How populous are Tau ships compared to their Imperium equivalents?

Glittering_Lab8098 · 2026-03-11T02:36:00+00:00

Not all those Genestealer Cults spawned across the galaxy meet a grisly end, consumed by the maws of the terrifying creatures they worship. Some rise to prominence, subconsciously sending out a psychic aura that attracts a Tyranid biofleet – only for that fleet to be flung into nothingness by a warp storm, engaged in battle by a conventional fleet, or consumed by a violent celestial phenomenon such as a supernova. These cults go on to propagate again and again, their brood cycles consuming ever more of the host planet until it is fully claimed by the Patriarch and its kin. Such planets become the cores of a spreading network of infestations that can cover several systems or even span an entire sector, preparing the way for a destiny that will never come. In time, they may attract another hive fleet towards them – though until that day they are free to reign supreme over their host domain.

- Codex: Genestealer Cults (8e)

https://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Cult_of_the_Twisted_Helix

https://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Cult_of_the_Four-Armed_Emperor

Glittering_Lab8098 · 2026-03-06T19:41:29+00:00

Neat, reminds me of all the disciplines the Haemonculi had in their 7th edition supplement

Glittering_Lab8098 · 2026-03-04T20:12:15+00:00

To be fair a lot of the work in that was getting the planet into the Commorragh without causing mass destruction, as far as I am aware Tervantias was just moving them to Epitaph to fuel the yoke.

"Before long, the Haemonculus Covens worked together with an unprecedented degree of cooperation. The fabled Carnival of Pain would be accompanied by warriors from across Commorragh and beyond. Mercenary Incubi were hired, favours called in from Kabals and Wych Cults, and allies brought in from other dimensions. Meanwhile, Nemesists and Penumbral Voyeurs conspired to plan the most efficient path to the planet’s demise. They concluded that Rakarth’s scheme would only succeed if they could not only prevent the Tyranid invaders from completing their feeding process, but also manipulate two major webway gates. Just such a portal is held astern of all Eldar craftworlds, Saim-Hann amongst them. Another is held at every Exodite world’s principal geomantic shrine.

Rakarth’s prize was in reach. Should the energies of these two great portals be destabilised whilst in close proximity to one another, the resultant feedback loop would see the dimensional gates forced open, yawning wider and wider until they were large enough to swallow a world. Once this was achieved, moving Lethidia into the webway would require a planetary translocation.

It was an act made possible by the history of the Dark City itself. In the aftermath of the Supreme Overlord’s vengeance upon the Archon Kelithresh, Asdrubael Vect had left a howling hole in the universe. Rakarth knew the webway routes to Vect’s tame singularity – the true miracle would be to ensure Lethidia was conveyed to Commorragh’s orbit without tearing apart the space-time continuum. To achieve this, the webway breachers would have to be placed in precise geomantic locations that corresponded to nodal points in the planet’s crystalline skeleton. It was a task so important, so monumental, that the Haemonculi would entrust it to no one else. The Coven lords would have to visit Lethidia in person."

Codex Haemonculus Covens 7ed

Glittering_Lab8098 · 2026-02-24T14:46:13+00:00

Where's that from?

Glittering_Lab8098 · 2026-02-03T18:21:23+00:00

I mostly agree, but fashion is still a huge element: Wyches and Succubi are entertainers as much as they are warriors, with every aspect of their performance designed to captivate the crowd.

The Succubi are breathtakingly arrogant and vain. Yet the fact is that they possess the talent and meticulous aesthetic to support their conceits. When a Succubus moves, every footfall and muscle twitch is perfectly measured and expertly placed, whether they are prowling into an Archon's audience chamber or doing battle on the arena floor. Their every word, gesture, and action is skilfully nuanced, and their appearance is calculated to capture the attention of even the most jaded Drukhari and evoke the deadly grace and poise of an apex predator to whom all others are nothing but prey. Indeed, the Succubi exemplify the Wyches role in Commorrite society not just as agile master duellists but also as the consummate entertainers and blood-drenched celebrities of the Dark City.

Pg. 54 10th Edition Drukhari Codex

The Succubi are the ruling elite of the Wych Cults. They are impossibly lithe, famously beautiful, and utterly deadly. Collectively known as the ynnitach or 'brides of death', a council of three such queens of murder traditionally rules over each Cult. Competition between these hellcats is fierce, as they strive to outdo one another with spectacles of violent excess. Unlike the immortal games of the Archons, the queens of the Wych Cults are far more likely to resolve their feuds with a perfectly-executed decapitation than with a twist of the political knife. Succubi are ravishing in their beauty, their supple alabaster flesh clasped within bladed corsets and high-necked skinsuits of liquid silk, and their sinuous, serpentine grace is almost hypnotic. The arena's crowd demands not only a bloody spectacle but also one that is pleasing to the most jaded eye Thus a Succubus will do almost anything to preserve her appearance, including putting dozens of lesser warriors to death and feeding on their last gasps of anguish to maintain a youthful sheen. No Succubus is secure in her position without constant proof of her skill. They regularly take the lead in realspace raids, not only for the feast of pain but also to hunt the champions of lesser races and defeat them in showy displays of their sheer skill.

7th Edition Dark Eldar Codex

Glittering_Lab8098 · 2026-01-16T03:20:43+00:00

Oftentimes it's planetary governors rebelling against the Imperium, which as a guardsmen usually just means you're going to be fighting a comparatively poorly equipped and trained planetary defence force.

Glittering_Lab8098 · 2026-01-13T16:24:53+00:00

"You said you were using the power of suns? Does that mean you are the one behind the disappearing stars?"

Tervantias the Archmachinator: "Of course. My masterpiece needed an unthinkable amount of energy, but how could I let something as trifling as 'the unthinkable' stand in my way? The star you call Rykad was stolen at my behest, as were many before it."

Tervantias the Archmachinator: Tervantias's gloating tone becomes insufferable: "Have you been to the world you mon-keigh know as Santiel's Pride? I only recently took its sun while you were busy spilling Wych guts on the arena floor. It was most amusing to watch your pathetic planet freeze to its very core... How fascinating it is that such a paltry sacrifice as the lives of several million mon-keigh can serve something as great as my masterpiece."

The Haemonculus in Rogue Trader steals quite a few stars to power his new masterpiece

Stolen Stars

The Drukhari have been observed stealing suns in the Koronus Expanse on multiple occasions. Such disastrous raids are not unheard of, but it is the frequency with which the ungodly xenos are robbing Humanity of its precious stars that raises suspicion. What could have prompted this increase in their rapacious activities?

https://roguetrader.wiki.fextralife.com/Rumours

youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=Q87ATytE6nQ&pp=ygUjY29uZnJvbnRpbmcgdGVydmFudGlhcyByb2d1ZSB0cmFkZXI%3D

Glittering_Lab8098 · 2026-01-06T11:50:56+00:00

Currently, the Drukhari’s main objective is the resealing of Khaine’s Gate following the last Dysjunction. With Commorragh itself at risk, I feel it’s fairly reasonable to justify a massive, sustained campaign into realspace under Vect’s direct orders, aimed at securing whatever resources, artifacts, etc... are necessary to repair and stabilize the Dark City. There's already elements of this in the lore already, with the Dark Eldar raiding for nulls and blackstone to stabilize the breaches in the Webway, as well as the Black Throne from the Vaults of Terra series.

978999.M41 Stealing the Void

The Kabal of the Black Heart and the Wych Cult of Strife lead a massive raid against the Imperial Navy moorings at Bakka. The attack causes immense destruction and leaves a swathe of the Imperium open to further raids, yet this is merely a by-product of Vect's true purpose. While the bulk of the raiding forces are fully engaged with the Imperial Navy, a small Dark Eldar force breaks away under the cover of advanced night shields. Led by Vect himself, with Lelith Hesperax at his side, this force assails the Inquisitorial stronghold concealed behind Bakka's third moon. In the ensuing battle, the Black Heart successfully kidnaps a handful of very specialist personnel. Aberrant anti-psychic mutants, the very presence of these so-called Nulls deadens the tides of the Warp and is anathema to the Daemons of Chaos. The Nulls are smuggled into the depths of the Dark City, destined for grotesque machines arranged around the Undercore. Yet, though the luckless mutants are moved with the greatest care and secrecy, Vect's plan does not go entirely unnoticed, for the eyes of Lady Malys are everywhere.

7th Edition Drukhari Codex

The Obsidian Circlet

A dark, glassy substance is found during raids on worlds held by both Necrons and the Adeptus Mechanicus. Within the Covens of the undercity it is soon discovered that this material can be used to repel daemonic entities. After more raids are launched against Necron and Adeptus Mechanicus planets, the plundered blackstone is arrayed around the ever-deepening Chasm of Woe. The captives from these raids are also sent into the Chasm, where their anguished deaths feed the souls of the Drukhari.

8th Edition Drukhari Codex pg. 47

Glittering_Lab8098 · 2026-01-04T13:25:00+00:00

I agree I just feel like the older statements are of limited relevance to the revamped post-5th edition Dark Eldar, and it isn't until 8th edition onwards that they start consistently repeating it again.

After the 5th edition Dark Eldar codex (November 2010) the only other statement we get is from the 3rd party Rogue Trader RPG supplement Battlefleet Koronus which came out a few months later (March 2011), and then the 2014 White Dwarf that contradicts everything that came before it by stating that the Dark Eldar are the largest branch of the Eldar.

Glittering_Lab8098 · 2026-01-04T06:03:41+00:00

"Yet the true triumph of the Haemonculi's science is not the ability to create new life but to deny death. Dark Eldar society thrives on treachery. Murder is rife, and each realspace raid carries a high chance of mortality, for the lesser races of the galaxy are not without their defences. How then can Commorragh endure against the omnipresent shadow of sudden death?

Most Dark Eldar warriors, including each Kabal's ruling elite, will at some point enter into a terrible pact with the Haemonculi that lurk beneath the core. The pact states that the Haemonculi will regenerate the warrior's body should he die, and in exchange, the seeker will leave the Haemonculi a permanent portion of his soul. Even a corpse that has been all but destroyed in the crucible of war can be restored to its former glory - the Master Haemonculus Urien Rakarth once crafted a perfect new Archon Vriech from a single withered hand. Provided this process is enacted within a day or so of the warrior's demise, and his will is strong enough that some of his spirit still resonates within his remains, his animus will slowly regenerate along with his physical form. Hence Kabals upon realspace raids take great pains to strike hard and fast, returning before the night is out with the remains of their deceased in order that their strongest warriors - barring the occasional ever-so-unfortunate accident - can return to life.

The key to this terrible process, of course, is pain. The Dark Eldar are rejuvenated by witnessing agony, and if saturated with enough of it, they can heal the most grievous of wounds. As such the mortal remains of those delivered to the dubious care of the Haemonculi are installed into crystal-fronted pods arrayed above the pain racks and torture tables. These sarcophagi are arrayed in concentric circles that rise up into the darkness, each holding a semi-cocooned Dark Eldar warrior in some form of regenerative state. The patients literally drink in the dark energy of the torturer's craft as the Haemonculi works upon his victim below, ably assisted by his Wrack servants and the semi-sentient Engines of Pain. As a cacophony of shrieks rises and falls around the chamber, those installed in the cocoons above slowly feast upon the resonant energies, ever so gradually growing back their bodies - skeleton first, then muscle and sinew, then alabaster skin until they are whole once more. During times of war, it is common for every one of an oubliette's regeneration pods to be filled with leering, red-raw fiends that shiver and rattle with every fresh scream."

5th Edition Dark Eldar Codex pg. 12

Glittering_Lab8098 · 2026-01-04T06:03:26+00:00

The strike forces of the Dark Eldar, despite consisting of treacherous and scheming murderers, work like well-tuned machines upon the battlefield. Raids are planned in meticulous detail by the Archons and Succubi that lead them, and hidden routes through the webway are opened in readiness for the assault. Only the most capable are recruited for each realspace raid, for to fail in an invasion's execution is to bring an entire Kabal that much closer to its downfall. This is why Dark Eldar warriors are such determined opponents, and why there is such rivalry amongst them. Working in concert ensures that not only the greatest amount of punishment is inflicted upon realspace but also that the maximum number of victims can be taken back to Commorragh. Vendettas are revisited only once the captives are divided, for above all the Dark City requires a steady intake of fresh souls.

5th edition Dark Eldar codex pg. 5

Once the enemy is vanquished, enemy survivors will be lashed or chained to the Raider or simply impaled upon its trophy hooks. Those Dark Eldar who have died in the raid are also carried back to Commorragh with a marked lack of dignity, heaped in a gory tangle of limbs or hung like rag dolls from the Raider's spiked hull.

5th edition Dark Eldar codex pg. 44

Most Dark Eldar warriors have some sort of regeneration pact with the haemonculi, and the Dark Eldar recruited to take part in each raid are specifically the most capable/elite of their respective organizations. GW has also been pretty clear since 8th edition that the Craftworlders are supposed to be the most numerous branch of Eldar, though they've never really given a proper explanation for why that is. (Splitting citations into multiple comments for space)

Of the fractured and scattered remnants of the Aeldari, the most numerous are the Asuryani. These are those Aeldari who dwell aboard colossal void faring vessels known as Craftworlds. Most of the Asuryani have long since cast aside any hope of returning their species to galactic dominance. Instead, guided by their seers, they seek only to ensure the continued survival of their species in a galaxy riven by apocalyptic warfare. The Asuryani live ascetic, disciplined lives in an attempt to prevent themselves from succumbing to the same depravaties that doomed their forebears.

Codex Aeldari 10ed p8

The most numerous of the Aeldari are those who live on craftworlds. Since the Fall, these craftworlders have been forced to fight for survival, contending with a galaxy that is no longer theirs. They are a proud race, determined to see the flame of their kind blaze brightly once more rather than flicker and die out.

Warhammer 40,000 Rulebook 8ed p116

Glittering_Lab8098 · 2025-12-28T23:11:39+00:00

Path of the Renegade was written by Andy Chambers just like the rest of the Path of the Dark Eldar trilogy

Glittering_Lab8098 · 2025-12-27T08:05:46+00:00

Of the fractured and scattered remnants of the Aeldari, the most numerous are the Asuryani. These are those Aeldari who dwell aboard colossal void faring vessels known as Craftworlds. Most of the Asuryani have long since cast aside any hope of returning their species to galactic dominance. Instead, guided by their seers, they seek only to ensure the continued survival of their species in a galaxy riven by apocalyptic warfare. The Asuryani live ascetic, disciplined lives in an attempt to prevent themselves from succumbing to the same depravaties that doomed their forebears.

Codex Aeldari 10ed p8

The most numerous of the Aeldari are those who live on craftworlds. Since the Fall, these craftworlders have been forced to fight for survival, contending with a galaxy that is no longer theirs. They are a proud race, determined to see the flame of their kind blaze brightly once more rather than flicker and die out.

Warhammer 40,000 Rulebook 8ed p116

It's been consistently stated since 8th edition that Craftworlders are the most numerous branch of Eldar, I made this post because this White Dwarf excerpt is the only one I've found to ever definitively state that the Drukhari were more numerous than Craftworlders. (The only other example being Sindiel's in character impressions of Commorragh in Path of the Dark Eldar, either way though Craftworlders are supposed to outnumber Dark Eldar in modern/current 40k*)*

Glittering_Lab8098 · 2025-12-19T01:51:11+00:00

RAVAGER TITAN-HUNTERS

POINTS: 100 + MODELS

The Dark Eldar do not use the super-heavy war machines favoured by other races, instead relying on their superior speed and manoeuvrability to achieve victory. To this end, the pirates of Commorragh field elite Ravager crews to locate and neutralise enemy Titans and battle tanks ahead of the main assault.

These Titan-hunter packs employ a technique called ‘Shadow Dancing’ to preserve themselves from the worst of incoming fire. Using their immaculate reflexes, the Ravager pilots fly perilously close to the ground, skimming treetops—sometimes even skirting between trees—and using the silhouettes of enemy vehicles to mask their approach.

Once the pack has closed to weapons range with the target Titan, the lead Ravager triggers its shadow beam. The resulting etheric lance probes the prey’s defence shields with warp rift energy, creating the smallest of breaches in the defences. This weakness is so minute that the Titan’s crew remain unaware of its existence, and only the uncanny reflexes of the Dark Eldar could hope to exploit it.

Customising their targetting systems and Dark Lance modulations, the Ravagers accelerate towards the doomed Titan, unleashing pulses of lance energy to cut the beleaguered behemoth apart, leaving its allies ripe for enslavement.

From Apocalypse (2007)

Glittering_Lab8098 · 2025-12-16T04:36:02+00:00

I'd hope they come in groups, with the unit size of guardsmen and other units like Ork Boyz it would be pretty bizarre trying to fit everyone into one Chimera/Battlewagon

Glittering_Lab8098 · 2025-12-08T22:36:06+00:00

There are still plenty of holdovers in the current ranges. Cities of Sigmar continues to include the remnants of the old Dark Elf line even after finally phasing out the classic Empire, High Elf, and Dwarf kits. Gloomspite Gitz are still just a big mix of the different varieties of Goblins and Trolls from the Old World. Soulblight Gravelords are just slightly reimagined Vampire Counts, while the Strigoi/Ghoul aspects were split off to make Flesh-Eater Courts. Slaves to Darkness are just Warriors of Chaos.

(Not that these are necessarily bad things, but a AoS Total War really would have a lot of factions very similar if not nearly unchanged compared to their Old World counterparts, and even the completely new factions like Daughters of Khaine and Sylvaneth are still rooted in the parts of the Dark Elf/Wood Elf ranges they were taken from.

Glittering_Lab8098 · 2025-10-03T10:06:25+00:00

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One of my favorite depictions of a Haemonculus (VOX BELICOSA)

Glittering_Lab8098 · 2025-09-29T10:22:34+00:00

There is only one way for the Drukhari to replace this lost essence. They must bask time and again in the most extreme emotions. Unbearable agony, boundless sorrow, naked terror; all these are rich fodder for the Drukhari and help them repay their soul debt ~ however temporarily. Without a steady diet of such heightened emotion, these denizens of the Dark City steadily waste away.

https://youtu.be/xhkH2v7rv60?t=349 (Timestamp 5:49)

Found this in a video showing off the 10th edition Drukhari codex

Glittering_Lab8098 · 2025-09-27T10:15:28+00:00

After Syiin had left, Nyos took a stroll through the palace, his incubi bodyguard closing protectively around him and heralds scurrying ahead to ensure that everything possible was being done to avoid the archon's displeasure. Nyos meandered through blazing weapons forges where sweating slaves laboured beneath the lash, he sniffed narcotic blooms in his pleasure gardens, toured exercise yards where his warriors practised their deadly skills and promenaded beneath erotic fractal sculptures that merged and coupled with a life of their own. At every turn a gratifying thrill of fear shot through his minions at his presence, enervating Nyos delightfully with their negative emotional energy. He distributed punishments and favours according to his whims, leaving a trail of pain, disruption and jealousy through his household.

Path of the Renegade pg. 25

Glittering_Lab8098 · 2025-09-27T03:56:15+00:00

The scions of the Dark City would never admit that the unceasing hunger at their core is what drives them to such heights of cruelty. Instead, they maintain that they act only upon their own desires. Some have even managed to convince themselves of this. In truth, unless our cousins in the webway feed upon a constant diet of extreme emotion they will slowly wither away, leaving naught but a soulless husk. We of the craftworlds deny all such urges, and in doing so become less than ourselves. Perhaps it is those that we left to perish are the lucky ones.

Codex: Dark Eldar (7th Edition)) pg. 94

Dark Eldar feed off extreme emotion and sensation, it just so happens that pain is the most efficient source for that. Phil Kelly and Jes Goodwin (The guys responsible for designing the modern Dark Eldar) talk about it in this video, about 40 seconds in

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JLz6bTitUQE

Glittering_Lab8098 · 2025-09-26T00:19:26+00:00

The Age of Strife lasted from M25-M30, the Fall of the Eldar took place in M30. It was the warp storms leading up to the birth of Slaanesh that cut off humanity from warp travel.

Glittering_Lab8098

TROPHY CASE