Codex: Craftworlds Tactics Thread v2.0 - 9th Edition

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**Verthane**

Looks like Scott Blegen was 5th out of 72 at the Renegade Open, going 5-1.

Congratulations, Scott!

Anyone know what his list was?

**Verthane**

750 points games are much more rock - paper - scissors than 2000 point games.

It's easier to put together skew lists towards high toughness (Tyranid monster patrol with three warriors and all the rest as HQ/Elite/HS monsters), towards high model count (100 ork boys and a weirdboy), etc.

It's also more difficult in your 750 points to prepare for the outlier skew builds.

I have found in this environment that Wave Serpents with anti-infantry weapons (shuriken or scatter) are of outsize value. They're very difficult to remove (even more so than in 2000 point games where a lot more firepower can be concentrated), they can protect squishier elements, they can charge enemy units with high firepower and force them to fall back and not shoot -- they're just a great utility knife.

If you want to skew, I've done very well overloading with guardians and storm guardians, as well as with running multiple wraithlords (also very tough to remove).

Your core of a Farseer for Doom and a Warlock for Jinx remain critical -- the ability to remove a unit that you need to remove is greatly facilitated by these powers when you can only send 750 points of firepower down range instead of 2000.

Automatically Appended Next Post:
The last event I played 750 points at was a 16 player tournament; I took first with the following list. Top table was Eldar versus Eldar -- the 2nd place player used a Warlock Skyrunner Conclave.

HQ
Farseer, Doom, Executioner, Spear

Troops
8 Storm Guardians - 2 Fusion Guns

Elite
5 Striking Scorpions, Exarch with Claw, Sustained Attack
8 Wraithguard with wraithcannons

HS
Wraithlord with Bright Lance and Ghostglaive, shuricats
Wraithlord with AML, Bright Lance, and Ghostglaive, shuricats

As you can see, this is more of a skew towards toughness. I dodged the 100 Ork boy list, which was fortunate for me as I would have almost certainly lost to it.

**Verthane**

100% agreed -- Falcons deliver much more offense, Wave Serpents deliver much more durability. Both are solid choices, which is nice for a change (as opposed to most of the last twenty years). Take what you want for how you want your list to function!

Nice list, Kingheff, I like the saturation of reasonably tough flying mid-strength output. Lots of movement options, lots of shooting that can harm a wide variety of targets.

**Verthane**

I'm thinking that I want my Wraithlord weapons to be solid against infantry so that I can get them stuck in and still be shooting (and they're most likely to be tied up by infantry who might not want a wraithlord charging their tank). However, as pointed out, AP0 sucks, especially into cover. Maybe shuriken cannons, if they're still cheap and cheerful? Also agree with the Starcannons, they have a very wide range of valid targets and are very, very good against Primaris.

**Verthane**

My biggest problem in the past with war walkers has been that it was too easy for small infantry units to tie them up and make them useless. Between "outflanking" coming back, and the ability to shoot into troops tying them up, I'm liking them a lot better.

My current builds of double brightlances, however, are exactly what I don't need for that...again maybe looking at starcannons.

Standard disclaimer for not knowing the points anything will cost inserted here.

**Verthane**

Argive wrote:
I assume the final points include wargear...

They must do. No way is a single dark reaper like 40+ pts lol

Some units got the points for weapons rolled in -- dark reapers, fire dragons.

**Verthane**

Argive wrote:
I dont see why you would not take scorpions as your infantry over anything else.

Scropion spam! I called it

I love my scorpions, but a 44% price increase definitely cuts into their efficiency!

**Verthane**

Argive wrote:
they are still the cheapest infantry outside of storm guardians now tho...

Indeed. Regular guardians are 10. Our infantry got disproportionately hit with our price increases. Efficiency-wise, definitely steers us into less infantry. How the new rules and missions will support that or not I'm not yet certain.

**Verthane**

There are several units where the Goonhammer gents feel mistakes may have been made; GW rolled a lot of unique weapons costs into the models, and then made the more expensive options a points bump. There are some cases where it clearly looks like they forgot to tidy up with zero-ing out the base weapon choice. This might be one of those. We'll have to wait for FAQ to find out of course.

**Verthane**

Barbachop wrote:

Yeah a unit of 5 fire dragons jumped from 110 to 165 points, before you pay for your 9e exarch. A nice 50% bump for a unit that hasn't seen a final tournament table in a long time. I think the point is correct about not accounting for the extra weapons cost, however if the points listed are those that appear in the book that GW puts out for more than a few pennies, on top of the shiny new rulebook cost then I really have to question the value of such a tome.

Aren't fire dragon weapons included in their base cost, yielding a net increase of only one point per model?

**Verthane**

Some quick averages: D6 with no minimum averages 3.5. D6 with min 3 averages 4 (sum of 3,3,3,4,5,6 divided by 6), 14% more hits on average. So as noted, only 0.5 average extra hits. D3, obviously, goes from average of 2 to average of 3 (50% output increase)

**Verthane**

I’m strongly considering using three Wraithlords with flamers and no shoulder weapons (expert crafters, ancient relics) as mid field objective “brawlers”. I don’t expect them to survive even past turn two, but if they get a few swings in that’s fantastic and they will absorb some firepower to remove. Their role would be to advance or charge to midfield objectives ASAP. The balance of my army is shootier than it really out to be for 9th edition, to give context.

Has anyone else experimented with this? Pros? Cons? I know it’s outside the usual “optimal” norm for these units, but I have sixteen other S8 weapons in my shooting elements, along with plenty of S6 shots.

Thanks!

V

**Verthane**

Agreed, makes sense. I currently use three with shuriken catapults and shoulder weapons.

The rest of my army is war walkers, falcons, wave serpents, with a smattering of guardians, fire dragons, and striking scorpions.

Lots of ranged power already!

Wraithseers are definitely superior at the moment, as they sadly have been most of the last decade or two. I just can’t stand them..

Automatically Appended Next Post:
Also agreed on the targeting priority. My first target is anti-tank melee (blightlords etc.), followed by ranged antitank. My army is very heavily invested in armor, so if I can remove the efficient threats I have half a chance, despite Eldar’s difficulty in brawling in the middle (which is the gap I’m looking to fill).

**Verthane**

Sarigar wrote:

I finished a game tonight using more assault elements: 2 Wraithseers and 9 Wraithblades (axe/shield). This was my third game using these in the army and have been very impressed. Previous lists were heavily invested in vehicles and long range shooting. However, the Army struggled competing for the primary objectives. I built a Patrol using Headstrong and Hunters of Ancient Relics and it hits hard and can hold the center area very well. Your statement sounds similar to the issues I faced and, so far, I've been happy with the changes.

I converted my Wraithseers from Wraithlords as I was not a big fan of the FW kit ( assuming it is the aesthetic you don't like).

Makes sense. Thanks, I will have to give Headstrong a second look. It’s promising!

Automatically Appended Next Post:

Argive wrote:

What are you guys on about!
they are basically wraithlords but with a bit of bling and a spear! I love my wraithseers. I kind of regret not splashing on a webway gate and chopping the heads off the statutes. Would have made a good conversion.

Different tastes for different folks! I was annoyed when they first came out and got dramatically better rules than my beloved Eldar Dreadnoughts, er, wraithlords. I also am not terribly fond of spears — although between wraithseers and shining spears GW is clearly trying to tell me that I should start liking them!

**Verthane**

It's probably fairly solid advice, in that it's really hard for Craftworlds to score primary (or at least to score the 15). Secondaries are much easier for us if we have taken them into account in army design. It's a risky strategy though because some units are really really tough to remove, and if the opponent has one of those sitting on each of the two center objectives, you're simply not removing both in one turn (I'm looking at you, Death Guard!).

**Verthane**

JimDaNoob wrote:
Hi guys,

Good to be here. The below list already performs reasonably well, it has defeated new codex AdMech and Sororitas, admittedly with turn one advantage in both cases. But both lists were reasonably kitted. Endgame farseer and M12 autarch are running as objective snaggers and Warlock tends to go on the suicide run, tying units and phoenix gemming. I am considering giving one of two detachments Windrider host, the question then arises: Can Nimble Escape be paired with the Feigned Retreat in the same turn? I find that 9th ed Craftworld struggle with picking good, scorable secondaries, if the prior-mentioned combination does work, Cut off the head would be a very viable choice especially if utilized on units of spears with quicken.

New Roster (Warhammer 40,000 9th Edition) [101 PL, 8CP, 2,000pts]

Battalion Detachment 0CP (Aeldari - Craftworlds) [48 PL, 12CP, 1,035pts]

Configuration [12CP]

Battle Size [12CP]

Selections: 3. Strike Force (101-200 Total PL / 1001-2000 Points) [12CP]

Craftworld Attribute
*Custom Craftworld*
Selections: Expert Crafters, Hunters of Ancient Relics

HQ [11 PL, 200pts]

Farseer Skyrunner [7 PL, 135pts]
Selections: 0. Smite, 2. Doom, 4. Executioner, Shuriken Pistol, Witchblade

Warlock Skyrunner [4 PL, 65pts]
Selections: 3. Ghostwalk, 4. Protect/Jinx, 6: Seer of the Shifting Vector, Shuriken Pistol, Warlord, Witchblade
The Phoenix Gem

Troops [6 PL, 180pts]

Dire Avengers [2 PL, 60pts]
4x Dire Avenger [44pts]
Selections: 4x Avenger Shuriken Catapult, 4x Plasma Grenades
Dire Avenger Exarch [16pts]
Selections: Shimmershield & Power Glaive [5pts]
Exarch Power
Selections: Avenging Strikes

Dire Avengers [2 PL, 60pts]
4x Dire Avenger [44pts]
Selections: 4x Avenger Shuriken Catapult, 4x Plasma Grenades
Dire Avenger Exarch [16pts]
Selections: Shimmershield & Power Glaive [5pts]
Exarch Power
Selections: Avenging Strikes

Dire Avengers [2 PL, 60pts]
4x Dire Avenger [44pts]
Selections: 4x Avenger Shuriken Catapult, 4x Plasma Grenades
Dire Avenger Exarch [16pts]
Selections: Shimmershield & Power Glaive [5pts]
Exarch Power
Selections: Avenging Strikes

Fast Attack [15 PL, 315pts]

Shining Spears [5 PL, 105pts]
2x Shining Spear [70pts]
Selections: 2x Laser Lance, 2x Twin Shuriken Catapult
Shining Spear Exarch [35pts]
Selections: Laser Lance
Exarch Power
Selections: Skilled Rider

Shining Spears [5 PL, 105pts]
2x Shining Spear [70pts]
Selections: 2x Laser Lance, 2x Twin Shuriken Catapult
Shining Spear Exarch [35pts]
Selections: Laser Lance
Exarch Power
Selections: Skilled Rider

Shining Spears [5 PL, 105pts]
2x Shining Spear [70pts]
Selections: 2x Laser Lance, 2x Twin Shuriken Catapult
Shining Spear Exarch [35pts]
Selections: Laser Lance
Exarch Power
Selections: Skilled Rider

Heavy Support [16 PL, 340pts]

Wraithseer [8 PL, 170pts]
Selections: 2. Witch Strike, 4. Protect/Jinx, D-cannon [40pts]

Wraithseer [8 PL, 170pts]
Selections: 2. Witch Strike, 5. Quicken/Restrain, D-cannon [40pts]

Spearhead Detachment -3CP (Aeldari - Craftworlds) [53 PL, -4CP, 965pts]
Configuration [-3CP]
Craftworld Attribute
*Custom Craftworld*
Selections: Expert Crafters, Hunters of Ancient Relics
Detachment Command Cost [-3CP]
Stratagems [-1CP]
Treasures of the Craftworld (1 Relic) [-1CP]

HQ [4 PL, 80pts]

Autarch [4 PL, 80pts]
Faolchu's Wing
Fast Attack [10 PL, 210pts]

Shining Spears [5 PL, 105pts]
2x Shining Spear [70pts]
Selections: 2x Laser Lance, 2x Twin Shuriken Catapult
Shining Spear Exarch [35pts]
Selections: Laser Lance
Exarch Power
Selections: Skilled Rider
Shining Spears [5 PL, 105pts]

2x Shining Spear [70pts]
Selections: 2x Laser Lance, 2x Twin Shuriken Catapult
Shining Spear Exarch [35pts]
Selections: Laser Lance
Exarch Power
Selections: Skilled Rider

Heavy Support [39 PL, 675pts]

Fire Prism [9 PL, 155pts]
Selections: Twin Shuriken Catapult
Fire Prism [9 PL, 155pts]
Selections: Twin Shuriken Catapult

Fire Prism [9 PL, 155pts]
Selections: Twin Shuriken Catapult

Support Weapons [12 PL, 210pts]
Support Weapon [4 PL, 70pts]
Selections: D-cannon [25pts]
Support Weapon [4 PL, 70pts]
Selections: D-cannon [25pts]
Support Weapon [4 PL, 70pts]
Selections: D-cannon [25pts]

Unless I'm mistaken or reading this wrong, it looks like 5 units of Shining Spears when the rule of three limits us, to, well, three.

Or has that been rescinded in the Chapter Approved 2021?

**Verthane**

JimDaNoob wrote:
I have completely overlooked this and interestingly have never been called out by anyone either. Thank you for educating. Back to the drawing board.

You're quite welcome, and sorry to rain on the parade!

It might not get you where you're trying to go, but you could concentrate down to three units, with some or all of them being larger units. The list would still be legal at least...

**Verthane**

Scoundrel80 wrote:
how did that 2man council perform? thats a fun little concept.

Not the OP on this topic, but I have used the 2 man council quite a bit. I find it's very binary. Against opponents who either forget that it's not subject to "look out sir" and can be targeted, or opponents with no indirect fire weapons on boards with a good place to hide them, they are fantastic. 36" Jinx is just spectacular.

Against savvier opponents with the wherewithal to remove them...they go down really really fast.