The Hekatrii report to the cult's leader, the Succubus. The wyches report to the hekatrix of the squad. As with any Dark Eldar, there is hierarchy within the cults. The wych cults are gladiatorial warriors who fight for the ecstasy they get from pain. There is only one person who can wipe a Kabal out to the last Eldar without there being a revolt, and that is the Supreme Overlord of the Dark City, Asdrubael Vect himself. Kabals and Wych cultsĪfter Asdrubael Vect destroyed the Old Order in the Dark City, he introduced the Kabalite System, in which anyone who kills a Kabalite Warrior had better have influential friends, as the dead Warrior's entire Kabal will be after them for revenge. Fortunately, some vehicles come with which allow them a small degree of protection or 'Night Shields', which reduce the enemy's effective weapon range. All of the Dark Eldar vehicles - the Raider, Ravager, Voidraven Bomber, Venom, Razorwing - are lightly armored and rely upon speed to keep safe from any incoming fire. All of their transports and warriors follow this same pattern as all of their army is as lightly armored to increase movement. Most of the time, the Dark Eldar use the hit-and-run style of warfare. The Warhammer 40,000 expansion book 'Battle Missions', released in 2010 includes three scenarios designed specifically for Dark Eldar armies. The Dark Eldar were featured as a playable faction in the Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War computer game expansion, Soulstorm. Subsequently, new models for the Talos and Scourges were released, as well as the new Venom skimmer. The new edition of Codex: Dark Eldar was released in November 2010, along with a completely new range of miniatures including new versions of the Dark Eldar Warriors (now Kabalite Warriors), Wyches and Reaver jetbike models. It was released in 2003 and was the same book save for some changes to Wyches (including Wych led armies), and the addition of arcane war-gear and vehicle war-gear options.Ī complete overhaul of the Dark Eldar model range and rules was hinted at in a statement that Rick Priestley made in White Dwarf 343 (US issue 342) saying, 'I think it's time that the Dark Eldar, Space Wolves and a few others have their time in the spotlight again.' A revision of this book was made for the 4th edition of the game, but it said 'revised, 2nd edition'. Since the 3rd edition release of Codex: Dark Eldar in 1998, no new army book had been published until 2010 (most armies received an updated army book during the 4th edition era). It was also relatively convenient to add the Dark Eldar to the existing Eldar storyline without any conflict, right at the catastrophe that destroyed the Eldar home-world. Games Workshop decided to make the Dark Eldar as a separate army, after it became fairly common to see gamers collect 'Dark Eldar' armies, which are total conversions/customizations of Eldar miniatures while still retaining the standard Eldar rules.

In the back story released in the most recent Dark Eldar Codex, it is revealed that the Dark Eldar gradually lost their natural psychic ability during the millennia following the Fall of the Eldar race, and that they are sustained only through the absorption of the psychic power released by pain, torture and anguish of other sentient beings. Because of this, using psykic powers is the worst (and possibly only) crime in Commorragh. While Dark Eldar do make use of psychic devices, they do not use psychic powers themselves: psykers could be tracked down by Slaanesh (one of the Chaos gods) and Commorragh destroyed. They make use of technology, including anti-gravity devices, splinter weapons, dark matter (in the Warhammer 40,000 universe, something more akin to antimatter) weaponry, nanotechnology and psychic artifacts. The Dark Eldar have technology far advanced of those of other species. They are mainly pirates, though are sometimes used as mercenaries. The Dark Eldar are unique amongst the Warhammer 40,000 factions in the sense that they do not occupy many planets, but rather one huge dark city - Commorragh. They strike with little or no warning, using an inter-dimensional labyrinth known as the Webway to traverse the galaxy safely and far more quickly than most races are able to with their Warp jumps. Dark Eldar armies make use of various anti-gravity skimmers such as Raiders and Ravagers (Troop transports and mobile weapons platforms, respectively) to launch high-speed attacks. The Dark Eldar revel in piracy, enslavement and torture, and are sadistic in the extreme.

8th ed dark eldar codex release date