It’s finally the Drukhari’s turn to have a new 40K codex. There are a lot of changes within, so let’s dig into the top 5 things I like about the book.
It feels like it’s been forever since we were destroyed by the previous Drukhari codex. The last edition saw these pain purveyors ride the top of the meta for what felt like months. They destroyed your poor Marines, first through waves of torrent weapons, then at the hands of giant paint engines, and finally just through the sheer brutality of efficient Dark Lances. Its finally now the Dark Eldar’s turn to have a new book and while there are a lot of changes within these pages it still feels like there might be some juice left in this book. Let’s dig into the top 5 things I like about the book.
Hellions are the new $H&T!
Look man these guys are going to wreck your face right now. They move fast, have a flat Damage 2 weapon, have sustained, and their Empowered Through Pain ability gives them +1 to strength/attack. All of this means this unit is going to be on the table to. Oh and they are not too expensive either. This is the poster boy for an amazing Skirmish/pressure unit for an army that lost its old one. Just wait… you are going to have a ton of these showing up, and we’ll all complain about flight stands getting broken.
Wyches Feel Terrifying – At Last!
Hey you know a unit that can easily punch up by having a boatload of attacks, lots of speed, and characters that can join them. Wyches are back baby and they are going to wreck face. While their weapons are only 1 damage they do have a ton of attacks and at AP -2. You throw in a Succubus that grants them Sustained Hits 1 as well as having a crap ton of Precision attacks on top and you start to see how this little 10 model unit can just come up and take all your candy.
Drazhar and His Incubi Friends Look Deadly
This unit will be coming at you with Consolidation 6″ inches, Devastating Wounds vs Infantry, and plus 1 to wound when empowered. They also have a boatload of attacks and Drazhar is hitting you with Damage 3. In fact there is a lot of Damage 3 in here from the Archon to some of the other characters. This army should murder elite infantry, and these guys are going to be jumping off a Raider ready to wreck you.
Power from Pain Is Interesting and Simple To Use
The army now gets Pain tokens at the beginning of the turn, when an enemy unit is destroy, and when an enemy fails a battleshock test. The pain tokens are then used to power up your units’ abilities by spending them at the time frame their rule says. It can do some crazy fun things like give something Advance/Charge or +1 to wound. The interesting thing is if you have characters leading the unit and you spend a Pain token – both the unit and the leader’s abilities activate. We’ll see how important it is for pain tokens as one of the Detachment lets you generate more.
Welcome Back Lady Malys – One of the VERY FEW Times a Lost Character Returns To a Faction
Lady Aurelia Malys was an old Dark Eldar character from 7th Edition, and it is cool to see her show up in this new codex. She is an amazing Archon with a lot of powerful abilities, a killer model, and usage in your army. She appears priced to move and I think she will show up a lot. She has flat Damage 3 melee, a Feel No Pain, A Vect like power (add +1 to stratagems played within 12″ of her), and can redeploy 3 units. All of this and she can join up with Hand of the Archon (super Kabalite Warriors), Incubi, and Kabalite Warriors. Her power from pain ability gives her and the unit Sustain Hits 1 and Lethal 1 in either the shooting or Fight phase. Remember how Incubi have a ton of attacks – well just imagine them having more attacks that go lethal into something.
Codex Drukhari – The Verdict
Overall, the book feels interesting. I will leave it to the true Archons to figure it out. There are a few misses we’ll talk about in the hot mess of the week, but I am just glad this Codex finally made it out. It feels like 40k 10th Edition is rounding out and finishing up which probably means a new Space Marine book is going to be coming soon. Either way it is just a good time to be an evil Space Elf wishing to feast upon the souls of the living.
No One Escapes the Dark City!
Thomas Reidy, aka Goatboy, the ever-evil member of BoLS. I do arts, play 40k, and even paint a lot of stuff. I have been playing Warhammer 40K since the 1990s, and have won multiple national events including Adepticon and GW GTs. I’ve been writing for BoLS for 15 years. Look at my Instagram to see what I am working on – or working on for someone. I am always doing something hobby related.