The Wraithknight is a champ, haters be ware!
Reecius here from Frontline Gaming to stick up for my boy, the Wraithknight!
Much like the maligned Dreadknight (although for different reasons) the Wraithknight has been cried about online more than anything else in the Eldar release. As the internet produces a lot of whining, crying and unfounded complaining in general, this is really saying something.
So, I got my Wraithknight assembled (fully magnetized for all kind of options!) and have been trying him out. All I have to say is: Boss!
Yeah, you heard me, the Wraithknight is a boss.
If you can find your umbrella to shield your self from the tears of the complainers, you will see that the Wraithknight is an absolutely fantastic utility unit. Plus, I just wuv the big lug, really a brilliant centerpiece model.
- He’s hard to kill, duh. Toughness 8 with 6 wounds is no joke. It is criminally easy to get saves for MCs too, so he will almost always have some kind of cover save.
- He provides much needed heavy AT and decent AA. Strength 10, AP2 shots are the Bee’s Knees! Or you can kit him for other tasks too, but really, Eldar don’t need help with AI duty, even heavy infantry. The Heavy Wraith Cannons are where it’s at, IMO. They also have the added benefit of causing ID on a 6, and a lot of the big nasty monsters in the game no longer have EW, so this is more useful than you may think.
- He fights well. He packs a good amount of max strength attacks, and his I5 is nice! Can he get tar pitted in a unit? Yeah, but come on, haha, the point of playing well is to not let things like that happen. And, with his speed, it really shouldn’t.
- Which brings us to point 4: He’s fast! Jump infantry movement stats are fantastic and really, really help to make him a multi-threat unit. He flies around the table blasting stuff and kicking the crap out of folks. I play him as a free safety, going where I need to bolster my attack and he is great for that.
- Divination powers for him are super useful (but when are they not?) Forewarning is great, Misfortune helps so much for those heavy units in cover but Prescience is really bomb diggity. I cast it on him almost every turn as the boost in shooting and assault really, really helps him out. Since he is often in position to shoot and assault, you get a lot of mileage out of the power.
The key to using this unit, like almost every unit in the Eldar dex, is to play him to his strengths. Obviously don’t be an idiot and charge him into a blob squad. Obviously try to eliminate Venoms and such ASAP.
Have him go after heavy tanks, have him go after tough units like Paladins and Oblits, etc. With Guide or Prescience, he stands good odds of dropping a flyer. You want to present your opponent with a lot of threats, not just big dog Wraithknight by his lonesome. In an army with multiple, viable threats, he drops on the priority scale.Played well, he will become a mainstay in a lot of lists. He has the speed to go on the offensive if needed, to fill gaps in a failing defense or attack where needed. He packs the much needed str 10 guns Eldar typically lack, and he will judo chop most things in the sack in combat.
In my opinion and so far in practice, this unit has really impressed me and I play on running on in all of my builds alongside the Jetseer, War Walkers and Warp Spiders, who are all just fantastic units.