Editing Warhammer 40,000/8th Edition Tactics/Dark Eldar (section)

==Unit Analysis==

===HQ===
'''Note''': Characters in Transports are kind of a pain due to capacity being 5, 10, or 16, while many other armies have an odd number for their transports so you can fit in a character. Because only Yvraine and The Visarch (and technically The Yncarne but yeah...) ignore keyword rules with transports, you have to either buy a Venom just for the character (inefficient use of points), put multiple characters into a Venom (puts so many eggs into one basket it will draw fire from the Empire vs Dwarfs game from the nearby Warhammer Age of Sigmar table) or put them with a 9-Elf unit in a Raider (gimps a unit, but is the most viable option). Just keep this in mind if you are taking multiple HQ units.
====Kabals====
*'''Archon:''' The very customizable leader for your {{WH40Kkeyword|<kabal>}} army. Has the standard re-roll 1s to hit aura. He comes stock with a Huskblade, which you can switch out for an Agoniser, Power Sword, or Venom Blade, and a Splinter Pistol, which you can swap out for a Blast Pistol, or, using the Index, a Blaster.  Can also take a Phantasm Grenade Launcher, again using the Index.  No reason not to splurge, really, since all his upgrades are useful. The Blaster will do work if you plan on keeping your Archons in their Venoms, and is a very worthy purchase. If you do wanna get in melee, then by all means go for a Blast Pistol and Huskblade, because you will just murder any multiwound characters with that setup.
** Archon has an in-built 2++ (that is not re-rollable by any means), which is lost after the first failed save roll, meaning he might tank a surprising amount of attacks, or might whiff immediately, and lose in invuln for the game. Don't count on it to perform. Saw one deployed aggressively during a tournament killed by eliminators top of turn one because he rolled a one on his very first save roll. Don't EVER count on his invuln to save him. If it does, awesome! but any time you really need him to make it, assume you'll whiff the first roll and lose it. Gonna say it one more time, because the person who wrote in this article before me seemed to be in love with this character as the "best objective camper in the game!!!!" because he has a 2+ invuln and a 6+ fnp from power from pain. DO NOT COUNT ON HIS INVULN SAVE TO WORK, EVER.  BTW, to address the guy who wrote that the archon is the best obj camper, literally almost any other character in the game is as good, or better than him (other than maybe guard characters, but they have oodles of cheap troops to camp objectives or screen objective camping characters). Ignoring points restrictions, something like a terminator character with T5, and a 2+ 4++ (I could also site guilliman, with T6, 2+ 3++, 9W, and the ability to get back up when he dies as the best objective camping character, but I won't.), will last way longer than an archon. Even trying to keep the same faction and points value, a Succubus or Haemonculus both have similar points value, and have access to a 4+ invuln, that won't go away when you roll a 1, and the Haemonculus even has T5 (after his buff), plus they both get the same 6+ fnp. 
*The Agonizer deals with T4 and up 1 wound models while the Huskblade deals with T3 and T4 characters and other multiwound models (Swarms especially).

'''Ynnari note:'''
A thing to keep in mind with a Ynnari Archon you get a quality of life bonus. Simply put your reroll 1's 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.

====Cults====
*'''Succubus:''' Buff Vector for your {{WH40Kkeyword|<wych cult>}} units. Still only 4 attacks, but there are now so many ways to get around this limitation or make the most of what she can do that it hardly matters anymore. She lets Wyches reroll 1s To Hit in melee, which, for her and from turn 3 on for everything will probably mean they will be hitting on 2+ rerollable (yay!). The Succubus herself comes stock with an Archite Glaive, which lowers her Hit rolls to 3+, but if you absolutely must ensure you hit she comes with an Agonizer as well (the Glaive will usually outperform it anyhow, even against infantry). 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 is exactly what the Succubus needed to truly shine as a badass leader for your Wyches!
** Succubi can (and should) swap the Agonizer for a Blast Pistol, which can deal with the heavily armored targets they struggle with in melee.
** You can also replace both the glaive and agonizer with a wych cult weapon. For the love of Khaine, do this! Don't take the Razorflails, though, you're wasting the re-rolls to hit and the extra attack or two aren't worth it compared to the other options. 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.
** The Red Grief Succubus can be one of the best and cheapest duelists of the Drukhari. First, with the specific Archite Glaive Relic 'The Blood Glaive' (which you should absolutely take because it doesn't have a negative modifier to hit like the stock weapon!) and Adrenalight she can make 5 S6 AP-3 DD3 attacks which will basically never miss, or with Grave Lotus 4 S7 attacks and if you fancy dropping a couple of CP on Hyperstimm Backlash to make her S8, you can giggle at the mental image of your Succubus bisecting tanks and Dreadnoughts with her Glaive. That alone makes her quite good, but add the Red Grief Warlord trait, and she reaches a 3++ Inv save - or take Stimm Addict for both A5 and S7 at the same time (still not usually worth it, but your mileage may vary). Throw in a Blast Pistol as well for good measure and it only costs 60 points total for a model that can go toe-to-toe with characters and monsters that are double or sometimes even triple her points cost! A true champion of the Commorrite arenas!
** Another option is to take a Cult of Strife Succubus with a Triptych Whip and just bury your opponent under the sheer volume of attacks. 8 Poisoned Attacks (9 with the +1 Attack Drug) at AP-2 is nothing to sneeze at.
** A Cursed Blade Succubus with hydra gauntlets, the Precision Blows trait, and Traitor's Embrace relic may be useful to deal with almost any target character thanks to amount of mortal wounds she can cause.
** Take a Cursed Blade Succubus with the Treacherous deceiver trait, Traitor's embrace relic and a shardnet and impaler and watch as enemy HQs have no choice but to kill your 55 pt succubus and take ALL the mortal wounds in return. You'd be giving up slay the warlord, but in games where that isn't worth any points - or if you're using Alliance of Agony so your Succubus wasn't the real warlord anyway - this can be a hilariously effective character assassin.
'''Ynnari note:'''
A thing to keep in mind with a Ynnari Succubus, you get a quality of life bonus. Simply put your reroll 1's 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

====Covens====
*'''Haemonculus:''' A nasty little Character for your {{WH40Kkeyword|<haemonculus coven>}} army. On the one hand, he's a buff vector that flat increases your {{WH40Kkeyword|<haemonculus coven>}}'s Toughness by 1 within 6". This makes Grotesques all but immune to small arms fire and is generally nice. However, the Haemonculus is now actually an impressive combat character. Like all  {{WH40Kkeyword|<haemonculus coven>}}  units he comes stock with a 5++ Invulnerable save, so combined with his 5 Wounds and effective Toughness of 5 and the PFP save he can survive quite a bit. But he also has 5 attacks and access to all the nasty poisoned weapons you could want. Give him an Electrocorrosive Whip and go Character-hunting or take a Scissorhand or Venomblade and kill scores of light infantry. Just, don't send him after Vehicles. Can also take a Crucible of Malediction, which is a nasty anti-Psyker tool and since it is apparently free, you should always take one along, just in case you find yourself surrounded by Grey Knights.
**Going by RAW, the Aura can buff the toughness of Raiders and Venoms that have the same {{WH40Kkeyword|<haemonculus coven>}} tag. Remember that you need to be actually standing ''outside'' the Vehicle for it to have an effect. Outside meaning in an easy target for Deep Strikers, Snipers and Bikers.
**Take Experimental Creations and Master Nemsine, and now, you wound anything below T5 on a 2+. This makes the Haemonculus an even better character hunter and, when placed near a few squads of wracks, potentially makes them wound on 3+ instead of 4+.

====Special Characters====	
=====Cult of Strife=====
*'''Lelith Hesperax:''' The Queen of the Arena came out of the codex much closer to her classic form. Instead of doing drugs, she simply chooses a stat each turn and gains that bonus. 3++ special Dodge now works outside of combat, and she still has bucketloads of attacks that will never miss. She re-rolls failed hits and wounds against other Characters, meaning she does an average of about 3 wounds on T4-T5 characters at AP-4 D1 each. Then her hair gets 2 more attacks (yep!) to put maybe another wound plus another from her obsession. Even things with Storm Shields might not be able to count on their invulnerable saves protecting them from all of her attacks. She can swap out one of her knives for an impaler, but the extra point of damage from the impaler isn't worth the reduced AP or the loss of the other extra attack for having two of the knives(unless your going up against characters with an invuln save 1 higher than their armor save, of which their are plenty).
** The Cult of Strife WT is what really makes her shine. On a charge, she'll make 6 attacks with her two blades (and that's ''without'' choosing +1A) and 2 with her hair, which will translate to ''more than 6.8 blade hits'' and ''more than 2.7 hair hits''. [[Rape|With the Strength boost you are looking at 3.86 dead Marines or 5.75 dead Guardsmen per charge before Turn 3]], and [[Rip and Tear| 4.96 dead Marines or 7.39 dead Guardsmen as of Turn 3]]. The Attacks boost will get you substantially fewer kills against these targets - with the sheer number of swings Lelith gets, you want to only choose +1A when +1S won't help, such as if you find yourself stabbing a T8+ target. And we haven't even started with [[Anal_Circumference |what she can do to characters]] (even [[Chapter Master Smashfucker | SMASHFUCKER]] needs to be wary of her due to Re-rolls to Wound and boatloads of AP-4 attacks). Very solid choice and probably our best HQ choice now. [[Rage| Vect must be furious]]. She can also bully Monsters, TEQs, and Bikes with the sheer number of S4, AP-4 attacks she can put out (Exploding Flavour or Soulburst Flavour), and the Cruel Deception Stratagem will let her keep getting those bonus attacks from her Obsession again and again while keeping her safe from anything that a 3++ alone might not protect her from.

=====Prophets of Flesh=====
*'''Urien Rakarth:''' Dead hard, and awesome in all the ways a Haemy is awesome. T6 due to his own buff, and halves damage; this dude will take a lot of firepower to bring down. However, being equipped with only a meh Ichor Injector and some bog-standard Haemonculus Tools, he is none too scary in melee. He does have an aura that inflicts mortal wounds on enemies within 3" of him on a 6+, though, which can act as a deterrent against enemy charges.  
** He now buffs {{W40Kkeyword|Prophets of Flesh}} Strength and Leadership too. Wracks won't notice much, but your Grotesques and Pain Engines will. See your opponents' faces as your menagerie drills a hole through their army.
** Remember thanks to the FAQ everyone is equipped with a regular close combat weapon.  If Wracks are fighting T3 GEQ forgo the Haemonculus tools and enjoy wounding on 3s next to Urien.
=====Unaffiliated=====
*'''Drazhar:''' The baddest motherfucker in an army of bad motherfuckers gained an additional wound and a 5+ invulnerable save! He still has his amazing Phoenix Lord tier stat line and his buff now gives +1 to wound for all Incubi units within 6 inches. Shit just got real and heads will roll. He also packs a tormentor just to make sure whatever survives his charge decides to book it. Drazhar now sports the Executioner's Demiklaives which offers the same single/double version but with D2 on each profile. Furthermore, he now rightfully has Lethal Precision so he's D4 on any 6s to wound. If you make him your warlord then he gets to re-roll all failed wound rolls!
** Dual-Blades offer 6/12 S4 AP-2 D2 (D4 on 6s) attacks for hacking down hordes and 2W primaris marines. Sheer number of attacks suggests this will likely be your go-to mode.
** Single-Blade gives you 4/8 S5 AP-3 D2 (D4 on 6s) 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 raider or if you're feeling spicy, 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.

===Troops===
====Kabal====
*'''Kabalite Warriors:''' You know them, you love them. They're cheap, they hold objectives, they can handle anti-infantry or anti-tank roles, and they can take Raiders and Venoms as dedicated transports. The big question is whether to take them in 5-man Venom or 10-man Raider squads. Now with everything being able to split their shots, there is no reason not to stick that one Blaster in a Venom squad and there's no reason not to add a Splinter Cannon to a Raider squad, to increase their firepower further. Remember, never enough [[dakka]].
** Your weapon choices boil down to if you need more horde killing [[dakka]] (Shredders and Splinter Cannons), or you want more tank killing [[dakka]] (Blasters and Dark Lances). Just keep in mind the needs for your army when picking weapons. Also be wary of the different weapon ranges and types you are mixing into your squads. Don't forget that you get -1 To Hit on the Dark Lance if you close in to fire the Blaster, or the different Rapid Fire ranges of Splinter Cannon and Rifles.
** Probably worth noting: At 30 points per 5-Elf Squad, spamming multiple small units of Kabalite Warriors is the cheapest and most efficient way of getting a lot of Venoms onto the field, and filling out the Troops tax for a Brigade Detachment.
** These guys rock: They are so cheap and so effective at what they do that when writing a list, you have to seriously ask yourself, why AREN'T I taking Warriors? They're cheap enough to throw away as screens, are killy enough against infantry and monsters, and can take Blasters (and even Dark Lances). They just rock.
** One thing most people have missed, the Wargear options state FOR EVERY 5 MODELS you can replace a Splinter Rifle for a Shredder or Blaster, then there's a separate listing for every 10 models for a Splinter Cannon or Dark Lance. This means a 10 man unit can actually take 2 Shredders and/or Blasters, as well as a Splinter Cannon or Dark Lance! If you want more [[dakka]] then 10 man in a Raider is where you want to go!

====Cult====
*'''Wyches:''' These ladies and guys are now finally awesome again. They can still do fuck all about tanks (unless you give the Hekatrix a Blast Pistol, which you absolutely should do!), but they're now a perfectly fine melee unit for your Troops slot, especially with Adrenalight. 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 unholy number of attacks. (UPDATE: With the new Codex, the other Wych weapons are now just as viable as the Gauntlets, but for different reasons. Flails give you +D3 attacks and still let you reroll hits, while the Shardnet and Impaler combo forces your opponent to roll on a D3 when you utilize the No Escape rule. Choose your weapons wisely, and don't get stuck thinking that Hydra Gauntlets are the only way to fly anymore. Tying up a big, scary unit in melee indefinitely is just as valuable in the right situations as being a lawnmower.) The other option is to go Painbringer to exploit T4 along with your new Codex-granted 6++ invulnerable save (which is upped to a 4++ in melee combat) and the ability to shrug off unsaved wounds on a 6 from Power from Pain to make a resilient tarpit. These ladies do also have rules that make them dedicated to keeping enemies stuck in combat. With their 4++ save, they can be quite a trouble, specially tanks since if they Fall Back they can't shoot their guns for a turn. Also remember that you have Grenades! If you are charging from within 6" then always toss a grenade before charging. In the codex they received a +1A base while having their points reduced, oh boy! This sadly makes Bloodbrides completely obsolete, but on the upside, combined with the awesome Cult options like +1S, +1A, or charging after an Advance ON TOP OF combat drugs these killers are finally going to wreak some real havoc! For alternative models, look at Blood Vestals from Raging Heroes.
**Adrenalight (+1A) is the MathHammer king and should be your default choice if no other unit needs the bonus attacks. Against MEQ a unit of (non-Cursed Blade) 10 Wyches with 3 Hydra Gauntlets and Agoniser Mathhammers out as 1.32 Wounds in the Shooting Phase (factoring in the Plasma Grenade and Phantasm Grenade Launcher), and 6.64 in the ensuing Fight Phase, totaling 7.96 dead MEQs, and the two survivors of a 10-man Squad stuck in close combat (and more than likely fleeing anyway unless your opponent wants to waste CP on keeping your Wyches in close combat for some reason).
**'''An Alternate Take:''' Where taking 10 might be tempting for the 3 Wych Weapons, consider that an Agoniser is the same cost as a Hydra Gauntlet.  Two 5-elf units will run you 96 points for 6 Agoniser attacks (AP-2 Poisoned) and 6 Hydra attacks (AP-1 S3/Re-roll failed wounds), as opposed to 1 10-elf unit for the same cost, with 3 Agoniser attacks and 9 Hydra attacks, but the latter will be more susceptible to Morale up until Turn 4, on top of the other downsides of bulkier units, like vulnerability to overwatch. As an added bonus, they can both be placed in the same Raider you were planning to put them in anyway. Small 5-Elf groups are a nice and cheap way of paying Drugs taxes in pure Wych Cult lists too!
** Cult of the Cursed Blade, with its minimization of morale losses, can take full squads of 20 with none of the usual drawbacks to doing so while being able to threaten anything up to T7.  That said, remember, from 11-20 additional elves you're not adding any special weapons.
***'''Quick Mathhammer:''' Both Strife and Cursed Blade are level against MEQ if you are going with Grave Lotus (3 Hydra Gauntlets and a Power Sword for Weapons choices). The main advantage of the Cursed Blade is they can also threaten up to T7 reliably and have a built-in pre-nerf Commissar, while Strife is ridiculously good against any sort of T3 horde play ([[Imperial Guard|and punishing players who Daisy Chain to buff units]]) while still threatening T4 Boy/Necron Warrior blobs from the sheer volume of attacks. Red Grief are better off sticking to Reavers and Hellions instead.
**'''Protip:''' After disembarking, charge their Raider or Venom into combat first! Drukhari vehicles are actually not too bad in melee unlike lumbering Imperial vehicles, and your Wyches will thank you when the enemy's Overwatch fire harmlessly riccochets off of their transport and allows them to get into combat without being shot up on the way in.

====Coven====
*'''Wracks:''' Now unconditionally Troops. The basic Wrack comes stock with two poisoned attacks and 1 in 5 can take either a Liquifier or an Ossefactor. The squad leader, the Acothyst, has access to all the same shiny tools as the Haemonculus sans the Crucible, and with his lower Attack count you might want to consider a Scissorhand; this also means you can field 2 Liquifiers in a 5-elf unit, or 1 Ossefactor and 1 Stinger Pistol. For best use, stuff into Venoms, crap the Wracks out of the Venom, charge with the Venom and soak up Overwatch, then charge with the Wracks. 
** Don't touch the Hexrifle. You want these guys as your shock troops. If you want Snipers, just take a squad of Rangers and Deep Strike them into some cover, or grab some Scourges if you want a Pure Drukhari list, or use a Dark Creed Talos for your sniping needs.
*** Alternate take: a few Hexrifles sprinkled in amongst your Haemonculi and Acothysts can ping the last wound off a character that survives your Esoteric Kill. Since you'd still hit on a 4+, and Heavy weapons don't prevent charging anymore, it can be a useful option in a Dark Creed detachment.
**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.
**If you dislike the ''Wrack'' models, female Skinners from Ragingheroes.com make an excellent alternative.

===Elites===
====Kabals====
*'''Court of the Archon:''' If you have an Archon in the same detachment, these don't take up slots - which is now a compulsory rule. In Matched Play, you can only have four of these ''in total'' per detachment, and you can only take them if you have an Archon (meaning it's impossible in Matched Play for them to fill out an Elites slot). They also all gain re-rolls To Hit if the Archon is within 3" of them. Keep in mind that ''they are '''not''' characters, and they are all single model units''. This also means everything has to be rolled individually for them, so keep this in mind when advancing and charging. 
**'''Ynnari Note''': Due to the cost, these are '''excellent''' fodder for Strength from Death in any Ynnari Detachment. All are cheaper than a 5-Elf Kabalite Squad, and as single model units that don’t take up slots, all trigger Strength from Death when they die. 
**'''Lhamaean:''' 15 Points, comes with a Poison 2+ combat weapon that does a mortal wound in addition to its normal wound on a wound roll of 6+. Note that she adds +2 to wound rolls for tasty mortal wounds on a 4+.Remember that unlike normal damage mortal wounds do carry over to the rest of the unit. Buffed when hanging out with an Archon, and at 15 points they're a relatively cheap source of potential mortal wounds. The statline seems mediocre, but she does benefit a lot from Power from Pain (turn 3 onwards); stick near the Archon to make sure those measly 2 swings actually connect. 
**'''Medusae:''' 21 Points, their eyeburst is no longer an AP3 flamer but instead is Assault 4 at flamer distance, S4 AP-2. No automatic hits, but a more reliable number of shots and with an Archon nearby it's more or less like a very reliable flamer. Still pretty deadly to single wound infantry models and only cost 21 points per model.
**'''Sslyth:''' 27 Points for a terrifying melee statline and 3 ablative wounds for your Archon. Going by RAW, the Cold-Blooded Bodyguard ability can only be activated when the Archon loses a wound (and loses his Shadowfield). However, Mortal Wounds ignore the Shadow Field, and can be directed to a nearby Sslyth on a 2+ instead. Worth considering for a close combat Archon.
*** Note: When taking saves, you can choose from all your possible saves which kind you want to make. In some circumstances, it can be worth it to have your Archon take normal armor saves (5+) instead of risking his 2++. Then, when you (most likely) fail those regular saves, you still have a 2+ to pass them off to his Sslyth buddies.
**'''Ur-Ghul:''' 15 Points and a crapload of S4 attacks for a single model, particularly on the charge. Unfortunately those attacks have no AP and only do 1 damage. It has no access to Power from Pain though. That said, 3W a unit 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.
*'''Kabalite Trueborn (Legends):''' 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. No longer worth taking unless you just really like them.

====Cults====
*'''Beastmaster:''' Little more than a buff vector for all the beasts. If they stick close to him, they reroll To Hit and can use his Leadership. 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 beasts don't take up slots in a detachment with a Beastmaster, 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 +2Ld makes his ‘shared leadership’ Aura much more potent, and he’s not really ‘fighty’ enough to justify any of the other Drugs (unless you’re taking small Beast units and need to offload the terrible "WS+1" onto a unit that doesn’t care).
*'''Hekatrix Bloodbrides (Legends):''' 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.

====Covens====
*'''Grotesques:''' Massively scary. They have an impressive statline complete with S/T5, 4 Wounds and 4 Attacks that hit on 3+ all for 32 points and you can take 10(!) of these. Also like all  <'''COVEN'''>  units they come stock with a 5++ Invulnerable, all of which makes them both tough as nails and scary enough that your opponent will still focus everything he has into them. For armament they come stock with a Flesh Gauntlet and a Monstrous Cleaver. The Cleaver does very well indeed against T4 and less while the Flesh Gauntlet does well against high invulnerable saves unit. Can also take Liquifiers but why bother?
**'''An alternate take:''' While their most significant weakness (Instant Death) is gone they did lose much of their appeal. They are more expensive, lost the Rampage rule, lost re-rolls to wound against T4 or less and lost the amazing Grotesquerie formation (basically Grotesques on Combat Drugs). And they are by no means more survivable, as their 5+ FNP basically already was an Invulnerable Save equivalent and T6 is less significant in this edition. To make things worse, many weapons now deal D3 or D6 damage. Mind you, they used to be able to tank Lascannons easily. I would consider investing into a much cheaper T5 blob of Wracks.
***'''Counter point:''' While they are not what they were in 7th, so were a lot of things. Grotesques can still shrug off a lascannon with their invulvn save (particularly Prophets), something they could not do against S10 and up in 7th. And while they have less attacks then in 7th, they now can hit on 2's in cc, and have -2 base, so I'd say that's a wash. With 4 wounds, a 4++ and 5 attacks at S5 -2, I'd say grots are just as strong as they ever were, just in a different context.
**That being said, there are a few things Grotesques excel at, and that is killing T4 and lower. Where Wracks are hemmed in by having poisoned weapons and ''only'' poisoned weapons, the Grotesques have an answer for situations where their Strength stat actually matters. Similarly, due to their ability to throw out Mortal Wounds via their Flesh Gauntlets, they can threaten Thunderhammer Terminators and other high-invulnerable saves models, which the Wracks are almost entirely powerless against. In addition, the Monstrous Cleaver with its S5 allows the Grotesques to more effectively threaten '''VEHICLES'''. In short, they aren't the end-all be-all of the Covens anymore, but they are far from useless.
**Taken in a prophets of flesh detachment and with Urien nearby these guys will put out 5 WS3+ S6 AP-2 D1 attacks and then have a defensive statline of T6 4++ 6+++ to back it up. A squad of 4 will kill 11 GEQ a turn and even put a decent dent into MEQ and light vehicles. Grotesques are back!
**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.

====Unaffiliated====
*'''Incubi:''' New plastic models! These guys are our exclusive edgy Aspect Warriors, armed with giant swords. Not only does each Incubus make 3 attacks at S4 and AP-3, the Klaivex hits on 2's and also has a chance of dealing massively higher damage, enough to cleave a Tyranid Warrior in two in a single strike. The Klaivex can also switch between S4, AP-3 Attacks or dropping 1 AP for two extra swings!. Check your target before deciding which one to use. He also gets +1 A and W over a standard Incubus though, which is nice. They hit on 2's from Turn 3 onwards turning them from scary to horrifying. Take 5 in a Venom and go hunting high value targets, a practicable choice, or take two units of 5 in a Raider and go drown a unit in an unholy number of S4, AP-3 attacks (expensive but a lot of fun). They also have tormentors, which will turn a barely successful morale test into a failure. Don't count on it happening, but it's nice when it does.
*'''Mandrakes:''' Damn good now. No, really. They can pop up more than 9" away from the opponent and immediately 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 at 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. Probably the unit that received the biggest buff in the new edition. Mandrakes do work now, son! Maybe taking over Comorragh was just what they needed to get their day in the (Dark) Sun.
**If you dislike the models or failcast resin, the Idoneth Deepkin '''Namarti Thralls''' from AoS are nice plastic alternatives. Also Executrix squads from Raging Heroes make excellent female Incubi.

===Dedicated Transport===
'''NOTE''': Not that it comes up often for the Drukhari outside of embarking characters, but you can mix units inside transports now.
**It's also worth adding that they benefit from Obsessions. This comes into play the most for Flayed Skull (Flayed Skull Kabalites only get their obsession bonus while in Flayed Skull transports) and Red Grief (The transports can advance and charge!), but it's always worth checking which detachments they are in as they might just benefit from that Detachment's Obsessions (for example, a Raider with a Shock Prow from the Cult of the Cursed Blade will get a single S7 attack instead of S6, and transports from a Black Heart detachment gain the benefit of Inured to Suffering; not a huge boost, but used correctly it can make the difference between wounding on a 4+ and wounding on a 3+, or shrugging off that last vital wound, respectively)...

'''Beta Rules''': With the Beta rules functionally killing off Alpha Strike lists that use a lot of Deep Strike stratagems in favour of Gunlines, the value of these have skyrocketed considerably.

*'''Raider:''' A big paper boat costing only 10 points more than a Venom, with either a Dark Lance or a Disintegrator Cannon. Can also take a Shock Prow if you're feeling lucky.  The Raider is now actually decently tough (especially as Kabal of the Black Heart, or as part of a Coven) and might even survive until it discharged its CC cargo, or ferrying a Kabalite squad for a few turns. Can hold 10 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 CC units as you gradually wear them down. [[Rape|They won't appreciate that]]. Even better with Kabal of the Flayed Skull, which makes them even faster, and also boosts their accuracy while negating cover. More importantly, it and the venom are the only ways for Flayed Skull infantry to benefit from their Drukhari Obsession. Your Kabalites also appreciate the ability to take Splinter Racks as well.

*'''Venom:''' A small paper boat with a Splinter Cannon and either a Twin Splinter Rifle or a second Splinter Cannon. With the release of the codex, Venoms have gone down to 55 base points and Splinter Cannons have gone down to 10 points. Splinter Cannons are definitely worth taking now if you have the spare points. This transport is a cheap weapons platform and should be treated as such. It transports 5 and Grotesques cannot ride in it even if you took an under-strength unit. It's also now 2" faster than the Raider, so zip around and crap out a massive amount of poison.

===Flyer===
*'''Note''': Weapon facing does not matter anymore. You should always prioritise whatever facing will keep your flyer on the table for the longest. 
*'''[[Razorwing Jetfighter]]:''' A few changes make the Razorwing into what is probably the best flyer in the game right now. It always has access to all three types of missile (but can only fire one each turn). All Drukhari heavy weapons turn into assault weapons when mounted on a vehicle, so it will hit on a 3+ most of the time. Each weapon may fire at a different target on a 360° firing arc, meaning you don't need to worry about any wasted splinter shots or where the flyer's nose is pointing at. 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 Bike Squad or TEQ, or can opt for Dark Lances to go after vehicles and characters. Also comes with a Twin Splinter Rifle that you can upgrade to a Splinter Cannon. With Kabal of the Flayed Skull, it's just plain evil. 
**'''Razorwing Missiles''' No longer one use only, and you get all types by default now. You declare which missile you use when you declare the weapon to shoot with.
***'''Monoscythe Missile:''' Assault D6, S6, 0 AP , 2 Damage. Nice for drowning a Bike Squad or TEQs in saves.
***'''Necrotoxin Missile:''' Assault 3D3 (averaging out to the Pre-Nerf number of shots it had in the Index), Wounds on a 2+ (6+ for Vehicles). Your infantry hunting and character sniping choice.  You are looking at an average of 3 Wounds per missile against non-Vehicle units, 4 if you use the Flayed Skull Stratagem on non-Vehicle units with Fly. Solid choice.
***'''Shatterfield Missile:''' Assault D6, S7, -1 AP, 1 Damage with Shred. Necrotoxin is much more consistent but this has a nice niche in burying MSU MEQ units in armour saves.

*'''[[Voidraven Bomber]]:''' Behold, one of the most durable and powerful models in the army! 12 Wounds at T6 combined with the new Flyer rules 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 unit the Voidraven has moved over. Then, you roll 3D6 for each Monster or Vehicle, or a D6 for every other model in the unit up to a whopping 10D6. For each roll of 3+, the unit suffers a mortal wound. Very, very nasty. (To put the power of the bomb into perspective, when nuking a squad of 10 2+Sv Marines, you can expect 6 of them to be vaporized away from the board). But that's not the end. The Voidraven is equipped with two Void Lances, which are +1S compared to the Dark Lances. You can switch these out for Dark Scythes which are Assault D3, S8, AP-4, D3 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. For 10 points you can equip the Voidraven with the below missiles to boost the Voidraven's firepower if you can spare the points:
**'''Voidraven Missiles''' No longer one use only, and you get all types by default now. You declare which missile you use when you declare the weapon to shoot with.
***'''Shatterfield Missile:''' Assault D6, S7, -1 AP, 1 Damage with Shred. Has a nice niche in burying MSU MEQ units in armour saves.
***'''Implosion Missile''': Assault D3, S6, -3 AP, 1 Damage. Sadly nerfed from 7th Edition. Can still reliably threaten a lot of units. Still not a bad choice.

*'''[[Raven Strike Fighter]] (Open and Narrative Play only):'''

===Fast Attack===
====Beasts====
In Matched Play, you can only take 3 Beasts per detachment, and the detachment itself must contain at least 1 Beastmaster.
*'''Clawed Fiends:''' Horrifying but overlooked. Lots of Wounds, high Toughness and lots of attacks at high strength and with damage 2. 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 attemp.
**'''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?
*'''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 arn'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

====Cults====
*'''Reavers:''' 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 (S4 AP-1 Bladevanes). They can also take either a heat lance or a blaster for every three models in the unit. In light of the new Codex, heat lances are now the cheaper option. The difference comes down to whether you prefer S8 AP-4 DD6 (Blaster) or S6 AP-5 DD6/Melta (Heat Lance) - both are viable after the update and both have the same range. Finally, they can take either Cluster Caltrops or a Grav Talon, at a rate of one per three models. 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. They are now 19 Points, rejoice! 
**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 Grav Talons 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 are only 4 points so consider them on your Arena Champions if you have the spare points. Extra AP is never a bad thing.
*'''[[Hellions]]:''' For some reason each little Hellion gets a damage 2 melee weapon on top of their Splinter Pods, which makes them both better at shooting and scarier in melee than Reavers. However, they are far more fragile than Reavers, too. These guys are horde sweepers. They fly around blasting suckas with a bunch of poison shots, then charge in. With no AP on their weapons and striking at S4 (maybe S5 if you gave them that Combat Drug), their attacks will bounce off big and tough things with a decent save. That 2 damage is there for one reason only: making sure infantry with FNP-type saves (a la Ork Boyz with a Painboy) have to roll boxcars or 5+ TWICE to stay alive. They could maybe harass some light vehicles (oddly enough they'd be extremely effective against enemy Drukhari vehicles) but will in no way, shape or form charge in and take out the enemy's centerpiece model. They are, however, a nasty, hard counter to horde-style armies. Give them +1A Combat Drug and send them in against a 30 man Ork Boy or conscript squad and let the bodies hit the floor. The 2 damage attacks also make them somewhat interesting against multiwound infantry like Crisis or Stealth Suits, Wraithguard, Nobz or Tyranid Warriors/Raveners/Shrikes.
**'''Note''': The new FAQ confirms that Hellions can't be taken in Raiders or Venoms.
**'''Alternate Take''': Take 14 with Adrenalight and a Succubus for those Re-Rolls of 1's and shove them all into a Tantalus (the wording of the FAQ does not mention Tantali are illegal transports for Hellions). Watch your opponent weep at the Alpha Strike.
** Primaris beware: if you can pile on enough unsaved wounds, Hellions turn Primaris marines into the most overpriced models in the game by nullifying their magic second wound.

====Unaffiliated====
*'''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 within melta range. 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.
**'''Note''': Scourges can't be taken in Raiders or Venoms, but they ''can'' be taken in the Tantalus. 3 Squads of 5 with Carbines, Blasters or Dark Lances, or a mix of the three? Congrats, you just became [[That Guy]].
**'''Melee Note:''' If you do want to take a Melee weapon on the Solarite, 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 Maul and the wielder being S3, and you should always expect to have to fight MEQ. If you want to abuse Shoot, Charge, Fallback, Shoot shenanigans to stop an enemy unit from shooting for a turn, then there are other units that do it better; however, your Scourges' mobility does let them easily support Reavers or Hellions with a follow up charge. If you are going to do this, however, in Matched Play it's best to keep the unit as cheap as possible. In Open/Narrative Play you're probably having a Casual/Fluffy game anyway so go nuts.
**'''Scourge Weapon Analysis - Short Version:'''
***'''Shardcarbines:''' The cheapest option and the one that gives the most mobility, at 18" Assault 3.
***'''Blasters, Dark Lances, Haywire Blasters, and Heat Lances:''' The weapons for fighting Vehicles and Heavies. 
****'''Dark Lances''' are 36" Heavy but deal as much damage as blasters; since you have mobility anyway, there is limited utility in paying the extra points for having more range.  Plan on your Scourges moving every round they can.
****'''Heat lances''' are very efficient when in melta range and awesome for sniping out characters that are badly wrapped, but when you Deep Strike, they're outside of melta range - you'll have to get aggravatingly close (for Scourges) to really use them properly.  Their point cost is fundamentally fair for their performance, but be aware of what you're buying.
****'''Haywire Blasters''' are the cheapest (the same cost as a Shredder) and extremely effective at dishing out mortal wounds to vehicles now that they are Assault 1d3 (which you ''really'' want against Quantum Shielding, Invuln Saves, and other defenses where the best bypass is mortal wounds).  Very type specific - they're ''terrible'' against {{W40Kkeyword|MONSTERS}} or any other heavy without the {{W40Kkeyword|VEHICLE}} keyword.  In a big way, consider this the opposite of the Poison Weapons you're used to playing with.  One valid way to field Scourges is using Haywire squads to solve your vehicle problems while you use Poison everywhere else to solve all of your other problems, but be aware doing that largely means you won't have any good solutions for monsters, since most of the poisonous weapons you can field have terrible AP and many of them have terrible damage. 
****'''Blasters''' are quite expensive - nearly 1.5 times the cost of the elf carrying it - but avoid all of the above headaches: you can move and shoot with them at no penalty, they don't care about typing on the target, and they don't need to be closer than your Deep Strike distance for full functionality.  This ease of use is probably why they're such a popular choice as the default option for a heavy-hunting unit.
***'''Shredders and Splinter Cannons:''' Splinter Cannons now give more shots per point (3.7) than flat carbines (4) but give up being assault weapons for more shots at the same range. Shredders are also more efficient in terms of points per wound inflicted against GEQ, MEQ AND Light Vehicles, but give up 6” of range, leaving them vulnerable to Rapid Fire and being charged.  Both weapons are type sensitive, but the Shredder is worse - there are far more non-Infantry targets you can face than non-Vehicle - and while both weapons work at full functionality at minimum deep strike range, your Scourges are kind of terrible in melee, so you'd better off using the Cannons and just deep striking farther away to avoid being charged.
**'''Scourge Weapon Analysis - tl;dr Version:'''
***Your safest defaults are a Shardcarbine/Power Lance Solarite (pistols suck) with 4 Splinter Cannons for hunting light targets or 4 Blasters for hunting heavy targets.  Every other option you can take is more complex and requires more thought.

===Heavy Support===
====Covens====
*'''Cronos:''' The support Engine. The Cronos comes stock with a flamer with high AP and a chance to do massive damage with each hit and can take a second weapon that does nearly the same but without the auto-hits. It also, more interestingly, lets  '''DRUKHARI''' units within 6" reroll 1s To Wound in melee, which makes your Taloses and Grotesques ''even'' scarier. It also has a chance of healing friendly models if it kills something in melee but its melee stats are so lacking that this will rarely happen. Can now fly again thanks to the FAQ.
*'''Talos:''' The killy Engine. The Talos comes stock with two Macro-scalpels and you can replace one with chain flails or a talos gauntlet and the other with a twin liquifier or an ichor injector. The Chain-flails are good if you need even more anti-horde melee (and they're very good at it) and the Gauntlets (being power fists) do pretty well against vehicles and other high T and wound targets, but the Ichor Injector is just trash. It can also get guns on the tail, with the Twin Heat Lances being a bit of a trap option; sure, they're 24 points now, but you're unlikely to hit with your shitty BS. In a pure  {{W40Kkeyword|<COVEN>}} list, you should probably take Haywire Blasters, as they're decently cheap. Otherwise, stick to either the Stinger Pod or the Splinter Cannons. Can also fly again thanks to the 2018 FAQ, which means they can now charge and assault jets, bombers, etc.
** '''Macro scalpels vs. Talos gauntlet''': While the extra strength and AP from the talos gauntlet seems attractive, the dual macro scalpels will ultimately do more work for your pain engines because of the hit modifier and loss of extra attacks on the gauntlet. Against everything bar heavy vehicles and monsters (T8) the scalpels outperform the gauntlet and when you have Urien around to buff Str, the scalpels start to outperform on those vehicles as well. The only time you shouldn't take macro scalpels is when you're assigning your pain engines to horde lawnmower duty, in which case you should take chainflails and a twin liquifier.
**1 Macro Scalpel + 1 Twin Liquifier is also better than 2 Macro Scalpels against most targets, simply because 4 points for 1 additional melee attack is often worse than 22 points for ''seven'' (on average) auto-hitting attacks, even with the gun's inferior inferior S, AP, and D.
** '''Choosing tail weapons:''' Pain engines suffer from BS 4+, so their shooting weapons should be chosen with care depending on what role you want your engines to play. Splinter cannons will give them some extra anti-infantry firepower but reduce their effectiveness against vehicles. Haywire blasters are surprisingly effective against vehicles for their price (a squad of three taloi with haywire blasters will put out 4d3 shots which will cause mortal wounds on a 4+ and D3 mortal wounds on a 6+ against vehicles) and range from decent to mediocre against infantry, dependent on the type of infantry you're facing; heat lances are underwhelming against vehicles but effective against heavy multiwound infantry like obliterators or centurions. The stinger pod is the worst choice out of all, but is the cheapest in case you want pain engines exclusively for their melee potential.
**You can turn these fellows into nice DISTRACTION CARNIFEXES by giving them and 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.

====Kabals====
*'''Ravager:''' Even more survivable than the new-and-improved Raider, the Ravager is somewhat sturdier with T6. Similarly, built-in Night Shields provide a 5++ save against all ranged weapons. Because Dark Lances count as Assault when equipped on Vehicles it has got an effective threat range of 50" at full accuracy. That, and their ability to deal D6 Damage at S8 AP-4 means the enemy ''won't'' escape and ''will'' die when you shoot them. Use their mobility to dictate the terms of battle and stay away from enemy charges. Disintegrators are a good choice if you want to erase enemy TEQ or Bikers from existence.
**Archons allow friendly Kabal units to re-roll 1s to Hit, so it's not a bad idea to put one next to a few Ravagers to increase their accuracy. You can even go the extra mile and form a Black Heart Spearhead Detachment and give the Archon Writ of the Living Muse so that the Ravagers re-roll 1s to Wound as well. Quite nasty. Even though maintaining formation within the 6" aura reduces their manoeuvrability, the increase to effective firepower and the fact the Archon can move 8" and advance all the time to keep up render this a viable tactic.
***Per Chapter Approved 2019 Dark Lances and Disintegrator Cannons are priced equally at 15 points per weapon and a total cost of 140 points, so the only question is whether you want more anti-infantry or anti-armor in your list.

====All Factions====
*'''Reaper (Forge World):''' The One Big Gun alternative to the Ravager. Comparable points cost to the Dark Lance variant with +2 Wounds for greater survivability. The weapon has got two firing modes: the first is 24" range blast with 2D6 shots at S6 to drown the enemy in saves, the second is 36" range beam with D6 Dark Lance shots to vaporise a tank or a monster. Should the enemy unit endure this, both modes prevent the survivors from Advancing if any models have been slain. Unfortunately, the weapon is Heavy so its accuracy is reduced on the move. That shouldn't be too much of a problem with proper deployment, though. Moreover, the Reaper is no slouch in CC thanks to 5 attacks one of which is done at S6 AP-1 D2. Overall, a tactically flexible skimmer with great potential.
**'''23/07/2017 FAQ Update:''' Because of a hilariously badly worded FAQ giving [[wat|every single model a Close Combat Weapon, even models that physically can't carry one]], you can make all of its attacks at S6. You know what that means? RAMMING SPEED, STEERSMAN! I WANT THAT MON'KEIGH COMMANDER'S HAT FOR MY COLLECTION!
*'''Tantalus (Forge World):''' Drukhari 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 S8 AP-2 attacks which hit at 4+, and on the charge it inflicts D3 mortal wounds on a 4+ roll to any enemy units within 1". When the Tantalus Advances, you simply double its movement value. Combine that with Open-topped transport capacity of 16 (works the same as a Raider's) and the ability to grant the embarked Warlord's Leadership to all friendly LoS units (except for those in cover, for some reason) to complete the most powerful model in the army. The price for that is your wallet, your soul, and a points cost that exceeds 3 Disintegrator Ravagers. 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.
**The FAQ that banned Scourges and Hellions from transports only mentions Raiders and Venoms. This awesome boat can still transport your Scourges and Hellions and protect them from fire, and give your Scourges a second deployment option to boot. [[Rape|12 Dark Lances plus the 12 total shots from the main gun is about as Drukhari as you're going to get.]] And with that volume of fire, [[Dakka|you stop caring about the -1 to hit if you have to move too.]]
**'''Supreme Command Tantalus''': Give a Succubus splintermind, make her your warlord and she can grant Ld 10 to your entire army (out of cover).
**'''Black Heart Tantalus''': Gains an additional 6+++ save, and an Archon with Writ of the Living Muse can allow it to re-roll 1s to Wound. The increase to both survivability and firepower is worth considering.
**'''Dark Creed Tantalus''': Use An Esoteric Kill, Delivered From Afar to melt an important enemy HQ with the aforementioned Pulse Disintegrators. Ouch.
**'''Red Grief Tantalus''': Want a First Turn charge? Total 32" of movement and then a re-rollable charge on a model with Fly. Double ouch.

===Fortifications===

*'''Webway Portal''': For 120 points you can finally pick this giant arch. Fluffwise, it is the very reason of Eldar trollobility to suddently appear somewhere, where they completely shouldn't be. Crunchwise, it is still a giant arch with T8, 14 wounds, 3+ and 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 (aka Necron style Tomb World), but, aside from 1 unit per gate (aka 1 unit per Night Scythe) restriction, you also must be 9" away from enemy, just like for normal deep strike AND within 3" from the gate. Of course, if the gate is destroyed, all units, that were in the gate's Webway (the Webway from '''Webway Portal''' stratagem is not the same one, so that doesn't count) are slain. On the one part, it does let you save some CP for not using aforementioned '''Webway Portal''' strat and, furthermore, allows you to deep strike your Vehicles on the contrary to it. 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-wrap your nice and large gate with infantry blob, thus making actually using the gate a bit of "Risk-Reward" tactics, if not even a bit of a doubtfull one. The model is very nice thou, so don't restrain yourself from using it as a piece of terrain.
** Keep in mind, that to use Webway Gate specific Stratagems from Harlequins Codex you need to have a small detachment of this nice and 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).