Eldar Aspect Army

All aspects of Warhammer 40K, from general discussion through to army lists, tactics etc etc.

Moderators: Drainial, The Dread Knights

Post Reply
Autarii
Trainee Warrior
Posts: 29
Joined: Sun Apr 04, 2010 7:18 pm

Eldar Aspect Army

Post by Autarii »

Hail!

I'm considering starting an Eldar army and I have always liked the idea of an aspect warrior army perhaps led by an Avatar or one of the Phoenix Lords. Basically because I like the models and want to paint something a bit brighter than my DE.

As my knowledge of Eldar is rather limited I look to the mighty oracles of Druchii.net for guidance.

What are people's experiences with the eldar army, specifically one based on the different aspect warriors?
How is it best to play with this army in general? Or specifically against marines, imperial guard, orks or nids, as they'll be my main opponents.

Thank you in advance
Last edited by Autarii on Fri Apr 30, 2010 7:27 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Sa'an'ishar!
User avatar
Jadin
Black Guard
Posts: 275
Joined: Wed May 07, 2008 11:19 pm

Post by Jadin »

Best competitive aspects right now:
Fire Dragons
Dire Avengers
Warp Spiders
Striking Scorpions
Howling Banshees

Pretty much in that order. I am currently putting a Biel Tan list together myself.

Keep away from:
Swooping Hawks
Dark Reapers (so cool but the amount of cover in 5e makes them limited in effectiveness)

Shining Spears make nice tank killers...but I don't use them.

My 2k list is:
Farseer
10 Dire Avengers with Double Avengerpaults in Wave Serpent
10 Dire Avengers with Powersword and Shimmershield
10 Guardians with Scatter Laser
10 Guardians with Scatter Laser
10 Howling Banshees with Wave Serpent
6 Fire Dragons with Wave Serpent
8 Striking Scorpions
6 Warp Spiders
2 Wraithlords equipped for tank hunting.

Im not really sure how an Avatar will fare but I heard Autarchs are lacking. I like the Farseer because of Doom and Fortune.
Varaken
Executioner
Posts: 156
Joined: Wed Dec 23, 2009 10:48 pm

Post by Varaken »

If your going for an assault style army with eldar then an Avatar and a Farseer in conjunction with striking scorpions can get some decent synergy.
Only by the blade can weakness be purged.
User avatar
Spiralout
Slave (off the Altar)
Posts: 18
Joined: Tue Aug 03, 2010 4:30 pm
Location: Yorkshire, UK

Post by Spiralout »

Swooping Hawks have their uses if you want to harass your enemy, Skyleap makes them a nice ping pong bomber unit - just be careful of them ending up in reserve too much. Adding an autarch to your army will give them +1 to reserve rolls.

The Phoenix Lords aren't that great for their cost. If they had eternal warrior maybe, but they're way too specialised for how much you're paying for them, and most of the time their chosen aspect means your big badass HQ choice will end up getting slaughtered, cos they need to be in combat against things that are their superior - ie. Karandras and Jain Zar.

I used to field 8 Fire Dragons in a Wave Serpent and have them as dedicated vehicle crackers - i've seen people use them to take down terminators and whatnot aswell, which is great, but they are invaluable against vehicles. Crackshot isn't that necessary on them, as with that many melta attacks if you don't crack a tank then you're doing something wrong - but make sure you get them there safely. I usually backed up my Serpents with a Fire Prism. They hurt and once people know they hurt they tend to draw a lot of fire, which is fine since Eldar play like a game of Chess - know what each piece does, and be willing to sacrifice.

The main thing you need to remember with Eldar is that everything needs support from something else, and the entire army needs to work in synergy. Moreso than any other army (possible exception being Tau), a scattered and unfocussed Eldar army will find itself ripped to shreds. I've seen people charge Striking Scorpions into Terminators, Dire Avengers into Plague Marines etc. and it wasn't ever pretty because of the lack of support. You gotta watch the Avatar too - he's a close combat monster, but hes gonna be walking on his own for a lot of the battle. He WILL draw firepower, so cover him as much as you can.
Spiral out...keep going
User avatar
Mr. anderson
Dark Illusionist
Posts: 2270
Joined: Thu Jun 14, 2007 7:25 am
Location: Dating a Witch elf...

Post by Mr. anderson »

Avatars are definitely cool, and they're a tough nut to crack, too. In combat there isn't much that can stand against them.

As for dark reapers being useless, I'd debate that. I have two eldar armies, one that shoots the enemy to bits from afar, and one that comes in close and tears them to shreds. My shooting one has dark reapers in it. With the (sort of) new 5th ed template rules, crack shot and the missile launcher (I forget the name) they can tear gaping holes into enemy lines. Devastators die like flies to them, and there's always some assauult squads out in the open asking for a shot in the face.

Swooping hawks, on the other hand I consider next to useless (I love the models, I have a squad of them too and I'd love to field them - they were great in 4th) because no matter where they land, they'll get shot (and die, for the most part). Banshees and scorpions are absolutely fantastic too, as are shining spears.

What would help you no end is a farseer as he'll allow you to get more models into combat (re-rolling saves) or shoot even more accurately. I hardly ever leave without one, but an eldar aspect army can get away without one if played well. Eldar used to be the big cheese in 4th and everyone hated them. The same sort of thing that happened to dark elves happened to them as well. Now you need tanks to keep your army safe.

Oh, and I have to mention harlequins. They are possibly the coolestest unit (next to banshees, dark reapers, scorpions and uh... well, all the other eldar units) and they have almost no match in combat. And they're all but immune to most shooting - the worst they'll have to take is one turn before combat, and if you play it right, that won't happen either.
When I think of something witty, I shall put it here.
Post Reply