Dark Eldar 6th Edition Tactica Part 4: Fast Attack

Hello once again readers! Today I bring you the second-to-last installment of my comprehensive Dark Eldar tactica for 6^th edition. This time I’ll be discussing probably the most under-utilized slot in the Dark Eldar force chart, fast attack choices. So if you have any experience with Dark Eldar, you have probably realized that “fast attack” is a bit redundant; nearly everything in the army fits that bill. However, the fast attack choices that Dark Eldar offer are varied and interesting, so without further ado, here we go!

Hellions-

So, where do these green-goblin-esque, surfboard-riding punk rockers fit in? Well at first glance you may think that they are designed for assaulting. With a 12” move they can get into combat quickly, and with a wych-like statline coupled with the hellglaives giving +1 S and attack they can definitely hit hard. However, avoid that trap. In the assault, hellions serve much more effectively as a clean-up unit, flying around the battlefield and targeting weakened squads for crucial kill points or getting pesky models off objectives. Hit and run is very useful for this, but their biggest weakness is the lack of the 4+ invulnerable save that the wyches get. This means that if they don’t finish off a unit first, the return attacks can do some serious damage, seeing as they only have a 5+ armor save. Therefore, it is best to target units that have already been weakened significantly, which can still provide a valuable asset to your army given the speed of these units. Where hellions really excel, however, is in the shooting phase. These guys pack assault 2 poisoned guns that fire at 18” which effectively gives them a 30” shooting range. A squad of ten hellions can pour out some serious firepower and are still fairly effective in the assault, making them a well-rounded, although pretty fragile, unit. What really makes hellions worth their 16 points a model is when you make them troop options by taking Baron. You can check out my full piece on how awesome Baron is in my HQ article, so you definitely don’t have to worry about wasting an HQ slot with him. He exponentially improves the survivability of your hellions by conferring stealth to the unit, and his combat power allows your hellions to be more reliable in the assault phase. I definitely recommend taking Baron along for the ride if you are planning on taking Hellions, because having such a mobile, versatile unit that can score really helps the army. Another weakness of hellions is their lack of assault grenades, but this is easily remedied by buying a phantasam grenade launcher for the helliarch (although if you're taking Baron, he comes with one already). Although it adds another expense on an already relatively expensive unit, I wouldn’t go without the launcher. Plus, with the bonuses to defensive grenades, it adds a little more to the survivability of the unit. My one drawback, however, is the points cost per model, and with lack of reliable protection, hellions are just a bit to fragile for their point cost. Don’t get me wrong, their offensive output is great, and survivability is not usually a term associated with Dark Eldar, but if I’m paying 16 points a model I want them to stick around and see a few turns.

Reaver Jetbikes:
There's fast, and then there's reaver jetbike fast. 6th edition gave these speed freaks a massive boost in the form of skilled rider. Now they always have a 4+ cover save when moving, which improves to 3+ when on the move, so this points-heavy unit got a great improvement to their survivability. Furthermore, skilled rider confers to any independent character that joins the unit, which the only option I can think of is an allied farseer on a jetbike. However, taking a farseer with fortune can make these guys nearly indestructible. Strangely enough, however, the most damage you'll deal with reavers will likely be in neither the assault or shooting phase, but rather during the movement phase. In addition to their 3+ cover save when moving flat out, reavers deal D3 S4 hits per jetbike to any unit they pass over. This is fantastic, because you could potentially line up several enemy units and deal a significant blow while you get into position to punch armor in the next turn with your blasters or heat lances (I usually take the heat lance, because it's never too difficult to get into melta range). If you add cluster caltrops to every three bikes, which I always like to find the points for, you get D6 S6 hits for that bike instead, which makes for some awesome moments when you insta-kill a farseer or other T3 HQ choice. I tend to steer clear of the grav-talon due to the points cost, and while the pinning could be potentially devastating, it's situational at best and generally not worth it. As far as weapon options go, I prefer the heat lance like I mentioned before, but the blaster isn't a bad choice either. The haywire blaster doesn't do much in such limited numbers so it's not usually worth it in my opinion. Unfortunately, there is no way to make reavers scoring, and I still feel like they are a bit overpriced for what they do, but they are still extremely effective in punching through enemy armor with their heat lances, dealing blows to enemy units while getting into position. As previously mentioned, I definitely recommend using an allied farseer on a jetbike with fortune, as the combo can be absolutely brutal. On a final note about reavers, be wary of getting them in assault range. I recommend using their eldar jetbike extra movement during the assault rather than charging unless you have a good opportunity to clean up a weakened unit. Otherwise, their lack of armor save and only being S3 means they will most likely get mopped up, even when attacking first and on the charge. Reavers are definitely meant to do most of their damage in the movement and shooting phase. While reavers are pretty expensive, they are a great unit that can hit hard and often, and their mobility fits right in with the Dark Eldar style.



Scourges:
To preface, Scourges are some of my favorite looking models in the book. With that being said, I don't have much experience using them because they are a serious point sink and are often outclassed by other units. While they do have a 4+ armor save (which is rare among Dark Eldar), they still aren't all that tough among Imperium standards, and often won't last long enough to be super useful. However, they still have significant offensive capabilities. They start out with shardcarbines base, which means that coupled with their 12" movement they have an effective 30" range with their assault 3 poisoned weapons. This can be incredibly pesky for anyone fielding high toughness units or monstrous creatures. Furthermore, they can take virtually every special weapon available, but only 2 for every 5 models. I would personally avoid taking the dark lances; they are too expensive and you're usually going to want to stay mobile with your scourges while firing anyways. The splinter cannons are a solid choice, as more poisoned shots is never a bad thing. I personally like to add versatility to the unit by including anti-armor weapons such as the blaster or the heat lance. Either is a perfectly viable choice, but you might find more opportunities to get into melta range with the heat lance given the extra movement range of scourges. Haywire blasters got exponentially better in 6th edition, but I recommend only taking them in sets of 4 with 10 man squads, because most vehicles have 3 hull points and two haywire shots is just a waste of fire, and you would be better off shooting infantry with your shardcarbines. Scourges were clearly designed with shooting in mind, so it's best to use their mobility to stay out of assault range and in cover. Deepstriking them is not a bad idea either, and they can bring torrents of splinter fire on the turn they come in. While I am usually turned off by their point cost, their offensive capabilities are certainly appealing, and can definitely find it's way into a fast-moving, versatile army.



Beastmasters:
Beastmasters are another unit that got a big boost with 6th edition. The improvments to "beasts" means they are significantly faster, and are now increasingly likely to get into close combat, where they are, pardon the pun, absolute beasts. The different models excel at different roles; the Clawed fiend is great for tanking and soaking up wounds as well as doing damage to vehicles at S5, while the razorwing flocks bring tons of rending attacks that are great at dealing with armored infantry (just be careful to protect them from instant death!). On the other hand, the khymera's are well rounded, bringing plenty of a high initiative attacks and helping to absorb damage with a 4+ invulnerable save. Agonizers are great to take with the beast master, as they further increase the unit's offensive output in the assault phase. The obvious weakness of beastmasters is their complete lack of ranged weapons and vulnerability outside of combat. Their speed helps mitigate this weakness by getting them into the assault as quickly as possible, and proper model placement can help to soak up high strength wounds. One of the silliest parts about taking a clawed fiend, however, is that the majority toughness of the unit remains 3, meaning the T5 of the clawed fiend doesn't actually make much of a difference. One cool trick that I've discovered to increase the survivability of the beastmasters while adding to their offensive output is to take Baron with them, as he confers stealth to the entire unit. Since they ignore difficult terrain, they can run from cover to cover in order to survive until they can get into assault and do serious damage with plenty of  high initiative attacks that will make short work of enemy infantry. They can still be successful when assaulting vehicles with rear-armor 10 as well, due to the S5 clawed fiend and the rending attacks of the razorwing flocks. Beastmasters are definitely a fun unit, and can be customized to fill gaps in your army at different point cost levels while still bringing a fierce melee unit to the battlefield.

Well that concludes the Fast Attack portion of the Dark Eldar Tactica, feel free to comment with your experiences or suggestions below, and stay tuned for the final installment - Elites!