DE: Min-maxing Pure Kabal

Some really nice art from the new book.

Maybe I've been going about this all wrong.  Maybe just unlocking the Air Wing for the Agents of Vect was not enough and I need to do more.  Maybe I don't actually need to have so many Flyers even though I think they're excellent with the Black Heart Kabal.

At the end of the day, maybe I just need to put another Raider in there to replace a Razorwing so I can actually put my Archons in there and use it as a mini-Ravager?  According to most, I can still take Blasters on my Archons since they exist in the Index data entry.

Let's try to min-max this with some goals:

• Must have Black Heart for Agents of Vect and Labyrinthine Cunning
• Have as many CP as possible
• Maximize firepower

Here's what I came up with:

1998 - 7 CP

Flayed Skull Battalion - 3 CP

HQ:

Archon, Agonizer, Blaster = 91

Archon, Agonizer, Blaster = 91

TROOP:

5x Warriors, Blaster = 47

Venom, 2x SC = 75

122

5x Warriors, Blaster = 47

Venom, 2x SC = 75

122

10x Warriors, 2x Blaster, Dark Lance = 114
Raider, Splinter Racks, Dark Lance = 95
209

10x Warriors, 2x Blaster, Dark Lance = 114
Raider, Splinter Racks, Dark Lance = 95
209

10x Warriors, 2x Blaster, Dark Lance = 114
Raider, Splinter Racks, Dark Lance = 95
209

FLYER:

Razorwing, 2x Dark Lances = 145

Razorwing, 2x Dark Lances = 145

+++

Black Heart Spearhead - 1 CP

HQ:

Archon, Agonizer, Blaster = 91
Warlord: Labyrinthine Cunning

Artifact: Writ of Living Muse

TROOP:

7x Warriors, Blaster = 59

Raider, Dark Lance = 85

144

HEAVY:

Ravager, 3x Dark Lances = 140

Ravager, 3x Dark Lances = 140

Ravager, 3x Dark Lances = 140

>>>

Firepower Analysis:

20 Dark Lances at BS3+

9 Blasters at BS3+

3 Blasters at BS2+

4 Splinter Cannons at BS3+

21 Splinter Rifles at BS3+ with Flayed Skull + Splinter Racks

19 Splinter Rifles at BS3+ elsewhere

2 Razorwing Missiles at BS3+

>>>

I think this might be the best list yet.  Sure, I lost a Razorwing, but now I'm able to bring in a Raider and just load it with fluffed up Warriors holding a Blaster.  I didn't particularly find Splinter Racks for 10 points worth it there because I would rather fit some extra Splinter Cannons in there.  However, one thing is for damn sure:  I want to make my Warlord Black Heart just so I can take Labyrinthine Cunning.  I seriously think it's one of the best Command Traits in the entire game and works so perfectly with Agents of Vect.  The biggest boon of this trait for DE is that you can use it while inside a transport.. and we all know how limited our HQ transport options are.

IMO the best Warlord trait for DE.

For Artefacts of Cruelty, I've taken the Writ of Living Muse.  It's basically a 6" aura of re-roll 1s for Wound, which works in conjunction with re-roll 1s to Hit.  This allows me to sit back with my fleet of Ravagers or Raider boats just so I can start pouring out more consistent damage.  While my current firepower analysis looks pretty horrifying for MEQ players and possibly even troublesome for some more horde armies, firepower counts for nothing if you can't do reliable damage with it.

Thankfully, that's why I have Flayed Skull and Splinter Racks in as many places as I can fit them.  Re-rolling 1s for Rapid Fire is no joke and having them explode into double hits when I roll a 6 means more wounds overall.  This gives you more value per Warrior because they'll be outputting more damage overall over the course of the game.  For now, I've allocated all my heavy armor under the Black Heart so they can stay alive longer and be more useful over the course of the game.  What do you fellas think?

Now, I've reached out to a couple of people to confirm what happens when 2 Flayed Skull Archons decide to hop into my Black Heart Warrior bus.  Not really too worried because that boat was supposed to just be my Warlord's retreat bus since most of the time I plan on having my Archons spread out providing that sweet re-roll for all my heavy weapons.