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They are a unit I don't see often, but they do irritate the hell out of me. Deepstriking behind a BW (ore any other transport), wrecking it with there shots and then jumping over half the table so you can't reach them is realy insane. Why don't they see more use?

 hordrak wrote:
They are a unit I don't see often, but they do irritate the hell out of me. Deepstriking behind a BW (ore any other transport), wrecking it with there shots and then jumping over half the table so you can't reach them is realy insane. Why don't they see more use?

They're expensive and other units do things better.

It's often used as a suicide squad.

:shrug:

If your goal is to maximize your STR6+ shooting... spiders does have a place.

Frankly, with the advent of maelstorm missions, Swooping Hawks I think is much more useful.

The few times I've played against them they did do a decent bit of damage to my DA, and if I buy Eldar I'd probably buy a squad (even just for coolness factor). Their biggest problems however are that they're expensive, get targeted first because they're always the first thing to come in range, and the whole getting sucked into the warp randomly often turns out bad for the guy running them.

What whembly said.

And I will add: spiders rely a lot their battle focus, thrust moves, warp jump and deep strike for mobility - all of which rely on random move distances. Now that they're scoring units (and 7th edition being the mobility edition), they can sometimes be unreliable when you absolutely need to get to an objective, or you absolutely need to get within 12" of an enemy to shoot them. Hawks and jetbikes are a hell of a lot more reliable for that.

And in any case, Eldar have a lot of really great reliable shooting options. If you intend to create a competitive list, you have a lot of tough, reliable shooty units that can fill a similar role to Spiders.

I use Spiders in almost every game, and they're still a good unit. But it's no mystery why they are rare in tournaments.

I never leave home without 10 of them. Two squads of five, no upgrades. They are super versatile and do just about everything well.

Not hugely reliable but a massive threat with a variable range (pro and con)

I'm not 100% on the math here as its not mine but you may find this thread interesting: http://www.librarium-online.com/forums/eldar/272921-warp-spiders-vs-shining-spears-vs-vypers-vs-wraithknight-vs-swooping-hawks.html

Well, once I fought Nids with my Eldar.
The small bugs were already close to my front ranks.
My full Warpspider unit stepped into the swarm, shot the Warriors lagging behind, and then moved into a ruin behind the swarm.
My opponent got nuts.
One can do crazy things with them due to their speed and shooty ness.

I really dislike warp spiders. They are exceptionally good for their points. 17pts for amazing maneuverability, great shooting and reasonable durability. I WISH assault marines were that points efficient (yes I know they have different roles, but still an obvious disparity between points efficiency). Also you don't usually need to rely on spiders for objective grabbing when you have jetbikes and OS wave serpents.


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If I could arm my asms with assault autocannons for free, even for 3 to 5pts more, I would 100% do it.

Can't speak to how good they are in a competitive setting, but in my friendly games they always perform amazingly. Because Eldar have so many other "bigger" threat units like Wave Serpents and Wraith Knights, people tend to ignore the Warp Spiders which they often end up paying dearly for. I usually run a squad of 7 and their strength 6/7 pseudo rending shots, plus their insane mobility will wreck anything that isn't AV 14 plus give even heavy infantry fits (at least until they get charged). But due to their ability to move potentially 24 inches with their thrust move + Battle Focus, they are hard to catch. I think they're the hidden all-stars of the Eldar codex.

They punch really far above their weight. They don't really care what they see across the board from them - as long as it's not AV 14 they can make a mess of it. Rear shots on tanks, taking out transports, MCs, Elite infantry, MEQ, TEQ - they're good to go. Oh yeah, and they can outrun anything, in any phase of the game. Maybe not the best in the codex, but I think they can find a place in just about any list.

Pretty much the only thing they don't do is anti-hoard.

That said - they models are simply horrid. Awful - ugly - mono-pose crap. I'm planning on clipping off the gun barrels from mine and doing some kind of conversion. I saw one with wingless scourges that looked pretty good - but I've also seen people use the guardian body as a base.

A unit of 6 or 7 warp spiders have been a staple in my lists for a long, long time. Often paired with a unit of 6 swooping hawks. I throw an Autarch in with the warp spiders if I am feeling adventurous.

These units make their value back in tactical flexibility every game they are in. Tremendous movement combined with really the perfect wheelhouse of firepower. They really can be that "free safety" in your army list.

They're pretty fun flyer hunters too if needed.

Warp Spiders are one of the best units in all of 40k. The people here saying they're not that good are waaaaay off-base.

People are too busy spamming wave serpents. That's all there is too it.

Never leave home without them! They are a bit expensive but if played correctly they can work wonders. You just have to resist the urge to use them as suicide squads and always bring your Autarch/comm relay with them.

warp spiders are probably the unit I have had the some of the most trouble dealing with as IG over the past few editions. If I were eldar I would take them a lot.

They're fast, they're good at hitting their optimal targets (light vehicles, Russes' behinds), and they're much tougher than most people expect. They're a solid unit, even at their pricepoint.

I run two small squads of five, no upgrades and find them very useful. Their movement can really frustrate an opponent and they excel at crowd control and anti-armour. I find they provide a surprising weight of fire from such a small unit.

They're short-ranged, but their speed can help there.
Also, monofiliment makes their S6 become S7 for slow targets. Vehicles don't have an I score, so they're S7,
Also, there's a chance of AP1 against non-vehicles.

I like my Warp squad. The exarch doesn't a good model, but I'll butcher the Finecast version I got to fix that. Who uses powerblades on them after all?

I use 30 at 1500.

They're easily the best unit in Codex Eldar. Yes, better than Wave Serpents.

Warp Spiders have the greatest mobility (3 of the 4 phases) of any unit in the game. They are S7 vs vehicles (that are below I4--don't get caught short thinking you're S7 versus the Imperial Knight!). When they 'rend', they do it at AP1 (suck on that, Centurions!). They have a 3+. They have Hit-and-Run.

All this (and some more) for a very reasonable cost!

I run 6-8, depending on points available, and can't remember writing a list without including them since I got my first 5 two years ago. They are full of win.

DCannon4Life wrote:
Warp Spiders have the greatest mobility (3 of the 4 phases) of any unit in the game. They are S7 vs vehicles (that are below I4--don't get caught short thinking you're S7 versus the Imperial Knight!). When they 'rend', they do it at AP1 (suck on that, Centurions!). They have a 3+. They have Hit-and-Run.

All this (and some more) for a very reasonable cost!

I run 6-8, depending on points available, and can't remember writing a list without including them since I got my first 5 two years ago. They are full of win.

They've been a mainstay in my lists for about 20 years. I love me some warp spiders.

 DarknessEternal wrote:
I use 30 at 1500.

They're easily the best unit in Codex Eldar. Yes, better than Wave Serpents.

They're good, but I don't know if they are THAT good. Obliterating entire lists from 36" on a scoot and shoot platform is pretty hot.

If you think of what Wave Serpents do as "obliterating", you really need to see a mass of Warp Spiders in action.

They make the damage output of Wave Serpents look like puke.

 DarknessEternal wrote:
If you think of what Wave Serpents do as "obliterating", you really need to see a mass of Warp Spiders in action.

They make the damage output of Wave Serpents look like puke.

I've seen them. They have to at least kind of put themselves in danger.

Every-time I play eldar I fight warp spiders. They are annoying little gaks especially with hit and run you can never tie them up in melee.
But I face them alot so I learn to adapt.

Martel732 wrote:

I've seen them. They have to at least kind of put themselves in danger.

Dead targets provide no danger.

 hordrak wrote:
They are a unit I don't see often, but they do irritate the hell out of me. Deepstriking behind a BW (ore any other transport), wrecking it with there shots and then jumping over half the table so you can't reach them is realy insane. Why don't they see more use?

There are other units that can deal with orks. As in pretty much every unit xD Warp spiders are just expensive and fragile.

I still run them though in non-tournament games.

 ninjafiredragon wrote:
Warp spiders are just expensive and fragile.

I question what you consider cheap or tough then.

 ninjafiredragon wrote:

 hordrak wrote:
They are a unit I don't see often, but they do irritate the hell out of me. Deepstriking behind a BW (ore any other transport), wrecking it with there shots and then jumping over half the table so you can't reach them is realy insane. Why don't they see more use?

There are other units that can deal with orks. As in pretty much every unit xD Warp spiders are just expensive and fragile.

I still run them though in non-tournament games.

I agree they are not " tough' , you take them for their speed, str 6-7 guns that can redeploy. They are perfect with los blockers and can also function as last min objective grabbers if you need too. I am running 2 units of 7 in my list im testing for the Las Vegas Open GT