Hi All,
This is the second part of my Aeldari codex review. In today’s review we will look at the Craftworlds portion of the Crusade rules!
Army Special Rules:
For this section the Craftworlds get the paths system. Like all good crusade rules, this rule set requires you to calculate the amount of points for every selected unit, and get an upgrade at various thresholds. In order to start the process you need to select a Wanderer, Aspect Warrior, or Seer unit. In order to progress, these units need to complete a series of actions to get points, for the Aspect warriors this means ending the game on an objective outside your deployment zone and killing units. If squads fail to achieve these tasks, or if they fail an out-of-action test, they will lose one point for each.
Once you gain enough points to cross one of the point-thresholds you get a bonus, subtract the set amount of points and keep going. Many of these bonuses are handy if a little bland. For example Aspect warriors can get re-roll ones to hit for one gate and to wound on another, finally getting a bonus Exarch ability once locked to the path. After you get through the penultimate gate you get a choice. You can spend a RP to switch the unit to a different path or keep getting points. The last benefit is the strongest but locks the unit out of shifting paths later.
What makes this choice difficult is that any bonuses you get on the path you keep on your new path. This can culminate in a farseer (it’s debatable if this can be a jetbike farseer) that re-rolls hit and wounds of “1”, adds +1 to smites and blessings, has +2 movement, ignores cover when shooting, all while having undeniable powers on a 10+.
Overall I like this rules set from a narrative standpoint. The paths system is integral to the structure of Aeldari society and I think they did a good job of depicting it in game. I think you get some wonkiness moving from path to path, and you will need a lot of games in order to fully reap the benefit from multiple paths, but other then that it’s a solid rule set. One further limitation though is that it cannibalizes a lot of common unit upgrades from other tables.
Agendas and Relics:
Unfortunately, the Craftworlds suffer from having rather poor agendas. Paths of Fate is intriguing as you get one exp. point for each Character, Vehicle or Infantry unit killed. Great right? Well not really, you randomly generate the keyword at the start of each turn and while you can re-roll it if your opponent doesn’t have the proper unit, you can still get locked into trying to kill a very annoying model if you roll poorly. Fight for the Future also starts strong, +1 mark for every unit killed +2 if it is a Slaanesh unit, get 1 point of exp for 1-2 marks and get 3 for 3+ marks. Sadly this is locked into chaos armies only and if you don’t have any to fight it’s wasted. Finally Recovering Soul Stones gives you an action to complete near the remains of any infantry or bike unit you lose, giving 1 exp per completed action (max 4). This is bad as it requires you to A: lose infantry and biker units, B: have the resources to run after them to pick up their souls instead of …you know…shooting or fighting. Since we lack cheap objective monkeys I can only see some unique builds doing this, namely ones that can do actions and still shoot or charge.
While the agendas stink, (unless you play vs chaos) the relics shoot straight into the “I can’t find anyone to play me category). In a desperate plea for relevance they finally made a pistol worth discussing with the artificer relic rocking 8 S4 AP -1 shuriken shots. The Antiquity relic can make an Autarch -1 to hit and -1D6 to charge (you can combine this with some Ynnari rules to create a very tough character that is -1 damage,+1 save vs AP0, and heals 1 wound per turn fairly easily. You can also swap out the -1 Damage for the Phoenix gem which can also be combined with bionics to give you the chance to revive on a 2+ twice per game lol. Finally they have the most troll-y Legendary Relic: The Song of the Bloody Handed God: S+7, AP -4, D3, any unit killed fails it’s out of action test on a 1-3. When combined with the other traits this can make a terrifying close combat character that your opponent will be desperate to avoid.
Army Traits and Requisitions:
The Craftworlds get a bevy of tables to choose from for their upgrades. Guardians, Anhrathe and Wraithguard get their own small tables. The Guardian table is pretty mediocre mostly buffing unit’s durability. Wraithguard get some good options and encourages buddying up with Spiritseers. Finally, the Anhrathe table really wants you to get into close combat with +1 to WS, heroic interventions or +1 BS. Additionally there is also a full table for Psycher Characters and a small table for warlocks. Many of these fortitudes are useful, with one option for auto-deny on a 9+ roll. Another great choice for characters is the ability to complete a psychic action that gives you +1 CP. The Warlock table also encourages aggressive play with a stand-out option giving you +2 to your psychic tests if you are within Engagement Range of an enemy unit.
To compensate for the many tables, the Craftworlds don’t have many Requisitions. The first option allows you to sacrifice an Exarch to get an Avatar (the only way to get him on your roster). Beyond that you have an upgrade that allows you to add Exarch powers (you don’t start with any FYI), a dreadnought option where you move a unit into a wraithguard unit or a character into a wraithlord. Finally if you beat an army with any Slaanesh units your warlord gets +5 exp.
Closing Thoughts:
Overall these rules make for a very flavorful, but balanced rule set. The Paths System is good but not overpowering, the agendas are mediocre but you get amazing relics. This army is e-x-t-r-e-m-e-l-y Requisition Point hungry, needing almost one per unit in your army. However once you are established you will be able to leverage some amazing strengths. Craftworlds need a medium to long campaign to fully reap these awards though. As someone who is just starting through a campaign with this army I am quite pleased with how they are performing. While pure Craftworlds will be inferior to Ynnari in a campaign this is made up for by the limitations the Ynnari face in their army construction.
And remember, Frontline Gaming sells gaming products at a discount, every day in their webcart!
