Hi all,Well it's finally here, the new Eldar Codex! I am so excited about this release I have probably been talking about it way too much around my gamer buddies and wore ears off them. But now that it's here at last I would like to write a little bit about my first impressions of the book itself. So stick around and read on!
The Codex
It has to be said GW have done a fantastic job on all the 6th edition codex's written so far. I have bought everyone of them. Maybe I have more money than sense but to be honest I just love reading the fluff and the rules. It's always nice to know what to expect when your opponent fields Daemons or Dark Angels with their new rules.
As with all the previous 6th edition hardback book's it is comprised of 104 pages and takes on the same format as all the previous codex's (Race Background, Timeline, Common special rules, Individual leaders and units back ground and rules, followed by the army section with the points and stats). Even if you are not an Eldar player it's still worth picking up a copy of this because it has some of the most beautiful artwork (just look at that cover) of any of the codex's and if art isn't your thing then the fluff and the background makes up for that.
Chuck Noris to Summarize
To put it in a nutshell as a whole the army got a boost. I know all over the net people are whining that this unit and that unit weren't fixed (Banshee's I'm looking at you!) and some things went up in price and very little came down in price but in the sum of all parts we got a boost not a nerf.
One critical improvement was a boost from BS3 to BS4 across the board. Let me put this into perspective. This is a core stat, not a special rule like Battle Focus or Ancient Doom which I will touch on a bit later but an actual core stat. This vastly improves a whole heap of our Eldar units. I know personally playing a guardian heavy army that I was absolutely ecstatic when I seen this improvement.
Then we have this special rule called Battle Focus. Oh wow is this good or what! We can move and then run and then shoot, or Move and Shoot and then run. This is HUGE. Ok Guardian Shuriken Catapults have a 12" range but you move 6" then Run another 6" with a reroll due to the whole army getting fleet now and then shooting another 12". The whole army basically has a minimum movement of 7" and inches my friends win games especially with an army that requires finesse like the Eldar do.
Ancient doom is a bit more situational as it only works against units with mark of Slannesh. This can be Daemons or Chaos Space Marines. It gives our entire army Hatred against these foes which is great! But we also received -1 to our leadership roles for fear when playing these armies. Still though Hatred is better than -1 LD so I'm happy.
The humble shuriken catapult is not so humble anymore... With BS 4 now more shots will hit their mark, couple this with that every roll to wound of a 6 now counts as AP2, we are going to see a lot more bang for our buck when our opponent starts picking up his models after a round of shooting from our Shuriken wielding Gardeners and Mechanics.
But let's not kid ourselves, the Eldar army itself is for the advanced level of player and that hasn't changed. It's not going to be the next Grey Knights nor is it the new Necron's. Each and every move you make, the consequences must be planned out in advance. It's not a point and click army. If you are new to Eldar I highly advise you speak to an experienced Eldar player to get that much needed little boost to help you at the start. You may find it frustrating at times but the army can be one of the most rewarding when everything comes together and the synergy works.
So overall a thumbs up (Thank you Mr Noris!). I will be reviewing each unit individually and our new Psychic powers in a series of posts over the coming weeks so check back with us here at Wild Serpent regularly because we are as excited as you are!
