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Hey guys, I was just wondering what your opinion is on whether it's safe to start collecting certain models from the Eldar range. The problem I'm having is that because a new edition came out, it's entirely possible that a new range of models will come out for the Eldar as well once the Eldar codex comes out. If this is the case, I'd probably be very disappointed if I spent a boat load of time and money into collecting and painting an army that no longer looks as good as it could have as newer models are typically nicer than the older ones.

I've been looking to start a 500 point army with the Eldar and so far I think I have an ok set which is:

1 x Eldar Farseer on a Jetbike
10 x Shadow Spectres
6x Striking Scorpions

If something is going to get outdated here, its the Scorpions which is roughly 130 ish points. So I'm fine with that, 6 models and 130 points isn't bad and they can easily be replaced.

The problem comes if I want to expand the list. I was thinking on grabbing Shining Spears and maybe some Warp Spiders. Both models are pretty dated (Especially the Spears) and I get the feeling that with the new edition may come some updates on the models. My question is, Do you guys think that GW is going to update their Eldar line pretty soon? Why or Why not?

It's a pretty awkward time to be collecting a dated army atm, it would be wise to play my cards right.

My mostly-baseless educated guess is that they're going to release a couple of things here and there for most factions rather than doing massive overhauls of various model lines for a while. My reasoning being that, where 7th edition model releases were often tied to a new codex release, 8th edition has GW focused on pumping out books as fast as they can. If they tried to do a large model release, it could easily drown out/get drowned out by all the other book releases going on. I suspect that this rapid book release schedule will extend into next year for the sake of getting a codex out there for every existing faction.

So in other words, I doubt that eldar will be getting a ton of new kits all at once. So even if they do release some new models, chances are slim that it will be for warp spiders or shining spears specifically.

Ignoring the fact that they're made of finecast, our aspect warrior models are all pretty cool-looking (with warp spiders being some of the most static and still looking pretty okay despite it). So even if you do invest now only to find out new models are on their way, it's not like you've purchased ugly models.

So I say to take the plunge! Also, I've found that eldar tend to favor MSU army builds, so any new aspect kits can just be a "different shrine" from whatever squads you've already bought.

The waiting game is usually a road to nowhere unless something has been announced or is a near certainty in the very near future. The game is constantly evolving and you can effectively wait forever...best bet is just to get stuck in.

Wyldhunt wrote:
My mostly-baseless educated guess is that they're going to release a couple of things here and there for most factions rather than doing massive overhauls of various model lines for a while. My reasoning being that, where 7th edition model releases were often tied to a new codex release, 8th edition has GW focused on pumping out books as fast as they can. If they tried to do a large model release, it could easily drown out/get drowned out by all the other book releases going on. I suspect that this rapid book release schedule will extend into next year for the sake of getting a codex out there for every existing faction.

So in other words, I doubt that eldar will be getting a ton of new kits all at once. So even if they do release some new models, chances are slim that it will be for warp spiders or shining spears specifically.

Ignoring the fact that they're made of finecast, our aspect warrior models are all pretty cool-looking (with warp spiders being some of the most static and still looking pretty okay despite it). So even if you do invest now only to find out new models are on their way, it's not like you've purchased ugly models.

So I say to take the plunge! Also, I've found that eldar tend to favor MSU army builds, so any new aspect kits can just be a "different shrine" from whatever squads you've already bought.

That makes sense, thanks


Automatically Appended Next Post:

Gibs55 wrote:
The waiting game is usually a road to nowhere unless something has been announced or is a near certainty in the very near future. The game is constantly evolving and you can effectively wait forever...best bet is just to get stuck in.

Thanks

Sometimes elves can languish for a decade without an update. Be warned.

I'm in the same boat with wanting to wait. Fortunately there are other armies I have or want that are pulling my attention away.

I'd be surprised if they didn't get a little update when they visit the codex though. Eldar seem to be a very popular army and those aspect models are sooooo old at this point - half of the range seems to be resin.

I'm gonna hold out and see what happens with the codex!

Gibs55 wrote:
The waiting game is usually a road to nowhere unless something has been announced or is a near certainty in the very near future. The game is constantly evolving and you can effectively wait forever...best bet is just to get stuck in.

Yeah, I'd totally agree with this. Trying to second-guess what GW are likely to do, and when, is just going to stress you out and mar your enjoyment of the hobby. Just go with what you like now, and resign yourself to the fact it's never going to be guaranteed to be 100% future-proof.

What I would suggest though, is getting your initial 500pt army and finishing it; get it properly painted and everything and start playing games with it, before you start planning on expanding it. You don't want to be sitting on a load of unbuilt/unpainted stuff that suddenly you lose all enthusiasm for because suddenly GW's dropped something newer and shinier that you'd rather be hobbying with!

Get a waveserpents. They are super good, will not be outdated or replaced any time soon, and they belong in almost any eldar list.

pismakron wrote:
Get a waveserpents. They are super good, will not be outdated or replaced any time soon, and they belong in almost any eldar list.

They are not super good, and the OP should know that currently Eldar suck donkey balls and should not be attempted in a competitive meta.

The good part of that is that there must be a ton of Eldar on ebay looking for new owners, among which some models are unlikely to be outdated any time soon, like the flyers, the jetbikes except the shining spears.

What has been expected for some time is the plastic aspects.

What is really old and could get replaced is guardians, vypers, rangers, falcons - although if redone will mean all other tanks get redone, which is unlikely despite the mold showing its age...

morgoth wrote:

pismakron wrote:
Get a waveserpents. They are super good, will not be outdated or replaced any time soon, and they belong in almost any eldar list.

They are not super good, and the OP should know that currently Eldar suck donkey balls and should not be attempted in a competitive meta.

The good part of that is that there must be a ton of Eldar on ebay looking for new owners, among which some models are unlikely to be outdated any time soon, like the flyers, the jetbikes except the shining spears.

What has been expected for some time is the plastic aspects.

What is really old and could get replaced is guardians, vypers, rangers, falcons - although if redone will mean all other tanks get redone, which is unlikely despite the mold showing its age...

This is incorrect. Eldar have certainly moved from OP (in 7th), but they're far from "suck donkey balls".

If you like the army and their lovely models, you will have fun and you will win/lose games. Personally, I'm 4/4 games in and all have been wins with a Craftworld list (no Ynnari) versus SMs, Thousand Sons, Grey Knights and Chaos. You'll struggle versus hoard, but you'll have damn fun doing so.

Stuff I'd consider safe at the moment.

Guardians, anything Wraith, Jetbikes, Artillery Platforms, War Walkers, Dire Avengers.

They're either pretty basic stuff which won't go away, or have been updated to plastic relatively recently.

Aspect Warriors though.... Well, we live in hope! Certainly the two units you're interested in I'd consider 'high risk' of replacement models, and likely in plastic. Now, that won't invalidate the older models (it never really does), but if you think they look ponk now, probably best to hold off - or even consider converting.

I'm playing the waiting game AND the now game with Eldar by starting a Harlequins detachment, then moving onto Wraithguard in Wave Serpents. All plastic, nice models.

I believe the new Asuryani codex will have a release with it to replace some of the ugly finecast stuff.

RooT wrote:

morgoth wrote:

pismakron wrote:
Get a waveserpents. They are super good, will not be outdated or replaced any time soon, and they belong in almost any eldar list.

They are not super good, and the OP should know that currently Eldar suck donkey balls and should not be attempted in a competitive meta.

The good part of that is that there must be a ton of Eldar on ebay looking for new owners, among which some models are unlikely to be outdated any time soon, like the flyers, the jetbikes except the shining spears.

What has been expected for some time is the plastic aspects.

What is really old and could get replaced is guardians, vypers, rangers, falcons - although if redone will mean all other tanks get redone, which is unlikely despite the mold showing its age...

This is incorrect. Eldar have certainly moved from OP (in 7th), but they're far from "suck donkey balls".

If you like the army and their lovely models, you will have fun and you will win/lose games. Personally, I'm 4/4 games in and all have been wins with a Craftworld list (no Ynnari) versus SMs, Thousand Sons, Grey Knights and Chaos. You'll struggle versus hoard, but you'll have damn fun doing so.

My bad.

At this point, they are not even remotely capable of landing a top 10 spot, barring insane luck.

That means that you will get omgwtfbbq'd by any half-decent army list, and that there are no such things in Eldar.

I tend to qualify that as "suck donkey balls", but that's just my point of view.

If you plan to start eldar I advise you to wait. Their codex will be released by a few months while they currently have tons of outdated products which means they will probably get several new releases or repacks when the codex comes out.

Even a bunch of drukhari and harlequins stuff went out of production recently, it's probably a sign of some new releases incoming.

Just buy what you like and think is cool. Ignore the competive meta meatheads. Ignore gw for the most part. My favorite old eldar models are the wraithlord and the old metal avatar. My favorite new models are the bikes. If I didn't already have them then I would want to get them...

You can never go wrong with an army if you just like the models. The rule of cool, etc. I built a rather large 2nd ed. Eldar army over the past year and a half - collecting almost every single codex entry outside of harlequins. It lets me put together any force I want - do some of them "suck" in the current game? Yep, but I still love the models so it doesn't hurt that much.

Building an army on meta/strength/netlists etc. will only end up fueling an eBay sale within a year or two when something changes. Just buy what you like.

Well, it makes no sense to wait for new releases.
If you want an Eldar army, get it going right away.
Windrider jetbikes are quite new models as are Wraithguard, Wraithlord, and Wraithknight. Serpents are great as already said.

I still run plenty of my 1st edition metal aspect warriors and they look fine. Only the Jetbikes are looking a little dated but I have too much other stuff to paint before I think about replacing them. My point? If you like the models, get them and paint them. I have been through enough edition changes to know that they go in and out of fashion but the fun I had making them is reason enough.

The leaks I have seen of planned codex releases do not include Eldar this year so if you build an army based on the Index list, it should be valid at least until 2018.

If you are concerned about competitive play then Eldar are decent. They may not be top-tier currently but they are far from bad. Our best units are probably Wraithguard, Wraithblades, Wave Serpents, Fire Dragons, Dark Reapers and Hemlock Wraithfighters. You can certainly build a competitive army around those units and then add in any other units you like the look of for flavour.

Running Ynnari is also a possibility as "Strength from Death" is a very powerful army ability and it gives you the option to add a sprinkling of Dark Eldar and Harlequins if you feel so inclined.

I'd say anything plastic is currently safe.

The aspect warrior that don't have "Dire" in the name though are probably next in line for an update.

Do we have any news on when their codex is going to be released?

There are plenty plastic Eldar units available that you can get and work on while we all wait for plastic aspect warriors. Who knows when or if they might happen.

Current plastic kits that are good (in my opinion):

Wraithguard/wraithblades
Wraithlords
Wraithknights
Wave serpents are a really solid transport
Wind rider bikes aren't quite as good as 7th, but they're still a viable choice.
Hemlock wraithfighters/ crimson hunters are good. Flyers are good this edition, and the model looks great.

I haven't played with the support weapons teams yet (the artillery) but generally artillery/indirect/formerly template weapons all got a boost in 8th edition. I want to try them out as soon as I build and paint everything else on my list.

All in all,if you want to play Eldar, there are plenty great units available in plastic now. If any of those units looks good to you, they are worth it.

One day we'll get plastic aspect warriors, but don't hold your breath.

As with any starting collection: buy what you like/ want to paint.

Build your army so you can play and have fun, the Eldar codex is coming soon, but there's no promise that it will be anything new. In fact you may just see some reboxings. It's a crap shoot, you could go out and buy a new mini for your army and out of no where it get's replaced. Or you could sit around for years waiting for the rumored new models to come out.

Ravingbantha wrote:
Build your army so you can play and have fun, the Eldar codex is coming soon, but there's no promise that it will be anything new. In fact you may just see some reboxings. It's a crap shoot, you could go out and buy a new mini for your army and out of no where it get's replaced. Or you could sit around for years waiting for the rumored new models to come out.

Whoa? How do you know that the new ELdar codex is coming soon? I don't remember an announcement being made O.o

You can also just load up on aspect Warriors. I have rarely found situations where you'd need more than 10 of an aspect warrior, so two boxes of each (with the exception of dire avengers, but those are already plastic) should be more than enough for your collection.

I would expect a minimum of years (plural) before Eldar get any updated models.

GW wants to re-do basically the entire SM line as Primaris. All of the power armor factions will be getting updates first. That's a long process.

 Sandro17 wrote:

Ravingbantha wrote:
Build your army so you can play and have fun, the Eldar codex is coming soon, but there's no promise that it will be anything new. In fact you may just see some reboxings. It's a crap shoot, you could go out and buy a new mini for your army and out of no where it get's replaced. Or you could sit around for years waiting for the rumored new models to come out.

Whoa? How do you know that the new Eldar codex is coming soon? I don't remember an announcement being made O.o

GW has said there will be 10 Codexs out by Christmas, from a business perspective their best bet is to put out the top 10, or at least the 10 most important to the current campaign. Eldar fall into both categories. It would also be a bad idea to release all the codexs covered by a single Index, do this and you invalidate an entire product. I'll admit, that I've not heard any rumors about what Codex's are coming I would hazard a guess and say that 4 of the 7 remaining ones we should expect to see in the coming months would be Death Guard (with a Big release), Thousand Sons, Eldar, and Tau. The other 3 I'm not so sure about, going through the GW site there's a lot of mini's that are no longer available, I'm not talking about ones that are temporarily out of stock, bit ones that are gone. That's a lot of units to just get rid of, my guess would these are no longer available because the current stock is being sold off so they can be reboxed, possibly replaced.