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Hello Dakka,
Good fortune has given me the financial ability to purchase a second 40k Army. I have been looking and I seem to keep gravitating to the Eldar. I was curious if anyone has any insight to how they play, whether or not they are competitive, etc. My primary army is SM right now and I was curious if they were as bad as I have heard from my FLGS.

Any thoughts or opinions would be appreciated (especially before I blow some cash on them). :-)

Last year, Eldar made second place in 'Ard Boyz.

They still rock.

They are a versatile army and have great models. With lots of scope for differing tactics and conversions. If you like them go for it!

Definatly worth it. If I had the money for a second army, I would buy Eldar.

I recently bought the Eldar codex, the army box, a box of rangers and a box of Fire Dragons.

I'm yet to play them at all, but they seem like a fun army that isn't overpowered but isn't exactly a push-over either.

One thing though; putting together the little buggers can be extremely frustrating at times. They are definately the most difficult models I've had to put together in quite some time.

I think the first Planet Strike battle report speaks volumes about Eldar. Managing to beat the, then brand new 5th edition IG army.

What did exactly your FLGS told you about the army?

I have yet to meet one sole person who consider the Eldar "bad" as a whole.

Eldar are fun and have a ton of combo's to build around although most people play the Mech route. They are no where near as forgiving as a SM army, they are built around running synergy of your unit types together. They will take a bit of time to get used to their play style.

The biggest problem I see with their codex is the heavy slot they have so much elfy goodness in there it's hard to narrow it down. Fire Prisims rock, War Walkers are great, Dark Reapers are awesome (under played imo) and Wraithlords are great at what they do as well.

They are my favorite army, I think most people have a good time playing them.

The problem with eldar is the proliferation of psychic defense.. Theyre great if you dont face rune priests every game.. otherwise it can be tough

Eldar are the complete opposite of SM. They're weak, junky army, and each unit is completely specialized (way more than any SM unit). They're units do what they're designed to do amazingly well, but trying to do anything else with them will result in utter failure.

They rely on their specialization and mobility to win games. You will be punished for your mistakes. Even a small screw-up can cost you a game.

But, with enough practice, a well-thought out list, and good tactics, they can be a very powerful army. They're not quite as good as some other forces out there, but they are a solid army.

Dont be frustrated by a lot of losses in the beginning, it takes a lot of time to learn the synergy and how it applies in a chaotic unreproducable game to game basis.

Learn how to use Fire Dragons appropriately ASAP!

But they aren´t the harder army to play nor the most difficult to master, IMO.

If you´re afraid of fielding too many T3 pansies wearing a weak armor -and being a SM player that´s quite likely-, remember that you have some very tough pals like the wraithguard, wraithlord and the avatar aswell. Tanks aren´t made of paper neither.

My FLGS players opinion is they are a weaker army in comparison to CSM, SM, etc. The general thought is that their armor is weak and losses are hard to overcome once they start happening.

Havok210 wrote:The general thought is that their armor is weak and losses are hard to overcome once they start happening.

Well, that´s not a mere thought but a fact. But I can´t see how that could be enough for someone to judge an army, unless the guy is truly narrow-minded. Its like saying that SM suck because they could be easily outnumbered by almost any army, ignoring their resources to compensate that.

Havok210 wrote:My FLGS players opinion is they are a weaker army in comparison to CSM, SM, etc.

You should go out and get an eldar army just to beat those guys. I love eldar. Read Ragewind's guide on list ideas and a lot of other helpful eldar info: http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/227419.page

Some of the strongest players in my area use Eldar. They are difficult the use well/build and list well, but have great models that play well under a good pilot.

EvilEggCracker wrote:One thing though; putting together the little buggers can be extremely frustrating at times. They are definately the most difficult models I've had to put together in quite some time.

Probably the product of being one of few 40k armies that doesn't consist of steroid-pusher, genetic super kids, or super awesome mega armour (manga style)

Pain to glue together\prep.
Fun to paint and look good finished.
Dont need a million models to make an army (like orks)
Gaming? Not for people who hate loosing.
Not space marines <-- good enough reason to get them.

Plus you will get the girls. Lots and lots of girls. 8D