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Hey guys...I regularly have to deal with mechanised Eldar tank rushes and was wondering if anyone has formulated some reliabl counter tactics?

The problem is... Front & side AV12, all shots are reduced to S8 & as fast skimmers if they get a 4+ cover save from moving flat out.

So most stots don't penetrait, those that do tend to bounce off the cover save....if you melee the transport then you are usually hitting on 6's!

What army do you usually play against them?

If a low count of shots won't help go for more shots. Depending on the army you play use multi shots S7 and S8 weaponry (IG/CSM ACs, SM Typhoon, Tau MPs and so on). Don't mind firing Melta weapons over half range, they're still S8 and that AP1 makes single shots count more. Most of all focus fire on the biggest thread in those skimmers (Fire Dreagons for mech, DAs for inf heavy armies)
This should help a little, though better advise could be given if you'd post your army list and options.

I see from your sig that you have an IG army-- the Hydra is a great solution for troubles with skimmers. It provides many anti-light vehicle shots with an impressive range and ignores Skimmers Moving Fast.

The answer to Wave Serpents (and Falcons and Fire Prisms, though they can be handled with Melta weaponry very well too) is usually long range S7 or S8 shots. Let's analyse your options (assuming the armies in your signature are the ones you need help with).

Chaos Space Marines: Obliterators, Predators (with TL Autocannon and Lascannon sponsons) & Chaos Havocs (with Autocannons) are really the only long range anti Vehicle Chaos has available.

Orks: Loota's & Warbuggies with Rokkit Launcha's are the best choices for the Orks. Especially Loota's should do well against the Eldar Skimmers.

Space Marines: Long range anti Vehicle weapons are actually not one of the strongest points of the Space Marines. Land Speeder's (with Typhoon Missile Launchers) & Predators (with TL Autocannon and Lascannon sponsons) are the units I'd advise you to use against the Eldar.

Imperial Guard: This is almost what the Imperial Guard Codex was made for. Hydra Flak Tanks & Vendetta's (though these are better against the Falcons and Fire Prisms) just murder Eldar Skimmers.


Just bringing the right units won't be enough though. Target priority is very important when playing against the Eldar Skimmer rush. You have to shoot at the transports carrying the infantry which are the most dangerous to your army.

Don't worry about assault units in Skimmers too much. The Eldar Skimmers aren't open topped, so if the Vehicle moved before the passengers disembarked, they will not be able to charge. This means the charge range of the passengers will always be 14" + D6" (disembark, move, run, charge) from the rear hatch of the Skimmer. If you don't want him to assault one of your units, just move out of this range. If you aren't able to move out of this range within a turn, then his Skimmer is probably very close to your unit (so you could potentially get shots at his rear armour). Another good tactic against assault units in Eldar Skimmers, is to block the exit hatch with a unit of your own, so his unit won't be able to disembark before the Skimmer has moved (which means he won't be able to assault).

Hope I've been of some help.

A battery of heavy weapons teams with missile launchers or autocannons with a Bring It Down! should have the desired effect.

Oh, and Hydras with that one shot missle thing.

When I play the grav tank rush (as Eldar) it seems like the thing that usually gets my tanks is ten guys with krak grenades.

I know statistically it's only about a 25% chance of a damaging hit, but it always seems to me to be the thing that accounts for the most grav tank losses. Although falcons still get their holofield, krak grenade attacks bypass all the strengths of a wave serpent--the field, the AR 12 and the cover save all don't matter.

What is he trying to do? When you say tank rushes, does he mean that he is flying right at you?

What does he hope to accomplish?
Does he have dire avengers shooting you?
Assault units trying to assault you?
Take out your vehicles with Fire Dragons?
What is the reason behind his vehicle rush?

Depending on what he is trying to accomplish, you should be able to counter him not only by shooting down his vehicles, but you can thwart his plans by using other tactics and strategy, but you need to go into more detail than he “tank rushes”.

Thanks for the responses guys...

The eldar transport rush i usually have to deal with is in a 2v2 1200 points aside game.

The Eldar will have 3 or 4 transports that on turn 1 will move forward their max speed giving them a 4+ ranged cover save/6+ meele to hit (on top of the other eldar defenses).

Out of these will usualy spill a couple of Avenger units that blade storm and a fire dragons unit.

As mentioned - i normally field either CSM/Orks/Guard...

trukks with nobs, power klaws and boarding planks, hehehe