Warhammer 40,000/Tactics/Craftworld Aeldari(30k)

Army list PDF can be downloaded here!

The tactica and army list are based on a a fan-made set of rules and are made to represent Craftworld Aeldari, the Asuryani, in the Great Crusade and the Age of Darkness, otherwise known as the Horus Heresy. These rules are intended to represent the xenos race during the later years of the Great Crusade and early into the Heresy itself.

Rather than a pure porting of the 7th Edition Warhammer 40K rules, they have attempted to incorporate elements from earlier codices and bring rules and unit mechanics in line with those found in the Age of Darkness supplements. However more importantly, they have tried to give the army list a Great Crusade feel. Being ten thousand years prior to their 40K incarnation and shortly after the devastating Fall, some elements of the Asuryani are different to what they will become. The Aspect Shrines are a fledgling Path compared to the integral military doctrine it will become, the Spirit Stone technology has yet to be perfected impeding the effectiveness of the Wraith constructs and the Guardians play a greater role in the Craftworlds defence.

Why Play Craftworld Aeldari

• You want to play something other than Mon'Keigh
• You have a large army of Eldar lying around gathering dust, since 8th ed. was never your thing
• You like pointy-ears
• You think AV13 and up is overrated
• You like it fast. Very fast

Craftworld Doctrines

Craftworld Doctrines are akin to the Legion's Rites of War. They are optional and bestow certain benefits and restrictions upon an army and vastly change the way an army functions. You may take more than one Craftworld Doctrine, though there are some restrictions, which listed at their respective doctrines.

• An Army of Ghosts: Your Iyanden choice. Your craftworld is still clinging to Pre-Fall warfare. This means many, many Wraith constructs, since the pre-Fall Aeldari were lazy and depended on their automatons to do the chores. Basically, an army with an heavy emphasis on proto-Wraiths. At least two Wraith Guides (early Wraithseers) must be taken and each Wraith Guide can take an accompanying Wraith Lord, bypassing the 0-1 restriction. Attaching a Wraith Guide to any Wraith unit increases its WS, BS and I by +1.

• A Path Yet to be Followed: You hail from a Craftworld which has no aspect shrines established yet. Take this if you want to take a Guardian-heavy army. No Aspect Warriors are permitted (No Aspect Warriors, Exarchs or Phoenix Lords, thus making it incompatible with Path of the Warrior). In exchange, all Guardians (both Defenders and Storm) gain Objective Secured! Pretty handy for area denial, but you'll be very dependent on cover to actually survive.

• Carried on the Wind: Your Saim-Hann choice. Only units which unit type are Jump Infantry, Jet Pack Infantry, Skimmer, Flyer and Jetbike may be taken. Your normal infantry may still start inside a transport, though. Windriders lose the Support Unit special rule.

• Path of the Seer: Your Ulthwe choice. Your Craftworld favours Seers of any kind and trusts its Seers to lead their brethren into battle. A Psyker-heavy army, this will surely be; the Eldar answer to Thousand Sons' psychic circus. A Farseer must be the army's Warlord and you must take a Seer Council in your list. Further to this, you may split your Seer Council into separate Seers which you can attach to an Asuryani unit. It may attach to Guardians, Storm Guardians, Vaul's Wrath Support Batteries, Windriders and Windrider Support Squads. A Seer always matches the unit it's attached to, so if it tags along a Jetbike squad, your Seer will have to have one as well and so on. All Seers are considered ML1 Pyskers, so you can at least expect some support.

• Path of the Warrior: Your Biel-Tan choice. Your Craftworld absolutely loves War in all its Aspects. Your army will favour units of Aspect Warriors, with Guardians playing only a minor role. You may include an additional Aspect Exarch unit, which greatly increases the number of different Aspect Shrines and/or Exarchs you can include in your army list. An Autarch (or Phoenix Lord) must be included in your army. Guardian Officer Cadres are not allowed.
  • Naturally, this is incompatible with 'A Path yet to be Followed' or 'Path of the Seer', since those ones disallow Autarchs as warlords.

Asuryani Special Rules

• A Doomed Race: Essentially Ancient Doom made universal against any daemon. A model with this special rule has the Hatred special rule against Daemons. Furthermore, when making Fear tests, a unit containing at least one model with this special rule suffers a -1 penalty to its Leadership if it is engaged in combat with a unit that contains at least one model with the Daemon of the Ruinstorm or Daemon special rule.

• Aspect Shrine: Models with this special rule belong to the elite quasi religious class of fighters known as Aspect Warriors. These units can only be selected and used in the players army if they have selected the corresponding Exarch and Aspect Shrine during the army selection stage. For each Exarch, Autarch and Phoenix Lord in the army you may select up to two units of Aspect Warriors from the respective Aspect Shrines. Aspect Warriors attached to an Autarch or Phoenix Lord does not count towards this limit as they are considered as a personal retinue. This pretty much nerfs your Biel-Tan Warhost armies and puts an end to Avenger-spam.

• Battle Focus: A unit composed entirely of models with the Battle Focus special rule can either Shoot and then Run, or Run and then Shoot, in the same Shooting phase. The unit must complete both actions before the player moves onto the next unit - otherwise the chance to make the second action is forfeit. A model cannot Run if it fired a Heavy weapon during the same Shooting phase unless it has the Relentless special rule. Similarly, a model that has Run cannot then fire a Heavy weapon in the same Shooting phase unless it has the Relentless special rule. Models that cannot Run gain no benefit from the Battle Focus special rule.

Warlord Traits

1. Ambush of Blades: Single use. Allows your Warlord and all Eldar units within 12" to re-roll 1s To Wound for a whole phase (shooting or assault!).
2. An Eye on Distant Events: You can give D3 units the Scout special rule. Irilyth takes this.
3. Falcon's Swiftness: The Warlord and his unit get +3" when running (normally, this will be D6+3"). Baharroth and Jain Zar take this.
4. Fate's Messenger: The Warlord can re-roll all saving throws of 1.
5. Mark of the Incomparable Hunter: The Warlord gets Split Fire special rule. Fuegan and Maugan Ra take this.
6. Seer of the Shifting Vector: Friendly Asuryani units arriving by Deep Strike won't scatter if they land within 12" of the Warlord. Drastanta takes this.

Asuryani Wargear

• Shuriken Weapons: Functionally, Shuriken Weapons are very similar to Bolt Weapons. Most are S4 AP 5, making them "standard" anti-infantry. However, they all have the Bladestorm which is functionally equivalent to Rending versus non-vehicle targets. This can be deadly against TEQ and MEQ. A Legion Terminator squad may think twice charging a unit of Guardians.
• Fusion Weapons: Literally, renamed Meltas. The Fusion Pistol is the exact same as the Blood Angels Legion Inferno Pistol; with only 6"range 6, best be on a Bike so you're more likely to survive the impending explosion! Last but not least, the Fire Pike is a Meltagun with an extra 6" of range.
• Monofilament Weapons: Monofilament weapons wound against initiative if shooting at something with wounds and resolves it at AP2 on a roll of 6 To Wound. They just use base strength now against vehicles and since they aren't "wounded" there is no AP bonus on any penetrating hits. Note that for the purposes of instant death, you still compare the weapon's strength to the model's toughness.
• Lasers: Unlike the simple Mon'Kigh laser weapons of the Imperialis Militia, your blasters truly pack a punch. From the AP5 Assault 3 Lasblasters used by the Swooping Hawks to the famed Brightlance renowned for its ranged anti-tank, there's some truly glorious choices. The Scatter Laser is also part of this category, but more on that below.
• Eldar Heavy Weapons: Some units have the option to grab heavier weapons as add-ons or replacements for existing guns. The standard list is as follows:
  • Shuriken Cannon: Now not so cheap, but still reliable, the 24" shuriken cannon fires lots of nice S6 shots that pierces weak armor at base. Valuable for moderately priced dakka and augmented with Bladestorm (see above).
  • Scatter Laser: With 4 shots at S6 AP6, the scatter laser is quite an effective option at laying on the saves, and glancing AV10-12 to death.
  • Starcannon: A good but not great AP2 weapon, the Starcannon doesn't get hot like plasma weapons. Viable alternative to the scatter laser, take your pick. Or pick both if you're facing TEQ aplenty.
  • Aeldari Missile Launcher: You take it for its versatility. It has single target S8 AP3 starshot or a small blast S4 AP4 plasma. All Aeldari Missile Launchers get Starhawk missiles, which feature S7 with skyfire. However, it's far from the cheapest option to take and therefor not an auto-include.
  • Bright Lance: Possibly your primary heavy armour buster, with S8 and Lance. Tear down AV13/14 tanks and laugh at their crude Mon'Keigh armour.
  • Distort Weapons: Reverting back to its pre-7th iteration, with many special rules tacked back on, the bigger the D-guns get. Distortion weapons lose their Str D. Still, these weapons are rightly feared. To wound rolls of 6 are Instant Death and against vehicles, a 6 is an auto penetrating hit, regardless of whether the pen roll was higher than the vehicle's AV or not.

Asuryani Vehicle Equipment

• Holo-Fields: 5++ invul save on your vehicles as long at it is not Immobilised.
• Power Field: Identical to Holo-fields except that it won't disappear when Imobilised. Gives vehicles 5++, making them more expensive base but worth it since your armour is wet tissue paper compared to the Mon'Keigh.
• Star Engines: A simple and optional wargear for vehicles that increases their mobility even further if required. A non-Walker vehicle may move up to 24" when moving Flat Out. If equipped to a walker, said walkers run an additional 3".
• Vectored Engines: With the upgrade the vehicle can now pivot in place immediately following its shooting attack, allows for some safe play by tanks with exposed rears. Jet in, smoke rear armor of target, pivot towards living threats with your front and side armor. Just like Holo-Fiends, this stops working if your vehicle is Immoblised.
• Spirit Stones: Extra Armor Asuryani style, the animus inside the spirit stones can take over in emergencies and will allow the vehicle to ignore crew shaken on 2+ and crew stunned on 4+, nothing grand but nothing terrible.
• Crystal Targeting Matrix: Single use. Can be used after completing a Flat Out movement on any non-Walker vehicle, allowing the tank to fire a single weapon at full ballistic skill.
• Ghostwalk Matrix: Asuryani dozer blades equivalent, except better, because it gives you move through cover on any speed, rather than re-roll DT tests, and only on combat speed. Nothing that will break the bank and a safe purchase if you have points to spend. If you plan to hide your tank in 4+ ruins, this is pretty much auto-take. If you take Black Guardian Vypers or Warwalkers, this can open up some impassible terrain shenanigans.
• Serpent Shield: Stock Wave Serpent gear. While active the Wave Serpent transforms side and front based penetrating hits into mere glances on a 2+. If you feel the Serpent needs to do something, it can turn its shield into a medium-ranged energy shockwave that hits for 2D6 S6 IgnoreS Cover, Strikedown hits once per game. However, upon using the Serpent Shield's shooting attack, you lose its benefits for the rest of the game.

Psychic Powers

Runes of Fate

Available to Farseers as well as Eldrad. Can be taken in addition to the Telepathy, Daemonology (Sanctic), and Divination tables from the core rulebook. Farseers can choose to roll each power off a different table, though keep in mind it will cost you Psychic Focus (Get discipline's Primaris Power for free), remember to kit your Farseer for best utility.

Runes of Fate Powers

Number	Name	Type	Range	Target	Description	Charges
Primaris	Guide	Blessing	24	Unit	Guide, the most iconic and renowned power of the Farseer since time immemorial. Boosted significantly from past editions, the new Guide features a range of 24", twice the range of Prescience on the Divination table. The power basically twin-links the weapons of the target squad, allowing each and every model to re-roll their to-hit rolls for shooting (but unlike Prescience this only effects shooting, not assault). Under the new rules, the Farseer requires line of sight for this ability but it shouldn't be an issue. It's wonderful and grants greater power to the army on the whole, and even better, you will get it if you pick all powers from Runes of Fate (Psychic Focus!)	1
1	Executioner	Witchfire (Focused) (Profileless)	24	Model	Range Type S AP Special Rules 24 Assault 3 - - Fleshbane A focused witchfire that deals 3 hits (which land automatically because this power actually doesn't have a weapon profile) to the model "hit" in the target unit, and, thanks to Fleshbane, always wounds on 2+ regardless of Toughness. If the model dies, another model from the same unit takes 2 of the same hits, and if that model is removed from play a following model receives 1 hit. Both additional models are chosen the same way as the first one - so all three are random or all three are chosen by the caster, if you paid to focus it.	1
2	Doom	Malediction	24	Unit	This is another classic Farseer power and a powerful one at that, targeting an enemy within 24" and then all failed wounding/armor penetration rolls against them get a free re-roll for the turn (i.e. Shred). This is your primary assassination power, ensuring you kill that Commissar or bosspole Nob in one turn. Remember that since it's a Malediction, not a Blessing, even your non-Battle Brother allies get to re-roll against the debuffed foe, but the target will be allowed to try to Deny the Witch.	2
3	Will of Asuryan	Blessing	Self	Model	You get a 12" bubble of Fearless and Adamantium Will. Great for making certain that you HOLD THE LINE! Though admittedly there are other ways to get Fearless units with Eldar. Adamantium Will makes the Farseer's unit and any nearby unit with a psyker a Denying machine. Recall that fleeing units will auto-regroup upon entering the bubble and becoming Fearless, and it also cancels the effects of Going To Ground. Send your Guardians to ground in a ruin for a nice 3+, pop this, have them stand back up and unload at full BS next turn.	2
4	Fortune	Blessing	24	Unit	Now with 24" of range, this allows the Farseer to sit back and stay safe while the affected unit gets a re-roll on all failed saving throws AND Deny the Witch rolls until the Farseer's next turn. Remember the Farseer needs to have line of sight and it costs 2 warp charges. This is probably the strongest power ever to be available to this army. Anyone with Fortune is the absolute key to making even simple units become invincible rape trains. Warlocks, Wraithguard, shit...fucking Dire Avengers with a shimmershield start to scare the balls off of your enemy. Fortune is just one power that contributes to the lethality of a unit joined by the Seer.	2
5	Mind War	Witchfire (Focused) (Profileless)	24	Model	Range Type S AP Special Rules 24 Assault 1 - 2 Ignores Cover Basically a simplified version of Psychic Shriek from Telepathy, and more reliable. Changed a little in 7th but with no downside to the Farseer. Like Executioner, Mind War technically has no weapon profile, so you don't have to roll to hit. Each combatant (the psyker and the model hit) rolls a 1D6 and adds the result to their Leadership (so 1D6+10 for Farseers). Then you compare the two numbers; if the Farseer scores lower, nothing happens; if there is a draw, then the model instantly has their WS and BS dropped by 1 until the end of the next turn; if the Farseer scores higher, then the target also suffers the difference in wounds with no armour or cover saving throws allowed. Great if you can hit the unit with a Warlock's Horrify power in advance (see Runes of Battle below). Note that this power will never kill more than one model (all wounds it deals are always allocated to the same one), whereas Psychic Shriek targets and affects units, so its wounds get spread around (and must be spread around, as it cannot be focused).	2
6	Eldritch Storm	Witchfire	24	Unit	Range Type S AP Special Rules 24 Assault 1 3 3 Large/Apocalyptic Blast, Haywire, Fleshbane Classic Eldritch Storm! 3 Warp Charges makes this thing Large Blast, 4 Warp Charges makes it an apocalyptic 10" blast. You have to choose the casting value BEFORE you roll though, so no aiming for three, then getting lucky and upgrading the power. Hit anything up to and including MEQs with those pie plates and watch most if not all of the squad (or squads if you're going Apocalyptic!) go bye-bye. While WC4 makes your Farseer more likely to Peril, make sure you leave 1 WC remaining to ignore the wound using his/her Ghosthelm. Or just re-roll the offending dice with Runes of the Farseer, which you should probably save each turn for Eldritch Storm if you're planning to use it.	3/4

Runes of Battle

Available to Warlocks and Spiritseers. Runes of battle are the Eldar powers of war, short term manifestations of their psychic might made to turn the battlefield in their favor. Warlock utilize these powers to affect the outcome of skirmishes and battles across the stars while the Farseers pilot the destinies of whole craftworld through eons. Warlock have tempered their powers to a fine blade but every sword in their hands can be used as a shield, allowing them to use each power either for themselves or against their foes, giving the psykers a supreme range of versatility. As a rule all powers from the runes of battle have a range of no greater than 18", either for the beneficial or debilitating versions of the powers. Warlocks can be attached to Guardian Defenders, Storm Guardians, Windriders, or Vaul's Wrath artillery. Also, remember that, under 7th edition rules, a Warlock will know 2 powers, Conceal/Reveal and whatever power he rolls. So, with a Warlock, NEVER switch for the Primaris, you get it anyway.

• The Spiritseer can be attached (as an IC) to almost any squad; this matters for when Runes of Battle powers are referred to as boosting the defenses of units such as Wraithblades and Dark Reapers, in that normal warlocks will not usually be able to benefit squads they are not attached to.
• Primaris Power - Conceal/Reveal WC 1
  • Conceal grants the warlock the shrouded special rule and as such benefits the whole squad attached to him, a +2 to existing cover saves or just a flat out 5+ cover in the open is phenomenal, no warlock would go wrong taking conceal as most units benefit from enhanced defenses and a cover save booster like this goes fantastic on everything that can benefit from it, Guardians, Wraithguard, Scorpions, you name it.
  • Reveal, by contrast, strips both the stealth AND shrouded rules from an enemy in range; this can sometimes strip powerful defenses from units you are planning to wipe out. However, like all Runes of Battle, you need to make tactical use of the power which may be often skipped for the benefits of Conceal.
• 1: Destructor/Renewer WC 1
  • Destructor is the Kamehameha of warlocks, their direct fire power from codices of old, a psychic heavy flamer the destructor is an iconic power that now features the soul blaze special rule. As a power and not an actual weapon the Seer cannot fire this in overwatch.
  • Renewer is a big tool for the right units, a nearly unheard of targeted healing power that restores a single allied model in range for a single lost wound. Most models only have one wound to begin with so this power doesn't affect them (and cannot be cast as a phoenix down) but instead serves a fantastic purpose when targeting most HQ units or durable multiwound models in the army such as Wraithlords and Wraithknights, as well as the potent Avatar of Khaine. HEALMEHAMEHAAA!
• 2: Embolden/Horrify WC 1
  • Embolden grants the Seer and his unit fearless rather than leadership rerolling powers. This is a boost and nerf over previous version as fearless straight up negates pinning, morale, ect. However embolden used to allow for rerolling on your leadership test which included psychic powers, an ability beloved by power spamming seers and what have you. A solid power for anything not already fearless such as fragile storm guardians.
  • Horrify is a power that is unfair to judge on its lonesome. At its core it reduces the LD of an enemy unit by -3, making them of course more susceptible to morale tests and the like. A unit with reduced leadership is at best LD7 now, reducing their chance of success against any and all pinning or morale tests down a full 33.4% (16.7% if they can reroll). In armies with the right weapon it’s amazing, otherwise it's just decent. Also fun to consider is that the diresword benefits greatly when used on a Horrified target as they now have a decent shot (42% at LD 7) of being removed from play (fuck you, Eternal Warrior!) if they take a wound. Be sure to high five Eldrad if this goes off. Also makes Mind War far more reliable AND potent. Combine this with Harlequin allies and the Shadowseer or Death Jester for even more trolling.
• 3: Enhance/Drain WC 1
  • Enhance is yet another staple of the warlock power of yesteryear, often seen in Seer councils and Storm Guardian squads this power gives a simple boost of +1WS and Init to unit. Eldar are already quick to the punch but with this power what they did well just got even better, Storm Guardians and Wraithblades (Spiritseer support) see a noticeable gain from the power and should have it active at all times prior to an assault. If you roll it on a squad of Guardian Defenders or Vaul's Wrath, use the Malediction version on the off chance someone's about to charge you - you might hold out long enough for the Shining Spears to bail you out...
  • Drain sucks out the same befits that enhance gives, reducing an enemy’s WS and Init by 1, unless you are assaulting a squad with two or more of your own units I don't tend to recommend Drain over Enhance as a lucky deny the witch would negate the power, however like all tactical powers you have to cast each power according to which effect would benefit you the most. It may be used to boost mono-filament weapons, though - try it if you're facing Dark Eldar, melee Tyranids or the minions of She Who Thirsts...
• 4: Protect/Jinx WC 1
  • Protect is a power that even idiots understand and appreciate, a simple but potent bonus to the units existing armor save by 1. This is quality cheddar right here - Guardians of both kinds now get armor that can stop bolters, while Windriders, Fire Dragons or Striking Scorpions now might as well have artificer armor. Wraithblades will become nigh-unkillable tarpits from hell. Probably even better on a Spiritseer than a Warlock, but won't go amiss either way. This power is awesome, and on the right units is worth casting every round, since few units’ don’t benefit from hardier armor than what they already have.
  • Jinx by extension has an equally nuts benefit for you as the former, reducing an enemy’s own armor save making them that much easier to kill off. Now a unit like Terminators suddenly fear AP3 Reapers, Spears and Banshees with a passion, fragile 4+ units suddenly became instantly shredded by mere shuriken catapults, making Guardian firepower or similar a hurricane of reaping death. Against units who are relying more on their cover or invulnerability save the benefits of this power are reduced somewhat, still if you reduce an enemy’s armor save and they need it against your guns, make them that much more screwed and cackle with glee.
• 5: Quicken/Restrain WC 1
  • Quicken grants your unit swiftness of the Eldar and improves the running distance off the unit by a flat 3", letting you close gaps or create them that much easier. With Battle Focus being found on just about every Eldar model this power only flops when the unit happens to be hunkered down in cover and wont be running for the rest of the game (I’m looking at you, Rangers and Dark Reapers).
  • Restrain by comparison is a power I don't honestly find very useful. Stripping away an enemy’s ability to run completely sounds useful, however the range of the power is 18" so you were already pretty close to the unit to start, and save the Eldar most armies sacrifice their shooting in order to use run in the first place, and cannot charge into assault if they did so. Useful for slowing down objective-grabbers or kiting melee deathstars, though. Although, try using against Wulfen or Harlequins, or anyone else who can charge after running, and see them fume as they have to rethink their plans.
• 6: Empower/Enervate WC 1
  • Empower instantly grants the psyker and attached unit gain an extra +1S. This is enough to make Storm Guardians actually effective against T4, though Vaul's Wrath, Guardian Defenders and Windriders usually don't care. Spiritseers could get more mileage out of it though - Banshees, Scorpions and Wraithblades really like this. (Can't usefully use it on Shining Spears, though. Roll on Daemonology with a Farseer hoping for Hammerhand if you want to try that.)
  • Enervate also has a limited benefit to you most days of the week, stripping the enemy squad (which I remind you is already within 18" of you) of 1S as to reduce their threat in melee. Now this is alright if you know you’re getting charged next turn and the drop in strength is the difference in melee ability like marines against Wraithguard. However on the whole few units even need their regular strength to threaten your flimsy Eldar, our brittle bones clock in at a pitiful T3 with most armies boasting at least a S4. Debuffing an enemy squad prior to an assault by yourself is alright though if the difference can be noticed, like Enhance/Drain you want to choose carefully between the two abilities. It's worth noting here that S2 can't wound T6 targets so when charging anything with S3 (like a blob or guards, cultists, orks and all brands of eldar) with Wraithblades always have your Spiritseer cast Enervate, then the only thing your wraiths will feel in the return swing is a soothing foot massage as their wraithbone boots crush the pathetic fleshy thing's trachea.

Unit Analysis

HQ

• 0-1 Aspect Exarchs: A unit comprised of to up to 3 Exarchs of any known Aspect. Just like Legion Apothecaries, they count as a single FoC choice (HQ in this case) and must be attached to squads of their own Aspect at the start of the game and they may not leave the squad.
  • Autarch: A 40pts upgrade for one of your Exarchs, grainting WS/BS 6 and Ld 10. The Autarch must be your Warlord.
    • Dark Reapers: These guys have probably the best choices for loadouts, going from the default launchers to free Shuriken Cannons, Missile Launchers, or Tempest Launchers - pick depending on what you imagine your guys will face the biggest challenge from. Far Shot's gotten a bit of a boost here, letting you fire an additional time with your gun.
    • Dire Avengers: You can grab two of these guys, which is nice. The most flexible of the Exarchs, you can find a place for his host anywhere on the field. It helps that he keeps the 4++ no matter what.
    • Fire Dragons: The ability to re-roll one hit, wound, or pen roll per turn is not something to forget in any case. As for loadout, he either gets the questionable but free Heavy Flamer for free overwatch or the longer-range Firepike to help blow shit up.
    • Howling Banshees: One of only two Shrines able to take two Exarchs. Unfortunately, you can't do a Jain Zar and take two melee weapons aside from the Mirrorswords. You also have the ability to deal -2 Ld to your enemy, which might help break a unit.
    • Shadow Spectres: Mobile bastions of lasery doom. If you feel like picking another gun, your choices are either the short-range Prism Blaster if you wanna do Prism shenanigans or the long-range Haywire Launcher for the anti-vehicle fun.
      • Shining Spears: The fastest boys. Their skill lets them re-roll wound MCs and pen rolls, which is absolutely worth it on the charge. While the Laser Lance is well worth it, the Star Lance is the gold ticket, being a real anti-anything weapon short of melta. As for power weapons? Fuck'em.
    • Striking Scorpions: Bad news is you lost Karandras. Good news, they're pretty much as they were in 40k, including those sick at-initiative claws and the various varieties of chainsword for different levels of anti-GEQ. Their skill gives them extra attacks for each point they score over the enemy during the first round of a challenge, so you'll probably handle yourself over most marines, but be wary of the Emperor's Children.
    • Swooping Hawks: Taking this guy means that his pack will always deep strike on location, no matter what. The Hawk's Talon is pretty much a straight upgrade to the base gun, while the Sunrifle gives blinding at AP3. Since this putz lacks a melee weapon, you might be excused for buying a power sword, but only if you decide to make him Autarch. Not much need otherwise.
    • Warp Spiders: Oh look, it's the Aspect Shrine who never had a named Phoenix Lord! Jokes aside, he confers his squad with immunity to any psychology tests, a rarity hardly afforded even by the Legios in this day and age. For only 5 points, you can make your spinner Twin-Linked, which is an absolute plus. Instead, you could get the Spinneret Rifle for longer range and Rapid Fire. If you feel crazy enough to enter melee, then you could buy Power Blades, but you're not likely to want to since that leaves your boys exposed.

• Farseer: This guy is your standard Psyker, he sees the future both the Aeldari and the perfidious Mon'Keigh and allows you to throw wrenches into their fate so only the children of Asuryan come out on top. Reasonably priced at 100pts base, this here Space Elf is not to be underestimated. The Farseer's mastery level is to Mastery Level 3 by default which is fantastic and gives a huge availability for warp charge expenditure and up to three abilities in a turn. A Farseer can generate powers from the Daemonlogy (Sanctic), Divination, Runes of Fate and Telepathy disciplines. He comes automatically equipped with a couple pieces of useful Aeldari wargear with which to do battle:
  • Ghosthelm: Allows him to negate a wound caused by Perils of the Warp by expending a remaining Warp Charge, note: he still takes the result so you can still lose a power, lose Warp Charges, or get sucked into the Warp with a horrific Leadership roll. An essential defense against terrible shit happening.
  • Runes of the Farseer: Use on a single psychic test or Deny the Witch roll each psychic phase. For that test you can reroll any number of dice you wish. That's right, you can potentially avert Perils in two ways or just make a high level power actually go off.
  • Shuriken pistol: An average pistol weapon with the Bladestorm special rule.
  • Rune Armour: Grants the classic 4++ invulnerability save Farseers do so enjoy.
  • Witchblade: A weapon that sports Fleshbane and Armourbane but with shitty AP-, a bad weapon that will always disappoint.

He can also spend points on some upgrades.

• • Singing Spear: A nearly free (+5pts) witchblade replacement that is highly recommended. Identical to the witchblade in assault, and can also be thrown 12" at S9 for a 17% chance to pen AV14 at range instead of the witchblade's 3% chance in melee. A damn good buy in most (but not all) situations.

• Guardian Officer Cadre: Like the name says, these are 1-5 Aeldari Guardian HQ's. Akin to Legion Centurions in statline, they are basically souped up Guardians with Heavy Mesh Armour and options for a plethora of ranged and melee weapons, as well as the possibility to go by Jetbike. Just like the Aspect Exarchs, these have to be attached to either a Guardian squad (both Storm or Defender) or a Vaul's Wrath Support Battery and if they take said jetbike, a Windrider Squad.

• Wraith Guide: Basically a ML2 Seer with the Wraith Guide special rule, which allows Wraithguard, Wraithblades and Wraithlords to re-roll To Hit rolls of 1 against enemy units within 12". It must always be attached to either Wraithguard or Wraithblades. A Wraith Guide generates powers from the Daemonology (Sanctic), Runes of Battle and Telepathy disciplines.

Phoenix Lords

Kaela Mensha Khaine is the Eldar God of War, and the Phoenix Lords are his champions. Crunchwise. they're best thougt of as Exarchs + 1. As a group, they pack awesome statlines, 2+ armor, Eternal Warrior, and Fearless. They make amazing fighters but generally are poor force multipliers as a whole.

• Asurmen (Dire Avengers): 220 points. On the offence he gets Twin-linked Avenger Shuriken Catapult and the Sword of Asur, an S+1 AP 2 Master-Crafted sword that can trigger Instant Death if the enemy fails a Leadership check after getting hurt. On the defense he has Shield of Grace (4++ which ups to 3++ in a challenge) and BOTH Counter Attack and Defense Tactics, so he can choose to Overwatch at BS2 (with re-rolls for Twin-Linked) or get Counter Attack and Stubborn when charged. Obviously he'll never choose the second (Hint: he already has Counter Attack and Fearless, which supersedes Stubborn, and both are conferred to his unit). Asurmen can anchor a key unit, if you want to play against the traditional grain of Eldar being a S6 alphastrike army. for some turns and hoping for the better. His most notable ability though is that he is the Hand of Asuryan and gets to roll d3 Warlord traits, re-rolling duplicates. With how good the traits of the army list are, this ability has some neat potential and makes him a good commander.
• Jain Zar (Howling Banshees): 200 points. Founder of the Howling Banshees, Jain is the pinnacle of close combat terrors on the battlefield. Her triskele, "Silent Death" can be tossed 12" as an assault 4 S4 Ap2 weapon. Once she's in the thick of it, her enhanced banshee mask bumfucks the enemy unit with -5 WS and -5 I (not only on the round in which you have charged but on ALL rounds) and also makes her and her squad immune to Overwatch. Lastly, when the Blade of Destruction comes into play, this AP2 Shredding monster can reap MEQ and terminators alike with oh so much blending fury. If, and I mean IF, anyone decides to try and take her in a challenge, her disarming strike rule applies, meaning she will automatically strip her enemy of one weapon, at the cost of one of her attacks. This, combined with the negative stat modifiers she inflicts, make her easily one of the top challengers in all of 40k- Sigismund? Fulgrim? Valdor? They'll all be in for a rough time. Also with her fixed warlord trait (Falcon's Swiftness) and her Acrobatic rule (which the Banshees share), her and any Banshees she joins will be running d6+6". Yes, d6 plus SIX, while charging 2d6+3, and all this while having fleet. Despite her being the quintessential challenge specialist, she's not great against Monstrous Creature Characters, as her strength isn't great, and her armour save can be negated with Smash. But then again, with her speed she should be able to easily avoid them. If you want to deal with her, don't even think of going into close combat- blast her and her unit off the table with everything you've got before it's too late!
• Baharroth (Swooping Hawks): 170 points. Now the cheapest of the Phoenix Lords, and for a reason: Baharroth doesn't have any weapon capable of dealing with 2+ armour units and is quite weak in melee, while not being impressive in the shooting phase. The gun on Baharroth is basically the regular Hawk Talon and his special sword is basically a power sword with Blind. But what he gives to the table is, in one word, speed. Blinding, in every sense of the word. With is 18" regular move and 1d6+3 run move he and his squad can be anywhere on the table, bringing the firepower of the Hawks where it is most needed, or even dealing with Vehicles thanks to Haywire Grenades. He also has Hit & Run so he can always escape melee, which is a GOOD thing for tying some strong ranged units, to dodge their volley, and then finish it off in his turn. His unique ability is the sun's brilliance ability he comes with: when landing with deep strike he sets of a flash of blinding light, causing foes within 6" of him to make an Init test or go blind for the turn. Having also Herald of Victory (never scatter when Deep Strike) this can be used with utterly lethal precision.
• Fuegan (Fire Dragons): 220 points. Sadly, Fuegan forgot how to double-tap with his Firepike, but he can now re-roll any single dice during the shooting phase, add +1 to the result on the Vehicle Damage Chart and he also got a flat increase on his base strength (being now the only Phoenix Lord without the exact stat-line of all others). He doesn’t have an invuln save but he does boast Feel no Pain, making him an even more durable lord than most, and then there is his special rule: each time he suffers an unsaved wound he gains +1 to his Strength and Attacks for the rest of the game, and considering he already has an AP1 axe that hits at initiative with Armourbane, he's pretty much guaranteed to kill MSUs. If a renewer warlock bro happens to be anywhere nearby he could just heal from said wounds (even in combat) and get back to doing what Fuegan does best, ruining Christmas, Easter and birthday parties. An expensive Lord that will have to be used with care, but that will wreck faces (and Vehicles) if done right.
• Maugan Ra (Dark Reapers): 195 points. Like his previous incarnation Maugan Ra either still cannot remember what his reaper gun is supposed to do or reapers on the whole just didn't follow big daddy’s rules right to the letter. Sporting shorter range but more dakka than reapers, Maugan Ra is a serious bastion of firepower, just not in the same way as Dark Reapers. S6 AP5 isn’t a great weapon for armored targets, however it does have rending, which helps a little. If that doesn't satisfy you, he can also fire Assault 1 Poisoned (2+) AP5 Rending shots with Pinning that causes Bio-Cataclysm (If a non-vehicle model dies to this gun, drop a Large Blast template where he used to stand. Everyone under that takes an S5 AP4 hit that ignores cover). Rules-wise he has Night Vision and Hatred (Daemons), or, more importantly, Whirlwind of Death, that let him fire the Maugetar twice using either of these ammo types, even at two different targets, which is seriously boss. Also don't forget his Warlord Trait, which gives him Split Fire, or the profile of melee profile of Maugetar, basically a power scythe with +2 S and Ap 3, making him not bad against anything but TEQ. All in all, a really good ranged lord with a decent potential in melee.
• Irillyth (Shadow Spectres): 180 points. Like his aspect warriors, he causes fear, but will actually have a possible chance to use it, as he does have Hit & Run and some kind of power lance (like S+1 AP3 normally and S+2 AP2 on charge), that can also shoot three S7 AP2 shots (which can also be turned into single S10 AP2 hit per Ghostlight rule). But still, remember that the Shadow Spectres are not close-combat oriented, so rest oh his squad are probably don't want to be there. Also for some reasons have Night Vision and Acute Senses special rules. The one thing that seems stupid and gimmicky at first glance is the Shadow of Death rule. However, the Eldar and their Dark kin can do all sorts of shenanigans with leadership, like Hemlock Wraithfighter, Armour of Misery, Soulfright Grenades, etc, so that probably may be useful depending on your opponent. All in all, he is a cool, fluffy choice that still presents some serious kick at range, especially with his own aspect warriors.
• Drastanta (Shining Spears): 250 points. Your sole biker among the Phoenix Lords, and he's damn good at it. He's always supposed to be on the move to get his 4+ cover save and charging for that devastating boost to his spear. While he only has a 4++ for protection, his prowess in combat bears mention: He's forced into all challenges, where he can use his Spear of Twilight's ability to force enemies to re-roll their Invulns. Also, about that spear? It's also a gun, and both modes are AP1 with Lance. Yeah, expect your Imperial mates to beat you to death with their many thick books when fielding Drastanta.

Troops

• Dire Avengers: These Aspect Warriors are your elite standard infantry. The whole idea behind the aspect is that they are the perfect balance between offense and defense; in other words, they're useful both for sitting back and shooting and for getting up close and personal and storming objectives. Ironically, then, they aren't amazing at close combat, although they can survive there, especially with an attached Exarch. Perhaps most importantly, though, they have special shuriken catapults, appropriately called avenger shuriken catapults. Unlike regular shuriken catapults (with their piddly range of 12"), avenger shuriken catapults have a range of 18". Combined with every Eldar's innate Battle Focus ability, the extra range allows the Avengers to play a merry game of keep-away with the opponent. Also, their Aspect Armor comes with a 4+ save, which makes them a fair bit hardier than Guardians. They also have Defense Tactics: Whenever they get charged, the Avengers can choose between Overwatching at BS2 or gaining Counter-Attack (which they used to have stock) and Stubborn without any Overwatch. Overall, they've taken a bit of a shift, but otherwise remain the prime example of Eldar Infantry.

• Guardian Defenders: The Guardians' gear is probably the most underwhelming in the army list - a 5+ armor save you will never want to have to use as well as the trusty shuriken catapult. The catapult is still among the shortest-ranged of any troop weapon found in 30k, but comes with Bladestorm. Bladestorm allows Guardians to wound anything and penetrate any armor save, with the sheer mass of shots they make at BS4 this is a pretty serious threat to most models in the game. Guardian Defenders also host a second feature that needs mentioning, the one that may make you take them over Dire Avengers - a heavy weapon mount for every 10 bodies in the squad, up to 2. These platforms are true models within the squad, moving and shooting under their own power and with a toughness and armor save to take into account. The support platform can be equipped with any of the heavy weapon options at a noticeable cost. The Guardians' downsides are obvious - they are fragile T3 bodies in 5+ armor, enough said. Sit them in one form of cover or another with a conceal psychic power buff, however and we have something to talk about, a good saving unit with a lot of bodies and long range powerful weapons sitting on an objective with a fuckton of dakka for overwatch or sudden shuriken rushes. Dictate your price with them, adding HQs and heavy weapons to suit - most any of them could be good, with the cheap shuriken cannon or the longer-ranged scatter laser cracking open transports, the starcannon for TEQs and MCs, the brightlance for tanks or the missile launcher to handle both hordes and armor adroitly and provide emergency anti-air and the anti air option comes free but it is the most expensive option however with guardian war host you can get it for free in three units eat that flying circuses. Like Dire Avengers, they can take a Wave Serpent - with their numbers they might not be riding in it, but it's mobile cover and yet another set of heavy weapons, so don't overlook it. Weirdly, they do come with plasma grenades - don't forget to chuck one if a horde gets close.

• Storm Guardians: Guardians that trade their Catapults for Pistols, Swords and Plasma Grenades. They also forfeit the option for a Heavy Weapon Platform in exchange for other equipment options. The unit can take two Power Swords, and two Flamers or Meltaguns in a squad of ten. They cost like Fire Warriors, shoot like Assault Marines, and die like Guardsmen. If you want anti-tank, you take Fire Dragons. If you want melee, you take take Banshees/Wraithblades. If you picked the Craftworld Path that bars Aspects, you in trouble and should get tanks and Wraiths.

• Windrider Jetbike Squadrons: Guardian Jetbikes are Aeldari who take their mastery of speed to heart and are a well-known unit to see Aeldari field due to the extraordinary mobility the jetbike offers. The only gear the Windriders feature is the jetbikes but that’s all the unit really needs. Automatically giving them an enhanced T4 and 4+ armor save windriders possess far greater maneuverability than the Legion equivalent. The jetbike comes with a built in twin-linked shuriken catapult, 90% accuracy for a shuriken weapon and bladestorm still applies here. One in three jetbikes can switch out for a much larger, much meaner shuriken cannon for extra general-purpose dakka or a scatter laser for long-range transport wrecking. Aside from the usual, Windriders also boast the benefits of Aeldari jetbikes that allow them a special 2d6 move during the assault phase and all those delicious cover saves for Jinking and turbo boosting. The only issue the Windrider faces lies in their low numbers and higher cost, not a big issue since they cost just under two guardians normally but these are models you should try not to lose. Like with all Guardians a Seer can join the squad and instantly make it better, conceal boosting their already good cover save, protect to give them terminator armor, even embolden can remove the issue of their lower leadership. Zip around like the Tasmanian devil, chunk units of anything, troll everyone and grab or contest objectives to make enemies weep little black tears.
  • They also have access to the Scatter Laser now. So for 270 points, a squad puts out 40 S6 shots. Ouch. Or, for the same price, 30 S6 shots with Bladestorm. That's gonna leave a mark. Of course, any return fire will likely leave a mark on your points budget as well at 27pts for a T4, 4+ model that can jink.

• Rangers: When an Aeldari finds no Path that suits them they often turn to the Path of the Ranger, venturing from the Craftworld to see new sights and places. Their pathless existence goes against the grain of Aeldari society but lends them unique viewpoints and skills many Eldar never find themselves possessing. The ranger long rifle is core of the unit and as such has a few aspects that need discussing. As written, the weapon is a Heavy 1 sniper with long range, its AP6 is undesirable but rangers fire it at their BS4. Sniper weapons means they Precision Shot on hits of 6 and get AP2 on wound rolls of 6, and always wound on a 4+. The basic formula of the ranger goes something like this: 66% chance to hit, 50% chance to wound (if not vehicle), 55.56% chance to damage MEQ armor (since a wounded model has a 1/3 chance of having been wounded by an AP2 hit). The special rules of the rangers is their classic infiltrate, fleet, stealth and move through cover. This makes them theoretically maneuverable but realistically immobile. You see, the squad can only do snapshots with their rifles after moving in the move phase (but they at least now have shuriken pistols), and battle focus also specifies it does not work with heavy weapons on non-relentless models. Flamers and various other cover ignoring weapons like barrage blasts ruin your rangers every day. Ultimately the rangers will end the game exactly where they started, moving only to shuffle towards an objective or away from an approaching melee unit. Rangers can infiltrate either to an advantageous position or on top of a cover providing objective, then they will sit there for as long as they can laying down a few suppressing shots into choice targets.

Ranger Long Rifle

Range	Type	S	AP	Special Rules
48	Heavy 1	4	6	Sniper

• • Modeling Tips: Hate the hoodless rangers but you don't want them with helmets or applying green stuff because you suck at making anything with green stuff? Fear not, because there is a solution. If you have the money, grab a box of Wood Elf archers, or something with Elf hoods, and smash a new head on them. You might need to fill in some spaces with green stuff though.

Dedicated Transports

• Wave Serpent: The Wave Serpent is yet another Falcon chassis tank but featuring a large carrying capacity for the various infantry and a real threat in terms of a battlefield vehicle. The Wave Serpent comes stock with the standard AV12 and ability to grab vehicle upgrades such as holofields and star engines. It comes with a twin-linked catapult and shuriken cannon, the cannon being tradeable for a twin-linked starcannon, brightlance or scatter laser. It can also trade for an EML (with flakk) for a heavy price as well as switch out that little catapult for a cannon (because who wants a tank with 12” range?) for a little bit more. Unlike other races the Wave Serpent is a costly machine, clocking at 110 points base and with lots of reason to spend more. You cannot just throw this transport away and it also features no fire points as well as not being an assault transport. Our dedicated transport kicks the daddy bags of other such transports of the other races and in large point games you can afford to get a whole lot more armour onto the field. The Wave Serpent has various uses and strategy we’re all used to by this point in addition to its useful medium range anti-cover attack. Move it carefully and let it bring your units to where they can do their job best. Given the loss of Laser Lock, consider starcannons or brightlances to deal with armor or TEQs, or el-cheapo shuriken cannons to slice up infantry and transports.
  • Serpent Shield: Once responsible for untold amounts of bitching from the 6th Edition Codex, the Wave Serpent comes with a barrier that causes all of its front and side based penetrating hits to magically transform into a mere glance on a 2+. Then, once per game you can unleash an S6 2D6 cover-ignoring shitstorm at 24" range. However, if you dissipate the Serpent Shield to shoot it, you lose the infamous "switch pen to glance on 2+" for the rest of the game.

Elites

• Bonesinger Conclave: 1-3 Bonesingers can be taken as a single Elites choice. They are basically a combination of a a Techmarine and an Apothecary. Giving 5+ FNP to Guardian squads or Vaul's Wrath Support Batteries to which they must be attached. Instead of shooting, it can heal a vehicle, building or Wraith unit for one HP/wound, but at the cost of FNP for the duration of that turn.

• 0-1 Seer Council: 1-10 Seers that get up in Mastery Level the more there are, thanks to the Communion of Minds special rule. 1-3 is ML1, 4-6 is ML2 and 7 or more will get a whopping ML3. Though once the casualties rack up, the ML can drop. They can generate powers from the Daemonology (Sanctic) and Runes of Battle disciplines and swap their Witchblades for Singing Spears for +5pts.
  • Seer Skyrunners: For a +15pts per model upgrade, they gain Jetbikes.

• Fire Dragons: Now you see the tank - FOOOOM! - now you don't - Fire dragons in a nutshell both past and present. A unit dedicated to making sure the most heavily armoured units of your enemy's army go away quickly once they're in range by adding +1 to all vehicle damage rolls. With their fusion guns (melta-guns) and melta-bombs, tanks and fortifications stand little chance. They also demolish Monstrous Creatures, though not quite as well as Wraithguard. With a surprisingly good volume of fire for AP1, they're also one of the go-to units for terminating, err, Terminators. Their main drawback is they're expensive like lawyers, so be prepared to pay through the nose for them. A Falcon, Wave Serpent, Venom, or Raider transport is near-obligatory for them, so that will inflate the price further. The often asked question of Fire Dragons vs Wraithguard is a matter of what you normally play against. Wraithguard are better at handling Monstrous Creatures and Terminators while Fire Dragons destroy Vehicles and Fortification as described above. Both units are equally good at taking out Superheavies. However, Fire Dragons are usually cheaper, can fit in Falcons/Venoms period, have Battle-Focus by default (good for closing Melta gaps or ducking back in cover).

• Striking Scorpions: Brutal green Aeldari Ninja with the Stealth special rule at the start of the game. Sneaky and sinister they constitute a strong force for assault units and strength 4 beatings. They sport a ludicrous amount of abilities and rules - 3+ armour, S+1 chainswords, plasma grenades and Mandiblasters (50% chance of a savable auto-wound at Init 10 that hits automatically) complement, Infiltrate, Move Through Cover, Fleet and Battle Focus right off the bat, giving the flexible commander a ton of options. They're every bit as good at straight combat (they'll maul hordes and even take down Tactical squads through weight of attacks on the charge - 2 normally, 3 on the charge + Mandiblaster hits) as they are at wreaking havoc in your opponent's deployment zone when used correctly. Fleet ensures that their mobility problems compared to Banshees are a thing of the past (mostly). Their only real problem now is their inability to get through 2+ saves, so keep them focused on lightly armoured foes. If you must face TEQ's try to face smaller squads if possible and ensure your Exarch is still alive, use your weight of attacks and the Exarch's Scorpion Claw to take them down before they strike back. Or if you rolled it use the Jinx psychic power to reduce their armour save to more reasonable levels. Remember though only do this if necessary, there are far more efficient anti-TEQ units in your army and Scorpions would be better served focusing elsewhere but just remember they are not useless at it either.

• Howling Banshees: These sword-wielding ladies are the fast, lightweight, hand-to-hand Aspect of the Asuryani warhost, designed to blend MEQ armour across a large swath of the battlefield. And boy, is there lots of MEQ in 30k! With AP3 power swords and their trademark Banshee masks (which now mean the Banshees can't be overwatched when charging) and they cause Fear. With their lighter armour they always need to grab the charge to get in as many attacks as possible, and now grab Acrobatic, giving them a bonus 3" on their Run moves and charge moves. MEQs will be mowed down, but hordes will overwhelm them and TEQs will eat them for breakfast, so choose your battles wisely. A good idea is to to use Banshees as more defensive CC units to protect your gun-line units from potential enemy charges. Striking Scorpions are better suited as backfield enemy harassers with their better armour and strength (arguably making them the better option to use against TEQ'S and Monstrous Creatures). Banshees overwatch defenses and longer charges make them great deterrents against outflankers and infiltrating squads that might try to sneak around to take out your HQ's or long-range weaponry. Transports are optional - they'll get there faster, but Aeldari have no assault transports.

• War Walker Squadron: Shifted over to the Elite Slot, not the wisest move. It suits the Eldar playstyle perfectly - fast, armed to the teeth and absurdly fragile. With BS4 now, they're even more reliable at putting huge amounts of firepower into whatever foe is unlucky enough to be in range. As to that firepower, they get the usual range of Eldar weapons. Bright Lances for tank-hunting, Starcannons for heavy infantry, Shuriken Cannons and Scatter Laser for light infantry. Finally the big option, the Eldar missile launcher - a gun as versatile as the EML clocks in at several times the price of alternate options. But there's a good reason: it can either be anti-armor or anti-infantry and now gets Skyfire for free. And with Battle Focus and Relentless, their firepower is unimpeded by their mobility. With AV10, Open-Topped and only two Hull points they're brutally fragile. Power Fields give you a 5++, but that's not the most reliable save out there - stick near sources of cover for those all-important saves. These are the one unit that might actually want Star Engines to get even better Battle Focus shenanigans.

• Wraithguard: Resilient and terrible in their destructive power Wraithguard are the otherworldly goliaths of Eldar infantry, and their vigil is eternal. Acting as vanguards for durable front line advances Wraithguard are a unit difficult avoid for enemies and foolish to ignore. With a toughness of 6 and heavily armored wraithbone granting them a 3+ armor save wraithguard are as durable as terminator equivalents of other armies and wield terrific weapons. The Wraithcannon is short range and utterly lethal against all targets, the S10 AP2 gun shreds all targets with equal fury and distort rule gives it the ability to instant death, as though anything would survive it normally. You want to use the Wraithguard as the anvil of your army, moving up fearlessly each turn while other more mobile Eldar think away at your opponent’s forces. Once in range of a target wraithguard will kill it, they just will, and they will stick around a lot longer than your enemies will be comfortable with. Six can fit into a wave serpent and emerge to deliver unfair levels of wrath upon their hapless targets.

• Wraithblades: Like Wraithguard, Wraithblades are Asuryani wraithbone constructs, only with a focus on melee combat as opposed to close ranged weaponry. Wraithblades come with two kit options which can alter their dynamic pretty significantly. Base loadout is two Ghostswords, giving you +1S and AP3, which works well against MEQ squads, which can be very, very handy when you plan to march them into 20-man tac blobs or other power armoured Tactical Support/Heavy Support squads. Though watch out for FotL-levels of bolter fire; Str 4 can and will wound T6 and these boney dudes have only 1 wound and none to spare. Ghostaxes, on the other hand, give you +2S and AP2, and the accompanying Forceshield gives you a 4++ on top of your already significant protection, and will never see you wrong when up against TEQs. Equip this if you want to go toe-to-toe with killy HQ's and choppy terminators. Your T6 won't help you much against a power fist or thunder hammer, but survive a round due to your 4++ and you will strike back with a power fist of your own! Either way, they're very impressive in combat, as with their natural toughness they're hard work for even AP3-equipped assault units, and will trash most equivalently-priced units when given the latter loadout. One idea is to stick a bunch of Forceshield-equipped Blades in front of your key unit and watch your opponent weep with frustration as nearly everything bounces off them. As a bonus, they now cost 10 points less than a squad of Wraithguard. They can take a Wave Serpent, but probably don't want to in most cases since you want them to charge.

Fast Attack

In this slot we find the fastest of our already quick moving and mobile army, armed to the teeth with a variety of weapons such as the spammy lasblaster and armor melting Bright Lance. In this slot you can find not only options for engaging and destroying infantry but many of these slots features unit who can either outfit themselves totally for anti-vehicle or just do a decent job of it if called upon. You also find both of your flyers in this slot and each performs a very different job that should be carefully considered.

• Swooping Hawks: Hawks are somewhat rare among the Eldar Aspects in that they can do a variety of battlefield tasks quite effectively. They're at their best when facing down hordes of lightly armed infantry with their Lasblasters, which are now Assault 3. Even though they are S3 laser pointers, the sheer volume of shots is pretty threatening now, being equal to any standard basic 40k gun in firepower, while boasting much more comfortable range, in fact with the changes to their Hawk Wings they now have an insane threat range of 18" movement plus 24"+D6" shooting (with Battle Focus) meaning even if they didn't drop this turn you could still reach any target on the board you wanted to. Additionally, anti-tank is well served with their standard issue Haywire Grenades, which are a very reliable way to peel off hull points. But that's far from all. The grenade pack gives them a cover ignoring S4 AP4 sky burst blast when the hawks enter from deep strike (Skyleap is now part of the Swooping Hawk Wings). If you have 6 models in the squad this is a large blast (pro tip: have 6 models). With Hawks tactics and timing are everything - choose your target, Deep Strike perfectly, gun down your enemies, then run off. They also get a new rule that allows them to hit flyers and FMCs they flew over in the movement phase! Roll a D6 for every model that passed over a Flyer or FMC, if they roll a 4+, they deliver an S4 AP4 Haywire hit to the side, making planes literally cry. It's not too hard for flyers to stay out of the way, but it's deadly to any that are dumb enough to get close, so they're quite good for area denial (though not so much against FMCs). Be careful, and use Battle Focus to run into cover after the Deep Strike!

• Shining Spears: Shining Spears are the Eldar equivalent of Earth history's jousting knights. On Jetbikes. What's not to love? Shining Spears are all about the Laser Lances. The laser lance can fire a single 6" S6 AP3 Lance shot - which can be very useful against heavy vehicles if you're out of other options. Basically a 17% chance to glance armor and maybe better for lower AV. After this shot is fired the spears can jet into an assault, using their Lances' momentum for the first turn of combat to function as S6 AP3 Lance weapons - which will hammer any MEQ units you come across and can glance vehicles to death. With Outflank and Skilled Rider they're as mobile as you'd expect, and their good armour and Toughness give them decent survivability, and as a bonus, they gain a 4+ cover if they moved (which they decided to remove from Ork bikes for some fucktarded reason). As an additional bonus, the Lance keeps its AP value in subsequent rounds of close combat, meaning that if you don't win on the first phase, you'll keep a measure of threat in the following rounds. The downsides of Spears are easy to see - tremendously expensive models with not a lot of staying power, especially if you get stuck in combat longer than one round. Bringing along an Autarch or Farseer to tank and keep the Exarch alive would make a lot of sense. Note that they don't have Hit and Run anymore, much to everyone's consternation. Pick your targets carefully.

• Warp Spiders:Warp Spiders still have their troll-tastic Warp Jump Packs, allowing them to either jump their normal 6" or warp jump up to 6+2d6" (now only losing a model on a double 1 result, as opposed to any double) in a direction, then they get their run courtesy of Battle Focus with Fleet re-rolls. Then you spin a whole lot of death, then you jet (troll) pack away 2d6" to avoid anyone who tries to charge you leaving them with no-one to shoot at (or just run from the fight thanks to Hit & Run). Deathspinners changed up considerably; as well as getting AP2 on rolls to wound of 6 they now roll To-Wound against Initiative values which can completely annihilate armies like Miltia or Solar Auxilia. Unfortunately they took a hit against vehicles; they simply roll to penetrate using the strength of the weapon as normal and don't get any AP bonus for rolling sixes or strength bonus for hitting slow vehicles any more and their guns still compare to toughness for instant death. That said, their mobility/firepower combination is pretty much unrivaled, allowing them to get in, unload brutal amounts of firepower that'll threaten anything, and get out. Highly worth considering. Note: Their new rule, Flickerjump, allows them to immediately use their jump pack when targeted by an enemy in the ENEMY shooting phase. They jump as normal with the caveat that they only go 2d6" and cannot use their Warp Jump next turn.

• Vyper: Another Fast Attack stalwart, the Vyper is the Eldar playstyle to a T - fast and hard-hitting with some of the Eldar's heaviest weapons, but fragile at AV10 all round (it's not actually a jetbike, but rather a fast open-topped skimmer) and only 2 Hull Points. Shuriken Cannon comes as standard, with options to swap for Scatter Laser, Starcannon, Bright Lance, or Aeldar Missile Launcher. Also has a hull-mounted twin-linked shuriken catapult, upgradable to a cannon (the obvious choice). You can customize as necessary, as all these weapons will excel against some foe or other. Vypers can also be squadroned, giving you six in a single slot. Benefiting from BS4, a Crystal Targeting Matrix is near-mandatory, while Holo-Fields will help survivability. With its speed, the Vyper excels at getting onto an opponent's rear table quickly and hitting foes hard from behind - particularly useful when utilizing a Bright Lance to deal with Leman Russes or Rhino-based Legion vehicles.
  • Note: In case you couldn't tell from the discussion of AV and Hull Points, these are fast open-topped skimmers, not jetbikes.

• Nightshade Interceptor: Super-Fast and Super-Able to crush all the heavy tanks of the Imperium without worrying about Ceramite. Between the Brightlances and Pulse Laser, you're at home at popping all the tanks and flyers and then sliding away because you've got a plane with Supersonic and Vector Dancer. It even has Deep Strike so you can throw this fucker at whatever you like the least.

• Nightwing Interceptor: Take the Nightshade and replace that Pulse Laser with two ShuriCannons. You're still the fastest thing in the universe, but now you've got something better keyed to punch through Greater Daemons and that fabulous hawkboy.

• Phoenix Bomber:One of the best flyers that the Eldar have to offer but sadly one of the most unused and understated flyers. It costs nearly as much as a Land Raider but it's easy to see why.First lets take a look at its stat line: AV 10 all round and 3HP but as you will find out, it has a few tricks up its sleeve to make it less like a wet paper bag. Vector Dancer allows it to pivot after every move to aim better. It has Strafing Run so when shooting at ground targets gets a +1 BS bonus - hitting on 2's. Now onto its wargear which is very OP. 2x Phoenix Missile launchers: not twin-linked so you can get some real Space Marine annihilation happening with 2x3 S5 AP3 Shots. You can also spend 10 points on exchanging this Space Marine killer for a Tyranid Crowd Control missile payload for 2x3 S4 AP5 Small Pie Plates that ignore cover and have the Pinning Special Rule. This is also very effective against Auxilia with Pinning. (Please Note that these are not the Missile type weaponry but Heavy type instead). 2x Shuriken Cannons: Not twinlinked so fires 6 shots per turn for some damage against light vehicles or infantry left over from your missile barrage. Last is an underslung weapon which can either be a Pulse Laser, a Twinlinked Starcannon for when you need to absolutely rape Monstrous Creatures, TEQ units or alone IC , or a TL Brightlance to demolish Tanks. Now onto the special rules, this is what separates it from the Crimson Hunter and the Hemlock Wraithfighter. Stealth (not Shrouded, as previously stated): 6+ Cover without jinking and a 3+ Cover save with jinking makes it pretty hard to take down. It has the option to buy Holofields (a permanant 5+ invul) for 15 points, which turns into a debatable option. (PRO TIP: If you are fighting someone with flyers use this flyer in conjunction with the Crimson Hunter or the Nightwing and the ability to change reserve rolls. On the second turn, use your -1 roll on the Phoenix Bomber to try and make sure it doesn't come on in that turn. Then use the -1 on your other flyer if you went first, if you go second then use the +1. If you allied with Marines, then you can modify the dice rolls to get your opponent's flyer(s) to turn up before your Crimson Hunter enters play and wrecks that flyer. Then if your opponent has no more flyers then get your Phoenix Bomber onto the battlefield and start wrecking scrubs.) Your opponents will rage and shoot everything at it whilst your forces move up the table unhindered. Success!
  • It also becomes a good anti-air vehicle in its own right, pumping out a dozen Str 5 shots plus the Pulse Laser/Starcannon, easily putting a few glancing or penetrating hits on most enemy flyers.

• Shadow Spectres: Guess who's back? Shadow Spectres get an update, that turned them from weird overpriced unit who don't know what they suppose to do into proper all-rounders. Sure they are fragile and few in numbers, but with Battle Focus and JsJ they can jump around BLOS, and even if they get targeted, 3+ armour and cover (now stacks with stealth/shrouded) may help a bit. Then comes their guns - they have "MEQ-killer" and "Horde Sweeper" mode, with the later getting buffed to AP4 (making it a threat to anything with a word "warrior" in its name), and with Ghostlight they can threaten tanks as well. And they come equipped with haywire for when you REALLY want that Land Raider or Monolith dead - just be aware that Specters themselves would probably die the next turn after they charge some big metal box, and that you paid a lot of points and pounds to field them. For some reasons they get Fear, but don't rely on it - they still suck in close combat.

• Hornet: First of all, the Hornet itself is now 70 points and all weapons except for EML are 5 points. Yes. Even the pulse laser. It now has access to Scout and Acute Senses in case you don't want to get right into the fray. They're paper boats and a perfect example of a glass cannon; while not open-topped like Vypers, they still crumble to dust the moment the enemy looks at them funny, unless you drown said enemy in massed S8 AP2 fire first, that is. With 12 shots per a squadron of 3 (yes, you might take them in squadrons) they can hurt almost anything in an effective range of 60", whether you deploy them normally and shower the opponent from the other edge of the table, or decide to further annoy them with reserve shenanigans and emerge from one of the sides to test their rear armour. But wait, there's more! They have in-built Star Engines and the ability to move Flat-Out in a turn they fired Snap Shots. Yes. In case you're in danger, don't be afraid to Jink and then run away like the cunning coward you are to live and fight another day (or turn). Since they can take vehicle upgrades, they can get Holo-fields for a 5++ save to increase their survivability. Fairly expensive, but why not? And don't forget to cast Guide on them. You can always destroy the enemy harder, after all.

• Nightwing Interceptor: Still fast, still able to mince other flyers, and more likely than not a vehicle a turn. Gets a pretty sweet cover save, but every bit as paper thin as other Eldar flyers.

Heavy Support

Heavy support was a slot already tight for space with the majority of the Eldars best and brightest weapons vying for our attention, now the issue is only made worse with the overall improvement of just about every unit in the slot. You will almost guaranteed fill all three slots of this unit type regardless of the army you field given that the heavy supports offer something for everyone. Heavy support is now a pinched slot, so choose wisely and take great care with the units you commit to taking, since you’re turning down other equally good options to do it.

• Dark Reapers: Each Reaper has a choice of weapons to choose from and he loves each option equally. Regular reapers come with the devastating starswarm launcher, a weapon that fires salvos of S5 AP3 shots from across the board and can also take starshot missiles (in addition to their starswarm missiles), a single heavy hitting shot at S8 AP3 that will ruin any biker/vehicle/MC's day. The reaper rangefinders prevent jink saves, lending even more weight to their armor hunting ability. Slow and Purposeful aids their ability to move and keep blasting, and their ability to reroll hits against zooming/swooping/flat-outing models give the squad (and army) much needed AA ability if you still feel the need for it, just be aware this is not true skyfire, only the Exarch can do that (and then only with an upgrade). Like most Aspect Warriors, take a Wave Serpent as a dedicated transport. You might consider one if you're playing in a very Marine-heavy meta (that is, any that don't use Mechanicum, Auxilia, or Ruinstorm), to avoid being the target of a first-turn alpha strike in the event that you go second.

• Vaul's Wrath Support Weapon Battery: These are the artillery of the Eldar army which can be taken in squads of three and are crewed by two guardians per gun model and come in three flavors. Gunners get a basic shuriken catapult you should hopefully never have to fire. Bear in mind that these support weapon batteries show none of the awesome convenience of Guardian squad support platforms - they are Artillery and therefore function like a Napoleonic-era field cannon; they can run in 7th edition. The crew benefits from the gun's awesome T7 against enemy shooting attacks. On the bright side they are dirt cheap. In the ever-competitive heavy support slot the Vaul's Wrath needs to work damn hard to make its place at the table. The suite of artillery weapons are:
  • Shadow Weaver: Default weapon. Lightweight version of Nightspinner's main gun, it packs one less strength, but it's still a small blast (read the faq) barrage and have all the monofilament benefits. Fired in groups these function as a salvo and thus the first shot is all the more important.
  • Vibro-cannons: No longer featuring the LOS ignoring line of dubstep the Vibro cannon has lost a lot of its character. For every vibro cannon that hits beyond the first they increase the strength of all hits. You get +1S -1AP for each vibro canon that scored a hit. The base stats are S7 AP4. Sadly, you can only take 3 of them, so they cap at S9 AP2 and have the pinning rule.
  • D-cannon: Another distortion weapon out of the Aeldari armoury and like the others, it contains the Distortion special rule, reverting back to its 6th edition rules instead of the Str D bullshit of 7th edition.

• Windrider Support Squad: In case you're really pressed for points, you can grab three more bikes...for some reason. The difference between this and the Troops choice is the small unit size of 3-5 and the fact that the entire squad can switch their bike weapons for free - if you do it to all of them.

• Falcon: Oddly unchanged in an era where everything else seems to, the Falcon still fulfills its job as APC with guns to spare. Falcons come stock with their pulse laser, a S8 AP2 lulzbeam with great range and track record as well as underslung catapult (upgrade to a cannon). Then it gets its choice of heavy weapon from the pretty standard list of Brightlance, Starcannon, Scatterlaser and EML (with flakk), giving it enough options for you to customize depending on the opponent. The Falcon also has a Transport capacity of 6, allowing you to field a small squad (ideally Fire Dragons) for dropping off and raising merry hell.

• Fire Prism: In this army list, the Fire Prism finally gives Aeldari players an answer to the long range guns of other races. This magnificent jeweled weapon focuses such intense power as to turn foes of all shapes and sizes into all shapes and sizes of slag. Now boasting THREE FIRING MODES the prism cannon rules as king of your culinary delights. For your meat lovers you have the dispersed mode, a S5 AP3 large blast, great for MEQ and anything more fragile. For your vegetarians you have the focused mode, a TEQ hunting small blast with S7 and AP2, good for all things the previous mode didn’t quite get. Finally we turn the volume up to 11 and give our vegans out there the lance mode, used to scythe down anything that doesn’t strictly walk where it needs to go (and will blow smoking holes in Daemons and Tyranids, too). At S9 AP1 with the LANCE special rule this weapon will crush any armoured vehicle going in the game today. What downsides does the Fire Prism have, you ask? Expensive tank + upgrades costs, high aggro generation and usual complaint of Eldar vehicles but nothing beyond that - a solid workhorse in the army. You could field three and no one would bat an eyelash. Three full squadrons, however, would make almost anyone cry. In 30k, you can take them in squadrons and, to boot, you gain the combined fire mode back, but now under more lenient terms: One tank can fire, and they gain +1 S -1 AP for each Fire Prism in the squad (generally not worth losing another tank's shooting). However, two tanks in a squadron could drop an S6 AP2 large blast, very nasty for dealing with Terminators and their ilk with slightly greater odds than the small blast - which could, itself, be amped up to S9 AP1. See you later, Paladins!

• Nightspinner: Less useful than its Fire Prism cousin, the Nightspinner is still a useful choice when used correctly. The Doomweaver is the primary weapon and features 99% of the tanks actual threat, laying down a S7 shot of monofilament onto the board, as well as the mini rending power that makes it auto wound and AP2. Like its close cousin the Fire Prism, Nightspinners feature different modes of attack. The dispersed mode launches the shot high above the battlefield to rest silently and invisibly as a large blast, wounding and possibly pinning the target squad. Now there is also the focussed mode, a torrent weapon that fires the same deadly web but with increased accuracy, ignoring cover saves and lacks the pinning. Nightspinners are possibly more resilient due to not needing to be exposed most of the time but also have a chaotic track record of actual threat, sometimes wiping whole squads from the board other times managing to wound maybe a model or two, not a great buy for the player who likes guarantees. The Nightspinner can, as a barrage weapon, hide completely from view to fire it's shot and can be used effectively as the least upgraded of the Eldar tank options, requiring no actual upgrades to its weapons or gear (excellent because it's already the cheapest tank). Exposing the Nightspinner to fire is doable and sometimes even necessary depending on the available terrain but in those cases it benefits from its BS to reduce scatter.
  • Alternate View: With the change of the wording of the Monofilament special rule, a single Nightspinner as not as worth taking as it used to be, 2 in a squadron are good, but then you may be wasting a bit too much dakka at one unit than ideal.

• 0-1 Wraithlord: Because Wraithlords were rare and they didn't have spirit stones yet, they require a mandatory Wraith Guide as a babysitter. With the Heavy Support section more crowded with quality units than ever. The Wraithlord is no slouch. it can take two Aeldari heavy weapons. You can now properly take two of them, instead of the old "twin-linked" routine. In addition, the mastercrafted Ghostglaive keeps the Wraithlord threatening against MCs and characters - +1S and the option to reroll a single missed Hit each turn give the already formidable lord plenty of killing CC power. At T8 and 3+ armour, you need heavy anti-tank weaponry or lots of Poison (watch out for Death Guard and Daemons) to stand a chance of bringing it down quickly. In short, it's an ideal DISTRACTION CARNIFEX - a threat at range or in CC no player can afford to ignore. Hilariously, they now count as characters - allowing you to directly challenge and squish those annoying enemy Praetors before power fists and the like become annoying (veteran players might recall doing this in the glory days of 3rd ed anyway). The only real drawback? It is slow. In an Aeldar army and it will take a LOT of fire. Alternatively, pair one or two with an Avatar and go nuts. Oh, sure, the Avatar's faster, but the Wraithlord has higher S and T - pretty much nobody really wants to tangle with either one!
  • For example, arm it with two flamers, two bright lances and a Ghostglaive to make a deadly ranged unit able to hurt Spartans and dreadnoughts with ease. All the while being a threat in close combat as well. Getting charged? Who cares, dual Wall of Death on your power armoured enemy's mon-keigh-face. If possible, charge as soon as you can and make the most out of its high toughness and high strength. Cleave characters in two, but watch out for tarpits.

• Fire Storm: A very decent AA-Tank (it's still a Fast Skimmer). It costs 190 pts base and retains the basic Fire Prism statline. It comes stock with a Fire Storm Laser Array, which is a beefed up Scatter Laser for flyer hunting, with 60" Range, Heavy 6(!) and Skyfire, Interceptor and TWIN-LINKED. Sadly it's keeping his Strength 6 and AP 6, which is why it threatens FMC not as much as it does light flyers. Although the sheer volume of shots with twin-linked should make up for that. If you buy one, you also have to take either a Shuriken cannon or twin-linked shuriken catapults You can also give it Star- and Vectored-Engines, Holo-Fields and Spirit-stones. The Holo-Field and Spirit Stones are mandatory on this thing, because you don't want it to Jink, get stunned or shaken, which would decrease it's potential to kill a flyer (remember, it only has BS4). Star-Engines aren't worth the points, because you don't want it to move with full speed anyways, whereas the Vectored-Engines are quite useful if you don't want to face your back at the flyer that just flew over you, and could potentially turn around to hit you in the rear armour. All in all, not a bad choice if you need additional AA firepower. But then again, you have much cheaper and better suited flyers for that.

• 0-1 Lynx: Lighter and cheaper version of Scorpion. Might be considered a heavy grav-tank. Has 5 HPs, decent 12/12/11 armour and hull-mounted Lynx Pulsar or Sonic Lance, with additional underslung Shuriken Cannon. The Sonic Lance is mean 18"-Hellstorm with AP2, which wounds everything on 3+ and rolls 3D6 for armour penetration. Holo-fields and Spirit Stones are basically obligatory upgrades to keep this thing going after being shot at. While technically a clumsy Flyer that might not Jink and can only fire Snapshots whilst Zooming, Lynx can be also deployed as a Fast Skimmer with the Tank type at the beginning of the game. Aside from running away from some nasty assault, this is the preferable mode. All in all comparable to Wraithknight, Lynx trades durability for higher firepower and slightly lower cost even with upgrades.

Lords of War

• Avatar of Khaine: Oh, hell yes! The Avatar of Khaine is stronger than ever (compared to its 6E/7E iterations). With a Greater Daemon-esque statline unlike anything else in your army(S/T7, WS/BS/I/Ld10), the Avatar can take on the toughest of opponents with ease (though watch out for Primarchs), usually hitting with 5 attacks minimum. With a whopping 2+(!) armour save, 5++ invul, +2 Strength in Close Combat for S9, and total immunity to melta weapons and flamers, he's surprisingly hard to take down too. Oh, and he gives himself and makes any units within 12" Fearless. His main detraction point is that even with Fleet he's pretty slow. In an Aeldari army. Still, for CC potential, he's way up there in the army list. Only problem is, he now occupies the Lord of War slot along with the Wraithknight. The Avatar has to choose from one of the available Aspects (You nominate one Exarch in your army to be the Young King), taking certain aspects of that Aspect (heee!).
  • Dark Reaper Aspect Grants Far Shot and Inescapable Accuracy. While it sounds nice that you can double-tap with your big scary melta-spear, don't expect to use it for more than maybe a turn or two.
  • Dire Avenger Aspect: Battle Fortune is pretty strong in granting your giant flaming god a 4++ save. As for Defense Tactics...just stick to Counter Attack.
  • Fire Dragon Aspect gives him the Fire Dragon's Assured Destruction special rule and Crack Shot, which allows him to re-roll one failed To Hit, To Wound or Armour Pen roll. Pretty Neat!
  • Howling Banshee Aspect confer the Acrobatic and War Shout special rules, letting him move 3" extra and ignore initiative checks for difficult terrain as well as subtracting -2 Ld from models locked in combat with this scary monstrosity.
  • Shining Spears Aspect grants Acrobatic Grace and Expert Hunter rules. granting a 4++ save if it moves during the turn and the ability to re-roll to wound MCs and Pen vehicles. Expert Hunter's more likely the draw here, as you'd best expect the enemy to find ways to block the way to their precious war machines.
  • Striking Scorpions Aspect confers Rage and Furious Charge. Simple and nasty, but you lack any great protection.
  • Swooping Hawks Aspect turns your Avatar into a Jump Monstrous Creature. No frills about movement, which might trouble you if you wanted something with more pizzazz.
  • Warp Spider Aspect, which gives it a fucking Warp Jump Generator. Your killy Avatar of death is now a Jump Monstrous Creature! Plus all the rules that the Warp Spiders have regarding movement. Best read those!

• Wraithknight: The Aeldari response to the many Mon'Keigh Imperial Knights. Though instead of being a vehicle, this Lord of War is a Gargantuan Creature. Standing taller than any Imperial Knight (bar the Acastus Knights), and almost the size of a Revenant Titan, the Wraithknight is truly a monstrous force upon the battlefield, and armed to the teeth with it. For shoulder weapons, Shuriken cannons and starcannons both give it anti-light or anti-heavy infantry power but these options are subpar. It's got a huge mobility advantage too, counting as a Jump Gargantuan Creature. Move up to 12" in the move phase, end in some piece of cover or whatever else you need to be and if assaulting reroll the charge distance if you need to and Hammer of Wrath with Smash etc etc. It is now resistant to the Poison and Sniper rules (needing 6s to wound it), while instant-death and remove from play effects only does D3 wounds to it and it also has Feel no Pain. The Wraithknight will wipe the floor with Dreadnoughts and MCs in CC thanks to its Ghostglaive being Strength D. and the high Initiative of 5, but don't forget about hammering your foes with your unique firepower (see below) and generally providing a massive distraction for your other, squishier, troops. It'll always draw tons of fire, so watch out for heavy anti-tank. Here are the pros and cons of each loadout:
  • Heavy Wraithcannons: identical to the fearsome Wraithguard weapons but with three times the range the Wraithknight can dominate and decimate any individual target regardless of size or defenses, S10 with the distort rule to back it up allows these guns (you have two, remember?) to remove any single target from the battlefield. These come stock on the Wraithknight and keep it on its lower price end of the scale, however like the regular wraithcannons these weapons run into issues against cover saves that are abundant in 30k,so aim wisely. Don't bother paying for shoulder weapons with these as you cannot fire more than two weapons each turn.
  • Ghostglaive & Scattershield: The Ghostglaive is Strength D, Master-Crafted and it is the Aeldari's reply to the question of how to deal with Imperial Knights and Titans. Having lost its ranged Str D Wraithcannons in 30k, kitting the Wraithknight out for Close Combat is the only way to get this baby to use it's big D. In addition to the Ghostglaive, it has a Scattershield as well. The Scattershield really make this baby shine, granting the otherwise fire magnety Wraighknight a 5++ for defenses against all attacks. This makes the Wraithknight hard to kill even under the best scenarios and with any form of pskyer support, harder still. The shield also has another benefit, every time a save with the shields 5++ is made each unit within 6" has to make a test against the blinding rule. Watch you don't get your own guys hit by it - even with I5 you would occasionally roll a six sometimes, and seeing as Eldar have no units to spare, one turn of WS/BS1 could cost you a game. Though against low initiative or mechanized opponents blind is both reliable and powerful tool.
  • Suncannon & Scattershield: perhaps the greatest of Vaul's creations, the Suncannon is the absolute pinnacle of Eldar plasma weaponry, burning with the heat of a star but cool to the touch, meaning no dumb killing itself with every shot bullshit like other units. The Suncannon fires three shots at a lovely 48" range, each is a TEQ hunting nightmare with S6 AP2, but that’s not enough is it? No, now the weapons shots are all diamonds, I mean small blasts. With Guide support the blasts should land pretty easily on target. This weapon could potentially reduce a squad to no dudes or not enough models left to care about, it is deadly, and it will do serious damage. Comes with a scattershield as well for a 5++ save.
    • In larger points games, a Wraithknight can become the biggest and most unreasonably tough DISTRACTION CARNIFEX ever. With T8, it's immune to everything S4 and below, you have to be S7 before you need better than a 6 to wound it, and its 3+, 5++, FnP, built-in resistance to Poison and Sniper (only works on 6s), AND 6 wounds means that it's nigh on impossible to bring down (this goes double if you manage to cast Fortune on it). Access to the D in melee make it a serious threat to absolutely everything up to and including Titans, and as a Jump Gargantuan Creature, it's fast enough that your opponent can't ignore it. Throw on the Pacific Rim theme as your personal Jaeger drop kicks tank battalions, hops over ADLs to smash artillery and squish heavy weapons teams, while all the while your Falcons and Aspect Warriors run around getting to kill things unmolested, because the Wraithknight is absorbing all the fire. The only practical way to take one down as of now is to either tarpit it with a shitload of tough models (who might get stomped anyway) or fire as many lascannons at it as possible and hope for the best.

• Skathach Wraithknight: Only available with Webway Portal. The Skathach Wraithknight is 315 points, a bit more expensive than your normal Wraithknight, but might be worth it if you want to shell out the points. Has the same statline as your favorite undercosted Gargantuan, but has one piece of new wargear on both types. The Warp Shunt Generator, allows you to leave the table in the movement phase, allowing you to get out of a sticky situation, or to move in any direction 18"[Errata], and then scatter 1d6. You can also use it to disengage from a fight[Errata]. This makes sure that you never get stuck behind a few rocks. If you scatter into a unit, you leave the table and take a wound. You can take 2 of their weapons, or 1 and a Scattershield (Primaries and Shield are all for free), as well as up to 2 Heavy Weapons in any combination (Scatter Lasers, Starcannons and Shuriken Cannons).
  • Inferno Lance The Inferno Lance is a d3+2 shot S8 AP1 Melta gun with a 36 inch range. I like to think of it, as a very consistent D weapon, firing 4 per lance on average, and peeling wounds off of other GC's, and slapping super heavies around pretty easily. It's less "Ride or Die" than the Wraithcannon and praying to roll a 6.
  • Deathshroud Cannon Imagine if a Warp Spider Exarch trained hard every day. He trained so hard, that one day, he became Wraithknight sized. This is your unit. Each Deathshroud Cannon is S7 AP4, with the Mono-filament rule, and shred. This either fires a Hellstorm Template, or a Massive Blast at 48" with the same statline. Perfect for mulching hordes, and slapping some Autocannon rounds at tight clusters of vehicles.
  • Note: This thing right here is one of the most cheesiest bricks in the whole game. Seriously. Unless you want to have a CC Wraithknight (or you run out of points), you should always use this Monster here instead of a regular Wraithknight. It has the same Statlines and Special rules, so it's basically as good at stomping something dead in CC as every other WK variant. Pay only a (relatively) small amount of extra points to give this thing two Starcannons and equip it with two Deathshroud cannons. Voila, you got yourself a only a bit more expensive JGC with a teleporter and two hellstorm templates (or 7" Blasts) that will wreck almost everything. Also note, that you can use your FnP against the Wound when you scatter off into ongoing reserves.

• Scorpion: Huge fast tank with twin-linked turret-mounted pulsar (which is R60 SD Heavy 2 5"blast). The Shadowsword wishes it could be so deadly. It wasn’t selling very well compared to the other Eldar superheavy skimmers, so instead of fixing it (say giving it Heavy 4 or even the only Heavy 2 pulsar) they have nerfed the other two.

• Cobra: Scorpion chassis with HUGE hull-mounted D-Impaler (cue chuckle). The gun is short ranged for a superheavy (only 36"), but has a 7" massive blast, ignores void and power fields and has your regular Str D Primary weapon perks. The 7" blast template stays on the ground for a round, the glowing ground wounding all non-superheavies that start or end their movement take a wound/glancing hit on a 6.

• Revenant Titan – Your light titan. Two pulsars or two sonic lances, its missile launcher now also has Skyfire + Interceptor, in case there's a pesky flyer nearby, can fly on its giant jump-pack up to 36". With the update to IA11, it can no longer Run and Shoot, however it auto-runs 12" now, . Extremely mobile and deadly, but a bit fragile with only AV12. However in combat a little rule called Wraith Titan helps him out which debuffs anything trying to hit it (Gargantuans and Superheavies can only hit it on 5+, everything else on a 6) means that when playing a CC army he is still very useful. This also affects the Phantom titan.
  • Weapons: - It can take one of each as written, but FW does not sell them with separate weapon options.
    • Pulsars: - 2 Large blasts per gun at strength D, the go to weapon if you think the enemy is bringing another Super Heavy, or some crazy deathblob.
    • Sonic Lances: - Whats better than AP 2 hellstorm pinning templates that wound on 3+? Hellstorm templates that torrent 18" away. When firing at a vehicle they count as S1, but roll 4d6 and pick the highest 3 (due to ordnance.) These have a unique addition to their rules when used by the Revenant, which are as follows, pinning test is made with 3d6 picking the 2 highest, and non superheavy vehicles hit by this weapon are auto Crew Stunned in addition to any other effects, if it gets a penetrating hit against a super heavy, it loses an additional D3 HP. Your go to anti infantry weapon, but not useless if they're mostly vehicles, infact, auto stunning a vehicle is hilariously broken.

• Phantom Titan – Absurdly powerful. With AV13, titan holofield bullshit forces re-rolls to shoot it, and 24 HP make it almost indestructible. It could spam D-strength pie-plates with 4-shot pulsars, blast enormous areas to hell with SUPER D-Bombard (like the Cobra's D-Impaler but with a 10" diameter, and instead of 6's it AUTO puts a Str D shot on anything in the glowing crater at the start of the victim's movement OR shooting phase, or fuck anything (up to and including Imperator titan) in close combat with XBAWXHUEG space-elf-ninja-titan sword. And unlike imperial or orky heavy titans the Phantom is fast – it can also run 12" without rolling.

• Vampire Raider – Eldar transport flyer, can equip pulsar, and poorly armored, but still very tough with eldar holofields. It’s a good vehicle on its own, but Eldar are fast enough, especially with 6-th edition buffed flat-out moves for fast skimmers. Leave heavy sky transport to space marines and weaboo space communists.

• Vampire Hunter – Twin linked pulsar on flying platform. Fucking awesome.

Fortifications

Unique

• Holo-Field Defense Line: The ADL, except made more Eldar-y (Aeldari-y?). Costs about the same, but you can buy either a Sky Lance for super-long-range Lancing at AP2 with Interceptor and Skyfire, or the Vibro Flakk Cannon, which is weaker and lacks Lance but fires 4 times with TL.

• Webway Gate: Your trademark trolling implement. Though it's made of two components set 5" apart, it's really one big setpiece with AV 13 and two weak spots. You can then throw your troops in there and then spit them out at any time after turn 1. Just make sure you protect both points, because if either of them blow up, there goes the entire reserve team.

General

• Aegis Defense Line: Fortification is decent considering that many of your units would like to have a cover save when the bolts start flying. The guns are nice, both featuring skyfire and interceptor at hefty cost but worthwhile since Eldar only count their true AA in the two flakk users and crimson hunter. A Dark reaper exarch with the right powers is pure murder on it, the Dark reaper Exarch can ignore jink cover saves as well as apply fast shot to the weapon. Alternately have the exarch fire his EML twice (as it has skyfire missiles now) and have another reaper fire the quadgun. This gives you 6 S7 skyfire shots that ignore jink, hitting on a 2+ with rerolls if they're part of an aspect host (BS5 twinlinked/BS6).

Good options for gunnery units include but are not limited to: Dark reapers and exarch, guardians and warlocks from Vaul’s wrath squads, Farseers with nothing better for their shooting phase, Autarchs in general or whatever other models you have available to fire these weapons.

• Skyshield Landing Pad: The 4+ invulnerable save vs. shooting for everyone sitting on top of the thing can be especially good considering the Eldar don't usually have great resiliency, combo with a lurking fortune seer and you can get a very durable static fire base. Rangers, Vauls wrath teams, dark reapers, war walkers and even the Wraithknight come to mind as powerful long ranged options for a resilient fire base but there are many more units who can make use of it. The deep strike accuracy it provides will be somewhat under-utilized but a few options are there for you to deep strike in like spiders and the Wrightknight (heh, have the skypad on their side and deep strike a meleeknight :D).

Also a very good idea to have a Vampire start the game on a Skyshield, so you don't risk a 750+point model being stuck in reserve for most of the game...

• Imperial Bastion: Provides a decent if bunker for hiding and gunning in it along with a tough AV14 shell to crack. The tower comes stock with 1 heavy bolter from each side providing a wide angle of attack along with the units positioned inside it. Becomes more useful with the additional weapon option for either comlink or one of the two Aegis skyfire weapons to seriously menace the skies. Rangers, reapers, maybe even the support weapon batteries can make use of the parking space and menace anything within a huge radius. Make note of the limited fire points for units within, you don’t want to hide a massive sqaud of reapers within only to sacrifices several of their attacks.

• Fortress of Redemption: On the high HIGH points of the spectrum we come to the deathstar of fortifications, a bastion of unbreakable defense and bristling with enough guns to melt even the most horrific of warpspawn. Stock the fortress comes with one longer ranged AA gun and an infantry menacing barrage weapon, is divided into three buildings each armored like a landraider and enough floor space to afford a decent smattering of your favorite Eldar bastion buddies. At 220points base its tight to fit into a budget but start slapping on up to four Heavy bolters around and upgrading the missile launcher to drop S8 AP3 barrage blasts anywhere on the field, it can go up to 290points, potentially threatening your list for more troops of necessity. (Beware the central building doesn't get ruptured or you will discover the one door to be busted and your units will have to start throwing themselves out the windows to escape)

Allies

Sworn Brothers

None.

Fellow Warriors

Other Eldar: Nothing much to say, though apparently there are other variants in planning (of the Pre-War in Heaven, Exodite and Empyreal varieties).

Desperate Allies

• Imperium: Don't do this. Seriously. Your playstyles are pretty incompatible, variety be damned.

Death First!/On the Emperor's (or Warmaster's) Command

• Daemons of the Ruinstorm:...Don't. If the Empyreal Eldar are supposed to be the Croneworlders, then you might have an excuse, but otherwise, just don't.
• Necrons: Again, why would you?

Building your Army

Warhammer 30,000 Tactics Articles
General Tactics	General (7E) Movement (7E) Psychic (7E) Fortifications (7E)
Imperium	Legiones Astartes (7E)
	Legio Custodes (7E) Sisters of Silence (7E) Mechanicum (Legio Mechanicum • Taghmata Omnissiah)
	Questoris Knights (7E) Solar Auxilia (7E) Imperialis Militia (7E)
Chaos	Ruinstorm Daemons (7E • 7E Codex) Warp Cults(7E)