horde armies to soak up casualties like Guard and Orks do, and our units are certainly not tough enough to take hit after hit like Space Marines are. However, we can be pretty good at faking it.
As discussed before, one of the ways we can trick our opponents into overreacting is by buying more transports than we need. This, combined with small unit sizes, also serves to make it appear that our force is larger than it actually is. One of the advantages of transports is that all your opponent sees is 10+ Raiders racing towards his lines; he doesn't know what's inside each one, or even if there's anything in there at all. He doesn't know which one is a distraction, or which one has that HQ unit with the webway portal to bring in the rest of your guys; his only real recourse is to try to shoot them all down just to be sure.
The other way to make your units seem more powerful than they really are (aside from telling of their sheer awesome) is to rack up pain tokens. Believe me, there is little more that infuriates my local circle of players than Reavers zooming around their lines, lopping off heads and shrugging off even Battle Cannon fire with those Slaanesh-cursed 3+ cover saves. The only thing that infuriates them more is a pack of Reavers with Feel No Pain. Incubi have proven to be all but unstoppable once they have a pain token or two and get into combat. Wyches (in fact, anything with combat drugs) get a massive boost with the free pain token the #6 drug gives them, and don't get me started on Talos with Pain Tokens; your opponent might as well give up right then and there.
Another thing that Reavers are good for: JSJ. Reavers, thanks to being Eldar Jetbikes, get a 6" move in the Assault phase, provided that they didn't charge or turbo-boost that turn. This allows a Reaver pack to play hide-and-seek with the enemy, taking potshots at enemy armor with darklights or harassing infantry with splinter fire. Needless to say, it pleases me to no end to see the look on my nemesis' face when I use his Battlesuit tactics against him. However, this is more of a stalling tactic or diversion, not an actual attack plan.
Now, we get to the last part, and this one requires careful cultivation and application of the previous methods to acquire a reputation as a top player in your area. In order to maintain this status, you'll have to have credible testimony from the other players that you're a formidable adversary, and use that to subtly intimidate your opponent into making mistakes. Remember, the more mistakes your opponent makes, the more likely you'll win.
However, this isn't the end you must desire; this is, after all, just a game, and you and your opponent must have fun together, otherwise the whole thing falls apart. If you're seen as too good, fewer players will want to challenge you and if you ruthlessly crush every noob who does so you'll find that your status as a top player in your area is fundamentally worthless. The best way to avoid this is to be sportsmanly in conduct, and after game, debrief your opponent. Examine their list and tactics and show them what worked and what didn't, and then follow up with some suggestions to help them improve their game. Since you're established as a top player, they'll listen to your advice, work on their game and come back for more. Additionally, they'll give you more of a challenge in the future, which should serve as sufficient incentive to continue working on your game. This way, everyone wins (yes, even the losers).
Anyways, my hope was that I could more or less continue with my old play style under the new codex (which essentially boiled down to "pin half the enemy's firebase on turns 1 and 2, then roll his line up from the unpinned side"), and simply replace my Horrorfexes with Grav Talons. Unfortunately, such a list really only works at high points values (and that Grav Talons simply don't compare to Horrorfexes in the first place), so I started experimenting with more conservative lists (which almost always ended in losses).
Then one day, my local Tau player (and mortal nemesis) told me what my problem was: I was too predictable. My tactics were outdated and I trusted too much in flickerfields, Feel No Pain and cover saves to get to grips with the enemy as fast as possible. So, with that in mind I scoured the internet, searching for new ideas and testing them out against my Guard (even though they're Air Cavalry, I have enough infantry from the dark days of the old codex to play multiple different styles), which eventually culminated in the list I hammered my nemesis with this past week.
However, I strongly suspect that the only reason why I beat him as decisively as I did was because he simply didn't see it coming (also, he was blissfully unaware that Venoms can take two Splinter Cannons each). While it's a strong advantage, it's not one I can maintain forever, especially if I'm running a take-all-comers list all the time.
This, of course, brings me to the heart of the matter, and the subject of this thread: my nefarious scheme.
Now, I am what one might call a "method" player; I try to get into the mindset of the side I'll be playing before a game (don't judge, I find it helps with my tactics). One of my greatest inspirations for Dark Eldar tactics is Ra's-Al-Ghul from Batman Begins (if you haven't seen it yet, shame on you). One of the things he teaches Bruce Wayne during his training in the mountains is that theatricality and deception are powerful weapons, and that you have to be more than just a man in the eyes of your opponent.
Of course, not all of that's exactly possible on the table; there isn't much that one can do on the way of theatricality except for talking up the sheer awesome of a unit so the enemy will direct most of his attention towards it, most of what we would call "deception" is also called "cheating," and your opponent can clearly see you and your forces for what they are: a nerd with a collection of dice and plastic soldiers.
However, let's take a closer look at these: Firstly, deception. Since cheating is out of the question, what else can we do on the way of deceiving our opponent, and why do we want that?
The definition of "deceive" is "to cause a person to believe something that is not true, typically in order to gain some personal advantage." With that in mind, let's look at what we can do to achieve that.
One of our special characters lends herself to deception very nicely. I'm talking about Lady Malys, of course. Her ability to re-deploy up to D3 units before the game begins is perfect for this purpose. Deploy a juicy-looking unit (or two) in a position that would tempt your opponent to commit forces to taking it down, and before the game begins re-deploy them somewhere else (or in reserve) so that his committed units are at a tactical disadvantage. Another use is to deploy more conservatively, wait to see whether you or your opponent seizes the initiative and then re-deploy accordingly, but that may be seen as bad form depending on your play circle.
Another method is to buy more transports than you really need, and then take a character with a Webway Portal to bring your assault units in closer up, while you deploy their transports either as a shield or have them come in from reserve, maybe send them in to flank the enemy. The intention here is to get your opponent to commit troops and firepower to destroy a perceived threat, when in reality all they're doing is shooting down a bunch of empty 60 point skimmers.
Part of the deception element is dividing your opponent's forces and attention. We are the fastest side in the game, and Dark Eldar players need to take advantage of that. More importantly, the less fire coming towards your Raiders, the better. Reavers are fantastic in this capacity (as are empty Raiders with Aethersails and Chain Snares). I can't tell you how many times they have bought my Raiders another turn or two by making my opponent dedicate half his firebase to shooting them down, and they're great harassing units if the enemy decides to leave them alone. Additionally (and this is especially important against horde armies like Guard, Orks and Tyranids), it is also best to isolate one or two units and overwhelm them with your entire force; not only are your chances at success that much higher, but you also get to start racking up those pain tokens.
The last part of deception is the actual nefarious scheme of mine, which is keeping multiple lists, preferably ones with very different approaches at slaughtering the enemy. I intend to have several take-all-comers lists and at least one to counter each side's advantages, and for casual games I'll go with whichever one I want (the take-all-comers lists are intended for sides I'm not familiar with/for chainging things up against my regular opponents).
Next is theatricality. One of the definitions of "theatrical" is "exaggerated and excessively dramatic." We're going to have to go with a more liberal definition here, though: "larger than life."
Now, we all know that Dark Eldar are a fragile race. We don't have the numbers of horde armies to soak up casualties like Guard and Orks do, and our units are certainly not tough enough to take hit after hit like Space Marines are. However, we can be pretty good at faking it.
As discussed before, one of the ways we can trick our opponents into overreacting is by buying more transports than we need. This, combined with small unit sizes, also serves to make it appear that our force is larger than it actually is. One of the advantages of transports is that all your opponent sees is 10+ Raiders racing towards his lines; he doesn't know what's inside each one, or even if there's anything in there at all. He doesn't know which one is a distraction, or which one has that HQ unit with the webway portal to bring in the rest of your guys; his only real recourse is to try to shoot them all down just to be sure.
The other way to make your units seem more powerful than they really are (aside from telling of their sheer awesome) is to rack up pain tokens. Believe me, there is little more that infuriates my local circle of players than Reavers zooming around their lines, lopping off heads and shrugging off even Battle Cannon fire with those Slaanesh-cursed 3+ cover saves. The only thing that infuriates them more is a pack of Reavers with Feel No Pain. Incubi have proven to be all but unstoppable once they have a pain token or two and get into combat. Wyches (in fact, anything with combat drugs) get a massive boost with the free pain token the #6 drug gives them, and don't get me started on Talos with Pain Tokens; your opponent might as well give up right then and there.
Another thing that Reavers are good for: JSJ. Reavers, thanks to being Eldar Jetbikes, get a 6" move in the Assault phase, provided that they didn't charge or turbo-boost that turn. This allows a Reaver pack to play hide-and-seek with the enemy, taking potshots at enemy armor with darklights or harassing infantry with splinter fire. Needless to say, it pleases me to no end to see the look on my nemesis' face when I use his Battlesuit tactics against him. However, this is more of a stalling tactic or diversion, not an actual attack plan.
Now, we get to the last part, and this one requires careful cultivation and application of the previous methods to acquire a reputation as a top player in your area. In order to maintain this status, you'll have to have credible testimony from the other players that you're a formidable adversary, and use that to subtly intimidate your opponent into making mistakes. Remember, the more mistakes your opponent makes, the more likely you'll win.
However, this isn't the end you must desire; this is, after all, just a game, and you and your opponent must have fun together, otherwise the whole thing falls apart. If you're seen as too good, fewer players will want to challenge you and if you ruthlessly crush every noob who does so you'll find that your status as a top player in your area is fundamentally worthless. The best way to avoid this is to be sportsmanly in conduct, and after game, debrief your opponent. Examine their list and tactics and show them what worked and what didn't, and then follow up with some suggestions to help them improve their game. Since you're established as a top player, they'll listen to your advice, work on their game and come back for more. Additionally, they'll give you more of a challenge in the future, which should serve as sufficient incentive to continue working on your game. This way, everyone wins (yes, even the losers).
