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Hey guys. So just getting back into 40k I bought some eldar. I wanted to go with a ranged army that will blow things up so this was recommended to me. So far I have the battle force, 5 wraith guard, 6 jet bikes, a wave serpent, and a spirit seer. Any assistance you guys can provide will be appreciated. I'm hoping to start going to local gw shops and play casually. My main thing is I just want to blast the hell out of people.

I suppose we are a ranged army.. but really most of our stuff is semi close range with high mobility, weak troops that require good positioning.

Units in no particular order of awesomeness:

Jetbikes of all kinds
warp spiders
swooping hawks
wraith knights
wraith guard - D scythes
farseers
..

ok basically the entire codex besides wraith blades vypers and wraith lords are excellent..

so i probably went with the wrong army then? I'd like to be at range just blasting away, but I think I might be able to work it in with eldar. I always liked the look of their units. My previous army was dark eldar so at least it is a bit similar. What would you recommend as getting units or HQ's. I am open to purchasing more models and such. just no clue where to start.

You can play with a bit of range with eldar, but they're very much a swift strike hit and run army.

Having said that, using things like bright lances and scatter lasers as well as star cannons on most vehicles give you some semi decent range at 36". It won't allow you to just sit back and blast away, but it's still a decent range. As a ranged HQ goes, it doesn't really exist. A farseer is probably a good idea to be able to guide your ranged units and make sure they hit their target. Alternatively take Illic who is the sniper HQ. I don't rate him but he could fit your list.

Wraithguard are as far from ranged as you can get in the codex. Their maximum range is 12" with cannons. But I'd take D scythes and put them in the serpent. Your spiritseer is a HQ, roll on telepathy and fish for invisibility.

For range, jetbikes want scatter lasers. A 12" move, followed by 36" range, followed by 2D6 Jump makes them very good at zooming in, firing and jumping back out of harms way.

Also, check out reapers and fire prisms. Two decent heavy choices with very good range and pretty decent fire power. They will suit your needs 100%.

Awesome! Thanks! I'm excited to get them put together and get to the shop to play. I really like the look of the models.

Khaine's Wrath ninja'd my dark reapers plug. They throw out a solid amount of ap3 fire and at good range of 48" on both kinds of missiles. You'll want an exarch and both missiles for your reapers. I had this idea of getting that relic long rifle on a farseer and sticking him in that unit. Could be kind of fun, don't you think? Still boss at psychic stuff, but having an ap3 sniper with 120" range doesn't hurt

Serpents + wraithguard (scythe or cannons) and fire dragons for the freaking WIN.

Get your dragons in an aspect host for BS5 and your serpent gets it too. No downside there at all.

Swooping hawks kind of have range with their 18" movement + 18" guns - however crappy they might seem, it's still a longer range assault 3 lasgun, plus they have haywire grenades, which they can "vector strike" flyers with. Need I say more?

Warp Spiders might just steal the show, aside from the aforementioned d-slapping wraithguard. Deep strike, shoot, battle focus and THEN assault jump away. Crazy mobile, loads of fire power (albeit at 12" range) and their exarch's ability Iron Resolve makes them nigh-unbreakable from morale.

Dire avengers are old steady. Good last book, still good now. 18" shuriken doesn't suck. Roll 6's and watch marine players cry.

I think Vypers are getting a bad rap. Their points reduction makes them more viable now I'd say. Throw on a shuriken cannon and starcannon to tidy up heavy infantry. Or just throw on a brightlance for armor hunting. They do struggle without the eldar jetbike assault move, but they can be a solid distraction unit (I'd say unit's of 3 minimum - 2 hull points don't last long).

Fire prisms are awesome. Squadron to boost strength and make ap go down? Yes please. I think 2 in a formation is enough. Making your large blast s6ap2 and your lance s10ap1 is just gravy. It's only 1 shot, but hey - something's going to die.

Save the big boy for last - Wraithknights. I'd say he puts out a lot of firepower, but stock it's just 2 d-shots + any shoulder mounts you want. Nothing to scoff at, but he's not blowing an army off the board by himself. I think his suncannon is solid, but lost some effectiveness when scatlasers lost laser lock.

Anywho, that's just one fellow eldar's opinion of the army. I'm thoroughly enjoying playing eldar with the new book. Don't overlook psychic stuff. It's fun always having loads of power dice. Enjoy!

Hi, welcome to eldar!

Like what has been said eldar have probably the best guns and the best movement but (with some highly noteable exceptions) they have short range are weak in close combat and are usually easily killed by even cheap troops.

What makes eldar so unique is they are all about movement just outside of close combat range. They will murder units at 12-24 inches and usually die horribly if they stay near or too far.

This is a gross over simplification but fairly true.

Also they are probably the most synergistic army, i.e. they have a exceptional tool for every situation but have few units that can do more than one thing well. I.e. use the wrong unit for the wrong job and you die fast. Use the right unit in the right way they die fast.

There are some exceptions however:

Because eldar are probably the oldest army (other than marines and chaos) in 40k they have an enormous array of units. Litterally beyond any army. They have such an abundance of units in an effort to make them all feel unique GW have made some highly potent exceptions to the "they are all generalists" rule.

The exceptions to the weak mobile short range thing are:

_ Wraithknights (probably the best unit in 40k)
_ Scatter Laser Jet Bikes
_ wraithguard with d scythes in Wave serpents

An army made up of just those 3 plus some ( force org fudging ) will be a massive job to defeat and it looks like you are well on the way to that with your choice of units you bought! Well done!

Thanks for the info everyone! Right now I am thinking I will get some more vehicles to run with. Been debating on a wraith knight (i think thats the big one) and some of the flyer stuff. Not really sure what will be useful. Especially since I have no idea what I will be up against or anything. I know I had said I wanted to blast at range, but is that the right way to play an eldar army? Meaning what in your opinions would be the best to field to secure victory. I am liking the distance shooting, but I want it to be more than just because I wanted it that way. From what I am seeing it is a very viable option.

If you want to build a mechdar army (mechanised eldar, ie vehicle heavy) you can. But there are other options.

For example :

_ There are long range troops (scatter laser jet bikes)
_ there are long range footdar (guardian defenders with free missle launchers if you get the COD, this also dovetails with warwalkers see later)
_ There is a long range HQ (only one in 40k with a heavy weapon) Maugan Ra
_ another HQ long range is get avatar and get a gun emplacement, he rerolls misses cos he is BS10 and is a great deep strike counter as he is a singular beast in close combat..
_ there are long range "elites" (dark reapers, technically they are heavies but you can take a BS5 formation of 3 of these units and units can be 3 models each)
_ there are long range vehicles
_ there are vauls support batteries with vibro canon. Note that you can get preferred enemy if you sit them near a guardian defender formation
_ there are war walkers, who can move then hide out of line of sight if you get start engines AND get preferred enemy in that formation I mentioned
_ there are falcons
_ there are fire prisms
_ there are wraithlords with bright lances

All of these work well.

Probably the best combo for sit and shoot is guardian defender host (no wave serpents) dark reaper aspect host, quad gun, avatar, (for defender fearless bubble) war walkers 12 inches from the defenders and vibro canon (same) and fire prisms.

The reason Guardian Defender Host is good is that you get 3 free missile launchers (worth 90pts) and with an avatar in heavy cover they are very hard to dig out for 270 points. Also they give preferred enemy which is FAR far better for war walkers than laser lock ever was, you re roll misses of 1 which is great if the base BS is 4, but also scatter lasers are str6 so 90% of the time 2+ wounds enemies and re-rolling any 1's is borderline broken. For 180 points you can have 24 shots that 87% hit and at toughness 4 97% will wound. Very potent, and those are the actual numbers(!). Even vs good save throws it is highly useful cos of sheer volume

Like ConanMan says, mechdar is fun. I chose Yme-Loc for my craftworld (they love their tanks - or "vauls engines") so I have 2 wave serpents (I got 2 battleforces) and falcon and fire prism. Unfortunately my idea to have the formation of falcons deep striking just isn't going to happen. I think they were the most nerfed by the loss of laser lock on the scatter lasers. I remember playing my buddy's tyranids before the new codex came out and that laser locked falcon with shuriken cannon underneath killed 2 carnifexes by itself. Now I just don't know how to equip it. I will probably repurpose it as a wave serpent.

The wave serpent will be your workhorse in a mech army. They aren't broken like the shield was in the last book, and will sustain a good amount of fire. However, they are NOT invulnerable. Just because you can turn a pen into a glance doesn't negate it, you can only do it twice before the third kills you! Finding the right time to fire the shield right before you die is key. It can be a game changer, especially if you have 3 tanks like I did last time I rolled my eldar out.

I run my wraithguard with the cannons (I just love the 6 possibility - I picked up Mephiston and Lysander in the same game ) but I will caution you that your opponents will not like it when their expensive models get nuked in 1 shot

The whole thing is to run what you like. I love having loads of aspect warriors. I ran 5! different types of aspect warriors at 2000 points in my tournament win 2 weeks ago. I have Dire Avengers, Scorpions, Dragons, Spiders and Dark Reapers. They all had their moments in my games. I will say that I am still learning with them as some of them died unnecessarily in those games too, but I will learn.

I'd look on ebay for some good lots of aspect warriors. Buying them all brand new will be crazy expensive. Let us know if you have any more questions! Enjoy the new book!

Thanks so much for the input! Right now I'm thinking of adding in a wraith knight, a flyer, farseer on a jet bike, fire prism, possibly another serpent, reapers, fire dragons. Should I replace a new serpent with a falcon or spinner? Also which flyer is better? Crimson hunter or wraith fighter?

At this point, now you have an idea as to how the list will work, and the way this army operates, it'd be much easier to advise you going forward if we actually had a list to work with.

Ok guys here is a list I have come up with based on your suggestions and what I have seen in battle reports. I've also decided to go with a battle forge army ( I love fluff and want to stay as true as possible).

Farseer Skyrunner with Singing Spear (120 pts)
Spirit Seer (70 pts)
4 Warlock Skyrunner with Singing Spear (220 pts)
10 Guardians with Eldar Missile Launcher (120 pts)
9 Wind Riders w/ Scatter Laser (243 pts)
5 Fire Dragons (110 pts)
5 Wraithguard with D Scythes (210 pts)
1 Wave Serpent Holo Fields (125 pts)
1 Crimson Hunter Exarch (160 pts)
1 Vyper Squad (40 pts)
2 Fire Prism (125 pts)
1 Wraithknight suncannon and scatter laser (310 pts)

total: 1978 pts

was going for a 2k pt army. Let me know thoughts and changes. Again this is just me trying to figure out what works based on what I have seen in battle reports as well as what I have seen in the codex that I liked. I would like to fit in some reapers to get some range that I want but I find it sort of difficult since I am trying for a battle forge army. chose to go with windrider host based on what I had initially purchased at the store.

OK, it's not strictly a wind rider host as it's isn't organised as such. And you wouldn't be able to take the other units you have in that type of detachment anyways. So it's a combined arms detachment. Which is fine.

In this list, I'd look at splitting your Windriders down to 3 squads of 3. One large squad is a huge footprint and makes it very difficult to keep them hidden or protected. It also only allows you to engage one target. 3 squads of three allow you to target three units, and more importantly you can also grab more than one objective.

The spiritseer seems to be doing nothing for you, as you don't really have any wraiths with 'to hit' based weapons.

The Wraithguard and the dragons do the same job, except I think the guard do it better. But they also both need a transport. So, considering you want reapers, I'd ditch the fire dragons. And probably the spirit seer and use the points on reapers with starshot missiles.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
On that, you prob don't need the vyper. But if he's in there cos you own him, then give him double cannons.

Sorry should have specified more. The spiritseer goes with the wraith guard in the serpent. The riders I was planning on separate units but wasn't too sure yet. I've also got 5 dire avengers which came with the battle force. Just not sure if they are good for the army. Still have to read up more on them. The vyper came with my force so that's why he's in there. I can pull him for something better though.

I'm thinking the guardians hang back on an objective and just shoot away while the serpent drops my guards in and blasts away. Prisms will prob hang back and shoot at range while the Crimson hunter flys around blowing things up. Was seeing a lot of folks with the avatar but not sure if I should run him or not. The warlocks are strictly there because the windrider host calls for it. Is it worth putting them on bikes with a farseer? If not I can cut points down there. I'm planning on reading more in the codex and seeing what changes I'll be making.

Ok guys I did some tweaking and still am not happy with the list but trying to make it work with the craftworld organization more so than the combined arms detachment. so here is the list. still subject to change but I think it's getting better.

Maugan Ra - 195 pts
Farseer Skyrunner w/ singing spear - 120 pts
Warlock Skyrunner w/ singing spear - 55 pts
Guardian Defender 9+1 Eldar Missile Launcher - 120 pts Windriders w/ scatter laser - 81 pts
Windriders w/ scatter laser - 81 pts
Windriders w/ scatter laser - 81 pts
Wraithguard w/ d-scythes - 210 pts
Spiritseer - 70 pts
Vyper Squad - canons - 50 pts
Dark Reapers w/ exarch and starshot - 180 pts
Dark Reapers w/ exarch and starshot - 180 pts
Fire Prism - 125 pts
Fire Prism - 125 pts
Wraithknight w/ suncannon & scatter laser - 310 pts

Spirit seer with the wraithguard. I figure they move in and everything else is keeping back and blasting while wind riders ride in and take objectives as well as hit and runs. Maugan Ra rolls with dark reapers . Thoughts? Change suggestions? I was debating on scrapping everything and going with a guardian defenderhost and wraith host and going from that, but after reading I definitely want to make a Altansar Army. just blast at range and annihilate the enemy.