Aspect Warrior
Aspect Warriors are Eldar who have chosen to walk the Path of the Warrior, and thus to defend their craftworlds from aggression and to destroy the enemies of the Eldar. They comprise the vast majority of the Eldar military and are separated into different branches called Aspects, each one of which specializes in a certain method of killing things.
Aspect Warriors focus themselves to hone their martial abilities psychically, which creates a portion of their consciousness called a War Mask. This mental mask protects their minds against the horrors of war. This has the advantage of essentially protecting them from PTSD and turning them into stone-cold killers even if they were raw recruits who have never fought in battle before. A War Mask can be "removed" after the warrior has left the battlefield and he can return to his life as if nothing had happened afterwards. They don't remember what happened while wearing their War Mask. Some have peeked behind the mask and been utterly horrified; those who lose the ability to control it become Exarchs. This implies that the Eldar outside of the militant Paths tend towards strongly compassionate emotions and being pussies. Excluding the Seers anyway; as part of their training Warlocks are forced to confront and reconcile all the horrors of war without a war mask, leaving only the dispassionate understanding of how necessary all the grimdark is.
Anyway, due to Eldar anal-retentiveness, sometimes they become utterly obsessed with their jobs, and Aspect Warriors can become incapable of separating their War Masks from their everyday personalities. Such warriors are known as Exarchs, and they lead squads of Aspect Warriors. Despite their leadership roles and badassery, other Eldar (and most Exarchs themselves) tend to pity and mourn them, as their original personalities are all but dead, supplanted by the battle focus of their War Masks, incapable of any emotions not related to their Aspect. Soulstones are placed in the armour of an Exarch to collect his knowledge of war, and these stones are then passed to other Exarchs so that the deceased warrior can share his knowledge and skills. In this way, Exarchs not only lose their personalities but are also denied the proper afterlife of the Eldar... such as it is.
The rest of the Eldar army is composed of Guardians. These are not professional full-time soldiers, but rather civilian militia conscripted from other Paths of the Eldar. These individuals do not have a War Mask and typically have their minds shielded by a Warlock who has been an Aspect Warrior in the past to prevent the sensations of battle from overwhelming them (because seriously, who wants to stand beside a dedicated dreamer or mourner on the battlefield?). In addition, Guardians get assigned to more generalized or less hazardous tasks that Aspect Warriors would be wasted on.
Aspect Warrior Types
All Aspect Warriors fight according to one of the aspects of Kaela Mensha Khaine, the Eldar god of war. Each Aspect was founded by a warrior known as a Phoenix Lord, who serves as the ultimate embodiment of that Aspect.
Dire Avengers
Dire Avengers were the first Aspect Warrior path and the original founder of their temple was Asurmen, the first Phoenix Lord. They are solid general-purpose troops. In battle Dire Avengers operate in squads of five to ten warriors, which sometimes includes an Exarch, and can ride into battle within a Wave Serpent transport. These patient, methodical warriors are equally well suited for both offensive and defensive operations. Their training gives them the uncanny ability to read the ebb and flow of battle, knowing when to press the attack or feign retreat and fall back, luring their foes into a carefully prepared ambush. Dire Avengers are also trained in hand-to-hand techniques though, with the exception of their Exarchs, this is not the main focus of their training. When forced to conduct close combat Dire Avengers carry deadly ceremonial knives as a weapon of last resort. These blades are more traditionally used in ceremonies conducted prior to and after battle.
It is rare to find an Eldar force without a squad of these extravagant peacock heads at its heart.
Because of their adaptability Dire Avengers are also the most common Aspect Warriors used to conduct special missions outside of normal combat. These can range from recovering an ancient artifact, aiding Exodites from an incursion by Greenskins to acting as bodyguards for a Farseer to even conducting business with the Inquisition (who are sneaky, manipulative, and judgmental like the Eldar).
When not at war or embarked upon missions, the Dire Avengers spend much of their time at their Aspect Shrine, meditating upon battle, studying the tactics and strategies of their ancestors, and practicing their skills at arms. The ritual masks and armour that Aspect Warriors wear set them apart as the elite soldiers of their race. They represent Khaine in his aspect as a noble warrior (which explains a ton since nobility/honor aren't part of Khaine's domain as a deity, unlike Khorne).
On the tabletop, a Dire Avenger Exarch can replace his Avenger Shuriken Catapult or Gatekeepers Bastion with one of several options. The first option is to take two Avenger Shuriken Catapults, which performs exactly as you'd expect. The 2nd and 3rd options are to take a Shuriken Pistol and either a Diresword or a Power Glave; the Diresword is a power sword that causes mortal wounds as opposed to regular damage, while the Power Glaive adds +2 Strength, 2AP and deals 2 damage, letting him fuck around with MEQs. The final option is to take one of the previous melee options and a Shimmershield; although this means the Exarch cannot use ranged weapons, to give him a 4+ save.
Dire Avengers have Aspect Armour, which gives them a 4+ save and 5+ invuln, and like other Aspect choices they are Leadership 8; these stats are adequate. They also have a rule that lets them shoot while performing actions. Although Dire Avengers *can* engage in melee if required, particularly if the Exarch has been upgraded to do so, this is not really their forte due to their low Strength, low Toughness, and low number of attacks. Therefore, you probably want to avoid melee in most situations. The real reason to take Dire Avengers is because of their Avenger Shuriken catapults. With an extra shot and extra AP, they become a decent threat to MEQs and GEQs alike.. Add in the squad's 3+ BS on top of all this, and you have a resilient, flexible, highly mobile squad that can deliver a volume of highly accurate firepower to wherever it is most needed.
Howling Banshees
The second Aspect temple created was that of the Howling Banshees, founded by Jain Zar. Their namesake comes from Eldar mythology, in which banshees are warp apparitions that foreshadow doom with their loud cries.
As the story goes, Morai-Heg, the Crone Goddess, wanted to drink her own divine blood and learn all of knowledge stored in it. But the only creature capable of harming a deity was Khaine, who actually didn't want to help her out. So she sent her daughters to bitch and whine at Khaine until he relented and cut off her hand to shut her up. In return, he kept ownership rights to the Banshees and created an aspect.
Howling Banshees specialize in melee combat and carry power swords and Shuriken Pistols. Each Banshee wears a Banshee Mask, which amplifies the wearer's battle cries into a psychic scream that disorients targets, giving the Banshees the initiative and allowing them to live up to their namesake as the screaming harbingers of bloody murder. A Banshee Exarch may wield twin powerblades, a pistol and a Triskele (glaive, the throwing kind), or a badass Executioner (glaive, the polearm kind). High initiative (as high as Slaanesh-marked Chaos Space Marines) and power weapons make them big trouble for power-armored foes. They are also a favored target of fa/tg/uy lusts due to their...form-fitting armor. Despite their feminine-shaped armor and majority female members men can join too... but they wear the female armor and adapt a female persona for the duration of their stay (so fa/tg/uys are taking a heavy risk).
On the tabletop, Howling Banshees have had a rough time of things since their 4th edition rules. This is due to being fragile at T3 with a 4+ save, striking at S3 when their main targets (Marines) have a toughness of 4 or better, not having quite enough weight of attack to deal with large numbers of enemies, and having Initiative and WS values only somewhat better than their targets of choice (and inferior to Wyches, who serve much the same role in Dark Eldar armies). This is compounded by a lack of assault grenades to strike first against enemies in cover or assault transports to bring them to their opponents safely. History follows like so.
- 6th edition slapped them hard right off the bat with the new power weapons rules, the many nerfs to assault (not being able to run and charge was especially devastating), and a restriction that only allows them to bring swords. They got a lateral buff at best with the new book, which really didn't fix their old problems but improved their competition (buffing Scorpions a bit and introducing Wraithblades). The Exarchs did get quite a lot better, but they have been reduced to glorified sergeants.
- The new 7th edition codex gave them a rather significant buff. They still didn't have plasma grenades, but could ignore cover when charging and could charge further. Also, their masks suppressed overwatch fire, which helps them out quite a bit, especially against shooty folks like Tau, or units with multiple flamers.
Furthermore, the entire Eldar book and indeed the meta as a whole really wasn't lacking for AP3 killing capacity, thus further ensuring that the primary role of Banshees in 7th was that of shelf decoration— a cruel fate for one of the most iconic Eldar units.
- 8th edition changed them up by re-introducing the move stat which has finally allowed GW to do away with the million and one awkward rules that modified how fast a unit could move. The only remaining mystery is why they ever removed the move stat in the first place. With a movement stat of eight, being able to charge after advancing, and getting three extra inches on their charge distance, Banshees can threaten anything within an average of twenty one and a half inches. Or more if you pick the Red and therefore fastest Craftworld. They also have outright immunity to Overwatch (suck it Tau!) and as long as the Exarch is in play, enemies have a -1 penalty to hit them in close combat. This means that most units will hit them on a 4+ at best, and when combined with stratagems and psychic powers dealing with Banshees in melee can become pretty hard, to say the least.
Unfortunately, for several editions now Banshees have been let down by not having enough attacks while also not having a high enough strength value to outperform similar units such as Striking Scorpions. With only two attacks base with a S3 AP-2 power weapon and a Shuriken pistol, they struggle to kill their supposed intended target of MEQs. Consider that against Marines Banshees will hit two out of three times, wound only one out of three times, and will be deflected by the Marine's pauldrons one out of three times. Therefore a unit of 10 Banshees (without an Exarch) would statistically kill 3 models - meaning that they're rather shockingly bad at killing Space Marines. At this rate, it'll actually be the forty second millennium before GW realizes that a Space Marine's toughness score is just as much a part of their defence as their armour save and that S3 power weapons are exceedingly mediocre at killing Marines without a lot of wounds to throw around.
- The 9th edition Craftworld codex did throw Howling Banshees a much needed bone; their power swords now add +1 to their strength are up to -4 AP and they've got a +1 to wound when charging, letting them actually put the hurt on Space Marines and effortlessly butcher GEQ targets unaided. Their masks prevent targets from firing overwatch against them and also force targets to fight last, after everything else in your army has had a chance to go. Unfortunately, marines now have 2 wounds apiece now, making their D1 weapons a bit lackluster against their intended targets. Additionally, while their ability to shut down Overwatch remains, it's dramatically less useful this edition since every army can only fire overwatch once per turn.
Banshees no longer need psyker support any more to just cut their way through infantry. With Psyker support, they're exceptionally lethal, and their Exarch is one hell of a brutal and killy melee beatstick that can put out 10 high AP attacks a turn by herself. Yeah. Try to use their amazing mobility and threat range to assassinate isolated, high-value targets, and just try not to bite off more than they can chew. If you're using your unsupported squad of 5 Banshees to charge a fresh mob of 30 Ork Boyz, you're definitely doing it wrong.
They represent Khaine in his aspect as a harbinger of doom.
THEY ARE NOW IN PLASTIC! REJOICE, AND CRY FOR JOY! HUZZAH!
Striking Scorpions
The Eldar answer to Khorne Berserkers and Ork Boyz. Their founder was Arhra, but he was said to have been too driven by murderous impulses, and so he went renegade and burned down the first Aspect Temple (the one belonging to Asurmen). It was Karandras who took his place and tempered their killing rage with patience so that they became stalking serial killers instead.
Compared to their closest cousins and fellow hoes, the Howling Banshees, Striking Scorpions are not as swift but instead more adept at moving through dense terrain, using every available nook and crevice to lie in wait of the enemy before unleashing their attack.
They are sneaky dudes with chainswords, Shuriken Pistols and Mandiblasters built into their helmets. They can take a beating almost as well as they can dish it out. The Exarch can take either a Chainsabre or a bigger, badder chainsword which grants +2S or a powerfisty Scorpion's Claw, which doesn't slow him like Mon-Keigh fists, and with proper training the Exarch can hit with it as hard as Marines with their fists.
You may wonder why are they so sneaky if they carry what counts as a jet engine on a sword? Well, the best and reasonable answer is that they can sneak up on you without you hearing their chainswords. Because Eldar chainswords trigger only after making contact with the target. Because that is smarter than Mon-Keigh chainsword design. This way the teeth won't rip and tear until they've already bitten into the target, unlike regular chainsaws which will probably deflect if they don't hit just right.
The Aspect Armor of the Striking Scorpions is similar in construction to that of other Aspect Shrines, but incorporates heavier, rigid armor plating for increased protection. While the extra weights means Scorpions are not as swift as their Howling Banshee sisters, the protection they provide is such that even Bolters are virtually useless against them, requiring concentrated fire from multiple weapons in order to bring down Striking Scorpions. The armor's coloring is predominately green, with different patterns of yellow, black or orange depending on each individual Shrine.
Striking Scorpions represent Khaine in his aspect as a silent hunter. They are also said to represent Gork and Mork in their aspect of being green, ded killy, 'ard as nailz choppy-dakka murdermachines. Being basically ELFGRU-6 ninjas they are the closest thing the Aspect Warriors have to Reasonable Marines, although not quite so reasonable as to stoop to using camocloaks like Rangers do.
As of 8th edition they do mortal wounds. I'm not shitting you. (Intel: This only happens in the fight phase, where each six is a mortal wound)
In 9th they still deal mortal wounds, more reliably now but they also put out a fuckload of attacks too, combined with 6s exploding. You're looking at a minimum of 20 attacks from a barebones squad. Even better, their chainswords got upped to S5, letting them wound Marines on 3s, though having only 1 AP does kinda hurt their ability to actually get through their armour unless you buff it. The mortal wounds should still do a fair bit of work though.
Fire Dragons
Fire Dragons are said to represent the mythical dragons who basically just destroyed EVERYTHING indiscriminately.
They specialize in destroying enemy war machines and fixed fortifications, as well as rooting out heavily-armored infantry and weapon emplacements. In this role each Fire Dragons wields a mighty Fusion Gun, capable of reducing an enemy to a cloud of superheated vapour in a second, or a battle tank into a pile of molten slag. Against targets too tough for even these weapons the Fire Dragons carry Melta Bombs, disc-shaped bombs which can be attached to any surface and detonated on command. However, the short range of their weaponry limits the Fire Dragons' effectiveness, especially when speed and tactical flexibility are needed. It is also the reason Fire Dragon Aspect Armour is thicker compared to a Dire Avenger's, including many spiny protrusions which make it stiffer and more resilient, so that the wearer can properly close with the enemy and deliver death and destruction upon them. Fire Dragon armor is painted in fiery colors, such as red or orange.
Despite being scary mofo's, they seem to be inconsistent in their fluff. From the aforementioned fiery death machines as mentioned above, to incompetent idiots whose Fusion Guns are so ineffective that they couldn't even get through a hastily constructed barricade made from scrap metal and cardboard... then again this was written by a certain Irish Leper.
If they get within 12 inches of anything T8 and below, it's going to blow up within the turn. Dragons are armed with either a fusion gun, which operates like an Imperial meltagun, or a fire pike, which is basically a long-range fusion gun that does more damage. Their Exarch can also take a Dragon's Breath Flamer weapon, but only if he wants to lose his only use on the battlefield. They also carry melta bombs to allow them to take out tanks on the charge.
Their Phoenix Lord, Fuegan, is the bestest tank destroyer out there, better even than railguns and Leman Russ Vanquishers. He's also a beatstick in CC, carrying a burning axe that lets him fight like a monstrous creature, which gets even stronger when he's taken wounds. An often overlooked aspect (pun not intended) of Fire Dragons is that they train in demolition, sabotage, anti-tank warfare (i.e., identifying the weak spots of armored vehicles and fortifications), and siege warfare.
Largely considered unusable for most of 8th edition due to just how much variance comes with their damage output relying entirely on rolling well off a D6, they've gotten tuned up quite a bit and are one of the more reliable ways of killing heavy stuff in the new codex, putting out a minimum of 3 damage, with the possibility of more with their fusion guns. Combine that with the fact they innately reroll 1s to wound against their preferred targets and you've got a squad of elves that can statistically melt a Leman Russ without much difficulty on their own.
They represent Khaine in his aspect as a force of destruction.
Dark Reapers
The story goes that Khaine once battled the Nightbringer and wounded him. The injury caused shards of the C'Tan's being to migrate into the psyche of all of the races of the galaxy (except Orks), instilling the fear of death in all mortals. And according to the ancient tome known as Wikipedia, this urgent fear of death was what eventually precipitated the birth of the Chaos Gods, CAUSING the very grimdark the 40k universe feeds on in the first place...WAY TO GO, Khaine! In return, these shards pierced Khaine's body and he gained a new aspect as the Destroyer.
The Phoenix Lord Maugan Ra founded this aspect. (Which is a bit weird, because Ra himself handles...absolutely nothing like his aspect.) He was said to be obsessed with death and stood apart from his fellow Phoenix Lords in that respect. Dark Reapers are something like a hybrid of Dire Avengers and Fire Dragons. They do their best work against MEQs but can also put a decent amount of damage onto most vehicles. The Exarch can take a big missile launcher of the type only seen on support platforms or Wraithlords, but with moar dakka.
On the tabletop, Dark Reapers are essentially a squad of plasma guns that don't melt your own dudes, with T3, good accuracy, and a 3+ save. This means that their Reaper Launchers make them very good against MEQs and have the range and weight of fire to be dangerous to lighter but more numerous infantry and annoy heavier infantry, as well as 3+ save monstrous creatures. The Exarch can either use a Shuriken weapon (never do this) or a missile launcher that he can double tap and has all the same warheads as its Imperial counterpart (with the exception of the frag warhead being replaced by the better plasma warhead). There's a third option of a Tempest Launcher, which is kinda like a mortar - shorter range than your standard rocket launcher but it puts out more shots and doesn't require line of sight.
Dark Reapers are good at what they do, but they face competition from other Eldar heavy support options, especially since the entire codex is now excellent at Marine slaying, and their slot is shared with the more versatile War Walkers, Wraithlords, Fire Prisms, Night Spinners, other assorted Forge World Eldar tanks, and Vaul's Wrath batteries. The Eldar heavy support slot can be filled with excellent units and each of your three/six slots are precious. So while the Dark Reaper is by no means bad, it's a good unit that has to compete with a lot of excellent units.
6th edition brought back something they haven't had since 2nd: Krak missiles. With long range anti-tank missiles available and an increase in squad size, their scores just went up.
Of course, you can now throw the FoC out the window (or, even better, use the Aspect host for +1BS), so have fun with them.
As of 8th edition, they are possibly one of the best Heavy Support units in the game. Regardless of all to-hit buffs on the enemy or debuffs thrown on them, they gained a special rule that specifically states that they always hit on a 3+. Period. Considering they have either single hitting S8 shots or multi-hitting S5 blasts that do multiple wounds per hit, they can effectively end most non-horde infantry and vehicles down wind of them.
With, 9th, they're... fine, remaining similar to their previous incarnation. Though compared to what the other options in the codex got, just being fine isn't enough to keep them as one of your most valuable units. They still put a good amount of firepower out from a decent range but they've lost the ability to always hit on 3s, instead trading it for ignoring dense cover. Plus they're limited to a squad of 5, so no more buffing 10-man groups with guide. Oh yeah, they also don't get battle focus like your other aspect warriors do, meaning you're gonna wanna park them somewhere you can take advantage of their 48" range that's in cover, since they can't run from being shot like every other elf in your book. Thanks GW.
They represent Khaine in his aspect as inescapable death.
Shining Spears
Shining Spears are the fastest and most specialized Aspect, striking at ridiculous speeds and withdrawing in a flash. Shining Spears can be distinguished from all of the other Eldar Warrior Aspects for they are the only Aspect Warriors to make use of anti-gravity Jetbikes. The Shining Spears carry the fight directly to the enemy, pouncing upon them without warning to deliver a killing blow. Until recently, nobody knew their Phoenix Lord, but he has since been named as Drastanta. He went missing after the fall of the first aspect temple, so you still can't use him on the tabletop.
While Shining Spear squads are relatively small, just three to five warriors, a number which sometimes includes an Exarch to lead them, their mastery of the Eldar Jetbike is so complete that each one can execute complex high-speed maneuvers with but a single gesture. In this way even a small unit of Shining Spears can turn the tide of battle, delivering a devastating charge against the enemy before wheeling around for another attack, much like Exodite Dragon Knights.
The Shining Spears possess a bright and clear virtue that marks each one out as a warrior hero and a champion of the Eldar race. Eldar mythology is replete with examples of noble heroes at one with their steed and in the Shining Spears, the glories of legend are made manifest once more.
Exarchs wear more elaborate and ornate versions of Exarch Armour which incorporates the spirits of their past wearers, granting an Exarch not only wisdom and knowledge stretching across the millennia but a raw pool of potent psychic energy that can be used in combat.
Shining Spears ride Jetbikes into battle and wield Strength 6 Laser Lances (laser guns designed to be wielded as a melee weapon in addition to shooting) to fuck up MEQs/TEQs and light vehicles alike, and the Exarch can take a Star Lance for a more powerful bump up to S8, or a sword that'll grant him an extra attack and the ability to reroll all hits and wounds. This is worse in terms of damage than lance options but is much better for sustained combat.
Shining Spears are particularly suited for hit and run attacks, with their high speed and the fact that most of the power from their melee weapons is gained when charging, rather than just being in combat. If you're unable to put down a unit within the first round of combat with them, be prepared to struggle.
They represent Khaine in his aspect as a light-speed blade.
Swooping Hawks
In Eldar mythology, hawks point out those marked by guilt so that everyone will know their crimes and judge them accordingly. Fucking snitches...
Of all the Aspect Shrines the Swooping Hawks are among the most mobile, thanks to their Winged Hussar Swooping Hawk Wings, which allow them to lift off into the air at a moment's notice and fly across the battlefield.
The speed and agility this gives the Swooping Hawks more than makes up for the fact that their Aspect Armour, compared to that worn by other Shrines, is thinner and offers less protection. The armor is typically colored like the sky, such as a pale blue or grey, with contrasting colors as well, especially on the wings. They are armed with the Lasblaster and the Swooping Hawk Grenade Pack, while the Exarch will arm themselves with a Power Weapon for close quarters combat, or replace his lasblaster for a Sunrifle or a Hawk's Talon for some extra strength and AP.
The Phoenix Lord of the Swooping Hawks is Baharroth, who was said to have been Asurmen's finest pupil, which is derp since on the tabletop he's probably the most mediocre of all the Phoenix Lords. HAHAHA NOPE, HE'S ONE OF THE MOST COMPETITIVE CHOICES RIGHT NOW IN THE ENTIRE FUCKING CODEX.
Once used only for yo-yo grenade bombing, Hawks are now the kings of speed. With the new codex update, they can hop off the board and come back in as if they were deep striking, every single movement phase. Certainly helps when their Eldar flashlights became surprisingly terrifying through the sheer number of shots they deliver, which auto-wound on 6s to hit now.
They are noted to be transported by a special Eldar craft called a Shooting Star which ferry Swooping Hawk Aspect Warriors onto a planetary battlefield. They briefly enter a planet's atmosphere where they remain undetected due to a complex cloaking system that masks them from enemy scans. Once in the atmosphere, their cargo hold of Swooping Hawks free fall to the surface, before the Shooting Stars return to their Craftworld.
They represent Khaine in his aspect as a precise predator.
Warp Spiders
Warp Spiders are named for the beings of pure energy that inhabit the Infinity Circuit and travel through its links in the Webway, purging it of foreign influences (such as daemons or psychic intruders). Though they are identified as Aspect Warriors, it is not entirely known what Khaine's connection to the Warp Spiders is, since they do not have a fixed Phoenix Lord and it has been established in Gav Thorpe's Paths of the Eldar series that Khaine's influence has no place in the Webway, which in fact is why Exarchs and Phoenix Lords count as mini-Infinity Circuits on their own.
C.S Goto's contentious book Eldar Prophecy presented Lhykosidae (Irish spelling of lycosidae, or "wolf spiders"), whose armour materialised spontaneously at the Warp Spiders' shrine during a time of crisis when he was most needed, rather than being a suit of armour that gets passed from bearer to bearer, adding personalities to the sentience within the suit. If Lhykosidae is a Phoenix Lord born of the Webway, then his personality would have to be the gestalt consciousness of the ENTIRE SPECIES. Fucking Goto. That said, his title is "Wraith Spider", not Phoenix Lord, so (at least for now) we can readily get away with rejecting the idea that he's a Phoenix Lord.
The Eldar's premier jetpack infantry, Warp Spiders use the warp to teleport from place to place, allowing them to strike at their enemies from virtually any location in the blink of an eye. Their guns are called Death Spinners, which fire a mist of monomolecular threads that expand and slice through flesh and light infantry armor on contact with little effort. While this makes the Spiders somewhat unreliable against power-armored units since the spinners' threads don't penetrate armour very well, they are nevertheless a frightening foe with the sheer amount of S6 shots they can put out with them. Their Exarch is given two death spinners which are attached to the back of his armor for mobility ,or a single Spinneret Rifle for anti-armour punching, as well as two power blades which he holds for close combat, though on the tabletop, he's generally outclassed in assault by any unit that can melee better than a Guardsman.
May represent Khaine in his aspect as an eternal guardian of the Eldar and Webway.
Shadow Spectres
The Shadow Spectres are a newer Aspect, thought lost until the armor of their Phoenix Lord, Irillyth, was recovered from an Imperial world, as chronicled in Forge World's Imperial Armour Volume Eleven: The Doom of Mymeara and is noted to be one of the most Derp of the Phoenix Lords.
They fly around on jetpacks and wear holo-fields, making them look kind of like ghosts, if ghosts also shot prismatic lasers of doom.
Their weaponry is fairly high-strength as infantry weapons go (especially for Fast Attack infantry), and they can combine their beams into a super-beam of death that gets more powerful as more of them join it (in fact, the technology is the same as the Fire Prism's main cannon). Their Exarch on the other hand, mounts the even bigger and longer Prism Blasters.
The Shadow Spectres make use of a unique, complex targeting matrix known as the Ghostlight. This matrix further amplifies the effective range and power of the warriors' already-formidable weaponry.
When used, the Ghostlight will allow a Spectre squad to combine the beams of their Prism Rifles into a single, brilliant torrent of energy; the additional power allows the squad to fire a single incredibly long-ranged shot, allowing them to hit distant targets.
Between their ghost-like appearance and name, and their tendency to become Wraithguard after they die, they represent Khaine's aspect as an eternal warrior, even after death.
Tl;dr, Shadow Spectres are essentially the Dark Reapers of vehicles.
Unfortunately, the 7th edition codex has enshrined Warp Spiders as the Eldar solution to Jetpack Infantry, which is clearly why Forge World invented these guys.
8th Edition gave these guys quite the overhaul. They've lost their Ghostlight abilities, but can fire their prism rifles multiple times in the Coherent mode as long as they keep landing their shots. They also shifted into the Elite category for some reason.
9E Once again revamped these guys, though not as dramatically as prior editions. Gone is their ability to shoot their Coherent mode again after each successful shot (maximum of 3 total), instead just dealing d3 damage. Though it still provides rather inconsistent damage output, it's considerably less swingy as a result. Additionally, their dispersed mode no longer auto-hits, but instead is now an 18" d6 shot blast weapon designed to clear away hordes and GEQ targets. They also remembered how to deep-strike like their Phoenix Lord.
Sadly Forgeworld is now removing their models, alongside their Phoenix Lord.
Crimson Hunters
{{Topquote|I feel the need, the need for speed.|From Top Gun, a documentary chronicling a Crimson Hunter's training at the Miramar Aspect Shrine}
A fairly new aspect but one on the rise. Rather than a blade or a gun the Hunters use a jet fighter called the Nightshade Interceptor. No Phoenix Lord has been mentioned for them. It's possible the Eagle Pilots, who are a barely-detailed Aspect Shrine devoted to void warfare, have a Phoenix Lord named Amon Harakht. If they exist, they might be the Phoenix Lord for the Crimson Hunters as well, but probably "Amon Harakt" is just the Aeldari name for "fighter pilot", since it's listed in the Aeldari Lexicon as meaning that, in which case no Phoenix Lord is known for them either.
Crimson Hunters are trained to become exceptional pilots, endlessly practicing all sorts of maneuvers as well as marksmanship. The Crimson Hunter's Nightshades are armed with two Bright Lances and a Pulse Laser. The Crimson Hunters are few in number, though their Shrines are becoming more widespread.
These temples of Khaine are unlike any other for they are tunnel-like collections of transparent atriums that float around the periphery of their Craftworlds, allowing the Crimson Hunters and their recruits to freely train in their aircraft.
Crimson Hunters are known to give special veneration to the Eldar God Kurnous, often calling themselves the Hawks of Kurnous.
Crimson Hunters are known to give some Eldar penis envy with them being the only aspect able to pilot a pretty cool jetfighter while the rest are bogged down on the ground. As a side effect, they have even smaller balls than the already almost balless species of the Eldar.
They represent the Blinding Blades of Khaine, which were forged from the blood that constantly drips from his hands. They strike at the weakest points and leave the enemy easy prey for the close kill, therefore bringing down foes who think themselves above him.
The Unknowns
Whether these are actually Aspect Temples, have been retconned out, or were once supposed to be something, nobody knows.
- Eagle Pilot: Mentioned in Shadow Point, in one sentence, and never again. (It says only "the aspect warrior path of Amon Harakht, or Eagle pilot".) Lexicanum thinks their Phoenix Lord is Amon Harakht, but since that literally means "Fighter Pilot" in the Aeldari Lexicon, it's more likely the sentence is giving the Aeldari name followed by the translation in English. They are the Aspect Warriors who pilot "Eagle bombers" and presumably other void-fighter pilots. That's all we know about them, though. May be a subsect of the Shining Spears, may have become the Crimson Hunters, may have been Cimson Hunters the entire time.
- Crystal Dragons: Probably became the Fire Dragons.
- Slicing Orbs of Zandros: The strangest Aspect ever to be named. They were apparently *oooooOOOOOOooooo* mystEEEEEEEEyrious. But seriously, they just sound silly. They're still around, though, don't worry. Ever see "Phantasm"? That's probably their weapon of choice.
- Ebon Talons: mentioned in Asurmen: Hand of Asuryan.
Gallery
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A squad of Dire Avengers led by an Exarch.
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A Crimson Hunter Exarch piloting a Nightshade Interceptor.
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A Dark Reaper squad led by an Exarch.
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The new Dark Reapers. Now with more options, more edge and an equal amount of derpy hats.
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A Fire Dragon squad led by an Exarch.
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A Howling Banshee squad led by an Exarch.
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The long-awaited plastic Banshees. Proof of what GW can do once they get off their asses. Note that these use the new 28.5mm bases, not 25mm.
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A squad of Shadow Spectres led by an Exarch.
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A squadron of Shining Spears led by an Exarch.
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The new Shining Spears, now carrying something closer to lances.
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A squad of Striking Scorpions led by an Exarch.
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A squadron of Swooping Hawks led by an Exarch.
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A squad of Warp Spiders led by an Exarch.
