The Warhammer-community team brings us some info on how Drukhari play in 9th ed 40k!
From the dark city of Commorragh, the Drukhari launch their realspace raids, causing indiscriminate slaughter to sustain their withered souls. With the new edition of Warhammer 40,000 on the way, they’ll be finding new ways to carve a brutal path through the galaxy. Fortunately, we have Matt Schuchman, a man who could teach an Archon a thing or two about tactics, on hand to show us how the Drukhari will play in the new edition.
Who Are They?
The Drukhari are fiercely intelligent piratical raiders who feed upon anguish to stave off the slow death of their souls. This is the only way that they can escape their fated doom following the Fall of the Aeldari race. They epitomise everything wanton and cruel about the ancient Aeldari from which they are descended. They are tall, lithe, and fight with supernatural grace. Above all else, the Drukhari are arrogant, completely convinced of their superiority over the lesser races of the galaxy.
How They Play in the New Edition
We’re now going to hand you over to Matt Schuchman, one of the world’s foremost Aeldari experts and winner of countless Grand Tournaments. Pray that he does take you alive, because you could learn a lot from him about Warhammer 40,000.
Matt: Drukhari are set to be a really great Faction to play in the new edition of Warhammer 40,000. The most striking improvement is to the little utilised Raiding Force rule. As a reminder, it gives your army four extra Command points if you include at least three Patrol Detachments. Combined with having your Warlord in one of these Detachments, you get the flexibility of taking up to three Patrol Detachments while still getting the maximum number of Command points.
Vehicles are also going to be very powerful in the new edition. This is great for Drukhari, as most armies will already feature vehicles heavily. Aircraft will no longer run into issues with having their movements blocked off by ground units and will be able to move back onto the board if you do choose to have them leave. Another huge improvement is that many Drukhari weapons are around the 36-inch range band, and with a smaller board size you will have an easy time keeping your guns in range.
As with all Factions, Drukhari forces will need a few tweaks due to the increases in points values. However, Drukhari are in a unique place whereby many of the popular army builds in the current edition will translate into powerful armies in the new edition. Just keep in mind that the Drukhari excel at lightning-fast early-game pressure – continue with those kinds of strategies and I think you’ll do well in the new edition.
Key Units
With so many ways to build your Drukhari army, from Kabals to Wych Cults to Haemonculus Covens, there are a lot of potential units to select from. Let’s see what Matt recommends.
Reavers
Matt: With the smaller board sizes, the superior speed and large amount of mid-range firepower they can put out will really help Drukhari forces to claim victory. Utilising a mixed force, such as a Wych Cult and a Kabal, will allow you to combine quick-moving close combat units like Reavers, who can quickly engage enemies, whilst your Kabal vehicles sit back in the mid-board laying down suppressing fire.
Wyches
Matt: With changes to how terrain works, using things like a vehicle-heavy Kabal of the Flayed Skull Detachment, who naturally ignore the saving throw benefits of cover, will be really powerful. Another tactic to keep in mind is that, with the addition of the Desperate Breakout Stratagem, units like Wyches with their No Escape rule to prevent units from falling back will be even more important if you need to lock things up in combat.
Thanks, Matt! We’ve also got a recommendation of our own to share.
Razorwing Jetfighter
Take advantage of the new Aircraft rules with the deadly Razorwing Jetfighter. It can easily keep up with your lightning-fast realspace raids and will see you dominate the airspace over any battlefield.
That’s just a taste of the terror that the Drukhari will be bringing to the new edition. Make sure that you also join us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram using #New40K to let us know how you’ll be playing your Drukhari army in the new edition.
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