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If you HAD to choose one to take between one or the other for a game, which would you leave behind?

Just these two! None of this "you should have put (x) option in because I hate that that most" stuff because I want to ask this specific question.

I assume you mean Storm Guardians, because other than the range of their catapults, Defender Guardians are perfectly good. Shining Spears are my vote, all the way - though I play them with pre-6th edition rules where they may be better, so mileage can vary.

It's a tossup, really. Shining spears are mostly just overpriced for what their equipment can do versus better priced armies. They still have all the advantages of Guardian jetbikes, though, and if a Shuriken catapult's range was still freaking 24", they would have a perfectly fine main gun, not to mention that the Exarch can take a Shuriken Cannon. And as long as you can survive a round of combat, his abilities should let you get safely out of range of who you didn't manage to kill.

On the other hand, Guardian Storm Squads only have pistols, but range isn't an issue because a Shuriken Catapult won't get you any better (but more shots). Their close combat performance won't get you any awards. But if you put a Warlock with them, you can essentially have a ten-man squad with three flamers. If Defender squads got access to even an 18" Catapult, they'd be just great, with their heavy weapons platforms that can fire on the move.

I actually have a single squad of both Storms and Shining Spears, and I don't worry about them under-performing in fun games.

Aha I like your strong position on the issue sir. You are well spoken.

Guardian Defenders are the opposite of Storm Guardians. They are pretty cheap and have a place in an Eldar army with Eldrad and an Avatar, since they could walk in the Avatar's fearlessness bubble.

It seems like the Avatar-fearless-bubble-guardian-spam tactic is pulling in the votes for the Defender Guardians rather than their unit utility. That is something to their credit.

I wonder if people would still vote for them without that strategy?

As for the Spears, well, they are still getting votes. Is that for their capacity to fulfill a strategy, for their strength as a unit, or both?

Strategy-wise, I've read that they can be used as a mini-seer council. They can also be used as super fast fire dragons for bike armies.

Strength-wise, well... they can hunt combat squads, devastator-type stuff, and armor well enough.

Shining spears are pointless, a unit that would not exist in reality. They are Eldar so weak and they have to get close, exposing them to torrents of fire. When they hit they have to wipe out the target unit or get exterminated by others joining the combat. They are effectively a massively risky one-shot proposition. Steered right they'll hit an expensive enemy unit and take it out, any mistakes and they are toast. Way over-priced especially with snap fire now in 6th.

Guardians are a solid unit, with the right weaponry and a warlock they are good at holding ground, although you need to deploy them right (i.e. in cover, out of lines of fire, etc). They can do amazing things. A unit of mine one dropped a whole squad of CSM termies with snapfire when the assault ramp dropped not 4" off them! On the attack they are useless, short ranged weapons, can't move and fire the heavy weapon, low T and paper thin armour.

Isengard wrote:
Shining spears are pointless, a unit that would not exist in reality. They are Eldar so weak and they have to get close, exposing them to torrents of fire. When they hit they have to wipe out the target unit or get exterminated by others joining the combat. They are effectively a massively risky one-shot proposition. Steered right they'll hit an expensive enemy unit and take it out, any mistakes and they are toast. Way over-priced especially with snap fire now in 6th.

Guardians are a solid unit, with the right weaponry and a warlock they are good at holding ground, although you need to deploy them right (i.e. in cover, out of lines of fire, etc). They can do amazing things. A unit of mine one dropped a whole squad of CSM termies with snapfire when the assault ramp dropped not 4" off them! On the attack they are useless, short ranged weapons, can't move and fire the heavy weapon, low T and paper thin armour.

Umm... I want to address things on both in your post:

1) Shining Spears are best charging big things like Landraiders since they have a 3 attack str 8 lance attacks in close combat from the Exarch alone + 1 str 8 lance attack from him on the charge. That is almost a guaranteed dead landraider especially since vehicles, with some exceptions, can't overwatch.

2) Guardan heavy weapons count as assault not heavy so yes they can fire their heavy weapon & guardians are shredded by things like whirlwinds that ignore LOS.

Yeah, the move and fire of the heavy weapon is one of their biggest strengths.

I can't wait to play a game of 2nd edition (I am currently collecting all the rules) when Shining Spears were so much more useful. 24" Shuriken catapults, 12" Laser lances, different close combat rules, etc.

I think that the advent of the overwatch rules and random charge ranges returning in 6th edition was really the death knell of Shining Spears, with the stats, points costs and rules they currently have. Using previous edition rules, I am perfectly happy having a basic three-man squad (incl. Exarch) with my jetbike-mounted Autarch attached to turn them into a sort of honor guard in my Saim-Hann jetbike army.

Aside from short range of their guns, Guardian Defenders are a very good objective holding unit. I mean, even if you acept the weirdness that is 12" Catapults, the only real problem with defenders is being a touch overcosted. They're a unit with flaws.

Shining Spears, however, are a flawed unit. The rules are desgined for 4th, and haven't aged well. At a huge points drop, they'd still be "meh."

If Guardians' catapults were even ranged like the Avenger catapults, I would pay 8 points for them all day long! Guardians should be 18", with Avengers being 24" and Cannons being 36". It would be an immediate buff to Defender Guardians, Shining Spears, Guardian Jetbikes, and all the tanks.

Guardians aren't overcosted at 8pts, their guns just got severely nerfed in 3rd edition and onwards.

My Shining Spears will never go away, primarily because my conversions from the new Reaver jetbikes are my favorites of the entire army. I may never add to the basic squad, granted, but they are there to stay because (for me) the Rule of Cool is in effect.

Shining Spears, however, are a flawed unit. The rules are desgined for 4th, and haven't aged well. At a huge points drop, they'd still be "meh."

They are another unit that has been heavily nerfed more and more since the days of 2nd edition. In the old system of weapons stats, their Laser Lances use to be 12" range, strength 5, D3 wounds, and a -3 to armor saves. Only their ability of being a Lance weapon is an improvement.

 AegisGrimm wrote:
If Guardians' catapults were even ranged like the Avenger catapults, I would pay 8 points for them all day long! Guardians should be 18", with Avengers being 24" and Cannons being 36". It would be an immediate buff to Defender Guardians, Shining Spears, Guardian Jetbikes, and all the tanks.

Guardians aren't overcosted at 8pts, their guns just got severely nerfed in 3rd edition and onwards.

My Shining Spears will never go away, primarily because my conversions from the new Reaver jetbikes are my favorites of the entire army. I may never add to the basic squad, granted, but they are there to stay because (for me) the Rule of Cool is in effect.

Shining Spears, however, are a flawed unit. The rules are desgined for 4th, and haven't aged well. At a huge points drop, they'd still be "meh."

They are another unit that has been heavily nerfed more and more since the days of 2nd edition. In the old system of weapons stats, their Laser Lances use to be 12" range, strength 5, D3 wounds, and a -3 to armor saves. Only their ability of being a Lance weapon is an improvement.

Do you ever run them with the Exarch with the Star Lance?

 Polonius wrote:
Aside from short range of their guns, Guardian Defenders are a very good objective holding unit. I mean, even if you acept the weirdness that is 12" Catapults, the only real problem with defenders is being a touch overcosted. They're a unit with flaws.

Nothing with T3 and a +5 armoursave which costs 8 points can consider itself a "good object holding unit". Guardians suck. They need Farseers and expensive Warlocks as crutches but at the end of the day their relatively high cost, very low durability and mediocre to bad shooting ( there is a reason why the scatterlaser/ shuriken cannon are the only weapon options worth a damn) make them one of the worst troopchoices in the game.

Which would be exactly why the Dire Avengers are the main soldier of the Eldar. Ever since being nerfed for 3rd edition, Guardians have never been meant to be anything more than 2nd tier troops in the army. They are ablative armor for the weapon platform nowadays. *nostalgic sniff* Back in the good ole' days to be they had weapons that were the equal of Storm Bolters, just with better AP.

 AegisGrimm wrote:
Which would be exactly why the Dire Avengers are the main soldier of the Eldar. Ever since being nerfed for 3rd edition, Guardians have never been meant to be anything more than 2nd tier troops in the army. They are ablative armor for the weapon platform nowadays. *nostalgic sniff* Back in the good ole' days to be they had weapons that were the equal of Storm Bolters, just with better AP.

8 ( actualy a bit more since you have to pay for the platform ) is a bit much for ablative armour. In their current state 10 Guardians (without the platform) should cost roughly 50 points, just like a barebones IG squad (which has almost the same stats but a more useful gun), and no more.

And this is why it's such a hard hypothetical because both of these units, except under very specific circumstances, are largely junk and wouldn't be taken but, for some players who bought them long ago, it may be necessary to choose between one or another to make the appropriate point requirements.

It seems like the verdict is in! Shining spears, overall, are considered by this community to be nearly three times as terrible overall as defender guardians

I take it back. Some of you really do like the Shining Spears. Keep on voting people.

 AegisGrimm wrote:
I assume you mean Storm Guardians, because other than the range of their catapults, Defender Guardians are perfectly good. Shining Spears are my vote, all the way - though I play them with pre-6th edition rules where they may be better, so mileage can vary.

No, he had it right. Defender Guardians.
Storm Guardians actually work in this edition. They are not great but are definitely more useful than Defender Guardians. Many people keep assuming that Defenders are better than the Storms like they were in 5th ed.
Thing is that in 6th ed flamers got much better and when combined with the bastion fortification they become a well rounded objective holding unit. The bastion gives the squad a heavy bolter or two to use each turn(Yes, there are 4 but realistically only 1-2 of them can be used in a single turn) and adds some AA ability to the army.