All hail the Eldar! Tights and Guy Liner for everyone!
Yeaaaaahhhh, booooy!!
My favorite army has gotten it’s makeover and I am stoked on this book! Reecius here from Frontline Gaming to discuss the new kid on the block: Eldar. Also, here’s a video bat rep of them in action with all painted goodies! Beware though, the occasional swear word lurks in that video!
First of all, to all the whiny cry babies out there that are doing nothing but boo-hoo over the new book:
Get over it, already! This book is GREAT! Almost every unit got better! Even Swooping Hawks and Shinning Spears, huzzah!
Anyone who is sad because we lost things like Runes of Warding needs to check theyself, because that was the most broke piece of wargear this side of Psychtrole grenades. I was glad to see it go as it was a crutch and it made the game less fun, and that is coming from a long time space elf aficionado.
No assurance of Fortune of Doom? That is a bummer, but what did anyone expect? Every book has gotten hit with the random hammer, and it was inevitable. 24″ Guide as a primaris is great though, and with the ability to take it and Prescience–guaranteed–you can build rock solid list strategies around that.
No assaulting out of Transports? Again, Boo-Hoo. What was anyone expecting? Assault ramps on Wave Serpents? Again, Wave Serpents got BETTER! You just need to adjust the way you look at this book, take off your 4th ed glasses, and put on 6th ed goggle, and you will see how rich and well thought out this book really is.
All of our assault units got better and faster! Banshees move up the field at 6’+D6+3″ a turn while shooting (but should have grenades, striking simo into cover isn’t good enough for how fragile they are, IMO, but they are still an awesome, cheap counter attack unit). Scorps finally fleet, and have Move Through Cover and Infiltrate and Stealth, and, and, and the Claw is a melee weapon! What’s that you say, you declare a Challenge? Oh yes, thank you: pow, son! In the face!
Shinning Spears are actually good! Wraithblades are rock solid but not as fast which means again, no clear winner. You can buff these guys out with Spirit Seers and Farssers to really make them deadly. The Avatar once again sports 2nd ed style stats and has some customization to him. Pricier, more fragile than before due to a lower invul and no certainty of Fortune, but a fair trade for increased speed and offense.
The only assault unit that got nerfed was Harlies. Having to test for Veil is a bummer (first time I tried it, I perilsed and lost the Seer…and his power…and his grenades…ouch). However what I have found is that it means all of the assault units are fairly comparable as they are useful in different roles within the overall context of an army. There is no clearly superior choice (as Harlies were previously) which is good! It is good to have tough choices, it means the book is well designed.
You see the same thing in the other units in the book as well. They are all viable. War Walkers actually got better, if you can believe that, and the improvement to Shuriken weapons is soooo good! Eldar have such variety and utility in their troops. I have been taking 5-6 units every game and loving them.
Wraithlords are more reliable now, Wraithknights to me look like an excellent utility unit (haven’t gotten to play one just yet, but will soon and I am not buying the internet whining, I think the WK has got serious potential).
The Monofilament units are AWESOME! They shred everything apart from heavy tanks. In our games so far they have been just beating the crap out of things and Warp Spiders especially have been amazing. They are Captain Insano fast! They fly around the table laying waste to everything.
Tons of HQ choices, all with various and very useful abilities and powers. You actually have a tough choice between utility characters, beat sticks, etc. Warlocks only being LD8 is a bit rough as you fail roughly 1/3 checks, and no Grenades hurts, too. However, their powers are so good it becomes a very tempting risk.
In all, this is a book that strikes a very good balance and one that I have found just an absolute blast to play. One of the things I love about Eldar is that they are good at everything, and do something in every phase of the game. Plus, Battle Focus is hands down my favorite rule in the game right now, and as a long time Footdar player, I am in Eldar heaven with the increased mobility this allows me. It is so much fun to shoot and scoot, really just a fantastic rule.
More so than ever before, Eldar is a thinking man’s army that requires planning and using units in concert with one another to force multiply their units from moderate to devastating threats. In general we lost some defense but gained a ton of offense. I am EXTREMELY pleased with this book and have not had this much fun playing 40K in ages. Apart from their somewhat weak AA (and we are coming up with solutions here every day) I think this is a home run. Plus the filthy combos you can pull with this book and Tau or Dark Eldar is straight cray, yo! Expect those combos to touch your army in inappropriate places.
I will write more in depth reviews as time permits, until then, troll on!
Thanks a lot man, finally someone who really read the codex and understood the possiblities it offers instead of complaining! 🙂
I sometimes wonder if people are just reading the last reference page and base their opinion on it…
I mean e.g. everyone seems to neglect the possiblities Vectored Engines are offering to Serpents… yes they have 360° turrets, but now you can move 6″ put the back of the Serpent to the enemy and unload the passengers in their face, shoot at them with Serpent and passengers and after shooting turn the Serpent around to show them your nice shielded front or side again 🙂
And thats just one example of the goodness in the Codex 😉
Exactly! This books is all about maneuver, combos, and traps. You hit the other guy with the right combination of tools and you can dominate! This won’t be an easy army to play, but very rewarding I think.
Please speak about the new flyers. People are talking about the hemlock but I don’t know. And tell keno he better put some purple ghost flames on yours
I like the hemlock more than the crimson hunter, but I don’t like either of them that much, honestly. They’re too fragile for the points, IMO although I’m reading lots of folks having success with them.
Haha, and I paint my eldar, good sir! Although some sweet, purple flames airbrushed on would be had ass.
I had to get one for Vector Dancer. It’s great.
I prefer the look of the Hemlock, so I assembled that one.
I’m unsure whether or not I can cast Terrify the same turn I’m shooting my scythes.
I’m not that jazzed about the “heavy” scythes. I’d rather they just worked like the dragon and were torrent, to tie them into the wraithguard. “heavy” makes them shoot blasts 18″ at _exactly_ the same weapon profile. Nothing “heavy” about that.
I don’t like blast weapons on flyers because if I evade, I can’t fire.
Ran it in 2 games… I did end up going for some gamble-shots though since it is Distort, you can pen stuff that S4 can’t actually hurt.
I’m mainly running it to try and be a jerk for once with the leadership reroll, but only played against Necrons and Necrons so far, and LD10 is the suck 🙂
I think the Hemlock can be brutal, particularly with the -3 ld power from the Runes of Battle.
I don’t see any reason he wouldn’t be able to use his psy power same turn? I will look further into it when i get back, but off hand yeah, for sure he can use it all.
If ppl whine about fortune, they can always Field two farseers and roll a total of six times. Or With Eldrad seven!
And If they rly need that one unit to survive, they could make a Council and pray for protect.
Eldar have alot of sweet options!
Onager, elder have so many options now, they’re really multifaceted. My head is spinning with all of the options available. Add in allies and it is just insane the amount of combos there are.
Finally a review that isn’t full of unrealistic expectations.
Yeah, they fixed what needed to be fixed! Haha, Firedragons were criminally underpriced, good on GW for fixing them. People just see things too myopically at times, the need to look at the game as a whole.
Any success With the hemlock aswell?
I think it looks fantastic, particularly combo’d out with Runes of Battle powers. I haven’t had a chance to try it yet, though.
So for AA, I think layers and layers of options, rerolls and mobility is where its at.
Best example: Warp spiders can pretty easily jump/run to the rear of a flyer and with a reroll you’ll get a wrecked flier more then 52% of the time (assuming a full squad of 10, a 5+ cover or inv, and doesn’t include pen/explode results). The spiders got BBQd already by hell turkeys? Well then its the war walkers turn. They fail, its some other twinlinked option. Key is that the rerolls afforded the army combined with the mobility to get to rear armor should get the job done. Might be a tad harder if going pure foot rather then hybrid but still doable.
Saw this elsewhere, but Wave Serpent looks good for anti-air. Twin-linked Scatter Laser is likely to get at least one hit. Then the giant S7 cover-ignoring serpent shieldcannon will be twin-linked too. Or at longer ranges the shieldcannon can be Guided.
Yeah, that is a totally viable tactic.
I came to the same conclusion. You need multiple options and units with high ROF and strength and mobility can get it done.
Spiders are this shiznizcheezwhiz. Seriously. Between them and Warwalkers you’ve got some bad arse mobile high ROF mean gunning machines.
Also, I know you like hoofing it, but Serpents are also the real deal. Scatter/Shurcannon + Shield bounce can definitely contribute (and help out in the air game). I see Eldar anti-air as a plink from here, plink from there type of deal rather than having a single “anti-air,” unit. Or you could just ally Tau.
Yeah, I agree. Serpents protect you from that bastard Hell Turkey and they give speed and a serious punch.
Spiders are stupid good! I was blown away at their efficacy. I will without doubt take 10, every time. So fun to play, they literally fly around the table blasting shit.
I am really liking Dark Reapers, too. For 380-400 points you get one of the gnarliest units in the game. With Divination they can become incredibly powerful. I am really liking them.
So much to try out! This book has more options than I know what to do with.
Reecius, what units do you plan on adding or subtracting to your footdar?
Im really torn on which direction I want to go with my troops. Currently have 15 DA and 30 Guardians. Guardians put out more shots but the DA have more stay ability IMO… Also, the boost to the BS is huge in my opinion. Any help?
Also, what are you thoughts on the new wraithguard/wraithblades? I’m thinking about adding some and going to a footdar/wraith army.
-Will
My army isn’t changing that much so far. Obviously I will learn a lot more as I play more, but what I am thinking at the moment is pretty much what I ran before in troops: 2 x 10 DA with no upgrades, 11 Guardians, 3 bikers, 5 Rangers. That gives me a really nice, affordable mix of troops that all fill various roles.
I think the Dires are the best unit in there for general purpose. Bikes are a close second as they are T4, twin linked and 3+, however, the 12″ range and no battle focus is really limiting. It is a toss up. Dires have never, ever disappointed me.
I am for sure going to try out a WK, I think it brings a lot to the table.
I can see Wraithblades really adding a lot, particularly with a Seer.
What I am for sure adding though, no question, is a full unit of 10 Warp Spiders with no upgrades. They are AMAZING! So fast, hit so hard, good against everything but heavy tanks. They are the Bee’s Knees!
The only piece of the puzzle I am still working out is counter assault. Eldar really need it as they get so close to do the most damage. I think Banshees will be really good for this as they are fast and hit quite hard for a low points cost.
Lastly, I am really strongly considering Dark Reapers with starshot upgrade. That is an incredibly powerful unit that with Divination can be devastating.
Right now I honestly just feel spoiled for choice!
How do you feel about the new Exarch power/gifts? With the old Codex I upgraded a DA squad with one and took blade storm. I did this because most the time I would doom a unit and throw everything into it. I was great at taking out a unit per turn. (I played under 15 games with the old dex so I’m not as seasoned as most.)
The Harlie star doesn’t sound as viable as it used to. I have used the dark reapers w/ divination in a few games and it was the perfect marine killer.
I don’t have the models yet so I haven’t been able to try out the Banshees, but I’ve been trying to find that counter assault piece for my puzzle as well… I think the wraith knights will soak up a lot of the fire and at least keep the troops safe for a while. The wraith blades seem like a good option for the counter assault…
I agree completely for feeling spoiled with so many choices. I’m looking forward to more footdar action as I think my eldar have found their way into my 2nd army spot over my 1k sons. I play blood angels primarily so footdar was something to force me into being a better tactician, which I think it did in all honesty.
P.S. Thanks for all the help. You’ve been a giant inspiration and role model for the path of the footdar.
Hey, glad to help!
Yeah, Harlies aren’t reliable enough now. You just can’t risk not getting veil on a critical turn and then having the entire unit wiped out. I was considering running them without the seer to save points. They still hit like a freight train, but the thing that made them so viable before was being essentially invisible until they got close.
I am going to try Banshees next as they are so cheap. Strength 3 can be a bummer, but for 170pts you get a really powerful counter assault unit that is also quite fast.
Yeah, Dark Reapers look brutal. I think they are going to be in a lot of Eldar lists.
Exarch powers are really situational, IMO. I never used to use Bladestorm previously because it was quite expensive. I preferred to take more units with less upgrades as I found that you got more shots per turn out of them for the same points. You also got more bodies, and more scoring units. I still prefer to run units with the minimum amount of upgrades, personally. I find that you should design a unit to perform a specific function and then give it just enough gear to perform that task.
That said though, Exarch powers like fast shot make sense as you get another BS5 shot for Dragons or Reapers, where another guy in the squad would cost more and give you another BS4 shot. So, in those cases I like the upgrade as it increases the unit’s points efficiency. You just have to be careful not to balloon the cost of a unit with upgrades that add little utility to a unit.
While I’m sure the codex allows for a subtle style of play I think it’s greatest potential is simply as a blunt force instrument. Perhaps this is what throws off a lot of traditional eldar players?
Reroll hits on the right unit can be utterly obscene. You can gift four units with this per turn for a paltry 230 points (assuming the obligatory jetbike upgrades on farseers) Plus you’ll have two charges left from the nastiest track ever, divination. And this all assumes you strike out and don’t roll any dooms or fortunes.
So how do we exploit this? Scatter Lasers and Fire Prisms up the wazoo. 3x Scatter walkers, 3x scatter/cannon vypers, 2x prisms brings this nasty bag of ‘booyah’ to a mere 930 assuming you’ll take a few of the juicier upgrades for these vehicles. Worried about missile sides with missile drones, the latest dakka king? You’ll wipe them right off the table before they even get in range and for a fraction of their point cost.
This leaves ample points for all the great affordable troops and tasty units like warpspiders who themselves love getting rerolls.
Who needs close combat when everything is shot to death. I think the only real criticism is that maybe this tactics’ effectiveness peaks quickly at around 1500 pt games. Oh well, bring more warp spiders and jetbikes to harass the enemy.
Yeah, I agree with your analysis. Eldar have often had blunt force lists (tri-falcon, etc.) but those lists, unless they are also very durable (again, tri-falcon) will lost to armies that can engage them rapidly and reliably in combat.
You have to have counter assault, in my experience. That is why I always had the Avatar and Harlies. Those 2 units can handle damn near anything.
Now, I am not so sure, they both become a lot less durable. So, I am looking around for what will fill their shoes.
However, I agree with you that building yoru list around 4 guides/prescience is the right call for competitive play.