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The name says it all. The only thing he has going for him is his +1 to reserves. Seriously, for a melee-oriented HQ, he is ridiculously underpowered. His T3 means he can be wounded by Guardsmen and Termagaunts, and his low strength means he rarely wounds the most standard MEQ troops. Sure, you can give him a fancy fusion gun and some wings/warp pack and send him in with some hawks/warp spiders to maybe blow up a tank, but even so, he's just rather lackluster.

Oh, and the lack of Eternal Warrior irks me a bit. He's so easy to insta-kill.

In fact, in a game I just finished playing, he got tied up in nine-man veteran squad for FOUR TURNS, killing maybe one each turn.

Remember, the Autarch is a support unit, not a front-line fighter (in this he is similar to the Farseer). If you want nails-hard CC from your eldar HQ go for the Avatar.

The Autarch is there because you get the bonus to reserve rolls - which means you need to have a plan based on timely entry of reserves. If that's not how you play, then yes, he'll do very little.

When he's done his job, then you can use him as a mobile reserve (with a bike/wings/WJG) and either a fusion gun or maybe a lance (if on a bike).

The point is that he'll rarely make his points back by killing things - but if his ability won you the game do you care??

*sigh*

Maybe you're right. I'm all tied up on the notion of an elegant and effective Eldar warrior who isn't a nine foot tall towering beast of molten metal.

Maybe I should get Yriel.

Shelegelah wrote:*sigh*

Maybe you're right. I'm all tied up on the notion of an elegant and effective Eldar warrior who isn't a nine foot tall towering beast of molten metal.

Maybe I should get Yriel.

That or Maugan Ra ... T4, eternal warrior, 2+ save, Ws7 str6 power weapon with 4 attacks at I7 ... oh and he's hefting around a range 36" Assault cannon (which is also assault) and with which he can also ignore cover with and reroll wounds ... Yep he's my standard HQ people have learned to fear him

The Autarch is I6. Exarchs are I6. That is supposed to tell you something. Put him in a squad for some extra close combat. Works great with all Aspects that will see close combat and gives the squad a 4++ against shooting. No need to buy all the upgrades.

It's not that the autarch is bad, it's that farseers are so good.

MorbidlyObeseMonkey wrote:It's not that the autarch is bad, it's that farseers are so good.

Yeah, it's a dilemma. Unless...

Shelegelah wrote:Maybe I should get Yriel.

you do that.

MorbidlyObeseMonkey wrote:It's not that the autarch is bad, it's that farseers are so good.

For the number of points you pay, an Autarch is most definitely bad.

You can pay an equal number of points for a unit of aspect warriors and have more wounds and more destructive potential.

Unless you absolutely need the +1 reserves rolls he is not worth taking.

MorbidlyObeseMonkey wrote:It's not that the autarch is bad, it's that farseers are so good.

QFT

There is a few things the Autarch is good for, but the list is slim. Hopefully when we get a dex update in 2028 they will make him worth taking compared to a Farseer.

BlueDagger wrote:

MorbidlyObeseMonkey wrote:It's not that the autarch is bad, it's that farseers are so good.

QFT

There is a few things the Autarch is good for, but the list is slim. Hopefully when we get a dex update in 2028 they will make him worth taking compared to a Farseer.

They should change the Autarch's fluff to say that he was an Exarch who managed to wrench himself from his path. Then they should make it so they can take at least one exarch power.

Yeah, or maybe some Autarch specific weaponry to allow them to get some kind of edge over their brethren. Seriously, Exarchs are more effective than the leader of their army... It's strange.

Open up all Exarch gear to them and if you take a piece of exarch gear then you gain the ability to take on of their exarch powers. The shear point cost of doing so would balance it.

BlueDagger wrote:Open up all Exarch gear to them and if you take a piece of exarch gear then you gain the ability to take on of their exarch powers. The shear point cost of doing so would balance it.

Honestly it shouldn't even cost that many points.

Why should a T3 autarch be a whole lot more points than a S5 T5 warboss?

The Autarch is good in at least two respects:
boosting reserve rolls and
accompanying a squad of Jetseers or Shining Spears on a jetbike w/ laser lance.

My problem with the Autarch's reserve power.
I don't want +1... I want -1...

If they had -1, worth it. But since they don't Farseer or Yriel.

IMO Autarch's were half baked...fluff was ok, but rules really don't measure up.

wuestenfux wrote:The Autarch is good in at least two respects:
boosting reserve rolls and
accompanying a squad of Jetseers or Shining Spears on a jetbike w/ laser lance.

I hate how many people think that the autarch on a jebike with a lance is a good choice. For it's cost you can get a unit of harlequins which can "unstuck" a jetseer squad if you really need them to.

A normal Autarch is much more useful as a shooting IC than an assault IC. Give him a fusion gun, wings and a small unit of hawks to Skyleap and maybe he'll have a chance to earn back his points beyond the reserve rule. I'm not saying that the Autarch is by any means worth the points cost, rather that you'll see more use out of him with a fusion gun going tank hunting than you will elsewise.

The real answer you're looking for is Yriel. If you need a melee character, take Yriel. He goes with your council easily (and has grenades when your council does not), can nuke an entire unit of MEQ's, and that's all on top of power weapon singing spear attacks. At 155 points, he's one of the best characters in 40k itself in the bag for buck category. The only time when Yriel doesn't make his points back for me is when it's , but that's hardly the character's fault.

edit- I just want to add on how UTTERLY ESSENTIAL the +1 to reserve is when playing Mech Eldar. In a large number of fights, it's much more useful for a complete reserve deployment so that you can respond to an enemy's deployment that's not seen at the starting turns. Essentially, you will always have the initiative in a battle with full reserve and the only way to ensure that the opportunity is seized is with an Autarch.

When I run my mech list, I run an autarch, either naked, or with just a fusion gun. If I'm reserving my whole force, not only do I want the +1 to come in, but a farseer does me little good when he's likely to be off the table (and therefore not contributing) for several turns, and potentially not-in-range for others.

The most useful Eldar HQ is the one that complements the style you have chosen to play.

@Damascusxie:

Actually... I rather play against IG with that -1 to reserves.

The wonder of an Eldar mech army in reserves is not just reserve deployment, but coming in later.

Fragile troop coupled with less turns of being shot at = WIN.

Getting in early is something I NEVER wish for... and so the Autarch was a HUGE disappointment.

But surely you would not want an Autarch to be changed to -1 reserves roll to make a desperate hiding-off-the-board tactic more viable? I'd rather have a change to units so I'm not feeling hopeless vs an IG alpha strike and actually have a good chance to win by killing stuff.

Nivoglibina wrote:But surely you would not want an Autarch to be changed to -1 reserves roll to make a desperate hiding-off-the-board tactic more viable? I'd rather have a change to units so I'm not feeling hopeless vs an IG alpha strike and actually have a good chance to win by killing stuff.

I have 2 units of 3jetbike ... they live in reserve my greatest hope would be that they only ever come in turn 5 .. then they turbo boost and claim an objective (normally one I've cleared and moved on from). They are cheap they've a good save ... but they can't kill squat. What they can do really well is grab objectives

The autarch will only shine when you can pick between +1 or -1 for any unit on any turn.

Sanctjud wrote:
Actually... I rather play against IG with that -1 to reserves.

The wonder of an Eldar mech army in reserves is not just reserve deployment, but coming in later.

Fragile troop coupled with less turns of being shot at = WIN.

Getting in early is something I NEVER wish for... and so the Autarch was a HUGE disappointment.

I don't agree. What you really want isn't to stay off the table for as long as possible, but, rather, to come on the table with as much as possible all at the same time. If you trickle on, which is what happens with the -1 penalty, you're easily destroyed in detail. If you get a decent number of units to arrive together, you have the capacity to really concentrate fire where it needs to be and hopefully avoid too much retaliation.

Agree to disagree.

It works for me.../shrug, sorry.
______________________-

They do trickle in, but that's not always a bad thing. By it not being bad I mean: It depends on the terrain in the area.

Mech armies, won't have stuff in optimal range to really put a squad down til later anyway.
Gunlines (castled) few far reaching weapons that ignore lots of saves.
Gunlines (spread out) are not concentrated.
Moving in fast generally means a cover save.
Terrain sometimes blocks line of sight.

Stuff like that.

I would rather play with -1 Reserves, I never said that everyone in the world has to play as I do.

Concentrated fire is all good and all, but much prefer durability.
So many people are complaining about Eldar durability and scoring unit ease of death.

Hiding out in reserves as long as possible = god mode in that you can't be hurt yet.
Less turns of the enemy shooting them means less dice thrown at them and more survive near the end of the game to focus on mission objectives.

When I play fast lists, It's generally playing the mission and not the opponent. It's not fun and it's akin to Ninja Tau, but that's what happen when I use either a fragile army or a low model count army, it's how I see them function, it's how they work in my hands.

Or...

Grandfather Nurgle bless my dice and everything useful comes in when it needs to be there.

Take your pick

Autarchs are definately underpowered. Giving your army +1 to all reserve rolls is decent, but I'm paying 70 points for it, while the Imperial Guard can have the same thing for 30 points.

The Autarch needs to be able to take special Exarch Powers and should make one Aspect Warrior squad count as a Troops choice. The Autarch shouldn't be a destructive Warrior, he should support your Aspect Warrior squads, which he doesn't at the moment.

Airmaniac wrote:Autarchs are definately underpowered. Giving your army +1 to all reserve rolls is decent, but I'm paying 70 points for it, while the Imperial Guard can have the same thing for 30 points.

The Autarch needs to be able to take special Exarch Powers and should make one Aspect Warrior squad count as a Troops choice. The Autarch shouldn't be a destructive Warrior, he should support your Aspect Warrior squads, which he doesn't at the moment.

Now while i would truly kill for a Company command squad in an eldar army there is a big difference. Base cost is 50pts +30pts so a min of 80pts. The guys in question are also guardsmen so lower WS, BS, I, Ld, and save.

Yes, but those 50 points for the Company Command Squad itself have their own benefits (like giving Orders and being able to take multiple Special Weapons).

You can't seriously try to argue that an Autarch is as good as a Company Command Squad with an Officer of Reserve Roll Bonus.

The autarch would be much "nicer" if he had access to some of the less expensive exarch skills (since he can get a few aspect wargear options why not?)

Maybe he could buy like any skill that was 10 pts or less from an exarch list and could have up to 2 total but they could be from different exarch lists.

Airmaniac wrote:Yes, but those 50 points for the Company Command Squad itself have their own benefits (like giving Orders and being able to take multiple Special Weapons).

You can't seriously try to argue that an Autarch is as good as a Company Command Squad with an Officer of Reserve Roll Bonus.

No but he gets Hell of allot better stats, and thats going to drive up his value. Basically its not a fair comparison. If he was only WS4 BS4 I4 with a 5+ save ... 30pts would be fairer but he doesn't He's got more a shed load of 6's and a 3+/4++.

Because he's not an Exarch. An Exarch is an Eldar who is lost on a Warrior Path. They cannot leave that path, so they develop further skills and train those Eldar who are passing through the path (the normal aspect warriors).

An Autarch, on the other hand, is an Eldar who has followed an Aspect path for part of their life, but who then followed a different path, eventually coming to the Path of Command. They never got stuck on any one path, and were never Exarchs. Expecting them to have Exarch skills wouldn't fit the story.

It's not like Marines, where you go from Scout->Squad Member->Sergeant->Captain->Commander (assuming you survive long enough). An Exarch is a final state, by definition, they're Eldar who can no longer switch the path they're on. Autarchs are not a further progression, they're a different path altogether.