The first unique Dark Eldar HQ choice I decided to review is, what I think, is the most fun. He is not the most powerful or most frightening, but he will be the fastest from the start, Baron Sathonyx.
So who is this guy? Well he was once part of the Kabal of the Slashed Eye. That is until he decided to bring a Farseer he captured in their base. He was then exiled (why it was just a lone Farseer in the heart of Commorragh) and began a new life in the depths of the vast city. In the depths he began a life as a merc for hire. He is known as a master of espionage, and blackmail. He is also the driving force behind the Hellion gangs. If a force wants Hellions for a real space raid, they go through him. He has garnered a following as a collector and leader of the exiled, deposed and iconoclastic of Dark Eldar society. This and his “antics” have also placed a price on his head. He is wanted both for help and for the harm his “help” has caused.
He has, what is pretty common for the upper echelon Dark Eldar units, a WS 6, BS 6, strength and toughness of 3, Initiative 6, 2 wounds, 3 attacks, a hefty leadership 9 and a 5+ save. He is also and independent character, jump infantry, comes with a custom skyboard, splinter pistol, hellglaive, phantasm launcher, and a shadowfield (for a nice 2+ invulnerable save). There is also the standard Dark Eldar rules; fleet, power through pain, and night vision. He also has a few special rules; Hit-and-Run, Bones of the Seer, Twilight Shroud, Master of Skies, Custom Skyboard, and is the Lord of Hellions. All this and he only cost $1.05, which is silly cheap for his equipment and abilities.
Bones of the Seer gives you a +1 on the dice roll for deployment zone. This is nice for what is, usually, a first strike or cover needing army
Twilight Shroud which gives him and a unit he is attached to the stealth universal rule
Why give him stealth? A jump infantry unit in terrain has to take dangerous terrain tests and that could deplete his forces.
Master of the Skies allows the Baron and an attached unit a re-roll on failed dangerous terrain tests, there that is better. Now the Twilight Shroud is useful! He can also re-roll both his initiative test on hit-and-run as well as the distance of this ability.
Custom Skyboard is his ride and it gives him a +2 strength on the turn he charges (along with the hellglaive that is a nice strength 6)
Lord of Hellions this opens up Hellions as troops
Well what makes this guy so fun? Well his ability to take a Hellion filled army. Forget those lowly three fast slots, you can now take upwards of nine squads of these skyboard crazies! You can look for a lot of splinter pod shots to soften a target and then get that nice +1 strength when you charge the remains! The downside to this is the lack of special weapons in Hellion units. Sure they are fast and can throw a lot of damage, but a blaster or heat lance would be helpful in these squads. So one will have look to other units to pop armor for you.
The Baron does hit fairly hard on the charge, five strength 6 attacks (or higher if he has that all important 2nd pain token) that will hit most armies on 3+. The hit and run ability with this is also quite nice. A sizable squad with Baron attached can jump into and out of combat quite easily, thanks to the Master of Skies rule. It can also dictate, through a re-roll, how far it moves for its hit-and-run. The problem is that Hellions are not incredibly tough and a bad round of combat can deplete the squad and have the Baron flying off the board.
Power through pain and the "good" combat drugs in the squad will greatly help him and any unit he joins. This is pretty common for all the Dark Eldar units. The more pain the better, as long as you are on the giving end.
He also has the downside of all other Dark Eldar, he is fairly weak. The toughness of 3 and 5+ regular save will be his downfall eventually. Running him at a dedicated close combat unit without help is still a bad choice. He has a nice initiative and strength on the charge, but all his attacks are savable. Used in a joint effort his squad and another can make a problem for many units in the game (even vehicles that aren't walkers can fall to a pain and drug filled Hellion squad), remember quantity over quality. This should be common knowledge of all Dark Eldar players. Also do not lose the shadowfield, once that is gone the Baron will probably be following soon after.
For as a HQ that comes with: a 12” move that ignores terrain (or can fly through it re-rolling if it goes bad) a 2++ invulnerable, stealth and strength 6 on the charge, a $1.05 is a steal. Baron Sathonyx can give you some descent tactical options that are not available with other HQ units. He is definitely the most fun to try, albeit not the tops when it comes to damage output.
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