Thursday, December 23, 2010

Wyches and Warriors wait we covered this already?

The next two elite entries will be real quick reviews, since I’ve pretty much already done them. Kabalite Trueborn and Hekatrix Bloodbrides are the elite versions of the wych and warrior troop choices. Why and how are they different…….well actually not very.
The Hekatrix Bloodbrides one will notice have the same Wych stat line except for +1 attack and +1 leadership. That is all. They also cost a paltry 3 points more than the standard Wych. They can run in squads of 3-10 and have the same basic pistol and close combat weapon, fleet, night vision, dodge 4+, combat drugs and power through pain.
They have the same wych weapons at the same costs, but they may take one for every three, instead of one in five. This is nice since you’ll want to run 9-10 in the squad anyway.
They also get the standard unit upgrade, a Syren, who only gives you +1 attack over the standard Bloodbride. She may also get the same weapon upgrades (agonize, venom blade, power weapon blast pistol) and phantasm launcher.
The squad may also take haywires (bad bad stay away from these and vehicles) for the same cost per model and plasma grenades for a point per model (go with the phantasm launcher it is a better bargin). They also have the same transport option in the Raider and Venom.
So why take Bloodbrides over Wyches? Well more attacks, better leadership and more wych weapon options are what the Bloodbrides bring to the table. However, you can only take 9-30 Bloodbrides where Wyches can get you 30-90 models and scoring troops. I guess if you like the Wych Cult aspect, then they are mandatory to fill that list with angry girl power. They also become a nice assault unit if you roll the right drugs and if you can get one if not two pain tokens on them.
There really is not much more to say about them that has not already been covered in the Wych review. They are that similar. I would even run exactly like Wych squads, just at 10 strong and with the added extra Razorflail or Impaler/Shardnet.
The Kabalite Trueborn are the elite choice of Kabalite Warriors. They are also very similar to their troop brothers. They run 2 points more than a Kabalite Warrior and that gives you +1 attack and +1 leadership. These are the only differences in the stat line between Kabalites and Trueborn. They do have a smaller squad size of 3-10, but have all the same rules: fleet, night vision and power through pain. They even come with the standard issued splinter rifle. They may purchase plasma and haywire grenades for each guy in the squad. I see this as a bad choice as I do not want my Trueborn in combat with vehicles or guys. I want them shooting stuff.
They get a few different weapon options. Any Trueborn can replace his splinter rifle for a splinter pistol and close combat weapon for free. This is an awful choice as these guys are not meant to be in the thick of hand-to-hand there are so many better choices for that role. They may also swap out their rifles for splinter carbines. Sure they lose range and rapid fire, but gain assault weapons and more shots.
They may also take the same special and heavy weapons as the Kabalite Warriors, except they can take more of them. They may take 0-4 shredders or blasters in the squad. This is not a one in so many may take, it is 0-4 total. So, the option to take a small squad with four blasters for armor or shredders (ewwww) for crowd control is completely viable.
Then they may take 0-2 heavy weapons being the dark lance and splinter cannon. This gives the ability to take a shadow of the former two dark lances in a squad of ten guys. Now it can be done in a squad of three. Sure they won’t last long, but they can scare people with two dark lances. The alternative is to add two splinter cannons for crowd control/lots o’ poisoned shots at range.  The cost of all these weapons are pretty much the exact same as they are for the Kabalites which is nice. All these guns give you the option to really make a threatening little ranged weapon squad. I think these will be the Sternguard of the Dark Eldar players. I foresee many many squads with four blasters and/or twin splinter cannons. I think you will also see small squads with dual dark lances in a Venom or Raider.
Yes, they may also take the same transport options of Venom and Raider.
Last is the option to get a unit upgrade, the Dracon, which gives you an extra attack and that is all. He also has the same weapon upgrades: blast pistol, venom blade, agonizer or power weapon. He may also purchase ghostplate armor and a phantasm launcher. These are just as bad as they are for the Kabalite squad leaders. These last two items are points spent better elsewhere. If you have spare points think about the venom blade on this guy. Having four attacks that wound on 2+ is nice as a last line of defense (I like agonizers power weapon ability, but I like weight of wounds better).
This unit is also like the Bloodbrides in its similarity to their troop counterpart. If you want a full Kabal these guys are the guys for you. If you want a lot of close combat troops then these guys can be built to open armor to help them. If you want small squads to fly up and drop out to unload four blasters at something, then they can do that as well. They can even be give close combat weapons and pistols to become an assault unit? Yeah look at how many Eldar Storm Guardian armies there are or close combat guard armies and you will see the futility of that choice. It is a choice though. Finally they will be much better if they get a pain token on them, much like the rest of the army. 
So there are the next two elite choices of the Dark Eldar. They are basically mirror images of their troop counterparts, with just a few subtle differences and options.


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