1500pt Eldar Army

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Ant
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1500pt Eldar Army

Post by Ant »

I've been out of the 40k loop for a while now and likely still will be (I don't think I've played since the UKGT final). But I found my eldar codex lying around a week or so ago and thought I'd make a list just in case I do decide to go to a GT (or play any 40k at all) this year.

It is Alaitoc themed, up to a point (I like rangers and it's all painted blue!)

Autarch, Jetbike, Mandiblasters, Laser Lance 130pts

Farseer, Jetbike, Fortune 105pts

5 Walocks, Jetbikes, enhance, 2x destructor 260pts

5 Pathfinders 120pts

5 Pathfinders 120pts

5 Fire dragons 80pts
+Waveserpent, brightlance, spirit stones 145pts

5 Shining Spears, exarch, withdraw 212pts

Vyper, 2 shuriken cannon 60pts

5 Dark Reapers, exarch, Tempest launcher, crack shot 217 pts

Vibrocannon 50pts

1499pts
35 models

So, a very small army, but I guess most of it is self explanatory. I've got the fire dragons, waveserpent and Vibrocannon as the main anti tank, but he fast stuff can also deal with tanks at a pinch if needed. The rest is anti troops with a large smattering of anti power armour. Most of my troops have a good save of some form or another, whether provided by armour, cover, psychic powers or speed so I'm hoping this will offset my low model count.

There are 2 things I'm unsure about. The first is the waveserpent over a falcon. I went for the serpent because I wanted it in an anti tank role and so the twin linked bright lance was favourable since I'd be moving all the time so a BL on a falcon would be a waste. But the lossd of the scoring unit status irks me. I know I don't have enough points for an "indestructo falcon" but I am still wondering if a falcon would be the better option. The only thing that sways my opinion at the moment is that I have the model for the sepent but not the falcon!

The second is the Dark Reaper exarch's kit. I saw the tempest launcher, thought "great!", then realised that it has a "G" next to the range in it's stats, so I have to use a scatter dice instead of the exarch's bs5, which kinda sucks. Is this weapon still worth it, or would I be better served with a missile launcher and fast shot, or even no exarch at all, spending the points elswhere?
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Linda lobsta defenda
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Post by Linda lobsta defenda »

about the reapers, I would actually just drop them period. Now that they cant be screened and since ever dead hurts real bad.. I just dont see a point to them anymore.
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Post by Knightsaber »

I completely agree with Linda regarding the reapers. They are highly vulnerable to any sort of ranged power and, although fun, I don't rate the tempest launcher.

Regarding the waveserpent or falcon, I would lean firmly toward the falcon. For 130 points you can get a stripped down falcon with pulse laser, shurican cannon, and spirit stones. Against most vehicles it will provide similar tank killing power to the serpent but will also function as a scoring unit and have more anti-infantry ability. For still less than the serpent you can add a second shuriken cannon or for slightly more than the serpent you can add a holo-field. The only real drawback to a falcon of some configuration is that the two units will get split up on omega missions leaving the dragons to wait around for thier ride.


Finally, if you can free up some points I would strongly recommend the following tweaks:

1. Add a singing spear to the Farseer. For three points you get a bs5, str9, highly mobile shot.

2. Add a fusion gun to the Autarch. This one is more pricey but gives you another highly reliable tank killing shot at no cost but the points (there is no limit on the number of weapons an eldar character can carry).

3. Consider adding a spear or two to the warlocks. Less of a requirement in my mind than the farseer getting one but still adds a whole tactical dimension to the squad for a minute number of points.

4. Less a tweak and more a thought... consider adding doom the seer. It's a bit constly in an already small army but it combos very well with the pathfinders, the twin-linked 'cats on the bikes, and destructor.
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Post by Ant »

Looks like nobody likes Reapers anymore. I see your point about them but I have had success with them in the past, and the models are great!What would you suggest intead to complement the army? I see walkers being just as fragile, a Waithlord being too slow and I'm not sure what else.

I'd quite like to get in a unit of Wraithguard in a waveserpent. Might be able to swap the reapers for this and go for the Falcon for the dragons. I think I'm likely to need to find a few points from somewhere to afford this though. Is this worth doing? If so where can I go for the extra point?

On singing spears: I don't like them at all. They lose me an attack in close combat since they are 2 handed, they are almost useless against power armoured troops since they still get a save, and against veichles they can only glance, then I can't then go and chsrge something else if I want. I much prefer the witchblades.

Autarch's kit: The fusion gun is a nice idea (although I prefer a reaper launcher). Points is the only reason he has no gun at the moment.

Doom on the seer is a nice idea I hadn't thought of. As you say it is costly though since I'd need spirit stones for it (I think fortune is too useful to swap).
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Post by Son of man »

USe then reapers but give the exarch fast shot instead of crack shot, it gives him more shots on the enemy and place the farseer near them with GUide and doom and spirit stones. If guide was used on the reapers it would give them re roll missed shooting, it becomes invaluable and if any opponent comes to close you doom them making any failed wound on them be rerolled till next eldar turn.

But my only problem is the shining spears, yes they are good but you could get a wraithlord and some more units instead of them since the wraithord is a anti-anything unit and you can use the extra points for some meat shield storm guardians or anything else you want.
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Post by Mr. anderson »

why not give the exarch both abilities???
i love reapers and simply take them because they are soooo sinister and evil looking and i always make sure i have a tempest launcher: i simply can´t resist 3 s4 explosive shots!!!
all i have to do is making sure that my opponent has to worry about something else than them, like a unit of harlequins or a falcon with banshees in it (everyone shoots falcons because they fear what is in it, and in my entire time of playing eldar, only one opponent has managed to get my falcon destroyed, due to about 5 teams of lascannons)
depending on the amount of terrain (with eldar i normally prefer large amounts of it) i always take skilled rider for my exarch.

by the way, one question:
if a unit of shining spears for example uses turbo boost, it would turn their AS into a IS. grey knights now have these cannons which ignore IS and have AP 4, which usually means that the shining spears would have a AS but due to turbo boost, they don´t have any save at all, isn´t that strange???

alright, back to the list: another thing which occured to me was this: a waveserpent for 5 fire dragons??? why if you can get a falcon instead, which is a lot safer and provides more firepower

a wraithlord isn´t the best choice against armored company armies or stand-and-shoot SM armies or empire armies at all: too many lascannons for my taste

why can singing spears only glance against vehicles, Ant???

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Last edited by Mr. anderson on Mon Aug 13, 2007 6:08 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: 1500pt Eldar Army

Post by Rork »

A singing spear is AP6 in the new codex.

Ant wrote:Autarch, Jetbike, Mandiblasters, Laser Lance 130pts


Aye, stock choice. Hardcore, and something I want to try out one day...

Farseer, Jetbike, Fortune 105pts

5 Walocks, Jetbikes, enhance, 2x destructor 260pts


...if I weren't running a setup similar to this. It's a good choice, but I think dropping a destructor for a spear on the farseer and embolden would be a plan. While you're looking at ld10, there's nothing worse than your horrifically expensive unit bolting at an inopportune moment.

5 Pathfinders 120pts

5 Pathfinders 120pts


Pathfinders are good. But I wonder with such a low model count I wonder whether dire avengers with their volume of shots might be a better idea.

5 Fire dragons 80pts
+Waveserpent, brightlance, spirit stones 145pts


I had something similar. I like it, but it doesn't always pay off. I prefer it over the falcon since it removes the problem of not rolling up one unit in escalation.

5 Shining Spears, exarch, withdraw 212pts

Vyper, 2 shuriken cannon 60pts


Can't go wrong.

5 Dark Reapers, exarch, Tempest launcher, crack shot 217 pts


Reapers...hmmm. I still can't bring myself to use them. Static, expensive and vulnerable. If you take a tempest launcher, I think a hidden 3 man unit with fast shot would be better.

Vibrocannon 50pts


Cheap and fun.

Overall, I like it. Aside from the reapers, my main dislikes are down to taste more than anything else (and rolling ld tests horribly high :lol:).
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Post by Loki »

I would have to agree with everyone else on the reaper point. My regular Marine opponents learned what they do and they are usually the first thing to die every game. To replace them, it might be nice to see some Dire Avengers. DAs would certainly help out it the mass fire department against horde armies, the one thing that I think this army might be a bit weak against.
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Post by Ant »

Thanks for the comments.

i hadn't noticed that the singing spears are now AP 6. That makes them worth taking now, so I may have to rethink that.

So, as far as I can make out, the current reaper setup (or taking reapers at all) is a bad idea, and getting some dire avengers is a good idea. Sounds good since I was looking at dire avengers too and thought they looked quite nice now. Trouble I have with them though is that I can't see them ever being great against power armour. And in my experience almost every hard army at tourneys are power armoured. since the only time I'm likely to be playing 40k in the near future is at a tourney. Then again, I can get about 3 times as many avengers. Does this change anyone's thoughts? Perhaps Striking scorpions would be a better choice considering both the vunerability of reapers and the power armour deficiencies of avengers.

I'll juggle some points and post a new version asap (probably have to wait till I get bored of orcs though :D )
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Post by Loki »

But won't Scorpions have just as much trouble against power armor? 30 shots can do a lot of damage. Personally, I like scorpions, I think they can survive a bit better, but the firepower from Dire Avengers is quite good. I think either choice will do better in your list than Dark Reapers.
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Post by Darkest one »

If i were you I would take the Dire Avengers
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Post by Ant »

But won't Scorpions have just as much trouble against power armor?

Yes, unless I put a power fist in the squad (although that is only S6 now).
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Post by Loki »

True, but you can kinda kit out your DAs for combat much more effectively than you can kit out the Scorpions for shooting. In the end it basically comes down to this Scorpions are best for survivability and combat, DA are best for versatility.
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Post by Mr. anderson »

A singing spear is AP6 in the new codex


and since when does that mean you can only score glancing hits???

i most certainly would stick to the reapers but if you really want to swap them, i would say: Dire Avengers in a Serpent: they get off, shoot the crap out of anything and then charge and kick the remains of the shot unit in the *****

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Post by Ant »

and since when does that mean you can only score glancing hits???

it used to be AP- in the old codex, which does prevent penetrating hits. I hadn't noticed that it had changed and is now a little better.
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Post by Knightsaber »

Ant wrote:Trouble I have with them though is that I can't see them ever being great against power armour.


A squad of 10 avengers including an exarch with twin shuriken catapults shooting at MEQs averages:

No bladestorm: 2.6 kills
Bladestorm: 3.7 kills

BUT when you add doom...

No bladestorm with doom: 3.8 kills
Bladestorm with doom: 5.5 kills

Remember also that these numbers are unaffected by cover and come from 18" assault weapons. I have used dire avengers consistently since the release of the new book and although they are not the perfect unit they have rarely let me down.

Regarding the scorpions, they can be a very solid unit. However, concider how you plan to deliver them to the enemy. Against mobile (mech) forces they are virtually irrelevent and even against a relatively static army they can still be a challenge to deliver effectively.

Finally, I strongly recommend adding a spear to your farseer. For 3 points you get 12" assault lascannon that hits on a 2+ and trade 3 attacks on the charge for 2 all of which are likely to be hitting vehicles on 4's or 6's. The spear turns your bike mounted seer from an almost entirely support unit into a very credible threat against all vehicles.
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Post by Mr. anderson »

as long as the farseer rides a jetbike, a singing spear gets a potential range of 24" and you can have up to 18"distance from the unit you shot after the combat phase.

i never had an army without dire avengers, even if they don´t kill enough of a unit they still can charge and with the exarch´s ability and equipment they can hold up any unit until support comes. they combine extremely good with striking scorpions: you put the avengers in a serpent, shoot the crap out of a unit and then charge. the scorpions come and finish the charged enemy up. you need the avengers to pin the opponent somewhere, otherwise he will keep running away and you will never reach him without fleet of foot.

i don´t like twin shuriken catapults: you give away 3 power weapon attacks for 3 more shots with s4 and AP5, not a good deal IMO, and you give away the IS too, even worse!

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Post by Cynath ch'ill »

Hey there, thought i'd add my two pennies...

DArk reapers are still an excellent unit, it's just that people have got wise to how destructive they can be. Like the wraithlord, people have adapted to how they are used and what works well against them. DArk reapers can still earn they're points back, but it's not as easy. I would suggest dropping them in this army list as the army is too fluid to accomidate and adequetly suppor the reapers.

The Auturach is an excellent choice, he will earn his points back whatever.

The jetbike mounted 'seer council' (fast moving inv. re-roll) is a good choice and suits this army. Upgrade with a couple of singing spears and embolden. And get Doom if you can afford it - it is such a handy power to throw around and will add much in the way of casualties. You may want to consider getting rid of the Warlocks altogether and have your seer link up with the Shining spears. Using fortune then zipping off 24 inches is an excellent way of keeping these very expensive models alive. They can break off and attack diff targets then - tank of squad, and you will have about 260 points to flesh out your army.

Why not try Warp spiders? These guys have become one of the best units in the eldar army now, and the amount of combo's you can apply with them is staggering. With 3 very mobile and hard hitting combat units, the Spiders give you options with your jetbikes - they can act as a 'tar pit' or simply join in the fun of assualting.

Hope this helps. Best of luck
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Post by Ant »

Sorryy for the lack of updates. I've not even thought about 40k for the past fortnight.

Warpspiders I hadn't even considered. But looking at them now they look like they'd fit in very well with this army both tactically and fluffwise. Just reading the rules for them has given mre a few ideas. Any experiences with them? Is it worth giving the exarch powerblades? I can't see them wanting to assault very often. I see withdraw as essential though. This is one unit you don't want bogged down in combat.

Now i'm even more confused as to my options!
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Post by Cynath ch'ill »

with warp spiders you have to try them out and see what suits you better. Personally, i don;t bother give the exarch power blades. I give him an extra death spinner for the extra shots becuase thats how i play with them. They are fast enough to avoid any CC specialists and should be able to bounce out of combat if they get into trouble.

But this is just me, the extra death spinner suits my playing group and my army set up. Power blades are worth it against space marines i would argue, but not essential.

I've had some experience with them but great success. They are amazing as disrupt troops, acting as an agile 'sheild' around the board. What i mean by this is is that they can appear (remember they can deep strike) and close in on an element of your opponents army that you can't deal with without support. Use them to disrput (either suicide them or just pick away with shooting).

HAve a look at the eldaronline archive for more detailed advice. i'll see if i can post up a revised army list as well, see what you think of it.
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Post by Mr. anderson »

after my exarch cut down a space marine captain in hth, i alway take them. and i take them becaue it is fluffy, i would give the power blades.

what is eldaronline? is it a website or something else?

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