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Here's a slightly modified version of a down and dirty list I used the other day that performed at least as well as I could of expected. (Tabled my opponent by the top of turn four.) The only change made here, is I swapped a unit of Dire Avengers out for a third unit of Rangers. The list worked alright with the Dire Avengers. However after theory hammering out the list since last week, I believe the Rangers will bring more to the table as the Dire Avengers were out of range most of the game babysitting an objective that the Rangers could have held even better, while still shooting at anything they wanted to.

So here it goes:

Battalion -

Farseer (100)
Autarch - Wings, Banshee Mask, Fusion Pistol, Shard of Anaris (98)

20x Guardian Defenders (160)
6x Rangers (72)
6x Rangers (72)
9x Rangers (108)
5x Wraithguard - D-Scythes (225)
9x Windriders - 9x Shuriken Cannons (252)
10x Dark Reapers (270)
Crimson Hunter Exarch - 2x Brightlances (175)
Wave Serpent - Spirit Stones, Vectored Engines, 3x Shuriken Cannons (154)

Outrider -

Spiritseer (45)

5x Warp Spiders - Exarch, 2x Deathspinners (98)
5x Warp Spiders - Exarch, 2x Deathspinners (98)
Vyper - 2x Shuriken Cannons (70)

The plan is simple:

Use all of the Eldar trickery to disrupt your opponent, then shoot him off the table.

You've got 7 CPs to work with and you'll use every one of them almost assuredly.

The Farseer's the Warlord w/ Puritanical Leader as his Warlord Trait. (You've got to keep the speed bump in play to protect the important stuff.)

The Autarch and Warp Spiders are held in deep strike reserve. The Rangers are walking the winding path and will deploy right before the game starts. The Windriders are in the webway (1CP). The Spiritseer and Wraithguard are deployed in the Wave Serpent, to one side of the board along with the Crimson Hunter and the Vyper. The Guardians and the Reapers are deployed within 6" of the Farseer, heavy to the other side of the board. Eight units deployed, seven in reserve. Your opponent will most likely counter deploy to try and alpha strike at least one side of the board where you've placed a critical threat (Reapers / Wraithguard).

Now the fun begins.

Phantasm (2CP) - You now move one entire flank over to the other side of your deployment zone, creating a refused flank scenario. You should have made at least a portion of your opponents army virtually useless for at least a turn or two, and you'll be able to focus on the part that you're in range and LOS of. Your Rangers now appear to deny deep strikers their drop zones around where you've now redeployed to. Remember this is all about model placement and maximizing ranges to prevent the important stuff from being charged, while presenting enough of a threat that your opponent has to do something. When the opportunity presents itself, bring in the Autarch, Warp Spiders, and Windriders together to maximize the Autarch's area effect and shoot something off the board. This combo is only slowed by the Autarch's limited movement of 12" plus an advance roll. It's funny that the slowest model is moving 12", but that's Eldar!

You've got 4CPs left. Feel free to use Forewarned and Runes of Witnessing on the Dark Reapers to eliminate that pesky deep striking (alpha strike) unit that your opponent is relying on to win the game. Don't forget that if you go first you'll want Guide on those Reapers, because it lasts until the start of your next psychic phase. Meaning Forewarned is that much more effective. Don't forget to Conceal the Reapers at least turn one, -2 to hit them really keeps them going.

Anyway, just figured I'd share.

Good luck, and keep rolling dice!

Out!

Wish you could find more room to get a few more CPs.

The only way is to combine for a Brigade, and make the 2 vypers 2 separate units of Vypers. Now you still need 2 more Elits.

Another way to grab 1 more CP is to make a SpearHead detachment with the Reapers and 2 War Walkers as 2 units instead of the Vypers. You would need to move the Wind Riders down to the OutRider detachment.

You also need 1 more HQ.

The Extra HQ could still fit in the Wave Serpent. You have more units to deploy for first turn try.

With the CP on elder shenanigans I feel that 4 left over is way short. I bet you would be able to use 6 or 8 average after your initial CP deployment usage.

 admironheart wrote:
Wish you could find more room to get a few more CPs.

The only way is to combine for a Brigade, and make the 2 vypers 2 separate units of Vypers. Now you still need 2 more Elits.

Another way to grab 1 more CP is to make a SpearHead detachment with the Reapers and 2 War Walkers as 2 units instead of the Vypers. You would need to move the Wind Riders down to the OutRider detachment.

You also need 1 more HQ.

The Extra HQ could still fit in the Wave Serpent. You have more units to deploy for first turn try.

With the CP on elder shenanigans I feel that 4 left over is way short. I bet you would be able to use 6 or 8 average after your initial CP deployment usage.

I've lost couple hours of sleep trying to figure out a way to get more CPs into the list. I'm just not seeing a good way to do it and maintain the purposefully built way that this list works.

There's only one Vyper in the list. So, unfortunately while turning it into a War Walker could be done it still leaves me short one HS and an HQ choice for a Spearhead.

Also, I would love to field a brigade. I just don't see, without a complete rewrite of the list and tactics, a way of fielding one.

Thanks for the suggestions though. I'm going to keep pondering, and playing, until I can figure something out.

Eldar have a harder time getting in extra CPs without sacrificing effective units. This is a major reason why our Stratagems are objectively better than others....because we can't use as many.
Eldar don't do MSU very well, so I wouldn't lose any more sleep on it.

-

 Galef wrote:
Eldar have a harder time getting in extra CPs without sacrificing effective units. This is a major reason why our Stratagems are objectively better than others....because we can't use as many.

-

I agree completely. In order to compose a force of hard hitting durable units (with Eldar they're still a glass hammer), you've pretty well got to sacrifice command points when laying out your list. Which makes utilizing some of the best stratagems difficult, because at 2CPs a pop you really have to have a plan when using them.

You could get one more CP by dropping that extra squad of 9 rangers and bringing 3 warlocks in a supreme command detachment. You could also drop a windrider or two to make those warlocks spiritseers for some smite spam. I haven't personally found that rangers deal enough damage to kill important characters so the smite spam might help finish off key units.

Another small change you could make is bringing the shiftshroud of altanssair on the farseer instead of the shard of anaris on the autach. It would help the farseer show up exactly where its needed and keep up with the guardians

Played another game tonight, this one against a highly mobile Dark Eldar force. Which quite honestly had me a bit concerned.

It was certainly a blood bath. However, I still pulled off a solid victory of 17vp to 9vp.

So this list remains undefeated as of right now. Not that it can't be beaten, just saying it's working at the moment.

Should be playing against some Black Legion next week, and TS as soon as their codex drops. Looking forward to some real challenging games.

My concerns with the lack of command points hasn't been a deal breaker during any game. There's only been once where I can say I wish I had saved one, yet I still won that game. So far, it really just makes you think very carefully before using them.

Anyway, best of luck!

Out!

I think you are a lot closer to having a Brigade than you may believe. I agree that a Brigade would dilute the set strategy of your list, but it could still work effectively and give you a lot more tactical flexibility. Currently, you have a few big units to get the most efficiency out of your stratagems like Phantasm and the webway, and the most bang for your buck out of the psychic powers. As long as your Phantasm and Deepstrike strategy works, you're going to do well.

The question comes in when you face someone who can survive and maybe counter your strategy. Another Deep Strike army could go second on you, and arrive after your reserves and wipe them out.
Another Eldar army could survive your onslaught, and still have enough firepower to take em out. You may have experienced something like this in your Dark Eldar game?

Speaking of which, in a mirror match up, how does Phantasm work if both players decide to use it?

Trying to stay as close as possible to your original list, I came up with a Brigade variant. I didn't have to change much actually, just split some of the squads, reduce the Windriders and add a couple elites

We'll split the Dark Reapers into two squads of 5. You said you could put a Warwalker in for the Vyper. The Warwalker will work better in this list with its native reserves ability. The Troops get divided up into 6 squads. Crimson Hunter and Wraithguard in Wave Serpent remain the same. Autarch gets bumped up to a Skyrunner with Laser Lance and Shimmerplume. Farseer gets Faoluchu's Wing for added mobility and placement.

All that leaves to change are the Fast Attack slots to make room for a couple elite spots. I suggest adding Scorpions for another unit with built in deep strike that can come in to support other squads or disrupt the enemy mid to late game. I also like Banshees for another cheap and effective squad. Despite what others may say, I don't think Banshees go well in the webway. From what I understand, they only get the +3” on the charge, when they advance, and they can't advance after emerging from the webway.

Banshee still have a place though, and can be brutal if comboed with the Wraithguard so that the Banshees prevent the overwatch. I would just hold them back behind terrain until something juicy gets within their amazing range.

I'd put both the Dark Reaper squads in the Webway instead of the Windriders. You'll have the extra command points, and that will protect them, and allow them to come on exactly where and when you need. They still hit on 3+ even while moving out of the webway, so you are all good. This also means you wouldn't have to use Phantasm on the Reapers.

To afford the Scorpions and the Banshees, all we have to drop are 6 of the Windriders with Shuriken Cannons. Here's the modified list:

Craftworld Brigade - 

Autarch Skyrunner – Banshee Mask, Fusion Pistol, Laser Lance, Twin Shuriken Catapults, Shimmer Plume (117) 
Farseer – Faoluchu's Wing (-1 CP) (100) 
Spiritseer (45) 

10x Guardian Defenders (80)
10x Guardian Defenders (80) 
5x Rangers (60) 
5x Rangers (60) 
5x Rangers (60) 
5x Rangers (60) 

Warwalker - 2x Shuriken Cannons (70) 
5x Dark Reapers, Exarch (135) 
5x Dark Reapers, Exarch (135) 

Crimson Hunter Exarch - 2x Brightlances (175) 

Wave Serpent - Spirit Stones, Vectored Engines, 3x Shuriken Cannons (154) 

5x Wraithguard - D-Scythes (225) 
5x Striking Scorpions - Exarch, Scorpions Claw (82) 
6x Howling Banshees - Exarch, Executioer (81) 

3x Windriders - 3x Shuriken Cannons (84) 
5x Warp Spiders - Exarch, 2x Deathspinners (98) 
5x Warp Spiders - Exarch, 2x Deathspinners (98)

1999 – Total
12 Command Points , minus
3 Webway the 2 Dark Reaper squads
2 Phantasm
1 Extra Relic Faoluchu's Wing

Leaves 6 Command Points for play. Pretty Sweet.

Well, its clear how this army will work at the battle field.
But how do you fare against an AM army with several tanks like Baneblade and 2-4 LRBTs?

 wuestenfux wrote:
Well, its clear how this army will work at the battle field.
But how do you fare against an AM army with several tanks like Baneblade and 2-4 LRBTs?

To be honest I haven't had opportunity to face off with this list against IG. I'm sure I'd have to adapt my tactics accordingly and I'm still not sure how it'd fair against a Baneblade.

Anyway, I've played a couple more games with this list.

One, against "She Who Thirsts!", admittedly a really tough match for Eldar. All of the negatives to morale seriously hurt. When you lose more models due to morale than you do to attacks, you know it's going to be a fight. The game was close and ended with an Eldar loss. It seemed that my dice turned on me and sometimes there's no recovering from that. No worries though, it was still a good close game with a lot of ups and downs.

The second game was against the new Custodes. Wow! What an army. He played a pure Custodes list, instead of Imperial Soup. So their strengths and weaknesses were showcased alone. We played a 2300pt game, which is what my opponent had painted. He had just 25 models in his army, and it wasn't what you'd call an optimized list as he limited it to his painted models. Now just to clarify one point. The person I was playing against had faced my Eldar list once before. So, he knew all of the tricks that I had up my sleeves, not that I play that close to the chest anyway. In friendly games I usually end up letting my opponent in on what I've got planned, or at least what I have the potential to do, so they can adjust accordingly.

For the game, I ditched the Vyper, moved the Windriders to the Outrider Detachment, and cut the Rangers to five man squads. I then included a Vanguard Detachment by moving the Wraithguard and existing Wave Serpent over and adding a Warlock, two units of Fire Dragons, and another Wave Serpent, this one with Brightlances(How it's modeled).

The game was tough. Custodes are no joke. Everyone having a 2+ / 4++ to shrug off multi-damage hits is amazing, and the Standard Bearers with their Aura Effects make them even tougher.

We played the First Eternal War Mission from Chapter Approved with the diagonal deployment zones, and he got first turn.

I'll not bore anyone with details, but the game went five turns. By the end of turn five he still had four models on the board, they were sitting on the objective in my deployment zone, worth 4VP. Fortunately for me, I had control of the other three for a total of 8VP. It may sound like a total domination, but I assure it wasn't. Up until the bottom of turn four he controlled three of the four objectives. Turn four was a good round for me and a bad round for him, and we saw the tides of war shift. So a solid victory for the Pointy Eared Space Elves in a hard fought game. The final score was 6VP to 10VP.

I'm looking forward to a rematch when he's got more units to pick from.

Good luck to all, and keep rolling those dice!

Just looking for help and your list sounds pretty awesome but how are you using the reapers, windriders, spiders and crimson hunter. Those are the models i dont own and have never seen used, i just keep hearing that not having them is why i get curbstomped a lot.

vaurapung wrote:
Just looking for help and your list sounds pretty awesome but how are you using the reapers, windriders, spiders and crimson hunter. Those are the models i dont own and have never seen used, i just keep hearing that not having them is why i get curbstomped a lot.

Well let me start by saying that you, not having certain models, doesn't automatically equate to you getting beaten. However it can, and most likely will, change the tactics that you have to use to achieve victory.

In my OP, I gave an outline of how "I" use the units in my list. So, there's no real need to go over the strategy again, but I'll give you a quick rundown on the units you asked about:

Dark Reapers - If you use these your opponent will immediately cry "Cheese!", to which you reply "Yes! Full blown cheddar!". When used properly Reapers are the best unit in the Eldar book, one of the best in the game. They are still a glass hammer, and require other thing working in conjunction with them to realize their full potential. If not supported properly they'll get shot off the board before you get to use them. So you'll need to screen them, put them in a transport, or use the webway, to be certain to get one round of shooting before your opponent focuses on them to death.

Windriders - I prefer to use Windriders with Shuiken Cannons, a full unit of nine of them. I place them in the webway so they survive round one and can come in on the flanks. Their speed allows them to redeploy when and where I need them, the range of their guns keeps them at arms reach against most armies, and when used close to an Autarch put out quite a lot of accurate fire power.

Warp Spiders - These have the potential to be one of the fastest units in the game. They can deepstrike and they've got a decent amount of firepower, but their range is limited. They won't hold up in CC. So whatever you bring them in close to has got to die or you'll lose them quick. I use these to redirect enemy units by bringing them in and drawing units off of the main assault, or in conjunction with the Autarch and Windriders to overwhelm a unit.

Crimson Hunter Exarch - Most people will tell you that the Hemlock is better, that's all a matter of opinion. Eldar flyers are some of the best in the game, so in my opinion any of them is a good choice. The CHE is there to hunt units with the "Fly" key word. Most people have at least one unit with the "Fly" key word and with the Exarch's ability to reroll all failed to wound rolls against those units, he does a pretty good job of laying down some damage from across the board. He's just got to keep his distance, where the Hemlock needs to fly into the enemies army to work properly.

Hope this helps a bit. Just remember that it's all about having fun, win or lose. I've lost close games that I enjoyed far more, than games where I crushed my opponent.

Good luck and keep rolling those dice!