thecactusman17
03-24-2011, 01:08 AM
This is a post in response to this article (http://www.belloflostsouls.net/2011/03/dark-eldar-raider-vs-sm-rhino-tale-of.html). I would like to preface anything I say with the following: I have NOTHING against BOLD or Black Blow Fly. I don't know any of the people involved. I think that their provision of this site is a great asset to the wargaming community and I hope they continue providing it well into the future.
For those not into the technical and engineering world, a "white paper" is a set of best practices and important bits of advice for using programs, data systems, and highly technical devices . What more could better describe your average Dark Eldar skimmer than a highly specialized tool? Dark Eldar units as a rule are not "point and click" devices. The highest AV in the codex is a mere 13, costed like a *******ed apocalypse unit and incapable of taking even the most rudimentary upgrades.
So let's take a look at your most basic tool, the Raider, and how we might best employ it on the tabletop.
The Raider has a number of advantages right off the bat. It's a fast skimmer, so it's going to move units at extraordinary speed across the battlefield. Many units can take it, so it's not going to be short of useful, deliverable game winning units to pack into it. A Raider can take anything from the burly Grotesques to the ultra-fragile Wyches and deliver it without trouble to your opponent's doorstep. With a 50-50 chance to ignore incoming damage results, to boot.
A Raider is open-topped. This is a blessing and a curse. A blessing because your units can shoot out at 360 degrees, or jump out and assault. A curse because the current metagame favors vehicle damage chart modifiers, and OT is a big one in your opponent's favor. A unit properly kitted out with the right special rules firing at a unit with the right level of damage can kill your transport and everyone inside on a roll of 1 on the chart. Yikes.
Thankfully, the game designers gave us a few tools to improve on the Raider and its occupants. There are three primary methods by which one can improve on the efficacy of a Raider, and four tools to do them with. Additional tools may be very useful in some circumstances and should never be discounted, but these are perhaps the ones that can most dramatically impact your game:
Flickerfields: Flickerfields are not just a save against all those shots coming your way, they are very useful for protecting your unit against the various rigors of battle. In addition to shooting attacks, Flickerfield saves protect vs. close combat, ramming and Death Or Glory attacks. A 5++ is nothing to sneeze at, but you should never COUNT on it. A 5++ means that you have a 1/3 chance of protecting yourself, otherwise you may be in deep doodoo.
Nightshields: Nightshields have the benefit of almost always affecting your opponent. Raiders, Ravagers and Aircraft have a tendency to die easily vs. a couple of low-range assault and rapid-fire weapons, most notably Bolters, Shuriken catapults, Tau Pulse Rifles, meltaguns and plasma rifles. This incredibly useful device protects vs. nearly all of them. Keep in mind: against a standard Marine squad, the optimum range to engage when using this gear is 19 inches. That's close enough to guarantee an assault or open barrage the next turn, but far enough away to negate all shooting attacks.
Shock Prow: Not too handy on its own, this lets your vehicle Ram and Tank Sock your opponent off of objectives. The primary issue? It's on a Raider or Ravager. AV10 or 11 is not the desired armor value in such an event that your opponent decides to dath or Glory, and because so often you will be doing this from a healthy distance away to begin with the very real threat of losing the embarked squad with your transport looms.
Torment Grenade Launchers: People often suggest taking this with a tank-Shocking unit, and sure that's a rational way to use it. But oft forgotten is the fact that it's an active ability even outside of the movement phase, at a 12th the cost of the bearing unit. This piece of gear is the difference between tying and winning close combat, psychic powers affecting your units, it even protects your vehicles from assault by those rare armies that must assault to reliably kill vehicles such as Orks.
For those not into the technical and engineering world, a "white paper" is a set of best practices and important bits of advice for using programs, data systems, and highly technical devices . What more could better describe your average Dark Eldar skimmer than a highly specialized tool? Dark Eldar units as a rule are not "point and click" devices. The highest AV in the codex is a mere 13, costed like a *******ed apocalypse unit and incapable of taking even the most rudimentary upgrades.
So let's take a look at your most basic tool, the Raider, and how we might best employ it on the tabletop.
The Raider has a number of advantages right off the bat. It's a fast skimmer, so it's going to move units at extraordinary speed across the battlefield. Many units can take it, so it's not going to be short of useful, deliverable game winning units to pack into it. A Raider can take anything from the burly Grotesques to the ultra-fragile Wyches and deliver it without trouble to your opponent's doorstep. With a 50-50 chance to ignore incoming damage results, to boot.
A Raider is open-topped. This is a blessing and a curse. A blessing because your units can shoot out at 360 degrees, or jump out and assault. A curse because the current metagame favors vehicle damage chart modifiers, and OT is a big one in your opponent's favor. A unit properly kitted out with the right special rules firing at a unit with the right level of damage can kill your transport and everyone inside on a roll of 1 on the chart. Yikes.
Thankfully, the game designers gave us a few tools to improve on the Raider and its occupants. There are three primary methods by which one can improve on the efficacy of a Raider, and four tools to do them with. Additional tools may be very useful in some circumstances and should never be discounted, but these are perhaps the ones that can most dramatically impact your game:
Flickerfields: Flickerfields are not just a save against all those shots coming your way, they are very useful for protecting your unit against the various rigors of battle. In addition to shooting attacks, Flickerfield saves protect vs. close combat, ramming and Death Or Glory attacks. A 5++ is nothing to sneeze at, but you should never COUNT on it. A 5++ means that you have a 1/3 chance of protecting yourself, otherwise you may be in deep doodoo.
Nightshields: Nightshields have the benefit of almost always affecting your opponent. Raiders, Ravagers and Aircraft have a tendency to die easily vs. a couple of low-range assault and rapid-fire weapons, most notably Bolters, Shuriken catapults, Tau Pulse Rifles, meltaguns and plasma rifles. This incredibly useful device protects vs. nearly all of them. Keep in mind: against a standard Marine squad, the optimum range to engage when using this gear is 19 inches. That's close enough to guarantee an assault or open barrage the next turn, but far enough away to negate all shooting attacks.
Shock Prow: Not too handy on its own, this lets your vehicle Ram and Tank Sock your opponent off of objectives. The primary issue? It's on a Raider or Ravager. AV10 or 11 is not the desired armor value in such an event that your opponent decides to dath or Glory, and because so often you will be doing this from a healthy distance away to begin with the very real threat of losing the embarked squad with your transport looms.
Torment Grenade Launchers: People often suggest taking this with a tank-Shocking unit, and sure that's a rational way to use it. But oft forgotten is the fact that it's an active ability even outside of the movement phase, at a 12th the cost of the bearing unit. This piece of gear is the difference between tying and winning close combat, psychic powers affecting your units, it even protects your vehicles from assault by those rare armies that must assault to reliably kill vehicles such as Orks.