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Bishop

Master Necromancer
True Blood
Feb 5, 2009
2,683
Toronto, Ontario
Here's my tactica thread for all things Craftworld Eldar. This guide is a work in progress. It will start with a breakdown of the various Eldar units before moving into more in-depth tactical discussions/ideas.

Links will be posted in this first post, which will act as an index for the thread.

INDEX:

#1 - HQ
- Normal HQs
- Special characters
#2 - Troops
#3 - Elites
#4 - Fast Attack
#5 - Heavy Support
#6 - Wave Serpent (Transport)

Other items

Aspect Warrior Powers

Vehicle Upgrades

Psychic Powers
- Farseer powers
- Warlock powers
 

Sanai

Stylish Deviant
True Blood
Oct 30, 2009
5,193
Behind Darvy
An insightful tactica that cuts straight to the (wraith)bone. Never before have I read of such an incisive and unbiased Eldar player. My 40k tactics, and even the way I approach wargaming, has been changed forever by this read.
 

Bishop

Master Necromancer
True Blood
Feb 5, 2009
2,683
Toronto, Ontario
HQ

Avatar of Khaine
This monstrous creature can be a real game changer. He has decent saves and a good stat-line. He projects an aura of Fearlessness around him, which can help keep some of your less than stellar troops in the fight longer. (Warning - using non-assault troops in an assault with an Avatar will likely result in lots of casualties from Fearless rule). Use the Avatar in conjunction with assault units to help bolster their effectiveness in combat. Two drawbacks that this guy has are that he is a bit slower (no fleet), and then mass small arms fire can wound him. You can help mitigate the 2nd item by using the psychic power Fortune.

Grade: B+

Autarch
An Autarch is a military leader and provides a bonus to reserve rolls. This guy has a reasonable stat-line, but he suffers from low Strength/Toughness. He is fleet despite having decent saves. He is the only IC that can benefit from the Exarch abilities of others, but is a bit lacking in special equipment. Most of the equipment options available to him are basic options; sadly Exarch-type equipment is not allowed for this character. He can be used to provide a bit more punch to some Aspect units. In a reserve type of list he would be of a higher value, but I find that I rarely take this guy.

Grade: C

Farseer
This psyker is the ultimate support character! Good stat-line, for a non-combat character and an Invul save (but no armour save). Has a couple of excellent wargear/equipment options. Farseers have access to weapons that can hurt vehicles as well, even at range if upgraded. The option for multiple powers and the synergy that this IC provides is virtually unmatched in ANY 40k army. If there was a MUST HAVE character, this would be it!

See Farseer psychic powers.

Grade: A+

Warlocks
These guys have an okay stat-line as well as an Invul save (no armour save). Warlocks have access to weapons that can hurt vehicles as well, even at range if upgraded. Personally, I don’t use a warlock unit. I know that there are some people that swear by this unit. It’s a very Ulthwe unit. A popular configuration is to take a unit on jetbikes with various powers, but mostly using Destructor to saturate targets with flamer templates. This configuration is highly dependant on having a farseer on a bike as well for defensive purposes. This can become a very expensive unit, quickly!

Also, note that Warlocks are the unit “champions” available to Guardian units.

See Warlock Psychic powers.

Grade: C (as a unit)
 

Bishop

Master Necromancer
True Blood
Feb 5, 2009
2,683
Toronto, Ontario
FARSEER PSYCHIC POWER

Doom
This psychic power makes an enemy unit more susceptible to being wounded. This works great with the Eldars low-Str weapons. The reason that this is a such a good power, is because it’s used on the enemy unit. So, you can pick one unit, and then fire at it with 2,3,or more of your units, who will ALL effectively gain the benefit of Doom! *adopt a low voice* DOOoooom! - makes target unit disappear.

Grade: A+

Eldritch Storm
This power is more of an annoyance then anything. It’s supposed to be useful against vehicles, however it falls a little short. It does provide a large template at a low strength, so I suppose you could try and use it to pin a low toughness, low armour save unit... but then again, you could probably just shoot that unit instead. :D To be honest, I don’t think I’ve ever cast this power!

Grade: E

Fortune
This power lets a unit reroll ANY save. This power is very good for providing survivability to an expensive unit. The only drawback is that it has a short range.

Grade: A-

Guide

This power provides better accuracy to a unit. I like this power for use on unit with average BS, which in this army is only Guardians. If you have a lot of guardians/weapons teams then maybe this power can be useful... otherwise, I wouldn’t bother.

Guide: D (or B if lots of Guardians, War Walkers, or other units with average BS)

Mind War

This power can be useful for picking out a specific model from a unit, like a power-fist model, or a champion. It has an okay range, nothing great, but you should be able to use it without being in too much danger. Since it’s based on Ld, and the Farseer has an awesome Ld, chances are that it will wound normal models. It’s usefulness is very situational and for that reason alone I’m going to rank this as an average power.

Grade: C
 

Bishop

Master Necromancer
True Blood
Feb 5, 2009
2,683
Toronto, Ontario
WARLOCK PSYCHIC POWERS

These have 2 grades in the following format X /Y where X is in a guardian unit and Y is in a Warlock unit. Also note, that Warlock powers do not require any psychic tests. They are “always on”.

Conceal
Grants the warlocks unit a “cover” save versus shooting.

Grade: C / F

Destructor
This is basically a heavy flamer. In an army that otherwise has a hard time getting flamers, this can be valuable.

Grade: B / A

Embolden
Allows the unit to reroll Ld tests. Given the near average Ld of Guardians and Warlocks is can be very handy.

Grade: B / C

Enhance

This power gives a unit WS/In bonus. It could be used to make a unit of Storm Guardians passable in assault. However, I’d prefer to leave the assaulting to the Aspect assault units... they have better equipment and a better save.

Grade: D / B
 

Bishop

Master Necromancer
True Blood
Feb 5, 2009
2,683
Toronto, Ontario
SPECIAL CHARACTERS - HQ

Eldrad Ulthran, Farseer of Ulthwe
This guy is the monster of farseers. He has all of the farseer psychic powers/wargear. He also has improved armour and weapons and stat-line. To top all that off, he also allows you to redeploy some of your units before the game starts. All of this can be yours for an extremely high price of over 200 points! Aside from the high cost, there are also some fluff drawbacks. He really should only be used in an Ulthwe army, and most believe that he is actually dead... forever trapped in the Warp.

Grade: B+

Prince Yriel, Autarch of Iyanden
This special character has a slightly improved stat-line over a normal Autarch. He has a special Singing Spear (which is normally a Psyker only weapon), making him a bit of a beast in combat. He also carries a template weapon which is a large blast weapon that can only be used once per game which is really powerful! These additions make this special character pretty good in the assault phase. The drawbacks of this character are that it should really only be used in an Iyanden army, and Yriel’s special curse; which could kill him at the end of the game.

Grade: B

Phoenix Lords
All of the Phoenix Lords have a ridiculous stat-line! They are all fleet, fearless and have a very good armour save. They are (mostly) lacking an Invul save though. They cannot join units of any Aspect warriors other than their own Aspect. They also have an average point cost of over 200 points.

Asurmen, The Hand of Asuryan
(Dire Avenger Phoenix Lord)
This guy is decent in combat, and perhaps the most rounded of the Phoenix Lords. With all the standard Avenger powers and equipment as well as a master-crafted power weapon and an Invul save he can certainly hold his own. The problem is that Dire Avengers don’t really belong in close combat! He is also the most expensive character in the entire army (even more then Eldrad)!

Grade : D

Jain Zar, The Storm of Silence (Howling Banshee Phoenix Lord)
With all the standard Banshee abilities/equipment, Jain Zar is the cheapest of the Phoenix Lords. She makes your Banshees even scarier by granting them the Furious Charge ability! She is also armed with a ranged weapon which is decent, though my Banshee rarely ever have time to shoot things. Lack of an Invul save is unfortunate.

Grade: B-

Baharroth, The Cry of the Wind
(Swooping Hawk Phoenix Lord)
Baharroth has all the standard Hawk abilities/equipment... which is to say that he doesn’t really add much. He can give your Hawk the Hit and run ability, but again, Hawk shouldn’t be in close combat either! I’ve seen this character used in a rubber-band Hawk list... other then that I don’t think that there’s much use for him.

Grade: E

Karandras, The Shadow Hunter (Striking Scorpion Phoenix Lord)
This guy is good in combat, and has all the standard Scorpion equipment/powers, along with an improved Mandiblaster. Karandras is the only Phoenix Lord that has grenades and also belongs in close combat. :D He also grants the Stealth ability to his unit of Scorpions.

Grade: C+

Fuegan, The Burning Lance (Fire Dragon Phoenix Lord)
Fuegan is armed with all the usual Dragon equipment/powers. He rip a tank in half with his Fire Axe or blow a tank to bits with his Fire Pike. Blowing up tanks is what this guy does... however, other then bringing another fire pike to a unit already filled with fusion guns and probably another fire pike seems a bit of overkill to me. He is the only Phoenix Lord with an ability not granted to his unit, Fuegan Feels no Pain.

Grade: C+

Maugan Ra, The Harvester of Souls (Dark Reaper Phoenix Lord)
This Phoenix Lord is the only one with a heavy weapon. He carries the Eldar equivalent of an assault cannon into battle, which also counts as a very good power weapon. This character can act as a decent sniper all by himself, ignoring cover and picking out units in the dark. Sadly, the cover rules in 5th have pretty much negated the overall usefulness of Dark Reapers, otherwise this IC would probably see more action.

Grade: C
 

Bishop

Master Necromancer
True Blood
Feb 5, 2009
2,683
Toronto, Ontario
ASPECT WARRIOR POWERS

These powers are only available to Aspect warriors. Phoenix Lords have the Aspect powers associated with their shrine as well as one unique power of their own. Autarchs can benefit from the abilities of other Aspect warriors.

Bladestorm (Avengers)
This allows the unit to unload on an enemy, taking extra shots. This is useful in the round right before an assault. Using this power prohibits shooting in the next turn, so you need to use it carefully.

Grade: B

Defend (Avengers)
Trained on the arts of defence, this allows a Dire Avenger unit to take on a defensive stance to effectively reduce incoming melee attacks. Taking this in combination with a Shimmershield can turn a unit of Avenger into a decent tar-pit style unit.

Grade: B

Acrobatic (Banshees)
Allows the Banshee to counter charge if they get assaulted. (In my experience, this should rarely happen). If you have the extra points, I'd take it, otherwise just leave it.

Grade: D

War Shout (Banshees)
The Banshees scream at the enemy in an attempt to distract their opponent. When it works, the bonus can be huge! However, most things in the game that you'd need to use this on should be passing their morale check more often then not. Again, this is a take if you have the points.

Grade: C-

Shadowstrike (Scorpions)
Allows the unit to Inflitrate. This is an option that is dangerous, as it takes the the Scorpions away from the rest of your army. Also note, that this power is not usable by an Autarch joining the unit.

Grade: C-

Stalker (Scorpions)
Allows the Scorpions to move more easily through cover. Good to have since Scorpions are not fleet. This is a really cheap ability; find the points to take this if your Scorpions are on foot.

Grade: B+

Tank Hunter (Dragons)
Gives them Tank Hunter. They already have meltaguns! In most cases I find that these points could be better spent elsewhere.

Grade: C

Crack Shot (Dragons)
Only applies to the exarch, but still worth the small point cost. No cover is nice, and rerolls to wound to HUGE if you take the flamer upgrade

Grade: C- (or B+ with Dragon's Breath Flamer upgrade)

Crack Shot (Reapers)
Only applies to the exarch, but still worth the small point cost. No cover is great, too bad it's only the exarch that benefits.

Grade: C+

Fast Shot (Reapers)
This allows the Reaper exarch to take one additional shot with his weapon. For a unit that is a long range support unit, this is huge. If you are using Reapers, then you should be using this power! Note: you can not use Crack shot and Fast shot in the same turn.

Grade: A-

Skyleap (Hawks)
Allows the Hawk unit to leave the table, even from close combat. They then return as if in Reserve. This power is used heavily in a Rubber-band Hawk list, where the Hawks repeated leave/return to play, dropping grenades each time they do so. This can also be very good to reposition to the other side of the table quickly.

Grade: C

Intercept (Hawks)
With this power Hawks can more easily hunt down enemy skimmers and attack them with grenades.

Grade: B-

Skilled Rider (Spears)
Moving through terrain is dangerous on a jet bike. This power helps minimize the chances of crashing into terrain. Useful for helping the Spears get to where they need to be on the field. Given the high cost of a unit of Shining Spears this power should be taken.

Grade: A-

Withdraw (Spears)
Shining Spears belong in combat, and are much more effective on the turn that they charge. This power lets them leave combat so that they can charge again in a later turn.

Grade: B+

Withdraw (Spiders)
This power lets Spiders leave close combat. Your Spider should NEVER be in close combat. Planning an escape for them from a situation they shouldn't be in in the first place... just skip this power and spend those points elsewhere.

Grade: D-

Surprise Assault (Spiders)
Out of date. This power does NOTHING!

Grade: F
 

Bishop

Master Necromancer
True Blood
Feb 5, 2009
2,683
Toronto, Ontario
TROOPS:

Common drawbacks, which you will find is common amongst the entire Eldar list is lack of flexibility, low Strength and Toughness. Everything in the Eldar army has a specific role/purpose. You should always try to use your units for the purpose that they were meant to perform! Don't force your units into performing roles that they should not be doing.


Dire Avengers

The only Aspect warriors that are Troops, they are the most common of the warrior Aspects. These are one of the best troop choice in the Eldar list, if not the best. Nice stats for Eldar at a decent cost. These guys are a medium range support unit.

Grade: A

Rangers
Infiltrating snipers with a bonus to cover saves. These guys are okay, but seem a bit expensive to me. Even moreso if you take the pathfinder upgrade. Monstrous creatures will fear these guys, though aside from that, I’ve found very little use from the Rangers that I have.

Grade: C+

Guardians
These are supposed to be your basic troops. They can be given a Warlock, and they must be given a heavy weapon platform. Sadly they have an average BS, so you won’t be hitting a lot with that heavy weapon, and the units basic weaponry has such a poor range that most of the time they might as well not even have guns!

Grade: C

Storm Guardians
Storm Guardians have chosen to swap their weapons for more of an assault configuration. They are still Eldar and have very poor stats to be an assault unit. However, this option does allow you to take a couple of fusion guns or flamers which are a rare commodity in the Eldar list. Take a Warlock with Destructor and then you can have 3 flame templates coming from this unit.

Grade: B

Jetbike Guardians
Jetbikes... faster and slightly tougher then Guardians on foot, for about 3 times the cost. Unless playing a Saim-Hann army or another jetbike/vehicle heavy list I’d say leave these guys at home. Monetary cost might be a huge factor for (not)-taking these as well.

Grade: C-

Wraithguard

For fluff reasons, (ie. to make an Iyanden army possible) you can take a full squad of 10 of them with a Spiritseer as a Troop choice. (See elite section for details on this unit).
 

Irisado

Ancient Vampire Lord | Siphoner of Spammers
Staff member
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May 22, 2010
718
Nottingham, UK
I'm currently rewriting my old Eldar Guide on Warseer, so I'm fully aware of how tricky these can be. I'm also aware of the diversity of opinion among Eldar commanders, so it's always very difficult to please everyone when writing an Eldar Guide.

One little nitpick before I begin, is that I've noticed that you are not using a capital A for Aspect. If you would be able to fix this, I think that it would make your writing more in tune with the army you are referring to :thumbsup:.

I think that the main concern I have here is that I find your pitch a bit vague. You have titled this a 'tactica', yet it is more of a summary of the units, rather than how to use them, unless you plan on adding this later, so I think that renaming it to be something along the lines of a 'beginner's guide' would be more accurate. This is how I pitch my own guide, as it's very unlikely to contain information of use to Eldar veterans, but is very helpful for newbies.

Your summary of the capabilities of the units is generally solid, although I think that you sell some options and squads a bit short. The Defender Guardians are a classic example of this. You rate them as being a D class unit. I don't agree with this at all. Take two squads, each armed with a Scatter Laser and led by a Warlock with Embolden, and they become very handy at providing fire support for taking out infantry and light vehicles.

I also feel that you don't attribute as much utility to Guide as you could do. For example, consider its application in a list with a substantial fire base, which includes War Walkers. War Walkers with Scatter Lasers under the effect of Guide are rather nasty, and this power can also compensate for the lack of accuracy of War Walkers equipped with EMLs.

Conversely, I think that you overstate the effectivenss of Conceal for Guardians (most cover confers a better save), and that your discussion of the Avatar would benefit from including some of the perils of the no retreat rule (i.e. avoid sending average assault troops anywhere near combats which he is spearheading).

I like your comments about themed choices, and I am impressed the fact that your are trying to be concise, so please don't change your style to be more detailed if you are not aiming to write a tactica, but if you are, then I think you would benefit from going inot more detail about how the units in question are best used, which units they combine well with, and in which army types they are most successful. You touch on the latter with some of your theme points (e.g. the Jetbikes), so perhaps you could expand on this?

I've offered a lot of suggestions, and I hope that they have been constructive, as this has been my intention. If you have any questions about my comments, please feel free to ask :).
 

Bishop

Master Necromancer
True Blood
Feb 5, 2009
2,683
Toronto, Ontario
TBH, I didn't think it would take very long for you to pop-in to this thread xD

Really, since our 40k area is new, we are just trying to get some stuff in here.

I could use another opinion on some of he items (like some of the ones that you mentioned already - Guardians and War Walkers), as my experience with these is rather limited.

I probably will be breaking it down more into a beginner's guide/unit break down and then add in the actual tactics and more advanced stuff at a later time. And it's cleary still a work in progress. Anything that you can provide insight on that you think I have missed or sold short, let me know... :thumbsup:
 

Irisado

Ancient Vampire Lord | Siphoner of Spammers
Staff member
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May 22, 2010
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Nottingham, UK
Bishop said:
TBH, I didn't think it would take very long for you to pop-in to this thread xD

I'm just glad that somebody started an Eldar discussion :). I certainly can't be of much help to most VC players on here, as I've only played one game of eighth edition, and that was with my Empire.

Really, since our 40k area is new, we are just trying to get some stuff in here.

I have a number of other articles which I could post here at some point, but they're more advanced, so I will save those for a later time. I think that you're definitely taking the right approach by starting with the basics in view of the fact that this area of the forum is rather new.

Anything that you can provide insight on that you think I have missed or sold short, let me know... :thumbsup:

I'm happy to help where I can. There are certain units which I haven't used at all in fifth edition, or do not use much, so you may know more about some combinations than I do. For example, I'm not at all familiar with using Jetbike themed lists.

I've just noted that in your discussion of Defend it might be worth mentioning that Fortune combines well with Defend and the Shimmershield, especially if you have an Autarch leading the squad of Dire Avengers in question. I'm not sure exactly where you may wish to note this, as there are a number of entries where this could be applicable, but I just thought that it would be quite a handy tip to include somewhere.
 

Disciple of Nagash

Oldblood
Staff member
Feb 12, 2008
27,732
An interesting thread Bishop, and good feedback from Irisado as well. Irisado - you mention you have some helpful info, if it is Eldar I can understand waiting, but if not then please feel free to post it. This section might be quite new but a lot of the members reading it are not xd

Look forward to the next part.
 

Irisado

Ancient Vampire Lord | Siphoner of Spammers
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Most of the articles and guides I right are associated with the Eldar. They are not all unit by unit guides though, I do write strategy and background articles, so I would be happy to post those. I don't want to tread on Bishop's toes with anything I post though, which is why I'm holding back at this time.

I do play Chaos, after a fashion, as well, but not enough to write a tactica. I did, however, write an article on building Word Bearers armies with the current codex which may be of interest. I could repost that here if anyone is interested.
 

Bishop

Master Necromancer
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Feb 5, 2009
2,683
Toronto, Ontario
Adjusted a couple of the grades around (Guardians, Conceal, Guide).
Corrected "Aspect" capitalization to be consistent.

Work continues :D
 

Bishop

Master Necromancer
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Feb 5, 2009
2,683
Toronto, Ontario
ELITES:

Fire Dragons
Need to remove some enemy tanks, terminators, etc? Then some Fire Dragons are what you need, a whole unit of guys armed with Fusion Guns (Meltaguns). They are also armed with Meltabombs, though I find that I rarely need to use them. The exarch has the option to get a heavy flamer (rare in the Eldar list). Putting them in a transport is the best way to ensure that they get where they need to be. Pick your targets carefully and make sure that you don't leave these guys unsupported as they don't last long in assault.

Grade: B

Howling Banshees
Precise and deadly. A max-sized unit armed entirely with power weapons can be extremely effective. These girls are quick and agile, able to get the drop on most opponents in the assault phase. However, you need to make sure that they get there first! I prefer to use Banshees in a Wave Serpent as they are a fragile unit suffering from average S/T and armour saves. Exarch has upgrade options for: shooting (never used), extra attacks (is okay) or +2 Str bonus (this is the one to take!).

Grade: B+

Striking Scorpions
One of the most durable of the Aspect units. These guys are a great assault unit for taking on lots of lightly armoured models (Orks, Tyranids, etc). They have lots of attacks and a good armour save; though they lack the armour penetration of Banshees. Scorpions are armoured enough to take to the field without a transport. The exarch has a number of weapon options including a power fist type of weapon, though it's only Str 6. Sadly this unit lacks Fleet.

Grade: B+

Wraithguard
A staple of the Iyanden craftworld. With a good armour save, and S/T equal to many monstrous creatures/greater deamons, these guys might be one of the toughest units in the entire game! They also have a very powerful shooting attack, that can: wound almost anything, ignores armour saves, and can even cause instant death. The drawbacks are quite high as well though. This unit is expensive (both point cost and $$ cost), is slow and has a very short range weapon. They also require a Psyker to "babysit" them, otherwise they become less dependable. Personally, I feel that the drawbacks are too many for my liking. Though an army comprised of many Wraithguard units would probably be pretty effective.

Grade: D (or B if lots are used)

Harlequins
Harelequins are rare and reclusive. They have no craftworld affiliation at all and have even been known to fight alongside Dark Eldar. They wander the mysetrious conduit of tunnels through space call the Webway. They are faster and more agile then Banshees! Though they generally lack power weapons; they do have some exotic weapon options which can be quite deadly. They have no armour at all, but they do have an invulnerable save due to their holographic suits. They also have options for a Shadowseer (like a Warlock) which grants them a stealth-like ability to always count as being in a night-fight situation, as well as a Death Jester who can carry a heavy weapon. I have never had the opportunity to use a Death Jesters heavy weapon as Harlequins tend to be in combat or running towards combat.

Grade: C
 

Irisado

Ancient Vampire Lord | Siphoner of Spammers
Staff member
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May 22, 2010
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The combined firepower of two or more squads of Defender Guardians with Scatter Lasers is actually quite effective, particularly against light vehicles, so you may wish to add something about this.

I look forward to seeing how this continues to develop :).
 

Bishop

Master Necromancer
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Feb 5, 2009
2,683
Toronto, Ontario
FAST ATTACK:

Shining Spears
Aspect warriors on jet bikes. These guys have great stats, are very fast, and can hit very hard on the charge. Drawbacks are small unit size and point cost. I find that they work much better with an Autarch in the unit to bolster attack output.

Grade: C

Swooping Hawks
This unit is very fast jump infantry and can quickly reposition itself as needed. They are a medium range support unit with weaponry that is best suited for engaging lightly armoured troops. They also have grenades for attacking vehicles or troops in cover (which they shouldn't be assaulting). The lack of a focused role is their biggest drawback.

Grade: E

Warp Spiders
Spiders are jump infantry and are able to deep strike as well as teleport during the assault phase. These guys get around! Their shooting attacks are short range but high strength. Best suited for engaging tougher opponents or light vehicles. Leave the all the close combat upgrades at home, these guys don't belong in the assault! Stay mobile, pick your targets, and let their decent armour save protect them.

Grade: B

Vypers
A fast light support vehicle or vehicle unit (depending on how many you take), these are very fragile. They have a wide variety of weapon options and vehicle upgrades available. If you keep them cheaper by just taking a Shuriken Cannons/Scatter Lasers you could create a quick fire support unit.

Grade: C
 

Bishop

Master Necromancer
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Feb 5, 2009
2,683
Toronto, Ontario
HEAVY SUPPORT:

Dark Reapers

Warriors of the Reaper Aspect are basically a heavy weapons team. A unit of Reapers can make short work of all but the most heavily armoured targets, outside of cover of course. The prevalence of cover saves in the current edition have really hindered their effectiveness. The exarch has a few different heavy weapon options.

Grade: C

Support Weapon Platform

A support battery has a few different weapon options available. A Distortion Cannon is a medium ranged weapon can kill virtually anything with a bit of luck. The second option, a Vibrocannon is a medium to long range weapon that can cause damage to many units in a line (including your own); multiple Vibrocannons increase their effectiveness. The third option is a Shadow Weaver; a very big Death Spinner. This long range weapon can drop a high strength blast template, sadly with no AP though.

Grade: C-

Wraithlord
A Wraithlord is the Eldar equivalent to a Dreadnaught. However, it is not a vehicle, but a monstrous creature. The two most common variants are an assault Wraithlord with a Close Combat weapon or a fire support configuration usually containing a Brightlance and Missile Launcher. Either option will benefit from a Psyker "babysitter", as Wraithlords are also known to lose focus if left un-attended.

Grade: B

War Walker
One to three War Walkers can be taken in a unit. These are light vehicle that can carry a wide variety of weaponry. Most commonly several are taken with medium support weapons to form a powerful fire support unit. Three war walkers with Scatter Lasers/Shuriken Cannons can provide a vast amount of fire output. Coupled with the farseer power Guide, this can be a very dangerous configuration.

Grade: C

Falcon

Perhaps one of the most durable vehicles in the game. A wide variety of weapon options and upgrades are available for this vehicle. It also comes with a Pulse Laser which is basically a mutli-shot Lascannon. The Falcon can also act as a transport for smaller units.

Grade: B+


Fire Prism
The Fire Prism sacrifices transport capacity for more firepower. Has access to vehicle upgrades, but limited weapon options. The Prism Cannon is a very long ranged weapon that can be fired with a small blast template at very high strength/AP, or a large blast template at a moderate str/SP. Multiple Fire Prisms be be fired together to further increase effectiveness.

Grade :B
 

Bishop

Master Necromancer
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Feb 5, 2009
2,683
Toronto, Ontario
TRANSPORT:

Wave Serpent
The Wave Serpent is the main transport of the Eldar army. It is a very fast and fairly durable tank with a special field to protect it from things like Meltaguns. It can also have various weapon and vehicle upgrades.

Grade :A-
 

Irisado

Ancient Vampire Lord | Siphoner of Spammers
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Keep up the good work Bishop :).

I'll just add a number of points which I think could be added or expanded on:

Fire Dragons: Don't overlook the Firepike. It's quite handy when combined with Crack Shot against vehicles which have fired smoke or skimmers which have moved flat out. The extra melta range can also catch out the unwary.

Fire Dragons are not all that great against Terminators, especially Assault Terminators with Storm Shields, owing to the invulnerable save. It's far better for them to take on regular units, especially MEQs, vehicles, and/or monstrous creatures. Regular Terminators are okay as targets at a pinch, but not the primary choice in my view, unless you're fielding a very large squad of Dragons.

I think B is too low for their grade. They are the best unit in the elite section, if not the codex, so A would be my recommendation.

Howling Banshees & Striking Scorpions: I pretty much agree with everything you've said here.

Wraithguard: More useful as a troops choice than an elites choice in my opinion. I agree with your comments here too on the whole.

Harlequins: Kisses are essential, as is the Shadowseer. I don't think that they compare favourably with the other assault Aspects, owing to how much they cost, and their relative fragility at short range. Good players can get them to work well though.

Worth reminding players that they cannot take a Wave Serpent, and even if they choose to ride in one (which is a background issue), they cannot start the game inside it, meaning that it cannot move flat out on the turn on which they embark. Players tend to forget this rule.

Shining Spears: Good for hit and run attacks against small elite units and vehicles which haven't moved. Their main problem is that they are as good as dead if they get stuck in combat. I agree with your other comments.

Swooping Hawks: You're being a bit harsh with your grade here. They're very difficult to use, but they're alright against hordes, and they still have some ability to disrupt vehicles, especially squadrons and skimmers.

Not a unit that I would recommend for inexperienced players though, but I would boost them to a D or even C- if you're feeling ultra generous ;).

Warp Spiders: Don't write off Withdraw and Powerblades. If you add an Autarch to this squad it becomes rather handy for assault support.

For both Spiders and Hawks, deep striking can be useful, but whether you wish to discuss the advantages and disadvantages of this, I'll leave up to you.

Vypers: It's worth mentioning the EML here. It can be combined with the Shuriken Cannon to fire two weapons on the move (Plamsma missiles are defensive), and its range means that the Vypers can keep out of harm's way while firing from your board edge.

Dark Reapers: Not being able to move and fire really hurts this unit a lot. It's vulnerable to deep strike attack and outflanking assault units, and, as you say, cover really impedes its performance.

Unless, you're playing 2000 points, I think that they are too expensive to field, unless you want to gamble on a small squad of three led by an Exarch with the Tempest Launcher and Crack Shot for sniping MEQs.

The Tempest Launcher is good, but the unit is something of an Exarch delivery system, as it replies on this weapon too much in my experience.

The EML is okay if you want to fire krak missiles at vehicles, but this means the rest of the squad stands around doing nothing.

The Shuriken Cannon is cheap and probably the only option (apart from Surprise Assault) in the whole codex I would say is totally useless, because it does not have the range to work well with this unit.

Support Weapons: The artillery rules really don't do these any favours.

D Cannons are okay for area denial, and Shadow Weavers are okay against infantry, but the Nightspinner is far superior by comparison. Vibrocannons don't have a lot going for them in my opinion.

The main thing to add here is that if you attach a Warlock (s)he can fire the weapon, which is helpful, especially for the barrage of the D Cannon and Shadow Weaver.

These units are horribly vulnerable to deep strike attacks, and tank shocks so need to be well protected if you take them.

Wraithlord: Best taken in pairs of threes in my experience. They are much harder to destroy that way, and are more effective against vehicles in particular Otherwise, I agree with your comments.

War Walkers: I agree here.

Falcon: I agree again. You could perhaps mention the importance of taking Spirit Stones and Holofields though.

Fire Prism: I'm not its biggest fan, but it's rather nice at blowing holes in opposing armies which like to castle. Cover hurts it though, and they are more of threat when fielded in pairs.

Nightspinner: I recommend adding this, since its rules are official, and it's not a Forgeworld product.

Wave Serpent: Again, I agree, but you might want to mention the upgrades in more detail (see my comments regarding the Falcon).

I hope that helps.
 

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