Rumors of the new Dark Eldar are ramping up and I for one can't wait to see what's in store for their release! At this point, there isn't a whole lot of consistency across the rumors I've seen and most seem like educated guesses based on the treatment of Grey Knights and other recent codex updates. Here are some of my un-educated guesses and hopes for the new book.
While I'm not expecting the DE to get the Eldar treatment, I also don't think they will get the Grey Knight treatment. There are some obvious updates like Combat Drug effects, removing the redundant ones and hopefully buffing the 'Power From Pain' Feel No Pain to 4+. It would be cool if they got some other army-wide special rule, akin to Battle Focus but maybe Run + Assault instead. A little psychic D / buff to Deny the Witch would also be nice.
As far as the "no model, no rules" prediction which has a growing list of precedence, I really hope this just means they are coming out with several new HQ sculpts for the existing selections from the current book (except for maybe the Decapitator). It would be a shame to see that section gutted by losing Baron, Duke, and Malys. I honestly can't see them dropping all of those and fully expect at least one to get a new model. This is my stand in for Malys that I haven't gotten around to yet:
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| Holding the heart she replaced with the Crystal Heart |
I've held off on converting a Voidraven Bomber because I always assumed they would release a model for it (kinda surprised it wasn't a dual kit with the Razorwing). I'm expecting both flyers to move to the Fast Attack slot with a possible slight point reduction on the Razorwing and better bombing rules for the Void Bomber. The rumor about a new, huge knight-sized abomination sounds pretty awesome and I'd gladly add something like that to my army which desperately needs some durability in at least a couple units -- something on par with the size of a Riptide, like in the background of the top picture.
Looking at the troops section, I don't think much will change points-wise for Warriors at 9pts but I do expect them to gain grenades similar to their craftworld counterparts. Wyches could see a slight point reduction unless they gain some new survive-ability. Haywire grenades are great and all, but we have to be able to get them there.
I don't want to just compare units with similar functions in the Eldar codex, but in some cases it's impossible not to expect some changes either in additional rules / better stats or with points reductions. For example, Swooping Hawks make our Scourge seem way overpriced for a less durable, less damage output unit. Windrider Jetbikes are another classic example, although I feel like our Reavers should be better (skilled rider, bladevane attacks), with some slight buffs I can see them being worth the points premium but as it stands they feel like a unit that costs more in points and does less on the table. I'm not sure what will happen to the Beast pack. Without the crazy deathstar combos, the beasts are actually priced appropriately in my opinion -- I'd rather they address the ability to abuse combining OP rules to form an unbeatable unit than increase their points.
Moving on to Elites, I'd love to see plastic kits for Incubi, Wracks, Grotesques, and Mandrakes... and definitely expect to see some improvement to Mandrakes in-game abilities. But I highly doubt they'd convert that many kits from finecast all at once, not with the pace of releases recently. Any new plastics here is a good thing in my book.
A huge aspect to any DE army is speed and maneuverability. We rely on our dedicated transports more than a lot of other armies, so I really hope our Raiders and Venoms get a slight nudge, like some vehicle upgrades to improve cover / jink (or make it harder for others to completely ignore their cover). Points-wise, I think the current costs aren't far off the mark for what they can do: open-topped transports, albeit tissue paper thin armor, is not something every other army has easy access to (which isn't really true if you play Unbound), and our dual Splinter Cannon setup is quite good for only 65pts. Certainly not the top transports in the game but not the worst either.
More than anything, and to avoid depending entirely on our light skimmers, and to give another way to play the army, I want them to fix Webway Portals; let DE assault out of them like before and what made sense. It would immediately make them worth their 35pts, the cost of a Drop Pod which provides in essence the same deployment effect, although the Pod is much more reliable at what it does since the bearer of a WWP can eat it before they get a chance to activate. Anyways, please let this item and tactic be viable again! I'd love to base my army around them.
The Tantalus rumors are exciting! Not sure of the likelihood that a Forge World kit would be used by GW as is, but I don't think anyone would complain about that gorgeous addition to the core codex. Another transport option, especially a more durable one, would be amazing and the model fills the void from not having any super heavies or models in that size range. I've been wanting one of these kits for a long time so I'm anxious to see what happens with this one.
The Arcane Wargear section definitely needs some improvement and if done right, can make for some fun and effective army Relics where I suspect they'll end up. Supplements for Coven and Wych Cult armies is a rumor I hope comes true (even though my wallet aches over the cost for the books alone). It would be great to have several themes and ways to play DE and more supplements means more of chance to have multiple viable army lists and strategies. Variety is the spice of life!
Most believe the Baron is out not only because it doesn't have a model, but because it also neuters Eldar deathstars (slightly) and beaststars come down a notch without his special rules.
I'll miss using his model but maybe Archons will get the option to purchase a Skyboard and Hellglaive, then I could use him for that. Or he's just a badass looking Helliarch. We'll see how Hellions end up in the new book.
That's pretty much all I got. Hopefully we wont have to wait long to find out! What are you hoping to see with the new DE?