Wraithseer
The Wraithseer is an Eldar wraithbone construct in the same family as the Wraithlord, Wraithblade, Wraithknight, and Wraithguard in that they're powered by the dead.
However, whereas Wraithguards and Wraithblades house Aspect Warrior souls and Wraithlords house Exarch souls, who are then shepherded by a Spiritseer, the Wraithseer cuts out the middleman and puts in a Spiritseer's/Warlock's soul stone as the pilot, allowing them to exert greater control over his wraithbone shell and the shells of others. In a way, they resemble the Blood Angels' Librarian Dreadnoughts, except they're not quite as ridiculous a premise. However, they're just as grand a rarity, as the secrets behind making these psychic machines is lost to the general populace. Also, despite the badass practicality, these titans are used more as a last-ditch resort, more so than using Wraith-constructs normally entail.
On the field, it is a legendary thing to field if your opponent lets you field Forge World. It has both incredible support for other Wraith-units and for combat a Wraithseer is always equipped with a Wraithspear and Wraithshield, and may also arm themselves with a Bright Lance, Scatter Laser, Eldar Missile Launcher, Starcannon or D-Cannon.
Their psyker abilities are also quite potent, allowing them to assist friend and hamper foe. Wraithseers have been known to cloud their enemies' minds with the terror of death, enliven the spirit stones of ghost warriors around them to inspire fresh vigour, and alter fate to protect themselves and their charges.
On the Tabletop
8th edition Wraithseers are the single most durable HQ choice any Craftworld army can take, and are arguably the hardest hitting as well. This lethal combination of durable and powerful makes them quite the DISTRACTION CARNIFEX, as anything short of a Titan is easy prey to the high damage weapons the kitted out Wraithseer brings to bear. As mentioned above, it has great synergy in a Wraith-heavy list, and can give accompanying Wraithguard/blades or Wraithlords an extra boost in mobility or endurance as the situation demands.
9th edition Wraithseers are (currently) identical to their 8th edition counterpart, though they're significantly more mobile now that they don't suffer accuracy penalties for moving and shooting. Unfortunately, unless you equip it with any of the (significantly worse) standard Heavy Weapons, the Wraithseer doesn't get to shoot while in combat the way its Wraithlord cousins can since the D-Cannons gained the blast profile.
Offensively, the Wraithseer comes stock with a Ghostspear (S+2 AP-4 D6 Damage) which lets it pry open the hull of any vehicle it comes across and wound most standard infantry on a 2+ while erasing pretty much all GEQ and MEQ saves. This can be complemented by one of several heavy weapons its Wraithlord cousins usually carry, but you'll almost exclusively want it to carry a D-Cannon. When equipped with a D-Cannon, Wraithseers become fearsome anti-vehicle/monster combatants more than capable of downing a Leman Russ tank in a single turn, though they'll struggle at wading through thick blobs of GEQ hordes simply due to lacking the volume of shots/swings to carve through them all.
Defensively, while the Wraithseer is extraordinarily sturdy, it does have a few shortcomings. As a character with more than 10 wounds, not only does it have to contend with a degrading statline, but enemy units may target the Wraithseer freely. Because of the potent offenses at its disposal, it will definitely attract heavy amounts of focused fire. T8 does give it fantastic protection from most standard weaponry and hits that sweet spot where a lot of anti-tank/monster weaponry wounds on a 4+, though massed volume of fire will still chip through it. The fact that it at least has a 5++ invuln save does mean that is always at least guaranteed a save against non-mortal wounds. There is one additional form of defense completely unique to the Wraithseer that all other Craftworld HQ's lack; access to healing. Bonesingers can provide a constant source of wound recovery, with the Tears of Isha stratagem providing an additional burst of health for 2 Command Points in a pinch.
As a Psyker, the Wraithseer is relatively limited and specialized, even by Aeldari standards. It can only cast and deny one power each turn, and two of its powers, Deliverance and Enliven, can only be cast on Wraithguard, Wraithblades or Wraithlords. Foreboding is the only power the Wraithseer can freely cast without an accompanying Spirit Host to support it, though the power is situational at best if not utilized as part of a Leadership bomb. Unlike literally every other psyker in the game, the Wraithseer is also unable to cast any variation of Smite. Because of this, it's highly recommended to bring along a Spiritseer or two not only for the Guided Wraithsight, but to assist nearby forces with Runes of Battle or to soften up units with a few casts of Smite.
Counters: If you're facing an enemy Wraithseer, there are a few fairly standard ways to deal with it. When focusing on the kill, unless supported by Fortune or is part of an Ulthwé detachment, it has no defense against Mortal Wounds (and even those two defenses are unreliable at the best of times). Standard anti-vehicle/monster weapons are also reliable, with melta weaponry at half range being particularly devastating. If killing the Wraithseer outright seems a tall order, try to focus on simply dropping it down a bracket on its damage table. Any non-Iyanden Wraithseer's combat performance suffers significantly when dropped even to half health, which in turn can let you focus on other pressing issues. Alternatively, you can use hordes to tie up the wraithseer in melee. It may not end the menace, but any turn it wastes killing a maximum of 4 dudes or constantly falling back is a turn it can't target your important units.
Gallery
-
A Wraithseer ready to cleave some Greenskins.
