A race that inhabits the dark world of
Warhammer 40,000, and are essentially the
dark elves of the future. Could be described as even more spikey than the
Chaos Marines.
They inhabit a realm called Commorragh, which seems to exists outside of time and space. The origin of these people and their home is uncertain, but they seemed to have been twisted mentally by the powers of chaos during the time that the great Eldar race collapsed onto itself. However, they haven't sided with the Chaos gods, instead opting to become space pirates, searching for things to maim, pillage and chuck into one of the many arenas that are scattered across their great city (Genestealers being the most sought after due to their larger than life teeth).
The city of Commorragh is split up into different kabal territories. A Kabal is essentially a very large, somewhat-organised gang (I say gang instead of mafia because the mafia had honour and respect for each other). A new-born Eldar is accepted into a kabal if it was born within their territorial boundaries, and setting foot into another would mean a general hackage for said person (if you stupid enough, that is). These kabals are constantly at war together, forming alliances and back-stabbing included (especially within their own troops). The largest and oldest kabal still alive is the Black Heart, led by Asdrubael Vect.
Each kabal has an Archon and a Dracon, who are first and second in command respectively. They are usually aided by a personal Incubi retinue, whose armour and weapons far surpass that of a normal warrior. They command usually thousands of male and female warriors and, in some cases wyches. Sometimes a kabal would have their own Haemonculus.
Haemonculi are twisted individuals who specialise in sadism. However, they do tend to work alone, and if they needed an army they could simply create one from the leftovers after a local Arena showdown. But if they do join with a kabal, they have access to all the victims captured from raids.
The Dark Eldar, like their Eldar bretheren, are highly advanced in technology. They have developed their own webway, which they use to travel throughout the universe. They are very weak in terms of physical strength, but their speed and highly advanced technology and weapons more than make up for this.
In the world of warhammer 40K, the most documented raid from the Dark Eldar was simply known as the Delta 9 Massacre. Not much is said as to what happened on that unfateful night, but it seems to be the first proper sighting of the Dark Eldar and where most of the information the Imperium have obtained is from. Hopefully in the next release there will be more detail on the race.
In some 40K player's eyes they are seen as weak, stupid and not worth the money. However, as with all 40K armies, they have their own style when using them in battle. They may not be the easiest to use, but they are invaluable when used properly.
Except against Space Marines, who are just too hard for their own good. :)
Unfortunately, due to the worrying lack of history in the Dark Eldar codex, that is all I can say so far on the race.
"Pray they don't Take You Alive"
TACTICS
The only way to win with the Dark Eldar is to utilize their speed. This way, they will be hard to hit and with their massive array of weaponry, they can counter-attack anything the enemy throws at them. Here's an example:
- Split your army into two groups - one that's fast, one that packs long range firepower. A good example is some reavers and a raider squad in fast, with a warrior squad with dark lances and a ravager for firepower.
- Put the firepower team in the middle of the table behind some cover, and put the fast team to the side, behind a LOT of cover (emphasis on the LOT).
- When the enemy start advancing towards you, get the firepower team to give 'em what they've got. The fast team can help out with any weapons they have. NONE of your army should have moved yet.
- Keep this up, and when the enemy has decided to start taking care of the firepower team, the fast team should then charge AROUND the enemy, so as they are surrounded. Then simply hack/blast away until none are left!
This strategy is good against close-combat specialists such as Orks and Tyranids, or slow moving targets such as Imperial Guard. However, if you are to fight the Imperial Guard, make sure your army is behind LOTS of cover!