Archon Tahril

The Old Bastard.

Archon Tahril is a raid commander serving Asdrubael Vect, heading up the forces of the Black Heart Kabal in the Kaurava System of Dawn of War: Soulstorm. While he shares the same weakness of many characters in Soulstorm in that his personality isn't very fleshed out, he ironically is better-characterized than most, if not all of the other commanders in the campaign, with the lone exception of Gorgutz 'Ead 'Unter, who carried over from Dark Crusade. He's especially notable for being one of, if not the only commander in the entire game to have a dialogue exchange with any of the enemy commanders, as he openly shit-talks Farseer Caerys during her speeches about how her opponent isn't as graceful as the Eldar is.

Compared to the other characters in the campaign, Tahril is smug, arrogant, and sly. Canonically, he's someone who's old as balls, even by Dark Eldar standards, has survived dozens of assassination and usurpation attempts, and us always prepared to get shit done. He didn't get to his position as Vect's head officer by being stupid, and anyone able to stay on Vect's payroll for any extended period of time is going to be either as masterful a prick or someone who's survived the periodic attempts at dicking with him, so you know he's not to be fucked with.

Humorously, Tahril only really considered two of the other commanders in the sector a threat: Farseer Caerys, and Chaos Lord Firaeveus Carron. Caerys he particularly wanted as a personal plaything, and was concerned about the Farseer fucking up his plans. Carron he considered a threat less because his intelligence, and more because Carron's entire army was at his fucking doorstep and had every intent of wrecking his shit.

If he is successful, the Kaurava System as a whole is stripped heavily of life, the bulk of it, regardless of race, brought back to Commoragh for slaves and sport. Tahril is well-rewarded and retires to his private abode, presumably to celebrate with a harem of Dark Eldar skanks and a few captive Sisters of Battle. Canonically, however, he does not succeed.

Service

When Farseer Caerys brought her forces to stop the Kauravan Necron Lord from bringing his tomb complex back online and threatening the region, she inadvertently paved the way for her own downfall. Caerys' heavy-handed attempts to bring in additional forces activated a suite of other Webway Gates, which were quickly used by the other armies for interstellar travel during the conflict, as the Warp Storm was preventing conventional interstellar travel. Unfortunately that much activity inevitably drew the attention of the Dark Eldar, who viewed the system in conflict in much the same way a Vulture looks at a battlefield.

Quickly, the Dark Eldar set up on Lacunae, the moon orbiting Kaurava IV, where a Master Gateway was set up. Using it, they could strike across the system with more-or-less impunity, killing and abducting as they saw fit, and bringing slaves and spoils back to the moon for transport home to Commoragh. To keep his forces vitalized and on-task, kabal Homunculous, Gruemanael, built an extensive torture grounds, where countless slaves could be tortured and murdered for entertainment, curiousity, and, of course, nourishment. With the ongoing chaos brewing across the system, the initial conflict went well, and the Dark Eldar quickly gained ground. Tahril, obsessed with the chance to capture a Farseer for his own amusement, went after Caerys immediately, chasing the wily Farseer halfway across Kaurava III, before overrunning her base in the Upper Wastes. Caerys was forced to flee, but countless Ulthwé Eldar had been captured and dragged back to Comorragh. Continually attacked by Carron's Alpha Legion forces, the Dark Eldar were soon forced into a defensive battle, which was not to their advantage.

Tahril ultimately pushed Carron back and in a series of Raids, succeeded at striking the Khornate champion in his base at the Peninsula of Iseult, though they were ultimately unable to drive Carron's forces from the system. It was this strike that would ultimately prove ruinous for the Dark Eldar. It wasn't long at all before the Sisters of Battle came to Kaurava IV to fight with the Chaos Forces. At first, Carron was relieved; the Sisters were too heavy-handed to take notice of the Dark Eldar, and with the two factions fighting one another, the Dark Eldar would be free to resume their predations. Unfortunately, soonafter, the forces of Vance Motherfucking Stubbs took one of the Gates of Kaurava IV, and soonafter, eager for payback, launched an assault on Lacunae.

Tahril's forces, being more intended for raiding and having relied mostly on stealth to keep their base safe, were unprepared for the assault. The Imperial Guard freed what personnel they could, established a beachhead, and proceeded to lead a series of assaults directed at ripping the Dark Eldar out of the region for good. Asdrubael Vect, seeing a chance to make an example of the upstart commander, climbed aboard his pimpmobile Ravager and led a series of coordinated assaults on the Guard's outpost. Quickly, however, the guard set up additional defenses, and managed to catch Vect's transport before it could escape, hammering it with heavy ordnance until the vehicle crashed. Vected escaped - barely - using a personal webway device, as the Lacunae outpost burned around them. Tahril, too, escaped through the gate, but doubtlessly would face punishment for failing Vect to this degree; demotion, death, or torture were all possible for those who had failed the leader of Commoragh, and the only reason Vect would show mercy would be to drive home that Tahril owed the wily Dark Eldar leader his life.

Statistics

At a glance, Tahril looks like any other Dark Eldar Archon; high melee attack power, some good abilities, and remarkable defenses for a unit in this army. Unlike the base model, however, Tahril is substantially more durable and powerful. Not only does he get better weapon upgrades, and, indeed, benefits from others mid-fight (like Poisoned Blades), he gains benefits that specifically boost his attached Incubi Bodyguards, further increase his ferocious melee power, and and even give him what is basically a clone of the Warp Spiders' Haywire Grenade. His melee damage is arguably the highest of any commander once his retine is factored in, making his team capable of cutting even the most brutal of forces to shreds, and his only weakness is that he doesn't detect, have morale resistance, or morale immunity. Tahril can be further boosted by Combat Drugs from his Wych buddies, though, which essentially double his damage output and make him and his team completely morale immune. Throw an upgraded Tahril at anything, use the Corrosion Soul Power, and laugh as Tahril rips absolutely any enemy in the game to fucking pieces.