Warhammer 40,000/10th Edition Tactics/Eldar
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This is the current 10th Edition's Eldar tactics. 9th Edition Tactics are here.
Why Play Craftworld Eldar
Pros
Cons
- Shuriken weapons lost their AP bump on a critical hit. Honestly kinda crippling for a force that relied on it to get an edge over well-armored foes like marines. They still have an AP of -1, so it’s still reducing Marines to a 4+ Armor save - the same as an Eldar Guardian, and their still wounding Powered Armored Marines on a 4+, with their 2 shot 18 range assault guns - that lets them advance and shoot; it’s still a decent gun against most infantry in the game. Plus they get to re-roll a wound roll every time they select to shoot, so they still have a good chance to do some decent damage. Still sad to see it go, as it had become pretty iconic for the weapon, and really bought it back to relevance in previous editions, when the gun was a bit of a sad joke of a weapon; might still be a thing on Avenger versions.
- from the designer notes, the army will be very fragile, and collapse like a wet cardboard box if they let the enemy get within spitting distance, so unfortunately it looks like melee Aspects are going to be off the table this edition; not that they have been very good over the last few editions anyway - and you can just forget Storm Guardians are even a thing. This also means Eldar characters like Phoenix Lords are probably going back to being subpar (boarder line unplayable) options; Farseers have already lost a wound from their last incarnations, so that doesn’t look too promising. Wraith constructs are likely going to be less resilient then in previous editions. This is rather unfortunate, as they don’t really hit any harder then the other factions overall; many factions actually hit far harder. They may end up being a ‘Glass canon, without the canon”; which is often the fear for this army - if they make them too fragile and expensive then they will just be swept off the board.
- Army’s with access to a lot of Deep Strike abilities, like Custodes and Grey Knights are going to be an absolute nightmare for Eldar to deal with, as not only do they hit like a truck, they also make a complete mockery of the idea that the Eldar are a fast army. These armies will just pop up near your, far more fragile, units and wipe them off the board in both the shooting and melee phases, and there will be little you can do about it.
Faction Rules
- Strands of Fate: At the start of the game, roll 12d6. If you don't like what you get you can re-roll the entire pool with one less die in it, and you can repeat that if you like, although of course at one die there's no reason not to keep it. You can use any of these dice in place of other rolls for advance rolls, charge rolls, battle-shock tests, hit rolls, wound rolls, damage rolls and saves.
- Because the number of dice doesn't scale at all, the more units your army has the more advance, charge, and battle-shot rolls you'll tend to have, with a similar concern for hit and wound rolls based on attack volume (damage too, but static damage weapons can mitigate this). Your melee units are more dangerous as one big unit (it will cost you fewer dice to guarantee a charge) and your ranged units are more dangerous with single-shot weapons that hit accurately and very hard (if will cost you fewer dice to hit and wound).
- Math on re-rolling: the rolls you can use your dice for don't all work the same way and as a result a truly optimal rolling strategy depends on your list and your opponent's list, but the short version is that what makes the most sense given that you need to be able to quickly determine if you're re-rolling or not is counting how many dice you rolled that were 4+. If you roll less than half your pool (don't round; half of 11 is 5.5 and 5 is less than 5.5) as 4+, re-roll. This will give you, on average, 6.78 (slightly more than 6 and 3/4) 4+ dice that will be reasonably likely to help you without worrying too much about too many otherwise-useless 1s or incredibly valuable 6s.
- As long as you have one Farseer you can potentially change a low roll into an automatic 6 (per turn, so one in your turn and one in your opponent's - a potential of up to 10 over the course of a game), so even if roughly half your rolls are low you can keep them and later turn them into an auto success. These dice count as an unmodified roll, so those 6s will be providing additional rules depending on the weapon being used.
- There are seemingly no restrictions on how many dice you can use per turn or per unit - each time a die would be rolled it can be substituted as long as it is one of the rolls listed. Spending them defensively is therefore a relatively bad idea, because you are free to dump your entire pool into wiping out your enemy and thereby avoid needing to make defensive rolls in the first place. Spending on them on acquiring more Fate Dice - e.g. by helping your Defenders of Fate units wipe out whatever is contesting their objectives - is a very good idea.
Detachments
Battle Host
Special Rules
- Unprecedented Foresight: Your units can re-roll one hit and one wound roll each time it is selected to fight or shoot. Most useful on single powerful shot weapons, such as a Bright Lance or Fire Prism or potentially useful on Exarchs, depending on if they are usable this edition. This is a nice rule that means you are less inclined to use your Fate Dice on smaller actions, and allows you to be more confident in keeping them aside for when you really need them.
Stratagems
- Bladestorm (1 CP): Sadly what the Shuriken weapons have been reduced to. When one unit shoots, any critical wounds improve their AP by 2.
- Feigned Retreat (1 CP): One unit can shoot and charge after falling back. Expect to use it a lot because these guys need every shot they can make.
- Fire and Fade (2 CP): One non-Aircraft unit that isn't engaged can immediately make a normal move after shooting. While they can't run into a transport or charge after moving, it's still great for keeping your forces out of an open lane of fire.
- Matchless Agility (1 CP): When one unit advances, they move a full additional 6" rather than rolling.
- Phantasm (1 CP): At the end of the enemy's movement phase, one unit can immediately move 7", though this can't be used to enter a transport and can't throw them into melee. It also blocks the unit from performing Heroic Intervention later on. So what is this for? Getting a squad away from incoming charges or shuffling Rangers into position to snipe away.
Equipment
Unit Analysis
Characters
- Farseer: In an age where many have lost their array of psychic power, the Farseer is one who hasn't suffered quite as severely. Branching Fates lets you make a Fate die you use on one unit within 12" count as a natural 6, which is incredibly useful if you've got some bad rolls - in particular, you can drastically improve the odds of a deep strike charge succeeding, because if either die is a 3, the 6 you generate will make the charge succeed, which means an 88.89% success rate. Fortune lets you give a friendly unit within 12" a bit of protection by letting any attacks against them take -1 to wound with a 5/6 chance of going off.
- While their combat prowess remains limited, Eldritch Storm being a weapon does give them the ability to handle some crowds (and unlike the majority of psychic weapons, it's not Hazardous). The choice between the Singing Spear and Witch Blade is pretty much a choice between the Witch Blade's Anti-Infantry 2+ making it pretty lethal on unprotected infantry and the Spear's ability to be thrown as a ranged weapon, but you're better off with the Spear because you can shoot it and your Storm at the same time, as neither has Pistol.
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- Probably best to keep them away from the front lines, as they are kind of bad in combat, and use them as a support unit for your big guns - that -1 to the wound roll is going to be far more useful keeping your tanks alive (it has a bigger impact on a gun that needs 5s to wound than one that needs 2s) than it is wasting it on Guardians, who should be sat back on your objectives farming Fate Dice anyway.
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- Alongside the expected bump in speed and Twin Shuriken Catapult, the bike also adds +1 to Wounds, Toughness and even Objective control. A bit of a surprise to see them do this much for a hero.
- While they lose out on the defensive benefits of Fortune, they do have an offensive edge as it lets a unit re-roll to hit.
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- Warlock: As expected, they're pretty much a weaker Farseer, having their average WS and BS set to 3+ and only 2 wounds. Their leader ability is the Runes of Battle, which gives them the old Conceal/Reveal power during the Command phase. The former gives their attached unit Stealth for a bit of protection, the latter gives the unit's guns Ignores Cover.
- While their weapons choice is similar to the Farseer, they do have Executor as their designated psychic weapon. This is essentially a psychic heavy flamer with S5 AP-1 Torrent so they don't need to roll to hit anything and can help ward off most things.
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- Alongside the expected bump in speed and Twin Shuriken Catapult, the bike also adds +1 to Wounds, Toughness and even Objective control.
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- Avatar of Khaine:
- M10 T12 2+/4++ W14 LD6+ OC5 and the ability to halve the damage of every attack it takes (this will stack with Fortune for that -1 to wound); the Avatar at least's looks like it hasn't become as paper thin as much of the rest of the army.
- It has deadly demise D3, Strands of Fate and has an Aura 6 bubble tat adds 1 to advance and charge rolls. If it has the option to equip it with a Phoenix Gem that would be hilarious.
- Sheeting: R12 A1 S16 AP-4 D6+2 damage with Sustained hits D3- pretty damned solid.
- Melee: either a A6 S14 AP-4 D6+2 or A12 S7 AP-2 D2 attack profile- putting it in a similar category to Guillimen for damage output.
Overall the Avatar should finds its way into most Eldar lists.
Epic Heroes
- Eldrad Uthran
Phoenix Lords
Each Phoenix Lord is able to only join their chosen students, giving the squad a +1 to hit. Going down a wound and now only being T3, along with losing their Aura ability's means that they can now only effect a single Unit for the entire game and are very squishy; they are less Epic hero's and Demigods of war, and more just fancy lieutenant who will only be of benefit to that single, very easily killed, unit (guess that second unit of Dire Avengers just couldn't care less that their founder is fighting on the same battlefield); plus they are only LD6+ ?. Their worth is entirely dependent on whether you want that particular, single, Aspect unit in your army. Their actual point efficiently will have to include the Points cost of the Character and the Points cost of the Unit combined- If the Character or unit is too over costed, it could make the points investment a bit off putting.
- Asurmen: The Bloody Twins got a surprising buff of becoming Pistol weapons, letting him offload the rain of shards while in combat. The Sword of the Asur remains pretty Strong with 6 S6 AP-3 D3 attacks with Devastating Wounds. Uniquely, he gives the Avengers he joins the ability to use the Fire Overwatch stratagem for free once per turn, even if you'd already used hit beforehand. Combined with their improved overwatch BS, you're going to have quite the strongpoint set up with him in charge. Thankfully he retained his 3++, so he's at least a bit survivable.
- Baharroth:
- Fuegan:
- Irilyth: As the Shadow Spectres were a fully Forge World concept, it's uncertain whether Irilyth and the Shadow Spectres will end up on the codex or be relegated to the Legends dustbin.
- Jain Zar:
- Maugan Ra:
- Karandras: A good bit buffed, with Ahra's Bane giving an extra point in AP in melee compared to the basic claw while its gun has a bump in Strength. Isirmathil, meanwhile, is plenty fierce when compared to the average chainsword with S6 AP-1, but it lacks the damage of the big sword. He's got significantly fiercer on his own, as Sustained Assault lets him score critical hits on a 4+ (making the Sustained Hits 1 on his weapons all the more relevant) when he charges while his special mandiblasters can work on anything that isn't Titanic. Shame he can only join a Striking Scorpion unit, as their kind of in a bit of a no-mans land, when it comes to what they are actually good against; decent character, let down by the unit he has to join.
Battleline
- Guardian Defenders: Shuriken weapons lost their universal AP bump on a critical hit, which severely limits their effectiveness against more armored foes. Catapults remain reliable Assault weapons, so they can at least still be fired on the move. Their mobility is just as vital too, as they can cap objectives so you can roll 1d6 to add to your Strands of Fate pool.
- This revamp of Strength and Toughness also affects your weapon platform's uses as well. While the Scatter Laser remains a reliable horde weapon, the Shuriken Cannon now gets Sustained Hits 1 so it can more easily handle armored troops. The Starcannon is now relegated to mostly targeting small monsters at S8 AP-3 D2, with the Brightlance going anti-tank for S12 AP-3 D2+d6 and the Missile Launcher giving you the ability to do either at reduced effectiveness.
- These guys are going to be sat on an objective and farming Fate Dice that the rest of your army can use- probably best keeping them at minimal until size and giving them a weapon platform that has a longer range, so that they can take advantage of that extra hit and wound re-roll, whilst keeping them out of the enemy’s reach.
- stick some eldar support weapon units or War-walkers in front, and fortify your position. Use these units to babysit your Fate Farms, then when you can move forward to claim another objective, leave the minimum sized unit of Guardian’s behind on the previous objective, and move up the board with another small unit of Guardian’s to set up another Fate Farm.
- Storm Guardians: While they're primarily made for fighting, their flamer and fusion gun remain with the Assault rule so they can keep being your speedy special weapon squad. Fortunately, Stormblades gives them every incentive to keep on moving as any objectives they cap will remain capped.
- While these guys aren't really in any place to be exposed to anything with only a 4+ save, you can still get the Serpent's Scale platform for a 5++ save, which will amount to absolutely nothing, as their damage output and defence are absolute rubbish. A flimsy melee focused unit that only puts out 2 ST3 AP0 D1 attacks per model is a complete none-starter; Why does GW seem to hate this particular unit with such passion?
Infantry
Aspect Warriors
Aspect Warriors are very tuned down this edition, having lost their ability to choose an Exarch power- and Exarchs are once against reduced to just having 1+ wound. Many of theses units are going to struggle to find a place in a list, as there are other units available that make them somewhat redundant. Foot slogging Eldar Lists are going to be rather unoptimized- why put costs in a unit of Dire Avengers when you can invest in a unit of Wind Riders, that have much better movement, and put out more offensive damage; yes they get a slightly buffed overwatch, but Wind Riders can hit from a greater distance and then get out of there entirely.
- Dire Avengers: Their Shuriken Catapults retain that single extra shot compared to the guardians, but they also gain Lethal Hits so they can capitalize on crits by negating enemy Toughness - shame they still have to deal with armour though. Defence Tactics helps them hit on a 5+ when firing overwatch, but this improves to an even better 4+ when they're camping on an objective.
- The choice between the Exarch taking a Diresword or Power Glaive really hinges upon whether you need the glaive's S5 over how likely you are at triggering the Diresword's Devastating Wounds. Hopefully they can still take double Shruriken Catapults, as that is by far the better option then taking a Melee weapon.
- Dark Reapers: from the weapon preview it look like the Reapers will be able to Ignore cover when they shoot, this looks like a generic rule that Reapers gain; however, with the way the rules are being implemented, it is very likely that Exarch Power options are once again gone entirely (sadly confirmned).
- Striking Scorpions: Rather than fishing for a couple mortal wounds on top of everything else, the Mandiblasters now give Devastating Wounds to all melee attacks - a much needed damage buff as their 4 ST4 AP0 chainsword attacks aren't cutting through any armour anymore (and will struggle to deal with Orks, or anything that has low save, high toughness, which is what should be their speciality), even if they get a bunch of attacks with Sustained Hits 1.
- The Exarch can of course grab the claw instead of a pistol - the mounted pistol not only gets an extra shot on a pistol but also getting an equivalent to a power fist. Instead, you could trade everything for the Biting Blade if you're that dedicated to going down swinging in melee with S5 AP-1 D2. This unit is struggling to find what its actually good at- what target do they actually do well against? Its not armoured infantry, its not tough infantry, and its certainly not vehicles.
- Warp Spiders: The warp packs are now fully turned into a Fly keyword, though that doesn't really affect the mobility of the Spiders much. It does, however, change Flickerjump into now giving a flat boost in movement to 24" (over a default of 12") with a 1/6 chance of suffering a mortal wound on the unit. While they can't charge after making the jump, you don't really want to anyway since only the Exarch can take Powerblades and get any sort of AP in a fight. Instead, you're more inclined to use the Death Spinners, S4 AP- flamers with Devastating Wounds so you can cheese out armour. They don't deal a lot of damage, and will struggle to wound most things, unless you get lucky and roll a few 6's- mostly useable as a harassment unit, jumping in, taking a few pot shots, then getting out of there.
Vehicles
- Fire prism:
- At M14 T9 3+ save and 12 wounds the Prism is about as survivable as a Marine Land Speeder, not bad but your going to have to be carful with how you play them.
- It has a dispersed Pulse and a Focused Lance function. The Dispersed Pulse gives you 2D6 attacks at ST6 and 2 damage (AP -1), the Focused Lance gives you 2 attacks at ST18 and 6 damage (AP -4). The Prism is pretty good at dealing with both individuals and hoard targets, but isn’t really outstanding in either; however it does provide a more stable performance then a lot of other big guns in other factions.
- Linked Fire: enables multiple Fire Prism’s to fire through another Fire Prism that is visible to it. You can have a bit of fun here, as you could have two or three Prisms out of range of the enemy, then get a Farseer to give one of them the -1 to wound bonus (even something with a strength 20+ is going to be wounding it on a 3+), send that one forward, so that it’s in range of something you want gone, use Linked Fire to fire all six Focused attacks at the enemy unit; re-rolling 3 hit rolls and 3 wound rolls, as each model is attacking individually, or 6D6 shots with blast. This should give you around 36 wounds on a target if you used the Focused Lance, and managed to get them all through, more then enough to take anything out the picture; if you managed to take out the primary target early, you could simply change to the Dispersed mode for some quick Hoard management. If the Prism takes damage from any kind of retaliation, then it has that handy -1 to wound, and if push comes to shove, and it becomes a target of something it really doesn’t want to be hit by, use a Fate Dice to shrug it off. You could also use Fire and Fade to zip forward, unleash hell, then immediately move back to safety. If it’s taken a beating, then send it back, bless one of the other fresh Prism’s, send it forward and rinse and repeat.
- Crystal matric: gives the Prism the ability to Re-roll one Hit roll and one Wound roll each time it is selected to shoot, in addition to the Re-rolls provided by Unparalleled Foresight; in effect you are re-rolling too wound and hit on both its 2 focussed shots- this would also be in effect through Linked Fire.
Currently the Fire Prism seems to be a must take for any Eldar army.
- Falcon:
- As with the Fire Prism we do not have the full rules reveal yet.
- Fire Support: If you fire into an enemy unit then until the end of the turn, any friendly models that have disembarked that turn can re-roll the wound roll each time they make an attack against that targeted unit until the end of the turn - this applies to all attacks, not just shooting attacks. Depending on their rules, this could be massive for units like Fire Dragons.
Dedicated Transports
- Wave Serpent: The ever-reliable transport (carries 12 models without Jump Pack, Wraith Construct models count as 2) got a minor bump in Toughness to withstand meltaguns but it'll remain just as exposed to any lascannons with only a 5++ save protecting them. While it lost the ability to ignore certain rolls to wound, the shield regained its ability to be used as a one-time weapon, making an enemy unit within 12" eat d3 mortal wounds and take a battleshock test to potentially pin them down for its troops.
- The twin Shuriken Cannons remain rather affordable with Sustained Hits 1 and Twin-Linked to provide some extra reliability. Of course, it can be swapped out for a number of other Twin-Linked guns - The twin Starcannon lets it handle other light vehicles, the twin Brightlance demolishes anything bigger, the twin Scatter Laser is for taking on GEQ mobs and the twin missile launcher has variety between some high-powered Starshot missiles and crowd-covering Sunburst missiles.
- The twin Shuriken Catapult can also be swapped for a Shuriken Cannon. The twin catapult will be necessary if you plan on going around at full speed since Assault lets it fire after advancing but it's not quite as strong as the cannon.
Titanic
- Phantom Titan: A zippy but relatively durable titan at T14 and W55, but it's only got a 2+ save with the 5++ only working against any guns. It can walk over most things like anything short of other titans and tall terrain and can shoot and charge after falling back, giving it an exceptional amount of mobility, but it is CP hungry as any stratagems used on it require triple the cost.
Unit Tier List
| Units and Characters | ||
|---|---|---|
| S | Warlock Skyrunner, Farseer Skyrunner, Fire Prism | These Units should be considered an auto include |
| A | Farseer, Skyriders, Support Weapons, War Walkers, Avatar of Khaine | These units are strong, and will be of benefit to the army |
| B | Guardian Defenders, Warp Spidres, Karandras, Asurmen, Dire Avengers, Wraithguard, Vypers, Wave Serpent | Generally solid and dependable unit |
| C | Striking Scorpions | Ok but somewhat subpar, and can be left out quite easily |
| D | Rangers | Pretty bad, and overall skippable |
| E | Storm Guardians | Borderline useless, and should be left on the shelf |
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