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Greetings all,

Now that my exams have finally finished, I have some time to devote to 40k again. Having spent a week or so scouring the net for any information I can find on 5th edition, it appears my Eldar may be in a wee bit of trouble. Now, being a skint student, in a part of the world that isn't exactly crazy for Warhammer, I can only scrape up a 1k army. However, here is the list I tended to use in 4th edition.

Please note, that the following post is a bit of a stream of consciousness on my part, so any incoherences, bouts of madness, or just plain illogic, is all part of the process.

Farseer - Doom - 80

6 Fire Dragons - Exarch w. Dragon's Breath Flamer, Crack Shot - 113

10 Guardians w. Scatter Laser - 95
10 Guardians w. Scatter Laser - 95
6 Pathfinders - 144

4 Shining Spears - Exarch w. Skilled Riders, Withdraw - 187

Falcon Grav Tank - Holo-Field, Spirit Stone, Vectored Engines, Shruiken Cannon - 185
2 Vibro-Cannons - 100

TOTAL: 999 points

(Please note: I ABSOLUTELY, under ANY circumstances, refuse to take Eldrad, he is currently being dressed up a frilly pink tutu and being banged by Slaanesh until the Eye of Terror melts, and, if I had my way, he would bloody well stay there. Stupid generic cheaty Ulthwe pansy...grrr...)

The first problem I can see with this list for 5th edition is the Troops, or the vulnerability thereof. My Guardians have always had an unfortunate tendency to die whenever anyone farted in their general direction, but that was okay, because a) they were only 95 points a pop, and b) they were ignored anyway. With 5th edition, they will not be ignored, and they WILL die, leaving me up poop creek without a paddle or a boat.

The second problem is the now utter uselessness of Vibro-Cannons, in my 4th edition list they performed admirably as tank destroyers and part-time horde thinners. However, the new damage tables and cover rules have put paid to that, also, with the new cover rules, they have much more difficulty finding optimum firing lines, and Vibro-Cannons out of cover, or in poor cover (ie: vulnerable to Infiltrators, troops coming in from board edges etc), are dead Vibro-Cannons.

So, my first change to my Eldar in 5th edition is:

- 2 Vibro-Cannons = -100 points
+ 2 Warlocks w. Singing Spears and Conceal - +86 points

New Army List Total: 985 points

I hate to do it, since I had a soft spot for my Vibros, and they gave the army a decent feel, but they are simply not viable anymore. The Warlocks give my Guardians a durability that will more than make up the increase in points, giving them a chance to actually reach an objective without giving Slaanesh a surprise brunch. The Singing Spears will also give the unit the ability to hurt tanks, of which there are rarely more than 1 or 2 in a 1k game.

Those are two obvious problems dealt with, now, I think I should move onto the subtleties. I definitely feel that in 5th edition assault is going to be a far greater priority. Previously, my unit of Spears could handle counter-attacking duties, but, they can't be everywhere at once, and if they didn't maul their opponent on the charge, they were effectively 4 Space Marines when being hit back at. At 1.5k, I throw in an Autarch on a Jetbike to rectify this problem, but I am loath in take two HQ choices in 1k, and a Farseer is too damn fluffy and useful.

So, for the moment, the Spears are a definite maybe. Now, this isn't a final decision by any means, but let's see what options we can open by dropping them. So...

- 4 Shining Spears - Exarch w. Skilled Riders, Withdraw = 187 points

New Army List Total: 798 points

So now we need something to replace them with, something that is a) mobile, and b) can hold it's own in combat for multiple rounds if needs be, doing consistent damage. There are plenty of things in the Eldar list that satisfy a) obviously, but next to none that satisfy b), apart from maybe Scorpions, but no fleet + lack of power weapon attacks really hurts them. Therefore, I decided to pick a unit of Harlequins, they hit hard, and the Doom power gives back a lot of the power that Rending (quite rightly, in my opinion) lost, and while they can't survive more than a few rounds of combat, they can Hit and Run with relative reliability.

+ 6 Harlequins - Harlequin’s Kisses, Shadowseer with Veil of Tears and Hallucinogen Grenades = +162 points

New Army List Total: 960 points

This throws up another problem, however, one Falcon Grav-Tank ain't big enough for a unit of Harlequins and a unit of Fire Dragons. However, my Fire Dragons always were a bit of a kamikaze squad, and 5th edition presents us with more ways to kill tanks. The Harlequins and the now-more-durable Guardians also take up a bit of the horde-killing slack that the Flamer provided.

- 6 Fire Dragons - 6 Fire Dragons - Exarch w. Dragon's Breath Flamer, Crack Shot = - 113 points

New Army List Total: 847 points

So, 153 points to play with, now might be a good time to dick about with the wargear/weapons on some units. I'm going to replace my Falcon's Shruiken Cannon with a Scatter Laser. Despite this making the Falcon almost 1/5 of my total points cost, the ability to fire 4 S6 shots at the side/rear armour of tanks, using the Falcon's manuverability, is a decent plus, and gives it a definite use beyond "Clown Taxi", especially with the removal of my Dragons.

That gives me 143 points left, and it is here that I'm really at an impasse. I think I probably need something shooty to compensate for my lack of Fire Dragons, and I want to have some form of Fast Attack, since it dosen't feel right to have a lopsided Force Org chart. My two main ideas are a unit of Warp Spiders, or 2 Vypers. Then I had a better idea. Bring back my Spears. I love the little guys, and with the inclusion of Harlequins, they now don't have to carry the entire close combat load on their shoulders. The Star Lance can also, with a bit of movement and luck, be used in an anti-tank role, and their ability in combat is well-known. I won't have room for a unit of 4, but, by dropping a Pathfinder, a unit of 3 with an Exarch with trimmings is possible. It also means BOTH of my mainstay close combat units can Hit and Run. Very Eldary, I feel.

- Shruiken Cannon on Falcon = - 5 points
- Pathfinder = - 24 points
+ Scatter Laser in Falcon = + 15 points
+ 3 Shining Spears - Exarch w. Skilled Riders, Withdraw, Star Lance = + 167 points

New Army List Total: 1000 points

So, my new list looks something like this:

Farseer - Doom - 80

6 Harlequins - Harlequin’s Kisses, Shadowseer with Veil of Tears and Hallucinogen Grenades - 162

10 Guardians w. Scatter Laser w. Warlock - Conceal, Singing Spear - 138
10 Guardians w. Scatter Laser w. Warlock - Conceal, Singing Spear - 138
5 Pathfinders - 120

3 Shining Spears - Exarch w. Skilled Riders, Withdraw, Star Lance - 167

Falcon Grav Tank - Holo-Field, Spirit Stone, Vectored Engines, Scatter Laser - 195

TOTAL: 1,000 points

So, there's that, I guess. What does everyone think? Is my logic or understanding of 5th edition flawed, or am I simply over-reacting to the change of edition too much? Please let me know, all comments are welcome.

Shining Spears are in trouble too when they charge a larger unit (counter strike), and withdraw requires passing an Ld check.

The list is far too vulnerable to... everything. Especially the shining spears... they're pretty worthless in 5th. Pretty sure most MEQ armies will walk all over you and maybe lose a squad or two if that.

i dont think the warlocks with conceal will actually do anything. cover in 5th make a 5+ save from conceal useless, its unlikely that you will be able to to get close enough to tanks to hurt them with your spear and theyre arent exactly fantastic in combat. i suggest dropping them.

your shining spears, although fast, are vulnerable and expensive and will bet shot. you slightly cheaper you can get another squad of harlies, which will outperform them. they can also be your counter charge unit.

that will give you 91pts to play with.

you will probably need a bit more anti-tank. i dont have my dex on me and cant remember any of the point costs to make a suggestion as to what you should pick up.

Funny enough, you may want to keep your vibro cannons. How many tanks do you usually see in a 1k game? Not many right? Well if you have 2 units of 1 vibro cannon each sitting in the back corners of your deployment zone (or in the middle if that works for you), you can more or less keep 2 tanks from ever shooting by just vibro cannoning them every turn. Seems like a good trade to me. Heck, you might hit some troops in the process too.

What about swapping out one of your guardian squads for some Dire Avengers? If you don't have the models, converting your guardians would be pretty easy: swap out the heads, add a tabard or two, and repaint them...

Tactically they're very flexible, especially with the exarch and affordable:

8 Dire Avengers, 1 Exarch, dual cats, bladestorm = 140

8 Dire Avengers, 1 Exarch, PW and shield, bladestorm = 150

That's scant more than what you're paying for the guardians...