strategy

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Eldar Strategy
written by: William Napier 07/02/03

Overview:
The Eldar are a very difficult army to play. The units are very expensive, points-wise. It is very easy to witness your entire army destroyed before your very eyes. I have seen many other strategies on the internet and agree with some parts; disagree to others. Here is my take on the Eldar and how to use them effectively on the battlefield. You will notice missing elements from my strategy guide like Wraithguard. They are too expensive in points and dollars for me to bother with them. If it isn't listed on this strategy guide then I don't own the models and/or haven't used them before. I will only talk about what I am familiar with and will not BS you. You are welcome to respond with any corrections, comments, or your own tactics. Chances are that I have more tactics in mind but failed to get them all out on this guide.

Eldar Skill (Aspect Warriors):
I will jump right into Aspect Warriors since they are the biggest part of my army (Biel-Tan Craftworld). Most other races have skilled troopers, mostly called elites. Some skilled troopers are just very good troops like Space Marines and Necron Warriors. These skilled units are better at certain things and just plain ordinary at other tasks. The Eldar aspect warriors excel in their one strength and are completly terrible at everything else. The trick to using aspect warriors in battle is to get them to perform their strengths at the proper time and avoid fighting in any other form. This is easier said than done. The following is a breakdown of each one, complete with my personal comments and views them.

Fire Dragons: Fire Dragon strengths lay in sheer firepower, ok short-ranged and pricey firepower. You just need to use them effectively. I usually take Fire Dragons. Take a full squad of 10. Tool-up the Exarch if you like, or not. Mount them in a Wave Serpent Transport or don't bother with them. (remember: strengths / weakness, etc?) They are only effective in a Wave Serpent period. Again, these are just my views. Others are free to disagree. The fusion guns have a really poor range of 12", but do count as Assault Weapons. During deployment, I usually place the Wave Serpent behind serious cover. If cover is sparse, then I make them stay in Reserve if possible. That way I don't rely on "getting the first turn" and the battlefield should be in disarray by the time the Dragons show up. It depends on what army you fight against. In one battle against the Imperial Guard the squad wasted two tanks and half a squad of stormtroopers. In turn one, I moved out of cover by firing my Star Engines. I made it to the other end of the board and behind two of my opponent's Leman Russes. It was a ballsy move, but analyse it for a minute. He could shoot the hell out of my Wave Serpent with the Russes, but I moved over 24" and had the Holographic Shields. In any case, my Wave Serpent paid for itself in that one move. If it was destroyed then at least the Dragons made it within striking range of two juicy targets. It survived to use twin-linked Star Cannons on some Heavy Weapons Teams, while the Dragons disembarked. (3rd edition assault rules at the time) They fired on the furthest tank, and assaulted the closest tank with melta-bombs. both were burning hulks. The assault rules have changed but my tactics won't. In 4th edition (I hope that I got this right) I would have shot the closest tank as it may have been possible to get re-rolls to hit and will have more attacks than melta-bombs. Although a melt-bomb assault can be devastating. This is a simple tactic and any veteran player will see it coming. The thing is, it is hard to stop and if stopped successfully, the opponent usually wastes most of his armies effort on your one squad. This is also effective in busting Marines and Necrons. The problem is the short range and possibility of a counter charge into your unit. Keep them in the nice and cushy Wave Serpent until it is your turn. Then get out and shoot. You get one turn of this and it's over. Try keeping a close combat unit nearby to help. I like the Fire Dragons and use them a lot.

Striking Scorpions: Striking Scorpions are pure terror in close combat. Some swear that the Banshees are and they aren't lying. I think the Scorps are a little bit better than Banshees. Here is why. They get one more attack per model then the Banshees, but they are equipped with chainswords rather than powerswords. The Scorpions also get to take a few pot-shots with their mandiblasters, effectively giving them two more attacks than Banshees do. The mandiblasters are a nice little bonus but rarely kill more than one or two enemy troops per volley. The strengths are definately in close combat and they are armored enough to withstand some decent strength enemy firepower. I also like to use the Wave Serpent with this unit. I only have one Serpent so I default it to the Dragons. If the Dragons do not appear on my army list then the Serpent defaults to these guys. Take a full squad of 10 and give the exarch his powerfist/shuriken catapult combo called the Scorpion's Claw. It is on the current model by default and is really useful. Do whatever you can to get these into close combat asap. If they can't get in right away, allow them to shield another unit of say Banshees. If Banshees and Scorps are in the same list, they should be deployed together anyway to maximize close combat in one area. Units need to support other units. One can counter-charge for the other! That is a real threat that your opponent should take seriously.

Howling Banshees: Use these like you would use the Striking Scorpions with the exception of shielding other troops. Banshees get a 4+ save and can't take serious hits like the Scorp's in 3+ armor can. Take a Wave Serpent if you can. If not, keep them in cover until it is time to strike. Use Guardians to shield them. I know that I keep mentioning the Wave Serpent. Of course it is too expensive to give to every single unit. Plus, you may only have one of them like I do. I just create a heirarchy for who gets the Serpent upgrade and stick to it. Remember that Banshees have powerswords so use them on Space Marines, and Terminators, etc. Banshees also get the underated Banshee Masks that them to strike first no matter what, but only in the first round of each combat. Just make sure that you get first strike and be prepared for a furious counter from those Terminators! Keep Scorpions nearby for a counter-charge. Or charge the Scorps in with the Banshees. With the +2 to mandiblaster initiative, you can get all of the Banshee attacks and almost always get the mandiblasters to help out. Then the rest of the attacks are worked out by initiative.

Swooping Hawks: Remember, that this is just my opininon. They completely suck! Don't bother with them. The only time that they ever were useful for me was in a Take and Hold mission. They came in from reserves on the final turn. They used the grenade pack and failed to force a pinning test, of course. At least they landed squarly on the objective for the win. These guys are just Imperial Guard grunts with Jetpacks....woo hoo! (sarcastic woo hoo). I can't gripe about the Guard because I am playing them at least they get Heavy Weapons teams and lots of them. It is just that aspect warriors need to be good at one thing. The Hawks are terrible at everything. Although a tooled-up exarch is nice, but that's about it. Moving on...

Warp Spiders: I love these troops. People complain about the weapons, but I don't know why. They are STRENGTH 6 people, come on. Do you expect them to carry Demolisher Cannons? No, they are not Space Marines. People love comparing Spiders to Marines. They don't carry Bolt-gun stat weaponry and can make micro-warp jumps. If you can't see it now then you are in the right place, I will tell you. These are the most flanking-est type of troops that I have ever seen. USE TERRAIN TO YOUR ADVANTAGE! Stay in cover. Stay behind impassible walls, etc. Then warp through them for a little shooting practice and then warp back. This is a great way to bait the enemy by using a helpless-looking unit out in the open. When the enemy comes near for shootin and/or assault then you can support them with the Spiders. Always tool-up this exarch with Suprise Assault and Withdraw. Pick your close combat fights carefully. If you get into an undesirable fight, Withdrawl. Suprise Assault the right enemy and then Withdrawl, REPEAT. Another nice method for using Spiders is to hide them behind a large piece of scenery. SOMETIMES, if there is a lot going on, your opponent may forget that they are there. Then, BAM! 10 strength 6 shots come from out of the blue! Be careful if you attempt this as you may forget that they are there also. Always take a full squad if you can afford the points.

Dark Reapers: I would like nothing more than to exploit the Biel-Tan list and take 60 of these guys. Do the math, in dollars and points, it'll never happen. I usually take 4 and an exarch if I can spare the points. Their Reaper Launchers can crack 3+ armor, earning their moniker "Space Marine Killers". I have to keep refering to the Marines because everyone seems to benchmark each unit against them. Use Reapers like you would an artillery piece. Sit them in the back with a good view of the table. Keep choice firing lanes open and you can simply bring havoc to your foes. I like to keep a Farseer nearby Reapers and Warwalkers in an attempt to give them Guide. (Guide allows you to reroll missed shots.)

Other Types of Ground Pounders:
I am bunching up the units in this guide by Aspect Warriors, Other Ground Pounders, HQ choices, and vehicles. It isn't the type of guide that you may be used to. As you already noticed that the Aspect Warrior section contained Elites, Heavy Support, etc. This guide is written from the point of view of a Biel-Tan player and Aspect Warriors are the Biel-Tan's "bread and butter". The Biel-Tan list also shuffles units around and what you think may be elites, might really be a troop choice. Example: Dark Reapers are Heavy Support, but in Biel-Tan, they are Troop choices. Hence the comment about using 60 Reapers. I want to take 20/20/20 of Banshees, Scorps, and Dragons. I just need to spend more money, right?

Guardians: The best way to start the Ground Pounder section is with the guardians. Call them what you want; cannon fodder, missile meat (ok, that sounded dirty), dead elves walking, etc. Most Eldar players call them extra wounds for your mobile Heavy Weapon Platform. Yes, I am suggesting that you ALWAYS take a Heavy Weapon Platform and as many Guardians that you can afford. I usually go with the 16-20 models. They are great for shielding Aspect Warriors and can soak up hits before your Heavy Weapon is disabled. If you can't afford the Wave Serpent and took Dragons anyway (shame on you), then stick them RIGHT BEHIND the Guardians. Cross the fingers and hope they get to shoot something. I always take a warlock and give him Conceal. Look at all of the upgrades and wargear, you might like to use something else. This is just my preference. I either bring the Star Cannon, or Shuriken Cannon. Both are nice but the Star Cannon can crack armor. I have a model for each cannon, but have noticed other more skilled modelers using magnets to switch out weaponry on one platform. If you can learn how to do this, do it! If you would be so kind, send me the information as well info@billnapier.net

Rangers: Cheap, effective for harrassing the enemy. If they kill a model, your opponent may be inclined to direct some fire their way. If that happens, Great! They won't cost much and is almost like a fictitious piece of wargear that makes your enemy waste some shots. If they don't target your expensive troops, then smile. The game might tip to your favor a little bit. Since they are so cheap they only need to kill a couple of expensive troopers to pay for themselves. I only bring them along if I need to pad the points on my army list. If you are just nuts about the Rangers, then consider changing to craftworld Alaitoc.

Dire Avengers: I like them but only have about nine models. They are slightly better than guardians. That's about it. If you like their ballistic skill of 4 and are nuts about guardians then maybe you should play craftworld Ulthwe.

Wraithlord: I only take one because I believe in sticking to the background fluff. If you like lots of anything with the name "wraith" in it then play Iyanden. These things are rightously feared by all of your opponents. I get a lot of whining from the other end of the board when I take my ONE MODEL. If I wasn't so big on sticking to the fluff then I would just bring all 3. Every army has some beasty that noone else likes, welcome to Warhammer 40k. The Wraithlord is similar to a dreadnought but has wounds instead of armor. I classify him as a ground pounder instead of a vehicle. This guy is good at close combat, very good and can fire Star Cannons while advancing. Why wait? Go out right now and buy one, unless you have one. This guy will attract a heavy load of fire. Keep that in mind while deploying and moving about.

Vehicles:
This is everything that I consider a vehicle. Disclaimer in case I put some crap in here that doesn't belong. I will also talk a little about my VDR, which can be viewed on the Eldar main page.

Fire Prism: I take a Fire Prism when I can spare the points and just want to have a little fun. It is just an expensive Heavy Weapon Platform. Get the Crystal Targeting Matrix and Holofields and you might get off 3 shots in each game average. It uses the smaller blast template and can assist in busting power armored enemies or crack some tanks. Have fun, you paid for it!

Falcon: This is really nice if you can spare the points. I say that a lot, but the Eldar have pricey units. Again, if you have the points then it is a good idea to get the Crystal Targeting Matrix. For the longest time, I couldn't figure out how to use the targeting matrix. I kept reading it wrong or had constant brain-farts. I finally got it. Keep in mind the rules for distance moved, skimmers, and number of weapons allowed to fire. You can move out, say, six inches, fire one of your weapons, and move back into cover. It keeps in theme with the "ELDAR" jetbikes rule where they my make an extra move in the assault phase. Do this for the vyper too! I had to stress "ELDAR" when discussing jetbikes because I also play Necrons and for several years, played the destroyers like Eldar jetbikes. I talked with the RoolzBoyz by email and found out that the Necron Destroyers "MAY NOT" make that extra move in the assault phase. I sincerely apologize to everyone that played me when I did this.

Warwalker: It is the damnedest thing, but I RARELY see anybody using these! I like them, they are cheap for what they do (by Eldar standards). The blister pack came with enough to give them each one Scatter Laser and one Bright Lance each. Since I bought two, I should've built one with 2 Scatters and one with 2 Lances. I was new to the game and didn't think ahead. I may rip them off and re-glue. I rationalize the current config (1 scatter, 1 lance) by telling myself that I might not know what I am facing and need the mix of weaponry. Well, If you see tanks and troops, Warwalker number 1 can only fire the lance at the tanks and Warwalker number 2 can fire both at the troops but the lance is just overkill. I suggest using them and build yours with twin weapons of the same kind each.

Jetbike: I only have three and don't use them much. I am usually lacking in available points in my army lists to consider these guys. If you use them, make pop-up attacks or use them to screen the more valuable skimmers.

Vyper: It is a good idea to get the Crystal Targeting Matrix. Yes, I copied and pasted that from the Falcon comments. Vypers won't last long on the field. If you bring one, keep it in cover. Use the Matrix to make pop-up attacks. Not much else to say except they are fair-priced and good at harrassing the enemy a little.

Waveserpent: see various Aspect Warriors for information on using the Waveserpent. I like to give it the Star Engines and a holo-field. Use twin-linked Brightlances or Star Cannons, both are sweet. I didn't glue the turret on. Instead, I took the shaft of a flight base and glued the fat part to the bottom-center of the turret-base. Then you can swap out turrets without building a new Wave Serpent (which isn't so bad).

Hawk (Eldar VDR): I play against the Tyranids a lot. I have never beat them. I have created an anti-personel skimmer that may tip the balance just a shred. I built a vyper minus the rear seat and rider. I left the rear turret on and used plastic card from cd jewel cases to create a platform. I ordered six Scatter Lasers from GW and mounted them in two groups of three. Each group forming a triangle configuration. This took a lot of cutting and sanding with the Dremel Tool. I then cut most of the rear off of the D-Cannon and mounted the D-cannon under the hull. I lined it up where it suck out the front and the "wings" on the cannon matched perfectly to the edges of the fuselage. Aside from having a sweet D-Cannon, it also counterbalances the heavy Scatter Laser platform and it looks good too. Once again, you can view this on the main Eldar page and go to the army list to see the stats for it. It sounds great, but before anyone yells "CHEESE", remember that it is a skimmer, Scatter Lasers don't pierce armor, I usually have to choose between Scatter Laser or D-Cannon, and the Scatter Laser can only fire between 1 and 18 shots which is very random. I'd like to hear your comments on this, it would interest me to hear what you think about it. info@billnapier.net

HQ:
Farseer: If I am not strapped for points, then I skip the Avatar and take a Farseer. I usually give him the Spirit Stone, Guide and Mind War. I position him next to my "artillery" styled units like War Walkers and Dark Reapers in an effort to give them Guide. Mind War is nice, but if you are strapped for points then remove it and the Spirit Stone (no need for that then) because the Singing Spear is nice and he can't throw it if he casts Mind War. In my 3 years (approx.) with the Eldar, this model never fired it's shuriken pistol. (MAYBE once). He can be a little beast in CC but avoid it if you can.

Warlocks: I'm terrible, but I only own one of these models. I use it in my unit of Guardians. See that entry for his use. I will eventually get several more and attach them to the Farseer's retinue. I suggest you try something similar.

Avatar: The Avatar is a fearsome close combat monster and can crunch the enemy like he was a regiment of Black Orcs. The problem is that your opponent knows this and will direct mass fire at him. Even if your opponent is not familiar with the Avatar, the size and look of the model will scare him into shooting it back to oblivion. I find it very difficult to get this model into a good close combat for this reason. The only reason that I take him anymore is either for a really cheap HQ choice or to attempt to maximize my close combat abilities. I haven't used Court of the Young King very much but when I did, I liked the results. Maybe that is a good way to keep the Avatar alive until he can make it into CC. Mix and Match on the Court and try it out. Let me know how it went.

Final Thoughts: Eldar forces, especially Biel-Tan can be formed up to be a close combat or a shooty army. It is sometimes wise to balance it out with a little bit of both. The problem is that you may not end up with enough close combat or shooty units to finish the jobs. Try to plan ahead, if you know what you will be facing. If you have no idea what you will face, say you go to Games Workshop for a bring and battle, then bring several army lists and the models to support those lists. That has to be the best advice for any army you play, oh yeah and have fun!

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