Hello everyone Frankie here to discuss some DE/Eldar ally tactics. As always, check out the Tactics Corner for more great articles!
Here is the list that I will be playing throughout the 2014 tournament season as many of you have seen in the battle reports, it is well tested ;P.
Lord Awesomesauce VECT or as I like to call him: Captain Disappointment! I think I have lost more games depending on this character than he has helped me to win. But I think he’s a nice guy at heart so I keep him around.
Farseer on a jetbike with shard of Anaris (excuse my spelling but I am to lazy to grab the codex). This guy picks up Vect’s slack.
Kabalite warriors x 5 with a blaster
-Venom with splinter cannon and nightshields
Kabalite warriors x 5 with a blaster
-Venom with splinter cannon and nightshields
Kabalite warriors x 5 with a blaster
-Venom with splinter cannon and nightshields
Kabalite warriors x 5
-Venom with splinter cannon and nightshields
Kabalite warriors x 5
-Venom with splinter cannon and nightshields
Guardian block x 20 with two brightlances
Ravager with 3 darklances and nightshields
Ravager with 3 darklances and nightshields
Ravager with 3 darklances and nightshields
Wraithknight no upgrades
My strategy starts before the game begins.
I stare down my opponent till he/she gets nerves then roll a dice without saying what it is for. Don’t break the stare while performing this action, wait for them to begin crying and concede victory to you!… alright but seriously. Roll for sides hopefully denying your opponent a side with a lot of line of sight blocking terrain so you can alpha strike, and yes, this list is all about the Alpha Strike!
Next roll on Divination 3 times hoping to get Perfect Timing and Forewarning for the Guardian block. There really are no bad powers in Divination besides Scrier’s Gaze for my list. Next the most important roll of the game… Warlord Trait! Haha just kidding, it doesn’t really matter what you get but Conqueror of Cities is pretty boss.
Place objectives in the middle of the table for the most part as I hate staying back for objectives and would rather be able to control the middle of the table throughout the game. Next is the obviously important roll for first turn. For this list it isn’t as critical as I do have Vect, so seizing is a lot more probable (4+ to Seize). Unfortunately for me, Captain Disappointment doesn’t usually seize but is more of a deterrent for my opponent to deploy to alpha strike against me if I am going second. Usually people will assume I will seize and deploy more guarded. So that is how I start games, let’s now lets talk about fighting some of those top tier armies that are out there in the current meta.
Against Tau Riptide/Broadside lists: against these lists my strategy depends on how many Broadsides there are. Typically, Riptides are the main target. Venoms all shoot into the same Riptide along with one or two Ravagers to finish it off (massed poison shots are great for killing Monstrous Creatures). That usually leaves me with a few other Ravagers and Wraithknights to try and finish off another critical target. Always shoot the Wraithknight first to hopefully get that lucky 6 to cause ID (I’ve never done that before, unfortunately).
Rinse and repeat until the Riptides are gone, staying out of range of Suits and Firewarriors if at all possible using the -6 inches from the Nightshields. Speed and Nightshields are the best tools against slower Tau who typically have medium ranged weapons. Now if the Tau player has a bunch of Broadsides then you have to take them out because otherwise with split-fire they will kill far to many vehicles to ignore. Shoot Venoms in first to kill Drones then bring in the big guns on the Ravagers to instant kill the suits (Dark Lances are Str8 Ap2). Against Broadside lists I usually try to kill one flank at a time. Remember that the main thing against Tau is to pre-measure firing distances and calculate your night shields so you are the only one firing, leaving them out of range to counter-attack.
Against Eldar Wave Serpant/Seercouncil lists: Against both lists, unfortunately, you absolutely need to go first. If you do not it is going to be a very slippery slope climbing back into the game.
Against wave serpents you really need to get Perfect Timing on the Guardian block and use them to take down Wave Serpents. The three Ravagers will usually all have to shoot at the same Wave Serpent to bring it down due to the Shields and Jink saves. if you can take down two Wave Serpents on turn one the game is yours as you will then win the battle of attrition. If not, its still going to be tough but will come down to the big dog: Mr. Wraithknight and the Guardian Block (if you cannot beat the Eldar, join them :P). The Wk will drop Serpents in assault like no one’s business and is largely unworried about their weapons.
Now for the dreaded Seer Council….. if you get first turn and can alpha strike them then it’s game over as everyone already knows with Psychic Deathstars you have to kill them before they get powered up. Now if they do get powered up, tighten that rear and kill the rest of the army trying to deny multi-charges to your opponent and turbo boosting away when needed. If the star ever fails a Fortune then you pump everything you have into it and hopefully kill some guys. Model placement against the seer council is extremely important: make him mark what power the warlocks have because if you can kill the guy giving a 2+ armor save then your Guardians and Vect can bring the pain against them (Vect is a beast in assault and has a 3+ poison power weapon with rerolls against Eldar). Anyway you slice it though, it’s not going to be an easy game and you are going to need to play to the objectives.
Against Deamon Flying Circus/Screamerstar lists: Pray you play against a Deamon Flying Circus, haha, easiest game you will ever play! Since you have so many guns that ignore their high toughness and Night Shields the Deamons will have the hardest time doing anything to you. Really not a lot of tactics against this list. Bring down the Grimore first, then Fateweaver as long as he doesn’t have a 2+ save then, start bringing down the weakest princes working your way up. Now if someone rolls hot on their grounding checks then you are in trouble but not likely given how many shots you have. Guys inside the vehicles will usually bring them down for you ;P (my best men) so be sure to shoot them first to force the tests, then blast the grounded Daemons once they hit the deck. Try to avoid their Vector Strikes, and this is a pretty easy win.
Screamerstar is very similar to the Seer Council where you need to alpha strike them and bring them down before they get powered up. If this doesn’t happen then kill Fateweaver first along with other units getting close to you and troops as frequently as you can. Avoid the star until something goes wrong for them such as a failed Forewarning, then shoot the dickens out of them. Again, this is going to be a hard battle but play for the objectives and you should be okay. Remember though, the Heralds are great at contesting objectives late game by splitting off from the main star, so surround your objectives and make sure they cannot turbo boost and contest. Also, remember that the model holding the Grimoire can’t benefit from it, so use that to your advantage and try to snipe him out of the unit.
Well boys and girls, that’s all I’ve got so far. If you would like some more tactics against certain lists let me know and I will write another article about them. Hope you all enjoyed the tactics and I will be doing battle reports at the Torrent of Fire invitational! So look forward to those as I play against some of the best players in the country, most of which are playing lists like those described in this article.