Their cunning and guile far outweighs their frailty. They strike from the shadows, killing with small, toxin-coated blades as easily as with a cannon that spouts anti-matter.
Back in 3rd Edition, the Dark Eldar were born into the 40k Universe. Bitter, twisted cousins of the Craftworld Eldar, they came into being at the height of Eldar society. These were a powerful race the Eldar, such was their strength and wisdom that they could create anything their hearts desired. Worlds and stars rose and fell at their command; but it was not to last.
Their hedonistic pleasures reach fever pitch, until eventually, a new God was born, screaming into existance. The resultant Psychic cacophony frazzled the minds of the Eldar race, leaving the entire Empire in tatters. Eldarkind splint into 3 distinct groups.
The Exodites, who forsaw the coming of the Fall, left their worlds behind, seeking refuge from the ensuing storm.
The Craftworld Eldar, ignorant in their bliss, proceeded down the path that was ultimately their destruction. As their worlds were torn asunder, and their people ravaged, they fled aboard their Craftworlds, mighty ships made to travel the stars.
The Dark Eldar had fled to the Webway. A dark, impossible place the Eldar use to traverse the universe with ease; it exists between the two voids of Realspace and the Warp. It is here that the Dark Eldar hid, for within the Webway, nobody has a presence in the Warp, and are safe from the predations of the Chaos Gods - most notably Slaanesh; She Who Thirsts, the one born during the Fall.
This is just a brief summary of the Dark Eldar. I think I've written a little too much background here. But now onto my background. I got into 40k by starting off with this army. Little did I know how difficult they were to use effectively. 12 years passed, and I'd gone through many different armies; Eldar, Orks, Imperial Guard, Chaos Space Marines, Orks again, but finally, after 2 whole editions of 40k, the Dark Eldar were released upon the world once again.
And I must say, I love them as much, if not more, than I ever did before. They are still reasonably challenging to use; I find myself relying on 1 or 2 small, elite units to do everything on the battlefield. I know, though, that I'll have to buck my ideas up in future if I want to stand any chance of winning some games.
Without further ado, lets see what I have so far...
The Leader of my Kabal, and he's well-deserving of that title.
So far he has bested a Squad of Space Marines, Plague Marines, Imperial Guard Command Squad, and a Daemon Prince of Nurgle. Of course, he's utilised his bodyguard of Incubi in these feats; that's what they're there for.
His wargear goes a little like this:
Agoniser - 'nuff said!
Blast Pistol - A small wildcard against enemy vehicles.
Shadowfield - This is a must! How do you think he went toe-to-toe with a Daemon Prince and won?
Ghostplate Armour - As amazing as the Shadowfield is, it is bound to short-out at the most inopportune moment; and that's where this comes in. A 4+ save is a very useful thing in an army of 5+ or 6+ saves.
Combat Drugs - Initially, I didn't give him combat drugs, but after his latest outing, I realised how mad I was. I gave him drugs for that game, and they really turned him into a killing machine. Never leave home without them!
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| Mizrah Morgana, Hekatrix of the Shrikemaiens |
The Shrikemaidens are a squad of Wyches from the Cult of Dying Soul. They are incredibly fast, making use of many pairs of Hydragauntlets to dish out a supreme number of attacks.
Mizrah, however, has an Agoniser; all the better to carve up big gribblies.
The unit itself will have 2 pairs of Hydragauntlets, but the set only comes with 1 pair, so I had to make do with a Shardnet and Impaler instead.
I gave Mizrah a more dynamic pose. I actually took cues from the old Troy movie, where Brad Pitt does that massive jump and plunges his sword into someone's neck. She's doing the same with her weapon, using a toppled column to gain extra height. I imagine her landing, and then dancing through the ranks of the enemy with deadly grace.
There is a gap at the front of her groin where I repositioned the legs, but that will be covered over before I paint her.
The Shadow Stalkers
Well, I think this'll do for now, before this post gets too big and unwieldy. I'm out of Badab Black ink wash, so my Dark Eldar are on hold for a while. In a few days, I'll post an update with what I consider my 'main' army, the Orks. I'm also working on several gaming boards, which I'll post up my progress on. Expect to see a city gradually being built, as well as a few other things I may finish off.
Thanks for reading guys, speak soon!
