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Hello guys .

Im starting my new army as eldar craftworlds. Can you give me advices what boxes are good, and which should i wait for new models etc etc (all tips are welcome of any kind for that army )?
Ive seen those start collecting but im not sure which are good, or if any of them are good. If its better to buy boxes, or buying single specific unit box.

I know there are competetive list like spam jetbikes, but are there any diffrent list that arent "spam" of one unit?

Thanks in advance.
Let God Emperor watch over us all.

tarkin1230 wrote:
Hello guys .

Im starting my new army as eldar craftworlds. Can you give me advices what boxes are good, and which should i wait for new models etc etc (all tips are welcome of any kind for that army )?
Ive seen those start collecting but im not sure which are good, or if any of them are good. If its better to buy boxes, or buying single specific unit box.

I know there are competetive list like spam jetbikes, but are there any diffrent list that arent "spam" of one unit?

Thanks in advance.
Let God Emperor watch over us all.

There absolutely are. You're almost two editions behind now if you are reading that competitive eldar lists are spamming jetbikes . Currently, we do not know how the new rules coming in 9th will change the power level of various different units, but successful eldar lists appear to be using a variety of psychic units and aspect warriors of various types to good effect, rather than spamming just one thing. Good kits I would say that are safe to start building your colection as you wait for 9th would be:

1) Wave Serpents. The eldar tank chassis is very rarely actually BAD in any given edition, and often considered one of the best units pound for pound in the game. You get a variety of weapons in the box, and you can magnetize them for swapping. This unit is a very safe choice to buy almost always.

2) Farseers, especially the Farseer on Jetbike. These are very versatile, very good HQs that you almost always see in every good eldar list.

If you made me bet money, I would bet that the future of eldar lists is in aspect warriors. Troops are a major problem for eldar in the current edition, as their 4 troop choices (Dire Avengers, Guardians, Storm Guardians and Rangers) are not amazing across the board, and most lists seem to minimize the number of them as much as they can. But we know the new edition is no longer making troops mandatory.

however, all aspect warriors are very old kits except for Howling Banshees and Dire Avengers, and those two are not very good. We do not know how 9th will change the game yet, so If you are loooking to buy a few models to be very extra safe, I would say to get a farseer on bike, maybe a wave serpent or two, and wait and see what 9th brings to get units to put in those transports.

Maybe Wraiths turn out to be good, or Aspect Warriors, or Troops - any of those can get in a wave serpent.

This list seems popular nowadays.

Drukhari Battalion Detachment (Kabal of the Flayed Skull)
HQ1: Archon (Huskblade, Splinter Pistol) [4PL, 61pts]
HQ2: Archon (Huskblade, Splinter Pistol) [4PL, 61pts]
T1: 5 Kabalites (Splinter Rifles) [2PL, 30pts]
T2: 5 Kabalites (Splinter Rifles) [2PL, 30pts]
T3: 5 Kabalites (Splinter Rifles) [2PL, 30pts]
DT1: Venom (Splinter Cannon, Twin Splinter Rifle) [4PL, 65pts]
DT2: Venom (Splinter Cannon, Twin Splinter Rifle) [4PL, 65pts]
DT3: Venom (Splinter Cannon, Twin Splinter Rifle) [4PL, 65pts]
DT4: Venom (Splinter Cannon, Twin Splinter Rifle) [4PL, 65pts]
DT5: Venom (Splinter Cannon, Twin Splinter Rifle) [4PL, 65pts]

Craftworlds Battalion Detachment (Children of Prophecy, Expert Crafters)
HQ1: Autarch Skyrunner (Warlord - Fate's Messanger, Laser Lance, Shimmerplume of Achillrial) [6PL, 105pts]
HQ2: Farseer Skyrunner (Witchblade, Smite, Doom, Fortune) [7PL, 132pts]
T1: 4 Dire Avengers + Exarch (Avenger Shuriken Catapult, Bladestorm) [3PL, 55pts]
T2: 5 Rangers [3PL, 60pts]
T3: 8 Storm Guardians (Chainswords) [3PL, 48pts]
FL1: Crimson Hunter Exarch (Two Starcannons, Hawkeye) [9PL, 176pts]
DT1: Wave Serpent (Twin Aeldari Missle Launcher, Twin Shuriken Catapult) [9PL, 157pts]

Harlequins Battalion Detachment (The Soaring Sprite: Serpent's Blood)
HQ1: Troupe Master (Harlequin's Caress, Fusion Pistol) [4PL, 74pts]
HQ2: Troupe Master (Harlequin's Caress, Fusion Pistol) [4PL, 74pts]
T1: Troupe 5 Harlequins (5x Harlequin's Blade, 4x Fusion Pistol) [5PL, 83pts]
T2: Troupe 5 Harlequins (5x Harlequin's Blade, 4x Fusion Pistol) [5PL, 83pts]
T3: Troupe 5 Harlequins (5x Harlequin's Blade, 4x Fusion Pistol) [5PL, 83pts]
FA1: 2 Skyweavers (2x Haywire Cannon, 2x Zephyrglaive) [4PL, 92pts]
DT1: Starweaver [5PL, 80pts]
DT2: Starweaver [5PL, 80pts]
DT3: Starweaver [5PL, 80pts]

Total: 1999/2000pts
CP: 3+5+5+5=18
KP: 26

There's no point building around a competitive idea at the moment as it could all go out the window with 9th. As ever you should just get units that you like the look/playstyle of and I wouldn't put any faith in new models soon. These are Eldar not Space Marines, you have numerous old and poor sculpts that might well be older than you and you'll like it.

But Wave Serpents and Farseers have been good for ages and look good so they're a decent bet. Personally I'd grab some Rangers because they've done the job of being cheap and sitting on objectives alright since I started, get some Wave Serpents and then get what looks good and goes in the Serpent.

Edit: Is it just me or does the list Karol posted look like it's absolutely not a craftworld list?

9th Edition is just around the corner, so none of us have any idea what's going to be good or not good. There are some things that are staples that are probably going to remain staples:
-A Farseer has psychic powers that do a lot of different jobs for you, and Eldrad particularly is always worth at least considering unless you really want to play a different Craftworld.
-The Autarch has a reroll bubble that makes everything around him 16% better, he's probably going to keep it into 9e.
-Wave Serpents have been the core of the army for as long as I've been playing. The Eldar can be very fragile and melt when sneezed on by any amount of firepower; the Wave Serpent is a really tough bunker for your infantry to hide in, lets your short-ranged units get up into the fight intact without getting shot, and carries enough firepower that in most editions it's a better battle tank than the Falcon.

The only things I'd definitely recommend not buying are the Vyper (which has no function in the game due to the removal of fire arcs, being a fast heavy weapons platform now serves no purpose) and the Falcon (as the Wave Serpent and the Fire Prism do everything it does better).

The Craftworlds Start Collecting box is a weird one; most armies' Start Collecting gives you some Troops, but all the Eldar Troops are ancient so they give you Wraithguard, which could be Troops in an Iyanden list when the box came out but can't anymore. I don't advise buying it unless you really like the Wraith units as you'll have to buy too much other stuff to get started otherwise.

"Spam" is an odd concept in 8e/9e because stratagems and the Rule of One (no duplicate psychic powers) encourage you to play a few larger units to take advantage of your single-target buffs. I'm not saying there isn't still spam but there's more pressure not to spam than in previous editions. It's perfectly possible to build a "one of everything" sort of list.

Addendum: Contrary to Karol's recommendations soup (taking a list composed of elements of all three Eldar books) is optional, and it's getting cut back in 9e because people grumbled about it so much in 8e. Would advise sticking to one book while you're learning to play.

With ninth edition coming out I'd really wait to make many purchases except for hq's. I'd recommend getting an autarch, farseer and warlock on bikes and try to be patient for a few weeks.
Our most competitive choices are probably vibro cannons, shining spears, night spinners, falcons, fire prisms, dark reapers, wraithblades with axes, dire avengers, wraithlords, war walkers, crimson hunters and a few others too.
Mostly we use salamander reroll and ignore cover custom craftworlds with minimal units and long range firepower with spears to counter charge.
But I really would try to wait if you can.

It is worth noting that, depending on how much of your priority is gameplay vs modeling, Eldar is among the oldest armies in the game and you can get a lot of the older iterations of their sculpts for a whole lot cheaper than current stuff. To my knowledge, except for the very first edition of the game, Aspect Warriors have never really changed their gear loadout, so if budget is a big priority for you and having the newest sculpts is not, you can get units like

-Swooping Hawks
-Dark Reapers
-Dire Avengers
-Wave Serpents
-Older HQ sculpts

off of Ebay for much cheaper than from a games workshop directly.

+1 to the idea of waiting for more 9E info. I just started the game and immediately made an army and bought all the models I needed. Then next thing I knew they were planning on releasing a bunch of new models and rules changes and stuff.

Thanks guys for answers . Im not in a hurry, for now i can proxy all my units and i shall wait for new models ^^

Not doom mongering but Id totally steer of flyers, the all rerolls all the time kind of spanked them, but as the +1/-1 cap shows the geedubs will cheerfully slap a xenos while theyre down but who knows WKs might finally be let out of the prior edition sin bin

 Turnip Jedi wrote:
Not doom mongering but Id totally steer of flyers, the all rerolls all the time kind of spanked them, but as the +1/-1 cap shows the geedubs will cheerfully slap a xenos while theyre down but who knows WKs might finally be let out of the prior edition sin bin

I hope..