DE: Extending Threat With Obsidian Rose

Looks like meat is back on the menu boys!

One of the ways we're going to min-max my Black Heart Kabal list is to explore other Obsessions.  I've already got myself a rock solid list, the only thing I'm going to do now extending the threat range.  We just have to make sure we have enough units in a detachment to buy enough dedicated transports and the right mix of Obsessions.

What I'm going to do is turn the majority of my Blasters and Kabalite troops into Obsidian Rose.  This gives them 6" more range on all their weapons; which gives them 24" Blasters and 30"/15" Rapid-fire Splinter Rifles.  After, I'm going to stuff as many of them as I can into Black Heart Raiders so the 6+++ makes them harder to kill.  I can do this because all our transports have the Drukhari keyword and no Obsession specific ties.  This allows me to mix and match our Obsessions to get the most out of our units.

Quick note:
In case you're wondering, I think Flayed Skulls' extra 3" movement can be nice for more Wych-oriented lists using Raiders as the delivery mechanism.  Just keep in mind that not every Obsession works with others.  It just happens to be that Obsidian Rose and Black Heart's bonuses work simultaneously, without conflict and in perfect concert with one another.  It's a match made in hell.

Don't fret guys, this is very much with the fluff and it looks like it's intended.  We're supposed to be able to mix and match different Kabals, Cults and Covens to make a better army.  I think, if I'm to be completely honest, that people are just so used to Dark Eldar being a punching bags of the fucking game that all of a sudden, everything is question when we're suddenly powerful.  While I can see crap like the infinite CP loop and Agents of Vect not requiring Black Heart units as a problem, this is something I see as intended.  Just think of it as bribes and deals being struck before the battle.

Anyways, I didn't mean to rant.  This is what the updated list looks like:

1999 // 8 CP
Obsidian Rose Battalion +3 CP

HQ:
Archon, Agonizer, Blaster, PGL = 94
Archon, Agonizer, Blaster, PGL = 94

TROOP:
10x Warriors, 2x Blaster, Dark Lance = 114
10x Warriors, 2x Blaster, Dark Lance = 114
10x Warriors, 2x Blaster, Dark Lance = 114
10x Warriors, 2x Blaster, Dark Lance = 114

+++

Black Heart Spearhead +1 CP

HQ:
Archon, Agonizer, Blaster = 91
Warlord: Cunning, Living Muse

TROOP:
7x Warriors, Blaster = 59

PARTY BUS:
Raider, Dark Lance = 85
Raider, Dark Lance = 85
Raider, Dark Lance = 85
Raider, Dark Lance = 85
Raider, Dark Lance = 85

HEAVY:
Ravager, 3x Dinsintegrators = 125
Ravager, 3x Dinsintegrators = 125
Ravager, 3x Dinsintegrators = 125

+++

Black Heart Air Wing +1 CP

FLYER:
Razorwing, 2x Dinsintegrators = 135
Razorwing, 2x Dinsintegrators = 135
Razorwing, 2x Dinsintegrators = 135

Stalk thy enemy.  Slay thy enemy.

Increasing overall threat range is exactly what we want as a shooty army.  It gives greater distance between our fragile units and our enemies, and allows us to easily threaten even the most heavily armored units in much greater volume.  Extra range allows us to set the tempo of the game and control our opponents through the use of kiting and forcing desperate situations.  With Strategems such as Fire and Fade, you'll be able to pull off some amazing circumstances that your opponents will surely loathe you for.

Let's take a closer look at our Firepower with respect to Range:

15 Disintegrators at BS3+ at 36"+ range
9 Dark Lances at BS3+ with 4 of these shooting from 42" range
9 Blasters at BS3+ with 8 of these shooting from 24"+ range
3 Blasters at BS2+ with 2 of these shooting from 24"+ range
3 Razorwing Missiles at BS3+ at 48"+ range
41 Splinter Rifles at BS3+ with 28 of these shooting from 30" range, 15" Rapid-fire

The pluses at the end of the range represent all the unaccounted movement.  As you can see here, extending the range of our weapons is primarily to benefit the multiple Blasters I have in each unit.  If you think about it:  Moving a Raider within 24" of something pretty much turns the thing into a Ravager with Dark Lances.  You get the extra S8 AP-4 D6 damage shots at full ballistic skill and if you have Archons nearby to give re-rolls, all the better.  The one thing I want you guys to take away from all this is that extra range is always good for a shooty army.  You want to be able to control the battlefield with your movement and through sheer firepower.  The extra threat range gives us the ability to control virtually any engagement as long as it's favorable for us.  This is control at its absolute finest.

I hereby decree this list as the Kabal of the Black Rose using the units that I've selected.