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I've seen alot of Eldar list as of late. As 5th ed draws closer and closer I decided to start a new project. I picked up the Eldar dex and came up with a simple list I thought would fly with the new rules. If you take time to read the list, please, and I repeat, please read the comments as of why I choose the unit. Thanks in advance.

HQ
Avatar - 155pts

Troop
Dire Avenger Squad (10) - 162pts
Exarch w/ Defend
Power Weapon / Shimmer shield

Wave Serphent - 125pts
Starcannon

Dire Avenger Squad (10) - 162pts
Exarch w/ Defend
Power Weapon / Shimmer shield

Wave Serphent - 125pts
Starcannon

Rangers (5) - 95pts

Fire Dragons (6) - 96pts

Vyper - 75pts
Bright Lance

Falcon - 155pts
Missle Launcher
Pulse Laser
Shuriken Catapults
Vector Engines

Falcon - 155pts
Missle Launcher
Pulse Laser
Shuriken Catapults
Vector Engines

Falcon - 155pts
Missle Launcher
Pulse Laser
Shuriken Catapults
Vector Engines

Okay. Time to explain. I choose the Avatar only as the theme HQ. I really like the desciption in the dex of his awakening. Also, he is a MC with a Melta-weapon. He'll draw alot of attention away from my skimmers, or, will crash right into the front lines. The Dire Avengers are a personal favorite. They can act as a close combat unit, and dish out 18 shots. I choose the Defend abilty to reduce the return attacks, plus given that they have a 5+ invul save against power weapons will help them survive longer. The Rangers were just added as a little point sink. They can have AP1 shots with a 6, but mostly just pick apart smaller units. Fire Dragons hit with melta weapons, and will ride in one of the Falcons. My plan is to pop just one tank, or thin down a larger unit just to earn their points back. After that, if they are whipped out, it's not a problem. The Falcon comes with a Pulse Laser. There is nothing you can do about it. It's there, might as well use it. I added the Missle Launcher as another S4 weapon that it can fire. Also, then the Pulse Laser is gone I can still use the S8 Krak for tanks. Vector Engines over Halo-Fields because I'll always want to move 12". The Vyper is just a tank hunter. It only has 50% chance to hit, so I plan on just moving it out of cover every other turn to take a free shot at something with a AV.

Keep in mind this is my first attempt, and also, I was taking money into consideration. I would love feedback from vet Eldar players... Hit me with the worse guys!

Only a few suggestions:

-Ditch the walking fire dragons and get a second unit of rangers. Walking fire dragons will be ignored until they near threat range and then they'll get blasted right back into the army case.
-If you remove the fire dragons you can get a second unit of rangers. If you drop the solo vyper you can upgrade both to pathfinders and buy an extra man for one of the squads.

I tried to stay within the bounds of what you said you wanted, hope it helped.

Edit: I'm a slow, I totally skipped over why I wouldn't use the falcon to transport the fire dragons, which precludes the suggestion about why they're walking would also be bad. If you use the falcon as a ferry it's not going to be fulfilling it's role of AT/Firebase. Gomen.

I dont plan on turbo boosting the Falcon just because it carrys the Dragons. I'll still move it the 12" as planned, just unload my Dragons near a flank. Afterwards, the Falcon will act the same as the other two. Moving around to flank and pop anything with an AV. Like I said before, the Dragons are just a one shot group. I'm not looking for them to last all game.

I am kinda iffy about the lone Vyper. I really didn't have any other idea for a cheap tank hunter. If I do take it out, I'd like to replace it with something with the same role.

Any ideas?

I don't want to be a nit-picker but I would tweak the guns and the wargear.

I like EML on Vypers since they can flank anyway. If you face three Land Raiders ... complain? It has a pretty good blast on it.

I would then take one falcon (for the dragons) and two Fire Prisms. You can always buy three Falcons and convert turrets for the Fire Prisms. The old traditional turret was a plastic spoon. That Fire Dragon Falcon needs a holofield and a spirit stone.

Shuricannons on Wave Serpents since they may not shoot much anyway, but Starcannons aren't the end of the world. Second Falcon weapon doesn't reallly matter but I go Starcannon or Brightlance for the AP2. EML is always a good choice anyway.

If you save points here and there 6 Pathfinders is almost twice as good as 5 Rangers imo.

The total comes out to 1460pts. I could add in the Spirit Stones or Halo Fields. I'm thinking about adding to the Vyper and trying this list.

Avatar - 155pts

Troop
Dire Avenger Squad (10) - 162pts
Exarch w/ Defend
Power Weapon / Shimmer shield

Wave Serphent - 110pts
Shuriken Cannon
Spirit Stones

Dire Avenger Squad (10) - 162pts
Exarch w/ Defend
Power Weapon / Shimmer shield

Wave Serphent - 110pts
Shuriken Cannon
Spirit Stones

Fire Dragons (6) - 96pts

Vyper Squad (2) - 100pts
Shuriken Cannon
Shuriken Catapult

Vyper Squad (2) - 100pts
Shuriken Cannon
Shuriken Catapult

Falcon - 165pts (Fire Dragons)
Pulse Laser
Missle Launcher
Shuriken Catapults
Vector Engines
Spirit Stones

Falcon - 155pts
Pulse Laser
Missle Launcher
Shuriken Catapults
Vector Engines

Falcon - 155pts
Pulse Laser
Missle Launcher
Shuriken Catapults
Vector Engines

If you are taking one Shuriken Cannon, you may as well take two.

And I'm telling you, man. Those Fire Dragons REALLY want that holo-field . Even in 5th it will keep them alive. Fire Dragons are good enough that even one more turn of firing is worth it. Don't forget what you can do is fly -> fly -> disembark + shoot -> embark + fly -> fly + disembark + shoot + ....

I thought you couldn't fire both S6 weapons for the Vypers if you move 12" in 5th? If you can, then the upgrade would be well worth it.

I know the Halo-fields would greatly help, but that would be 200pts for the Falcon alone just to drop off the Dragons. The Dragons were more of a cheap tank hunter unit. Add in the destraction of knowing the Dragons are aboard the Skimmer of death, and they focus on that one. It might give my other two the chance to smash a few things.

This is my major problem. I really love the fluff of Eldar. But, there only a few units I really like and want to use in my army. I dont want Harlys because you can't buy them a Serphent, and only 6 go into a Falcon. Scorpions are good with the added attack and S4, but I dont see myself using them. Banhees might work, but it's alot of points to sink into a close combat squad that can not consilidate in 5th now. I want to build a 1500pt army, but i'm either going over by 20-30 pts, or under by almost 200pts.

Anyone have an idea that would help?

You can't fire both if you move at cruising speed or faster, but I believe he's making a reference to how cheap the upgrade is, 10 more points to double the firepower if you decide not to move.

No, I was mistaken.

You have a pretty decent list there, maybe get some games in?

I would personally hold off on buying 4 Vypers until you are sure you like them. Unless of course you already are.

If you're taking this list to tournaments, keep in mind that tripling up on your heavy support, especially if it's Falcons, never gets you a good comp score.

In 5th you can't fire two shuriken cannons after moving more than 6". The only way the shuriken cannon upgrade is worth it is in the very unlikely event that your Vyper gets a weapon destroyed instead of blowing up. We're talking a 50% chance of death on a pen (and they are easily penn'd) versus a 1/6 chance of a weapon destroyed. Save your points.

I can't really get behind Avengers with shimmershield and defend riding in a Serpent. People talk about using Avengers as a tarpit. I've tried it, and it doesn't work. A 5+ invuln save is garbage, especially on T3 troops. Defend is nice, but the Avengers are still going down unless they have help in the combat. They will never be able to stand up on their own and actually win against enemy assault oriented units. The point of DAs in a Serpent is that they pop up right where they need to be and unleash hell. Read: Bladestorm good. Bladestorm is what makes Avengers in a Serpent such a smart idea. Defend is optional, Bladestorm not so much.

I think the Avatar is a funky choice for an HQ since he's so much slower than the rest of the army. But with his ability to Run in 5th ed, it might work... And there's lots of tanks around, so the enemy will have to choose between going up against his 4+ invuln and 3 wounds with their lascannons, or banking on a much safer bet of damaging a tank.

Vectored engines on all three Falcons, and no holofields? No! That's a bad monk-heigh! I think holofields are optional in 5th ed because they have become significantly worse, but you definitely don't pick VE before holofields even so. Holofields work all the time. Vectored engines only have a 1/6 chance of mattering on a given damage roll. Spirits stones are always the first thing you put on the Falcon, then holofields. Then VE if you're really out of ideas for what to spend your last points on.

I've always had a very aggressive playing style and that's the reason behind the Avengers. I wanted to be able to pump some fast shots into a squad and then assault for a clean up.

I never expected the Avengers to rule in assault. I wouldn't charge any unit with out thinning them out a bit first. Avengers are just here to fill in the troop slots that I have to take. I know I could take Rangers, but they sit still and shoot. Gaurdians are cheap and mass in numbers, but you can only fit 12 in a Serphent. Avengers were the optimal choice for the list I wanted to make.

The Avatar is almost as cheap as a suited up Autarch on a jetbike. I just threw him in because 1) you have to have an HQ, and 2) he's a tough MC.

I'm not saying anything about whether you should charge with the Avengers. I'm saying that whether or not you do, shimmershield is crap. That invuln save is not worth the points. Optimized lists scrimp points wherever possible, and shimmershield is extra points in this list.

And if you have an aggressive play style, that's even *more* reason why you want bladestorm. Remember that 40k rewards annihilation. It's much better to fire 30 shots in one turn than 40 shots in two in many cases. You want units to die immediately, not over several turns, because that's a mathematically superior result for your side. Hence, dropping 2x Avenger squads with bladestorm on one enemy unit can be a very important tactic.

Okay, after a lot of thought, I have decided to use the Fire Prisms over 3 Falcons. I was thinking about the Bladestorm ability as Ixe suggested, and the Halo-Fields. I'm still sticking with the Avatar and Avengers as my fore front and I think this list will work a little bit better

Avatar - 155pts

Avengers - 152pts
Exarch w/ 2 Shuriken Catapults
Bladestorm

Wave Serphent - 110pts
Shuriken Cannon
Spirit Stones

Avengers - 152pts
Exarch w/ 2 Shuriken Catapults
Bladestorm

Wave Serphent - 110pts
Shuriken Cannon
Spirit Stones

Eldar Jetbikes (5) - 120pts
Shuriken Cannon

Fire Dragons (6)

Falcon (Dragons) - 180pts
Pulse Laser
Missle Launcher
Halo-fields
Spirit Stones

Fire Prism - 160pts
Halo-fields
Spirit Stones

Fire Prism - 160pts
Halo-fields
Spirit Stones

Okay, so the Prism can handle horde armys and high AV. The Dragons take care of the tank hunting. I added the Jetbikes for anothing scoring troop choice. Also, they can turbo boost for a fast objective grab, or dish out shots into a small unit at close range. I think this is the list I'm going to stick with. Let me know what to expect

Tacobake wrote:If you are taking one Shuriken Cannon, you may as well take two.

And I'm telling you, man. Those Fire Dragons REALLY want that holo-field . Even in 5th it will keep them alive. Fire Dragons are good enough that even one more turn of firing is worth it. Don't forget what you can do is fly -> fly -> disembark + shoot -> embark + fly -> fly + disembark + shoot + ....

I haven't seen a FD unit accomplish that bull in many years.

Stelek wrote:

Tacobake wrote:If you are taking one Shuriken Cannon, you may as well take two.

And I'm telling you, man. Those Fire Dragons REALLY want that holo-field . Even in 5th it will keep them alive. Fire Dragons are good enough that even one more turn of firing is worth it. Don't forget what you can do is fly -> fly -> disembark + shoot -> embark + fly -> fly + disembark + shoot + ....

I haven't seen a FD unit accomplish that bull in many years.

It's a nice idea. You can dream cant you?... Like I said. They are a one shot unit. Either they blow something up for me, or get gunned down by some unit. T3 and only a 4+ save goes down quick.