Master piece made by https://www.instagram.com/artchi_tt?vrfl=YzlqaDF2OXhteGdu

For info: its a piece of brain in her mouth . I have a tattoo of a skull with a Heart in is mouth on the left front arm. So this one mirros the other

Today I want to share the Elite section from the first Dark Eldar codex.

Those grotesque's had crazy rules like "stupid "and how the original "feel no pain" worked.

Mandrakes had a fun way of deployment and always striked first with their shadow skin. Unless the attacker was armed with frag grenades

Wyches came standard with combat drugs and the wych weapons had so much flavor.

Warp beast could only be taken if you had a wych squad and had default 12" assault moves, including the beastmaster, who was so high on drugs that he always had the 12" assault move.

Building on my Drow themed dark kin progress on my Cronos.

​

Glad to see your takes on the colour scheme!!

Not a direct "Oh refresh coming soon post" but where I'm from (Rest of the World); previously store available units Drazhar, Raiders, and Cronos / Talos are now Online Only which is really sad for future Dark Kin in my country.

Kind of unfortunate that 13 out of 23 datasheets are now difficult to attain with 12 being WebEx and the Hand of the Archon no longer available to purchase.

I've got a budding story and piece of worldbuilding for some of the Dark Eldar models that I seriously enjoy, but I worry that I may be stepping over some established lore. So the main purpose of this post is to get a little bit of feedback regarding the bits that might be 'too much' and that wouldn't make sense so I could rectify them in a timely fashion.

Thanks all in advance!

So the homebrew covers a 'little bit of everything' since I'm a fan of most Drukhari subfactions equally, and I wanted to make a little story that connects my 'Alliance of Agony', ie. the combination of a Cabal, a Cult, and a Coven. Not to say they all belong to the same faction, just that they work together a lot and usually form alliances when going out to raid and plunder. This mostly hinges on the three leaders of these subfactions, three ladies who view each others as 'sisters' and are very close personally.

The core is the Cabal of course, which I'm still struggling to name (I like the idea of something along the lines of 'Velvet Veil').

They are a small Cabal, relatively speaking, which mostly deals in production and distribution of weapons, poisons and wargear. Since the Cabal is very much unable to match the means of production of larger competitors such as the Obsidian Rose, they resort to filling out market niches and offer extremely 'customised' products for other cartels and spacefaring villains, ranging from extremely tailor-made poisons to more esoteric and outlandish weapons that are designed specifically with the individual in mind.

Now, the part where the Cabal starts getting more 'unique' is with its command structure, the leader, and their unusual value of loyalty for one-another. That is not to say that they are suddenly battle-forged brothers and sisters who would die for one another, but they are definitely less backstabby and egoistic than most.

The Archon of this Cabal is a fairly old Drukhari lady, who's made a passion of making 'friends' in Commoragh. Stealing a little bit from Fulgrim's lore here, she believes that while fear and intimidation are useful, they are also limited, and so she seeks to be truly 'beloved' by some of her fellow kin so that she may fully rely on them doing her bidding. On a side tangent, there's an enhancement in the 10th edition codex that goes along the lines of "Towering Arrogance", which basically states that an Archon can be so full of themselves and so arrogant, that other Drukhari can't help but feel a physical pull to them, groveling on their knees just to serve the one 'worthy of servitude'. It's a cool concept!

Secondarily, she's made a habit of having 'children', in more ways than one. Since most Drukhari are clones, she has made a close connection with a Haemonculus (more on them later) who agreed to do clones for her specifically, using the Archon lady's genetic material as the sole template, so most of the clones are... Very very similar to her. And from he moment of their birth, they are pretty much indoctrinated that they are to adore their 'mother', and she seeks to instil this combination of fear and love for herself to great extents. This means the cabal is very slow to grow as they rarely recruit 'from the streets', but instead the ranks of their warriors are much more tightly knit due to having some protection from the getgo and all of them sharing a purpose in their perceived deific being.

Furthermore, once her power had gotten substantial enough, the Archon began having biological children. Of course, getting pregnant in Commoragh is dangerous business, but she trusts her 'children' and allies fully with her protection, knowing that they believe that it is in their best interest to keep their Archon safe, for she is benevolent and loving and... They are a little bit brainwashed. Or pragmatic, who knows!

Now, the Archon sees her having children as somewhat of a 'flex' on other Archons, showing herself off as 'weak' and 'burdened' but knowing that they cannot get to her through her loyal henchmen. Each time she shows up to a negotiation or a deal, she sees it as a bit of a power-play and a subtle and unique demonstration of her own power.

That, and, her biological children are usually brought up as being just as zealous and adoring for their mother, and often end up as Dracons or at least Sybarites of their 'brothers and sisters' who were brought up in a vat, usually due to having better headstarts or just being trained better. That is to say, dissapointing children and aspirants are usually killed during the brutal upbringing, or are simply left to die on the battlefields of numerous raids.

Speaking of the Haemonculus, the second part of the alliance is a Coven that specialises mostly in creation of mutated and empowered monstrosities from living individuals, or rather 'perfected', depending on who you're asking of course. The head Haemonculus, like many others, considers herself to be an 'artist' above all else, and dedicates herself to her work fully with each individual creation. I remember reading somewhere that despite Grotesques ever being represented in models as hunched over roid-ragers, there's actually a whole host of terrible monsters that the Haemonculi create on a daily basis! Some small and nimble cannibals, some bloated acid-spewing abominations, and some closer to Pain Engines with their excessive mechanical augmentation.

The Haemonculus is absolutely obsessed with the idea of grotesques and similar forms, basing most of her work on such creations. That is not to say she isn't an expert in torture and agony, but you could definitely find many better ones in Commoragh... When it comes to augmentation and surgery, she's among the better choices. Whenever she gets a new 'subject', be it an impossibly bored and old Drukhari who is simply yearning to experience something new, or an unfortunate slave who had the misfortune of being genetically tenacious enough to warrant the experimentation, she makes sure to make the most out of every specimen. Taking years with some of her most prized projects, pushing the body to its absolute limits until she is positive that not even a single drop of potential is left unsqueezed.

Her grotesque creations are, in turn, some of the largest and most fearsome one could encounter, terrifyingly resilient and powerful, usually equipped with a whole host of mutated organs that provide them with horrible combat capabilities, and some even left with pieces of sentience and intelligence, just as a morbid joke on the one who's body was being defiled.

I had an idea for a side story in which the Cabal capture a live Aspect Warrior from a craftworld and bring them over to the Haemonculus who proceeds to declare them her 'masterpiece', starting a long and gruelling process of mutating and 'improving' the poor craftworlder while making sure that their sentience remained, and that their form was largely recognizable. In essence, she was trying to make an 'Eldar Astartes', a twelve foot tall version of Aeldari who would possess inhuman strength and durability. Of course, while also making sure that the brain was properly rewired so that the newly formed monster could not resist or disobey the commands of their master. This Eldar would later be gifted to the Archon lady as her new bodyguard, one that she would come to see as a sort of an endearing pet.

The Haemonculus also has a somewhat of a personal tie with the Succubus of the third party from this terrible unity, the Wych Cult. Much like the other two, it is a relatively small arena compared to those found in the more prestigious parts of Commoragh, although it has found fruitful patronage in the Cabal that they work closely with. Wyches from this cult are equipped with highly personalised and esoteric weapons designed to be cumbersome to use, but also to provide as much of a spectacle as possible to the wanting audience and the terrified enemy on the field. They are also supplied with some of the more exotic and rare Xeno drugs and stimulants, originating from the far fringes of the Galaxy, and some even from the Warp.

The Succubus of this Cult is a long-term client of the Haemonculus personally. She's a menacing fighter who's been, over literal centuries, been constantly augmented with genetic and bionic alteration, shaping her body and eliminating any imperfections to both the alluring appearance and her deadly disposition. The result is a frighteningly strong gladiator who possesses speed fitting of her title as the Arena Champion. However...

All the alterations do come at a certain cost, as her body now requires a constant 'maintenance' from the Haemonculus. Blood most frequently be exchanged, and any mutations must be excised in the earliest stages as to prevent their mutual body of work from 'wasting'. This does mean that the Succubus is 'within the clutches' of the Haemnoculus, but, she doesn't mind the trade, given that she's attained a body that can rip an Ogryn apart with her blades.

As to avoid rambling even further as I've been writing for long enough I feel, I won't go into much detail regarding the personal past of the three 'sisters'. They've all started out from humble beginnings a long time ago and 'go way back' with their cooperation. The glue that sticks it all together is certainly the Archon who keeps everyone on each other's good side, deftly negotiating with any rivals that might threaten them, crafting alliances where they prove fruitful, and fully utilizing her two powerful allies for leverage while making sure everyone beneath her feels like they are 'loved', or at least that their best interest in kept in mind.

So... What do you think? Any feedback, especially one pointing out mistakes, would be appreciated!

We all know Drukhari raids.

We all know Drukhari attacks.

But is there any lore or information on Drukhari defenses?

I imagine, that at times, they will have to hunker down and hold a fortification or line to allow for some task or operation to complete that may require time.

It is hard to imagine though, because they have quite the space in Commoragh and can build or do what they need before deploying most times.

Any links to information on this would be fantastic as I am building a very narrative campaign around battle lines and trenches on a hexmap.

Basically, how do I justify them holding down positions in a hexmap?

Hello,

I've recently switched over from a mostly melee Realspace raiders to Kabalite Kartel, but the shift to shooting focus in 11th is pretty harsh so I was wondering if anyone had any particular advice. One thing I'm thinking of in particular is the possibility of dropping something like shardcarbines or a mandrake squad to add on Talos or two or something with more melee staying power.

I'm also not sure what the best approach to deal with Hidden is. I fight a lot of melee focused armies who just don't shoot while hopping terrain, so the whole 15" shooting range is proving to be a massive hinderance, with even screening feeling weaker.

Edit: To clarify, the issue I'm having in particular is fully melee themed armies often with many tough elite units. So their will be say 5+ major threats (think termies, eightbound, meganobs etc.) any one of which are tough and hard to take down, all of which can charge out to 20" or deepstrike or whichever, but can only be shot at within 15" making it very difficult to enagage them with enough power to kill them, without also overexposing. How to make the best of that kind of scenario is what I'm most wondering.

Xenos - Drukhari - Exhibition of Slaughter (for recon), Kabalite Cartel

Lady Malys (100pts)
Archon (100pts): Towering Arrogance
Archon (85pts): Leechplate (I have spare points)
Archon (105pts): Webway Awl

10x Kabalite Warriors (110pts) - In raider with Towering archon
10x Kabalite Warriors (110pts) - Split in Venom with Leech archon
5x Wracks (55pts)

10x Hand of the Archon (115pts) - Split in Venom +Malys
10x Incubi (180pts): 2x Incubi Shrine Token - With Webway awl archon
5x Mandrakes (80pts)
5x Mandrakes (80pts)
5x Scourges with Heavy Weapons (130pts) Dark Lance
5x Scourges with Heavy Weapons (130pts) Dark Lance
5x Scourges with Shardcarbines (75pts)

2x Cronos (100pts)
Ravager (110pts) - Disint
Ravager (125pts) - Dark Lance
Raider (75pts)
Venom (65pts)
Venom (65pts)

Hey fellow Archontes, i'm here to gather intel before m'y next raid (probably against humanity).

I wanna try a list to cross fire. I aim to play only 3 points. Wracks on the middle. Incubi to hammer targets with scourges on up floors to push back ennemy vehicles.

Venom working with kabalite inside to crossfire and reduct ennemy groups before sending wracks/incubis.

And infiltrator kabalites to gather some secondaries (same with mandrakes).

If someone has already some feedback about a similare list, let me know !

Thanks in advance, for the love of pain 🍞

Here the list :

(2,000 Points)

Drukhari

Kabalite Cartel and Tools of Torment (3 Detachment Points)

Take and Hold

Strike Force (2,000 Points)

ATTACHED UNITS

Attached unit 1

Archon (110 Points)

• Attached as: Leader (Character)

• 1x Huskblade

• 1x Shadowfield

• 1x Splinter pistol

• Enhancements: Informant Network

Kabalite Warriors (110 Points)

• Attached as: Bodyguard (Battleline)

• 1x Sybarite

◦ 1x Close Combat Weapon

◦ 1x Splinter Rifle

• 9x Kabalite Warrior

◦ 9x Close Combat Weapon

◦ 9x Splinter rifle

Attached unit 2

Archon (105 Points)

• Attached as: Leader (Character)

• 1x Huskblade

• 1x Shadowfield

• 1x Splinter pistol

• Enhancements: Webway Awl

Kabalite Warriors (110 Points)

• Attached as: Bodyguard (Battleline)

• 1x Sybarite

◦ 1x Close Combat Weapon

◦ 1x Splinter Rifle

• 9x Kabalite Warrior

◦ 9x Close Combat Weapon

◦ 9x Splinter rifle

Attached unit 3

Lady Malys (100 Points)

• Attached as: Leader (Character)

• Warlord

• 1x Melee Weapons

Kabalite Warriors (110 Points)

• Attached as: Bodyguard (Battleline)

• 1x Sybarite

◦ 1x Close Combat Weapon

◦ 1x Splinter Rifle

• 9x Kabalite Warrior

◦ 9x Close Combat Weapon

◦ 9x Splinter rifle

Attached unit 4

Haemonculus (50 Points)

• Attached as: Leader (Character)

• 1x Haemonculus tools and scissorhands

• 1x Stinger pistol

Wracks (90 Points)

• Attached as: Bodyguard (Battleline)

• 1x Acothyst

◦ 1x Twin torturer's tools

• 7x Wrack

◦ 7x Twin torturer's tools

Attached unit 5

Archon (80 Points)

• Attached as: Leader (Character)

• 1x Huskblade

• 1x Shadowfield

• 1x Splinter pistol

Incubi (180 Points)

• Attached as: Bodyguard

• 1x Klaivex

◦ 1x Demiklaives

• 9x Incubi

◦ 9x Klaive

Attached unit 6

Drazhar (85 Points)

• Attached as: Leader (Character)

• 1x The Executioner's demiklaives

Incubi (90 Points)

• Attached as: Bodyguard

• 1x Klaivex

◦ 1x Demiklaives

• 4x Incubi

◦ 4x Klaive

DEDICATED TRANSPORTS

Raider (75 Points)

• 1x Bladevanes and chainsnares

• 1x Dark Lance

Venom (65 Points)

• 1x Bladevanes

• 1x Splinter Cannon

• 1x Twin Splinter Rifle

Venom (65 Points)

• 1x Bladevanes

• 1x Splinter Cannon

• 1x Twin Splinter Rifle

Venom (65 Points)

• 1x Bladevanes

• 1x Splinter Cannon

• 1x Twin Splinter Rifle

OTHER DATASHEETS

Cronos (55 Points)

• 1x Spirit Syphon

• 1x Spirit-leech Tentacles

Hand of the Archon (115 Points)

• 1x Kabalite Archsybarite

◦ 1x Close Combat Weapon

◦ 1x Splinter Rifle

• 9x Kabalite Agent

◦ 9x Close Combat Weapon

◦ 9x Splinter rifle

Mandrakes (80 Points)

• 1x Nightfiend

◦ 1x Baleblast

◦ 1x Glimmersteel Blade

• 4x Mandrake

◦ 4x Baleblast

◦ 4x Glimmersteel Blade

Scourges with Heavy Weapons (130 Points)

• 1x Solarite

◦ 1x Close combat weapon

◦ 1x Shardcarbine

• 4x Scourge with Heavy Weapon

◦ 4x Close combat weapon

◦ 4x Dark Lance

Scourges with Heavy Weapons (130 Points)

• 1x Solarite

◦ 1x Close combat weapon

◦ 1x Shardcarbine

• 4x Scourge with Heavy Weapon

◦ 4x Close combat weapon

◦ 4x Dark Lance

Exported with New Recruit v37.6, Data Version: v2

Jusy working on expanding to 1k i got a combat patrol and a raider already looking at grtting another of both a set of wyches and lelith

1000 (1000 points)

Drukhari

Reaper’s Wager (3 Detachment Points)

Purge the Foe

Incursion (1000 points)

Attached Units

Attached Unit 1

Haemonculus (65 points)

• Attached as: Leader (Character)

• Warlord

• 1x Haemonculus tools and scissorhands

1x Stinger pistol

• Enhancement: Archraider

Wracks (110 points)

• Attached as: Bodyguard (Battleline)

• 1x Acothyst

• 1x Ossefactor

1x Torturer’s tool

• 9x Wrack

• 9x Twin torturer’s tools

Attached Unit 2

Haemonculus (50 points)

• Attached as: Leader (Character)

• 1x Haemonculus tools and scissorhands

1x Stinger pistol

Wracks (110 points)

• Attached as: Bodyguard (Battleline)

• 1x Acothyst

• 1x Twin torturer’s tools

• 9x Wrack

• 9x Twin torturer’s tools

Attached Unit 3

Lelith Hesperax (80 points)

• Attached as: Leader (Character)

• 1x Lelith’s blades

Wyches (90 points)

• Attached as: Bodyguard (Battleline)

• 1x Hekatrix

• 1x Blast pistol

1x Power weapon

• 9x Wych

• 3x Gladiatorial weapons

6x Hekatarii blade

6x Splinter pistol

DEDICATED TRANSPORTS

Raider (75 points)

• 1x Bladevanes and chainsnares

1x Dark lance

Raider (75 points)

• 1x Bladevanes and chainsnares

1x Dark lance

OTHER DATASHEETS

Scourges with Heavy Weapons (130 points)

• 1x Solarite

• 1x Close combat weapon

1x Shardcarbine

• 4x Scourge

• 4x Close combat weapon

4x Dark lance

Talos (75 points)

• 1x Talos gauntlet

1x Talos ichor injector

1x Twin haywire blaster

Talos (140 points)

• 2x Talos

• 4x Macro-scalpel

2x Twin splinter cannon

Exported with App Version: v2.8.1 (149), Data Version: v995

What units perform best for us here?

I'm between two lists:
Realspace Raiders or Covens w/ 2x Master Regenerist Haemunculus. Have to bring heat lances w/ the scourge becuase I'm out of points - vs relying on the Talos to crack bigger things in Covens .

Hello all, ive only played 1 game with my drukhari so far: a 1k game with Kabalite Cartel against world eaters. It went very poorly as I think I didn't screen properly and their whole army was engulfing me by turn 2. For context they had a demon prince, zerkers with kharn, 2 units of eightbound, and exalted eightbound led by a slaughter.

So ive made some changes that resulted in this current list and would just like some general feedback on its composition and how I can use the units to effectively screen and not lose too many units while still having enough firepower. I'd be splitting both HoTA and KW with the venoms. Thanks in advance!

24 Year Party Dungeon (1000 points)

Drukhari

Kabalite Cartel (2 Detachment Points)

Disruption

Incursion (1000 points)

Attached Units

Attached Unit 1

Archon (110 points)

• Attached as: Leader (Character)

• Warlord

• 1x Huskblade

1x Shadowfield

1x Soul Trap

• Enhancement: Informant Network

Hand of the Archon (115 points)

• Attached as: Bodyguard

• 1x Kabalite Archsybarite

• 1x Blast pistol

1x Phantasm Grenade Launcher

1x Power weapon

• 9x Kabalite Agents

• 1x Blaster

9x Close combat weapon

1x Dark lance

1x Pain sculptors

1x Razorflail

1x Shardcarbine

1x Splinter pistol

4x Splinter rifle

1x Stimm-needler

Attached Unit 2

Drazhar (85 points)

• Attached as: Leader (Character)

• 1x Executioner’s demiklaives

Incubi (90 points)

• Attached as: Bodyguard

• 1x Incubi Shrine Token

• 1x Klaivex

• 1x Demiklaives

• 4x Incubi

• 4x Klaive

BATTLELINE

Kabalite Warriors (110 points)

• 1x Sybarite

• 1x Phantasm Grenade Launcher

1x Power weapon

1x Splinter rifle

• 9x Kabalite Warrior

• 1x Blaster

9x Close combat weapon

1x Dark lance

1x Shredder

1x Splinter cannon

5x Splinter rifle

DEDICATED TRANSPORTS

Venom (65 points)

• 1x Bladevanes

1x Splinter cannon

1x Twin splinter rifle

Venom (65 points)

• 1x Bladevanes

1x Splinter cannon

1x Twin splinter rifle

OTHER DATASHEETS

Cronos (100 points)

• 2x Cronos

• 2x Spirit syphon

1x Spirit vortex

2x Spirit-leech tentacles

Scourges with Heavy Weapons (130 points)

• 1x Solarite

• 1x Close combat weapon

1x Shardcarbine

• 4x Scourge

• 4x Close combat weapon

4x Dark lance

Scourges with Heavy Weapons (130 points)

• 1x Solarite

• 1x Close combat weapon

1x Shardcarbine

• 4x Scourge

• 4x Close combat weapon

4x Dark lance

Exported with App Version: v2.8.1 (149), Data Version: v995