New Eldar Review

[Chicop76]

Good catch on the knight only shooting two weapons. I guess if you go combat you can pay more points to shoot. Heck if I take one it's much cheaper since I will keep it as is. I can't pass up on 2 strength 10 shots. Keeping that in mind I might get anti infantry as a secondary option.

With 3 knights that's like 6 strength 10 railguns heading your way.

You need to look t darkreapers. The exarch have skyfire and can deny jinx saves.

I don't know. If you can validate the darkeldar flyer than the eldar fighter is just as good. Armour 11 is paper instead of tissue and the eldar figher can dish out 4 strength 8 shots that re roll armour pen with a +4 jink save.

[crisis_vyper]

I find the new Codex to be sort of a mixed bag.

A few things were incredibly nerfed (such as the Runes of Warding), and although there were changes, the core remains the same.

This codex actually reminds me of the Chaos Marines codex to be honest.

My impressions of the book;

1) everyone have gotten cheaper and have new rules, the Eldar got the new rules but have a jump in price overall.

2) The damage potential of Eldar armies have increased significantly, but their defenses suffered as a result. Battle Focus is monstrously good, especially on War Walkers as this allows you to do a semblance of the Crystal Targeting Matrix of the old days with the Vypers but now you can do it with every unit that have this rule. Also quite a number of the vehicles actually improved, with the Wave Serpent is now essentially similar in function to a Falcon due to that weird shield weapon of theirs.

3) I feel that with the general improvements, every craftworld army BUT Biel-Tan got a boost. A full Saim-hann army is extremely viable, Iyanden got the most out of this book, Alaitoc essentially have their flagship hero to make everyone pathfinders if they so choose, and Ulthwee' flavor is essentially back in all but name, especially with the Guardians having Black Guardian stats of the old days.

4) Footdar gains the most benefits out of the new rules, as most of the improvements are on infantry units.

5) Psychic powers have buffs in general, but the method in which one gets those spells are the thing that nerfed the Farseer in many ways. Psychic defense is also significantly weakened, though i could understand why the nerf is there to begin with. Tzeentchian Daemons are literally locked down when they face Eldar, and thus the remedy is devised to prevent such an event from happening.

I'm glad that it's not an easy to use Codex.  It shouldn't be.  Eldar were always about careful builds with synergy holding everything together. I was worried about mass cheap Guardians, but thankfully there's other very nice units that fit in well.

Overall, I'm pleased and eager to see what they can do.

For me, I am a little more disappointed with the book as a result of the rules execution. Some glaring problems could be seen with some unit in the previous codex and they are not fixed at all. The psychic abilities of the race is actually lower than what I have expected, and I was expecting a wargear that could actually limit the randomization of rolling on the psychic chart.

Fortunately for me, the main concepts that I seek to take advantage of from the Eldar codex is still intact and thus I am not truly disappointed as a whole.

[Irisado]

They just in my opinion just made Eldar Uthrewe for intents and purposes.

I haven't read the 6th fluff. I remember 3rd fluff and guardins was your citizens who took up arms. Like the national guard.

It doesn't matter which version of the background you read, it's all more or less the same as far as regular Guardians (i.e. all those which are not from Ulthwé) are concerned.  There's nothing in any of the background to suggest that Guardians have the same level of skill as Aspect Warriors.

[Tom]

I'm undecided about whether Guardians deserve BS4 or not but I do have a possible way of thinking about it that might make it seem like a less significant step. There is no way a Guardian is as good as an aspect warrior at shooting. I think we can all agree on that. But the difference is not enormous (like the difference between an exarch and an ork for example). As has already been discussed there are also only six sides on a D6 and they have to cover the whole range of shooting abilities in the 40k universe for the abstraction of the game. Theoretically there are still many divisions but practically there are only 5 (BS1-5 as BS6 and up are a pain to play with) and most units are squashed into 3 - BS2, BS3, BS4 with generally only characters and generals with BS5 and up. So on those grounds it doesn't seem too terrible to have Guardians and Aspect warriors with the same BS. However, what hasn't really been considered is the effect weapons might have on shooting ability.

Just as an idea - perhaps one can think of Guardians' poorer shooting abilities relative to aspect warriors being reflected by the weapons they carry - For example the difference between Dire Avengers' and Guardians' shuriken catapults is their range but you could think about it as the range at which the warriors are able to effectively fire their weapons rather than just the range of the weapon itself. Thought of this way, the small difference between Guardians and aspect warriors might be that Guardians would not be able to keep an Avenger catapult accurate at full range whilst an aspect warrior can.

As for the new codex in general - so far what I've seen seems a nice update. In general I don't feel like anything has changed too much - most changes address problems from the old codex and while they don't fix them completely they have made them better. For example Banshees could never make it into combat, they're still going to have a really difficult time but they've got a little help with the extra run distance and they're cheaper so they're less painful to lose. Similarly Shining spears are cheaper but still very niche and don't have enough attacks to be competitive. So those two units aren't going to make it into tournament lists but they're not so awful that you'll never be able to find a way to use them.

[Irisado]

Your point about weapon ranges is an interesting one, but I still don't agree with it, because you're effectively dealing with two separate weapons (the Shuriken Catapult, and the Avenger Catapult).  I think that your point would be more valid if both used the same weapon, but a different range was given to allow for the Dire Avengers being more accurate at longer distances, but that's not the way 40K works.

The problem with the argument about WS/BS and values is that Guardians are just troops.  They receive basic training, and are as good as a serving soldier with a regular training regime (e.g. a regular Guardsmen), and this reflected in citizens having the same WS/BS as a fully trained soldier.  This model has now been broken.  To have civilians who are now as skilled as the craftworld's dedicated warriors, is just not right (in terms of background and game play) in my opinion.

[Arguleon-veq]

What your missing is that more people taking the path of the warrior means more ex aspect warriors once they leave that path.

Plus these civilians could have been taking part in military operations for over 9 thousand years.

Im actually starting to think that Wraithknights are just not going to cut it because of that 3+ save. I actually see bike councils backed up by wave serpents as the most competative eldar build.

As far Nightspear, theres no way he passes his ability to his unit. He passes his infiltrate on, but only HE has the other rule and as its not a USR he doesnt pass it on.

[The Man They Call Jayne]

I think what we seem to be not focussing on is how the actual rules work, rather than the fluff justification for it.

The sheer amount of AP2 and Auto Wound potential this army has now is brutal. Given that 20 out of the 63 weapons in this codex are AP2 or 1 and another half dozen on top of that are AP3, we seem to be overlooking the fact that there is NOTHING that can reliably stand in the way of the frankly dirty amount of firepower this army can throw at all targets it could ever come up against.

Hordes? Everyone gets 2 shots and a good amount of AP2.
MCs? Autowounding, Distortion and AP2
Tanks? Heywire, Distortion, Lance and AP2
Meq/Teq? Mass fire and AP2

In return the strategic placement of Warlocks with the right powers can restore a Wraithknight to almost full health every turn if it isn't killed outright. And even 2 could restore enough wounds to make killing one a nightmare.

Jetbikes can move, turboboost 36" and STILL fire their weapons normally thanks to Battle Focus.

And while it may cost a bit, it is entirely possible to have an Autarch with an Instant Death causing Sword who can teleport his way very rapidly across the table and assassinate pretty much anyone he wants.

This codex, not counting luck of the rolls, is amazingly powerful, almost the the point of rendering everything else obsolete. Anything you can do, the Eldar can do faster, more accuratly, stronger or any combination of the 3.

Now, I admit, I havn't played against it in a full scale game, but even trying some dice hammer against units that I chose specifically to kill the Eldar unit in question, I got brutally beaten down.

Make no mistake, this codex is likely to be a game breaker just as soon as people crack it properly.

[Irisado]

What your missing is that more people taking the path of the warrior means more ex aspect warriors once they leave that path.

Plus these civilians could have been taking part in military operations for over 9 thousand years.

I have still yet to read any compelling evidence that retired Aspect Warriors would continue to train sufficiently to retain the skills, and combat capability, which they possessed as an Aspect Warrior.  Becoming a civilian again means that they just won't have the same skill level which they did, and it's likely to drop off pretty quickly.

[Chicop76]

I just realized I didn't mention the possible 14 twin linked shots frm the serpent for only 130 points well 9-14 shots.

[Arguleon-veq]

I really dont think its as powerful as you think Jayne. Bikes cant shoot after turbo boosting as turbo boosting isnt a run.

Wave Serpents are one of the really nice things in the book but I dont think there is anything else that is a massive problem for the gunlines out there at the minute. Bike Councils can be great but you need at least two different powers going off every turn, one on LD8. Plus if you dont go first and dont have really good LOS blocking terrain they are going to die. Wraithknights are going to be hard countered by lots of sniper rifles.

I think they are pretty good but I dont think they will match Tau.

[crisis_vyper]

Bike Councils can be great but you need at least two different powers going off every turn, one on LD8. Plus if you dont go first and dont have really good LOS blocking terrain they are going to die.

Not to mention the Seer councils live and die by Fortune. I really do not understand why anyone would take a Seer Council now that you would rather take more guns.

The sheer amount of AP2 and Auto Wound potential this army has now is brutal. Given that 20 out of the 63 weapons in this codex are AP2 or 1 and another half dozen on top of that are AP3, we seem to be overlooking the fact that there is NOTHING that can reliably stand in the way of the frankly dirty amount of firepower this army can throw at all targets it could ever come up against.

The weapons are really short-ranged though, even with Battle Focus.

This codex, not counting luck of the rolls, is amazingly powerful, almost the the point of rendering everything else obsolete. Anything you can do, the Eldar can do faster, more accuratly, stronger or any combination of the 3.

But not surviving an attrition war. Eldar are flimsy, and most of their defensive abilities have gone down from the previous codex.

Make no mistake, this codex is likely to be a game breaker just as soon as people crack it properly.

There's no saying this for sure. It could be a solid tier 2 codex for all we know. The thing about new codices is that there is always the 'scare' phase, but the true test is after 2-3 months after the codex is released that we see the true worth of the codex. Some are better than others, while some are only strong during the phase of the particular meta at the time.

[Chicop76]

The only problems I see from the book are these

Wave serpent possible 14 strength 6-7 twin linked shooting at 130 points
9 man bike squad at 183 points with 9 strength 6 rending shots at 24"
Wrathknight with 2 strength 10 ap 1 36" range weapons

Those 3 units are the only wories I really have for the book. Fire dragons is a worry, but they will be in x serpent which would be focused on and they die. Same almost go for anything else.

Throw in warlocks with the bikes they become annoying. Try denying 6 units cover saves or an entie army.

The problem with eldar they can do the hound tactic with the bikes. Th major differance is the bikes can shoot. Also sitting at a + cover save which can be a 2+ is even worst. Yes we can deny cover, but if 54 bikes park in your face can you deny all 6 squads cover while shooting at them..

What is interesting if they go first they 54 bikes can unleash a lot of fire power with all their shots thanks to run.

If they go second they simply deploy out of range. With 12 + 18+ 2d6 movement they can easily posention them selves to your weak points and flank you hard

[Arguleon-veq]

Bikes cant run so they cant get that extra range from battle focus.

I think its all on the serpents really, they even fill in for anti air, they are again fairly fragile when going second though.

[Chicop76]

Bikes cant run so they cant get that extra range from battle focus.

I think its all on the serpents really, they even fill in for anti air, they are again fairly fragile when going second though.

Ahhh. I forgot lol. They still can move witin 12" fire and back out 2d6"

Not what I'm hearing. The serpents still only can be glance on a +2 and have a +5 cover save. It's a lot of glancing and pens you have to do against armour 12.

[crisis_vyper]

Saw the eldar in action today, both from facing them and also using them (albeit in their allied capacity for my part).

I saw how two Wraithlords ignored the IG blob shooting at it and just bashed their brains senseless in one game winning the game for the Eldar player, and in another I saw how scorpions could actually kill space marines even before they strike and collapsing the Greenwing line. In both games I saw how amazing Warp Spiders were as they jump, run and shoot/shoot and run, and jump some more and also how Serpents literally became the bane of transports that are not prepared for them with their weird shield weapon. So far I have not seen the Wraithknight nor the Crimson Hunters, as all the Eldar players today are not playing with the new toys.

As for my own side of thing, Dark Eldar with Eldar secondary proved to be quite a nasty surprise for the other Eldar player as the twin-linking of weapons proved to be utterly scary and due to Battle Focus, the War Walkers are able to keep up with the rest of the Dark Eldar army while providing firing support.

I actually like how each Eldar army that were in action today were so different from each other in both form and function and they all worked wonderfully in their particular roles. Kinda proved the point that it is a rather synergistic army that needs some thought in building the list to make the whole army work as a great machine.

Key units that I find very interesting;

1) Jetbikes - everyone is playing with them and it is a very good aggressive unit and also defensive unit depending on what you want to do with them

2) Battle Focus: this thing here is the bee's knees of the codex. This is an amazing ability bar none.

3) Warp Spiders: These guys are nasty. I am seeing them going everywhere killing things, and one of these actually became a very good harasser against my Dark Eldar army. A very effective unit in the Eldar codex, would not be surprised that people start to spam them.

4) Farseer and Spiritseer: The farseer on jetbike is a staple more or less, as in all the Eldar games today everyone is throwing out twin-linking like it is going out of style. The spiritseer and its aggressive buff/debuff effect helped the Mech/Wraith army kill a score of imperial Guard and breaking the 'defenses' of the Aegis line.