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Hey, dunno weather this is the right section for this, but whatever.

I am considering adding a autarch on a jetbike to my Eldar list, it should be a fun conversion project and a cool figurehead for my army. I was wondering how popular he is with the average Eldar player.

They can be equipped with a laser lance, giving them S6 PW attacks, not to mention the 1+ to reserve rolls, which is very useful to a mech/ saim-hann player like myself. However, he is 70 points base, with 30 for the bike, so that's 100 points spent without any wargear! 100 points which could buy more jetbikes or fire dragons or whatever. He's a big points sink, but is it worth it?

I will be interesting to hear how popular he is, and what war gear the people of DD recommend.

Hello, you must be new to Eldar.
Point-sinks are what we do best!

That being said, you can tool up the Autarch with a mandiblaster too, giving him 6 S6 power waepon attacks on the charge.

But it really depends on what your running him with. Guardian jetbikes? Shining spears? solo? jetlocks?

They're a nice addition to a seer council, granting 6 S6 power weapon attacks on the charge when equipped with a laser lance and mandiblasters. Add on a fusion gun and you've got a melta shot to join the occassional spear in the council.

Alternately, add him to a unit of GJB with a reaper launcher, power weapon, and mandiblasters and you've got S5 AP3 shots to go with your Shuricannon - JSJ behind a decent sized, LOS-blocking terrain piece with an objective and he'll pick off squads the whole fight, hold the objective, and tear apart anyone trying to infiltrate.

You're completely right in saying that he's point heavy, but the eldar codex as a whole is expensive and the synergy of the unit is what you want to look at. On a bike he's less useful in a footslogging or mech list, but paired with a jetseer council and played Saim-Hann style, he makes a nice addition. He's also cheaper than a fully kitted bike farseer, although I'd rather have a second seer than an autarch honestly.

Yes. A Jetbike autarch is quite simply a very good unit. Jetbike, Laser Lance and Fusion Gun and you've got a reserve-benefitting, tank-hunting, fast-moving, MeQ-killing, Monstrous Creature-stabbing machine.

The only problem? Farseers.

The main problem is that they are designed to be combat characters, but being T3 means they get smacked in the head and ID'd too often. Fully loaded out with Jetbike, Laser Lance, Mandiblaster and Fusion Gun they are pretty expensive as well, not worth it for an easily killable character who hits hard once and then gets stuck in combat and dies.

The best thing about an Autarch is the reserves buff, and for that they don't need much if any equipment. I tend to run with a Fusion Gun and maybe a power weapon or Scorpion Chainsword if I have some points spare.

actually i find that the best way to run a jetbike autarch has already been mentioned by gavin. he suggested that you kit them out and add them to a seer council. doing so increases his ability to survive longer due to the farseer casting fortune on the unit and can dish out the much needed power weapon attacks. however trying to fit him in to a seer council can deny you the ability to run two councils and can affect your list in an awkward annoying way such as the person running the list putting things in reserve when they shouldnt.

3 jetlocks 1 autarch 265pts and you have one unit can remove a full tactical squad ( /sternguard).

if you plan on having a Jetlock council or a Saim-hann style army, then yes by all means. otherwise no

I never thought of using him with warlocks, might test that out

I use a jetbike autarch in my army - with a shining spear unit! Please don't judge me until you hear me out on the tactics.

First of all, the autarch himself obviously needs a jetbike and a laser lance (120) and the other two really good options are a fusion gun, and mandiblasters. Currently I am including a 130-pt version with a fusion gun, the BS6 is just too good to miss, this guy has killed a lot of tanks. Mandiblasters are more of a truly optional extra - if I move some things about, they might go back on but they're not absolutely necessary.

Tactics: I ALWAYS keep the spears in reserve with the autarch attached. (5 spears with an exarch with star lance) Most armies want to come to me, since I have all long-ranged shooting weapons on my tanks. Once they come within 18" of my board edge, it is an appropriate time for the shining spears to come out. Autarch helps with this, I often want the squad to stay off on the second turn, then on the 3rd turn I can bring them in on a 2+. It's important not to be too ambitious when assaulting things - ideally the squad needs to wipe its target out, or very close to. Last game I played these guys destroyed 2 deathwing squads and Belial.

Edit: I should also add that I've had lots of problems figuring out how to use shining spears, I dropped them more than once. But at the end of the day assault units in wave serpents are very hard to charge with. Jetbikes are better. Since I'm keeping the spears in reserve, I don't bother with fortune at all. (psychic powers are at the start of the turn, so can't be used on reserved units the turn they come in) If you were prepared to start them on the table behind cover, or plan to use them conservatively over 2 turns, fortune would be a good idea. This might be from a farseer in a wave serpent, or one riding a bike with the squad. In that case I'd give the farseer a singing spear.

My point being a jetbike autarch can be very good, for reserve rolls and to add punch to a shining spears unit. I'm sure he would also be a good addition to warlock jetbike squads, giving them some ability to punch through armoured troops while they give him some staying power. But if, like me, you don't want to make a warlock squad and think shining spears are cool, he's still worth it.

One other thing: if I'm swamped by targets, I sometimes split the autarch from the main squad and send him after a tank/very small exposed unit. He can wreck a tank easily, and if the enemy is using more small shooty units, the spears can deal with them without the autarch's attacks. I only advise doing this if there is solid line-of-sight blocking cover to hide the autarch behind afterwards.

Summary: autarch is the best way to add punch to jetbike units (shining spears, warlock jetbikes, maybe guardian jetbikes at a pinch). I would also rather spend more on an effective unit, than 80 on an ineffective one - laser lance is the only upgrade that lets the autarch do real damage in combat, and I find jetbikes to be a much better delivery for assaults than wave serpents. So if you need the autarch reserve roll bonus, consider yriel or a jetbike autarch over the standard cheap-o model.

Well, that turned into more of a shining spears discussion than anything else! That's how I use my autarch, anyway. Works pretty well.

I'll second that.

I've run him in a squad of 5 Shining Spears with a Star Lance Exarch and had moderate success. That said, I usually am a little more aggressive than IBHTE's holding in reserves tactic, but his is much more sound and my unit usually ends up folding if they're not able to Hit and Run far enough.

In a squad, they are a great assist. Alone, they die very quickly to AC, PG, etc. Insta-killing on STR 6 is a drag.

Gavin Thorne wrote:I'll second that.

I've run him in a squad of 5 Shining Spears with a Star Lance Exarch and had moderate success. That said, I usually am a little more aggressive than IBHTE's holding in reserves tactic, but his is much more sound and my unit usually ends up folding if they're not able to Hit and Run far enough.

Agree about the full squad size and star lance, definitely. I have actually stopped taking hit&run. It just seems (maybe since I usually charge the hardest enemy units) that I either wipe the opposition out, or my squad gets munched up over the 2 combat rounds before it's safe to get out. Time will tell if that is a good decision. My instinct, though, is that by the time you use the 25 pt withdraw power, you're only saving 70 or so points worth of men at most.

Never.
I have had little success with eldar reserve armies, and have beaten a number of them.

It isn't that he is BAD, it is just that he takes a farseer slot, and a farseer is just hella better.

The one thing that makes it unusable for me is the cost of a T3 model. Screw that, Ill take a second farseer. I don't do combat eldar anyway, so I am biased, but for shooty eldar I will take my farseers.