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Hello all,

As the subject heading suggests, I'm thinking about getting into Eldar. Not for competitive reasons but for 'they look pretty neat and they're not another power armor army' reasons. Thing is, I'm not sure where to start. I've watched batreps and most of the lists seem rather mean. As in, it's all about the winning. I'm not all about that. I like fun, well rounded lists that provide a fun time. Not lists that aggravate my opponents and push them to not playing me anymore. Maybe that's unavoidable with Eldar, but that's the point of this thread!

Anyways, I'm starting from scratch. So I'm all ears to any and all suggestions. I'm aiming for 1500 but am also considering 1000. I hope to keep the cost 'relatively' low (tough with 40k it seems) but of course I don't want to buy units JUST because the price tag is low.

And before it's asked because I know it will be asked... I have no idea what I'm doing. Haven't picked a craftworld or anything. So literally all suggestions are welcomed.

Thanks for the suggestions everyone! I'm at work right now so I'll make this quick: seems everyone suggests the 'take what you want route'. Which is what I love to hear. That just screams fun to me! The two things that really appeal to me are magic and bikes. Magic more so than bikes (due to playing Ravenwing, I have a bike army already but little to no magic). I'm not familiar with the craftworlds, so when I have time I'm going to dig around and see which craftworld satisfies those requirements the most (unless a kind gentlemen could tell me, which would save me the time and I would be grateful).

 Nevelon wrote:

 ColonelFazackerley wrote:
You want seer council then. Possibly 2 in a list.

Fluffily, craftworld ulthwe is the most obvious choice.

Ulthwe is know for it’s seers, Saim-Hann for it’s bikes. Both worlds have both. He could go either way.

Next question is what paint scheme looks the best.

Yeah I'm a little torn between the two. On one hand, I prefer Ulthwe but as mentioned before I also collect Ravenwing. So I already have a 'mostly black' army. Saim-Hann doesn't look as good, imho. But it's a paint scheme that's different than I'm use to. Which is very appealing!

 Farseer Uruvion wrote:
I think it's great that you choose an army based on the aesthetics rather than which unit is more powerful. I do the exact same.

Okay, so the very first thing to do is look through the codex and decide what kind of look you want to your army (what theme you want to go with). You've already chosen a Jetbike and Psychic style, which is awesome. (I have the same for my army).
When you've decided what you want in your army, decide on a Craftworld. Or better yet, like I've done, create your own Craftworld. Make up your own paint schemes, background, characters, etc.
I thoroughly enjoy becoming immersed in the rich lore of 40k (especially Eldar) and creating your own elements of a new Craftworld is immensely fun.

Although, do keep in mind that a Eldar Jetbike armies are expensive to buy. Very expensive. Also, Eldar Jetbike armies are very powerful, especially with the help of Psychic powers. People may comment on cheese.

Regardless, it's enjoyable and when on a board, full painted, the army can look amazing.

Have fun with it, if you do decide.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
I could go on for days, as Eldar are my 40k passion army. (Who would have guessed).

I wasn't aware of the price. I figured with that new box set that it would have made it a bit cheaper. I'll keep that in mind!

 Nevelon wrote:

 PaulTheFirewoodSalesman wrote:

I wasn't aware of the price. I figured with that new box set that it would have made it a bit cheaper. I'll keep that in mind!

It does a little. The new box is $160 for about $185 worth of stuff if purchased a la carte. Basically a free vyper with the purchase of 3 boxes of bikes an a seer on a bike. As it looks to be its own box, you can probably get it via a discounter to save a bit more. If you trick out the contents of the box, it will get you about a 400 point list. It’s worth noting that the box is not actually everything you need for the windrider host, as you need both a farseer on a bike as well as a warlock conclave (of at least one guy). And if you want to include a warlock in each bike squad, you will need more, and at $33 a pop, they add up fast.

But bike armies are not cheap, regardless of codex.

What the windrider box will do is make a solid core to an army. Either as a HQ+troops for a CAD, or as part of the larger formation. From there, you can add whatever floats your boat. If you use formations, you can mix-and-match aspect warriors, as long as you take 3 squads. Or just a little of everything if you build it the old fashioned way.

In which case I might stay clear of bikes altogether. I don't have a dire need to make a bike army due to already having Ravenwing. So perhaps a more magic oriented Eldar army will be my priority.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Been playing around with some lists and holy moly they aren't cheap. Seems to be unavoidable with most armies (Grey Knights seem to be an exception), but it would appear that I'm looking at around $600 CAD for 1500 points of Eldar.

 Skinnereal wrote:

$600 CAD for 1500 points of Eldar.

That's about normal for a 40k army.
Start small, and get in a few games first. You might not like the way the game works for them.
But, as you already have an army, you know most of it already.
Run them as allies, to get the feel for them. If you want to run the Farseer and Warlocks on foot, get a troops squad to go with them, such as Dire Avengers. That's an AAD right there. Get a couple of Wave Serpents maybe, to keep up with your SMs.

That's what I usually aim to do but I tend to have trouble making lists in the past. If I were to make a small 500 points list, I would obviously save tons of money. But I always seem to struggle bumping up the 500 points to something like 1000 points. Meaning, I never seem to be able to make a viable list by building upon 500 points. In most cases, with lists I've seen and conjured up (not talking strictly Eldar here), a 1000 point list will use little to no units from the 500 point list. Perhaps that won't be the case for Eldar?

 Nevelon wrote:
Back at the start of the year, my FLGS did an introductory escalation league. I took the opportunity to dust off my Eldar project which has been simmering off and on since 2nd edition.

500 points

Spoiler:

Farseer, on bike w/spear
5 DA
10 guardians w/brightlance
3 jetbikes
Falcon, scatter laser, holofields.

750

Spoiler:

Farseer
10 man guardian, brightlance platform, WS w/brightlance, holofield
5 man DA, exarch w/power sword, shimmerfield (in one of the Falcons)
2xFalcons, scatterlaser, holofields

1000

Spoiler:

I added 250 on to the last list. Mostly in the form of a unit of fire dragons and a lot up upgrades. Like a warlock for the guardians, and mounting the seer on a bike, and giving him the laughing mantle. Ghostwalk matrixes for the falcons as well.

1250

Spoiler:

I wrote/packed a 1,250 list, but never got a chance to play it. I was basically the last one with a crimson hunter and a ranger squad.

I’m not saying these are the most competitive lists out there, and are biased by what I own/like/paint. But gives you one example of how an eldar army can grow.

Now that's exactly what I should aim for. Start off at 500 and work my way up. Thanks for the awesome example!

Well I've been going over a lot of stuff and I think I actually like the thought of Harlequins. Plus I know a guy who bought a whole bunch in hopes to get into 40k again. Never did so he's willing to sell for cheap.

So it looks like I'll have enough for the Cegorach's Jest and The Heroes' Path formations. I have enough for a Masque Detachment but it isn't exactly I would want it to look. I.e now enough skyweavers or starweavers.

Anyways, I'm also getting 2 units of wraithguard, a farseer on foot, a spiritseer on foot, and a waveserpent. So I might pick up the battleforce for the troops, make a CAD, and call it a day!

 wuestenfux wrote:

 PaulTheFirewoodSalesman wrote:
So it looks like I'll have enough for the Cegorach's Jest and The Heroes' Path formations. I have enough for a Masque Detachment but it isn't exactly I would want it to look. I.e now enough skyweavers or starweavers.

Anyways, I'm also getting 2 units of wraithguard, a farseer on foot, a spiritseer on foot, and a waveserpent. So I might pick up the battleforce for the troops, make a CAD, and call it a day!

In terms of Eldar, I'd start with a Jetseer.
If you want Wraithguard, take two units of 5 in Serpents and include a Spiritseer (she cannot take a jetbike).
However, Wraithguard is not a must have - I wouldn't call it a day.
I'd take two units of 10 Dire Avengers in Serpents and add 3 Warwalkers with scatterlasers. Much more bang for the bucks.

That's a big money issue right there. I don't mind getting the battleforce, but what you have suggested is another $200 (probably more) in Canadian dollars. If I can get my hands on some more money, then I'd definitely consider it.

 Skinnereal wrote:

 PaulTheFirewoodSalesman wrote:
Anyways, I'm also getting 2 units of wraithguard, a farseer on foot, a spiritseer on foot, and a waveserpent. So I might pick up the battleforce for the troops, make a CAD, and call it a day!

You might want to check about Wraithguard being Troops.
I thought they got dropped as an option in the new C:CWE, even with Spiritseers.
IIRC though, GW have stated that the Iyanden suppliment is still valid, and that's full of Wraiths.

[After a re-read:]
Unless you mean to use the Guardians and DAs as the troops. You're good with that.

Yeah that was what I meant. I wish I could use the wraithguard as troops though! Would have saved me quite a few dollars.

Bharring wrote:
Yeah, WG aren't troops.

I can't endorse Cegoraths Jest enough. I've always loved it. Even when it gets shot off the table. And my opponents seem to love it too. Heroes Path can add a lot of fun to it too, but I'd suggest adding a CAD from somewhere (CWE or DE).

With what you got, an Eldar battle force would be perfect. Gives you options. And a foot farseer can go in any unit, really. Note that Harlies from Jest *don't* lose run-then-charge with a non-Harlie added, but it still feels more "right" to put the Seer in with Guardians defensively or DAs offensively.

Finally, I'd note that your Harlies are squishy. I'd build out your CWE to match thematically. That means I wouldn't go heavy Wraith or Tank. Footdar or mobile platforms seem to compliment Harlies better.

(Also, while the Masque is fun, its not as fun as a Jest plus a diverse set of CWE options, usually. I'll never field my Tau, SM, or any Eldar flavor as allies to eachother, but Harlies seem best fielded with other Eldar allies.)

I shouldn't be this excited about the start of someone I'll never meet's starting collection!

I'll start off by saying that I greatly appreciate your enthusiasm. Hearing your excitement only gets me more excited than I already am. It also really reassures me that I'm making a good buy.

I think you're really onto something about using CWE that compliment Harlequins. You suggested not going Heavy Wraith or Tank. Would that perhaps mean I should not use the Wraithguard I'm getting at all? Or just don't use them in abundance?

I like the idea of the Masque Detachment, really. Problem is, with what I'm getting, I can't make a Masque Detachment that really pops. I'm only getting one box of Skyweavers after all. So I'm content with the two formations, and hearing you praise Cegorach's Jest makes me really excited to use that formation in particular.

 wuestenfux wrote:
I'd start with two battle boxes.
This would give you a solid starter army.
Add an HQ and you could start playing.
Id use one of the Vypers and declare it as an Autarch on Jetbike with reaper launcher.

With all the Harlequins I have I can probably get away with one battle box.

To give you an idea of what I'm working with here's a quick list as to what I currently have:

4 boxes of Troupes (1 built, rest unbuilt)
2 boxes of Void/Starweavers
1 box of Skyweavers
2 Shadowseers
1 Solitaire
1 Death Jester
2 boxes of Wraithguard (1 built, 1 unbuilt)
1 Farseer
1 Spiritseer

I would like to get more Eldar in the future, but with this buy I'm short on cash. So I hope to keep it below $200 Canadian if I can.

 Filch wrote:
Can this new guy fit 5 at 1500?

Well I don't want to be a complete bastard haha

 wuestenfux wrote:

 PaulTheFirewoodSalesman wrote:

 wuestenfux wrote:
I'd start with two battle boxes.
This would give you a solid starter army.
Add an HQ and you could start playing.
Id use one of the Vypers and declare it as an Autarch on Jetbike with reaper launcher.

With all the Harlequins I have I can probably get away with one battle box.

To give you an idea of what I'm working with here's a quick list as to what I currently have:

4 boxes of Troupes (1 built, rest unbuilt)
2 boxes of Void/Starweavers
1 box of Skyweavers
2 Shadowseers
1 Solitaire
1 Death Jester
2 boxes of Wraithguard (1 built, 1 unbuilt)
1 Farseer
1 Spiritseer

I would like to get more Eldar in the future, but with this buy I'm short on cash. So I hope to keep it below $200 Canadian if I can.

Okay. So I'd add two Serpents for the Wraithguard.
Then you should make an army list.

I forgot to list the waveserpent I have so that isn't a big issue. Only thing is that Wraithguard aren't troops. So I don't have enough for a CAD is the issue ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Bharring wrote:
Either pick up two troops to flavor or the battle force.

With the Battle Force, you have some Guardians for holding the backfield, some DAs to do a little work on a flank and take some pressure off of Harlies, another Serpent for carrying either the DA or the WG, and a Vyper.

So your base list would then be:
1 Farseer
10xGuardians w/ Brightlance
5xDA exarch or no to flavor, but don't add a weapon

Then add your Harlies:
Do a Jest
6x Harlie in a Starweaver
2man Sky Weavers
Voidweaver

Then, optionally add as points / desire hit:

Harliqun Cast of Players
-5-10 Harlequins, a DJ, and a SS

WG Boat of Doom
-5 WG in a Wave Serpent, possibly with a Spirit Seer

Second WG Boat of Doom

Vyper

Troop Serpent (ObSec, plus get your guys - probably DAs - into place

FA Serpent (Allow you to pick at deployment who to stick into the boat - Harlies can, but can't attack the round they disembark.)

That will allow you to change up your list between games and try some different things. Mix and match. Figure out what you enjoy.

Sounds legit with minimal purchases. Thanks!