Eldar Units in a Nutshell

Hi guys,

Johno here and today I’m going to summarize each section of the new Eldar Codex and pick out the good, the bad, and the ugly of each section. I know there are lots of excellent in-depth reviews of the new book online so I will take a lighter approach so for those of you at work can skim over this and get all the information you need without getting caught by your boss with your head in your smart phone. We are very lucky that our new book is very strong in nearly all areas and we have a lot to choose from. I'm going break this analysis it down into HQ, Troops, Elites, Fast Attack, Transport, and Heavy Support.

HQ Section

Excellent Choices:

Avatar – Fearless Bubble, Attracts fire from other units, anti-EVERYTHING. Cheap for what you get!

Loadout – 205pts with Fast Shot

Eldrad – Best Psyker in 40k, Nice special rules with a sprinkle of cheddar. You WILL lose friends.

Loadout – N/A

Farseer – Excellent Psyker and very versatile. Makes already excellent units amazing.

Loadout – No Addon’s really worth it

Autarch – Great Support Character, Often underestimated. Can hold his own against most.

Loadout – Jetbike, Mantle of the Laughing God, Power Axe, Banshee Mask.

Karandras – Godly close combat character. Powerfist strikes at I7.

Loadout – N/A

Asurman – Another great close combat character with good rules to match. Close call between him and Karandras.

Loadout – N/A

Fuegen – Really good close combat character and has feel no pain, whats not to love?

Loadout – N/A

Prince Yriel – Fantastic close combat character but at a hefty price.However you get a lot of nice special rules and a lot of killy for your buck.

Loadout – N/A

Moderate Choices:

Wraithseer – Crucial if you are taking Wraithguard/blades and can give them great buffs. Don’t bring if not taking Wraith units.

Loadout – No Addons

Warlocks – Excellent support units for large groups of guardians. Is 35pts too much for a guy who’s head can explode on a roll of 9 on 2d6? You’re Choice.

Loadout – Singing Spear (Basically a 12” range Lascannon).

Maugan Ra – Decent close combat and ranged character however he’s not exceptionally great at either really. Definitely not worth the outlay in points.

Loadout – N/A

Illic Nightspear – Comes with a great sniper rifle and very killy. Very Fragile. Unlocks Pathfinders. Can be a thorn in your opponents side.

Loadout – N/A

Poor Choices:

Jain Zar – Great Close Combat character however with lack of grenades means she will die fast.

Loadout – N/A

Baharroth – Can be useful but unlikely to really make back his points in most games. Can be good for stealing Line Breaker in late game.

Loadout – N/A

Troops Section

Excellent Choices

Guardian Defenders – Cheap and once in range are devastating. Great buy!

Loadout – Support Platform with Scatter Laser or Brightlance. Blobs of 20 are amazing.

Dire Avengers – Upgraded version of the Guardian. 18” range can be crucial. Better Armor and invun save from Exarch. Excellent unit.

Loadout – Exarch with Powersword and Shimmershield.

Guardian Jetbikes – Extremely fast and durable. Cheap and very reliable Catapults (Twin linked).

Loadout – Take in units of 3 or 6 with upgraded Shuriken cannon for every 3 you take.

Moderate Choices

Rangers - Still a great sniper unit however compared to other races snipers they are expensive for what you get. Not sure if worth it.

Loadout – N/A

Pathfinders - Amazing Snipers but having to spend all those points on Illic Nightspear to unlock them relegates them to moderate choice.

Loadout – N/A

Poor Choices

Storm Guardians – A close combat unit that does its intended job quite poorly.

Loadout - Can be ok if you take blobs of 20 with flamers or unit of 10 in a wave serpent with two fusion guns.

Elites Section

Excellent Choices

Fire Dragons – Still amazing even with points hike. Very reliable.

Loadout – 5 Fire Dragons in Wave Serpent, Done…

Wraithblades – Phenominally hard unit to shift if attached with Wraithseers giving buffs. Capable of 2+ armor save. Extremely killy and will worry your opponent from turn one.

Loadout – Axes and shields are best. Buy a unit of 10 with two spirit seers and march them across the board.

Wraithguard – Shares the W.Blades durability but lacking an invun save however give these Wraithscythes and they WILL kill anything you point them at.

Loadout – 5 bodies with Wraithscythes in wave serpent.

Striking Scorpions – Fantastic Close combat unit. The Exarch really makes them shine with his I6 Powerfist.

Loadout – 5 Scorpions with Exarch and Scorpions Claw.

Moderate Choices

Harlequins – As good, if not better close combat unit than Striking Scorpions, however you have to pay through the nose to get them.

Loadout – Shadowseer, Troop Master, Kisses all round.

Poor Choices

Howling Banshees – Best Model, Worst rules. Decent for protecting backfield troops or counter attacks. Will die in droves.

Loadout – 9 Banshees and Exarch with Executioner.

Fast Attack Section

Excellent Choices

Crimson Hunter – Best Air Superiority fighter in the game, epitome of “glass cannon”.

Loadout – Keep with the Pulse Laser and Bright lances and upgrade to an Exarch for BS5 goodness and able to pick out models in a squad on a roll of 6 to hit.

Warp Spiders – Amazing damage output, extremely fast. One of the codex’s best units.

Loadout – 8 Warp Spiders with Exarch and Dual Spinners.

Moderate Choices

Vyper Jetbike – Packs a huge punch but fragile. Very flexible. Can make back their points but die easily.

Loadout – Upgraded under Shuriken Cannon, Shuriken Cannon or Scatter Laser Turret.

Swooping Hawks – Great harassment units, Can win you games. Great at claiming line breaker. Will destroy tanks and infantry.

Loadout – 5 Hawks with Exarch and skyleap.

Poor Choices

Hemlock Wraith Fighter – Too expensive and rather situational. Can horrify your own units too. Best to leave at home.

Loadout – No Addons

Transports Section

Wave Serpent – Expensive transport but absolutely worth it. Probably best transport in the game right now and our best tank in general.

Loadout – Holofields, Scatter Laser, Upgraded under Shuriken Cannon

Heavy Support Section

Excellent Choices

Wraithknight – Extremely durable, fear factor, kills everything. Expensive but worth it.

Loadout – Standard two Heavy Wraith Cannons is best.

Fire Prism – Kills armor and all types of infantry with ease. Can be very difficult to kill. Avoid getting close to close combat troops.

Loadout – Holofields

War Walker – Good Value, More durable now with inv save, a lot of firepower.

Loadout – Dual Scatter Lasers is best

Moderate Choices

Falcon – Excellent anti-tank platform, Can carry small units. Typical tough Eldar tank design.

Loadout – Pulse Laser and Bright Lance, Holofields

Nightspinner – Kills all infantry with impunity. Durable grav tank. Cheap.

Loadout - Holofields

Wraith Lord – Very tough, Decent price, good all rounder. Can get bogged down in close combat with hordes.

Loadout – Ghostglaive, Brightlance, Missile Launcher

Dark Reapers – Expensive, Very killy, Can kill all infantry and vehicles and also aircraft with an Exarch.

Loadout – Upgraded all missiles to Starshot, 5 Reapers with an Exarch included, Night Vision, Skyfire, Fast Shot.

Vauls Battery – Very Cheap and durable but slow, move OR shoot.

Loadout – D-Cannons

No Poor Choices in Heavy

So there you have it, the Eldar codex in a nutshell. All the good and bad points of each unit. Hope you found this article useful for those of you wishing to know which units to take and their strengths and weaknesses. The above evaluation is by no means the bible but it should give you a snapshot of all the Eldar units.

Thanks for reading!

Johno

The Tournament Dilemma

Hi guys,

Johno here with idea’s for a couple of new look Eldar Saim Hann lists for an annual 1600pt national tournament coming up at the end of September called NWG. I love themed armies with lots of background and story to them, but sometimes we are led astray by wild thoughts for just a cool army regardless if it fits fluff or not. Well these new army lists kind of go against the usual make-up of a traditional Saim Hann army but I think it could be good fun to play and look brilliant on the table-top.

List 1:

HQ’s

Autarch 150pts – Jetbike, Mantle of Laughing God, Power Axe, Banshee Mask

This guy will boost my reserve roles for my Jetbikes or my fliers or allow me to delay them with his master of strategy rule. But also he is quite good on his own. With mantle of the laughing god he can’t join another unit but gains hit and run, shrouded and stealth and can reroll all cover saves which on a Jetbike can be a potential 2+ cover save. Pairing a Banshee Mask with the Power Axe should allow him to still hit with his axe before most enemies. He’s isnt going to kill Abaddon or anything but still quite good.

TROOP’S

10 Dire Avengers 160pts – Exarch, Power Sword and Shimmershield

10 Dire Avengers 160pts – Exarch, Power Sword and Shimmershield

10 Guardian Defenders – 110pts – Bright Lance

10 Guardian Defenders – 110pts – Bright Lance

5 Guardian Jetbikes – 85pts

The Guardian squads and their bright lances man backfield objectives if possible, the Avengers move forward using battle focus to kill enemy infantry and heavy infantry from afar. The Jetbikes will either go in reserve and contest or steal late objectives or backup another squad.

FAST ATTACK

Crimson Hunter 160pts – Pulse Laser, Bright Lance x 2

Crimson Hunter 160pts – Pulse Laser, Bright Lance x 2

Nightwing Interceptor 145pts – Shuriken Cannon x 2, Bright Lance x 2

This will be my source of a good amount of anti armor in my army. Although hard to hit for regular based weaponry, Eldar flier’s are extremely fragile so I will have to be intelligent in my placement of them. Luckily the Crimson Hunter’s weapons are ranged 48” so if im smart I can stay out of that intercepting weapons like Aegis etc.

HEAVY SUPPORT

2 War Walkers 140pts – Scatter Lasers x 2

5 Dark Reapers – 217pts – Exarch, Fast Shot, Skyfire, Night Vision, Starshot missiles.

Here my two War Walkers will tackle all types of targets, from infantry to light vehicles to fliers. My Dark Reapers excel at killing infantry and armor and the Exarch is pretty handy at taking out fliers also.

List 2:

HQ:

Farseer 100pts - Guide, Precience

Farseer 100pts - Guide, Precience

My two Farseers will take Guide and Precience and spam cast both powers on the Wraith Knights and Dire Avengers. I will run both Farseers in the Dire Avenger Squads.

TROOP’S

10 Dire Avengers 160pts – Exarch, Power Sword and Shimmershield

10 Dire Avengers 160pts – Exarch, Power Sword and Shimmershield

10 Guardian Defenders – 110pts – Scatter Laser

10 Guardian Defenders – 110pts – Scatter Laser

4 Guardian Jetbikes – 78pts – Shuriken Cannon

Both Dire Avenger Squads will benefit from guide from the Farseers spitting out 18” bladestorm death with rerolls to hit. The two will hold back field objectives and kill light vehicles and infantry with the 36” range scatter lasers. The Jetbikes will go in reserve and hopefully come in to steal late objectives or boost other units.

HEAVY SUPPORT

Wraithknight 240pts – Heavy Wraith Cannon x 2

Wraithknight 240pts – Heavy Wraith Cannon x 2

Wraithknight 300pts – Sun Cannon, Shimmershield, Scatter Laser

The two Wraith Knights with the Heavy Wraith Cannons will pop Tanks and Transports and Monstrous Creatures with their instant death Distortion rules, all the while advancing to get into close combat. The Sun Cannon Wraith Knight will take out Elite Infantry and Light Infantry while also advancing. Should be hard to deal with these three.

So there you have it, the two lists I am pondering for this tournament but I just don’t know which one to take. List one is excellent at anti-flier and air superiority however I know it won’t dominate some of those airforce lists out there but it should do ok. Plenty of troop’s choices with 5 squads in both lists at 1600pts. The Autarch will hopefully help manipulate reserve rolls and kick some butt with his Power Axe although he will stay well clear of Greater Daemons or Typhus etc. List two introduces three Wraith Knights. This could be a lot of fun and a pain in the arse for opponents to deal with provided they aren’t sporting a load of poison weaponry. The dual Farseer support should mean that all shots hit from these monsters and also from the Dire Avengers. The Farseers will also help with the Wraith Knights hitting fliers however it’s still a long shot and I suppose list 2 somewhat ignores fliers to an extent.

Which list would you take?

WraithMight!

The ground shook under foot, rubble from a ruined Imperial communications outpost poured off the rough edges of broken walls with each footfall. Luther’s Noise Marines dived out of the crumbling structure just in time as the alien construct smashed through what remained of the reinforced armored wall. With its elegant shape and smooth lines the Eldar Wraithknight moved with an un-natural grace for a silhouette of its size. The Wraithknight stood upright among the broken ruins bringing it to its full colossal height, challenging with its tank sized sword. Then it charged accelerating at breakneck speed….

I may be no author but I do like to think I know a little about Eldar and today I want to talk about the Wraithknight. This beast is the tallest kit GW has ever released standing at an impressive 9”, it even towers over the Tau Riptide and rivals the Ork Stompa. Aesthetically in my opinion this model is very nice, especially when armed with the Ghost Glaive and Shimmershield. So let’s take a closer look at this monster:

Type: Monstrous Creature

WS	BS	S	T	W	I	A	Ld
4	4	10	8	6	5	4	10

That’s a very impressive stat line right there especially with it’s incredible strength 10 and toughness 8 along with 6 wounds. This means most fire arms won’t be able to even wound the Wraithknight requiring weapons of strength 5 or more to even be allowed to roll to wound and at that, they are needing 6’s. Also in 6th edition monstrous creatures only need to have their toe in cover to claim that invaluable 5+.

Armaments:

Wraith Cannon’s x 2

I recently played a doubles game with this configuration and popped a Land Raider quite easily. This gives you two strength 10 shots at BS4 with an AP of 2. Also any roll of a 6 to wound causes instant death due to the distort rule. At base, this set up costs “just” 240pts and it WILL reliably kill armored targets. You pay the points to kill the enemy tanks and it will do it well but what happens when all the armor is destroyed? Well this is where I think investing in two shoulder-mounted Scatter Lasers might just come in handy.

In my recent game I destroyed the Land Raider and a Razorback, oh and managed to send Marneus Calgar into the warp but after all that there was very little to shoot at. I was shooting just two shot’s a turn so it felt like it was a little redundant, bit like shooting a high powered rifle at a swarm of rats. So my recommendation would be to take two Scatter Lasers along with the 2 Wraith Cannons bringing the points cost up to 280pts but making it much more flexible.

Suncannon & Shimmershield

Straight away im just gonna come out and say the Suncannon is awesome. It’s a 3 shot Strength 6 AP 2 small blast weapon with a decent range and is sure to melt infantry of all kinds in large numbers. Then there is also the Shimmershield which gives the Wraithknight that invaluable 5+ invulnerable save. So no more trying to touch cover, you can get that 5+ out in the open and in close combat. Then at least one Scatter Laser is a must have. That will allow you to reroll the scatter dice for the Suncannon shots making it super accurate. This is an absolute beast and will cause havoc with all armies you face. Just beware that everyone and their granny will be out to get it, but that’s what you want!

Ghostglaive & Shimmershield

Not as good as the other two set ups in my opinion but it certainly has its merits. Taking into account that the Wraithknight can jump 12” and then a potential 12” charge, that bring's its threat to a fantastic 24". Upon the charge the Wraithknight will also get a single Strength 10 Hammer of Wrath strike at initiative 10 so before the combat even starts you can take out that character in a 1v1. Then striking at initiative 5 with 5 attacks on the charge and at Strength 10, very little will survive. Just beware that if your Wraithknight gets charged by 30 Ork Boyz or Chaos Cultists or Plague Zombies that they will tar pit it for the rest of the game. Like all Eldar units it is still a precision tool and should be used for smashing vehicles or other monstrous creatures and small elite squads.

Overall the Wraithknight is an excellent addition to any Eldar army and will serve the player well. It isn’t a battering ram, but a destructive tool that in decent hands it will ruin your opponents day. Also enjoy the pictures in this article from various talented hobbyist's from around the globe.

Thanks for reading,

Johno

Eldar- Battle of the Battle Tanks

“Today we are crushed by the sheer weight of the mechanized forces hurled against us, but we can still look to the future in which even greater mechanized forces will bring us victory. Therein lies the destiny of the world” – Charles de Gaulle, WWII

Johno here, with a little look at the futuristic and sleek grav tanks of the enigmatic Eldar. Simply put, first there were three, now there are four…

At first it’s hard to ascertain what the best Eldar battle tank is. Four tanks (Falcon, Fire Prism, Wave Serpent, Nightspinner) all with the same armor values (12/12/10) and three residing in the Heavy Support section and one sitting comfortably in the Dedicated Transport section of our new Codex. But what is a Battle Tank?

Here is Wikipedia’s definition:

“A main battle tank (MBT), also known as battle tank or universal tank, is a tank that fills the heavy direct fire role of modern armies”

I don’t think this definition is any different for our favorite space elves. They use MBT’s just the same as the Imperium uses its lumbering behemoths, a universal direct fire role tank. However as much as this is true but with a slight twist, two of the Eldar tanks have transport capability (Falcon & Wave Serpent).

My interpretation of universal means, that the Fire Prism, Falcon and Wave Serpent can pretty much take on anything that gets in their way, be it armor or infantry and in some cases aerial targets. In these categories mentioned, I feel that not all three excel at.

Let’s take a quick look at the three tanks in more detail:

Falcon:

Heavy Support

Transport Capacity = 6

Type: Skimmer

Armor: 12 (front), 12 (sides), 10 (rear)

Stock armament: Pulse Laser, Shuriken Cannon, Shuriken Catapults

Upgrades:

Shuriken Cannon can be upgraded to Bright Lance, Scatter Laser, Star Cannon or Missile launcher. The Shuriken Catapults can be upgraded to a Shuriken Cannon.

Loadout:

If I were running a Falcon I would kit it out with the Pulse Laser and a Bright Lance and a Shuriken Cannon. That’s 3 Strength 8 shots at 48” range and 3 additional Strength 6 shots at 24” range. In this role I would place 6 dire avengers inside to hold backfield objectives and fire with my turret weapons at 48” range. Also don’t leave home without Holofields.

Fire Prism:

Heavy Support

Transport Capacity = 0

Type: Skimmer

Armor: 12 (front), 12 (sides), 10 (rear)

Stock armament: Prism Cannon, Shuriken Catapults

Upgrades:

The Shuriken Catapults can be upgraded to a Shuriken Cannon.

Loadout:

I always run my Fire Prism’s with Holofields as with all skimmer tanks, they can make their points back in no time. I don’t tend to bother upgrading the Shuriken Catapults to the Shuriken Cannon as I never plan on getting anywhere near 24” with my Fire Prisms. The Prism Cannon is one of the most deadly weapons in Eldar weaponry arsenal.

Wave Serpent:

Dedicated Transport

Transport Capacity = 12

Type: Skimmer

Armor: 12 (front), 12 (sides), 10 (rear)

Stock armament: Twin Linked Shuriken Cannon, Shuriken Catapults, Serpent Shield.

Upgrades:

The Shuriken Catapults can be upgraded to a Shuriken Cannon. The Twin Linked Shuriken Cannon’s can be upgraded to twin linked; Scatter Lasers, Bright Lances, Star Cannons, Missile Launchers.

Loadout:

Ideally you should be transporting a unit in your Wave Serpent so it’s going to be getting close to your enemy. The best loadout really depends on your role as you can go for anti-infantry/Flyer or anti-armor. In my opinion the best loadout has got to be the Twin Linked Scatter Laser turret and the upgraded chin weapon to the Shuriken Cannon. Also as per usual don’t leave home without Holofields.

So here is a brief look at the three tanks in question but let’s categorize how well they take on most targets utilizing the different options they have at their disposal. Please note this is just my own opinion and taken from my own knowledge and experiences.

Nightspinner:

Heavy Support

Transport Capacity = 0

Type: Skimmer

Armor: 12 (front), 12 (sides), 10 (rear)

Stock armament: Doomweaver, Shuriken Catapults

Upgrades:

The Shuriken Catapults can be upgraded to a Shuriken Cannon.

Loadout:

The Nightspinner is a great tank for taking on light armor but particularly infantry.To augment this, upgrade the catapults to a Shuriken Cannon and as per usual take Holofields. Strength 7 large blast with Monofiliment special rule followed by 3 Strength 6 Bladestorm shots is nothing to sneeze at. Dont forget all armoured targets are hit on side armor and at +1 Strength (8).

Grades:

1=Poor, 2=good, 3=excellent, 4=Superb

	Infantry	Heavy Infantry	Light Armour	Heavy Armor	Aerial	Transport	Total Result (24)
Falcon	3	3	3	4	1	2	16
Fire Prism	4	3	3	4	1	1	16
Wave Serpent	4	4	4	2	3	4	21
Night Spinner	4	4	4	1	1	1	15

The above results show the Fire Prism, Wave Serpent, and Falcon compare very closely in most categories with the Nightspinner faring better in infantry areas. In the Heavy Armor category the Prism and Falcon seem to do better with their higher Strength weaponry options than the Wave Serpent. This is not to say the Wave Serpent can’t take out Heavy armor with its twin linked Bright Lance.

In the Infantry and Heavy Infantry all tanks did well. The Falcon would equip a Shuriken Cannon or Scatter

Laser or Starcannon along with the chin mounted Shuriken Cannon for this role. The Nightspinner in particular does well in the infantry area, able to ravage hordes of infantry under it's large template barrage Doomweaver. The Prism has its various templates, and the Wave Serpent has sheer volume of shots along with Bladestorm. But the two categories that I felt the Wave Serpent really outshone the other two was in the Transport category with a capacity of 12 models and also the capability to deal with aerial threats. With the Twin Linked Scatter Laser turret and Shuriken Cannon and Serpent Shield your Wave Serpent can put out 4 x Strength 6 shots, 3 x Twin Linked Strength 6 Shots and D6+1 Twin Linked Strength 7 Shots on an aerial target. I recently had success shooting down a Space Marine Storm Talon in this way.

So there you have it folks, the best Eldar Battle Tank is the Wave Serpent. It can reliably take on most targets you are likely to face on the tabletop and do it very well. The Fire Prism is still an excellent tank and will do well in most battles. The Falcon is an excellent anti armor tank with a decent transport capacity for some late game objective holding troops. It’s really a testament to how good our tanks are that all tanks do so well in nearly all categories. The Nightspinner will reliably crush enemy infantry. I feel we are very fortunate to have such good tanks and I foresee a real resurgence in mechanized Eldar armies.

I hope you enjoyed reading.

Johno

Eldar- First Game With New Codex

Hi guys,

Well last Thursday I played Ugo’s Death Guard in a 1650pts battle, the first one with the new Eldar Codex. You may have seen Ugo’s Death Guard on here before and if not check out this Battle Report. His army is truly one of the best painted armies I’ve ever seen and the camera just doesn’t do it justice.

Firstly this isnt a battle report but I will give an idea on how each unit performed in the battle. The list I took is slightly different to my normal list. As some of you may know I am building a new footdar 2000pts army list that comprises of a bit of air support too. But anyway here is what I ran.

Eldrad – I rolled and got Executioner, Guide, Mind war (All Runes of Fate), and took Prescience (Divination).

Avatar of Khaine

6 x Guardian Jetbikes (2 Cannons)

6 x Guardian Jetbikes (2 Cannons)

6 x Guardian Jetbikes (No Cannons)

10 x Dire Avengers with Exarch and Power Weapon & Shimmer Shield

2 x Vypers with Dual Shuriken Cannons

2 x Vypers with Dual Shuriken Cannons

5 x Fire Dragons

Wave Serpent with Dual Shuriken build

Fire Prism with Holo Fields

Fire Prism with Holo Fields

Performance Evaluation

HQ

Eldrad was with the Dire Avengers Squad and I deployed them midfield and in the front lines. I did this because I wanted Eldrad to manipulate as much as he could and be in range of everything. I also deployed the Avatar right next to them in the middle of the army to give the 12” fearless bubble but also act as a deterrent to any units wanting to get too close to Eldrad and the Avengers.

Eldrad First;

Eldrad performed amazing during this battle, he really pulled all the strings and had his hand err oh should I say mind, in many parts of the battle field to assist other units and generally be a nuisance. Granting Prescience onto the Avengers was fun rerolling to hit and Casting Executioner on the Havocs. However twice he cast Mind War and twice I rolled below my opponent reducing Eldrads WS,BS and Init to 1.

In the later part of the battle a squad of Plague marines double charged Eldrad and the Dire Avengers and a squad of Guardian Jetbikes. This battle lasted a few turns until the Plague Marines were wiped out. Only then the last remaining Death Guard Terminator charged but was cut down in overwatch by Eldrad and 3 remaining Dire Avengers. Eldrad isn’t so shabby in close combat either, with a base of 2 attacks due to his sword and pistol and with Fleshbane and AP3 it made mince meat of Plague Marines.

Eldrad finished the battle with just one wound and it is worth mentioning that both of those wounds were cause by Perils of the warp and not having any warp charges left to prevent the perils. It was typical that I would roll over 10 on my last casting each turn.
 

Avatar;

Believe it or not this was the first time I have ran an Avatar since 2^nd edition. The Avatar acted as the fire magnet and also to generally give my opponent a big worry from the very start. I had to go second so the Avatar lost a couple of wounds in the first turn due to some good shooting. It must be said that if a unit of havocs shoots at your Avatar or anything that bypasses his 3+ save, then you will notice the slight decrease that his  inv save provides going from 4+ to the now 5+.

Overall though the Avatar performed well this match, be it earning his points back and more but also dying after dispatching a Maulerfiend and Typhus along with a few terminators. It was the last few terminators that took him out though. Overall I am happy with his performance and not having to take those Ld8 break tests on guardians was a godsend. I think in future game though I will be taking the Fast Shot Exarch power on him for two wailing doom melta shots a turn at BS10!

TROOPS

Dire Avengers;

The Dire Avengers tagged along with Eldrad during this battle. I didn’t get much success out of their 18” range catapults apart from killing a Plague marine or two but that was due to the over effectiveness of my Guardian jetbikes which I will come to. However the 5+ Inv save offered by the Exarch’s Shimmer Shield really saved my bacon a few times when the Forgefiend dropped those multiple plasma cannon templates on their heads and I think overall this is a better option than the dual catapults due to its flexibility that they can be somewhat a threat in CC and get a inv save of 5+ compared to 2 Shuriken Catapult shots.

Their CC ability was tested later in the battle as mentioned already, where the Exarch was stuck in combat after being challenged by a Plague Marine Sergeant with a power first. This combat lasted 3 rounds believe it or not due to poor to hit and wound rolling by the Plague marine and also great inv saves by the Exarch himself. Eventually the Exarch struck down the Plague marine with his power sword. Overall I was very happy with this unit. It packs plenty of punch ranged and can hold itself in close combat. The Exarch is an exceptional upgrade.

Guardian Jetbikes;

I’m going to come out and say this right now, these guys have had such a boost in the new codex it almost seems… broken. But I say almost because it’s about time Eldar got a unit like this. Most other armies (not all) have an overpowered unit and I’m just glad we got one.

I ran three squads of these guys, two of which sporting two Shuriken Cannons. They performed absolutely brilliantly. The BS4/WS4 upgrade along with the new Bladestorm rule has had a huge impact on how good this unit is. The range of the twin linked Catapults is still only 12” but the bikes also move 12” so you are effectively getting 24” threat range. All shots are twin linked and all to wound rolls of a 6 are AP2… just nasty!

And all this for 17pts as opposed to a 23pt plague marines. Granted the Plague marine is fearless, has T5 and good poisoned CC ability but after a good discussion, myself and Ugo agreed the Jetbike is much more bang for your buck. The sheer number of twin linked and semi- rending shots these guys put out is crazy. If you are not playing Eldar and looking for an allied unit, pick these, you won’ be disappointed.

FAST ATTACK

Vyper;

I ran with two squads of two Vypers for this battle. Many people have said and continue to say that Vypers aren’t good. I have used them consistently for a year now in all my battles and rarely do they disappoint. Now though they are BS4 and Semi-rending Strength 6 24” guns that still fire 3 times each. They were just absolutely nasty and did an incredible amount of damage to the Deathguard.

 I think going forward I might equip them with a Shuriken cannon and Scatter Laser for the Laser Lock ability (Twin links any other weapon if the laser has hit previously). One squadron really decimated some Plague marines and the other unit flanked around and took out a Forgefiend through its rear armor and then finished off the havocs in the ruins. Really great unit even though they are made of wet tissue.

ELITES

Fire Dragons;

As per usual I still think more than five fire dragons is overkill and a waste of points that could be better spent elsewhere. Unfortunately the Wave Serpent carrying them blew up after being hit by a Lascannon and even with their 3+ save now, two of them still died in the explosion. This mean’t I had three left in area terrain in the middle of the battlefield. Even after some shooting these three survived the entire battle and managed to take out a couple of Terminators probably earning back their points in the process. Overall they performed OK but I don’t think their roll has changed much. They are now slightly tougher and more expensive and still do the same thing as before. Still though, always was and still is a solid unit.

Wave Serpent;

The Wave Serpent has gotten a massive upgrade. In this battle I ran it with Twin linked Shuriken Cannon turret and underslung Shuriken Cannon. In future I will put Holo Fields on it for that 4+ save. The Wave Serpent was blown out of the sky by a bullseye shot from a Lascannon totting havoc but it did manage to cause some casualties beforehand which ironically led it to becoming target no.1 for the Death Guard next turn.

 When it was still alive I shot at the havocs with it firing the BS4 6x Strength 6 semi rending shots, 50% were twin linked and then along with D6+1 Strength 7 shots (I rolled a 6 lol) that ignore cover and pin at the havocs killing about half the squad. It was awe inspiring to see such a formidable amount of fire power from one tank that has a transport capacity of 12. The above setup only cost 135pts too! That was 13 Strength 6/7 shots in all from one tank… wow! Although it didn’t last long enough in this battle it showed a glimpse of what is yet to come of this transport or should I say Battle Tank?

HEAVY SUPPORT

Fire Prism;

I took two Fire Prism tanks in this battle and equipped both with Holo fields to give them that +1 to cover. These tanks are still a steal at 125pts. Both tanks performed OK during this battle. They did manage to worry some Terminators but mainly dueled at range with the Forgefiend humorously stripping all 3 guns off the daemon engine over the course of the battle. The Forgefiend did manage to regenerate a couple of wounds throughout but eventually dying after getting flanked by a couple of Vypers. They didn’t perform too well in this battle but did enough to worry the Death Guard and draw some fire away from the rest of my army. Also the new Lance ability of the Prism Cannon was great for shooting single targets like the Forgefiend where you didn’t have to worry about scatter. Big upgrade and a main stay in a lot of my games going forward.

 

CONCLUSION

I am absolutely delighted with the well earned boost Eldar have gotten with the new Codex. I truly believe that all the moaning on the internet about lack of assault grenades and random generation of powers are only a minor hiccup in an otherwise exceptional piece of work by Phil Kelly. The army still requires finesse and is still quite fragile but it certainly got its sharp teeth back. From what I have seen so far, the Wave Serpent and Guardian Jetbikes are the star of the show.