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WHY???

why would people choose a waveserpent over a falcon?

i get the points and twin linked weapons, but i find that having a falcon gives you the holofields which save my ass more times than countable. so... wtf?

regards

Elegost

Because Waveserpents doesn't use a Heavy slot?

Because of Energy Field and because there are other things you might want to put in HS (like Fire Prisms, Warwalkers, or hell even Dark Reapers)

I hate the fething things personally, but then again, I've been on the receiving end of the Eldar three-waveserpent-monty more times than I care to admit.

The increasing melta means they just get better. The were already really great vehicles that took no space on the FOC. Very resilient and quick.

Your question is really why do people prefer serpents over falcons.

Lets see what falcons give you. Hmmm, a six passenger transport so they are just perfect for hauling units that are just a bit too small to be worthwhile...except for two very specific exceptions. A unit of fire dragons works fine at 6, unfortunately they do need to be delivered in close where the enemy is going to be able to hit their transport with meltas. So serpents are better for even them. But there is still the 5 man DA scoring squad unit. That is the one combo that works out in the falcon's favor.

The falcon also has two weapons, unfortunately they are BS 3 and if your transport wants to move over 6" then only one main weapon can fire.


The serpent can carry 12, has its magical energy field built in, and its weapon is twin linked.



Energy field vs holofield is an interesting debate but its fairly easy to see that if the transport is within melta effect range then the energy field is more important. At longer range against lower strength weaponry the holofield is of course better, but str9 or str10 weaponry it starts to become a closer match again.



So as a recap, the falcon is a tiny capacity transport thats overpriced for its weaponry. It also stops the eldar player from taking a different , much more valuable, heavy choice. A holofield is nice, but the falcon has a lot of other problems to give you that holofield.




Sliggoth

It´s because the Serpents energy field rule is much more important these days when most people play melta for AT. That and the Serpent can carry more passengers and is notably cheaper than the Falcon for better protection if you´re going up close and personal. And, as has been mentioned, the Falcon takes up a HS slot.

Peronsally I´d always take the Serpent over a Falcon, with the exception of a DAVU unit.

Warboss Tufgrim wrote:It´s because the Serpents energy field rule is much more important these days when most people play melta for AT. That and the Serpent can carry more passengers and is notably cheaper than the Falcon for better protection if you´re going up close and personal. And, as has been mentioned, the Falcon takes up a HS slot.

Peronsally I´d always take the Serpent over a Falcon, with the exception of a DAVU unit.

Quoted for truth. I've used DAVU Serpents as well - and they work just fine when you want to save 50 odd points. But yeah, if I have the points, that's the only reason I'd use a Falcon - for DAVU.

But yeah, the energy field is the clincher with the large amount of melta around - even Fire Dragons tend to warrant a Wave Serpent in my opinion, in the current gaming climate, because the range they work at is (obviously) melta range.

Holofields are great - but aat close range the energy field is just as good - and it comes free!

Hope that helps.

Back in 4th it was much closer to call where you wanted a Falcon or WaveSerpent. Normally you'd only take the serpent if you need the extra transport capacity. This was because Falcons were OTT since they could fire almost all there weapons (Str6 was a defensive weapon). It could also zip about turning all penetrating hits into glancing.

Now in 5th the falcon has been hit hard with the nerf stick. Most of its weapons combinations are frankly useless. At best it now gets a cover save for moving fast. It can only fire a selection of weapons together and normally only ever fires one weapon. (note i assume that its moving because that the biggest asset to an Eldar player)

The WaveSerpent on the other hand has survive the from 4 to 5 more or less unchanged. Being cheaper and doing 90% of what the falcon does its an easy choice.

DAVU?

Isn't it ironic? I used to ask that question the other way round back in 4th

IMO the energy field of the serpent is always more viable than the holofield. Though this could be based on my area, where meltas and tau railguns already were omnipresent before the new RB... And nothing is more annoying than spending those 35 points for a holofield and watching your enemy still destroy that darn tank with a 4 on the

@Steelmage99: DAVU - stands for Dire Avengers as a Vehicle Upgrade - the tactic of using a unit of 5 Dire Avengers (60), in a Falcon (can be done in wave serpent) - to effectively make the vehicle in question scoring. It's suprisingly effective, resilient (holo-fields etc.), and good KP denial - the DAs never really bother getting out.

Dark Fire wrote:@Steelmage99: DAVU - stands for Dire Avengers as a Vehicle Upgrade - the tactic of using a unit of 5 Dire Avengers (60), in a Falcon (can be done in wave serpent) - to effectively make the vehicle in question scoring. It's suprisingly effective, resilient (holo-fields etc.), and good KP denial - the DAs never really bother getting out.

Ya when ever i see it being done i wonder why they didn't just take a WS and stick it in reserves ... much safer and cheaper ...

One thing to keep in mind when comparing WS to falcons is the fact that falcons with holofields are considerably more expensive than wave serpents.

I think the best way to run mechdar is to try to fit as many grav-tanks into the list as possible, and that is what gives the WS the edge in my opinion. That is only for mechdar though. There are plenty of other circumstances where a falcon would prove to be the better choice. For example in the Wild West tourney Blackmoor made great use of the falcon.