Why Dark Eldar?

[E_50_Panzer]

As the title says. What brought you to Commorragh?

 

I'll start, and I have three reasons, first one being that they have good models. Really good models, I'd argue that they are some of GW's very best, as far as armies go. I like the hard edges and flowimg armor panels, and the spikes are a nice, welcome touch.

 

Secondly, the Dark Eldar (usually) have a freedom that the uptight Craftworlders do not, which makes for some quite interesting kabals and characters. And there is absolutely no loyalty or sense of caring for your fellow man, if you're fighting with someone at your side it's because it's safer to have someone with you, nothing more. It's kill or be killed, and almost everything you get for yourself in the Eternal City is earned the hard way. I have an odd respect for that, even though it usually means a lot of knifework.

 

Thirdly, and probably most important to me, is that they're really evil, it's almost impossible to top what the True Kin do for entertainment, the Dark Eldar really ram home the 'grim darkness of the far future' in a way many other things can't. Sure, working on an imperial forgeworld and being doomed to a short, miserable life sucks. Getting conscripted to the Imperial Guard is also bad, but nothing compares to what the Dark Eldar will do, your fate with them is a nightmare that, in certain cases, never ends.

[Slips]

Brutally honestly, at the get go, I only took them because they offered open topped transports for my wraithguard when that was a thing.

 

Then I started reading into them and they hooked me in (heh). Wych cults especially got me with the "You HAVE to be the best of the best or you're dead", no holds barred survival of the fittest/smartest (DE in general)...and kinky space elves /shrug why not?

 

Model wise, Haemonculus anything doesn't do it for me; I can appreciate the models especially the Talos/Chronos but as a theme not really my jam. But everything else? Hell yeah! Jetbikes, Raiders/Ravagers, Tantalus, Void Raven, Razorwing, Scourges, Wyches, etc. Love them all.

 

Armywise, the super fast, fragile, glasscannon of an army they have just does it for me in a way that other similar 40k armies don't and that provide me with something suitably different to my Wraithdar (Big, Stompy and Hard to Kill) and 30k/40k Imperial Fists.

[SpiritFox22]

Honestly I picked up Dark Eldar in 7th Edition as an anti thesis to my Space Wolves.  By that I mean one that was Frail vs the grand old Thunderwolf Bomb that was the only real choice for Tournaments.

[E_50_Panzer]

Brutally honestly, at the get go, I only took them because they offered open topped transports for my wraithguard when that was a thing.

 

Then I started reading into them and they hooked me in (heh). Wych cults especially got me with the "You HAVE to be the best of the best or you're dead", no holds barred survival of the fittest/smartest (DE in general)...and kinky space elves /shrug why not?

 

Model wise, Haemonculus anything doesn't do it for me; I can appreciate the models especially the Talos/Chronos but as a theme not really my jam. But everything else? Hell yeah! Jetbikes, Raiders/Ravagers, Tantalus, Void Raven, Razorwing, Scourges, Wyches, etc. Love them all.

 

Armywise, the super fast, fragile, glasscannon of an army they have just does it for me in a way that other similar 40k armies don't and that provide me with something suitably different to my Wraithdar (Big, Stompy and Hard to Kill) and 30k/40k Imperial Fists.

I used to be lukewarm on the Haemonculi, but since I've read the Dark Eldar novels I have found a real appreciation for them. I'm still not sure if I like their models though, but I can say that they look really otherworldly compared to other 40k minis.

 

I really love the Kabalite vehicles and troops though, they're just amazing.

 

Honestly I picked up Dark Eldar in 7th Edition as an anti thesis to my Space Wolves.  By that I mean one that was Frail vs the grand old Thunderwolf Bomb that was the only real choice for Tournaments.

Glass cannons can be fun to play. It's always intense.

[ServoBadger]

I'm afraid I didn't start my Dark Eldar army for any in-universe lore-related reason!

 

A friend of mine used to play Dark Eldar back in 4th Edition but eventually got rid of them because of their in-game fragility.  I'd wanted to give them a try back then but never got the chance.

 

They still had a reputation for being a hard army to play when the 5th Edition Codex hit, and as far as I know that was the only Codex with a page of tips on how not to die included in it.  I'd been having a very good run with my Blood Angels and I wanted a new challenge, so I decided to see if I could make the Dark Eldar work.  There might have been an element of competition with my former Dark Eldar playing friend involved too.

 

I went a bit crazy and bought two of each plastic kit and one of each metal kit on release back in 2010, but it gave me a good starting point for my army, and they're the army I play most today.  My ex-Dark Eldar friend now has a mixed army of Craftworlders and Harlequins and we frequently team up against the mon-keigh. :)

[Brother Aiwass]

To be blunt, they offer to me a way field an army of space pirates. Space. Pirates. In airships. Airships!

 

That's it :P

[Spiritual Liege]

I traded my Dark Imperium Death Guards for some Dark Eldar and now I play them it seems. They are cool but I kinda like the craftworlders more, but thats why Ynnari exists.

[WarriorFish]

It was the models when they got the update mostly. I was pondering a new army and initially leaning towards nids but then the DE dropped and that was that! It also helps that they have a completely different play style to the rest of my armies - I don't like to double up I've not got much gaming in with them and need to return to them proper, but I think I'd like to repaint them first...

[Ranwulf]

First, I loved their new model range when they released almost 7 years ago. I found their characters to be absolutely cool, and interesting. In fact, the Archon with a huskblade and shadowfield was such a cool character that a friend of mine took 20 too an apocalypse game, and it was one of the coolest things I've seen. I mean, think about it, it felt so close to a fantasy book, where Kings and Queens of the fae fulled by technology and magic run through the battlefield with their weapons drawn to teach the weakling and scum of the universe who truly owns it.

 

I like that they are a aristocratic backstabbers, the very example of decadence. I like the idea that Dark Eldar are master power players, using their cunning to achieve victory beyond simple murder.

 

I find their freedom and curse to be such good basis of character creations. Yes, you have to be a dick and torture everyone to survive, but that doesnt stop you from having your own opinions on what to do.  

 

SPACE PIRATES

 

Its so easy to create a cool character for them. Give them both relationships, desires and weakness. Much better than Marines who are quite hard to write for without looking a bit too close to others marines. There are women in their range, which is important because I really don't like stories where there is one type of phenotype of anything,which again is a bit of a problem of marines.

 

But what most drives me is how close they are to vampires. My love for Vampire the Masquerade is just as well fullfilled with these space elf jerks. 

 

Ran

[Brother-Chaplain Kage]

The new models and splinter weapons wounding most stuff on 4+. And the models. Did I mention the models? 

[E_50_Panzer]

The new models and splinter weapons wounding most stuff on 4+. And the models. Did I mention the models? 

 

The models are sick mate.

[Brother-Chaplain Kage]

Especially the unreleased female haemonculus from Diaz. 

 

http://i.imgur.com/LBQPzWm.png

[WarriorFish]

I didn't know about that, looks like another great model from Diaz the detail is outstanding! Shame it never got a release.

[sanityimpaired]

DE were pretty awful back in 5E, so I got an army for almost nothing.  I was kinda broke at the time, so buying stuff from GW directly was out of the question.

I can afford it now, but I still prefer the used market.  I get a lot more for my money, and my money is helping others recover from their addiction rather than lining GW's pockets.  :-)

[Skaorn]

It was their spaceships in BFG that actually got me to buy Dark Eldar models. They were a blast to play, like Whitestars from B5 only with an insane boarding craft that could do a full 2d6 on the critical chart. The actual army back then was too ugly for me. Now I am sorely tempted.

[E_50_Panzer]

It was their spaceships in BFG that actually got me to buy Dark Eldar models. They were a blast to play, like Whitestars from B5 only with an insane boarding craft that could do a full 2d6 on the critical chart. The actual army back then was too ugly for me. Now I am sorely tempted.

I never played BFG, nice to head that the DE were fun though. I really did not like the 3rd ed 40k army though, they looked so bad...

[Skaorn]

 

It was their spaceships in BFG that actually got me to buy Dark Eldar models. They were a blast to play, like Whitestars from B5 only with an insane boarding craft that could do a full 2d6 on the critical chart. The actual army back then was too ugly for me. Now I am sorely tempted.

I never played BFG, nice to head that the DE were fun though. I really did not like the 3rd ed 40k army though, they looked so bad...

Their only downside was you only had two types of ships, so it wasn't a very diverse fleet.

[Beachymike123]

For me, I played Dawn of War: Soulstorm and they lured me in from there. I then got their codex (still the 3rd edition version at the time) and a few sets (Raider squads, Talos, Reavers and the old female Archon which is why at least 50% of my collection is from the 3rd ed era). However, I learnt to play around with them and they've always given me great games.

When the new range came out I was stoked as hell for them. The new range is amazing and truly some of the best I've seen GW produce.

For me the lore is superb as well. They aren't necesarily out to be the galactic rulers, they're looking after their own interests and making sure the other races know who the real rulers are.

[Teetengee]

They were in the starter set when I first started 40k, and I have always had a small affection for them since that time, though only now have I really started working on them.

[E_50_Panzer]

They were in the starter set when I first started 40k, and I have always had a small affection for them since that time, though only now have I really started working on them.

My father and I got into tabletop wargaming with that starterkit. I still have that ancient rulebook, as weathered as it is.

[Teetengee]

 

They were in the starter set when I first started 40k, and I have always had a small affection for them since that time, though only now have I really started working on them.

My father and I got into tabletop wargaming with that starterkit. I still have that ancient rulebook, as weathered as it is.

Yeah, the rules in that book still hold up as an entertaining game, to be honest.

[E_50_Panzer]

 

 

They were in the starter set when I first started 40k, and I have always had a small affection for them since that time, though only now have I really started working on them.

 

My father and I got into tabletop wargaming with that starterkit. I still have that ancient rulebook, as weathered as it is.

Yeah, the rules in that book still hold up as an entertaining game, to be honest.

I really love the idea, that in that book, every single weapon in 40k has its stats on one page. How far have we come...

[Lord Morgrim]

For me in was the Incubus models. They are my favourite of all 40k models. Then i loved the Raiders and Ravagers....took me back to Tattooine! The novels are great and i love the lore. I am always attracted to something that not many play and Dark Eldar were always a challenge. I love the fact that if you Archon dies (which is usually) the lore says that if he has a pet Haemonculi he will be cloned anyway....immortal leader....no matter the edition my favoruite unit is the Archon with 9 incubi in the back of a raider. I used to love what they did to Terminators in close combat!

[Interrogator-Chaplain Ezra]

Way back in the mists of time (some 15 years ago), I had 2 40k armies (oh, sweet summer child...), Dark Angels and World Eaters. I decided I wanted a 3rd. And I wanted something completely different from Space Marines, with lower Toughness, no power armour, and not a boltgun in sight. After a bif of back and forth, I settled on Dark Eldar, in part because a friend was getting rid of his (and I had helped him build some of them, so I knew the models fairly well), and in part because I liked the idea of spiky and evil raiders who weren't just Space Marines with spikes and an attitude.

 

The rest is history.

[MoGuy]

This will sound cocky but it's not meant to be: I wanted a challenge.

 

My first army was Ad Mech, which I started at the end of 2015. I was very active for a year and at the end of 2016 I had over 50 games under my belt. The thing is I only lost maybe five times tops. Even against some cheese like invisible Craftworld Scatterbike spam I managed to get out victoriously. But in the end I barely played anymore because it just didn't feel like a challenge. "Oh you have tanks? Well let me introduce you to my loads of haywire guns. Oh you have armour? Well did I mention Ad Mech has the most grav out of any army?" 

 

Back when Warhammer Fantasy was still a thing I played Dark Elves so I was drawn to the sweet models of the dark kin. I liked the idea that I would have to fight tooth and nail to get a victory and I loved my Dark Eldar ever since.