40K: Dark Eldar and the Metagame
In the last couple of days, I’ve done nothing but live and breathe Dark Eldar. I’ve sat down, analyzed and criticized every facet of the book for what it’s worth and overall, I’m very happy. After I finished looking through all the options that Dark Eldar players will have in the next couple of weeks, one thought keeps running loops through the webways of my mind. That thought was: How will Dark Eldar change the game?
Before we begin the analysis on how Dark Eldar will affect the metagame, let’s talk about the book itself. This book was written by Phil Kelly, a person who I would consider to be one of the gurus in army book design. After examining the book’s interior and browsing through the units and choices, I would say that I’m extremely impressed with this book. The interior balance is amazing. What I mean by this is that the book itself has many options available to the players for a good, fair price. There’s nothing in the book the screams “must have” and there’s nothing that looks like complete garbage. This is a very important facet in how well a book is written: The player must have options because that’s what keeps the gamer interested in experimenting, buying and playing with the models. Sure, there are some questionable units in terms of competitive choices, but that’s to be expected in every book ever written. Not every unit can be competitively used and deliver good results time and time again (unless you’re Space Wolves). There must be an equal balance between units built for fluff and units built for competitive play. That’s how you appeal to the widest category of gamers.
Another thing I like about the book is its external balance. When I refer to external balance, I’m referring to how the book fairs to the current metagame. Keep in mind that the individual ability of the player can make drastic effects on how a book is viewed. I knew someone once that made the crappiest 4th Ed. IG list look godlike because he had tons of experience. When I look at how a book is externally balanced, I pit it against many of the other armies out there and what kind of power builds that has been tested in the fields of battle. I’m not talking about some experimental wannabe list that won on a fluke, I’m talking about the lists that top level players have taken to tournaments and scored very high, consistently. I’m talking about lists that were built to win.
Here are some of the lists I’m talking about:
- Leafblower IG lists and all its mech variants
- Space Wolf Long Fang RB spam lists
- Space Wolf Thunderwolf Cavalry herohammer style lists
- Vulkanator lists with TH/SS Termies and Melta/Flamer spam
- Blood Angels 3/3 list variants with Mephiston/Baals/Vindies/Preds
- CSM Dual Lash Plague Marines w/ max Obliterators
- Mech Eldar, flying Circus style lists
- Council Eldar with Seer Councils, Saim-Hann style lists
- Temple Eldar lists with Wraithguard, Avatar, 3x Wraithlords
- Ork Battle Wagon spam, Speed Freakz or Nob Bikerz
- Tau Crisis Suit spam with Hammerheads/Boadsides
- Tyranid 3-Trygon lists with mass Hive Guard/Zoans
So with every new book that comes out, some may feel that some older books and playstyles are left in the dark. When Space Wolves came out, a lot of players felt like their C:SM book was crap compared to it. The same happened when Blood Angels came out with their book and Space Wolf players felt out of the loop because they didn’t have their own version of Mephiston. Let’s not even talk about how C:SM players felt like at this point two Marine books later. I guess the point I’m trying to make is that with every new book, people always look at it like it’s the next best thing. I can’t tell you enough how wrong this is. Believe it or not, with every new book that comes out, older and more impractical builds become viable again. Why? Because like every new threat (like the flu), we need a counter (a vaccine) to be successful. This is called the metagame, and it is ever-changing.
Dark Eldar is going to be one of those books that reshape the metagame. Why? It’s because the entire army plays radically different than any other. Not Blood Angels fast, but even faster. The playstyle is pure offensive with little to no defense whatsoever. It’s all about going balls out and getting the kills as fast as you can because the army has no staying power. The entire purpose of this army is to kill in the quickest, messiest way possible because you (as the DE player) have a limited lifespan. This is further reinforced with the fact that the staple special rule Strength Through Pain encourages you to kill as much as you can. Precision and perfect execution is your hallmark and a single wrong move can mean game over as soon as it began. This is what Phil Kelly gave us and it is masterful.
Yes, Dark Eldar is unique.. but how does it change the metagame? Please observe:
For one: Let’s talk about Poison Weapons. There is a ton of poisoned shooting in the Dark Eldar army. Their cheapest warrior is armed with BS4 and rapid fire Poison. Everything in the metagame that ever relied on their high toughness needs to revisit the realm of army building because things just got really, really real. With enough forced wounds, anything in the game can and will die. That is the nature of 40K – that’s just how the game is played. Shoot at it enough and it will die: It’s mathematical certainty. With Dark Eldar’s plentiful array of open-top vehicles that Warriors can shoot out of, the mass of Splinter Cannons that can shoot Assault 4 or Heavy 6 Poisoned shots, or virulent weapons can wound on a 2+, you’re looking at some serious answers to high toughness models. Models like Trygons, Wraithlords, Daemon Princes and T5 heavy cavalry will have to think twice before coming to the field.
Two: The days of the Land Raider are over. Blasters, Dark Lances, Blast Pistols, Void Lances, Heat Lances, the list goes on. Every single one of these weapons has the Lance special rule. For those players whose never fought against Eldar or Dark Eldar, Lance weapons makes any armor above AV12 count as AV12. That means your fantastic, uber, adamantium encased transport vehicle that owned since you were 5 has a very high chance of getting blown up in your face. With a S8 Lance weapon, Land Raiders get penetrated on a 5 and 6 and there’s nothing you can do about that. Heat Lances are 18″ S6 AP1 with the Lance and Melta special rule. In case anyone’s wondering, that means from 9″ away, all you need to do is roll a 7 on 2d6 and you’ve got yourself a pen’d Land Raider.
Three: Ready, set, go. “I’m 6″ away from you with my assault units and half of your vehicles are smoking ruins. I’m done; it’s your turn 1.” When I said that Dark Eldar is fast and deadly, I mean exactly that. Never before in 5th Ed. have you guys seen an entire army assail you so mercilessly. Well, maybe you have, but not in the same way that Dark Eldar can. Not only can Dark Eldar deliver devastating amounts of Dark Lance firepower, but some of their vehicles can do it at full capacity while moving. The Ravager, for example, can move 12″ and shoot off 3x Dark Lances per turn. Now imagine taking 3 of these and Vect’s Raider (that also has 3 Dark Lances) with a 4+ chance to Seize the Initiative. With every single vehicle capable of moving 24″ and receiving a 4+ cover save, you can expect the entire army to arrive on your doorstep at breakneck speeds. The best thing about Raiders now is that you can take Aethersails that’ll make them go 2d6″ further. Sure, you don’t get to shoot with them next turn, but you can definitely still get out and assault them with your Wyches. Dark Eldar has not only set the pace for the rest of the game, but for the metagame for the rest of this edition.
Four: Things just got really weird, really fast. That’s right, the amount of options that Dark Eldar have will change the way the game is played. They have a MC that can kill units and give Pain Tokens (FNP, then FC, then Fearless) to units within 12″ of it. They have units that ride on hoverboards, do staggering amounts of damage to you in close combat and drag your ICs out of the safety of his unit. They can take HQ that can provide Pain Tokens across most of the army giving them FNP. They have Night Shields on their vehicle that can reduce the range of your weapons shooting at them by 6″. They have Shadow Fields that give them a 2++ invulnerable save until failed. They have Husk Blades that are power weapons and causes Instant Death with each wound. They have Implosion Missiles that force you to take a characteristic test on your Wounds or die. They even have Harlequins to call to war. Yes – if you think the old Dark Eldar got tricks, wait until you see the new one. Some of these might come familiar to players who are used to seeing the warriors of Commorragh in their neck of the woods.. but this is bound to change soon. Dark Eldar players have been waiting 12 years for revenge – and it tastes sweet.
Five: Do or die. Players are going to need to adapt or face the consequences. You remember those lists I posted above on what the current metagame win lists are? How many of those do you see consistently winning against Dark Eldar now? I believe it’s time to bust out those Heavy Bolters and Lascannons and prepare to learn the art of war all over again. Back in the day, I would never consider a Devastator squad with Heavy Bolters or Lascannons; but now that Dark Eldar is on my doorstep, things have changed. The same applies to how many Land Raiders I take in my lists.. or how many Wraithlords I like to run with. Playing against an all-comers list with Dark Eldar with one of my old lists right now doesn’t look too good. One of the best things about having a non-Marine codex being released is that their playstyles is so radically different that everyone goes into panic mode. If Dark Eldar’s purpose is to instill fear and terror throughout the galaxy, I’d say they did a pretty good job already. The best part is – they’re not even out yet.
So there you have it folks. A chunky article, I agree, but there’s just so much to be said. Tournaments standings are one thing, but truly understanding how a new army changes the metagame is another. You must go back to the basics and relearn some strategies and tactics that you might have dismissed in the past. I’m not saying that Dark Eldar will break the metagame and reign dominant over everyone, and I’m not saying they’ll be bad. It’s knowing how to fight your opponent for yourself that’s important and that’s what makes all the difference.
If you guys need more info on Dark Eldar, please feel free to stop by my competitive gaming blog. Otherwise, lets hear how you think the Dark Eldar will shatter the current metagame and have a good one.
