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So my son came home from school all excited about “this amazing new club at school that I want to join”
“Oh? What is it?”
“Battle axe or something, in SPACE!”

Ok, not quite that clueless but he had no idea about the Eldar army sat half painted in the loft for the past 20 years.
Long story short, the army is now over the kitchen table, and we don’t have an up to date rule book. What do we need is it the 8th edition rule book now? Is there a specific codex for Eldar? Can I still use my warp spiders and swooping hawks?

Also, space marines, Terminators, Chaos marines (Emperor’s children, VERY pink) and Genestealers.

I’m open to suggestions on how to get started again.

Also, what’s with the new paint names?

Hi!

Eldar are rarely in a bad spot. Could you please give details about the units and models available? You should be able to use all you have, and in case of the warp spiders, eldar players that started yesterday still will have your same spider models. GW did not update them
They still got it, so it's not a big deal.

The paint names changed different times since then. The good news is that the new paints are well organized and they have a new range of technical paints that will make your life easier if you want to go on that route.

Welcome back!

You can get the core rules for free, so you can familiarise yourself with them:
https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/40k/warhammer_40000_en.pdf

However, you want to get the actual rulebook eventually, as it has scenarios and army building rules etc. There is also an annual riule updat pablhlet know as Chapter Approved, the next one is right around the corner. And, yes, there is a codex for the Craftworld Eldar (quite good one) and you can use most (or probably all) of your old models.

That’s brilliant, thank you both.
Models available for our Eldar army are:
A bunch of Guardians
3xFarseer
10x Hawks with3x exarch
5x scorpions
5x Banshee 1xexarch
5x Dragons 1xexarch
4x Warp spider
3x those heavy weapon rocket launcher guys with the skull faces
About 20 Harlequins including a jet bike and a stolen imperial guard walker.

First up great to see you returning to the hobby and getting to do so with your son coming to join the game!

In big news the Genestealers are as deadly as ever and also even more so now as Genestealer Cults have their very own codex complete with their own unique models and vehicles - not to mention being able to pinch a lot from the Imperial Guard listings.
8th edition has been a huge revolution for GW in how the game is released and this year they've released almost the entire games' worth of codex for every army for the new edition - no more waiting 5 years and crossing your fingers. Genestealer Cults are one of the last to get updated (Orks got updated only just this last month) and should be next in the 40K line up (after that there's Sisters of Battle which are getting a huge release next year).

Note some things have changed, Eldar, Imperial Guard and the like have some new names (GW went a little nuts with copyright protection), though the vast majority of players still call things by their old names.

Also there's a new Christmas Boxed Bundles coming soon with a sneak peak here where there's an Eldar one which comes with a knight sized model (yes some things got bigger over the last years!)
https://i.imgur.com/4YrjxQi.jpg

They should be direct order from GW and from 3rd party retailers - so you can get a nice bunch of models with some discount!

Seems mostly pretty good . How many is that bunch of guardians? The only issue I see is that the minimum squad size of Aspect Warriors is now five (Exarchs are just squad leaders now), so those Warp Spiders ad Dark Reapers need more friends.

The reapers don't need more friends, they can come in squads of 3 if they want.

Welcome (back) to the game!

You'll need:
the 8th edition rule book - it's big, (relatively) expensive, considering that the vast majority of its page count concern setting, fluff, etc & very little to do with rules. You might feel ripped off. That said, it has very important rules in it - like army building & missions/scenarios - in it that you can't get for free (legally).

Codex: Eldari (think I spelled that right - they vaguely changed a bunch of names a while back. But you won't have any trouble finding it)

Codex: Harlequins - these guys are now detailed in their own codex. And to combine them with your Eldar you'll need the army building rules from the rulebook.

A pack of Data Cards for your army - each army has a pack. These aren't 100% required, but are REALLY convenient. They include all the objectives, psychic powers, & stratagems (special army unique tricks that you pay "command points" {see the main rulebook for details } to use. Everything here IS represented as charts in either the rule book or codex. But the cards are a lot more convenient than constant page flipping/dice rolling.

After that? Go to the GW website under the COMMUNITY tab & download/print the errata for both the rulebook & the codex. Also DL/print the Big FAQ1 & Big Faq2. Because this time GW is trying something different & releasing errata/changes in a much more timely fashion than they used to.

In Dec. make sure to look into a book called Chapter Approved 2018. Like the faqs & errata, this will contain some more rules/pts/etc changes. As to what changes & how many? Well, this is at the moment the subject of wild speculation & wishing.....

* Find out the details of how the clubs running. What pt value of games they're playing, what style of games are being played (the rule book describes several ways to play, only 1 of wich is the traditional pts way you remember), and wether or not they're even using the errata/FAQs/Chapter Approved book.

You'll probably have to buy a few more models as I think all your Aspect Warriors (except the missile launchers?) are now all in units of 5+
Models - virtually everything is plastic &/or sold in boxes of x models nowdays (usually enough to make either the min/whole squad). So you won't be stopping through your local shop to buy just 1 warp spider or whatever. But there's plenty of singles on EBay etc.

Paint. I've no idea anymore. They've changed names, shades, types, bottles, qualities, etc numerous times in the past 10 - 20 years. And now they have also have airbrush paints!

DO NOT pay much heed to people here ranting about how broken (terrible), broken (over-powered), the tournament representation, etc one of your armies might be.

Tikay Fortooun wrote:
That’s brilliant, thank you both.
Models available for our Eldar army are:
A bunch of Guardians
3xFarseer
10x Hawks with3x exarch
5x scorpions
5x Banshee 1xexarch
5x Dragons 1xexarch
4x Warp spider
3x those heavy weapon rocket launcher guys with the skull faces
About 20 Harlequins including a jet bike and a stolen imperial guard walker.

Do you have enough guardians for 3 squads? It's buying new boxes of different troops a possibility?

Tikay Fortooun wrote:


Also, what’s with the new paint names?

Download the Citadel Paint App - it's free and super helpful.

In general it's a very interesting time to come back to GW. They're on a roll at the minute.

If you've been away and haven't kept up, they were meandering along, had discontinued most of their 'specialist' games to only concentrate on the main lines, didn't engage with the community at all, made stupid decisions and seemed to be on the route to a slow demise. But a few years ago there was a change of leadership and since then they've been on the up, building more community engagement and releasing things at a breakneck pace - including new versions of a lot of old stuff that you may remember like Necromunda and Blood Bowl. Profits are soaring and GW seems much healthier than it has in years.

Their plastic moulding technology has improved to the point that pretty much every new kit they release now is plastic - even character models. Some ranges are pretty much entirely plastic now - however the Craftworld Eldar are one of the exceptions unfortunately. Most of that range is still a type of resin called 'Finecast' which replaced metal a little while back. It's got a bad reputation and the community rejoices whenever a Finecast model receives a plastic replacement.

One thing that hasn't changed is that's you can spend a lot of money very quickly - the Codexes are all hardbacks these days and cost about 3x as much as they did 20 years ago, and you'll want Codex Craftworlds and Codex Harlequins at least, plus whatever models you want to fill the gaps in your force.

You can get away without the main rulebook at first (the core rules really are all in that free PDF), and the army composition can easily be picked up just from browsing online - but it's a good book to have. The Dark Imperium starter set actually has the full hardback rulebook unlike previous starter sets that only contained a smaller version, so that box is really good value if you're interested in any of the models from it. The Primaris Space Marines and Death Guard could add to your existing Space Marines and Chaos units so you and your son could have a few armies to pick from to play against each other.

 Bellerophon wrote:
...One thing that hasn't changed is that's you can spend a lot of money very quickly - the Codexes are all hardbacks these days and cost about 3x as much as they did 20 years ago, and you'll want Codex Craftworlds and Codex Harlequins at least, plus whatever models you want to fill the gaps in your force.....

A lot of really good points.

Just weighing in here, whilst the codexes are indeed more expensive then they used to be, the value you get out of them is so much more in depth with lore and fluff etc. I've still got several 3rd Ed codexes at home on my shelf and they are just pamphlets with some rules by comparison.

ccs wrote:

In Dec. make sure to look into a book called Chapter Approved 2018. Like the faqs & errata, this will contain some more rules/pts/etc changes. As to what changes & how many? Well, this is at the moment the subject of wild speculation & wishing.....

Also keep in mind there might be need to buy 2017 one as well if they don't print again point costs from that. And if you would like some actual playable scenarios rather than rulebook's junk ones

tneva82 wrote:

ccs wrote:

In Dec. make sure to look into a book called Chapter Approved 2018. Like the faqs & errata, this will contain some more rules/pts/etc changes. As to what changes & how many? Well, this is at the moment the subject of wild speculation & wishing.....

Also keep in mind there might be need to buy 2017 one as well if they don't print again point costs from that. And if you would like some actual playable scenarios rather than rulebook's junk ones

And on that note, I'd suggest an Open War deck too.

tneva82 wrote:


Also keep in mind there might be need to buy 2017 one as well if they don't print again point costs from that. And if you would like some actual playable scenarios rather than rulebook's junk ones

They said that the new one will have all the changed point costs. The scenarios are still a good reason to get the 2017 one though.

Guys, this is all BRILLIANT - Thank you all!
Armed with all this I went into GW yesterday and walked out with a much lighter wallet!
Codex Eldar & Harlequins, a couple of new paints (although my old set had faired surprisingly well for being in the garage for 15 years)
Some green stuff, and modelling tools, and Dark Imperium (actually awesome value). That’s for my son for Christmas - and he can have the 2018 chapter approved for his birthday.
eBay has completed my warp spider squad, and provided a wave serpent at a decent price. I think I’m all set! I’ve finished painting a squad of swooping hawks, too- I haven’t entirely lost my skills there (I won a silver demon in the early 90s) and I’m looking forward to getting my ass whipped by my 11 year old on the tabletop this weekend!

Welcome back. This thread made my afternoon, cheers and I hope you & your son have an absolute blast this weekend.

Take it easy.

-Red__Thirst-

Tikay Fortooun wrote:
and I’m looking forward to getting my ass whipped by my 11 year old on the tabletop this weekend!

Remember - Pics or it didn't happen LOL

 Daedalus81 wrote:

Tikay Fortooun wrote:


Also, what’s with the new paint names?

Download the Citadel Paint App - it's free and super helpful.

Also lthe Citadel Paint Chart which was in White Dwarf a few years ago.

https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/Downloads/CitadelPaintingSystem.pdf

 Ghaz wrote:

 Daedalus81 wrote:

Tikay Fortooun wrote:


Also, what’s with the new paint names?

Download the Citadel Paint App - it's free and super helpful.

Also lthe Citadel Paint Chart which was in White Dwarf a few years ago.

https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/Downloads/CitadelPaintingSystem.pdf

Seconded for this. I still refer to this chart all the time - very helpful

I was excited to have finished painting a squad of aspect warriors for the first time in 20 years, and its thanks to the welcome you all gave us!

Tikay Fortooun wrote:
I was excited to have finished painting a squad of aspect warriors for the first time in 20 years, and its thanks to the welcome you all gave us!

Those look great! Enjoy!

Tikay Fortooun wrote:
So my son came home from school all excited about “this amazing new club at school that I want to join”
“Oh? What is it?”
“Battle axe or something, in SPACE!”

Ok, not quite that clueless but he had no idea about the Eldar army sat half painted in the loft for the past 20 years.
Long story short, the army is now over the kitchen table, and we don’t have an up to date rule book. What do we need is it the 8th edition rule book now? Is there a specific codex for Eldar? Can I still use my warp spiders and swooping hawks?

Also, space marines, Terminators, Chaos marines (Emperor’s children, VERY pink) and Genestealers.

I’m open to suggestions on how to get started again.

Also, what’s with the new paint names?

Eldar pretty much still has all the same units, just more.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

Tikay Fortooun wrote:
I was excited to have finished painting a squad of aspect warriors for the first time in 20 years, and its thanks to the welcome you all gave us!

That's after 20 years, bravo.

UPDATE

The boy did particularly well at school this week, so I took him to GW in Oxford to pick a starter army. He was pinging off the walls! We had a quick 1v1 game between the Champions from Dark Imperium (he had some unlucky rolls and I won- just). He must have picked up every box set in the shop, and after a brief flirtation with Chaos Marines, and in particular the Heldrake, he settled on...

Necrons

I can’t say I’m disappointed. These guys are new to me, having been introduced after I went astray and the models are really nice. They are fiddly to assemble, but it’s looking like they will be pretty quick to paint and we should be able to raise a decent size army by his next club night on Wednesday.

Painting these new plastic figs is really interesting. The detail is so much sharper than lead, it makes for some really effective dry brushing - particularly with this army. A black base with metallic dry brush makes this a great army for him to start getting really nice results really quickly, and he’ll learn about brush control, paint loading and detailing along the way. Im looking forward to learning the new rules and setting up an Eldar/Necron battle before I have to head back to work (I’m working 6 week blocks abroad at the moment).

I’ll post a pic when we have a warrior squad finished.

I’m so chuffed he found this club and I have something new to do with him, and thanks again for the welcome. He’s read all this and is excited!

Just found this thread and it is always nice to see some enthusiasm! I am currently updating my Eldar army which dates from the same period yours does...In any case, love the swooping hawks!

I am very excited for you. Nothing beats spending time with your kids and being able to do something you both enjoy!

My 10 year old son is very keen to get modelling and playing too, and funnily enough he's picked out Necrons as well.

Without knowing about them, I believe what he said was "What would be really cool would be if there was some race of, sort of techno-skeletons..."
"Well my boy, as luck would have it..."

Two more join the Necron Armies! Great to hear about both of them getting into the hobby!

One tip with regard to Necrons, check how they are built, some of them (eg the Ark) are MUCH easier to paint in stages rather than assembling it all and then painting. Though if you assemble in stages you might use superglue instead of plastic glue when attaching the painted parts together (you can use plastic but you've got to be extra careful cause it will melt the join area, whilst superglue just bonds the join areas- you don't want melted mess when you've already done most of the paintwork).

Crispy78 wrote:
My 10 year old son is very keen to get modelling and playing too, and funnily enough he's picked out Necrons as well.

Without knowing about them, I believe what he said was "What would be really cool would be if there was some race of, sort of techno-skeletons..."
"Well my boy, as luck would have it..."

I feel compelled to show this reminder from the 90s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a3ZlpTp_dJA
(which is probably on DVD somewhere)!

I can recommend getting the "getting start with Warhammer 40K" magazine...

It has the core rules in it, a little bit of info on all the races, some pretty pictures and it's only £5.

https://www.games-workshop.com/en-GB/getting-started-with-40k-2017-ENG

I started playing again after around 15 years break and because I found I had a bit more money then when I was a kid I went a splashed out on a couple of things, rather than methodically going through and painting stuff. Be careful about buying too much,. Just stick out the little things and keep painting!

Overread- That’s awesome! The are like Terminator meets the Matrix meets 40k! I love the look, but what I’ve found so far is that they are damn fiddly to assemble,in particular getting the heads off the sprues is a nightmare!
But once assembled they do look great with a little bit of basic dry brushing. Even my 8 year old daughter helped us!

For the warriors, we have assembled the bodies heads and legs first before painting so we don’t lose any detail behind arms. I’m leaving the arms on a single sprue attachment so we have something to hold while painting and We will finish painting and assembly by tomorrow. Im loving the textured paint for bases, too. Makes life so much easier!!