Editing Warhammer 40,000/9th Edition Tactics/Dark Eldar (section)

==Unit Analysis==

===Kabals===
"Normal" dark eldar. Apparently they are the only ones in the Dark City who wear armor, and they are half of your sources of cool guns. As such, whether you are using Raiding Forces or Realspace Raid, they'll be the core of your army.
====HQ====
<tabs>
<tab name="Archon">
Your warlord more often than not since he is <u>the only HQ that can lead more than just his subfaction</u>, as his re-roll 1s to hit aura for {{WH40Kkeyword|kabal core & incubi}} becomes re-roll 1s for all {{WH40Kkeyword|core}} when leading a '''Realspace Raid''' detachment. His unique 2++ cannot be re-rolled for any reason and shuts down after the first fail, leaving him with the usual 4+ kabal armour save. Starts with a splinter pistol that can be swapped for a nasty blast pistol, and his power sword can be exchanged by either a venom blade, agoniser or huskblade. With okay weapon options the Archon is a decent fighter, but any serious plans for melee should be left to a Master Archon.
*One of the things an Archon can do that a Master Archon would be wasted at, however, is using that aura to buff your ranged units, especially your Kabalites, which requires him to leave the safety of a transport. You can use Index options to give him a Blaster and/or Phantasm Grenade Launcher and contribute to firefights/drive-bys. His invuln can protect him from snipers, and he's got a Court bodyguard unit that is cool and also has nice guns.
*The blaster is better than the blast pistol, if you can afford it and you're okay with taking an index option, as pistols are usable in melee only during ongoing combats that happen during your turn.
</tab>
<tab name="Master Archon (Upgrade)">
Akin to a Chapter Master upgrade, you can upgrade an Archon to Master Archon, unlocking one unit of Kabalite Trueborn warriors and an exclusive relic and warlord trait. His place is in melee, with '''Splintered Genius''' allowing him to fight twice once per game.
*'''Relic - Soulhelm:''' All attacks against the Master Archon take -1 to hit, and he receives a 5+++ FNP. Unlike other relic armours that basically don't exist up until your 2++ fails, the Soulhelm works in tandem with the Archon's abilities: the -1 to hit helps preserve the invuln against most things, as fewer hits equal fewer chances to fail (except vs already unwieldy weapons like fists). Additionally, the FnP helps protect against MWs that would normally pass unfiltered.
*'''Warlord Trait - Consummate Weaponmaster:''' +1D for the Master Archon's non-relic melee weapons, fixing his main problem: a lack of multi D blades with good to-wound rolls. This frees the Archon to take a non-blade relic, like the Animus Vitae or Soulhelm. Otherwise you'd NEED the Djinn Blade for his melee to be relevant at all.
Upgrading to a Master Archon is ubiquitous if you're seriously considering sending him into melee at the head of his henchmen. The basic power sword is fine vs GEQ, the agoniser is fine vs armored infantry, and the venom blade is good against things that don't rely on armour saves, like harlequins. All of those can be upgraded to D2 to kill marines with the WT. Meanwhile, the huskblade's natural D2 is wasted on S3; swap it for the Djinn Blade if you can afford it, turning your Archon into something comparable to a named character.

</tab>
</tabs>

'''Ynnari note:'''
A thing to keep in mind with an Ynnari Archon is you get a quality of life bonus. Simply put, your re-roll 1s bubble will not only affect your Kabal units, but your other Ynnari Drukhari too! Kabalites, Wyches, Incubi, etc. This opens up a wide variety of opportunities, so be mindful of the tricks you can pull that the others can't.

====Troops====
*'''Kabalite Warriors:''' Your '''only ranged troops''' in your entire army, now with base 2 attacks and 4+ armor! Placing them inside transports turns them into mobile firebases, but do keep in mind that in cover they are 3+ save models that cost only 8pts. Their sybarite sergeant can swap his splinter rifle for a pistol and/or get a melee weapon, but you shouldn't really bother. Do consider the phantasm grenade launcher, which stacks with the serge's rifle, meaning for 5 points you get some mortal wound output from every unit.
**They can take one blaster or shredder for every 5 models, and a dark lance or splinter cannon for every 10 models, but shredders and splinter cannons are ''bad''.  Notice these are ''separate lists'', meaning a 5-elf unit can have 1 special gun + 1 grenade launcher, but a 10-elf squad squad gets 3 + 1 launcher (and a 20-elf squad gets 6 + launcher). Heavy guns are ''locked'' to big squads.  Ordinarily, the best loadout a squad can take will be either 5 elves with grenade launcher and blaster or 10 with grenade launcher, 2 blasters, and 1 dark lance.  Also keep in mind that none of those weapons share the Rapid Fire 24" type of their splinter rifles, being either Assault 18" or Heavy 36".
**'''Kabalite Trueborn''': For each Master Archon present, one Warrior unit in that Master Archon's detachment can be upgraded to Trueborn. With BS 2+, improved LD, and the ability to ignore all modifiers to their BS and hit rolls, but a unit size cap of 10, they're the ideal choice for your heavy weapon (''singular'') wielders (i.e. if you take a Trueborn unit, it should be the 10-elf type with 2 blasters, a dark lance, and a grenade launcher). They're valuable and often times you only get one of them, so either keep them in cover or give them a Raider as a dedicated flying firebase.

====Not Elites====
Because they are Elites but can only be taken when there's an Archon, which makes them use no actual slots. So, "not elites".
*'''Court of the Archon:''' Rather than being a bunch of solo models these guys are back to being a unit (which foils Ynnari shenanigans).
**'''Lhamaean:''' A lady with a poison 2+ blade that does a mortal wound in addition to the normal damage on a 6+ to wound. So, once every 9 attacks. She has 2. So much for the only Blade Artist of the court. If she's in the squad, the Court gains an aura that makes {{W40kKeyword|<kabal> Archon & Kabalite Trueborn}}s' poison weapons automatically wound the target on a nat 6 to hit. Only problem is, you usually get only one unit of Trueborn, 3 of them will probably be using special weapons instead of splinter rifles, and the Archon is probably not wielding a Venom blade.  Plus, this actively makes Venom Blades ''worse'' against some Sv2+ targets: autowounding on 6 to hit isn't a big step up from 2+ wounding, but the aura is mandatory and shuts down Blade Artists.
**'''Medusae:''' Their eyeburst is back to being a warpflamer/liquifier at Pistol d6 S4 AP-2, autohits. Good against any infantry that gets too close.
**'''Sslyth:''' With good stats: T3 W3 5+/5+++ and 3A WS3+ S5 AP-2 as well as Shardcarbines (& pistol), they are the general combat members of the squad. They're also the only actual bodyguard models of the court, as a unit without a Sslyth wouldn't be able to stop snipers from targeting the Archon. But they no longer take the actual wounds for him, though. 
**'''Ur-Ghul:''' 16 Points and a crapload of S4 attacks for a single model, particularly on the charge, and the new codex grants them AP-1. It has no access to Power from Pain, though. That said, 3W and a 5+++ does make them excellent Smite shields to protect a more important character.
***The new 40k Warhammer Quest game comes with 4 plastic Ur-Ghuls. There may be separate rules for those, but at the very least it'll be easier to get some models without having to buy the old resin model separately.

====Heavy Support====
*'''Ravager:''' Raider gunboat, with +1W and triple the cool guns. Disintegrators for heavy infantry, Dark lance for bigger stuff. Many armies would like to have the guns and mobility this boat has. This mobility makes melee an option worth considering. If you are in range, <u>do not hesitate charging either a vehicle or a ranged troop</u>:
**Enemy vehicles are either forced to fire at the 5++ Ravager at -1 to hit (no blast weapons allowed) or fall back and be disabled even worse than being damaged down to their worst bracket, as vehicles can sooner have strats for ignoring damage than to be able to fall back and re-engage. 
**Ranged troops often cannot deal with vehicles, certainly not in melee, yet the Ravager is the one of the few non-dread vehicles in the game with melee options. Six S7 AP-1 attacks and nine Disintegrator cannon shots you can fire in melee. No need to use all that on a squad (unless?), but it does highlight the options you have.

===Wych Cults===
The lightning fast past of the melee half of the faction, Cult units have incredible movement speeds and bring death by a thousand cuts. The embodiment of a glass cannon, however, they are basically naked and can't really take being fired at.
====HQ====
<tabs>
<tab name="Succubus">
*Buff Vector for your {{WH40Kkeyword|<wych cult>}} units and a decently priced melee beatstick. Comes with 6 attacks by default, with so many ways to make the most of what she can do. She lets her girls re-roll 1s to wound in melee, which is a sore sight better for them; only problem is ensuring she's nearby to provide her 6" aura, as the Wyches may sometimes charge out of range of it. The Succubus herself comes stock with an Archite Glaive, which lost its hit penalty while remaining just as deadly, and can be paired with a pistol or an agoniser. Her 4++ Dodge Save (that works outside of close combat now! Double yay!) will also keep her safe that much longer and don't ever forget about her drugs. All in all, this codex maintained what the Succubus needed to truly shine as a badass leader for your Wyches!
** Succubi can (and maybe should) swap the Agoniser for a Blast Pistol, which can deal with the heavily armored targets they struggle with in melee.  No Escape does make it more likely you'll find yourself in a situation where you want to fire a 6" pistol.
** You can also replace both the glaive and agoniser with a wych cult weapon. The razorflails make her a bigger whirlwind of pain, but Hydra Gauntlets can also be nice to make sure your attacks have a better chance of wounding, and the shardnet & impaler are definitely the best of the three against anything with more than one wound.
** At all times, bear in mind that a Succubus + Wyches have an uphill battle in front of them trying to compete with Drazhar + Incubi.  One of the ways you can do that is by leaning into Objective Secured, but another is No Escape.  When in doubt, bring more shardnets.  
</tab>
<tab name="Master Succubus (Upgrade)">
*Indeed, there is also an upgrade for Succubi despite the lack of one historically. Cool!
**'''Show Stealer:''' Your mistress can consolidate an additional 3" and does not need to move towards the closest enemy when doing so. Now your Succubus can engage in Harlequin style shenanigans by jumping in and out of combat while ignoring all return hits. Feel free to combine with the Red Grief unique strat to get back into your transport! 
**'''Relic - The Dancer's Edge:''' Pretty fierce for a melee weapon, S+2 AP-4 D2 and any 6 to wound bypasses Invulns. 
**'''Warlord Trait - Whirlwind of Death:''' Turn your succubus into a horde-blender! Before consolidation, you can improve their attacks to 3+however many models there are within 2".
**'''Hekatrix Bloodbrides:''' They're back too. Whenever you grab a master succubus (or Lelith), you can make a pack of wyches into Bloodbrides. They get 2+WS and +1Ld, and any time they trigger Blade Artists, they improve their AP by 3, enough to gut space marines.
</tab>
</tabs>
'''Ynnari note:'''
A thing to keep in mind with a Ynnari Succubus, you get a quality of life bonus. Simply put your re-roll 1s bubble will not only affect your Wych units but your other Ynnari Drukhari too! Kabalites, Wyches, Incubi, etc. This opens up a wide variety of opportunities so be mindful of the tricks you can pull that the others can't

====Troops====
*'''Wyches:''' The fast melee option. 10 points per model and you get a unit that comes with 3 attacks by default, one bonus from their weapons and plenty of ways to boost this number up. Like all wych cult units they get combat drugs which can let you tweak 'em to fit whatever targets you're going up against, but who are we kidding, you'll pick Adrenalight. They excel at tying up infantry units, with their 6++ increasing to a 4++ against melee attacks, alongside No Escape and all of the weapon options you can take being pretty anti-infantry focused as well. You should also just about exclusively stick to infantry with them, too. Relatively low innate strength combined with the fact that vehicles and monsters now have Big Guns Never Tire, which lets them shoot into them while in engagement range, their 6++ won't help all that much against even basic bolters crapping their rapid fire shots into them. Also remember that you have Grenades! If you are charging from within 6" then always toss a grenade before charging. For alternative models, look at Blood Vestals from Raging Heroes.
**Hekatrices (Hekatrixen?) can take blast pistols for 5 points, which is a shockingly reasonable upgrade given No Escape increases the chances you'll be in melee long enough to shoot a pistol, but the points cost is quite steep given its optimal targets are what Wyches are worst at fighting.  You can also swap the melee weapon out for a power sword, which is an agoniser but worse, or an agoniser, which is ''ok''.  You can also take a phantasm grenade launcher, which is generally a much stronger upgrade than the blast pistol.
**'''Pro-tip:''' After disembarking, charge their Raider or Venom into combat first! Dark Eldar vehicles are actually not too bad in melee, unlike lumbering Imperial vehicles, and your Wyches will thank you when the enemy can't blast them off the board on the way in.
**'''Hekatrix Bloodbrides:''' If you take Lelith or a Master Succubus, you can upgrade one pack of Wyches, improving their WS to 2+, their Ld to 9/8, and changing Blade Artists to add -3 to AP when they roll a nat 6 to wound. This won't change much about your loadouts, but it will make your base Wyches a lot more dangerous when they get lucky.

====Not Elites====
Because they are Elites but can only be taken when you have Beasts, which makes them use no actual slots.
*'''Beastmaster:''' Little more than a buff vector for all the beasts. If they stick close to him, they reroll 1s To Hit and can use his Leadership, plus he can make a pack of them charge in the Command Phase even if they advanced. Now comes stock with an Agoniser for melee, but he is hardly spectacular in a fight, even with combat drugs and obsessions. Same ranged weapon as Hellions too, just in case you wanted to fly around harassing infantry.
**The Beastmaster doesn't take up a slot if you have any beasts, but you can't take a Beastmaster unless you have at least one Beast in the detachment (why you'd want to do that is a mystery). Also, it can't get Warlord Traits. Make sure to double check if whatever you're playing in is using Legends rules or not, because if they are you can give him back his now free Beastmaster's Scourge, letting you use that 4 points elsewhere.
**'''A Note About Drugs:''' Always, ALWAYS give the Beastmaster Splintermind.  The +1Ld makes his ‘shared leadership’ Aura much more potent, and he’s not really ‘fighty’ enough to justify any of the other Drugs.

====Fast Attack====

*'''[[Hellions]]:''' Junkies on hoverboards, now with T4 and 2W and 3 attacks base. Their glaives have been upgraded to -1AP, which stacks with Blade Artists. At 17ppm they're great at getting into melee and the bane of 2W units but, they're still tall, wide, and a squad of them has a massive footprint on the table. Don't expect their new stats to save them from bolter fire, they're still rather easy to kill but they're now actually viable. 
**There's really no bad combat drug combination for them as all of them improve a stat they can use. Best advice is just roll randomly for 2 effects.
**As far as cult obsessions, you can't go wrong with any of them. Cursed Blade is probably the most obvious choice as it takes them to S5 before combat drugs, making them even more horrific for space marines.
*'''Reavers:''' Junkies on bikes. By Drukhari standards, Reavers are indestructible juggernauts with T4 2W and a 4+ save. They combine decent shooting (Splinter Rifle and Splinter Pistol) with decent melee (S+1 AP-1 Bladevanes). They can also take either a heat lance or a blaster for every three models in the unit, each for 10 points. The difference comes down to whether you prefer assault S8 AP-4 DD6 (Blaster) or heavy S8 AP-4 DD6+2 (Heat Lance). Finally, they can take either Cluster Caltrops or a Grav Talon, at a rate of one per three models for 5 points. The difference is, the former can deal Mortal Wounds when the Reavers Fall Back while the latter can deal Mortal Wounds when the Reavers charge. Your choice. 
**Given that it turns these guys into T5, 2W models with a 4+ save, Reavers are the best candidate for Painbringer, and it should really be your default Drug of choice. A big group of these with Cluster Caltrops is one of the best tarpits in the army that your opponent '''really''' doesn't want to fall back from.
**With the Eviscerating Fly-By strategem, Reavers have regained their old  wonderfully fluffy tactic of simply flying over something and causing damage! A unit of 9 bikes will reliably put a mortal wound or two on something which can be a nice way to soften up a target before a charge. 
**Agonisers and power swords are only 5 points so consider them on your Arena Champions if you have the spare points. 
**Remember with the 'Hunt From the Shadows' strat these guys have a 2+ save in cover.

=====Beasts=====
As of the new Codex, you can only take 3 Beasts per detachment, and the detachment itself must contain at least 1 Beastmaster. Not actually CULT...but they need a Beastmaster who is, so, they're in the CULT section.
*'''Clawed Fiends:''' Horrifying but overlooked. Lots of Wounds, high Toughness and lots of attacks at high strength and AP-2 D2. Its only weakness, the 4+ WS, is remedied by the Beastmaster granting it rerolls.
*'''Khymerae:''' Decent harassers with a 5++. Basic stat line of a marine but much cheaper and 3 cc attack, able fill up small hole in your deployment zone to deny alpha attempt.
**'''Alternate Models''': Dire Wolves work pretty well as a cheaper and plastic alternative. Just green stuff the undead bits and add in spikey bits and job done.
**'''Alternate Models''': Necrohounds from maxmini.eu make an excellent dark city style alternative.
**'''Alternate Models''': Displacer Beasts from D&D Nulzu's miniatures are dirt cheap, comes with a 40mm base, and they come pre-primed. Did I mention they're a dime a dozen?
**'''Alternate Models''': Warcry Raptoryx comes in sets of six and basically requires no conversion other than putting on 40 mm round bases. Scary birds and come with some Some Furies. 
*'''Razorwing Flocks:''' Horrible Strength and Toughness of 2, but with Instant Death being a thing of the past, all you can see are the 4 wounds per flock  and no longer have the insane attacks from the codex, but a fluffy -1 AP with 4 attacks each. For best results, throw them at big stuff like Wraithknights. You'll wound most things on 6+ anyway so might as well make those 6s count. 48 wounds for a maxed out unit and 48 attacks for 144 points (if I'm mathing right and not totally retarded) is great for a throwaway unit. These will either be ignored or shots will be dedicated to stopping them. Plus how badass would you feel if your Archon could just summon murders of murder birds to the field? Be sure to use these things like a tau shield drones, let your bird bois soak those lascannon shots so your raiders can nice and close. Then charge the birds in to soak the flamers in overwatch. Saves your Raider the trouble from losing out on his juicy dark lance by charging in.
**'''Alternate Models''': These things are disgustingly overpriced IRL. So if you aren't running tourneys and want a cheap alternative use the Murder of Crowz from zombicide. The model looks a little janky, but it might mean that you can actually afford these guys.https://youtu.be/WAvzmqw8qxI you could also get the new Ravening Direflock endless spell from AoS, which gives you 3 bases
**'''Bird Block''': With 4 wounds each, and insane mobility for the cost, the best uses I have found for them is to use the birdies to soak smites or send them to form a wall to stop an enemy unit moving onto an objective. Units of 4 are best for this imo. Seriously though, play GK or TS and watch their now incrementing smites need 4 casts to kill a single unit.
***'''Bird Block Prime''': Dropping a Razorwing Bomb into a Ynnari detachment and slapping the Yncarne down nearby lets you buff their defence with a 5++/6+++ and Morale-Immunity aura - not exactly the best use for the Yncarne, but with 3 units of 12, that's some 144 wounds to chew through!  If you want absolute board control, accept no substitutes.

===Haemonculus Covens===
====HQ====
<tabs>
<tab name="Haemonculus">
*A nasty little support character for your {{WH40Kkeyword|<haemonculus coven>}} army. On the one hand, he's a buff vector that flat increases your {{WH40Kkeyword|<haemonculus coven> Core}} unit's Toughness by 1 within 6". This makes Grotesques all but immune to small arms fire and is generally nice, plus you can also heal your grotesques and other monster units for d3 wounds per turn, with the usual restrictions. However, the Haemonculus is also an okay combat character. Like all  {{WH40Kkeyword|<haemonculus coven>}} units he comes stock with a 5+++, so combined with his 6 Wounds and the PFP invuln save he can survive quite a bit. But he also has 4 attacks and access to all the nasty poisoned weapons you could want. His tools wound on a 2+, though with no AP it means you'll struggle to actually kill anything with a decent save. Conversely, the scissorhand doubles the amount of attacks you can make and gives a decent -2 AP, though it needs a 4 to wound. His ichor injector allows you to deal a mortal wound if it hits, not a whole lot but it's still practically guaranteed with his 2+ WS. Just don't send him after Vehicles.
</tab>
<tab name="Master Haemonculus (Upgrade)">
*Haemonculus Ancients are back too! That said, they're more costly than their (dubiously) more sane kin at 20 points.
**'''Alchemical Maestro:''' Haemonculi can now cheat death! Once per game when the haemy dies, you can roll a d6 and resurrect them with d3 wounds on a 2+.
**'''Relic - Poisoner's Ampule:''' Once per battle, your haemonculus can pour this stuff. One enemy unit within 9" takes d3 MW on a 2+ and loses all auras for the turn, as well as being unable to benefit from any. This is pretty evil, but has limited use on armies less dependent on auras (not to mention being useless against the Death Guard's contagions).
**'''Warlord Trait - Twisted Animator:''' You ever wonder why your Fleshcraft ability does nothing for your wracks? Those guys who will almost always be the first to get cut down? This allows your haemonculus to raise d3 models in a {{W40kKeyword|<Coven> Wrack}} unit within 3" during the command phase, allowing them to last a bit longer.
*'''Haemoxytes:''' Indeed, to keep all bosses on level, the Haemonculus Ancient (or Urien) can now elevate a pack of Wracks. These guys now add +1 to their Sv, Invuln, and Leadership on top of being to nullify the damage of their first failed save once per phase. YMMV whether this means that you can just stonewall the entire fucking attack (since some attacks don't rely on damage to screw you), because that could make these guys far and away the most broken retinue of the game.  Bear in mind a canny opponent will shoot you with bad guns first to use up the nullification, ''then'' bring the big bad guns to bear.
</tab>
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====Troops====
*'''Wracks:''' The thick melee option, only by virtue of a lack of competition. T4 with a 6+/6++/5+++ isn't gonna make them pull off miracles but it's a lot better than what Kabalites/Wyches can provide, making them your go-to objective sitters. Luckily the new Codex buffed their offensive power up a notch, so now their melee weapons are AP-1 and 4+ Poisoned with Blade Artists added in. While Wyches are still gonna have them beat in terms of raw damage output due to their sheer number of attacks and special weapon options, Wracks can now at least expect to kill stuff in melee. The squad leader, the Acothyst, has access to a variety of melee weapons. This also means you can field 2 Liquifiers in a 5-elf unit, or 1 Ossefactor and 1 Liquifier or Hexrifle.
**For the Acothyst's melee weapon, most of the choices you're offered are a waste of time: either stick with the base Wrack Blade to keep the unit cheap or buy an Electrocorrosive Whip - the other melee weapon choices are either strictly worse than the whip or better than it in cases so rare they can be safely ignored.
**The Stinger Pistol is a waste of your time.  The Acothyst should either take a Liquifier (if your gun-elf took a Liquifier), a Hexrifle (if you plan on staying far away and want to take pot-shots), or nothing (if you want to keep the unit cheap).
*** Hexrifle is an interesting choice combined with Dark Technomancers for 3 damage and +1 to wound. Makes it an actual threat against T8 models since you won't be wounding on 5+.
** They can get one Ossefactor or one Liquifier per 5 Wracks. The Ossefactors are one-shot assault weapons meant to give the wracks a chance to kill one Space Marine per shot, but they're bad at it - an Ossefactor deals fewer wounds to MEQ than a Liquifier.  It does more wounds per point if you only look at the cost of the wielder, but if you think of it as wielded by 5 elves at once, it goes back down to fewer wounds per point.  Skip the Ossefactor - take a Liquifier or nothing (if you plan on spending all your time in melee or far away) on the gun elf.
** Note that if you take Experimental Creations, while Wracks will benefit from the part of the trait granting the +1 Strength, it has little effect given that a good number of the weapon options available are Poisoned weapons. Only Grotesques and Taloi really benefit from this. 
** Wracks from the {{WH40Kkeyword|Prophets of Flesh}} Coven are the toughest objective secured troop unit in a pure Drukhari list. Combine with a nearby Haemonculus and you have both a decent anchor for controlling an objective and a simple patrol detachment.
**'''Haemoxytes:''' If you grab Urien or a Master Haemonculus, you can upgrade a pack of up to 10 Wracks. These guys improve their save and invulnerable save by +1 (invuln to a max of 4+) and add +1 to Leadership. In addition, they can negate their first failed save once per phase, which might potentially be giga-cheese unless they're focus-fired to death.

====Elites====
*'''Grotesques:''' Massively scary. They have an impressive statline complete with A4 WS3+ S5 and T5 W4 Sv6+/5+++ for 35 points and you can take 3-6 per unit. For armament they come stock with a Flesh Gauntlet - S+1(6) AP0 D1, nat 6 to wound is +1 MW - and a Monstrous Cleaver: A+1 SU(5) AP-2 D2 (and of course they have Blade Artists, so nat 6 to wound improves AP by 1) . The Cleaver does very well indeed against T4 and less while the Flesh Gauntlet does well against T3 and high invulnerable saves units with W1. Can also take Liquifiers by swapping out their Cleavers and paying points.
**As a general rule, anything Grotesques would do in melee, Incubi do ''better'', even when you perform fancy tricks that require your coven.  Problem is, they're ''far'' too expensive as Liquifier platforms now that Dark Technomancers won't make it worth the effort.  You can apply The Torturer's Craft strat to Grotesques if you're Prophets of Flesh, and Incubi have no strat that's remotely as good, but it's a whopping 2CP.  That's just about the only way to make Grotesques worth taking, though.
***Alternate take: Grotesques at T5 (T6 with a Haemonculus nearby) are far more resilient than Incubi. If you need to look down a board quarter against some Necron Wraiths, look to Grotesques to tarpit their tarpit. For roughly the same points as 5 Incubi a MSU of Grotesques give you twice the wounds at twice the toughness. 
**If you dislike the models or failcast resin, or aren't made of money, the '''Crypt Horrors''' and '''Stormfiends''' from AoS are nice plastic alternatives.

====Heavy Support====
*'''Cronos:''' The support Engine. The Cronos comes stock with a spirit syphon, an Assault heavy flamer with AP-2 that does +1 damage (2 total) on 6s to wound. For 10 points you can add a spirit vortex that does nearly the same but without the auto-hits, in exchange for being Blast and having extra 6" of range. More importantly, it can also take a spirit probe for measly 5 points. This lets {{W40Kkeyword|DRUKHARI CORE}} and {{W40Kkeyword|DRUKHARI CHARACTER}} units within 6" re-roll 1s to wound in melee, which makes your Grotesques even scarier. In addition, each time it kills any model in melee with its spirit-leech tentacles, you can choose one {{W40Kkeyword|DRUKHARI CORE}} unit within 6" to either heal 1 Wound or restore a lost model at 1 Wound. A4 WS4+ S5 AP-1 per model (so A12 for a full unit, since you only need 1 probe for the whole unit) isn't ''that'' bad, but the Cronos won't exactly blend entire hordes into spirit-juice. Still, it ''can'' resurrect a Wrack if you're worried about it falling below half-strength.
**'''Dark Technomancers:''' Because Dark Technomancers doesn't work on Liquifiers (Twin or not), the Cronos is the best use you have for Dark Technomancers: the base gun can't cause any mortal wounds but works with the Obsession, and you can add a second gun for a decent price - plus, you have immediate access to healing any wounds you do suffer by murdering things in melee.
*'''Talos:''' The killy Engine. Can serve both as an anvil and a battering ram of your army, with more emphasis placed on one of these roles depending on the choice of Obsession and wargear. The standard load-out of 2 macro-scalpels and 2 splinter cannons offers decent MEQ-removing capability thanks to multiple D2 attacks. However, each arm and the tail weapon can be swapped for a variety of anti-infantry and/or anti-armour tools depending on its designated role. Only the Talos gauntlet and twin liqufier gun cost any additional points.
**'''Melee weapons''': Chain-flails grant each Talos 10 S6 attacks, which sounds nice until you notice AP0. This amounts to hitting enemy units with big, heavy pillows, although that is indeed a lot of attacks to potentially proc Blade Artists with, for what it's worth. The default pair of macro-scalpels can do some solid work against heavy infantry as well as light vehicles and monsters, especially if you boost their Strength. However, despite some disadvantages, the Talos gauntlet is a superior weapon; for +5 points it can easily destroy Gravis marines and crack some big, tough targets. The Talos ichor injector is also an interesting option to add some mortal wounds to the damage output. All in all, the macro-scalpels shouldn't disappoint, but if you want to send your Taloses against the most durable foes, gauntlet + ichor injector is worth considering.
***'''1 Melee Weapon + 1 Twin Liquifier''': There's a strong argument to be made that a twin Liquifier will do more work than an extra scalpel. They got buffed during the codex update to S4 AP -2, making them a bit killier than they were, and +1 attack from having a second Scalpel is unlikely to have the same impact as on average ''seven'' autohits from the liquifiers. You will be dishing out 15 extra points for the privilege, however.  Unless you're doing this to keep the unit as cheap as possible, you should still always shell out to upgrade the 1 melee weapon you do have from a Scalpel to a Gauntlet - the Twin Liquifier will do plenty to murder hordes, you'll want the Gauntlet for punching anything heavy.
**'''Choosing tail weapons:''' Pain Engines suffer from BS4+, so their shooting weapons should be chosen with care depending on what role you want your big bois to play. Luckily, with the new Codex they're now all free! Splinter cannons give them some extra anti-infantry firepower, but reduce their effectiveness against vehicles. Haywire blasters are effective against vehicles: a squad of three Taloi puts out 6D3 S3 AP-3 D1d3 shots which successfully wound vehicles on 4+, and on 6+ cause additional D3 mortal wounds. The odd inclusion of Blast makes them not-terrible against most infantry, but be mindful of the low Strength. Heat lances are basically super-blasters that grant the ability to pop units that are big and sturdy from afar (or up close, you can shoot in melee now). The stinger pod is probably the worst choice out of all, potentially giving your Talos the most shots per gun (2D6) if you roll well, but with a worse statline compared to its closest competitor: the twin splinter cannons.
***You can turn these fellows into nice DISTRACTION CARNIFEXES by giving them an Ichor Injector, Talos Gauntlet, and Haywire Blasters. A jittery imperial with his Knight Crusader will shoot at it until this thing is totally dead, giving your real units all the time they need to move in.
**'''Artists of the Flesh''': The anvil. With native defensive stats of T6 W7 Sv3+/6++/5+++, the Talos is durable for a Drukhari unit. As for Obsessions, the Prophets of Flesh are not quite what they used to be: regenerating 1 Wound ''per unit'' at the start of your Command Phase is underwhelming, and the defensive buff against weapons that are below S8 is useless to a boosted Talos. Pick Artists of the Flesh if you intend to rely on the big guys as the damage sponges in your army: reducing incoming Damage by 1 (to a minimum of 1) will increase their survivability a great deal - they ''will'' attract lots of high-damage attacks, only to laugh them off a lot of the time.
**'''Experimental Creations''': The battering ram. S8 macro-scalpels become significantly more effective against vehicles and monsters, and the Talos gauntlet also enjoys S9 against some of the hardest opponents. This is merely half of the build, though, because you pick another custom Obsession to accompany this one. Hungry for Flesh provides a useful re-roll to charges; Master Torturers reduces the CP cost of the Torturer's Craft stratagem (re-roll melee wounds) to 1 CP; Splinter Blades generates an additional hit for each unmodified hit roll of 6, which is +1 WS but better since it stacks with round 3+ Power From Pain.  In fact, if you were serious about being good at melee and took a Talos gauntlet, Splinter Blades is better than Experimental Creations in practice against almost everything in the game - you can take both, or you can just go with Splinter Blades + Hungry for Flesh.

===Blades for Hire / Any faction===
====HQ====
*'''Drazhar:''' The baddest motherfucker in an army of bad motherfuckers remains an uncontested badass. Pretty tanky with a 4+ invuln and the ability to reduce any damage taken by 1. He still has his amazing Phoenix Lord tier (probably a little bit better than some, most of them actually) stat line and his aura gives +1 to wound for all Incubi units within 6 inches. Shit just got real and heads will roll. He also packs tormentor, pick a unit within engagement range of him and roll 2d6. If you beat the unit's LD, then they cannot fight until every other eligible unit in your army has done so. Drazhar sports the Executioner's Demiklaives which offers the same single/double version with S+2 AP -3 and a flat D3 on the single profile while the paired profile drops the S and Damage by 1 in exchange for two more attacks. In addition, he can also fight twice in a turn, which makes him even more of a menace. 
** Dual-Blades offer 7/14 S5 AP-3 D2 attacks for hacking down hordes and space marines. Sheer number of attacks suggests this will likely be your go-to mode.
** Single-Blade gives you 5/10 S6 AP-3 D3 attacks for hacking down anything T5 or higher.
** Probably best to take this guy in a transport with his incubi friends as they all lack ranged weapons, try out a venom or if you've got money to burn, a Tantalus. Just keep in mind that he will always will be a big and scary target and needs support to get him in the front line where he is best. Watch out for units with good charge distances as he is massively hamstrung when he can't get that meaty charge.
** Remember that his +1 to wound also applies to himself. If you want more Aura nonsense a Archon's overlord ability gives him re-rolls of 1 to hit because he has the Incubus Keyword. This goes away if you give your Archon the Raid Mastermind ability because he doesn't have the Core Keyword. The Writ of the Living Muse will also affect him thanks to the Incubi keyword. Drahzar and his best friend Archon.
====Troops====
*'''Corsair Voidreavers''': So remember how that new Kill-Team box came with Eldar Corsairs, which are now squatted by Forge World? And remember how the last Kill-Team box had a unit of Sisters that got rules for use in the main game? You now get that in the main codex '''AND''' they're also usable for your Craft world brethren. While they won't harm anything due to lacking the necessary subfaction keywords, they do get a bit of an offensive edge as any natural 6s to hit automatically wound and count as having rolled a nat 6 to wound, triggering the AP boost of Shuriken weapons on top of the rifles bonus -1 to AP. Compared to your base shooty troop this makes them better man-can openers. They're also very flexible in loadout, being able to go either ranged or melee, giving you a means to cover any range, though special weapons will limit you to 18" at the most rather than letting you enjoy the full range of the shuriken rifles, and the rifles being Rapid-Fire limits your range if you want the full firepower.
*It is worth noting that they can also ride in your raiders and venoms as they have the {{WH40Kkeyword|<Drukhari>}} keyword. If you're wanting to really fish for shuriken shots at a safe distance load 'em into one with splinter racks. 
*It is also worth noting that with the Arks of Omen detachments, you may seriously consider taking one with fast attacks or even elites as the main force, then using these guys for your troops over kabalites or even wyches. They're no more expensive than wyches and can bring a fair bit of high-AP anti-infantry killing power to an army slot that could certainly use more. This isn't to say that the other two are useless mind you, wyches will still do much better at blending their way through hordes of orks and kabalites are a cheap backline unit that can camp objectives or speed up in a venom to unload a blaster into a tank's face.

====Elites====

*'''Incubi:''' These guys are our exclusive edgy Aspect Warriors armed with giant cleavers. Incubi are excellent in melee, each dishing out 3 Attacks at S5, AP-3, D2. The Klaivex enjoys an improved statline (4 Attacks, 2 Wounds) over its fellows, and can swap its Klaive to a Demiklaive at no additional cost.  There is literally no reason not to do this, as this weapon has 2 profiles - "Single Blade" is identical to a regular Klaive whilst "Dual Blades" trades away a point of Strength and AP for +2 Attacks, giving you some extra versatility against hordes. They also have the '''Tormentors''' ability, which gives you a chance to make a unit in base contact Always Fight Last if you beat its LD on 2d6, even if you've been charged. SWEET. Take 5 in a Venom and go hunting high value targets, a practical choice, or take two units of 5 in a Raider and go drown a unit in an unholy number of S5 AP-3 attacks. For maximum murder take a squad of 10 in a Raider with Drazhar - that +1 to wound aura lets this unit punch well above its weight.
**Also, Executrix squads from Raging Heroes make excellent female Incubi.
*'''Mandrakes:''' Pretty damn fine units. They can pop up more than 9" away from the opponent and shoot with Assault 2 S4 AP-1 attacks with a chance to do Mortal Wounds in addition to the damage on a 6+. ANY attacks targeting them take a -1 To Hit penalty and they have a 5++ as well as the PFP save to keep them alive, and if their Baleblasts don't quite do it, their 3 S4 AP-1 attacks per model should damn well make sure. Y'know, assuming they get the charge off.
**9E gave them a bit of a buff by allowing them to vanish and redeploy using the same rules once per game, which might be helpful in screwing with the enemy's expectations.
***The flexibility of this redeploy should not be underestimated given the importance of secondary objective scoring in 9th. Mandrakes can pull of a backfield action Turn 1 only to redeploy Turn 3 in the opponent’s deployment zone and repeat the same action or score any of the various movement-based objectives that Drukhari excel at. 
**If you dislike the models or failcast resin, the Idoneth Deepkin '''Namarti Thralls''' from AoS are nice plastic alternatives. They also have ten models for $60 compared to five for $45, which is a nice little bonus.

<!-- ---------------------------------------------------------------------Corsair Voidscarred-------------------------------------------------------------------- -->
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: left"
!colspan="2"|'''Corsair Voidscarred'''
|-
|''Infantry''
|''Anhrathe''
|-
|colspan="2"|The second half of the Voidscarred gift, this half comprising of all the more unusual specialists the kill-team can bring in. Being essentially veteran Corsairs, they gain all the basic perks that come with being corsairs as well as all the risks. They still won't get Battle Focus and can't be used as a compulsory choice for Elites.

Fortunately, this band can pick-and-choose between each model getting rifles or swords, allowing for your one bird-boy to make way more use from it.
|-
|colspan="2"|
:'''Specialists''': The Voidscarred specialize by picking up different specialists, allowing them different perks for taking them along and keeping them alive. 
<tabs>
<tab name="Shade Runner">
A corsair picking paired Hekatarii Blades (S:User AP-3) rather than getting a power sword, but when charging, they can deal a mortal wound on an engaged enemy on a 2+ or two mortals on a 6. Sadly, that loss to strength makes them suffer considerably as they make as many attacks as a Felarch but won't mean much on anything T4 or higher. 
</tab>
<tab name="Soul Weaver">
Your defender, this specialist comes with Channeler Stones, which lets them negate the damage suffered from their first failed save. This isn't as helpful as it sounds, as it doesn't help much against Blasts or any rapid-fire weapons you'll face, and a canny enemy can easily cheese it out with something impractical like a pistol or a rifle before opening the full fury of that gunline on a defenseless pack of corsairs.
</tab>
<tab name="Way Seeker">
Your <s>resident</s> '''only''' psyker, the Way Seeker can pick one power from either the Runes of Fate or Fortune, though the buff powers will only work with other {{W40kKeyword|Anhrathe}} units, meaning either Corsairs or a second pack of Voidscarred, still this not our only way to get psychic buffs or more likley nerfs. Consider running Fateful Divergence on him if his unit is just gonna babysit a backline objective for a chance to grab a free CP every so often, rather than a buffing power.

Also worth considering is that any casting has to originate from the Way Seeker's model, similar to how the Thousand Sons cast, meaning positioning is important. Also helpful (though RAW we have no clue if this is just from the Way Seeker or a native rule) is the Lodestar Helm, which negates all Perils - a far cry from the potential disasters Forge World's corsairs risked from Perils.
</tab>
</tabs>

:'''Wargear Options''': Each Voidscarred comes with a Shuriken Pistol and Power Sword, with one model equipped as such being able to equip Faoulchú. While any models can replace both these weapons with Shuriken Rifles, the Felarch can also buy a Mistshield and replace their pistol with a Neuro Disruptor. One model per five can instead replace their sword with either a Corsair Blaster or Corsair Shredder, while one per ten can get either a Wraithcannon or Shuriken Cannon at ten models. One model per ten can also replace their Shuriken Rifle with a Ranger's Long Rifle and can replace their Power Sword with a Fusion Pistol at ten models.
<tabs>
<tab name="Corsair Blaster">
Assault 1 S8 AP-4 D1d6 is a pretty powerful gun to wreck tanks and monsters pretty handily.
</tab>
<tab name="Corsair Shredder">
Assault d6 S6 AP-1 D1 with Blast makes this a good weapon for mobs. If you plan on taking on GEQ or some MEQ, you can rely on this to blow things up without problems.
</tab>
<tab name="Faoulchú">
Only available to a voidscarred with a pistol and sword, this gives you a hawk that will negate cover for their shooting. Fortunately, the Voidscarred can pick which models can take rifles rather than replacing all of them, allowing this to see more use.
</tab>
<tab name="Fusion Pistol">
Fusion pistol lent by the Harlequins. As with any other melta pistol, this will serve as a convenient way to pop tanks while up close. That said, this has an interesting use because it only replaces your power sword, allowing you to perform some gunslinger play with both pistols - not that it'd be worth too much with how limited a shuriken pistol is.
</tab>
<tab name="Mistshield">
Provides your Felarch a 4++ save, which means a bit more for a close-ranged squad. Fortunately, the corsairs are plenty equipped to fight in melee with their power swords, and this can offer a measure of protection if you go with the rifles.
</tab>
<tab name="Neurodisruptor">
A weapon more familiar in the hands of the spooky space clowns, the pistol has a decent S6 AP-3, but any non-{{W40kKeyword|Vehicle}} units will suffer mortal wounds just from a successful hit. This makes the pistol a better implement if you're facing higher-toughness enemies like Orks or Plaguewalkers.
</tab>
<tab name="Ranger Long Rifle">
lent by the Craftworlders. Better suited if you're going shooty with your corsairs, as this lets you pick out single models to hit. The corsair perks work especially well for them, as that 6 to hit will always guarantee your mortal wound.
</tab>
<tab name="Shuriken Cannon">
A man-portable Shuriken Cannon Stolen from the craft world, which means it is Heavy for you unfortunately. While you can fire it on the move, you'll always be doing it at a loss and you won't have any way to fire after advancing. Thankfully, these cannons pack a decent punch and can still reasonably nail a marine or two without much of a hassle before factoring in the Shuriken bonus.
</tab>
<tab name="Shuriken Rifle">
While effectively a shuriken catapult, they come with two major differences. Their range is upgraded to a more welcome 24", but these guns are now Rapid Fire 1, meaning their firepower is cut in half unless they get right up and personal to fire at full power. While dual wielding sounds radical, it comes with the serious drawback of making them even more useless in combat.
</tab>
<tab name="Wraithcannon">
Your most devastating weapon, being Assault 1 S10 AP-4 D3+d3. Rolling a natural 6 to wound deals a mortal wound on top of everything else, making it an equally worthy weapon to break tanks alongside the Blaster, though this will require you to grab 10 models.
</tab>
</tabs>
|}

====Fast Attack====
*'''Scourges:''' Heavy weapon squads with wings, which somehow aren't in a Kabal, despite their fluff in the same book establishing that they used to be Kabalites and still work for the Kabals. Their stock weapon is a Shardcarbine, which is already a very nice gun, but let's be real here, you take Scourges for the clusterfuck of heavy weaponry they can schlep with them. With how specialized Haywire Blasters have become, Blasters and Dark Lances may be your best bet for general use against vehicles, but Heat Lances have received a point reduction that makes them by far the most effective anti-tank option. Splinter cannons have dropped 5 points each, and are cheaper than individual scourges. Shredders also received AP -1, so both are now valid weapon options to kit out scourges! Also don't be afraid to mix weapons as you can split your fire.  The Solarite in charge of the unit can't ditch his weapon for something you'd like better, so if you're ''not'' sticking with Shardcarbines, consider him an ablative wound.
<tabs>
<tab name="Melee">
If you do want to take a Melee weapon on the Solarite - and you really, really don't need to - all the weapons perform about the same given the number of attacks the model has, with the Lance being best due to it actually being a Power Axe and the wielder being S3, and you should always expect to have to fight MEQ.
</tab>
<tab name="Shooting">
*'''Scourge Weapon Analysis - Short Version:'''
**'''Shardcarbines:''' The cheapest option and the one that gives the most mobility, at 18" Assault 3.
**'''Shredders''' Decently cheap and the exact same gun Kabalites can take, Assault d6 S6 AP -1 D1, blast. Better against GEQ and other light targets (like Tzeentchian Horrors) than a normal shardcarbine with the exact same range, though of course being d6 shots means a bad roll can fuck it over. Aim it at hordes to avoid this and it'll work wonders, though. The strength on it also allows it to chip off the odd wound on lighter vehicles and bikes, too, though those will usually have better saves to shrug off its minimal AP.
**'''Blasters, Dark Lances, and Heat Lances:''' The weapons for fighting Heavies. 
***'''Blasters:''' Good if you plan on moving a lot, you can move and shoot with them at no penalty, though with the downside of d6 damage, meaning you could roll a 1 and wind up tickling your target.  Broadly inferior to Heat Lances against heavy targets, but provided you're moving, your best choice for fighting MEQ and TEQ.
***'''Dark Lances:''' are 36" Heavy but deal as much maximum damage as blasters, with a minimum d3+3 damage. Combine that with near double the range and it's an option between if you want your bird elves to have the mobility of a blaster or sitting back and enjoying the safety of sniping tanks with these.  However, you pay for the range - they're worse than Heat Lances against pretty much everything, ''even if the Heat Lance takes a -1 penalty to hit and the Dark Lance doesn't'', so you're reliably better off taking Heat Lances and just moving into range.
***'''Heat Lances:''' Almost a weird middle ground between blasters and lances. Heavy, with the same basic statline but with the possibility of even higher damage output to a maximum of 8(!) and a minimum of 3 (D1d6+2). Will outperform a Dark Lance even if it moves and the Dark Lance doesn't.  Will likewise outperform a Blaster even if the Heat Lance moves and the Blaster doesn't, but only against targets with many wounds - against TEQ or weaker, the Blaster will outperform a moving Heat Lance (the Heat Lance will still win if it doesn't move). Should be your default choice for Scourges if you want to murder hard targets.
**'''Haywire Blasters and Splinter Cannons:''' The weapons for fighting targets that specifically are or aren't Vehicles. 
***'''Haywire Blasters''' An interesting option, to say the least. 24" puts them between blasters and lances in terms of range, Heavy d3 shots means more possible damage than the others, while retaining the move penalty. Against vehicles, it auto-wounds on a 4+. They aren't mortal wounds any more but they've got a respectable AP of -3 and d3 damage, with 6s to wound doing d3 mortals in addition. Against non-vehicles, it's S3 while retaining the -3 AP and d3 damage. This makes it... questionable against other targets but the odd wound it might land will still hurt.  Unfortunately, can't compete with a Heat Lance against ''most'' vehicle targets that exist, although thanks to the fact that 1/3 of your shots that hit deal 1d3 mortals on top of 1d3 damage, against vehicles with good invulns and/or good T (e.g. a Knight), it will win out.  You should usually avoid this.
***'''Splinter Cannons''' Heavy 3, meaning you're taking the penalty to move and shoot with them while gaining -1 AP and D2. Better against marines than shardcarbines and shredders, but worse than Blasters, even if you don't move.  You do, however get the same range as a Dark Lance, so in theory you could use these as an option for scourges that wanna sit back and pick off infantry units.  Avoid these in general.
</tab>
<tab name="Combined">
Your safest defaults are a Shardcarbine/Power Lance Solarite (though why the fuck you would want them in melee I'll never know) with 4 Shredders for hunting light targets or 4 Heat Lances for hunting heavy targets. 
</tab>
</tabs>

====Heavy Support====
*'''Reaper (Forge World):''' The One Big Gun alternative to the Ravager, with 2 firing modes. The first mode is a 24" range Blast with 2D6 AP-1 shots at S6 to drown the enemy infantry in saves, the second is a 36" range beam with D6 Dark Lance shots to vaporise a tank or a monster. In melee, the Reaper has got 3 attacks with Bladevanes + 1 attack at S6 AP-2 D2. Whilst more tactically flexible than a Ravager and of a comparable points cost, one less Wound and the lack of Blade Artists mean that it is worth considering, but not necessarily the better choice.
*'''Tantalus (Forge World):''' Dark Eldar Superheavy. No, really. 18 Wounds at T7 and 3+ armour is insane for the faction's standards. Two Pulse Disintegrators fire a total of 12 shots at 36" range, with S8 AP-3 D2. In close combat, it's got 6 S7 AP-2 '''D2''' attacks which hit at 4+ (''without'' Blade Artists), and on the charge it inflicts D3 mortal wounds on a 4+ roll to each enemy unit within Engagement Range. When the Tantalus Advances, you simply add 12" to its movement. Combine that with an open-topped transport capacity of 16 to complete the most powerful model in the army. The price for that is your wallet, your soul, and a hefty points cost. Nevertheless, consecutive 9th Edition changes make it [[Awesome|significantly more attractive]] than before, now that it costs '''only 220 points''' (about as much as 1.52 Disintegrator Ravagers instead of exceeding the cost of '''3''' as it used to).
**Given its size, strength, and points cost, Tantalus is a prime target for heavy enemy firepower. Using the Lightning-Fast Reactions stratagem on it may well be the difference between being reduced to a smouldering wreck or [[Troll|laughing in the face]] of that unlucky Shadowsword gunner.
**'''Black Heart Tantalus''': Want a first turn charge? Total 28" of movement and then charge on a model with Fly.
**'''Cursed Blade Tantalus''': Your melee attacks have got a Strength of '''8'''.
**'''Dark Technomancers Tantalus''': Fire 12 S8 AP-3 '''D3''' shots with +1 to Wound at the cost of suffering D3 MWs for each gun that makes a hit roll of one, for a genuine Drukhari-style sadomasochistic volley of death.
***Remember, you only have two guns.  The odds of a gun inflicting mortals on you is slightly less than 2/3 (66.51%), so on average you'll suffer 1.33 mortals from the first gun and the second, totaling 2.66 for firing twice.

====Dedicated Transports====
WE GOT 1 MORE SLOT ON THESE TO LOAD CHARACTERS INTO, LET'S FUCKING GO!

*'''Raider:''' A big cardboard boat costing 20 points more than a Venom, with either a Dark Lance or a Disintegrator Cannon for 5 points more. Can also take a Shock Prow if you're feeling lucky.  The Raider is decently tough (especially as Kabal of the Black Heart, or as part of a Coven) and might even survive until it's discharged its melee cargo or while ferrying a Kabalite squad for a few turns. Can hold 11 {{W40Kkeyword|Infantry}} models (Grotesques take 2 slots each). Zoom across the table at full speed (14") and shower the enemy with hails of poisoned splinters unabated. Use that to either close in to that Cultist or Scout squad on an objective, or to keep your distance from approaching melee units as you gradually wear them down. [[Rape|They won't appreciate that]]. Or pick up some splinter racks to grant your Kabalites rapid fire at full range!
**The Raider is a pretty damn good option for both anti-horde and anti-vehicle shooting. Cram it with a squad of 10 Kabalites, 7 of which are normal ones and a Sybarite and two with blasters, alongside one with a dark lance and point at the nearest Land Raider. If instead you need to deal with a mob of 30 Boyz, swap the blasters for shredders and the dark lance for a splinter cannon, toss in splinter racks and have at 'em.
*'''Venom:''' A small paper boat with a Splinter Cannon and either a Twin Splinter Rifle or a second Splinter Cannon. Costing a minimum of 65 points, you can take a second splinter cannon in place of the rifles for 10 more points. Slightly faster than the Raider, it's ideal to ferry MSUs of Wracks and Wyches up the table, or boost a 6-man of Kabalites into rapid fire range. With an innate -1 to be hit, this thing will survive longer than you may expect it to, though concentrated fire will still take it down. Grotesques can't fit in it, even if it isn't a full squad.

In addition to their own strengths, both transports have Night Shields, granting a 5++ invuln against shooting, and are open-topped, which lets units shoot out of them, perfect for drive-bys with poison. They can also both take chain snares for 5 points, which grant 3 additional attacks (not too terrible, Dark Eldar vehicles aren't bad in melee), and grisly trophies for morale shenanigans.

Transports are '''''mandatory''''' if you're taking the Kabal of the Flayed Skull, as they are the only ways for Flayed Skull infantry to benefit from their obsession. Not only that, but it makes them even faster and boosts their accuracy while negating cover.

====Flyers====
*'''[[Razorwing Jetfighter]]:''' A very solid option, clocking in at 150 points by default. It always has access to all three types of missile (but can only fire one each turn). Vehicles don’t suffer a -1 to hit when moving and firing, so it will hit on a 3+ most of the time. Getting out of sticky situations or into the enemy's face is no problem either with a move of 20-72". The Razorwing comes equipped with Disintegrator Cannons for ruining the day of any MEQ squad, or can opt for Dark Lances for 10 points less to go after vehicles and characters. Also comes with a Twin Splinter Rifle that you can upgrade to a Splinter Cannon for 5 points. With Kabal of the Flayed Skull, it's just plane evil. Also has a 5++ thanks to Night Shields.
**'''Razorwing Missiles''': A mixed bag, you can only fire off one though. All of them are blast too, which is nice.
***'''Monoscythe:''' Assault 1d6 S6 AP0 D2, Blast (average shots 3.5/4/6). Shitty, but you can at least try and force saves. Shatterfield and Necrotoxin are both better at hurting MEQ on average dice.
***'''Necrotoxin:''' Assault 3d3 S2 AP0 D1, Poisoned (2+), Blast (average shots 6/6/9). Only good for units with T4 or better and not better than 5+ armor. At T3 the Shatterfield wounds on 2+ anyway and the AP will help a lot more than 2 more shots on average.
***'''Shatterfield:''' Assault 1d6 S7 AP-2 D1, Blast (average shots 3.5/4/6). The "best" missile against pretty much everything, but still not great. 1d6 
*'''[[Voidraven Bomber]]:''' Behold, one of the most durable and powerful models in the army! 12 Wounds at T6 combined and a built-in 5++ mean that for Drukhari standards, this is one tough son of a bitch to bring down. First of all it is a ''bomber'', and a bomb it has. Once per battle you can drop a tactical nuke on a single spot the Voidraven has moved over. Then, you roll 1D6 for each unit within 6" of that location, subtracting 1 if its a character. For each roll of 4+, the unit in question takes d6 mortal wounds. Probably worse than its previous version but now that this doesn't have a hard limit of only one squad, dumping it on top of some character in the middle of your opponent's castle is probably the best use of it for maximum rape. The Voidraven is also equipped with two Void Lances, which are +1S compared to the Dark Lances. You can switch these out for Dark Scythes which are Heavy 3, S8, AP-4, 2 damage. Both options are good for doing work after you have dropped the Bomb, they will definitely help with stripping the last few wounds off a Knight or Tank. You can take the missiles below for 15 points, but you probably shouldn't, as both flavors are mediocre at best. 
**'''Voidraven Missiles''' Like the Razorwing, you can only fire one of these off at a time despite the plural name, and both of them are blast. Unlike with the Razorwing, they're optional - you have to spend points on them and they don't come stock - but if you're taking a Voidraven anyway, the missiles are worth the cost (15 points).  Don't bother throwing either at hard targets (T8+) unless you're desperate.
***'''Shatterfield:''' Same as the one the Razorwing has (Assault 1d6 S7 AP-2 D1, Blast) and just as unimpressive. Worse than the Implosion Missile against the majority of targets, but better against GEQ.
***'''Implosion:''' Assault 1d3 S6 AP-3 D2, Blast. Less potential shots than the Shatterfield but even better AP and D2 (giving it better A*D - 4, rather than 3.5, on average).  This makes it ''better'' than the Shatterfield against any target with W2+ outside of specific niche cases where the extra penetration won't matter but the extra toughness will (e.g. against a T6 target with a 4++).

===Legends===
<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="100%">
Basically Corsairs (rip), Favoured retinues back when they were elites instead of a troops upgrade and an airplane.
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====Troops====
A way to actually make a full Blades for Hire only army, actually. Rip Corsairs though.
*'''Corsair Reaver Band:'''
*'''Corsair Skyreaver Band:'''
====Elites====
*'''Kabalite Trueborn:''' Want to hear something scary? How about a Venom + 4 Blasters deepstriking 17.99" away from your frontline? With the new Screaming Jets Strategem, Blasterborn are crazy good now. Warriors with an additional attack and point of Leadership, and the ability to get 4 Blasters into a 5-Elf Squad. Sounds awesome, so why does nobody use them? Well, you are putting all of your eggs in one basket. Drukhari run on redundancy and not presenting a target that is objectively better to attack than any others. All your opponent needs to do to remove 4 Blasters from the table is to destroy one Venom. Compare this to having to shoot down 4 separate Venoms to get at your Blasters.
**Pretty much superseded by the new codex giving you a pack of Trueborn by including a master Archon and sparing you an elites slot by using one of your stock warriors. The only thing you're missing is the ability to pile on the blasters.
*'''Hekatrix Bloodbrides:''' Take ten, give them as many Hydra Gauntlets as you can, give them Adrenalight, and stuff them in a Raider. Then bury something in an even unholier number of attacks. Just keep in mind the cost when bringing them over Wyches. Everything that has been said for Wyches is relevant to these. 5 in a Venom make an awesome MSU hunting unit. 10 in a Raider is a Tarpit that will eventually kill something due to the sheer number of attacks. Have received a +1 Attack boost as part of their Legends update, placing them once again above regular Wyches.
**Again, the new codex brings them back, though they no longer eat up an elite slot.
====Fast Attack====
*'''Corsairs Cloud Dancer squad''':

====Flyers====
*'''[[Raven Strike Fighter]]:''' Take a Razorwing, drop the missiles and replace the Twin Splinter Rifle with the Splinterstorm Cannon, 36" Rapid Fire 6 AP-1 1D. Actually making it decent for murdering hordes (not that DE need help there), and not a bad buy overall since you're still packing the best part of the Razorwing (Dark Lances), and get the potential for 12 Ap1 poison shots at 18" instead of the dogshit missiles.
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===Fortifications===

*'''Webway Portal''': For 95 points you can take this giant arch. Fluffwise, it is the very reason for Eldar trolling where they suddenly appear somewhere where they completely shouldn't be. Crunchwise, it is still a giant arch with T8 W14 Sv3+/5++ which helps you to deep strike your units. It is set up anywhere on the battlefield more than 12" from enemy deployment zone and their units during your deployment and, of course, is immobile after that. What it allows you to do is to be able to set some of your {{W40kKeyword|AELDARI}} units in the Webway (like a Necron style Tomb World), but, aside from 1 unit per gate (like 1 unit per Night Scythe) restriction, you also must be 9" away from enemy, just like for normal deep strike, ''and'' completely within 3" of the gate. Of course, if the gate is destroyed, all units, that were in the gate's Webway (the Webway from the '''Webway Portal''' stratagem is not the same one, so that doesn't count) are slain. On the one hand, it does let you save some CP for not using the aforementioned '''Webway Portal''' strat, and furthermore allows you to deep strike your Vehicles. Still, the restriction for model placement (9" away from the enemy and within 3" of the gate itself) poses a large threat that your opponent just bubble-wraps your nice and large gate with an infantry blob, thus making actually using the gate a bit of "Risk-Reward" tactics, if not even a bit of a doubtful one. The model is very nice though, so don't restrain yourself from using it as a piece of terrain.
** Keep in mind that to use Webway Gate specific Stratagems from the Harlequins Codex you need to have a small detachment of these deadly murderclowns (and pray to any god of your choice for this to be FAQed and '''Labyrinth Laughs''' and '''Webway Ambush''' to be accessible to all {{W40kKeyword|AELDARI}}, as it actually affects all of them).