his list (below) is an unofficial Coven list. he wanted to try it out, and I knew that if we played, I'd have a great time, so I allowed it.

My list:

Devil flyrant

BL+6x Retinue (4+ saves all around and ScytheTalons on the retinue)

2x Lictors (Which I TOTALLY forgot about ALL FREEKING GAME.. not that they would have made a dramatic difference)

16x Tgaunts +Str

16x Tgaunts +Str

16x Devgaunts +Str

8x Genestealers +Sv

8x Genestealers +Sv

1x Soopa Devilfex (Spinebanks, scythe tail, +Sv, +w, +Init, Tusks, Toxic miasma)

3x Zoanthropes, Warp Blast, Synapse

Mission:

Twilight (from the RTT mission pack, found here

his list:

Haemonculi + 8x Grotesques on raider

Haemonculi + 8x Grotesques on raider

Haemonculi

Haemonculi

Haemonculi (all are armed with Evil Flamer Thing [of doom], combat drugs and scissorhands)

Warrior squad 2x Dark Lances

8x Slaver squad on raider with Sybarite

8x Slaver squad on raider with Sybarite

10x Kroot Carnivore + eviscerator

1x Talos

2x Ravagers(?) (the thick cardboard skimmers with 3 guns)

~Haemons consisted of HQ and Elite slots (I think~ lol). we discussed the details of how the list is not legal, but should be, as legal as a witch coven.

Set up as per mission rules and map below.

we started out with preliminary bombardment and I killed his Talos. preliminary bombardment killed 3 from genestealer 2. he won first turn.

Turn 1

~he moves forward with his skimmers, and threw out a couple shots, putting a wound on the middle zoanthrope, a wound on the Devilfex and a shocking 5 wounds on the broodlord + retinue (I remove the broodlord and 2 stealers) he unloads Raider 1 and Slaver 1.

~My turn finds my flyrant lining up on his kroot, the devilfex and other units moving forward on the right. on the left, the broodlord and Stealer 1 unit move up to assault, and the zoey gains LOS on some evil skimmers. in the middle, Tgaunt 1 and Devgaunts get in each others way as I try to stay out of the dangerous lava. Shooting ensues and I put down all but 4 of the kroot (they flee), Raider 1 (killing a couple of grotesques), Raider 2 (killing several grotesqes) Slaver 1, and then subsequently shooting the survivors of Slaver 1 with Devgaunts (killing a LOT of models there). All the Genestealers gain a first turn assault on the Haemons and Grotesques..

...silly me... he rolls 3 dice for combat drugs (go first, extra attack and reroll hits) and kills very nearly every single one of my genestealers. on the left, only 4 genestealers survive. they kill a couple grotesques and some of the slaver squad. the sheer brutality of the battle shocks even me (not used to seeing all my genestealers fall in a single round)

Turn 2

~he moves the Haemons and grotesques up from the wrecked raider.. (NOTE: do NOT assault into wreckage unless you are SURE you're going to win. assaulting the Haemons from Raider 2 freed them from the wreckage, and he killed them. they were now free to move on his turn). His Ravager 2 tried additional shooting and didn't get very far. one of the the Haemons separates from his squad, and uses a flamer on my poor Tgaunt squad 2, killing all but 3. they fell back towards the flyrant. on the left, he killed off the rest of the genestealers, and his empty Slaver 1 skimmer flew off with my left most zoanthrope!!

~my turn allows me to take revenge on Slaver 1, blasting it with the warp blast from the middle Zoanthrope. the Gaunts moved up and prepared to receive a charge from the haemons and the grotesques. however, I was able to target some of them and kill off one Haemon in shooting. On the right, my Carnifex blasts the grotesqes and the 3 remaining Tgaunts kills off the lone Haemon. Flyrant moves up and blasts the ravager into worm-infested fancy-looking heavy cardboard. from there the Flyrant hides in some rocks and plays peek-a-boo to find his next victim...

mind you, at this point, he's got:

3 Haemons on the left,

1 squad of grotesques,

1 ravager

1 squad of warriors with 2 dark lances. he's got an Excellent defensive line, but very little light arms to mitigate the oncoming horde...

I've got:

Devilfex with 3 wounds

Flyrant with 4 wounds

2 zoanthropes

about 16x devgaunts

about 16x tgaunts

I'm worried, because he's still got a ton of shooting and I've got to assault the grotesques and haemons (remember, they have flamers)

Turn 3

~He moves his Haemons up, getting miserable terrain rolls and his flamers only roast a few gaunts (whew!) his Ravager puts down my other zoanthrope, his warriors put a wound on the flyrant. then he agonizes over whether to assault a haemon into the gaunts. I pray he doesn't (which would leave me free to act on my turn), and he finally decides against it. he completes his move and I breathe a sigh of relief.

~My gaunts finish moving up and open fire on the Haemon/grotesques, killing off all of the haemons. the Flyrant blasts the Darklance warriors into quivering gobbets of flesh and moves up. the Carnifex moves up as well. The gaunts assault through the terrain, and even though they strike last, I chase down the grotesques and finish them off.

Turn 4,

we decide it's over and declare me the victor.

I have to say again, this was by far the most fun game I've had in a very long time. my opponent was smart, saavy and a great guy to play against. being an experimental list, it was really interesting to see how it all worked together.

Notes:

1. do NOT assault haemonculi with genestealers. it's... painful.

2. SHOOT THEM instead.

3. and shoot everything else while you're at it.

4. don't forget to shoot everything.

5. twice.

6. in the head. (only then you can eat it)

7. I may have missed a couple moves or shots in this report, but you get the general gist.

8. battles against Dark Eldar are painful and brutal. expect a 1st turn assault or, at the very least, the ability to assault on turn 1. prepare a tiered defense, and don't underestimate the value of Str 3 devourers against them. Str 6 Devilfexi are also extremely valuable for killing grotesques.

anyway. here's a shot of the board on the final turn.