The Dr. Evil of the Dark Eldar, well sort of.

Once he was just low class citizen of the dark city of Commorragh with delusions of grandeur.  However, let it be known that following your dreams can pay off. It did for one Asdrubel Vect.



"The details of my life are quite inconsequential."



Once Vect started his rise to power he never looked back. He united the ruling Kabals, noble families, cults coven and others in the hierarchal structure of the dark city. He did not do this through diplomacy; he used brutal and excessive force.  He is highly intelligent and has a remarkable acumen for shrewd military tactics. Just ask the Dark Eldar opposing him that had an Astartes strike cruiser dropped on them. Oh wait you can’t. They are all dead.

He has ruled Commorragh for over 6,000 years, and that is no easy task in a world of backstabbers, liars and the power hungry. However, being the Overlord of Commorragh and the leader of the Kabal of the Black Heart is not as exciting as it once was.  Vect has lead more real space raids as of late. Is it boredom or some other reason that he leaves the dark city for glory and plunder?

So Vect is the “best of the best” HQ for the Dark Eldar. He does have some impressive stats: WS 8, BS 8, strength and toughness 3, wounds 4, attacks 5, initiative 8, leadership 10 and a 4+/6++ save. He is armed with a splinter pistol, plasma and haywire grenades, a shadowfield (for a 2++ save until lost), ghostplate armor, Obsidian Orbs and the Scepter of the Dark City. He also has a few rules: Master Tactician and Ancient Nemesis. He has the standard Dark Eldar rules plus Independent Character and Fearless. All this for the price of$2.40. Well, nobody said the best was cheap.

Obsidian Orbs are a weapon just for Vect. They have a 12” range, are S 10, AP 1, assault 1, and small blast.  That seems just fine, but wait….you roll vs. leadership of the unit not toughness. Well that is super. Wait….models with no leadership are unaffected by this weapon. Well that kind of sucks. Wait…for each wound caused, Vect gets a wound he has lost back.

Scepter of the Dark City is a power weapon that wounds on a 3+. That is just a wonderful weapon to have now isn’t it?

His special rules are both good and not so bad.  

Ancient Nemesis gives Vect preferred enemy against everyone. Well he is ruthless and angry after all. It also gives him a re-roll to wound against Eldar and Dark Eldar. He really hates his happier elf relatives and any dark usurpers to his throne. A great ability to have preferred vs. everyone in the 40K universe, especially with that weapon.

Master Tactician this gives him the chance to seize the initiative on a 4+ instead of a 6. This is not automatic, but it is much better than the alternative. It is not bad to have, just not great.

Last he has his own ride, his Batmobile, K.I.T.T., Thunder-Tank, Fantasticar, etc. The Dias of Destruction. This is a modified Raider. It holds ten people, is armed with three dark lances and has armor 13 on all sides. It does run a couple hundred points and cannot be further upgraded. Plus it must start the game with Vect and nine other models embarked upon it.  Not bad for an open topped transport. It is essentially a Ravager transport with great armor, by Dark Eldar standards.



The Dias o' Destruction as of now. Hopefully changed someday.



Is the Dais worth it? Well that depends on the player. I see it as another Ravager that can carry guys, but also as a big points sink. Adding it to Vect makes him the most expensive 40K HQ in the game, so far. In a big game grab it for fun and shock value, in smaller games; just throw him in a Raider.

So, is Vect worth the point investment and he is one. His attacks with the Scepter, pistol and grenades make him quite a close combat beast. Basically, we are looking at seven attacks on the charge at initiative 8 that hit on 3+ with a re-roll on misses. Ouch! He is not unstoppable though. He fails where the rest of his force does, low toughness. If you can grab him, he can be crushed. A 6,000 year old dude has to be a bit frail. He does have the ability to get pain tokens and that can only help his durability. The chance to get wounds back from shooting is also super, given the high strength and low AP of his Orbs.

Being expensive might not make him the “best” HQ choice, but he definitely has some abilities and wargear to make him a top tier 40K character. I am surprised he wasn’t given Eternal Warrior though. I do not think he needs it, but given him and his story I’m surprised he doesn’t have it.