Writing a guide for aspiring Eldar players

[Viktor]

Greetings all you other Eldar veterans out there, it's come to my attention that there are a lot of people needing help about how to start playing Eldar, which units to choose and so on. I'm up to writing an article on how to start and expand an Eldar army, and i would appriciate some inputs from you so i can include other points of view than my own.

I'd especially like some of you Craftworld Eldar players to contribute some info on how to start with your specific Craftworld (Ulthwé i can probably take care of by myself, but feel free to say something about it anyway.)

I plan to start working on the article in a couple of hours, and hope to finish it by tomorrow night. (Swedish time, GMT +2)

Thanks in advance, what i'm looking for is basically tips for beginniers learning how to play Eldar. I can include some references to the Tactica thread in the article too, instead of writing about each unit specifically.

// Viktor

[Emp.]

Alright, well I play Biel-Tan. Biel-Tan is the Eldar Craftworld army made up of mostly Aspect Warriors, the few but elite. For this army, I wouldn't recommend getting the starter box, it's a complete waste of money, besides getting the Falcon and maybe the Vyper. To start off I would recommend play-testing which aspects you like best and which you want to include, or you could go by looks. First, obviously, buy the codex. After looking through that, you play-test by rolling dice matching them against probable targest. Then when you decided on your aspect choices, buy two packs of each containing two models, and one exarch model for each, then buy the Farseer with that. So that army should amount to one HQ (farseer) and two troops (two squads of 5x different/same aspect warriors). That would be the best start for Biel-Tan. Then as you start playing low-point battles play-test other models and tanks and see where your strengths and weaknesses are, then add-on from there. Also, you could post your made-up army list online here in the army section, before you buy the models!, and I'm sure, myself and others would be happy to critique. Hope that helped as much as I wrote.

P.S. - Aspect Warriors are "mostly" found in the elite section, but the Hawks and Avengers and found in the fast attack and troop choices.

[Quick]

Sounds like a cool article.

If I may, if it is required, I humbly submit my skeletonized guide to starting the Iyanden:

Army Summary:
Iyanden is a craftworld unlike most any other Eldar list. The troops are hard as rocks, but they are not very numerous at all. Iyanden will amost always be outnumbered, often quite badly, and they will take a fair amount of shooting before they can shoot back with their own short-ranged, but devastating weapons.
To succeed with the Iyanden, an aspiring Farseer needs to have a good understanding of how much punishment his or her slow-moving, outnumbered, and short-ranged troops can take, and how to mitigate the amount of fire they will take, through maneuvering, transport, supporting troops, and subterfuge.

Starting out:
Don't bother going for a 500 point list right off the bat, because at that level, you've got maybe seven models on the table, and a Wraithlord is not cool at 500 points.

At a thousand points, you've got a little more flexibility, and this is a good place to start.

Your HQ should be a Farseer, because his Fortune power can make your meager troop-numbers more survivable and his Mind War can single out and kill troops that are capable of harming your Wraithlords.

For your troops, you can realistically have two Wraithguard squads of five each with a Spiritseer and two Wraithlords; however, you'll have few points for anything after that. One large squad of Wraithguard and one Wraithlord are a solid base and give you enough points to expand your army.

I will lump Fast Attack, Elites, and Heavy Support choices into one category because, at 1,000 points, it is unlikely you will be able to select from many of these.
Your personal playing style will depend on your choice, but the following are good choices and work well with the Iyanden, both tactically and within the backstory.

Warp Spiders: their speed can get them ahead of the Wraith units and head off potential assaults to your line. Their volume of fire will also deal with numerous horde-like opponents which can overwhelm your tough, but slow-to-attack troops. In a pinch, you can also use Dire Avengers in this role, though not as effectively. Dire Avengers are Iyanden's signature and most famed aspect, though, so a unit of them is considered good within the bounds of the fluff.
Dark Reapers: their range and firepower can keep your opponent pinned underneath a hail of fire while your troops advance to attack on their terms.
Striking Scorpions: Their number of attacks and their infiltration will buy your troops some time to advance and not be fired upon. Their reslience will allow them to survive longer without support from your slow-moving troops.
Vyper Jetbikes: are good for providing heavy fire and distracting units. While your opponent is shooting at the Vypers, he or she is not shooting at your more valuable troops.
Falcon Grav-tanks: Falcons function a similar role to the Vypers, but more so in that they are harder to kill, do more damage, and can transport some of your smaller units, but not your Wraith units.

[Viktor]

This is great, I'll write about Ulthwé. Now I need only a Saim-hann and Alaitoc guide, i might have to write them myself but since i don't play either it may be a little... wrong.

I'm planning to have it done by next weekend, i was a little too optimistic about the time.

[Emp.]

I know this might sound a little bland, but, for Alaitoc, I belive it really is just a Vyper/Falcon for tank hunting, Farseer, and the rest is all Rangers. But as I don't play them either, I can only guess that's what they are mainly made up of.

[Viktor]

I'll ask Sareld if he can write about Alaitoc. And Cheredanine about Saim-hann.

[Sareld]

Ok, I´ll do Alaitoc. I borrowed Quickasawink´s composition, It gives a good overview.

Craftworld Alaitoc:

Pros:
Disruption rolls
Strong versus infantry and monstrous creatures
Cheap to collect moneywise
Low number of models to paint
Fun to use
Generally very competitive
Cons:
Weak versus vehicle heavy armies
Weak versus mechanised armies
Vulnerable to assault
High number of pewter models
Many older models

Army Summary:
The Alaitoc craftworld is the only eldar army that is mostly based on static firepower. When playing Alatioc, the bulk of your force should be rangers, rangers and more rangers, as they are the source of the strength of Alaitoc; the disruption roll.
Succeeding with an Alaitoc army is relatively easy, as it requires relatively little movement and that you dont have too many different units to keep track of. Follow these three easy steps, and you should do fine against any opponent: 1) Cover is your friend, so use it as much as possible. Remember that your rangers and pathfinders can infiltrate into it. 2) Keep your squads small, and spread them out. This gets you more disruption rolls, and renders you less vulnerable to assault. And finally 3) Make sure to have something ready for counter charging.

A side note on disruption:
Inevitably, every Alaitoc player will be accused of cheesing at some time, because our disruption rolls can devastate an unprepared opponent even before the battle starts. It is important to remember that if that happens, it is your opponents fault, not yours. Many players tend to make extremely infantry heavy armies, as infantry often offers more value for their points than vehicles. And since Alaitoc is spectacularly effective against infantry, they have just put themselves at a huge disadvantage against you.

Starting out:
Alaitoc is almost ideal as a starter army, since it is highly effective in low point battles, and because it requires very few models to start with. For only £60 you can get a highly effective all-round 500 points army, consisting of an avatar, 3 pathfinders (ranger models), 4x3 rangers and a wraithlord with a bright lance. Its easy to pay, paint and play, starting a 40k army doesnt get any easier than that.

At higher point battles, Alaitoc retains efficiency, though it is not the most flexible craftworld out there, since all of your troop choices and at least two of your elite choices should be dedicated to rangers and pathfinders.

Your HQ in low point battles should be an avatar, as he makes a great counter charger. Farseers are hard to put to good use in small battles, because he wont be able to reach more than one squad at a time with fortune/guide. At higher point battles however, a fortuning farseer joining a large pathfinder squad, or riding a jetbike armed with a shining spear can work wonders.

For your elite choices, you have the special pathfinder unit available to you, use it. The pathfinders are possibly the best infantry unit for its cost in the entire game, and you should get as many of these as you can afford. At 1000+ points, I usually have 3x5 pathfinders, which is the maximum number available. Many Alaitoc players choose to forgo one unit of pathfinders for a scorpion squad, as it makes a terrific counter charge unit, that you can infiltrate next to your pathfinder squads and thereby protect them from assault. Alternatively, you can use Warp Spiders in that role, as they are fast enough to get where you need them when you need them. Their rapid fire weapons will tear up anything with low saves, but will be less effective versus power armor than the scorpions.

For your troop choices, you should never get anything but rangers. Alaitoc rangers offer much more value for their points than any other troop choice available to you, and for every non-ranger troop choice you take you forgo a disruption roll. And dont bother taking squads above minimum size before you have all of your eight troop slots filled up with rangers.

For fast attack, you can choose vyper squadrons. Vypers with starcannons will give you extra edge against power armored infantry, while vypers with two shuriken cannons will tear through hordes. Vypers are also able to hurt light-medium armor, and can be used as auxiliary armor hunters with great effect. Stay clear of anything else in the fast attack section.

For heavy support, a wraithlord is great. Arm it with a bright lance for much needed anti-tank firepower, and use it as a counter charge unit. However, dont get anymore than one, since many opponents will find it unfair to use multiple wraithlords along with disruption rolls. Falcon grav tanks will also do you proud, as they are effective against any target, and fast enough to get where you need it when you need it. Support batteries with D-cannons are also great for Alaitoc armies despite their short range, as the enemy will come to you. Place it out of LoS near your pathfinders, and you will be able to kill most things that comes near you. Other than that, dark reapers and war walker squadrons, the latter preferably guided by a farseer, will work well in the your army. Both units are slow and vulnerable, but can work wonders as the enemy wont be able to strike you at full force, thanks to your disruption rolls. However, using dark reapers, support batteries and war walkers are challenging, and generally not ideal for beginners.

Will this do?

[Viktor]

That will definately do, Sareld!

*rep*

I'm free from school tomorrow so i finally have time to finish the article, or at least make some good progress. (Y)

[Da Mighty Camel]

About Saim-Hann (and all armies in that matter), its all about if you want to play fluff-wise or a quite-big-chance-to-win-army.

For the fluff, just take more Jetbike Squads than you have Vypers. You can actually win with that kind of army if you play right (my friend had a winning streak of 6 wins and no losses with an 1000p army with 1 Vyper).
I would say that if you would want to play "fluffy" (like I do) the about 3 squads of 3-4 Jetbikes and two Vypers in diffrent squads. And of course a squad of Kinsmens and Chiefs.
If you want to play a more un-fluffy then I am not the rifgt person to ask.

[Viktor]

Yeah, well the goal is to make newbie-friendly armies that are easy to play and expand. Fluff and power are not the most important thing for new players IMO, but thanks for the input anyway Camel.