The Dark Eldar Air Force
Fly the Unfriendly Skies!
Speed. Firepower. Numbers. Use your speed to focus your firepower and numbers on one part of the enemy army. Watch that part of the army evaporate. Lather, rinse, repeat. Laugh Maniacally (optional.)
Some people really like their Heavy Support units. Others really like their Fast Attack or Elites or HQ units. Not me. I like Troops. I like Troops with lots of firepower even better. I like Troops with lots of firepower that ride on Fast transports that give them even more firepower even better than that.
My Dark Eldar Army is focused around my Raider Squads. Each Raider squad gets a Sybarite with an Agonizer to be the spearhead of their assaults against powered armor enemies. Each squad also gets a Splinter Cannon (4 S4 AP5 shots that are move and fire are sweet, even against powered armor.) The squad also gets a Blaster (can be used as a backup antitank weapon, but it's really for killing more heavily armored troopers.) Finally, the squad gets bodies. If at all possible, I will give each squad 6-7 Warriors toting Splinter Rifles. Not only are these effective against lightly armored opponents, but they also help a lot in assaults and with outnumbering the enemy. The only reason I don't always take a full squad is that I want to be able to fit myself into a Raider somewhere.
These Raider squads operate in twos and threes. They all fly up 12" then the squad leaps out another 2" and opens fire. The Raiders, unless I really need the antitank capabilities, will add their firepower against the same target that the 2-3 squads are shooting. Then the squads run in to finish off whatever is left of the enemy unit. That amount of firepower followed by that much assault at Initiative 5 will really mess up anything you direct it at.
The last game I played with my Dark Eldar was a reserves mission and I missed a few reserves rolls. On turn 3, even though only my Troops choices were on the board, I unleashed 45 Dark Eldar Warriors on the enemy lines at once. That sent a lot of marines back to the Emperor, even without backup from the rest of my army. That's exactly why I do it this way.
Sometimes I will take a Warrior squad equipped as a Sniper squad. That is, I take a squad of 10 Warriors and give them a pair of Dark Lances, then just park them somewhere with good Line of Sight and let them snipe away. With their Fleet of Foot, you can make good use out of those turns you don't have a good target, and at 100pts, they easily take out their points worth in a game.
There are other parts to the Dark Eldar army, however, and many of them can play an effective role, you just have to use them right.
As a Dracon, I always equip myself with an Agonizer and Pistol, as well as a Shadowfield and combat drugs. I don't take Incubi with me, they are just a big target and are too slow for my taste. Instead, I jump into a Raider squad and fly up with them. the Raider flies up 12 inches and I separate from the squad as I disembark my 2 inches, then I Fleet of Foot ahead of the squad and often use my 12-inch assault combat drug to engage the enemy quickly. That gives me a 27-32 inch assault range. That's 27-32 inches on the FIRST TURN. Fighting unsupported for a turn can be dangerous, but if I pick my target carefully (limit the enemies that can attack me back) I find it most effective. Besides, any unit that I have tied up in close combat or blocked Line of Sight for with that combat, is one less unit shooting at my Raider squads. Outfitted this way, I only cost 106pts, which is a nice bargain for my capabilities.
Some other Kabals use a "Power Archon" in their battles. They give the Archon a Punisher and Tormentor Helm, plus an Animus Vitae and combat drugs. This yields a S5 power weapon attack, S6 (!!) once the Animus Vitae is activated. Others use the same idea, but give the Archon a Reaver Jetbike and a Power Weapon instead of the Punisher, for the same effect. Personally, that's an awful lot of points and it can be tricky to activate the Animus Vitae. In addition, it means that the Archon is a lot less likely to be effective against high Toughness opponents, like Hive Tyrants and Wraithlords.
Wyches. Wyches are great! I don't like them as much as I like Warriors, but they are pretty sweet. I outfit my Wyche squads with Raiders. Each squad also gets a Succubus with an Agonizer and 2 Wyches with Blasters, plus everyone gets Wyche weapons. They can be effective tank hunters, but they are even better as character hunters (Initiative 6 and Invulnerable saves in CC are amazing against the right target) or as additional support to my Raider squads. As a side note, Warp Beast Packs are rather nice as well. An inexpensive Agonizer, plus lots of S4 attacks, added to a unit that can Fleet of Foot and charge 12" means great nastiness. sure they aren't mounted in a Raider, but they are almost as fast!
Reavers can be quite useful as tank hunter squads. With 2 Blasters and a 12 inch move for under 100pts, they are quite effective. For additional power (but also many more points) you can give them a Succubus with an Agonizer and possibly Haywire grenades for some extra goodness. I prefer mine cheap, personally.
Ravagers can be quite effective. They dish out LOTS of firepower, if they survive to do it. The key to their survival is to block LOS to them as much as possible. If they can only see one squad or vehicle, and they destroy it, there is likely to be very little that the enemy can do in return to take them down. So, using cover and Raiders, make sure that your Ravager can only see one target, then burn that target to the ground. Do it again each turn and you'll have a monster on your hands. When I take them (which is rarely) I tend toward all Disintegrators. I have plenty of Dark Lances on my Raiders, and I want whatever I target with the Ravager to disappear.
Talos models can be very effective as well, even in a fast army. They give the enemy something else to worry about and a hard target to shoot, as opposed to all your soft Raiders. If they do make it to combat, they are usually quite effective and most players will have a hard time taking them out. They can be quite effective in a Webway Portal-based army, but I haven't done one of those in a long time, so I won't presume to give advice about them right now. (After some practice, I do plan to write out a separate tactica for them. I believe that the Ulthwe Strikeforce army list should help to give some insights into a Webway Portal list.)
So, like I said, use your speed to focus your firepower and numbers on part of the enemy force, and watch them disappear. The army list is fragile, but it's got so much firepower and maneuver that you can use it like a scalpel to dissect the enemy army in short order.
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