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There's a Grey Knights player at my local store looking for some tougher games to test out his list, and I have decided to oblige him. He's not a completely green player, but I've been playing a LOT longer, so the idea is to take a list that's going to be a tough matchup for his list, fielded by a veteran, but also be viable against other opponents (IE not tailored). Something he might run into in a league, if not a top tier tournament (Actually....who am I kidding? This list is relatively brutal). In addition to helping him test his list, I hope to expose some obvious flaws I have seen in his design that he seems unwilling to change or at least compensate for.

My Eldar list is as follows (Also made a Space Wolves list found here):

Eldrad - 210
Autarch (Fusion Gun) - 80
6 Fire Dragons - 96
Wave Serpent (TL Shuriken Cannons, Spirit Stones) - 110
6 Fire Dragons - 96
Wave Serpent (TL Shuriken Cannons, Spirit Stones) - 110
10 Storm Guardians (Warlock w/ Destructor, 2x Flamer) - 127
Wave Serpent (TL Shuriken Cannons, Spirit Stones) - 110
10 Dire Avengers (Exarch, Bladestorm, 2x Catapults) - 152
Wave Serpent (TL Brightlance, Spirit Stones) - 145
10 Dire Avengers (Exarch, Bladestorm, 2x Catapults) - 152
Wave Serpent (TL Brightlance, Spirit Stones) - 145
5 Dire Avengers - 60
Falcon (2x Shuriken Cannon, Holofields, Spirit Stones) - 175
Fire Prism - 115
Fire Prism - 115
Total 1,998

Eldrad rides in the Falcon with the 5 Dire Avengers, and the Autarch rides with one of the Fire Dragon units. I had 80 points left over so I included him in case I decide to play reserves denial. Eldrad is popular in the league around here and he's actually a pretty strong character in this style list, so I figured why not? 7 fast skimmers and a pile of mobile firepower make this list relatively brutal against his much less mobile list. One of the things he seems to ignore most is the importance of mobility, as well as target saturation, so this list is designed as a lesson in both. Additionally, Runes of Warding should cause some serious headaches when he starts casting.

For reference, the list he fields is something like this:

Draigo - 275
Librarian (Smite, Might of Titan, Shrouding, Sanctuary) - 170
5 Paladins (Psycannon, 4x Halberds, Hammer, Psybolt Ammo) - 315
5 Paladins (Psycannon, 4x Halberds, Hammer, Psybolt Ammo) - 315
5 Paladins (Psycannon, 4x Halberds, Hammer, Psybolt Ammo) - 315
Stormraven (Assault Cannon, Multi-Melta) - 205
Dreadnought (2x TL Autocannons, Psybolt Ammo) - 135
Dreadnought (2x TL Autocannons, Psybolt Ammo) - 135
Dreadnought (Assault Cannon, Storm Bolter, Psybolt Ammo) - 130
Total 1,995

That's pretty close. I'm gonna assume the last 5 points are spent on another Psychic Power or Master Crafting somewhere. The list might not be 100% exact but I'm pretty sure it's about 95%. I know he takes Smite on the Librarian....

Thoughts? Too mean?

Should be fun. My only question is why take Bright lances over EML on your two DA squads? The only thing EMLs don't reliably pop better than BL are av 14, which you have 2 fire dragon squads for and a falcon. That potentially gives you some more points to beef up another DA squad or a FD squad.

Grey Knights should take a serious hit with Eldrad on the field, having to roll 3d6 for all psychic tests is rough, especially when everyone in the army is a psyker and the runes are board wide. Keep us updated on how it goes, maybe a bat rep.

Alright, a few things to consider for Mech Eldar, especially if you want to give grey knights a good run for their money.

First, EMLs are inferior to Scatter Lasers in most areas. True, the EMLs will do better against AV12 as they can do more than glance, however, most AV 12 units have lower armor sides. The only exception off the top of my head, is the storm raven. That said, those stormravens run over 200 points a piece! They're mobile, but they'll go down in a flame of death to fire dragons. On the note of fire dragons, I would limit them down to five models instead of six, just to save points. Now, back to the scatter lasers, you have to remember that even though the EML is S8 AP3, it's still only a single shot. Though TL'd, you will still miss what? 33% of the time? Then you have to wound, good odds there, though even with the scatter laser in most regards, then you have armor / cover saves. With terminator armor from the grey knights, your EML is next to useless against their infantry. The scatter Laser's 4 shots really pull it out in front against infantry.

Next, Eldrad really feels like a waste here. You are going to guide the Falcon, and then what with the other two powers? Fortune...? Now what...? Yeah, that's what I thought. Save yourself the points, just take a normal farseer with both runes and guide.

Next, to really save on points, might I suggest dropping your squads down to minimum? They really don't need to be all kitted out if you want to make this list the best it can be.

In the end, the list should look like...

(80) Autarch- Fusion Gun
(150) Farseer- Both Runes, Stones, Guide, Fortune

(180) 5 Fire Dragons + Wave Serpent- tl shuri cannon
(180) 5 Fire Dragons + Wave Serpent- tl shuri cannon
(180) 5 Fire Dragons + Wave Serpent- tl shuri cannon

(60) 5 Dire Avengers
(175) 5 Dire Avengers + Wave Serpent- tl scatter
(175) 5 Dire Avengers + Wave Serpent- tl scatter
(175) 5 Dire Avengers + Wave Serpent- tl scatter
(175) 5 Dire Avengers + Wave Serpent- tl scatter

(170) Falcon- Missile, Holo fields
(150) Fire Prism- Holo fields
(150) Fire Prism- Holo fields

TOTAL: 2000 points

This is about as cookie-cutter mech Eldar as you get too, so there is no list tailoring. It gives you 10 AV12 vehicles, 3 S8 shots, 2prism shots, 24 S6 shots, 15 meltas, so on and so forth. It should put up one hell of a fight against any opponent.

To clear up some of the points raised above, I'll explain the choices I made. First, Eldrad is popular around here so I figured I would take him. Normally I'd run a Farseer as you suggested but in this case I'm looking to make the list a bit closer to what this guy will see in a league or local tournament. As for the Brightlances and the extra Fire Dragons, i figure they will be Instant Death for models in a unit not containing Draigo, and they both bypass Terminator Armor. Additionally, I already have the models built and painted, and I lack the pieces to swap them. I also only have 5 Wave Serpents (equipped as above) and two Fire Prisms, as well as two Falcons (of which I can only take a single). I've never been a fan of MSU Eldar, and I don't intend to buy additional vehicles, so I have to limit myself to the 8 skimmers I already have in the list. I'd entertain the idea of swapping units around because I have a bit of flexibility there, but I don't have any means of adjusting the vehicles.

10 banshees in a wave serpent would actually have use against a squad of palidins

Not as much as you might think, and not much at all unless I get Doom off. 10 Banshees have 27 attacks at WS4 S3 and 3 at WS5 S5. That's just over 3.6 wounds (not kills, just unsaved wounds) before the Paladins strike back and kill almost twice that many as those wounds with fewer attacks. I considered it but then I ran the numbers and figured Fire Dragons would probably be better due to Instant Death.