Basic Questions! Help needed!

[HAB_Iceman]

I am new to Warhammer 40k, have never played before, but would like to collect Eldar. I have a Dark Elf army for regular Warhammer and decided to give 40k a shot.

I was wondering if Eldar are a good enough team. I was looking at Necrons, but heard they were not really competitive, and was wondering if Eldar are a competitive enough team? (I heard they are quite good, but was wanting confirmation).

Also, I was wondering what the main all around unit was for the Eldar? Is it the Dire Avengers? I have seen them used the most in battle reports and lists. I understand that Eldar are a very specialized team in the aspect that each unit has a specific purpose, but was wondering if there was any unit more frequently used than others that I should collect right away.

I loved the Dark Elves but wanted a team that was a little harder to handle, no offense, but it is quite easy to win with Dark Elves. And this being said, I still love them!! Are the Eldar a little challenging but very rewarding in the end, or should I look for another team?

Thanks in advance, and sorry for the lack of knowledge on my part. (That's why I am posting this).

[nakaruru]

If you are looking at top tier tournaments eldar can still be competitive but generally end up having to go mech and will often use a council. As more 5th ed codex come out eldar will fall a bit further behind but with our ability to specialize it is hard for us to become completely underpowered.

As for main unit the dire avenger in a waveserpent is probably it seeing as it is a troop choice. Farseer is also extremely common for the HQ. If you plan to build toward a mech army a farseer 2 squads of dire avengers and 2 waveserpents is a good start. A squad of storm guardians with flamers could take the place of a dire avenger unit for some diversity.

Mech eldar ( the strongest build IMO ) is tough, because you will have few units and many of them very fragile once they are out of the transport. It works but a few bad choices or a bad round of rolls can seriously cripple the army.

[Ruthven]

The Eldar are a very finesse army to field. Our armor and toughness are not as good as many of the other armies, but we make up for it with our psychic abilities and speed. I would agree with Nakaruru that some dire avengers and wave serpents with a farseer would probably be a good way to start. I run Storm guardians as well because they are a cheaper troop choice, and their flamers are another great option. Mechanized armies are all the rage right now in 40k, so I'd also advise you to get a box of Fire Dragons and a transport for them as well. 5 or 6 melta guns popping out of your transport within melta-range of your enemies tank pretty much ensures its a dead tank. I hope you pick up Eldar, they are challenging and fun to field!

[nigelboyette]

if you are looking for a challenging army look no further, they are very fun to play once you get the hang of it. i dabble with IG although i usually play them sparcly compared to my eldar. plus eldar players tend to be more inventive than people who play "vanilla" space marines or "green tide" orks. every eldar army is unique to the player using them and thats why i think they are so awsome!!!!

hope my advice helps and good luck!!!!

[HAB_Iceman]

Thanks for all the replies. I appreciate your help.

I had already looked into some aspects of WH 40k, and realized transports are a must. I will definitely invest in some Waveserpents. Is the farseer with the spear a good choice? Because I love the looks so much more, and heard that some tourneys are pickey about what weapons it already has...or is that the only option for a Farseer? (My Eldar book is on its way, so I don't know anything about it yet).

I had not thought of a Mech army, but will check it out more after I get the basics down. (I am a complete noobie). lol.

I am used to the s3 t3, and low armour saves, as I have the DE in regular WH. I just hope I dont get sick of never having a high number in those categories. lol.

The other question I have is what units really are not worth the cost or time used to take them?

Thanks again!!

[Laughing God]

Standard guardians, wraithguard, Shining Spears, Swooping hawks, vypers, Dark reapers rarely make thier points back any more and are very difficult to use effectively. O and single fire prisms are a no no. always take multiples. D-cannon heavy wep platforms are the only ones worth taking.

Hope that helps, highly suggest you read the complete eldar tactica we have posted on this forum if your planning on taking eldar seriously, very helpful.

[HAB_Iceman]

I really liked the looks of the shining spears, and had heard that the swooping hawks were a fast group? Also isnt the wraithguard kinda like a heroe? just wondering what types of units they are dying from...or how they are not worth it.

So are you saying to take the fire prisms in two or more, or not at all? How about walkers? Are they very good? And Falcons?

I did read it, the whole thing, but I havent played even one game yet, and my Eldar book and rulebook are on there way. Because of that I was lost. lol

Thanks again, and + rep

[nakaruru]

guardian defenders often times will die quickly and have a bad BS meaning the heavy weapon they take will miss alot. Swooping hawks struggle to do alot of damage, and they come with a high price tag. It makes them an overall weak choice. Shining spears suffer from a high price tag as well. They do work but with the low model count and few attacks they start to drop in effectiveness very quickly making them an unattactive option for most people. Wraithguard are an elite choice that can be fielded as a troop if you set them up a certain way. They cost alot and have extremely close range guns and are not very good in melee. Fun but from a competitive stand point they don't do enough for the cost.

Taking multiple prisms allows you to link shots, this is important because it lets you get str 10 AP 1 small blast or str 6 ap 3 large blast shots. A single prism is still a decent tank but without the second one you can't link them which lowers the number of targets they can effectively target. Walkers are a good unit that can put out alot of firepower but won't stand up to much. People take them with mixed results. Falcons are taken from time to time, most often now with 5 DA in them to make them scoring forcing an opponent to try and kill a holofielded tank.

farseers can have the spear or witchblade. The spear is a decent choice unless you plan on going into melee with your farseer alot, then the extra attack the witchblade/pistol gives is more useful than the ranged attack of the spear.

[Lia]

Shining Spears suffer from being a very small squad & being costly, they can work decently as Anti-Monstrous Creatures & Anti-Command Squads or Mop Up Crew, but if you charge them at the wrong thing, expect them to die. Still, they pack a punch, especially with an Autarch.

Swooping Hawks are purely a supporting/constesting squad, don't expect them to wins fights against anything more dangerous than guardsmen alone, but in an Harassing or Supporting role they will work decently. Most people aren't fans of them tho.

Dark Reapers are... well static, they kill junk dead from pretty far, but they don't move and thus can be avoided or countered fairly easily, but then sometimes that's your goal : Control of the board is a way to get a real advantage using the speed of Eldars.

Fire Prisms are fine alone, but the beam combining rule make them benefit so greatly (when you need it) from extra numbers that some seems to forget it's icing on the cake...

WraithGuards are very costly, they can work as small mechanized anti-tank or as abig footslogging fire magnet, the problems with them are short range and BattleCannons (and equivalent), but then everyone suffer when BattleCannons abound...

Some people like War-Walkers, usually with dual scatter laser, outflanked & guided against some doomed infantry or some such, i don't really know personally i prefer my WraithLords.

Many like Falcons, especially holo-fielded ones to carry such volatile packages as Fire Dragons or even scalpel teams of Banshees. They benefit greatly from guide.

But as has been said already : Eldars are a finesse army, this mean that they don't forgive blunders too well, but then their specialization, speed and firepower make them fairly easy to use, provided you use them on what they can kill and don't forget "Divide & Conquer" : Don't slam right through the middle of the board in your opponent army.

Farseers come standard with a shuriken pistol & witchblade, the spear is the only weapon option, note that while the spear can be thrown it doesn't get extra attacks from the pistol. Tourneys are picky about WYSIWYG, really, as long as your model show the upgrades it has easily there shouldn't be troubles.

I might have started rambling somewhere in there and don't have the time to reread and edit, so just tell if something doesn't make sense/is confusing.

[HAB_Iceman]

Thanks a lot, I am starting to get a grasp on the Eldar already, and I don't even have my book yet.

It sounds as though I will take your advice on most matters, and find out some stuff for myself. The warwalkers sound like a counter to an infantry heavy army...is that what you were saying? I also will check out the prisms in two or more. How costly are they compared to a falcon and a basic enemy equivalent?

Soudns like swooping hawks and shining spears are a unit i will test in a friendly game. Also, I heard that the guardians are a defensive unit, and is quite cheap. Is that correct? Dark reapers are good then? I heard they are taken in around 3-5. is that correct?

Thank you both, that was very helpful. Oh and one more question, how good is the Avatar really? What point army can he be taken at, and not ruin the entire army in regards to units that can be taken? Thanks in advance.