In Response to Grey Knights: Rethinking Dark Eldar
Howdy! After seeing the results for 'Ard Boyz one thing is clear: Grey Knights are the new force to be reckoned with on the 40k scene. At Throne of Skulls there were only 5 GK players. During the summer tournament circuit however, the signs starting pointing towards a major shift in the meta game. Based on the results posted thus far, here is the make-up of armies that made the top 3:
Grey Knights 24 Imperial Guard 12 Space Wolves 9 Blood Angels 8 Space Marines 7 Orks 6 Dark Eldar 6 Eldar 3 Witch Hunters 2 Tyranids 2 Dark Angels 2 Black Templars 2 Chaos Space Marines 1 Chaos Demons 1
Now with Grey Knights there are a variety of builds, but three come to mind: Draigowing, Purifier "spam" and Corteaz "spam". How does this relate to Dark Eldar, you ask? Well, quite simply I think it means Dark Eldar need to figure out innovative ways to deal with these new threats. My tried and true "Venom-spam" army just can't stand up to a sea of Psyflemen dreads, massed Chimera or Razorback chassis.
I still haven't come up with an official list, but I think the weaknesses of the Venom-heavy lists are being exacerbated by mechanized Grey Knights and their long-standing nemesis (Imperial Guard). I think invulnerable saves on infantry is especially important when dealing with GK's so having large Beast squads supported by Wyches and even (gasp!) Harlequins may be an appropriate recourse. I've also considered playing my Dark Eldar to a similar style of my old Saim Hann - full reserve and focus more on survivability than killing. Stay alive long enough to make the infamous 5th turn contest, or win KP by just enough to avoid defeat.
I'll post my army list later this week, but I wanted to see what the Internet had to say first. How would you construct a Dark Eldar list designed to stand up to Grey Knights?