I'm experienced when it comes to taking on the Dark Eldar, so I'll offer you what I know.
Firstly, no matter which units you take in an attempt to out maneuver him, you're going to lose. Period. The Dark Eldar are simply faster than anything you can hope to field so don't go into the battle under the impression that you can play the speed game with him and win.
Secondly, you're going to lose models. Probably a lot of them. The Dark Eldar are capable of fielding a scary number of AP2 and 3 weapons and excel at shredding small, elite units like Space Marines in close combat.
Finally, the Dark Eldar have almost no armor. They have exactly one unit with a decent armor save (not counting the Talos) and that will often accompany his Lord in a Raider transport.
What all of this means if that you need to have an army that has the ability to fire a lot of medium strength shots at a decent range. Land Speeder Tornadoes with heavy bolters and assault cannons can work wonders as they're the only thing in your army that's fast enough to keep up with a Raider. Use these to hunt transports down or cut holes into his units of infantry.
Dreadnoughts in Drop Pods with assault cannons and heavy flamers are grand. Not only are they nearly guaranteed to take down a transport on the turn they land (especially if the heavy flamer is in range) they're also more than capable of roasting those annoying 10 man units with Dark Lances that like to sit in cover and blast away at your tanks.
Whirlwinds can be a godsend against Dark Eldar. Using the incendary round you can scour their static units from their hiding spots with ease (and the normal Vengeance missiles work pretty damned good on everything else).
As a rule, you want to avoid anything with heavier armor than a Dreadnought. Dark Eldar are able to field a scary number of Dark Lances which ignore even the thickest armor so there's no sense in giving them any easy targets.
In general, do your best to stay in cover. Though it probably won't help you much when it comes to assault (as many of their assault units take plasma grenades) it'll mean that you'll take far fewer losses from Dark Eldar shooting and that can only be a good thing. Be sure to have some decent counter-attack units (Death Company works fine) and see off any assaulting units as quickly as possible.
Good luck,
Katie D
Firstly, no matter which units you take in an attempt to out maneuver him, you're going to lose. Period. The Dark Eldar are simply faster than anything you can hope to field so don't go into the battle under the impression that you can play the speed game with him and win.
Secondly, you're going to lose models. Probably a lot of them. The Dark Eldar are capable of fielding a scary number of AP2 and 3 weapons and excel at shredding small, elite units like Space Marines in close combat.
Finally, the Dark Eldar have almost no armor. They have exactly one unit with a decent armor save (not counting the Talos) and that will often accompany his Lord in a Raider transport.
What all of this means if that you need to have an army that has the ability to fire a lot of medium strength shots at a decent range. Land Speeder Tornadoes with heavy bolters and assault cannons can work wonders as they're the only thing in your army that's fast enough to keep up with a Raider. Use these to hunt transports down or cut holes into his units of infantry.
Dreadnoughts in Drop Pods with assault cannons and heavy flamers are grand. Not only are they nearly guaranteed to take down a transport on the turn they land (especially if the heavy flamer is in range) they're also more than capable of roasting those annoying 10 man units with Dark Lances that like to sit in cover and blast away at your tanks.
Whirlwinds can be a godsend against Dark Eldar. Using the incendary round you can scour their static units from their hiding spots with ease (and the normal Vengeance missiles work pretty damned good on everything else).
As a rule, you want to avoid anything with heavier armor than a Dreadnought. Dark Eldar are able to field a scary number of Dark Lances which ignore even the thickest armor so there's no sense in giving them any easy targets.
In general, do your best to stay in cover. Though it probably won't help you much when it comes to assault (as many of their assault units take plasma grenades) it'll mean that you'll take far fewer losses from Dark Eldar shooting and that can only be a good thing. Be sure to have some decent counter-attack units (Death Company works fine) and see off any assaulting units as quickly as possible.
Good luck,
Katie D
