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I recently got into a discussion on the merits of footdar and it came to my attention that my list is a bit different from the average footdar build.

I have don't intend to make mine into a cookie cutter, as it works just fine for me, but I would be interested to hear the opinions of Dakka on the merits and flaws that it has.

List is as follows:

Eldrad- 210 pts

Farseer with Runes of Witnessing, Spirit Stones, Fortune, and Guide- 135 pts

10x Harlequins with Spiritseer and 10 kisses- 250 pts

10x Fire Dragons- 160 pts

9x Fire Dragons- 144 pts

10x Dire Avengers- 120 pts
10x Dire Avengers- 120 pts
10x Dire Avengers- 120 pts

5x Rangers- 95 pts

3x Guardian Jetbike with Warlock, Singing Spear, Embolden- 119

EML/BL Wraithlord- 155 pts
EML/BL Wraithlord- 155 pts

5x Dark Reapers with Exarch, Tempest Launcher, Crack Shot- 217 pts

Total- 2000 pts


This list is played either defensively or aggressively depending on mission and opponent.

When playing aggressively I will typically sit Eldrad and the Farseer in the two FD units, with one WL following each of them. Harlequins form a mobile screen to provide cover to the firepower units.

When playing defensively I typically attach Eldrad to the larger FD squad to provide mobile counter punch alongside the Harlies, with the Farseer sitting in the Dark Reapers controlling the firebase portion of the list.

In both modes the Jetbike squad is used to either snag late game objectives after reserving or to cause target priority issues.


Any thoughts, Dakka?

Well it still has the same major flaws common to any Footdar list, it has relatively limited mobility (Reapers and Rangers are completely static, Jetbikes aside everything else is moving 6", so you have to commit early), limited long ranged firepower particularly anti tank firepower (4 units with more than 24" reach and only two of them can damage vehicles), very limited anti tank options in general (Dragon each kill a vehicle if they manage to get range, but will very rarely kill more than one), fragile units and weak troops. While I don't consider Footdar to be a competitive build there are some basic things which people who are attempting to run Footdar competitive tend to do.

Perhaps the most notable issue with this list is the reliance on Fire Dragons to kill vehicles, and somehow expecting 20 off them to walk across the field and kill off half a dozen vehicles without being blasted off the field. You can't hide them and T3 with 4+ (even 4+ cover) isn't going to stand up to small arms. Even assuming 4++ with re-rolls you are still easier to kill than a Marine, and the 3-4 turns you need to walk into range is plenty for most armies to torrent away 20 Marines (particularly since you can run away as well). This tends to be why people take Fusion Pistols on Harlies (since they are much more likely to make it into range), Wraithlords and War Walkers with long ranged weaponry and Guardians with heavy weapons (who aren't much but at least toss out a few S6+ shots without needing to walk into range).

Without the Avatar you lack any kind of survivable 'deal with me' unit and also leave yourself open to Ld related issues. You have also gone very heavy on psychic support, which is a huge points sink the second you run into psychic defence. Wraithlords are still very vulnerable since they need cover against the majority of armies (unless you only want 1 turn of shooting out of them), this also limits what you can do with the rest of your army since Wraithsight ties at least one of the Farseers (and thus at least 1 unit as well) to them

Drop the dragons and get EML walkers since your fire dragons will only kill at most one vehicle. And swap the harleys for scorpions or banshees scince they are much more point efficent. Scorpions can outflank so they can avoid fire atleast as good as the harleys.

I'd keep the FDs, just make em 5-6 man and give them the crackshot exarch with firepike. BS5 18" range melta that ignores cover saves? Yes please.

I think the reapers are the other thing I would change, walkers are so much better its not even funny.

Also without fearless scorers (eg 10 wraithguard) I think avatar is mandatory.

winterman wrote:I'd keep the FDs, just make em 5-6 man and give them the crackshot exarch with firepike. BS5 18" range melta that ignores cover saves? Yes please.

Pretty much this for the FDs.

I strongly suggest an Avatar, as not only does he give your troops a fearless bubble, but he is (when fortuned) a massive firepower sink for most enemies. If they focus tons of fire on him, they aren't shooting your fragile units as often, and if they don't focus fire on him, well, then they have to deal with big nasty up in their lines.

Personally, I really like guardians for footdar because they can move and shoot their heavy weapons, but a lot of people dislike their fragility (which is fair).

As cool as reapers are, they are really only effective against footslogging MEQ, which is pretty rare these days. I'll echo the others and suggest war walkers, which will likely save you points as well.

Clearly you play in a meta where there is exposed infantry on the board from the start, and where there aren't 15-20 vehicles in your opponent's list.

In which case, it looks fine to me. I like Guardians too, and don't find a lot of use for foot Fire Dragons, but again, if you're not facing tons of vehicles, it won't hurt you. I also feel that if you're going to have 5 Rangers as objective sitters, you may as well pay 25 pts for Pathfinders and have a few sniper shots going out. They kill people once in a while.

I also can't live without the Avatar - he's just too useful for everything. Furthermore, SL War Walkers are the best unit in the Eldar Codex - I'd always find a place for 3.

Wow, glad to see such (relatively) supportive responses.

Relic- You hit the nail on the head as far as meta goes. The majority of the lists in my local meta are hybrid.
As for the Pathfinders, I love them dearly. They were originally a part of the list, but those 25 points made the difference in being able to take the jetbikes. I just couldn't quite justify them.
The Avatar, however, I don't regret at all. He's amazing, but in my list/meta I find the additional fortune and guide makes more of a difference. The biggest issue with losing the Avatar is the lack of fearless, so I cannot afford to run guardians, but other than that I have very few issues. Everything is LD 9 or better anyhow.


Deuseviscerator- When it comes to the Avatar he does two major things: Fire Magnet, and Fearless. Fearless is mitigated by good LD and 2 LD10 characters in units. Fire Magnet is handled, oddly enough, by Aspect Warriors. Depending on opponent I place a farseer in each of the 2 most threatening units. I either place them in cover or screen them (often with harlies) so they always have a cover save. Fortune plus cover is a pain to get through. As anyone who uses Seer Council will attest, rerolled 4+ is a pain to get through. That is also why I run 10 man FD; the extra wounds in a unit that will have fortune makes them ridiculously hard to drop.


Winterman- See above? I wish I had the points for the Exarch. Ignoring cover is brutal, especially against KFF Orks, but I need the bodies more. Walkers are very effective, and the moment a parking lot guard army moves to town I'll have to make that shift, but until then I love my reapers. Meta dependent, but in the right meta they are gods.


MrTau- I think you are the only person to comment so far with whom I actively disagree. Banshees would not fit in my list at all; I would venture to say they almost never fit in a foot list. They die like flies at range, so I would have to dedicate a fortune to them. If they do get in to combat, they are only really better than Harlies or Scorpions against MEQ, and I don't fear MEQ with 19 FD and a unit of Reapers firing. Scorpions DO fit in many foot lists, at least partially due to outflank, but mine is not one of them. Outflanking troops don't provide a screen. Cheaper is not the same as more efficient. As for dropping dragons for EML walkers: They don't occupy the same slot. I would have to drop either WL's or Reapers. In addition, FD can kill more than one tank when they are not treated as suicide troops. When fortuned it takes quite a bit of fire to drop them.


Powerguy- Can't really refute your statements, as you are quite correct. I lack long range AT, and FD are very short range. A little bit of creative deployment/use and (thankfully) a mech light meta combine to make it quite viable for me, though. Besides, most torrent occurs within 24", that being the range of primary anti-infantry weapons like the almighty bolter. Once I'm that close, things tend to go downhill rapidly for my opponent. That being said, this is not a list I would take to a GT.