Advice for a friend who is totally new to 40k?

[Claws and Effect]

He really likes the Dark Eldar after looking over the options.

 

My basic description of them definitely helped. I told him they're sort of like elves that opened the Hellraiser puzzle box and liked what they found.

 

Anyway. Advice on where to start, since I know very little about Drukhari? Best description on how they play I could give him was they're fast, with good shooting and okay melee, but pretty squishy.

[GrinNfool]

DE can be quite varied depending on how one wants to play them.  At present the covens and kabals are probably the 2 most solid options where its hard to go wrong.  Would start with a basic battalion with maybe 1-3 units that are center pieces (and fun to use) to the 2 differing play styles.  Ravagers/razorwings for kabal and Talos for Coven.

Two reasonable start points, depending on interest and playstyle preference. 

 

1) 2 kabalite warrior boxes suggest blasters for the special weapons, 2-3 venoms, 2 archons, and a 1-2 ravager and/or razorwings.  Pretty reasonable low points batallion to start with.  This has almost 0 melee options though outside of archons, who can sometimes surprise people. 

 

Expanding from there, eventually 3 ravagers total, 2 razorwings total, maybe a bomber, and/or see option 2 for expanding into covens.

 

2) 3 boxes of wracks (suggest ossefactor if you want a gun), 3 venoms, 2 haem (or 1 and Urien), 1-3 talos depending on money, you should be able to choose not to glue the tail attachments to the tail, or the hands to the arms for swapping of weapons, but good loadout atm is haywire and the cleavers with maybe 1 or 2 with chain flails.  This batallion option has ok AV shooting, tougher to kill, and solid melee capability, but aside from the venoms and talos not a lot of dakka.

 

Expanding from there, more talos, MAYBE a cronos but its not great atm, some scourges with blasters or haywire and/or see option 1.

 

Would avoid the wych cult for starting, you can make them work don't get me wrong, but if he is new to 40k though they are very unforgiving.  Coven is the most forgiving as the units all have 4++ invuln aside from venoms (if you go prophets of flesh and you should its generally the best coven aside from some niche builds that a new player won't be doing)

[N1SB]

I told him they're sort of like elves that opened the Hellraiser puzzle box and liked what they found.

 

This is the best description ever, thank you for this, I shall use this turn of phrase from now on.

[FelipeFlops]

Brilliantly fast with easily available high Str weaponry. Kabalites and Wyches are a bit squishy, though Covens can be rage quit inducingly tough. A Prophets of Flesh Talos blob escorted by a Haemonculus will be T7 W7 4++ 6+++ per model, pretty mean in CC as well and can be loaded up with Haywire. Had a few games where I have absorbed entire rounds of shooting on these guys without one dying.

 

I do like DEldar as they have the similar benefit to playing them as Guard, in that there are multiple very clear, different ways you can play them. You can play each of Covens, Kabal, Wyche Cults on their own pretty effectively and then combo them up left right and centre.