Editing Warhammer 40,000/7th Edition Tactics/Dark Eldar (section)

===Elites===
*'''Wracks''' - With the removal of FOC alterations in 7th, these guys can no longer be the kings of Troops, not that it matters so much with everything being Scoring and no Objective Secured in the Realspace Raiders Force Organization Chart. They've taken a few hits since the last codex, as alterations to FNP, FC and Poison have all lowered their offensive and defensive potential. Still they're cheap, reasonably survivable and can still put in a nasty charge if needed. 10 Wracks (not incl Acothyst) vs. SMs in 7E: 30 Attacks, 15 Hit, 7.5 Wound, 2.4 Dead Power Armoured Space Marines. There are several ways to use them; either a minimal squad as a "scoring upgrade" for a Raider, a 5+ Liquifier escort for a Haemonculus, or a 10-strong unit in a Raider, going full-turkey - a decently kitted Haemonculus can help here, giving them Furious Charge a Turn early with his power.  If you're making them anti-infantry, the Ossefactor is another option, as it can spread the pain around if someone dies.
** As a rule, the Acothyst is too expensive for his cost, especially since with dual poison blades, the assorted melee options are that much less attractive, although if you've got the points to burn (and/or your Wracks are footslogging) a Hexrifle can be useful.
** The Covens make these guys the cheapest troops you can find, and they'll probably find the most use as they're the least likely to break.  The issue is that they have very few guns to work with, and what they have is either unpredictable or unimpressive.  Keep them with a Haemonculus to make sure they survive.
** (Another take) a 10 man squad of these guys in a raider with 2 Ossefactors is a great MC hunter If they fail to shoot it to death they can charge it (unless it has 2+ armor then only if your desperate) With 2 AP2 Fleshbane attacks this cheap(ish) unit will take the opponent's attention. 

*'''Grotesques''' - Grotesques are another melee elite for Dark Eldar and probably their toughest unit point-for-point. With Toughness 5, built-in Feel No Pain and three wounds apiece, their lack of armor is almost unnoticeable. However, they're slow and have a comically low Leadership of 3 (or 4 if you upgrade one to an Aberration); that last part means that you need to babysit them with another Character or else they're very likely to break on the first Morale check, get Pinned down once their transport is shot down, are ironically one of the most vulnerable units to Dark Eldar Phantasm Grenades (and are especially vulnerable to Psychic Shriek)...but provided the player can work around that, they will be potentially rewarded for their efforts. Each Grotesque gets three attacks base, plus an additional attack for two melee weapons, plus Rampage, meaning 5-7 attacks per model. Though they do not ignore armor saves, these attacks are Poisoned and inflict Instant Death on 6s, letting them shred through most rank-and-file units in the game since they wound anything below T5 on a 3+ with a reroll. 
** That said and done, this unit is 'best' taken by Covens. Their Power From Pain table 'fixes' most of the issues with their Leadership by granting them Fearless from the second turn onwards, while several formations improve their overall durability and output such that these guys will inevitably fuel your assault game.  A Haemonculus is going to have to be kitted to help them here and sadly, this usually won't do without an artefact helping some.  If you roll the WT that gives them IWND (or the similar formation), rock out.  You now have regenerating monstrosities that will inevitably become even deadlier.  
**'''Pain Train Covens Edition:''' Throw 10 of them with a Haemy equipped with a WWP and go to town. 10 of them will have 30 Fearless T5 FnP5+ wounds turn 2 and get IWND turn 3. Bonus for taking the Haemy/Talos/Cronos formation with a WWP and Spirit Probe. 4+ FnP on 30 T5 wounds is a lot to surmount. Especially with the two Engines right next to them.
** Alternatively you could take the Grotesquerie, take the Aberration as your warlord and put a kitted out Archon (both Combined Arms/Realspace Raiders) in the unit with Webway Portal to fuck around/deny challenges/bump up PFP/-2 Leadership/look like a cowboy/tank everything at 5 T with 2++/do the same with 4++/Make up for the loss of fearless for zealot with his own fearless. We could take cheap Lhamean HQs already anyways, so crank the fluffrape and cheese up to eleven doing this (remember to put space marine pauldrons on the Aberration).

*'''Incubi''' - Incubi are the army's "can opener" unit. Though they are the only non-Talos/Cronos unit in the army with a 3+ Armor Save, their main ability is that each model has WS 5, two attacks base, and is armed with a Klaive, which equivalent of a Power Axe that strikes at Initiative. Despite their armor save, they are still only Toughness 3, and pricey at 20 points a pop. They hit hard for their but will not stand up to sustained aggression. Finally, while Incubi have high initiative, they still lack assault grenades and will strike last when charging through cover, though their armor means this isn't as disastrous as it is for Mandrakes (discussed below). Grotesques are ultimately still the most "well-rounded" melee choice for this army.
**That said and done, Incubi "can" serve as a roaming "hunter-killer" unit. Incubi can be taken in squads of three models, for 60 points a pop, while 10 points upgrades a model to a Klaivex, a Character with +1 WS, Initiative, and Attack, and Rampage on top. Consider that this is the same cost as a unit of five unupgraded Tactical Marines (and that Marines will generally take Grav Cannons wherever they can fit them), and ask yourself which unit would win in a melee (hint: The ones with the Klaives). On the charge, the Incubi and Klaivex average 10+D3 attacks, hitting on 3s and wounding on 4s, killing four of the five in one go. The Marine player either has a dead Sergeant from a challenge, or does not get the ability to attack back. Assuming the Marine player then fails their Leadership check, the unit would attempt to fall back, but the Incubi would have Initiative 6 versus 4 to catch the unit in a Sweeping Advance, locking rather than destroying the sole survivor "thanks" to ATSKNF. The Incubi finish off their assault in the subsequent turn, Consolidate, then look for a new unit to murder. However, move outside the realm of pure theoryhammer, and this scenario falls into the issue that MSU marine armies take lots of transports, and that two of the most notable variants either get Hit & Run (White Scars), or Overwatch at full Ballistic Skill (Dark Angels). A more feasible scenario would be to use the Klaivex as an assassin, to go after key enemy characters; though the Klaivex will bounce off a [[Smashfucker]], they will reliably blender a Librarian or other support HQ in one go. 
*'''Mandrakes''' - Your sole Infiltrators, Mandrakes are essentially the Dark Eldar equivalent of Striking Scorpions but worse in every way. They lack a save though they get Stealth&Shrouded. Thus, while placing them in a forest or ruins means they can get a 2+ save, they die to melee or any cover-ignoring shooting; [[fail|a single order is all it takes for this unit to be mowed down with lasguns. Adding insult to injury is the fact that despite having Move Through Cover, they still lack Assault Grenades, and so the aforementioned unit of Guardsmen could strike first and kill off a good few Mandrakes (not to mention Overwatch)]]. Minimum-sized units "are" cheap, and Infiltrate combined with 7th ed shooting rules means that they "can" have a reasonable chance to snipe a hidden Marine Special weapon...save for the fact that the 'default' Marine army is a Gladius Battle Demi-Company, thus getting free Transports. In short...Mandrakes are a unit without much purpose, in an army where every point counts.
**If you're dead set on taking Infiltrators, use Allies.  Eldar Rangers are amazing Snipers, Striking Scorpions are better at the melee thing.  Otherwise, just skip them and grab a WWP.

*'''Kabalite Trueborn''' - At first glance their +1 attacks and leadership appear deceptively lackluster. The Trueborn's real strength is their access to some of the DE's shiniest bits, most commonly blasters (the blasterborn build). They can take an anti-infantry build, but the gimping of Ravagers, the loss of haywire, and our meh flyers and monstrous creatures means you really need these for anti-tank, unfortunately. Take a small squad loaded for bear, stick them in a Venom, and try to keep these guys out of trouble - a quick deep strike with a webway portal archon will help you take out a high-priority target, but they'll be at their most vulnerable. Sadly, the change in decent codex fixed minimum amount of this guys to 5 so no webway portals in Venoms. Use Raiders instead. Time has proven these guys to be the best of the elite choices, with only the Incubi as viable competitors. They really force you to ask yourself, "why am I taking ___ instead of trueborns?"
**'''Trueborn Big Game Hunting Party:''' 5 Trueborn - 3 Blasters, 2 Splinter Cannons, riding a Venom also with dual Splinter Cannons. This provides what is commonly referred to as a '''METRIC FUCKTON''' of firepower and is pretty much a hard counter to things like Riptides and Dreadknights. It can even make tanks suffer critical existence failure if you're lucky. For best results, keep this in reserve to avoid having it blown to pieces on turn 1, and deep-strike to cause havoc in the enemy backfield. And the best part - it will set you back only 195 points. Have fun!

*'''Hekatrix Bloodbrides''' - Just what you were afraid Trueborn were. Ever so slightly beefed up Wyches with a slightly higher concentration of heavy weapons. Nothing that a Wych couldn't do cheaper or an Incubus couldn't do better. They don't even get more wych cult weapons than the standard byches do. To get more that 1 wych cult weapon they need 10 models. Don't bother with these ladies.
** '''An Alternate Take:''' Wyches often lack the oomph to kill off a unit unassisted. Bloodbrides tend to do pretty well when dropped off on someone's back lines and given free reign. The primary value with Bloodbrides is their cost. Each Bloodbride costs only 3 points more than a standard Wych, and the extra attack per model actually means something in this case compared to Trueborn. A unit of 4 Bloodbrides with a tooled-up Syren in a Venom will cost you only 170 points, and will give you 21 attacks on the charge (5 of which are AP3 with 4+ Poison, because of course you took the Agonizer didn't you?), and of course you can soften your target up with the Venom's Splinter Cannons first. That is a staggering number of attacks generated by only 5 models, and is bound to make any opponent sweat, without even taking combat drugs or Power From Pain into account. Now whether this is worth using up an Elite slot or not compared to more expensive options depends on individual taste, but for those who run themed Wych Cult armies, or want a cheap Elite unit to cause chaos in the enemy backfield, a unit of Bloodbrides can be very handy for taking out things like Imperial Guard command squads, Devastators, Assault Marines or even Terminators and Centurions in a pinch. All it takes to make this unit work is a little imagination and the brass balls to see it through.